Chapter 6: Dungeon Dive

When I was about to dive into the dungeon for personal reasons, as usual, the Explorer Association sent me a request, so I ended up going into the dungeon anyway. I'm Tsukasa Kisaragi. My registered explorer name is "UNKNOWN," nice to meet you.

By the way, the reason my registered name is "UNKNOWN" is because I left the name field blank when I got my explorer license right after starting high school in April. What was I thinking?

Normally, if you leave it blank, they just use your real name, but the staff member at the time took it upon themselves to write "UNKNOWN." I'm embarrassed and want to change it, but everyone in the Association calls me by that name now, so I can't really change it.

"Hey."

"You got here quickly, UNKNOWN-san."

"Well… I just changed clothes after coming home from school."

Even though the Shibuya Dungeon is at the far end of the station, it feels really close since I commute by train.

"About the request…"

"I heard it's Frost Wyverns."

"Y-Yes. Two or more Frost Wyverns were spotted on the 42nd floor."

"That's rare… You don't usually see Frost Wyverns, even on the 60th floor or beyond."

Frost Wyverns are technically lower-floor monsters, but you're more likely to encounter them in the deeper floors. They're already rare, even in the deep floors.

As the name suggests, Frost Wyverns are medium-sized dragons, and in terms of strength, a B-Rank explorer might barely be able to defeat one solo. They can manipulate ice freely, and their bodies are so cold that you can't touch them without freezing. I wonder how they survive with such a low body temperature, but it's a fact, so there's no point in questioning it.

"Alright, I'll head out right away."

"P-Please be careful."

As I entered the dungeon, I noticed that the top floors were, as usual, filled with an even mix of monsters and explorers. The Shibuya Dungeon probably has the highest number of challengers in Japan, with half of the explorer population concentrated in the top floors, making it crowded with people.

I don't like to summon my shikigami in crowded areas like the top floors since they could easily be mistaken for monsters. So, I stick to using just a katana until I reach the middle floors.

"Gyah!"

As I descended the stairs, a black-colored goblin came running at me, swinging something that looked like a machete.

In games, goblins often appear as the weakest enemies, but seeing one in person, my only reaction is that it's surprisingly gross. The sight of it waving a machete around with bloodshot eyes is genuinely scary. But since explorers' physical abilities are on a completely different level from regular people, I can kill a goblin with just a casual swing of my katana.

"Gyii!?"

The goblin's small body, only about half my height, was sliced clean in two. Since this katana is forged from materials I obtained in the deep floors, cutting a goblin in half is a breeze.

Usually, a few more goblins would attack, but with so many people in the dungeon today, most of the goblins have probably already been hunted down. Poor weakest species. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

The goblin's body turned to ash and disappeared. For some reason, monsters in dungeons turn to ash and vanish when defeated. Depending on the monster, some parts remain, but all that's left of a goblin is a magic crystal, a mana stone.

"Goblin mana stones are this small?"

It's been a while since I last cut down a goblin, so I was surprised by how small the mana stone was. Since mana stones are a valuable national resource, the government buys them by weight. The price per gram fluctuates depending on supply, but collecting a ton of small goblin mana stones wouldn't provide enough income to live on.

Honestly, if all you do is hunt goblins in the top floors, you'd be better off working a regular part-time job. It's safer too.

But if you're skilled enough to hunt goblins consistently, you'd probably become an F-Rank explorer and be able to venture into the top floors, where you could earn a decent income.

"Hah!"

"It's heading your way!"

"Three goblins incoming!"

As I walked through the top floors, I noticed a lot of teenagers around my age. For many high school students, fighting goblins in groups is probably the best they can manage. They say magic power strengthens the more you use it, after all.

In reality, some people's magic power increases rapidly, while others' grows steadily over time. There are even stories of people who couldn't qualify for an explorer license in high school because of low magic power but later surpassed C-Rank magic levels by their thirties. But that doesn't mean high schoolers brimming with talent won't continue to grow, either.

In the top floors, goblins are the most common enemy, but near the 10th floor, which borders the top and upper floors, other monsters start to appear. You'll encounter creatures like Steel Ants—giant ants about 40 centimeters long. Though smaller than goblins, they have incredibly hard shells.

However, they're not particularly dangerous; their jaws aren't very strong, so they can only draw a little blood. They also spit formic acid, but it just irritates the skin. At least, for explorers with a certain level of magic power.

Basically, the more magic power you have, the harder your body becomes. The exact mechanics are unclear, but explorers who dive into the lower floors can even control this hardness. They're just wrapping their bodies in magic power, though.

"Oh, ants."

While walking through the 10th floor, I spotted two Steel Ants ahead. They hadn't noticed me yet, but with their senses, they would probably detect me if I got within 10 meters. For me, though, 10 meters is a distance I can cover in less than a tenth of a second.

While ordinary weapons can't cut through the Steel Ants' shells, my beloved katana slices through them like tofu. It doesn't have a name, by the way.

Despite their hard shells, Steel Ants aren't worth much since only the chest part remains after they're defeated, and even that sells for next to nothing. I tossed the mana stones and shells into the bag I brought and continued toward the middle floors.

Since there are still many inexperienced explorers in the top floors, it's best not to hunt too many monsters here. If I wanted to, I could wipe out all the monsters on this floor within minutes. But to do that, I'd need to summon my shikigami.