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Monday, the day after the monsters spilled out of dungeons.

There was no school today due to many students and teachers not feeling great after seeing the broadcast on yesterday’s events.

I was currently sitting on my bed, searching the net for more details on yesterday’s events. Apparently, Tokyo wasn’t the only place to suffer; Hokkaido and Kyoto had suffered too. In fact, America, China, and other countries around the world experienced the same. These phenomena seemed to happened in densely populated areas, which only made the number of casualties and missing persons that much higher.

As if that wasn’t enough, it seemed like 12 ministers, including the prime minister and the chief cabinet secretary, were caught up in the incident in Shibuya. Awakened Ones in the police and in the JSDF were working hard to rescue the people left behind, but many were doubtful those people would make it out alive.

The silver lining, if I could even call it that, was that the dungeons in Japan had stopped expanding for now. By the time they stopped though, about half of Shinjuku—with the station as the center point for reference—was already swallowed up by that dome made of the black film-like thing. Apparently, the space within each of those domes had been changed to become part of a dungeon. Which explained why they were only able to broadcast footage before the area was completely enveloped by the black film-like thing.

…now that I think about it, there is a high concentration of magic power inside dungeons, right? Is that how they were able to see the monsters and even capture them in their cameras? If I remember right, that Texan man who first went inside a dungeon was able to bring home footage of his own, wasn’t he? …ah, no, my thoughts are all over the place.

“Layla…”

“Here! You called for me?”

With her ever smiling face, she appeared sitting beside me on my bed.

I wasn’t even thinking of that. My head was just so full of worry about whether those scenes from yesterday could ever happen here.

“Was my memories of yesterday’s events shared to you?”

“For the most part, yes. You’re referring to the dungeon overflowing, correct?”

I gave her a firm nod.

“Why did that even…”

“This is just a guess, but it’s probably because too much magic power had accumulated inside the dungeons.”

“What do you mean?”

“A dungeon is a different dimension composed of magic power. When there is more magic power than what is necessary, the dungeon overflows and spills out. Think of it like pouring too much water into a cup.”

“And now the cup is bigger?”

“Yes. Picture the excess water being frozen, allowing it hold even more water.”

I didn’t know how to react when she smiled as though she just said something amusing.

“Alright, so…will that happen here as well?”

“The chances of that aren’t zero, but generally speaking, I don’t think so given that there is no ley line within a kilometer radius of this house. As far as I could tell at least; it might just be hidden for some reason.”

I gulped down.

It would seem that, for the meantime at least, things were fine. Last night, my parents went so far as to pack emergency grab-and-go bags for themselves and even for me, leaving mine in front of my room’s door.

“…just for curiosity’s sake, is there anything we can do to defend against that?”

“Hmm. I’m not an expert on it, but…first would be to prevent the creation of a dungeon. But in the case that a dungeon has already formed, regular culling should be done. That’s pretty much it, I think.”

“Culling?”

“Yes. Monsters aren’t born from nothing. They are primarily made up of magic power, which dungeons provide. So, if you continuously take down monsters, the dungeon’s magic power will not accumulate and instead be consumed to make more monsters.”

“…ok, but what should we do once a dungeon do start expanding?”

“Right. I suppose a practitioner of space magic have their ways of sealing it.”

So, I guess it’s pretty much culling monsters, huh…

“Inside dungeons, even ordinary people could see monsters and even film them. However, attacking them is another matter. So—”

With her usual smile, Layla continued.

“So, Awakened Ones will be instrumental when it comes to culling monsters. Rather, I think it’s better to say it’s next to impossible to handle this problem without them.”

“……”

About half a year had passed since the world knew of dungeons. I recalled the conversation I once had with my friends.

<<..anyway, if something does happen, it’s likely Awakened Ones will be made to do something, right? Like being conscripted.>>

I sure as hell hope not…I guess it’s probably better for us to keep doing our training, huh.

* * *

From that day, the world was undergoing even more tremendous changes. It might not have looked like it on the surface, but people and society as a whole definitely were changing greatly.

First of all, regarding the 12 ministers who got caught up in the incident in Shibuya. To avoid a political vacuum, Arikawa Rurio who served as the minister of justice was made Japan’s interim prime minister. He was still only in his forties, making him an exceptionally young prime minister.

Despite being a provisional appointment, his rise to prime minister was met with a lot of opposition. For better or for worse though, he was quick to act.

He declared the creation of a new post and a department to go along with it: the minister of dungeon countermeasures. At the same time, he put more focus on the exploration of the dungeons in the country, plus designating off-limit zones within dungeons as soon as they were found. There many other things too, like the compulsory registration of civilian Awakened Ones, but perhaps the biggest deal of all was…

The [Adventurer System].

