The Unremarkable Man Who Fell Into The Dungeon's Pit Survives By Acquiring A Plain But Useful Skill, and Through Persistent Effort While Enduring The Absurdity, He Gradually Rises to Success - Episode 2

“Hurry up!”

“Excuse me!”

Shogo, intimidated by the shouting of his colleague Kanzaki Takeshi within the department, rushed onto the bus.

The regular bus service jointly operated by various dungeon-related companies in the city runs once every 30 minutes, and the buses that sometimes carry personnel from other companies or government officials strictly adhere to their schedules, not waiting around for anyone.

If I miss it, the next bus is in 30 minutes. Since the time I can spend in the dungeon is limited, it’s only natural to get yelled at.

Even those who have acquired the ability known as mana resistance, either naturally or through training, and are employed by companies like Dungeon Resource Development Co., Ltd. due to this ability, cannot explore dungeons without limits.

Overtime beyond the stipulated hours must be reported to the company. This is because there is a risk of developing a condition called mana excess syndrome if the stay time is increased too much at once.

By the way, if an ordinary person without mana resistance enters a dungeon without wearing a mana resistance protective suit, they will exhibit symptoms of mana overload syndrome—fever from body tremors, eventually leading to coma, and if left untreated, death, or at best, becoming bedridden in many cases—within a day.

“Stop dawdling. Stay on the sidelines today too.”

The team leader of the department’s field unit, Kanzaki, spat that out at Shogo with a click of his tongue.

Shogo didn’t say anything back, bowed his head, and huddled up in the single seat near the driver’s seat.

It takes 15 minutes from here to the Shibuya Dungeon, the site of the event. As the bus shook slightly and slowly started moving, the conversations among the members of the group, except for Shogo, began.

“By the way, Kanzaki-san, your skill has manifested, right? You can become a hunter now, right? I’m so jealous.”

“Yeah. If everything goes smoothly, I plan to start the license course next month.”

Those with mana resistance can gradually accumulate mana in their bodies by staying in a dungeon, and as a result, they may manifest a special ability called a skill.

On average, it is common for skills to manifest after about three thousand hours of practice.

After the skill is activated, the magic element in the body can be consumed through skill use, so the worry of magic element excess is almost eliminated, and overtime requests are no longer necessary.

“That’s nice, you can earn about twenty to thirty million all at once, right?”

“Since I’ll be streaming too, I can easily aim for a billion.”

“Whoa! Kanzaki-san, did you grow combat skills or something!? You should have told me sooner!”

“I was thinking of surprising everyone.”

“I was surprised! So, what’s it actually like when you use it?!”

“Oh, when you use a skill, it feels like the power is bursting out from within your body. Just like they taught us in the company training. Once we finish the hunter license course, I’ll show you how to use it in the dungeon.”

Those who have acquired combat-oriented skills graduate from the task of collecting plants that grow in dungeons and ores that are produced, and transfer to the licensed monster hunting division.

After gaining a certain amount of experience there, it is common to become independent as a freelancer.

“Absolutely! Ah, it really is great. Monster hunting.”

“You’ll soon gain skills too. When that happens, let’s hunt monsters together.”

And the term “monsters” refers to beasts, humanoids, and other aberrations that exist in dungeons and attack people.

It is still unclear where and why they occur within the dungeon, but if left unchecked, they proliferate to the point of overflowing from the dungeon and spreading disaster to the outside world.

Even though they die in places where magic energy is not abundant.

Even so, there is a theory that they try to emerge to the surface to expel magical essence from their corpses and expand the dungeon area on the surface, but this too has not been clarified.

Originally, the responsibility for preventing the advance of monsters onto land, in other words, monster hunting, fell to the police and the Self-Defense Forces, but now hunters have taken on that role.

There was a reason for that.

Inside the dungeon and its surroundings, anything without resistance quickly decays or becomes unusable due to the erosion of magical elements.

To prevent that, a costly treatment called magic resistance coating, which is applied to the work clothes and watch devices that Shogo and the others are wearing, is necessary.

Ammunition for firearms used to exterminate monsters was no exception either.

It goes without saying that it is more economical to kill monsters with skills rather than using bullets that are processed one by one and disappear upon firing.

Initially, monster hunting in the dungeons was led by the Self-Defense Forces, but as combat-oriented hunters began to flourish over the years, the Self-Defense Forces stepped back from this role due to cost-effectiveness.

Nowadays, dungeons are the domain of hunters, and the sight of hunters slaying monsters has risen to become a popular live-streamed content.

