Chapter 183: Dungeon Impact (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 183: Dungeon Impact (2)
I arrived in Japan on a plane carrying heroes drafted from various clans.
A hero party is much like a professional sports team. When you factor in not just the heroes but also the support staff and equipment, it becomes a large-scale mobilization. The aircraft deployed to transport these parties arrived one after another, quickly filling the Japanese airport.
"So this is... Midori's country..."
Having stepped off the plane, Kwon Ye-jin muttered to herself while gazing into the distance with a wistful expression.
"Midori? Do you know someone in Japan?"
"Huh?! M-M-Master, were you listening? No, no, no, I don't know her at all. Never heard of her."
Seeing Kwon Ye-jin panic and frantically deny it, Lee Yu-na, who was standing beside her, spoke up with a look of utter disdain.
"She's an AV actress."
Wait, since the genders are reversed in this world, shouldn't she usually be remembering the male actors?
"I—I really don't know her! I just... I heard someone talking about her on the plane!"
"Why act so innocent when you've clearly seen everything there is to see? Who hasn't watched porn these days? I'm sure Yeon-woo will understand."
"Yeah, I mean, people watch it. It's not like it's a crime."
Though I don't.
In this world, adult videos focus almost entirely on the men, to the point that even a guy's interest would shrivel up. They only show men moaning while pinned down by women or shaking their hips from a woman's perspective—who would want to watch that?
Out of curiosity, I had visited a site once after arriving in this world, but I turned it off immediately after seeing some horrifying things and haven't looked back since.
"Master... it's not like that... I only know her because of that. You know, 'Goldfinger.' Goldfinger is famous."
"You're just digging your own grave now."
Lee Yu-na clicked her tongue and shook her head, scolding Kwon Ye-jin to stop talking nonsense before she embarrassed everyone around them.
Goldfinger... that's different from the Goldfinger I know, right?
It probably wasn't about sticking in the middle and ring fingers to rub and poke. Does it mean she's famous for finishing them off with her hands? I was curious, but since the camera would undoubtedly be focused solely on some guy's junk, I had no desire to look it up.
"Is she famous in Japan?"
"...I would prefer if you didn't ask me that..."
Satomi avoided the question with an awkward smile. Looking at the others, everyone seemed to know who she was; they all averted their eyes, except for Anna.
She acts all innocent, but she's actually the most dangerous one.
I stroked the hair of the blonde succubus who was nuzzling her cheek against my arm as we headed toward the headquarters prepared by the Japan Association.
"Hello. I am Song Jae-ah, the leader of the Korean Support Team."
The hero introducing herself as Song Jae-ah stole a glance toward me before letting out a small sigh and continuing.
"To simplify the chain of command, each country will be assigned a specific region. We will operate by nationality to resolve the Dungeon Impact in Japan."
The reason she looked at me was likely because she felt sorry for her own situation.
Not many A-rank parties had come for this Japanese support mission. Most A-rank heroes belong to large guilds or are clan leaders themselves, but since the Three Major Clans—who possess the most A-rank parties—didn't send a single one, Song Jae-ah ended up being chosen as the representative for the support team.
Since Square Garden and the Blue Dragon Clan are on good terms, it seemed the Blue Dragon Clan took some action after hearing from Lee Ru-da. They saved face by sending five B-rank parties, but Square Garden only sent a single party: Black Unicorn.
When the media made a fuss about this, Lee Ru-da dismissively replied that Black Unicorn was more than enough. Since Japan had also expressed regret toward Square Garden for being stingy with their heroes, I'd have to work hard to make sure our Clan Leader didn't lose face.
However, I didn't expect J&G to send only B-ranks as well.
Square Garden, Blue Dragon Clan, and J&G. These are the Three Major Clans of Korea. Square Garden was founded by Lee Ru-da after she split off from the Blue Dragon Clan, so they maintain a close relationship. J&G, on the other hand, is a purely corporate-style clan that never does anything without a profit motive.
Still, they aren't stupid enough to only think of immediate gains. I thought they would provide significant help to Japan to reap benefits later, but they only sent two B-rank parties and two C-ranks. Are they just not interested in the Japanese market?
