chapter02 · 045-ep39
Episode 39: The Designated Dungeon, Toda
Golden Week, Day Three.
Again, I was awake before the alarm.
Six a.m. Already bright out.
Gear on my back, three rice balls Mom made me packed into the bag, out the door.
Subway into Nagoya Station, transfer to the Kintetsu line.
The train ran between buildings for a while — then the scenery burst open.
Rice paddies.
Paddies right, paddies left. Freshly flooded paddies, glittering with the morning light.
"Is this REALLY Nagoya?"
It slipped out.
Just over ten minutes from Nagoya Station. Impossible to believe it's the same city.
Off at Toda Station, walking the single road between the paddies.
Frogs croaking. Not one. Hundreds. The whole paddy field was singing.
In the distance, a swelling mound of green came into view. The Toda River green space.
At its entrance, a crowd had formed.
The Toda dungeon sits deep in the green space, beside an old floodgate.
A single door set in the concrete floodgate wall. In front of it, a prefab Guild field office. Being a designated dungeon, staffers are apparently stationed there full-time.
And — people. People, people, people.
Explorers in full gear — a rough count, at least a hundred. Clustered party by party: spreading maps, checking equipment, queuing at the field office.
Every one of them, D-rank.
Every one of them, gunning for C-rank.
Wasn't this supposed to be the least popular designated dungeon?
Golden Week, maybe? No — definitely because of Golden Week. On the holidays, every D-rank aiming for C has piled into the designated dungeons. Even supposedly unpopular Toda is overflowing.
Mixed among them, people who were clearly not explorers. People holding up phones. People flying drones. People carrying handwritten signs.
『Dungeon Strolls — I KNEW you'd come to Toda!』
"Ugh..."
They'd read me perfectly.
Over Golden Week, a fifteen-year-old D-rank goes for C at a designated dungeon. And picks the one that looks least crowded. Anyone could spin that story. Probably the same crowd at every other designated dungeon too.
One deep breath. In my head, I raised big sis's five fingers, one at a time.
Ready.
And I walked, perfectly normally, toward the crowd.
"Ah."
"Huh — that's—"
"Isn't that Dungeon Strolls?"
"The real thing?!"
Spotted instantly. Phones swung toward me as one.
"Thank you very much."
Smile, light bow.
"Can we get a photo?!"
"Sorry — I'm off the clock today."
"Going for C?"
"Thank you very much."
Not an answer. But that's fine. Without stopping, I joined the field office line.
From behind, voices still carried.
"Aww, no photos—"
"Still, he actually greeted us properly."
"Kid's got good manners, huh."
Working. Probably working.
In line, the man ahead turned around.
Forties, maybe. A solidly built man. Well-worn armor; a shield covered in scars.
"...You're that Dungeon Strolls kid, are you."
"Ah — yes. That's me."
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Fifteen, huh."
The man's eyes went somewhere far away.
"Me — I've been coming here seven years now."
"Seven..."
"Deepest I've ever hit: Floor 112. Past that, no matter what — can't break through."
Seven years.
Floor 112.
The words "the wall of C-rank" suddenly gained weight.
"Good luck in there!"
It was out before I knew.
The man's eyes went round. Then he let out a gah-hah-hah.
"Other way around! YOU'RE the one who needs luck, kid!"
WHAP — a slap on the back. It hurt. I didn't mind it at all.
Inside the door, the smell of water.
Toda dungeon's Floor 1 was a rice paddy.
Strictly speaking, a place like a rice paddy. Ceiling high and vaguely bright. Most of the floor laid under shallow water, and threading between it, narrow raised paths of heaped earth running like a maze. From the water's surface grew lush grass like rice plants.
"Whoa."
It came out on its own.
A rice paddy, inside a dungeon.
A dead ringer for the scenery outside, and completely different. The water glowed faintly blue; on the tips of the rice hung tiny grains of light.
No two dungeons are alike. Not like Kanayama, not like Akazu. And now — a rice paddy.
I'd just started down a levee path when the first monster appeared.
Mud Toad Difficulty: D
A huge frog made of mud. About up to my hip.
It oozed up out of the water in one slippery leap.
