In this Second Chance at Life, where I can see skills as clear as day, everything feels like a breeze. And to make it even better, I’m spending my days joyfully with my First Love. - Chapter 46

Three days after receiving the documents, on a Saturday, Ichika and I headed to the dungeon in Saitama to complete the job that offered a one-million-yen reward.

As expected, the JSDF accompanied us under the pretense of ensuring our safety. Of course, the real reason was likely to observe our abilities.

If even 1% of our power were revealed, it would cause an uproar, which was a hassle. Still, to summarize, we fully cleared the dungeon—boss included—without much delay.

There were two main reasons for this.

First, the monsters in the dungeon consisted primarily of goblins and orcs—weak monsters with levels maxing out at 20.

Even a level-999 monster doesn’t feel particularly strong from my perspective, but disregarding that, level-20 monsters are downright feeble.

Sure, being level 20 means they’re about ten times stronger than Koumei, who’s level 1, but it’s still just ten times. Even JSDF personnel equipped with firearms could easily crush them. I assume, anyway.

The second reason was…

“E-Eternal Force Blizzard…”

Ichika, blushing as she cast her spell, was a key factor.

Ichika had previously accidentally frozen the entire training ground during a magic control lesson.

With her level of magic, she could probably freeze the entire planet if she wanted to, so honestly, I think she showed remarkable restraint back then.

That aside, Ichika can freeze an area the size of a schoolyard. I can incapacitate groups of police officers with my intimidation. Both of these abilities were already known to the JSDF, so there was no longer any point in hiding them.

The monsters in this dungeon were so weak that simply unleashing a fraction of our power would cause them to faint from the residual effects of intimidation. Even a weakened ice spell from Ichika froze three floors of the dungeon at once.

I refrained from fully unleashing my stats since it would likely affect the JSDF personnel as well.

Instead, Ichika used her ice magic to annihilate the enemies, and we made it look like she needed to “recover her energy” afterward, taking breaks while the Hobbit Rabbit collected dropped items from the monsters.

Even the embarrassed chanting Ichika performed was part of the act to make her spell seem like a massive, taxing “grand magic.”

Whether this charade was effective or not remains unclear, but if word ever got out that Ichika had the power to freeze the entire planet, the entire world might conspire to kill her.

How they’d manage to kill someone with over ten quadrillion HP is another matter entirely.

In the end, the dungeon boss was only level 30. Ichika froze it effortlessly, and no extra boss appeared, marking the end of the exploration.

The dungeon itself didn’t disappear after being cleared. Perhaps it was because the extra boss wasn’t defeated?

“So, regarding the dungeon exploration request assigned to Yasushi Sashima—how far were they able to explore?”

“They defeated the boss and completely cleared it.”

“C-Complete clearance?!”

Defense Minister Nobuhiro Sato leaned forward in shock.

And understandably so. The monsters in that dungeon were notorious for being excessively tough, capable of deflecting bullets.

Even high-caliber rounds, which could pierce their thick hides, were costly to fire and required precise aim at the forehead to incapacitate them. Even then, the monsters wouldn’t die instantly and would still manage to attack, often injuring personnel.

Because of this, even the JSDF’s elite forces had struggled to deal with the dungeon, resulting in injuries and significant difficulty in making progress.

“How… how did they manage that?”

“Kobayashi Ichika froze everything…”

Froze everything? Ah, that must refer to the time during exploration class when she froze an entire hectare of land.

“And… anything else?”

“That’s all. Well… if I must add, after casting the spell, she said she needed to recover her magic power and spent the rest of the time flirting with Yasushi Sashima. Meanwhile, Sashima had the Hobbit Rabbit collecting the dropped items.”

“I see… I see…”

Muttering “I see” over and over like a mantra, Nobuhiro Sato, the Defense Minister, struggled to process his subordinate’s report. He had heard about their abilities before and had a vague understanding of them.

Yasushi Sashima, who could incapacitate fifteen police officers with his Intimidation skill, and Kobayashi Ichika, who could freeze monsters that even the JSDF had struggled against in a single instant. Not to mention Ichika’s healing magic, which could last for over three hours.

“And how did they conduct themselves in the dungeon?”

“They were, as usual, completely relaxed. In fact, since Ichika froze everything at the entrance, there wasn’t much need for caution in the first place.”

For them, freezing an entire floor of the dungeon was well within their capabilities. Expecting them to feel tension in such an environment was unrealistic.

“But still, they haven’t shown their full strength yet, have they?”

“No, sir. It’s estimated that they’ve revealed only about… thirty percent of their capabilities at most.”

The subordinate delivering the report wore an unsettled expression, which Sato fully understood.

Thirty percent…? That means each of them could potentially possess the combat power of 100 fully armed soldiers.

The idea that middle school students, in the volatile throes of adolescence, could wield power comparable to fighter jets was utterly terrifying.

In recent years, crimes committed by individuals with combat-oriented professions or skills had been on the rise, and society was becoming increasingly sensitive to the issue.

If Yasushi or Ichika were to lose control of their power, it wouldn’t be surprising if there were tens—no, hundreds—of casualties. Such an event would undoubtedly incite panic among the general population, 80% of whom held the “Villager” profession. This fear could spark movements to purge all non-“Villager” professions from society.

In fact, subtle signs of such divisions were already beginning to emerge.

If tensions escalated, it could lead to outright conflict between “Villagers” and individuals with combat-oriented professions.

And considering Yasushi and Ichika’s overwhelming strength, such a conflict would inevitably result in the non-“Villager” professions dominating and subjugating the “Villagers.”

Sato envisioned this dystopian future and shuddered at the thought.

In truth, Yasushi and Ichika were far more powerful than anything Sato could imagine—by a factor of a billion—but he had no way of knowing that.

“We need to start with a positive campaign! Emphasize that even among combat-oriented professions, only a tiny fraction of individuals commit crimes. Instead, we need to highlight how non-‘Villager’ professions actively contribute by defeating dungeons and combating skill-related crimes!”

“We should feature especially outstanding individuals in the media, framing skills and professions as allies of society!”

For that purpose, no expense, honor, or praise should be spared.

The recent dungeon exploration had yielded remarkable results: it marked the first dungeon boss defeated in Japan since the summer. Furthermore, research into using magical stones—items dropped by monsters like goblins and Hobbit Rabbits—as an energy source was progressing rapidly.

Dungeons could become an invaluable resource for Japan, which lacked domestic oil and coal supplies.

With such potential, securing funding for these initiatives would be relatively straightforward.

Confident in his plan, Nobuhiro Sato later approached Yasushi Sashima with a request:

“Would you consider appearing on television as a symbol of hope for humanity?”

However, Yasushi firmly refused.

No matter how much money he was offered, no matter the promise of fame or popularity with women, his answer was unwavering: “Absolutely not!”

In fact, when Sato mentioned the idea of becoming popular with women, he felt a chill so intense it was as if his spine had been frozen solid.

While Sato had hoped that Yasushi—whose name was already widely recognized—would be the perfect representative, he ultimately gave up to avoid alienating or angering him further. Not to mention, Yasushi was terrifying.

Instead, Sato decided to approach other individuals with combat-oriented professions for the campaign, though that is a story for another time.

However, despite Yasushi’s refusal, a newspaper article titled “Japan’s First Dungeon Boss Defeated!” inadvertently revealed his face to the entire nation. Such is the way of unintended fame.