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 4

The glow of the luminous moss released from the ceiling illuminated Shogo’s face. After about five minutes had passed, Shogo finally returned to his senses and closed his mouth.

I don’t know where this place is, but somehow, I’m alive. As Shogo tried to move his legs, he self-deprecatingly wondered how he had planned to return to that hole so high up.

But it’s heavy. My legs won’t move as much as I thought.

The endless anxiety that I locked away in my chest seems to be reaching my feet.

At times like this, Shogo knows what to do. Ironically, more than a year of isolation in the classroom had taught him that.

Take a deep breath on the spot.

Don’t think about anything right now. Just think about going home. I tell myself not to be consumed by anxiety, as if trying to deceive myself.

“Ahh…”

The feet, which felt just a little lighter, somehow took the first step.

As he slowly moved forward while looking around, Shogo understood that this was a lake-like place inside the cave.

Even so, it’s a spacious place.

The water surface spreads out in a slightly oval shape. From where Shogo is standing to the opposite shore is about a hundred meters.

A fleeting shadow of a fish on the clear water surface.

The presence of living beings makes Shogo’s steps a little lighter once again.

Shogo, while walking, thought about how to escape from here and quickly reached an answer.

It is the discovery of a transfer object to the surface called an exit portal.

It is said that dungeons are almost always present.

It wasn’t in the Shibuya Dungeon, but maybe the place I fell into is it.

Shogo thought it must be so and continued along the lakeshore.

And then, I spotted a horizontal hole at the point where it switches to the opposite bank.

As I got closer, I realized that the horizontal tunnel was wide enough for three people to walk side by side.

However, compared to the current place, it’s quite dark.

It’s not that I can’t see it, but it’s to the point where I hesitate to move forward.

“Is there nowhere else to go…?”

I observe the area around the lake, but there doesn’t seem to be any other path.

Shogo, deep in thought with his head down, suddenly remembered and began tapping the WD watch device.

I remembered that I hadn’t been able to send an emergency signal, which is fundamental in times of distress.

But something seems off.

“Is it broken? No way.”

When an emergency signal is transmitted, a red blinking dot should appear in the upper right corner of the WD watch device screen, but it is constantly lit instead.

“Did I make a mistake? That can’t be…”

I ended up speaking too loudly for a soliloquy. I had read the operation manual so many times that I could almost memorize it, and I was confident there were no mistakes.

Tap WD again to switch the screen.

“Voice control switch, current location and signal transmission status”

The current location is the 533rd floor underground of the Shibuya Dungeon. An emergency signal has been sent, but there has been no response from the administration bureau. Therefore, in accordance with Article 10, Paragraph 3 of the Japanese Dungeon Law, General Provisions for Emergencies, we are currently transmitting an emergency signal via the distribution line.

Shogo was bewildered by the incomprehensible content coming from the clear voice.

The Shibuya Dungeon goes down to the third basement level. The 533rd basement level is so far beyond the 108th basement level, the deepest level humans have ever reached, that the device must be malfunctioning…

In the first place, if you were to dive down to such depths in one go, you wouldn’t be able to withstand the increasing concentration of magical elements at each depth.

Moreover, the streaming line is supposed to be for hunters, and you couldn’t use it without registering as a hunter. This is the first time I’ve heard of a law that allows its use in emergencies.

Shogo couldn’t help but think that the WD watch device was broken.

However, WD is the world’s top-tier item developed by Endo Heavy Industries, a company that Japan takes pride in globally, by gathering the pinnacle of technology.

It possesses the toughness to withstand battles with monsters without breaking, and even has waterproof capabilities. Powered by the magical energy in the air, it can operate semi-permanently within a dungeon.

I’ve hardly ever heard stories about it breaking.

Shogo checked the basic operations of the WD, but there were no issues.

“It’s moving, huh… for now, it’s fine.”

Right now, there’s no time to think about the reasons. More importantly, there’s something to do, Shogo shook his head and shifted his mindset.

