I, Who Was Criticized as the World's Weakest S-Rank Explorer, Am Actually the World's Strongest Explorer - Episode 100

Episode 100

“Well, having you along does make me feel more secure… but if we’re heading to the 501st floor, even stronger monsters will appear. With your current level, Rin, they’re still opponents you can’t handle immediately.”

If I train her as we progress, that would be ideal. But it might take about a month.

I don’t want to keep that beautiful girl waiting too long.

Contacting Kiryu-san or me……….. something like this hasn’t happened before.

There’s a possibility there’s some kind of time constraint. So it’s better not to keep her waiting.

If she were an enemy… who knows what kind of moves she might make.

Rin lowered her gaze in frustration and nodded slowly. But shortly after, she nodded with a serious expression.

“…Got it.”

“Oh, right, Amakusa-kun. When you dive to the 501st floor, I’d like you to share the situation with us via video calls.”

“Understood.”

I agreed, as long as it didn’t interfere with combat.

I don’t know if that beautiful girl’s true nature will be captured on camera, but it might allow for information sharing.

“Well, let’s quickly check out what we wanted to investigate today and prepare to head back.”

“No need to rush so much.”

“No, no. Since Amakusa-kun will be tackling this during a weekday, I don’t want to interfere too much with your school life.”

Soutome-san said this as she stuffed bread into her mouth.

…Grateful for her consideration, I continued walking through the 101st floor.

When we reached the location Soutome-san wanted to investigate, Rin approached me.

“Teach me body enhancement.”

Rin suddenly said this.

“Body enhancement?”

“Yeah. …Against the monsters on this floor, if I let my guard down even a little, I’ll get taken out immediately. …I want to be able to move faster than them.”

…Indeed, it’s a straightforward approach. But if you can surpass your opponent in physical ability, you can manage somehow.

That’s pretty much how I fight too—raise my stats and overpower them.

I gave it some thought. Teaching body enhancement is fine, but abilities have clear strengths and weaknesses depending on the person.

In my case, body enhancement is my specialty. It’s about the only thing I can do well.

On the other hand, Rin’s specialty is ice-related abilities. Beyond that, she can use minor body enhancement or telekinesis.

Ability users generally have higher physical capabilities than ordinary humans, but Rin is…

“…Alright. I’ll teach you. But I can’t guarantee it’ll work out.”

“That’s fine. I want to try.”

Seeing Rin’s serious gaze, I let out a light sigh and nodded.

Soutome-san was a bit further away. She was engrossed in organizing data on her tablet.

While keeping an eye on her, I started teaching Rin about physical abilities.

“…That’s how you do it. How’s it going?”

I explained how I usually use my abilities and had Rin try them out immediately.

“…Body enhancement is definitely tough.”

“…It’s probably a compatibility issue.”

As I was thinking that, Soutome-san looked over at us.

“It’s better to learn through your body than through words.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should physically connect with Amakusa-kun and learn the flow of his magical energy.”

……….True.

I think that’s how I learned to use abilities for the first time as well.

“Want to try?”

“Y-yeah.”

Rin was looking slightly flustered. She approached and held out her hand.

…………..Now that I think about it, I didn’t really notice when I was a kid. But when you’re this age, physical contact is a little embarrassing.

Feeling slightly self-conscious, I reached out my hand.

It’s rare for me to stand shoulder-to-shoulder or touch someone my age. 

Being born as an ability user, I grew up in a different environment from ordinary kids. And during my time as an S-Rank Explorer, that was all I focused on.

I touched Rin’s fingertips. Soft. Is something wrong with me?

…It’s just training, I reminded myself.

Then, just like I usually do, I performed body enhancement.

Through my hand, she began trying to understand the sensation of body enhancement.

“Can you feel the flow of energy like this?”

Her hand trembled slightly. When I looked up, Rin’s cheeks were flushed.

“…………I kind of get it. But I don’t know if I can do it yet.”

“It’s always like that at first. Don’t rush it. Just take your time and explore the power within you.”

Rin gave a small nod and closed her eyes again.

Her face showed focus and determination.

…That said, there’s a chance I might also be able to use abilities I’m less skilled at.

Maybe I should ask her to teach me next.