After rescuing those who hadn't made it out in time, we headed for the exit as a large group, merging with other explorers along the way.
One look outside told me it was definitely safe.
Several ambulances and police vehicles were parked in front of the station, surrounded by a swarm of onlookers peering inside or trying to record the scene with their smartphones. If Goblins were still manifesting outside, no one would be acting this casually. The crowd’s presence was the clearest proof possible that the monsters hadn't reached the surface.
And more importantly—I looked down at the Holy Sword in my right hand.
I tried to consciously activate Sword Aura, but the light of the pale blue aura failed to manifest. The skills that had functioned perfectly inside the station became unusable the moment I stepped out. On top of that, I was hit by that familiar, heavy sensation of my stats dropping, the same feeling I got whenever I left a dungeon.
In other words, Shinjuku Station had become like a dungeon—no, it had turned into an actual dungeon. Stepping onto the street meant I had finally crossed back outside its boundary. That explained why there were no monsters out here.
Still… how did this even happen?
"Are you all right!?"
"Bring the injured this way!"
Police officers and paramedics swarmed toward us immediately. I snapped back to reality; there was no point dwelling on questions I couldn't answer yet. I handed over the survivors to the first responders and prepared to head back into the station, but—
"Excuse me! You’re explorers, aren't you? Can you tell us what’s happening inside?"
Several police officers tried to hold me back, desperate for information.
I was at a loss. It was only natural for the police to want a situation report during such an emergency, but we seriously didn't have time for this. It might sound harsh, but giving a report to officers who weren't explorers wouldn't help; if they charged in, they’d just become more casualties we’d have to rescue. The police likely knew this too, which was probably why they’d been ordered to wait outside.
Instead of wasting time on explanations, we needed to get back inside and search every corner for anyone else who might be trapped. However, these officers were many years my senior, and I found it difficult to flatly refuse them.
"We’ll handle the explanation," a few of the explorers who had accompanied us said, stepping forward. They turned to me with apologetic expressions. "Leveling Junkie Bro, leave the police to us. I’m sorry, but… we’re at our limit. Our HP and stamina are shot. I don't think we can fight anymore."
"I see… Understood," I said, nodding after a second of thought.
Hinata-san’s magic could fix their HP, but with more potential survivors to find, we couldn't waste her MP. Once stamina ran out, concentration followed; even against low-level Goblins, an exhausted explorer could easily make a fatal mistake. I couldn't ask them to push any further.
"Then I’ll leave the rest to you!"
"Yeah, count on us."
With five explorers staying behind, the remaining twelve—including Hinata-san and myself—headed back into the station. We split into our respective parties, fanning out to save as many lives as we could.
●◯●
An hour passed.
We sprinted through the station at the speeds afforded by our explorer stats, exterminating every Goblin on sight. Whenever we found people—those who had failed to escape, those under attack, or those trembling in hiding—we escorted them to the surface.
We were thorough, scouring every floor from the B1 area near the Japan Explorer Association to the platforms on the first floor and the corridors of the second. Never had I felt more murderous intent toward the sprawling, labyrinthine layout of Shinjuku Station than I did that day.
The Goblins were everywhere—basement, platforms, and even popping up on the tracks and inside stationary trains. Killing them all while searching for survivors was exhausting work, but about thirty minutes after we returned, the rescue phase came to an abrupt halt.
It wasn't because we had saved everyone. It was because there was no one left to find.
Most people simply couldn't survive running from Goblins for that long. After thirty minutes, the survivors had simply vanished from the corridors.
Still, Hinata-san and I didn't stop.
By the time the last of the survivors were out, only a handful of explorers were still active inside the station. The others had retired due to exhaustion or reaching their HP and MP limits. Some were likely back at the Association dealing with the monsters overflowing from the dungeon, but since I hadn't returned there yet, I didn't know the specifics.
Regardless, we shifted our focus entirely to extermination.
The station was eerily deserted, a sight rarely seen in the real world. The only things moving were explorers and Goblins. A heavy scent of blood hung in the air, and the scattered corpses and drying bloodstains served as a grim reminder of our current reality.
It was almost surreal. But whether it was a sense of duty, or because my psyche had been warped by constant life-or-death battles in the dungeon, I didn't feel paralyzed or dazed. I just kept moving.
At first, the Goblins seemed to be repopping, as their numbers didn't seem to drop. But as we persisted, the tide finally turned. By the time an hour had passed since we started, the Goblins had all but vanished.
