Chapter 4: The World Stirs

Dungeon Busters — LNCrawler · All chapters

[Vatican State]

The emergence of the dungeons—and the monsters within—shook the religious world as much as it did the political. The president of Gamerica issued an executive order prohibiting the establishment of any new religious groups within the States, the city in the Middle East that held the status of being a holy city for the world’s three largest monotheistic religions saw record numbers of pilgrims, confessions at churches spiked, and people flocked to Sunday worship.

However, regardless of how many prayers were lifted up, no god descended to bestow salvation. Why were the heavens silent in the face of an event that seemed so convincingly like the end times? Day after day, adherents lifted their faces to the skies as unease roiled in their hearts.

The world’s largest religion, Christianity, had around 2.4 billion believers, roughly 1.3 billion of whom professed adherence to the Catholic Church. The seat of authority of the Church, Vatican State, was purported to have been established here in the year 326 AD when Constantine the Great built the first St. Peter’s Basilica. Ever since then, this location has greatly influenced the history of not only Europe but that of the rest of the world. Even today, it continues to hold enormous sway on a global scale despite having a population of only around eight hundred people and no armed force.

Of course, the Holy See did indeed command remarkable military influence many centuries past. Part of it was in the form of three specific orders of knighthood that played pivotal roles in the Crusades of the 11th to 13th centuries. And today, these orders were still in existence in the form of chivalric orders.

＊＊＊

Back on a certain day when the news of Ezoe Kazuhiko and his Dungeon Busters achieving the world’s first-ever dungeon clear was still sweeping through the world, the Papal Palace saw the grand masters of three major chivalric orders kneeling before a man who appeared to be in his seventies.

“August Kramer, grand master of the Knights Hospitaller, here in response to Your Holiness’s summons.”

“Jeanne Bonaparte, grand master of the Teutonic Order, here in response to Your Holiness’s summons.”

“Philippe de Périgord, grand master of the Knights Templar, here in response to Your Holiness’s summons.”

The person they were kneeling before was, of course, none other than the supreme pontiff and chief pastor of the Catholic Church, Pope Francesco himself. The pope nodded in acknowledgment of the greetings and sent his head secretary a look. The man bowed once, then stepped out of the room.

“It warms my heart to see three great orders that have supported the Church throughout history gathered again here at the Papal Palace. Thank you for responding to my summons.”

“You honor us with your words, Your Holiness,” the three kneeling figures said in unison as they bowed their heads in response to the pope’s words of gratitude.

The old man nodded once more, then continued, “A great and terrible tribulation has befallen not only the Church but the world at large. The Lord does not give us more than what we can handle. However, the hearts of men are weak. The faith of many is being shaken by the looming threat of the dungeons. They seek guidance. This is why I have gathered all of you here today in the capacity of the grand masters of the three largest chivalric orders. Just as you once took up arms to recover the Holy Land, I now call on you to raise your flags and clear the dungeons.”

“Permission to speak, Your Holiness?” asked Grand Master August Kramer of the Knights Hospitaller, his head still bowed.

The pope expressed his permission, prompting the three leaders to lift their heads.

Grand Master August continued, “Our orders still bear their historic names, but we no longer possess the military might we did during the Crusades. Although our faith is just as strong, many of our members are in positions of responsibility within their respective communities. If the aim is to confront the dungeons that are currently shaking up the entire world, it is my humble opinion that we would be better served choosing young blood possessing equally fervent piety.”

These three great orders had once been inexorable forces that took Europe and the Middle East by storm during the Crusades and the Reconquista. Now, however, they were little more than social clubs for those who had been awarded for some merit or another. Naturally, the large majority of their members were rather advanced in age and unsuitable for doing actual fighting as dungeon adventurers. The pope was fully aware of this.

“Select two candidates around twenty years of age from each of your orders. I understand that many of the younger believers may not be as diligent in attending mass regularly. However, neither these dungeons nor the creatures within are mentioned in the scriptures. What is truly needed here are flexible and adaptable minds.”

“Your Holiness, I am in full agreement with the idea of selecting the younger generation for this task,” Grand Master Philippe de Périgord of the Knights Templar opined. “However, the Eurocorps is already handling the guarding and investigating of the dungeons. Do you mean for the candidates we select to become a part of the EU dungeon adventurer initiative that will be established soon?”

It was not much longer until the IDAO would be ratified, after which the initiative for developing and managing dungeon adventurers from the European sphere would begin in earnest. This initiative, which was based off of the experimental model currently being tested in Japan, was expected to see very large numbers of applicants. What Philippe de Périgord was hinting at through his question was the fear that the orders’ candidates would simply become buried within the sheer numbers. The other two grand masters nodded, indicating that they shared the same worry.

The pope’s answer, however, took a turn that none of them had expected. “It is true that the European initiative will be beginning soon. However, many countries have made almost no progress in the clearing of their own dungeons during the six months that this phenomenon has been taking place. What we are seeking to form here is a group that will serve as the Lord’s vanguard, a group that will brandish the flags of the orders while standing on the front lines. The best way to enable them to do so would be, of course, to study under the most powerful adventurer there is, the man who knows the most about the dungeons.”

