Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 2

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TL: ALT

Chapter 1 – A Broken World, A New Normal

I spent my life escaping.

I ended up as a shut-in.

I escaped from reality―from the world.

But one day, the world broke down.

My father came home unusually early, and my parents and I were sitting around an awkward dinner table,

“Hey, Yuto. Why don’t you go to the dungeon instead of staying at home all the time?”

My mother suddenly said something like that.

I almost spit out the miso soup I was having.

…Dungeon?

By dungeon, does she mean that dungeon?

You know, the ones you see in RPGs and stuff?

Why would such a word suddenly come out of the mouth of my mother, who doesn’t play games?

Could it be a roundabout sarcasm?

For example, “Go to Shinjuku Station, which is called a dungeon, and look for a job,” or “Go to Aokigahara Sea of Trees, which is like a dungeon, and hang yourself,” or something like that.

…No, I don’t think they would say such a thing, no matter how much they might have lost patience with me.

I was at a loss for an answer and turned to my father, who was sitting next to my mother.

But then he said.

“Isn’t it good? It’s also good exercise. Besides, exploring dungeons is a man’s dream, isn’t it?”

Even my father said that to me without a care in the world.

“…..Huh?”

I could only say that.

“What do you mean by huh? Don’t tell me you don’t know about dungeons.”

“N-no, when you say dungeon, you mean that dungeon?”

“What other kind of dungeon is there?”

My father then turned his attention to the TV in the living room.

Just then, the TV was broadcasting a special news report.

In the upper right corner of the screen were,

‘The ever-increasing number of dungeons: How do we live in the age of dungeons?’

Such a crazy headline was running on the top right corner of the screen.

“Huh?”

I was stunned, but the program went on.

The interviewer pointed the microphone at people on the street.

Q: What do you think about the continuing series of dungeon disasters?

A: Well, it’s tough, but I’m used to it.

A friendly-looking middle-aged man in his fifties answered.

A: I am scared. But we can only evacuate…

Now a woman in her twenties replies.

A: What is the government doing? They need to take drastic measures as soon as possible!

A red-faced salaryman from Shinbashi answered with an air of self-consciousness.

The camera returns to the studio, where the anchor asks this and that question of the person claiming to be a dungeon researcher.

“…It’s a lie, isn’t it?”

I was so stunned that I dropped my chopsticks.

“You really didn’t know about this?”

My father asked me with a dumbfounded look on his face,

“S-sorry! Thanks for the food!”

I told my mother and ran up the stairs to my room.

I entered my room and searched for a ‘dungeon’ on my computer, which I had left on.

A frightening number of hits came up.

Was this a big joke or a campaign for a new product?

At first, I suspected so, but even major news media mass-produced serious articles about dungeons.

No, I don’t mean ‘serious.’

Really, they were 100% earnest in their coverage of the dungeon.

Both on message boards and SNS.

It’s not just posts about dungeons.

There are countless posts about dungeons in modern Japan, all based on the obvious premise that there are dungeons in Japan.

I had no choice but to admit it.

――It is a matter of course that dungeons exist in the world today.

The everyday life of the world has undergone an impossible transformation into “everyday life with dungeons” without my knowledge.

“Ha-haha…”

A dry voice escapes from my mouth.

I was escaping from society and reality and losing my place in it.

I thought I had no choice but to die like this.

And yet,

“God is also being very tactful…!”

Unexpectedly, I folded my hands and offered a prayer of gratitude to God.

I had never believed in God, but I was a calculating man.

“I’m going to dive into the dungeon tomorrow!”

Needless to say, my parents cried with joy when I declared this.

Chapter 2 – Go into the Dungeon Right Away!

As my mother had told me, the dungeon was less than a kilometer from our house.

It was as easy as going to a convenience store, and I made my way to the dungeon location.

It was no coincidence that the dungeon was so close by.

There are more than 30,000 dungeons confirmed in Japan today.

The number of convenience stores in Japan is 55,000.

The largest chain alone has just over 20,000.

That means there are now more dungeons than the largest convenience store chain.

“Is this…?”

The entrance to the dungeon was in a thicket of trees where I used to play as a kid.

Behind a sign that read, “Dungeon Beware Ahead,” there was a slightly open hollow with a black mirror-like object floating in the center of it.

According to my research on the Internet, that seemed to be the entrance to the dungeon.

I thought there might be someone at the entrance, but there was no one there.

No one would be hanging around here on a weekday afternoon.

For better or worse, dungeons are the new ‘normal.’

A D-rank dungeon probably doesn’t even attract people’s attention anymore.

As long as there are dungeon disasters, don’t we need to keep an eye on the dungeons? I also thought that it might be necessary to keep an eye on the dungeon, but that seems unrealistic.

There are more dungeons than major convenience stores, and there is no organization that can keep watch over all of them.

Even if the police were to keep an eye on them, there are not enough police officers to do so.

The number of dungeons is many times greater than the number of police stations.

There is an association of explorers, but each explorer is busy with their own exploration.

No one would want to stand guard at the entrance of a dungeon without exploring.

Anyway, it is convenient for me that there is no one around.

There are few people who challenge dungeons solo, so if there had been guards, I would have been chased down.

I don’t have confidence that I could have gotten through that with my shitty communication skills.

I fearfully thrust my hand into the entrance.

Ripples spread on the surface, and my hand is swallowed up.

With determination, I plunged my body into the entrance.

There is a moment of darkness.

Immediately after, I was in a dungeon.

It was a passageway about 3 meters long and 5 meters wide, constructed of stones.

There was no light source, but it was faintly bright around me and completely dark when I moved away.

“For real…”

I had thought it was not a hoax from the information I had gathered, but when I actually entered, I felt differently.

It’s not a vicious joke by the whole society anymore, and it’s not me losing my mind.

――The dungeon is real.

“Oops, this is no time to get emotional.”

If dungeons are real, then the threats that inhabit them are also real.

As I was bracing myself, suddenly, I heard a voice from somewhere.

‘We have confirmed that a new explorer has entered the premises.’

‘Status has been assigned to the new explorer.’

‘The dungeon-specific app “Dungeons Go Pro” has been installed on the new explorer’s device.’

‘To check your status, please utter the words “Status Open” or open “Dungeons Go Pro.”‘

“Ooooh!”

I was suddenly startled by the voice, but it was just as the summary wiki said.

It is a “heavenly voice” that you can hear when you become an explorer.

The mysterious voice, which is neither male nor female, is said to echo directly into the explorer’s mind.

…Well, here’s the thing.

No, the result should have already been obtained, but… it’s still nerve-wracking to check.

But there is nothing I can do about it.

I can’t be sure when the monster won’t show up.

Let’s check it quickly.

“S-status… open.”

I chanted it with a frightened tone.

I’m half scared, half embarrassed.

Because, you know.

If someone says “status open” in real life, it would be completely painful.

At least, that’s my common sense.

‘You should speak the command louder and clearer.’

“Oh crap, I get it! Status open! STATUS OPEN!”

I shouted in desperation, and a translucent window appeared in front of me.