061-080 · 064-ch57

Chapter 57: Surface Arc - What We Stand For

The story flashes back slightly, to when Hagane entered the room.

From their seats near the back, the members of Dungeon Stars could also see his figure.

"Kiryuin Hagane, Full Metal, huh. A man famous as Japan's number one explorer. ...Well, setting aside that exception, of course."

"So that's him... And yeah. John-san isn't really an exception so much as someone you'd get yelled at for putting in the same category."

Though famous as streamers, Kanata and the others were at best mediocre explorers in terms of actual skill. Erika had been telling them about the other famous explorers.

Of course, they spoke in hushed voices so as not to disturb those around them, blending into the murmur of the room.

And then, right before their eyes, someone appeared to voice complaints to the strongest explorer who had just entered the room.

"That's Nagao Kagetora from Another Frontier, the 'Master Blacksmith.' She's said to be the second strongest after Kiryuin Hagane."

"Nagao Kagetora? What's with that name, Kenshin or something?"

"Apparently it's her real name."

Then, the man sitting in the front row began to speak.

"Who's that?"

"...No, I don't know him either."

Just as the Dungeon Stars members were tilting their heads, wondering who this person addressing over fifty gathered explorers could be, a young man with a delinquent appearance snapped at him.

"That's the Lycans. Their attitude leaves much to be desired, but their skills are said to be top-class."

"They seem like scary people."

"They're basically like semi-yakuza. We got plenty of those in Osaka."

"...Not my type."

As the four of them conversed, the young leader of the Lycans was lightly dismissed by the man acting as moderator, who had introduced himself as Takamiya, and the discussion continued.

"You think we can actually explore with this many people?"

Kanata asked Erika, who would know most about such matters.

Not just her, but other groups of explorers were also having whispered conversations, creating a rustling buzz throughout the room.

This might be laughable for a corporate meeting, but for a gathering of explorers—who were notoriously difficult to unify—this was actually on the quiet side.

Sometimes, participants would start fights with each other and leave the organizers behind entirely.

"I don't think it's possible, but..."

Erika replied quietly, and almost simultaneously, Nagao Kagetora threw those same words at Takamiya.

Takamiya's response to that was astonishing.

"What I propose is the simultaneous conquest of District 12, District 13, and District 14."

A simultaneous attack on the current frontline layer and multiple layers beyond it.

At Takamiya's words, a loud commotion erupted in the room.

"...Are you in your right mind?"

It was Kagetora, still maintaining her composure, who asked this.

Though she had become something of a representative for the explorers on the non-Takamiya side, the reality was that if they had to choose a representative from the gathered explorers excluding Hagane, it would be Kagetora.

Therefore, rather than voicing complaints themselves, everyone watched the exchange between Kagetora and Takamiya.

"Miya, that's not enough explanation."

"The initial shock is what matters at times like this. Look. Everyone who was chatting is now focused on us."

At Takamiya's words, Kanata and the others, who had been having a conversation that could be called idle chatter, shut their mouths in shame.

They had realized that talking while someone was speaking was not something to be done.

On the other hand, Erika, who was used to such situations, realized that this was Takamiya's way of capturing the room.

Those who had been chatting hadn't missed Takamiya or Kagetora's words either, so there was no problem.

At least, not for the explorers.

However, Takamiya had no intention of letting them miss what came next.

He had deliberately made his previous statement heard as a declaration of that will.

Erica understood this.

Though she decided not to tell her colleagues, who were shrinking down beside and behind her.

"Now then, with everyone's attention gathered, let us speak."

Having restarted the conversation, Takamiya began explaining his plan and its intentions.

"To put it simply, I am deeply concerned that Japan's dungeon conquest situation is falling behind other countries."

This was a sense of crisis unique to Takamiya, who possessed not only the face of a guild sponsor but also that of a president of an internationally active company, though only a few in this room, including Takamiya himself, knew about this.

But at Takamiya's words, and in his manner of speaking, the explorers focused on understanding what he was trying to say.

"Japan is now completely a dungeon-backward country among developed nations. With dungeon-derived resources becoming the standard for evaluating national power, this means Japan is being left behind by the world."

"...And what is it you wish to do?"

