Episode 84 – Dungeon Experience (1)

Dungeon Experience (1)

Aerial Garden of Libra. Jade’s library.

Jade returned home after two days of tireless work across various businesses. Most of the work was just showing his face here and there.

“This is a letter sent by a student from Endex.”

His dedicated secretary handed him a letter, which was quite unusual for the ever-busy Jade. In his library, the only place where he could rest, he received a letter not from a senator, a mayor, or a businessman, but from a student at Endex.

“……Daniel. Do you forward fan letters to me?”

How lightly did they think of the name Libra? Jade glared at him with a reproachful look. The secretary bowed as humbly as possible.

“Yes, but it’s a letter from the senior who visited last time. I was going to reject it, but… it came up.”

“Came up?”

“Yes. I heard that Johanna herself sent it up.”

“…….”

What nonsense was that impulsive, gambling-addicted woman up to this time?

Anyway, Jade was uncomfortable.

This Endex senior, too, should have been satisfied with one favor. What was he hoping for by sending a letter?

“Damn.”

Jade tore open the envelope. The first thing that fell out was a small drawing. It was a pencil portrait the size of three business cards put together.

The subject was Jade himself.

It seemed to have been drawn with the help of his memory……

It was very well drawn.

It felt very different from an oil painting, but the rough touch of the pencil actually highlighted Jade’s appearance more.

“Hmm.”

It would be good to frame it and put it next to the monitor in his office. Jade, feeling a bit better, picked up the letter.

[To Jade,

As the Magic High Festival approaches, we, as your distant juniors, have prepared a special play as seniors. This play is a modern reinterpretation of the Latinel play ‘The Bard’…

Your attendance would mean a lot to us. If you attend, the play itself will shine, and we will all feel great joy and honor.

Our play may be very humble compared to your culture, like a firefly in front of the sun, but if you could spare even a short time to attend, we will show you a performance that will not disappoint…

If you, Jade, who are like a star, leave even a small footprint, it will become a great memory for us and shine. Every moment of that day will be brilliantly special.

With the highest respect,

Shion Ascal, Senior at Endex.]

“……..”

Indeed. He was a guy who knew not only the meaning of admiration and respect but also how to express it very well.

“A play.”

Jade stroked his chin and pondered.

“Daniel. Do you think I should go to watch a play at Magic High?”

“According to rumors, not only 6-star prospects but also Edsilla university students are participating. There’s also a rumor that the script is very well done.”

“……Since I have a schedule nearby, I can spare about 30 minutes.”

“It doesn’t seem particularly bad. After all, all the spotlights will be on him, and he can also create a benevolent image of attending his alma mater’s festival.”

“Tell them I will attend.”

“Yes.”

Of course, he doesn’t send a reply. If he were to lend his name to send a reply to a mere senior, Jade would kill his secretary.

It’s just a matter of leaking the information to the press. Choose the ones who can wield the pen well and write something like ‘Benevolent Jade of Libra, planning to attend his alma mater’s festival-‘.

“I’ll stop by for exactly 30 minutes.”

This means to adjust so that there’s not even a hint of backtalk like ‘he doesn’t have time to watch a high school play’.

“Yes, I understand.”

Secretary Daniel bowed.

______________________________________________________________________

Friday dawn. I woke up to the sound of the rain pattering down.

“……It hurts.”

It was because of the pain.

Is the side effect coming late? The sound of tightening screws keeps coming from my knees, wrists, and pelvis. My whole body is numb, and it feels like my insides are burning.

I feel like swearing every time I breathe.

“Ah…….”

I sat leaning against the wall. I blankly stared at the raindrops forming on the window. Then, I slowly got up and went outside.

Old man Belthos was standing at the main gate of the dormitory. He seemed to be looking around the garden getting wet in the rain from under the roof.

We’ve cleaned up quite a bit of the branches together, so it’s now decent to look at.

“What are you doing, old man.”

I approached the old man. He glanced at me.

“I’m watching the rain.”

“Is that so?”

“Tomorrow is the college board. Are you oversleeping?”

“Somehow.”

“……You’re surviving a long time.”

