Far removed from the capital sat a land where people didn't live, the Antora region.
A traveler by the name of Murag happened to stumble upon the dungeon when passing through.
Combining the name of the discoverer and the region, it was named the dungeon of Antomurg.
News spread, and adventurers came to explore the dungeon.
Their number grew, and inns, shops, and an adventurers' guild branch were constructed.
As the settlement gained more residents, it became a town.
The town took the name Antomurg as well, following after the dungeon.
Welcome to Antomurg
Thanks to the exploration undertaken by the adventurers,
more and more information was gathered on the dungeon.
Even so, the floors past the fifth are difficult,
and the current official record stands at the seventh basement floor.
Based on how the strength of the monsters grows beyond the fifth floor,
people started to question if the tenth floor was the final one.
I belonged to the thieves' guild rather than being an adventurer, and I made it to the ninth floor.
It was there that I met a girl calling herself the dungeon's administrator.
All sorts of stuff happened, and in the end... I ended up working in the dungeon.
Starting Work in the Dungeon
For the time being, please use this room.
It was built as a guest room, but we haven't had any use for it.
Why did you make it...?
There's a window here.
The glass shines to look like the sky, changing based on the time of day.
Outside that is just wall.
I see.
By the way, the rooms use lights, huh?
Even though the ceilings are bright out in the hall.
That's true. Well, it's better for humans for it to be dark when it's time to sleep...
The dungeon was originally dark too.
But I got a lot of complaints from monsters without dark vision, so I brightened it up.
Complaints from monsters...?
If we made night vision a requirement for employment, we would get far too few applications.
I see...
Well then, let me give you a brief tour of the residential quarters
You don't mind? Aren't you busy?
Ah, right...
My most important task for today is already all wrapped up, so it's fine.
Important task...?
Recruiting you, Ms. Clay
Who, me...?
Do you actually have a lot of time on your hands?
Huh...?
Er... Well, there are only low-level adventurers in the dungeon right now.
The earlier floors are managed on site, so there's no need for me to watch over them.
My true goal was to recruit you,
but you had made it in deep enough that you were already a target for observation anyway.
I see...
And now that target's right in front of you, huh?
That's right.
Anyway, let me show you around
Sure, sounds good.
This is the control room.
I do most of my administrative work here.
Now that you're here, maybe I should clean it up a bit.
You should do way, way more than just a bit
Here we have the reception room.
Right, from before.
That's my personal room.
Yeah, I've seen it.
Here are the bathrooms for guests.
Does anyone use them?
I do occasionally.
This is the dining hall and kitchen.
It's surprisingly small for a dining hall.
That's true.
I made it too large at first...
So I went and made the inner part into a storehouse instead
What a huge storehouse
It has a cooling function too.
We have dragon tail meat and other monster-sourced ingredients, and you can use them freely.
Monster-sourced ingredients...? From ones in the dungeon...?
Oh, they consented to this in their contracts, so it's no issue.
Eating the dead means less waste, so maybe it's better this way...?
These are our storage rooms.
This first one is for magical catalysts and tools.
The second one contains ores and the like. And then...
You don't use the third one?
The third storage room is for leaving things.
Isn't that naturally what storage rooms are for?
What's this...?
For things that you don't need now but may need later, and it could be an issue if you threw them out.
That's the sort of stuff stored here.
I see. So it's a garbage dump.
It's not garbage
This is a really nicely made wood golem arm, it just has too many joints...
But there may be some use for it...
That's trash.
And then...
Huh? Um...
I get the point. Let's keep moving.
Huh? But I have other things to...
Moving on
Right...
This is the other place I need to show you in the residential quarters.
The crystal room.
Crystal room...?
That certainly is a crystal. But what is this room for?
It's a room for using fixed magic alongside the crystal.
Let's see...
To start, please pick whatever rock you'd like from those boxes and bring it over.
We'll go ahead and give it a try.
Rocks...?
No, these are gems...
Yes, that's right
So casual about it...
There are so many gems here.
Ah, that's what those were...?
