BGM: Lost in Green
===
Finally, the day had co for them to carry out the transfer to the lowest level.
In addition to the amount of cores needed for teleportation, we’d also secured so for Takanashi-san to use in forging. Everyone was carrying their own weapons and armor, as well as essential survival items, water, and food.
The current plan for Class 2-7, just as Momokawa explained, was for the three who escaped to form a rescue team, while the rest attempted to escape on foot.
To him, it was nothing more than a convincing lie ant to lower our guard. But in fact, it was still the most promising plan we had right now for saving the entire class. Naturally, the previously chosen mbers of the rescue team had to be significantly reshuffled.
So, even if we managed to activate the Heavenly Gate on the bottom floor, that wouldn’t be the end, it’d actually be the beginning of a long journey to escape. That was the reason we made sure to thoroughly prepare everything while we were still in the School Tower.
As a result, all the burden ended up falling on Takanashi-san alone, and I did feel bad about that. But even so, she didn’t complain once and gave it her all.
I sohow managed to learn the 『Simple Alchemy Formation』, but maybe it’s just a bad match for , there was no way I could handle any of the more advanced formulas. All I could do was help with the dull prep work of primary material processing alongside Hino-san and Nakajima.
Hino-san looked unusually happy, though. She probably enjoyed this kind of work.
When it ca to the forging work, the absence of both Momokawa and even Randou-san beca even more imminent… Even so, thanks to Takanashi-san’s hard work and everyone’s cooperation, we managed to complete the preparations without any issues.
There might be nothing more we could do here in the School Tower.
Now that it’s co to this, I did feel a bit reluctant to leave… But we swore never to return here again, and so we left the School Tower behind.
「————Well then everyone, let's go!」
The raid boss Yamata no Orochi had already been vanquished, and the swarm of gargoyles had scattered across the wasteland, there was nothing left here to stand in our way.
The entire class stepped onto the large teleportation magic circle, and Takanashi-san activated the spell by consuming the core.
I might not be able to analyze magic circles like Takanashi-san can… But even so, I could feel that this teleportation was working, it was consuming far more magical power than any we’d used before.
And so, enveloped in a dazzling light, we completed the teleportation————
「This place is…」
As my vision returned, a vast, open landscape ca into view.
We were in a jungle-like forest covered in lush greenery. Scattered within it, stone ruins peeked out here and there.
We’d passed through a lot of similar areas before. Did that an… We’d been sent back?
「Are we really in the lowest level Takanashi-san?」
「….」
「Takanashi-san?」
「Ah, s-sorry, Souma-kun! I am just as surprised as you too, it’s a bit different from what I was expecting. But the teleportation definitely worked! This is without a doubt the lowest level!」
Though Takanashi-san looked a bit dazed at first, she quickly reassured us with that firm declaration. At the very least, I’m glad we weren’t sent back to the previous area, that would’ve been the worst-case scenario.
The first thing that drew my eyes were the dense, overgrown greenery, but upon a closer look, you'll notice sothing else: the sky above was entirely covered by an enormous rocky ceiling.
It was a vast underground space, so enormous and expansive that it was hard to even guess how high the ceiling might be.
Chances were, that rocky ceiling once displayed a blue sky, projected there using ancient technology. After all, many of the areas we'd passed through so far had featured skies.
However, it was the first ti I'd ever seen such a vast stretch of bare rock exposed overhead. It was not just the sky-projection function that seed to have failed, perhaps the very structure of the ceiling itself had started to collapse.
If that were the case, then this lowest level might be the most heavily damaged and deteriorated part of the entire dungeon. It even made wonder if the Heavenly Gate was still intact…
「However, this is the first ti I've been dropped sowhere other than the Fairy Plaza.」
「Look, Brother. It seems this place was the Fairy Plaza.」
In the direction Sakura was pointing stood what looked like a massive boulder covered in green vines… But on closer inspection, I realised it was actually the fountain, the symbol of the Fairy Plaza.
The fountain was half-ruined, just barely retaining the circular shape. The fairy statue that once sat proudly at its peak had been reduced to nothing but a pair of short legs, and thorny vines had wound themselves around it, blooming with rose-like flowers.
「It looks like the teleportation still worked sohow… But this place seems to be no longer functioning as a Fairy Plaza.」
「Given its current state, that seems to be the case.」
Takanashi-san spoke, her voice tinged with unease.
The Fairy Plaza had always been there as the initial safe zone, even after transferring to the next area.
But here, everything had completely collapsed, it likely no longer functioned as a barrier against monsters. Even the fairy walnut trees, which at the very least provided a basic food supply, had been overtaken by the jungle vegetation. Not a single one remained.
