Dungeons appeared.
It was about a year ago that the abrupt news first sent the world into a frenzy. Since that day, the state of society has changed in countless ways. Within our borders, the government immediately cordoned off the dungeons and restricted civilian entry, which prevented significant human casualties. However, the situation with overseas dungeons was dreadful. Countless people, lacking proper information and ignoring government regulations, threw themselves recklessly into the depths, leading to many tragedies and catastrophes. Even within the range of confirmed reports, it is said that nearly ten thousand lives were lost in the first month alone.
However...
"Well, with this much benefit, it may be no wonder they continue to challenge the dungeons."
As I looked through the newspaper, I saw announcements of various new technologies. These were all breakthroughs that, before the appearance of dungeons, were spoken of as mere pipe dreams that might be realized one day in the distant future. Leading the way was a new form of high-output power generation using Core Crystals, followed by room-temperature superconductivity, deep-sea resource mining, and space development.
Of course, it wasn't just talk of technology. Significant changes were occurring in medicine and food as well.
"'Patient suffering from limb loss and total paralysis due to a traffic accident makes full recovery using high-grade recovery potion... Discharged after several days of testing'... I see."
Turning the page, I saw a photograph of a man holding a bouquet, wearing a broad smile as he was discharged from the hospital.
Since dungeon-produced recovery potions began circulating, injuries and illnesses previously deemed incurable have become treatable. This is likely why the public continues to pursue dungeon exploration despite the risks.
Recently, I’ve heard that ambulances have even begun to carry recovery potions as standard equipment. Thanks to that, the media has been making much of the fact that the number of traffic accident fatalities—which used to total nearly ten thousand per year—has significantly decreased.
"Ho. Another trade fair for dungeon ingredients is being held, is it?"
On another page, I saw numerous food events listed that featured ingredients harvested from the dungeons. Lately, these types of events have been held almost every week all over the country.
One was held nearby during Golden Week, and I had wanted to go, but sudden work kept me away. The minotaur meat Yuji brought back was quite delicious, so I had hoped to sample other ingredients as well... I suppose I’ll have to tell Yuji to bring something else home next time.
As I was looking through the newspaper, considering what ingredients to request, my grandson, Yuji, called out to me. He was already in his uniform and holding his school bag.
"Gramps."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Like we promised yesterday, I’m bringing Daiki’s younger sister, Mika-chan, and her friend over today."
"Oh, that’s right. Understood."
The Kokonoe boy's sister, eh? I wonder if she’s been engaging in level padding like he has.
As I watched Yuji's back as he left for school, I recalled the day about six months ago when he first came to me, saying he was going to the dungeon and asking for a few pieces from my weapon collection.
"I’m back! Gramps, are you here!?"
I was meditating in the dojo when Yuji, who had left that morning to obtain his Explorer Card, shouted for me from outside. To call for me from the yard without even stepping up into the dojo—I wondered what on earth had him so excited.
I ceased my meditation and opened the entrance door to find Yuji, the Kokonoe boy, and another girl I didn’t recognize standing there. According to Yuji’s introductions, the two were comrades who would be diving into the dungeon alongside him.
The reason Yuji had brought them was to procure weapons to carry during their dives, and he wanted me to give them a few items from my collection.
Hearing that, I instinctively narrowed my eyes, shooting Yuji a sharp, questioning gaze. "Weapon" is a simple word, but these were legitimate lethal instruments. If handled incorrectly, they could easily take a life. To ask for such things so casually...
"..."
"..."
I did not intend to be overbearing, but I suspected my gaze at that moment was quite piercing. Yet Yuji did not look away at all, staring straight back into my eyes. It seemed he hadn't made the request with a half-hearted mindset. I stole a glance at the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl waiting behind Yuji; though they were shaken, they stood their ground without averting their eyes from our exchange. Seeing their resolve, I asked why they wanted the weapons and ultimately decided to grant them.
I led the three of them to the storehouse next to the dojo where the collection was kept. I unlocked the trick padlock, opened the thick, heavy door, and invited them inside. It was a bit dusty, but they would have to endure it. When I turned on the lights, the full contents of the warehouse were revealed, drawing gasps of admiration from the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl. The two of them observed the items with great interest, but unfortunately, the pieces Yuji and the others needed were not on that floor. I prompted them to follow me to the second level.
"Well?"
By the time I reached the second floor and spoke, the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl were staring at the weapons I had collected, which were lined up in the cramped space. They were speechless. At that stage, the way they looked at the weapons was how one looks at works of art; their understanding that these were formidable lethal instruments was still shallow. They needed to understand exactly what they were taking into their hands.
After giving a brief explanation of the various weapons, the ones I ultimately chose for the three of them were: the gunto Shiranui for the Kokonoe boy, the short spear Isuzu for the Hiiragi girl, and the two kodachi, Shigure and Murasame, for Yuji. Perhaps because they now held their own equipment, the expressions on the faces of the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl shifted to those of people who had found their resolve. It was a good sign.
