Chapter 8

With over 5,500 favorites and over 538,000 page views, ranking 3rd in the genre's daily ranking and 36th overall, thank you for your support.

---

A joint government and private sector research project. Drop items from the dungeon are being transferred to various domestic companies in small quantities for research purposes, and this is a proposal from the government. After being provided with the items, each company considered the proposal and accepted it. Personnel and funds were secretly provided for the research, and the major project began to move forward.

"What are these drop items, anyway..."

Among the members gathered for the project, a particularly young researcher was grumbling in front of the various drop items stored in the warehouse.

"Who knows? We don't even understand why the dungeon appeared in the first place. Such discussions should be left to the experts to conclude. Our job now is to figure out how to effectively use what's in front of us."

"But, that's true, but..."

The older researcher, who seemed to be a senior, scolded him for wasting time on unnecessary thoughts, but he couldn't help but be curious about the matter.

"Anyway, the material that makes up the dungeon itself is made from the soil around here, right?"

"From what I've seen in the reports, it seems so. The samples of the walls and floors have changed into something we've never seen before in terms of molecular structure and composition, but I haven't heard of any new elements being discovered."

"Right? So, where did they get the materials from?"

"Where, you mean...?"

"Did they appear out of nowhere with the dungeon? Or were they swapped out?"

The senior researcher, now interested, listened intently. Indeed, he felt they had been too focused on the sudden appearance of the dungeon. It was a supernatural phenomenon, and it seemed they had been too quick to dismiss it as such.

"If they came from somewhere, where did the soil that was originally at the appearance site go? There have been no reports of sudden hills forming or valleys and rivers being filled after the dungeon appeared. And there have been no reports of the dungeon being buried underground."

"Yeah, that's right. Indeed, there have been no changes in the terrain at the appearance site."

"Exactly. And there are also doubts about the idea that they were swapped out. If they were swapped out, it would be strange for no substances not found in the surrounding soil to be detected in the dungeon's composition. Even the police use differences in soil samples to determine if a crime scene is genuine."

"Indeed..."

The senior researcher nodded, frowning. Now that he thought about it, the method of the dungeon's appearance was indeed abnormal. There were numerous seismometers installed across Japan, and he had heard that there were no traces of any instruments reacting at the time the dungeon appeared. If the seismometers across the country had reacted when the dungeon appeared, the embarrassment of not noticing until the United States confirmed it could have been avoided.

"So, I think the dungeon was created by reconfiguring the soil of this world."

"Reconfigured?"

"I don't think the dungeon appeared out of nowhere. I think something like a dungeon core, as in a game, was scattered around the world. The dungeon was created by reconfiguring the surrounding soil around the core."

"..."

The senior researcher scratched his head at the young researcher's hypothesis. Indeed, some kind of trigger was necessary, but was it really something as game-like as that?

"After all, the monsters in the dungeon disappear into particles of light when they are defeated, right? That's an impossible phenomenon for a living being, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right. A living being should leave a corpse. I've heard that the bodies of foreign survey teams that died in the dungeon were recovered, at least some of them."

"So, I think the monsters are not living beings but pseudo-organisms created by the dungeon. That would explain why they disappear without leaving a corpse, and why drop items appear after the corpse disappears."

"...Exactly like a game."

The senior researcher nodded, acknowledging the young researcher's reasoning, but he felt a bit of aversion to the game-like hypothesis. No matter how much the dungeon's mechanism resembled a game, given that people had been injured or killed inside the dungeon, he couldn't view it optimistically like the young researcher, who seemed excited.

"But, if that's the case, where do the materials for the drop items that appear from the dungeon come from?"

"...Hey."

"I think the dungeon collects the necessary materials from the surrounding soil and reconfigures them into the shape of the items using the dungeon core."

The senior researcher suddenly felt a cold sweat. The young researcher, who had made this hypothesis, also started to sweat. If the young researcher's hypothesis was correct, the underground resources around the dungeon would eventually be depleted as items continued to be produced. The senior researcher's face turned pale, and the young researcher's smile was strained. The room was filled with an eerie silence as they looked at each other.

