Chapter 4: Dungeon Bootcamp

Dungeon Busters — LNCrawler · All chapters

Chapter 4: Dungeon Bootcamp

<Japan’s — no, the world’s — very first civilian adventurers have just returned! Oh, they’ve gone back inside. They seem to be carrying out several really big bags. Could it be that they are all filled with magic stones?>

◇ ◇ ◇

Time was needed to carefully appraise the magic stones that we delivered, which meant we weren’t going to get our money immediately. This was an area that would probably see improvement in the future, as easier and quicker ways for appraisal would surely be invented in time.

As history’s first ever “dungeon drop-item consignment” scene, Shishido and I made our delivery amidst an almost blinding storm of flashes. Perhaps in a bid to play up the occasion, the JSDF also assigned a cute female member to serve as the receptionist. The way she never let her smile slip despite the clear show of nerves spoke volumes about her professional awareness.

“Please sign this form. The promised funds will be transferred to your specified account after three business days. What would you like to do with your cards?”

“I’ll be keeping my share. After all, these are the world’s first ever collection of dungeon drops. I want to hold onto them for sentimental value.”

“I’ll keep just one and sell the rest. Even if I keep them, the number that I can keep on my person inside the dungeon is limited.”

Without hesitation, Shishido stacked around five hundred cards onto the exchange counter, prompting the receptionist to widen her eyes in surprise. Thanks to the Lazybone’s Bag that I had brought, the magic stones and cards dropped by the monsters we killed were gathered automatically. Then every time we went back to the Safety Zone to grab some rest, we would also unload all of the bag’s contents for safekeeping. Due to having gone through this with Mari before, I knew exactly what to do. What I didn’t quite know what to do with, however, was something else entirely.

“Aniki, they said we have to host a press conference ourselves.”

That was right. During the few days that we spent together in the dungeon, Shishido had taken to calling me “Aniki,” the word meaning “big brother” commonly associated with familial relations within crime syndicates in Japan. It took a bit getting used to, but for my part, I had also started calling him by his first name, Akira, so I suppose that went both ways.

“Right, which means we should freshen up first. To the showers we go, Akira.”

At 188 centimeters, Akira was both taller than me and had wider shoulders than me. The sight of him eagerly following behind a middle-aged man like me caused the JSDF members we walked past to exchange glances with each other.

“What on earth happened to those two inside the dungeon?”

◇ ◇ ◇

Akira walked into the press conference in a white T-shirt, jacket, and jeans, but I chose to go with a proper suit and necktie. A cacophony of paahs went off as cameras flashed again and again. It was the very first time in my forty years that I was experiencing a situation like this. Major General Katsuragi introduced us in his capacity as the head of the Yokohama Dungeon Engineer Brigade, then publicly commended us for completing the request of gathering magic stones.

“When the supply of monster cards increases in the future, the pricing would very likely go down in accordance. At the current moment, however, we are entirely unable to take advantage of the Card Gacha skill without the cards that these gentlemen have brought back. In other words, they have provided us our only source of the medicine known as ‘potions.’ The purchasing price of monster cards has yet to be confirmed, but in light of the current circumstances, the amount is guaranteed to be at least ¥10,000 per card.”

A stir ran through the reporters upon hearing that our ¥10 million reward was going to balloon even higher with the hundreds of cards that we had brought back. Soon enough, their hands were all in the air, each and every one brimming with a question. The first one to be picked turned out to be someone from a newspaper well-known for its conservative stance, the Keizai Shimbun.

“It was only five hours for us aboveground, but supposedly it was an entire month from your point of view. Thank you for your hard work. After earning more than ¥10 million in these five hours, do you two plan to continue being adventurers going forward? Also, could you tell us what you intend to do with the money that you have earned?”

Akira and I exchanged glances. He was the famous one, so I indicated for him to go first.

“The question is whether we’ll continue being adventurers, right? For me, it’s a solid ‘yes,’ hands down. I had the time of my life down in the dungeon. Where else aboveground can I experience equally exhilarating battles fighting against creatures so hungry for my life? Nowhere. That’s where. As for the money...I guess I’ll go grab a beef bowl. With an additional egg on top, ’cus I’m rich now.”

After waiting for the light laughter at Akira’s joke to die down, I then spoke up.

“Before anything else, I wish to make a clarification. Although it is true that it was only five hours up here, what Shishido-san and I had experienced was a full 720 hours. From your point of view, it appears that we had each earned ¥1 million per hour, but from our point of view, we were earning less than ¥10,000 per hour. This is a point that I wish to make crystal clear.”

Truth was, however, that we had made periodic trips back to my Mizue apartment for things like showering and replenishing our supplies, so we had only really spent ten days inside the dungeon. We would have finished even faster if we had skipped the showers, but Akira objected. I conceded while feeling the generation gap, recalling my own fresh recruit days when my direct superior told me that “Back when I was young, pulling double all-nighters was common practice!”

“As for whether I plan on continuing to be an adventurer or not, it’s also a ‘yes’ from me. And since we’re on the topic, we have an announcement to make.”

Akira and I stood up together. I turned to look straight into the cameras, the mic still in my hand.

“Now that I have become an officially licensed civilian adventurer, I am taking the opportunity of starting a company. The company name is ‘Dungeon Busters Inc.,’ and our main source of income will be the sales of magic stones and cards. Through the Card Gacha skill, we will be building an inventory of everything from the highly sought-after potions to equipment and everything in between. Shishido-san here has agreed to join as our first ever employee. We will be partying up together to explore the deepest depths of the dungeons.”

The two of us turned towards each other and shook hands, inciting another storm of flashes. After keeping it up for several seconds, we then sat back down. When I indicated that we were open to more questions, hands shot up into the air with even more alacrity than before. The one who got picked first turned out to be a foreign reporter.

“Could you tell us more about Dungeon Busters? You mentioned that Shishido-san is your sole employee at the moment, but do you have plans to hire more employees in the future? If so, what conditions are you looking for in applicants?”

“Yes, I plan on employing more people. As we will first be focusing on the dungeons within Japan, I foresee hiring mostly Japanese civilian adventurers at the moment. However, earning money through the dungeons will not be our only goal. Rather, we also aim to learn more about the dungeons, such as what they are, why they began appearing, and what technology is being employed to produce the monsters, magic stones, cards, and everything else. By continuously delving into the dungeons, we hope that we will eventually solve their mystery and perhaps even find a way to erase them. Thus the Busters part of our name. Being willing to take up and share this vision with us is a hard condition for joining us.”

“What a wonderful vision it is. I, as an American and as a member of the human race, eagerly look forward to when your company expands overseas.”

After fielding several more questions about Dungeon Busters, a whole hour had already gone by. Some of the questions were posed with less-than-friendly intentions, but the general reception seemed quite positive. When the press conference was finally over, I was completely exhausted. For days like these, the best cure was to grab drinks with some companionship of the fairer sex. Therefore, I bade farewell to Akira, then made my way over to Yokohama’s nightlife district.

◇ ◇ ◇

With the addition of a new Dungeon Busters member, self-introductions needed to be made. However, there was something else that I needed to get done first. And so, after giving Mari a heads-up about introducing Akira the coming weekend, I suited up to take care of my duties as a management consultant.

“I deeply apologize for the inconvenience caused by my personal circumstances. As I have made the decision to shift into the dungeon adventurer industry, I am afraid that I would be unable to continue providing my consulting services. Please allow me to express my heartfelt gratitude for everything that you have done for me so far.”

I lowered my head to the owner of a pachinko parlor and business hotel chain, Iwamoto. Although he was my childhood friend, he was also my client, and so I felt obligated to go through the proper channels with him. I braced myself for disparagement, but he merely laughed and waved his hand.

“I was surprised when I saw you on TV, Kazu-chan, but then all the pieces fell into place. Your appearance has changed drastically over these past few months, and you came to me with questions and requests that, without any context, did come across as quite bizarre. Oh, there’s no need to tell me any details. I think I’m probably better off not knowing.”

“Iwa-chan...”

“I understand where you’re coming from. However, instead of completely canceling your consulting contract with us, what do you think about keeping it in a ‘temporary suspension’ status? Being an adventurer is quite dangerous, right? It wouldn’t hurt to keep a path of return open, just in case.”

I accepted the hand that Iwamoto was holding out, then deeply lowered my head. Thank you so much. Truly.

Afterwards, I spent the next few days going around paying my parting respects to the rest of my clients. My business as a consultant was, for all intents and purposes, completely scrapped. One of my former clients was an IT company that also designed and created websites, so I also asked them to make one for Dungeon Busters while making my visit.

“Assuming that each team has five people, I’d still need twenty teams. Only a few of them need to be strong enough to clear out Rank A and Rank S dungeons. It’s the ones ranked B and lower that make up the bulk of the numbers. Even so, would we really make it in time?”

It was true that we were making progress. However, we only had ten years and 666 dungeons to go through. Even if we couldn’t get to them all, we still definitely should clear out the roughly two hundred places in the upper Rank B spectrum and everything above. When framed in that perspective, I really felt the urge to pick up my pace.

That said, hurrying is fine and all, but I have to be careful that I don’t get impatient. As my superior from back in the day used to say, decisions made in impatience almost always lead to mistakes.

I slapped my cheeks several times and took a deep breath to steady myself.

◇ ◇ ◇

All of my companions had been gathered here in the Safety Zone of the world’s first ever dungeon, Abyss. The reason was, of course, to introduce Akira.

“N-Nice to meet you. I’m Kinouchi Mari, a first-year at Tokyo Metropolitan Matsue High School. This is my pet, Myu-chan.”

“Myu!”

Now that Dungeon Busters had an official employee, I naturally had to introduce him to our part-timer, Mari. Once she nervously managed to get her self-introduction out, Akira whistled.

“I’ll be damned. What a cutie, and yet I feel goosebumps all over. Mari, you’re strong, aren’t you? And that rabbit of yours. You called it your pet, but it’s not just any normal pet, is it?”

“Myu?”

When the tiny figure with cute, beady eyes hopped towards Akira, he inadvertently took a step back.

“Just saying, Akira, but don’t even think of laying a hand on Myu, all right? Despite its appearance, it’s stronger than you. And there are two more people to introduce to you. Akane, Emily, come on out.”

I took out two cards and materialized the glamorous kunoichi with jiggling breasts and the saucy mage who looked like a high schooler.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Kazuhiko-sama’s faithful servant, Akane.”

“I’m Emily, a mage summoned by Master. Just saying, if you ever try anything on me or Mari, I will set you on fire.”

Rather than being mesmerized by the two girls’ beauty, Akira was much more bewildered at the fact that they had appeared from cards.

“A-Aniki, what just...”

“Well, well, take a seat. I’ll now tell you everything that I know about the Dungeon System. For everyone else, this will be a rehashing of what you already know. Please be patient. Akira is going to be an important battle asset for our team, and I want to make sure that he’s fully caught up.”

After seeing everyone nod in acknowledgment, I got up and made my way over to the whiteboard.

◇ ◇ ◇

According to Kazu-san’s account, the first dungeon had appeared at the end of June this year. Since then, five months had passed, and now I was just around the corner from my final exams. My grades were absolutely fine. More like, they had even gone up after I started this part-time job. After all, I would study down here in the Safety Zone every weekend. An hour aboveground was six whole days down here. I had all the time in the world for studying.

“It is my hope that they will eventually allow high schoolers to officially enter the dungeons, too, perhaps under the supervision of an adult in possession of a dungeon adventurer license. Maybe when we collect enough achievements under the Dungeon Busters name, we will get enough speaking power to help push the idea forward.”

Kazu-san’s goal was to clear every single dungeon throughout the world. However, there were only ten years to do so. That was why he wanted to nurture as many dungeon adventurers as possible. If high schoolers could eventually enter the dungeons, too, just as Kazu-san hoped, I also planned on officially joining Dungeon Busters. Though it really is quite embarrassing having my picture taken while wearing that outfit...

“Hold on. You’ve got to be shitting me! Those aren’t the movements of a rabbit!”

Akira-san was currently sparring with Myu-chan. Even I had heard the name Shishido Akira before. He was said to be the world’s strongest man, an undefeated champion who had won some international martial arts tournament six times in a row. However, it was taking that famous Akira-san all he had just to dodge Myu-chan’s punches. Cold sweat was running down his cheek, and he was holding nothing back in the attacks he threw. Even so, none of his attacks managed to penetrate Myu-chan’s fluffiness.

“Myuuuu!”

Bam.

Oh, Myu-chan got a punch in. Is Akira-san okay?

◇ ◇ ◇

So far, I had faced off against taekwondo, muay thai, jujitsu, and numerous other martial arts schools, only to win in every instance. I was touted as “the world’s strongest” by those around me, and I had also thought myself to be so. As it turned out, however, I was merely ignorant. I was nothing more than a weakling who thought himself strong because of a mortifying lack of experience.

As soon as I was admitted as a member of Dungeon Busters, I asked Aniki for a spar. In response, however, he told me to fight with Mari’s pet rabbit first. I had killed thousands of rabbit monsters in Yokohama Dungeon that shared the exact same appearance, but the aura of this one was entirely different. As a monster, it was clearly a wild creature, and yet I felt from it the intelligence of a human. When I actually tried fighting it, chills ran down my back.

“Shit! What’s a wild animal doing using martial arts?! That’s cheating!”

That three-dimensional fighting style that involved kicking off of the walls and ceiling at speeds faster than my eye could follow. Those heavy jabs that seemed so completely disproportionate to its tiny body. That perfect swaying and backstepping that would put even a pro boxer to shame. And on top of all that, those instincts as a wild creature that apparently had remained razor-sharp and that absurd defense supposedly due to so-called “fluff.” If this rabbit participated in a Shinmyoukan worldwide tournament, it would undoubtedly come out the champion.

“Myu!”

Just as I was about to land a punch on its face, Myu slipped away. Shit! What the hell is a rabbit doing using feints?! Having successfully entered my space, it let out a cute squeak while throwing a punch with such power that its approach brought goosebumps to my arms.

A cross counter?!

This was where my memories ended.

◇ ◇ ◇

“The reason why I made you fight with Myu was to let you know your shortcomings and relative lack of experience. What are your thoughts?”

After he’d lost consciousness in the fight with Myu, I’d promptly used a high potion to bring Akira back.

“Until now, the large majority of my fighting experience has been against other humans. During the fight, I realized how most of the martial arts that I know have been developed specifically for anti-personnel combat. However, dungeon monsters are not humans. There are plenty of opponents against which my current fighting style will be meaningless. It was an important lesson that I needed to learn.”

“That’s right. Among humans, you are strong, Akira. Perhaps even the strongest in the world. However, strength is something that can be greatly affected by compatibility. The title of ‘strongest’ that you are aiming for is not just ‘the world’s strongest human’ but ‘the world’s strongest living being,’ right? Even we have only gone as deep as Floor 3 in this dungeon, and the strongest monster that we have faced so far has only been Rank D. Presumably, there will be monsters that are at least Rank C down on Floor 4. Akira and Mari, our focus for now is to continue fighting on Floors 2 and 3 until you both reach Rank D. Then we’ll attempt Floor 4.”

After seeing both of them nod in acknowledgment, I then took out one thousand Skeleton Knight Cards to get some equipment for Akira.

“Akira, your fighting style is mainly focused on strikes, right? Open up your Status.”

Name: Shishido Akira

Title: None

Rank: E

Possession Limit: 0 / 25

Skills: Card Gacha, Striking (Lvl. 2), ______

I had seen Akira’s Status before in Yokohama Dungeon. As could be expected of a martial artist, he had already been in possession of the Striking skill from the get-go. Which means we should be aiming for equipment that will allow him to take full advantage of a close-quarters bare-handed combat style. With the case full of cards in hand, I activated Card Gacha.

Name: Mithril Gauntlets

Rarity: Rare

Description: Gauntlets made out of mithril. Possesses high magic resistance and high defense.

Name: Powerful Fighter’s Combat Outfit

Rarity: Rare

Description: A combat outfit enchanted to provide the wearer with physical enhancement and resistance against physical attacks. Size automatically adjusts to the wearer.

Name: Shoes of Speed

Rarity: Rare

Description: Boosts the wielder’s movement speed. The higher the velocity, the more power needed to stop.

Name: Fluffy Socks

Rarity: Rare

Description: Socks that boost agility when put onto a summoned beast. For use by summoned beasts only. Size automatically adjusts to the beast wearing it.

Name: Summoned Beast’s Nest

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: Nest for use by summoned beasts. Size automatically adjusts to the beast using it.

Name: Magical Toilet

Rarity: Rare

Description: Materializes a completely private toilet cubicle when activated. Entirely soundproof. Washlet is included, but no toilet paper.

Name: Sex Slave Necklace

Rarity: Rare

Description: Can be used to convert a target into the user’s sex slave when user drips a drop of his or her own blood onto the gem in the necklace and puts the necklace onto the target’s neck. The effect remains as long as the necklace is worn.

There were also a few other cards that we had seen before, such as power rings and whatnot. As for the last card, it was going to be under eternal lock and key. I made a mental note to report to the authorities about the Card Gacha system sometimes giving out pretty dangerous items. When the number of civilian adventurers increased, cards like these might start circling around the market.

“For you, Akira, it’ll be the Powerful Fighter’s Combat Outfit, Mithril Gauntlets, Shoes of Speed, and a Power Ring. Then the rest are for Myu and Emily, it seems. The Magical Toilet is a nice surprise. With this, I suppose things will be easier for Mari, too.”

As I passed the respective cards to their appropriate owners, I spotted Akane surreptitiously reaching for the necklace card. I slapped her hand away, then put it away into the binder marked as “Sealed.” She got a bit pouty. Even without something like this, you’re already fully mine...is probably what I should tell her later on.

Myu lightly bit onto its card, then hopped over to a corner of the room. After a poof rang out, there was now a new hole roughly fifty centimeters on all four sides inside in the wall. I see, so a rabbit den. More like, how is it that a rabbit is capable of using a card? And aren’t the dungeon walls supposed to be indestructible?

“Aww...so I won’t get to sleep with Myu-chan anymore?”

“Myuu...”

