Living in a Dungeon in Modern Japan! An Overpowered Life with a Useless Skill - Episode 9

Episode 9

As soon as we entered the dungeon, I could immediately feel the temperature drop.

At the same time, the signal on my smartphone was cut off. It now displayed “No Service.”

It’s still not understood how exactly this happens. But apparently, all forms of transmission between the inside and outside of a dungeon are blocked.

It felt a little colder than before. I was told the dungeon’s temperature stays constant on each floor without any fluctuation.

Given how hot summer has been recently, I thought this might actually be a decent place to escape the heat.

As we continued deeper, the passage gradually widened and the ceiling got higher. Soon we arrived at a massive open space.

“This is the largest area on this floor—it’s about the size of the Tokyo Dome. The first floor itself is as large as a small town.”

“Whoaa…”

Satsuki let out a surprised voice.

Though “Tokyo Dome” sounds huge, the actual walking distance wasn’t all that far.

Despite being a cave, and slightly dim, there was enough lighting to keep visibility clear.

Even in this massive space, I could see the opposite wall with the naked eye.

“Is there a reason it’s so bright in here?”

“All we know is that the cave itself emits light. If you chip off pieces and bring them outside, they stop glowing—so the glowing effect only functions inside the dungeon.”

As we looked around this strange space—

“Now, from here onward, monsters may appear. On this floor, only Slimes and Goblins show up. But Goblins usually appear near the stairs to the second floor. So in this area, only Slimes will appear. Be careful—they can stick to ceilings and sometimes fall down.”

Hearing that, we looked around, especially up at the ceiling.

“Ah, this space is safe. It’s a designated safe zone. So no monsters will appear or enter here. Each floor has areas like this. On wider floors, some are as large as Tokyo Prefecture.”

If it’s that large, exploring it must be incredibly difficult…

“Alright then, let’s move on to actual monster combat practice.”

With that, Hikawa-san led us through a smaller side tunnel connected to the large chamber.

After walking a bit, he stopped.

“That’s a Slime.”

Following his gaze, I saw a jiggly, jelly-like blob moving slowly.

“This is a Slime? It’s… kind of cute.”

Satsuki commented.

“Well, they’re not very dangerous. But they are a bit of a hassle. They have resistance to physical attacks, making them hard to kill. And their bodies are slightly acidic—if you touch them too long, your skin can burn. If one falls from the ceiling and covers your face, you could even suffocate. So don’t let their appearance fool you.”

“Eek…”

Satsuki let out a squeal and backed away.

“Still, no need to panic. Their attack power is basically nonexistent. A few strikes with your baton and they’ll vanish. If one drops on you, stay calm and shake it off. They’re not that strong, so you’ll be fine. The key is not to panic.”

That explanation seemed to ease her anxiety a bit.

“Alright, Kobayashi-san, why don’t you try defeating one?”

Satsuki raised her baton. She seemed hesitant at first. But she took a deep breath, steeled herself, and swung it at the Slime.

Likely not used to swinging a baton in her life, she fumbled and missed a few times—even though the Slime barely moved.

Eventually, she managed to land a hit, and the Slime dissolved. It left behind a small stone.

“Hah… hah… did I get it?”

Though it didn’t take long, she seemed tired from the tension.

“Yes, you’ve defeated it.”

Hikawa-san picked up the small stone and handed it to her.

“This magic stone is worth about 100 yen. Good work.”

It had been a bit of a struggle. But she smiled. She was happy to receive the small magic stone.

“I did it! I actually defeated a monster!”

She raised her hand and came over. And I returned the gesture with a high-five.

“I’m impressed—you didn’t hesitate as much as I thought you would.”

“Well, once we got this far, I figured I had no choice. Still, it was tough… they move just enough to be annoying.”

It definitely looked like she wrestled with it a bit.

“Alright, next is Akatsuki-san.”

Hikawa-san led me further into the tunnel. And soon we spotted another Slime.

“I thought there would be more of them, but they’re kinda sparse?”

“Sometimes they’re grouped together. But other times you could spend an hour searching for one. It varies.”

“Wow… Sounds really inefficient…”

And for just 100 yen per kill? Not great value.

“Since there are hardly any trainees this time of year, it’s relatively easy to find them now.”

“Do other explorers just ignore Slimes?”

“Yes. They’re hard to kill and not worth much. So most explorers pass them by.”

As we talked, I gripped my baton.

I wasn’t very nervous. It was probably because I’d already watched Satsuki go through it.

I raised the baton and struck the Slime—one hit. It dissolved immediately.

“Whoa! One hit!? That’s amazing!”

Satsuki cheered, and I finally felt the effect of my unique skill.

She raised her hand again, clearly wanting another high-five. So I walked over and obliged.

“To defeat it in one blow… That’s amazing! I had to hit mine so many times.”

“My unique skill makes me strong against Slimes.”

As we spoke, Hikawa-san brought over the magic stone.

“If it’s a unique skill, does that mean… a Special Attack skill?”

“Ah, yes. My target is Slimes. I thought that info would’ve been shared.”

“Normally, magic values and unique skills are personal information and not shared. Unless it’s a special case like yours, we don’t get to see your magic stats either. But… your target is Slimes, huh…”

Hikawa-san looked like he was hesitating to say more.

“It’s okay. I heard from Hiyori-san already—it’s apparently a ‘dud’ skill, right?”

“She said that… Well, yes. Publicly, it’s classified as a weak or ‘miss’ skill. Especially if the target is Slimes…”

“No worries. I don’t plan on becoming an explorer. So even a miss skill doesn’t matter.”

I said it like it didn’t bother me. But honestly… it did sting a bit.

“If that’s how you feel… Then that concludes your practical training. Let’s return.”

We left the dungeon, returned our gear, and were guided back to the conference room.

“Now that the dungeon training is complete, you both are now eligible to work as explorers. Kobayashi-san, we have some additional matters to discuss. So Akatsuki-san, please wait here for a bit.”

With that, Kobayashi-san left with Hikawa-san.

Alone now, I had some time to think. I looked down at the magic stone from the Slime I defeated—worth 100 yen.