CH 4

“Paisen. Why don’t you take this a little more seriously?”

“No, I am serious. I’m even wearing a suit.”

“You’re taking the dungeon too lightly! Paisen!”

So, I’m in a dungeon now. The Shinjuku Dungeon, the only dungeon in Tokyo.

A dungeon that suddenly appeared where a movie theater used to be.

According to astrophysicists, the universe repeatedly expands and contracts on a regular basis, and the reason why this world is connected to that other world is because of these contractions.

Well, actually, I don’t really care about that, and I can’t do anything about it either.

I swung my metal bat and crushed a goblin’s head.

“Paisen. Is this really your first time in a dungeon?”

“Yes, why?”

“I mean, why don’t you hesitate a little more?”

The goblin’s corpse disappeared into smoke, leaving only a small magic stone lying on the ground. I picked up the magic stone and answered.

“No. I don’t hesitate. Wakutsu, how much will this cost?”

“It’s not even worth 100 yen. It’s only a goblin stone.”

“That sucks.”

“Well, it’s because it’s a goblin.”

“It can’t be helped. Wakutsu. Let’s go to the second floor quickly.”

I cracked the head of another goblin that appeared suddenly.

Wakutsu screamed at every splash of blood from the goblins, but I ignored him.

To begin with, Wakutsu should have already been accustomed to dead monsters.

This must just be a reaction that he’s feigning. 

“Wakutsu. Which way should I go to find the stairs?”

“The next floor is just straight ahead, you shouldn’t encounter any problems there. So to speak, it’s a tutorial.”

“I see. The dungeon design is very considerate.”

“It seems that in that world, dungeons are considered to be trials bestowed by God.”

“Is this the world that goes beyond those trials? It’s a terrible joke.”

Without hesitation, I crushed more goblins that appeared in the way and just walked straight down the path.

Mysteriously, the walls of the dungeon shone faintly, so you didn’t have to worry if you didn’t bring in any lights.

I was expecting to enter with my headlights on, so I was quite grateful for God’s considerate design.

Because of the accumulation of the magic stones we collected, every step I took was met with a jingling sound.

“Paisen. Shall I put them in my magic pouch? The magic stones, I mean.”

“So, are you going to try to steal my money?”

“No, I won’t! I’m already earning enough money from this!”

Wakutsu looked angry. I see. Maybe he was indeed earning enough money from this.

Unlike me, Wakutsu was equipped with a black combat bodysuit and a short spear. He also appeared to be on his guard.

It seemed to be true that he was a mid-ranking explorer.

“But I didn’t know it would be this easy to become an explorer.”

“When the dungeon first appeared, people used to go all the way to the association to register. Now you can do it all within an app on your phone, so you can become an explorer in ten minutes.”

“Thanks to the unemployment rate of almost 0%?”

“Anyone can become one, and they get the tax breaks too.”

“And also face the number one death rate.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“Well, it’s only because the dungeon conquest is a national policy. In every country.”

Wakutsu and I slaughtered more goblins while chatting and finally reached the stairs to the second floor.