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High School Hack and Slash Chapter 6 Part 2

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Pasifista

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「Hey. The ones over there aren’t something we could handle as of yet, you know?」

　Seiichi, who had finished his preliminary inspection beforehand, turned toward his party members who appeared to be frolicking around.

「In the first place, you can’t really afford them with the sen you’ve been allotted with.」

　At the same time as when the dungeon was opened, the new students were allotted with preparation-arrangement sen by the academy.

　Sen was a kind of local currency that could be used only at the academy’s affiliated facilities.

　It could be used not only in the purchasing department, but also in the student cafeteria as well as various stores along the student street outside the academy.

　Sen had no actual hard currency, but utilizing prepaid-system electronic money.

　The amount of sen charged into new students was 100,000 sen.

　Converting it to the daily items sold at the purchasing department and convenience stores on the student street, one yen was roughly equal to one sen.

「Whoa, this katana costs 800,000 yen!」

「Right? We don’t have a choice in the matter since the beginning, after all.」

　As she timidly put the Japanese sword in her hand back on the shelf, Mai’s shoulders slumped as she ascertained that the other price tags were also inscribed with roughly similar numbers.

　She seemed to have a longing for a katana-wielding style.

「Freshmen recommended equipment set, isn’t it?.」

「There seems to be several types of it, though.」

　The last place the new students, who had toured the inside of the purchasing department with curiosity, found themselves at was the corner of the special sales section packed by the counter.

　The ones there were assortment sets of bare minimum weapons, armor, and tools necessary for dungeon exploration, arranged by the academy for the new students.

　The price was 90,000 sen for all types.

　This set price was as if telling them that the academy wanted to give out these items from the beginning.

　It was partly the academy’s consideration for the use of the local currency, as well as practical training to learn the flow of buying and selling equipment in the purchasing department, but generally every year one or two fools would appear to perpetrate some irreversible follies.

「They come in different sizes, but we can’t choose the color, huh….」

「Once you can afford it, dyeing or customizing your equipment seems to be pretty common, though.」

　What was stored in the backpack, which was carried even during the special dungeon training, were a simple body armor, survival knife, reinforced plastic shield that was used even during the first training, LED lantern, water bottle and medical supplies for first aid.

　And then, the initial equipment and weapons were divided into several types to match each person’s style.

　Package A was a double-edged, lightweight short sword, which puts emphasis on easiness-to-wield.

　Package B was a single-edged axe, akin to those used for chopping wood.

　Package C was a mace with an extendable and retractable handle.

　Package D was a spear with a double-edged blade at the end of a stick as long as you were tall.

　As expected, perhaps due to its RPG image, the number of students who chose package A was numerous, and it also seemed to have the most stock arranged.

　Perhaps due to them unwilling to see a splattered scene upon their attack, the female students who chose the C package were numerous.

　Incidentally, the freshmen recommended equipment set did not include a helmet that protected the most vital part of a human being, the head.

　Initially, it was included in the set, but due to its low equipping rate, it was thus removed.

　There was also the reason that at any rate, physical armor would become less and less essential in battles in depth of the dungeon.

「Haa, I wonder what’s the best choice?」

「Why not just choose it based on feeling? It seems that they will give you a cooling-off period for a while to replace it, after all.」

　You wouldn’t be able to tell the suitability of the weapon you used until you got to actually wield it.

　So those who could instantly assert that an axe was easier to wield than a sword was somewhat fishy.

「I guess axe is fine.」

　Without hesitation, a fishy boy picked up package B and paid the bill along with a thin thimble glove with the fingertips cut off.

　It was not meant to be fashionable, but to conceal the Shizuka crystal on his right hand.

　In fact, the transparent crystal did penetrate his right palm, but the part that went through to the back of the hand was so small that as long as he didn’t show the palm of his hand, everyone would surely overlook it unless they paid close attention to it.

　Touma promptly equipped and got pleased with it, but everyone around him stepped back due to the I’d punch you-like aura he was oozing.