Anyway, since the Three Major Clans only sent B-ranks, Song Jae-ah—an A-rank hero from a relatively lower-tier large clan—ended up as the team leader. She probably expected one of the Three Major Clans to take charge, but now that she's here, she has to shoulder all the responsibility.
If things go well, everyone shares the credit; if things go wrong, it's all her fault. Her burden was plain to see.
"This is the list of dungeons currently assigned to the Korean Support Team."
Song Jae-ah projected a map onto the screen, showing the area Korea would be responsible for.
It was the Chiba Prefecture area. It was a bit away from Sagami Bay, but the dungeons were sparsely distributed across the region stretching out past Tokyo Bay. It seemed they were assigned to an area with fewer dungeons because the number of support heroes was deemed insufficient.
"These are still estimates, but based on the distribution, we expect approximately 40 A-rank dungeons, 160 B-ranks, and about 250 C and D-ranks. Hidden dungeons will likely appear as time passes, so this should be considered the minimum."
Wow—that's still a lot.
If this is an area with "fewer" dungeons, how many are there in other places? Feeling the danger of the Dungeon Impact once again, I examined the data. There were both long and short dungeons, but with this many people, it should be manageable.
"Our goal is to destroy one dungeon every time we deploy, excluding the A-rank dungeons. After that, the Korean Support Team will assist other regions."
The heroes were shocked by Song Jae-ah's words.
"But these are special dungeons from a Dungeon Impact; it usually takes several entries to destroy them."
"That schedule is too unreasonable."
As the heroes began to clamor, the members of Black Unicorn all looked at me.
"What?"
"Because it's a total drag, that's what."
Hornet voiced the group's opinion. No, I'm telling you, we can do it. It's not like we're overexerting ourselves.
The other heroes protested Song Jae-ah's declaration that they must destroy one dungeon per deployment, especially since they usually need several days of rest after entering one. And since I had said I would destroy three at a time, it was only natural they'd be upset.
"Trust me."
"What are you, a cult leader? All you ever say is 'trust me.'"
Hornet clicked her tongue and looked away.
"I will end the situational briefing here. Only the party leaders, please stay behind."
At Song Jae-ah's words, the party members stood up to leave.
"Master, I'll go grab a room for us first."
"Come quickly, Leader."
"Don't do anything weird and come straight back once the meeting is over."
After the party members left, I gave a small nod of greeting to the remaining party leaders. Even in a world where fewer men enter the workforce, to think I'm the only man here.
This is freaking great.
Being the only man in a group of women—or vice versa—usually gets you a lot of love. As long as it's not a toxic female-dominated workplace, that is.
"I have distributed the list of currently identified dungeons by party. Please check them."
A staff member in the conference room handed out the materials.
Hmm... our rank really is low.
Even if we are a B-rank party, Black Unicorn are rookies who just recently conquered a B-1. We were assigned a variety of dungeons ranging from B-1 to C, but they were all low-tier.
"These were assigned arbitrarily, so please speak up if you have any opinions."
Aware of the parties from the Three Major Clans, Song Jae-ah spoke tentatively. She seemed to be trying to put on a confident face, but her smile was so strained it was painful to watch. She's going to need some serious stress relief later.
"...Hero Jeong Yeon-woo, do you have something to say?"
When I raised my hand, Song Jae-ah spoke with a hesitant expression.
"You can speak comfortably. You're my senior, after all."
"R-Right. Uh... do you have... something to say?"
She wasn't exactly the bold type. Seeing her struggle to speak informally, I gave her a relaxed smile.
"It's a bit of an impertinent suggestion, but would it be alright?"
"Go ahead... Japan is providing active support, so as long as it's a request I can grant, it doesn't matter."
"Would it be okay for Black Unicorn to keep changing our assigned list at regular intervals?"
"What do you mean by 'keep changing'?"
"I mean I want to update our targets every three days. I'd like to receive dungeon assignments on a three-day plan rather than a monthly one."
Song Jae-ah pondered my words for a moment. Technically, this was special treatment, so I wouldn't blame her if she refused. It's not easy to change a plan established by an organization just because an individual doesn't like it.
