In late March, Mika successfully passed the entrance exams for her first-choice high school. She’d been plagued by anxiety over the possibility of failing, but since she made the cut, we threw a grand graduation celebration. We even invited Saori-chan, her best friend who had applied to and passed the same school.
The menu for the occasion was a barbecue featuring a generous spread of dungeon-grown meat, a delicacy normally reserved for high-end dining. Even though it was the spring equinox, the outdoor venue was still a bit chilly, but the atmosphere remained lively. The star of the show was the minotaur meat we had hunted on the 20th floor, which we’d only recently reached. It was a delicious-looking pseudo-beef, marbled with just the right amount of fat like a branded wagyu.
However, even with our pace, it took about two and a half hours one way to reach the 20th floor. Between travel and our planned stay, we couldn't spare much time for actual hunting, making the meat a rare commodity that we’d only managed to secure in small quantities. On the open market, it was a luxury item that fetched over 10,000 yen per 100 grams. Since we had so little, there wasn't much left once the three girls had taken their portions, leading to a fierce struggle between Yuji and me for the remainder. Slices of grilled meat flew through the air like a scene from a manga, our chopsticks clashing in mid-flight. Our meat-scramble, executed at speeds that left afterimages, was quite the spectacle. Mika and Saori-chan watched us with wide, stunned eyes, while Hiiragi-san simply looked exasperated.
In the end, Yuji won the struggle. Dammit. As I watched him happily stuffing his face with his spoils, I made a silent vow: the next time we went into the dungeon, I was keeping the minotaur meat for myself instead of cashing it in.
In a dimly lit conference room with the curtains drawn, a heated argument was underway. The meeting, which felt like it might devolve into a physical brawl at any moment, was officially titled the Fantasy Metal Applied Utilization Project report meeting.
"I'm telling you, we don't have enough mithril!"
"We don't have enough either! Stop being so damn selfish!"
"What was that?! Do you have any idea how critical our project is?!"
"Every project here is critical! We can't just keep giving you priority!"
A potbellied, middle-aged man and another man in glasses who looked the part of a researcher were shouting at each other, hurling insults and rejections. While the other attendees frowned, they remained silent, simply listening to the two men scream.
"If you prioritize the mithril for us, we can finish the prototype for a superconducting transistor... a quantum computer... within this fiscal year!"
"The same goes for us! We're on the verge of completing a demonstration model for a superconducting power storage system, starting with the superconducting flywheel!"
"You pencil-neck four-eyes!"
"What did you say, you fat bastard?!"
"Let’s take this outside!" "Fine by me!"
Just as the debate reached a breaking point and they were about to come to blows, a thunderous roar shook the room.
"Enough!"
"!?!?"
"Control yourselves! Do you have any respect for this meeting?!"
"W-We're sorry!"
With a single shout from Koichiro Hisayama, the elderly man sitting in the chairman's seat who radiated a powerful aura, the men who had been ready to grab each other's collars became as docile as house cats.
After a soft sigh, Hisayama surveyed the room and began to speak.
"Gentlemen. I understand the impatience that comes with such alluring materials and promising results. However, it is precisely because of where we stand that I believe we must maintain our composure. Do you all agree?"
"..."
"...Very well. Then, let us review the progress of each project once more."
As Hisayama finished, a middle-aged man with thinning hair sitting on the left side—wearing a nameplate that read 'Kizaki'—stood up to begin the briefing.
"I'll start. My team is responsible for the analysis and replication of fantasy metals. Upon investigating the four types of fantasy metals retrieved from the dungeon by the Self-Defense Forces exploration teams, we discovered several remarkable properties. For the record, these four metals are referred to as mithril, orichalcum, hihiirokane, and adamantite."
Kizaki operated the tablet in his hand, displaying a chart of the properties for each metal on the conference room monitor.
