[Reberu] ga Arunara Agerudesho? Mobukyara ni Tensei Shita Ore wa Gēmu Chishiki o Ikashi, Hitasura Reberu o Age Tsudzukeru

[Secrets of Dungeons]

With a slicked back hair and monocles on a deep red face.

A man with a look of an intellectual gangster with a seven-colored book floating around him.

He is Thoth, the magic god and wise man who has no equal in ‘Netherworld’.

“Fumu, it’s gotten a bit strange, but there’s nothing wrong with it.
I’m gonna adjust and regulate it, so don’t move.” (Thoth)

“‘Ai~ght.” (Sakurai)

The seven-colored book floating in the air flies around me, emitting a mysterious ray of light to inspect my body.

Based on the scan results, Thoth deploys dozens of magic circles and perform some kind of magical treatment on me.

The last time I came to ‘Netherworld’, various things happened, and my soul ended up getting partially damaged.

In order to supplement and restore it, I took in others’ souls, so it seems that he’s checking to see whether it leaves any adverse effects and fine-tuning it.

“But still, you became unable to enter the dungeon, eh.” (Thoth)

“Can you do something about it?” (Sakurai)

I ask Thoth while relaxing my body as I undergone the treatment.

By the way, the reason why I have a certain degree of calmness now is because the moment I woke up in ‘Netherworld’, I immediately rushed into the ‘Tower’ and did some leveling there for about an hour.

Having spotted me rampaging while laughing loudly, the guys who were also challenging the ‘Tower’ at the time reported me to the authority, and hearing that report, Anubis came and captured me, before handing me to Thoth.

When I look back on it calmly, the sequence of events that led me coming back to ‘Netherworld’ were too unsightly that it might have made my reputation went down the drain, but to me, it was a serious matter of life and death, so I’d like them to overlook it.

Thoth responds to my question while continuing to move his hands to control the magic for the treatment without meeting my eyes.

“Dungeons usually close their mouths when it’s time for them to grow.
They shut out anything from coming in from outside for a while to add in new floors and arrange the internal structure… well, you can think of it like a store closing down for renovation.” (Thoth)

“But Big bro(Aniki) Thoth, according to what I heard, there were still students inside when it suddenly closed.” (Sakurai)

“That means it’s a different case.
Unlike the ‘Tower’ we made, the ones in the world of the living are alive after all.
If there were still outsiders inside, it should have wait until they come out or kick them out because they were a hindrance.” (Thoth)

Although Thoth describes dungeons as being ‘alive’, I’m not surprised at it.

Because, as a matter of course, I knew what kind of existences dungeons were in this world.

A dungeon is one of the largest ‘monsters’ in the world.

Speaking of the top of the food chain, it has to be handed over to dragons, but the existences that come after them are dungeons.

Monsters have various characteristics depending on the species.
For example, dragons have violent-type characteristics such as ‘scales that can’t be pierced through by a blade’, ‘sharp claws and fangs’, ‘able to breathe out fire’, and ‘roars that can make people collapse in fear’.

As for dungeons, they have creation-type characteristics as though a direct opposite to dragons’ violent ones.

Although it requires a resource, that is magic power, they create a space like another world inside themselves like ‘Matière Forest Cave’; even the items and monsters that appear inside the space are things that dungeons create, too.

It can be said that, if dragons are existences that destroys everything, then as opposed to them, dungeons are existences that can create anything if they feel like it.

They create items and gold and silver treasures to lure people into their bodies, and have the monsters, which are also their creation, to fight them to collect magic power.

Then, using the collected magic power, they expand their insides and lure more people in in order to acquire more magic power.

Dungeons grow by repeating such a cycle, but to speak of the reason why dungeons have such an ecology that focused on humankind, it is because ‘besides having high fertility, humankind possesses a lot of magic power, and their recovery efficiency of magic power is high, too’.

I don’t understand the detailed theory, but it seems that the amount of magic power that humans emit in battle is higher than the amount of magic power they consume to create monsters.
Apparently, let alone those who use magic, even a swordsman like me can net them a profit when fighting.
That is why dungeons warmly welcome our existences, it seems.

And thus, a symbiotic relationship between dungeons who want humankind to continue challenge them and humankind who want to get the various things that dungeons produce was formed, and that relationship which started in ancient times is still continuing to this day.

By the way, most of the dungeons seem to have the idea that ‘if humans die, then they die.
There are a lot of humans anyways, more will come as time goes’, so they’re not exactly perfect allies.