"—No inscription, no meaning — cut, Nameless."
I called. Into my hand, the black katana appeared.
Cut. The frog went back to mud and dissolved into the water.
"Good."
I turned — and another party on the same floor was staring this way.
A party of four, college-aged or so. Every one of them stood with mouth hanging open.
"...Did he just — chant?"
"He said 'no inscription, no meaning.'"
"The real thing..."
"The genuine Dungeon Strolls..."
Right. There were PEOPLE here.
In front of people, every single time, I'd be shouting that line.
"Ah — thank you very much."
For the moment, I smiled exactly as big sis had taught.
And then I ran away at full speed.
The upper floors were crowded.
Wherever I went, some party or other was there. Each time — "It's Dungeon Strolls!" Each time — "Thank you very much," smile, and run on through.
At the bottom of the Floor 5 stairs, a thought struck me.
Today — why not run some tests.
Weapons other than Nameless.
The weapons volume has — for the few dozen past-me loved best — formal chants written in as well. What I've used so far is only Nameless, the spear from the Emperor fight, the Ash-Covered Sword, the twin handguns, and the Chikusa holy sword. How the rest actually pan out — I wanted to try, properly, at least once.
Bringing them out in public: embarrassing.
But I'm already outed as "Dungeon Strolls" anyway. Whatever I pull out, I press through with "it's a skill." It's a skill that produces weapons — so whatever comes out, it's still a skill that produces weapons. Flawless logic.
From the Vault of Tomes index, I opened the weapons volume.
Flipping pages — my hand stopped.
Winter of second-year middle school. The page from the stretch when I was glued to an online game every night.
Dual swords of the near future, with blades of light.
White-and-silver grips with a blue line running down them. The blades aren't physical — light extending from the hilts. Behind each grip, a small jet nozzle; at the instant of a swing, light bursts out and accelerates the blade. When swung, hexagonal grains of light linger along the arc. Beside the concept art, past-me had crammed loanwords freshly learned from the game, lined edge to edge with no idea what they meant. Photon. Combat. Boost. Arts.
【Twin-Pole Blades of Light】 — the reading: Dual Nova
Below it, the performance notes.
- Can remain airborne indefinitely. No need to ever touch the ground
- Attack power multiplies with every hit landed. No cap
In the page's margin, written small:
- Dual wielding is romance
"It's romance."
I said it out loud.
Dual wielding. Light blades. The near future.
There is nothing here BUT romance.
I checked the chant. Two lines. As always.
All right.
In the middle of a Floor 6 levee path, I thrust both hands out before me.
"—Activation. Thrusters, ignite. In my two hands, the future"
Weight was born in both hands.
Silver-white grips. The instant I held them, the blue lines raced down the hilts — and with a shoon, the light blades extended.
Two. One in the right hand, one in the left.
"Ohhhhhh..."
It leaked out.
Cool. Unbelievably cool.
"—With every strike stacked, the polar light multiplies. 'Twin-Pole Blades of Light' — deploy!"
The instant I finished the second line, the blades' glow deepened a notch.
Right then, a Mud Toad leapt from the water.
The moment I stepped in, blue light burst from the grip nozzles.
My body was shoved forward.
Fast. Far faster than stepping in on my own feet.
Cut with the right. Jet. Cut with the left. Jet.
With every cut the blades accelerated, and the arcs of light scattered into hexagonal grains in the air.
When I leapt at the third frog, the grip jets didn't stop.
My body lifted — floated.
Cut in midair. Jet. Cut again.
— I thought, and about two seconds later I came down. Spray rose; I was soaked to the knee.
The page said "can remain airborne indefinitely." At my current self, the limit is apparently two seconds. And as for attack power multiplying — not a hint of that so far either.
But even two seconds is flight. Before the first frog finished turning to mud, I was already surging at the next.
"DUAL WIELDING IS ROMANCE!"
I was shouting it.
It felt amazing.
Nothing like Nameless's single stroke. Right and left make a rhythm. Cut, cut, spin, cut. My body moved like it was dancing on its own.
Fun. Entirely too much fun.
What came after that, honestly — I don't remember much.
