The Way to Absolute Dungeon Administration – There Is No Reason To Meet With the Opponent!

Volume 01 A Prologue 3 – Let’s Negotiate

“Why not!?”

The beautiful woman, having finished her outburst, demands an explanation.

“Look, nobody’s gonna just agree to a one-way ticket to some other world with a ‘you can’t come back’ clause. Sit down for now. I get your goal, but the details are way too vague.”

If there’s anyone out there who’d accept a one-way trip without knowing the purpose or specifics, I’d love to meet them.

That kind of thing is better left to hot-blooded protagonists in light novels or manga, or people who’ve completely given up on the real world.

Oh, and if you’re the type who jumps on board after hearing just the goal without asking for details, watch out—you’re the kind who gets scammed easily.

“W-Well, that’s true. Let’s start by getting to know each other. I haven’t introduced myself yet—I’m Luna.”

Nobody asked for your name, lady.

“B91, W59, H85. On Earth, I’ve been called Athena, Freyja, and a bunch of other names.”

Whoa, that’s some wild information! Her measurements flew right out, but the second half of her spiel made them irrelevant.

I see. As expected, the gods passed down in human stories are all jumbled together. That’s assuming I take her words at face value, though.

“What, are you smitten with me? Can’t be helped—I’m called the goddess of beauty, after all.”

“Nah, that’s irrelevant. Just tell me the details about this dungeon management thing.”

She’s getting on my nerves, so I cut her off.

By the way, this self-proclaimed goddess Luna has semi-long blonde hair.

Her eyes are heterochromatic—one red, one blue. What’s that called, heterochromia?

She’s about 170 cm tall. I don’t know the average for foreigners, but in Japan, she’d be considered pretty tall.

“…You’re not very charming, are you? Fine, it’s gonna take a while, so listen up. Also, sending you to the other world is non-negotiable. Whether you hear me out or not, the result’s the same.”

“Can you keep it short, concise, and to the point?”

“No way.”

This woman…

She spends the next hour and a half explaining. Seriously, at least bring some handouts.

Here’s the concise summary:

Purpose: Maintain the balance of energy (magic) in the other world, Arrowlit, using a dungeon.

Reason: Arrowlit’s environment relies on the circulation of magic. It’s like Earth’s natural laws, but with magic as a third law added on. Right now, Arrowlit’s magic is pooling too much in certain areas. Apparently, there are too many magical creatures and human-like races (you know, the usual fantasy lineup), which is wrecking the planet’s environment.

It’s basically their version of global warming.

If this continues, the magic-based civilization will collapse, and creatures dependent on magic for survival will die out. Though, we’re talking thousands of years in the future.

First Solution: The gods don’t want to destroy Arrowlit’s civilization or creatures, so they figured a dungeon could regulate the magic circulation and fix the problem.

Create a dungeon as a “feeding ground” to collect magic. This dungeon would attract not just heroes or demon lords like in games, but also wild magical creatures.

Result of First Solution: You’d think this is where I come in, right? Nope. They entrusted this first plan to Arrowlit’s native intelligent beings… but their civilization is at a medieval Europe level. They ran the dungeon with unchecked greed, and in no time, the dungeon managers started using its power to conquer the world.

So much for circulation.

Second Solution: This is where I fit in. Apparently, entrusting it to idiots didn’t work, so they thought, “What about someone smart?” But Arrowlit’s overall intelligence level is… lacking. So, they decided to pull someone from another world.

Here’s where I had a thought: Why doesn’t Luna (the goddess-sama) just do it herself instead of dragging people into this? Why outsource it at all? But according to her:

“If it’s temporary, fine, but a goddess can’t stick around on one planet until the problem’s solved. How many times have you moved since you were born?”

Fair point. It’s a matter of scale that I hadn’t considered.

From a human perspective, it’s like keeping a dog or cat. You can’t quit your job and stay glued to your pet until it passes away.

“Your so-called omniscient, omnipotent gods? They’re a tiny minority. And they’re so serious they lock themselves away to avoid influencing the world.”

Wait, so omniscient, omnipotent gods actually exist!?

“There are beings classified as gods in each world, but they’re… degraded, I guess? Honestly, here they’re more like natural phenomena. In Arrowlit, they’re in the same category as magical creatures or spirits. They’ve got some exceptional abilities, but overall… they’ve got personality issues.”

Sounds like every workplace, just on a world-management scale.

“To be honest, the knowledge and education level in Japan on Earth surpasses the gods of Arrowlit.”

Oof… Arrowlit’s gods sound pretty pathetic.

But it makes sense. Sending a hot-blooded light novel protagonist or someone disillusioned with the real world wouldn’t solve anything.