“You mean... To Japan...?!”

The pope smiled and nodded at the surprised expressions on all three grand masters’ faces, then adopted an authoritative air. “Francesco, Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei, command the grand masters of the three great chivalric orders: Select one male and one female from each of your orders. They will form a team named Crusaders and be the vanguard that will clear dungeons in the name of our Lord.”

“As you command, Your Holiness.”

This was the historic moment when the Dungeon Crusaders, a team that would command fame on par with the Dungeon Busters, was born.

◇ ◇ ◇

[The Republic of Woori — The Blue House]

The government of the Republic of Woori had an executive branch headed by a president, under whom was a prime minister who took care of most of the administrative duties. The counterpart to Japan’s Ministry of Finance was their Ministry of Economy and Finance, Japan’s Ministry of Defense was Woori’s Ministry of National Defense, and so on and so forth.

At the end of 2019, a brand new ministry was established—the Ministry of Dungeons. This was when Japan, the country that had rolled out the world’s first civilian dungeon adventurer initiative, had still treated its dungeon-related decision-making body as a mere bureau under their Ministry of Defense. Similarly, Gamerica had also placed its counterpart organization under the authority of their Department of Defense. Consequently, President Park Jae-in had been very vocal in declaring that “Our country is the first in the world to establish a top-level administrative body specialized to deal with the dungeons. Before long, our governmental policies on the dungeons will become the global standard!”

With the help of the Ministry of National Defense, the areas surrounding the dungeon entrances were cordoned off and a program for civilians to register as adventurers—called Dungeon Training—was implemented. The general rule was that the Ministry of Dungeons would purchase all resources obtained from the dungeon, including magic stones and monster cards, and then adventurers could buy back the cards they needed. Online, this was bashed as a direct copy of what Japan was doing with the exception of being led by a minister and buying all cards equally. Of course, the Woorian government strongly insisted that they were employing unique policies that were not influenced in any way by those of any other countries.

“Mr. President, the first round of the Dungeon Training has been scheduled for the end of March. The Ministry of National Defense will also be involved. However, we are having trouble convincing Milae Motor Company to cede us the land where Seoul Dungeon is located. As a result, the program’s launch will be held at the dungeon that appeared within Jagalchi Market in Busan.”

“They were planning on building their new headquarters on that land, right? The emergence of the dungeon should have rendered the plot entirely useless in that regard. And it’s not as if we are asking them to give us the land for free. Why is Milae still refusing to sell?”

Back in 2015, Milae Motor Company, Woori’s biggest car manufacturer, had purchased the land of Koria Electric Power Corporation’s previous headquarters in Gangnam, Seoul for the astronomical price of ₩10.5 trillion. Milae’s plan had been to use the land to construct at 105-floor “global business center.” However, Seoul Dungeon had appeared right before they were about to begin construction. When it had gotten out that this plot Milae had invested so much money into practically lost all book value overnight, the company’s stock had plunged. This was what had prompted them to approach the Woorian government in hopes of selling it.

“Milae is asking for ₩15 trillion, but according to market price in the Gangnam area, the land is worth only ₩400 billion. Our negotiations with them are at a standstill because of the steep difference in valuation. What’s more, the labor union appears to be against the sale, and their management is also afraid of being held responsible for losing the company massive sums of money.”

“It’s Milae’s own fault for buying the land at three times the appraisal price back during the bidding in 2015. It only makes sense for whoever arranged that purchase to be held responsible. I give you permission to use the power of the state if you have to. Worst case, we can take advantage of this as an opportunity to dissolve the Milae conglomerate altogether.”

President Park Jae-in ended his words with a “they had it coming” expression on his face. As an advocate of a progressive civil society, he considered every last massive conglomerate an evil giant contributing to the oppression of the common man.

“Make sure to finish the negotiations surrounding Seoul Dungeon by June. Japan might have gotten the jump on us in regards to dungeon clearing, but don’t worry too much about it. The whole thing about the Monster Stampede is probably fake in the first place. Chances are that Japan’s just made it up as a pretext for bolstering their military. The Kingdom of Ko has also expressed similar worries.”

President Park looked at his aide to make sure that he was listening closely, then continued. “I am aware that Ko has yet to respond to our attempts to reach out to them in regards to reunification and on cooperating on the issue of the dungeons. However, once our policies are working smoothly and producing results, they will surely come to the negotiating table. Once we rack up more dungeon clears than Japan, the UN will be the one to approach us and ask us to join the IDAO. There is a very real possibility that we can push Japan aside to seize the position of global leader ourselves.”

If Director General Ishihara had been present, she would have shot President Park the most exasperated look ever and asked “Do you realize how stupid you sound?” to his face. Unfortunately, he meant every word he said.

