Tanaka Jiro, twenty-eight years old, single, no girlfriend, occupation: Dungeon Tester (full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude 8 (General Class)
Officer of the Year: Warrior


This is a dungeon.

Brick corridors as far as the eye can see, and the scene goes on and on in front of you.

I can't feel my body.

As soon as I entered the entrance, my body lit up, but I guess this is the procedure to change my body into a magical body.
While being cautious of the surroundings, I tried to move my body, but I didn't feel anything strange.
We've only been in the dungeon for a few meters and as expected, we haven't had any contact with the dungeon monsters yet.
If that's the case, you had better get used to your magical body as soon as possible.
Starting with bending and stretching exercises, you should move your body in one way or another.
In the process, you'll feel something different.
The air feels heavy or uncomfortably oppressive.

"I guess it's true what they say about magic being thick.

During the training, they had said in the lecture that the magic was much thicker than in the company, but I didn't think there was enough difference to feel it.
I just have to get used to this atmosphere for now.

''The General Kirou's dungeon is a good place to start.

I felt like I was getting used to the atmosphere just by taking a deep breath to take in the magic.
I came to the dungeon as advised, but I won't know if it was good or not until I try it.

''U-ushi, let's get into it.

I lightly tapped my cheeks and stepped out into the dungeon.


Let's go back a few dozen minutes ago.

The first place to start is the General Kirov's dungeon.
Why?　Is that the most beginner-friendly part?
No, it's simply a matter of weighing efficiency and danger.
Efficiency and danger?

I was stopped over the counter by the tool shop clerk, a vampire girl, who was teaching me about the dungeon that I couldn't ask her in the lecture.

I'm also an employee of this company, so I've heard a certain amount of testers' stories. I've heard rumors, stories from teachers who witnessed the actual training, and the personalities of the people on our side and many other stories, but perhaps the dungeon of the General Machine King's Army is the best hole in the ground.

He held up a finger and the clerk connected it with the first one.

''First of all, I doubt anyone would visit our dungeon, except for the dungeon of the King of the Immortals, to which we belong. We'll also exclude General Mushroom King's dungeon for the same reason.

When asked if you've ever been attacked by a giant bug, I got goosebumps thinking about it.
If you shake your head, the vampire girl will say that you have.

''In addition, these two dungeons are incompatible with your current situation. It would be different if you were equipped and improved your status, but right now it's not possible.

The Legion of the Immortals is simply not effective against physical attacks, while the Legion of Insects is hard and fertile and a bit tough to take on alone, with many hard individuals due to their race traits .

''Next, the dungeons of General Tree King's Army and General Giant King's Army, but you guys don't know how to fight with people. You're the closest thing to people in terms of appearance, so I'm not sure you're ready to fight them yet.

If you ask me, yes.
If we were to just fight them, we might be able to, but in the dungeon, we not only have to kill them, we have to kill them.
And that means you might have to fight someone who looks just like Suera.

''I can pretty much know what you think by looking at your complexion, so for now, please calm down and listen to me.
I'll take those two out as well.
That leaves three, but since the Dragon King's Warlord is a dungeon made up of dragons, I must say that the quality of our forces is higher than other dungeons. If you go there now, you'll only get your head and arms bitten off.

This vampire girl seems to be very good at arousing the fears of our race.
The more I listen to her, the more unsympathetic she is becoming .

''So, as for the two remaining dungeons, the majority of our testers are probably taking on the Demon King General's dungeon.
Why would you think that?
"It's that simple. People are afraid of the unknown. It's easier to take on what you know than what you don't. Plus, we were able to outnumber the goblins in our joint training sessions in the middle.

She sounded as if she was calling me a fool, and if I think back to the training I participated in, I certainly don't think there were that many dropouts when I was a goblin .
It was only with the skeleton that they started to fall apart.
And I was able to overpower the goblins to some extent.

''In contrast, I'm sure most testers haven't tried the General Kirou's dungeons. Although it's new to me, I can challenge them efficiently without being hindered. In addition, the General's dungeons are mainly golems, and since their populations are much smaller than those of goblins, the frequency of being surrounded by them is reduced. The quality will be higher for that, but even if you're using the supplies, as long as you don't get carried away with that equipment of yours, you should be able to fight without any problems and the danger should be lowered.

Very good," she continues.

'Golem's loot fetches more money than goblin's loot.
That's important.

It's a cash story, and when people hear that they can make money, they are more positive than if they had been lying to themselves earlier.
After spending quite a bit of money today, that information was quite effective.