Seeing Mari on the verge of tears, Myu hopped over to rub its body against her leg as if in consolation. Then it went back into its hole. Well, that’s fine, I suppose, but at least sleep with Mari every once in a while, all right?

◇ ◇ ◇

As Mari had to focus on her finals, Akira and I decided to focus our activities in Yokohama Dungeon for the month of December so as to show something for being officially licensed adventurers. Having gotten sick of Floor 1, the two of us decided to head to Floor 2.

Upon descending to Floor 2, however, we found ourselves slightly bewildered by the monster that greeted us. An unfamiliar creature the size of a cat glided down from the ceiling to spit a ball of fire at us. I slapped the attack down with my shovel, then panned around to observe the floor.

Still slightly out of it, Akira asked, “Aniki, that’s...a flying squirrel, right?”

“It’s a monster. It might look like a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, but it’s a monster. Don’t make the mistake of being charmed by its cuteness, all right?”

“Kyu, kyu!”

While making cute-sounding squeaks, the creature stared at us with its adorable, button-like eyes. Stop it. Don’t look at us with those eyes. I still am going to kill you as ruthlessly as a car running over a frog!

The monster started gliding directly towards us, so I leaped forward to engage it. Just like a fly swatter, I brought my shovel down and slammed the beast against the ground, causing it to instantly turn into smoke.

“A monster that uses magic, huh? I now understand why the JSDF was having so much trouble with this floor. However, it’s lacking in all the departments of power, speed, and defense. A Rank E monster close to D, if I had to gauge it.”

“Aniki...you sure don’t hold back, do you.”

In spite of what he said, however, Akira also seemed to have resolved himself, seeing as how he had begun rushing towards another flying squirrel. When it shot a fireball at him, he rotated both of his arms using his elbows as the cruxes to deflect the incoming attack. To my surprise, the fireball flew off into some other direction before eventually dissipating.

“That was mawashi uke, a karate move specialized for deflecting attacks. Karate moves can be used against monsters, too; it’s only a matter of how. I’ve always wanted to try saying this once in my life: Come at me with all your Fri*zs, Cra*ks, and Kab*oms!”

Then Akira drove a straight punch into the flying squirrel’s face. The cute creature slammed into the far wall. After opening and closing its mouth several times and managing a sorrowful “Kyuuuu...,” the cute creature breathed its last and turned into smoke. I checked my Lazybone’s Bag, and sure enough, there was a magic stone the size of a soya bean and a card inside.

“Guess we just won’t ever be able to bring Mari to this dungeon, period. She’d cry if we did.”

Name: Evil Flying Squirrel

Title: None

Rank: E

Rarity: Common

Skills: Flame Magic (Lvl. 1), ______, ______

“Wow, three skill slots, huh? The weight of the magic stone...is four grams. All right then, we’ll focus on gathering magic stones here. Assuming that 1 of us can defeat one flying squirrel in one minute, that would be a total of 120 per hour and, after adding in a buffer for breaks in between, 1,440 in fifteen hours. Then we’ll return aboveground to grab a shower, sleep in Abyss for eight hours, and return back here. We should be able to repeat this for six times within four aboveground hours. In other words, eighteen times in twelve aboveground hours. Oh, come on, man. Don’t look so crestfallen. When you can’t stand it anymore, just tell me. We don’t have to push ourselves.”

The two of us fist bumped, then set off into Floor 2.

◇ ◇ ◇

“How troubling...”

The person who had been appointed director of the former Special Dungeon Countermeasure Department (nicknamed “Anti-Dungeon”) set up within the Bureau of Defense Policy of the Ministry of Defense had been a female career bureaucrat. Thanks to making this post at forty-one years old, it had even been rumored that it was only a matter of time before Ishihara Yukie would be climbing to administrative vice-minister in this ministry where those of the fairer gender were quite rare to see in positions of power. Truth of the matter was, it had been Ishihara herself who had stepped forward and volunteered herself for becoming the head of this new department that no one had known what to make of.

The number of dungeons might continue to rise. If so, this is an opportunity that I can’t let slip through my fingers.

Just as she had foreseen, Anti-Dungeon did get expanded into the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau several months later. Having skipped over deputy director general entirely, Ishihara was automatically promoted to director general despite still being in her forties. On the internet, this administrative bureau had been given the nickname of “Adventurer’s Guild.” She got a bit of a chuckle when she saw articles talking about how the 1^st generation guildmaster was a woman.

“How can I attract more adventurers...?”

The woman who had returned aboveground covered in blood, Okayama Ayuko, had been identified as one of the students who had participated in the demonstrations outside the National Diet in opposition to the Article 9 reinterpretation several years ago. This time, too, she had supposedly taken the adventurer license exam in order to prove the delusional claim that the dungeons needed to be protected. She had since recovered from the shock and left the activist organization. When things got personal, she had finally been forced to look reality in the face.

The dungeons are a definite threat to national security. Just like how the JSDF recruits JSDF members, our Adventurer Administrative Bureau needs to recruit adventurers. But how can I convey the benefits involved with becoming an adventurer?

Ishihara sighed, then leaned back into her chair. No good ideas were coming to mind. At times like these, listening to the opinions of those on the front lines could prove helpful. She stood up and called her secretary.

“Bring the car around. I’m going to Yokohama Dungeon.”

After the news that the very first civilian adventurers in the world had been born and that they had earned ¥10 million within five hours flooded the media, adventurer applicants...never came. There were countless light novels depicting not even adults but high schoolers entering dungeons and achieving great feats by defeating monsters. Reality, however, was an entirely different story. And the seeming lack of interest in the dungeons was most likely because of the account given by Shishido Akira at the press conference that he had co-hosted.

“To be straight with you, the idea of getting stronger by defeating monsters to earn XP is nothing more than a power fantasy for lazy people. Like hell something that convenient exists. In order to get strong, you have to train yourself. I have already killed more than ten thousand monsters, but I’ve still yet to rank up. Just from that alone, it’s clear that the concept of gathering XP isn’t applicable here.”

It was almost as if he had been saying, in a roundabout way, that those who entered the dungeons with the mindset of playing a video game were idiots and should die. The sole saving grace had been the follow-up offered by Ezoe Kazuhiko, the other co-host of the conference.

“It is indeed true that there is no game-like XP system here. However, when the monsters in these dungeons are killed, they do give off a certain something, an element that spurs the strengthening of the body. The two of us are living examples of this: both of us now have stamina and power far beyond what we had possessed prior. Although our bodies are not being bolstered by so-called stats, defeating monsters does have the effect of augmenting muscle strength and stimulating the growth of many other physical parameters.”

In other words, being a dungeon adventurer was not something so casual that a salaryman could take on as a side gig. However, things could not be left as they were, as two people could hardly be expected to meet the annual Japanese national demand for magic stones all by themselves. Additionally, it was surely only a matter of time before magic stones became recognized as a precious resource. More dungeon adventurers were needed to gather more magic stones, and fast.

◇ ◇ ◇

“The amount of magic stones...comes to 150 kilograms! You two gathered this much just by yourselves?!”

Amidst rolling TV cameras, I placed our bags of magic stones onto the counter being manned by a female JSDF member. The card drop rate for the flying squirrels had turned out to be roughly 3%, which meant we had brought back more than one thousand of them.

“As for the monster cards from Floor 2...I plan to keep my share, but what about you, Akira?”

“I’ll keep just one and sell the rest. To be honest, I have zero interest in cards lower in rank than you, Aniki. Going forward, I’m going to just keep one and sell all the rest every time we make a delivery.”

“I see. Half of the cards...means 528 of them. There you go.”

Although we had earned ¥15 million in a day, Floor 1 was a much more efficient earning ground by far when looking only at the amount of magic stones obtained. After all, rabbits hopping about on the ground were way easier to kill than flying squirrels gliding all through the air.

After I finished recording how many we had killed, our earnings, and the number of cards picked up, the two of us headed for the shower rooms. Or we were about to, when we were addressed by a man from the back office.

“Pardon me. Director General Ishihara of the Adventurer Administrative Bureau requests a bit of your time.”

As it turned out, the man’s business was with me alone. I glanced at Akira to make sure that he was all right, then nodded at the man in acknowledgment.

◇ ◇ ◇

While I was on the road heading for Yokohama Dungeon, I decided to use the time to run over some calculations again. The previously mentioned number of 300 tonnes of magic stone was but the amount to keep a one million kilowatt power plant running year-round. By itself, such a plant would generate an annual supply of roughly six billion kilowatt-hours. Even after subtracting the electric power being generated through renewable sources — such as hydropower — a staggering 850 billion kilowatt-hours would be needed to meet Japanese annual national consumption. That meant at least 140 such plants — 150 to be safe. That came out to more than forty-five thousand tonnes of magic stones. Even if Ezoe Kazuhiko and Shishido Akira were to each harvest one hundred kilograms of magic stones every single day without fail, that would only be about seventy tonnes between the two of them in a year. Someone working only two hundred days a year would bring back twenty tonnes. In order to gather a total of forty-five thousand tonnes, at least 2,250 civilian adventurers who could bring back one hundred kilograms each day for two hundred days a year would be needed.

“Considering how we’re purchasing magic stones at ¥100 per gram, forty-five thousand tonnes would work out to a running cost of ¥4.5 trillion. However, we are currently spending more than ¥20 trillion each year importing fossil fuel. If we can truly provide the supply to fully meet our own demand, our national economy would practically explode with growth. In light of this, too, I really must recruit more adventurers...”

Left with little other recourse and spurred by a growing sense of impatience, I had made my way to Yokohama Dungeon in pursuit of inspiration. It was just my luck that the two civilian adventurers happened to be down inside the dungeons at the moment. As a former management consultant, Ezoe-san just might have some good suggestions. At least, I really hope he does. I honestly wouldn’t know where else to turn if he doesn’t.

◇ ◇ ◇

I recognized the name of “Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau.” It was the specific administrative body within the Ministry of Defense that had organized both the civilian adventurer license exams and set up the system for the purchasing of magic stones. Nicknamed “Adventurer’s Guild” on the internet, the top of said organization would then be the guildmaster. And she supposedly wanted to see me.

“I apologize for my appearance. As I had only planned on entering the dungeons today, I did not come in a suit.”

“No, no, no, please don’t let it bother you. I’m the one who should apologize for calling you all of a sudden. Thank you for making time for me, even though you must be quite tired coming back from the dungeon.”

After I performed the customary business card exchange with my Dungeon Busters business card, I took a seat. The woman across from me, whose appearance suggested that she was in her forties, had the aura of someone with a very sharp mind. Taking all this into account, she had most likely attended a national university and passed the civil service examination while enrolled, then became a career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Defense immediately after graduation. Although female career bureaucrats were still quite rare, there was a certain trend of appointing women to managerial positions, and so my guess would be that she had worked her ass off to ride that wave and got herself selected as Director General at such a young age.

“So then, how can I help you today?”

“I wanted to ask if you have any ideas for attracting more civilian adventurers.”

According to her explanation, the live broadcasts of our second-stage examination had actually caused all potential applicants to get cold feet. The license exam itself was already quite strict. After applicants were filtered through the online and physical tests, they then had to actually kill monsters inside a dungeon. The flood of applicants at the start had now dwindled to the point where there weren’t enough numbers to arrange the next license exam.

“We’ve been doing everything we can to advertise the fact that we purchase magic stones at ¥100 per gram and to convey how valuable dungeon-sourced items are, but there’s been almost no response so far. At this rate, we just might be left with you, Ezoe-san, and Shishido-san being the only two people to ever become properly licensed adventurers.”

“If I recall correctly, everyone in the other teams from our exam withdrew their applications, right? If I can be frank, I believe that the way the advertising is done and the method of examination both leave something to be desired. This can probably be chalked up to also being a part of the Ministry of Defense, but it’s just that everything seems rather too similar to the way the JSDF handles its recruitment.”

“What do you mean by that? So we’re doing it wrong?”

“The JSDF tries to attract applicants with ideas like ‘defending our country’ and ‘obtaining qualifications.’ This, however, is not suitable for attracting dungeon adventurer applicants. Most humans do not move for lofty ideals and qualifications that they don’t understand the worth of. This is all the more true for the demographic that would otherwise be interested in dungeons.”

“What do you suggest we do, then? How can we grab the attention of this demographic?”

“I do actually have an idea. It would require your approval, but...”

After I finished laying out my plan, Director General Ishihara knit her brow and mulled it over. She apparently could not think of any other ideas, though, and so eventually decided to give my plan a try.

◇ ◇ ◇

I, Tanaka Mutsuo, am forty-two years old. In other words, I was a member of the so-called “lost generation.” Back when I graduated from university, Japan had been in an employment ice age. I somehow managed to slide into a mid-tier IT company, but all companies were incredibly exploitative at the time, and I didn’t last long. After that, I hopped from job to job, and now I worked as a freelance programmer who drew doujinshi on the side as a member of a certain circle.

“What’s this? Sounds pretty interesting.”

I was bad at getting along with other people. That was why I spent the majority of my days working at home. When the dungeons first appeared, I thought, “otherworlds, here we goooo!” and got super pumped up, but reality was not so lenient. My biggest obstacle, of course, was the physical test. At 172 centimeters tall and 85 kilograms with glasses, I was ineligible to apply. The only thing I could do was keep up to date on news and information through broadcasts and announcements.

“Ooooo, the one giving the presentation is Ezoe-shi! Man, this person really is amazing.”

I was a fan of the adventurer named Ezoe Kazuhiko. Even though he was also a member of the same lost generation as myself, he had a youthful appearance and powerful personality. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous of the stark difference between us. Howe— Oh, it’s starting. He’s not wearing his suit. Is that his adventurer gear?

Although he was two years younger than me, Ezoe-shi’s words seemed to resonate with me. It was almost as if he were speaking directly to me through the screen. I turned up the volume on my computer and switched from the built-in speakers to using my headphones. Comments expressing sympathy and criticism both scrolled across the livestream in quick succession.

Attaché cases got pushed into view on carts and stacked on Ezoe-shi’s left and right, then police officers took up positions nearby. What’s this? The cases were opened one by one, revealing...ten thousand yen bills packed edge to edge in every single one.

I gulped loudly. Could it really be true? Could a chubby, nonathletic, anthropophobic coward like me really become a dungeon adventurer? What is the basis for his ¥1.5 billion claim in the first place?

<I’m sure this is what you are thinking right now: Sure, you can say what you want, but I’m already over forty. My health check-ups are telling me that I have hypertension or fatty liver or elevated blood triglycerides. I haven’t even done any exercise in over ten years. There’s no way that someone like me can fight monsters in a dungeon. But I say to you: don’t worry! I will now explain the biggest benefit of entering the dungeons: Enhancement Element.>

The dungeons did not give out XP. Things like ranks and Status windows did exist, but ranking up required slow and steady training. Growth did not happen in abrupt bursts, but as a gradual incline. That was why everyone who had dreamed of ‘leveling up’ had given up hope. However, was it really true that there was no XP system? I had my doubts about this. And Ezoe-shi apparently had an answer ready to this question.

“That sounds amazing! Maybe even I can actually do this!”

Comments like “So sus...” and “Press X to doubt” flowed across the screen, but I had faith in Ezoe-shi.

<Next is the basis for my claim about the ¥1.5 billion. Allow me to present this one number to you: forty-five thousand tonnes. This is how much magic stone we will need in order to fully supply our national energy consumption with hydrogen power plants. The selling price is ¥100 per gram, which means this initiative would cost a total of ¥4.5 trillion. For reference, Japan is currently paying other countries upwards of ¥20 trillion every year for fuel. Through the magic stones, this number can be more than halved, and it can all be sourced nationally. Isn’t it obvious why the gathering of magic stones is such a high priority now for our government?

The tone in the comments had started shifting. Quite a few mentioned wanting to apply or considering applying. But can I actually do this? Just as I found myself hesitating, Ezoe-shi looked directly into the camera and smiled.

After thinking it over a little while longer, I made up my mind.

◇ ◇ ◇

“The reaction has been amazing! We got so much traffic that the Ministry of Defense’s homepage almost crashed!” gushed Director General Ishihara while beaming.

From among the more than ten thousand applications that had come in, I had filtered out the ones that did not meet the requirements of “Japanese national,” “forties,” “unhealthy,” and “nonathletic.” The two of us were now going through the remaining pool of applications, examining each sheet one by one.

“I think I like this one,” I said as my eyes fell onto one of the forms.

Age of 42, height of 172 centimeters, weight of 85 kilograms. Quit from an exploitative company, then hopped from job to job, now working as a freelance programmer and scraping a living in some corner in Tokyo. There were numerous other applicants in similar circumstances, but it was the comment in the “Others” field that had caught my attention.

— I want to be like Ezoe-shi. Then I want to draw a doujinshi about what happens inside the dungeon.

Neither the usage of the suffix “-shi” nor the mention of doujinshi were all too appropriate for a proper business application. But in this case, it conveyed to me that this comment had most likely been from his heart. Very likely, this person is withdrawn and has slight communication problems.

“Yes, I think I will go with this Tanaka Mutsuo after all. He fits the bill perfectly. Is that all right with you?”

“Do what you think best. I leave full authority over that side of this project with you.”

“We will also be bringing mattresses and foodstuffs into the dungeon. I hope that won’t be a problem?”

“Not a problem. But one request from me: I want pictures and videos of when you’re down there. It would be useful as reference for future iteratives of the bootcamp, and the mass media would love it, too.”

If this trial went well, there were plans in the pipeline for the JSDF to host more Dungeon Bootcamps to nurture more adventurer candidates. Even if they only accepted ten people per day, that would be more than two hundred people in a month. Those who proved particularly promising might even be granted a license directly without having to take the exam. At the moment, however, our main focus was to foster an acceptance of the dungeons within the social consciousness. The fastest way to do so was to let society at large know what benefits the dungeon could provide.

“We will finish at the 24-hour mark in aboveground time. Please help ensure that we get as much media coverage as possible.”

Well then, it’s time for a fun, fun bootcamp!