"From this point forward, we will divide the labor for conquering the dungeon's front lines. In addition to a team to conquer and defeat the boss of District 12, which is currently the front line, we will simultaneously create teams to begin pioneering toward District 13, and from there, teams to conquer toward District 14, dividing the roles among them."

Almost no one could immediately understand Takamiya's idea.

Even Kagetora and Erika, who had been listening calmly, could not comprehend this plan—so grand in scale, and so impossible for explorers whose individual achievements directly translated to earnings.

In other words, this was nothing less than a declaration that they would manage the explorers, who had until now been freely advancing their explorations at their own individual speeds and paces, by assigning them specific roles to fulfill.

"That's why I said it, didn't I? It's too unprecedented."

"Then should we continue exploring while competing simultaneously for District 12 and District 13? Even though there's essentially no meaning in exploring areas others have already explored?"

"Mmm... When you put it that way."

Hagane, who could understand the participants' unrest as an explorer himself, urged Takamiya to reconsider, but Takamiya wouldn't have it.

Because he was certain that this was the minimum necessary for Japan to somehow catch up to other countries.

"That is only permitted for those leading the pack, like America is now. And Japan is the one in the back, about to be lapped."

Takamiya's statement was fact.

Since John Doe's various revelations, dungeon exploration communities worldwide had begun sprinting toward breaking through the deep layers.

America, which had pulled ahead by not one but two steps, was gathering significant attention, but China and European countries had also conquered multiple deep layer districts during this period.

And what was driving this was the dungeon-related agencies under direct national control in each country, which were unifying the scattered clans and offices of explorers, just as in Japan.

In other words, countries other than Japan had entered the stage of directly unifying explorers under national control to rapidly conquer the dungeon.

And what of Japan?

Just when they thought corruption had been purged and things were finally becoming sound, the very foundation had been completely devoured, making continued existence difficult and forcing them to begin reconstruction.

Takamiya, who had somewhat arrogantly assumed the nation couldn't be that foolish, gave up on the country at that point.

And he decided to take the initiative himself.

"Even if I say we'll determine activities, we'll simply be assigning you to teams based on ability. Beyond that, I simply want you all to work toward achieving your respective goals."

"...Even if we follow instructions, there is no benefit for us."

Still, only Kagetora managed to return words of rebuttal to Takamiya, who was painting a grand vision of the future.

"This surprises me. You mean the advancement of deep layer dungeon exploration is not a benefit for explorers? If this joint operation ends in success, we could begin exploring from the 15th layer in one go next time."

"Takamiya."

"My apologies. But honestly, we don't need people who can't see this as a benefit. We are waiting for talent who will advance Japan's dungeon conquest."

"Is everything else trivial to you?"

"Allow me to say it is trivial. Later generations can look back, or successors can catch up and produce resources. But only those gathered here, at this very moment, can open the front lines. Though there are also those who chose not to come to this place."

Even among Japan's top guilds, many had refused Takamiya's invitation for various reasons.

Still, Takamiya believed they could do this with this group.

And he believed they had to do it.

"I am speaking now of matters of national importance."

Explorers were, for better or worse, individual operators.

Therefore, there were few, if any, who could view the current situation with the same bird's-eye perspective as Takamiya.

At least in Japan's current dungeon community.

"If you worry that you won't be able to earn money from resources in new areas as usual, I will pay the rewards. If you say you need support personnel, I will provide the funds to hire those explorers as well."

"...Why would you go so far?"

"I believe I said I was speaking of matters of national importance. Before that, my personal gain is trivial. At least, as long as I am an individual who stands because of this nation."

Though he wasn't an explorer.

The explorers were overwhelmed by his intensity, as if facing a boss monster.

In dungeons, the strength of one's will sometimes produced unexpected growth and evolution.

And so.

The man who had never even set foot in a dungeon overwhelmed the explorers not with the prestige of a corporate president, but with the bearing of one man who shouldered matters of national importance.

"...I shall join you. Hagane-dono feels the same, yes?"

"I was already largely moving according to this guy's instructions. If he tells me to do it, I'll just do it."

"Then joint operations between myself and Hagane-dono are possible. That is, indeed, something to look forward to."

Kiryuin Hagane.

And Nagao Kagetora.

The two strongest individuals expressed their agreement with Takamiya's words.

With this, the room tilted significantly in the direction Takamiya desired.