kscans

Chapter 7 - Interlude: The Dungeon Agency's Concerns

Interlude: The Dungeon Agency's Concerns

Third-Person POV

Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. One floor of the Central Government Building here currently serves as the headquarters of the Dungeon Agency.

'The Dungeon Agency.'

Its responsibilities are wide-ranging: tracking and managing dungeons throughout Japan, sharing information with relevant parties like the Self-Defense Force, formulating countermeasures against monsters, and so on.

Among those duties was 'the monitoring of Awakened Persons and assessment of their potential threat.'

In a certain room within the Dungeon Agency, at the corner of an office lined with desks, sat a larger table.

Ten men and women were gathered around it. Paper documents were spread across the table, and about half of the staff held tablets.

"...The number of adventurers has more than doubled since last year, has it?"

A staff member next to the 'Director' nodded in response to his murmur.

"Yes. The media has been actively featuring adventurers and dungeons. Public awareness has spread considerably."

"Online, in particular, there are numerous posts expressing admiration for or envy of adventurers. It seems they're viewed quite favorably."

The man, the Director, furrowed his brow at his subordinate's slightly fast-paced report.

"Just as the foreign powers intended, I see."

The 'Dungeon Law,' which permitted civilians to work as adventurers and explore dungeons.

That bill was passed through the Diet largely due to pressure from foreign countries.

'Dungeons are the new frontier.'

Those words, uttered by an American journalist, had caused a firestorm, especially since people had been dying due to dungeon stampedes. But they were an accurate representation of the opinion held by many foreign nations.

Unknown minerals. Mysterious plants. And land that bore traces of human presence but was uninhabited.

Every country wanted it. But no country wanted to spend its own money or risk its own people.

'Since the dungeons are in Japan, let's have Japan do the investigating.'

It was a natural conclusion, and had the situation been reversed, the Japanese government would likely have thought the same.

Furthermore, for the foreign nations who wanted to understand the nature of dungeons as quickly as possible, more hands on deck was better. There was no time to spare, given the possibility that dungeons could spread beyond Japan's borders, or that something even more catastrophic might occur.

That was the purpose of the Dungeon Law.

"The Ministry of Defense and the National Police Agency have voiced considerable dissatisfaction. They claim they can handle it on their own."

"However, the number of dungeons continues to increase. The Self-Defense Force alone can't possibly manage, and the police lack the necessary firepower."

But even setting aside foreign interests, Japan had its own reasons for needing to pass the Dungeon Law.

Dungeons multiply.

As of now, there were approximately '500' confirmed dungeons nationwide. After three major municipal mergers, the number of municipalities in Japan is about '1,700.' That meant there was a dungeon in one out of every three or four municipalities.

A year after the 'Day of Awakening,' there were about '400.' That number has increased by '100.'

The cause, and the conditions under which they appear, are unknown. And this number only accounts for confirmed dungeons; it's possible that more have appeared deep in uninhabited mountains or in long-abandoned houses and have yet to be discovered.

The Self-Defense Force cannot devote all its resources to dungeons. It has to defend against foreign threats, provide disaster relief, and suppress any dungeons that happen to stampede. Their plate is full.

Meanwhile, the police don't have the firepower to take down some of the monsters that have already been confirmed. More importantly, the police are just as short-staffed. On top of their regular duties, they also have to search for undiscovered dungeons.

Furthermore, each municipality is so busy creating evacuation manuals for dungeon stampedes and explaining Dungeon Store procedures to residents that they can't possibly spare people to help elsewhere. In fact, they're the ones asking the government for help.

They're desperate for any help they can get, willing to clutch at any straw. That is the current state of Japan.

"However, it's also a problem if Awakened Persons level up too much in the dungeons," one of the subordinates continued, manipulating his tablet.

"At the recent joint military exercise between Japan and the U.S., which was held in secret, I heard that the Ground Self-Defense Force was completely routed by a 'Level 10' Awakened Person who had never received any combat training."

It was an 'experiment' where the U.S. military loaned training equipment, including paint rounds, in exchange for shared data.

A unit of 30 non-Awakened soldiers, chosen from the GSDF's infantry, engaged a 'Level 10 adventurer' in a simulated urban environment. The SDF's armament consisted of rifles loaded with paint rounds and throwables like stun grenades. In contrast, the Awakened Person had only a single bamboo sword—a disparity in numbers and equipment that, from an outside perspective, looked like bullying.

The SDF soldiers, despite the odds, approached the match without letting their guard down and...

In approximately 12 minutes, the SDF side was, in a literal sense, annihilated.

In a follow-up experiment, the SDF side formulated a new strategy based on information about the Awakened Person and their fighting style, and they emerged victorious. However, nine soldiers still received a 'killed in action' judgment.

It was hardly a victory to celebrate.

"Awakened Persons are practically human weapons. They can carry their weapons anywhere, and some of them can turn invisible or teleport. On top of that, they can become stronger than a brown bear. It's no surprise that some people want to use them for military purposes. In fact, overseas, they already—"

"Hey."

A female staff member sitting next to the man, who was still talking with his eyes on his tablet, lightly tapped his shoulder.

"There are people in this room who have family members who are Awakened. Please choose your words more carefully."

"Ah."

The man looked toward the Director and several other colleagues.

"My apologies."

"No. Do not let personal feelings interfere. I will do the same. Everyone, please speak your minds freely. Right now, we need all the wisdom we can get."

The Director, whose daughter was an Awakened Person, looked around at his subordinates.

In response, one of them raised a hand.

"In that case, I believe it would be best to further reinforce the impression that 'Awakened Persons level up by defeating monsters'."

The staff member continued, looking at the documents in his hand.