However, if humans continue to challenge them, then they’ll let off humans making some modification inside them without permission.

The best example of this is the academy dungeon that you all know, too.

Its existence is used as an educational facility, and on top of that, its 30thfloor has been modified to be a non-combat floor without permission, but since it is regularly fed with academy students, the dungeon doesn’t complain, and allows those acts.

If you don’t really follow what I said, you can think of it like ‘humans are highly nutritious planktons, and dungeons are whales that live by eating us’.

Like whales, dungeons don’t care if we used their wastes for the prosperity of our civilization because in the end, we will become their nutrients.

(In that sense, they are like a bunch of social insects.)

Yet, the gods could reproduce them in the form of ‘Tower’ in the Netherworld and add some arrangement to it with their power.

To be able to do that, the gods sure are amazing beings.
The irresponsible and violent Babi Niflheim doesn’t count, though.

“Don’t you know the cause?” (Sakurai)

“It must either had some kind of personal reason or it was being forced to do so.
We gods doesn’t know anything nor have the intention to know anything about the dungeons in the world of the living since moving to the Netherworld.
It’s not good for both side if we interfere too much with the world of the living, after all.” (Thoth)

“Big bro… can’t you do something about it?” (Sakurai)

“It’s one thing if I investigate the dungeon directly, otherwise, even I can’t do a thing about it.
Oh right, if you guys have known that dungeon for a long time, wouldn’t there be a history book or something of the sorts about it? Aren’t the elves the ones who usually keep that kind of book?” (Thoth)

“I see, the elves, is it.” (Sakurai)

Come to think of it, the information that dungeon is a kind of monster is written in a book stored in the forbidden books section in the inner part of the great library of the cathedral managed by the elves.

Moreover, it is revealed in the setting materials that it is one of the most important secrets of the nation that even some of the royalties aren’t privy to depending on the generation because this book is stored beyond a hidden door.

Although dungeons are indispensable to human society, there may be some people who would move to destroy them in fear of their danger if they were to know that dungeons are monsters— that’s why they are concealed that way.

Originally, in order to enter beyond the hidden door, besides having completed Ethel Tyner’s heroine event, you must have your ‘Faith’ skill high enough to be allowed entry to the forbidden area and trigger the event flag of discovering the hidden door.

However, this time, the situation is related to the serious affair of the academy dungeon, and by extension, the meaning of the existence of the Adventurer Academy.

If I can show the possibility that there may be something in the history books kept by the elves that can solve this situation, I may be able to ignore the event and forcefully enter with the power of authority (Julia) and influence (Uncle).

The dungeon’s problem is my problem, a big problem that is directly related to my leveling.

Add to that that I’m the academy’s student, it is naturally my duty to work to solve the problem.
I have not even a fragment of wicked thought such as ‘I may be given the right to use the dungeon freely if I can solve the problem’, ‘or rather, I may find a way to form a contract with the dungeon and keep it for myself’, or ‘I freakin’ want a private dungeon’.

So, I can proudly say that I’m doing this for social justice, and Iris and the others won’t complain.
Un.

“If that’s the case… shall I go then? To elves’ territory!” (Sakurai)

Having made that decision, I put strength into my body and focus my mind, firing myself up.

Everything is for my leveling, for my academy dungeon, so I’ll immediately set off once I get back to the world of the living!

“Zaguraizaaaaaaaaaan!!!!”

“Hogu!?” (Sakurai)

When I’ve made my resolve, I get struck from behind, and fall to the floor on my face from the impact.

It was due to the assault of Iris, who had panicked because I died and came over betting on a sliver of hope that my soul drifted to ‘Netherworld’ again.

“Zaguraizaaan! I’m glaaaddd, I’m glaaaddd you’re zaaaafe~~~!”

It’s rare for a soul to drift to ‘Netherworld’ more than once.

Anubis even said that my drifting was miraculous.

Iris was that panicked must be because she knew that, and she probably came to look for me in ‘Netherworld’ despite that only because she couldn’t give up.

“I told you, didn’t IIIIIII! You can’t go to Netherworld again and again! And yet, and yet, you still went and died ztupidlyyyy!” (Iris)

“Ahh, un.
I have no excuse for that.
I have none, so can you get off from my back for now, Iris? I can’t do anything to comfort you in this position.” (Sakurai)

For the time being, I shelve my resolve.

Because now, in front of Thoth who is giving me a gaze that seems to say ‘Deal with it yourself’, I have to do everything I can to calm Iris down.