“—And that’s the basic gist of how dungeons work in this world. I think everyone more or less gets it now, right?”
Our group continued down the spiral staircase leading from the first floor of the West Tokyo Fourth Beginner Dungeon into the depths below.
Along the way, the Space-Time Rabbit carefully explained the dungeon’s underlying world mechanics—the very same things I’d once had the Goddess , that loli of a goddess, explain to me.
| > Too damn fantastical. My brain can’t process this. > Can someone explain it again? > The Goddess system is way too complicated lmao > So that lolibaba really is a god > The gods had too much free time, I see > And we’re the ones who have to deal with it lol > If you die in a dungeon, do you turn into a monster? > So basically, a monster’s strength is determined by how many layers past the Selection Zone they got, right? > Then does that mean every monster was originally human? > So that means the old man is a monster too lmao > And he made it past the eighth layer? Holy shit > The old man’s soul is Nether Lord-class > So we’re about to explore a dungeon modeled after the Selection Zone? > More importantly, was it really okay to just spill all this insanely important information on a livestream? |
Surprisingly, the viewers seem to be accepting and understanding the story so far without much trouble.
That said—and as one of the comments pointed out—I do have my own doubts about whether it was really okay to blabber on about things that go to the very core of this dungeon world. If I reveal all that, I get the feeling the Guild Headquarters might just come up with new countermeasures to deal with it.
“I feel like I sort of get it, but at the same time, it makes no sense…”
“It’s a story that’s hard to believe, but nothing short of something that massive could explain Daishi-san’s strength…”
“Hm? Does that mean Ryunosuke used to be human, too?”
“You bet!”
Ryunosuke-kun had probably made it pretty deep into the [Selection Zone] too.
Well, there was no point worrying about that right now.
“Are you sure it’s okay to just blab all that important information, Space-Time Rabbit? It’s all being broadcast to the entire world. If the Goddess chews you out later, don’t expect us to take responsibility.”
“There’s no need for concern. This is all on the Goddess’s orders.”
The Space-Time Rabbit twirled the staff in his hand and continued down the spiral staircase ahead of us, skipping along with light, nimble steps without even bothering to look back.
Judging by how utterly unfazed he was, I couldn’t help but feel there was probably some truth to what the rabbit was saying. Still, I couldn’t imagine what benefit the Goddess would get from broadcasting all of this to the folks at home…
“Ah! I can see the exit, Daishi-san!”
“Oh, you’re right!”
“Doesn’t this feel kind of nostalgic?”
It hadn’t been that long since we’d last been here, but I could sort of understand why Satsuki-chan felt that way.
I hadn’t even been an Explorer for a full month yet, but so much had happened since the first time I came to this dungeon that returning here felt almost like coming back to my hometown after being away for several years.
I guess Satsuki-chan felt the same way.
“I really don’t want to turn into a monster. Daishi-san, you’ll definitely protect me, okay?”
“Ah, yeah. Leave it to me! I’ll protect you, Mina-chan!”
“Oi. You’re not going to protect me?”
“Ah, well… You wouldn’t want me protecting you anyway, would you, Shion-san?”
“Hmph. We haven’t known each other long, but you understand me quite well, don’t you, Ajiri Daishi.”
“Shion-san, you protect Ryunosuke-kun, okay?”
“As if I needed to be told.”
Come to think of it, Ryunosuke-kun is actually the most attached to Shion. And Shion doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, she’s always the first to keep an eye on him and make sure he’s doing okay.
The dragon had only joined us because that’s how things happened, but somehow, just having him around seems to have brought a more relaxed atmosphere to the party. He’s an important companion to us now. So no matter what happens from here on out, I have to protect him.
“All right, everyone. Are you ready?”
We all reached the bottom of the spiral staircase and gathered in front of the door to the first underground floor. Standing before us was a massive iron door, far more imposing than the one we’d encountered the last time we came here.
Once we opened it, the first floor of this “New Selection Zone” that the Goddess and the Space-Time Rabbit had been telling us about would be waiting on the other side.
“Everyone, are you ready?”
Well, nobody seemed to be chickening out now that we’d come this far.
Every one of them had a serious, determined look on their face.
“Are you going to open the door for us, Space-Time Rabbit?”
“Yep. Then… open!”
The Space-Time Rabbit pointed his staff at the door twice.
With a deep *wrrrrrrrr* as the massive iron door scraped against the floor, it slowly began to swing open.
“It’s too dark inside. I can’t really see—…!?”
“Huh?”
“Wait… where did the Space-Time Rabbit…?”
“He disappeared!?”
| > Where’d the rabbit go? > It got away. > I thought it couldn’t use space-time teleportation? > Could this be a trap? > Tread carefully, old man! > Hey! Something’s swirling inside that doorway! |
By the time I noticed the viewers’ warning comments urging us to be careful, it was already too late!
“Th-This is bad! We’re being sucked in!!”
This is… a space-time vortex!?
So it really was a trap set by the Space-Time Rabbit!?
“WAAAAAAAAAH!!”
I let out a scream loud enough to tear my throat apart, but it was already too late.
The open doorway swallowed us whole, carrying us away to somewhere else entirely.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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