There might have been a few stragglers left, but the bulk of them were gone. Since no new ones were appearing, it seemed the repopping had finally ceased.
If the repops had stopped, then the end of this anomaly was in sight. However, while we had handled our end, I started to worry about the Association.
Though, I’m sure they’re fine. It’s not like that reusable bag of Magic Stones I left in the Floor 1 Staircase Plaza could have drastically increased the spawn rate. Most of my haul was in my backpack; the bag only had a fraction of it. Yeah. No doubt about it! I chose to believe that.
"Hinata-san, I’m worried about the Association. Let's head back."
"Huff… huff… Yeah, you’re right," Hinata-san said, nodding as she tried to catch her breath.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. But… I think I’ve finally hit my limit."
"I’m not surprised."
After that much running, exhaustion was inevitable. I had gone straight from a dungeon dive into this chaos, and the fatigue was starting to settle in. My breathing was steady, but my body felt heavy, and my mind was getting a bit foggy.
"Let's not waste any more stamina. We’ll walk the rest of the way."
"Good idea."
We began walking toward the Association branch on the B1 level, using the time to recover. As we moved, I noticed something.
"The drone's connection cut out a while ago, didn't it?"
"Yeah, looks like it," Hinata-san said, cradling the dead drone in her left arm.
The camera drone was designed to follow a target automatically, but without a connection, its AI couldn't function. She had turned it off to save what was left of the battery. Come to think of it, the comment readouts had stopped quite a while ago.
A massive communication blackout in the middle of the city… it felt intentional. Given the scale, I didn't think it was a simple jammer like the one Kanzaki used, but it was still suspicious. Even with the Goblins gone, we couldn't afford to let our guard down.
"Hinata-san, do you have any Mana Potions left?"
"No, sorry. I used the last one. Did you need it?"
"No, I haven't used any MP since leaving the dungeon, so I’m fine. I was just checking."
"Oh, good."
Hinata-san had been healing people non-stop, and even after the rescue mission, she’d topped off the HP of every explorer we passed. She’d only brought three potions; it was a miracle they’d lasted this long.
"Takeo-kun, is your HP okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I should be fine. I haven't taken any hits, and I stopped using Sword Aura halfway through, so I shouldn't have lost any—"
As I spoke, I opened my Status just to be sure.
"—Wait, what?"
I let out a confused noise. My stats were… wrong.
―――――――――――――――― 【Name】 Takeo Samejima 【Level】 35 Next Level: 6,118,472 EXP
《HP》 156/210 《MP》 41/66 《Strength》 33 (110) 《Constitution》 30 (100) 《Intelligence》 6 《Spirit》 18 (60) 《Agility》 30 (101) 《Dexterity》 32 (105) ――――――――――――――――
I recognized this notation. It was exactly like how my Level appeared as "0 (35)" when using the Seeker skill. The numbers in parentheses were my true stats, while the numbers before them were my current, weakened values.
But these values were bizarrely inconsistent. Since skills still worked inside the station, I had assumed my stats were at full strength. Instead, they were significantly lower than they should have been.
I had never seen stats behave like this. Then, a thought occurred to me.
I had been too busy fighting to check my Status, but what if my stats had been gradually weakening over time? I thought the heaviness in my limbs was just fatigue, but maybe it was my actual Strength and Agility dropping.
If Shinjuku Station was undergoing "Dungeonization," perhaps the effect was slowly fading, and the station was returning to normal.
What a discovery. Am I a genius?
"Hinata-san—"
I looked up, ready to share my theory.
"—Takeo-kun!!"
"Eh? —!?"
Hinata-san’s eyes were wide with terror as she screamed my name. At that exact moment, a chill raced down my spine. Before I even registered the warning from Danger Sense, I reacted to the direction of her gaze.
I threw my arms up to protect my head as I spun around.
"Die!! You little brat!!!"
A voice roared, followed by a bone-shattering impact against my shoulder. I was sent flying like I’d been hit by a freight train, tumbling nearly ten meters across the floor.
Despite my weakened stats, my HP Barrier had held. The pain wasn't crippling. I braced my hands against the ground and pushed myself up, staring at the person who had attacked me.
"Gwahahaha!! I told you I’d come back to kill you, boy!"
There stood a man who looked like an average middle-aged guy, except for his dilated pupils and a manic, wide-eyed grin. It was the Terrorist Middle-aged Man from the hall where the Dungeon Gate had been.