Once we passed the 20th floor, the number of active explorers dropped significantly. The crowds on the shortest route to the next set of stairs thinned out, making it much easier to move. Student explorers were almost nowhere to be seen now; the population had shifted to professional explorers—mainly corporate explorers and independent explorers.
Several tents branded with corporate logos stood in the staircase plaza. Corporate explorers moved with an organized, clinical efficiency, carrying out their duties as if on a schedule.
"This place has changed quite a bit," I noted. "The upper floors still felt like people were exploring, but here... it feels more like a worksite."
"Well, corporate-types are the primary players at this depth," Yuji said. "They’ve finally raised enough talent to form proper collection teams. Since they’re a business, they have to turn a profit on their investment, or they won’t survive. Naturally, their movements become more efficient—more mechanical."
"That’s true," Hiiragi-san added. "And once enough people start acting that way, the rest follow. Especially given the Japanese tendency to read the room and conform to those around them."
I could see that. When everyone else is doing things a certain way, you start feeling like you should, too. It was a strange psychological phenomenon.
People who disliked that kind of atmosphere probably left these floors as soon as they could, but advancing further required real strength. Student explorers, who couldn't stay in the dungeon for long periods, would likely hit a wall before reaching this point. That wouldn't change until the corporate explorers grew stronger and moved their main operations even deeper.
"On the bright side, the supply of drop items is increasing," Yuji continued. "That’s good for consumers, but for independent explorers or student explorers... the current state of the dungeon might feel a bit suffocating."
"I suppose so. The more time they spend here, the more they refine their 'efficient' methods. Some might even start resenting anyone who does things differently. Especially for profit-driven companies, any dip in efficiency is a direct hit to the bottom line. They probably feel like they could make so much more if the 'nuisances' weren't in their way."
That sounded familiar. I’d heard stories like that—usually ending with some old-timers becoming so exclusionary that they drove away all the newcomers, leading to the industry’s eventual decline. When the foundation rots due to gatekeeping, the whole thing collapses.
Yeah, I wasn't sure when it would happen, but for the sake of the dungeon industry, it might be better to split corporate and independent explorers into separate dungeons eventually.
"It's a dungeon open to the general public, so I hope it doesn't get too toxic," I said. "Anyway, I sense something up ahead... What’s the plan? Take them out, or detour?"
I pointed down the path, looking to Yuji and Hiiragi-san for a decision.
Fewer people on the shortest route meant a higher chance of monster encounters. Until now, we’d been lucky because the parties ahead of us had cleared the path, but now we were about to face our first monsters of the day.
"Detouring is a hassle," Yuji replied. "Let's just take them down. Monsters at this level shouldn't take more than a few seconds."
"Agreed," Hiiragi-san said. "Let’s clear them out and keep going. We might even get a good drop."
"Then it’s settled."
We didn't feel particularly tense as we moved forward. The monsters appeared exactly where I’d sensed them: two minotaurs. They glared at us, let out low, threatening growls, and clearly identified us as targets.
We kept our guard up but didn't slow down, closing the gap at a steady walk.
"Let’s finish this fast," I said. "Our real trip starts on the 30th floor."
"Yeah, let’s wrap it up."
Yuji and I drew our weapons, exchanging a quick look to divide the targets. Hiiragi-san hung back slightly, keeping watch on the perimeter as our backup in case anything unexpected happened.
"Hup!"
"Ha!"
Before the growling minotaurs could even lunge, we closed the distance in a flash. We swung our weapons toward their necks. The monsters seemingly couldn't even track our movements; they remained in their aggressive stances, failing to even flinch as our blades reached them.
Without any resistance, our blades sliced clean through, sending both heads spinning into the air. To an ordinary person or a low-level explorer, it would have looked like we suddenly teleported behind the minotaurs while their heads took flight.
"Alright, done."
"About what I expected."
We stepped back to avoid the spray of blood as the headless bodies collapsed. I used my Cleansing skill to wipe the blood and fat off my blade. If you left grime on the weapon, it would lose its edge.
Once we were sure no other monsters were hiding nearby, we sheathed our weapons and checked the loot.
"Hmm, unfortunate. Just regular meat."
"I got a Core Crystal," Yuji said. "Better than nothing, I guess."
It wasn't a total loss, but it wasn't a great haul either. Minotaur meat still sold for a decent price, but Core Crystals were only worth the bare minimum. Still, minotaur meat was a delicacy, so maybe I'd keep it as a souvenir instead of selling it.
"Good work, you two," Hiiragi-san said. "A shame about the drops, though."
"It happens. Anyway, Yuji, I'll put the loot in my Spatial Storage."
"Thanks, appreciate it."
