TL note: I changed line from chapter 1. From “It seems those who could use [Magic]-related powers somehow had the knowledge to do so in their heads” to “…those who could use [Magic]-related powers somehow had the knowledge about this situation flow into their heads”.
Afterwards, because there was no follow-up report, the show simply continued on. However, due to the panel of experts themselves being quite at a loss, their discussion ended up becoming full of rather tame takes. At least, it seemed like that for a layman like me.
Despite my mother and I saying ‘what the heck was that’ out loud, we finished dinner without any problems. We proceeded to carry the used tableware to the sink and then covered the remaining side dishes with plastic wrap.
I put those side dishes in the fridge, and my mom started washing the used tableware. With the sound of her doing so in the background, I changed the channel of the TV.
Still no other news? …ahh, there.
I read something in the on-screen text of the state-run channel’s TV program. It said there will be a change in the schedule 30 minutes from now to make way for a press conference with the Chief Cabinet Secretary. My guess was that it had something to do with that dungeon business.
I took my phone from my room to the kitchen and waited for the press conference. Never have I felt like the span of 30 minutes to be so long. I decided to message my friends in the meantime.
<<They said dungeons have appeared, but do you guys think that’s true?>>
<<The old man from yesterday said something about that, didn’t he?>>
<<The magic knowledge in my head says it’s pretty likely, but I myself just want to ask ‘seriously?’>>
I was shocked by what Uoyama-kun said and quickly sent a stamp asking for an explanation.
<<Apparently, a dungeon is born when the magic power leaking from a ley line reacts to the magic power in the atmosphere, above the ground, or bodies of water, I think. And within them, creatures made of magic power will appear…supposedly.>>
<<Stop being so unsure, hey.>>
<<It’s not like I can help it. I didn’t know these things because I studied them or anything; the information just pops into head.>>
Kumai-kun retorted so, and Uoyama-kun countered back. In a way, people who had mage-like superpowers had it rough.
<<Hold on a minute. Those creatures made of magic power don’t happen to be monsters, do they?>>
A while after being asked that, Uoyama-kun sent his reply.
<<Maybe.>>
“Ohh…”
For real? For real for real?
I could feel my heart racing. Superpowers and Awakened Ones were exciting enough, but now, dungeons and monsters were also thrown into the mix. It was just screaming of fantasy.
I might seem like an inconsiderate mob character in a manga for getting excited over such things, but I couldn’t help it. I mean, these things had been nothing more than my daydreams before.
Thinking that such a surreal thing was in fact real brought an unavoidable smile to my face.
I daresay every man had fantasized about such a thing at least once in their lives. You know, of fighting against monsters, of getting rich quick in dungeons, that sort of thing.
<<Err, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nishikawa will now…>>
As soon as I heard that, I immediately turned my head toward the TV. Without me noticing, my mom had finished washing the dishes and was now sitting down, watching the TV with great interest.
Soon enough, the Chief Cabinet Secretary appeared on the screen. He didn’t show up all too often on TV, but I could somehow tell that he looked more haggard than usual.
<<Ahm, around 3 in the afternoon today, a man who owns a ranch in the state of California in the United States discovered a mysterious door inside the cattle barn in his property.>>
* * *
To summarize the contents of the press conference:
The man happened to be an Awakened person. Moreover, he also happened to be quite the curious-type. Thinking that the mysterious door was another fantasy-like incident—much like yesterday’s one—he rushed home, equipped himself with a shotgun and a cowboy hat, and then ecstatically opened the said door.
Upon doing so, he noticed a mysterious figure in the dark. He quickly took out his phone and activated its camera app along with its torchlight feature.
Like that, he proceeded to head further in, but then the door behind him disappeared. He found himself stranded in an unfamiliar cave.
Moreover, his full cowboy attire changed into his magical attire—the cosplay clothes Awakened Ones transformed into. In his case, his looked like what a viking from long ago wore.
The man was flustered by those events, but given how his phone seemed to be out of range, he decided to soldier on and search the place. Aren’t Texans too bold?
And soon enough, he found it. A ‘goblin’. The footage the man took apparently couldn’t be broadcasted, but according to the secretary, ‘the goblin is similar to the green-skinned creatures featured in the fantasy genre’.
As soon as the goblins saw the man, they uttered strange sounds—like ‘kiikii’—and began to attack with their swords and bows.
Despite being surprised, the man retaliated with his gun. However, the bullets he shot passed through the goblins and only hit the rock surface of the cave. Against the advancing goblins, the man desperately swung his arms and legs around. The result, he successfully took the goblins down.