And this was how the Republic of Woori decided to strike off on its own path.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Kawaguchi Junichi]

When the Japanese minister of foreign affairs, Kawaguchi Junichi, got the report about Woori breaking its Mutual Defense Treaty with Gamerica and focusing its efforts on appeasing and reunifying with Ko, he almost passed out. In light of Gamerica’s withdrawal from the Eastern Theater, it only made sense for Japan and Woori to now join hands, if only for the sake of maintaining mutual national security. Instead, the pro-unification President Park Jae-in seemed to think this an opportunity to push for peace on the Korian peninsula.

“A commonwealth state with a one country, two systems model? Does he really think he can make it happen?”

Two things are absolutely necessary for a country to continue running: authority and political power. Whereas authority is the force that binds the citizenry into one people and makes them identify as a member of the country, political power is what shapes the specific structure of the government and, in developed countries, legitimates the rule of law.

Depending on the era and culture, authority has taken on wildly different forms. Just as Bryten has its royal family, the Middle East has its religion. The Soviet Union attempted to tout communism as an embodiment of authority, but this failed to permeate into the social consciousness and merely devolved into a reign of terror. There have been many historical examples of efforts at combining authority and political power into a single lineage at once, with every single one ending in absolute disaster. It’s all in the texts. The only reason why Japan has managed to remain in existence long enough to be one of the oldest countries in the world is because throughout most of its history, it has had authority attributed to a lineage while political power lay elsewhere.

The modern equivalent of the emperor is a president. The citizens practically select one person and go “you can have both authority and political power for this limited period of time.” However, the absence of a long-standing historical foundation, like what Japan and Bryten have, leaves these positions with a much weaker unifying force. One way to make up for this is by establishing an external enemy. Another is by setting up policies that cultivate nationalistic pride in the country’s history and culture. As an example of the former, Gamerica, which has a short history, focused on creating external enemies. In contrast, Franz, which has a long history, focused on bolstering its prestige through its culture. These very same motivations lay behind Woori’s persistent efforts on painting Japan as an enemy and its claims on being the origin of numerous cultural things in Japan, with some examples being kendo, karate, enka, and sushi.

In the year 2019, all countries around the world experienced a threat that greatly shook up their internal politics: the appearance of the dungeons. These spaces of complete mystery were filled with monsters that might possibly overflow one day. Details aside, this phenomenon itself was more than enough to make people fear for their survival. This sense of danger was perfect for bringing a country of people together. The reason why Gamerica had reverted to the Monroe Doctrine was because it no longer had a need for external enemies.

At the current point in time, however, this sense of crisis was still quite low on average throughout the world. Most people had difficulty internalizing trouble that they felt was still far away, and the same was true of many of the nations in East Asia that had relied on adopting an anti-Japan stance for national stability—the Kingdom of Ko, the Republic of Woori, and the Oriental Republic of Sina were particularly of note. That said, these three countries had each seen significant changes of their own within the last three months. For example, in Sina, the country seeing record numbers of dungeon emergences, both the government and citizens were really beginning to take the impending threat seriously. Even the demonstrations that used to break out frequently were gradually decreasing in scale.

“Now that our security treaty with the US has practically been revoked, we will need to strengthen our ties to Sina if we are to have any hopes of maintaining regional security here in East Asia. But how far can we trust them? I’d like to hope that they’d at least be better than Ko and Woori, but... I can only hope that something useful comes out of President Zhou’s visit to Japan.”

The emergence of the dungeons was greatly shaking up not only national power balances, but international ones everywhere around the globe as well. The task of navigating these rapidly shifting waves was a heavy burden indeed. The foreign affairs minister picked up his extension phone to call up his administrative vice-minister.

◇ ◇ ◇

[The United States of Gamerica — The White House]

As the leader of the world’s greatest economic and military power, the president of the United States of Gamerica naturally had to think about many global issues. The emergence of the dungeons did not magically resolve existent economic, diplomatic, and national security issues. This was especially true of the economic issues, which were something that the current man in office, President Ronald Howard, was especially sensitive towards, being a multi-billionaire and former real estate mogul himself.

“According to intel from the CIA,” an aide reported, “diplomatic relations between Sina and Japan have seen sudden drastic improvement after the ratification of the IDAO. Although the distribution of Japan’s exports of semiconductor parts still seem largely unchanged, we predict that they will be stepping up cooperation with Sina on the development of policies and infrastructure related to the dungeons.”

President Howard leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and scowling. The economy of Gamerica was still going rather strong in spite of the assault of the dungeons. The problem, however, was that the country was very blatantly behind Japan in terms of policies for actually dealing with said dungeons. Take the magic stones, for example. Whereas Japan had already completed a working prototype of a hydrogen energy power plant, Gamerica had yet to even finalize its dungeon adventurer policy. The main reason for this was the issue of ownership of the dungeons.

More than ten dungeons had emerged in Gamerica so far. The ones that were on public government property like roads and parks were fine. In contrast, the ones that had appeared on private property... Well, to put it mildly, the property owners were resistant. Some wealthy magnates with sharp senses had immediately gone around buying the dungeons up as soon as they’d heard about the magic stones possibly serving as a source of fuel. And in this country that touted capitalism and individualism, it was very difficult for the government to seize land from the citizens. As a result, there were now litigations in the double digits relating to usage charges of the dungeons and ownership rights over magic stones and monster cards.