I smiled faintly.

“More than that. I can even surpass Edsilla National University.”

My current grades are stable. Of course, since my GPA is D-, I have to wait until the third quarter, which combines the college board score and the internal score.

“Knight School, maybe I can go?”

“…….”

Belthos silently shook his head.

This old man is ignoring me.

Drip……. Drip…….

The rain keeps falling without pause, hitting the ground. The smell of earth spreads thickly.

Suddenly, I’m curious about one thing.

How much time does the old man have left?

I don’t know when the old man will die.

But, the old man’s time collapses at some point.

Probably, sometime when I was sick before regression.

“Old man.”

I called the old man. The old man looked back at me.

“How does it feel to be dying?”

The old man moved his eyes without a word. He looked back at the rainy scenery. He answered quietly.

“It feels like I’m accepting time. Slowly getting used to it.”

“……Hmm.”

I thought quietly.

Accepting time.

If you think about it, the death of a young person and the death of an old person could be different.

A young person still has a lot of time left, and the time to accept is so heavy that when death comes, it’s painful.

An old person can slowly accept the remaining time, like getting soaked in the rain.

Then what am I?

As a regressor, what am I, who has come back to life and is repeating this pain again?

“I’m not getting used to it.”

It’s always like that.

The pain is bearable.

The feeling of dying, never gets familiar.

“It’s called Cancer of the Magic’s Core.”

Belthos old man’s eyes slightly trembled.

That’s quite a reaction for the old man.

That’s how famous Cancer of the Magic’s Core is. It’s virtually synonymous with death. Among human diseases, it’s one of the biggest fears, cancer, especially when faced with it, it’s considered something like an unavoidable grim reaper.

“……”

Belthos old man did not comfort me.

He didn’t advise me either.

“I saw the lakeside. I’m also looking at the garden spread out here.”

He said that.

“You’ve trimmed it well.”

“……Is that so?”

I quietly smiled. I didn’t have the strength to add anything else. I just leaned against the wall and fell asleep for a moment.

When I opened my eyes again, I was on the bed.

The morning sun was bright.

______________________________________________________________________

Clemen Hall. Today, I arrived, leading my legs that seemed to be particularly loose.

“Nice to see you.”

As soon as I sat down, Chedric came in. He almost was late.

“As you all know, next week is a break. Because of the festival.”

Then, the seniors’ faces brightened up.

Even in the college board course, there exists something called a ‘break’. Only once in the first quarter. Of course, there are vacations in between quarters.

“Focus on today’s assignment, so you can rest comfortably during the break.”

I was still rubbing my sore knee. I hope it’s a reasonable assignment.

“It’s a dungeon experience.”

Ah, this fucking XXXXXXXX. (Just a lot of cursing)

……

‘Dungeon’

It’s a familiar name to not only those in the magic industry but also to the general public. Because it often appears in various games or media like movies.

I have a lot of experience myself. I’ve done things like pathfinder, guide, and porter in B~C grade dungeons.

People who have never been to a dungeon think of dungeons as caves, ruins, or phantom islands, but it’s not at all.

[Tanveli Dungeon Office]

Dungeons below D grade are directly managed by the office. It’s an office operated by a corporation that owns the ‘portal’, the entrance to the dungeon.

“Hello. Endex folks.”

In the lecture room of that office, all 76 Endex seniors gathered.

“I am Jeremy, the head of the Tanveli Dungeon Office.”

The head standing in front of the blackboard spoke with a smile.

“First of all, this Tanveli Dungeon is a D-grade dungeon. It’s owned by Tan Corporation. The area is 3.5㎢, and what kind of monster appears is something you all have to find out from now on.”

Clap, clap – the director clapped his hands.

“Let me explain about the dungeon first. Of course, some of you may have already done some research. First of all, the dungeon does not occupy physical space. Is there a cave leading to the dungeon under the office? It’s not like that. We only enter the dungeon through a ‘portal’.”

He’s right.

It’s still a phenomenon that’s inexplicable both magically and scientifically, but the most convincing theory is that ‘we enter one of the twisted worlds in the gap between worlds through a portal’.

