CH 167

Episode 167  – Solo-Clearing Boy

Author Note: This chapter is from the POV of the reporter from the Laudungeon Newspaper.

My name is Tobias. I work as a reporter for the Laudungeon Company, which sells information related to the Dungeon. I used to be an adventurer who tried conquering the Dungeon, but I retired from adventuring after being fatally wounded by a certain monster during a battle and was no longer able to move the same way again. From then on, I started working as a reporter for the Laudungeon Company, using the knowledge and connections I had made during my time as an adventurer.

And yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I met an interesting young boy. From the way he spoke, it sounded like he knew the [Azure Alliance] and that he was going to dive into the Dungeon… I was a little worried. I wasn’t sure if he knew anything about Dungeons, but he was eagerly eating up the basic information I was giving him.

Each and every one of his reactions was so big that it made me feel good, and I started to talk a lot. Even still, the information I gave him was nowhere near enough, so I hoped that he would read the book I recommended to him before attempting the Dungeon so that he wouldn’t die.

While thinking this and that about the boy I met in the dining hall yesterday, I walked up to the Dungeon monitors to acquire information, even though it was still early in the morning. We Dungeon reporters had to be in front of the monitors early in the day to get as much information as possible in order to beat other competing companies.

There was no differentiation between day and night inside the Dungeon, so there were many occasions where people would start clearing the Dungeon late at night. For that reason, the working shifts at Laudungeon Company were set up in a way so that there was always someone on duty for all 24 hours of the day.

Today, I was in charge of the time from early morning until just before noon. After taking over for the guy who was in charge of the late night to morning shift, I was watching the deepest layers being projected, from layers 40 to 50, when suddenly my eyes were drawn to some sort of commotion going on in the shallower layers.

It was the [Azure Alliance], which had recently become a hot topic.

They had broken through the 20th layer, which was the barrier for intermediate-level adventurer parties, in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they were challenging the Dungeon with only 3 people, which was half the number of a full normal-sized party.

I had had my eye on the [Azure Alliance] early on and tried to get exclusive coverage rights, but… I had been turned down by Ahmed, who had refused me, saying that it was a pain in the ass and then proceeding to give me a knuckle sandwich. To this day, it remains a bitter memory in my mind.

They were now B-rank, and they had become a popular adventurer party, which made me feel intense waves of regret whenever I thought back on that time and how it would have gone if our negotiations had gone well.

Remembering the past while eyeing a crowd of people in front of the monitor showing the shallow layers, I began to wedge myself into the horde of people. With my notebook and pen in hand, I was ready to write down everything that happened without missing a single moment.

When I turned my gaze to the screen, I saw a startling image being projected… I was so surprised that I dropped my pen, my most precious work tool.

“This boy is solo-clearing the Dungeon!”

“GYAHAHA! Oi! You see that? Every time he passes by an adventurer party, his shoulders spring up in fright!”

“Poor thing! His body is all stiff, he’s gonna die in there sooner or later!”

It seemed that the reason people were gathering at the monitor that was showing the shallower levels was because of this boy who was solo-clearing… But I recognized this boy.

This was none other than the boy with the interesting reactions to whom I had given information yesterday.

I quickly picked up the pen I had dropped and put it into my bag along with my notebook and then pushed my way through the crowd of people watching the monitor for fun, forcing myself to occupy the area in front of the screen. People were complaining behind me, but I didn’t have the mind to respond to them.

This kid…! You dove into the Dungeon without reading the book I recommended to you, didn’t you?!!

If I had known that this was what was going to happen, I would have just provided him information without holding anything back. My head was filled with regretful thoughts as I began to think about how to save the boy. I could only hope for another party to rescue him, but a party stuck on the 1st layer didn’t have the time to be worrying about others.

Should I go down to the Dungeon and rescue the boy?

As soon as I had this thought, I saw an Ogre appear in the direction that the boy was walking.

“Yikes… An Ogre appeared. This guy’s got some seriously bad luck.”

“He’s still a young kid, so I feel sorry for him, but… he’s not going to make it.”

“If it were only some Goblins, we woulda seen a good fight, and we coulda seen the boy running back afterwards…”

Hearing the voices behind me, my heart skipped a beat. I didn’t really have anything to do with the boy. We were just people who happened to be in the same room at one time, but it still didn’t feel good to see someone you had known die. When I realized that his life was one that could have been saved if I just hadn’t withheld information… my heart became wracked with pain.

In this situation, there was nothing I could do even if I ran down to the Dungeon right now. I clenched my fists tightly, praying that some adventurer party would help him… but all I could do was watch the boy as he was about to clash with the Ogre in just a few more seconds.