“The owners of the land where Seattle Dungeon and Atlanta Dungeon are located have straight-out refused entry to us, so we have zero information on them,” added another aide. “Exploration of Los Angeles Dungeon and Chicago Dungeon is underway, but there’s been no progress past Floor 2. As there’s no way to bring guns in, the soldiers are forced to fight using swords and bows like in the Middle Ages.”

A third man continued, “We have received petitions from pharmaceutical companies to replace the complete ban on using dungeon-produced items above ground and with a permit system. In addition, there are liberal groups fiercely protesting the ban on usage of magic above ground as a violation of personal freedom. In contrast, academic experts have advised caution—”

President Howard slammed his table in frustration and roared, “Everyone is just saying whatever they want! Japan has already passed whatever laws they needed to give the state control over the dungeons, and they’ve even reached the lowest floor of one. Their research is making incredible progress. Why can’t we do what they’re doing?!”

Technically, as president, he did have the authority to issue an executive order to forcibly seize all the dungeon locations. However, this would undoubtedly set off a whole storm of litigation and negatively affect his chances for reelection at the end of the year. The so-called “country of freedom and justice” that he loved so much was currently hanging itself with the noose that was its public posture.

◇ ◇ ◇

[The Oriental Republic of Sina — Zhou Haoran]

The history of the Oriental Republic of Sina was long. Ever since the rise of its first dynasty, the Xia dynasty, four thousand years ago, the Sinese people had played an enormous part in the history of the Asian continent. However, the story of this country was that of a repeated pattern of establishing a new dynasty, gradual decline due to corruption, and eventual collapse in a cycle that the Sinese referred to as “losing Heaven’s Mandate.” This was markedly different from Japan’s history, which saw the maintenance of authority more or less within a single chain of lineage for two thousand years running.

Currently, Sina was finding itself at the very same crossroads yet again. After World War II, Meng Zemin had defeated the Republic of Sina and set himself up as a symbol of authority—a sort of communist emperor, some might say. Once the chaos from the failed Cultural Revolution came to a head and Meng Zemin himself had died, Sina had realized that it needed a different way to unify its peoples. And this was what Tao Changwen’s reforms were. However, that alone proved insufficient to unify this great land and all its peoples, which was why anti-Japan policies were adopted. It was meant to be an outlet for the people’s frustrations due to the issues that arose from the rushed introduction of a market economy. This was truly the perfect illustration of bread and circuses politics.

However, the unnatural fusion of a single-party regime and a market economy caused discontent to foster among the citizens, the dregs building up in their hearts. The rapid economic development led to both pollution and corruption. In a democratic country, problems like pollution due to corruption might have been curbed by equal voting rights, but there were no checks and balances under a single-party regime. As a result, pollution ran absolutely rampant.

To make matters worse, increasing ease of access to the internet also served to amplify sentiments of disgruntlement. By law, demonstrations were forbidden in Sina—anti-Japan demonstrations were all arranged by the government. However, ever since the turn of the century, the discontent among the citizens came to a head in countless flashpoints where demonstrations still broke out in defiance against the law—being illegal, these were branded as riots. The situation reached a point where there were tens of thousands of riots every year, and the fate of the country seemed to be going the way of the Han and Qing dynasties after the Yellow Turban Rebellion and White Lotus Rebellion respectively.

It was within such chaotic circumstances that the seventh representative head of state assumed office. As he did, Zhou Haoran swore in his heart, “I shall become Wang Anshi,” in reference to the politician who had fully dedicated himself to the revitalization of the Northern Song dynasty.

The first order of business was to reestablish authority. In order to achieve this, Zhou Haoran emulated the founder of modern Sina, Meng Zemin, and wrote his own name into the Sinese constitution to set himself up as the country’s unifying force. At the same time, he imposed strict political reform and launched a thorough eradication of all corrupt bureaucrats within the party. Learning through Wang Anshi’s failure in the Song dynasty era, Zhou Haoran moved slowly and quietly, yet in an inexorable manner that brooked no resistance.

“Just cracking down isn’t enough. I need to make the citizens believe that they are now living in the golden age of the country’s history...”

What he sought was precisely hegemonic stability. Furthermore, he attempted to further expand Sina’s sphere of influence by advancing on the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands. The stronger Sina’s economy became, the better it could stand on equal footing with Gamerica. Eventually, this Eastern state would become the undisputed leader of all Asia.

Zhou Haoran’s plan was to build up his own authority by presenting this view of the future to the people. However, just as things were proceeding smoothly, a wrench was thrown into his strategy. This was, of course, the emergence of the dungeons.

“So, where are the locations of the new dungeons from this wave?”

“Including Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macao, a total of twelve new dungeons emerged this time, bringing the total in our country to sixty-five. After we started offering a monetary reward for reporting the appearance of new dungeons, the number of reports have risen significantly.”