“If only we knew the location of the exit portal.”

If you get within a radius of one hundred meters, the WD will capture the exit portal and start navigation.

There is no evidence, but there should be an exit portal.

More like, if it doesn’t exist…

Shogo stepped into the horizontal cave with a feeling akin to prayer.

◆

The horizontal tunnel stretched endlessly.

Shogo is slowly making his way through it. The air is humid but not stagnant. If he listens closely, he can faintly hear the sound of the wind… a sign that it is connected to somewhere.

Suppressing the urge to quicken my pace at the information worth moving forward with, I walk quietly.

This seems to be the Shibuya Dungeon, but it’s a level I’ve never heard of.

There might be monsters ahead. If that’s the case… if we’re noticed, it’s over.

Shogo proceeds cautiously.

If you continue walking for about two hundred meters, the road will curve sharply to the left, and a fork will appear.

Intuitively, I took a right turn and moved further ahead.

As soon as the open area came into view, I held my breath.

No way…!

It was the right decision to proceed without making a sound and to keep my footsteps quiet.

A being called a monster is there.

A bipedal humanoid. Its gray body color barely visible in the dim light. Wrapped in tattered rags around its waist, it seems to be chewing on something.

Shogo grimaced at the small but unpleasant sounds of crunching and splashing.

A little goblin? Even so, it’s too tall, and its muscles are well-defined. The one I saw in the video had a bigger belly and thinner arms. And the body color too…… An advanced type of ogre? But if it’s an ogre, then it’s too small. What on earth is that?

Something resembling a little goblin is turning its back to Shogo.

Don’t rush. There’s still distance, and they can’t see us from there or notice us. Without making a sound, Shogo quietly steps back and moves to leave the area.

However, the suddenly stopped chewing sound further emphasized the footsteps that had not been silenced— the goblin’s head turned sharply towards Shogo.

Eyes stained entirely red. A mouth curved as if smiling. Blood drips from the jagged teeth, and hair is tangled in them.

In his right hand, he is holding a neck. A neck shaped like a human head. In his left hand, he is gripping a slender blade.

『Gugyagyagya』

If it were a human, it would be laughter. A cheerful tone escaped the goblin’s mouth, and it dropped the head it was holding in its right hand onto the ground with a thud—its figure blurred.

“Huh?”

Shogo couldn’t grasp the situation and let out a foolish sound while standing with his back hunched.

The moment the goblin, who should have been ten meters away, became blurry, it suddenly appeared right in front of me as if it had teleported, and I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

“Uaaaaaaahhh!!”

Shogo ran.

『Gugyagyagyaa!!』

I moved my legs as my instincts dictated and ran as if my life depended on it.

The presence and footsteps of the little goblin come closer and then farther away, as if they are having fun teasing.

『Gugya!』

A cry filled with delight clung to Shogo’s ears.

With a desperate feeling, I tap the device.

“Pl-please! Tell me where the exit portal is!”

“The map for the 533rd floor of the Shibuya Dungeon is not created.”

As I tried to suppress the feeling of my strength draining away from the meaningless answer, my ears suddenly picked up the sound of the wind slicing through the air with a whoosh.

With a crisp, satisfying sound—

A sharp pain shot through my thigh——I fell.

I instinctively raised my hand to shield myself, managing to roll without hitting my head, but the back of my hand was scraped against the rocky surface, and blood was oozing out.

And besides my hands, there’s the pain and strange heat I feel in my right thigh.

The feeling of my work clothes being wet doesn’t mean I’ve wet myself, but I don’t have the courage to check why they’re wet.

“No! I don’t want to die!”

Why am I going through this?

If I’m going to die without understanding the reason, then I might as well just get through my usual tasks and be treated like the useless person who can only do that.

“Mom… I’m sorry.”

“Detected special wavelength. Skill acquired.”

Facing death, Shogo couldn’t immediately understand the meaning of the voice emitted from the WD watch device.