「Let’s keep moving for now. The compass is pointing this way.」
Class Rep was the first to open her magic circle notebook, our guidepost, and check the direction. If the compass was functioning properly, we should be fine.
「Right then, everyone, there’s no point in staying here. Let’s move on.」
The other classmates were unsettled by the ruined state of the Fairy Plaza, but they seed to have realized right away that there was no use making a fuss about it. Without any particular objections, they began to move on.
Losing the Fairy Plaza, a crucial safe zone, was a serious setback, but even so, we ca fully prepared for survival. Even if we couldn’t find the next Fairy Plaza, we could still set up a camp. It was an unexpected situation right after the teleportation, but it was all right, we’d manage it sohow.
Thus, we set off, following the direction shown by the compass.
The dense jungle made for slow traversal, but it was still better than being in a barren wasteland like a scorching desert or a frozen tundra, completely devoid of any flora and fauna.
No matter how well-prepared we were, our food supplies were limited. At least thanks to Shimokawa we didn't have to worry about water supply.
From what I could tell while walking in this jungle, this jungle shared a very similar plant life to that of the uninhabited island area, which proved quite useful for foraging for food.
The knowledge we gained there about edible plants and fruits would serve us just as well here. There also seed to be no shortage of animals we could hunt for at. Naturally, that also ant there were likely monsters about, and there was a good chance powerful ones, like that dragon, might be living here too.
Even so, even if this area was vast enough that it took us several days to reach our destination, we should be able to get by well enough with the resources around us.
And then, a while after walking in the jungle…
「Ah, look! That tower, I’ve got a feeling there might be sothing about it!」
At the scout of the group, Natsukawa-san spotted a tower beyond the greenery, crumbling, yet clearly larger than the other ruins.
「Let’s explore the tower. There might be a Fairy Plaza, and we might be able to find sothing else as well.」
「Still, it doesn’t look like that’s our destination.」
「Yeah, but it’s not as if we’d be straying far off our route either. Even if there’s no Fairy Plaza, we could use it as our campsite for tonight, so long as it looks safe.」
「Yeah, quite a bit of ti’s passed already. We’d better sort out a campsite before it gets too late.」
After discussing it with Class Rep and coming to that conclusion, we followed Natsukawa-san's lead towards the tower.
「Bruh, this place kinda reminds of the Jungle Tower.」
「'ight.」
「It does feel kinda like that place.」
「For so reason, it feels terribly nostalgic. Even though it's just around three months ago.」
Moreover, the Totem Pole Trio along with Yamada, who’d once trekked through a jungle much like this one, was looking up at the tower and said those words with a rather nostalgic look on their face.
It must have been during their ti at that jungle tower that Momokawa got involved with Reina.
Every ti I thought back on it, the anger and regret from that mont would co flooding back. And yet, after being told that it was because of Reina that Yamajun died, I couldn’t bring myself to hate her, a tangle of conflicting emotions swirled inside .
Even so, thanks to Momokawa’s betrayal, I felt the hatred outweigh everything else now.
「… It seems there's no monster inside.」
「But there's no Fairy Plaza either, huh.」
There weren’t any treasure boxes either. At a glance, the interior seed to be safe enough, but without a Fairy Plaza, there was no absolute guarantee of safety.
Still, it was our best spot for tonight’s camp. Depending on the circumstances, it might even make a good base for our exploration.
「Sōuma-kun, co up here a sec! According to Takanashi-san, she can get so information about the ruins from this stone tablet!」
「Co to think of it, Kotori did operate a stone tablet before and got map data from it, didn’t she?」
「If it’s the sa as last ti, that’ll be a big help.」
Answering Natsukawa-san’s call, we headed straight up to the top floor.
There, we found Class Rep and Asuna already present, while Takanashi-san stood with both hands pressed against the wall, muttering sothing with her eyes shut.
Last ti it looked like so sort of altar, but this ti it seed to be a screen set into the wall.
To , it looked like nothing more than a stone wall, but Takanashi-san could probably tell the difference.
Before long, she let out a breath and took her hands away from the wall.
「What did you find, Takanashi-san?」
「Uhm, Souma-kun, the thing is————」
===
「————Damn it, what the hell is this place!?」
Kotori scread inwardly upon finding herself teleported to the ruined Fairy Plaza.
Normally, she should have erged straight into the lowest central section, the 『Central Tower』, leading straight toward the Heavenly Gate.
And yet, why had she been sent to the outer rim of the lowest level instead. She couldn’t believe she’d made a mistake with the teleportation settings.
===
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Honoured By All Immortals
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