Chapter 8

"Let's just calm down."

There's nothing good that comes from rushing. First, close the door, then boil some water and make a hot cocoa, and after sitting down in a chair, take a sip of the cocoa and take a deep breath.

"--- Well..."

First, I need to check how much of a mess my desk has become. That means verifying whether the miniature inside the desk drawer is really a dungeon. And I need to see what's happening with the middle and bottom drawers.

"Is it only the top drawer that's strange..."

I place my elbow on the desk and put my hand on my forehead. This is no joke. What time do they think it is now?

"In this cold weather, I have to go buy application forms... and since my ID photos are also gone, I need to get new ones..."

I change clothes, put on a coat, and go to a nearby convenience store. After buying the application forms, I take photos at a 24-hour photo machine in a nearby supermarket and return home. It takes me an hour to finish writing the application forms and attaching the ID photos. It's already past 11 PM. It will be tomorrow in less than an hour.

"Let's at least check the location of the temporary agency registration meeting."

I check my emails. There are five unread emails, but the subject lines are strange. They all say, "Regarding the Registration Meeting."

The content reads, "The registration meeting we sent you is unfortunately unable to offer the call center job you requested due to our mistake. We apologize for the inconvenience."

I can understand if it was just one company, but five is clearly strange.

--- But why?

"Could it be... the government?! Are they preventing me from getting a job? ...Well, that's ridiculous. There's no way the government would interfere with a citizen's job search."

There must be some problem with me. Or maybe I just had bad luck.

"Still, I have nothing to do from tomorrow."

I might as well play a game. Since unemployment benefits will last for six months, I can take my time looking for a job for half a year.

"Alright, let's check if there are any interesting games."

I turn on the internet and start typing on the keyboard, using the touch typing skills I honed from MMORPGs in my youth.

"--- By the way..."

I look at the desk drawer.

"Let's see... [Miniature Dungeon] [Desk] [Home]..."

I press the search button and look for anyone else whose desk drawer has turned into a miniature dungeon, but there are zero results.

"No leads..."

Next, I search for [Dungeon] and get 4,786 results. I can't check all of them, but one site catches my eye.

"The Japanese Dungeon Explorers Association website?"

I click on it. The first page is overly designed. I immediately skip it.

Then, a page similar to a city hall website appears.

"Why is it that... websites run by government officials are always so hard to navigate?"

It's always the same. Websites run by government organizations are cluttered and hard to understand, as if they're trying to cram everything onto the first page.

In other words, they lack a clear concept of what they're trying to convey.

"But right now... this is more important."

I click on the "Dungeon" section. A map of Japan appears, showing the distribution of dungeons. It seems that dungeons are evenly distributed outside of urban areas.

I select Chiba, but there are no dungeons near my house. It looks like the Japanese Dungeon Explorers Association doesn't know about my desk's dungeon. Well, that's to be expected.

"Well, I don't even know if it's really a dungeon. Next, explorers..."

I click on the "Explorers" section.

"Hmm... So, if you become an explorer and defeat monsters in the dungeon, your level goes up... It's like a game."

Apparently, your physical abilities improve as your level goes up. And when you enter the dungeon, your name, age, and level are displayed.

"In other words, if the miniature dungeon in my desk drawer is real, and I defeat something that looks like a monster, something will happen..."

Even just improving my physical abilities would be great. My back has been hurting lately because I've gained a bit of weight.

"--- Should I try it out..."

I open the desk drawer. Inside, there's a miniature dungeon, and a 1-centimeter figurine is moving.

"Let's start with this one, since I don't feel guilty about it..."

I press a 1-centimeter wooden figurine with my index finger. A "click" sound and the sensation of crushing a wooden chip are transmitted to my fingertips.

--- Level 877: Insane Spirit Tree defeated.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

--- Level up. You have gained 1 point.

"Annoying!?"

I cover my ears as the voice continues to ring. The walls are thin, and if the noise is too loud, I'll get complaints...

"Finally..."

After a while, the voice saying "Level up. You have gained 1 point" suddenly stops.

"This is too much of a nuisance, especially at midnight--- Wait, what is this...?"

My vision is strange. I open and close my eyes several times, but it doesn't change.

"Why... is this happening?"

In the upper left corner of my vision, there are levels, HP, and MP. Below that, there are four buttons labeled [Status], [Magic], [Skills], and [System].

"Can I move my body normally...?"

Well, it feels a bit lighter. My belly is still sticking out, though...

"Level 41, HP 410, MP 410? It's like a game..."

But the bigger issue is the numbers and geometric patterns displayed in my vision. From what I can tell from the Japanese Dungeon Explorers Association website, you can't see your status unless you're inside a dungeon, and you have to say "Status" to see it.

It seems that my HP and MP being displayed is clearly abnormal.