Chapter 1: Dud Skill

Original: Chapter 1: Dud Skill

“Sorryyy. We don’t need you in the party after all.”

The girls who had come to the Dungeon with me burst into high-pitched laughter, cackling away.

And just like that, I was made a fool of in an unbelievable way.

No one would even look me in the eye anymore. Amidst all the excitement and chatter, I was bombarded with a bunch of flimsy excuses—

“So yeah, see ya!”

They waved at me with faces full of utter mockery.

“Oh, right, right. This area inside the Dungeon is a Danger Zone with especially nasty Monsters, so make sure you’re careful on your way back. Seriously, you could die otherwise. Kehahahaha!”

They laughed raucously, as if to say, “Isn’t that just too cruel?”

And then my friends left, abandoning me.

…Well, I guess they’re not friends anymore. Acquaintances… maybe? No, I should downgrade them further. Let’s demote them to “those annoying people in my class whose names I just happen to know.”

In an instant, I was all alone.

“Haah… I was determined to make friends in high school, though…”

I,

Chiyusaki Sayuki

(

Chiyusaki Sayuki

),

have been alone since elementary school. A born loner, you could say.

Being a loner… it’s a real thing, you know. For some reason, I just can’t make friends.

Well, I guess it’s because my expression is gloomy. Maybe that’s just how it is.

I don’t think my looks are that bad, though. I mean, I have skin so radiant and beautiful that adults envy it, and jet-black, glossy hair that could land me in a shampoo commercial.

It’s just that my gloomy expression ruins everything.

My eyes, no matter how you look at them, have little highlight and are mostly black. They don’t shine like a normal girl’s eyes.

Because of that, apparently, if you meet me on a night street, I inevitably look just like a ghost. Even my relatives say so, and honestly, I think so too.

“My elementary school graduation photo looked more like a ghost photo than anything else…”

Ahaha… Ahahahaha… I laugh self-deprecatingly.

To think that if you spotted a single ghost among my classmates in the graduation photo, it would be my own face.

I turned everyone’s precious memory photo into something resembling a ghost photo. It’s a very bitter memory.

“Haah… So I’m a loner in high school too…”

I absentmindedly looked up at the sky. Well, saying “sky” is a bit much—it’s just a ceiling covered in brown dirt.

Because, you see, this is a Dungeon.

Incidentally, it’s a Dungeon located within Kanagawa Prefecture.

It appeared suddenly about half a year ago. It’s really close to the high school I attend, in a perfect spot to drop by on the way home.

In this day and age, Dungeons appearing suddenly is a common occurrence worldwide, and everyone adventures as they please.

There’s danger to your life, but that’s your own responsibility. If things go well, you might become a millionaire. Of course, it’s also fine to enjoy it like a game.

And into such a Dungeon, I set foot for the first time today. I was with some girls from my class. The same ones who just laughed and abandoned me.

When you enter a Dungeon, after about an hour, you become able to see your Status, and that’s when your Initial Skill is revealed—

“My Skill is 〈Potion Create〉. It’s quite rare, but it’s classified as a Dud Skill…”

Potions can be bought normally, so there’s no need to make them with a Skill. Besides, Potions are the shabbiest Recovery Items, so their Recovery Amount is low. Can’t blame anyone for calling it a mediocre Skill.

It’s disappointing.

Well, but that’s not the immediate problem.

“The immediate problem is—how on earth am I supposed to get back from this dangerous place all by myself?”

You see, from the wall at the dead end, a large bipedal Frog is peeking out its right half. And its eyes are fixed intently on me.

That guy definitely intends to eat me.

I have to do something.

I quickly check my current situation. I have no Weapon. For Armor, just my blazer School Uniform. My leather shoes are shiny and not broken in, so I’m currently suffering from blisters. My bag, stuffed full of textbooks, is nothing but dead weight.

This must be what they call despair… How on earth am I supposed to make it back alive…?

“Phew…”

My eyes meet the Frog’s. As the Frog looks at me, I can somehow sense it thinking, “That one looks tasty.”

Well, I have no choice but to dash. Even if I have no confidence in my speed or stamina.

And so, I, Chiyusaki Sayuki, am running.

“Fwooooooh, I won’t let you eat meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Geko!”

The Frog made a face as if shocked that its prey had escaped.

I’ll survive, stubbornly, tenaciously.

“I will absolutely, absolutely surviveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

And thus, my Dungeon Life began.

By the way, the next day, my whole body was so sore I couldn’t move, so I took the day off from school. Apparently, the cold-hearted girls who abandoned me all turned pale, thinking I had died. They all said in unison, “She went back alone on her own accord,” or so I heard through the grapevine.

Hearing such a pathetic excuse secondhand, I downgraded those people from “people in my class whose names I just know” to “cold-hearted people in my class whose names I don’t even know.”

△

“Now then, I’ve come to the Dungeon again.”

It’s the Dungeon that appeared in the plaza a three-minute walk from my high school.

My muscle soreness has completely healed. Nothing to worry about.

I’m still in my Uniform Look, but considering ease of movement, I switched to a backpack and left all my textbooks at school, so it’s light. My shoes are the ones I use for P.E.

“In other words, my Equipment is perfect.”

I grinned.

The people around me flinched when they saw me. Maybe it looked like a ghost was smiling. Fufufufu.

“I think I’ll try to earn some pocket money.”

I hate part-time jobs and all. I thought if I made Potions with my Skill 〈Potion Create〉 and sold them, I could at least earn some pocket money.

“With this, am I a modern high school girl too?”

Because of the worldwide Dungeon Boom, many high school girls casually go Dungeon Commuting. I should be able to count myself as one of those modern high school girls now.

“Haah, I wish I could have come with friends, though…”

Ah, I’m getting gloomy. I shouldn’t think about friends.

Before me lies the Dungeon, covered in brown dirt. Let’s think about the Dungeon. Cheer up, and off we go.

“Earning lots of pocket money and getting friends—I’ll make those my goals.”

I placed both hands on the straps of my shark-shaped backpack. Then, with quick, light steps, I began advancing into the Dungeon.