Chapter 207: |
Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Night Darkness
11:30 PM.
After a simple dinner of tea and rice balls, Ruu grabbed a bath towel and headed to see her injured father. However, her father was in a room packed with other injured people. So, only Ruu could barely squeeze in. The rest of us settled down on the rooftop stairs as our sleeping spot. It's like the spot where delinquents would hide to smoke in school.
The security inside the building is good.
No one is making unnecessary noise, nor are there any complaints like "What is the Self-Defense Force doing?".
Well, given that the Self-Defense Force had rescued and was protecting us, it would be ungrateful to complain.
But instead, the whole building was covered in a gloomy atmosphere. Although we were saved, everyone couldn't hide their anxiety about the uncertain future.
Despite it being night, the noise of newly rescued people climbing the stairs continued to echo from below. They, too, would be wandering the building looking for a place to rest their tired bodies.
"Zzz… Zzz…"
Nina-san and Serai-san were already asleep on the slime mat I provided. They must have been very tired today. As soon as they lay down, they started to breathe softly in their sleep. The slime mat is minimal for the sake of privacy, so they seem a bit uncomfortable…
But neither of them has taken off their combat suits.
The Self-Defense Force is protecting us here, but you never know when something unexpected might happen. So, I had them sleep with only their masks off, just in case.
As for me, I'm meditating in a half-meditative state, resting my body and mind while keeping watch. This has been the routine lately.
Honestly, I feel a bit of fatigue accumulating, but the increased limit on my abilities helps me manage. The life energy from the giant red scorpion also helped a lot in my recovery.
(Come to think of it… The first time I participated in a TRPG convention, it was in a similar community center…)
As I looked at the white walls that seemed to have paint directly sprayed onto the concrete, old memories resurfaced.
It was around the time I just started middle school, I guess…
Already shunned at school by the end of elementary school, I went on to the local middle school where the faces hadn't changed much, so I was naturally a loner there too.
However, wanting to change my mood a bit with the new environment, I decided to try something new. I saw an article about tabletop role-playing games in a magazine I was reading back then and wanted to try it myself. So, I did some research, found out about events held at community centers, and decided to join.
Ah, TRPGs are games where you gather around a table with multiple people, rolling dice and having fun with talk-based gameplay, unlike video game RPGs.
Well, my first attempt was a disaster since I jumped in with enthusiasm but no experience.
I joined a fantasy game with swords and magic, a TRPG staple. But the people who gathered were particularly problematic. Including myself, six teenagers with questionable communication skills gathered around the table.
And every single one of us insisted on playing a ‘warrior'.
Yeah, it was a ridiculous situation. But as a TRPG newbie, I was also influenced by the popular manga at the time featuring warriors slashing through monsters with giant swords, so I wanted to do that kind of playing in my first TRPG.
But, fantasy isn't like that. The essence is adventurers of various professions forming a party and leveraging their strengths to embark on adventures.
But the six gathered, all with severe communication issues, wouldn't back down.
The game master, exasperated, said, "Just do whatever you want.", and gave the go-ahead.
As a result, six poorly organized warriors accepted a haphazard quest, entered the forest, fought some monsters, and came back.
So… a six-hour adventure with no excitement or highlights came to an end.
Moreover, the stubbornly antisocial players insisted on playing their self-imagined ‘cool characters,' refusing to engage in conversation.
Even as someone who had been a loner for a long time, I thought, "These guys are seriously messed up."
…Sigh. It’s nostalgic, but not a good memory.
But now, I wonder how those guys are doing in this changed world. They were outrageous, but they were also my first fantasy comrades.
I hope they're also surviving and fighting monsters like we did back then…
…..
2 AM.
The office is on the first floor of the courthouse.
This room, now used as the Self-Defense Force's command center, was where Roa finally returned after finishing various chores. An officer sipping hot coffee called out to her.
"Ah, sorry Roa. For keeping you up this late."
"Lieutenant Tarushita!? You haven't rested yet?"
Roa saluted the robust middle-aged officer, slightly surprised he was still awake.
"Well, I can't sleep thinking about last time. I kept getting woken up, felt like my nightmares were becoming reality each time."
"But this time, we're well-prepared, and we've improved many issues. I don't think there's much to worry about."
"Yes, Lieutenant Ludo is patrolling. I'll sleep once he returns. How about you? What about your favorite civilians?"
"Haha, I got coldly rejected by them."
"Hmm… So they disguised themselves as monsters for the Halloween operation and broke through the enemy? Quite gutsy."
"Yes, when I first saw them, they were so covered in blood I mistook them for Rangers. Besides guts, they seem to have quite the skill too."
"Oh, but you didn't see them fight, did you?"
"No. But surprisingly, they possessed magical reactive metal."
"What! Does that mean they've already cleared a dungeon!?"
"No. It seems they haven't, but they likely have enough power to do so…"
"Hmm… But their public dungeon record only shows them reaching the 4th floor, right? Could it be a coincidence?"
"Yes, I considered that. But they weren't surprised at all by the magic I displayed. I showed them a significant amount of magic that would require a lot of skill…"
The Lieutenant, astonished by Roa's account, placed his cup on the desk and touched his chin.
"Hmm… So that person has power almost equal to the frontline Self-Defense Force members? That's hard to believe…"
"Yes, it might be, or might not be. Either way, the recruitment failed. If successful, they would have been a great asset."
"Well, that's inevitable. Telling young people nowadays to become Self-Defense Force members isn't appealing."
"Working tirelessly without much appreciation is tough…"
Despite the late hour, the view outside showed bright lights and Self-Defense Force members guiding rescued civilians into the building. Both of them sighed deeply, feeling unrecognized for their efforts.