I took the items from Yuji and stowed them away. I’d transfer them to the decoy backpack on my shoulders before we headed home. Carrying too much loot this early in the dive would throw off my balance and just be a nuisance.
With the cleanup done, we resumed our trek into the depths.
"We’ll probably keep running into things, so let's just handle them as we go," I suggested.
"Sure," Yuji agreed. "As long as no one else is already fighting them, killing them is the fastest way forward. If we see another party engaged, we'll detour unless they look like they're in trouble. Waiting for them to finish would take too much time."
"Right," Hiiragi-san said. "Let’s keep a good pace. We won't have much time for actual exploration if we dawdle."
The plan was simple: kill if clear, bypass if occupied (unless help was needed). Even if we were in a rush, we weren't the type to abandon people in danger.
We started moving at a light jog. Of course, for high-level explorers like us, a "light jog" was about the speed of a professional sprinter.
By the time we passed the 25th floor and approached the 30th floor, the student explorers were long gone, and the number of corporate explorers had thinned out noticeably. More importantly, the atmosphere of the entire floor had changed. A heavy, negative vibe—a mix of tension, exhaustion, and lethargy—hung in the air.
The staircase plaza was filled with more corporate tents, but there were very few smiles.
"Does the air feel... stagnant to you guys?" I asked. "There are more people than the last time we were here, but there's no energy."
"Yeah... a lot of dark faces," Yuji swallowed.
"It’s a bit unpleasant," Hiiragi-san added.
Looking around, I’d say about twenty to thirty percent of the people there were radiating a negative aura. This was likely the toll of the long-term, stay-based exploration the corporations were running. I’d heard that staying in a closed environment for too long caused severe mental and physical stress. A dungeon was basically a pressure cooker for that kind of strain.
Most explorers were originally students or salarymen. None of them had been trained or screened for survival in extreme, isolated environments. If a company just threw them into the dungeon for weeks at a time because they had the stats for it... well, it was obvious some wouldn't be able to cope.
"It's good that they're making progress, but this looks like a problem," I said. "If the dungeon enterprises keep this up, their explorers are going to snap sooner or later."
"It’s possible," Yuji agreed. "They focused so much on the efficiency of the system to maximize profits that they neglected the human element. They see them as superhumans because they leveled up, but they're forgetting these people were just ordinary citizens not that long ago. They need to slow down and build a system that manages stress better."
"Exactly," Hiiragi-san said. "When stress builds up, relationships rot. In a closed environment with the same group of people, even a tiny disagreement can turn into a major conflict."
Furthermore, the staircase plaza wasn't a safe area. They were living in tents in a place where monsters could attack at any moment. The constant, low-level vigilance required was a massive psychological drain.
They probably had rotations, but no matter how strong an explorer was, some people just weren't built for this. The idea that explorers strong enough to reach these depths were being pushed to their breaking point was a terrifying thought.
"I hope nothing bad happens," I said. "But I have no idea how they'd fix it."
"They need a way to decompress during their downtime," Yuji mused. "But we're in the middle of a dungeon."
"The grassland and forest areas past the 30th floor would be great for a change of pace," Hiiragi-san suggested, "but that's probably impossible right now. Maybe once the average level of the corporate explorers is higher..."
She was right. The grassland and forest floors were much brighter and more open than the claustrophobic caves above the 30th. They'd be perfect for relaxation if it weren't for the fact that the monsters there were much more dangerous. For explorers who were already struggling just to survive, those floors weren't a park—they were a death trap.
Nobody relaxes in a place where they might die the moment they let their guard down.
"I hope they figure something out."
We couldn't think of a solution, and with a slight feeling of pity for the people stuck there, we left the staircase plaza behind.
The 30th floor. Last time we were here, the ogre had given us a response that left us speechless. It had abandoned its post as the floor boss, leaving its drop items behind and refusing to fight.
The memory of the three of us standing there in stunned silence came rushing back. It had been such an awkward, bizarre situation.
"...Think it's there?" I whispered.
"Who knows?" Yuji replied.
"Part of me wants it to be there, part of me doesn't... it's complicated," Hiiragi-san said.
We needed to legally acquire high-grade recovery potions, and for that, we needed proof that we had actually fought the ogre instead of just skipping it.
Unlike our last visit, there was now a corporate tent set up in the 30th-floor staircase plaza. They were likely using it as a base camp for the floors below. The grassland area was a nightmare for a base camp because the long grass made it hard to see and the environment was strictly fire-free. That meant there were now witnesses—not exactly Watchers, but people who could testify whether we had actually entered the boss room or not.
"Let’s go," I said.
"Yeah."
"Right."
With a bit of reluctance, we slotted the Core Crystal into the slot, and the heavy doors to the hall swung open.