Still, I’ve got questions. Even if they send me, I’ve only got, what, 60 years to work with?

“Oh, I forgot to mention. You’ll be ageless. I’ll make sure you don’t get sick, but you can still die. Making you immortal tends to cause people to go off the rails, and having to come back and deal with that is a hassle.”

Got it. So, they’re putting a failsafe in place in case I go rogue while managing the dungeon.

“Alright, I get it. But why can’t I come back here?”

“Are you serious? You understand Earth’s global situation, right? What do you think would happen if Earth connected with an underdeveloped, magic-filled world like Arrowlit?”

“Oh, Arrowlit would get swallowed up by Earth in no time. But is magic really that weak?”

“No, magic’s on par with nuclear weapons here, or even interstellar travel that Earth’s people will eventually achieve. But in terms of civilization level…”

“I see. You mentioned wanting to preserve Arrowlit’s magical civilization. So, you don’t want Earth’s civilization mixing in.”

“Exactly. Earth would probably analyze and absorb magic first.”

“But then, is it okay for me to go to Arrowlit and bring Earth’s civilization with me?”

That’s the part I don’t get. If they’re sending me and making me ageless, Arrowlit’s civilization would inevitably be influenced by Earth’s—especially Japan’s.

“What are you talking about? Japan’s always been open to outside cultures, hasn’t it? What, are you planning to barge in and build Japanese castles everywhere?”

“Got it. So, on a global scale, Arrowlit would get overwhelmed, but me personally influencing its civilization to evolve is within acceptable limits.”

“Exactly. Ideally, you’d publicly announce the dungeon’s purpose and get the locals to accept it. Though, that’s probably next to impossible.”

Yeah, that’s impossible. It’s like trying to unify the world’s ideologies.

It’s as good as declaring that a certain number of people and creatures need to die.

Demanding live sacrifices? That’s a guaranteed way to become the world’s enemy.

No, since it’s about circulating magic, I’d just need to assign specific living spaces to all creatures.

Which, no matter how you slice it, makes me a tyrant.

“Well, you get the picture. Running a dungeon as a circulation device is the most efficient way.”

“Alright, I understand. But what about my situation? Will my family forget me? And going to Arrowlit with just my body—I can’t exactly dig a dungeon myself.”

Honestly, since it’s a forced transfer, I’ve mostly given up on family matters. But then there’s work—handing over my responsibilities. It’s gonna cause a ton of trouble for my seniors, juniors, and clients…

“Family, work, and social connections… they’ll be erased and adjusted so everything runs smoothly going forward. Don’t worry. And you’re not seriously planning to dig the dungeon yourself, are you? We’ll give you skills and stuff. Since we’re forcing you, we can grant most things within reason—except traveling back to Earth.”

Oh? Within reason, huh…

“Then an RX-7…”

“No way. What, you wanna start a One Year War?”

Tch, how does she know about our anime?

“Then a White Grin—”

“You planning to destroy a nation and start a corporate war?”

She’s got the game references covered too!?

“Fine, let’s say those are rewards for successfully managing the dungeon. Also, we’ll set it up so you can get items from this world through something like online shopping.”

Wait, so if I succeed, I can pilot an MS or AC!? For real!?

I get excited for a moment, but I need to secure some initial cheats, or I’m screwed if I die right away.

“Then what about firearms? With personal authentication so others can’t use them.”

“Not now. That’s for after you’ve properly learned to manage the dungeon. You know what’d happen if you used an overpowered artifact in Arrowlit before you’re acclimated, right?”

“It’d mess up the world’s balance… But what if I used it just for self-defense?”

“The answer’s no. Using weapons from a more advanced civilization is banned at first. Learn to manage the dungeon properly. So, no other requests?”

“You shoot down everything I say, and now you ask that? Fine… How about a ring or something that lets me avoid instant death and escape to safety? That’s gotta be reasonable.”

“Oh, that’s all? It’ll only prevent instant death, you know. If you’re gravely injured, it might not save you.”

“If I said to add instant full recovery, would you?”

“Nope. That’s basically immortality. But I’ll consider it if you manage the dungeon well.”

Tch, she’s tougher than I thought. No cheats to avoid death entirely, huh? In that case…

“Fine. I want a skill or item that ensures the safety of my allies or subordinates. No restrictions.”

“Ensuring safety, huh. Clever. Depending on how you use it, that could be handy. That’s within acceptable limits. Alright, approved.”

Yes! I pulled it off. It’s not immortality—it’s “ensuring” “safety.” Depending on how I use it…

“So, we’re done with explanations and negotiations, right? Time to head to Arrowlit and fine-tune things.”

Luna points her hand at me. Well, I guess this is the end of my resistance. Fine. I’ll aim for that White Grin◯ somehow…