"If it becomes public knowledge that 'levels also increase when humans are killed,' it could lead to an increase in violent crime."

──Killing a person also grants experience points.

The government learned this fact as a result of a certain incident.

Seven months after the 'Day of Awakening,' a murder occurred, committed by an Awakened Person. The use of skills made it extremely difficult to track the perpetrator.

The final toll was 14 dead and 3 injured. It shocked the nation as a major incident in the modern era.

The perpetrator was only identified because they began leaving behind items and messages that could serve as evidence at the scenes, driven by a desire for self-display.

And so, they succeeded in arresting the culprit.

The criminal had never once been inside a dungeon. However, while their [Appraisal] at the prefectural office had shown them to be 'Level 1,' at the time of their arrest, they had become 'Level 2.'

From this, it was inferred that experience could be gained by killing beings other than monsters.

"However, I believe it's only a matter of time before this becomes common knowledge."

Another staff member raised a hand.

"Crime committed by Awakened Persons is increasing year by year. It's possible we'll see another incident with as many casualties as that one."

"And with the rise of illicit part-time jobs these days..."

"Leveling up is possible through means other than crime—or rather, other than murder. An Awakened Person working in the fishing industry could potentially gain the necessary experience to level up just by gutting fish."

It might seem somewhat comical to see bureaucrats in suits seriously discussing 'leveling up,' 'monsters,' and 'dungeons,' but they were deadly serious.

What was once thought to be fiction had now become reality.

"Is it best, then, to rely on Awakened officers to arrest Awakened criminals...?"

"However, the SDF and police currently don't have much of a level advantage."

The female staff member who had admonished her colleague looked down at her tablet.

"Initially, the SDF and police were defeating monsters using modern weaponry, but reports have come in from various quarters that their level progression is slower than those who defeat monsters with 'Arcane Gear' or their bare hands."

"Right. There are cases of SDF soldiers who have killed hundreds of monsters with a machine gun and are still only 'Level 5'."

Another colleague nodded and scratched his head.

That's right. It had become apparent that unless a monster was defeated with Arcane Gear or bare hands, one could barely form a 'connection' with it.

The SDF and police had been fighting monsters since before the Dungeon Law was enacted, but they had gained few levels from it. It wasn't that they gained no experience at all, but it was extremely inefficient.

As a result, many of their personnel are being surpassed in level by first-year adventurers.

"...That's not something we can publicize. The police will have to level up secretly using 'Arcane Gear.' There's no other way."

"Agreed. I don't want to believe people are that foolish, but we must consider the possibility that an adventurer, seeing the level disparity, might think 'no one can punish me for what I do' and go on a rampage."

Currently, the number of incidents involving Awakened Persons is considered... low.

There are cases where crimes go unnoticed simply because skills are used to conceal them. But beyond that, the vast majority of Awakened Persons are simply good citizens. They know the risks of breaking the law and live earnestly.

However, if that restraint were to be removed—even if based on a misunderstanding—and they were to be overcome by a sense of omnipotence, there is no telling how they might act.

If a small number of Awakened Persons were to run rampant, the SDF and police could easily handle it if they moved in with 'lethal intent.' They could even send in a high-level, combat-specialized Awakened Person to suppress them non-lethally.

But just like dungeons, the number of Awakened Persons is also increasing. As the population grows, it is natural that the number of those who stray from the path will also increase, and a 'something' could occur that exceeds the response capacity of government organizations.

"But if we eliminate the adventurer system, we won't have the manpower..."

"It's a balancing act. If we shore up one side, the other collapses."

It would be troublesome if Awakened Persons leveled up too much, but without them, the SDF and police alone cannot handle the dungeons.

In that case, they had no choice but to steer toward preventing the 'certain danger' of dungeon stampedes over the 'mere possibility' of a rampage by Awakened Persons.

"But the disparity in abilities among Awakened Persons is drastic, isn't it?"

The male staff member who had looked awkward earlier murmured as he glanced at the documents.

"There are some Awakened who would lose to a non-Awakened civilian, but there are also those who are as strong as a professional soldier right from 'Level 1'."

"Well, Awakened Persons are human too. It's natural there would be individual differences."

"In that case, should we really be focusing on Awakened Persons with high stats or powerful skills? In fact, if we narrow our focus to just them, couldn't we save on budget and personnel?"

"That would be the case, but... the accuracy of [Appraisal], and the number of users..."

Everyone fell silent.

The number of [Appraisal] skill users the Japanese government had managed to secure the cooperation of was only a few dozen. With one in thirty people now being an Awakened Person, this was not nearly enough. They also needed these individuals to appraise items and monsters discovered in dungeons.

Moreover, foreign powers were actively recruiting Awakened Persons. The number of [Appraisal] skill users willing to cooperate with the government was a prime target and was dwindling further.

Furthermore, there were many skills whose effects were unknown even after being appraised. They could only learn the skill's name; they had to ask the person themselves what the skill actually did. There was always the risk of a false report.

No, even before that, the sheer number of Awakened Persons made it practically impossible to question each and every one of them under the current circumstances.

After that, various other opinions were put forward. Some were groundbreaking ideas, and the meeting seemed to be a fruitful one.

"However, how many of these proposals can we actually implement 'within budget'?"

The female staff member's softly spoken words caused the Director to close his eyes with a pained expression.

"...I will take a few of the proposals from this meeting that received the most support and bring them to my superiors."

"All we can do now is hope for the budget proposal that will be submitted at the next Diet session."

The words of the male staff member, clutching a tablet to his chest, said it all.

The Dungeon Agency. It was chronically understaffed, and even more so, underfunded.

For these passionate public servants, the mornings were early, and the nights were long.