You recognize them, don't you?
So you're saying you hand these out to the monsters?
Not exactly.
Those stones are magic catalysts.
Catalysts?
I mentioned before that we employ monsters, right?
Yes, and...?
Ms. Clay, how many monsters have you killed up until now?
I see... Exploring a dungeon means putting your life on the line.
Letting your guard down for even a moment can get you killed by a monster.
But if I'm not dying, that means I've been killing monsters... They're putting their lives on the line too.
It's completely obvious, but I forgot that fact.
Thinking on it...
A large number of monsters are needed just to take me on, for example.
It would be impossible to employ each and every one of them and then replenish them each time.
So...
Revival, is it?
Close It's not quite revival...
We use the crystal's magic to copy your body and seal your original in a stone.
Then the stone with your consciousness is placed into the copy.
Essentially, we create temporary bodies for use in this dungeon.
If your copy dies the seal is broken and you return to your original body.
There's an unsealing circle in the monsters' quarters, so you're transferred there.
The stones have served their purpose, so they're left there.
It's all disposable.
You treat gems like pebbles...?
In other words, as long as you're in the dungeon, your life is secure?
That's correct. Did you find a stone that you like?
That goes for me too, huh?
Please think of this as part of the job too.
It's true that you're skilled, Ms. Clay, but you'll need to interact with monsters from the tenth floor in the future.
It would be too late to try to act after something happened.
The tenth floor...
That's what it was like on the ninth floor.
It's true that the tenth floor would be difficult for me as I am now.
I need to get stronger.
Many of those we hire for the deeper floors come onboard to train.
I don't believe you'll have any issue finding training partners.
You'll get strong.
I'm looking forward to it.
Now then, please enter this circle.
Like this?
Yes.
Now close your eyes.
Activate.
Project.
Analyze.
Replicate.
Hmm? Was there some sort of issue?
No...
Seal.
Link.
Release.
Is it over...?
Yes. Good work.
And, um... Sorry.
No, me too.
I can remember up until I noticed it shining down at my feet.
But at some point, I found you supporting...
M-M-Ms. Clay...
Er, here, have some clothes...
Monsters are generally naked, so I forgot the fact that it can't replicate clothing.
I'm so sorry...
It's fine. You'll take more care in the future, right?
Y-y-yes...
A transport circle? How convenient.
Taking the stairs up to the first floor would be tiring, and would take forever too.
Yeah, that's fine there.
Take three of these to number two.
Mr. Rangard
Ah, little lady, what a rare sight...
Wait, who's she?
Ms. Clay, an explorer.
She'll be working with us starting today, so I thought I should introduce you.
I'm Clay. Nice to meet you.
The name's Rangard. I'm more or less in charge of floors one through four.
I've seen you somewhere before.
You're that girl with no friends who never forms a party and is always on her own, right?
Hmm? That was really rude, wasn't it?
That's not a fair assessment.
A dungeon isn't a place you head into with friends to mess around, and I can best display my skills solo.
That's all there is to it.
Though it's true that I have no friends.
So it was true...?
The farthest floor the adventurers' guild has reached at present is the seventh. However, the unregistered Clay made it past that, to the ninth floor. The way that gems appear when monsters are defeated has not been seen in other dungeons, so many explorers aim for them more than the treasure chests. The Dungeon of Antomurg
Dungeon People.
Items that often appear in treasure chests on the early floors. A so called "bad find" of an item. They only heal a small amount, so few people use them as is. Rather, most tend to mix them with other items to make high-level healing items. Herbs
Dungeon People.
We found a treasure chest and everything, but it just had herbs...
Well, it is only the first floor.
That's true, but still...
At least we seem to be working together well, though.
Now's my chance
What's up?
Did wind just blow past us?
Sure you weren't just imagining things?
No, I definitely felt it. It came from the front...
Seriously? So is something here?
Let's keep our guards up.
Right...
Helping out...?
Yes. Ms. Clay says she wants to do more work so that she won't get rusty.
I don't really need any help.
Don't say that...
