I’m Not Doing This With A Friend Chapter 92

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The long-anticipated and much-dreaded day of the graduation trip has arrived.

 

“Let’s move, then.”

 

The Professor gestured with a wave of his hand as he finished checking the students, and the wizards standing in the massive magic circle chanted the initiation word in unison.

 

“Warp!”

 

My vision shifted as the magic circle slowly rose beneath the feet of hundreds of students.

 

“Ugh…”

 

I feel dizzy. I didn’t mind teleporting or traveling through space with Carson’s magic.

 

So much for large-scale spatial travel.

 

The other students were gagging and holding their heads as well as if I wasn’t the only one feeling dizzy.

 

“Urgh.”

 

“Gross….”

 

I clicked my tongue at the scene.

 

Not a good start. Having recovered quickly from the motion sickness, I looked around.

 

I wonder what the destination of this mysterious graduation trip would be.

 

At least it was the prestigious Arena Academy, so they wouldn’t treat it so badly.

 

Instead, I glanced around in anticipation.

 

“What the hell.”

 

A dense tree covered in snow made for a spectacular view.

 

“…It’s pretty.”

 

What the hell are we doing here when all we have to see are trees and snow?

 

Standing still, I surveyed the situation.

 

“Quiet!!!”

 

His yell was eardrum-piercing. No kidding, his voice seemed to echo across the mountain.

 

It was loud enough, but he must have used some sort of amplification spell. The voice came from the podium up ahead.

 

Upon the podium, someone was staring at us with a red hat pressed tightly to his head and a piercing glare.

 

“Dear students of Arena Academy, welcome to the Asta Mountains.”

 

…The Asta Mountains? But wasn’t that place famous for its monster habitat?

 

No way. I must have misheard something.

 

What kind of academy would be crazy enough to take their graduation trip to a monster habitat?

 

Swallowing hard, I tamped down my rising anxiety and listened to him again.

 

“I am the instructor who has been entrusted with your care and supervision for the day.”

 

There was silence.

 

After his introduction, the room fell to a standstill.

 

At this point, I would have expected at least one person to clap. The instructor narrowed his eyes and spoke in a louder voice, clearly annoyed.

 

“Spitting all over the place as soon as you arrived. Well done.”

 

The words made me nauseous. I muttered a timid retort, but there was no way he could hear me.

 

“I’m telling you upfront, depending on what happens, you can either be an angel or a devil.”

 

…Lucifer?

 

With those words, I realized perfectly.

 

Why the seniors were gritting their teeth and raving about how this would be the best graduation trip ever?

 

The students stiffened. They seemed to finally realize that something was amiss.

 

The word ‘screwed’ was written across their faces.

 

“As you are no doubt aware, Arena Academy has the full support of the Empire.”

 

The Empire wasn’t the only one, nobles were also patronizing the Arena Academy to recruit talent.

 

“The good facilities and the scholarship program are all thanks to the people of Lagras, who support us with their levies.”

 

Such a long introduction to get to the point.

 

“So, before you graduate from the Academy and become full-fledged citizens, I’d like to give you the opportunity to pay it forward in some small way.”

 

…What? On whose terms?

 

He had a knack for turning a load of nonsense into plausible crap.

 

Which means it sounds like complete rubbish anyway.

 

“A 300-meter radius from where I’m standing is a safe zone. In other words, it’s not safe outside.”

 

As I looked, I realized that it was marked with a large line around it.

 

It was different in that there were no fences and warning signs, but it was definitely something I had seen many times before.

 

For example, the mountain behind our academy where the monsters live.

 

Wait a minute…

 

“… A monster barrier?”

 

Someone muttered, and the instructor answered in response.

 

“Yes. Some of you may have already noticed, but this entire mountain is a demon habitat.”

 

That was crazy…

 

He actually brought an entire grade to a monster habitat?

 

The instructor looked nonchalant, as if he couldn’t see the rotting expressions on the students’ faces.

 

No, he looked pleased with himself.

 

“Today, you’re going to have fun catching monsters and bringing back cores.”

 

No way, I was going to spend my graduation trip slaying monsters.

 

“What’s that look on your face, are you here to play?”

 

Boohoo—

 

“Yes, we’re here to play!”

 

The students were suddenly venting their frustrations out loud.

 

“Isn’t this labor exploitation?”

 

“This is our first and last trip from the academy.”

 

“We should just leave.”

 

Once again, we were a generation of people with a particularly damaged character.

 

Especially, according to the professors, our year was the best one. The students seemed to have nothing better to do, as if they were going to graduate anyway.

 

The instructor, who was watching them, crumpled up his face and spoke up.

 

“You are the worst students I have ever seen.”

 

It was as if he’d pinpointed us in a short time.

 

From the whispers of the other kids, it sounds like many of them are dreaming of escaping…

 

Unfortunately, we had already fallen into the trap.

 

“There’s nothing you can do about it, even if you want to complain, you’re already here, and the only way to go back is the same massive spatial traveling magic that got you here.”