Zhou Haoran nodded in response before once again verbalizing the future that he now envisioned. “All adventurers must become members of the Communist Party. In the meantime, the lower branches of the People’s Liberation Army established for the purpose of clearing the dungeons are to continue with their efforts. Any and all new developments are to be reported immediately. Information relating to the Monster Stampede is classified as strictly confidential. Do not give the people any basis for hope in destruction—the only hope is in the Communist Party.”

“Mr. President, what shall we do about the adventurers that will be entering our country according to the terms of the IDAO pact?”

“They’ll be coming, but not for quite a while yet. Even Japan is a ways off from clearing the dungeons within their own country. Our main focus for now is to restore relations with Japan. It is the dungeons that are the true enemy of our country and our people. The more we clear, the more we will prosper.”

“Aside from being advanced in their handling of their dungeons, Japan is also ahead in their development of hydrogen energy technology. However, it will likely be difficult to convince them to yield to any requests we make in light of the Gamerican forces stationed in Okinawa still being in place.”

“I think so too. What we want is the hydrogen energy technology and the know-how for training dungeon adventurers. Conversely, what Japan wants is stability in East Asia—especially to keep Ko and Woori in check. The most effective path of action would be to forge a new Sina-Japan treaty of friendship and sign a security treaty with them. That said, the latter might prove difficult, considering how they are also friendly with Formosa. What incentives can we offer?”

“The treaty of friendship wouldn’t be easy either. At the bare minimum, they will definitely request the closing of the Nanjing Memorial Hall, the banning of dramas and movies expressing anti-Japanese sentiment, and the renunciation of our claims to the Diaoyu Islands and other claims in the East Sina Sea. If we concede anything more, there will be backlash from our citizens.”

The idea of a tax break was also floated around, but the friction in trade with Gamerica was taking quite the toll, and the problem of shadow banking was also starting to rise to the surface. As it turned out, Sina’s economy was in direr straits than it seemed.

“How about offering to address problems regarding intellectual property, such as copyright, image rights, and trademarks? This is something that the UN and Japan have both been pressuring us on anyways, so why don’t we take this as an opportunity to formulate policies in this field and begin enforcing them?”

Zhou Haoran sighed inwardly as he listened to his bureaucrats’ discussion. The country of Sina was massive and home to a staggeringly high population. Modernizing this nation would likely take another hundred years. The fact that what they had to bring to the negotiation was not “what they can do” but rather “stopping all the harassment that they had been doing so far” was, under normal circumstances, a matter of shame. However, this was still better than coming to the table entirely empty-handed.

“All that’s left is to see how effective these measures will be against Urabe Seiichirou,” Zhou Haoran murmured under his breath, out of earshot of his subordinates.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Tsukuba Research Center]

Both government and academia were jointly involved in the experimental development of a cyclical hydrogen energy generation system at the Ministry of Defense’s research facility in Tsukuba. Having already completed the trial runs of the massive hydrogen-fired gas turbine that served as the heart of the entire plant previously, the team was currently finalizing the circulatory apparatus. The idea was that magic stone powder would be introduced to water to generate hydrogen, the hydrogen would be burned to react with oxygen—this being the part of the process that generates energy—and revert to water, after which the water could be re-introduced to the beginning of the system all over again. This was the basic flow of the cyclical hydrogen energy generation system that the team was striving to perfect.

This process could generate massive amounts of energy with great combustion efficiency, and there was a much lower chance of causing a catastrophe than nuclear power plants. Combining this with the fact that it did not create carbon emissions or generate nuclear waste made it seem pretty much a dream energy source.

“We are currently commencing the final test. Magic stone reactor, on!”

A stick of compressed powdered magic stone was slowly lowered into a pool. Water was broken down into oxygen and hydrogen gas, with the two being directed to the turbine.

“Turning on the turbine!” cried the operator as he triggered the lighting of the hydrogen flame.

The turbine would spin faster or slower to draw in the requisite amount of gas in response to the amount of power being demanded, quite similar in principle to how car engines functioned. The officials and scientists watched as the turbine started moving and the generator kicked into gear. After being burned, the hydrogen gas and oxygen gas bonded to revert to being water, which was smoothly sent back to the original reactor chamber.

The pointers on the panel of dials climbed higher and higher. Soon enough, the special light bulb set up within the control room lit up.

“No abnormalities detected in either the reactor or turbine! It’s a success!”

The researchers and technicians who had been watching with bated breath erupted into applause and cheers. This was the historic moment when the country of Japan obtained complete energy independence.

◇ ◇ ◇

[The Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau — Ishihara Yukie]

“I probably can’t refuse this, can I?”

The director general of the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau, Ishihara Yukie, sighed as she crossed her long, shapely legs. What the man currently before her, the director of the International Policy Division, had just placed on her desk was a matter far beyond what she, as a mere director general, could have a say about.

The request itself was quite straightforward. Now, if this had been from Gamerica or some other country, Japan would have been able to dismiss it out of hand. The Holy See was not a UN member state, which naturally meant that it was not a IDAO constituent either. Due to its very limited size, it did not have its own dungeon. Part of the motivation behind this move might indeed have been from the spirit of service that the clergy felt as part of their station, but it was clear that there was at least a certain degree of intentionally taking advantage of the situation to bolster the authority of the Catholic Church.