◇ ◇ ◇

To think that I had actually been selected! When Ezoe-shi showed up at my apartment to pick me up in person at eight in the morning, I almost jumped out of my skin. As countless reporters and news vans watched on, I shrunk my shoulders and timidly got into Ezoe-shi’s car. My house was located in Toneri, Adachi City, so the trip to Yokohama Dungeon took around slightly under an hour. Along the way, Ezoe-shi and Shishido-shi cheerfully engaged me in conversation.

“This was me six months ago,” said Ezoe-shi while passing me a picture. The figure inside the frame was quite chubby and looked almost like a completely different person. He went on to assure me that my personality would naturally see changes when I gained visible physical changes, that I would be undergoing a dramatic transformation, and that I could trust him.

“You’re going to make a book out of this experience, right? That sounds great. I myself don’t have any literary talent, so I’m quite jealous of those who do,” added Shishido-shi in praise.

Even though I thought of myself as a worthless middle-aged fatty with no redeeming features whatsoever, both Ezoe-shi and Shishido-shi did all their best to convince me otherwise.

“All humans have at least one or two strengths. Even if nothing comes to mind at the moment, all that means is that you just haven’t found it yet. I like to frame things this way: ‘We are but babies until we reach twenty; we are but children until we reach forty; our adolescence finally begins at forty; we are finally adults at fifty; our middle years begin at sixty, and only after eighty can we call ourselves elderly.’ What do you think? Human life actually is pretty long, isn’t it?”

With a laugh, Ezoe-shi also added an “I’m sure you’ll become popular with the ladies, too, once you slim up, Mutsuo.” That was right; both Ezoe-shi and Shishido-shi called me Mutsuo. It made me feel very happy; it was almost as if I had gained two new friends.

◇ ◇ ◇

“How embarrassing...”

I was having pictures taken of me standing up wearing nothing but my trunks and holding a placard that read “Day 1.” Other simple health indicators, like my weight and blood pressure, were also measured and recorded.

“We will now be spending a whole month in the dungeon but coming back up for a shower at the end of each dungeon day. Each time, your weight will be measured and your photo will be taken once again. Then we will return to the dungeon to sleep. It is currently 11 a.m. here aboveground. Mutsuo, you will be an entirely changed man by 11 a.m. tomorrow. These records are for sending a message to the entire world. Mutsuo, you will become a beacon of hope for everyone else who is dreaming of changing themselves.”

Now that I think back to that bright smile that Ezoe-shi flashed me, I realized that I had been underestimating the whole thing quite a bit. In fact, I hadn’t the faintest idea just how weighty the phrase “one month in a dungeon” actually was.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Um... What is this?”

“A five kilogram weighted vest. Today, all I’m asking you to do is to put that on and walk around. Shishido and I will be the ones to take out the monsters. Cameraman, you don’t have to put one on.”

After cautiously descending the surprisingly steep staircase and reaching the so-called “Safety Zone” area of Yokohama Dungeon, I found Ezoe-shi waiting for me with a weighted vest in hand. Within this squarish space that appeared roughly fifteen meters on each side was just me, Ezoe-shi, Shishido-shi, and the cameraman from the JSDF. There was tarp spread out over the ground, on top of which were foldable mattresses, a low tea table, and floor cushions.

“For the toilet, you can do your business anywhere inside the dungeon; it automatically absorbs everything. However, if possible, please hold in your No. 2 until we return aboveground. We will spend thirty minutes aboveground each day, so take care of it at that time.”

I put on the cut-resistant shirt, cut-resistant pants, helmet, goggles, protective gloves, safety boots, and lastly, the five kilogram weighted vest. This isn’t actually that heavy. Would I really change just by walking around with this on?

Apparently my thoughts were quite obvious on my face, as Ezoe-shi said, “Sure, it might seem easy at the start. But let’s see if you can say the same two hours from now.”

When we entered Floor 1 of the dungeon, a cute rabbit hopped over to greet us. Ezoe-shi gave it a hard kick without any change in his expression. The rabbit let out a sorrowful-sounding “Myuuu...” while turning into smoke. I know it’s a monster, but still...

“Are you feeling sorry for it? However, you wouldn’t if the opponent was a goblin or an orc, right? That means you’re making a decision based on appearances alone. Take a closer look at the next one.”

When the next rabbit hopped over, Ezoe-shi did not kick it, but merely lightly pushed it back with the palm of his hand. The rabbit that had appeared so cute mere moments before abruptly adopted the face of a hannya demon and switched from making cute squeaks to a low, primal growl. As it lunged at us with a speed that was much quicker than before, Ezoe-shi drove a counter punch into its face and reduced it to smoke.

“I hope that’s helped rid you of any feelings of pity. Don’t be deceived by appearances. Monsters are monsters.”

The JSDF cameraman gulped audibly, which reminded me that I was quite thirsty and prompted me to retrieve my bottle from my backpack. I had been told that I was free to eat and drink however much I wanted during this bootcamp.

“All right, let’s keep moving. It’ll be two hours of walking, then twenty minutes of rest.”

Then the four of us continued making our way into Floor 1.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Ughhh, my legs are killing me...”

I was absolutely drenched with sweat by the time we got back two hours later. The five kilogram weighted vest pressed down on me like a stone. I had never imagined that it would be this tiring just walking around.

Ezoe-shi handed me a bottle with red liquid inside. “This is a potion. It helps take away the fatigue and repairs your muscles. You will be relying heavily on them for the duration of this bootcamp. After walking two more hours, resting another twenty minutes, and walking two more hours, we’ll take a one-hour break. That will also be when we eat lunch. Then it’ll be three more two-hour blocks, after which will be eight hours of sleep. That sums up to 1,440 minutes, which equates to ten minutes aboveground. Before sleeping, you’ll get thirty minutes aboveground for showering and going to the toilet and all that. During that time, the JSDF will be replenishing our water and foodstuffs. It’s safe to think of one day down in the dungeon as forty aboveground minutes, which makes thirty-one days here equal to twenty hours and forty minutes up there. It would probably take us a bit longer, but the rest of the time is meant as a buffer.”

Shishido-shi added, “For the first seven days, our focus will be on building up your fundamental stamina. That means mainly just walking, only with increasingly heavier weights. This should help increase your muscle mass and endurance. Of course, you will be gradually shedding weight during all that. After taking a full day of rest, it’ll then be time to really focus on speccing up your body. You’ll be running with weights on in order to train the muscles all over your body and increase your cardiopulmonary capabilities. I’ll teach you how to run properly so that the trunk of your body gets to see some tempering, too. Finally, the remaining half of the month will be when we’ll ask you to fight the monsters together with us. Within the dungeon, everybody starts off barehanded. So I’ll teach you how to fight with your bare hands. You’ll be free to gacha with the cards that you pick up. This is the schedule for taking you through everything you’ll need to know to be a proper dungeon adventurer.”

I thought I was going to faint from shock. Right, time flows 144 times faster down here. One aboveground day means 144 days down here. The whole “transformation in one day” thing is only from the point of view of those aboveground. What I had signed up for was practically one whole month of non-stop exercise. Just what have I gotten myself into?!

◇ ◇ ◇

“Hmm, one kilogram down after the first day. That’s...not as much as I had expected. Though granted, being able to lose one kilogram in ten minutes is a pretty impressive achievement. But still...”

When I first heard the report, I found myself feeling slightly disappointed. Despite it being a Saturday, I had still come to the office so I could immediately respond to word from on-site staff about the progress of the Dungeon Bootcamp. This was presumably the first of the many video calls that I was going to have with Yokohama Dungeon.

“So then, how many magic stones did they gather?”

“So slightly above two kilograms in total. And each cycle is forty minu— well, let’s say forty-five minutes to give them a five minute buffer, which comes out to seven and a half hours and a little more than twenty kilograms of magic stones for ten iterations. That’s quite slow for them.”

“I suppose so. It would be jumping the gun a little to draw conclusions when they’ve only just started. I’ll be here until 6 p.m. Then I’ll be heading home, but I’ll still be checking my messages every once in a while, so report to me if anything happens.”

After exiting out of the call, I turned around to look out my window at the streetscape of Ichigaya while sipping my cup of coffee.

“Ezoe-san, it’s all in your hands now...”

In this way, this bootcamp that would decide the fate of the dungeon adventurer initiative finally got underway.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Delicious... Delicious... This is so good!”

Our meals inside the dungeon were quite extravagant, even without considering the circumstances. For breakfast this morning, we had salad, fruit punch, and curry rice, the last of which even came with plenty of soy sauce-pickled vegetables that really stoked our appetites. I could ask for as many seconds as I wanted; in fact, I was even encouraged to do so. The explanation that I had received was that although the Enhancement Element was helping my muscles and bones to become stronger, the nutrients needed for this growth had to be taken in through food.

“But Aniki, we’re fine because we have Magic Pouches, but what are other adventurers newly starting out supposed to do to get food? Camp food is rather expensive, isn’t it?”

“We have over twenty Magic Pouch Cards, so I suppose we can pass a few of them along to the Bureau. But the general idea is going to be self-sufficiency. No matter how expensive camp food is, the income from the dungeon should be more than enough to cover it. Anyone can gacha for their own Magic Pouch, too, so I don’t think there’s a need to baby them that much.”

What Ezoe-shi was holding was a Magic Pouch, something that had the same capabilities as the “item box” or “inventory” that would come up so often in light novels. Although its capacity wasn’t all that great, time inside was stopped, thanks to which we could enjoy bread and dishes that were still piping hot. I could see how convenient it would be to stuff it with a large number of just-microwaved bento boxes bought from a convenience store.

“All right, you’ve finished taking your supplements, too, right? Then let’s get started with today’s bootcamp. This time, you will be wearing three kilogram ankle weights on each leg in addition to the five kilogram vest. Everything else is the same as yesterday.”

“O-Okay, got it.”

Just when I thought I had gotten used to the weight, now I’m getting even more? Ugh, looks like today’s going to be another day of muscle soreness. If I didn’t have these potions, I don’t think I would have ever gotten up again after yesterday.

◇ ◇ ◇

The report on the end of Day 2 came in forty-five minutes after the one for Day 1. The time interval was as I had expected.

“So... Two kilogram loss on Day 2, and a pace of sixty-five monsters per hour. It’s as if he’s calculated everything out...”

I felt like I had gotten a glimpse into the character of the man named Ezoe Kazuhiko through the numbers on my screen. When it came to work, he was very likely a perfectionist. The menu that he had planned out had also been greatly diverse and perfectly balanced in terms of nutrition. Everything that he did seemed carefully calculated and accurately measured. This man was, from my point of view as a bureaucrat, someone who could be trusted.

With how little we know about the dungeons, there are sure to be risks and unforeseen occurrences. Even so, the man does his best to prepare for every possibility and to drive his plans forward according to schedule. The Dungeon Busters that he’s set up just might become capable of clearing dungeons after all. In any case, it’s going to be quite easy making a manual based on the way he’s going about this. Then we can pass the manual to the JSDF to use going forward.

I found myself quite excited for the report for Day 3.

◇ ◇ ◇

“All right! That’s Day 7 finished. The entire day tomorrow will be an off day down here in the dungeon. Take advantage of it to get all the rest you need.”

Upon hearing those words, I sank heavily into the ground. At the moment, I was wearing a ten kilogram weighted vest, three kilogram wrist weights on each arm, and five kilogram ankle weights on each leg for a total of twenty-six kilograms. With all this on, I had been endlessly walking around the dungeon. If Shishido-shi hadn’t offered to play the Yamanote Line game with me, I think I might have died of boredom.

“All right! I’m going to binge read the Sangokushi manga!”

For the sake of today, Shishido-shi had apparently brought along a huge amount of mainly shounen manga. In contrast, Ezoe-shi had his laptop and said he was going to use the time to get work done. As for me, I had my mobile games. Thanks to the large capacity batteries that had been prepared, there was more than enough electricity for all of us.

◇ ◇ ◇

“After the first two weeks, the subject has lost fifteen kilograms and the team is bringing back one hundred magic stones per hour. Given twelve hours, that becomes thirty-six kilograms. This is most likely the best they can do on Floor 1, I suspect. The magic stones from Floor 2 are four grams each, which would mean forty-eight kilograms in total...”

“Everything is going according to plan, then. However, this is where the real challenge begins. Killing monsters is a prerequisite for becoming an adventurer. What’s more, with one’s bare hands at the start. Would that timid-looking Tanaka-san truly be capable of doing it?”

<Ezoe-san is a meticulous planner and Shishido-san is an expert in martial arts. With both of them joining hands, I don’t think we have anything to worry about.>

I nodded thoughtfully while ending the call.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Today is when you will finally be fighting the monsters yourself, Mutsuo. Before we start, put these on.”

What Ezoe-shi handed me was a pair of knuckle dusters. They were of a plain design without weird spikes and all. Wait, wasn’t it impossible to bring weapons into the dungeons?

“Knuckle dusters are equipment effective for both defense and offense. When you put these onto your fingers and wrap athletic tape around them, they’re only meant to protect your fingers, if you catch my drift. Don’t worry, we’ve tested it; this works.”

I put on the knuckle dusters just as I was told and started wrapping tape around them. I couldn’t do it well, so Shishido-shi ended up helping me. Looks like I’ll have to practice how to tape myself, too.

“Ughhhh...” I groaned while thinking about what was coming. I had never even punched a human before, and yet now, I have to punch such cute-looking rabbits?

When we encountered our first monster of the day, however, Ezoe-shi gave it a light kick from the side. That instant, the rabbit adopted the face of a hannya demon, and Ezoe-she pushed me forward.

“If you don’t kill it, you’ll die. This is the line of no return. If you are serious about becoming an adventurer, this is a bridge that you must cross.”

The rabbit with a frightening visage quickly closed in on me. I instinctively turned my face away while thrusting a fist forward. I thought I felt contact. When I turned back, I saw the rabbit hitting the ground before turning into smoke.

“That was a step for sure, but you didn’t go all the way. Next time, don’t look away. Look right at the monster while killing it. You’re not ‘defeating’ it. You’re not ‘taking it down.’ You’re killing it.”

Ezoe-shi, who had been calm and gentle throughout the entirety of the two previous weeks, was now looking at me with an expression that brooked no debate. With tears in my eyes, I turned forwards, where the next rabbit was approaching while looking at me with its cute, button-like eyes. This is a monster, though! This is a monster! Matching the timing of its lunge, I threw a punch. My fist sunk into the creature’s face as the feeling of crushing bone telegraphed through my arm.

In this way, I experienced killing another living creature for the very first time.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Mutsuo, you’re a gentle person. That gentleness is by no means a mistake. In fact, I’d even say that it’s one of your virtues. However, there is no need to be gentle towards everyone and everything. Show no mercy towards a monster that is aiming for your life. Anyone who thinks ‘I’d rather be killed than kill’ has no place inside a dungeon. This is a place where humans and monsters kill each other to survive.”

I placed a hand on Mutsuo’s quivering shoulder. I didn’t dislike naive and pure-hearted people like him. Protecting guys like him was also part of the reason why we needed more warriors to go clear dungeons. As the one who had activated the Dungeon System, I had to end them with my own hands. To that end, I was ready to become the devil if I had to.

“Just now, you have crossed a bridge. It’s a bridge that once you’ve crossed, you can never return over. This is what it means to become an adventurer. Don’t look back. Looking back will only make things harder.”

“Y-Yeah... I...I’ve become an adventurer.”

“That’s right. You are already an adventurer.”

Even though his shivers had yet to subside, Mutsuo still took another step forward. With a figurative burden having been lifted from his shoulders, however, it was only a matter of time until he became capable of fighting naturally. Even so, he would sometimes stop to close his eyes and briefly lower his head towards the rabbit that he had just killed. Of course, I let him be. Guilt was a feeling that I was all too familiar with now.

◇ ◇ ◇

I stared at my TV, slightly dazed. Now that it was over, it felt as if the month had passed by in the blink of an eye. The fact that only a single day had gone by aboveground really messed with my brain, too. At the moment, medical professionals were comparing and commenting on my embarrassing past figure and my current figure.

It was true that I had indeed slimmed down. My body felt light, as if it was someone else’s body entirely. My double chin was gone without a trace, my cheeks had shrunken in, and my entire body seemed to have had its clock turned back ten or so years. However, now I was left with a question: what was I to do with this newly rejuvenated body of mine?

“Should I...become an adventurer?”

The choice was definitely there. I had applied to the bootcamp out of my aspiration to become more like Ezoe-shi in the first place. With how many monsters I had defeated, I felt confident that I could become an adventurer. But was I fine with that? If I got myself licensed and earned a lot of money from the dungeons...would that truly make me happy?

“That’s a pretty long face,” commented Ezoe-shi while taking a seat in front of me. He handed me a piece of paper and said, “During the last two weeks, all three of us fought together, right? As a result, we were able to harvest fifty kilograms of magic stones every day. Over the two weeks, that was a total of seven hundred kilograms, or ¥70 million. After splitting everything in three equal parts, you get ¥23,330,000 and 166 cards as your share. We will be keeping the remaining ¥10,000 to cover our operating costs, if that’s all right with you.”

“What? But I was only...”

“You became an adventurer two weeks ago. As such, you need to receive your due remuneration. With this much money, you don’t have to become an adventurer; you can strike a new path in whichever direction you want. As for the cards, you’re free to gacha them or sell them; it’s entirely up to you.”

When Ezoe-shi got up, I inadvertently called him back. “H-Hold on, Ezoe-shi. I...how should I live now? Should I become an adventurer? What do you think?”

Instead of answering me, however, Ezoe-shi replied, “You are now born again. At the very least, your appearance is. However, there is still something that you lack. This is something that the bootcamp can’t help you with. It’s something that you’d have to work hard to attain yourself.”

“Wh-What is that?”

“It’s ‘motive.’ What is it that you plan on using your life for? What is it that you’ll get passionate about? That’s what you’re actually agonizing over right now, isn’t it? In a way, this is a privileged problem to have. A large proportion of people struggle just to make ends meet from day to day, with there being no room whatsoever to consider what they want. Now that you have money and a great appearance, you won’t last long in the dungeons in your current frame of mind. All adventurers — you included — need a specific ‘reason to be an adventurer’ bigger than themselves.”

