Living in a Dungeon in Modern Japan! An Overpowered Life with a Useless Skill - Episode 4

Episode 4

The girl who had been waiting earlier in the lounge seemed visibly relieved now that her magical power had been confirmed. And she began speaking to me more casually than before.

“I was glad I passed the magic power test, but… there were some complications. And I was feeling uneasy. So I was really hoping you’d come too. Now I feel a lot more at ease.”

She said it in such a way that could easily give a guy the wrong idea — not that she meant anything by it. But I thought, “Girls really should be more careful saying stuff like that.”

“I honestly never imagined I’d pass either, so I was still rattled… But seeing you calmed me down a bit. Something happen during your magic test?”

“Yeah. My magic level was apparently ranked A, and all these people came to see me. Which made me super nervous.”

“Magic level A!? You had that much magic!?”

Magic levels range from A to E, with A being the highest measurable level. I remembered reading an article online saying only a handful of people in the world had it.

No wonder no one was surprised when I passed — someone *even rarer* had shown up just before.

“Yeah, so I have to go somewhere else now for more detailed testing…”

“I see, even within A, they don’t know how much power you have. So they need to run more tests.”

The detection stone only gives a broad categorization (A to E). Even within A, there’s a big difference between someone barely making the cut and someone at the maximum threshold. To determine that, further testing at another facility was required.

“They said they’re preparing for the transfer now. So I’ll probably be called soon.”

Same-day transfer… But then again, someone with a magic level A — one of less than ten in the world — was truly invaluable. Magic power increases through dungeon exploration. But it takes a lot of monster hunting. Even current explorers reportedly needed two years just to move from D to C. I’d never heard of anyone rising above C.

Starting with A-level magic from the beginning was an incredible advantage.

High magic power came with numerous benefits. In modern society, magic stones served as universal energy sources — but they could run out. People with magic could refill them. A D-level user was enough to fully recharge the kind of magic stones used in average households. Which could last for a whole month. Magic typically regenerated completely within a day. It showcased just how powerful and useful this energy system was.

I had heard that someone with A-level magic could single-handedly recharge a massive industrial-grade magic stone used at power plants. It allowed it to operate for a full month. For a D-rank user, this would require thousands of people. That alone showed just how rare and valuable an A-rank individual was.

I recalled that Japan supposedly had only one A-ranked person. Though their name and details weren’t made public. Someone like that was probably a top-level national asset — a life I couldn’t even imagine from my lowly position.

“Oh, by the way, you shouldn’t go around telling people your magic level. A-rank is super rare — you might get kidnapped or something.”

“Eh!? Really!?”

“Yeah, I think I read somewhere that in other countries, there’ve been cases of high-magic individuals getting kidnapped. Better not to say anything unnecessary.”

“Oh no… that’s scary…”

She began to visibly pale as she realized just how dangerous her position was.

“But hey! Don’t worry — I won’t tell a soul! I’m a rare case too, having gotten magic on my third try. So let’s keep each other’s secret, okay?”

Sharing secrets often brought comfort. Well, her secret was worth far more, but still…

“You’re right! You’re rare too! Let’s keep it between us!”

She quickly covered for herself. Her expression softened compared to earlier — maybe she was starting to relax again.

As we chatted, a female staff member rushed into the room.

“Number 1 and Number 2 — both of you, please come with me.”

There were only two people in the room. Her reason for being called made sense — but I was confused. I froze until the staffer looked me in the eyes and motioned for me too.

“Please get into this car.”

Outside the building was a van with the city’s name on it — likely from the city hall. The two of us were led to the back seats. And once we were inside, the staff member climbed into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll now be taking both of you to the Explorer Oversight Center.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t hold back my confusion.

“Excuse me… Me too?”

I was ranked E — the lowest magic level possible. Being summoned like this was completely unexpected. I didn’t want to arrive only to be told it was a mistake.

“Oh? You weren’t told? Those who gain magic power during a retake are also taken to the Oversight Center… Was this a bad time for you?”

I had no job and no plans beyond lunch — maybe.

“No, I’m fine. I just hadn’t heard anything about it.”

“I’m terribly sorry. With everything happening at once, it seems we forgot to inform you. If it’s okay, it’ll take about two hours to get to the center. You’ll receive further explanations there.”

She apologized deeply. But I had no issue — my schedule was wide open.

“It’s fine. Please, no need to bow. I look forward to whatever comes next.”

This unexpected trip didn’t bother me. The girl seemed to have been briefed in advance. So she looked perfectly calm. While I was glancing at her, she suddenly turned to me.

“I was feeling nervous being alone. So I’m really glad you’re coming too.”

Stop saying things that make me misunderstand…

I forced down my flustered thoughts and replied as calmly as I could:

“We’ll be together for a while. So how about we introduce ourselves? I’m Akira Akatsuki. It’ll probably be brief, but nice to meet you.”

As I said that, I felt a little awkward — I had no title, no job, nothing to attach to my name.

“Oh, right! I’m Satsuki Kobayashi. Nice to meet you too.”

She bowed politely.

And with that, the two of us chatted idly for the two-hour journey.