The director of the IPD added, “This is an official request that the Holy See made to our government through formal channels. What’s more, I have heard word that the Imperial Household Agency has also received a personal missive from the pope for His Imperial Majesty, though I have yet to confirm the veracity of this rumor.”

In response, Ishihara clicked her tongue. Due to being the symbol of authority, which was strictly separated from political power, the emperor of Japan would never speak out on matters of politics. However, he would, at times, make it easy to discern his will. If word got out about the personal missive, then chances were that it had been intentionally leaked as a roundabout way to influence the final decision of the government.

“No need to tell me. I know there’s no dodging it. The three great Christian chivalric orders are gathering on the pope’s command to declare a crusade on the dungeons? There’s no greater cause! And if we are to turn this down, we would be making enemies out of all 1.3 billion Catholics around the world.”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also pressuring us to fully comply with the Vatican’s request. However, it remains to be seen whether Dungeon Busters, Inc. will actually accept or not...”

“The aim of these Crusaders is to eventually clear dungeons and become Busters, so I’m sure Dungeon Busters wouldn’t be able to say no. What’s more, this would serve as great publicity for them, and they get to build a cooperative relationship with the EU. They stand to gain a lot here. That said, it is not entirely without risk...”

One risk would be that of Ezoe Kazuhiko being exposed as First Contacter. However, the possibility of this could be greatly mitigated if he instead assigned the other members, such as Shishido Akira, with the training of the Crusaders. The newest members of the group were already Rank D and would likely become Rank C by April. Their company website had videos explaining their training methods, but the contents were nothing short of sheer insanity. Their training regimens put even those of the Special Forces Group to shame.

“It says here they will be arriving sometime in March. Please compile the profiles of all six candidates. I’ll need them to convince Ezoe-san, and we ourselves will also want their information on file.”

Having seemingly expected this request, the director pulled out a few documents from the folder that he had been carrying.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Kanazawa Dungeon — Ezoe Kazuhiko]

Three days had passed since we had first gathered in Kanazawa Dungeon. During that time, we had defeated more than seven thousand elder orcs in total and used more potions that we could count. We had turned into killing machines that existed only to fight.

After every twenty fights, we held a reflection session, came up with ideas to improve, and put them into practice. Even I had started to suspect that I might be going mad. Emily, Liu Fengguang, Myu, and Purin had all reached Rank B. One difference between cards—both character and monster—and humans was that the latter would see no growth just from absorbing Enhancement Element. After a staggering amount of time and a maddening number of fights, I only felt the slightest of growth in myself. The rate of improvement was conspicuously slower than it had been when I’d been Rank F working towards Rank E. At this rate, I was almost sure that reaching Rank S would require killing hundreds of billions of monsters. If this were an RPG, I would have maxed out all my stats long ago.

“BUMOOOOOOHHH!”

I parried the falling saber with my shield and drove Zantetsuken forward into my opponent’s heart. Its eyes drained of life and its body quickly disappeared into smoke. It had already been some time since I had become proficient enough to get each encounter down under three minutes. Now, I was fighting while trying out various moves in an attempt to expand my repertoire of fighting techniques. I didn’t even feel the 100 kg that I was wearing anymore.

“Ho ho ho! You’ve finally done it!”

Name: Ezoe Kazuhiko

Title: First Contacter, Species Limit Breaker, First Buster

Rank: B

Possession Limit: 5,329 / ∞

Skills: Card Gacha (585), Recovery Magic, Inducement, Teleportation, (Empty), ______

When Akira and I had killed around eighteen thousand elder orcs between us, I finally reached Rank B. This rank up had taken me more than five months, all things considered.

“Aww, I’d sort of expected it, but you really did get to it before me. How much longer do you think it would take me, Aniki?”

“You’ve already caught up to him quite significantly, Akira,” Shifu Liu interjected. “At this rate, your rank up will probably be tomorrow. Go on, Ezoe. Are you not going to select your new skill?”

“Uhh... I’m a bit tired now. I’ll do it once I cool my head some.”

“Ezoe-sama, you look unwell. How about lying down for a while?”

I decided to take Akane’s advice and call it a day. Right after teleporting to Floor 1 of Abyss, I dove into bed without even changing my clothes.

“Are you all right, Master?”

“Let him be for now, Emily, lass. His exhaustion is mental, not physical. He might have risen his rank and gained a superhuman body, but his mind remains the same. He’s been running nonstop ever since the Dungeon System was first activated. It’s only natural that it’s taken its toll on him.”

“The only reason why I can just focus on the fighting is because Aniki does all the thinking for everything else. I can’t even imagine how much heavier the burden on his shoulders is compared to mine. Shifu Liu, after I reach Rank B, I’m thinking of pushing Aniki to take a two-day break. After all, it would be a waste to not take advantage of the fact that we’re in Kanazawa. Maybe we could even go to a hot spring resort!”