“Reason to be an adventurer...”

Ezoe-shi abruptly took out two sheets of paper out of nowhere. One was colored and looked almost like a parchment from medieval Europe.

“If you can’t find a reason for being an adventurer, then I can give you that reason. However, I’ll need you to sign this for me in order to do so. Shishido has already signed it.”

There on the parchment-like paper was indeed Shishido-shi’s signature. Ezoe-shi continued speaking with a serious face.

“Once you sign this, there’s no going back. You won’t be able to go ‘On second thought, I’m out.’ This is a bridge that is far more weighty than the one you crossed during the bootcamp. That said, you will not regret crossing it.”

Ezoe-shi’s motive was to solve the mystery of the dungeons and clear them out. I hadn’t the faintest idea how he would do that. However, I had a feeling that there was a bigger picture, a whole new world out there that I would become privy to once I signed this paper. I swallowed my saliva, then took out a ball-point pen.

“I’ll sign.”

Even now, I think back to that moment every once in a while. What would have become of my life if I hadn’t signed that paper that day? However, I could say from the bottom of my heart that I was glad that I had.

◇ ◇ ◇

Mutsuo’s jaw was wide open as he stared at me, Akira, Mari, Myu, and the two Legend Rare characters Akane and Emily here in the Safety Zone of Abyss, the Rank A dungeon located in Shishibone of Edogawa City, Tokyo.

“So, guys, this is our newest member, Tanaka Mutsuo-san. Or as I like to call him, Mucchii. Oh, Mucchii, feel free to call me Akkii, all right? Then this is Maririn, that glamorous kunoichi is Anego, then that’s Emily the mage, and Myu.”

“Hold on. Why am I the only person without a nickname?!” protested Emily with pouted cheeks.

Me being “Aniki” makes Akane “Anego” in the manner of the “Big Bro” and “Big Sis” of a yakuza gang, huh.

Upon being introduced, Mutsuo quivered a bit, then burst into a full-faced smile.

“This is amazinggggg! Character Cards? Taming? This really is an otherworld dungeon!”

Apparently some switch had gotten flipped inside of him. As I went over everything regarding the Dungeon System on the whiteboard — with everyone sitting all over the furniture and the floor — Mutsuo’s eyes grew brighter by the second. When I was done, he leaped up.

“So basically, we’re heroes who are going to save the world?! And I’m now a member of a hero party?! Hell, yeah!”

“Uh, I’m not quite sure about being a ‘hero,’ but it is true that the world is going to come to an end 10 years from now if we don’t clear out all the dungeons. That is why I’m gathering companions. This was also the real reason why I started the Dungeon Bootcamp. The more society comes to accept the existence of dungeons, the larger a reserve force of adventurers we would have. Then I would recruit the individuals I deemed promising from among them. Even if we can’t get around to all the dungeons in time, I still hope to have taken care of all the Rank S, Rank A, and upper Rank B dungeons by the 10-year deadline. Although it’s true that I see potential as an adventurer in you, Mutsuo, there’s something else that I want your help with.”

“Wh-What is it?”

“I want you to manage Dungeon Buster’s Systems Department,” I said while bringing over a laptop.

On the display was the draft of a website made by an IT company. As Mutsuo clicked through the pages, however, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head.

“What’re you thinking?”

“If I can be honest...it’s boring. I don’t think this is what you’d want. This feels like a generic company website.”

“That’s what I’d thought as well. However, I don’t have a good sense of what needs to be changed or how to do it. Neither Akira nor I have much experience in this. I want a site that would attract absolutely everyone with even a passing interest in the dungeons or us adventurers. If I give you a budget of ¥20 million, would you be able to make it happen?”

“I don’t need that much! Hmm...I think what we should first add is a gallery for the cards. Obviously, the character cards are out of the question, but it shouldn’t be much of a problem sharing information about cards ranked Rare and lower, right? Then we could work on making walkthroughs and guides for the dungeon and periodically upload videos. If it’s fine with you, I’ll get my doujinshi friends to work on this.”

“Approved. I grant you full authority on this, Mutsuo. If the funds run out, just tell me. I can give you as much as you need. So, you’ll be focusing on reaching out to the public through things like the site for three days of the week and joining us down in the dungeon for the remaining two. These conditions should suit you just fine, right?”

“That sounds perfect. In order to save the world, we will need a lot of hero parties. And I’m now the one in charge of gathering all those heroes, right? I’ll do it. Please let me do it! I’ll give it my all!”

“Currently, the headquarters that will serve as our base of operations is still under construction. It’s located directly above the entrance to this Rank A dungeon. The scheduled completion date is in April next year. I’ll pass you the blueprints later. I suppose I should start thinking about how much space to give the PR Department. Until then, I’m afraid you’ll have to continue living in your current apartment.”

“Oh, no, I don’t mind. More like, I would be more troubled if you asked me to move right now. I’m not done with my preparations for the Super Comic Sale at the end of the year, and my figure of Ryou-chan from Wakudoki Memorial still isn’t done yet.”

Although he now had the appearance of someone in their late twenties, Mutsuo’s manner of speech and interests had remained entirely unchanged. Because of this, Mari and Emily both looked a bit put off. I, however, did not mind it in the slightest. After all, Galileo, Newton, Einstein, Darwin, Edison, the Wright brothers, and every other genius that had left enormous footprints on history have always been the “otakus” in society.

◇ ◇ ◇

<Yo, guys! I am the dungeon adventurer Shishido Akira! Today, I’ll be introducing this revolutionary weight control program that has the entire world astir, Dungeon Bootcamp!>

At the moment, I was watching a video that we had produced as a joint effort together with the Ground JSDF Yokohama Dungeon Engineer Brigade. With his tank top and brilliantly white teeth, Akira looked like the splitting image of a certain “world’s strongest fifty-year-old” from a while ago.

“This...isn’t he lying? It’s a whole month down in the dungeon, isn’t it?” asked Director General Ishihara with a mixed expression of amusement and dismay. “Even the diet course would take two whole weeks.”

“Ah, but Akira did make sure to say ‘one aboveground day.’ He just didn’t clarify that it would be a whole month in dungeon time. There’s no lie.”

“That sounds like something a con man would say. You know that, right?”

I had originally thought that Ishihara would be pretty hard to get hold of, being as high up in the government bureaucracy as she was. However, when I thought about it again, I realized that the dungeons in Sapporo, Sendai, and Osaka were simply surrounded and sealed off, leaving Yokohama Dungeon the only one where there was anything actually happening. In other words, she probably had a ton of free time on her hands.

The reaction to the first ever iteration of Dungeon Bootcamp had, through extensive media coverage, been incredibly enthusiastic. Immediately afterwards, I had suggested a “24-hr Adventurer Training Course” and a “12-hr Diet Course,” and both ideas had been adopted. We couldn’t very well let someone over one hundred in, of course, but it was still a pretty wide range between eighteen to sixty. In consideration of the danger involved, however, the max age on applicants for the longer Adventurer Training Course was dialed back down to fifty.

Within the screen, Akira continued introducing the bootcamp with his fresh and invigorating smile.

◇ ◇ ◇

As a result of the booming success of the Dungeon Bootcamp, everyone within the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau who was director or higher was gathered to share information and discuss future policy. They needed to properly flesh out the standards used for acceptance to this new initiative.

“Tanaka Mutsuo-shi has proven the existence of the so-called Enhancement Element. It is now confirmed that someone who continues fighting within a dungeon will become significantly stronger in an extremely short time frame. This might be beneficial for the adventurers themselves, but from the perspective of the maintenance of public order and national defense, this is a grave problem.”

“I agree. Middle-aged salarymen applying for diet reasons and to improve their lot in life is fine and all, but strengthening members of organized crime syndicates and those with criminal records could destabilize society as a whole. That said, the number of applicants is far too great to accurately filter out such elements. We need to refine our selection criteria and the application of those criteria.”

“Director General, what did Ezoe-san, the person who came up with the idea of the Dungeon Bootcamp, have to say?”

“He said that the sample size is still too small. He did note, however, that his partner, Shishido-shi, had already been Rank E at the start. In other words, we can probably assume this rank corresponds to the strength of veteran martial artists the world over. The answer to ‘how long would it take someone to reach Rank E from Rank F’ is most likely ‘it varies.’ In fact, Tanaka-san himself has still yet to reach Rank E, despite his entire month in the bootcamp.”

Everyone flipped to the relevant report and scanned through it before nodding in understanding.

“Even without having reached Rank E, however, the results of Tanaka-san’s physical tests after the bootcamp were on par with those of professional athletes. The increase in strength is clear and undoubtable. Perhaps it really would be a good idea to pre-scan all applicants, would it not?”

“If it’s non-Japanese nationals, those with criminal records, and those belonging to antisocial forces, then we might gain the public’s support. The problem is...”

“The radical left-wing organizations filled with self-absorbed narcissists blind to the self-contradiction in using violence to ‘fight’ for peace. It’s pretty much the Crusades all over again, just with communism as the religion this time.”

“Director General, the whole dungeon adventurer initiative is under the auspices of Prime Minister Urabe himself, is it not? Can we not borrow the aid of the Public Security Intelligence Agency to help filter out members of the organizations that they are surveilling?”

“That would be a difficult ask. Having a criminal record is one thing; being eliminated just for having dangerous thoughts is another matter entirely. If something like this was to get out, the mass media would have a field day bashing us for ideological oppression.”

“I suppose that leaves us with no other choice but to double down on making sure that all adventurers understand that they bear full responsibility for everything that happens to them within the dungeons...”

The duty of the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau did not stop merely at thinking about countermeasures against the dungeons. Considering and managing the effect of the dungeons on national politics, national security, and international diplomatic relations also fell under their purview. And in fact, it could be said that the latter was even more complicated and important than the former.

With a gloomy face, Director General Ishihara murmured, “The next thirty-six-day mark will be Christmas Eve, huh...”

◇ ◇ ◇

The Dungeon Busters’ website was gradually nearing completion. The contents on the site included videos of Floor 1 and Floor 2 of Yokohama Dungeon and how camp was pitched inside the Safety Zone, as well as a detailed list of necessary equipment and explanations of the various workings of the dungeons. One such article went into detail clearing up the common misconception regarding “ranking up.” Namely, that ranking up only occurred when someone’s strength was acknowledged to have passed a certain threshold and that obtaining a higher rank in and of itself did nothing to make someone stronger. Many pages also had well-thought-out illustrations to help break down the information and make it easier to understand. In short, the site was taking on the role of becoming the authoritative wiki on the dungeons.

“I’ve received permission to enter the dungeons in Sapporo, Sendai, and Osaka. Apparently the Bureau is having difficulty handling the large volume of applications that they are receiving and is therefore considering also opening up the other places for hosting the Dungeon Bootcamp. Sapporo and Sendai might be fine, but I suspect that Osaka is probably a Rank S dungeon. I’m afraid that place alone is going to have to wait.”

“Hearing that, now I really want to go check Osaka out. I have gotten a bit tired of fist fights with orcs.”

Akira, who had been entering Floor 2 of Abyss by himself as of late, had finally reached Rank D.

Name: Shishido Akira

Title: None

Rank: D

Possession Limit: 0 / 25

Skills: Card Gacha, Striking (Lvl. 3), Body Strengthening (Lvl. 1)

“Maybe it was because I kept using the sanchin stance when fighting against them. I can actually feel that my focus and endurance have gone up, even without having to use a breathing technique.”

“You’ve totally built yourself up as a close-range, unarmed fighter, haven’t you? In game terms, you would be a ‘martial artist’ class, I suppose.”

“So they make martial artists a class in games, too, huh? Not that I’m against the analogy; that’s literally what I am. But still, close-quarters combat has its shortcomings, too. When closing in on the flying squirrels in Yokohama Dungeon, I’ve got to be really careful about the fireballs that they shoot at me.”

“Flying squirrel?”

Mari perked up her ears from her position on the leather sofa. Myu, who had been lying faceup on Mari’s knees with a swollen stomach and blissfully enjoying a brushing, also lifted its head a little.

“Speaking of which, what is the monster on Floor 2 of Yokohama Dungeon like?” asked Emily. “With how thorough you are about this kind of thing, I’m sure you’ve been gathering that monster’s cards, too, right, Master?”

Dammit. Emily, too? After clicking my tongue inwardly, I made an attempt to change the topic.

“It’s a flying-type monster. It flies about and shoots fireballs.”

“I see... So, it looks like a flying squirrel, then?” asked Mari while attempting to act nonchalant.

I shot a look at Akira. Come on, I told you to keep quiet about it.

“Oh, no, I mean, it looked like a Japanese dwarf flying squirrel, but you have to remember that it’s still a vicious monster...”

“Shishido-shi, you just dug the hole deeper,” quipped Mutsuo without turning around from his laptop.

Akira really was a bit of an airhead at times. He probably thought he had glossed things over, whereas he had, in fact, only just made it worse.

“Kazu-san...”

“All right, all right. You’ll be wanting an Evil Flying Squirrel Card and another Summoned Beast’s Nest Card, right?”

I retrieved the respective card cases from my cabinet.

Name: Evil Flying Squirrel

Title: None

Rank: E

Rarity: Common

Skills: Flame Magic (Lvl. 1), ______, ______

Name: Summoned Beast’s Nest

Rarity: Uncommon

Description: Nest for use by summoned beasts. Size automatically adjusts to the beast using it.

“Umm, sorry, Aniki.”

“Don’t sweat it. It was bound to get out of the bag sooner or later. Here you go, Mari. Do what you must.”

Mari lowered Myu from her knees and accepted the cards that I was holding out. Her eyes lit up like Christmas lights when she saw the cute depiction on the Evil Flying Squirrel Card. With a small poof, a cute, squirrel-like monster roughly thirty centimeters long appeared.

“Kyu?”

“OH MY GODDDDD!!!”

Mari’s voice raised in elation as she attempted to hug the creature, but it sidestepped the lunge and scampered up her arm to perch on her shoulder.

“Kyu?”

“Myu?”

The rabbit and the flying squirrel looked at each other. Then the latter leaped down to the former’s level, after which they resumed the staring. As we watched, the two furballs eventually each reached out a hand and squeaked once, briefly.

“Kyu! (Nice to meet you!)”

“Myu! (Welcome!)”

“How on earth are two completely different species communicating with each other?!” I mean, I’m not the one who’s going crazy, right? Evolutionary biology-wise, the difference between rabbits and flying squirrels is even greater than that between humans and chimpanzees!

Not bothered by my confoundment in the slightest, Mari fully occupied herself with petting both her pets, sheer bliss on her face.

“Kazuhiko-sama, this is a dungeon, after all...”

“Aniki, this is a dungeon, after all...”

Having both Akane and Akira telling me the same thing, I had no choice but to abandon thought altogether.

Name: Purin-chan

Title: Kinouchi Mari’s Pet

Rank: E

Rarity: Common

Skills: Flame Magic (Lvl. 1), ______, ______

The Japanese dwarf flying squirrel Purin — more accurately, Purin-chan — wasted no time in setting up its own nest near the ceiling right above Myu’s. A circular hole opened up, then it burrowed far enough inside to stick only its head out. Hold on, did I see right? How did the flying squirrel climb a perfectly vertical surface that supposedly has no footholds?

“So cute... Come here, Purin-chan.”

Unsurprisingly, Mari didn’t seem to care, merely holding her arms open invitingly while looking up from below. Purin leaped out of its nest and spread all four of its limbs to glide down. After landing softly in Mari’s bosom, it then clambered up to her shoulders to rub its face against her cheek.

“Now, who wants a brushing?” asked Mari with the Fluffy Brush in her hand, looking like she was in seventh heaven being surrounded by her pets.

Then soon after, Christmas Eve arrived.

◇ ◇ ◇

What with Christmas Eve being the “day of the normies” (as Mutsuo put it), Akira had taken leave for today and tomorrow, supposedly to meet with a girlfriend. Mari — who now had the financial stability to have a bit more fun, as children of her age should — had a party to go to with her friends. Mutsuo had gone to attend a Tonegawa47 event hosted in Akihabara. That left me, the CEO of Dungeon Busters...with work to do. To be more specific, I had to go make end-of-year greetings. Around 2:30 p.m., as I was driving down Keiyo-doro Avenue which connected Tokyo and Chiba, my smartphone buzzed from an emergency announcement through J-Alert.

Ever since the time I ran into Yokohama Dungeon, I had been keeping a pair of safety boots and cut-resistant clothing in the trunk of my car. Also, inside the glove box of my passenger seat was a card case containing various cards, which included another Pure Steel Shovel Card as a weapon.

I stepped on the gas so I could reach the company where I was going to pay my respects to just a bit faster.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was just after 5 p.m. when I finally arrived at Benten-ike Park in Funabashi. Ground JSDF had already taped off the area, and there were police on site to redirect traffic. I threw my bag of equipment over my shoulder and started making my way through the crowd.

“Please stay out of the park! For your own safety, please stay out of the park!”

There were JSDF members holding the crowd back with their arms wide open. Young men and women — presumably couples, considering the day — and salarymen pushed against the soldiers, craning their necks to steal glances inside.

Okay, that was a mistake. I don’t think I’ll be able to make any headway through all these people.

Just when I was about to give up and turn around, however, someone noticed me.

“Hold on, isn’t that Ezoe from Dungeon Busters?”

“Really? Holy shit, you’re right!”

“Is he here to enter the new dungeon?”

“Let me join Dungeon Busters!”

As the tone of the commotion shifted and everyone started turning to look at me, I heard a familiar female voice calling my name.

“Ezoe-san! Perfect timing!” said Director General Ishihara Yukie of the Ministry of Defense’s Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau.

◇ ◇ ◇

“According to the reports, the dungeon appeared all of a sudden when there were kids playing in the park. One of them tried to go in, but thankfully, his parent was nearby and managed to accost him before he had gone very far down the staircase.”

The JSDF members all turned to look at me when I ducked into their tent on Ishihara’s heels, but I paid them no mind and grabbed one of the foldable chairs.

“It’s a relief that it didn’t develop into anything more dangerous. So then, have you taken a look inside?”