"You lot, move to the dojo. I’ll teach you the basics of how to use and maintain them."
Having finished selecting the weapons, I returned to the dojo with the three in tow to teach them how to handle and care for their gear. While I temporarily left the Hiiragi girl's instruction to Yuji, I set about instructing the Kokonoe boy, who held a wooden sword...
Though he was a complete amateur in terms of his grip and stance, I felt a powerful sense of incongruity as I watched him perform practice swings. After observing him for a while, I realized the source of that feeling. He was a beginner who didn't even know his forms, yet he swung the wooden sword with great force without his core wavering in the slightest.
Usually, when a novice who doesn't even know the basic stance suddenly swings a wooden sword, they are naturally pulled by the weight of the blade and lose their balance. Yet that was entirely absent from the Kokonoe boy's swings. Doubting whether he had trained his body enough to resist that momentum, I questioned him, but he claimed he only did light jogging. That was a lie. He seemed to think he was deceiving me well, but I was familiar with these exact characteristics.
It was the same symptom seen in police officers and Self-Defense Forces personnel who have dived into dungeons. Due to the benefits of the phenomenon called leveling up, physical abilities can be vastly improved. I have trained individuals with dungeon experience at the request of acquaintances in the police and Self-Defense Forces... and there were those who showed the same symptoms as the Kokonoe boy did now. Their physical abilities had become several times their original strength, making a wooden sword feel like nothing more than a dry twig to them.
In other words, the Kokonoe boy had already entered dungeons and engaged in combat with monsters. Hmmm, what to make of this...
Two weeks after I gave them the weapons, Yuji came to me immediately after returning from a dungeon and asked if I would train the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl. It seemed that after experiencing actual combat with monsters, they had some things to reflect upon. I had intended to accept if they asked, so I agreed to Yuji's request without hesitation.
From the end of school the next day, I began training the three of them. I started with practice swings, the absolute basis of the basics. Though I had expected it, the result was quite surprising. Relying on their physical abilities enhanced by the benefits of leveling up, they managed to complete ten thousand practice swings in a single hour. Thanks to that, I concluded the basic training in the short span of a week, and I moved them on to combat-style sparring.
"Come now, what’s wrong, Kokonoe boy? Your movements are fast, but they aren't right. To get caught by such an obvious opening..."
Something I noticed after starting the training in earnest was that all three of them relied far too much on the physical abilities granted by leveling up. Seeing them strike out honestly without even trying to read my movements gave me a bit of a headache. They weren't making use of their improved physical abilities at all. They fell for obvious decoys and were easily taken down with counters. I had to make them learn to act with a bit more thought.
After finishing a round of training, while we were resting and drinking tea, I asked about their dungeon conquest progress. It seemed the situation wasn't very favorable. Even though the opponents were monsters, they still weren't used to taking the lives of living things. Well, that’s only natural. Watching an opponent you've cut down expire while spurting blood... that stays with you. Until they could compartmentalize and come to terms with it, I couldn't push them too hard.
The New Year's period is always a hassle.
Even though it’s an annual occurrence, I have to participate in various year-end and New Year parties. Especially this year, thanks to the abnormal situation of the dungeons appearing, I ended up hearing the grievances of people from various fields at every gathering. Among them were many whose businesses were failing because they couldn't keep up with the changing times, but on the other hand, there were those who seized the business opportunities presented by the dungeons and flourished. It wasn't entirely bad. Our school was one of the dojos that saw growth as many explorers and aspiring students enrolled. I finished the exhausting series of drinking bouts while feigning interest in the complaints of those who became clingy as the alcohol flowed, and finally, the New Year began in earnest.
"It’s a bit late, but Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year. Kokonoe boy, Hiiragi girl, it’s been a while. You haven't been slacking on your practice, have you?"
"Yes. It was just practice swings, but I did them every day."
"Me too."
"I see, I see."
The New Year's holiday ended, and I resumed training with Yuji and the others after they returned from school.
The training that day turned into a rather intense match, as if I were venting all the frustrations built up during the holiday parties. Feeling that I might have gone a bit too far, I gave the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl a slightly larger amount of the New Year's gift money I had prepared.
Yuji? I had already given him his share, so there was no bonus for him.
Yuji and the others' dungeon conquests and training were progressing smoothly, but recently, an entry restriction and rank system were introduced regarding dungeon exploration. Because of the lottery-style entry restrictions, Yuji and the others had fewer opportunities to go to the dungeon on their days off, and the focus of their training increased accordingly.
"You lot don't seem to be winning the lottery much, do you?"
"No. We’re all applying for different time slots... but we just don't win."
"That’s right. When I listen in class, there are students who say they win quite often, but..."
"It’s just down to luck. We have no choice but to pray and wait patiently."
"I see. That’s unfortunate..."
However, there’s nothing to be done about luck. As Yuji said, they had no choice but to wait. To distract them from their frustration, I gave them training that was a bit higher in difficulty to keep their minds occupied.
