Chapter 2: The Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon
Chapter 2: The Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon
“GAMERICA FIRST!”
President Ronald Howard of the United States of Gamerica, the world’s foremost military and economic power, was a man who had gotten elected to his position based on a platform of putting Gamerica first. He was a hard-liner when it came to foreign policy, and there were those who thought of him as a tyrant, but he was by no means a man without common sense. He was one to say what he wanted to say and hear what he needed to hear.
“Well, who are these stupid people who have launched an attack on our incredible nation?”
The president’s question caused everyone else present to exchange looks. After clearing his throat, the secretary of defense spoke up.
“Mr. President, to be precise, we are not under attack. It’s just that two caves have appeared, within which time flows differently. No enemy soldiers have come out of those caves, and we have suffered no casualties. However, there are preliminary reports of aggressive unknown creatures inside those caves, which we are still confirming at the moment.”
“What do you mean ‘time flows differently’? How different is it?”
“It appears to be by a factor somewhere between 140 and 150. As time increasingly grows faster the deeper we go in, we have yet to pinpoint the exact number,” answered the vice president.
President Howard crossed his arms, then issued orders.
“In any case, there must be a reason why these unrealistic-sounding caves have appeared. Investigate them thoroughly. And don’t let the people know yet. Get in touch with other countries, and figure out what’s the deal with these caves ASAP.”
Despite his instructions to not let the people know, this president had a tendency to “accidentally” leak important information through his social media account. Although those present at the briefing immediately went off to carry out the president’s orders, they all knew it was only a matter of time before the news got out.
◇ ◇ ◇
The prime minister of Japan’s official residence, called the Kantei, was located at 2-3-1 Nagata-chou, Chiyoda City, Tokyo. This day saw the ninety-eighth prime minister of Japan, Urabe Seiichirou, frowning at the photo that he had just been handed. The cabinet ministers, who had all been summoned for an extraordinary meeting, all tilted their heads in equal bewilderment.
In his characteristic Tokyo Shitamachi dialect, the minister of finance, who was an avid manga reader, said, “Dogs that walk on two legs? That sounds awfully similar to kobolds in manga. Are we looking at light novels come to life?”
However, in this room of mostly men over sixty years old, there weren’t many who understood what he was referring to. The chief cabinet secretary cleared his throat.
“Ahem. So, the location where the cave in question has appeared is an underground parking lot inside the Umeda district of Osaka. One week earlier, the local police force received reports of the cave, and two policemen went inside, where they were assaulted by the strange creatures depicted in the photos in everyone’s hands. Sergeant Satou Kouji of Sonezaki Police Station was killed in the line of duty, and his partner suffered severe injuries. According to the survivor’s testimony, when the two of them found themselves under attack and reached for their guns, they discovered that their weapons had been converted into what seemed like cards. At the time, his testimony was held under doubt, but what was certain was that he had lost his gun while escaping. The day before yesterday, a riot squad was sent in, but true to the above testimony, they found all their guns and batons converted into cards. They were then assaulted by the strange creatures wielding daggers. There were no fatalities, thankfully, but many in the squad were severely injured.”
“Is there any possibility of this being a terrorist attack?” asked Prime Minister Urabe.
The National Public Safety Commision chairman stood up and said, “There has been no movement from any of the religious cults or left-wing organizations under our surveillance. Even if this was a terrorist attack, it’s hard to imagine the intention behind such a large-scale operation...”
The minister of defense added, “And that wouldn’t explain the caves that have also appeared in other countries.”
The whole room was set astir. These past few days, video-hosting sites had been flooded with uploads with the word “dungeon” in the title, and almost all of these had come from places other than Japan. If this was truly a phenomenon that had occurred throughout the entire world at the same time, then it was very unlikely to be a terrorist attack. However, that would then leave the possibility of this being a mysterious new catastrophe of much greater scale and with much greater consequences.
“We’ve received an inquiry from Gamerica through the commanding officer of the U.S. forces stationed in Japan. They want to know whether we’ve had any strange caves appearing on our side. According to the contacts I have inside the U.S. government, caves similar to the one in Osaka have also appeared in New York and Chicago.”
“Any information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”
“Not at the moment, no... I’ll check in with the ASEAN countries, too.”
Prime Minister Urabe nodded at the foreign minister’s suggestion, then turned to address the room at large.
“All departments, be cautious with your investigations. If this is a terrorist plot, then it can only have been carried out by an enormous international organization that we have yet to even hear of. But in that case, we would still be dealing with humans. If this isn’t a terrorist plot, if this really is a mysterious new natural disaster...”
“Then we wouldn’t be able to prevent a panic, I imagine. Guess I’ll go re-read a few light novels when I get back. I seem to remember there being a few series with similar settings under the Low Fantasy category on the Shousetsuka ni Narou site.”
It took only a few days before it became apparent that the finance minister’s words could no longer be passed off as a mere joke.
◇ ◇ ◇
“So it’s finally started. The entire world’s in a panic,” I said while showing Akane videos that I had downloaded onto my tablet before coming down.
During the past week, the United Nations had called an emergency session, where heated discussion took place. Just now, UN headquarters had made an official announcement regarding the appearance of the dungeons. Namely, each country was to take responsibility for the dungeons that appear in its borders, and that all countries were to openly share all information they gather. A certain neighboring country with a huge population that had ended up with more than ten dungeons had apparently already begun pressing countries without dungeons for Official Development Assistance (ODA).
Rather than the international scene, however, there was another piece of news that I found more weighty: a policeman who had entered the dungeon at Osaka had died in the line of duty. When I first heard this news, a grimace came over my face. Being injured was one thing; potions could fix that. However, there was no way to bring back the dead. Because I had carelessly gone down the stairs that appeared in my yard and triggered this phenomenon, someone had died. It wasn’t as if I could have done anything to prevent this, but I still could not help but to feel responsible somehow.
As if to distract myself, I laughed at the news that was playing on the tablet. “There are more and more voices expressing apprehension towards the appearance of the dungeons, but as expected, there are those making light of the situation. ‘Open the dungeons to the general public!’ they say. Why do they still want to enter, even though it’s already been announced that weapons cannot be brought in? Are they thinking of fighting against orcs with their bare hands?”
“Such fools should just die. I cannot imagine them being of any use to you even when alive. Kazuhiko-sama, surely these are not the kinds of individuals that you are seeking as companions, right?”
“The companions that I want are those who possess a strong motivation to clear dungeons other than for personal gain. Ranking up is a very stressful process with a not-insignificant chance of death. Someone who’s only doing it for personal gain will not be able to last long. It is only when fighting for someone else’s sake that humans exhibit incredible emotional strength.”
Akane leaned into me while running her fingers over a business card on my desk.
“And what an interesting organization it is that you are attempting to create to gather such companions. You continue to intrigue me more and more, Kazuhiko-sama...”
On the business card, the words “Dungeon Busters Inc.” was written in a clear, bold font.
◇ ◇ ◇
During the past few weeks, in parallel with my efforts at ranking up and earning money, I had also been making preparations for the full activation of the Dungeon System that was supposedly coming one year later. The biggest thing was setting up a company that specialized in clearing dungeons. I registered “Dungeon Busters Inc.” as the name, purchased trademark rights and the domain name for the eventual website, and set up email and social media accounts. For the trademark, I went the extra mile to register it as an international trademark. As the company was eventually going to clear dungeons in other countries as well, being thorough with these things beforehand was a necessity.
“For what it’s worth, I even commissioned someone to design the logo for me.”
It was a caricatured goblin behind a red cross-out mark like a “no parking” sign. The design was extremely simple, but that was what made it feel all the more “real.” I had accepted it on the spot.
“Will you begin gathering companions now?”
“For now, I’ll wait and see how each country responds to the dungeons. At the moment, ranking up is still my top priority. When I reached Rank D, more skills in the list had become visible. I take that to mean that even more of them will become unlocked when I reach Rank C. There’s a certain skill that I absolutely want.”
“Rank C is the first rank beyond human limits. I’m afraid it will take quite some time...”
Name: Ezoe Kazuhiko
Title: First Contacter
Rank: D
Possession Limit: 1 / ∞
Skills: Card Gacha (0), Recovery Magic (Lvl. 3), Inducement (Lvl. 1), ______, ______, ______
It was one week ago that I had finally broken through to Rank D. My body was completely different from what it had been a month ago, although it wasn’t all that obvious underneath my suit. Both my grip strength and back strength had reached world-record levels. However, if asked whether I was strong or not, I wouldn’t be able to give a straight answer. Just because my physical capabilities had gone up, it did not automatically translate into combat capability. I had lived all forty years of my life without any connection to violence. I did not know any martial arts, and I was but a novice at the sword and the spear.
Name: Akane
Title: Glamorous Kunoichi
Rank: C
Rarity: Legend Rare
Skills: Kunai Mastery (Lvl. 5), Enemy Detection (Lvl. 4), Sex Technique (Lvl. 4)
Akane’s rank had also gone up, but the coward in me wanted to take things with a wide enough safety margin. At the moment, I was still fighting orcs with the club. When I became capable of consistently winning against them with my bare hands, that would be when I knew for sure that I had truly exceeded human limits.
“I’ll continue training on Floor 2 for a while longer. In order to further increase my speed, strength, and stamina, I’ll start wearing wrist weights, ankle weights, and a weight belt while fighting.”
“Understood. But before that...”
Akane snuggled up to me with moist eyes. Perhaps because my body had turned young again, or perhaps because I was in an excited state due to the world acknowledging the existence of the dungeons, I, too, was in the mood. Without hesitation, I picked the Glamorous Kunoichi up and brought her to the bed.
◇ ◇ ◇
“HAH!”
One swing of my club, and the orc’s head was pulverized. The orc fights that had used to take me several hits now only required two. After I reached Rank D, the drop rate for cards went up again, as I had expected. It was now 5% for the goblins on Floor 1, and 3% for the orcs on Floor 2. Thanks to the item Drop-Rate Up Band, these numbers were pushed up even higher. It was no longer that much of a chore gathering one hundred Orc Cards.
“I keep thinking this, but this Enhancement Element sure is an interesting thing. Normally, the more a human trains, the more muscle they gain. In other words, they bulk up. But when I train while absorbing Enhancement Element, it’s the quality of my muscles and bones that gets changed. It just could be that these dungeons are a device meant to bring about evolution in the human species.”
Taking myself as an example, although my body fat percentage had indeed gone down, by no means was I bulking up. If I really had to make a comparison, I’d say that my body was becoming similar to that of a professional swimmer. I had well-defined pecs and abs in the ideal inverted triangle body shape.
“Mmm, and your body has become so perfect that I, as a woman, cannot keep my eyes off it. On top of that, your wildness in bed...I can only imagine how popular you are aboveground.”
There was no jealousy in Akane’s smile, only pride for how great her Master was. If the two of them had been in the Safety Zone on Floor 1, she would have pushed him down right then and there.
“Well, popular or not, the only things in my mind at the moment are the dungeon and you, Akane. If I have time for another woman aboveground, then I might as well use that time to dive into the dungeon. You are more than enough for me.”
