Chapter 2 - Chapter 2: Level Up Suddenly?!
One day, a dungeon suddenly appeared behind my house.
I am not an expert, so I cannot state it as a fact――.
The electricity stopped working, the stove won't work――and so on. Judging from various information, it is definitely a dungeon.
Peering into the dungeon, I feel something is inside deep down.
From internet information, I thought: "If I defeat something down there, will the dungeon disappear?"
――I came to that conclusion and decided to take action.
I bought things that could be used as weapons and returned home.
Loaded on my beloved light truck are single-pipe scaffolding pipes used at construction sites.
I will convert these into weapons.
I unloaded the single-pipes into the garage.
There are 60 in total, so it is quite a task.
Now, how many should I give up on...?
If I fire 20 a day for 10 days――meaning 200 shots――and there is no effect, I will give up.
If I keep doing this for too long, people might find out about the dungeon.
By the way, there is a law that says you must report a dungeon immediately after it appears.
What I am doing is a violation of the law――but rumors are flying around the internet about people secretly hiding dungeons――.
If you monopolize a dungeon, you can monopolize magic stones and materials too.
That is, if it goes well.
For now, I tried attaching a pile and a lid to the single-pipe.
It looks exactly like a missile, but it is a bit light.
"Should I put sand inside..."
If I fill about half the pipe with sand, won't it have the effect of a recoilless hammer?
Even so, the weight is still a bit insufficient...
Something cheap, heavy, and easy to get――earthbags.
There is plenty of soil on the land behind my house.
Since the entire 300 tsubo is my land, I can do whatever I want.
In a city, that might be a huge area, but in a remote area, even with 300 tsubo, the fixed asset tax is only 30,000 yen a year.
I jumped back into the light truck to buy earthbag sacks.
What a poor arrangement.
They say preparation is 80% of the job, and that is exactly true.
I have to go back near the seaside to buy earthbag sacks.
Because there is only a home center there.
Upon arriving at the store, I bought all the earthbag sacks available.
There were only 60 in stock, so I got them all.
I will look for the rest elsewhere.
Earthbag sacks should be available at agricultural cooperatives too.
"Oh! That's right! Just that 2-section ladder is a bit dangerous."
If I fall into the hole, it's game over.
I bought another ladder identical to the one at home.
While I was at it, I bought a plywood board.
If I lay two ladders across and put the plywood on top, I won't have to worry about falling.
I also bought a blue tarp to hide the hole.
On the way back, I visited the agricultural cooperative and individual shops to get 200 earthbag sacks.
I returned home and unloaded the ladder, bags, and plywood from the light truck.
"Now, just sand..."
I could have bought sand and gravel at the home center, but there is plenty by the river.
I probably shouldn't take it, but as long as I don't get caught, it's fine.
No one is watching when you take river sand from a river deep in the mountains.
I loaded 20 earthbag sacks and a shovel onto the light truck.
I headed toward the river in the mountainous area.
Driving through the forest on a forest road, I saw many vivid purple flowers on the roadside.
Flowers connected in bag-like shapes bloomed in abundance.
"Aconite."
Come to think of it, this area used to be a breeding ground for aconite.
That's it――what if I put leaves and roots in with the sand?
When a single-pipe missile is fired into an unknown enemy, sand and aconite will enter its body――.
This feels like it has high murderous intent.
Thick rubber gloves are also loaded on the light truck.
Alright, I will collect the aconite on the way back.
It doesn't matter if they are withered.
The whole plant is poisonous, so it will be effective.
I arrived at the river.
The small river in the mountains had a quiet flow skillfully weaving between stones and trees.
The water was clear, and sunlight sparkled on the river surface.
Lush grass and wild flowers grew thickly on the bank, and birds could be seen.
The babbling of the river harmonized with the surrounding nature, bringing a silence that wrapped the heart gently.
"Phew... I wish there wasn't a dungeon here."
I engaged the differential lock on the light truck and entered the riverbed; river sand was piled up at the destination.
There should be enough to fill the single-pipes.
I would like to put sand in the earthbags to drop into the hole, but the sand here alone is a bit insufficient.
For that, I will follow the original plan and fill it with soil from the backyard.
I unloaded the earthbag sacks and shovel from the light truck and started filling them with river sand.
I made one and tried lifting it.
"Oh, it's heavy..."
Since the sand is wet, it's about 25kg to 30kg.
For now, I quickly filled 20 and loaded them onto the light truck.
"Phew... why am I in this situation..."
I know――it is to protect my castle.
I loaded the river sand into the truck bed, so on the way back I wore rubber gloves and picked the aconite.
It doesn't matter if they are withered.
The whole plant is poisonous, so it will be effective.
I returned home and immediately started making missiles in the garage.
――Well, it's just filling the single-pipe with chopped aconite and sand.
