Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Book 1: Chapter 26

It was just before noon.

It was July when the heat clings to your skin, making you sweat down your neck. A breeze that hinted at summer flowed swiftly into the hospital room through the open window, fanning the white curtains.

In the private room of the hospital where he was alone, Tenji muttered as he looked at the 'Book of Enma'.

"Yeah, no change."

[This part of the 'Book of Enma' has not changed since I completed Hell Quest.]

Added a red demon type: Goblin(5th grade) to the summonable hellbeasts page.

Added the Red Demon Series: Red Demon Sword (5th Grade) to the Summonable Hell Weapons page.

Added the Red Demon Series: Red Demon Ring (5th Grade) to the Summonable Hell Equipment page.

Added a status page for the Goblins.

The red demon species in the Hell realm changes to "1/2".

Points for converting magic gems are reduced from 55 to 47.

The currently executable Hell Quests page will change to a blank page.

Summon Goblin for 25 extra attack power.

25 extra attack power when wearing the Red Devil Ring

The points for the Demon gem Conversion had decreased by 8.

Tenji thought that this might have consumed 3 points from the demon lamp and natural water he got in the Hell Realm, and another 5 points from the summoning of the Goblin.

[I haven't got any proof yet, but I'm convicting on the assumption that this is probably the case for the change.]

[There were a surprising number of items that changed before and after Hell Quest, but to summarize briefly, the significant change was the addition of the Hell Beast and Red Demon series.]

These were originally going to be obtained as rewards for the Hell Quest, which was a big win for Tenji.

"I guess I was right about my strange calling after all."

Maybe he was just dreaming in his dying moments. Tenji thought so, but by checking the 'Book of Enma' again and again, he was able to know that he had truly awakened to his special calling: Hell Beast Summoning.

He slammed the book shut and let out a relieved breath.

At that time, a nurse - Imasaka Meimi - appeared in Tenji's hospital room.

She has bobbed brown hair with the ends curled outward, and she wears natural makeup with just a hint of a color, as if she doesn't spend much time on her makeup.

She was only about 150-150-ish tall, and combined with her childlike face, she was a nurse with the cuteness of a small animal.

[Oh, no, no,......, I'm just talking to myself.]

"Hmm, I brought you some food. Amagi-san hasn't eaten anything from mouth for three days, so make sure you eat properly, okay?"

"...... three days?"

Tenji couldn't help but let out a bare voice when he heard those words.

The nurse tilted her head curiously at the sight of such a patient.

"Huh? Didn't you hear from Nanasei-san? You were bed ridden in this hospital room for three days."

"Three days and...... that much sleep, me?"

"Yes, your sleeping face was pretty cute. Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. I am Mr. Amagi's incharge nurse, Imasaka Meimi. I'm looking forward to working with you starting today, okay?"

Tenji's incharge nurse, Imasaka Meimi, smiles as she places the pale-colored meal on the bedside table.

When told that he had been asleep for three days, Tenji realized that he did not eat anything for three days. When he found out, his stomach began to growl and Nurse Imasaka laughed at him.

"Hey, nice to meet you."

"Yes, please. I'll take the needle out then."

Nurse Imasaka explained this and then deftly removed the needle injection and put it away.

Then, having cleared her business, Nurse Imasaka turned to leave the ward.

"Oh, by the way, if you need anything, please call the nurse on the nurse's call, and I'll be back in half an hour to clear the dishes and explain more about the test then."

"I understand. Thank you."

"Yes, and you're going to eat it, okay?"

"Yeah...Sure."

He replied with a wry smile to Nurse Imasaka, who spoke to him like a mother, and left the ward.

Tenji looked away from the back of the room and looked at the food placed in front of him.

"I'll take......."

He picked up his chopsticks and ate from the miso soup on the tray.

He put the soup in his mouth all the way through, and the flavor was light, just like Nurse Imasaka said it would be.

Still, it was Tenji's first decent meal in three days, 21 if count the dungeon. It tasted so good it seemed to seep into his core.

"Delicious."

Tenji then forgot about himself and ate the meal in front of him.

[I was probably being fed through a needle, so it wasn't like I was starving to death, so the traditional Japanese dish satisfied my appetite.]

This was also probably due to the fact that Tenji's finances were on fire. It had been a long time since he had eaten a decent meal, and it really tasted good.

The only thing that burdened Tenji's mind was the fact that he was eating with other people's money.

"Phew, I wish I could eat more......"

He stared regretfully at the dishes, which have been empty for less than five minutes.

However, Tenji hadn't eaten anything full in his stomach in a long time, so he was a rare type that was used to this situation.

He always has a normal diet of six portions.

"Well, I'm just glad I got to eat something more nutritious than usual."