“Not yet. It was already 2:30 p.m. when the local police confirmed the existence of the dungeon and contacted the Ministry of Defense. We immediately issued the J-Alert and mobilized the garrison in Narashino. By the time we finished sealing off the park, it was already 4 p.m. I myself had only just arrived, too. We were just about to enter the dungeon.”

“Ah, so I managed to catch you guys before you went in. I guess that’s good timing, then.”

“Seeing your getup, were you returning from work? That large bag over your shoulder wouldn’t happen to be holding a tennis racket, right?”

“I keep a set of equipment in my car so that I’ll be ready if I ever encounter a dungeon. It also includes a few potion and weapon cards. If you need a hand with scouting the place, I’m your man.”

A relieved look came over Ishihara’s face. The Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau was still new, and as such, all of its bureaucrats — the Director General included — were still quite young. That fact alone left them on quite shaky ground within the Ministry, and any mistake could prove fatal. I myself would have liked to see Ishihara climbing up to administrative vice-minister, and so I was more than happy to help in any way I could.

“That would be an enormous help. After all, we can’t bring even a single knife down there. The troops being deployed this time are from the 1st Airborne Brigade stationed at Narashino. I’m sure that they’d be reassured to have you along. As for the reward...”

“Today is Christmas Eve. How about let’s say you owe me a drink after this?”

“Done!”

Ishihara offered her hand.

◇ ◇ ◇

“I am Leading Private Urushibara Eita of the 1st Infantry Battalion (Airborne) of the 1st Airborne Brigade! It’s an honor, sir!”

“Also of the 1st Infantry Battalion (Airborne), Private First Class Suzuki Katsumi, sir!”

“And I’m Ezoe Kazuhiko, an adventurer. The honor’s all mine, gentlemen.”

As two young men — not much past twenty, if I had to guess — and I exchanged introductions, Director General Ishihara brought over an older man seemingly in his forties. Seeing how the two young men immediately stiffened up told me that this was probably someone important.

“Major Miyabe Tougo, 1st Company Commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion (Airborne). Despite being a civilian, you went out of your way to offer us your hand, and we are grateful for it. Urushibara and Suzuki are both Ranger-qualified. I have faith that they will not shy away in the face of monsters.”

I guess a company commander is a pretty big shot, right? I straightened my back and bowed.

“Adventurer, Ezoe. Although the details of the monsters on Floor 1 are as yet undetermined, my expectations is that the bringing in of outside weapons is still restricted. As such, I wish to lend your men dungeon-sourced knives. May I have your permission?”

“We would appreciate that very much. If the situation turns south, retreat immediately. Urushibara and Suzuki! You have been issued your missions!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

After I changed into my cut-resistant clothing and put on the safety shoes, I headed into the dungeon with the two men in tow.

◇ ◇ ◇

News reporters now occupied a large portion of the area on the other side of the tape. However, that was of no consequence to those of us entering the other-dimension that was the dungeon. Upon reaching the Safety Zone, I turned to my two companions.

“Before anything else, take these, you two. These are Dagger Cards that I got through the Card Gacha. When you hold them in your hands and think ‘Summon,’ they should turn into actual daggers.”

The two of them accepted the cards gratefully and earnestly swore to return them afterwards. I wouldn’t really care if they didn’t, considering that these were just Common cards and that I still had dozens of them, but of course, I didn’t tell them that.

In contrast, I materialized my own favorite weapon — a pure steel shovel.

“Well then, shall we?”

Suzuki started rolling his video camera. I was going to take point, and Urushibara was going to protect our rear. I put my hands on the doors at the far end of the Safety Zone, which then silently opened up to the left and right. We stepped foot inside.

◇ ◇ ◇

The appearance of Floor 1 in the new Funabashi Dungeon didn’t look any different from Floor 1 in Abyss or Yokohama Dungeon. Immediately after we entered, however, a strange sound reached our ears. Both men grimaced. From all the dry rustling that was going on, it became clear almost immediately what monsters occupied the place.

“I see. So in Floor 1 of Funabashi Dungeon we have house centipedes, huh.”

It didn’t take long before centipedes with fifteen pairs of legs showed themselves. However, these were clearly not your average insects, not at thirty centimeters in length. House centipedes were carnivorous and possessed a mild poison, and there was no reason to believe that these monsters were any different. In addition, they were fast. Depending on compatibility, these could prove to be an even more troubling opponent than the goblins in Floor 1 of Abyss. The first centipede to appear rushed straight at me, making its goosebump-inducing rustling with every tiny movement.

“Hah!”

I slapped away the approaching centipede with my shovel. It slammed against the wall and turned to smoke.

“Hmm, a high F, one that’s close to E, I’d say. Which means, these guys are not as strong as they seem, perhaps.”

A card dropped together with a magic stone the size of an adzuki bean.

“Urushibara-san, please stay alert at the back. These guys aren’t too strong, but they’re still stronger than the rabbits in Yokohama Dungeon.”

Urushibara was holding his knife in a mid stance, carefully keeping an eye on our back. Suzuki was in between the two of us. Rustling filled the air as several more house centipedes headed our way. Admittedly, it wasn’t all that pleasant a sight.

“Stay alert but calm. These do look like insects, but they’re monsters. They disappear after dying and even drop magic stones.”

With my shovel in one hand, I slapped, punched, and stomped on the approaching creatures. Every single one of them turned into smoke from a single hit. Their quick movements and poison made the place more dangerous than Yokohama Dungeon, but not quite all the way as far up as Abyss. Although the goblins were child-sized, they had intelligence. That fact alone made them more dangerous than these mindless insects.

A Rank C dungeon close to Rank B, perhaps? I don’t have a lot of references for comparison, not having entered Sapporo Dungeon and Sendai Dungeon yet. And we’re definitely going to need to set up a system for assigning difficulty rankings to each dungeon. Now, how can I convince Ishihara of this once we return aboveground?

The three of us continued making our way through the dungeon. More centipedes rushed at us, but we never had to actually slow our pace. Three hours later, we called an end to the investigation and headed back up. Suzuki suddenly threw up when we were in the clear.

Urushibara smiled wryly, explaining, “This guy, he’s terrible with insects.”

◇ ◇ ◇

“We continued the investigation for as long as the battery on the video camera lasted. In conclusion, the layout of Floor 1 is grid-like, same as in Yokohama Dungeon. The monsters are house centipedes quite a bit bigger than the real ones. In terms of strength, they aren’t that different from the rabbits in Yokohama, but the magic stone that they drop is a little bit bigger.”

Once back aboveground, the three of us headed straight for the tent to deliver our report. The magic stones that we brought back were weighed and confirmed to be slightly under four grams, which were about the same as the ones from Floor 2 in Yokohama Dungeon. When the footage that we had brought back played on the screen, Ishihara sighed.

“The Dungeon Bootcamp at Yokohama is going swimmingly, but we’ve had feedback from female participants who understandably weren’t fans of having had to kill rabbits. This one, however...I feel like many would just scream and fly into a panic, let alone complain.”

I shrugged my shoulders. Such people wouldn’t have made good adventurers anyways. I couldn’t care less about those who wouldn’t have made the cut as a buster in the very first place.

“Would insecticide work? It doesn’t have the appearance of a weapon, so there’s a chance that it might be allowed into the dungeon, right?”

Urushibara’s suggestion seemed to have perked Ishihara’s interest. As the saying went, there was no time like the present, and so Urushibara, being the person who had made the suggestion, found himself having to enter the dungeon again first thing next morning. I myself had already confirmed in Abyss that poison could not be brought in, but I couldn’t very well say that here. Well, good luck, young man.

“So then, Ezoe-san. You want to tell us about that shovel that you were using?”

“I got it through the Card Gacha system. Just saying, but I’m not going to give it to you, all right? The daggers that I passed to these two, now those I have plenty of spares for. I don’t mind parting with those.”

“I thought you’d say that. I’m quite curious why you possess such a powerful weapon, but, fine, I won’t pry any further. I did promise you a drink, didn’t I? However, I’ve got to deal with the mass media now. I’m sorry, but can we take a rain check? I mean, it doesn’t look like you’ll get to go home that easily yourself, either.”

I took a peek outside. Seeing the rows and rows of faces and cameras waiting in eager expectation, I couldn’t help but to heave a heavy sigh.

◇ ◇ ◇

I was originally planning on waiting until after the New Year’s holiday, but Akira said that he really wanted to check out Floor 4 of Abyss now that he was Rank D. Consequently, we decided to conduct one last dungeon delve before the end of the year.

“The monsters waiting for us on Floor 4 are likely to be Rank C, I believe,” said Akane. “There is a clear divide between Rank C and Rank D. Please always stay completely vigilant.”

Name: Akane

Title: Glamorous Kunoichi

Rank: C

Rarity: Legend Rare

Skills: Kunai Mastery (Lvl. 6), Enemy Detection (Lvl. 6), Sex Technique (Lvl. 5)

Ever since I myself had reached Rank C, Akane’s growth had stopped. This was clearly the limit of how much she could grow on Floor 3. I had ended up losing quite a bit of time to securing funds, investigating other dungeons, and nurturing new members. These were all things that I hoped to delegate to other members once our organization grew big enough.

Emily nodded in agreement with Akane. In contrast to her usual high-spirited behavior, her face was now dead serious.

Name: Emily

Title: Saucy Mage

Rank: C

Rarity: Legend Rare

Skills: Esoteric Technique (Lvl. 5), Summoning (Lvl. 3), Alchemy (Lvl. 1)

Emily’s Summoning skill had gone up due to the occasional use of Ifrit’s Summoning Stone. Alchemy, however, remained untouched. We had gotten pure mithril ore from the gacha, but apparently, specific facilities were needed to process that ore. This was going to be something to deal with in the future. Perhaps I might eventually have to resort to consulting the Bureau.

On the other hand, Akira’s rank had yet to break through to C despite his continued efforts on Floor 2 in both Yokohama Dungeon and in Abyss. According to Akane, I was the weird one for having killed over two hundred thousand of the same monster. As such, part of our aim in challenging Floor 4 was to help Akira reach Rank C. As an aside, Mutsuo was aboveground working on the website, and Mari was out with friends.

“Akira, I’m going to put you through what it took me to reach Rank C on Floor 4. It’s going to be far more grueling than you can imagine. Are you ready for it?”

“As I’ll ever be. I’m here because I want to get stronger. To that end, I’m ready to endure absolutely whatever it takes.”

“Glad to hear it. Let’s go, then.”

In this way, the four of us headed for Floor 4 of Abyss.

◇ ◇ ◇

There was something that I was missing. This was what the head of Shinmyoukan had once told me. He said that because I was so talented, I had never experienced being backed into a corner. That I had never faced adversity. That I did not know what fear was.

At the time, I couldn’t understand what he was saying. Now, however, I did. I finally realized that all the training that I had gone through up to this day had been nothing more than child’s play.

“That is a goblin soldier! It is no average Rank C; it is on the highest end of the spectrum. Be very careful!”

The monster that we found waiting for us on Floor 4 turned out to be a goblin roughly 160 centimeters tall, equipped with a sword, a wooden shield, and even leather-like armor. Most importantly, it knew “technique.”

After brandishing its sword a few times, the goblin adopted a fencing pose before abruptly rushing at us.

“So fast!”

The next thing I knew, it had already stepped inside my control zone, and the tip of its sword was making a beeline for my throat. I pivoted on my left leg and dodged the attack by a hair’s breadth, then used the momentum from the turn to unleash a kick. The goblin blocked it with its shield, not by meeting strength with strength — if it had, its shield would have shattered from my kick, being mere wood as it was — but by shifting its weight and relaxing its muscles so as to divert the power of my attack. Only a veteran martial artist would have been able to pull off the quick floating move it did that was practically a demonstration of what was known as ukimi in karate and other traditional Japanese martial arts.

“Allow me.”

When the goblin backed off a bit, Aniki stepped forward, shovel in hand. After landing a bit of a distance away, the monster immediately rushed back towards us, but Aniki closed in on it with even greater speed. He thrust his shovel so fast that the goblin could not react as the weapon first dug through its shield, then its face, before completely bisecting the top half of its head. Immediately afterwards, Aniki twisted his shovel and then brought it straight down. The right and left halves of the goblin’s body instantly turned into smoke, and a piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

“Hmm, a five thousand yen bill. Akira, we’ll be using the Lazybone’s Bag next. It’s true that these goblin soldiers have both speed and power. However, their physical resistance is only average. For now, we’ll focus more on the quality of our fighting, taking the time to figure out how best to take them on. I believe we should have at least a rudimentary model worked out after killing one thousand of them. We can worry about setting quotas after that.”

Aniki’s tone was very nonchalant. That previous fight, however, had been anything but. If I had reacted just a split second later, the sword would have pierced my throat. And now we were to repeat a fight like this one thousand more times? I gulped audibly as a smile creeped over my face.

◇ ◇ ◇

It had been four aboveground months since I first met Master. After all the fighting I did by his and Mari’s side, I had come to a certain realization. Master was, to put it nicely, methodical. To put it more bluntly...he was a complete madman.

“Just one is already tough enough, and now they’re coming at us in a group?! That’s cheating!” Akira was complaining, but for some reason, had a smile on his face.

Goblin soldiers’ greatest characteristic was teamwork. They would form parties of five or six, then attack their targets as a group, with each member protecting everyone else’s backs. The first one that we had just fought had most likely been a scout. What we encountered next was a full group, and it immediately broke into a charge towards us the moment we came into view.

“Ifrit! Explosive Magic!”

“ROAAARRR!”

Upon being summoned, Ifrit used Explosive Magic to blow the party apart. However — and the nerve of them! — the Rank C goblin soldiers did not get wiped out from the attack. However, the reason why I used this specific magic was to scatter them. Part of the strength exhibited by goblin soldiers lay in their teamwork. Thanks to my preemptive strike, however, this advantage was almost completely taken away. What a smart idea, right? What? I’m not doing this just because Master told me to. I’m doing it because I also think it’s a good idea!

“Emily, your role is to keep the goblin soldiers in check. However, be careful about friendly fire. When we are fighting a goblin, use your flames to keep the others at bay.”

“I know what to do!”

I was a mage. It definitely wasn’t that I couldn’t do close-quarters combat; I just didn’t want to get all sweaty. That was why I provided cover fire with magic. Master had very, very, very strictly told me not to get too carried away trying to kill one of the goblin soldiers myself. I could just imagine the spanking that I would get if I accidentally hit someone. That’s the one thing I don’t want!

“All right, let’s repeat this fighting style for a total of ten times. Next time, you try casting the Explosive Magic yourself, Emily.”

“What? But Ifrit is just perfect for Explosive Magic, and the mana cost... All right, all right. You want me to level up my skills during these fights, too, right? I’ll do it; even I can do whatever Ifrit can, but better!”

What made Master a madman was how he would quantify his fights and the time used and continuously try different fighting styles for the sake of making those numbers go up. Watching him hypothesizing, experimenting, and reviewing every single little thing was nothing short of insanity. Master loathed the word “naturally” in contexts such as “I naturally ranked up” and “I naturally became able to do it.” According to him, that was a bad thing. If the person in question did not understand the how, then he or she would not be able to improve, nor would they be able to teach others. In contrast, Master loved the words “planning,” “execution,” “recording,” “reviewing,” and “improving.” What a troublesome person, right? If I had to bet, this was why he was still single at forty years old!

◇ ◇ ◇

Half a revolution had passed since I began serving Kazuhiko-sama. Within the dungeon, within the Safety Zone, and within his bed, we had exchanged many words and talked at length. One time, I asked him why he was so fixated on efficiency and logicality. He gave me his answer in lieu of a bedtime story.

“I used to work in an occupation called ‘sales.’ For better or for worse, it was a company with musclebrained management that believed that sales are earned ‘only with your feet’ and that the only thing that mattered was visiting customers. My colleagues were like one-trick ponies who only thought about numbers, thinking that that was what made them great salesmen. Not once did they take more than a second look at what they could actually learn from each customer that they had signed. They just slapped a ‘This is what sales is’ label on the numbers game and shut off their brains. It was ridiculous.”

The way I understood it, it was because of his experience in a prior workplace that Kazuhiko-sama had grown to value planning and review so highly. Those teammates that he had referred to as “musclebrains” were the opposite of his character. As he pursued efficiency and continued producing results, more and more work was piled on him. Eventually, he got tired of everything and quit.

“That is why I will not make Dungeon Busters a musclebrained organization. We will base ourselves on science and logic, finding the easiest way to get the best results. The reason why I constantly pursue self-reflection and improvement is because I believe that the things we discover will prove useful for the nurturing of other adventurers in the future.”

Kazuhiko-sama was spearheading the struggle against the dungeons, all to prevent the impending destruction of this world ten revolutions from now. With unshakeable resolve, he was making it his mission to elucidate the secrets of the system itself. I had high hopes for him. Perhaps he really was going to make the one-in-a-billion possibility come true.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Habit” was something unavoidable in both work and sports. “This is the way I’m used to doing things.” “This is the way I’m used to fighting.” I, however, regarded this as a source of danger. Habit was, in other words, patterns. Once humans discover one pattern that would yield success, they would cling to it as if for dear life. Those in sales who achieved a modicum of success by focusing merely on numbers would then never attempt any other method. This was true of ground-level operations, of human relationships, and of most all things. The problem with patterns, however, was that times and circumstances change, and what used to work would gradually lose relevance.

“All right, next, let’s think of ways we can fight without using Explosive Magic.”

After having defeated twenty groups of goblins over three hours, our group returned to the Safety Zone on Floor 1. We had now successfully confirmed the effectiveness of the strategy of having Emily scatter the goblins at the start so that we could then take them out one by one. The next thing to confirm, then, was how things would go if Akira, Akane, and I directly engaged a goblin squad in close-quarters combat from the start.

Akira stroked his chin. “In that case, how about the three of us all stand in an outside-facing triangle with Emily-chan staying in the middle?”

“In that case, I should probably hold back on the Flame Magic. How about I use Stone Bullet to divert the goblins’ attention from a distance?” offered Emily.