After attaching a pointed pile to the tip, I first chopped the aconite and put it inside, filled it halfway with sand, and put the lid on.
This completes the first shot.
As long as you have the materials, it is simple.
Well, my method of gathering materials is poor, so I am going back and forth.
Once 20 missiles were completed, I carried them to the backyard.
"Haa haa..."
If the light truck could move, I could have carried them this far...
It's useless to complain.
I laid the bought 2-section ladder over the hole and put the plywood on top.
I stepped on it and tried stomping with my feet.
"This should be safe even if I carry earthbags on it."
Actually, I'm told I shouldn't use the 2-section ladder sideways...
It's an emergency, and I can't think of any other simple method.
"Hmm... that's right."
I temporarily removed the plywood and the 2-section ladder from the hole and decided to reinforce it using the single-pipe.
I tied iron pipes together with PP bands used for packaging.
I had an electric strapping machine and wanted to use it, but I forgot it wouldn't work near the dungeon.
I will do it manually.
"This should be fine."
Because I reinforced it, the weight increased, but it didn't budge.
I put the ladder back into the hole, covered the open part with the blue tarp, and placed stones at the edges.
From a glance, it should be impossible to tell that a dungeon is here.
If asked, I can just say, "I'm trying to build a small shed, so I'm leveling the ground."
I filled the brought earthbag sacks with soil from the backyard.
Today's quota is 20 bags.
"Haa haa――fu fu..."
Stabbing the shovel into the soil, scooping it, and putting it in the bag――even though I usually do farm work, it's still tough.
I went back to the house and took iced coffee from the refrigerator.
It is still cold, but the electricity is cut off.
In our house, a week's worth of supplies is normal, but the leftovers will spoil in a few days.
Well, if they become trash, I can just throw them into the dungeon in front of me.
"That's it!"
At this point, I'll throw all the bulky trash I don't need into the hole.
There are also kerosene tanks and drums that the previous owner let rot.
Then there are logs――I don't know where they picked them up――and stones, but all of them are unnecessary.
I was holding my head in despair because a dungeon appeared, but isn't there some good thing?
Thinking about throwing trash into the hole, I was suddenly addressed.
"Niwa-san! What are you starting?!"
Coming with a smile was the old man next door.
His white hair is balding and his waist is bent, but he is still energetic despite being nearly 90 years old.
It's good to be energetic even as you age...
Many elderly people have passed away in the last 10 years, and my parents are gone too.
"N-no, I was thinking of building a small shed..."
"Hahaha, you really are a weirdo――here! The circular notice board!"
"Yes, thank you very much~"
It seemed the only purpose was the circular notice board.
I was surprised since he came out of nowhere.
It was a good decision to hide it with the blue tarp beforehand.
I bought a lot, and I was about to be found out and it would be game over.
Since 20 earthbags were completed, I started the attack.
I pierced the completed earthbags with single-pipe missiles.
I lifted them, crossed the ladder bridge, and went to the center of the hole.
"Ora!"
I threw them into the hole.
If I do this, the bottom will be heavy, and the missile should fall straight down.
"Oh~"
Watching the white bag and single-pipe fall, it looks like it is dropping vertically.
If it falls like that and hits something――.
Naturally, the earthbag stops there, but the missile continues moving due to the law of inertia and pierces the target.
I don't know if that will deal damage to some unknown thing or if it can defeat what is deep inside the dungeon.
For now, I decided to drop 20 shots a day for 10 days, totaling 200 shots, so I have no choice but to try.
Watching it fall, it seems to be going well, so I threw the remaining 19 shots into the hole.
"Phew..."
Today's work is finished with this.
I cannot live in the house until the dungeon disappears, so I will prepare to sleep in the garage.
There is a loft above the garage used as a storage room, so I laid plywood there and spread the futon I brought from home.
The electricity is being pulled from a generator.
Before, there was a convenient thing called an LED lamp, but it stopped working since the dungeon appeared.
Also, we are going back to the era of fluorescent lights and incandescent bulbs.
There is also organic EL used in LCDs, but the cost is high.
So the judgment must be that the withered technology of fluorescent lights is better.
Fluorescent lights contain mercury, so they were scheduled to be abolished due to environmental issues and such, but now we cannot say such things.
First of all, I don't even know if I can eat, so environmental issues are a secondary concern.
Many companies that closed the production lines for fluorescent lights and incandescent bulbs have started producing them again.
It gets cold at night, so I brought a kerosene stove.
Lying down on the futon to check the sleeping comfort, I can see the attic of the garage directly.
It's like camping, and sometimes this is nice.
That is, if there were no dungeon.
The LED light is gone, but light has been born in this world to replace it.
That is――the light of magic.
It is said that when you defeat a monster appearing in a dungeon, you may be granted special abilities.
