Living in a Dungeon in Modern Japan! An Overpowered Life with a Useless Skill - Episode 14

Episode 14

I think that was a heavy decision for a student to make.

Unlike someone like me, who only becomes an explorer just to survive day by day, she was being expected to become an explorer representing Japan.

“Akatsuki-san, you’re going to become an explorer too, right?”

We had talked about it lightly beforehand. But she asked as if to confirm it.

“Well, unlike you, it’s nothing grand. But I’m thinking of trying to be an explorer.”

“Then why don’t we do it together?”

“Eh!?”

I froze up at the sudden proposal.

“Kobayashi-san, that is…”

Even Hiyori-san seemed surprised.

“If Akatsuki-san is going to be an explorer too, then it’s okay if we team up and dive together, right?”

“I don’t mind. But at my pace, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with you…”

“That’s not true at all!”

She answered confidently. I don’t know the details of her unique skill. But my skill is obviously a useless one—there’s no doubt that I would drag her down.

“My skill is an anti-type skill—specifically against Slimes. I have ten times the attack power against Slimes. But for everything else, the power is reduced to one-tenth. It’s called a trash skill.”

“Eh!?”

“With a skill like that, rather than saying I *might* drag you down, I *definitely* will. So I don’t think you should team up with me.”

I said it trying to make Satsuki give up. But her reply was unexpected.

“I want to team up with you regardless of your unique skill.”

Anyone who heard that would probably say it sounded like a confession.

Overwhelmed by her momentum,

(Well, if it’s just at the beginning, it should be fine.)

“Then if it’s just temporary, let’s team up.”

I agreed.

“Even if it’s temporary, I’m fine with that! I’m the one who should be saying thank you.”

Satsuki bowed her head as she said that.

Hiyori had silently been watching things unfold. She said,

“Well, if both parties agree, I guess it’s fine…”

Yeah, I figured the government wouldn’t want someone as promising as her teaming up with someone with a trash skill.

“Was it really okay? Even if it’s with someone with a trash skill like me…”

I asked Hiyori, whose expression was a little clouded.

“Well, I never liked the whole ‘dud skill’ categorization in the first place. So I’m not too concerned about that. Who knows, maybe you two will end up shaking up this stagnant dungeon exploration.

By the way, when forming a team, unless both parties are at a somewhat low level, their levels won’t rise properly. So we were in the middle of selecting an explorer to pair up with her… but, well, I’ll go cancel that now.”

Saying that, Hiyori left the room while on the phone. Even though it was her own room. I figure she was being considerate.

Now that it was just the two of us, I spoke to Satsuki.

“Are you really okay with this?”

I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about pairing someone with the potential to be a top explorer with a trash skill like mine.

“No problem! I just felt that things would go better if I teamed up with you. So I’m absolutely sure it’ll be fine!”

Seeing her so confident, I decided that if it didn’t work out after a while, I’d be the one to back out. For now, I decided to go along with it.

“Sorry for the wait.”

Hiyori came back in and returned to her seat.

“We got the approval for you two to team up. But for now it’s on a trial basis. If needed, we might send someone over later. So if that happens, please cooperate.”

I could tell from her expression that she hadn’t been able to completely convince them—or maybe they were just letting us try it out as an experiment.

“It’ll be fine. It’s definitely going to work out.”

I didn’t know where that confidence was coming from. But hearing her say that made me feel like I had to try my best too.

“Well then, next is your turn, Akatsuki-kun, right? You had something you wanted to ask?”

“What I want to ask is a bit too grounded. So it might be a big letdown after all the talk we just had.”

“Totally okay. Actually, I thought that’s what you wanted to talk about in the first place.”

“Then I won’t hold back—about the monsters inside the dungeon…”

From there, the both of us started learning the basics about how to move around in dungeons, monster appearances, and other fundamental dungeon-related knowledge from Hiyori

The things we’d learned from textbooks were just surface-level. Hiyori, being a researcher with field experience, gave us much more detailed information than we had ever gotten before.

“Well, I like working directly with explorers in the field. That’s why I get a lot of inside information.”

“Thanks so much. We really learned a lot.”

We both bowed our heads in gratitude.

“No worries, no worries. It’s part of my job—or more like a hobby. It all contributes to my research, after all.”

“Hiyori-san, what kind of research do you do?”

I know it’s late to ask this, but I suddenly got curious about Hiyori’s area of research.

“My research theme is explorers themselves. Some people research dungeons or dropped items. But I’m more interested in humanity itself—how people change as dungeons appear in our world. That’s why rare cases like you two are prime research material for me.”

In that moment, Hiyori’s face changed from the usual relaxed look to that of a hunter eyeing its prey.

Feeling like she saw right through us, we both shivered a little. But she quickly returned to her relaxed expression.

“Well, that’s how it is. So no need to worry. Oh, and please gather in the same meeting room tomorrow at 9 AM. There’s a lot we have to do.”

And with that, the meeting for today ended.

Since a lot had happened, we were both shown to our rooms from there.

The rooms seemed to be the same layout as Hiyori’s. And all the necessary equipment was provided.

Even things like washing machines were installed. So staying here for a while didn’t seem like it’d be a problem.

While thinking about various things, I got myself ready and decided to go to bed early to prepare for tomorrow.