"First, the metal known as mithril. Our tests have confirmed that mithril exhibits zero electrical resistance regardless of the temperature. In other words, it is a permanent superconducting material that functions in any thermal environment."
Video footage of resistance measurement experiments appeared on the monitor.
The screen showed mithril submerged in liquid helium to reach ultra-low temperatures, mithril left at room temperature, mithril being blasted by a high-temperature burner, and finally, mithril melting inside a crucible. Despite the various states, every reading on the electrical resistance meter pointed to a flat zero.
"As you can see, mithril maintains a superconducting state under any condition. It is a dream material that will revolutionize the electronic and electrical sectors....However, as is the case with all fantasy metals, the supply is extremely limited. Currently, the nation's total stockpile for each of these metals is less than 100 kilograms."
"...Are there any prospects for increasing that supply?"
"At the moment, the only explorers capable of reaching the lower floors where metals like mithril can be harvested are the elite teams within the Self-Defense Forces. It will take time before civilian explorers can reach those depths, so we cannot expect a significant increase in the immediate future."
At Kizaki's words, sighs of frustration rippled through the room.
Whether 100 kilograms was "a lot" or "hardly anything" was a matter of perspective, but for the men in this room, it was definitely the latter.
"However, we have already succeeded in developing a superconducting alloy that requires a much smaller amount of mithril. By synthesizing a silver base with several other substances and micronized mithril ore, we created an alloy that maintains superconductivity at room temperature. Several projects investigating the practical applications of this alloy are currently underway."
Several participants nodded in response to Kizaki’s report, including the two men who had been arguing moments ago.
"Next is orichalcum. To put it simply, it is an absurdly durable metal. During our strength tests, the testing equipment actually broke first."
Kizaki operated his terminal to pull up the test footage for orichalcum.
"As shown here, orichalcum outperformed every existing metallic material in every category. Tensile strength, compression, shear... the values are hundreds of times higher than conventional materials."
"Impressive results, certainly, but isn't it useless if it's just sturdy? If it can't be processed, it's of no practical value."
"Yes. While it is extremely difficult, processing orichalcum is possible. It can be liquefied and cast if heated in an oxygen-free environment at temperatures near 3,000 degrees Celsius while within a high-intensity electromagnetic field of nearly 100 Tesla."
"...100 Tesla? Oxygen-free heating at 3,000 degrees?"
Hisayama's eyebrows shot up.
Under normal circumstances, the cost of processing orichalcum would be prohibitive. For standard applications, it would never be cost-effective. At best, it might be used for military purposes where budget was less of a concern, such as armor plating for tanks.
Furthermore, the supply of orichalcum was just as scarce as mithril.
"The representative for that project will explain the specific utilization methods for orichalcum later."
"...I see."
When Hisayama turned a skeptical gaze toward the project lead, the man simply nodded with a confident smile.
"Moving on, I will explain the metal known as hihiirokane."
The monitor changed to display test footage for hihiirokane.
"Our research into hihiirokane has revealed that it possesses incredible thermal properties—heat resistance, current tolerance, thermal conductivity, and creep strength are all off the charts."
"Heat resistance... so it’s an ultra-high-temperature material?"
"Yes. But its performance is in an entirely different league compared to the materials currently in use."
The footage showed hihiirokane remaining completely unchanged while being blasted by a plasma cutter. It showed the metal subjected to high-voltage currents without any degradation. It even showed a cup of water resting on a slab of hihiirokane boiling from the tiny flame of a pocket lighter.
"Compared to orichalcum, hihiirokane is relatively easy to process. Furthermore, by synthesizing an iron base with micronized hihiirokane, we can manufacture alloys. While the performance is lower than the pure metal, it still far exceeds any existing ultra-high-temperature material."
"Hmm. There is a massive demand for such materials. We must move toward practical application as soon as possible."
"The representative will provide more details on hihiirokane's use later."
Faced with the prospect of a promising new material, Hisayama turned an expectant look toward the project lead.