Although it wasn’t at all clear why his unarmed attacks were effective whereas the bullets weren’t, the man began resuming his exploration with his shotgun on his back. Before that though, he apparently saw the goblins’ corpses turn into particles of light.
He fought several more times as he explored. During those fights, he discovered that even attacking with the stock of his gun wasn’t effective, but his unarmed attacks as well as with the sword he had on his waist did damage.
About 2 hours into his exploration, the man found a door similar to the one he used to enter. He immediately opened it and was able to escape to the barn he originally was in.
* * *
While the Chief Cabinet Secretary was relaying that story, the reporters were intently listening, not uttering a single word. They were that shocked.
It was an unbelievable yet apparently real story.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary then held an enlarged photo to the camera. It was the photo of a white double door. Other than its color resembling that of bones, nothing else seemed unusual about it. If I absolutely must say what stood out about it, it could only be the glowing red gem in the center of the door.
<<If you ever find a door like this, I gravely ask you not to approach it and instead report it to the police. As of the moment, about 20 doors resembling this one have been reported to be found within Tokyo. I ask everyone to be careful.>>
After that statement, the reporters who had been silently listening finally raised their hands and asked questions.
<<Was the government aware of the existence those mysterious gates beforehand!?>>
<<Has there been anyone reported missing due to those gates? What is the government’s intended course of action regarding this!?>>
<<But what exactly is a dungeon!? The government is still hiding something, isn’t it!?>>
One after the other, the reporters raised their hands along with their voices. The facilitator tried to keep things under control, but it didn’t seem to work.
While that was going on, I fiddled with my phone.
<<You guys watched the secretary’s press conference?>>
<<I did. We sure today isn’t actually April Fool’s?>>
Confirming that it wasn’t April Fool’s was gradually becoming a trend of sorts, but naturally, it was no longer the first of April.
<<We’re already in the middle of April, you know. But, yeah, the fact that they’re not joking about any of this is the most shocking thing to me.>>
<<Uoyama-kun, do you know something else? What kind of place is a dungeon?>>
<<Give me a minute. My mind’s a mess right now. It’s hard to extract the info that suddenly flowed into me. Let me process it first.>>
<<Oh shoot, sorry. Hang in there, man.>>
We finished our conversation like that, and I returned my gaze toward the TV.
Adults in suits were now talking in all seriousness using words like dungeons, goblins, and others that I only ever heard used in games and anime. It was the most surreal scene I had ever seen.
* * *
I returned to my room and summoned Layla-san to talk with her.
“Ahm, Layla-san,”
“Just Layla is fine, master. Using honorifics to a part of yourself is strange, isn’t it?”
“Oh, okay. I won’t anymore, then.”
She was smiling as usual when I urged her to take a seat on a chair. I sat down on my bed and then relayed to her the key parts of the press conference.
“So, dungeons have begun to appear, have they?”
“Yeah. So, Layla-s…Layla, do you know anything about dungeons?”
“I do. But since my specialty is [Magic Tool Creation] and [Nature Magic], I only know so much about space-related magic.”
“Huh, hold on. What do you mean by magic tools and nature magic?”
“They’re my superpowers! Guardian spirits have a different set of superpowers from their masters.”
“O-ok…”
It seemed like there were other things I had to ask her.
“As such, I am not affected by that thing. Since I’m in the same position as master.”
“That thing?”
At the other end of her gaze was the apple I left on the table. It was sparkling just like earlier.
“Huh? Does that apple have some kind of weird effect?”
“I would say it has the ability to draw attention to itself. I suggest refraining from casually showing it to people who don’t have magic power. Otherwise, it might cause a fight to ensue.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes.”
After she replied like that, she took out a handkerchief from my drawers and used it to cover the apple.
“This should make things safe. Now then, I believe you have questions to ask.”
Even if you say that…
I was naturally worried about the apple, but that scene from earlier won out. And so, I asked her about dungeons.
“First of all, what kind of place is a dungeon?”
“…? Would you like to enter one?”
“Eh? No. that’s…”
How…do I answer?
On one hand, I was curious about them, so I wanted to take part in exploring them. On the other hand though, I thought they were quite the scary place. After all, according to the story, the man was attacked as soon as he ran into the goblins. I didn’t even know how he could have survived being attacked by swords and bows.
So, I was torn between curiosity and fear, and I was hard pressed to say which way I leaned on more. Besides, it would have been a bit imprudent of me if I said I want to go out loud.