As an orc threw a punch at me, I dodged it with a paper-thin margin, then slammed my club into its head. At that moment, a cracking sound rang out. When I pounded in another hit, my club broke in half.
“Do you wish to head back, Kazuhiko-sama? Though, I believe you still have the Steel Spear Card on you...”
“No need. This is a good opportunity. I’ll try using my bare hands for the next one.”
I took out the knuckle dusters and athletic tape. I had feared that the former would become recognized as a weapon and turn into a card the moment I bared it, but no such thing happened. Apparently, there were no problems bringing in something that the dungeon had once acknowledged as a non-weapon.
“Let’s go. Time to test how much my bare fists can do against an orc.”
I felt a prickling in my back and my field of vision widening as adrenaline pumped throughout my body.
◇ ◇ ◇
Once again, I had saved up one hundred Goblin Cards and one hundred Orc Cards. This time, I intended to use all the Goblins Cards on items and all the Orc Cards on weapons. Just as I was thinking how much easier Floor 3 would be with a Rare weapon, I got the following two cards from the gacha system.
Name: Shinobigatana
Rarity: Rare
Description: A katana made out of tamahagane steel specifically for shinobi. Similar to a dagger, but its sharpness is exemplary. Grants the wielder a speed boost.
Name: Pure Steel Shovel
Rarity: Rare
Description: A sturdy shovel entirely made out of steel. Can be used both to attack and to defend. Grants the wielder a strength boost.
“Look at that; two Rare cards came out! Is it because I’m wearing the Lucky Ring? This shinobigatana is obviously yours, which means the shovel is mine. I’ve heard that even modern armies still train to use this as a weapon, as it’s supposedly quite suitable for close-quarters combat. I’ll try it out on the orcs first; once I get used to it, then we’ll attempt Floor 3. Rank is important, but so is money.”
“Is it not about time to move on from hunting goblins? I can’t imagine there being anything much that you’re getting from them...”
“Just saying, I’m not killing them for Enhancement Element, but for their cards. The more items I can stock up, the better.”
I jerked my head towards the area behind my desk. The entire wall on that side was covered by display cases with huge shelves, exactly like the kind found in stores dealing in trading cards. I was storing all the cards that I had acquired so far inside plastic card cases, but to make it easy to find what I wanted, I had put one of each kind on display. Everything was double-logged, both with sticky notes on the storage cases and in my spreadsheet software. The only card that I did not have stock of was the Ufufu Lotion Card. That one would always get used by Akane as soon as it came out.
“Time-wise, I’m currently at the point where I can kill one hundred goblins in one hour and one hundred orcs in three hours for a convenient four-hour block. So if I do cycles of four reps for a total of sixteen hours, take a shower aboveground, then sleep in the dungeon, then each cycle would net me ¥600,000, which means ¥3.6 million for every 144 dungeon hours. Calculating in the time for showering and changing clothes and readying things, let’s say that’s four aboveground hours. So, we’ll just decide the units as 144 dungeon hours equals four aboveground hours going forward. Three units for ten days equates to ¥100 million. Hmm... That is still far from enough to serve as starting capital for the company. Especially considering how almost half of the money is going to be subtracted as tax...”
“Slightly more than two weeks later, the Wave 2 will take place. With the appearance of even more dungeons, those in power will find it difficult to hold their citizenry in check any longer. Prices for things like foodstuffs will surely go up as well.”
“There are already quick-witted people who’ve begun stocking up on preserved foodstuffs. When Wave 2 comes, countries won’t be able to ignore the dungeons anymore. In slightly over a month, I was able to go from Rank F to Rank D. However, I didn’t have enough time to earn money. Hmm. Should I double my time down here...?”
“How about seeing Floor 3 first before deciding? Regardless of whether the monsters turn out to be Rank C or D, chances are that they would be dropping more money than Floor 2.”
After having finished our respective preparations, we both picked up our new weapons and headed for Floor 3.
◇ ◇ ◇
I, Kinouchi Shiori, was born and grew up in the Osugi district of Edogawa City. My family was by no means affluent, but I still had quite the happy childhood. However, I made a wrong turn in life in high school. I got confessed to by a male classmate, and we started going out. He wasn’t a violent person, but did have a bit of an egotistic streak. You know, the kind who would say, “Shut up and just follow me.” At the time, I thought this trait a sign of reliability, but now I know how naive I was. High school is when everyone starts developing an interest in the other sex. I did everything according to what my boyfriend told me to and eventually got pregnant with Mari.
Right after we graduated, I signed the marriage registration form with him, to both of my parents’ vehement opposition. My now husband started working on construction sites, and became a full-time employee soon after. His mornings were early, but he would come home at night to eat dinner together. We were not rich, but we were quite happy.
However, that happiness did not last long. Not even two years after Mari came along, my husband started cheating on me. He left all the childcare to me as he began heading out with his construction colleagues night after night, drinking and going to karaoke with younger girls. During that whole time, I waited patiently for him to come back, taking care of Mari by myself. I could understand a twenty-year-old guy doing that sort of thing, and I was willing to overlook it if it was just once or twice. However, it eventually became the norm, and money stopped coming into our family finances. When I finally had enough and voiced my protest, I was beaten. That was when I resolved to divorce him. The divorce trial ended quickly, and I moved back into my parents’ house in Edogawa City with Mari in tow.
At the time, Mari was in sixth grade, and I was thirty years old. My mother tried to encourage me, saying that thirty years old was still young enough to remarry, but I had to raise Mari. I was receiving child support, but textbooks cost money, school lunches cost money, and a million other things related to raising a child all cost money. With no choice but to start working part-time, I had no time to meet anyone new.
It was this time when my second cousin, Ezoe Kazuhiko-san, approached me with the offer of letting Mari work part-time at his place.
“Do you remember me, Kinouchi-san? Way back when you were still in elementary school, there was that New Year extended family gathering when we were introduced to each other. My grandfather’s younger sister is your grandmother.”
Ezoe-san was a slightly portly person six years older than me who apparently worked as a management consultant. The job that he was offering Mari was once-a-week house-cleaning at his house. This was something that even Mari, a middle schooler at this time, could do. An extra ¥30,000 entering our finances every month would be a great help. However, honestly speaking, I did hesitate a bit about whether I could trust him or not. A second cousin is practically a stranger, right? Who would remember someone that they had met at a large family gathering more than twenty years ago? And several times during our talk, his eyes did slip towards my chest. Surely I couldn’t be faulted for being a bit worried about agreeing to allow my adolescent daughter to work in the house of a middle-aged bachelor.
Three years later, I had grown to trust Ezoe-san. He never did anything strange to Mari, and whenever he talked to me, he would always maintain the distance of a relative.
“Mom! Look, Kazu-san raised my salary! It’s going to be ¥10,000 each week now, he said! Also, he mentioned that he had a new part-time job and asked if I wanted to help out with it. What should I do?”
“It’s not a weird job, is it? Not a strange film or anything like that?”
“Kazu-san said that it’s not. He said that he’d eventually show you the workplace and that you can decide then.”
This year, Mari had finally entered high school. We would surely need more money, and I also wanted to give her enough of an allowance to have fun with friends. Ezoe-san raising Mari’s salary was very welcome news. That said, as a parent, I would not just sit still if he intended on doing anything indecent towards my daughter. Even as her mother, I was aware that she had very lovely features that made her very desirable to those of the other gender. Truth in fact, I’d heard that she was quite popular among the boys in her school. However, I did not want her to trace the same steps that I had taken. I would never forgive anyone who was planning on leading my daughter astray, even if it was Ezoe-san.
◇ ◇ ◇
When we stepped inside Floor 3 of the Rank A dungeon Abyss we found ourselves greeted by skeleton knights. Bleached skeletons like you’d find in a high school biology classroom approached us with swords in hand, clattering with every step. At first glance, they looked like pushovers, but things were entirely different with them coming at us in groups of four. Getting surrounded was not ideal, to put it mildly. Akane and I had to constantly position ourselves so that we were only ever fighting two of them at any given time. One swing of my shovel was enough to shatter a skeleton into pieces.
“This weapon really does make this a lot easier. These skeletons wield swords and always move in groups of four, such that we always have to be wary about being surrounded, but each one of them is only about as strong as an orc. Plus, four of them means ¥4,000 for each group.”
“I believe that the compatibility of your weapon also plays a large factor. Skeleton knights are by no means weak, as each one of them is Rank D. However, their physical abilities are inferior to those of orcs. The weapon that you are wielding, Kazuhiko-sama, is extremely effective against opponents with swords. I believe this floor will also resolve your worries regarding money, will it not?”
I rearranged my thoughts and plans as Akane gave me a back rub. In two or three days, Wave 2 would arrive. During the past two weeks, I had turned down every consulting job that the Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Management Consultant Association (J-SMECA) had brought to me, and in fact, was beginning to wrap things up with my consulting job. Instead, I had spent almost the entire time down here in Abyss.
“So if I kill two hundred skeleton knights in three hours, fifteen hours nets me ¥1 million, and 144 hours becomes ¥6 million. I did dive for pretty much three units every day the past two weeks. By rough estimate, I’ve earned more than ¥300 million at this point. Now I have a bit of money to start buying out the land around here. Finally I can start making preparations for Dungeon Busters.”
I really can’t thank Iwamoto enough. I mean, Inducement did help make everything go smoother, but still. And tomorrow will be my second contact with “that man,” in a hotel in Yokohama. With the future in mind, let’s get him to sign a dungeon-made contract. Even if I have to resort to torture, I’m going to need him to keep my secret for me.
I turned onto my side as Akane’s massage moved to my legs. My muscle soreness was now much better compared to the very start, but fatigue would still build up. A single potion could also take it away, but being massaged by a beautiful woman also helped provide relief to my mental state. As I felt the soles of my feet being massaged, I continued my thoughts.
Speaking of being thankful, I’m also thankful that each skeleton knight has a chance to drop a card. In this week alone, I’ve already collected more than six hundred Skeleton Knight Cards. Since I already have a weapon, should I roll for equipment next? I still have my cut-resistant jacket, but I can’t allow Akane’s fair skin to be marred in any way. Then there’s also the Character Gacha which I’ve yet to try out. Maybe I should give it a few rolls using the leftover cards...
Suddenly, the lower half of my body started feeling very good. I closed my eyes and left everything to Akane.
◇ ◇ ◇
“I confirm that I have received the signed contract. Thank you.”
“And I confirm the ¥300 million cash that you have dropped off. We will keep 10% of it as commission and transfer the remaining ¥270 million to your specified account now.”
Inside a certain room in a certain hotel in Yokohama, I was looking at the screen of my laptop while holding a burner phone in one hand. Shortly, a total of ¥270 million did indeed come into my online banking account. Without ado, I promptly transferred it all to another account.
Inside another room in the hotel was the underground launderer whose service I was borrowing this time. I had first handed him a contract to sign, and it was in exchange for that that I passed over the briefcase with the ¥300 million inside. The other side balked at first, but then eventually acquiesced when I told him that he could use an alias. What I had made him sign was actually a Jointly Sealed Covenant, an item from the dungeon that acted on the signer directly, regardless of the name signed. The only thing I had written on the contract was “I will not leak any details about this transaction to anyone else and will not use any information learned through this transaction for anything other than the transaction itself.” Naturally, I had also signed it. Glad to have this squared away, at least.
