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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Sif, take this.”
I handed Sif the mask I had brought from the workshop.
Sif took it, put it on her face with an understanding expression, and asked me,
“You can make this too?”
“I can handle mithril, so making a mask like this is nothing.”
“That’s true.”
It made me look like a chuunibyou patient, but this much preparation was necessary for interfering with the main story.
Lewis knew my face, and it would be troublesome for me to reveal it.
Naturally, I couldn’t just casually dig with my shovel either.
I also had to hide my identity, so I needed a concept.
I put my shovel, which had a mithril cover to conceal it, deep inside my backpack and took out a piece of wood, crafting a small staff.
Just like the magic wands from that fantasy movie series that was popular a long time ago.
That was my childhood dream.
“Trying to impersonate a mage?”
“It’s the most inconspicuous option.”
Just in case, I had Sif bring some materials to create other concepts, but I didn’t plan on using them unless absolutely necessary.
Even though they would create such a strong image that no one would suspect it was the same person, they could also cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
The concepts were too strong.
“What about me?”
“Just don’t let them see your face. Throw the daggers you brought and pretend to be an adventurer.”
“Okay~”
Alright, let’s start tailing them.
We stuck to the wall next to the door that Lewis went through and peeked through it.
It was a necessary procedure since we had to follow them secretly while checking on Lewis’s progress.
It didn’t seem like it took us that long to get down here, but they were making faster progress than I thought.
“It seems like it’s safe to go through.”
We entered the quiet room where only traces of destruction remained.
The room was messy, with golem fragments scattered everywhere.
We crept along, trying not to be noticed, and headed towards the next room.
As we got closer to the door, faint sounds began to reach our ears.
“They’re probably in the next room.”
“Hmm, they’re making faster progress than I thought? It’s only been about 15 minutes since we heard the sounds.”
Whether he was a transmigrator or not, the protagonist seemed to be quite strong.
To be pushing through the dungeon this quickly, even if it was a test dungeon… in game terms, he seemed to be pretty well-built.
But reality and games were different, so I couldn’t rule out the possibility that the other party members, besides Lewis, were stronger than I thought.
“Sif, take out the telescope.”
“Okay~”
We took out the telescope and carefully entered the room.
This room was a similar size to the previous one.
We peeked through the door and located Lewis and his party.
They were too busy fighting monsters to notice us.
Oh dear.
If it were me, I would have set traps in the back just in case of a surprise attack.
“Sif, keep your distance and observe the students with the telescope.”
“Observe? Why them? They’re just students.”
Sif tilted her head and asked me.
“We might need to cooperate with those students when we enter the dimensional rift. I plan on just observing for now, but… we need to assess their strength in case of an emergency.”
“In other words, hazard pay increases.”
“…Interpret it however you like.”
I sighed inwardly at Sif’s thought process, which always led back to money, and sat down in a suitable spot, placing the telescope to my eye.
Through the telescope, I could see the protagonist’s party, who were fighting diligently in the distance, clearly enough to distinguish their expressions.
I first checked the faces of the party members.
A party of five, huh.
First, Lewis, the swordsman and melee damage dealer.
The mages, Shuri and Perinne.
A boy who seemed to be a priest, and another girl throwing vials.
One healer and four damage dealers.
Their opponents were three rock golems that looked like they were made by clumping blocks together and three or four goblins.
The composition seemed like they had just thrown in whatever was available, regardless of synergy.
“Wow, that kid with the sword is pretty good.”
“What do you think will happen when stronger enemies appear?”
“Hmm… I think he’ll be pretty useful since he’s nimble. His spacing is decent, and he’s drawing attention away from his party members. But it seems a bit risky since he doesn’t have armor or a shield… Ah, he got hit.”
As she said, Lewis grimaced in pain as he was hit on the shoulder.
I thought his shoulder might have been dislocated from that hit.
As soon as she finished speaking, a white light clung to his shoulder like a leech.
Lewis’s pained expression quickly relaxed.
It seemed like the healing spell was quite effective.
“He seems quite skilled.”
“But isn’t it too much pressure for the one swordsman? What if he gets seriously injured? The backline will be…”
“It’ll probably be fine.”
As soon as I finished speaking, a jet of water shot out from the tip of the blue-haired girl’s umbrella.
The water, spraying from the tip of the umbrella like a fire hose, blew off the golem’s arm in an instant.
“Wow, I’ve never seen anyone use water magic like that before.”
“That student is Perinne Nereid, the heir of the Nereid family. She’s said to be on par with third years when it comes to water magic.”
Source: The game.
“So she’s a silver spoon.”
“Correct.”
