Chapter 6

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---

The conference room, now filled with a tense atmosphere as the sun began to set. The President of the United States, seated at the head of the table, opened his mouth solemnly amidst the tense faces of those attending the meeting.

"So, gentlemen, what's the situation with the dungeon?"

"In a word, it's not good. The investigation team, primarily composed of Marines, has been decimated. Currently, the entrance to the dungeon, which has been confirmed, is surrounded by state troops."

"Due to the appearance of the dungeon, some of the panicked citizens have started riots in the town, and the police are now trying to suppress them. This situation is currently expanding, and we need to take some action as soon as possible."

"..."

The President sighed. The sudden appearance of the dungeon in the early morning has thrown the country into chaos. The police, who learned of the dungeon's appearance in the city center through citizen reports, investigated and encountered unknown hostile life forms called monsters inside. The police officers engaged the monsters with their handguns, using all their ammunition but barely managed to win. Sensing the danger, the police officers tried to retreat from the dungeon and wait for backup, but they discovered something that would later fuel the domestic chaos. They found a gold lump, about the size of a baseball, glowing golden, at the spot where the monster's corpse had disappeared. The surprised police officers secretly reported the gold lump to their superiors while hiding it from the onlookers gathered at the dungeon entrance. However, the news of the gold lump somehow leaked onto the internet.

The subsequent events were almost too much to bear. While the dungeon that was successfully sealed by state troops and police was fine, the public began entering undiscovered or unreported dungeons one after another. Naturally, the civilians, who had no proper equipment or information, were defeated and many were killed or injured. The government, learning of the situation through citizen reports, dispatched state troops and police. Temporary medical tents were set up near the dungeons, creating a scene reminiscent of a field hospital.

Worse still, the media reported on the scenes in various places without sufficient information. The citizens, learning from news reports that the dungeon was dangerous, panicked, and riots, including looting, broke out in various places. Moreover, the media's broadcast of the riots created a negative chain reaction, making it difficult for the police and state troops to suppress the riots effectively.

"The police and state troops will suppress the civilian riots. At the same time, I want the military to quickly discover and seal any new dungeons. We must prevent the chaos from spreading any further. Also, I want the investigation team to reorganize and conduct a new investigation of the dungeon as soon as possible. Without any information, we can't come up with a strategy."

"Understood."

The heads of each department nodded in agreement with the President's instructions.

"Then, gentlemen, let's work to resolve this situation as soon as possible."

With the President's declaration, filled with the dignity of the leader of the world's strongest nation, the emergency countermeasure meeting concluded.

---

In the European Council, where representatives from various countries gathered, heated debates were taking place.

"Why did a dungeon even appear! Is this your doing!?"

"How should I know! Besides, how could anyone spread something like that all over the world!?"

"It appeared almost simultaneously all over the world, it can't be a human-made thing, right!?"

The appearance of something unexpected like a dungeon has caused the council to malfunction, unable to make any decisions as time passed. The ministers from various countries, frustrated with the unproductive meeting, eagerly accepted the chairman's proposal for a break. One of the ministers, returning to his office for the break, took out a phone with a direct line to his home country from his drawer and began to report the situation in the council.

"Yes, so there's no movement from the European Council. It seems that the appearance of the dungeon was unexpected for all countries, and it wasn't done intentionally by any country. ... Yes, that's right. No country knows the reason or method of the dungeon's appearance. In other words, they don't know how to eliminate it. ... Yes, I will continue to gather information."

The minister, who was dispatched to the European Council, put the phone back in the drawer and exhaled deeply.

"Even in such a situation, they are still obsessed with the struggle for leadership... What a mess."

The dungeons in the country are sealed by the military and police, but civilians have already entered, resulting in significant casualties. Fortunately, there are no signs of monsters appearing outside the dungeons, but it cannot be left unattended. Especially in Europe, where borders are intricately intertwined, it is out of the question to deploy the military near the border without prior consent, even for the purpose of sealing the dungeons.

The meeting to discuss the deployment of the military near the border is a farce. Each country is afraid of being held responsible in the future and is unwilling to take the lead, resulting in an unproductive meeting.

"It's fine for now, but what do they intend to do from here...? If they don't prepare anything while there's still time, they won't be able to respond quickly."

The number of dungeons confirmed within the EU member states has already exceeded 50 and is increasing. The sealing operations are mainly carried out by local police, which are weak. If monsters were to spill out from these dungeons, the damage would be catastrophic.

Under the command of the European Council, there is a multinational force called EUFOR. If these forces were to seal the dungeons near the border, it would be quick, but the negotiations in the council to make that decision are progressing slowly. Each country is preoccupied with the responsibility in case of an emergency and the temporary contributions required for the deployment.

"Praying for nothing to happen, I have no choice but to endure this farce a little longer..."

As the time to resume the meeting approached, he took a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator in the office and drank it all at once. He crushed the empty bottle and threw it into the trash can, then left the office, reinvigorated.

---

On the northern land of Russia, where a cold wind was blowing, a large force had gathered in front of a dome-shaped building. Many tents were set up, and armored vehicles and tanks were assembled, with hundreds of fully armed soldiers lined up.

In front of the soldiers, a commander with the rank of major stood on a platform and began his speech.

"From now on, we will carry out the dungeon suppression operation! After entering the target structure, each squad will spread out and secure the interior! After securing it, a scientific investigation team will conduct an investigation! All personnel, move out!"

