Dungeon Refrigerator 97

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The World In Crisis

On the day the dungeons appeared, the world changed drastically. Trains came to a halt, passenger planes were grounded, and of course, power outages occurred. 

The world was in utter chaos.

Nevertheless, somehow, society continued to function. Initially, there were cries of the world coming to an end, and the stock market experienced wild fluctuations. But the feared 'massive army of monsters covering the skies and land' did not appear from the dungeons, as people had anticipated.

Dungeons were still in our lives, and once you entered, you'd encounter terrifying monsters. 

However, the most affected aspect of life was undoubtedly public transportation, particularly trains. Even now, there is no clear timeline for the recovery of routes that were destroyed by dungeon appearances, and shuttle services have been ongoing for those blocked sections. The time lost for people relying on these trains is immeasurable.

But then, out of the blue, some good news emerged: America had successfully conquered a dungeon. This quickly shifted public opinion towards "Deal with the dungeons!".

However, upon closer examination of America's dungeon conquest announcement, it seemed that America wasn't as thrilled as they might have appeared.

In reality, a major American IT company had hired a large number of retired military experts and armed them to the teeth. They then sent this well-funded team into a dungeon that had appeared on their property with a casual "Off you go!". 

The results were impressive, with the well-armed team of retired military personnel taking on the dungeon and vanquishing the boss' monster-like entity, causing the dungeon to disappear.

The big IT company, with its financial backing, proudly proclaimed to the world, "How's this? This is the power of our company!" which created a significant amount of trouble for the country.

America seemed to prefer keeping this information confidential and continuing its investigation, but due to concerns about national prestige, they made an abrupt announcement about their dungeon conquest.

Well, this is what I gathered from fiddling with my phone all night.

However, the following day brought even more chaos. What people don't know won't trouble them, but once they find out, they start to make a fuss. In no time at all, cries of "Deal with the dungeons!" erupted all over the world.

In response to the voices of their citizens, big countries like Russia and China decided to follow America's lead and announced, "Hey, we've actually conquered dungeons too!" in an attempt to appeal to the world as powerful nations.

Subsequently, European countries and Japan, followed suit, making similar announcements about their dungeon conquests and asserting their strength to the world.

In short, a new wind blew through the world with considerable force. It was like a whirlwind.

As a result, countries reassured their citizens, saying, "We can eliminate dungeons, so please refrain from reckless actions and making a commotion!" or "Our country was the first to vanquish dungeons and will become the next world leader! Rise, citizens!!" This kind of rhetoric was seen here and there.

Meanwhile, my everyday life as an unemployed ordinary person in Japan remained unchanged. After sending Ruu off to the university with a special tempura shrimp sandwich, I continued to gather information online while listening to the TV's unnecessary commotion.

"Hmm, despite my efforts to gather information all night, it still seems unclear about the details of dungeon conquest..."

From a gamer's perspective, if dungeons were cleared, there should be some bonus, and most likely, each country has obtained something like that. However, they emphasized only the part that said, "Dungeons can be defeated!" and kept repeating that each country wants its citizens to feel at ease.

It smells. It stinks. It's clear that there's something incredible as a clear bonus for dungeons, and they don't want their citizens to know yet! I can sense that.

Anyway, since America's dungeon conquest announcement, countries worldwide have somehow changed their policy from the previously tense relationships and began showing a tendency to cooperate in dealing with dungeons.

But, well, it's not surprising. Dungeons are born somewhere every day, and they don't decrease on their own; they continue to multiply.

.....

The Arrival of a New Wave. The Dawn of a New Era. The dungeons, once considered an unknown threat, can be conquered.

With such headlines adorning the newspapers and news broadcasts, how is everyone doing? As for me? I haven't changed much because, well, I'm unemployed. While attending a school of bodywork, I'm diligently studying to ensure my future isn't too unfortunate.

However, I didn't expect the theory of potential growth to be tested on national television. This information will likely make those who enter dungeons much stronger than before.

Nonetheless, the Japanese government, which announced, "Well, we've actually conquered dungeons too", suddenly declared a policy today that "Entry into dungeons by ordinary people will be temporarily prohibited". It's all confusing.

But, well, there seem to be various circumstances surrounding this.

According to the news, there is already a significant increase in crimes committed by individuals who have gained abilities through dungeons. These individuals are hard to apprehend due to their abilities, and although it's not confirmed, it's probably because of dungeons that more sophisticated crimes are on the rise.

I can understand that as well.

With the powers and skills acquired in dungeons, anyone can become a great thief. With a slime rope, you can gracefully traverse buildings, and by corroding metal with strong acid, you can easily break locks.

Well, I don't do that because I'm an extreme scaredy-cat who's content with the current situation.

Moreover, even if I were to become a thief, my muscle-bound appearance would give me away even when disguised. Being tall and muscular is a dead giveaway.

There's one more thing. There have been violent incidents caused by individuals who gained power in dungeons. When people acquire extraordinary powers, they want to try them out.

Of course, I'm no exception, and I'm using my skills to have fun. However, I'm just a lonely otaku. I'm having a great time 'hyahha!' -ing in a secret dungeon that no one's eyes will ever see, so there's no problem.

But in the world, many people aren't like me.

I'm enjoying my time with cute college girls and having a blast, now that I have a girlfriend. But what if I had been a bullied student back in the day? How would that have turned out?

If I gained abilities and power from dungeons, I'd probably want to get back at the people who used to bully me. I'd say something like, 

"I'm strong! I'm not someone you can mess with anymore!". But the outcome is easy to imagine.

With the power I gained from dungeons, I'd likely end up seriously injuring my classmates. It's not something to be proud of, but if those classmates from back then showed up in front of me with the same cocky attitude as they used to, I think I'd still seek some form of revenge.

Anyway, it's a fact that people who gained power from dungeons have been involved in violent incidents. That's probably why the government decided to prohibit entry into dungeons for ordinary people. Officially, it's stated, "There have been signs of danger in the dungeons, so we're investigating.". 

But in reality...

Until now, they allowed ordinary people into dungeons, even if it was mostly experimental. I suppose the government wanted to gather information from regular people since they couldn't handle everything themselves.

However, as a result, the dungeon classes that were being held have been indefinitely postponed. It's no use if people can't enter the dungeons.

Wait, my fridge dungeon? No, no, that's not possible.

My fridge dungeon has ridiculously large cockroaches, rats with cloudy white eyes, and even monkeys that throw poop. It's definitely not a place to bring a girl.

So, after exchanging messages like, "Well, that's a problem." everyone understood to some extent, and the dungeon classes were postponed indefinitely. In the midst of this exchange, the date with Ruu, which had originally been scheduled for the week after next, was suddenly moved to this Sunday.

Oh! It's finally here, my first-ever date in life! Woo-hoo, my excitement is through the roof!!