After everything was done, I cheerfully went downstairs to the parking lot and got into my car.
“So that’s ¥270 million in my account, one and done. Well, considering that I’d have to pay almost half of it as tax, that means only half of it is mine to keep. I think I need a bit more. At the very least, I should probably make at least one more transaction of the same scale.”
I started my car and began heading from downtown Yokohama back to Edogawa City. I was driving along Yokohama Shindo Road when the car in front of me in my lane suddenly stopped. As I had maintained a safe driving distance, I managed to step on the brake in time without being flustered. My first thought was that perhaps the car in front had had mechanical problems, but the general atmosphere seemed a bit different. Five minutes later, and there was still no movement.
“What’s happening? Don’t tell me, was there a car accident up ahead?”
I got out of my car and squinted my eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on up ahead. There was a crowd of people all peering at something. I checked my wristwatch. Exactly seventy-three days had passed since that day, and the time was exactly 11:08 a.m. I knew what was going on.
“So Wave 2 is here...”
I didn’t actually expect a dungeon to appear right in front of me. All of my cards, including Akane’s, were still back at home, down in Abyss. All I had on my person at the moment were the knuckle dusters and athletic tape. It didn’t seem like traffic was going to start moving again anytime soon. In fact, things were probably going to remain stuck until traffic police got on scene and started redirecting traffic.
“How about...I try going in?”
The knuckle dusters went onto my fists, and then were held in place with the tape. I understood that I was going to be drawing attention. Even so, I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to see how things were in another dungeon. More importantly, I wanted to prevent someone else from going in and dying. I couldn’t deal with every single dungeon out there, but at least wanted to do something about this one that was now right in front of me.
“H-Hey, you there, don’t go in! This is probably another one of those ‘dungeon’ things!”
I pushed through the crowd and proceeded to the entrance of the dungeon. Right before I stepped inside, a taxi driver tried to stop me. When I turned back, I found several dozen men and women of all ages staring back at me. As if to avoid their gaze, I looked down at my wristwatch.
“Current time: 11:16. If this one is the same as the dungeon in Osaka, then time inside should flow differently. Don’t worry, I’m just going to take a quick look and be back out almost immediately.”
I took the wristwatch off and passed it to a young woman nearby, saying, “Hold onto that for me, please. Thanks.” Then, I slowly and carefully descended the stairs. Unlike my thoroughly remodeled dungeon, the stairs here were made of stone and were rather slippery. Halfway down, I turned around again and saw several people’s faces directed my way. However, all of them were frozen like statues. Due to their time being much slower than mine, it was as if they had stopped moving altogether.
“From their perspective, however, it’ll be as if I had made it down in a split second. Interesting.”
I resumed heading downwards. The length of the staircase was the same as Abyss’s. Soon enough, I reached the bottom and discovered it to be a Safety Zone. As the walls were fluorescing, I did not need a light source. To my disappointment, there was no card floating in midair. The room was entirely bare, save for the doors with doorknobs on the opposite end. Just as I had done so often in Abyss, I stepped up to the doors.
“Well then...time to find out what this dungeon has in store.”
When I grabbed one of the doorknobs, the door opened on its own. On the other side...was a cute rabbit roughly fifty centimeters in length.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Myu? Myu myu?”
The rabbit before my eyes hopped towards me while making cute little squeaks. However, when I approached it as if to give it a pat, it suddenly bared its teeth and lunged at me.
“I thought so!”
I swung my knuckle-duster-equipped fist and blew the monster’s head right off. The rest of the body then disappeared in a puff of smoke, just like I was used to seeing in Abyss.
“That...was weak. Even weaker than Rank F goblins. And it didn’t drop any cash. What’s going on?”
One aboveground minute was two hours down here, so I had time. To avoid getting lost, I stuck to making left turns. Soon enough, it became apparent that the layout of this floor was a grid. Could it be that Floor 1 in all dungeons share the same layout? As I continued walking, more rabbits leaped at me. I finished them all with a single punch each.
“This dungeon is probably either Rank B or Rank C, right? According to what Akane had said, monsters on Floor 1 of Rank D dungeons should be weak enough to be killed with a single stomp, so let’s provisionally call this a Rank C dungeon.”
When I killed my tenth rabbit, it dropped a monster card. I bent down to pick it up, then noticed a tiny, black stone — even smaller than a soybean — on the ground.
“What is this? Wait, were all of the rabbits dropping this the whole time?”
I picked the stone up, then killed another rabbit. Sure enough, it then dropped another tiny, black stone on the ground.
“So this dungeon drops these small stones instead of money? What are these, though? Hmm... Well, let’s gather some more. Ack, if I’d know this was going to happen, I would have brought a plastic bag.”
With no other choice, I started wrapping the stones in my handkerchief. After killing a few more rabbits and picking up a second monster card, I decided to head back up. I ensured that the door was properly closed, and took a picture of the Safety Zone just in case. There was no hiding the fact that I had come in, but the fact that these monsters were so easy to kill was something that I wanted to avoid getting out. Although they were Rank F, they could still pose a threat to the average person. I carefully wiped my prints off the doorknob, then began climbing the stairs.
According to my smartphone, I had spent around 30 minutes down in the dungeon. However, that was not even a minute aboveground. When I emerged, everyone around looked astonished.
“Y-You... When did you...”
“Ah, right. Because time flows differently, it must have looked like I had returned in the blink of an eye.”
I nodded understandingly to myself, then retrieved my wristwatch from the lady and compared the time on it to the time on my smartphone. As expected, they were different. With this, my verification of this dungeon was done. Now I just had to get back and ask Akane about the black stones that I had picked up.
◇ ◇ ◇
“In all likelihood, this is some form of a ‘magic stone,’” offered Akane while peering at the black speck in between her fingers. “Magic stones are crystallizations of mana. Magic can only be used by those with an affinity to it, but magic stones can be utilized to make magical technology usable by anyone. Those magic tools will then require these magic stones as an energy source.”
“I see. I can imagine these magic stones being a precious resource in civilizations that have developed the magical technology that you speak of. However, the question then is, why are these appearing in this world of ours, whose technology is based on science? Aren’t the dungeons generating things desired by the people and civilization of the world they had appeared in to attract more delvers?”
“It is as you say, Kazuhiko-sama. Truth in fact, this dungeon is currently generating what you, as the sole delver, most desire: money. The difference between this dungeon and the other dungeons is probably because the Dungeon System has determined that it is magic stones, not money, that is of greater value to the human race as a whole.”
“I don’t get it. Well, no, I get why the other dungeons aren’t dropping money. After all, no country would leave a dungeon that generates cash be. But then, why magic stones?”
“From your point of view, Kazuhiko-sama, what is the one that thing the residents of this world need the most? What is this world’s most pressing need? I believe the answer may lie there.”
I rubbed my chin while mulling over Akane’s question. If we were to frame this as an “all of humanity” question, then obviously the answer would be energy. The fossil fuels that our modern society relied so heavily on would run out sooner or later. If there was a clean energy source that didn’t harm the environment, every country in the world would fight tooth and nail to get their hands on it.
“Could it be that these magic stones can generate electricity? In any case, chances are high that these stones are related to energy somehow. Guess I’ll wait and see for a while. Depending on how these magic stones turn out, I might have to change my plans.”
I stood up and started making preparations for Floor 3. Time was running down; seventy-three days had already passed since that day, and Wave 2 had already come and gone. I needed to set my own plans in motion. And in order to do so, I needed more money.
◇ ◇ ◇
Soon after Wave 2, scholars and scientists all over the world decided on the name of “Worldwide Synchronized Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon” for what was going on. Governments scrambled frantically to handle the fallout, and many emergency sessions were held at the UN. However, the discourse only increased in intensity, with nothing actually being decided.
“Our country already had twenty-five of these dungeons emerge within our borders. To put that into perspective, Gamerica only has four, Japan has two, and Reich only has one! And there are still numerous other countries who have not seen a single one. We request that all countries contribute to a common pool of funds that gets redistributed according to the proportion of dungeons.”
“That’s just because your country has a lot of land and a large population. This Synchronized Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon is akin to a natural disaster. According to your logic, then, should we also set up an earthquake relief fund and redistribute that money according to the proportion of earthquakes?”
The ambassadors of two major Asian countries glared at each other. The Gamerican ambassador raised his hand in an effort to mediate between the two.
“Our country is currently in the middle of investigating these other-dimensional dungeons. However, on a more macro level, it seems to us that there is significance in where they appear as well. Gamerica also has a lot of land, but only four dungeons. In contrast, the Oriental Republic of Sina has a lot more. In light of this, we theorize that the dungeons are emerging in proportion not to land size but to population size. In other words, countries with larger populations are that much more susceptible to this phenomenon.”
The Gamerican representative’s words elicited a variety of reactions from those in the room. The Scandinavian countries with only hundreds of thousands of citizens breathed a sigh of relief, while southeastern Asian countries with hundreds of millions of citizens all grimaced.
The ambassador of the country of Filipines said, “Our country is smaller than Japan, but we have discovered two dungeons in the vicinity of our capital, Manila. I also think the Gamerican ambassador is onto something. In order to maintain public order within our own nation, we wish to be freed of the burden of guaranteeing security elsewhere. We request that all member nations of the UN immediately recall all military forces currently stationed overseas or on their borders. Naturally, we will also happily do the same.”
Several voices expressed support, but a certain Asian country with a large population clearly thought differently.
“You wish! South Sina Sea is our country’s territory and is crucial to our economic prosperity. Your real intentions are all too obvious. If you want us to withdraw our troops so badly, first acknowledge our territorial right to the area.”
“We also are against this proposition. If we withdraw the troops we have stationed on our border, what’s to stop the North from invading us? We have an armistice with them, not a treaty. To maintain national security, we need to maintain a certain amount of military presence.”
The country on the peninsula that had been split in half also voiced its opposition. In response, however, the northern country that had been made a scapegoat rose up in a rage.
“How about fuck you, too! A dungeon has appeared in our country as well! Where the fuck has all the ‘ethnic cooperation’ crap that your side keeps spouting gone now?! We DEMAND that all sanctions against us be lifted!”
Even in the face of the world crisis posed by the dungeons, every single country was still busy asserting their positions and jockeying for their self-interests, even though everyone present was sharing the same thought: The United Nations has finally met its limit.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Mr. President, voices calling for transparency of information regarding the dungeons are rising day by day. Chicago is overrun by demonstrations, and the Dow Jones average is plunging like never before. At this rate, we won’t be able to keep Congress in check any longer.”
President Ronald Howard scowled in response to the report from one of the aides in his room. Information about the dungeons was indeed gradually coming in, but the large majority of it was sheer absurdity.
“What information do they want to know? The fact that weapons turn into cards? Status windows? That incomprehensible ‘Card Slot’ function? Who the hell would believe all of this? How about I just drop a nuke on these dungeons and be done with it?!”
