Are Paper Cuts Really This Easy?... Never mind. I Take it Back.

Drip, step, step, drip, step, step, drip, step, step

It has been 40 minutes since my group entered, 10 of which were us walking. These caves are very spacious and rocky, and there are echoes of beastly cries penetrating our ears from all directions. This slight greenery, too, is both lush and mossy. If it weren’t for the staff members holding lanterns, we’d barely be able to see as the only light in here is from naturally glowing critters.

“Group B, formation!”

“What is it?”

“Is this our first battle?”

I shuffled to the side to try and see what it was. A group of around 4 werewolf-like beasts stood up ahead. I immediately recognized them as being around 3 chambers tall, or 36 feet.

“Musclemen, in front; swordsmen, unsheath; gunmen and mages, prepare in the rear.”

Mr. Nakajima’s voice was loud enough to be heard ordinarily, yet the cave made it sound louder through overlapping echoes. His Human aptitude shone brightly in situations like these, also being the reason why he was here with us at the very front. As far as our class was concerned, he was Rank 5, Acerbus in the Human aptitude.

“Oh, Hephaestus…”

“Oh, Zeus…”

“Oh, Poseidon…”

I took that as a cue to, instead of casting magic, take out and ready my gun.

I know my aim is worse than my magic, but in all honesty, I’m confident I’ll help more with a gun than by casting magic. Furthermore, with spells being used in such close proximity, the weaker they may turn out to be, although not by very much. I heard ‘Oh, Poseidon’ already, and since that’s my deity, my magic will probably turn out to be worse in any aspect that it already isn’t bad in.

“Quite the assortment of deities being called out, no?”

Ms. Shimizu chuckled a few meters behind me — we were in the rear. She was awfully buff for a female, yet it made sense that defied biology: it was her Musclewoman aptitude. She was a Rank 6, Virtus, most likely in the rear because she both had to — since Mr. Nakajima was in the front — and was obliged to defend us from any attacks from behind.

“Aaaah…choo—”

As she lost focus because of sneezing for God knows what reason, I heard something freeze behind me. I jerked my head back, at first seeing nothing except for Ms. Shimizu sprinting away and up the walls to, again, God knows where. I then, still curious, took a look at the floor.

What the…why is there…a frozen arrow down there?

I turned to my right, even more curious than before.

“Keep your guard up,”

A solidified voice spoke, unnaturally compelling me to grow wary of my surroundings. It was Aihara Mei.

“Oh…oh shoot, thanks for the help. I owe you my life; I hadn’t noticed, and could be—”

“Now is not the time for thank-you’s, Kurosawa; I said to keep your guard up for a reason, and it wasn’t for a conversation.”

“And here I thought we had connected through the intimate act of sharing ID cards.”

“Oh, be quiet, would you?”

“Attack!”

Mr. Nakajima’s voice boomed through the cave. A lot more booming came right after, with the running of swordsmen, shots of gunmen, and spells of mages. A beast had already fallen onto the floor with yet another boom.

Wow…it’s brutally wounded: covered in bullet holes, frozen in ice, burning in flames, pierced with stone, bleeding from slashes. On one hand, the barrage on the creature has me quite disgusted, really; on the other hand, the vast array of the results of varied weaponry all being collected in one spot has me…quite awestruck and enchanted.

“Don’t stop now!”

Boom……boom………boom…

One beast after another dropped. I myself had already reloaded my magazine twice, and I have also heard a few of the same spells be cast three times already.

“I think…it’s done now…”

I turned to my right to see Haruki, staring wide-eyed ahead at where we were all firing, hands loosely hanging at his sides.

“Group B…first attack…clear.”

As Mr. Nakajima spoke those few words, cheers erupted, although my nerves and I were too exhausted to partake in the celebration, both emotionally and physically.

***

It has only dawned upon me now that we have eliminated a pack of those werewolf-like beasts. It was pretty nerve-wracking in all honesty, but I am glad I feel a lot more relieved and at ease about paper cuts, having now experienced an encounter in one.

The paper cut, having been very large, still has me worried, as it means many people can enter, yet the difficulty can be extremely high. Although the size does not account for both equally, I’m glad our first battle was demanding enough to have me stressed and then relieved.

“That was quite the mini war — it was hectic being right next to them. I barely got myself to move, but once the beast at the very front had a foot frozen and an arm pierced, it made it much easier for me and the other musclemen to attack the beasts and defend the swordsmen.

Also, I thought I almost died at least twice — once when I got too cocky landing punches and almost got impaled and another time when one of the beasts almost stepped on me in a last ditch effort to crush me before toppling over,”

Ichikawa Sora passionately explained as we basked in our glory. We were heading deeper into the cave system.

Cccrrraaaaaawwwww

A leathery blur burst off the wall, screeching like broken glass and bending its wings to make it more aerodynamic. My heart skipped a beat.

Gun!

I reached for my pistol, but right when I got it out of my waistband, I fumbled it…and it slipped.

Shit, shit, shit, not like this — it’s going straight towards my neck!

I reflexively held my hands, elbows up, to protect my head and looked away.

Bang bang…

I was trembling. I lumbered a step backwards and creaked my head to where the shots were fired from. I then grew more embarrassed yet somewhat pleased.

“Unlucky! Had I not been there, you’d be dead! It is a paper cut, so I recommend you stay wary. I’m not saying it’s your fault, but I also am. Stay vigilant, alright-y?”

Although I was still mentally recovering, my eyes got a treat. It was Fujimoto Yui. She was in the middle of a small group of gals who, just before this, were conversing with Fujimoto.

I glanced over their faces, and some were confused while some were disgusted.

“Y-yes, Fujimoto. Thanks for saving me…”

***

As we marched on, I thought on about what had happened a few moments ago.

Indeed, I won’t deny building relationships with a few girls; hell, I love to. However, I could have at least made better impressions.

Aihara saw me as unaware and taking things unseriously, almost dying, and the Goddess Fujimoto Yuri’s first interaction with me was saving me from death from a small, winged creature while we were all walking, again appearing to be inattentive and unserious. Seriously, if I want to build a harem, I need to save them, not be sav—

“Over there!”

“Is that it!?”

I snapped out of it and tilted my head upwards. I was again entranced.

I can see the paper cut all the way over there! It never fails to be a spectacle, and now even more so as it means we are done.

“Group B, guards up!”

Huh?

I regained focus and thoroughly looked at the front of the paper cut. There, about 10 brown and vomit-green ogres who were around 2 chambers — 24 feet — tall each hunched around, mock-battling each other with stone and raw-iron clubs. I realized, along with both staff members and probably the entire group, that a few had already noticed us.

“Formation!”

“Holy…!”

“What in gods’ names!?”

“How are we this unlucky — do we die here?”

“Guys, we are students of Stranfhash Academy. We shall not falter to some ogres when we are at the brink of a great first exploration!”

Her voice demanded obedience, resembling Aihara Mei’s inhuman motivation. I glanced over and saw Okabe Reina.

Oh, wow, it’s her: the girl who is most known for achieving Rank 6, Virtus as a communicator and, less notably, achieving Rank 4, Artifex as a wizard.

Now that I look at her, her smooth, tanned skin complements her glaring hazel eyes and determined demeanor. Her similarly colored brunette hair is complemented by her skin tone, too, and she…this is obviously to not have Haruki explain it to me as he once has…has E-cup breasts…probably.

“Get ready for battle!”

Mr. Nakajima and Ms. Shimizu shouted together. My head snapped forward.

There is no escaping it now. Let’s hope we all exit capable of walking.