''I guess that's about it, I think I've told you about the amount of help I gave you earlier. Believe it or not, I'll leave it up to you.

After saying that much, she shifted her gaze from me to the next stack of slips of paper as if she had no more use for them.
The content of the conversation may only be an overview of the dungeon, but it's quite valuable information for me, as I was still groping around without any prior information.

I'll use this as a reference. Don't come back.
We look forward to seeing you again.

As time was limited, we didn't need to stay any longer, so we left the store with the standard phrase behind us.
Then we went to the shop to buy some water and food, and changed into our gear in the room.



Doesn't that look like a costume?

My reflection on the street looked suspicious, but it made me think that if I wore it for a while, I'd fit in.

Well, let's get to work for the first time.

Check your equipment set, and if it's OK, you're ready to go to the dungeon.


And here we are.
There's no fluorescent light, let alone a window, but you'll come to a crossroads while taking the bright road.
In terms of space, there's plenty of room for you to swing the mineral tree up and down and to the left and right.
There'll be plenty of time between them if they're in a fight.

We're at the crossroads.

And then I write the route in a notebook .
What I'm doing is mapping, I draw against the wall so that I can see my surroundings, so it's a bit messy, but I don't have to worry about not knowing the way back anyway, because I just have to know myself.
Click.

I think I just heard something.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but the dungeon is the one place where there's always a risk of failure.
I had to imbue every inch of my body with a deathly determination to be on my guard.
It was mainly the instructors who physically soaked it in, but I wish they'd taught me as gently as Suela did.
I closed my notebook and looked around, trying to pick up the sound.

'First combat, huh?'

I don't know if they've noticed, but I hide behind the wall so that they can't see me.
When you take the mineral tree attached to your backpack and remind it to come off, you can feel a heavy weight in your hand.
You peer at the shadow that glimpses through the wall.
There is a sense of distance, and within that, there is eye measurement.
You can roughly estimate how far away it is with your senses, but

More than ten meters?

Of course, I'm not used to knowing the exact distance, so this is a guess as far as I can tell.
I've always had reasonably good eyesight so I don't wear glasses.
Furthermore, I think my vision has somehow improved with the magic crests.
Thanks to this, I can clearly see the numbers. I can see two small figures and one adult female figure, and the small one is a little bigger than a goblin.
We're outnumbered, and with no information on our opponents, it's a bit reckless to challenge them.

"Could you get a little closer?

Maybe it's because of the distance, but we can't get any details on our opponent by looking at him like we're looking down.
It could be Saul or maybe even Blood.
I'll take a careful look and not be in a hurry.
I can hear the footsteps more clearly now. The fact that the footsteps sound so light suggests that he weighs very little.

"Are these hand-weapon type golems made of wood?　It's more of a combination of puppets and mannequins than a golem.

It has a human shape but is made of wood, and its face is smooth like a flat-skinned man, with jewels on it like a one-eyed boy.

That seems to be the weak point, but it's impossible to aim for.

With such a large gain, it's going to be hard to aim at something smaller than a ping pong ball.
As I watched, it was less than ten meters away.

The one that looks dangerous is a medium-sized one. Its hands are as sharp as spears, so it'd be dangerous if it stabbed you. I guess I'll just aim for that one first and wait for the smaller one.

Mannequin-type medium-sized mannequins are not designed to hold things, but are sharper from the elbow to the tip of the spear to attack.
Unlike the mannequin type, the hands of the doll type are shaped like a mallet. Probably designed to strike with it.
The small size will lash out at their feet and the medium size will be the target.
Then it's safer to kill the medium-sized one first, to make sure it's the core of the battle.
You can run away, but there are few individuals wandering alone, so it's better to challenge more than one of them, being prepared to take an attack to some extent than to look for them.
Take one more step and measure the distance.
The sound of dry footsteps, like wood and stone colliding.
It's getting closer by the second, and you can't help but swallow your spit.
Gulp.
And I thought I heard a louder sound than I thought.
The body decided that it had been noticed, and quickly got off the wall, and the next thing I knew, I was running at the mannequin.

''D'oh!

A sideways slash up from underneath after running up to it, along with the feeling of shattering wood with a mishiri in hand, cut off the medium-sized mannequin to its upper and lower body .

''Meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Swing the blade down to split the small size from the shoulder to the left and right.
Residual heart .
As you follow up, you can use your padded feet to connect your feet, and when you turn your body to the rest of the small size, you catch the shadow that had jumped up into the air before it.