“Either way though, I suppose having knowledge of dungeons place should prove beneficial.”
“Yes! That, it’s exactly that! Knowing more about it will let me warn friends and family to stay away more effectively!”
Although I was a bit flustered, I managed to express my agreement with her words.
“Dungeons, basically, are the reaction produced when the magic power overflowing from the ley lines mix with other magic power.”
I heard as much from Uoyama-kun, so I readily nodded.
“However, dungeons will never appear in places teeming with spiritual power.”
“Huh? Really?”
That was unexpected. I was almost convinced it would be the other way around, in that dungeons are more likely to appear in spiritual hot spots.
“Yes. After all, such places will likely have a shrine or temple built there since ancient times, and those shrines curb the magic power from the ley lines.”
“Ehh….”
I had often heard things like some shrines help in appeasing the gods of the river, but it would seem there was more truth to those words.
“But by the same token, dungeons may appear in places which had their ancient shrines torn down one way or another. That goes for places without any proper shrine nearby too.”
“…so, just asking, is it a bad thing if a shrine isn’t frequented by people?”
I recalled the shrine near the park my friends and I stopped by at earlier.
“Yeah. Without a proper shrine to manage the magic power from the ley lines, or at least people coming and going to help prevent the magic power from other sources from accumulating…a dungeon is liable to appear.”
With her index finger pressed on her peach-colored lips, Layla answered so.
“People coming AND going is important?”
“Yes. If people only visited such places, the other kinds of magic power will disperse before the dungeon can form.”
“Then, what about densely populated areas?”
“Ahh, let me be clear: as long as there is a proper shrine to manage the magic power from the ley lines, there should be no issue whatsoever. For places without anything of the sort though, a dungeon is all the more likely to form.”
“Hmm…”
So, a dungeon is likely to form in that shrine? People don’t really visit that place after all. But when is that shrine built again? At least before I was born, right? But is that ancient enough? …either way, I suppose I should warn my parents not to go near that place.
“I also heard about goblins appearing in dungeons. Can they really though?”
“Yes, I believe they do. They are dungeons, after all.”
Layla readily replied so.
You say that as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world…
“Magic power continues to accumulate inside a dungeon, but just like before, that is not just the magic power escaping from the ley lines but also the magic power in the air and other sources. Among those other sources is the magic power unconsciously leaking from the fauna and flora in the area.”
“Ohh…”
“Additionally, for people, the magic power that they are unconsciously leaking may also have a minuscule amount of emotion.”
“Emotion?”
“Yes. One’s mind and soul have a great effect on one’s magic power, you see. I’ll explain that some other time, if you don’t mind. Getting back on topic, the emotions within the magic power people unknowingly emit is usually, mostly of the negative kind. These accumulate and soon enough, the dungeon materializes them into a form borrowed from the humans’ collective unconscious, essentially the embodiment of people’s hostility and destructive nature.”
“How do I put this? I sort of get it but I also don’t. But is it purely people’s negative emotions?”
“This might sound like cynicism, but the true nature of humans, no, of all living beings is that they desire. After all, without any, living beings wouldn’t even survive.”
For an average person like me, that was easier to understand than explaining how humans are fundamentally good.
“Of course, that is not to say that positive emotions are not mixed in from time to time. That being said, there is only so little of it compared to the negative emotions.”
“I…see?”
“There is no need to completely understand all of this right at this moment. What truly matters is the following.”
“Huh?”
“Monsters will attack people. That is the most important point I want you take away from our conversation, master.”
It felt like my heart skipped a beat.
She was still smiling, but her eyes were tinged with a glint of seriousness.
“The body, the mind, and the soul. Due to these things, living beings can exist in this world. It is thanks to the shell we call the body that souls aren’t dissolved by the magic power in the air. However, monsters don’t have that kind of shell. Neither do I.”
“Huh?”
Did I hear her right?
“Ahh, no, I am not a monster. There is as much difference between Guardian spirits and monsters as there is between Chiron and Centaurs.”
“…you’re saying your similarities are only on the surface level?”
“Yes. Because I am the detached portion of your soul that has assumed a form, I do not have body made of flesh. Although it is possible for me to make myself known to others, non-Awakened people have a hard time perceiving my presence by default.”
That reminded me that my mom wasn’t able to see her at first. It was only when Layla intentionally showed herself that mom saw her.