I turned the telescope and looked at the dog-eared mage casting fire magic in the back.
That was the heroine who was showing off her affection with Lewis at the market.
Was fire magic her specialty?
“That dog-beastkin student, Shuri, is rumored to be a top student in the magic department. She might not be as strong as Lady Nereid, but she’s definitely capable of passing this test.”
Source: Again, the game.
I obviously didn’t know how strong they actually were in reality.
“But Peri… whatever, and that Shuri don’t seem to get along very well? They keep glaring at each other whenever they get the chance.”
“They’re rivals, so it can’t be helped.”
“Aha.”
I don’t know how he managed to win them over in the time between the market duel and the final exam, but he managed to bring them into his party, like a true protagonist.
Originally, you wouldn’t be able to recruit Perinne as a party member until the second semester.
Did the story get messed up because Karina wasn’t there?
“Then what about the priest?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know, so I don’t know.”
There was no way I would know about an extra who didn’t even appear in the game.
I just assumed he was a priest because he was using healing magic.
“Then what about that girl?”
“She seems to be from the alchemy department.”
It was hard to say that the student who was throwing vials wasn’t from the alchemy department.
To summarize, it was a somewhat strange combination: one protagonist, two heroines, and two extras.
The party balance itself was ambiguous, but it was a typical “overwhelm with damage” party, close to a composition that focused on firepower.
Of course, this dungeon for the final exams could be cleared with brute force, but… there would definitely be a problem in the dimensional rift.
“…I guess he’s not a transmigrator.”
If he was a transmigrator, he wouldn’t have chosen to be a swordsman, which was ambiguous in many ways.
“What?”
“It’s nothing… Let’s move.”
I put the telescope in my pocket and stood up.
I could see tiny dots moving at the end of my gaze.
I took out some jerky from my pocket, popped it into my mouth, and followed the protagonist’s party.
Was it about time for the dimensional rift to open?
We had arrived at the final boss room and were hiding near the entrance, secretly watching the protagonist’s party.
The protagonist’s party had gallantly broken through to the third basement floor and reached the boss room.
As expected of the protagonist, he had gathered a competent party.
As I watched them, I started to get excited, thinking that my plan to freeload off the main story might actually work.
“Is it going to open?”
“It’ll open if we wait a little longer.”
“Is that so? Give me one more piece of jerky.”
“Here.”
Sif munched on the jerky I gave her and observed the protagonist’s party with the telescope.
At first, she seemed bored, but now she was watching as if she was watching a sports game.
I wondered if this was what it felt like to watch a game from the spectator seats.
I had never actually been to one, so I didn’t know.
“Wow, as expected, the firepower of a silver spoon is different. This is the first time I’ve seen a mage pierce a lump of steel with a water jet.”
“As expected of Lady Nereid.”
In the game, that was one of her basic skills, so it was probably the same here.
I observed the protagonist’s party defeating the final boss of the test, the Steel Golem, comparing how different my game knowledge was from reality.
Lewis parried the Steel Golem’s attacks with his sword, focusing on defense, while Shuri accumulated damage with fire magic and Perinne restrained the golem’s movements with her water cannon.
And whenever the unnamed girl’s vials hit the golem and broke, smoke rose from its body.
Was it hydrochloric acid or something?
Anyway, it was probably a chemical that melted steel.
I don’t know why she was carrying something like that, though.
“Oh, one of its arms is gone.”
“It’ll be over soon.”
As we expected, the battle ended in less than three minutes.
The Steel Golem, which had been so imposing when it first appeared, was now broken and melted, to the point that it was almost pitiful.
Now that they had defeated the golem, it was time for the rift to open.
“It’ll appear soon.”
“You know that too?”
“Yes.”
I had to prepare to jump into the dimensional rift as soon as it opened.
I put the telescope back in my backpack and zipped it shut.
The dimensional rift would open soon…
…But why wasn’t it opening?
I remembered it opening right after the Steel Golem was defeated.
What would happen if it didn’t open?
“Johann, what about my hazard pay?”
“Wait. I’m thinking about what’s going on-”
Just as I was about to fall back into the swamp of contemplation, the dungeon began to shake, as if to prove that God hadn’t abandoned me.
This was definitely a sign that the dimensional rift was opening.
If it wasn’t-
“Johann!”
“Don’t shout. We’ll get caught-”
“Johann! Behind you! Behind you! Behind you!”
I couldn’t help but turn my head and look behind me at Sif’s scream.
Ah.
Shit.
A blue vortex filled my vision.
That was the last thing I remembered.
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[I have a joke for yall: a gold digger and a real digger get isekai’d…]
