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 27: [Association’s Perspective] A Floor That Will Soon Be Born
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- 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 27: [Association’s Perspective] A Floor That Will Soon Be Born
Episode 27: [Association’s Perspective] A Floor That Will Soon Be Born
(Note: Special for this chapter, dialogues from the livestream are written in this bracket:『…..』. And chats from the livestream are written in this bracket:《……》)
“Omoigawa-san!!”
I rushed to the place where Omoigawa-san had fallen.
It was careless.
Since an irregular abnormal event had occurred, I shouldn’t have let my guard down until the very end.
I crawled my hand across the dungeon floor.
The pitfall trap had already disappeared—no shadow, no shape.
Pitfall traps vanish once activated.
They probably function more like magic than mechanical devices.
There must be many fellow explorers who got separated from their parties and fell into danger like this.
“Omoigawa-san!! Omoigawa-san!!”
No response.
“Even if it’s hopeless…!”
I took out the communication magic stone from my pouch and poured magic power into it.
It was the same black, board-shaped device each examiner had during the explorer test.
“This is Yamada from the Tochigi Prefecture Explorer Association! Omoigawa-san, can you hear me!? Please respond!!”
…No response.
This device is designed to prevent interference. So it only works on the same floor.
It cannot communicate across floors.
I know that.
I know, but—there’s nothing else I can do.
…There are no stairs on this floor that go down.
Moreover, the pitfall indentation unique to the trap is also gone.
Currently, there’s no way to access the lower floors.
(What should I do…?)
“Yamada-san, let me try something.”
Then, Jōnuma-san stood nearby. He was holding a hammer
“…What do you plan to do?”
“I’ll see if I can break the floor.”
“…Understood.”
…I swallowed the words, “It’s useless,” and stepped aside.
Though the dungeon walls have broken before, the floors have never collapsed.
“Tatara, give me support.”
“Understood. Omoigawa-san… don’t you die here. Offense Up!!”
“Nuuuugh, ORAAA!!!”
*THUUUUUUNK…!!*
“—!”
Ah…
From that sound, I realized.
Probably…
“…No good. Not a scratch.”
“We’ll have to send a rescue request to headquarters…”
“But without knowing the situation…”
“—Jōnuma-san.”
To confirm what I realized, I made a suggestion to Jōnuma-san.
“Could you hit this wall?”
“The wall…? …No, fine. If you say so, I’ll try it.”
“Thank you.”
“Nuuuuu, DORAAA!!”
*THUNK!!*
“……”
I strained my ears to catch the echoing sound.
Then, using the [Spatial Awareness] skill with all my might, I estimated the structure.
“…Sorry. Seems I can’t break it with my strength.”
“No… I think I understand the situation now.”
“Really!? What is it…?”
I shared my hypothesis.
“Most likely, this Ōta Dungeon is still in the process of growing. Below us is the 11th floor, and I believe it extends down to about the 15th floor.”
“What…! How do you know that?”
“From the echo of your hammer strike. It’s hollow below us. The spatial ratio is 2:1—meaning from this 10th floor, it continues five more floors down.”
“Just like the Shinjuku Dungeon, it’s growing huge…”
“Yes. Also, since the return gate hasn’t appeared on this floor, it makes sense to assume a second boss room has appeared.”
“Then if we wait, stairs to the next floor will appear here?”
“Yes, that’s what I believe. However… whether that happens in one hour, one week, or one year… no one knows.”
“Damn!! Then Omoigawa girl is…!! …No, sorry, I lost my temper. Tatara, send the rescue request!! Get ready!!”
“Already doing it!! Association HQ! You’re watching the stream, right? Please respond!”
Tatara-san stared at the drone monitor for stream confirmation and followed the flowing comments.
《Tama-chan…》
《This is bad》
《It’s two hours by car from Tokyo to Ōta. Nearly a whole day through Haneda.》
《I can’t watch this anymore》
At that moment—
The monitor screen split in two, and the right side went black.
“Ah…”
Then, the screen appeared.
《Tama-chan!》
《Are you okay!?》
Omoigawa-san was shown on screen.
“A backup drone…!”
Considering the possibility of trouble with the main Gunma-side drone, we brought a foldable backup.
Thanks to Omoigawa-san activating it, we could now communicate.
“Omoigawa-san, this is Yamada! Please tell us your situation!”
Omoigawa-san responded through the screen.
『…Right now, I seem to be on the 11th floor of the Ōta Dungeon. The surroundings don’t differ much from the upper floors. I encountered two monsters upon falling. This floor seems to spawn Poison Lizards…』
“Poison Lizards…!”
《They’re C-rank monsters》
《They appear on the 8th floor of the Shibuya dungeon》
《The poison mist is nasty》
“Omoigawa-san… your complexion doesn’t look good, don’t tell me…”
『Ahaha, I knew you’d notice, Yamada-san… I’ve been poisoned… I got sandwiched between the two right after falling and couldn’t dodge…』
“You have antidotes, right?”
Trying to shake off the bad feeling, I asked.
