chapter 2

“Eek!”

Tsutomu fell onto the wooden floor and screamed, much like a crushed frog, in surprise . Loud, unorganized voices entered his ears . And after some time, he found himself in tattered, plain, light-brown clothes .

He checked around his body and was relieved to see that his hands were still there . While he was checking for any other abnormalities, the man beside him grabbed him by the collar and picked him up rather forcefully .

“Hm, this is the first time you’re respawning after death, isn’t it? Can you stand properly?”

“Y-yes . ”

The man was dressed in high-quality indigo clothes, with a gold star affixed to his chest, much like a soldier . As he got picked up by the man, Tsutomu managed to prop himself up with the black cane that he dropped .

Tsutomu was around 170cm in height, but after getting on his feet, he found that the man stood at around 190cm . He felt, at that moment, as if he was being interrogated by someone of the police .

“Hey, you . Where’s your status card?”

“S-status card?”

“You’re a Diver, aren’t you?”

Suspiciously, the tall man narrowed his eyes at him, and Tsutomu shrunk away in fear . The man stared at Tsutomu and sighed .

“This is the Dungeon of the Gods . Everybody has the right to enter… You’re likely an orphan, though . Anyway, where’d you get that cane?”

“Uh…”

“…guess your memory is still a little fuzzy . Anyhow, if you don’t have a status card and you dived into the dungeon with that cane, then people would’ve talked about you . It’s probably not your original equipment . But nobody’s dumb enough to just leave something like this in the plains, which means you probably got this from a treasure chest . What color was it?”

“Uh, it was sparkling and shiny . Almost like it reflected light from the sun . ”

Under rapid interrogation, Tsutomu responded without grasping the gravity of the situation . The black cane Tsutomu held was a high-level cane made from a rare drop from the ancient city on the 90th floor . When Tsutomu described the treasure chest that held the cane, the man’s expression showed hints of excitement .

“That’s… the kind that gives out divine gifts! You’re really lucky!”

Tsutomu gave a fake smile when the man clasped his shoulder and, finally, he could look around . There were dragonewts with tightly packed red scales on their limbs . There were also beastmen nimbly moving about, all of them with bearing various characteristics from animals . The man that clasped his shoulder had black dog ears on his head and a black tail wagging to and fro .

Of course, there were also plenty of regular humans . There were people ogling the reception ladies and people polishing their armour . There were also people inquiring as to where they were around Tsutomu .

“Sorry . I got a bit too excited . Should we get this item appraised?”

“Ah, sure . ”

Tsutomu felt slightly scared due to the curious looks he got, but he kept walking, as if being led by the dog man . While doing so, he looked as far out as he could into the distance . Everything he saw was straight out of fantasy – there were elves with sharp ears and blonde hair, old men the height of grade schoolers, and even people with feathers .

The buildings were a bit strange too . For the most part, they were wooden structures . However, the place that Tsutomu came from was now a pitch-black door, as if cutting a hole through space itself .

As Tsutomu looked, the black door opened . Five people wearing similar clothes to him were thrown out and to the floor . Then, just like what happened to him, guards in indigo uniforms escorted them out of the building .

Catching his eye, there were fantasy-like monitors in midair . In the holographic floating monitor, a party fighting goblins was projected .

“We’re here . Please enter . ”

Before he could respond, he was pushed into a private room . Behind the counter sat a cat girl dressed in indigo, leaning on her elbow in boredom . Then, almost as if waking up, seeing Tsutomu and the dog man, she called out to them almost in admiration .

“It’s rare for the clever puppy to come here . ”

“I don’t want to see you either, but appraise this guy for now . I don’t know if it was divine providence, but he managed to get that thing in his dive . ”

“Is that a cane? Lemme see!”

The catgirl’s ears stood up erect and her almond-shaped pupils narrowed as she appraised the cane that Tsutomu handed over . “Mumumu,” the catgirl recited softly as she channeled magic power into the cane and spoke in shock .

“This is the most valuable item I have ever appraised . ”

“Ooh . ”

“Because my skill level isn’t high enough, I could only see the Quickspell (lit . chanting abbreviation) effect; it most likely has more effects than just that . On top of that, its magical power conductivity is at the highest level . Even with just this, it has considerable value . 10 large top quality magic stones… wait, plus 2 extra fire magic stones! That should be the value as of now! Actually, using such a simple appraisal spell on an item of this quality is sacrilegious, so why not make the appraisal fee free of charge?”

“This guy went diving . Don’t you think he has money?”