　Shizuka, unconcerned with that fake aura of his, pulled the sleeve of Touma, who had begun to strike some mysterious poses.

「Which one would be better for me to use?」

「Spear.」

「Yes.」

　Hearing Touma’s immediate response, Shizuka immediately headed to the cashier with D package in hand.

「Umm, Shizuka…. Are you sure you want to choose it that casually?」

　Hearing the words of Mai, who was wondering whether she should go with the stereotypical short sword to match Seiichi, Shizuka cocked her head in wonder as to why she would wonder about it.

「Touma-kun, did you choose it casually?」

「Shizuka is a klutz. That’s why it’s better for her to attack from afar.」

「Wh, what a straightforward assessment.」

　Just as naginata was used as a weapon for the powerless women even in Japan of olden days, it was not a wrong choice.

　Being able to attack one-sidedly from beyond the opponent’s maai could be a very huge advantage.

「By the way, then why did you choose axe, which seemed to be the most unpopular, Touma-kun?」

「Living creatures generally cease moving when you hit them with something heavy, hard, and edged.」

　With a cramped smile, Mai swiftly drew back and escaped toward Seiichi’s side.

　With twitching cheeks, Seiichi endeavored to refresh the air that had gotten somewhat stale.

「W, well, I suppose that’s not wrong. Maybe.」

「Yeah. There was generally no problem.」

　Why was it in the past tense?

　Seiichi held back the urge to retort as such.

「C, come to think of it, speaking of the displayed weapon, they all seem somewhat old, don’t they?」

　Mai, trembling and holding Seiichi’s hand, came up with a follow up to blatantly change the topic.

　However, the assortment of weapons and armor displayed in the purchasing department were brand-new in the literal sense of the word, and were not second-hand.

　As conceptual items that were produced by the dungeons rarely appeared on the market, they were by no means commodities that were easy to buy.

「Like, you know, pistols, missiles and the like, I think modern weapons would be more powerful, though.」

「Just what are you intending to blow up with missiles…? Well, it seems that neither firearms nor explosives work, though.」

「Fue? Then, why do swords, those hard axes and the likes work?」

　Seiichi preferred to avoid telling information that had yet to be taught in class, but what to say, he was tired.

「I’m sure the reasoning and theory will eventually be taught in class, but it seems like the kinds of projectiles are nullified. Like, you know, there’s no bow, which doesn’t seem unusual to appear in this kind of game, either, right?」

「Ah, indeed.」

　In terms of genre, perhaps it could be said to be limited only to close range battle type weapons.

　Even the kind of spear, they were all the type with short attacking range.

　The inside of the dungeon had enough space for them to wield their weapons, but as expected there were also many battles that took place in the hallway or other narrow places.

「That means throwing knives are not good either, huh….」

　Touma, who felt despondent while still as expressionless as usual, was ignored by the others.

 

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　I wanna try using it at once, such a proposal that was raised by Mai with an excited expression was vetoed.

　She had no recollection of the first dungeon dive that was carried out the previous week, so there was neither sense of fear nor atrophy on her.

　There also seemed to be some new students, in high spirits with weapons in hand, who actually headed to the dungeon and consequently returned from the dead.

　Living in peaceful japan without ever receiving any kind of training, those who were ready for a battle, which was an exchange of lives, were few in number.

　Goblins and Kobolds, which could be found in the first stratum of the dungeon, were insignificant creatures compared to humans.

　Speaking of their general kind, their physical strength was only like that of a ten-year-old girl, their intelligence was inferior to that of a kindergartener, and the weapons in their hands were no different than toys compared to what was provided to the students.

　Should the students have a one on one battle against them, they would most likely not lose no matter how much of an amateur they were.

　They wouldn’t lose, but when it came to the question of whether or not they could finish them off, the psychological aversion that had been fostered in modern Japan would cry out for NG.

　Modern Japanese people had been far too detached from the killing of living beings, which was a natural, original sin for living beings

　The act of killing to eat or to protect oneself was something that was beyond the scale of good and evil.

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