''

As soon as he could, he raised his left hand up.
Kagome's iron plate collided with her opponent's wooden mallet, and her left hand's fist was filled with strength.

"The monkey shout isn't working?

In my previous training, my screaming would provoke some sort of reaction in them.
Whether it drew attention or surprise or frighten them, it caused action.
It hasn't.

......

In addition, its body separation, which would have killed it instantly if it were a living thing, doesn't seem to be working against it.
The small mannequin seems to have returned to its magic, but that mannequin doesn't seem to be able to do much more than lose its lower body.
It's a good idea to use your arms as your legs and start moving.

"Is that weird?

It reminded me of Japan's famous crazy fast-moving yokai.

This is no time to be silly.

I'm loud, and the earlier offensive might lure others to come to us.
Nope.

Additions.

They were already there.
Four of them, two mannequins, and two puppets.
Any more reinforcements, and we're deadly.


You might want to refrain from using the monkey bars.
The sickle's neck is raised and a weak sound warns me.
If you use it any longer, it'll draw more enemies to you.

So the point is, we should kill them before they get here?

But I dared to reopen the door to cut off that warning and discard it .
It might have been a fatal decision, but I was able to get the job done more efficiently by getting the job done rather than dwelling on it at my former company.
He laughed off the backward thoughts.
The way they laughed reminded me of the two instructors' vicious smiles.

"I can't lose.

Compared to those two, the odds look pretty good.
I'll try to be strong to get some life out of my stomach, but this word may come in handy.
You've been feeling bearish, but now you can be a little more bullish.
Let go of your weakness, enjoy the crisis and

Laugh.

Laughing through danger is the way to strength.
Those are the words of our two instructors.
Slowly, let the air pass through your lungs and belly.

"Kye-yahhhhhh!

As if releasing the pent up air, I shouted .
Even though it has a volume of voice that seems to vibrate the air, the opponent's reaction is non-responsive.

''Kka!''

I don't know if it was just a breath that spilled out of my mouth or a laugh that spilled out.
I just took that as an opportunity to run.
There's no way to run and fight like this in kendo.
Kendo is a martial art that trains the mind, not the art of fighting.
But it is certainly useful as a basis.
From a running start, I'll step into the sword's lead and adjust my feet to move out of range of an incoming puppet so that he is out of reach of my attack and in range of my attack.
You can cut off the puppet that leaps through the air and cuts off the puppet that tried to cut the sky with a kesa-slash.
Kendo's gait is said to be logical.
Kendo uses a form of footwork that is easy to understand and apply to a human being who moves on a flat surface instead of in three dimensions.
He drops his center of gravity, slides on the ground with his legs, and then lifts them up as if to cut down a mannequin that has lost its lower body in a reverse kesa-slash.
swallowing back.
This is the famous technique of Kojiro Sasaki.
This is an easy thing to say, but it's never easy to learn to use.
There was a wide range of things I did during my rookie training period.
This is the kind of martial arts training I focused on.
If I didn't do it, I'd just get beaten up, but I learned to at least give it a shot.
Of course, I didn't have a professional master, but my instructors seemed to enjoy helping me put my efforts into practice.
I didn't limit myself to kendo, I reached for whatever I could.
It was one of those techniques that came together for me.

Mwah!

So was my footwork.
I was taught to use what works, not just the sword.
I'd kick a mannequin through the air, and it would fly horizontally through the air, engulfing the opponent like a bowling pin.
It's strangely sharp because it's a move I've taken so many times that it's like it's been soaked into my body.

"Pursuit.

I don't give you time to get emotional.
With just one word of whispering, I hold the mineral tree on my right shoulder and attack the opponent caught in the mannequin that I kicked away.

"Meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I'll chop them up!
With that kind of determination, the blade swung down and crushed the mannequin and the two puppets together.
But perhaps I gained too much momentum, and the blade pierced the ground.
All that's left is a mannequin and a puppet, and of course the mechanically active ones couldn't miss this opportunity.
A wooden spear is coming toward your face!

Aaaaaaah! Noah!

Your body starts moving before you can judge.
First of all, remove your hand from the hilt, deflect the spear with your left small hand while raising your body up, and draw your right hand towards you as if you were holding your opponent's face.

''Sayeraaaaaaa!''

Knee to knee.
The ever-present battlefield, you can't fight without weapons, you can't get through that training.

"Riiiiiiiight!

