I open my eyes slowly to the sound of a nearby electronic ringing. I look to my side and see Haru asleep. The sun had already risen, and it was past noon when I looked at the clock.
âOh, the phone.â (Kei)
I hurriedly woke myself up and went to look under the pillow for the phone, the electronic sound that had already woken me up.
âYes, hello. Kizaki speaking.â (Kei)
I had quit my part-time job when I was injured before, so I wondered what the call was about. Itâs been a long time since Iâve received a call.
âOh, itâs been a while. Touka. Are you safe?â (Caller)
The voice on the other end of the line was my fatherâs, a voice I had heard many times before but hadnât heard much lately.
âOh, itâs you, old man. Itâs been a while. What do you mean are we okay? Weâve been able to live well.â (Kei)
âEh? You guys havenât watched it on TV? No, there are no dungeons near where you live. Is Tokyo the closest?â (Caller => Shiki)
âThatâs right. So, what about the dungeons?â (Kei)
While I asked my father, I open my computer and open the search page.
âYou donât really know do you? So, youâre okay? Youâre going to have to let go of the house and pack your bags. You guys are explorers right. Donât let go of your weapons.â (Shiki)
I stopped to search for dungeons as I listened to the story and turned my attention to the news written.
âThe Dungeons have Overflowed.â
As my father spoke, the words on the news screen on the Internet brought back memories of yesterday.
âI knew there was a big stampede in the dungeon. Is that why?â (Kei)
âWell, thatâs it. All over the world, monsters from dungeons have come to the surface. Hmm? Whatâs happening?â (Shiki)
My fatherâs voice faded away from the phone, and I heard another soft voice.
âCaptain, please help me. Weâll be breached if we donât.â (Voice)
âIâm no longer your captain. Endure it a little more. Iâll be there soon.â (Shiki)
He put his mouth close to the phone again, and his voice grew louder.
âOkay, Touka. Donât forget. For some reason, the monsters on the ground are less weakened than before. And you can use a little bit more of your status near the dungeon. You know what this means.â
Originally, a monster weakens to a tenth of its strength when it comes to the ground. Explorers can only use their stat enhancements inside dungeons. If so, that is the only possibility, right?
âIs the surface gradually becoming a dungeon?â (Kei)
âThatâs probably the correct answer. I donât know if the dungeon on the surface will stop at this point or if it will continue until the whole surface has completely become part of the dungeon. Thatâs why I am telling you.â (Shiki)
âWhat is it old man?â (Kei)
âThis is something I shouldnât say while I was in my old job. ToukaâŚâ (Shiki)
heard my father sucking in a breath on the other end of the phone.
âLive at the very least. No matter what. Donât ever, ever die. See you again.â (Shiki)
The phone seemed to have been disconnected from the other end, leaving a beeping sound.
âHmm, whatâs wrong brother?â (Haru)
I turned my head to see Haru looking at me, her head upper body has risen, with half of her body still under the covers.
âItâs an emergency. Iâll explain it to you, but you need to change your clothes and put your gear right away.â (Kei)
Haru stares at me blankly with sleepy eyes, rubs her eyes, and then looks at me again. She looked at me with clear eyes and must have sensed the mood. I jumped up from the futon.
âGood morning, wash your face and change your clothes, and your equipment ready.â (Kei)
Haru disappears into the washroom after listening.
âWell, should I pack our luggage as soon as possible?â (Kei)
I open the safe and take out my gear. And then.
âOh, I havenât changed my clothes either.â (Kei)
I started to change into my everyday clothes.
âOkay, weâre ready to go. So, what happened to you? I feel like Iâve run out of things at home.â (Kei)
Haru was looking around quizically. I had already put some of my belongings in my item pouch and was preparing to leave the house at any time.
âPlease Haru. Please calm down and listen to me. If weâre not careful, it could be life or death for us.â (Kei)
Haru nods when she heard my words.
âI got it.â (Haru)
I talked to our father earlier. I explained to her what is happening in the world right now.
And maybe yesterdayâs stampede was the cause.
âThatâs why youâre preparing our equipment so we can escape. But brother. Arenât relatively safe here? We are quite far from the other dungeons.â (Haru)
In fact, We donât think the monsters themselves are that dangerous. If weâre trying to survive on our own, we can escape to the dungeon in the basement if a monster appears since our status is meaningless on the ground.
Looking at yesterdayâs stampede, 16th-floor monsters are the ones trying to get out of the dungeon. Only small fry monsters up to the forest and the unique monsters are the ones moving.
Basically, if your status is functioning, you can easily defeat them. Even if you get sleepy, monsters donât come to the rooms in front and behind the boss, so you can sleep there.
However, there is one thing that even we canât beat.
âThereâs an overwhelming shortage of supplies. The stores are probably already being hoarded, and the only edible food that drops in the dungeons is meat, right?â (Kei)
âHmm? Yeah, we have food. Thatâs right. But there are no vegetables.â (Haru)
âThereâs also water and salt. Your appetite will be fine, but youâll probably die of malnutrition or be killed by a monster due to malnutrition-related complications.â (Kei)
âThis is bad.â (Haru)
âSo bad.â (Kei)
Haru groaned and used the computer to look up information.
âActually, the most reasonable thing to do is to evacuate to a place where people are.â (Kei)
âBut then we wonât be able to move for a while.â (Kei)
âWell, we wonât be able to live freely and sleep comfortably.â (Haru)
âThatâs right. Thatâs not a good thing.â (Kei)
Haru stops looking around.
âBrother, I heard that all the strong explorers go into dungeons to kill monsters.â (Haru)
âI guess so. Iâm sure there are people who do it because itâs something they can do. Whatâs the matter then?â (Kei)
Haru finally smiles when I asked.
âWe are strong.â (Haru)
âThatâs true.â (Kei)
âWeâve been fooling around ourselves, but I think weâre probably one of the best in the world.â (Haru)
âLooking at the previous Angus Mercenary Corps, Iâd say so.â (Kei)
âThatâs why brother.â (Haru)
After this, Haruâs words went straight to my chest for some reason.