Upon receiving the commander's order, the fully armed soldiers entered the dungeon. The soldiers who entered the dungeon spread out in squad units, following the instructions, and expanded their search area at each fork in the path.

A few minutes after the start of the dungeon entry, they finally encountered a monster. A four-legged beast-like monster ran fiercely from the dark corridor and attacked the exploration team. The soldiers, who had been given permission to engage in advance, fired their guns without hesitation. The monster withstood the barrage of bullets for a short time but was overwhelmed by the number of bullets fired from multiple directions and fell. The fallen monster turned into particles of light and disappeared, leaving behind a glass bottle filled with greenish liquid. The soldiers, wary of the possibility of a trap, picked up the bottle and stored it in their storage bags before advancing deeper into the dungeon.

They secured the first floor without much difficulty and discovered a staircase leading further down. Upon receiving a report from the assault team, the communications officer asked the commander whether to continue or withdraw.

"What should we do?"

"Of course, we will continue the exploration. Our mission is to suppress the dungeon."

"Understood."

Based on the commander's decision, the assault team advanced further into the dungeon.

When they reached the fifth floor, the moment arrived. Communications from each assault team began to flood in, one after another, like screams. Indeed, these communications were screams, requests for permission to withdraw, calls for help, and calls that received no response, all in a state of chaos. The commander quickly instructed each team to report their current situation, but the responses were all in disarray.

Some reported that the bullets were ineffective and the attacks were not working. Some reported that the squad leader was killed and they were surrounded by monsters. Some reported that monsters reappeared on the floor they had already secured.

The commander hurriedly ordered all assault teams to withdraw, but it was too late. Only two teams responded to the order. One of these teams lost communication halfway through the third floor, about ten minutes later. The communication device of the last surviving team, which was left on, continued to emit a sound like something being chewed, heard through the speakers of the temporary command post.

Total annihilation. These two words flashed through the mind of the commander, a major. He tried to contact each team again through the communications officer, but there was no response, only static. Realizing the total annihilation of the assault teams, the commander contacted the battalion headquarters to report the situation and gather the remaining forces.

---

"So, it failed?"

"Yes. The infantry company that entered the A1 target was decimated. Only the command personnel who did not enter remain, and it is impossible to reorganize the unit."

"... What about the other units that entered the dungeons?"

"They have suffered similar damage, with some differences."

The President, listening to the report from his aide, felt a headache coming on and held his head. Upon hearing that several countries' militaries had already entered the dungeons, he dispatched the military to some of the dungeons that had appeared in the country, determined not to fall behind. However, an unexpected report came in that the dispatched units had been decimated in exchange for minimal information.

"The total casualties of the units that entered the dungeons this time amount to a regiment-sized force."

"A regiment... thousands of soldiers died?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

The report of losing thousands of personnel made the President feel as if he were losing consciousness. He had never heard of such a large number of casualties at once since taking office.

"But, Mr. President, it wasn't a complete failure. Look at this..."

The aide placed a case on the President's desk. Inside the opened case was a transparent mineral the size of a softball.

"... What is this?"

"It's a diamond rough. It's equivalent to 3,672 carats, far exceeding the size of the largest diamond held by the United Kingdom."

"!?"

The President opened his eyes wide and stared at the diamond in the case. The aide, observing the President's reaction, continued to speak.

"Losing thousands of personnel is a very unfortunate situation. However, this single diamond can compensate for the economic losses."

"..."

"Fortunately, we have gained some understanding of the dungeon's characteristics from the information left by the investigation team. Future investigations should be safer."

"Continue the investigation, then?"

"Yes."

The President pondered the aide's advice. Indeed, the diamond brought back from the dungeon could cover the costs of compensating for the lost personnel, purchasing new equipment, and training new personnel. However, continuing to challenge the dungeons meant a continuous loss of human resources.

"Also, Mr. President, even if we give up on dungeon exploration, other countries will continue. When valuable items are produced from the dungeons, our country will fall behind if we give up."

"That... would be bad."

"Yes. To prevent that, we should continue dungeon exploration."

"..."

The President made his decision.

"Continue the dungeon exploration. But only with a fully prepared backup system. Avoid unnecessary personnel losses."

"Understood."

"Yes, and regarding the undiscovered dungeons..."

"Currently, the military and police are searching. We are also receiving information from civilians, so if they are not in remote areas, we should be able to confirm most of them within a few days. Here are the details."

The aide handed the President a progress report on the ongoing search for dungeons. The document contained a map of the country with the locations where dungeons had appeared and a list of city names.

"There are a lot of them."

"The current number of confirmed dungeons is 138. It is estimated that the final number will exceed 200."

"I see... No matter what, with so many dungeons in our territory, we can't just leave them alone. We need to continue investigating the dungeons and develop effective countermeasures."

"Yes. Currently, we don't even know if blowing them up or sealing them with concrete will solve the problem. If we handle it poorly, it could lead to further disasters. ... Even if there are casualties, we must conduct the investigations."

The short report meeting, lasting less than 10 minutes, ended, and the President looked slightly aged. After the aide left the office, the President leaned back in his chair, looking exhausted.

"... Yes. Even if there are casualties, we must."

He muttered the words the aide had spoken, as if convincing himself.

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I wrote about the international reactions after the appearance of the dungeons.