That hunter, thanks to the sale profits from valuable materials obtained from monsters and viewer donations, can easily earn over a million yen in a single streaming hunt if they are a popular streamer.

In the swaying bus, the conversation between Kanzaki and his entourage continues.

“Absolutely invite me, okay?!”

“Yeah. By the way… Nakamura, you’d be happy if I were gone, right?”

While happily chatting, Kanzaki stood up from the last seat in the bus, which was reserved for him, and suddenly called out to Shogo.

Suddenly called, Shogo flinched, shrugged his shoulders, and hunched his back.

“Th-that’s, um, n-no…”

“Whatever you think doesn’t really matter to me, but if you start causing trouble again just because I’m not around… you know what I’m saying, right?”

Before he knew it, his neck was grabbed and his collar tightened, causing Shogo to choke.

“Uh, um… I-I-I’m not thinking about such things anymore…”

“Listen up, okay? You need to realize that because you’re being lazy, you’re causing trouble for everyone.”

It is said that the time spent in the dungeon is not the only factor that promotes the growth of abilities.

Actions are also considered an important factor, and it seems that the quantity and quality of the items collected contribute to skill improvement.

There is no solid evidence. It all started 20 years ago when a person who had risen from being a diligent material collector to Japan’s top hunter said so.

In fact, more than half of all hunters support that theory based on their own experiences.

However, although various studies have been conducted, a causal relationship has not yet been established.

The reason why the theory could not be accepted as correct was that the only research results available indicated that the factor for skill manifestation was the accumulation of magical elements due to staying in the dungeon, and that the time difference until manifestation varied from person to person.

Moreover, the company does not recommend overharvesting that deliberately skews quality; instead, it encourages balanced collection. The substances extracted from the dungeon herbs and ores that Shogo and his team gather have a wide range of uses, and even those of lower quality have their respective applications.

Although it’s only a small amount, the allowance increase has also been established.

Despite that, no one in the department except Shogo does so, and they all try to collect only high-quality items.

The lack of punitive measures also contributes to this.

Although there is no evidence, the track record of those who have indeed risen to the top and the experiences shared by the hunters are much more credible to field workers than complicated research results.

In that situation, there are not many benefits to imposing restrictions in the form of penalties.

Field workers will someday improve their abilities, demonstrate their skills, and become important business partners for the company.

It is customary to exchange materials obtained by defeating monsters at the affiliated originating company.

But what if they establish penalties, offend the goose that lays the golden eggs, and end up being cut off from their clients?

It’s not hard to imagine that the company’s decision will be to turn a blind eye.

“Just being able to enter the dungeon means you’re lucky, so know your place, okay? Right? You, who haven’t grown at all, Nakamura-kun. Picking up pennies suits you.”

Kanazaki leans in close to Shogo’s ear.

A gaze that exudes intimidation, dark skin, and a two-block haircut. Rumor has it he’s the heir to a large corporation, and his attitude is arrogant… Just making eye contact with him is painful for Shogo.

“Stop looking at me with those resentful eyes while I’m working, okay? Everyone says it’s creepy.”

Today, there are no other company personnel or officials on board. On days like this, we always receive a threatening warning from Kanzaki.

“Yes.”

“If you understand, don’t make me say it over and over again.”

Kanzaki lightly kicked Shogo’s shin with his toes and returned to the designated rear seat.

I want to get to the site early and start working. For the past year, Shogo has thought about this every day.

If I’m on-site, I can be alone.

I shouldn’t have to be treated like this.

I won’t have to trouble Manager Sayama, who is covering for my lack of growth.

No growth

The name given to those whose internal magic concentration, which should increase by absorbing magic, stops rising after about six months to a year and shows almost no prospect of becoming hunters.

At the age of eighteen, during the magic resistance test, it was not revealed, and the incompetent mark that crushed the workers who had started to dream of becoming hunters.

However, I can’t quit.

Two years ago, due to the mana eruption accident from the dungeon, my mother fell into a coma with mana poisoning symptoms, and I have to earn money for her hospital bills and the medicine to slow the progression of her condition.

His father passed away early, there are no relatives, he has no particular skills, and he possesses only traits that are inferior to others. For Shogo, there is no other way to earn a living.

Moreover, Shogo has not given up. There are precedents. There are indeed a few hunters who have gained skills despite not growing.

Someday, I too will gain skills and become a hunter…

And instead of the current medication that is slowly leading to death, the out-of-pocket medication and the expensive surgery costs that can actually cure my mother’s condition.

Even now, while hiding his expression, clenching his back teeth and looking down, Shogo had not yet given up.

The bus is quietly heading towards the Shibuya Dungeon.