Eventually, Yuji and the others won the lottery and visited the dungeon a couple of times, but a major problem occurred during one of those trips. They were attacked by fellow explorers inside the dungeon for the purpose of robbery. Fortunately, they were able to repel them without injury... but it seems seeing the victims and perpetrators left them with much to think about. They even went so far as to ask me to increase the amount of interpersonal-focused content in our usual training. I could only hope they wouldn't brood too much and push themselves too hard.
After training one day, I inspected their weapons. While there were no problems on the surface, internal fatigue had accumulated, and they were quite exhausted. I could easily imagine them snapping and shattering if used any further. When I told them not to use them in actual combat because it could cost them their lives, they looked at their equipment with genuine disappointment. To Yuji and the others, who sincerely regretted having to replace the weapons that had been enhanced by leveling up, I introduced a blacksmith I knew. If they were reforged, perhaps the enhancement effects might be inherited by the new weapons. It was worth a try.
Over the weekend, Yuji and the others visited the blacksmith and placed an order for reforging. Since it was an old acquaintance of mine, I knew they were in good hands. When I asked the returning Yuji about it, he said that reforging was possible. However, the commission fee was quite high, and he grumbled that preparing the payment would be difficult. Well, he'll just have to work hard and earn it.
On the day the news broke that a minor explorer had been killed by a large number of monsters, Yuji and the others came to me as soon as they got home from school and asked me to teach them stage combat. Apparently, the Hiiragi girl's parents had told her to quit being an explorer. Since she had no intention of quitting, she wanted to show them a demonstration of stage combat to prove her skill and persuade them to let her continue.
Well, teaching them stage combat was fine, but I felt the Hiiragi girl should probably talk things over more thoroughly with her parents. Listening to the story, it felt like there wasn't enough communication within the family. If they didn't talk it out and resolve the gap in their mutual understanding, things were bound to go poorly. Just in case the persuasion didn't work, I told her to bring her parents here... but I wondered how it would turn out.
After sending them off, I waited for Yuji's return, worrying about the outcome. About three hours later, Yuji returned with a bright expression, and I felt relieved, knowing that the persuasion had gone well. When I asked about the details, it seemed my suspicions were correct—the cause of the commotion was simply misaligned perceptions. A father who spoke little and didn't share his true feelings, a mother who followed her husband's lead without confirming his true intentions, and a daughter who rushed ahead with her own assumptions. There was a clear lack of discussion within the family.
Our family must also value our time together and be careful. Looking at Yuji sitting in front of me, that thought suddenly occurred to me.
I finished the martial arts event during Golden Week, where I had stepped in as a last-minute substitute, and on the final day, I took a taxi home... but how long did those people intend to follow us? I didn't sense they were planning to do anything, but it was certainly unpleasant to be constantly monitored. And considering the target of their gaze wasn't me, but Yuji... were they related to the Dungeon Association? He did say they defeated an area boss, so perhaps they were conducting a background check.
"But it doesn't change the fact that they're unpleasant people."
"Hmm? Did you say something, Gramps?"
"It’s nothing."
It seemed Yuji hadn't noticed. Honestly, I really must make him learn to be more aware of his surroundings. While Yuji peered at me with a dubious expression, I let out a sigh, silently muttering that he should search for the presence of others before doubting his own grandfather.
In the first training session after Golden Week, after shaking off the rust from the Kokonoe boy and the Hiiragi girl, the Kokonoe boy mentioned that he had spoken with the victims of an attack. The three of them were troubled by the fact that the victims were in a very serious situation, and they were depressed, wondering if there was something they could have done.
However, it was clearly not a problem at a level that high school students could involve themselves in. I know it was a harsh thing to say, but I told them plainly not to get involved. Even if I were thought of as heartless, if I didn't speak plainly here, these children might get dragged into a quagmire.
I was thinking of ending the training for the day since they weren't in the right headspace, when the Kokonoe boy spoke up.
"Actually, two more people will be diving into the dungeon in a party with us next time. So, would it be possible for you to train those two as well?"
According to him, his younger sister and a friend decided to become explorers after a problem arose at school. Quite a troublesome problem indeed. Repeating students forming gangs and committing misdeeds in a gray zone where the school finds it difficult to intervene... In that case, it was only natural for the sister to think of self-defense. In the end, I agreed to train her and her friend, but there was one thing I had to confirm first.
"By the way, Kokonoe boy. Have your sister and her friend done level padding like you lot?"
The Kokonoe boy, Yuji, and the Hiiragi girl all widened their eyes in clear surprise. You lot... if you want to keep a secret, at least learn to keep a poker face. That reaction alone was as good as a confession. I didn't press them for an answer this time, but I hoped they would tell me themselves eventually.
"Gramps."
While I was waiting for them to return while meditating in the dojo, I heard a voice calling for me. Sensing their presence, it seemed he had brought everyone back with him.
Now then, I suppose I should train them so the sister and her friend don't end up dying in the dungeon.