No — I remember. I remember, but I would prefer not to recall.
I'm pretty sure I shouted a technique name invented in middle school on Floor 7.
On Floor 10, I'm pretty sure I shouted "Photon Boost!" while jumping a channel. Not a technique, not anything — just a jump.
On Floor 15, after cutting three Reed Snakes in a single rush, I'm pretty sure I spun the twin blades, reversed my grip, and struck a victory pose.
Every one of those floors had other explorers' parties on it.
Every one — I have a feeling I was watched.
But the me of that moment did not care one millimeter.
I registered the transfer circle on Floor 25, and around the time I ate my rice balls, my head finally cooled a little.
No — it didn't. Still having fun.
Past Floor 30, the sense of people all but vanished.
Here, I could run the other test.
Summoning.
Calling the soldier at Shiroyama had taught me something: a called retainer moves by its own thinking, properly. Then — call one who's good at hiding, and even in a crowded dungeon, it might help me without drawing the eye.
I opened the subordinates' volume. To the pages under the Second Seat, Wilhelm.
【Shadow Servant】
- A retainer of the old butler. There are lots of shadows
- Cleans the King's castle and tends to his personal needs
- Can submerge into shadow. No one ever notices
- Can also clean
"Can also clean."
Why'd you write that TWICE, past-me.
"All right. Let's call him."
The instant I decided, words surfaced in my head. Across the blank space at the very bottom of the page, my own handwriting carved itself.
I stood where the rice shade lay deepest beside the channel, and held out my hand.
"—Soundless, spotless. Shadow — attend upon your lord's feet"
The shadow at my feet stirred.
Out of my own shadow, something slid into view.
Pitch black. Human in shape, but its outline made of shadow itself. A black silhouette in what looked like a tailcoat — one of them — crawled out of my shadow and knelt without a sound.
"...You called, My King?"
The voice was as small as something heard from the bottom of water.
"Whoa — it TALKS!"
"...My apologies. Was that too loud?"
"No — if anything, too quiet."
"...Much obliged."
The Shadow Servant — a shadow, yet somehow radiating an air of apology.
"Um — I'd want help without being spotted, even in crowds. Can you do that?"
"...Leave it to us. We are shadow, you see."
The Shadow Servant sank, smoothly, into my shadow.
I looked down. An ordinary shadow. From any angle, perfectly my own normal shadow.
"Amazing."
As a test, I cut the next Mud Toad that came out with the twin blades.
The instant I cut, a black hand slid out from my shadow and scooped up the magic core of the half-muded frog. Then sank back into shadow. It took under a second.
While at it, the shadow hand wiped up every splatter of mud, clean.
"IT'S EVEN CLEANING?!"
"...Cleaning, too, is within our abilities."
So THAT's why he wrote it twice.
...No. Absolutely not.
Somewhere past Floor 40, the presence of a single party, far off. I asked the Shadow Servant.
"...Four ahead. They have not yet noticed us."
"Thanks. Big help."
Drops got fetched by the shadow; what lay ahead got reported by the shadow. Even without becoming the King, I could push on and on. And without becoming the King, the XP came in full.
— Or so I had thought.
On Floor 45, the Shadow Servant raised its small voice from my feet.
"...My King. In the water — something large."
"Huh?"
The water on both sides of the levee path burst apart in the same instant.
Giant Water Bug Difficulty: D (higher)
A huge — an in-the-water bug.
Flat brown body. Two thick forelegs curved like sickles. And they were hauling themselves up onto the levee path, one from each side.
"I'm not great with BUGS, for the record!"
The right one's foreleg came down. I caught it on the twin blades. Heavy. The sickle-tip ground, ground against the light blades.
The left one came from behind. Pincered.
I flicked the right foreleg away and jetted sideways.
The left one's sickle whiffed through where I'd been and gouged the path's dirt.
Landed. Turned. The two of them stood side by side, watching me.
Hard. Those foreleg sickles wouldn't cut easy even for the light blades.
So — somewhere that isn't a sickle. The underside of the body.
The instant the right one reared its foreleg again, I dove into its chest.
Jet. My body lifted. Two seconds — all the flight there is.
