Having concluded his witty conversation with Shirogasaki-san, Kageichi and Kiraboshi made their way to the tower building owned by the Labyrinth Agency.
It was the same conference room they had used during their previous quest to defeat the Headhunting Rabbits and Grassland Golems in the “Nagi Plains.”
Taking command was Goto and Torako, both affiliated with the Labyrinth Agency, just like last time.
Goto, his burly frame clad in black, with an armband that read “Labyrinth Agency,” began explaining things to the assembled Cleaners and Raiders.
“Thank you all for gathering despite the sudden request. Now, without further ado, I will explain the emergency quest that has been issued: assisting in the capture of the new Rank A Dungeon, the ‘Underwater Crystal Cave.’ The Labyrinth Agency has already reached the fifth floor Boss, ‘Mother Sphere’…”
The Rank A Dungeon “Underwater Crystal Cave’s” Boss Monster, “Mother Sphere,” was a material-based monster resembling a giant star.
Material-based monsters had an outer shell made of objects like stone or metal, and as their appearance suggested, they often had high resistance to slashing and elemental attacks.
Blunt attacks and specific elemental magic were effective against them.
“This monster’s attack method involves self-destruction attacks using multiple individual ‘Attack Spheres’ ejected from the star-shaped protrusions on its body. Each one becomes a guided bomb, attacking us. …It can be said that it is a difficult boss to fight, as it scatters them while attacking.”
Kiraboshi, who was listening next to him, muttered that it seemed troublesome, but…
“If it’s just that, it seems like the people from the Labyrinth Agency alone could defeat it, right?” she tilted her head slightly.
In fact, if it was just the “Mother Sphere” alone, Kageichi wouldn’t even need to lend a hand. But.
“And this is where the main point comes in. When this boss, Mother Sphere, takes a certain amount of damage… probably when its remaining Magical Power drops below half, Mother Sphere will self-destruct.
This in itself is a powerful attack, but the troublesome part is what happens afterward: it scatters countless ‘Mother Sphere’ split bodies throughout the dungeon.
…While the split bodies are far weaker than the main body, they possess the exact same properties as the Mother Sphere itself.
And if the split bodies are left alone, they will naturally absorb Magical Power and grow back into Mother Spheres.
In other words, you cannot defeat the boss unless you defeat all the split bodies.”
“Ugh…” Sighs could be heard from various parts of the conference room, and complaints flew about how troublesome it was.
“How nostalgic,” Kageichi smiled faintly.
The Mother Sphere subjugation quest was one of the challenge events held by LAW in his previous life.
The idea was for players to unite and defeat the boss that splits in the dungeon! Everyone was supposed to get excited… but.
In addition to the triple whammy of increasing, exploding, and escaping, the drops and experience Magical Power were so stingy that the players at the time gave it such grateful hashtags as “Representative of Crappy Monsters,” “Operator’s Self-Satisfaction,” and “Super Lame Konpeito,” making it a legendary boss in a sense.
Incidentally, Kageichi, who was a solo player at the time, did not participate in the event.
The subjugation reward item remained a mystery—as a gamer, he was very curious, so he decided to participate in the quest.
“Finally, I will explain why this quest is labeled as an emergency. As written in the materials, this dungeon is classified as a High-Corruption and Differentiation Dungeon, and we have determined that it is highly dangerous.”
“…Sensei, what is a High-Corruption Dungeon? What is Differentiation?”
Oops, he hadn’t explained that yet.
“Kiraboshi-san, you already know about the Rank S Dungeons ‘Nagi Plains’ and ‘Hideout,’ right? Dungeons where, if you periodically defeat monsters, you can suppress the expansion of the labyrinth… the ground erosion.”
“Yes. They are dungeons that are beneficial to humanity, right?”
“Yes. All Rank S Dungeons currently belong to that category… but High-Corruption Dungeons are the opposite. In other words, the rate of erosion is fast, and Gate Crashes are likely to occur. Furthermore, Differentiation—this can lead to cases where dungeons proliferate on their own, and the damage expands.”
The mechanism by which Dungeons appear is not yet clear, but the prevailing theory is that they appear when Magical Power accumulates in a certain location.
The fact that Dungeons tend to appear in densely populated areas is also said to be due to the influence of Magical Power leaking from humans.
This is also the reason why Dungeons tend to appear in large cities such as Tokyo, and why Dungeons often appear in residential areas and workplaces.
“However, Differentiation Dungeons occur through a completely different mechanism. To give you an example, it’s like a malignant tumor metastasizing. History has proven that if the response is delayed, the damage will expand rapidly.”
In the original game, LAW, there was a mass outbreak of Dungeons dedicated to events, but this was a troublesome form of its reproduction.