“I believe that the triangular formation suggested by Akira-san would be effective,” said Akane. “However, that arrangement would be relevant only when we are surrounded on all sides. When the enemy is coming from only one side, I still believe that AoE attacks would be most effective...”

I wrote everyone’s input onto the whiteboard and continuously shuffled magnets around as we explored various options. Brainstorm sessions like these were always worth doing. If a situation that we had previously discussed was to suddenly come up, the fact of having deliberated over it before would make it that much easier to react quickly and appropriately. And soon enough, we experienced how true this was the hard way.

“From all three directions at the same time?”

As we were pressed forward, groups of goblin soldiers suddenly appeared from the front and both our sides. I promptly barked out orders.

“Assume triangular formation! Emily, stay in the center and provide support with Flame Magic and Stone Bullet. Also, keep high potions at hand and be ready to apply them to Akane and Akira when they take damage, as they won’t have time to drink one themselves! I’ll be fine with my Recovery Magic, so pay more attention to them!”

“Gotcha!”

“Understood!”

“Yes, Master!”

From all three directions came groups of five goblin soldiers each. The sound of an explosion rang from Akira’s direction. Akane started her engagement with long-distance attacks using kunai. I charged straight in. After barely evading the first sword thrust, I used my shovel to vault over my opponent. As stone bullets flew in my direction, I jabbed a knife into the back of the front goblin’s neck and split its head with my shovel. The others, however, were not simply standing around. My cut-resistant jacket was sliced through and a deep gash was left on my arm. A sharp pain ran through my left thigh, but I paid it no mind. I roared at the top of my lungs while killing the goblins before my eyes.

After barely managing to overcome our encounter with fifteen goblin soldiers, we promptly teleported back to Floor 1.

“Heh...heh, heh...I fucked up a bit...”

Akira had been severely hurt. He had a wound on the left side of his face that had even taken out his eye. I immediately used an extra potion on him. Akane had also suffered gashes everywhere, which I tended to with Recovery Magic. The thought “What if we didn’t have extra potions?” sent chills down my spine. When everyone was restored to full health, I lowered my head.

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake in judgment. I had underestimated a Rank A — no, I had underestimated the dungeons as a whole.”

“No, Kazuhiko-sama! It was my responsibility for having led us down a wrong turn despite having sensed the enemies.”

Akane dropped to one knee and bowed in apology, but I shook my head and helped her up. After making sure everyone was settled on the sofa, I began our reflection session.

Thus far, my fighting style had been to charge in from the front. The reason why I had continued winning with this simplistic approach was due to three main factors: because Akane and Emily had always been there to provide support; because the fights with the monsters had always been one-on-one, even if they showed up in groups; and because I had yet to encounter enough monsters to get surrounded.

“Our approach needs a complete overhaul. We need to revisit our numbers, our fighting styles, and everything else across the board.”

Thankfully, I possessed the Teleportation skill. Now we knew to immediately teleport away should we ever encounter a similar situation again. That, however, did not remove the need to remodel the way we performed as a party together. That included not only the details of when we actually fought, such as the way we protect each others’ backs and how we coordinated, but also non-combat things like enemy detection and how to plot our path once we knew the positions of nearby enemies.

“We haven’t had to worry about enemy detection because Akane is here. However, that is a workaround that only we possess and lacks general applicability. Today was a grave lesson, but it was one that we sorely needed.”

I proceeded to write several things onto the whiteboard with a marker: “Pointers for moving about within a dungeon,” “Methods to detect traps and incoming monsters,” “Mapping out paths within the dungeon,” “Teamwork when fighting monsters,” and last but not least, “Securing a path of retreat in case things turn south.” These were all items that we needed to standardize so that they could be put down into a manual that would actually be useful for everyone else to follow.

“Change of plans. Exploration of Floor 4 of Abyss is put on hold for now. We’ll first focus on trying to clear Yokohama Dungeon. That place should have a lot of Rank C monsters that would be easier to deal with. That is where we’ll get our rank ups and thoroughly revamp our approach. But in order to make that happen, we need even more companions. I suppose it’s about time to let the Director General in on this...”

I proceeded to list out everything that needed to be done and to determine their relative priority.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Goodness... You are aware that today is the last business day of the year, right? I’m already up to my neck dealing with everything to do with the dungeons, and you call me up to ‘return the favor’ today of all days?”

The last Friday of the year was called shigoto-osame and was the last official work day for central government agencies before they would all close for New Year’s. After shooting me an incredulous look, Director General Ishihara Yukie had still accepted my invitation with a ready laugh.

“Well, no matter. It’s not like I have any plans. Having dinner with the famous Dungeon Busters CEO instead of going home to an empty house doesn’t sound like that bad an exchange, either. I’ve reserved a restaurant where we can have a room to ourselves. Let’s walk.”

The two of us walked from the Ministry of Defense building towards the direction of Ichigaya Station along Yasukuni-dori Avenue. As a director general, Ishihara could have a car readied — chauffeur and all — but apparently she didn’t like using it outside of work hours.

“There are all sorts of things I have to be careful about. Having made director general in my forties and me being a woman on top of that...obviously there’s a lot of people watching and saying things. It is a pain but not really something that can be avoided when part of an organization, I suppose.”

I can see that happening, what with all the cutthroat competition inside the bureaucracy. She’s not wearing a wedding ring, and judging by what she said earlier, she’s apparently unmarried. She could restore her appearance at least by entering the dungeons, but that’s her decision to make.

“I do feel bad for doing so, but I’ve ordered those in my bureau to take their end-of-year leave in shifts this year. It’s almost certain now that the dungeons are emerging in thirty-six-day intervals, but there’s no telling what incidents could crop up. I myself am also going to be mainly standing by at home.”

Ishihara laughed and shrugged her shoulders. For a forty-something-year-old, she was actually quite beautiful. So much so that I’d have wanted to invite her to the Dungeon Bootcamp, actually. However, fatigue was deep-set in her face. I almost hesitated about placing even more onto her shoulders, but putting it badly, she was just going to have to deal with it, as what I was about to share very much fell within her duties as director general. There was no other way around it.

After passing Ichigaya Station and walking for a bit more, we finally arrived at the restaurant that Ishihara had reserved.

◇ ◇ ◇

Tucked away in a corner of Ichigaya was Sumibi Yakiniku Shichirin-tei, a rather high-class grilled meat restaurant where the cheapest course was ¥9,000 per head. What Ishihara had reserved, however, was the most expensive course, which cost a staggering ¥25,000.

“Knowing you, one person’s portion wouldn’t be enough, so you can have some of mine. But just saying, we’re splitting the bill fifty-fifty tonight, all right? You and I are technically interested parties on opposing sides, so the National Civil Service Law applies.”

I was reminded once again that I was dealing with a career bureaucrat. If I thoughtlessly tried to treat her, it could end up causing trouble for both of us. I nodded, then grabbed the handle of one of the beer glasses that just got delivered to our table.

“So then, you wanted my advice on something, right?”

It was after we had downed our first beers and were moving on from the salted skewers to the sauce skewers that Ishihara broached the main topic. I put down my glass and, after shoring up my resolve one last time, replied in a serious tone.

“I’ll give you proof later, but hear me out first. It was at the end of July that the world saw the first wave of dungeons, with Osaka Dungeon being one of them. It is thought that these were the world’s very first emergences, but the truth —”

“— Is that there was a dungeon that had appeared thirty six days before that in Edogawa City in Tokyo, right?”

My eyes widened inadvertently. It was when I saw her look over and chuckle that I realized I must have had a pretty surprised expression on my face.

“It’s not a magic trick, if that’s what you’re thinking. I simply pieced together the available information and recursively deduced the most plausible explanation. Seeing your face, looks like I’m on the money.”

“When...was it that you had arrived at that deduction?”

As if to keep me hanging, Ishihara wordlessly put a fresh piece of top-quality loin on the grill. It didn’t take long for it to finish cooking, after which she placed it into her mouth, chewed it with her eyes narrowed in enjoyment, and took a swig of beer. Only then did she continue speaking.

“It was during the first-stage examination that I first took notice of your profile. My subordinate had put the exam results together in a report for me. You placed within the top thirty. Almost everyone else within those thirty names had a black belt in some martial art or were sports athletes with some modicum of fame. Oh, there was even a pro boxer. And most of them were in their twenties. You, however, were in your forties, and your occupation of ‘management consultant’ did not seem related to sports in any way. In spite of this, you still managed to produce numbers on par with well-trained athletes.”

“I see. It’s true that one of the proctors had said ‘You’re on top’ to me during the physical test. That’s what tipped you off, huh?”

Ishihara nodded, then began grilling the next piece of meat. Somewhat satisfied with her answer, I also followed suit.

“Let me guess, the second-stage examination inside Yokohama Dungeon was what confirmed your suspicions?”

“It’s true that that played a part. During that incident, you and Shishido Akira stayed behind together. What motivates Shishido Akira is fighting itself; he’s famous for that. But I couldn’t see what your motivation was. Despite it supposedly being your first time in a dungeon, you remained even calmer than the proctors. So that was definitely a hint. But what clinched it was your company, Dungeon Busters Inc.”

The piece of meat that I’d placed on the grill was done, so I ate it. Then I placed down beef ribs next. As expected of a high-ranked cut of meat, the fat started melting almost immediately.

“I don’t think I made any mistakes in the documentation, though. And the accounting I’d gone over several times.”

“That was the thing. Your registration was done, you got your trademark, and even had a logo and business cards ready. Everything was perfect — too perfect. It was almost as if you had spent several months preparing everything. See, that’s what tipped me off. So I started investigating. Osaka Dungeon had appeared on July 30^th, and the next day was when the news reported the first casualty. That afternoon, you submitted the business registration for Dungeon Busters Inc. That was clearly suspicious. The news outlets at the time had only described Osaka Dungeon as a ‘mysterious cave.’ Nobody was talking about ‘dungeons’ at the time. But you registered your company name with perfect timing, as if you had been just waiting for this moment. You even registered your trademark on the same day. An international one, even.”

I silently sipped my beer. I mean, when you put it that way, I guess, yeah, it was pretty obvious. It was just a matter of knowing where to look, huh?

“Physical prowess is hard to believe from someone in their forties. Arrangements that seemed to have been planned with foreknowledge of the emergence of the dungeons. The only conclusion that I could derive from putting those two facts together was that the dungeons that had emerged in Osaka and New York weren’t the first to do so. There must have been at least one dungeon that had appeared before those. You must have found it, and are very likely still visiting it regularly... Major General Katsuragi from Yokohama Dungeon is so cooperative with you and not just because you’re among our first cohort of licensed adventurers, right? I’m almost certain that he knows something I don’t, and I’m pretty sure it’s related to this.”

“That is right. The only people who know about this are him, two of his subordinates, and now, you. Oh, and my employees: Akira and Mutsuo.”

I heaved a sigh, then turned to look straight into the eyes of the director general of the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau. With my heart half filled with resignation and half filled with resolve, I confessed.

“I am the one who triggered the emergence of the dungeons.”

Ishihara narrowed her eyes a little, saying nothing.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Japanese Penal Code Article 38.1 reads as follows: “An act performed without the intent to commit a crime is not punishable; provided, however, that the same shall not apply in cases where otherwise specially provided for by law.”

In addition, when crimes are judged, “predictability of outcome” would also be taken into consideration. In light of all this, could this man before me even be tried by the Penal Code? Who could have predicted the emergence of the dungeons? Most importantly, the current Code has no stipulated punishment for “making dungeons appear.” In conclusion...there is nothing to charge this man, Ezoe Kazuhiko, with.

“Goodness...try being in my shoes, having such a weighty matter brought to me right before New Year’s...” I sighed in an effort to buy time, my mind racing all the while.

He’s hidden this important information for half a year. Why? At first, I had thought it was because he didn’t think anyone would believe him. Then next, I thought it was because the dungeon had appeared on his land and he had been afraid of having the land confiscated without recompense. But both of those concerns would have been moot by the time Osaka Dungeon and Yokohama Dungeon appeared. And yet he had kept quiet this entire time. It’s not like he’s actively avoiding getting involved with the dungeons, either...

Despite hiding information about the dungeons, Ezoe Kazuhiko had also leaped at the chance to be a part of our civilian adventurer initiative. He’s even created Dungeon Busters Inc., and has been very cooperative with the JSDF thus far. He then appeared before the mass media to recruit companions and now has two by his side. At first glance, these seem contradictory. There’s got to be something more, something that connects the two. Wait, he said that he was “the one who triggered the emergence of the dungeons.” Uh oh, don’t tell me...

“Is...there a big secret with the dungeons? A great, terrible secret, the kind that would throw the entire world into chaos if it becomes widely known? And when you first entered the dungeon, you learned of this secret. Even while debating inwardly what to do with the knowledge of this secret, you couldn’t just leave the dungeons alone and therefore became a civilian adventurer and gathered companions. A secret on that scale...probably involves the fate of the entire world, right?”

I knew that the man before me was intelligent and that everything he did, he did with a reason. I lowered my voice to reveal my deduction, confident that I was correct. The face that Ezoe Kazuhiko made right afterwards was one that I would never forget. It was a face filled with deep, tragic resolve that pained even me to see.

◇ ◇ ◇

I was alone together with a man in a dim room. As a woman myself, there were of course times that I was aware of men in that way. This moment, however, was far from being one of those times. As far as was realistically possible.

“Teleportation... Now I understand why you’d want to hide your Status screen. The fact that you possess this skill would be enough to send ripples through society. You could commit all the crimes you wanted.”

I was currently located in Floor 1 of Abyss, the world’s first ever dungeon, supposedly located in Shishibone, Edogawa City, Tokyo. We had come here in a blink of an eye straight from the private room in the grilled meat restaurant in Ichigaya.

“Time within the dungeon flows 144 times faster than aboveground. Even if we spend seventy-two minutes down here, it wouldn’t be any more than thirty seconds up there. Considering the fact that we were in a private room, I’m sure no one would notice.”

The man took out two cards. The brief glimpse that I caught told me that those were not monster cards; they depicted human figures. Those cards glowed brightly, then transformed into actual people.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Kazuhiko-sama’s loyal servant, Akane the kunoichi.”

“I’m Emily, a genius mage.”

I blinked a few times, then sighed. “I’m not going to let anything else surprise me. Would you happen to have any drinks down here? And a smoke?”

Akane, who was the most beautiful woman that I had ever seen in my life, shot Ezoe a look, then began preparing a pot of tea. Emily, who looked like a high school girl, threw herself onto the leather sofa.

As for Ezoe, he retrieved a box of one milligram tar cigarettes from a drawer and offered it to me. “So you smoke.”

“It’s been a while,” I replied. “As in, twenty-five years a while. I stopped when I passed my Level I Examination, since it would negatively affect my career.”

Ezoe wordlessly offered me a chair with armrests — the kind that would be seen in conference rooms — which was located next to a side table. I sat down, then observed the room while puffing out tobacco smoke. There was a fancy desk that wouldn’t look out of place in a cabinet minister’s office, with a leatherbound high-backed chair currently tucked in. Behind the two pieces of furniture was a whole wall of glass displays with shelves filled with collection boards, cases, and cases of cards.

I turned around and saw several partitions lined up that piqued my curiosity. Whatever could be behind them? Then in front of the partitions was the leatherbound sofa and a low table. To my knowledge, the floor inside a dungeon should be made of stone, but this room was not only paved with wooden flooring but even had rugs laid out. Several closed-up foldable chairs leaned against the wall in one corner, and there was also a whiteboard.

“Here you go. It’s Kazuhiko-sama’s favorite blend of Earl Grey.”

A cup of tea and a platter of baked goods were placed on the side table next to me. Although the scene and situation seemed like a dream, the smell of the tea reminded me otherwise. I picked up the saucer and took a sip.

“It’s delicious. Royal felt?”

“Nope, what you’re drinking is Japanese black tea. I picked it up from Saga Prefecture. It’s 100% a domestic blend.”

“Interesting... It’s my first time hearing of it. I had been a pretty big fan of black tea myself during my student days, but now I’m a coffee supporter. Unfortunately, black tea just doesn’t cut it for the amount of work that I have to deal with. Never had I imagined that I’d be having such a refined moment inside a dungeon. Thank you, this has both helped me sober up and calmed my nerves. So then, will you let me hear the rest of what you wanted to say? What is it that you know?”

The man before my eyes, Ezoe Kazuhiko, took a sip from his cup, then opened his mouth.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Monster Stampede...”

“To be honest, I had thought until the other day that we would be able to manage somehow. But then we entered Floor 4 of this dungeon, and I learned better. Even Rank C monsters would give us humans a hard time. I can’t even imagine how terribly powerful Rank B or Rank A monsters could get... The reason why I’ve come to ask you for advice is because I’ve realized that the way I was doing things just wasn’t good enough to save all of us from certain doom.”

I then proceeded to go over everything that had happened so far. When I revealed that Abyss dropped money and talked about how I had collected and laundered it, she looked up briefly from the notepad where she was taking notes. When I was done, Ishihara took a while to read through her notes again and put her thoughts in order.

“If you had only brought this to the government or police at the start...is something that I can only say now, knowing what I know about how the world has reacted to the dungeons. I acknowledge that you gave it a lot of thought and that you did what you thought was best. For that, I am thankful as well. If it had been someone else who had been First Contacter, I doubt we would have gotten this much information at the very least. But just as you said, it was only a matter of time before you reached your limits with the way you were doing things. For example, you intend to clear every dungeon in the world, right? How did you plan on entering the dungeons in other countries? In light of how the dungeons are starting to be valued as magic stone mines, I don’t think foreign governments are going to make it easy for a foreign adventurer — one who declares the intention to ‘clear’ it, no less! — to enter. This requires diplomatic negotiation on the head of state level.”

“That’s something that had been stumping me as well. Supposedly when a dungeon is cleared, or ‘busted,’ the buster would gain administrative rights. However, I don’t have any proof. I don’t think even Gamerica, with all its rhetoric about freedom and all, would let me in.”

“Why not, though?” interrupted Emily. “If you just tell everyone that the world is going to end in ten years, countries would have no choice but to put aside their insignificant quarrels for the sake of a united goal, right?”