I doubt I was the only one who uttered no way when it was mentioned in the TV.

Adventurer. That was a word I only ever heard of from the other side of a screen. In real life, it could probably be used to refer to mountain climbers and stuff.

As for its meaning in things like manga, well, it referred to people whose job was to delve into dungeons and take down monsters. That definition was the one being used for the so-called Adventurer System. In it, civilian Awakened Ones were to fight monsters inside dungeons.

I could recall this being met with understandably harsh criticisms, especially when coupled with his other hasty reforms. Even so, he managed to implement them all within half a year.

I had no idea how he did it, but after a certain point in time, TV channels and sites across the net began advocating for the necessity of the Adventurer System. Before I knew it, the idea had spread all over the world.

Honestly, all of it was just so unbelievable. That being said, there was one thing that was definitely real: adventurer was now an actual profession.

A year had passed since the world underwent a series of changes due to it “returning to the age of gods”. Japan had managed to form its countermeasures against dungeons before any other country in the world.

Would that bring good or bad fortune? The world was watching to find out.

* * *

All that business aside, my entrance exams was now on the horizon.

As third year students in junior high school, exams should have been our highest priority at the moment. Yet, people in school still couldn’t stop talking about dungeons, Awakened Ones, and now adventurers. Especially the topic of adventurers. Just the mention of it was enough to excite young people like me. Even the Awakened Ones in my class had been talking about becoming one.

…I should also note that there was rumor going around that if one slept with an Awakened One, they too would awaken. Thinking about that rumor, I glanced at Sato and the grinning girl who seemed to be fawning over him.

As usual, I was with my 2 friends in the corner of the classroom.

“You think that rumor is true?”

“Well, it’s not false. I mean, I think it’s more effective than those awful monk training they sometimes show on TV.”

“Seriously?”

When Kumai-kun asked so, Uoyama-kun answered while adjusting his glasses.

“Yeah. I can’t imagine female Awakened Ones being too pleased about it though.”

“Not just them. The men have to be careful too.”

“…you’re joking, right?”

This time, I glanced at my male classmates who were looking at Sato. Most of them were either envious or indifferent toward him. A few of them, however, wore expressions of grim determination. Like they didn’t want to do something but saw no other option.

Didn’t that guy say he’d do anything to be an Awakened…?

“Obviously though, forcing someone for that is a crime.”

“You said it.”

All three of us agreed it was ridiculous, but also decided to make doubly sure our identities as Awakened Ones remained hidden.

But well, I mean, girls, huh. Ahh no, calm yourself Kyotarou! I already have Layla! What reason is there to look for another woman when I already have such a beautiful, kind, and sexy girl by my side! …oh well, it’s not like I can prevent myself from thinking these lewd thoughts. What matters is how I act on them. Our society allows us to think freely, so delusions are all fine…but I guess this is one reason why the word infidelity will never disappear from the world’s vocabulary.

“That aside, what do you guys think about that adventurer business?”

“I wanna become one!”

“Quiet down!”

I said so as I jabbed my elbow into Kumai-kun’s sides. Fortunately, no one had paid us any mind, plus it wasn’t so unusual for people declare they wanted to become adventurers.

“Sorry. But yeah, if it means I’ll meet a beautiful muscle girl, I’ll do it…”

“I know what you mean. I couldn’t help but feel it’s linked to my fated tentacles too. I feel so grateful to be born an aquarius!”

“I’ve told you this before, but you do know being an aquarius has absolutely nothing to do with those tentacles stuff?”

“!?”

“You guys…”

I could only look at them with disdain. I even wanted to question their sanity.

“Have you forgotten that video? About those things that emerged from dungeons.”

Half a year had passed but I could still remember that incident in Shinjuku. They say all memories fade eventually, but this one seemed to require a little bit more time before I could forget it.

It was a great calamity. The waves of monsters mercilessly trampling down on fleeing people. Anybody foolish enough to jump into that would just die in an instant.

“People who say they want to become adventurers are so weird to me. I mean, going into dungeons is just too dangerous, don’t you think?”

I argued so in a low voice so that my other classmates wouldn’t hear. After all, one of our classmates had already become ostracized from saying similar things. It was that class clown guy from the A group. That guy had parted ways with Sato and was now part of group full of serious types—like the class rep. He was a shrewd guy from the start, so it didn’t get worse than that for him, but if that was me, the onslaught of reproach I was sure to get would have been on a whole different level.

The public might have their own thoughts on the adventurer system, but the need for such an occupation was now well established.

