Chapter 11: Bullseye

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter — LNCrawler · All chapters

Chapter 11:
Bullseye

THE HERO ACADEMY had high academic standards. That was what everyone said, and I had to agree. There were a ton of hands-on lessons, especially with Ms. Elena. The morning before my party’s assignment in Amon Village, my class was in combat training.

“If you want to assess your own abilities, you use a Discerning Item. Isn’t that obvious?” said Ms. Elena. “But one assessment is insufficient, because people grow over the course of their lives.”

In other words, you needed to rely on such an item to confirm whether you were actually making progress.

“Normally, they’re quite expensive, but luckily for you lot, you’re mostly from rich families. I would recommend evaluating yourself once every two weeks if possible, and once a month at least.”

Ms. Elena knew I had Discerning Eye, but if she mentioned it to the class, everyone would rush to me, so she took care to keep it on the down low.

“But enough of that. Today I want you to try using a stone or knife or what-have-you to hit that target.”

A round target was set up in front of us. It wasn’t much taller than we were, and it consisted of several concentric rings with numbers written in them. The middle circle was 100 points, the one just outside of it was 70, then 50, and so on.

“You will stand at a distance of fifteen yards. It’s a little far, but you should be able to manage that with a stationary target. Give it a shot, one at a time.”

Everyone lined up. A surprising number of my classmates didn’t hit the target at all, though it might have been a different story if they could have used magic.

“Unacceptable. You’re not throwing hard enough. You could be throwing your weapons until the sun set and you’d still never hit the target.”

Ms. Elena started to coach us on our form. She seemed kind of frustrated. I guess we were even worse than she expected. I really didn’t want to deal with her when she was in such a state. But luckily for me, something turned her mood around.

Fwa-shing!

A girl who threw a knife with a practiced hand, hitting the bullseye.

“Spectacular,” said Ms. Elena. “You’re an expert.”

“I’ve been training since I was a kid.”

“You should keep at it and continue honing your skills.”

“I will.”

I used Discerning Eye on the girl. She had C-Grade Throwing. I looked into it for myself and saw it was one of those graded skills.

Throwing (Grade C) — 250 LP

Throwing (Grade B) — 500 LP

Throwing (Grade A) — 1,000 LP

Throwing (Grade S) — 2,500 LP

I’d been diligently earning LP, so I currently had around 1,500. I could pick up the A-Grade variant without issue, but I wasn’t so focused on throwing in my day-to-day. Better to choose between C or B. I really would have liked to consult my master about how best to use my LP on this matter, but in the end I opted to go with C-Grade. That girl seemed to manage just fine with it, after all. Of course, generating the skill wouldn’t give me any practical experience, so I wasn’t expecting to be able to throw as well as her right away.

“Next, Noir.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I selected a knife and tried throwing with my own power.

Fwip! Yeah, that didn’t work. It didn’t get anywhere near the target.

“Noir…you aren’t very good at this, are you?”

“You can say that again…”

“First, you need to fix your form. Stand like this.” Ms. Elena got close to arrange my arms and legs. So close, in fact, that my classmates started whispering.

“Aren’t they a little friendly?”

“Seriously. She didn’t get that up close and personal with us…”

Ms. Elena and I were a little startled. She always gave me hugs in exchange for those shoulder massages, so we hadn’t realized we were unusually close—I didn’t feel weird at all.

“Hey, you two over there, no talking,” she snapped at the whispering students.

“S-sorry.”

“Now you try throwing again,” she said to me.

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

I threw the knife, but once more, I missed.

“Don’t let it get you too down. You did much better than your first attempt.”

She wasn’t wrong, I did get a lot closer the second time. Satisfied that I had a good handle on my natural ability, I produced the C-Grade Throwing skill and tried again.

“Whoa, h-how did you…?”

My knife landed right in the bullseye. Skill assists really are the best.

“You did it!”

“That’s Mr. Noir for you. I shall work hard to catch up to you.”

Emma and Maria praised me. It seemed like Throwing could prove useful in the future, so I didn’t regret buying it.

The higher-grade versions of Throwing improved the speed, force, and accuracy of your shots. It also let you use less effort to throw heavier objects, and the S-Grade version could change an object’s trajectory midair. How terrifying. I decided to upgrade it when I had the opportunity.

***

Just as I’d planned, I went to the hidden dungeon after class. On the first floor, I took out a cute little golden slime. Their bodies were useful raw materials as well as food. I savored it as I ate. It was just a sweet jelly, but it earned me a small amount of LP.

The amount of LP seemed to be related to my emotional reaction, so first experiences netted me the most. The first-time effect was remarkably pronounced when it came to food. In contrast, fooling around with girls earned LP at a more consistent rate. Maybe my palate just got bored easily. At any rate, I headed down to the second floor to see my master.

My master was still strung up with the Death Chains, but she seemed to be in an especially good mood.

“Which Noir are you talking about? It’s not my birthday.”

<You’re no fun. I just felt like celebrating something. Not many have earned the blessing of the great Olivia.>

“It sounds more like you weren’t very interested in other people in the past.”

Teasing me was practically a greeting, so I brushed her off. She reminded me of my father in some respects, although unlike him, my master had become something of a legendary figure.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I intend to make it through the seventh floor today.”

“He’s living at my house now. He stands guard. I guess I could ask him to help me explore the dungeon, but he’s so big, it’d probably get difficult to navigate at some point.”

The corridors on the sixth floor were pretty narrow. Plus, not being able to use Dungeon Elevator would have been a total pain—its area of effect was small, and I wasn’t confident Tigerson would be able to fit through the hole it made.

“What makes you think that?”

<I’ve been through my fair share of dungeons, and it’s common for good drops to show up on the seventh floor.>

“Huh.”

Her advice was usually reliable, and my heart pounded in anticipation, although I was concerned that a bigger prize might mean more difficult obstacles. I mean, real life doesn’t have bonus stages loaded with nothing but rewards.

To help me prep, Olivia asked me about my current LP and skills, so I told her I had the following: Great Sage; Get Creative; Bestow; Editor; LP Conversion; LP Conversion—Money; Discerning Eye; Discerning Eye for Items; Headache Immunity; Pocket Dimension (Grade C); Dungeon Elevator; Stone Bullet; Holy Flame; Exorcism; Excavate; Improved Back Step; Passive Defense; Blinding Light; Magical Fusion; Deodorize; Lucky Lecher; Shoulder Rub; Night Vision; Panacea (Grade C); and Throwing (Grade C).

“I think you’re almost a little too honest, Master…”

“That’s easier said than done. I’m just a normal, healthy boy after all.”

“Please do.”

From there, she proceeded to tell me where my weak points were, based on my skills, and I listened intently.