“Right… However, my skill level might increase if I appraise this, hmm… Hey, you! I’m fine if you pay later on, but do you mind leaving this with me, For now, one medium-sized medium-quality magic stone should be enough to cover the fee!”

The white-haired catgirl leaned over the counter . Even though she offered to only accept just one medium-sized magic stone, Tsutomu still vaguely disapproved and looked up at the dog man involuntarily . “Hmm,” the dog man mumbled and scratched his chin, before crouching a bit to be on eye level with Tsutomu .

“This person is a degenerate but she’s the best at appraisal . Just one medium-sized stone is an unprecedented fee in her case . ”

“There was something unnecessary in there, but oh well! How about it~? Onee-san normally offers appraisals at one large magic stone~”

“What I can tell you is that even though she said she could wait for the rest of the money, she usually waits for only half a day . In other words, you’d be better off selling it right now . ”

“Hey, which side are you on, puppy? I’m guild staff! The same guild as you~! Benefitting the guild should be your top prio~rity!”

The dog man ignored the catgirl even as she slapped the counter, and continued to talk .

“That cane is probably a top-tier item . Maybe if you use it, you could surpass the 50th floor wall, and get great riches and great fame . Do you still want to sell it?”

“…”

Tsutomu thought to himself . This might not just be a dream, but it could be reality . He felt pain that he had never felt before when he was hit by the breath of that Festering Ancient Dragon . And now, there was a dog man staring at him with a serious expression . There was no way that this was a dream .

If this wasn’t a dream, but rather reality, then he should make a realistic choice . If this was actually a dream, then he could laugh it off . Tsutomu took in a deep breath, and shut his eyes . A few seconds passed, and then opening his narrowed eyes, he calmed down and spoke rationally .

“I’ll sell it . ”

Though the creation process was tough, the cane was not all there was to him . Besides, the cane would be useless without good armour or tools . Gold took precedence .

“…I see . If that’s the choice you pick, that’s fine . ”

The dog man looked at the decisive expression on Tsutomu and stood up, telling the catgirl to appraise the item . The catgirl simply said that she was waiting for it, and held on to the cane, her supple white tail swaying as she made her way behind the counter .

“The appraisal will take a couple of hours, so you should create your status card first . Even if you don’t plan to keep diving, it’s useful for storing your gold . ”

“Ah, alright . Thank you . ”

The two of them left the private room and headed for a busy counter . Tsutomu felt glances as he passed them by from afar . It seemed as though he was bathed in attention and his previously laid-back expression stiffened .

Then, they walked towards an empty counter . The dog man placed his hand on the counter and jumped into the opposite side, laughing at Tsutomu’s surprised expression .

“Well then . Welcome to the guild reception of the Dungeon of the Gods . We welcome you . Now then, I’ll create your status card . Is that alright?”

“Yes . ”

“The fee will be 100,000 gold, but I’ll cover that first . I’ll subtract it from the sale price of that cane, okay?”

“Alright . ”

“Now then, please place some bodily fluid on this card . ”

The dog man slid a white cutting-board-like object onto the counter and began to rummage below the counter .

“Body fluid…?”

“Basically, blood or saliva or such . ”

“Ah, okay . ”

The dog man came out from below the counter and handed over a thin needle-like object, but Tsutomu dripped the saliva he had accumulated over the status card on the counter . As that happened, the status card glowed white . The light was not dazzling, but gentle . When it subsided, the dog man wiped the saliva off and looked .

“Kyotani Tsutomu… Ooh . LUK and MND are the same, huh . Class is White Mage . Pretty decent for a LV 1 . ”

Tsutomu tightly held the status card with both hands after the dog man evaluated it and passed it to him .

KYOTANI TSUTOMU

LV 1

STR (Strength) D-

DEX (Dexterity) D-

VIT (Vitality) D-

AGI (Agility) D-

MND (Intelligence) D

LUK (Luck) D

Class – White Mage

Skill – Heal

[White mage, huh . That must mean it’s my main account . ]

“Was it because the one that accepted the god’s invitation was my main account?” Tsutomu thought as he placed the card back down .

“Next time, please entrust this to the receptionist before entering the dungeon . Divers (people who have no status card) will still receive God’s gift, but not God’s rule . ”

“Huh? God’s gift? God’s rule?”

“Even if you die within the dungeon, you will be revived at that black door . However, you will lose everything except your most valuable item . Everything else is trapped inside the dungeon . ”

The dog man pointed at the place Tsutomu fell on as he explained . Tsutomu shuddered, recalling the breath of the Festering Ancient Dragon, but the dog man kept going .