“At any rate, guardian spirits like myself have our masters as our supplier of magic power, and if push came to shove, we also have the option of returning to our master’s bodies. Monsters don’t have those things. Their souls are laid bare naked at all times.”
“So the magic power in the air or something is going to dissolve them?”
“Yes, like salt thrown into the sea. Because of that though, they are always trying to replenish themselves. Without a body to mend their souls, they have to use other means of doing so.”
I understood it, kinda.
In other words, this way of living—if I could call it that—was one where they must harm others in order to survive. What they wanted might be different, but they were pretty much the same as any living being.
“I must note: they actively aim for humans. It’s a matter of efficiency. You see, to them, humans replenish them the best.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I suppose you humans would say that you are highly nutritious.”
“O-ohh…”
That’s one uncomfortable way of putting it…
“And that’s about all I know about dungeons and monsters. Has it been helpful?”
“Oh, yeah. Thank you.”
Honestly, there were still many things I didn’t understand, but I didn’t feel like I could feel myself reaching my limit. As it stood, I was getting dizzy already.
But I guess the main takeaways are “dungeons are more likely to appear in places that had destroyed shrines or places that didn’t have proper ley line controlling facilities” and “monsters that appear in dungeons actively attack humans”.
“Now that I think about it, do priests and monks know about these kinds of things?”
“Up until a certain point in time. There were also Awakened Ones in ancient times after all. As for the present age, however, I have no idea at all. In the first place, my knowledge consists of only magic-related things and of the things you know.”
“I see…wait, hold on?”
What did she just say?
“Yes?”
“What do you mean by ‘things I know’?”
“…ahh. I have explained that guardian spirits are part of our masters, haven’t I? When we manifests ourselves, most of our master’s memories are shared to us. Otherwise, communication issues might arise.”
She said so with a broad smile.
Despite being alone with a beautiful woman in my room, I was suddenly drenched in cold sweat.
“What do you mean b-by most of our memories?”
“A lot of it is your semantic memories, but there are a few episodic memories as well. For example, I have memories of what you ate for breakfast this morning, and that you pleasured yourself last night!”
For some reason, Layla said so and puffed her chest out. Naturally, her large breasts bounced from doing so, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things.
I opened and closed my mouth many times but was not able to say anything. At that, she tilted her head, still smiling.
“Is something bothering you? …ahh, I see!”
Looking convinced of something, she clapped her hands together.
“Are you perhaps embarrassed because someone of the opposite sex knows about your sexual circumstances? If so, then worry not. I am born from the portion of your soul, after all. You’re not at all troubled that your right hand knows what you’re doing, right?”
“Gugyuu”
A strange sound escaped from my throat.
This is bad. This is seriously bad.
It wasn’t funny at all to have some beautiful girl find out that I was reading ‘busty high school bunny girl hypnosis’ or something like that on my phone.
Guess I’ll just die…seriously though, I hate this. I want to freaking cry.
“If you happen to have some libido pent-up, I can help you with that.”
If I’m going to die anyway, might as well find some dungeon…
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Would you like me to help you relieve some of your libido?”
Still with her usual smile, Layla slightly inclined her head to the side and asked me so. She then placed her hands behind her and leaned forward as though she was looking into something.
Naturally, my gaze fell on her body. Even with her outfit—a kind of modified military uniform—I could tell she had voluptuous breasts. It was just my guess but I would say she had an F cup. Moreover, peeking out of her sleeveless attire were her slender shoulders and her pretty arms. She also wore a mini skirt that revealed her beautiful legs.
I also noticed her silver hair; her mismatched blue and golden eyes; her straight nose bridge; her soft peach-colored lips; and all of it was arranged so unrealistically well, one might say her facial features were in accordance to the golden ratio.
I gulped down so hard I could hear the sound on my throat.
<<Pirorin♪ >>
“!!?”
It was the sound of my phone next to me in my bed.
While my heart was still beating so loudly, I looked at its screen. There, it showed a notification from Uoyama-kun. It was probably about what we were talking about earlier.
“Ah, eh, ahm…”
“It seems you have something to talk about with your friend. Then, I’ll take my leave here. If you have anything you want to ask me though, feel free to call for me at anytime.”
Layla said so with a smile. She then vanished by turning into particles of light and flowing into me.
Seeing her vanish like that, I was unable to move for about a minute.
And when my wits began to return to me, I looked toward my desk.
…ah, I forgot to ask her about the apple.
Author’s Q&A
Q: When will our protagonist enter the dungeon?
A: Sorry but it’ll take a few more chapters.
RPGNovels 