“Mr. President, we have already tried bringing C-4 explosives in as a test, but it also ended up turning into a card. It seems like this happens to all weapons when they are brought through the underground doors. This includes explosives, assault rifles, handguns, and army knives; everything turns into cards. They all revert back immediately when the carrier comes back out, so at least we don’t have to worry about terrorists taking advantage of this to smuggle weapons into places in card form, but...”
“What if there is a way to keep the weapons in card form? What if we just haven’t discovered it yet? What if someone turns an activated nuclear bomb into a card and brings it inside our borders? We can’t tell people this information if there’s even a 1% chance of this happening!”
“This has been explained to the Speaker of the House and so he understands, but there’s been a huge backlash from the Democratic Party. Mr. President, even if the information seems absurd, shouldn’t we still disclose it?”
“You think our people will believe us if we are the only country to publicize this information? In fact, the citizens of other countries would also ask their own governments to confirm what we announce. This could possibly turn into a foreign-policy issue.”
There were as many opinions and suggestions as there were aides in the room. Information about the situation was steadily being gathered. The dungeons that had appeared in New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Los Angeles were all now under heavy military supervision, and were slowly and carefully being explored by the U.S. Army. Thankfully, the large majority of the creatures in the dungeons were things like small slimes, thirty-centimeter-long centipedes, and other things easily killable with a single stomp of the foot. If it weren’t for the Status window and the strange creatures, one could almost mistake these places as normal underground facilities.
“In that case, how about we make our announcement at the next G7 together with the other member countries?”
One person’s suggestion drew the attention of everyone else in the room.
“The summit that is scheduled for the end of this month was originally supposed to be in Osaka but has now been moved to Nagoya. Without a doubt, the topic of how to deal with the dungeons is going to come up at the Nagoya G7 summit. Surely many countries the world over are also stuck between deciding what information to disclose and what to keep under wraps. And that is where our seven leading countries will come in with a joint declaration.”
“That is a wonderful idea! Get me a line to Seiichirou now!”
The aides heaved a sigh of relief at President Howard’s satisfied face.
◇ ◇ ◇
I now had six hundred Rank D monster cards, and that number was still rising. My own rank had yet to break through to C, but there wasn’t any particular reason why I needed to wait for that to get myself a full set of equipment. And so I decided to try the Equipment Gacha for the first time. As I ended up with quite a number of repeats, I’ll only be bringing up the ones of note.
Name: Steel Body Armor
Rarity: Rare
Description: Body armor that protects the wearer’s torso. Heavy, but provides high resistance against physical attacks.
Name: Black Steel Chain Mail
Rarity: Rare
Description: A carefully woven chain mail made of thoroughly tempered steel. Wearable by both genders.
Name: Cut-Resistant Shinobi Clothing
Rarity: Rare
Description: Cut-resistant shinobi clothing woven from steel spider thread. Provides high resistance against bladed attacks.
Name: Mage’s Cloak
Rarity: Rare
Description: A cloak enchanted with the effect of reducing the wearer’s mana usage.
After thirty-three rolls, I got four Rares. Probability-wise, it wasn’t all that bad. There were a few Uncommons like shields and gauntlets, but Akane said she didn’t need them. Neither did I. My cut-resistant shirt was serving me well even on Floor 3.
Following that, I also rolled the Item Gacha thirty-three times. Here, too, four Rares came out.
Name: Other-dimensional Pouch (Small)
Rarity: Rare
Description: A direct upgrade to the Magic Pouch. Time inside the storage is stopped. Only has a storage capacity of nine cubic meters.
Name: Lazybone’s Bag
Rarity: Rare
Description: Automatically picks up items dropped by monsters. Effect can be applied to a whole party.
Name: Extra Potion
Rarity: Rare
Description: The most potent potion, capable of healing incurable illnesses and restoring lost body parts. Tasteless and odorless.
Name: Guard Ring
Rarity: Rare
Description: Ring that provides resistance against physical attacks just by equipping it. Ineffective against magical attacks.
“Hmm, so, that was eight Rares out of sixty-six rolls. Even though I’m still using Rank D cards, it appears that the probability skewing is slightly higher for cards picked up on Floor 3.”
I did also try the Monster Gacha with the leftover cards, but all that came out was an Orc (UC) Card.
“For Akane, the chain mail, shinobi clothing, and Guard Ring.”
“Kazuhiko-sama, should you not keep the Guard Ring for yourself? I can do without it.”
“It’s not like I’m in dire need of it, either. We have plenty of potions, and I myself can also use Recovery Magic. What’s more important is preventing you from getting hurt. I wouldn’t be able to stand it.”
“Oh, my! That makes me happy,” said Akane while hugging me.
The woman who had held onto my watch for me when I’d visited Yokohama Dungeon had contacted me, asking me out for a meal. Even so, I couldn’t help but think Akane was far more attractive. Then again, she wasn’t really a human, and so comparing the two might not be fair, but still.
“This Lazybone’s Bag seems like it’d come in quite handy. It’s a bit in the way as it goes over my shoulder, but it looks like it can hold plenty of cards and cash. Time saved from having to pick up monster drops is time that we can spend earning more. Let’s go verify its efficacy now.”
At the moment, we were killing two hundred skeleton knights every three hours down here on Floor 3. If this went up to three hundred, then that would be a 50% increase in our earnings, which would help rush our plan to buy out all of the surrounding land that much faster. The ¥270 million in my account was meant to be “consulting fee” revenue from my sole-proprietorship business, and therefore, was subject to the relevant tax.
“I’d like to make my purchases with cash as much as possible. While proceeding with the land buyout, I guess I should stock up on more clothing and preserved foods. If I put everything into a Magic Pouch, then no one would be any the wiser.”
After all, cash was surprisingly bulky. For example, ¥100 million actually weighed around ten kilograms. In management, trust was priority number one. Therefore, I had to make it so that I wouldn’t get exposed even if I was subject to a tax investigation.
“All right, let’s go. The pace we’re aiming for is three hundred skeleton knights in three hours.”
Together with Akane, I stepped into the dungeon once again.
◇ ◇ ◇
Many residential buildings in Shishibone were on the rather diminutive side. This was especially true of the area around my house, with most plots being roughly forty square meters to seventy square meters. With almost all the houses being around thirty years old and therefore due to be rebuilt, the price of each plot was basically just the land value. I had decided to buy up ten plots of land around my house, which would give me a total land area — including my own — of six hundred square meters. If I rounded up the market price to ¥400 thousand per square meter, that meant a total value of ¥240 million.
“What do you think? As your building is around the thirty-year mark, normally it wouldn’t be considered an asset, but I’ll add on ¥5 million for it. As for the land itself, the price that I am offering is 10% higher than market price. I can assure you that you will not find anyone else willing to give you this much.”
Through Iwamoto’s connections, I had gotten introduced to a realtor who was happy to take on my case, despite normally handling big projects like hotel construction. Naturally, I also intended on paying this realtor a handsome remuneration.
“Yamada-san, your neighbor, has already agreed to sell. My aim here is to give this area an economic boost by consolidating a larger piece of land and developing it. What do you say? Can I convince you with this amount?”
Thanks to the realtor’s intermediation and my Inducement skill, talks progressed without any delays whatsoever. Within a mere two days, I had successfully snapped up all ten plots that I wanted. The old houses around here were worth at most ¥15 million at market price. With the ¥20 million that I was offering, these homeowners could easily buy a fancier apartment closer to a train station, so they were definitely not losing out on the deal. For a few extra million yen, I also got them to agree to move out within two weeks, to add a “nondisclosure of buyer” clause to the sales contract, and to sign a Jointly Sealed Covenant.
“When everyone has finished moving out, please immediately start construction.”
“We have already gotten a head start with the designing. You want a big, central open space with the ‘underground room’ untouched, right? Please rest assured; our architects are the finest.”
“Please use steel bars and reinforced concrete to ensure the sturdiness of the structures. Money is not an issue.”
And now, I have to earn as much as I can in the two weeks I have remaining!
◇ ◇ ◇
By now, I had become capable of hunting more than three hundred skeleton knights within three hours. Therefore, I was doing cycles of five reps for a total of fifteen hours plus eight hours of rest. After calculating in the time for showering and everything else, I was looking at roughly six cycles for every four aboveground hours.
“I’m earning ¥1.5 million for each cycle, which means ¥9 million for six cycles. If I repeat this four times each aboveground day, that sums up to a daily income of ¥36 million. Six aboveground days, and I would have more than ¥200 million.”
“I feel like I might go mad just thinking about it. How are you able to continue staying sane, Kazuhiko-sama?”
I could hardly fault Akane for grumbling. Over the six days, I would be killing a total of 210,000 skeleton knights. Even if only 3% of them dropped a card, that still meant gathering more than six thousand cards.
“I just think of it as a form of repetitive labor. And it’s not like I have to stress myself over it in the first place. If I feel tired, I can stop whenever I want. In any case, I am almost certain that I will reach Rank C within these six days. I think I’ll be putting the weights back on soon enough. Breaking through human limits will only be a pipe dream if I don’t push myself this far.”
Simple, repetitive labor like this was best done with a specific goal in mind. Therefore, the goal that I had set for myself was “kill 210,000 skeleton knights.” Then I set “kill three hundred skeleton knights per three hours” as my index of progress. And lo and behold, my speed at killing three hundred skeleton knights gradually got faster and faster. Whereas previously I might sometimes end up slightly overshooting the three-hour mark, now I could consistently keep my time under two hours and forty-five minutes.
“It’s the same as factory work. The more I get used to the task, the faster I become. My body is getting used to the task of killing skeleton knights, and therefore getting more and more efficient at it. At this rate, I’ll be able to finish ahead of schedule.”
I pressed on Akane’s white and delicate-looking back with my hands. When I offered to give her a massage in exchange for all the times that she had done it for me, she had taken all her clothes off in a split second.
“Increasing efficiency is fine and all, but I think doing so would negatively affect your progress towards ranking up. In order to rank up, you need to put stress on your body.”
“And that is why I mentioned that I’ll be using the weights again starting tomorrow. With them on, I’ll aim to get back down to three hundred skeleton knights in two hours and forty-five minutes once again. I believe that I should rank up sometime during that process.”
“Kazuhiko-sama...really is...amazing......” mumbled Akane in a sleepy voice.
I continued pressing on her back, and soon enough, her soft breathing indicated that she had fallen asleep.
◇ ◇ ◇
With seven kilograms on each foot, three kilograms on each hand, and twenty kilograms around my waist for a total of forty kilograms on my body, I continued fighting the skeleton knights. Even I thought myself crazy. In every one of the low-fantasy “a dungeon appeared in my house” light novels that I had checked out for reference, the protagonists would all level up easily by monotonously killing monsters.
At the end of the day, however, all of them were merely fictional imaginings. Reality was different. Just squishing monsters like ants wouldn’t make anyone stronger. To get just a tiny bit stronger, we humans had to burden ourselves, agonize, get creative, and sweat rivers. Progress was slow, incremental, and time-consuming. Growth could only be expressed in past tense, with one looking backwards and realizing, “Oh, my level has gone up.” This was why I stopped drawing references from light novels.