"Isn't that fine? The current plan distributes a set amount of responsibility to each party, but every party has different capabilities. If there's a party that performs well, there will also be parties that struggle to make progress."
As Song Jae-ah remained lost in thought, the hero next to her spoke up.
"Wouldn't it be more efficient to keep at least one party separate and utilize them dynamically?"
Was her name Jeong Sae-bom? She was from a famous party, so I remembered her face and name. Her hair, which reached her chest, had pink highlights at the ends, giving her a bit of a "wild girl" image, but she was diligent and skilled.
Perhaps because she was from the Blue Dragon Clan, Jeong Sae-bom took my side. Song Jae-ah gave a bitter smile. I couldn't tell if she was thinking, 'If you're going to be like that, you be the team leader,' or if she was grateful for the help.
"Yes, that's a good point. Then, does everyone agree to keep Black Unicorn as a sub-unit that moves according to the progress of each party?"
After receiving agreement from the other heroes, Song Jae-ah nodded her approval.
"As Hero Jeong Yeon-woo suggested, we will have Black Unicorn operate separately. Anything else... Hero Jeong Yeon-woo?"
Sorry for keep raising my hand.
"Would it be possible to be provided with a large space near our lodging?"
"What do you... intend to use it for?"
"I'm planning to set up a simulation training ground brought from our clan."
"..."
Yeah, that was a bit shameless, wasn't it? However, if we were to continue raising our dungeon tiers, simulation training was essential. The other heroes stared at me in silence at the mention of building a training ground right after arriving. Jeong Sae-bom looked at me with interest, as if finding it amusing, but she didn't step in to help this time.
"Let's discuss that separately."
After the meeting concluded, I stayed behind with Song Jae-ah. Seeing her clutching her side as if her stomach hurt, I spoke with an apologetic expression.
"It will be a huge help to the Korean Support Team."
"In what way?"
"It's inefficient to have Black Unicorn and other high-performing parties only clearing dungeons lower than their actual rank."
There it was. That bitter 'Then you be the team leader' smile returned to Song Jae-ah's face. I reached out and took her hand.
As she widened her eyes in surprise, I stepped closer, taking her hand in both of mine and pulling it toward my chest.
"U-Uh... Hero Jeong Yeon-woo, this is... a place where many people pass by..."
...What exactly are you imagining?
Of course, I had intended to use a "Honey Trap," so I had set the mood, but she was getting way ahead of herself. Meeting her innocent eyes, I spoke with as much emotion as I could muster.
"I want to be of help to the people who have suffered such great losses."
"But... I can't send you to high-tier dungeons with high risks... if you fail, it actually decreases efficiency..."
As I gazed at her with the shimmering eyes of a kitten begging for a treat, Song Jae-ah's voice trailed off.
"Please, look at me."
"I... I am looking..."
"Please judge me after seeing Black Unicorn's results."
"Ah, so that's what you meant."
As she awkwardly averted her eyes, I gripped her hand tightly and pressed her palm against my chest. Song Jae-ah's eyes went wide, and her face flushed red. She glanced around frantically before meeting my eyes again.
"Can you feel my heart racing?"
"Hard muscles... no, I mean, y-yes—I feel it."
"I want to save people. To the very limit of my abilities. Please, use me however you wish."
"However I wish...?"
"Yes. Use me as much as you want, like Jae-ah Noona's own possession..."
"Noona..."
She seemed to be imagining something entirely different from what I was saying, but she was hook, line, and sinker.
"Please use me to your heart's content. I'll show you the maximum possible results. For now, just give us B-1 rank dungeons and see for yourself."
"...If I judge it to be too much..."
"You're granting it?! Thank you!"
I pulled her into a tight hug before she could say anything else. Feeling her soft chest pressed against me, I held onto the flustered Song Jae-ah and didn't let go. Though the innocent woman muttered that we shouldn't be doing this, she made no move to escape my embrace.
As expected, life is all about the face.
Anyway, I had obtained everything I wanted. Now it was time to show results.
Let's give the world something to talk about.