"Well, it's just a hypothesis without any evidence..."

"Yeah, just a hypothesis..."

They looked at each other, but their eyes darted around, unable to hide their unease.

At that moment, a middle-aged male researcher wearing round glasses burst into the warehouse.

"Big news! An energy resource that could replace nuclear power has been found among the drop items!"

"...What!?"

The two of them paused for a moment, then screamed in unison as they understood the middle-aged researcher's words. An energy resource that could replace nuclear power. If such a thing really existed, it would be a boon for Japan, which relies on foreign energy resources.

"Meeting in 20 minutes! Get to the conference room quickly!"

"Y-Yes!"

The middle-aged researcher, having delivered his message, hurriedly ran out of the warehouse as he had come in. The two of them, forgetting the gloomy atmosphere of a moment ago, hastily packed up the sample items and ran to the conference room.

---

The Electric Power Industry Association, formed by former general electric power companies, was holding a meeting in its conference room. Representatives from various power companies had gathered, adjusting their tight schedules. On the monitor in the conference room, a video was being shown that had captured the attention of the representatives. It was a video of an experiment with a core crystal. The experiment was conducted in a 25-meter pool of a school that had been abandoned due to depopulation. A small amount of powdered core crystal was placed in a hard capsule and dropped into the center of the pool using a simple drop mechanism. The camera view switched from the poolside to the rooftop. For about a minute, nothing happened, but suddenly the water in the pool began to bubble, and after a few seconds, steam began to rise.

"This is..."

"This is the video of the heat generation experiment conducted yesterday using the core crystal recovered from the dungeon. As you can see, the results were a great success. For the detailed experimental results, please refer to the materials in front of you."

The representative from Tokyo Electric Power Company gasped in amazement as the person in charge from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) calmly explained. He had seen the video multiple times before coming to explain it, so he understood the shock of the attendees.

"!? The mass-to-heat conversion efficiency is almost 100%!?"

"Hey! What is this!?"

"Is it more dangerous than nuclear power!?"

The attendees, faced with something unbelievable, began to panic. The person in charge tried to calm them down and continued his explanation.

"Please calm down. According to the investigation, there is no risk of explosion, and it does not emit radiation like nuclear fuel."

The attendees, who had been acting foolishly, seemed to regain their composure as they remembered the person in charge's calm explanation. Seeing that the attendees had calmed down, the person in charge continued.

"The government is currently considering the construction of new power plants using this core crystal."

"Is this as a new energy source? Or as a replacement for nuclear power?"

"The government aims to replace nuclear power... no, including thermal power, to reduce our dependence on foreign energy resources and ultimately achieve self-sufficiency in energy resources."

"!? !? !?"

The conference room was filled with a different kind of unease. Energy self-sufficiency, a dream for Japan, which relies on foreign energy resources. The securement of stable energy resources, independent of international situations. But, the possibility of achieving this dream was within reach!

However, there were those who objected.

"Wait! What about the nuclear power plants!?"

"That's right! The preparations for their restart are in the final stages!"

"Besides, if we stop the nuclear power plants now, how will we recover the money we've invested?"

Kansai Electric Power, Shikoku Electric Power, and Kyushu Electric Power, three companies, spoke up. The other power companies, though they did not say it out loud, seemed to share the same sentiment, sending sharp glances at the person in charge.

The person in charge, having anticipated these questions, calmly responded without hesitation.

"Except for those currently in operation, we will decommission them gradually. Of course, the currently operating ones will be decommissioned gradually as the new power generation becomes stable."

"..."

The representatives of the power companies, including those who had asked the questions, were speechless at the person in charge's unhesitating and clear response. They realized that if a person in charge could respond so clearly, it must be the government's decided policy. The three companies that had protested seemed to understand the intent and lowered their raised hands, falling silent.

"Currently, under the leadership of the METI, an experimental reactor is being constructed on government-owned land near the Tone River. It is expected to be operational for testing in two months."

