Dungeon Impact

Out of character, I’m going to keep a diary. Or should I call it a record? I’ll write down what I experienced, saw, and heard in my notebook.

First of all, I am an office worker. My work is about half physical labor and half clerical work. Therefore, I am not a hard-working, hard-driving man, but I have a small body.

I decided to keep a diary because my refrigerator was acting strangely.

It is not because it stopped cooling or malfunctioned. The inside of the refrigerator suddenly turned black.

For me not to sound like an idiot or a crazy person, let me explain in more detail.

Today, I came home from work to my rented apartment. I opened the refrigerator to have some sparkling wine. And the inside of the fridge was black. I don’t understand what this means. I have a small, old two-door refrigerator. The top is a freezer, and the bottom is a refrigerator you can find anywhere.

I calmly closed the refrigerator door and opened the freezer. The freezer door is the same as usual. But when I opened the refrigerator door again, it was black as black ink. It was as black as ink.

So, to investigate the mystery of this strange phenomenon, I picked up a box of tissue paper that was close at hand. Then, I used the box to touch the blackness in the refrigerator, which was like black ink.

[“Gyuut”]

…!”

The pitch black inside the refrigerator rippled and shook like the water surface when the box of tissue paper touched it. I was surprised. I had expected I’ll insert the box without any resistance, just like in the dark, but this was a completely unexpected reaction.

After that, I tried touching the pitch-black inside the refrigerator with various objects other than a box of tissue paper.

I tried ballpoint pens, scissors, nail clippers, toothpicks, and anything else I could see. But the result is the same. The blackness only shook with ripples like the surface of the water.

Then I inserted a plastic umbrella from the entrance into the pitch-black refrigerator.

“What…?

The plastic umbrella was inserted into the pitch-black, ignoring the thickness of the refrigerator. The length of the plastic umbrella would have penetrated through the refrigerator. Surprised, I stirred for a while and took out the plastic umbrella, but I could not see any change in either the plastic umbrella or the refrigerator side.

“Mmmm…”

I could only grunt. Is this something?

Is it the mysterious series of dungeon outbreaks that have been making the rounds recently? For some reason, dungeons populated by monsters with a fantasy-like taste have been popping up on this scientifically civilized earth.

The TV news was full of this story from beginning to end.

Because of this, I’m stuck in traffic jams with trains stopped, and my clients have been inconvenienced.

Could it be that such a dungeon has appeared in the small, old two-door refrigerator in my rented apartment?

But I can’t say for sure yet.

It must be some anomalous phenomenon, but we have not yet decided that my refrigerator is a dungeon.

“Then what would happen if I touch it with my finger…?”

I took the courage to touch it for the first time in pitch black.

But after repeating the futile move of withdrawing my hand several times, I finally touched the pitch black of the refrigerator.

[“Gyuut”]

I’m glad. It’s okay. I checked my fingertips, and there was no pain, burning, or soreness on the skin.

“Then… (gulp)”

Then, I decided to stick my head into the pitch-black refrigerator.

And then.

I saw a world shining blue. The ceiling glowed blue-white. The blue walls and floor of large stones assembled like bricks. And the cold air on my cheeks. But it doesn’t seem to be because [“I put my head in the fridge”].

It was like the inside of a dungeon shown on TV.

“Wait… Really…?”

The voice that leaked out of my mouth came back to my ears as if it were an echo. I turned my head to look around and saw a large room the size of two school classrooms, with a ceiling over three meters high. The ceiling is high, probably more than three meters high. The wall in front of me was a rusty, old-fashioned iron door.

It was a dungeon. A dungeon, really, really, really a dungeon.

What should I do? I pulled my head out of the refrigerator, feeling a mix between excitement, nervousness, and agitation.

Then I was greeted by the usual bright fluorescent light and the relaxing smell of my room. I knew I was in my room, and somehow the refrigerator seemed to be the only thing connected to the dungeon.

“Ha ha ha…”

I tried to spin some words to calm myself down, but all that came out of my mouth was a pathetic, dry laugh.

No way. My refrigerator is turned into a dungeon…!

After 10 minutes, I decided to leave the apartment to calm down.

