The weakest (self-proclaimed) salaryman suddenly finds himself treated like an S-rank adventurer!? ~Relaxed dungeon life - Chapter 1: A strange underground passage

Chapter 1:  A Strange Underground Passage

The spring breeze gently caressed the throngs of people in Tokyo.

The temperature is mild, and wearing a jacket makes you sweat a little. There is a relaxed air in the expressions of the people passing by.

It was just after nine in the morning, slightly outside the rush hour. The wide street in front of the station was filled with a moderate number of people and sunlight shining in from a diagonal angle. It was still the time when the hustle and bustle of businessmen had not yet died down, but there was something leisurely about the way people walked around the station.

Meanwhile, a man, neither in a suit nor empty-handed, was walking along calmly.

Shiina Yo – 28 years old, single. A businessman working for an IT company. His hobbies are visiting hot springs and tidying up his desk. He sometimes finds comfort in playing with houseplants. He leads a rather mundane life, and today he was carrying a Lawson shopping bag in his hand.

“Today I have chicken and bread, and also coffee. Yep, that’s the perfect breakfast.”

Muttering to himself with no one in mind, Yo was quietly satisfied.

The company is centered around remote work. The two days a week when he goes to the office are special days when he can straighten his back just a little. Today is one of those precious days. However, it’s okay if he gets to the office at 10:30. It’s his habit to allocate his time with ample time.

Now, let’s head inside the station – that’s what Yo was thinking, as she was about to head towards the stairs of the station building that she always used.

Something caught my eye at the corner of my eye.

Huh? Is there an underground staircase somewhere around here?

I stopped in my tracks and slowly turned my eyes to the side of the station building, in a corner where the business entrance would normally be – and there, an unfamiliar structure had appeared.

The entrance was an arched staircase made of black iron. Its smooth, dull luster and rough appearance somehow exuded beauty, making it clearly “other.”

“…huh? Is it under construction?”

I muttered to myself and looked around. However, there were no construction signs, no security guards in sight. There were no notices or warnings. And yet, from the back of the entrance, a familiar scent of plants was drifting out.

It felt as though I had wandered into a forest. It was a strange feeling of incongruity to smell the forest while standing on paved asphalt.

“Just a quick… look. Maybe it’s part of an underground exhibition or an art project.”

Driven by curiosity, Yo walked down the stairs with natural steps.

At that moment.

The atmosphere has changed.

◆ ◆ ◆

The stairs were longer than I expected.

Ten steps, twenty steps, thirty steps – I lost count as I counted. But strangely, I didn’t feel anxious. Rather, the silence and calm were comfortable, and my steps were light.

There was lightning, too. Lanterns hanging from the ceiling cast a soft light. It wasn’t inorganic like fluorescent lighting, but had a warmth to it.

The walls are made of stone. Moss is stuck here and there, and the air is slightly damp. But it’s not an unpleasant humidity. There’s a refreshing feeling reminiscent of forest bathing.

“The presentation is elaborate… This looks like a ‘secret base,’ which isn’t bad.”

Yang chuckled as he took a sip of the canned coffee. The bitterness of the can and the aroma of the space strangely matched well.

Eventually, the stairs open up.

What awaited me was a stone-built corridor, just like something out of an RPG world.

A coat of arms is carved into the walls, and the floor stones are arranged in an unnaturally regular pattern, telling us that this is a “labyrinth” that was purposefully constructed by some civilization.

At the end of the corridor, from the depths of the darkness, there was a deep silence, so deep that one could even sense someone’s presence.

“…Wow. For a set, it’s intricate.”

Yang was genuinely impressed.

He never dreamed that he would step into a “dungeon” in another world.

◆ ◆ ◆

After walking down the corridor for a while, a step suddenly appeared at his feet, and Yo tripped.

“Wait, that was dangerous… What is this?”

Spread out at my feet was a trembling, blue-green object.

It was slime.

Yang’s eyes widened, but she didn’t scream. Her first impression was-

“…A mascot character? An event? A photoshoot or something?”

Although I was perplexed by the extremely realistic texture, there was still no sense of surreal danger.

The slime moved slitheringly, extending its tongue-like structure and approaching Yo.

Feeling a bit scared, Yo picked up a stick that was leaning against the side of the aisle.

“Yay!”

The blow, which he lightly swung down, was unexpectedly sharp.

The slime trembled, then with a loud pop, it split into two.

“Huh? What? It broke?! …Huh? Did something come out from inside?”

From within the broken slime, a small, glowing, pale blue crystal tumbles out.

Yang picked it up and looked at it closely.

“…This would look great as a paperweight. It would be soothing to have on your desk.”

Muttering this, he put the crystal away into his backpack without any hesitation.

–The managing spirits from the “other world” simply watched in amazement as this whole thing unfolded.

An unknown entity, without any sense of caution, enters the dungeon, defeats monsters, gathers materials, and returns joyfully…

The unusual situation prompted managers to call a hasty meeting.

◆ ◆ ◆

As we went further down the corridor, we came across a staircase leading up.

“Oh, is that the exit?”

The sun rises without hesitation.

I climbed the stairs and pushed open the door – and found myself at the back of the original station building.

A familiar sight. An intersection in the distance, a group of buildings lining the road. At last, feeling like he was back in reality, Yo let out a sigh.

I look at the clock and see that it’s already past eleven o’clock.

“…Oh no. I made too many detours. Well, I’ll be working from home in the afternoon.”

Yo put his backpack back on, gulped down his can of coffee, and started walking towards his office.

Behind him, the door he had passed through earlier disappeared without a sound, “like air.”

◆ ◆ ◆

Late that night.

The Shinjuku South Exit Dungeon, a secretly appearing other-worldly connection point beneath the Shinjuku South Exit, had broken a record.

First person to be recognized as having cleared the first level

Registered name: Unknown

Species: Human

Affiliation: Unknown

Title: Healing Pilgrim

However, the person in question – Shiina Akira – was lying on the sofa at home, slurping down a cup of ramen.

“Maybe I should go again tomorrow. That back passage was really interesting.”

He hadn’t noticed yet.

He realized that he had already been recorded in the world’s records as an “explorer of another world”–