Then, Omoigawa-san said:
『…I *had* one. But the container broke when one of the Poison Lizards rammed me… I protected the other drone though… I have only two healing potions left…』
☆★☆ [Side: Omoigawa Tamaki] ☆★☆
After telling Yamada-san the situation, despair hit me again.
How much longer can I live while poisoned?
Maybe about 3 hours? If I stay still, maybe a bit longer?
And that’s assuming no more monsters come.
If another Poison Lizard appears and I take damage again, my remaining time will shrink quickly.
I can’t move my body well because of the poison.
How long can I last in this condition?
『You idiot! You’re more important than a drone… No, I’m sorry, Omoigawa-san. …Is there any place nearby you can hide?』
Yamada-san is unusually flustered.
Seeing her face like that, even I can understand—
…This really *is* a hopeless situation, huh.
Almost to confirm the despair, I answered.
“There’s no place to hide nearby… Maybe because the dungeon’s still forming, there are just really wide corridors. And I can even see into the neighboring rooms. I’ll share it via the drone.”
《What is this?》
《There are three paths to the next room》
《Three more on the other side》
《All straight lines—you can see everything》
《【¥3,000】Yamada-san, do something!!》
『……tch.』
Even Yamada-san was at a loss for words.
I understand.
No one’s ever been on this floor before.
No one could possibly know what to do.
《[Official: Explorer Association] Rescue request received》
《It’s here!》
《Please, save her!》
『Tochigi Prefecture Explorer Association, Yamada speaking. Can rescue support be provided?』
《[Official: Explorer Association] No skill holder available capable of cross-floor movement. Alternative: A [Trap Master] skill holder is in Shizuoka.》
《Trap Master?》
《Is that related?》
《Everyone stop commenting, it’s moving too fast》
『So you’re suggesting they manually place a pitfall trap so someone can fall down and save her… and then defeat the boss who should be on the lowest floor and return… Understood. If that’s the only way, I’ll go. Then… how long will it take?』
《[Official: Explorer Association] Estimated arrival time in 7 hours. The holder is currently in Hamamatsu Dungeon and cannot be reached. Based on past behavior, they explore until around 5 PM. Even with a helicopter, it would take about that long…》
『—!!』
Yamada-san’s face briefly filled with rage. And she tried to say something.
But she closed her eyes and swallowed her words.
『…Understood. Please proceed with the rescue. Contact me if there are any updates.』
《[Official: Explorer Association] Understood. We’ll keep this line open. Please contact us if anything happens.》
『Omoigawa-san, did you hear? Rescue has been requested. Please hang in there just a little longer. Stairs to the lower floors might appear, so I’ll stay here too.』
“…Understood.”
But—I already knew from Yamada-san’s face.
—I’m not going to make it.
Yamada-san definitely wanted to yell at the Explorers Association, “That’s too late!”
But she swallowed it down in front of me.
So I wouldn’t get anxious.
So my spirit wouldn’t break.
But, Yamada-san…
“I….understand. I know what you’re thinking… because we’re partners…”
I’m scared.
I’m so scared.
Brilliant Yamada-san.
Yamada-san, who’s never made a wrong judgment.
That Yamada-san thinks I’m not going to make it.
Because we’re partners, I could tell.
“Haha…”
My strength left me, and I slumped to the floor.
Even though Yamada-san told me, “An explorer must survive by any means necessary.”
But now, my spirit is broken.
I’ve failed as an explorer.
Tears drip down, one by one.
“Kou-chan…”
Even though I finally reunited with Kou-chan and we promised to form a party…
Even though I thought I could fulfill the helmet jinx…
This is where it ends for me.
“It was fun…”
When I close my eyes, I remember that summer scene.
The endlessly blue sky.
The white cumulonimbus clouds rising high.
The clear flowing river.
The summer sunlight filtering through the trees.
『Omoigawa-san!! Stand up and grab your sword!!』
As Yamada-san’s voice shouted, I opened my eyes.
At the entrance of the room, a Poison Lizard had entered.
It sluggishly crept toward me like a crocodile.
“Haha…”
Even if I try, I’ll die anyway.
Thinking that, I couldn’t gather any strength.
“Kou-chan…”
I want to stay in the dream a little longer.
I want to die wrapped in that summer scene.
Look, if I close my eyes, I can hear the cicadas again.
*Miiin-miin-miin-miin…*
*Munch-munch…*
*Miiin-miin-miin-miin…*
*Munch-munch-munch-munch…*
“Huh…?”
I heard a strange sound and opened my eyes.
Then—
Right beside me, at eye level, there was a mysterious hole.
Inside the hole, I saw rice fields and heard the cicadas’ voices.
And then—
“Kyuii!!”
—A caterpillar that looked like it popped out of a picture book poked its head out of the hole.
“Eh… what is this…”
My mind couldn’t keep up.
“Kyui, kyui!”
The caterpillar was munching the space.
Then, the hole gradually grew bigger.
And there—
“…Hey, Otama-chan. We promised to form a party, right? Don’t break it on your own.”
—There stood my beloved childhood friend.
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