And with a returning blade, or rather, a returning kick, I drove the attacking puppet into the wall.
A sure-footed, body-crushing sensation from the tips of my feet.
You lower your foot and watch your surroundings.
Most of it has returned to its magic, and the place, where not even wreckage remains, is quieted by the disappearance of the last puppet you kicked through.
Tightly, for ten seconds, you watch your surroundings, making sure the mineral tree is at your feet, and then you check again for any additions.

I'm tired.

All at once, the tension loosened.
I crouched there, Yankee style, so to speak.

My heart is still beating.

The battle is over, and my heart is pulsing faster and faster, as if it had been tied down by tension and released .
He rifled through his pockets and tapped the top of the thing he'd taken out with a familiar hand, and the thin thing would pop out.
Now all you have to do is suck it in and light it up.

Oh, I've been quitting smoking.

It wasn't until I had inhaled the last of my lungs that I realized the truth.
I mean, failure to quit smoking, it's a terrible habit.

"Quit again, quit again.

I'll give up and suck this one up .
I don't need to make excuses for being nervous in my first dungeon, but I look around the floor, thinking in my head.
I'm looking for the so-called loot.
If there's nothing left of the bodies you defeated, that means they were all souls.


Then there should be some of it left over, but

There's no such thing as a marble, is there?

What looked like a small reddish-purple glass ball was lying exactly as many as the number of bodies we killed.
Apparently, this was the loot.
We won't know the details until after we get out of the dungeon, but I'll gather them in a small bag for now.

Well, since we still have plenty of time, shall we take it slowly and carefully?

I took out my notebook and noted how much I had moved in the battle and continued on to the back of the room.
I put the last cigarette I smoked in the portable ashtray.


I didn't want to take a hit like this.

Peering and peeking into the square, there were five mannequins and three puppets, and an enemy that was clearly outnumbered.
And most importantly .

That's the Golem.

What's more, it's troublesome because it stands motionless in the back.
It stands out from the mannequin because of its size.
It doesn't move, but if you start a fight there, it will definitely come at you.
If you've never fought one before, preferably one-on-one.
Even better, you'll want to be carefully prepared for it.

It's about time. We'll turn back here.

It's been three hours since we entered the dungeon.
I've been mapping, so if I turn around here, it will be a good time to get out of the dungeon.
You've fought several times since the first battle, so you've accumulated a fair amount of loot.
Now's the time to pull out.
The
Maybe it was just my luck that my body moved .
As if I'd stepped in, I was leaping forward in response to the sound of the floor scraping, as if I'd stepped in.

'It's shaped differently!

He turns around and pulls the tree out of the ground.
It was a mannequin that attacked me from behind.
I suppose my attention to the front may have been distracted behind me and allowed it to approach, but that's not the point now.

'You don't mean Brad with the horns, do you?

Horns sprouted from his forehead as if he were a commander, and his hands were shaped like swords that could be cleaved rather than spears for piercing.
The words were mixed with half-wishes, but it was probably not a soul, but a rare kind of Blood.
Even if it wasn't, right now, the thoughts in my mind are more concerned with how to break the situation.

''I guess I'll just have to do it.

If you glance behind you, both mannequins and puppets have noticed you.
. and .

Well, they'll move when they're around.

They say bad things happen to us all.
The figure of the golem was clearly visible as it slithered and straightened its huge body.
If it didn't move here, we could report that it was a problem as an anti-vampire dungeon, but there was no way it would move at our convenience.
With the golem at the front gate, the Blood at the back gate, and many extras...
When you're surrounded by them, you're set in stone.

At times like this.

Mannequin Blood in front of me.

I'm going to reduce the number!

Ignore them and attack the mannequin and puppets, which are easy to defeat.
Roll over the tree and turn and run to the right.
You'll jump into the middle of the group and get into the fray.
But the opponents are an inorganic group that doesn't know how to panic, and only a few malfunctions could buy them time.
It wasn't enough, but we had to use that time to find a way to make the most of it.
I've caught some of these guys' characteristics in a few battles.

"Meaaaaaaahhhh!

We can only axe it and reduce the number, but if we take the time and effort.

Pssst!　Daaaaaaaaaaah!

Crushed by numbers.
The spear hand that the other mannequin held out grazed my unprotected right shoulder.
The pain almost brings me to a stop for a moment.
But if you stop, you'll be surrounded.
Knowing this, you grit your teeth and force yourself to move to drown out the pain and run around to avoid staying there.
You use your long sword, which has a wide range of spacing, to cut your opponent down, one on one, by striking, cutting down, blocking, running, and swapping standing positions.
The results of these actions bear fruit.

"Huh-uh-uh-uh.