 

The fact that it was true irritated me even more. Those damn graduates, raving about their graduation trip?

 

Even as my resentment toward the graduates was stirring, he continued.

 

“I won’t stop you if you want to walk, but the moment you leave here, you are responsible for your own safety.”

 

The instructor sounded benevolent.

 

“Don’t worry too much, though. We’ll provide lodging for those of you who are willing to go the extra mile.”

 

Accommodations were a given. What’s the point of sleeping out here in the woods when all that’s visible are snow?

 

“Oh, and of course, we have prizes to boost your morale.”

 

The students’ faces brightened a bit at the mention of prizes. But it was only for a moment. Because what followed was outrageous.

 

“Meals can be bought with monster cores. One point for low level. Intermediate, three points. I’m not counting advanced because it can be dangerous.”

 

The reason he said that was because meals were not free.

 

Boo!

 

Instantly, boos erupted, but he didn’t blink, as if he expected it.

 

“Hmm. Since you all seem to be unhappy, I’ll give you five points for a high-level demon core.”

 

The boos grew louder. It was a shameless answer.

 

The booing in the first place wasn’t over the fact that we wouldn’t accept high-level beast cores, it was over the fact that food had to be purchased with beast cores.

 

Furthermore, the high-level beasts could barely be caught by the top five fighters in the combat rank.

 

A 10-point score was still a long way off, and a 5-point score was like being told not to even bother.

 

“Meals are worth different points depending on the food, so please try your best.”

 

…Now I have no idea.

 

Well, I guess I should just do what I’m told.

 

Just as I was half-despondent, the professors came into view.

 

The Professors were all looking pleased with the situation. Especially Professor Walter, who was holding his stomach and laughing.

 

Are these supposed to be our Professors…?

 

“That’s it, any questions?”

 

Someone raised their hand in response to the instructor’s question.

 

“What about non-combat majors?”

 

“That’s a good question. In order to exterminate monsters, you’ll need to team up with three combat majors and three non-combat majors.”

 

The non-combat majors looked relieved at the idea of forming a team. However, being a non-combatant was not a burden.

 

They could use tools to kill monsters just like me, and they could assist in various ways, such as disposing of the corpses of monsters or retrieving the cores.

 

“Teams will be assigned by a fair draw.”

 

He patted the square boxes in the back of his hand.

 

“Also, please note that meals must be shared by the entire team, so it’s not a good thing if you’re the only one who’s killed a lot of monsters.”

 

Whatever they bought, he added, they could only buy in six-piece quantities.

 

The cheapest bread costs 1 point, so you’d have to kill 6 lesser monsters just to eat one.

 

It was a rule designed to further exploit the labor force.

 

“As long as you don’t go too far, you shouldn’t have too much difficulty, since this area is made up of only low-level monsters.”

 

The Arena Academy was a gathering place for the Empire’s talent.

 

It was safe to assume that six low-level monsters would not be dangerous.

 

The instructor lifted his chin as if to say that was enough.

 

“Any more questions?”

 

“You said there was a prize, but is the meal a prize?”

 

Just then, Professor Walter walked to the front of the podium.

 

“I’ll explain that.”

 

Professor Walter’s face was grim, as if he hadn’t smiled in a long time.

 

“The person who brings in the most monster cores can nominate the person who will receive an award of merit at graduation.”

 

?!

 

The students were stunned and began to giggle. This was a prize they had never dreamed of.

 

Never did I realize that one graduation trip would reveal two of the seven stars or something.

 

…Oh. On second thought, it was nominated, not given?

 

I glanced at Professor Walter with a frown, and he smirked.

 

“I think somebody’s already picked up on that, but the important thing to note is that you can ‘nominate’.”

 

“Anyone can point fingers?”

 

“Yes. Anyone who attends the Academy. Including you.”

 

Wow. So there was no way to predict who would receive it?

 

“By the way, the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award will be inducted into the Academy’s Hall of Fame.”

 

The students’ eyes lit up at the mention of being included in the Hall of Fame.

 

It was a huge honor to be recognized and forever be part of the talent-filled Arena Academy.

 

However, there were some students who didn’t agree. Someone shouted out in disbelief.

 

“That’s a ridiculous way to decide!”

 

Professor Walter just shrugged and said, “That’s just part of the fun.”

 

Certainly, it was exciting in the sense that you never know who might receive it.

 

“We’ve actually had it go to someone from another grade or one of the faculty members. So, are you excited to catch some monsters?”

 

“Yes!”

 

A completely different reaction than when the instructor spoke. If only we’d known that Professor Walter was laughing at us in disbelief…

 

“Then try to make sure the person you took the best picture of gets an honorable mention.”

 

With those words, Professor Walter stormed off the podium.

 

But then he remembered something and added, “Oh, the monster core can be transferred to others. If a group of people get together, they may be able to drive one to victory.”

 

Push to victory?

 

Somehow, that sounded like it was going to be a very intense fight.