I don’t know what that means either.

Just think that there’s a dungeon in some gap that humans can’t observe, and we enter there through a portal.

“Therefore, our office does not occupy the entire dungeon, but only the entrance, the ‘portal’. Legally, the portal itself is the dungeon. Now then.”

The director pointed to the tablet PC.

“There should be a tablet PC at each of your seats. Do you see it?”

A tablet PC was placed at each individual’s seat. The screen displayed a site titled [Dungeon System Membership Registration].

“If you click on the registration, something surprising will happen. Oh, it’s okay for those who have already registered.”

A surprising event. I know what it is because I’ve experienced it before my regression.

Click-

I pressed the registration button. Then, a palm shape filled the screen.

I placed my palm on it. At that moment, magic was sucked in, and the tablet PC started working.

[…You are not an existing member.]

[Welcome to the ‘Dungeon System’.]

[The registration process will begin.]

The name of this site is, [Broadband Magic Spell: Dungeon System]. It’s an app, a site, and a system invented by some super genius that someone like me can’t even imagine.

Thanks to this, dungeon capture and exploration have developed dramatically.

[Please set your ‘Dungeon System’ ID. If not set, it will be assigned randomly.]

Random.

[Please enter your date of birth. We are not responsible for any disadvantages caused by forgery.]

I entered my date of birth. 951111.

[Registration is complete. You can now log in with biometric information linked to your magic.]

“Everyone seems to have registered. Then I’ll send you an invitation.”

The director manipulated his smartphone.

Ding-!

A message arrived on my Dungeon System.

[The manager of Tanveli Dungeon, ‘JEREISME’, invites you to the dungeon room.]

[Yes / No]

“Please press the Yes button. Then you will move to the dungeon room. The dungeon room is a midway point between the portal and the dungeon. You know, like a waiting room before starting a game? It’s like that.”

I pressed the Yes button. Then, the space suddenly changed. The desk and chair disappeared in an instant.

“Uh-oh.”

I almost fell, but barely kept my balance.

“……What kind of waiting room is this?”

The place was pitch black, devoid of furniture or anything else. Perhaps because it’s a D-grade dungeon, there seemed to be some issues with the waiting room. C-grade or B-grade dungeons usually have waiting rooms decorated like train lounges.

Anyway, one by one, the seniors began to appear out of nowhere.

“Wow. This is amazing.”

“Is it amazing? Is this your first time in a dungeon?”

“Why is it so dark here?”

I tapped my wrist twice. Then, a system window popped up on my retina.

[Tanveli Dungeon Room]

[If you do not want the invitation, please press the ‘Exit’ button.]

[13 / 900]

13 is the current number of people, and 900 is the maximum capacity.

The current number quickly rose to 76, and soon the director also crossed over to the waiting room.

“Has everyone arrived? This is the dungeon room. I intentionally made it all-black. What do you think?”

The director spread his arms. I wasn’t sure what he wanted us to see.

“In this Magic Space, we will set our positions and then do random party matching. For your information, the position classification in D-grade dungeons are only Guards and Forwards.”

Guards are, as the name suggests, the ‘blockers’. In gaming terms, they’re the tanks.

Forwards are, as the name suggests, the ‘attackers’. They’re the dealers.

“Let’s start by setting the positions.”

[Dungeon Manager ‘JEREISME’ has sent a message.]

[Please set your position.]

1. Guard

1. Forward

“If you don’t know what your position is, choose according to your inclination. Guards should be able to confront directly. Forwards must be capable of long-range attacks.”

I pressed number 1.

Although my physical condition was a bit off, guys like me can’t do anything but guard. Forwards are usually archers or wizards.

“Oh~ 38 guards. 38 forwards. It’s a perfect match. Now, let’s start the random party matching.”

The director pressed hard on his smartphone screen. Another system window popped up.

[Random party matching in progress……]

[Matching complete]

[Your party member is D-grade user ‘EliseEEM’.]

EliseEEM.

I slowly read the ID.

El.ise.EEM.

EliseEEM?

“……Ah, this is annoying.”