“There is only one God’s rule – thou shalt not hold malicious intent and kill others . ”

“Shall?”

“Basically, don’t murder anyone in the dungeon . If someone kills another person inside the dungeon, they will never be allowed to reenter . Being forsaken by the gods is a fate worse than death . Don’t even try . ”

“Y-yes . ”

He brought his face closer and Tsutomu shrunk back like when he faced the Festering Ancient Dragon .

“However, if you don’t register for a status card, the gods won’t recognize you as human . As a diver, you would be treated the same way as any other monster in the dungeon . Even if a diver is killed in the dungeon, God’s rule won’t apply to them . ”

“In other words…”

“When a diver is murdered, they dissipate into particles like any other monster and there is almost no evidence that they died . There are some idiots who like killing divers too . Starting from next time, please make sure to bring this status card to the receptionist . If you do that, people won’t murder you . Worst case, you’ll be murdered but someone will revive you in there . ”

“…Understood . ”

The dog man seemed satisfied with Tsutomu’s reply and he held on to his status card .

“That’s all for accountability . Are there any more questions?”

The dog man said as he brushed away a long lock of black hair . Tsutomu raised his hand after thinking for a while .

“…Is it alright if I ask a few questions?”

“Such as?”

“About God’s rule . Is it violated even if the person in question isn’t killed? Such as causing pain or luring monsters towards others?”

“Ooh . You’re so young but your mind is so twisted . ”

“Why, thanks,” Tsutomu replied as the dog man folded his arms .

“Unfortunately, as long as there is no death, God’s rule doesn’t apply . In addition, accidental attacks with no ill intention do not break the rule . Even if you died like that, God’s rule wouldn’t apply and you’d still respawn at the black door . However, regarding luring monsters…”

“Ah, does that trigger the rule?”

The dog man seemed like he had a hard time saying it . He shook his head .

“Luring monsters doesn’t violate the rule . However, there are some idiots that still do it due to rare drops and don’t think of the consequences . ”

“…because of that, huh?”

“That’s correct . ”

Tsutomu pointed at the floating monitors, and the dog man silently nodded .

“God uses those items to display the progress of parties within the dungeon . Basically, they show the parties that are the furthest in the dungeon, or parties in combat . There are about 50 of them being shown at a time here . If they did something like I mentioned…”

“They would lose credibility . Nobody would enter those parties on purpose . There would also be punishments . ”

“That’s right . That’s why people in clans normally don’t fight others . If they did, the clan’s reputation would suffer and they’d be expelled . Every clan strictly imparts that rule to their members . ”

“I see . Is it alright if I ask two more questions?”

“Hm?”

Tsutomu looked around before speaking in a soft voice .

“I want to hire escorts or similar, but does that sort of thing exist within the guild? If so, I would like to hire you . ”

“Hoho . It’s surprising that someone without a status card knows about that . ”

“It’s easy to infer after seeing that . ”

Tsutomu noticed that the guards that dressed in indigo and the individuals that respawned often went around in tandem .

Those that exited the black door, with only one weapon or a piece of armour, and the staff guiding them to the outside of the guild . Tsutomu wondered why they would go so far as to guide them to the guild entrance, not to mention guiding them to the reception .

However, hearing about diver hunting from the dog man, he could guess that public safety here wasn’t good . He could immediately imagine the malicious stares one would get coming in here so poorly equipped .

“Also, if it’s possible, can I have a tutorial of the dungeon, if you get what I mean? I’d be thankful if I learned what to do and what not to do in the dungeon, as well as how to effectively conquer it . It’s because, uh, I’m an orphan so I don’t know much about that . ”

“Uh, such systems don’t exist, but since guild staff can personally accept requests, and I understand what you need, I’ll accept . ”

“Thank you . One last question . ”

“Umu, I’m looking forward to it . I can answer almost anything you ask . ”

The dog man pounded his trained chest as Tsutomu asked his last question .

“What is your name?”

“…I’m Garm . Best regards, Kyotani Tsutomu-dono . ”

“Ah, just Tsutomu is alright . ”

Tsutomu’s narrow eyes narrowed even further and he let loose a smile as he saw Garm radiate a slightly poisonous atmosphere .

Silavin: A ton of people are hating on the fact that he was so willing to sell his cane . I don’t think it is an issue though . A legendary item in the end still just an item . He could always get it back from that person .