[Hiroshima Dungeon — Final Floor — Ezoe Kazuhiko]
It took us one week to reach the Final Floor of Hiroshima Dungeon, a Rank B dungeon. While we had decided to tread carefully, the main reason it had taken this long was the strength of the monsters. We had run into humanoid monsters such as onis, lichs that threw magic attacks at us, and even poisonous slimes. In light novels, a party of four or five adventurers was always able to take out all kinds of monsters. In the real world, however, adjusting weapons and formations depending on the number and type of monsters we were fighting was a necessity.
“We might have been wiped out already if the Legend Rare characters weren’t with us. Thanks to them, we’re able to add a lot of variation to our basic five-role formation—tank, melee damage dealer, ranged damage dealer, magic damage dealer, and support. We’re already struggling with a Rank B dungeon. Rank A and S dungeons will be full of stronger monsters with even more unknown attack patterns.”
“As expected, we may have no choice but to gather data on each type of monster, compile it, and devise strategies tailored to each of them. Once we’re done here, we should take videos of the monsters on each floor and brainstorm solutions.”
Dungeon Busters’s most crucial role was to convey information to others. We published videos of the monsters we had fought inside the dungeons we had cleared along with the standard strategy we had devised to fight each monster.
Some journalists had once asked me why I didn’t ask for monetary compensation in order to disclose this information, but that had always been out of the question. We weren’t fighting in the dungeons for the sake of money. We fought to make sure the dungeons were wiped out. It just so happened that we made money out of it as well.
“An adventurer can’t get to Rank A unless they’re able to clear a Rank B dungeon. That makes things pretty tough. We’re probably the only ones with the ability to clear Rank B dungeons at the moment.”
The Crusaders were also doing their best, but they hadn’t even reached Rank B yet. I’d heard they were prioritizing clearing Rank D and C dungeons. In fact, I had seen on the news a few days ago that they had managed to clear the Rank C Dungeon that had appeared right inside the Parthenon.
Once we finished taking videos and pictures of the reliefs in Hiroshima Dungeon, we gathered in front of the Guardian’s room. It was possible that the Guardian would be a Rank A monster, so I materialized Akane and Emily.
“It’s a groß wölfe, a Rank A monster!” Akane yelled, warning us. “It’s one of the strongest beast-type monsters there is!”
Inside the room was a gigantic, almost-three-meter-tall wolf. Once it saw we had all entered the room, it stood up from its napping spot.
Although Masayoshi and N’gie both had their shields at the ready, they were still sent flying back due to the tremendous strength of its first blow. The wolf had simply hurled itself against the shields with its full power.
“It’s fast! And how the hell is it so strong?!”
HOOOOOOWL. The gigantic wolf howled before trying to knock N’gie’s shield out of his hands with its paws. Suddenly, an explosion sounded. Emily had sent a blast of fire magic right at the wolf’s muzzle. It retreated, adopting a defensive posture.
“Are you okay, Masayoshi?!”
“Yeah!”
Masayoshi was a former sumo wrestler, so while he seemed to have taken a heavy hit, his robust body had prevented him from taking too much damage. He stood up, readying his shield once again. The wolf growled as it prepared to attack. It looked ready to jump at us at any moment.
“Groß wölfe can’t use magic, but their speed and power are on par with those of Fenrir, the Wolf God. We won’t win if we turn this into a contest of strength!” Akane explained.
“As expected of a Rank A monster. All the previous monsters we fought here look like small fries now. Its level is still within our expectations, though,” I said.
After our time in Shinjuku Dungeon, we had devised and tried out several strategies to use against Rank A monsters. We had to proceed methodically in the face of a foe strong enough to blow away Masayoshi and N’gie’s shields.
“First, we need to stop his movements. Akane, Emily, Hisato, Amane! You take on the beater role, just like during training!” I ordered.
“Got it!”
They forced the groß wölfe to back off incrementally with a combination of ranged attacks, using ninjutsu, magic, and, of course, Amane’s whip. The monster tried to bounce off the walls and use the ceiling to increase its mobility and approach us, but in the end, it was still a beast. Using its natural fear of fire against it allowed Emily to direct the beast wherever she wished.
It finally gave up attacking from the front and dived toward us from the side. However, that was exactly what we were waiting for.
“Shield Bash!”
N’gie and Masayoshi unleashed their attack, Shield Bash, at the same time. The wolf narrowly escaped and ended up standing on its hind legs. Akira and Rinko made use of that moment of weakness to strike, dealing the final blow.
“Counted Overhand Stroke! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”
“Kusakabe-style Sword Arts, Star Rain!”
Akira aimed overhand strokes at the wolf’s belly with both of his hands. Right, left, right... Every time he hit the monster, he retracted one of his fingers. In the end, his last blow was delivered with only one finger, which ended up piercing the wolf’s belly open.
At the same time, Rinko jumped, almost reaching the ceiling. She kicked off the ceiling, gaining speed, and thrust her sword right into the wolf’s forehead. Its brain was destroyed on the spot, and it came crashing down with a big THUMP.
✦ ✦ ✦
On June 28, 2020—the same day Dungeon Busters succeeded in clearing Hiroshima Dungeon—the double election of both Houses of the Diet took place. The result was just as most people had predicted: a crushing victory for the current ruling party, the conservatives. More than two-thirds of the elected Diet members were in favor of the constitutional revision, and a plan to hold a national referendum on the question within the year was put together.
The Constitutional Democratic Party, which had opposed the constitutional change, lost a few seats but was relatively unscathed. On the other hand, the Democratic People’s Party had to deal with a crushing defeat. The Communist Party also lost some seats, while the recent New Reiwa Party, which had changed its mind and now supported the constitutional change, gained seats.
“The situation both within and outside the country is becoming harder to handle by the day. We especially need to make preparations in order to be able to guarantee our national security. As promised in our manifesto, we will put together a Ministry of Dungeons. This ministry will be tasked with managing all dungeon-related problems, from the handling of dungeons in our own territory to the international operations that are to be conducted with the United Nations,” Urabe Seiichirou explained at the press conference held by the conservative party.
Ishihara Yukie, the very first Vice-Minister for Dungeons, turned off the TV and stepped into the bath. Droplets of water ran down her skin. No one could have guessed she was in her forties from the condition of her beautiful skin. The Dungeon Boot Camp had allowed her to regain the appearance she had when she’d first entered the Ministry of Defense.
“Even if I look young again, no one wants to embrace me, huh...?”
She added some bath oil to the water and immersed herself. Letting out a heavy sigh, she decided to change her train of thought.
Yesterday, Ezoe Kazuhiko had contacted her to let her know Dungeon Busters had successfully cleared Hiroshima Dungeon. Today, Gamerica’s former Command Chief had entered Japan, asking for a job. She couldn’t help but think he was a pain, bothering her when she was already extremely busy, but it was certain that hiring him would only add to Japan’s momentum.
“Planning the Olympics’s defense measures... Preparing for Japanese adventurers to go abroad... I have so much to do.”
She washed her face and stepped out of the bathtub. She didn’t know if it was due to the temperature of the water or the anticipation she felt when she thought about the fights to come, but her face felt a little flushed.