"Two months? Even for an experimental reactor, can it be built in such a short time? Even for a small experimental facility, it would take nearly a year to order and install the necessary equipment from manufacturers."

"We will use equipment prepared for new nuclear power plants that has been sitting in manufacturers' warehouses. The power plant is being built with round-the-clock construction and is expected to be completed in about a month and a half."

"...There's no need to create such a makeshift facility..."

When the person in charge revealed the ongoing plan, the attendees expressed their dissatisfaction with a look of exasperation. Normally, a project that takes years to complete being completed in just two months was considered unreasonable. This was the common perception of the attendees.

However...

"Indeed, it is an unreasonable plan, but the government's intention is to create a track record of new power generation before other countries intervene."

Upon hearing this, the attendees understood the government's intent. Indeed, they had been shocked by the emergence of the new method using core crystals. However, this shock was from the perspective of consumers of nuclear power and fossil fuels, not suppliers. If the same thing were known by oil-producing countries, the shock would be immense. If the demand for fossil fuels were to decrease, some countries that rely heavily on fossil fuel sales for their national income could face economic collapse.

When the world transitioned from coal to oil, the maritime supremacy of Britain, which had monopolized the world's ship fuel, collapsed. Many conflicts after World War II were essentially battles over oil-producing regions. Considering this, if this information were to leak before the track record of power generation was established, interference and sabotage would be inevitable.

The attendees, realizing this, unconsciously swallowed their saliva. The sound was louder than expected in the silent conference room, making the atmosphere even more tense.

"Most importantly, if this test is successful, we can secure a rated output of 1 million kWh. This would allow us to gradually overhaul the currently fully operational thermal power plants while the experimental reactor is in operation."

"!? !? !?"

For the attendees, who were grappling with the potential for a drastic change in the world situation, this statement from the person in charge was irresistibly appealing.

Since the nuclear power plant accident, all domestic nuclear power plants have been shut down, and all thermal power plants have been operating at full capacity 24/7. However, even this was not enough to meet the energy demand, and old thermal power plants that had been neglected were being maintained and operated. Without this, it would be impossible to meet the domestic energy demand.

However, this situation could be compared to running a car at full throttle 24/7. It was far from a normal situation. While they were performing minor maintenance to prevent major issues, the fact that regular maintenance could not be performed properly meant that a major issue could occur at any time.

"Is this... true?"

"Yes. The rated output of the generator to be used in the experimental reactor is 1 million kWh. If the test run is successful, we will begin power generation under the pretext of collecting long-term operation data after a few additional tests. We have already secured enough core crystals to operate for 4-5 years."

The government was aware of the situation at each power plant and decided to take action before a major issue occurred. Most importantly, if the core crystal power plant was already operating as a base load, it would not be easily shut down by minor criticism.

"If the test run is successful, we will officially adopt it as a replacement for nuclear power. At that time, we will need your cooperation."

This was essentially a command in the form of a request. Although there was almost no room for refusal, the representative of Tokyo Electric Power, perhaps feeling a bit resentful, asked a small, futile question.

"...Can we wait and see the results of the test run?"

"Yes. If the test run fails, there will be no new power generation method."

With these words, the direction of the Electric Power Industry Association was decided.

Two months later, the test run of the experimental reactor built near the Tone River was a great success. After several tests, the experimental reactor entered long-term operation and began supplying power to the grid. In response, the thermal power plants of each company entered maintenance one by one, undergoing thorough inspections and part replacements. Some issues that could have led to major problems and were not detected by minor maintenance were also discovered.

In response, each power company became more proactive in the full-scale introduction of core crystal power generation and, to ensure a stable supply of core crystals, subtly (or pressured) influenced TV stations and magazines where they had shareholders or sponsors to create articles and programs that fueled the public's interest in the dungeon.

---

Upon investigation, it seems that the current situation of thermal power plants is quite severe.

Thank you for your hard work, everyone at the thermal power plants.