They couldn’t leave it alone.
Kageichi finished his explanation, and after a question-and-answer session, the briefing ended and everyone dispersed.
The Dungeon capture would begin at nine o’clock the day after tomorrow.
Kiraboshi would also be taking a break from school to participate this time. …It seemed she didn’t know yet if she could get her mother’s permission.
He would like her to participate if possible—as Kageichi was pondering this, a figure suddenly appeared.
“Hello, Kageichi-san, Kiraboshi-san. Thank you for your cooperation in the Headhunting Rabbit and Grassland Golem subjugation operation the other day.”
The one who showed her face was Torako, the support staff for Goto, an employee of the Labyrinth Agency.
“Ugh,” Kiraboshi recoiled, perhaps out of aversion, while Kageichi casually nodded without concern.
“I apologize for the suddenness, you two. Do you have some time?”
“Of course.”
“Then,” Torako said, leading the way—Kiraboshi, who was next to her, tilted her head, “Are we changing locations?”
*
In the small conference room to which she was led as she was told—Kiraboshi suddenly felt a strange presence and stopped.
What was it? It wasn’t a Dungeon, but it felt like she was in one…
She was struck by a strange sensation, but her consciousness was distracted by Torako, who bowed her head.
“Kageichi-san. Once again, I deeply apologize for the Numbers incident and the Re:Tryz incident.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not the Labyrinth Agency’s fault. So, what’s the matter?”
To Kageichi’s question as he sat down, Torako gave a faint smile.
“Are you familiar with the name Gyokuryu Society?”
“I’ve heard of it to some extent. But I’m just an ordinary person, and I have no connection with any fraud groups.”
“Of course. …It seems that the Re:Tryz that we are currently investigating has some connection with that organization. If Kageichi-san suffers any damage from them, please let us know immediately. …And…”
Torako, as if suddenly remembering something, shook her cute bob cut and looked at Kageichi and the others.
“Actually, regarding that Gyokuryu Society, the Labyrinth Agency recently received an anonymous list. It’s a very helpful list that even includes the skills of those involved with Dungeons…”
“Is the credibility of the information reliable? If it’s anonymous, there’s a possibility of a trap.”
“We are currently investigating. At the same time, the Information Department seems to be looking for the source of this list…”
She took a slightly deep breath, and then exhaled—
“Kageichi-san. Kiraboshi-san. If you know anything about this list or the trouble with Re:Tryz, I would like you to ‘tell me’… ah, excuse me, I would like you to tell me.”
The moment Torako gently asked, “Gwaaan…”
Kiraboshi, who had only been listening next to her, staggered as if she was dizzy.
…?
“I don’t know anything…”
!?
Just now, her mouth moved on its own…?
As Kiraboshi was bewildered, “Eh, what?”—Kageichi flicked her shoulder with his fingertip, and her consciousness returned with a start.
“Ouch. …Ah, what?”
“I don’t know either. And, let me tell you in advance that it’s not a commendable method.”
“I’m sorry. It’s an order.”
“I used to be a corporate slave myself, so I understand that you can’t go against your superiors’ orders.”
“I’m sorry!” Torako put her hands together, and then, after a few simple confirmations, they said goodbye.
Kiraboshi tilted her head until the end, not understanding what was going on, and left the room with a sense of discomfort.
—She learned the answer after leaving the Labyrinth Agency building.
“Kiraboshi-san. You were just hit with a Skill.”
“Eh!? Even though we’re on the surface…”
“It seems that part of the Labyrinth Agency building has been turned into a Dungeon. By the way, the Skill that was used was a simple one to encourage confession.”
“You mustn’t fall for such obvious traps,” he said, and Kiraboshi choked up.
—Or rather.
“Was Sensei okay?”
“Yes. Or rather, I was told about it in advance. I was asked to defend against the Skill because it would be activated.”
“Huh? …Why would you ask me to defend against it even though you activated the Skill?”
“Well, it probably means that the Labyrinth Agency isn’t a monolith.”
Kiraboshi’s opinion that it didn’t make sense was quite right.
However, in this world, when you’re working, there are many things that can’t be solved with logic alone—being a member of society is tough, Kageichi thought with a faint smile, as Kiraboshi next to him exclaimed indignantly, “Even so!”
“Even so, the ones doing the suspecting are just as bad. What is that Gyo-something organization anyway? A list has nothing to do with you, Sensei.”
“Ah, I was the one who leaked the list.”
“!?”
“It was meant to be a small act of assistance, to have the Labyrinth Agency eliminate troublesome individuals all at once, but it seems to have backfired.”
Even I, as a human, make mistakes, Kageichi said with a smile.
This person is scary… Kiraboshi couldn’t help but mutter.