Chapter 9: Ryo and Kaoru and Dungeon Talk
In the year 1999.
The seventh month.
From the sky, the King of Terror would come.
To resurrect the great King of Angolmois,
And to successfully rule before and after Mars.
A famous passage from a prophecy.
At the time, it stirred up society with end-of-the-world theories.
Of course, many people did not believe it, and everyday life continued on as usual.
And when July of that year passed without anything happening, the doomsday theories faded away, and even those who had been paying attention returned to their normal livesâor so it seemed.
August 11 of that same year.
The scheduled date of a total solar eclipse in Europe.
At noon that day, Greenwich Mean Time.
A gigantic light descended from the sky.
Something that could only be described as light.
It fell down, and yet nothing happened.
After the massive light descended, lights like a meteor shower rained down upon the earth.
Many people reportedly touched the light, but nothing in particular occurred.
It was a phenomenon observed almost simultaneously across the entire globe.
However, none of the instruments around the world detected the light.
Only records made by the naked eye, photographs, and video footage remained.
Because records existed, the phenomenon had undeniably occurred.
People were confused, but since nothing happened and its true nature remained unknown, they soon returned to their everyday lives.
March of the following year.
Mars, in French, means the planet Mars, and it also means March.
In other words, March of the year 2000 was said by some theories to correspond to the âMarsâ mentioned in the prophecy.
In that March, it was confirmed in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.
At Itsukushima Shrine.
At the center of the great torii gate floating on the sea, a mysterious vortex appeared.
Fans of computer games excitedly dubbed it a âGate of Journey.â
Passing through that vortex led to a land like a mirror of ice, and forests of white, radiant, divine trees.
That was the first dungeon ever observed by humanity.
Within dungeons lived unknown, strange plants and animals, and different rules of reality applied.
Beginning with the emergence of the Itsukushima Dungeon, various dungeons began appearing or being discovered all over the world.
Their entrances took many forms.
Some were vortexes like the Itsukushima Dungeon.
Some were like black haze.
Others were literal cave-like entrances.
There were even cases disguised as cracks in the ground, or back alleys between buildings.
No one knew how accurate the prophecy truly was, but the world accepted the existence of dungeons.
Or rather, it was forced to accept them.
Once that happened, it was inevitable that benefits from dungeons and jobs related to dungeons would arise.
That said, humanity could not devote itself solely to dungeons.
Civilization and culture continued to change with the times.
Eventually, when video streaming content began to explode in popularity among young people.
Those who streamed dungeon exploration appeared, and it became a massive hit.
Naturally, others followed suit.
Before long, dungeon streaming grew into a genre commanding a large share of the streaming world.
“In other words, thatâs how the Great Dungeon Streaming Era began.”
Kaoruâs room.
At Kaoruâs house.
Ryo was listening to Kaoruâs explanation there.
“âŚâŚâŚâŚ”
“Donât fall asleep!”
It all started because Ryo had casually asked what dungeon streaming actually was.
Kaoru responded by giving a serious explanation like a history teacher, but before he knew it, Ryo had collapsed face-first onto the low table and fallen asleep.
Despite his flashy hair and playboy-like vibe, Kaoruâs family home was a traditional Japanese-style house.
His room was naturally a tatami room, and he was even wearing traditional Japanese loungewear.
If girls saw this side of him, they would definitely squeal at the discovery of a new charm.
Kaoru narrowed his eyes as he looked at Ryo slumped over the low table.
“Mmm⌠thereâs no such thing as being too full, so keep bringing it out⌔
“Donât spout contrarian nonsense in your sleep!”
When Kaoru smacked Ryoâs head lightly, Ryo sat up with a dissatisfied expression.
“Muu⌔
Ryo was wearing clothes he had picked out without much thought.
A shirt, a loose jacket, and jeans.
But because of his androgynous, slightly feminine appearance, he looked like a mannish woman.
Depending on who saw him, it was dangerous enough to open the door to a whole new world.
That said, the two were used to seeing each otherâs casual clothes and loungewear, so neither thought much of it.
“Itâs because when I said I didnât really understand dungeon streaming and asked you to explain, you suddenly started a history lecture.”
“Sorry.
I thought itâd be better to start from the beginning if I was going to explain it properly.”