I thought I’d take the night breeze to cool my head down. Yes, that would be good. I decided to take a short walk to the supermarket, which was open late, and buy some dinner. I was going to cook today with the leftovers in the fridge, but with my fridge in such a state, I had no idea how to take it out.

……….

Then at the supermarket, I bought a boxed lunch with a “sold-out” sticker and some sparkling wine I wanted to drink and headed home. But I missed the change at the cash register, probably because I still haven’t recovered from the shock of having a dungeon in my room.

“Hmmm… this is the time when I need to keep my cool…”

I reprimanded myself, lifted my eyes from my feet, and suddenly saw a nearby garbage dump. My eyes were drawn to a wooden baseball bat discarded there.

Slowly I approached the dump and picked up the bat.

Perhaps danger sensed that a dungeon was created in my home, or I was naturally conscious of the need to acquire a weapon to protect myself. The wooden bat in my hand is small because it is for children and looks just right for an adult to swing with one hand like a cudgel.

The varnish on the surface remained on the bat, and “Katsuo” was written on it in bold magic marker. Katsuo throws it away because the bat no longer fits him as he grew up. If that is the case, I would be grateful to use this bat to protect myself.

That kind of act of stealing found objects is called embezzlement of property left in one’s possession. Of course, it is a crime. But there might be a monster overflowing from my refrigerator at any moment. I’m aware I’m a bad adult who picks up things that have been thrown away, so please give me a break on this one.

………

After spending restless days with a dungeon in my house, the holidays finally arrived.

In the meantime, I wrapped the refrigerator in gumboots and sealed it with the door on the wall. On the other hand, I left the refrigerator unplugged.

In other words, although I feel some danger, I think it would be uninteresting if the dungeon disappeared when he unplugged the power.

Because, you know, that’s what happens.

I am the only one who knows about the dungeon in the refrigerator, and I am the only one who can use it. In other words, I have it all to myself.

The news is calling for people not to enter the dungeon that has appeared. However, few people seem to take this seriously, and every day there are news reports of people going missing in dungeons.

That has to do with the magical properties of dungeons.

According to the exciting stories of those who have entered and survived dungeons, if you defeat monsters in dungeons, you will become stronger. The more you defeat them, the stronger you become. Such a thing is just like in a game. The benefits are unbelievable, such as eyesight recovery and youth rejuvenation.

I, too, have low-eye vision and astigmatism, so I wear glasses. That’s why I think If only I could be free from this hassle. I think it is worth going into the dungeon just to be freed from this hassle.

The government has finally taken the initiative in regulating the dungeons, but it has yet to come up with any measures other than closing off dungeons in conspicuous places.

But I’m an adult.

I may be a game otaku and an anime otaku, but I am not one of today’s junior high and high school students suffering from chuunibyo disease. Therefore, I will approach the dungeon attack calmly and methodically. In this regard, I first need to simulate the scale of the project. In other words, will it be an individual project? Or, will it be a multi-personal project?

But here is the problem.

To begin with, I don’t have many friends. And the few friends I do have are also an otaku. In other words, even if I suddenly took them to the dungeon, they might not be able to survive due to their low level of fighting ability. That is not a joke, but something that is reported daily in the news.

As friends, they will keep the secret that there is a dungeon in the room to a certain extent. But that, too, is not, well, perfect. Considering this, I concluded that I would have to first carry out the dungeon attack project on my own.

If I could afford to do so, I would be able to guide my friends into the dungeon. If I am strong enough, I can protect my friends and they will do what I say.

“Hmmm, yes. First, I’ll start the dungeon attack solo…”

I wrote down my plan in the notebook I had prepared.

“Then… Next, I’ll talk about the equipment I’ll need to dive into the dungeon…”

I have some idea about the equipment.

As well as the bat that Katsuo-kun has that I picked up the other day, I ride a motorcycle, a 400 cc medium-sized motorcycle. So I have a helmet, leather gloves, and boots. A rider’s jacket, which can contain a protector, can be used as protective gear when diving into the dungeon.

Of course, that is not enough, so we will need to buy more armor and weapons. Before buying anything else, it would be a good idea to check out what is in the dungeon. That may change what I want to buy.

“Okay, first, let’s check out the dungeon! Then we’ll go shopping!”

I closed my notebook and began preparing to dive into the dungeon.