The buildings and high-rise apartments standing down the row looked familiar, and he was able to determine that this was the Ochanomizu Dungeon General Hospital, built near the Ochanomizu Dungeon.

However, the surrounding environment was full of greenery due to the hospital's history of support from the association and the national government. Even from his room, he could see people walking and children running.

[I guess I really did make it out alive.]

Tenji turned on the TV slowly, feeling deeply.

Switching the program to a news program, Tenji listened as they were just doing a report on the Ochanomizu Dungeon.

21 days ago, a medium-sized raid was formed under the leadership of Chariot Guild, and the dungeon attack began with a total of 34 players. The purpose of the Raid was unknown to them, but they were told that it was a request from a company that Chariot is close to.

Two days later, Raid was caught in a dungeon swell and trapped in what appeared to be a back dungeon, a difficult place to get out of.

Raid managed to find a way out, but just two weeks later they found the bodies of eight regular Chariot members. They were killed by an unknown spider-shaped monster, Queen Spider.

Then, unluckily, Tenji and the others encountered Black Keroberos. There, another one - Kage Uota - was killed.

Raid chose to escape, but Tenji was chosen by his classmate Inagaki Rui to be sacrificed as the tail of the Raid.

"Great job, Mr. Godo......., you're totally being treated like a hero."

The news program reported that three students from the Japan Explorers High School, had been brought back alive safely.

The reports contained falsehoods that were obvious to those in the know, but Tenji learned that the mass media can be just such falsehoods when pressured by the association and the government.

Yes, the only two people that Godo actually brought back alive were Asagiri Aika and Inagaki Rui.

"The first thing that came to mind is the fact that the Ochanomizu dungeon is a grade upgrade. From the fourth grade to the first grade dungeon,......, it looks like I won't be able to apply for the Ochanomizu Dungeon anymore."

For students to dive into the dungeon, it is only supposed to be a low grade dungeon.

If the dungeon was upgraded to first class, there was no way a student could pass the pre-application.

Tenji's shoulders slump a little when he learns this fact.

"I'm thinking of changing my base to Hachioji. Yokohama is a bit far."

Fortunately, Japan is known as one of the best dungeon nations in the world.

Unfortunately, there were no dungeons where you could get a lot of first-grade magic gems, but there were seven dungeons of second-grade or lower, and the number of dungeons that existed in one country was the highest in the world.

The fact that there are seven of them in such a small area has inevitably led to a boom in the Japanese tourist industry.

"Now..... I'm not sure if there's a chance that my application will not be approved. It's depressing."

He let out a sigh.

"Are you talking to yourself again?"

"Ah, Imasaka-san. I'm sorry, I've been talking to myself for a long time."

"I see~, I'll pretend I didn't hear that from now on."

"I'd appreciate it if you did. So, it's not quite time yet, but what have you got for me?"

"No, no, I just happened to pass by and saw that the dishes were empty, so I just came to clean them up. Well then, I'll clean up once and come back to explain again."

"Oh, yes. Please."

"Yes."

Nurse Imasaka quickly packed up the dishes and left the hospital room.

In the meantime, Tenji passes the time by flipping through the Book of Enma, even though he knows there will be no change.

Not more than a few minutes later, Nurse Imasaka brought him a document in a transparent file.

"Where were you looking?"

"What?"

"Unaware? Do you want me to examine you? You were kind of staring at something and just kind of blanked out, weren't you?"

"Oh, no. I was just kind of absentminded."

Tenji finally understood what Nurse Imasaka said.

While looking at the Book of Enma, which is invisible to others, he seems pouting from the side.

Tenji thought that he would have to find various ways to act.

"I see. Well, the tests we did while you were sleeping didn't show any abnormalities in your brain, so I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you feel any discomfort, please don't hesitate to tell us, okay? Because that's what we do."

"Yes, I will."

"I'll just quickly explain the inspections that we're required to do by the association. There are quite a lot of them. It seems that the association is quite concerned about Amagi-san's condition since you are a student at High School Student and the incident was covered by the press."

"But there were a lot of casulaties."

'Right. Well, oh! Sorry."

Nurse Imasaka apologized as if she had just realized.

There was no small number of deaths in this incident. Although it was reported that there were many survivors in Tenji and his group's Raid, there were actually nine deaths.

Realizing this, Nurse Imasaka realized that her words and actions had been thoughtless.

'No, I'm fine. I'm still an amateur explorer, so I'm prepared to die for myself and my companions."

"As a High School Student, your determination is different from mine. Then, let's cut the heavy talk short. We'll start with a general medical examination."

Nurse Imasaka then proceeds to explain the contents and purpose of the test in a one-sided manner.