Also, only I can confirm it, but there seems to be a number value like a level――.
Since only the person themselves can confirm it, no one knows if it really exists.
It is purely self-reported, like "There is a level."
Along with that level, there is something suddenly granted: "Magic."
I don't know if it is really magic; it might be superpowers, but no one knows who started calling it magic.
It is power like in manga and anime, and it is probably easier to understand if you call it that.
It is a hard-to-believe story, but the world changed on a certain day.
――Leaving aside the level and magic, if I eliminate what is inside that hole behind my house, I might be able to verify if it is true.
I sat up, boiled water with the kerosene stove, and warmed the emergency food.
It is truly emergency food, but now is indeed an emergency.
"Nmaaa!"
I ate cooked rice and cup noodles.
Usually, I only eat our potatoes.
Tired from unfamiliar work――I will sleep early today.
――The day after a hole that looked like a dungeon opened behind my house.
After breakfast, I resumed work.
I made single-pipe missiles and earthbags and dropped them into the hole.
While I was at it, I brought all the trash at home and threw it in.
I threw away all the iron trash and junk left by the previous resident.
This is good.
I mowed the grass in the backyard, gathered it, and threw it into the hole too.
――And then, every day, the days continued where I threw single-pipe missiles and earthbags into the hole.
When the single-pipes and piles ran out, I went to a used heavy machinery shop to buy more.
And on the 10th day.
I managed to get this far without being found out that there is a dungeon here, but is there any effect?
――Thinking that, I dropped the 199th single-pipe missile.
Immediately after that――from the black hole underground, a profound roar echoed.
That sound was like the heartbeat of the earth, emitting a creepy presence, leaking from the deep abyss of darkness.
The roar touching my ears made me feel the breath of another world underground where unknown powers slept, shaking my heart with terror.
"What is it, what is it?"
I was about to lose my legs, jumped off the bridge laid over the hole, and peeked to check the situation.
――It suddenly went quiet.
I went back to the top of the bridge and lifted the blue tarp.
"Eh?!"
The large hole that was there suddenly disappeared.
Truly a supernatural phenomenon――this cannot be expressed by physics.
"Does this mean it worked?"
At that moment, a strange occurrence struck my body.
A sensation as if floating in mid-air came continuously.
The feeling of a door to an unknown world opening and unknown possibilities expanding came one after another.
"W-what is this!?"
It never stopped no matter how long I waited.
Could I have been caught up in the dungeon's abnormality?
Even if I try to escape, I cannot move.
I remembered the foreign internet article I saw first.
A shallow dungeon appeared just like mine, and they defeated the goblins that spawned――that was the story.
That story had a sequel.
After defeating the monster, a strange occurrence happened to the body, and a status screen appeared.
Something similar is happening in Japanese dungeons too.
It is said that when someone who enters a dungeon defeats a monster first, the same thing happens.
However, does a level appear for everyone? No, not really.
It seems to differ by person, and some people never appear even if they defeat hundreds of monsters.
Those chosen people whose status screens appeared are called "Adventurers," borrowing from games and anime.
Did the baptism of that dungeon come to me too?
Nothing hurts, and I can breathe.
Rather than that, I feel like my body is light.
For now, there is nothing I can do until this ends...
I gave up and stayed like that forever――but.
"Can you finish it already?"
Just as I was getting a bit fed up, I was suddenly released.
"Phew..."
I had a slight dizziness and closed my eyes, but when I opened them, something appeared right in front of my eyes.
"Huh?!"
It was a white glowing board――it seemed transparent, yet it reflected light and emitted a brilliance.
Gently flickering, it had a presence as if opening a door to an unknown world.
There, the characters "Niwa Daisuke Level 49".
Is this the status thing?
It really appeared.
Since only I can see this, it seems no one outside can see it.
It lists the level, but there are no other numerical values.
It's quite simple.
Still, a level――it really exists.
Moreover, Level 49...
I thought for a while.
――That means... did I defeat something below and receive its benefits?
I accidentally defeated the enemy, but was it a big shot?
Normally, it seems you defeat small monsters on the dungeon's surface and start from Level 1――did I skip the beginner stage like a school grade skipper?
That is a big deal, but if the dungeon disappeared――the electricity at home should be restored.
I went back home and turned on the light switch, and it lit up without any problem.
So, the dungeon really disappeared.
I picked up the axe for chopping wood that was at the entrance.
"Light..."
I lifted it with one hand easily.
And I swung it――it felt like swinging a plastic toy bat.
Seriously?
Is this Level 49?
"Is there anything else? That's right, magic! If I have magic, it would be amazing!"
I brought up the status screen and checked again.
"Eh?! Item Box?"
Could this be――a mysterious space where anything goes?
If that is true, this is going to be terrible.
My life will turn into a walk-off, grand slam home run.