An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 98

Chapter 97: The Great Star From Hokkaido

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Hakodate, Hokkaido.

Not far from the city center, a vast park brimming with greenery lay spread out. It was Goryokaku Park. Originally built as a fortress in the late Edo period, Goryokaku’s most distinctive feature was its beautiful star-shaped design. During the Boshin War, it became a battleground between the former shogunate army and the new government forces, making it a historical landmark.

After being converted into a park, it became a popular tourist destination where visitors could freely stroll around. However, currently, a section of the park was closed off and restricted from entry. The reason? A dungeon entrance had appeared there.

Class 8: Goryokaku Dungeon. A high-difficulty dungeon spanning 40 underground floors. A rugged building had been constructed around the dungeon entrance, with personnel stationed there 24/7. However, unlike during the daytime when government officials were present, at night, only a single guard remained on duty, and no explorers were allowed to enter the dungeon.

“Fwaahh… It’s only two o’clock. Still a long way till morning.”

It was late at night. A middle-aged man, the sole guard on duty, stifled a large yawn in the office. In his hands was a mobile game. Playing games while on duty…It might sound irresponsible, but without something to pass the time, this job would be unbearable. From time to time, he would remember to glance at the monitors displaying views of the building’s interior and exterior, but the scene hadn’t changed at all.

At this hour, the door leading to the dungeon entrance was locked. If any explorers who had ventured in earlier returned, he would have to unlock it for them, but according to the records, there was currently no one inside the dungeon. All he had to do until morning was kill time. The man immersed himself in his game once again.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

A sudden noise echoed from somewhere. It was around five in the morning. The man, who had dozed off without realizing it, snapped awake and hurriedly turned to the monitors.

“…Huh?”

The camera set up in the room with the dungeon entrance picked up a new feed. On the screen, a horde of monsters was crawling out of the entrance one after another. At first, he thought it must be a mistake. Or maybe he was dreaming. His mind wanted to escape from reality.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

“This sound… No way, are the monsters banging on the locked door!?”

Panicking, he rushed out of the office to check the door nearby.

BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Someone—or something—was clearly pounding on it from the inside. Thankfully, the door was made extremely sturdy, so it shouldn’t break easily.

BANG! BANG! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

“The sound changed!?”

Checking the monitor again, the man froze in terror. Earlier, only upper-floor monsters had emerged. But now, mid-floor monsters were appearing from the entrance. One of them was likely trying to break down the door. The man, trembling with fear and nearly stumbling multiple times, slammed the emergency call button. As soon as the operator picked up, he screamed into the receiver:

“T-T-T-This is bad! Monsters—monsters are coming out of the dungeon!”

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“And with that, today we’ve arrived in Sendai.”

〈Been waiting for this.〉

〈Welcome to Tohoku.〉

〈Nice view.〉

〈So this is the Sendai’s cityscape.〉

〈Wait… Does that mean you’re at the ruins of the Sendai Castle?〉

〈No way… Could it be… That great historical figure!?〉

“Yes, as you’ve guessed, we’re planning to explore Sendai Castle Dungeon. I don’t know which historical figure we’ll be able to recruit, but… Well, the odds are high.”

〈Sendai Castle Dungeon is Class 7.〉

〈Even for you, Nishida, isn’t that a bit too touch for a day trip?〉

〈If he planned on taking tomorrow off, he would’ve already announced it.〉

〈Seriously, just take more breaks and go on a proper vacation once in a while.〉

“Haha, thanks for your concern. But thanks to Heroic Spirit Summoning, I have a lot more stamina now.”

〈That skill is seriously overpowered.〉

〈Never thought someone would solve a labor shortage like this.〉

〈A recruitment method that is completely impossible for normal people.〉

〈Don’t forget about Tanaka Masanori, too. lol〉

“Ah, right. Tanaka-kun has been a huge help. In fact, today he’s out hunting Minotaurs and High Orcs behind the scenes.”

〈What a legend.〉

〈Tanaka Masanori is seriously OP.〉

〈Wait, isn’t Hakodate in serious trouble?〉

〈Huh? What happened?〉

〈The news is saying monsters are coming out of a dungeon.〉

〈You’re kidding, right?〉

“Hm……?”

A strange, unsettling comment caught my eye. I instinctively reacted.

“Hakodate… You mean Goryokaku Dungeon?”

〈Yep, it’s on the news.〉

〈Wait, can monsters even escape from the dungeons in the first place?〉

〈It’s extremely rare, but yeah, it happens.〉

〈It’s called Dungeon Collapse, right?〉

I hurriedly checked the online news. I immediately found something relevant.

“Dungeon Collapse”—as the name suggested, it was when a dungeon began to collapse, and all the monsters inside flooded out into the outside world. Japan had never experienced this before. But overseas, there had been five recorded cases. 

In three of those cases, the dungeons had been Class 4 or lower, so the explorers had managed to exterminate the monsters before any major damage occurred. However, the other two cases had been Class 6 and Class 8. Especially in the Class 8 case, the disaster had resulted in thousands of deaths.

“And Goryokaku Dungeon… is exactly Class 8…”

〈So we’re expecting thousands of casualties!?〉

〈We’re screwed.〉

〈As a Hokkaido resident, I’m officially done for.〉

〈Wait. If it’s Hokkaido… We have her, right?〉

〈The Great Star From Hokkaido.〉

〈Wait… You don’t mean… Yo Oizumi!?〉

〈Or Take & Tom?〉

〈Sabu-chan?〉

〈Dude, he said “she,” LMAO.〉

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