It was only later on that I was told that such a conversation had taken place. At the time, however, I was already fast asleep.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Liu Fengguang]

Even I did not know why the Dungeon System existed. The only thing I did know, however, was that the System had annihilated worlds in the tens of thousands so far. Although my memories had been erased, the emotion of seeing countless worlds perish still remained in my heart. And every time I appeared in a new world, I was confronted with the ugliness and the foolishness of humanity all over again. I despaired. So when I had first been summoned in this world, all I’d thought was “here we go again.”

Now, however, there was a small bud of expectation that had taken root within me. The First Contacter of this world had already reached Rank B before Full Activation—this was promising. If he and his allies continued pushing at the pace they had set, reaching Rank S might not be just a dream. And if this world managed to cultivate more than a hundred Rank S adventurers, they would be able to clear practically every dungeon they set their sights on. This organization that Ezoe had founded, Dungeon Busters, Inc., was gathering those with talent and will. As such, I had taken it upon myself to train them up to Rank S. And right now, this world was about to see the birth of its second Rank B adventurer.

“Hah!”

After parrying the incoming Shield Bash, Akira closed in and drove his right palm into his opponent’s solar plexus in a perfect demonstration of explosive power, a concept known as “fajin.” The orc’s back exploded, after which its entire body dispersed into smoke. The instant Akira had landed his attack, his foot had shaken the ground with a heavy thud.

“Brilliant. Looks like you’ve fully grasped the concept of fajin. But do not be complacent. Continue your pursuit of the martial arts. If you do, you will surely become capable of taking down even a dragon one day.”

Name: Shishido Akira

Title: Species Limit Breaker

Rank: B

Possession Limit: 0 / 25

Skills: Card Gacha, Martial Arts (Lvl. 1), Fighting Spirit (Lvl. 1)

Ezoe clapped. “Congratulations on reaching Rank B too. With this, the conditions are met. It’s still the middle of February—we should have more than enough time to clear Yokohama Dungeon. Let’s strike while the iron is hot.”

“Uh, Aniki, what do you say we take a short break? You’re tired, and I also really need a breather.”

“Hmm... What do you think, Shifu Liu?”

“You two may have that rest after you each defeat a thousand more. After all, if you don’t learn how to hold out when you’re already feeling exhausted, you can forget about clearing Rank S dungeons.”

I did not think my request particularly unreasonable. In order to climb even higher and reach Rank A, both Ezoe and Akira were going to have to be stretched further than anything they had experienced up to now. Anyone who would complain about something of this level would best just give up and enjoy the rest of his life in indulgence. Look, Ezoe’s already stepped forward.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Kanazawa City — Ezoe Kazuhiko]

Ishikawa Prefecture was dotted with hot springs, with particularly famous ones including Wakura Onsen on the Noto peninsula and Kaga Onsen close to the prefectural border with Fukui. However, if all one wanted was a good hot spring, there was no need to look any further than Yuwaku Onsen, which was located at a much more reasonable distance from Kanazawa. Of the nine inns that made up the resort, we decided to stay in Manrakusou Villa. Considering what a rare opportunity it was, I decided to materialize Akane, Emily, and Shifu Liu to join us. A single night wouldn’t hurt, right?

Shifu Liu sighed contentedly. “This...is a pretty good bath.”

Akira, Shifu Liu, and I were currently enjoying a dip in the open air bath that we had rented out, whereas Akane and Emily were off in the women’s bath. Due to the large number of other guests staying at the inn—it was practically full despite it being a weekday—I was worried that Shifu Liu would have drawn far too much attention if we had simply gone to the men’s bath.

“I’ve made arrangements for the inn to serve us their most expensive multi-course kaiseki dinner in our room tonight. Feel free to eat and drink as much as you want.”

“Mm! This land’s alcohol does look inviting. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“Aniki, what do you think about going on a trip with everyone in Dungeon Busters once we finish clearing Yokohama Dungeon? We can invite Maririn and her mom too.”

“That is a wonderful idea. We can’t very well just go on our own. A place without a dungeon would be good. How does Okinawa sound?”

As all the rooms in Manrakusou Villa were suites, there was no problem with all five of us staying together. There was a separate room for Akane and Emily to sleep in at night.

“This is amazing! Master, I want to know more about this world!” Emily exclaimed, her eyes sparkling as waitresses entered our room with trays in their hands.

One by one, dishes bearing local delicacies of Ishikawa Prefecture—Noto beef steak, Echizen crab sashimi, and abalone to name a few—were laid out before our eyes. For sake, we were going with the Ishikawa-made Kukurihime Daiginjo, which Shifu Liu seemed to be thoroughly enjoying. As we were consciously avoiding talking about dungeons tonight, Emily instead plied Akira and me with questions about our world. We answered what we could, with me also sprinkling in mention of local delicacies from other places.

“Eventually, we’ll also go overseas. Look forward to it. Many countries have drastically different food cultures from that of Japan’s. There are as many kinds of alcohol as there are cuisines. And the sweets that you love so much, Emily? Their number is literally uncountable.”

“Ho! Now you’re speaking my language.”