“Kazuhiko-sama!” cried Akane out of the blue.
After finishing off the skeleton knight before me, I turned around, finding her looking at me with teary eyes.
“Congratulations. Finally... You have finally exceeded human limits.”
I called up my Status window.
Name: Ezoe Kazuhiko
Title: First Contacter
Rank: C
Possession Limit: 819 / ∞
Skills: Card Gacha (89), Recovery Magic (Lvl. 4), Inducement (Lvl. 4), (Empty), ______, ______
Finally, I have gotten this far. Just when I heaved a huge sigh, a familiar voice rang out inside my head.
<Species Limit Breaker confirmed. Relevant skills have been unlocked. As a reward for being the first ever Species Limit Breaker, you are hereby granted the character card “Emily the Saucy Mage.” We look forward to your progress towards becoming a Being Limit Breaker.>
“Uh...‘Being Limit Breaker’?”
Once again, the robotic voice left me with more questions than answers. I needed to first deal with the card floating before me. Just like that time with Akane’s card, this one was also glowing. There was no doubt about this being a Legend Rare.
Name: Emily
Title: Saucy Mage
Rank: F
Rarity: Legend Rare
Skills: Esoteric Technique (Lvl. 1), Summoning (Lvl. 1), Alchemy (Lvl. 1)
“Emily...Saucy Mage...‘A powerful mage able to wield all six elements of earth, water, fire, wind, void, and consciousness through her proficiency in Esoteric Technique. Also capable of summoning powerful demons for a time through Summoning Stones. Possesses knowledge of the various fields of alchemy, including herb compounding. Height of 157 centimeters, Bust 85, Waist 56, Hips 82.”
With a poof, the card disappeared.
“You there! Who do you think you are, reading someone else’s private information out loud!”
A girl, who had her vivid brown hair up in pigtails and who looked around high school age, stood up with a scowl on her face. She was the very picture of a prickly, saucy teenage girl.
“Yours truly is a genius mage, one of the eminent 108 Stars of Destiny! Normally, I would only respond to ‘Emily-sama,’ but seeing as you’re my Master, then I’ll make an exception and let you call me ‘Emily-san.’ I hope you’re grateful!”
I did not like girls with an aggressive and saucy personality. Back when I was a company employee, there had been one such woman in my workplace. She never stopped talking — even during meetings — and almost every single one of her sentences had herself as the subject. Even though she possessed a strong desire for approval, she did not show respect to others and thus only ended up creating a toxic work environment. The fact that she never understood what effect she was having on others made it that much worse. In the end, nobody wanted to get involved with her, and she eventually quit.
Considering how Dungeon Busters was to become an organization going forward, this kind of person would only serve as a negative influence. It was a big pity, what with her powerful-sounding abilities, but I had no choice but to revert her to a card and never take her out again...was what I was thinking when Akane stepped in front of Emily with a cold smile on her face. Apparently she was of the same mind as me.
“Nice to meet you, Emily-san. I am the kunoichi Akane. I hope we can get along well going forward.”
“Not bad... Looks like you have another Pillar aside from me. A bit saucy, aren’t you? You said your name is Akane? Listen up; yours truly will be directing everything starting now. Both of you only need to follow m—”
Having reached the end of my rope, I circled around to Emily’s back, then snaked an arm around her torso. I had heard Akane mention that the 108 Stars of Destiny could choose their Master, which meant Emily could pick someone else to be her Master. I myself had no use for someone who wouldn’t listen to orders.
“What are you doing?! Stop it! Put me down, you! Wh—”
“Akane, help keep a lookout and ensure that no monsters come near. I’ve got to teach this brat some manners.”
Although Emily was one of the 108 Stars of Destiny, her rank was still only F. Overpowering her with my Rank C capabilities was a piece of cake. I twisted my arm to lift the girl, then flipped her knee-length skirt up, bearing her white bottom and white underwear.
“NOOOO! Akane, don’t just stand here! Help me!”
“Kazuhiko-sama, please feel free to take all the time you need.”
Akane turned around, a ruthless glint in her eyes. I nodded, then looked down at the saucy girl in my arm. Considering her appearance, she would normally be attending school, where the relevant professionals would help forment a proper attitude in her. However, now that we had less than a year until the Dungeon System’s complete activation, there was no time to wait for her to slowly fix her personality.
“Thanks, Akane. Well then, you little brat. There is actually a perfect method for disciplining saucy children who misunderstand their place. You want to know what it is?”
“Eek...noo, NOOOO!”
I probably had a pretty frightening look on my face at the moment. Emily shook her head and flailed about desperately, but I paid it no mind. I brought my right hand to her bottom, then raised it. The right amount of strength to not break her...
“That is...pain!”
Slap!
The sound of flesh being slapped echoed throughout the dungeon from my — as someone who had broken through human limits — rather serious bottom smacking.
Emily screamed, “THAT HUUURRTTSSS! I DON’T WANT THIS! S-STOP IT RIGHT N—”
“You mean ‘Stop it, please,’ right? Say it properly!”
Slap!
One more slap, and her white bottom started getting red. Violence? Power harassment? Like I care about that. We are not in a company but a dungeon where we fight with our very lives on the line. Not doing something about a self-willed person who would ignore the chain of command and do whatever he or she wanted was just asking for death.
“We don’t need someone who only knows how to run their mouth without the strength to pull their weight. You have three choices: change your attitude now, die now, or disappear from my sight and go find another Master. Choose.”
“Y-You’ve got to be kidding. I —”
“I see, so you have chosen death. I suppose I do need to test out what happens when one of the 108 Stars of Destiny dies. Well then...die.”
Slap!
Naturally, I had zero intention of actually killing her. However, she was steadily taking damage from the bottom smacking. If she yielded, then I would heal her back up with a potion. If she continued to refuse, then I would revert her to card form and seal her away forever.
“Akane calls me ‘Kazuhiko-sama.’ You can either copy that, or call me ‘Master.’ You may not refer to me in any other way. Take your pick.”
I raised my hand once again, at which Emily blurted, “Master! I’ll call you Master!”
Slap!
“OOWWWWWW!”
“You mean ‘Please let me call you Master,’ right? Say it again properly!”
Again I raised my hand, but this time, before I was able to bring it down, Emily started quivering. Then she burst into tears.
“Waaaahhhh! P-Please let me c-call you Masterrrr. Please f-forgive meeee!”
I took out a high potion from the card case on my waist, then poured it over Emily’s bottom. The redness receded at a visible rate until disappearing altogether.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Hic...hic...”
By the time we returned to the Safety Zone on Floor 1, Emily had finally calmed back down. I was no longer so young as to be flustered by a woman’s tears, and neither was I so inexperienced as to not follow up with a carrot after delivering the stick. I took out a slice of cheesecake that had been chilled to perfection out of my Other-dimensional Pouch (Small), plated it, then held it out to Emily with a fork.
“Eat this. It’s a pastry called cheesecake. It’s delicious.”
Her interest drawn by the smell, the girl looked up through her puffy eyes and accepted the plate. I took a seat in front of her, slightly to the side.
“I don’t mind if you’re saucy or cheeky. Being assertive is fine, too. However, disrespect to myself or Akane is unacceptable. Under normal circumstances, I would spend more time slowly nurturing you and encouraging you to grow by yourself, but we don’t have time for that. We are less than two weeks away from Wave 3, and our world is coming to an end in ten years. I want to prevent that at any cost. In order to do that, I want to borrow your strength.”
Wordlessly, Emily took a bite of the cake. After a short pause, she took another bite.
“If you really dislike having me as your Master, then turn back into a card after you’re done with that cake. Supposedly, you 108 Stars of Destiny can choose your Masters. You can go look for another Master; in fact, I’ll even help you with that. So, what do you want to do?”
“...-ght.”
“What was that?”
“I’ll fight. I’ll fight together with you, Master. After all, I am one of the eminent 108 Stars of Destiny!”
“Is that so.”
I gently rubbed Emily’s head, prepared another piece of cheesecake and even poured her a cup of tea. Then I pulled out several equipment cards.
Name: Mage’s Staff
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: A staff for use by a mage. Embedded with a Magic Orb. Serves as a medium for using magic.
Name: Mage’s Cloak
Rarity: Rare
Description: A cloak enchanted with the effect of reducing the wearer’s mana usage.
“Use these two items. We’ll eventually get the higher-tier versions of them, too. Well then, let’s start over again, with proper self-introductions. This is Akane, your senpai. Her strength is...still Rank C at the moment, right?”
“Yes, Kazuhiko-sama, I’m afraid so. It didn’t take me long to get to Rank C, but I fear fighting Rank D monsters will not be able to push me two ranks higher. Emily-san, nice to meet you. I am Akane.”
“Please just call me Emily. I’m your kouhai, and I’m only Rank F, too.”
“In that case, then you can call me Akane as well, Emily.”
As the two girls got familiar with each other, I boiled water using the portable stove and brewed a fresh pot of tea. Then I stood up beside the 180 centimeter by 90 centimeter whiteboard that I had brought down to the dungeon to go over our immediate goals going forward.
“Well then, since Emily has only joined us just now, I will briefly go over our current situation. This dungeon that we are in is Abyss, a Rank A dungeon, and also the first ever dungeon in this world. Today is the ninety-ninth day since the Dungeon System was first activated. About sixty-six dungeons are appearing every thirty-six to thirty-seven days. Wave 2 has already come and gone, which means there should be currently more than 130 dungeons on the planet.”
“Hold on. What do you mean ‘should be’? You don’t know for sure?”
“Unfortunately, this world has a population of 7.7 billion, all split up into more than two hundred countries. Some of those countries have large populations, but are rather underdeveloped. We do have the ‘United Nations,’ an organization composed of representatives from almost all countries that is currently working to gather information about the dungeons, but only 126 have been announced so far. In other words, there should be six or seven that either haven’t been discovered yet or haven’t been reported yet. And one of those is Abyss.”
I then proceeded to explain how, because this dungeon had appeared in my yard, I was keeping its existence secret and therefore no one else would come in, prompting Emily to look at me with astonishment.
“So that’s why the Safety Zone here looks so nice. Normally, you wouldn’t be able to monopolize this whole room to yourself. But this is an advantage. Having a dungeon — a Rank A, no less! — all to yourself is the best environment for ranking up.”
“Continuing on from before, there are a total of 666 dungeons that will be appearing, and we have to clear them all within ten years. Even though I have exclusive access to a Rank A dungeon, it would still be impossible for me to take care of all 666 by myself. That is why I am currently making arrangements for starting an organization whose focus will be to clear dungeons.”
On the whiteboard, I wrote “Gathering Companions.” Next to it, I started listing out the skills and items that would be crucial to this.
“I wish to keep the existence of this dungeon, as well as the fact of me being the First Contacter, a secret as much as possible. In order to thoroughly enforce this with everyone in the future organization, I had thought that I would need the Servitude skill. Thanks to the appearance of this item, however, there is no longer any need for that.”
