Chapter 3:
Team Dive
THE VERY NEXT DAY, I traveled to a suburb just outside the city for the team dive. That was where the new dungeon happened to form.
I looked left and right, taking in the neighborhood. Homes spread out in every direction, but not a single civilian showed themselves near the dungeon. I wouldn’t have expected otherwise. No one was permitted within range of a new, and therefore potentially dangerous, dungeon without explicit permission. The same thing occurred when the Remote Magic Tower appeared.
The only humans around were the eight figures in front of the dungeon entrance. As I drew closer, I noticed they were decked out in top-notch dive gear. Expensive armor, elaborate robes, things like that.
That’s an A-rank party for you. Those B-rank adventurers I saw didn’t hold a candle to their vibe.
I thought back to the rundown Claire gave me yesterday. Prior to exploring a new dungeon for the first time, the dungeon’s difficulty level had to be investigated. Tossing a special item through the Gate provided a measurement on the dungeon’s internal mana levels, which made it possible to determine whether the dungeon was C-rank or below, or whether it was B-rank or above. In the case of C-rank or below, any party with experience in B-rank dungeons could take on the first task of exploration, so long as they were careful. If the dungeon was B-rank or above, an A-rank party—rare even for Japan—would take it over.
In the case of this new dungeon, the mana measurement suggested a minimum level requirement of 10,000 to enter. Because of that, Claire said Yoizuki would send in their only A-rank party.
Since Claire was an obvious outlier as an S-rank, she didn’t come today. To be honest, she was the one I wanted to dive with most. Too bad.
Regardless, the people standing before me were overwhelmingly strong, the top 1 percent of adventurers. I was part of the other 99 percent. I needed to buck up and get on their level.
Once I reached the group, I noticed a familiar face. If I was right, his name was Yagami-san. He was the man who drove me and Claire to Yoizuki. According to Claire, he was the party’s leader.
So, not just a driver after all. Whatever he was, it was only polite to greet him first.
“I’m Amane Rin,” I said. “Good to see you today.”
“Tsk. You really came?” he replied.
Jeez, rude much. What was his problem?
He’d reacted similarly when we first met, hadn’t he? I didn’t understand why he hated me so much. At least the other party members looked at me with interest instead of annoyance. The guild master must’ve told them about me. Even if they weren’t hostile, my guess was they didn’t think a young guy like me had any business diving a dungeon of this rank. Couldn’t blame them; in their position, I would’ve felt the same way. Unfortunately, I needed them to tolerate me for a while.
Yagami-san eyed me with a quick, irritated glance.
“Just so you know, you’re only here because our guild master ordered it. Stay back and don’t fight anything. That’s the one condition, and if you break that, we’ll leave you behind.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod. That didn’t sound different from the conditions I heard yesterday, so I wasn’t complaining. I didn’t want to be the one who broke their party formations either. My goal was understanding just how powerful they really were. Causing problems wouldn’t do me any favors.
Once everyone finished their final gear checks, we entered the Return Zone. With our leader Yagami-san at the helm, we entered the Gate one by one.
Last in line to go through, I exhaled.
Okay…I’m in this for the long haul.
I had no idea where any of the stairs were inside—no one did—so I couldn’t breeze through the levels. Each step of progress would be careful, constantly wary of monsters and traps. The time it took to beat this dungeon the first time would be multiplied exponentially compared to an already-mapped dungeon. In the worst case, a new B-rank dungeon could take a week to conquer.
Good thing I warned Hana ahead of time that I wouldn’t make it home. Just like when I left for the Remote Magic Tower, she grinned and asked me if I was leaving for a sleepover with a girlfriend. I didn’t know why, but hearing that question shot ice up my spine. Her smile only made it scarier.
Seriously, what the heck was that all about?
No clue, but while I was thinking, my turn to cross the Gate came. Technically, I was in the middle of a Span, so I couldn’t pass through. I used my skill instead.
“Dungeon Teleportation.”
I landed inside, finding myself alongside the eight people who entered before me. But something felt…off. The sensation was difficult to explain, almost as if the dungeon itself existed with a different air than other dungeons.
Suddenly, Yagami-san whirled on me and said, “Hey, you. Go back outside the Gate and come back in.”
“Huh?”
“I’m checking something. Hurry it up.”
At first, I didn’t understand what he was getting at, but then the words checking something made sense.
In rare cases, once an adventurer crossed the Gate, they couldn’t leave until they defeated the boss. Also, if they left through the Gate, they couldn’t try the dungeon again regardless of whether the Span was in effect. First-challenger teams were duty-bound to check that kind of thing.
If this dungeon was subject to the latter case, it made sense for me to be the one stuck outside. In an elite group like this, I was the least useful in battle. As much as I understood where he was coming from, I couldn’t do it. Even worse, I couldn’t explain why to Yagami-san. I had to use Dungeon Teleportation to pass through this Gate. I wouldn’t give an accurate test result. Combative as it would come across, I had to refuse.
“I can’t do that,” I said.
“Excuse me?” His stare sharpened. “Did you get a big head or something? You think you can contribute to beating this dungeon more than the rest of us?”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Then tell me what you did mean. If you don’t, I’ll assume you think you can make it to the last floor on your own. A guy who’s that deluded will put the rest of this party in danger.”
“Urk!”
Dang it, why was he talking sense? He only made me feel worse about refusing. I shut my mouth. I had to keep my secret, but Yagami-san’s glare only grew narrower. Refusing to speak really provoked him. I felt bad for seeming insubordinate, but what could I do?
To my gratitude, one of the others stepped forward—a pretty, delicate woman dressed in a robe. “Now, now, take it easy, Yagami-san. I’ll do it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Shinonome. We can’t lose our only healer.” He sighed. “Fine. Matsumoto, you go.”
“I feel like you just called me the most useless!” a man in sorcerer garb who must have been Matsumoto complained. “Yagami-san, I’ll do it for you.”
He exited the Gate, then returned a second later.
“No issue with reentry,” he said.
“Okay. Let’s proceed,” Yagami-san said. He glared at me one final time, then turned and followed the two tanks at the helm. At the rear of the group was me and the woman who bailed me out. I ducked my head to her in a mixture of apology and thanks.
“Sorry about that. You really saved me,” I said.