Ordinary Person × Modern Dungeon × Summer Vacation Life = Rise to Success!? 〜A Private Dungeon Was Made at the Remains of a Secret Base From Childhood〜 - Episode 1: I get fired from the company. I return to my family home.

(Note: For this novel, I’ll stick to the Japanese arrangement of names. The first name would be the family name and not the given name. For example, our MC “Natsume Koichi”: the family namer is “Natsume” and the given name is “Koichi”. Hope you guys don’t mind. Enjoy reading!)

Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Explorer Life 

Episode 1: I get fired from the company. I return to my family home.

(Note: Special for this chapter, dialogues from TV is written in this bracket:『…..』)

“Natsume, you don’t have to come from tomorrow anymore.” 

“Eh…?” 

In the company’s meeting room, I — Natsume Koichi — was told I was fired by the section chief. 

“Wh-why!? My sales performance isn’t that bad…” 

I had no idea why. 

Then, the section chief let out a big sigh. 

“Haa… The fact that you don’t even realize it yourself is what’s wrong with you. Think back to what the president told you.” 

“The president…? Could it be, about that old lady the other day…?” 

“Of course, idiot.” 

“Th-that was…” 

The other day, an old lady living alone in a 40-year-old house mistakenly visited our company. She thought it was a roof repair contractor. 

Since I happened to be in the office, I spent an hour politely explaining to the old lady, “We are not a repair company.” And in the end, I introduced her to a good local contractor. 

After that, I got severely scolded by the president about how I handled it. 

“I think the same as the president. Really, you’re stupid, slow, and have no awareness. Sell our products. That old hag would have bought them. You can’t even do the minimum work expected of a working adult.” 

“B-but, I thought our products were unnecessary for that customer…” 

When I tried to argue, the section chief suddenly slammed the desk with a bang! and stood up. 

“Die! You useless piece of trash!! It’s the customer’s job to decide whether they need the product or not!! Whether it’s a senile old hag or an old man about to die tomorrow, our job is to make them want it and make them pay!!” 

“…………” 

“Making money is justice! Where do you think your salary comes from!? You’ve been working for three years and still don’t get it!?” 

…I couldn’t argue back. 

Emotionally, I couldn’t agree. But I understood that what the section chief was saying made sense from the company’s perspective. 

“Because of you, my own evaluation will drop!! Die!! Useless trash like you can’t survive in any company!! You’re a failure as a working adult!!” 

…It was a complete denial of my existence. 

Ah, why do I have to be forced to do things I don’t want to, and suffer like this? 

It suddenly all seemed so stupid. 

The future I imagined as a child wasn’t this worthless. 

“The company’s performance isn’t easy either! Get what you can from wherever you can!! You trash!!” 

“…………” 

Maybe it’s time. 

“…………I understand. I’ll quit.” 

I didn’t care about anything anymore. I didn’t even want to be involved anymore. 

“Yeah! Quit, quit, you piece of trash!!” 

While taking in the section chief’s abusive shouting on my back, I left the meeting room. 

When I returned to my seat and was packing up my things, my colleague Iyata came over with a smug grin. 

“Hey, we could hear it all the way outside. Tough luck, huh, Natsume-kun.” 

“What’s it to you? It’s none of your business.” 

This guy was always making fun of me and annoying. 

His sales results were the top. But he did all sorts of nasty things. Like tricking customers into contracts or adding unnecessary options. 

“Starting tomorrow, you’re using your paid leave, right? I’m so jealous. I haven’t even taken a proper break since the New Year.” 

“Like I care.” 

“Don’t be cold. Oh, right. Before you quit, hand over that old lady’s reception sheet from the other day. I’ll turn her into a fine customer.” 

“Y-you’re seriously planning to get a contract out of that old lady!? She’s almost senile and can’t make proper judgments!” 

“The fact that you know that and still couldn’t get a contract just shows how useless you are, huh? Come on, hand it over. Well, even if you don’t, I can just copy it from the shared drive anyway.” 

“Y-you…!!” 

“Hahaha, thanks, man! Leaving me a client before you go! I feel fantastic!!” 

“Kh…” 

The company’s data is regularly backed up incrementally. Even if I deleted it, it would be restored. 

“…………” 

As a small act of resistance, I refused to hand the papers to Iyata and left the company. 

“Take care now, okayyyyy!” 

Iyata’s insincere farewell words seriously pissed me off.

☆★☆

“Haa…” 

Because I had been working under such black company conditions, I hadn’t had time to spend money. So I had enough saved up for living expenses for the time being.

However, if I keep paying the high rent in the city, I’ll quickly end up broke. 

“I guess I have no choice but to return to my family home…” 

I turned on the TV while packing up my things. 

『Take along TEPPEKI helmets for dungeon exploration!』 

『This is an announcement from the government. When exploring dungeons, all participants must take the training. Let’s stop reckless exploration.』 

『—Live by your own power. Dungeon Tube.』 

There are a lot of dungeon-related commercials… 

Ten years ago. 

Suddenly, gates connecting to other worlds appeared all over the world. 

Japan was no exception. Those gates were also discovered in front of Akihabara Station in Tokyo and inside the grounds of Heian Shrine in Kyoto. 

Since then, new gates have been developed and opened every year by the government. 

The other world inside the gates is commonly called a “dungeon”. And there, magical stones, an unknown energy source, and various drop items can be harvested. 

Top-ranked explorers sell these items and make huge sums of money from dungeons. 

When the dungeons were first discovered, I was a middle schooler at the time. Naturally, I admired the idea of becoming an explorer. 

Inside the dungeons, electrical circuits and gunpowder don’t work. But abilities like magic and skills, reminiscent of fantasy novels, become usable. 

Hearing such information, my heart raced. 

I will master magic and conquer the dungeon! 

Then, I had to take the government’s “Dungeon Aptitude National Test,” but… 

“…Every time I think about it, it makes me feel miserable.” 

I had only one aptitude: the completely useless skill called [Childhood]. 

And when I saw the results of others, I was stunned. 

The smart ones had magic-related skill aptitudes. While the athletic ones had martial arts-related skill aptitudes. 

Those who were good at rallying others had support skills. And those with dexterity had production-related skills. 

It was nothing—those born with talent could do anything. 

What I had was just [Childhood]….. 

I remember feeling shocked. It was as if my naivety of believing “I could still become someone” was exposed, despite being bad at both studying and sports. 

Of course, my status was also at the bottom. And since I couldn’t meet the minimum standards set by the government, I would never be able to enter a large dungeon in my lifetime… 

*Drip…….. drip…drip… *

“Ha ha…” 

Water droplets fell onto the cardboard in front of me. 

Apparently, I had been crying without realizing it. 

*Drip, drip.* 

Since I was a child, one by one, my possibilities had been denied as I lived. 

And today, that damn section chief even denied my qualifications as a working adult. 

Now, I have nothing. 

“U… u…” 

I slammed the cardboard with a bang! 

“Ahhhhhhh!!” 

Tears wouldn’t stop. 

I’m sick of it. I don’t want to work anymore. 

I don’t know what to do anymore. 

I wanted to live freely too. 

But I couldn’t. 

“U… u…” 

After a while of shouting, I called my mother at home. 

“Mom? Hey, I’m coming back to the family home for a while…”