I placed a Jointly Sealed Covenant card on the table. I could now simply add a nondisclosure clause to everyone’s contract of employment, then make them sign one of these UC items to bind them to all terms of the contract that they had just signed. With this, I was spared from having to use up one of my precious skill slots. In exchange, I was able to get my hands on a skill that I was definitely going to need going forward. When I reached Species Limit Break, this had been among the skills that had become available:
<Teleportation>
The ability to teleport to somewhere that the caster has been to before. Teleporting between aboveground and a dungeon is possible. However, a detailed mental image is necessary for activation. Can teleport other people in physical contact with the caster at the time of usage.
Name: Ezoe Kazuhiko
Title: First Contacter, Species Limit Breaker
Rank: C
Possession Limit: 0 / ∞
Skills: Card Gacha (0), Recovery Magic (Lvl. 4), Inducement (Lvl. 4), Teleportation, ______, ______
“The requirement for acquiring this skill turned out to be reaching Rank C. Well, makes sense, as anyone who can teleport is definitely no longer human. It’s different from the other skills; this one apparently doesn’t have levels. In any case, thanks to this, I can now continue using this dungeon, even during the period when my house is being rebuilt. I’ll install a cover aboveground and lock it. That way, no one else will be able to get in.”
“I see you’ve thought this through. So then, what plans do you have for gathering companions? If you ask me, I’d personally prefer working with character cards than humans, to be honest.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but the next one to join us will be human. There are three reasons for this. First, as more and more dungeons emerge, it is only a matter of time until they get opened to the general public in some form or other. At the same time, if I dive into dungeons solo, it would draw unnecessary attention. As such, I would want at least one more companion with whom I can openly enter dungeons together with. Second, I want to observe the changes that happen to someone else who’s going through the dungeon. Is Card Gacha my personal skill, or is this a skill shared by all of humanity? Is there any disparity with drop rates and how long it takes to rank up? I have detailed records about everything that I’ve experienced so far; I want to make comparisons based on them. Lastly, in order for our organization to be recognized by countries and by the world at large, we will need a certain number of members.”
As I was vocalizing my plans, I was also inwardly thinking about changing Emily’s “Master.” Unlike Akane, who had the appearance of an adult woman, whenever I looked at Emily, Mari would always come to mind. Rather than a companion on equal footing, I could not help but think of Emily as a child. If I went ahead and transferred Emily to Mari, maybe the latter could prove to be a positive influence on the former.
Completely oblivious to my concerns, Emily nodded self-importantly. “Well, I don’t really get the details, but if that’s what my Master wants to do, then I don’t mind. So then, when will we be starting?”
“As soon as I finish moving to my new apartment.”
The briefing being over, the two Pillars returned to card form. I put the used dinnerware and cutlery into a plastic bag, then headed for the stairs. After confirming that the Time Stop Barrier had kicked in, I activated Teleportation. The next moment, I was back in my house’s dining room.
◇ ◇ ◇
Around the time when Ezoe Kazuhiko was preparing for his move, there was a Security Council of Japan meeting being held at the Kantei. As the committee chairman of the Dungeon Outbreak Phenomenon Countermeasure Committee, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kasuga stood up, waiting for the documents to be passed around to everybody.
“I hereby start the briefing where we go over all the information that we have at the moment regarding the paranormal spaces temporarily dubbed ‘dungeons’ that have appeared in Yokohama and Osaka. It was fifty days ago that we received reports of the one in the underground parking lot at Umeda in Osaka. Then, thirty-six days later, another one emerged on Yokohama Shindo Road.”
A picture came up on the projected screen, prompting Prime Minister Urabe Seiichirou’s face to turn grim.
“We gathered a council of a large variety of experts as fast as possible, including astronomers, geologists, and fantasy light novel writers. This expert council has pointed out an intriguing fact. Namely, the period of thirty-six days between the two waves is possibly related to the period of revolution of our planet around the Sun. One revolution is exactly 31,557,600 seconds, one tenth of which works out to around thirty-six and a half days. The theory that they are proposing is that perhaps the dungeons are appearing in thirty-six to thirty-seven day intervals as tenths of the time of a revolution. Or as we would normally put it, tenths of a year.”
Unease spread throughout the room. After all, this theory meant that even more dungeons were going to appear. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that this phenomenon would end after a year. Worst case, dungeons were going to continue emerging in roughly one-month intervals with no end.
“If one of these dungeons ends up emerging within the Imperial Palace, it would be a disaster. Having said that, it’s not as if we have any way of preventing it. Even so, the opposition parties and mass media would still bash us like there’s no tomorrow. Mr. Prime Minister, I suggest that we publicize our concern regarding this possibility beforehand so as to take the edge off of the backlash in case it actually happens. At the very least, doing so could come across as an exhibition of leadership.”
Prime Minister Urabe nodded. At the moment, the Japanese citizens’ attitude towards the dungeons was still largely that of curiosity, but soon enough, it would eventually turn to fear. The government should seize the narrative now, so as to maintain some control over the sense of crisis that the people would feel.
“The next piece of information is in regards to the inside of the dungeons themselves. One thing shared by both dungeons is that time inside flows differently than up aboveground. Time underground is 144 times faster than aboveground.”
“So you mean that I’d age 144 times faster if I went into one of them? I for sure don’t want to step foot in one, then.”
Finance Minister Souma’s joke in his Tokyo Shitamachi dialect helped to loosen the tension in the room slightly. Chief Cabinet Secretary Kasuga shook his head.
“That might be how it would seem like to someone living aboveground, but time will still flow the same for you when you are down there. To put it a different way, within one hour aboveground, you can get 144 hours’ worth of work done down there. Of course, you would indeed age 144 times faster underground, but your feeling of time would remain the same.”
“I know. I was just joking. But still, what an interesting thing. Going off of what you’re saying, things that normally take a lot of time, such as agriculture and sake brewing, could be done in what seems like no time at all if we can get them set up down there. Though I suppose that would leave the workers down there with the short end of the stick.”
“This issue has actually already come up within the JSDF. We are having small teams composed of those with elite qualifications like the Rangers going down into the dungeons, but the question of how to calculate their wages has become a big dispute within the ministry. A single hour aboveground means a whole week underground. If we calculated the troops’ wages based on aboveground time, it would severely affect their morale.”
What Defense Minister Iwase had just brought up had been, in a way, a blind spot for everyone involved. What was only a single day aboveground equated to 144 days within a dungeon. That meant the soldier receiving roughly five months of salary for a single work day, but that was indeed how much time the soldier himself had experienced. There being two different time flows meant only one could be chosen as the basis. However, in response to this, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kasuga had a proposal.
“How about we just not send JSDF or any other government employee down there? After receiving the latest reports, our expert council came back with a certain suggestion: how about using the civilians?”
The projector’s light flickered, after which the slide being shown moved on to one with images of a black stone and cards.
“As all of you already know, weapons like firearms and knives cannot be brought inside these dungeons. However, items that combine offense and defense, such as hand protectors and iron-plated boots, can. With the aid of such equipment, our JSDF members engaged in unarmed combat with these strange creatures — provisionally called ‘monsters’ — and successfully beat them back. What you see on the slide right now are things procured from Yokohama Dungeon. Apparently, when monsters are killed, they drop these black stones and cards. The black stone has a 100% chance of appearing, whereas the card only has a 3% chance. What I want to bring your attention to is the black stone.”
On the next slide were details regarding the black stone’s properties. Everyone present widened their eyes.
“These black stones, which our expert council is temporarily calling ‘magic stones,’ turn out to have the ability to decompose water. A one-gram magic stone is capable of splitting roughly ten liters of water into its oxygen and hydrogen components.”
“One gram for ten liters?!”
The man who had blurted out his surprise was the commissioner of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. Noticing all the stares on himself, he cleared his throat before explaining.
“I apologize for my outburst. As I’m sure everyone knows, hydrogen energy, or hydrogen fuel, is something that comes up all the time when talking about renewable energy. At the moment, one cubic meter of it has a selling price of around ¥100, and we are constantly continuing technological developments, with our current goal being to bring the selling price down to ¥20. If one gram of this stone can truly decompose 10 liters of water, it would bring about an energy revolution!”
Taking over from the extremely excited commissioner, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kasuga further broke down the details.
“Breaking down one liter of water will generate roughly 1,245 liters of hydrogen, which means ten liters of water will generate about 12,450 liters of hydrogen. At the moment, hydrogen is being sold at ¥1,100 per kilogram, with one kilogram working out to around 11,200 liters, which is close enough to 12,450 liters. So we can roughly equate ten liters of water to ¥1,100 in this context. Now, we have these magic stones, one gram of which can supposedly generate one kilogram of hydrogen. Even if we buy these magic stones at ¥100 per gram, and even calculating in the cost of investment into plants and equipment, the price of hydrogen would still plunge to under ¥10 per cubic meter. This is far lower than the cost of liquified natural gas. Considering how this would be a purely clean energy source with zero CO2 emissions, these stones could very well completely resolve our country’s energy problems.”
“Ahh, I see where you’re going with this. So we open the dungeons to the public and have civilians gather these magic stones, then we buy them all. The stone in your particular picture looks like it’d weigh several grams, which means several hundred yen. Kill one monster to get several hundred yen, plus it indirectly helps resolve our problem’s energy problems.”
“The fact of these being dungeons also works out nicely. The roughly six hundred thousand so-called ‘NEETs’ and ‘hikikomoris’ in our country at the moment should be quite enthusiastic about this kind of fantasy thing, right?”
“Considering the 1:144 time difference, as an extreme example, someone could literally stop by one on the way home from work. It would depend on the danger level, but perhaps even housewives could join in on this if several of them worked together.”
The other cabinet ministers also buzzed with excitement. Finance Minister Souma jerked his chin towards the screen.
“So then, what’s the card there? Don’t tell me it’s for summoning monsters?”
“That is exactly its purpose, yes.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kasuga smiled wryly. Even though the finance minister was now older than seventy, he was still an avid manga and anime otaku. This man was probably the only politician in all of Japan who would use the words ‘monster summoning,’ even when putting both houses of the Diet together.
“When inside a dungeon, these cardified monsters can be manifested — or to borrow Finance Minister Souma’s words, ‘summoned’ — and ordered to fight for you. This phenomenon seems to be possible only within a dungeon, and we’ve currently only confirmed it inside the Yokohama one. This is an image of two rabbit-like monsters biting each other.”
The photo of two cute rabbits being soaked in blood was so grotesque that everyone instinctively turned away. As the chairman of the Security Council, Prime Minister Urabe cleared his throat, then changed the topic.
“All right, so now we know about the difference in the flow of time, the possibility of a relationship between the frequency of the dungeon emergencies and revolution of Earth, the value of magic stones, and the existence of summoning cards. So then, were there any changes to our JSDF members themselves?”
The slide changed once again, now showing a photo of a black screen-like display.
“Those who have touched the doors to the dungeon all gain the ability to call up a window like this when inside the dungeon. Our expert council is calling this a ‘Status window.’ There are fields for ‘Name,’ ‘Rank,’ ‘Possession Limit,’ and ‘Skills.’ Everyone starts off with the ‘Card Gacha’ skill.”
