An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 72

Chapter 72: It’s a Bit Foggy Somehow

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Because I had cleared this Shinjuku Kabukicho Dungeon years ago, I somehow became the leader of this search and rescue team. 

“Even though it’s been years already…”

“There’s no need to worry. We will offer you our full support from here.”

Said one of Aoi Kadoyama’s office staff from above ground. Aoi Kadoyama’s office staff sounded really reliable. 

“Well, at least the start of this dungeon isn’t that much different from any other dungeon.”

Shinjuku Kabukicho Dungeon was a highly difficult dungeon. It was a Class 9 dungeon, but the upper levels weren’t all that different from the other dungeons. The upper levels of the Shinjuku Kabukicho Dungeon was a fairly standard cave-type floor. 

“Let’s search for the teleportation trap.”

Of course, we had to use the usual teleportation trap method to get down faster. 

“Our team has been using the teleportation trap method since Nishida-sama discovered it. Thanks to that, we’ve been able to reduce our exploration time.”

“I see.”

I first started using the teleportation trap method back when I was still a university student. It had been years since then, so I thought someone else had already discovered it. I thought using the teleportation trap method had become the standard for the top explorers.

“Fufufu~ Japan is always one step behind.”

Elsa said with a smug smile on her face. 

“The explorers from our Great French Union have known about the teleportation trap method for ages. Isn’t that right, Nana?”

“Huh? O-Oh. Ye-Yeah. That’s right….”

It seemed the explorers in France already knew about the teleportation trap method for quite a while. As expected from a leading nation in the dungeon exploration era. 

“Also… The first one who popularized the teleportation trap method was none other than Nana!”

….So it was a Japanese person who actually popularized it…?

“N-No… I-I-I once saw someone doing it and I just kind of passed it onto the other explorers….”

“Huh? I-Is that so?”

“I see. So basically, it was all thanks to Nishida-sama that the Great French Union knew about the teleportation trap method.”

Iijima-san from the Dungeon Management Agency calmly summarized, causing Elsa’s face to twist in frustration. 

“Ei-Either way! That method is practically obsolete! Finding the teleportation trap takes a lot of time and you can’t jump multiple floors at once either!”

While they were talking, we managed to find the first teleportation trap.

“Ah, there it is.”

“Wha-?! You already found it?!”

“J-Just like usual… You managed to find it in an instant… If I’ve only watched your livestream, I might think you were faking it, but after seeing it in person… I really have no other choice but to believe it now.”

Iijima-san said with a wry smile. On the other hand, Elsa was staring at the teleportation trap with wide eyes, causing Iijima-san to chuckle in return. Well, of course. If I didn’t find the teleportation trap this fast, it would take me days to find the missing explorers. I had to return quickly so I could open my restaurant again. 

“I-It must be a coincidence! There’s no way a teleportation trap could be found this quickly! Especially on the first floor!”

Elsa insisted, but I ignored her and channeled my magic power into the trap. In an instant, we were transported to the middle levels. The surroundings changed from a cave type to an ancient ruins-like type.

“Is this the middle level?! Jumping straight from the first floor to the middle levels….”

Elsa gasped in surprise while the people from Aoi Kadoyama’s office nodded in agreement. 

“Well, it’s no wonder she’s surprised. As we’ve said before, we’ve attempted this method numerous times ourselves. But unlike Nishida-sama, we only managed to jump around five or six floors in one go.”

“Maybe you didn’t channel enough magic power into the trap?”

“Our team’s top-class mages have poured in as much magic power as they possibly could, but they could only jump two or three floors at most…”

“Ah, then maybe the magic power’s wavelength you poured is not compatible with the teleportation trap.”

“Magic power’s wavelength…?”

“Yeah. The ‘magic power’ in each person has a slightly different wavelength. The same goes for teleportation traps—the higher the compatibility, the more efficient the magic power transfer. If the magic power you pour in isn’t compatible with the teleportation trap, the amount of magic power the trap receives will be significantly reduced.”

Thinking back, I had been unconsciously adjusting the wavelength of my magic everytime I triggered the trap. Since this was something I did instinctively, I forgot to explain it during my livestream. 

We continued traversing through the middle level and it didn’t take long before we encountered another teleportation trap. 

“Thi-This is just a coincidence… This is just another coincidence…”

Elsa muttered to herself as we used the teleportation trap to jump between floors. 

“Alright. We should be on the 13th floor now.”

“…As expected of Nishida-sama. Barely 30 minutes have passed since we entered the dungeon…”

Now that we had entered the lower level, the appearance of the dungeon changed again.

“It’s awfully hard to see ahead. Not to mention, this sticky humidity…”

Elsa frowned in discomfort. I nodded in agreement to her.

“Yeah, that’s one of the defining traits of this dungeon’s lower levels. A thick fog covers everything. You can’t even see a few meters ahead in some areas.”

The fog made it hard to keep track where your allies were and monsters often appeared all of a sudden because of low visibility. But then, one of the explorers under Mercys, Satsuki Gojou, spoke up. 

“Leave it to me! I have a detection skill, so I can spot both monsters and traps with no problem! Speaking of which—”

“There’s a monster nearby, huh?”

I cut down the monster that came to our way from beyond the fog with a knife from a distance. 

“You’re able to notice the monster that fast?!”

“You think so?”

“Perhaps.. You also have a detection skill?”

“No. I just can sense when something is getting close, including monsters.”

“But still… That monster is still quite far from us….”

In any case, the fog shouldn’t be much of an issue for them. The main problem was the drones…

“The visibility is indeed poor, but we’re tracking you with sensors specially designed for any kind of interference like fog or rain. We have no problem following your movement.”

The people from Aoi Kadoyama’s office reassured us. We pushed through the thick fog as we searched for the next teleportation trap. 

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〈Huh? What’s with this livestream?〉

〈Is this a dungeon livestream?〉

〈It’s super hard to see. LOL〉

〈Don’t you guys think this livestream is a bit foggy?〉

〈I thought it was a video issue, turns out it’s the fog.〉

〈Wait, is that Nishida?〉

〈For real?〉

〈Why is Nishida on some obscure channel with only 10 subscribers?〉

〈Is that Nana Tendou?〉

〈Is this a fake video?〉

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