Dungeon's Final Boss: Banished by My Boss, the Goddess, to Earth—So I'll Continue My Past Life - 27

Chapter 27: The Beginning of the Situation

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Today, all three of them would be challenging a newly formed dungeon.

“Alright.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

The new dungeon’s perimeter was still incomplete, marked only by traffic cones and ropes indicating restricted access. In the nearby temporary changing room, Mimimi, Yune, and Yinling had changed into their gear and checked each other’s equipment before nodding in agreement. Since they had a filming drone with them, their equipment still prioritized appearance, but each of them had made enhancements and further additions to ensure smooth dungeon exploration.

Mimimi had reinforced her usual overalls, and in her hands, she held the large shield and pickaxe that Jiro had given her when he conquered the Heiwajima Dungeon.

Honestly, I prefer my usual gold-plated look, but since its creator, Reiko Minashiro, firmly tells me, “Don’t use that in combat,” I opt for this setup instead.

There was trust in Jiro, and attachment and friendship with Reiko. This time, Mimimi chose to go with the equipment Jiro had made for her.

“One last check—no pushing ourselves too hard, okay?”

“Of course.”

“Understood.”

Yune’s words were met with nods from Yinling and Mimimi in that order. Back at the after-party, the three of them had told Jiro that some Awakeners didn’t care about dungeon conquest, but the thrill of that moment was something they still hadn’t forgotten.

It had been twenty years since dungeons appeared on Earth. The existence of Awakeners, which had emerged simultaneously, had gone through numerous twists and turns before finally settling into its current form. There were those who prioritized obtaining dungeon magic stones above all else. There were those who sought to eliminate dungeons that had appeared in inconvenient locations. And then, there were those who treated dungeons—and Awakeners—as a form of entertainment.

Mimimi and her group belonged to the entertainment category. If she were alone, she might have fallen into the magic stone mining category. After all, solo exploration was difficult for a miner-type. Moreover, there was a prevailing belief that having combat-type Awakeners act solely as bodyguards while miners worked on magic stone veins was inefficient. As a result, miners weren’t particularly valued, making it hard to operate alone, and the profits from dungeon exploration for miner-type weren’t that great either.

Jiro seemed to think Mimimi was making good money, but in reality, medical expenses from injuries, equipment maintenance, and filming gear upkeep all had to be deducted from her earnings and it wasn’t like they always reached magic stone veins either. There had been plenty of times when she had to retreat with nothing but injuries. The truth was, she wasn’t making as much as Jiro or others assumed. However, after dungeon convenience stores appeared, she had been able to explore places she had dared to attempt before, which allowed her to start turning a profit.

“Jiro-san is a godsend!”

She couldn’t say it out loud, but that’s how she felt. And perhaps, now that she was somewhat satisfied, new desires had started to surface. She wanted to be an Awakener who simply challenged dungeons like everyone else. Both Yune and Yinling had given up on becoming combat Awakeners for various reasons, choosing instead to become idol-style D-Tubers. It wasn’t as if she thought what they were doing was in any way inferior to what the other awakener did. She liked her viewers. Sure, some of them were borderline perverts, but they had also taught her how to connect with others at a time when she had lost that ability.

Still, she couldn’t deny that, deep down, she had fled to this world because she wasn’t good enough as an Awakener. Maybe she wanted to overcome that feeling. She wanted to prove to herself that she hadn’t run away because she couldn’t do it, but because she had chosen this path despite being capable. Or maybe it was something far more generic and self-indulgent.

But her viewers had taught her that there was no point in denying those kinds of feelings. What was wrong with being true to her instincts? That, too, was part of being human.

Of course, committing crime was a different story entirely, but it should be okay to embrace one’s instinct truthfully as long as one didn’t cause any direct harm to others. 

It did bother her a little that she never sensed that side of Jiro, though. But, well, that was another problem entirely.

Yeah.

Her mental preparation was complete.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Oooh!”

“Yes!”

All that was left was to move forward. As they entered the dungeon that had appeared near the apartment, they found themselves in a clean, polished space, with what looked like black marble covering the floor and walls.

“This time, the three of us have come to explore a new dungeon.”

“We’re just planning to do a light run through the shallow layers, but if we find anything suspicious, we’ll investigate thoroughly.”

“Hopefully, we’ll find a magic stone vein too.”

They spoke to the filming drone as they proceeded deeper inside. The black marble had faint blue light seeping from the seams between the tiles, allowing them to have decent visibility inside the dungeon. It felt like they were walking through the night itself—a strange and mystical sensation.

The monsters that appeared were goblins. Small creatures with green skin, and—putting it mildly—bearing an incredibly foul stench with them. As monsters, goblins weren’t particularly rare, whether in fiction or in real-life dungeons.

“Doesn’t something feel off?”

An hour into the dungeon, Yinling voiced her suspicion.

“You think so too?”

Yune seemed to feel the same way, and the two of them exchanged nods.

“Huh? What?”

Mimimi didn’t get it.

“Doesn’t the dungeon’s atmosphere not match the monsters?”

“Oh!”

Once they pointed it out, Mimimi understood. Dungeons and the monsters within them usually had a certain connection. For example, a dungeon with the solemn atmosphere of a temple would spawn angelic creatures or monsters with a divine or mythical appearance. You wouldn’t normally see demonic monsters—the complete opposite of that setting—showing up there.

The same could be applied here. This dungeon had an air of mystique, like an eternal night. While it was newly formed and not very deep yet, having goblins be the very first enemies didn’t fit the whole vibe of this dungeon at all. It felt as if something had gone wrong. The battles themselves went smoothly—Yinling had managed to uncover treasure chests hidden throughout the area, and Mimimi was satisfied with the practice she got as a tank. But now that they had noticed the jarring disconnection, even their success started to feel eerie.

“We haven’t got much good footage, but should we head back for now?”

“Yeah, that might be for the best.”

“Okay, got it.”

They couldn’t afford to misjudge their exit timing. Jiro had always warned them: never mistake your buffed-up capabilities for your real strength. Causing some stupid accident here would make it impossible for her to face him.

With that thought in mind, they turned back to leave… But fate did not intend to let them escape.

Multiple footsteps drawing near.

“Someone’s coming?”

From the path ahead, which soon faded into darkness, came the sound of many hurried footsteps drawing closer. The chaotic rhythm grew louder, and soon, fellow Awakeners stumbled into view. They looked absolutely frantic.

“What happened?”

“Hurry!”

“Run!”

“It’s an overload!”

They shouted and before the three D-tubers could even fully process the whole situation… A roar echoed from deep within the darkness, forcing them to understand the gravity of the situation.

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