Dungeon Gacha Life Chapter 35

 Chapter 35: Doubt and a Vow

A Stampede had broken out at Aihara Central Park Dungeon.

There was some distance between it and Hachioji Guild but in the worst case, the damage could reach out this far too. Ah so that's why the alarm went off.

Either way, this wasn't something I could stay uninvolved in. Even setting aside where I lived, there was no dodging this as an Explorer.

At its core, an Explorer's job could be summed up in one word: miner. Dive into a dungeon, bring back energy resources like magic stones or materials sourced from monsters, that's the role.

But Explorers carry one more major duty.

When a Stampede breaks out, they're expected to fight the monsters spilling onto the surface and hold the damage to a minimum, the role of a frontier guard.

Of course, the government keeps its own dedicated Explorer teams on standby too, that was drawn from the police and the Self-Defense Force.

But when a Stampede actually hits, their priority is rear support, rescuing,  evacuating civilians and setting up cordons. Which means clearing out the monsters on the front line and actually bringing the situation under control falls to us civilian Explorers.

C-Rank and above Explorers carry a "Best-Efforts Duty" to follow the Guild's instructions during emergencies like this.

It's not legally binding in any absolute sense but the social pressure to comply is intense.

Precisely because we're professionals with combat ability beyond the average person's and incomes to match, failing to pitch in during a crisis like this brings the public's disapproval down hard and fast.

It's the same within the Explorer community too, if word gets around that you "ran from a Stampede", your social standing in this world is finished.

Bottom line: as a C-Rank Explorer, I was going to get a call for help with this Stampede too.

And turning that down wasn't really an option, not without it meaning social death.

* * *

"Touya-san, what are you going to do?"

Lapis peered up at me anxiously. There wasn't a trace of her usual energetic, noisy self left in her.

Don't look at me like that. It throws me off.

"Obviously, I'm going."

Across from me, Shimotsuki-san caught her breath.

The HP Barrier stops working on the surface. Which meant the danger to my life was on a whole different scale from anything inside a dungeon.

Even so, running from this wasn't an option.

What I wanted was a stable life. High income, a "white" work environment along with social standing.

That's why I'd decided to become an Explorer in the first place. Knowing full well my life would be on the line.

Which meant this too, was just part of the job.

I wouldn't ran from that duty so I'd do my best. Only by doing that, I could keep the comfortable Explorer life I'd built intact.

Besides, the Stampede's epicenter was the next town over. Close enough to my own apartment, if anything.

Professionally, for my own safety and on humanitarian grounds too, joining the effort to put down this Stampede was the best option, plain and simple.

There was just one problem.

My own combat strength. How much of it should I use.

Right now, my stats were equivalent to somewhere around Lv300. If I really wanted to, I might be able to handle this whole thing solo.

But if I did that, everything I'd spent building up until now would go up in smoke.

It would mean throwing away the "normal" I'd worked so hard to maintain, faking my Unique Skill, faking my Status and deliberately keeping my exploring pace slow, all of it.

The downside of that was impossible to fully measure.

The public would prop me up as some hero or whatever and chew me up for entertainment. Recruitment offers from major clans, government interference, all of that would follow too.

Days packed with trouble, about as far from comfortable as it gets. That's not something I actually want, not for real.

...That said, playing dumb about it wouldn't sit right with me either.

"Suzukaze-kun."

Right as I was thinking that, Shimotsuki-san called my name. Her voice had a hard edge to it, like it was carrying some kind of resolve underneath.

"If there's anything I can do, I'll help however I can. So..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

But she knew. Knew I had an ace in the hole.

And she'd noticed something else too, that I was wrestling with whether or not to play that card.

* * *

I settled myself and started confirming the basics.

"The Aihara dungeon's a B-Rank one, right?"

"That's right. Thirty floors total. A high-difficulty dungeon made up entirely of Middle and Lower Levels."

Meaning the monsters coming out of it would be on par with High Orcs, or worse.

"If a C-Rank like me is joining in, I'm guessing it's thinning out monsters around the cordon?"

They weren't about to ask a solo C-Rank to wipe out a pack of Lower Level monsters, surely. More like just another body to help calm down the chaos on-site.

"That's about right. Though it's still early reports so we won't know the details until you're actually on-site."

Shimotsuki-san thought it over for a moment, then nodded.

"There's a good chance you'll be operating on your own. Surface combat in a makeshift party is too dangerous."

"Any calls going out to strong Explorers who could actually turn this around?"

At my next question, she shook her head.

"That's probably already being handled higher up. But it'll take time for Explorers from the city center to get out here. They're likely reaching out to everyone affiliated with Hachioji but as you can see, there just aren't many of us around."

All the popular dungeons are clustered downtown, after all. People naturally gravitate that way.

And while Hachioji Dungeon's plenty popular out here in the suburbs, right now happened to be a low-traffic stretch. The early risers were already deep inside the dungeon by now and the late ones were probably still dead asleep.

No telling exactly how things were unfolding on-site but the damage had every sign that it will spread.

Well, then, nothing for it. Not with a face like that looking back at me.

"Shimotsuki-san."

I said her name.

"When I get back, help me stress out over all this, okay?"

I said it with a bit of playful exaggeration. Shimotsuki-san nodded immediately and said, "Leave it to me. I'll definitely be there for you."

She said it back to me firmly. Well, I think I can trust this person.

"All right, I'll head to the site now."

Fastest bet was probably a taxi, as far as it could get me. At this hour, I could probably flag one down right outside the Guild.

"Understood. I'll have the Guild issue a formal request for your cooperation on the Stampede response. I'll handle the paperwork on this end so don't worry about that part."

I nodded back at that and got to my feet.

"Touya-san, let's go."

"Yeah. Don't get yourself lost."

"Right!"

Even to my little joke as we walked, Lapis answered with dead seriousness.

Guess that wasn't a "thunderstruck" moment for her. Though I suppose that just says how serious this really was.

A flicker of irritation rose in me at the monsters causing all this trouble.

I had no intention of becoming a hero. I'd pass on being put up on some pedestal, too.

That said, playing ignorant wasn't an option either. I'd put in as much strength as I could and bring this thing under control.

Not that I had any intention of giving up my comfortable life, mind you. With Shimotsuki-san's help, this was still within a range I could manage.

The gear that had been gathering dust inside my Item Box would probably be glad too, after all its turn had finally come.

Thinking all that over, I stepped outside the Guild. I flagged down a taxi and gave my destination.

"To Aihara Central Park, please."