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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 49 Part 1

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Pasifista

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The Unidentified Masked Man

　Monday, the new week opener, greets us with a refreshing June sunrise.

As if to welcome the start of the preliminary round of the interclub tournament, we’re blessed with fine weather.

「Kuaaa~… So sleepy. You’re about the only one who’d be so cheerful on a Monday.」

Seiichi has a yawn so huge that a fist might be able to fit in.

The synchronization between him and Mai, who is lightly yawning next to him, is like eew.

No longer having to take additional supplementary lessons from Rinko-senpai is a wonderful thing, how come he doesn’t understand that.

「Rather, Himechi, whose eyes were rolling around and had steam coming out of her head, is one thing, but why were you scolded along with her, Touma-kun?」

That was a false charge.

I was simply asking for details about how much damage is allowed.

When I asked how many bones were allowed, I was lectured together by Rinko-senpai, who had a vein popping up toward Saki who was trying to run away.

Well, thanks to that, I think I’ve grasped the rules about the preliminary round of the tournament.

Mostly, perhaps, Maybee.

Shizuka, who as usual is accompanying me like a quiet(shizuka) shadow, also looks strangely sleepy.

Last night was the rotation day for the Senpais, so I wonder if she has stayed up late doing something again.

From what I heard a bit previously, she seems to be doing some creative work, but I didn’t get her to tell me the details about it.

In comparison, her roommate, Saki, is full of energy and is exuding a tingling fighting spirit.

「Ah, make sure to hold yourself back okay, Himecchi. If you die outside the dungeon, where you don’t get to pass through Rashomon, you won’t come back to life, you know?」

「Don’t worry. Even if you cut off a limb or two, they won’t die!」

If they’re using the student duel’s (mensur) duel field, you’ll be able to use your skills, but it seems that they mainly use dungeon-produced potions for healing your injuries.

If you end up instant killing your opponent, that’d be a serious violation of the rules.

「… You give her some reminders too, Touma.」

Well, I think it’s going to be okay.

In order to conduct training in utilizing our skills, we’ve also had some experience with party members vs. party members in the dungeon.

Having half of my neck almost gotten torn off by Saki’s Iai, who was seriously aiming for my neck, is one good memory.

I’ve already personally experienced the absurd healing power of potions.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was after school when the qualifying round of the tournament actually began, after badges were handed out to the representatives of each club.

The one in charge of running the event was the『Interclub Tournament Executive Committee』.

Most of the members were current fifth-year students.

Once they became a senior who was close to graduation, rather than merrymaking, they’d start to think about their own future course.

If they could score enough confidential points with the academy, the patch to becoming a temporary teacher after graduation would open up.

The same went for the Student Duel (Mensur) Committee.

Students who were still able to think for themselves, even after reaching senior year, could see what reality was like to some extent.

Though, there were of course students who acted as they wished, but they could be said to be in the minority.

Based on the official list of clubs registered at the academy, a booklet with the rules and badges were distributed to each club.

The club’s name and crests were printed on the tin badges distributed to the five regular players and two reserves.

These club badges ought to be worn in a conspicuous place during the qualifying round of the tournament.

Deliberately hiding it would be a violation of the rules.

During this period, members of the executive committee patrolled the academy and acted as monitors with sensors that detected the current location of the badge in their hands.

「… I didn’t like that pompous mug of yours. Care to accept a battle?」

The second day of the qualifying round.

Battles were starting to steadily occur even in the academy grounds.

Even though the qualifying period lasted until Saturday, it was only at the beginning that they were able to freely choose their battle opponent.

As the bell in the clock tower that signaled noon rang, a girl sitting on the window-side seat pointed a cold look with no hint of charm whatsoever.

The fact that her appearances were in order on the contrary gave off an intimidating air.

She was a girl who was called cold-blooded by her classmates.

The badge pinned to her chest had a blue border, which belonged to the F-Rank Club.

The challenger boy was also wearing the same blue-bordered F-Rank Club badge, and the battle was compulsorily enacted.

The ranks of the club were S, A, B, C, and F, and in the knockout battle of the qualifying round, if it was a challenge from a player of the same club rank, the battle would be unconditionally enacted.

In case those of lower rank were challenged by those of higher rank in a battle, they had the right to refuse, but if those of lower rank challenged those of higher rank, or if the challenge was between those of the same rank, they had no right to refuse.

In the buzzing classroom, a member of the executive committee appeared out of nowhere and announced the enactment of the official battle.

It was rumored that there were some sort of transmission device, such as bug, planted in the badge, but even the committee members were unaware of what kind of lost arts technique (magialogy) was being used in the academy grounds, where wireless kinds were dysfunctional.

What served as the battlefield was a quasi-dungeon space barrier that was activated all over the place in the academy grounds during this period.

The consumption of monster crystals would be too great if they set up barriers on the spot like in a student duel (Mensur).

The closest battlefield whose formation had been set up from the beginning was the rooftop of the classroom building.

As they went out to the rooftop with their classmate onlookers in tow, they found that battles from some other classes had already been carried out and adequately spectating students were also gathering in large numbers.

There were also many players with badges stuck on their chests among the onlookers, assessing their prey.

「I’ve also had a class change and raised my level. I’m going to make that mug of yours twist and make you yourself squeal!」

「Oh….」

As soon as the two of them stepped into the unused barrier, the committee member set the crystal and raised the output at once.

As the miasma concentration was raised to the same level as the dungeon first stratum, the barrier membranes erected on the boundaries of the field were also strengthened.

This was a duel field where none could go in or out until the barrier was lifted.

「Ooo, raaaah!」

The bastard sword held in two hands by that the boy was a『Named』 weapon he found in the treasure chests in the dungeon.

The blow, which made him peerless against goblins as someone of Fighter class, was capable enough to bisect a human even if it was just for testing the water.

For argument’s sake, even if they were cut in half, there was the absurdity where they could be revived if they were administered with a potion immediately, but there were by no means no cases where they could not come back from the state of death due to shock.

However, even if they had no recollections of it, students who were used to dying could easily be revived.

Without even brandishing her weapon, the girl, seeing through the tip of the sword that passed by before her eyes, let out a sigh.

「Don’t you look down on me! You, damned.」

「Boring …….」

*Clink* The girl, who was not even wearing the tactical vest that served as a substitute for armor and had a single katana at her hip, unfastened the sheath mouth with her thumb.

「Gaaaah!」

Rather, the katana, which was drawn slowly without the use of any sorts of skills, slowly drew a trajectory that was visible to everyone, before then slowly being returned to its sheath.

As the bluish-white trajectory made a clinking sound of the sheath mouth getting fastened, the fallen arm of the boy, who was raising a scream, rolled on the ground.

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