“It started way too far back.”
Even for Ryo, being lectured on dungeon basics like a school lesson was just boring.
“The part I actually wanted to know was at the very end⌔
“So you were listening after all.”
“Of course.
But I still donât get it.
I get that dungeon streaming blew up and everyone started doing it.
But what part of dungeon streaming actually appealed to people?”
At Ryoâs question, Kaoru answered immediately.
“The extraordinary.”
“The extraordinary?”
Ryo tilted his head again.
Seeing that, Kaoru explained while choosing his words carefully.
“For explorers or people involved in exploration businesses, the lack of realism inside dungeons is just normal.
But for ordinary people, it isnât.
In fact, most people only knew the name and not the details.
Some barely even knew what dungeons were beyond the word itself.”
“Were?”
“Yeah.
Before dungeon streaming became popular, awareness was low.
Streaming spread that knowledge all at once.”
“I see.”
“In that sense, streaming was a tailwind for both explorers and the country.”
“People knowing about it is a tailwind?”
Ryo tilted his head yet again.
“You probably donât care about this kind of thing, but in society, dungeon explorationâor rather anything related to dungeonsâwas criticized for using tax money.
People didnât understand the jobs.
They didnât understand dungeons.
They couldnât accept the government and companies spending money researching them and supporting researchers.”
“âŚEven though medicines and daily necessities are made from dungeon materials?”
“Only people involved with dungeons know that.
Even now, that knowledge hasnât spread very far despite streaming.”
Ryo frowned deeply.
“Then how well known is the fact that monsters will occasionally come out if they arenât culled regularly?”
“Uh⌠come to think of it, not many streamers talk about that.
Even among explorers, a lot of them might not know.”
“Itâs written on the Dungeon Bureauâs website.”
“Not many people read government websites.”
“Is that how it is⌔
Ryo tilted his head once more.
“âŚActually, I donât know the details either.
When monsters come out, do they overflow in large numbers?”
At Kaoruâs request for clarification, Ryo thought for a moment before answering.
“They say they wonât overflow.
It just increases the chance of a few strays getting out.”
“Thatâs still a problem, right?
You can only use magic or special moves inside dungeons, so thereâs no way to deal with them outside.”
“Not just combat arts and magic breath skills.
Abilities that boost physical performanceâpassive effectsâonly work inside the dungeon, or within the invisible dungeon territory that extends a bit beyond it.”
“So monsters can go outside that territory?”
“They can.
In that case, the Self-Defense Forces are the main responders.
Firearms work to some extent.
Against humanoid monsters like goblins, standard martial arts like karate or aikido might work too.”
“âŚIf something like a dragon got out, could tanks or fighter jets handle it?”
“Probably not.”
Ryo said it so casually that Kaoru looked up at the ceiling.
“Thatâs why explorers hunt monsters inside dungeons.
There are different types of dungeons, but they all share one thing.
Every monster defeated slightly reduces the chance of strays escaping.
And if you defeat boss monsters or special powerful enemies, the chance drops significantly.”
Listening to Ryoâs explanation, Kaoru nodded slowly.
With arms crossed and a hand on his chin, he somehow looked the part.
“That kind of talk might be good to bring up as casual chat during streams.”
“Really?”
“People interested in dungeon streams probably have at least some interest in dungeons themselves.”
“Huh.
Well, Iâll say it when the time comes.”
“Sure.
âŚMan, you really donât seem interested in stream talk.”
“Even if Iâm not interested, I can try for the sake of chicken.”
“Right.
Then Iâm counting on you when the time comes.”
“Okaaay.”
Giving a lazy reply, Ryo collapsed face-first onto the low table again.
Then, without lifting his head, he asked Kaoru,
“Hey Kaoru, arenât you hungry?”
“Yeah, I am.
Itâs about lunchtime.”
Kaoru checked the wall clock and nodded.
“Want to go eat somewhere?”
“Yeah.
Oh right, Sanjudo-tei near city hall started a limited-time chicken paiku noodle dish.”
In an instant, Ryo shot upright.
“Letâs go!
Right now!
At mach speed!”
“Alright, alright.
Iâll go change, so wait.”
“Okay!”
And just like that, the first strategy meeting for their dungeon streaming plans reached lunchtime.