Breathing on my shoulder, I keep the remaining individuals in my sights.
As if to say that it doesn't matter how it's looking, the two bodies that display their inexhaustible physical strength are coming towards me with nimble footsteps and heavy bass sounds.
Golem and Mannequin Blood .
Somehow I managed to cut down the others, but I was driven to the wall, and my strength had been greatly diminished by my running around.

Just let me catch my breath, okay?

You can't go on the receiving end.
If you move into a blocking position, you will be crushed.
Take one step forward to meet again.
A sharp slash and a heavy crushing blow.
I was struggling more than I expected with this combination.
I'm concentrating on the Mannequin Blood, which can be lethal with a single blow, but each time the golem shields me and lets the mannequin slip away.
Then I'd like to take the golem down, but it's hard.
I tried slashing at it with the mineral tree, but I could only manage to cut off a few scratches at the arm.
It might be a different story if you went at it with all your might, but the mannequin was in your way this time if you wanted to swing the mineral tree with all your might.
The mannequin is covering the other one tightly.
Watching them.

You're sarcastic!



It's as if he's showing me that he's fighting alone (solo), and I'm getting annoyed by his behavior.
There's no point in being jealous of the enemy, but I put a little more energy into my slash.
The sound of the exchange of blows gets a little louder as you continue to observe your opponent.
From what I've seen in the battle, I know for sure that you can beat them on your own.
Unlike my expectations, reality has brought us to a stalemate and my strength is being drained away.

I need some friends too!

Bottom line, we can't win now.
I knew it would come later, but the reality is grim.
Shouting my heart, I'll swing the mineral tree and cut off the mannequin blood, forcing it out of range.
From there, I'll throw more blows.

The thirty-sixth plan is the only way to escape!

They jumped into the nearest corridor.
Moving around, they exchange shots and finally seize their chance.
I'll run back the way I came from and start my escape.
The golem is slow, and I move faster than it does.
If I was faster than the mannequin, I could outrun it.
If I couldn't win, I'd run.
It was a natural decision.
As I ran, after a certain amount of time, I looked back.

Well, he's not going to chase me, is he?

Before long, I couldn't hear the footsteps and the shadow behind me was out of sight.
If I had wanted to, I would have pulled the golem away and only had Mannequin Blood to follow me.
But it's not a good result.

"If you can assess the situation, then that's definitely Blood, and we'll make some money on this information alone.

I dropped my backpack and leaned against the wall to calm my ragged breathing.

"Your wound needs to be healed.

You took on that group.
Of course he didn't go unscathed.
She's got cuts and bruises all over her body.
His arms are particularly badly wounded.
That's because I used them to defend myself from repeated torso and face blows.
Honestly, it hurts.

"Maybe I shouldn't have been so stingy with the potions.

I refrained from using the potion for a bit longer, thinking it would be okay, and this is what I got.
I set the mineral tree against the wall, took out an ointment from the backpack and applied it to the wound, and it began to emit a pale green light.

It stings, man.

Maybe that's the way it should be, but I'd like to see it heal a little more fantastically and painlessly the moment you apply it.

'You just bought a basket case and you're covered in scratches.

When I reattached the claw that I took off because it was in the way when I was healing it, I noticed the new scratches that I naturally made.
I tightened the clasp to equip it, thinking that I had to polish it when I got back to my room.

It's 9:30, a little overdue, but I guess I accomplished my goal.

To be honest, I have a feeling that the healing I did earlier has disrupted my concentration.
The wounds have healed and I'm breathing well, but I understand that it may take some time to get back into a fighting state, and that fighting alone in a danger zone is unexpectedly physically draining.

''Yeah, it's pretty frustrating, isn't it?

If I had won the battle, I might not have felt this way, but that was because I was unprepared.
Today I reaffirmed that I was unexpectedly competitive, and I finished my first job (dungeon challenge).


Tanaka Jiro, twenty-eight years old, single, no girlfriend, occupation: Dungeon Tester (full-time employee)
Magic Aptitude 8 (General Class)
Officer of the Year: Warrior

status
Force 45 → Force 54
Endurance 62 → Endurance 83
Agility 28 → Agility 33
Endurance 45 (-5) -> Endurance 55 (-5)
Dexterous 36 → Dexterous 41


Knowledge 33 → Knowledge 33
Intuition 8 → Intuition 10
Luck 5 -> Luck 5
Magical power 50 → Magical power 50

state
nicotine addiction
lung pollution

Word of the Day.

First time job for anything goes wrong.
I remembered that it is important to make an effort to make the most of the experience for the next time.