Chapter 3: The Eternal Summer Vacation Space, and a Reunion
When I turned the doorknob, the iron door slowly creaked open with a giiii! sound.
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I stepped into the purplish, shimmering gate inside the doorway.
And then.
“Eh…!?”
Inside the gate, a rural landscape stretched out before me.
An unpaved road stretching through rice paddies.
A blue sky with large cumulonimbus clouds.
A green forest spreading out in the distance.
And, echoing all around, the buzzing of cicadas.
Outside, it was the end of February, but the dungeon’s appearance was completely that of summer.
I’d heard that the inside of gates were mysterious spaces, but to this extent…
“Man, it’s hot!!”
I took off my coat.
Still hot.
It felt like the temperature was around 25 to 30 degrees Celsius.
…Well, I guess it’s safe to assume this is definitely a dungeon now.
As far as I could see, there were no signs of magic beasts like goblins or kobolds.
It was a far cry from the typical image of a dungeon, like a labyrinth of stone walls or a dark cave.
–Just in case, I should check.
“Status, open!”
As I said that, a translucent message window appeared in mid-air.
Name: Natsume Kouichi
Level: 1
Experience: 0/10
HP: 10
MP: 0
Attack: 1
Defense: 1
Speed: 1
Wisdom: 1
Skills: 【Childlike Heart】
Special Abilities: None
…This confirms it.
Status screens only appear inside dungeons.
Seeing the “Special Abilities: None” entry made me tear up a little, but it can’t be helped.
I knew that already, you didn’t have to tell me. Ugh…
“Oh, are you here to comfort me…?”
In my tear-blurred vision, countless dragonflies were approaching.
They resembled Shio-kara dragonflies, but their blue color seemed stronger.
“There, there.”
When I extended my index finger into the air, one dragonfly landed on it to rest its wings.
“You cute little thing.”
With my other hand, I grabbed its wings.
I was able to catch it easily. The dragonfly buzzed its wings, jijijijiji!, right in front of my eyes.
“It’s just an ordinary dragonfly…”
It doesn’t have fangs or anything, so it doesn’t seem dangerous.
Just as I was thinking that.
“Woah!”
With a bwan! sound, the dragonfly vanished, and in its place, a small stone remained in my hand.
This is…
“A magic stone…”
The kind of amethyst-like stone you can get from inside goblins and such when you defeat them.
It’s about the size of a pill, but there’s no mistaking it.
“So the dragonfly was a magic beast… Maybe I shouldn’t have touched it.”
Furthermore.
An achievement—《Magic Beast Captured in Dungeon by Holder of Skill 【Childlike Heart】》—has been attained. The special ability, Monster Creature Encyclopedia, is now usable.
Just as a voice echoed in my head, a comical bwan! explosion sound occurred, and a single book floated up to my chest height.
Its pages flipped open on their own, pera-pera, then stopped.
Encyclopedia No. 10/251
Name: Shio-kara Magic Dragonfly
Rarity: 0
Capture Skill: None
Capture Experience: 1 (0.1 for those Level 3 or higher)
Drop Items: Magic Stone (Tiny), ???
Description: A dragonfly inhabiting floors that mimic the outdoors within a dungeon. Against those who do not possess the 【Childlike Heart】 skill, it can make them perceive it as part of the scenery (cannot be attacked or captured). Possesses no means of attack.
“I see…”
So it’s an encyclopedia of creatures I’ve caught. And what’s more, it seems I got experience just by catching that dragonfly.
If I can level up without having to defeat goblins and stuff, maybe even I can become stronger.
There are many more things I’d like to try and figure out, but…
“This is probably not good, huh…”
I figured it wasn’t good to keep diving into the dungeon without a license any further, so for now, I decided to step outside the gate.
“…………Cold.”
Outside the gate was the cold February sky.
My spirits dropped for no reason.
I put my coat back on and tried to summarize what I’d learned in my head.
・The place inside the door was definitely a dungeon.
・I don’t know if dungeons have seasons, but it had summer scenery and climate.
・Vicious magic beasts like goblins and kobolds weren’t visible from the entrance.
・On the other hand, since a magic stone came from the dragonfly I caught, it might be a type of magic beast.
–And the most important thing.
・It seems that with the 【Childlike Heart】 skill, I can catch dragonflies. If cicadas and other insects are the same, I might be able to earn magic stones—in other words, a bit of money—and even level up just by catching bugs.
Hmm, this is starting to get a little fun.
I think a dragonfly’s magic stone is only worth a few dozen yen, but other insects might drop slightly larger magic stones.
That said, I haven’t even taken the Explorer training course, and I probably have to report the existence of this dungeon itself to the country or somewhere.
First things first… Right.
I’m pretty sure there was a department at the city hall in charge of dungeons. They were supposed to handle consultations for dungeon-related problems too.
I took out my smartphone, and after first getting approval from my parents, who own the land, I called the city hall.
“Um, this is Natsume, and it seems a dungeon has appeared on my private property…”
☆★☆
An hour and a half later.
Three cars were parked at the foot of the mountain.
“Hello, you must be Natsume-san. I’m Tanaka from the City Hall Explorer Support Division.”
A woman in her thirties introduced herself, showing me her name tag.
“Ah, yes. I’m Natsume.”
I don’t usually have any business at the city hall, so I’m a little nervous.
“Thank you for contacting us today. The city, the prefectural office, and the Explorer’s Association will now conduct an on-site investigation as a tripartite group. Please be aware that depending on the results of the inspection, such as the dungeon’s danger level and the rank of items that can be collected, the government may purchase your land, Natsume-san.”
“Y-yes.”
This turned out to be a bigger deal than I expected.
“However, such large-scale dungeons have only been discovered in urban areas, so I believe the probability is low…”
Next, a man around forty years old handed me his business card.
“I’m Sato from the Prefectural Office Dungeon Management Division. If it’s recognized as equivalent to a nationally designated dungeon, the procedures will go through the prefectural office, so I look forward to your cooperation.”
“N-Natsume. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I threw away all my own business cards when I quit my job, so I only accepted his.
Then, Tanaka-san from the city hall said.
“And these are the two from the Explorer’s Association who will be assisting with today’s investigation. They are women, but they’ve reached the 10th floor of the Ota Dungeon. Depending on the situation, they may need to subjugate magic beasts inside, so please understand.”
“I’m Yamada from the Explorer’s Association, in charge of the rear guard. It’s a pleasure to work with you today.”
And then.
The other one shyly hid behind Yamada-san, not showing me her face.
“Hey, introduce yourself properly!”
“B-but…”
“That’s rude! What’s wrong with you? You’re not usually like this…!”
“…?”
It seemed like the two of them were struggling for position.
Eventually, the other woman was dragged forward.
Blushing shyly, she glanced up at me.
“I’m Omogawa Tamaki, from the Explorer’s Association. D-do you remember me, Ko-chan?”
“Otama-chan…?”
It was Otama-chan, the girl I used to go bug-catching with when we were little.