When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 95

Episode 95 

About 10 minutes had passed since the special operations unit from the Dungeon Bureau’s special operations group, from the Tachikawa garrison, arrived at the Okutama Dungeon. Leading the unit was veteran deep-layer explorer, Takahashi Yuto. The team of 10 included young up-and-comers Itou Yuka and Tanaka Ryousuke. They began their investigation near the dungeon entrance.

Soon, they discovered traces indicating that people had entered and exited the dungeon. Moreover, they confirmed that the residual magic element levels were unusually high. Initially, Takahashi had considered the reported dungeon quake as possibly being a false alarm, but he dismissed that thought now. Something had undoubtedly happened here. With this in mind, they proceeded with the investigation.

After readying their gear, they left three members to guard the entrance and began their dungeon attack with the remaining seven members. The Okutama Dungeon, which should have been long inactive, exhibited a mysterious quake and signs of human activity. 

Advancing with the utmost caution, Takahashi and his team delved into the dungeon. However, about 30 minutes after beginning their attack, Tanaka grew impatient.

“…Takahashi-san, there’s nothing here.”

The others, still on alert, nodded in agreement with Tanaka’s words. It was rare to encounter a dungeon where nothing happened after 30 minutes. In fact, in a normal dungeon, it would be odd to walk for 30 minutes without encountering a single monster. Could the dungeon still be inactive after all?

In addition to the absence of monsters, the internal space of the dungeon seemed more like an ordinary cave than an otherworldly dimension. While the residual magic element concentration continued to register high, they barely felt any magical power emanating from the dungeon itself.

The anomaly was obvious, yet nothing seemed abnormal. The eeriness of this paradox troubled Takahashi. Should they continue their exploration or investigate the area around the dungeon instead? 

Takahashi was torn, but returning to base with nothing to show for it wasn’t an option. After all, they had found signs of human activity and high magic element levels.

For now, they would press on as far as they could. With that decision, Takahashi led the team deeper into the dungeon. The Okutama Dungeon was originally a first-class dungeon, with confirmed deep layers. Unlike special-class dungeons, which were known to have ultra-deep layers, the level of danger in a first-class dungeon was somewhat predictable. Takahashi himself was an experienced deep-layer explorer, and with the current team of seven, it should be manageable to conduct reconnaissance, even in the deeper layers.

To clarify, dungeons were ranked by the Dungeon Agency based on their danger levels. Special-class and first-class dungeons, which posed the highest threats, were managed by the government. Second-class and third-class dungeons fell under the jurisdiction of local governments.

Explorers began their careers as upper-layer explorers, with mid-layer explorers being considered seasoned veterans, and deep-layer explorers being elites. Those who reached the deepest layers were regarded as monsters themselves. These ranks were determined by whether an explorer could clear each layer of a dungeon solo.

For instance, an upper-layer explorer could clear only the upper layers on their own. This was no easy feat, so most explorers ended their careers at that level. Therefore, the term “upper-layer explorer” encompassed both those who simply explored the upper layers and those capable of clearing them to challenge the mid-layers.

However, those who surpassed the mid-layers and could solo the deep layers were truly on another level. Naturally, the deeper the dungeon, the stronger the monsters and the higher the quality of materials. It results in exponentially higher income.

Because of this, dungeon exploration was often compared to a modern-day gold rush and had become a major national industry. The skills of dungeon explorers and the resources extracted from dungeons were directly tied to a nation’s power.

Returning to the story, the Okutama Dungeon had once been a first-class dungeon, with confirmed deep layers. It was one of the few natural dungeons in the metropolitan area and was a popular spot. Takahashi himself had attacked this dungeon several times back when it was still active.

But now, despite the dungeon having dried up, something felt off. The atmosphere had changed too drastically. Takahashi began to feel a growing sense of unease with each step. And then, suddenly, it hit him—something he had overlooked.

“…Everyone, stop.”

In a slightly tense voice, Takahashi gave the order to halt. Hearing the tension in his voice, the entire team heightened their vigilance. Takahashi, breaking into a cold sweat, carefully voiced his realization.

“…It’s been almost an hour since we entered the dungeon, but the surroundings haven’t changed—it’s still just a cave” 

The team nodded in agreement, wondering what their captain was trying to imply.

“I had assumed the dungeon was dried up, and that we were still in a cave in the real world, not inside the dungeon’s otherworldly space.” 

Takahashi’s next statement caused everyone to suddenly realize what he meant.

“The cave in the real world within the Okutama Dungeon shouldn’t have been this deep. …We’re already inside the dungeon.”

Typically, once you enter the otherworldly space of a dungeon, the landscape changes dramatically. This makes it obvious that you’ve entered another dimension. However, there are rare cases where a dungeon’s internal space closely mimics the outside environment. Okutama Dungeon must be one of those.

What was thought to be a dried-up dungeon had fully revived—and not just that, it had become a rare, irregular type of dungeon. Takahashi realized that failing to notice this earlier had been his mistake.

Now that they understood the dungeon had reactivated, Takahashi decided they needed to report this to the base as quickly as possible. He began leading the team back toward the entrance. 

Newly revived dungeons don’t have an established dungeon network inside, meaning they can’t communicate with the outside world. In hindsight, Takahashi regretted not checking the communication setup earlier. As he reflected on his oversight—

“Huh? What is this?” 

Tanaka, who had been walking slightly ahead of Takahashi, picked up something black from the ground.

“What is that?” 

Itou looked curiously at the large, flat object Tanaka was holding. Takahashi glanced over casually—then his eyes widened in shock.

“…!? You idiot! Drop that immediately!! That’s a dragon scale!!”

As soon as Takahashi shouted, the black dragon scale Tanaka had picked up began to glow, rapidly absorbing the surrounding magical energy.

Tanaka hastily threw it away, but it was too late.

“GRRRAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

An undead dragon appeared in the Okutama Dungeon.