On the way to school, Souma felt changes in his body.
(Power is surging from deep within. My dynamic vision has clearly improved too. I feel like I've become a superhuman.)
He felt like he could stop a speeding truck with one hand now. Of course, he just felt that way; he probably couldn't actually do it.
(I don't know how my status from Mistoria got reflected in reality. But regardless, I've become stronger. That much is certain.)
That was the important part for Souma.
(With this much power, no one will call me a dropout anymore!)
For the first time in a while, he was looking forward to going to school.
◇
Upon arriving at school, Souma moved to the first-year floor. This floor corresponded to a "classroom" in a typical school. There were no desks or chairs; it was closer to a gymnasium than a classroom. About 500 other first-year students had gathered.
"Today is individual training. Check the details on the dedicated smartphone app!"
Saitou spoke on behalf of the teachers. Following his words, all the students present took out their smartphones. Souma also checked his used smartphone, which he had bought cheaply.
『Kamishiro Souma: Self-Study』
Souma was shocked.
(Self-study... what?! Usually it's a simulation or a program to strengthen specific abilities!)
He looked around—
"Oh! Today is a simulation!"
"Lucky you. I've got strength enhancement."
"Great! I have magic training!"
The other students seemed the same as usual.
(I'm the only one who got this mysterious 'self-study' instruction...)
Souma immediately understood the intention.
(The school just wants me to drop out, huh. They probably mean well, but it's still painful...)
However, the next moment, he was thinking about something completely different.
(I'm not the same as yesterday. I wanted to know how strong I've become myself, so this is perfect!)
Souma approached Saitou.
"Kamishiro..."
Saitou frowned as soon as he saw Souma. He thought Souma was going to complain about the training being set to "Self-Study." But Souma's reaction was unexpected.
"Professor, can I also participate in the simulation?"
"Huh?"
"Self-study means I can do anything, right? Then I want to join the simulation."
Saitou couldn't believe his ears.
"Do you understand what the simulation is?"
"Yes. It's the practical training where you fight robots that mimic monsters in the training ground, right?"
"That's not all. There are monitors in the training ground that display scores. If you participate in the simulation, you'll inevitably be compared to the other participants, you know?"
Saitou was indirectly warning him, "You'll be humiliated." Of course, Souma understood that.
"No problem! I want to challenge myself to know my own abilities!"
"I see. So that's it."
Saitou misunderstood Souma's words.
(He wants to make sure he has no regrets before dropping out.)
Thinking that, Saitou nodded and said, "Alright."
"Kamishiro, I'll register you too. Today's simulation only has top students, so it'll be tough, but do what you can! Make sure you have no regrets!"
"Yes! Thank you, Professor!"
Souma bowed with a smile.
◇
The training ground was underground. It was enormous, the size of fifty Tokyo Domes. It recreated forests, rivers, hills, wastelands, and even the sky. A giant virtual monitor floated in the air.
Souma waited at an entrance to the training ground. There were multiple entrances, and participants were free to choose where to start. Besides him, there were a few other male students.
"Kamishiro, why are you here?"
"You'll just embarrass yourself, so why not drop out?"
"I heard they set the difficulty high today. You probably can't even defeat the robots."
The students hurled insulting remarks one after another. Souma didn't argue back, just shrugged it off with a "maybe." This seemed to annoy them, and they clicked their tongues and stopped talking.
『Prepare yourselves. Wait just a little longer.』
Saitou's voice came from the speaker overhead.
(It's been a while, so the rules are fuzzy. If I remember correctly, you get points for defeating enemies, but taking hits results in major point deductions.)
As Souma was thinking, the gate in front of him slowly began to open.
『Today's difficulty is set to maximum! Time limit is one hour! Simulation, start!』
The gate finished opening along with Saitou's words. In that instant, the students rushed into the training ground, each trying to be first.
(Me too!)
Though he was a step behind, Souma also dashed into the training ground. Directly in front was a forest, but other students were already fighting there. So he went straight ahead, aiming for a different field.
"Whoa! Look at Kamishiro's speed!"
"He's as fast as a track athlete!"
"Was he always that fast?!"
Those around were astonished by Souma's running ability.
(Oh! An enemy!)
Souma spotted a goblin-type robot. Despite being a robot, its appearance was almost identical to a normal goblin. The texture of its skin was perfectly recreated.
"Gobuu!"
The robot attacked Souma, making the same cry as a goblin. It moved its small green body nimbly, trying to scratch Souma with its thick claws.
(Maybe because the strength is set to maximum, its movements are sharper than a real goblin.)
Souma calmly drew his sword.
(But to me now, it's still a small fry!)
The enemy's movements appeared in slow motion to Souma. Even though he couldn't even track them with his eyes until yesterday.
"Ora!"
"Goboo!"
The robot ceased functioning in one hit. The sensation of cutting was just like a real goblin.
"Is this okay?"
Souma checked the monitor above.
『Kamishiro Souma: 120pt』
Points had been added properly.
"Seems fine."
Souma exhaled, saying "Good," and started running again. He moved to a wasteland with no other students and began defeating a large number of monsters.
(The points vary depending on the monster.)
The enemies in the wasteland gave higher points than the goblin-types he had defeated in the forest. They were correspondingly stronger, but to the current Souma, they were all equally weak.
(I understand my own ability now. The simulation enemies are too weak to be a challenge. I'll spend the remaining time figuring out which enemy gives the most points.)
Satisfied, Souma ran all over the vast training ground.
◇
The training ground monitoring room—a place like a secret base lined with numerous monitors.
Saitou, alone in there, was dumbfounded.
"Whoa, no way...!"
The points displayed for Souma on the monitor were rising dramatically. In the blink of an eye, he jumped to first place and continued to widen the gap with second.
"What's going on...?"
Saitou operated the machinery. The footage displayed on the central monitor switched rapidly. It was what the cameras installed throughout the training ground had captured.
After several switches, Souma appeared on screen.
"What is that strength?! Is that really Kamishiro?!"
He zoomed in on the monitor to check the face. No matter how he looked at it, it was undoubtedly Kamishiro Souma.
"He was a dropout until yesterday, so what happened?! Am I dreaming?!"
Saitou slammed his face down on the table. It just hurt, and he realized this was reality, not a dream.