“Then we’ve got to clear the dungeons in this country as quickly as possible! I’m going to try out every last kind there is!”

In the midst of all the commotion, Akane came over to pour me a cup. Her eyes seemed to be imploring him for something. The open air bath was available for booking in time blocks, and I recalled there being available blocks. I nodded to indicate that I would be taking another dip after dinner, then downed the entire cup of cold sake in one gulp.

◇ ◇ ◇

[Ministry of Defense — Office of the Director General]

“Thank you for finishing up the survey of Kanazawa Dungeon. I hear you’re Rank B now?”

After returning to Tokyo, I visited the Ministry of Defense in person. Director General Ishihara nodded while flipping through the report that I had written up and emailed her beforehand. Of course, I did not write anything about what we’d eaten.

“So, you’re planning on tackling Kanazawa after Yokohama, I take it? I suppose a Bootcamp-worthy dungeon appearing on the Sea of Japan side is the silver lining in all this. Forty- and fifty-something year olds with adult diseases or at risk of developing adult diseases are flocking to the Bootcamp in droves. We desperately need to increase our admission quota. The more participants we have, the more we can alleviate the burden on future social insurance, among other things.”

The Dungeon Bootcamp that was being hosted at Yokohama Dungeon 3 times each week only had a capacity of 20 participants each time. That meant 60 people each week, or 3,000 in a year. If there were just 3 more dungeons where the Bootcamp could be held in, then more than 10,000 middle-aged adults could regain much more youthful bodies. This would undoubtedly affect not only health insurance premiums, but also birth rates. In reality, numerous couples had already formed among fellow participants of the Bootcamp.

After Ishihara and I finished talking about Kanazawa Dungeon and the Dungeon Bootcamp, she suddenly held a folder towards me. The documents inside were in English, and it included pictures of young men and women who appeared to be foreigners.

“What’s this?”

“A new request for Dungeon Busters, Inc. The client is Pope Francesco of the Holy See.”

“Uh... Huh?”

A stupefied noise escaped my throat as I watched the director general stand up and punch numbers into her extension phone. Soon after, a middle-aged man entered the room. He’s...the director of the International Policy Division, right?

“That file arrived yesterday; that’s why it’s not translated yet,” Ishihara explained. “My director here will fill you in on all the details.”

And explain the director did. When I heard the name Crusaders, I almost spat my drink out. Talk about being outdated—they’re off by almost a whole millennium!

“The Holy See is entirely serious. And with 1.3 billion adherents all over the world, their intelligence network is unbelievably formidable. In exchange for accepting this job, they are offering to provide us with all the information that they receive in regards to the dungeons.”

According to the director, not only would we receive coordinates, but also nearby locations that could be used as lodging, information on the local terrain, and details of the monsters and structures found within. What’s more, every Catholic church around the world would become points of contact for us. I wasn’t one to take everything at face value, but at the very least, I had to concede that these sounded like very good conditions.

“In addition, they will be paying Dungeon Busters, Inc. a remuneration of €10 million per Crusader for a total of €60 million. And the Holy See will be covering the entire cost of the group’s round-trip journey to Japan, their accommodation fees, food expenses, and any and all other miscellaneous charges.”

“I see what you meant now when you said that they’re serious. It’s true that if the Catholic Church doesn’t contribute now, their influence would be greatly whittled down in the post-dungeon world. The remuneration is quite generous too. We can definitely use that money to make new investments. But are all six Crusaders foreigners? Do they know Japanese?”

“Two of the six are comparatively fluent. That would be Alberta Langenbach of the Teutonic Order and Chloé Fontaine of the Knights Hospitaller. Alberta is greatly interested in samurais and has spent a year on exchange in Japan. She also possesses the lowest black belt rank in kendo. Chloé supposedly attends Japan Expo—a convention held in Paris—annually and has studied Japanese due to her love for, ahem, Magical Girl Lyrica ☆ Moe-tan.”

“Lyri—what?”

I had a bit of a bad feeling about this group. Honestly speaking, I wanted to turn down this request. However, Director General Ishihara cut me off first before I even had a chance to say anything.

“Unfortunately, in light of the diplomatic repercussions, there is no way for the Japanese government to say no on this matter. But hey, if you need a bit more incentive, the pope himself will commend Dungeon Busters, Inc. once this job is completed. This should be quite big for you, right?”

“His Holiness commending us in person will be an incredible honor indeed. However, can you at least give us until after we’re done clearing Yokohama Dungeon? It shouldn’t take us more than two weeks. During that time, ensure that all six of them obtain at least a basic level of Japanese. Oh, and one more thing. If they are here to be trained by us, we won’t be treating them as guests. We won’t let them die, but the training is sure to make them wish they were dead. Please make sure that all six of them fully understand the fact that there is no God in the dungeons.”

Within the context of the history of the Church, the term “crusade” definitely did not carry very positive connotations. Their intention on utilizing the Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon to bolster their own influence as a religious organization was quite blatant. However, I was willing to overlook it, since their interest was aligned with mine.

After all, clearing the dungeons took absolute priority over all else.