“You basically just described a video game!!” shouted Finance Minister Souma while laughing raucously.
◇ ◇ ◇
For my move, I had found a 2LDK apartment close to Mizue Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line. The construction work would take half a year. During that time, I would still use Teleportation to continue delving into Abyss. My relatives, Kinouchi Shiori and her daughter Mari, both offered to help me with the move. However, I actually didn’t have all that much carry. My job as a management consultant only required a laptop and a printer. As I was pretty diligent with digitizing everything my clients handed me, neither did I have that much in the way of documents. What did trouble my two relatives slightly during the move was everything that I had procured for dungeon exploration.
“Kazu-san...what have you been doing lately?”
Mari’s face was dyed with unease as she looked at a spread of several types of knuckle dusters, cut-resistant shirts, safety boots, and even a polycarbonate shield. In addition to these, I had a lot of camping equipment and cardboard boxes filled with retort food packages. Due to my overzealous clicking on the world’s largest online shopping site, Forest, I now had so much stuff that I couldn’t even fit them all inside my Other-dimensional Pouch.
“I’m also planning on having a talk with you about that today. This is related to the ‘part-time job that pays good’ that I mentioned to you before. In fact, everything here is stuff necessary for that job.”
“It really isn’t a weird job, is it? It’s not dangerous or illegal, right?”
“It’s not entirely without danger, and I can’t really tell you for sure whether it’s illegal or not. I’ll tell you the full details once you see everything for yourself, then you can decide whether you actually want to do it or not. For now, we seem largely done here, so let’s grab some food first.”
Even I was aware that my attempt at changing the topic had been a bit forceful. However, it was true that there wasn’t much meaning in me using only words. Instead, the explanation would go much smoother once I actually demonstrated everything in person. It would only be Mari helping me out, but I expected that keeping Shiori in the loop would make everything a lot easier.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ezoe-san truly had been an enormous help for our family. My daughter, Mari, had also taken to him as a father. Therefore, I did not originally intend on objecting to Mari helping him out with whatever his job was. But the actual circumstances of the job turned out to be way beyond anything I had imagined. Never would I have expected the workplace to be one of the “dungeons” that had the entire world reeling at the moment!
“It was about four months ago that a flight of stairs appeared in my yard. Intrigued, I decided to go down it. At the bottom was a spacious room with nothing inside except for the doors on the far end. I did not feel scared. Instead, I was only curious about what lay beyond the doors. Without thinking much about it, I grabbed the doorknob. That was how everything began.”
The house where Ezoe-san lived was currently being rebuilt. After I had finished eating lunch and returned to the apartment where he was temporarily moving into, I took the hand that he was holding out at his insistence. Then the next thing I knew, I was in a room I had never seen before. Supposedly, it was a room in a dungeon that had appeared in Shishibone. With my daughter in a state of confusion, it fell to me to ask him what was happening. Then we learned that everything — how Ezoe-san had suddenly grown so slim, how he had suddenly gotten so much money as to buy up all the houses in the area, and why he had purchased a large number of alarming things whose use I couldn’t even imagine — had been because of this dungeon.
“It’s a bit hard to believe, right? Watch this.”
With a quiet poof, a creepy-looking creature the height of a child appeared all of a sudden. Mari let out a little scream and hid behind my back. I myself was so scared that my knees were shaking.
“This is a goblin, a monster that shows up inside this dungeon. There’s no need to be scared. Materialized monsters are absolutely loyal to the person who materialized them. Inside of the dungeons, monsters like this appear on each of the floors. When each one is defeated, it drops cash. During the past three months, I spent all my time gathering money down here.”
Another sound rang out, after which the creepy creature disappeared, and a card floated to the floor. Ezoe-san picked it up, then gestured for us to take a seat on the sofa. I’m scared. I’m really, really scared. Was I wrong in thinking him a kind and gentle person? I gulped, then sat on the sofa as I was told. If it ever came to it, I was ready to pounce at Ezoe-san any moment. If things took a turn for the worse, I had to protect my daughter at all costs.
◇ ◇ ◇
The Kazu-san that I knew was a gentle person. My mom both raised me and cared for my sickly grandma all while working part-time to make ends meet. In order to make things even a little bit easier on her, I began helping out with the housework at a relative’s — Kazu-san’s — house. Once a month, he would even take me out for a meal. Secretly, I had dreamed of having him as my father.
It was around the start of July that Kazu-san started changing. First, he started slimming down drastically all of a sudden. At first, I thought he had started one of those diets that go entirely overboard, but then I noticed more changes: the amount of trash and laundry that piled up suddenly became several times what it used to be. When I talked to him, he remained the same kindly uncle as before, but every once in a while, he would get this scary look on his face. He also seemed to be occupied thinking about something. I was honestly quite worried for him. I was starting to suspect that the loneliness of being single at forty years old was starting to take its toll on him.
When the creepy creature called a ‘goblin’ came out, I instinctively hid behind my mom. When I sat on the sofa and relaxed a little, a ton of questions flooded into my mind. Where was this place? Is it really okay keeping this a secret from the police and ward office? This was Kazu-san we were talking about, and so I was sure he had a plan. Even so, I didn’t want him getting involved in anything too dangerous. After all, he was a precious family member to me.
◇ ◇ ◇
“I’m sure that you’re both wondering why I’ve been hiding the existence of this dungeon. I will explain everything now. After you listen to what I have to say, if you think me in the wrong, then feel free to report me to the police, or do whatever you feel is right. However, if you can understand the logic behind my decisions, then I ask that you keep this secret together with me. This is a matter that involves humanity as a whole.”
After leaving that caveat, I revealed everything to my two relatives. About how the Dungeon System would become fully activated eight months later, and how monsters would flow out in an endless torrent. About how all life on Earth would be devoured, reducing our planet to a dead husk.
“I did consider telling the police at the start. When I heard about someone dying as a result of what I had done, I was actually extremely conflicted. What stopped me from doing it was the thought of how much chaos would ensue if what I knew was to spread to the general public. The entire world would be thrown into a panic and, worst case, wars might even break out. Because of this, I decided to dedicate myself to clearing away the dungeons.”
“From what you said, it sounds like something that couldn’t have been helped. Nobody could have predicted the emergence of the dungeons. I don’t think you need to shoulder all the responsibility by yourself.”
There was truth to Shiori’s rebuttal. Even so, I shook my head. Things were not quite so simple.
“At the end of July, when Osaka Dungeon appeared, Sergeant Satou Kouji went inside and was killed by monsters. That was a casualty within our own country. It doesn’t get mentioned on our news, but surely, similar incidents have been occurring all over the world. It was me who activated the Dungeon System. I cannot turn my head away, pretending to know nothing, hoping for someone else to do something about it. If I tried living that way, I would be entirely crushed by the guilt.”
My two relatives fell silent. There was no “correct answer” to be found here. It was my choice to stand up to the circumstances I found myself in. For this sake, I had even stained my hands with “evil.” There was indeed guilt but no regret in me.
“The job that I mentioned before was having Mari help gather money here in this dungeon. If she herself wishes for it, then I would also appreciate someone who would accompany me in my dungeon clearing efforts. I do feel apologetic for getting you two involved. However, the struggle against the dungeons is only going to increase in intensity going forward. If anything ever happened to me — knock on wood — someone needs to take care of this dungeon. And you two are my only remaining relatives.”
Mari’s eyes shifted as if she was torn. Before she opened her mouth, however, her mother spoke first in a firm tone.
“We’ll have to say no. As a mother, I cannot allow my daughter to do something this dangerous!”
This reaction in spite of me using Inducement, huh. I suppose nothing beats a mother’s love, after all.
◇ ◇ ◇
I understood where Ezoe-san was coming from. By no means was he doing the wrong thing. In his own way, he was trying to take responsibility for the consequences caused by his own actions. I had no intention of telling the police or anyone else. If anything, I was in support of the choice that he had made. However, whether I would allow Mari to help was another matter entirely.
“If it’s my help that you want, then I’d be happy to oblige. However, I am strongly against my daughter being involved!”
“But, Mom...”
Ezoe-san took out more cards. I tensed myself, expecting it to be more monsters. However, what appeared after the poof were people instead. There was a stunningly glamorous lady who seemed to be in her twenties and a girl who looked around the same age as Mari.
“Oh my. Are these two the new companions that you have chosen, Kazuhiko-sama?”
“One of them seems the same age as me. But she’s normal. I don’t sense any magic from her.”
Ezoe-san instructed the model-like lady to prepare tea. I found myself curious about the relationship between the two of them. The eyes that the lady directed towards Ezoe-san were the eyes of a woman looking at her man. Perhaps they really were in that kind of relationship. As for the other girl, she sat in front of Mari and started looking at her closely.
“I’m Emily, a Legend Rare card materialized by Master. My specialty is magic. What about you?”
“Eh? Ah, um...I’m Kinouchi Mari.”
“So, Mari, then? Nice to meet you! Call me Emily.”
“Emily...-chan?”
Oh no, my daughter is already being involved. Oh look, Ezoe-san is taking cake out of a leather pouch. Wait, how...? Why was there cake inside a pouch like that? What’s more, the logo on the box is from that famous shop, Pâtisserie Takuya. Both Mari and I have a huge sweet tooth... No, no, no! Get a hold of yourself, Shiori! Don’t be lured by something like this! I must not lay a hand on this cake! I need to protect my daughter!
◇ ◇ ◇
“Including hazard pay, I am willing to pay an hour salary of ¥2,000 per hour. I’m talking about dungeon hours, of course.”
“Dungeon hours?”
While happily digging into the no-bake cheesecake I had laid out, Mari tilted her head in puzzlement. Next to her, Shiori was sitting very still with a severe look on her face. I remembered her having quite a sweet tooth as well, but she wasn’t picking her plate up.
“Time inside the dungeons flows 144 times faster than aboveground. In other words, when you go back up after spending 144 hours down here, you will find that only an hour has passed by. Working part-time for one aboveground hour means actually working 144 hours down here. Naturally, I will also pay you for 144 hours’ worth of wages.”
“Um, that would be...”
“The hourly rate is ¥2,000, so every time you come to work, you would be going home with ¥288,000.”
“An hourly salary of ¥288,000?!”
“Please don’t misunderstand. It would indeed be equal to an hour aboveground, but you yourself will be experiencing the full 144 hours down here, and it would still be ¥2,000 per hour. It’s only when you convert it to aboveground time that the rate appears to be ¥288,000 per hour. And of course, to avoid any trouble, I will be paying this entire amount in cash.”
Although I had some qualms about resorting to what was basically slapping someone with a wad of bills to resolve a problem, I still left it there on the table. Exactly ¥288,000 in one thousand yen bills.
“S-So much money...”
In contrast to her daughter’s excitement, however, Shiori shook her head while maintaining the same severe look.
“I’m disappointed in you, Ezoe-san. To think that you would attempt to entice us with money like this... Mari, we’re going home.”
“Eh? But, Mom...”
Just when the mother grabbed her daughter’s hand, Akane stood up.
“Kazuhiko-sama, I beg pardon for being presumptuous, but may I? As a part of the Dungeon System itself, I believe that the truth of the matter might sound more convincing coming from me.”