Maybe I’m the weird one for not being able to adapt…

“Hey, I have enough self-awareness to know how stupid I sound.”

“Honestly, that video just feels so unreal to me. And while I’m at it, I’d say being an adventurer is more alluring right now than living a normal life—you know, like going to high school, university, and then studying some more or getting a job…”

“Well…”

It wasn’t like I couldn’t understand where they were coming from.

I was still afraid of dungeons and stuff, of course. But it wasn’t like I was paralyzed by it either. Maybe all that was because the fear had made me a bit more resistant or maybe because it was such an unbelievable kind of fear that I wasn’t even able to truly comprehend it.

Either way, I could say that I was more attracted to a future where I lived as an adventurer.

…despite being busy studying for our entrance exams, the three of us were still keeping up with our drills in that park, although not as often as we had before. I could argue that it was for self-defense. But maybe it was for something else.

“Of course, my primary reason is so that I could eventually meet a muscular beauty of a warrior.”

“For me, it’s because my tentacle dreams can only be fulfilled in the dungeons…!”

“For pete’s sake, can’t you guys take this seriously? And Kumai-kun, you can accomplish that just by going to a gym!”

The world had changed, but it would seem I and those around me remained mostly the same. It might not mean much when it was me saying it, but still, I also thought our sense of danger was pretty lacking.

* * *

To get to the point, my dad lost his job.

It happened around the new year and when my studying for entrance exams were in its last stages. The cause was a small-scale dungeon overflow. Such things were happening every now then all over the world after that day. This time though, the place where my dad worked was physically destroyed.

A nearby store had apparently hidden the fact that a dungeon had formed in their basement floor. A small mercy was that nobody was at my dad’s place of work when it happened due to the fact that it was a holiday that day. My dad was at home that day too, so he managed to escape being hurt.

His safety was the most important, of course, so we were happy he was alive. But the fact that he lost his job was still a pretty heavy blow to us.

After some thought, I told my parents that I would not go to high school and instead find some work. The both of them opposed. They had told me that the future was grimmer than ever for someone who was only a junior high graduate. They said I should focus only on my studies until I graduate from university, if I could.

I was grateful for what they said. However, my dad’s search for a new job wasn’t going so well.

With the dungeon problem plaguing the nation, Japan had entered a recession. Tokyo, especially Shinjuku, was in such a state of disarray that there were even people calling for the capital to be moved.

In the news, Prime Minister Arikawa announced that places where dungeons could be found would be taken over by the government and that the area within a 2 kilometer radius of each of those places would be off-limits to the public. One of the unfortunate side-effects of that declaration, however, was that it gave reason to not report the discovery of dungeons.

Prime Minister Arikawa was undoubtedly fast in creating laws regarding dungeons, but it was perhaps only natural that they weren’t perfect. As a political commentator said, too much haste would only lead to laws full of holes.

My point in all of this was that finding a new job for my dad, who was in his forties and who didn’t have any skill and certifications of particular note, was especially hard in this trying times.

My mom had begun working part-time, but due to the recent recession, the number of young people also looking for part-time jobs had increased, which meant the number of shifts available had decreased.

When that happened, I was convinced that, like what my parents said, I wouldn’t have been able to find a job of my own even if I stopped going to school.

And so, my new plan was to study harder than ever while also looking for part-time work at a convenience store or online. No matter where I looked though, the words “be an adventurer!!” were there, screaming at me.

…to be honest, there wasn’t any good talk about becoming an adventurer. It was dangerous; it didn’t make good money; and despite it being necessary, it was looked upon harshly by the world.

But at the same time, I heard a certain rumor.

The government had founded the adventurer’s guild. Awakened Ones could become adventurers by registering and accepting requests offered by the guild. However, the rumor I heard concerned the office staff of the guild: with a registered adventurer as a connection, it’s easy to be hired.

So, the question was…should I believe in that rumor or not?

I read through the adventurer’s guild’s application guidelines and also noted down their phone number from my municipality’s home page.

I took a deep breath.

I was a mess of emotions. My fear of dungeons and the allure of the word adventurer were fighting within me.

If a sage were to think on it, they would surely dismiss becoming an adventurer right away. After all, surely there was another AND better way for my dad to find a job and for me to help out. I didn’t even know if my parents would consent to any of this in the first place.

Moreover, despite the word adventurer stirring the romantic spirit with people, it must be said that the danger that went along with the job was simply unfathomable. Only a year had passed since the system was established, yet I heard there were already several people who died or had gone missing.

I was no sage though. Actually, I might be stupider than I thought I was.

There was only one ring before my call got picked up. I quickly said something to the person on the other side.

“Excuse me, I’d like to ask about registering as an adventurer…”

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