Ishihara and I exchanged glances, then Ishihara sighed. “It sure is nice to be young... The world is going to end soon. It’s no time to be fighting. Let’s all hold hands and work together to rid the world of the dungeons... Is a dream that only the young have the privilege of voicing.”

“Emily, that’s not the kind of living creature that humans are. As long as there’s no indisputable proof that a Stampede will be occurring ten years from now, most humans will choose to not believe it. Even if I materialized Akane and you before their eyes and you two explained things directly, it still wouldn’t make a difference. Their desire to not believe would trump all else and drive them to make even more unwise decisions.”

“But that lady believed you, didn’t she?”

“Oh, no, I don’t believe him, either. After all, there’s no evidence. However, I do place a certain amount of trust in the man ‘Ezoe Kazuhiko.’ That is why I’m lending an ear to what he’s saying. However, he might not get even that from the various heads of state. The top of our own country, Prime Minister Urabe, might sit down to listen but most likely wouldn’t believe, either. Furthermore, if the announcement is not handled carefully, it could set off a new arms race. For now, when talking about this Monster Stampede of yours, it’d be best to mention it only as a possibility. Perhaps there will be more solid proof once you reach the deepest part of a dungeon. Ezoe-san, you’re going on TV during one of the end-of-year programs, right? During that time on air, describe the Monster Stampede as ‘something that could happen,’ all without mentioning this dungeon or the Legend Rare cards. Shouldn’t be too hard for you, I imagine?”

Ishihara got up and walked towards the whiteboard, her heels tap-tap-tapping against the wooden flooring. When staring at her back, I asked myself whether I would have consulted the Bureau if someone else had been director general. The fact that it was the woman Ishihara Yukie who had become the director general of the Dungeon Adventurer Administrative Bureau was perhaps an extraordinary stroke of luck for me and probably for the entire human species.

“Asking just to confirm, but who knows about this dungeon dropping cash?”

“Aside from the members of Dungeon Busters, only you. I haven’t even mentioned it to Major General Katsuragi.”

“Wise. If word of a dungeon dropping real money got out, the Ministry of Finance and National Tax Agency would fly down here in the blink of an eye. So then — and I’m sure you’ve likely already thought of this — the immediate goal of Dungeon Busters Inc. should be to clear this dungeon, Abyss. I give you half a year.”

Ishihara wrote “Goal: Clear Rank A dungeon, Abyss” on the board. It’s what I had intended myself as well, but just in case, I asked for her thought process.

“Would you mind humoring me by explaining why that goal and in that amount of time?”

“When you clear a dungeon, you gain administrative authority, right? If this is true, then perhaps doing so could yield evidence proving the Stampede. Furthermore, if you really gain control, then I expect you’d be able to switch the drop from money to magic stones. Then we’ll announce the emergence of this dungeon together with the others during June next year. With the administrative rights being in Dungeon Busters’s name, you would then be free to monopolize this place for the sake of training up new members. I, as the Bureau, will approve this as a special case.”

“However, my companions and I are hardly going to be the only adventurers by that time. Are we to still keep this a secret from the other adventurers?”

“We can explain it away. How is this for example: ‘Due to the dungeon having appeared in the heart of one of Tokyo’s commuter towns and on civilian property, the decision was made to clear it with a small team of elite adventurers so as to keep the disorder caused to a minimum.’ As an extreme case — not that we’re going to do this — we could still announce this as the world’s first dungeon and get away with it by just saying something along the lines of ‘We kept the information strictly confidential while sealing off the dungeon and buying up the surrounding land due to concerns regarding public safety.’ At the end of the day, what matters most is results. If you’ve already successfully cleared the dungeon when you announce it, the public backlash isn’t going to be all that significant.”

That’s a good excuse, actually. I mean, I could have continued being a management consultant and earned my money that way, but instead, I chose to do what I did. Did it not fall under scamming or tax evasion? Have I just confessed to criminal activity?

“To be straight with you, what you did was extremely, extremely close to being illegal. Is the money dropped by the dungeon real or fake? If it’s real, then it should be taken to the police as lost and found. If it’s fake, then it falls under Penal Code Article 152, ‘Uttering of Counterfeit Currency with Knowledge after Acquisition.’ However, that’s beside the point now. You are the man who understands the dungeons best in this entire world, and your company, Dungeon Busters Inc., possesses the greatest potential for handling the dungeons. The way I see it, as long as no one else shows up who can do those things better than you can, going after you for mere several tens of billions of yen in tax evasion is missing the forest for the trees.”

Ishihara began writing down the dates of the dungeon emergences on the whiteboard.

“Osaka Dungeon in Umeda was July 30, Yokohama Dungeon was September 5, Sapporo Dungeon October 12, Sendai Dungeon November 18, and latest, Funabashi Dungeon December 24. Which means the next wave should be coming early dawn on January 29.”

“Most likely, yes. I saw the news about new ones appearing in Gamerica and Sina as well. It wouldn’t be strange for Japan to see more dungeons, too.”

“Then we’ll set the official emergence date of this dungeon as June 24^th of next year. You have half a year to gather as many companions as you need and clear at least one or two dungeons. This is outright war between us humans and the dungeons, and Dungeon Busters is the champion spearheading our efforts. A hero who we cannot survive without. If I can make the general public think of your company in this way, you would become largely shielded from criticisms and censure. What you are doing might be in violation of the law, but it’s not hurting anybody.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Champion” and “hero,” huh...? This world really has turned into a fantasy. I couldn’t help but to grumble a little.

“I was originally a management consultant, an occupation that involves working behind the scenes. Then all this came along. You know, it had been my dream to live out a quiet and modest life in my small home in Shishibone.”

“Give up that dream. More like, I don’t think you need me to tell you that; you’ve already resolved yourself long ago, haven’t you? You had a choice. When you encountered the first dungeon and learned of humanity’s impending doom, you considered going public with that information and bringing it to the government regardless of what chaos it might create, right? But you chose to keep it a secret and shoulder it yourself. Even since that moment, you’ve gone past the point where you could ever return to a ‘normal’ life. And the same goes for me, who has decided to turn a blind eye to what you’ve done up to now.”

I looked at Ishihara deeply, then nodded. I had apparently gained yet another trustworthy ally.

◇ ◇ ◇

After parting with Ezoe at the grilled meat restaurant in Ichigaya, I walked out into the freezing cold. My apartment was in Kudanshita, a single station away on the Toei Shinjuku Line. However, I was in the mood for a walk. While heading towards Jimbocho along Yasukuni-dori Avenue, I thought deeply about the direction in which I needed to take the Bureau going forward.

Should I take advantage of the New Year’s holiday to enter the Dungeon Bootcamp myself?

Applications for the bootcamp had begun in December, and the response had been nothing short of salutary. Portly middle-aged men and women in their forties had rushed to sign up en masse, with all of them walking back out looking at least ten years younger. Although it was only being hosted at Yokohama Dungeon at the moment, we were in the middle of making arrangements to open the program in Funabashi, Sendai, and Sapporo as well.

“As for Osaka...a Rank S dungeon, he says. One of the seven most deadly dungeons generated by the Dungeon System... How troubling. And I can’t carelessly send JSDF forces inside, not with all the fallout that could occur...”

At the moment, the JSDF was starting to settle into the role of manning the facilities established above the dungeons. However, they couldn’t afford to idly sit on their hands, either. No matter how hard Ezoe and his companions worked, there was no guarantee that they’d be able to stop the Monster Stampede that would supposedly occur ten years from now. The help of the JSDF was surely going to be needed.

Once the hydrogen energy plants running on magic stones are all set up and running, the economy should see a sharp upturn, and the JSDF should be given a bigger budget. But how much can our firearms do against monsters? Or should we put that extra money towards nurturing more adventurers like Ezoe?

When I looked up at a whim, I found myself at the intersection where Yasukuni Shrine was located. When thinking of such weighty matters as the future of the world, I could hardly be faulted for wanting to beg for the blessings of great giants from the past. I checked my wristwatch, then turned left to duck inside.

◇ ◇ ◇

Akane and Emily had been both against the idea, but even after considering their input, I was once again back on Floor 4 of Abyss, fighting goblin soldiers. This time, we put enemy detection on top priority and took the utmost care to not get pincered.

“Dammit, I got hurt again.”

I was wearing steel body armor, but that still left my arms and legs protected with nothing more than the usual cut-resistant clothing. I could now take attacks from the goblins without getting cut, but the force of the attacks was quite devastating on its own as well. I had just gotten my third fracture. Let’s use Recovery Magic to take care of it.

“Kazuhiko-sama, there are goblins trying to circle around behind us. I strongly advise that we retreat for now.”

I nodded and teleported all of us to the Safety Zone on Floor 3. Then we descended the stairs to Floor 4 again.

There’s definitely a surefire way of beating these guys. Until I find it, I don’t mind how many fractures I’ll get or how many times I’ll lose a limb!

I slashed at a goblin soldier with my shovel. The key was to keep moving and to always be careful about being surrounded. The way I saw it, if I couldn’t defeat a group of these monsters by myself, then I could forget about Rank B monsters. However, the more I killed — and by this time, I had killed several hundred of them — the number of times that I got hurt also went up in proportion. When we returned to the Safety Zone on Floor 1, Akane voiced her opinion.

“Kazuhiko-sama, how about rolling the gacha for leggings and a shirt as well? Once you fully equip yourself with Rare equipment, I’m sure your progress will go much smoother.”

“I hear what you’re saying. However, my problem is that I’m still not getting the hang of fighting against multiple opponents at the same time. I don’t think a fighting style that overly relies on equipment would do me any good in the future. I want to stick with what I’ve got, at least until I figure it out.”

“That’s not what Akane means, Master. Compatibility is important in a fight, right? Although your shovel is powerful, your opponents are warriors using swords and shields. Please get yourself a more appropriate weapon, at least. I don’t want to see you get hurt anymore, Master.”

Seeing how Emily was practically begging me, I closed my eyes to mull over it again, then took out several cards.

Name: Goblin Soldier

Title: None

Rank: C

Rarity: Rare

Skills: Sword Mastery (Lvl. 4), Body Strengthening (Lvl. 3), ______

“We do happen to have collected exactly 10 of these so far. Let’s use them, then, I suppose.”

I pulled up the Weapon Gacha interface from my Status screen for my first ever attempt using Rare cards. To be honest, I had wanted to collect 100 first to do a proper verification, but it was also true that I was at a bit of an impasse.

“Here goes.”

The 10 cards disappeared, and I turned the lever on the screen. Soon enough, a card came out in the same manner as all the other gacha rolls that I had done before. I slowly reached for it, hoping for the best.

Name: Cosmic Zantetsuken

Rarity: Super Rare

Description: A legendary sword said to be capable of cutting anything in this world, with the sole exception of jiggly things like konnyaku.

“This time it’s Lup*n the *rd?! It even looks like the real thing!”

The illustration depicted a long sword with almost imperceptible curvature, sheathed within a white scabbard. I materialized it and drew what turned out to be a straight blade entirely devoid of hamon wave patterns. At eighty centimeters in length at least, it seemed more appropriate to be called a tachi rather than a katana.

“Am I supposed to shout ‘Kiee!’ while swinging this like in the anime? Well, there’s nothing for it but to try it out. Let’s go to Floor 1.”

The three of us pushed the doors open and stepped into Abyss again together.

◇ ◇ ◇

“What is with this sword?!”

After killing several goblins on Floor 1, I stood still and stared at my new sword in disbelief. Thing was, I had felt absolutely no feedback while using it. I felt like I was making empty practice swings through the goblins. Things were the same when I tried the sword on the orcs on Floor 2. Every time I brandished the sword, my opponent became separated into two parts without any resistance whatsoever. And so I went down to Floor 4.

“To slice through shield and goblin in one swing...” murmured Akane.

“There’s no defending against that sword,” agreed Emily.

As expected, the efficacy of Zantetsuken remained the same. It ran through goblin soldiers and their shields as if there was nothing there. In fact, the blade was so sharp that I was starting to get scared. As soon as a goblin got within reach, the fight was over. It was a surreal experience, especially after how much I had struggled against these goblin soldiers not so long ago.

“This sword is amazing. It’s amazing, but...”

At this rate, I was definitely going to end up being over-reliant on Zantetsuken. However, chances were that I would eventually come across enemies that this sword did not work against. This was a clear example of why I wanted to avoid a fighting style that was overly dependent on exceptional equipment.

“Using Zantetsuken is fine and all, but I still need to figure out other fighting styles. I think I’ll restrict usage of this sword for harvesting Rare cards only.”

A single swing of the sword, and all five goblin soldiers that were closing in on me were reduced to smoke at the same time.

◇ ◇ ◇

I’d always spent New Year’s Eve with a girlfriend. This year, it was Miki-chan. Last year was Shouko-chan. The year before that was...I forget. Well, it didn’t really matter. I might not know who I’ll be spending next year with, but even so, I hope that it turns out to be a good year.

“Oh, right. Aniki is going on TV. Might as well check it out.”

At the moment, I was in a hotel in Shinagawa City in Tokyo. After my partner and I had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in bed, I turned on the TV. Once the year turned, I would be going home to visit my parents and then hurrying back to help Aniki clear Yokohama Dungeon. Abyss Floor 4 was on hold for the moment, at least until I myself reached Rank C. According to Aniki’s estimation, Yokohama Dungeon was a Rank C dungeon. By the time we clear it, we might even have reached Rank B.

“But knowing him, he’s probably dungeon delving all by himself throughout this holiday.”

Aniki was, to put it mildly, a stoic person. To put it badly, he was a madman. Dissatisfied with letting the dungeons remain within the fantasy genre, he was going over every little part with a magnifying glass and trying to quantify every single process. When he showed me the graph of “time needed to kill one hundred monsters” that he had made to quantify our growth, my first thought was that he was insane. However, I also believed that it was because he was here and doing what he was doing that Mucchii, Maririn, and I could enter the dungeons with peace of mind. If he wasn’t that insane, he would stand no chance grabbing that one-in-a-billion chance of success.

“There we go. It’s starting.”

Normally, variety shows would occupy most channels during the night of New Year’s Eve. This year, however, what with the emergence of the dungeons and all, a ton of them wanted to do an interview with Aniki instead. In the end, he only accepted one invitation. When I first heard about it, I’d thought “Which pretty announcer is it?” As it turned out, it was none other than the beautiful female TV announcer of Tokyo TV, Oosuka Ayaka.

◇ ◇ ◇

Up until this year, I had hated New Year’s. The entire period of time from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve seemed like a festival solely for the normies who had no connection with me whatsoever. My sole consolation had been the world-famous doujinshi convention Super Comic Sale that would be hosted every year near the end of December. There, I would be with my comrades in some inconspicuous corner, quietly selling the works that we had each created.

“But this year, I’m a changed man!”

This year, my booth was a roaring success. After all, I was doing a special on the dungeons. I had asked Ezoe-shi for real dungeon cards — one each of Rare, Uncommon, and Common — and put them on display together with a materialized potion bottle. Needless to say, my booth drew an incredible amount of attention, what with this being literally the only place on earth where all of these things could be seen in person. Everyone who came to take a look grabbed a copy of my doujinshi. My dungeon-themed work sold like hotcakes.

“Daaaamn, it’s Tanaka Mutsuo-shi in the flesh! You really are one of us. May I have your signature, please?”

I also got a lot of questions about the dungeons and about Dungeon Busters. Oh yes, this year, I’m living the life! Whoo!

◇ ◇ ◇

This year, we splurged a bit more on New Year’s Eve than we did last year. Grandma, Mom, and I welcomed the new year while eating New Year’s Eve soba with shrimp tempura and kamaboko. Mom also looked really happy about being able to make osechi-ryori — traditional New Year’s dishes — after so long. I really am so glad that I joined Dungeon Busters.

“With how famous Ezoe-san is getting these days, you’ve also got to start being more conscientious about how you behave, all right, Mari?”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I brushed it off with my friends saying that he’s just an uncle, and no one knows that I’m a part of Dungeon Busters yet.”

Tomorrow, I would finally be able to dig into the osechi-ryori that Mom was making. She had prepared a whole mountain of my favorite, candied chestnut and sweet potato mash. Then next April, Mom was going to start working at the Dungeon Busters base as a housekeeper. Grandma had made a complete recovery thanks to the high potion from Kazu-san, and we didn’t even need the live-in helper anymore. Next year is sure to be an even better year!

“Oh, right, Kazu-san mentioned that he’d be appearing on TV. Mom, may I change the channel?”

When we switched to Tokyo TV, Kazu-san was already on-screen. As I picked up my bowl and slurped the broth, Kazu-san inside the TV said, “I believe the dungeons to be part of a system that’s aiming to prompt humanity towards further evolution. But if the dungeons determine that we have failed to live up to that opportunity, what would they do? This is something that I’m extremely afraid of.”

Ahh, Mom makes the best broth ever.

◇ ◇ ◇

This was something that had happened quite a while ago. To be more specific, it had been when I had finished the Dungeon Bootcamp with Mutsuo and was in the middle of gathering magic stones in Yokohama Dungeon. At the time, I had gotten a ton of invitations for interviews and TV appearances.

“Would you be interested in appearing on Asa Made Nama Touron, the show we do on New Year’s Eve every year where the panelists would discuss a certain topic throughout the night? The topic this year is ‘governmental policies on the dungeons.’ The moderator will be Tawaraya Soutarou, and the panel will include, among others, light novel authors and politicians in major and minority parties.”

“I’m honored by the offer, but no, thank you.”

Putting the eighty-plus-year-old moderator aside, have any of the other panelists even been inside a dungeon before? If they haven’t seen it with their own eyes, how are they supposed to discuss policies regarding the dungeons? I’m actually rather confident when it comes to armchair theorizing, but this would merely be a waste of time. The amount that I know and the amount that the other panelists know is far too disparate to hold any meaningful sort of discussion.

Then, next was an invitation to a variety show. Apparently they wanted to do a segment showcasing the physical capabilities of a dungeon adventurer.

“Even TNG47 will be making an appearance. Please consider it!”