"Finally, we have adamantite. Adamantite is a metal with extremely low chemical reactivity and incredibly high resistance to almost all forms of wear."
Kizaki displayed the results of the property verification tests. The data showed that adamantite easily shattered the existing records for material resistance.
"Adamantite is incredibly strong yet possesses superior ductility; it can be processed into a foil even thinner than gold. A single gram can be stretched into a film covering dozens of square meters or a thread dozens of kilometers long. Moreover, because of its strength, it doesn't suffer from the durability issues that gold leaf does. Given its chemical stability, we believe its primary use will be as a coating agent."
"A coating agent... like gold plating?"
"Plating would be... difficult. It would be more practical to use it as a foil, much like gold leaf, and apply it to the surface of the target object."
"I see."
Adamantite leafing.
From a chemical resistance standpoint, applying it would essentially eliminate concerns like oxidation and corrosion.
"The details for adamantite will also be provided by the representative."
"Consistent with the others, then."
"Yes. This concludes the summary of the fantasy metals as we currently understand them."
Kizaki cleared the data from the monitor.
"Now, I will report on our progress regarding the replication of these metals. After a thorough analysis, we have discovered that adamantite is an isotope of gold, mithril is an isotope of silver, orichalcum is an isotope of copper, and hihiirokane is an isotope of iron."
"Isotopes? Do you mean their neutron counts differ?"
"No, that doesn't seem to be the case. And they aren't radioactive, either."
"...Then what are you saying?"
Hisayama looked at Kizaki, clearly confused.
Kizaki gave a small shake of his head.
"To be perfectly honest, we don't fully understand it yet."
"What? How can that be?"
"The number of protons and neutrons remains the same....However, we have confirmed the existence of an unidentified particle residing between the atomic nucleus and the electrons."
"...What?"
A murmur rippled through the conference room.
"For the sake of convenience, we have dubbed this unidentified particle a 'magitron'."
"A magitron?"
"We chose the name because we believe it is the source of the unidentified energy explorers use to cast magic—what they call 'magic power'."
"I see. And the investigation into these magitrons?"
"It’s ongoing, but we are nowhere near a full analysis. It will take a significant amount of time."
A wave of disappointed sighs filled the room.
"If the analysis is going to take that long, then..."
"It will be impossible to replicate fantasy metals until we understand the magitron."
"I see."
If they could become self-sufficient without relying on the dungeon, the profits would be astronomical.
As Kizaki watched the room sink into gloom, he added one more point.
"As a side note, the discovery of the magitron has helped us shed some light on the mystery of Core Crystals."
"Core Crystals? How so?"
"As you are aware, when a Core Crystal is powdered and immersed in water, it undergoes mass collapse and releases heat. This is currently our primary fuel for power generation. The mystery was always why powdering it and adding water triggered that collapse. Its atomic structure was an enigma, but the discovery of the magitron has allowed us to form a hypothesis."
At the mention of a solved mystery, the room's attention snapped back to Kizaki.
"We believe that a Core Crystal is an element composed entirely of magitrons, making it structurally unstable."
"An element made only of magitrons? Such a thing is possible?"
"It exists in the form of Core Crystals, so evidently, yes. And because it is structurally unstable, it undergoes self-excited vibration when placed in water."
"Self-excited vibration... Like that bridge that collapsed in the US."
"Precisely. As the vibration intensifies, the magitrons undergo mass collapse, converting their mass into thermal energy. When a Core Crystal is in a large chunk, the resistance to that vibration is high, leading to a slow collapse and low heat output. But when it's micronized, the resistance drops, the collapse accelerates, and the heat output surges. This is our current theory for the heat conversion process and why the rate of collapse changes based on the particle size."
"..."
"Once our analysis of magitrons is complete, we may eventually be able to build a reactor that utilizes them directly, without needing Core Crystals at all."
As Kizaki finished his explanation, a heavy silence born of pure astonishment settled over the conference room.