From directly above it, swinging down around onto its back — both blades.
The carapace seam on its back. The light blades slid in, smooth.
The right bug thrashed, thrashed, and slid into the water.
"—One down!"
The instant I landed, the left one charged.
I ducked. The sickle skimmed my crown.
Staying low, I slid in under its belly and drove both blades up at once.
The left one stopped moving too.
"Haah — haah..."
I went to one knee on the path.
From my feet, gently, the Shadow Servant spoke.
"...Magnificent, My King."
"Yeah — bugs really aren't my thing..."
"...Then, should a large bug appear next, I shall notify you beforehand."
"Please. I'm begging you."
From within the shadow, I thought I heard the smallest — softest — stifled laugh.
I reached Floor 50 a little past five in the afternoon. Registered the transfer circle, and called the Shadow Servant back.
"Thanks for today. You were a HUGE help."
"...It is my utmost honor. I shall also report to the honored Second Seat."
The honored Second Seat. So it reaches Wilhelm too.
I wonder if today's — my dual-blade carrying-on — gets reported as well.
"Ah — um — the dual-sword parts. You can leave those out of the report."
"...As you command."
The Shadow Servant paused — just a little — and then melted away.
What was that pause, I wonder.
I cashed my drops at the field office. The morning line was gone; one staffer sat alone at the window.
"Good work out there. ...That's — quite a lot."
"I made it to Floor 50 today. Worked hard."
"Floor fif—..."
The staffer looked at the terminal, then at my face.
"...Today was your first time at Toda, wasn't it?"
"Yes. First time."
"...I see."
The staffer said nothing more. Instead, with brisk hands, appraised and cashed the lot.
Total: 168,000 yen.
Even after taxes, the paid-tax tally was stacking up nicely.
Outside, the sunset had dyed the paddies scarlet.
The crowd had all but emptied out. In its place, the frogs were louder than before.
I walked the single road between the paddies, toward the station.
My legs were a little heavy. A good heavy, though.
I opened my status.
Lv: 111
Eleven in one day. For the part where I didn't become the King, the XP came in full.
Toda: Floor 50. One hundred to go. Golden Week still had four days left.
"Heh."
Alone in the sunset, I grinned.
Then my phone buzzed. A chat-app notification. I saw the sender's name and my feet stopped.
Tono Akari.
『Friday opened up.』
『Want to hit Toda together?』
『I'm going for C too.』
Toda.
Which means: Friday, I dive Toda with Tono-senpai.
The King: off the table.
The Nameless chant, too — right in front of senpai.
Well — I did the dual-blade chants today in front of dozens already. So it's past too late.
Past too late... right?
I had the feeling I was forgetting something important.
『I'm in!』
Typed it. Sent it.
Read, instantly. A moment later, the reply.
『Thank you. Looking forward to it.』
She said "looking forward to it."
There in the middle of the road through the paddies, I couldn't move for a while.
The frogs croaked loud enough to be a nuisance.
That night.
Out of the bath, I opened my phone — and on Tritter's trending list sat a string of characters I recognized.
『#DualWieldingIsRomance』
"No. No way."
I tapped it with a shaking finger.
Videos. In a paddy-field dungeon, swinging twin blades of light and screaming "DUAL WIELDING IS ROMANCE!" — me.
In another, I was shouting "Photon Boost!" while jumping a perfectly ordinary channel.
In another, I was reversing my grip on the twin blades and striking a pose.
『Dungeon Strolls, what got into you』
『A totally different person from the Chikusa guy lol』
『He is FULLY roleplaying a game protagonist』
『He is having too much fun』
『But then he's just straight-up strong too — so unfair』
『Dual wielding is romance. I get it』
All of it — seen.
No, not "I have a feeling."
All of it — filmed.
"UWAAAAAAAAAH!!"
I screamed into my pillow.
Through the wall came Seina: "Big bro, you're loud. Also, saw the trending tag. Groooss! Ahahaha."
Tomorrow, Toda again. Those people — probably at Toda again tomorrow too.
Face still buried in the pillow, I stayed unable to move for a while.
But the part about dual wielding being romance — that I do not take back.