“I’m honored by the offer, but no, thank you.”

If those TNG47 girls wanted to enter a dungeon to get stronger, then I would gladly lend a hand. However, I was not going to just sit there and do a hand grip test to the chorus of “So amazing!”s from the studio. I’m not the one that you people should be making those offers to — go ask Akira!

Within the pile, however, I did find mention of an interesting program proposed by Tokyo TV, the studio famous for its so-called “reliability in broadcasting.” Their offer was a one-on-one interview — what’s more, on a live broadcast — on a very large spectrum of questions regarding not only the dungeons themselves but also on policies for dungeon adventurers, the economic effects caused by the magic stones, and the various stances being taken by other countries towards the dungeons.

“We have heard that you used to be a management consultant before you became a dungeon adventurer. In light of your expertise and knowledge in that field, we would love to have a multi-layered discussion with you regarding the dungeons from a variety of different perspectives. The interviewer will be Oosuka Ayaka, the main caster of World Business News.”

“Now this one sounds worth doing.”

World Business News was a program so famous that it could be safely said that there wasn’t a single businessman who did not know of it. As the main caster of this show, Oosuka Ayaka was a veteran who had experience interviewing a huge variety of different people, including CEOs, certified analysts, and management consultants. The proposed broadcast time of 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. was also a very good slot. After our interview, there was going to be a New Year’s Eve special episode of Lonesome Gourmet. Let’s watch it on 1seg on the way home.

◇ ◇ ◇

When the proposal first came to me, the first thought that came to my mind was “I should do the bootcamp.” A one-on-one interview with humanity’s foremost adventurer, Ezoe Kazuhiko, was an opportunity that anyone in journalism would leap at. In spite of his popularity, he was a man who did not appear often before the mass media. Even on the rare occasions where he would speak to the cameras, it would only be something to the degree of “I hope that more people can become adventurers.” What was it that he felt going into the dungeons? What were his opinions on dungeon adventurer policies? And what worries did he have regarding where we were headed as a species? The questions that I wanted to ask him numbered a thousand and one.

Before all that, however, I needed to enter the dungeons for myself. I had no intention of becoming an adventurer, but the Dungeon Bootcamp had a fitness course. I asked my station to arrange a slot for me sometime during the middle of December.

Tonight was finally the big night, the night when I was finally going to welcome Ezoe Kazuhiko onto the show and conduct that one-on-one interview where I would get to discuss the dungeons and the future of the world together with him. By the time my makeup was done and I entered the studio that had been specially set up for the interview, Ezoe was already there. As I greeted the camera team and the director, he noticed me and came over.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you. I’m Ezoe Kazuhiko, representative of Dungeon Busters Inc.”

He had a refined-sounding voice and cordial mannerisms, and his hair was lightly set with just a bit of cream. He was wearing a high-quality tailored suit and a matching necktie, his dress shirt sported cufflinks, his watch appeared to be a WWC, and his well-shined shoes appeared to be M&J, the same as what my own husband wore. At first glance, he did indeed look like a young CEO or a management consultant. However, that was not all there was to him. He had an aura that was markedly different from any other person that I had ever met before. For lack of a better description, it was a masculine aura in the purest form, with all the reliability yet ferociousness of a man who could be relied on to actually fight to his last breath for something. He was a management consultant, and yet at the same time, he was also an adventurer who lived in a world of violence and death. Intelligence and instinct. Communication and violence. He was a fusion of paradoxical opposites.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’m Oosuka Ayaka from the News Department at Tokyo TV. Thank you for coming today.”

We exchanged business cards, then each took our seat.

“This is my first time appearing on a TV program. I beg your pardon in advance for any impropriety that I might commit through my ignorance.”

I nodded slightly. As the countdown to going live began, I straightened my posture. Then the ON-AIR signal lit up.

“Good evening. How is everyone spending this New Year’s Eve? There might be some of you spending it the same way you did last year, and there might be some who have had new encounters this year and are spending it differently tonight. As for us here at Tokyo TV, things are a bit different from last year. We have shortened the 52nd Bounen, Nippon no Kayou in order to make time for a two-hour segment where we will earnestly consider the future of Japan and of the world at large.”

The feed cut to a different camera, so I turned my face accordingly.

“This was a year that will undoubtedly go down in human history. Mysterious caves called dungeons have appeared all throughout the world, and inside of them are entirely new lifeforms and items that seem unexplainable by science. What is going to become of our world? Tonight, we have the honor of having one of the world’s first ever civilian adventurers and likely the world’s most knowledgeable man regarding the dungeons together with us for a two-hour long one-on-one interview where we will contemplate the future of the world together. Allow me to introduce him. This man is Ezoe Kazuhiko-san, civilian dungeon adventurer and CEO of Dungeon Busters Inc., in the flesh. Ezoe-san, thank you for joining us tonight.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“We are currently accepting questions for Ezoe-san from you, the viewers. If there’s anything that you wish to ask him, please post it on either our social media account or on our program homepage. Well then, Ezoe-san. We have a mountain of questions to go through, but if you don’t mind, I would like to first start with the most fundamental one of them all. Exactly what are the dungeons?”

Ezoe-san narrowed his eyes and lifted the corner of his mouth in a barely perceptible smile.

◇ ◇ ◇

Looks like agreeing to come onto this program was the right choice after all, I thought. It had taken me slightly by surprise to hear the beautiful caster before my eyes start off with the very question that I myself had first asked Akane. I nodded, then laced my fingers together on top of the table.

“It’s a place where monsters show up, magic stones can be harvested, and time flows much faster...is probably not the answer you’re hoping for. I assume that what you’re asking is more along the lines of ‘Who made the dungeons, when, and for what purpose?’ As for the ‘when,’ I’m afraid I do not have an answer. Is this a phenomenon that’s only occurring here on Earth? Has it appeared on other planets throughout the universe? What about the past? We do not have enough information to draw a conclusion. The same goes for the ‘who.’ On the internet, I’ve seen theories claiming that this is the handiwork of aliens or that a failed particle accelerator experiment had connected our world with another world, or that this is a punishment from God. From what I can see, at least, there is insufficient evidence to prove any of those theories. However, I think we can safely say that this was not the work of any of us humans. That’s all we know for sure at this moment in time. In regards to the last question of ‘why,’ however, I do have a certain hypothesis.”

“Please let us hear it,” Oosuka said while leaning forward, intrigued.

The rest of the studio was also extremely quiet. I paused briefly and turned to look straight into the camera.

“I’m not one for beating around the bush, so I’ll come straight out with it. I believe the dungeons to be part of a system that’s aiming to prompt humanity towards further evolution. But if the dungeons determine that we have failed to live up to that opportunity, what would they do? This is something that I’m extremely afraid of.”

I heard the sound of someone gulping loudly.

◇ ◇ ◇

“This is only my personal hypothesis at the moment. I urge you, Oosuka-san, and you, the viewer, to not take my word for granted and to think about it yourself.”

“Naturally. But before that, would you tell us what it is that has led you to this hypothesis?”

This was most likely the way this man talked. First drop a stone, confirm that the ripples have spread, and then slowly and deliberately follow it up. Rather than a management consultant, it seemed to me like he could have become a great con man if he had taken just a single step off the right path in life. Ezoe-san nodded in response, then resumed talking.

“From the many times that I’ve delved into the dungeons, there is one thing that I’ve become sure of: there is a clear will behind the dungeons. Take the Card Gacha skill, for instance. Has anyone ever stopped to think about the name itself? ‘Gacha’ is a term used in online games originating in Japan. I’ve heard that in the West, Status windows display the skill as ‘Card Slots.’ The function is the same, but it seems to me that the word choice of the names was a deliberate effort to make the effect of the skill easily understandable across different nationalities and languages. If the dungeons were a natural phenomenon without a will, we would see a common name applied equally to everyone.”

“So you’re saying that the dungeon outbreak phenomenon is not a simple natural occurrence but the product of someone’s deliberate design?”

“I’m not sure if we can anthropomorphize it as someone, but yes, I think that there is an existence that has designed what I, for lack of a better term, have taken to calling ‘the Dungeon System.’ There is no other way to explain the usage of ‘gacha,’ ‘slots,’ ‘potions,’ and other words that we humans have coined within the past few centuries or so.”

I nodded slowly, digesting what Ezoe-san was saying. I had seen Status windows during the bootcamp. Although it wasn’t accessible aboveground, all of us participants had the ability to bring one up during the program. It had indeed been strange seeing myself identified as ‘Rank F.’ It seemed very game-like and far from being a natural phenomenon.

“The existence that designed the Dungeon System is likely a transcendental being. Some might call it God, some might call it the Devil, and some might call it by another name altogether. In any case, since this System was something that had been created, then naturally it stands to reason to expect some purpose behind this creation.”

“And you think that aim is, as you mentioned earlier, to prompt humanity towards further evolution? What makes you think that?”

“I think that because of the Dungeon System’s half measures. For example...may I have the two tools that I brought for reference please?”

In accordance to Ezoe-san’s request, a studio staffer pushed a cart over. On top of the cart rested a knuckle duster and a shovel. Seeing Ezoe-san stand up to approach the cart, I also followed suit.

“Weapons cannot be brought inside dungeons. Both knives and guns would be turned to cards when they are brought to Floor 1. However, it’s not that all weapons are entirely banned. This knuckle duster? It’s fine. Being useful both for punching monsters and for protecting the wearer’s knuckles, this is a tool that can be used for both offense and for defense. The dungeon allows you to bring it in, no problem. But then how about this shovel, which is also being used for both offense and defense in close-quarters combat by the JSDF? Unfortunately, this shovel can’t be brought in. Why is the knuckle duster fine and the shovel not fine? There seems to be a certain standard here, but it seems vague and equivocal. It’s a half measure. The System clearly has the ability to cardify everything, even down to our very last article of clothing. Why stop at ‘weapons only’?”

“That’s a fair point... We can bring in helmets and safety boots, but we can’t bring in weapons. You’re right. It is a half measure.”

“The same thing can be said for the monsters within the dungeons. In Yokohama Dungeon, the monsters on Floor 2 are stronger than the monsters on Floor 1. In other words, the monsters get stronger the deeper we go. Those used to consuming light novels might not see anything wrong with this, but when you think about it calmly, it’s a bizarre arrangement. If the aim is to repel all intruders, then the dungeon would position the most powerful monsters at its disposal on Floor 1. The current state of affairs, however, is the opposite. It’s almost as if the dungeons are purposely designed to draw us in, baiting us by putting monsters that even women can easily defeat on Floor 1.”

I nodded in understanding. I had never previously touched a light novel before, but after this interview was confirmed, I visited a few web novel hosting sites and checked out several low fantasy series. Almost all of them had depicted weak monsters on the first floor of the dungeons that appeared. As a book, it could be explained as a set up to make the story more interesting. In real life, however, it simply didn’t make sense. After all, real life was not a game.

“From this, I am led to believe that the dungeons are not actively trying to repel invaders. On the contrary, they are trying to attract in as many as possible. But then that begs the question: what is their aim in attracting so many people? Taking into consideration things like Card Gacha, magic stones, potions, as-yet unknown technologies, Enhancement Element, and everything else that the dungeon is putting up on offer, the conclusion that seemed most logical to me was...”

“Human evolution,” I said pensively.

Ezoe-san looked right at me and nodded.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Thank you for your explanation just now, Ezoe-san. I now understand your reasons for believing what you do. However, it sounded to me like you have an extension to that theory of yours, right? You said something about the dungeons determining us having ‘failed to live up to the opportunity,’ if I remember correctly. What did you mean by that?”

“If the purpose behind the emergence of the Dungeon System is indeed to prompt the sentient beings of that world — in our case, that would be us, humanity — towards evolving, then a certain question would arise: how is that evolution to be assessed? I myself think that the ranks are an indicator.”

“You are referring to the letter that goes up when we undergo training after absorbing the Enhancement Element generated by killing monsters inside of the dungeons, right? Are these similar to the ‘levels’ so commonly used in computer games?”

“It is similar insofar as an indicator for strength, but the order of cause and effect is the opposite. Inside games, your character gets stronger because of leveling up. If the necessary XP for the next level up is, say, 100 XP, you are the same strength the entire time up to when you gather 99 XP. When you gather the 100^th XP point and level up, you suddenly get a boost in strength, perhaps a +3 in Attack and a +2 in Agility. That’s not how the Dungeon System operates. As you continue fighting, your attack strength and agility goes up bit by bit in tiny increments. Only when you cross a certain threshold do you rank up. In the former, you get stronger because of leveling up. In the latter, you rank up because you got stronger.”

“I see. And so you think that the ranks are an easy way to gauge humanity’s progress towards evolution as a species?”

“That is correct, yes. However, how much do we have to rank up by? There’s no indication for this. The large majority of humans are at Rank F, and even Shishido Akira, ‘the world’s strongest martial artist,’ was Rank E at the start. It could be safe to say that Rank D is probably the human limit, which would make Rank C one step beyond the limit. If so, then do we just reach Rank C and call it a day? I’m not so sure about that.”

“The reason for that is...?”

“Because it seems, again, to be a half measure. Is there truly nothing beyond C? Then what about B or A? If C is the goal, then why call it C and not A or S? From this, I determine that the ranks are an indicator but not the goal itself. In that case, then, what can the Dungeon System use to assess our evolution as a whole species? I believe it to be ‘the clearing of the dungeons.’”

“So you’re saying that we go into the deepest parts of the dungeons, solve their mysteries, then erase the dungeons entirely. And once we do that, then the System will determine that we’ve evolved as a race.”

“That’s right. If we assume that the Dungeon System is a mechanism meant to prompt our evolution, then it seems reasonable to determine that we’ve successfully evolved once we finish dealing away with the very thing that was supposed to help us evolve. At the same time, however, this theory strikes fear into my heart. What would happen, then, if none of us were to clear the dungeons? If our efforts fall short and we do not successfully prove our evolution, what would the Dungeon System do then?”

The entire studio was silent enough to hear a pin drop. I looked around slowly, then turned my face towards the camera.

“Wouldn’t the System then take action to eradicate us as a failed project?”

◇ ◇ ◇

Dungeon Busters. This name, which sounded like the title of a light novel, had risen to prominence within the country and was already starting to become known overseas as well. As its founder, what was the man Ezoe Kazuhiko thinking, and what was it that motivated him to start this company? It had been my aim to dig into this during this one-on-one interview. What I had gotten, instead, was an answer far beyond anything that I had ever imagined, a theory that seemed entirely preposterous and far too frightening to believe.

“Dungeon Busters is a company that fears an eventual overflow of the monsters within the dungeons. A ‘Monster Stampede,’ if I am to borrow the light novel term. The dungeons now exist. There are potions. The gacha system is real. What’s to say that a Stampede can’t occur? Perhaps there won’t be a Monster Stampede. But remember, the dungeon outbreak phenomenon is now our reality. Instead of clinging to baseless wishful thinking, should we not instead prepare for the very worst?”

I had heard that the rabbits on Floor 1 of Yokohama Dungeon were already strong enough to bite someone to death. The monsters on Floor 2 were supposedly even stronger. Who knew how much stronger could the monsters get? And if a large number of them were indeed to flood the world...

“When I listen to you, Ezoe-san, I can only see a dark, hopeless future that makes all the hairs on my arms stand up. However, this is all just a hypothesis, right? Do you have any proof to support your claims?”

“I do not. However, my company is doing everything we can to clear our first dungeon. It is my expectation that we would get at least some form of a hint or an answer once we reach its deepest depths. You called it a ‘dark, hopeless future,’ Oosuka-san, but I would like to ask people to not be overly pessimistic. We humans can indeed get stronger within the dungeons. There are many effects that our modern medicine cannot explain, with restoration of eyesight being an example. We humans still have much potential for growth. I have yet to give up on believing in what we can achieve as a race.”

An inexplicable emotion welled up inside my chest. This man was dead serious about standing up to the dungeons. I was a journalist, but I was also a Japanese. Upon seeing a fellow Japanese be so serious about something, I couldn’t help but to want to give him my support.

“And there we have it, viewers. It was still the very first question, and we have already received an incredibly weighty answer. I’m sure you can easily tell even through the screen how serious Ezoe-san is about the dungeons. We will be cutting to commercials now, but once we’re back, we’ll be diving into the effects that the dungeons have brought to our economy. Stay tuned.”

Ezoe-san nodded in acknowledgment, then reached for the glass of water slick with condensation that had been set before him.

◇ ◇ ◇

After the live broadcast was over, I returned to the Mizue neighborhood from the Tokyo TV building in Kamiyacho by taxi. I had thought about teleporting back, but the TV station had apparently already called the taxi for me. It didn’t seem right to reject their offer out of hand, so I took them up on it. I told the taxi driver to use the street-level roads instead of the highway. When we passed through Shin-ohashi-dori Avenue, I saw crowds of merrymakers celebrating the passing of the year. No one out on the streets, at least, seemed to be thinking of themselves as being under threat by the dungeon outbreak phenomenon.

“I’m sorry, can you let me out at Shinnaka River? I feel like walking the rest of the way.”

After we proceeded down Ichinoe Street and crossed Kannana-Dori Avenue, I got off at Suzukaze Bridge, one of the many bridges that spanned the width of Shinnaka River. I walked out to the middle and stood in the chilly night river breeze. When I looked up, there just happened to be a full moon right above my head. I sat down on a nearby stone ledge, then lit up a cigarette while still staring at the moon.

“Another ten years and six months...”

During the broadcast, I had revealed everything that I could reveal. Now, it was up to the viewers to decide how they would respond. I hardly expected them all to embrace a sudden sense of crisis, as the large majority of people did not have the ability to recognize danger even if it stood in front of their eyes. However, even if there was a mere handful of people who would be willing to face the dungeons together with me, then perhaps we still might just yet prevent the worst possible future scenario.

“So then, first thing on the schedule when the new year comes is a business trip to Sapporo. I might as well take the opportunity to also test just how far Teleportation can actually take me.”

I stubbed out my cigarette against the portable ashtray that I brought with me, then stood up. At that exact moment, midnight struck and impressive fireworks lit up the sky above the bridge.