Without waiting for my reply, Akane then made her way to the whiteboard and wrote “ten years eight months.” Then she adopted a bewitching smile while bowing to her audience.
“My name is Akane. In Kazuhiko-sama’s stead, allow me to continue the explanation. May I ask what your names are?”
“Ah! Um...I-I’m Kinouchi Mari. This is my mom, Kinouchi Shiori. Nice to meet you.”
“Mari!”
“Very well, Mari-san and Shiori-san it is, then. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance as well. Apologies for the abruptness, but may I also ask how old you are, Mari-san?”
“I’m sixteen this year. I’m a high school freshman.”
“So young... But unfortunately, if things are left as they are, you will never reach thirty. This ‘ten years eight months’ that I’ve written here is, just as Kazuhiko-sama has mentioned earlier, the remaining lifespan of this world. At this rate, Mari-san and Shiori-san, both of you will die slightly more than ten years from now.”
Mari looked troubled, whereas Shiori glared at me with a face that looked on the verge of tears. I felt a dull pain inside my chest as I second-guessed myself, wondering if involving these two really had been the right thing to do or not.
◇ ◇ ◇
I could not help but to glare at Ezoe-san. My face was expressionless, whereas in contrast, his face was a mixture of resignation and acceptance. That face alone told me — no matter how much I wanted to deny it — that he and the woman who’d introduced herself as Akane were not lying to us. That left me with only one burning question: why did he bring us into this?!
“At the moment, residents of this world still know next to nothing about the dungeons. The only person who knows about all this is my Master, Kazuhiko-sama. This dungeon where we are currently located, Abyss, is this world’s very first dungeon, discovered by Kazuhiko-sama roughly four months ago. Within the time of one revolution — or as you better know it, one year — all of the dungeons will emerge. In other words, eight months from now, there will be a total of 666 dungeons in your world, including this Abyss. That will be the state of this world.”
The woman continued her explanation in a matter-of-fact tone. I was almost sure that what she was saying was the truth. However, I could not even imagine what “world destruction” meant. All I’d ever wanted was to live a modest and reserved life with my daughter.
“When all the dungeons have emerged — a state called ‘Full Activation’ — a ten-revolution countdown will begin. In other words, ten years later, monsters will rush out en masse from every single dungeon that has yet to be cleared. The Dungeon System calls this phenomenon ‘Monster Stampede.’ The skies, the seas, and every inch of land will be entirely filled with monsters. All life — be it humans, insects, the trees, and even the grass — will be devoured until nothing is left. That is how this world will end.”
“That’s a lie! You’ve got to be lying!” I blurted out inadvertently. I knew better inside my head. Even so, I still could not bring myself to allow my one and only daughter to be involved in something so dangerous.
Akane-san looked at me without saying anything. In exchange, the girl around Mari’s age who had been sitting on the sofa across from ours this whole time spoke up, mercilessly driving the point home.
“Everything is true. I am also a part of the Dungeon System. I can’t go into any details because the System has erased my memories, but I know that every single world that the Dungeon System has appeared in has perished. The probability of surviving this is almost nil. Most First Contacters fall into despair and simply live out the rest of their lives drowning in their desires before dying. However, Master is different. Even if there is only a one in a billion chance, he would bet on it. But he can’t do it himself. Clearing all 666 dungeons by himself is outright impossible. That is why he is looking for fellow ‘dungeon busters,’ those who would help him in his mission.”
Like I don’t know that! Of course I can tell that Ezoe-san is asking for our help! If it was anything else, I would have done it in a heartbeat. That is how much I owe him. However, allowing my daughter to fight something as creepy as that goblin just isn’t something I can allow as a parent. This is not a problem of my head but my heart.
Seeing me hang my head, Akane-san started speaking again.
“Allow me to introduce Kazuhiko-sama’s daily schedule. He spends more than half of each aboveground day down in this dungeon. He defeats three hundred skeleton knights every three hours, then takes a thirty-minute break. After repeating that five times, he finally allows himself eight hours of sleep. This is the schedule for a single day down here. It is only after he repeats this several times that he allows himself some rest aboveground. For Kazuhiko-sama, one day aboveground is equal to thirty days. And he has been continuing this lifestyle for almost one hundred aboveground days.”
“This works out to be three thousand days, which is more than eight years according to this world’s calendar,” added Emily. “The overwhelming majority of this time was dedicated to killing monsters. Master might look like he’s in his thirties, but that’s only because of the Enhancement Element that the monsters leave behind. His true age is already approaching fifty. He is dedicating literally everything that he is and has to stand up against the dungeons.”
“When I first met him, Kazuhiko-sama was a chubby man who’d just turned forty. Those who defeat monsters inside a dungeon get to absorb something called Enhancement Element, which is a substance that greatly boosts the human body’s growth. Anyone who fights in this state — you two included, of course — would see their body tempered at an unbelievable rate and their cells turned young again. After killing a colossal number of monsters, Kazuhiko-sama has finally broken through human limits. Despite having sacrificed this much of himself, he still cannot win on his own. Please. Please help our Master.”
“......”
“Mom...”
I heard my daughter calling me from my side. I closed my eyes, then sighed heavily.
◇ ◇ ◇
Name: Kinouchi Shiori
Title: None
Rank: F
Possession Limit: 0 / 27
Skills: Card Gacha, ______, ______
Name: Kinouchi Mari
Title: None
Rank: F
Possession Limit: 0 / 30
Skills: Card Gacha, ______, ______
By touching the doors that led to Floor 1 of Abyss, the mother and daughter pair of Shiori and Mari also gained access to their own Status windows. When I saw their screens, I unconsciously brought a hand to my mouth. I was now convinced that “Card Gacha” was a skill common to every single human in this world; the probability of it being otherwise seemed far too slim.
“Uwah! Kazu-san, it looks like I have a skill. Do you know what this ‘Card Gacha’ does?”
In response to my relative’s carefree question, I took out ten Goblin Cards, put them inside a spare card case, then handed the whole case to her.
“Hold this, then try calling out your Status window again.”
Name: Kinouchi Mari
Title: None
Rank: F
Possession Limit: 10 / 30
Skills: Card Gacha (1), ______, ______
“Eh? Then this...”
“I see, so it works the same way. I’ve yet to be 100% sure, but it can probably be safe to assume that Card Gacha is a skill possessed by all humankind. Next thing. Mari, try touching the part where it says ‘Card Gacha’ on your screen.”
Mari obediently did as I asked. The contents on her window changed.
“Character, Weapon, Equipment, Item... Yep, all the same. Now try pressing where it says ‘Item Gacha.’”
Upon selecting Item Gacha, a slot machine came up and activated, exactly like what I was so used to seeing. Soon enough, a single card came out.
Name: Magic Pouch
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: A leather pouch with a storage capacity of 10 m3. Time inside the storage flows the same as outside.
“A UC on your first try! Looks like you have good luck. Anyways, this is the way to use the Card Gacha skill; you’d need ten cards each time. What I had just handed you were Goblin Cards. Monsters inside dungeons have a certain probability of dropping cards upon death. Those would be what we call ‘monster cards.’ Goblins are classified as Rank F, the lowest rank. They’re not worth all that much to me; I have gathered quite a lot of them by now.”
“And you’re saying that everybody possesses this skill?”
“Again, I don’t have undeniable proof, but at the very least, I own the skill, and apparently so do you two. Of course, I can’t rule out the possibility of other factors being at play, such as this being a skill attainable only from Abyss or it really being an incredible coincidence that all three of us ended up with the same skill. I expect the governments to eventually make announcements about this kind of thing, so we will know then.”
“Do I have to use the same kind of monster card to activate the skill?”
“No, you don’t. You can use a variety of different monster cards. I’ve tried it myself using Goblin Cards, Orc Cards, and Skeleton Knight Cards. Although it did affect the probability of getting Rares, the skill itself activated without issue.”
I brought Mari towards the shelves lined up behind my table. Laid out on the shelves were stacks and stacks of cards.
“These shelves are where I store all my cards. From left to right are the Commons, Uncommons, Rares, Super Rares, Ultra Rares, and Legend Rares. That being said, the only LRs I have are Akane and Emily, so I don’t keep them on the shelves but inside one of the drawers on my desk.”
I picked up several plastic cases of the type well-used by card collectors and opened them up. Each kind of card had its own case, with some even taking several cases.
“I have a lot of monster cards now, so I keep them in a storage box and maintain inventory of them. Items attainable through the Item Gacha, like this potion here, I’m actively trying to stock up on.”
Somehow, I felt like a card collector showing off my card collection. At the moment, I was top in the world in terms of both quantity and variety. I had Mari materialize the Magic Pouch that she had just gotten.
“This pouch can store as much as can fit inside ten cubic meters of space. The weight does not matter. It would be extremely handy for when you go shopping, but just make sure to be careful about other people’s eyes when using it. If you don’t like how it looks, feel free to spruce it up however you want.”
If she was going to be spending time in this dungeon going forward, she would need to prepare things like changes of clothes, hygienic supplies, and sanitary goods. I couldn’t very well have her leave such things lying around somewhere, so I had actually been planning on giving her a Magic Pouch in the first place.
“So then, that’s about it for the general explanation. It’s only been a few minutes above ground. Would you two like to try stepping foot into the dungeon?”
Mari and her mother looked at each other, then both shook their heads simultaneously.
◇ ◇ ◇
Kazu-san offered to show us the inside of the dungeon, but I turned him down. So much had happened that my mind was having trouble catching up. I wanted to go home first and sort through my thoughts. I also wanted to talk things out with my mom.
When I told him so, Kazu-san took out a card and materialized what looked like a bottle of medicine.
“This is an item called a high potion. It is effective even against illnesses. Feel free to use this to heal your grandmother. I assure you that it is not poison. Though, I suppose you’ll have to just take my word for it.”
Mom also looked very bewildered, so I decided to accept it for now. I already had my fill for the day. When Kazu-san teleported us back, he even handed me an envelope with ¥280,000 inside and told me to use it to buy whatever I needed as preparation.
When the two of us were finally alone back home, Mom sunk into one of the dining chairs.
“Mari...are you sure about this?”
I sat across from Mom. On the table between us was the ‘high potion’ and the ¥280,000 that Kazu-san had given us. These proved to us that what we had just experienced was not a dream. A little over ten years from now, monsters will overflow from dungeons, and Mom, Grandma, and I will all die. Kazu-san is fighting even now, trying his hardest to prevent that from happening. Is just watching him the right choice? If I can contribute in some way...
“This is the first time that Kazu-san’s asked us for help, isn’t it? Both of us...have been helped by him all these years. If there’s anything I can do, I’d like to do it.”
“...Then just promise me that you won’t overdo it and that you’ll keep up with your studies. All right?”
Mom finally nodded and gave me permission. I was sure that even she felt the urge to help Kazu-san. The company that he was starting up, Dungeon Busters, was definitely going to become a huge deal. When it grows big enough, I hope Mom can come join us, too.
I picked up the potion, then said, “I’m going to take this to Grandma now. I just know it will work.”