I mean, we have Ms. Clay here, and I figured I could use the opportunity to clean up the control room...
And she won't have anything to do in the meantime, so...
You make it sound like that mess can be cleaned up.
Ah
At any rate, I'm counting on you
Number three, completed.
R-right...
Numbers six, eight, and nine are open.
Understood.
I'm at number three now, and numbers six, eight, and nine need to be resupplied...
The closest would be...
I'm heading towards number nine.
Counting on you.
Number nine, completed.
Number eight, completed.
Two and four next.
Understood. I'm heading towards number two.
Counting on you.
No way...
It's impossible?
It's true that the first floor is full of nothing but careless, wimpy explorers.
And yet, there are a ton of them.
Slipping past all of them with nobody seeing you as you refill treasure chests... That's damn near impossible.
Yeah, it made for good training.
No, that's not what I'm saying...
I see.
He just can't accept it, huh?
Let's see...
Where'd she...?
Compared to humans, dwarves have poor horizontal visibility but good vertical vision.
That's how you can do this in the blink of an eye.
Of course, we're talking about a large number of people.
It's not as easy as handling an amateur like this.
And there are times where it's just not possible.
Amateur? You're hurting my feelings here.
If it's impossible, they'll see me.
That's no good, then.
Listen well.
When something unexpected enters your vision, the majority of people actively look again.
As long as I'm not seen then, it's fine.
I don't get what you're going on about...
Here I go.
Hey, you can't do it right in front of my...
Huh? She's gone...
That's how it works.
Geniuses sure can be frightening...
Hmm? What's up?
Oh yeah? Sorry.
What is it?
Apparently we ran out of supplies to refill the treasure chests on the second floor.
I misjudged it.
What will we do?
Well, we've got enough to spare for the third floor, so we'll refill from there temporarily.
Are the contents the same?
Nah, but what's wrong with a little bonus?
That said, it'll take a bit to transport them. Hmm...
What would you like me to do?
Can you bring some supplies in a hurry? Just what you can carry would be plenty.
You're a quick one, aren't you?
If you just bring the bare minimum, the runts can work the rest out in the meantime.
The stairs for staff are over this way.
The runts fall down the big well, but that'd be impossible for you
I see. So falling is quicker than the stairs, huh?
That would be a faster way to get to the third floor. Where is it?
Are you seriously going to do it?
There are walls, so I'll be fine.
If you fall from this height, you'll die.
Even if you can be revived, well...
It's only natural to die due to a mistake made in the dungeon.
Don't waste time with pointless statements.
I'll be back soon.
I see... So that's the second basement floor.
The third floor will be up next.
Mr. Rangard sent me to pick up the supplies for the second floor.
That's them, huh?
How many boxes do you need?
Just one is plenty. There's no way you could do more.
Got it. I'll play it safe and take two.
Listen to me, already
Hmm? Ah, the stairs.
No worries. This way is quicker.
See you later.
Sorry about that. You seriously saved me there.
Is it always like this?
No...
I usually keep a better eye on the overall picture, but I was curious about your movements today.
So I got a bit sloppy.
Sorry...
By the way, the runts wanna jump all around the well like you did. What do you think?
Not happening.
It's Clay.
Come in.
Are you training to strengthen your concentration?
I'm cleaning
You're back sooner than I expected.
How was it?
Well, I was told that I was a dangerous influence on the work golems, so I shouldn't come back for a while.
What did you do...?
Hmm... No helping it, I suppose.
I was hoping to clean up here first...
I'll go and explain the work done here.
No, cleaning comes first.
It's not something that can be done so easily.
I'll help. What do you want me to do? What are we throwing out?
We're not throwing out any of them
What should I destroy, then?
Why...?
The ones that look usable can stay. The ones that don't, we'll toss.
Hesitation and excess luggage can be the end of you in the dungeon.
The knowledge of an explorer...
Let's call it here for today.
Understood.
You're certainly in a good mood.
Oh? You can tell?
Did something happen?
I learned that you don't have any friends, Ms. Clay.
Yes, and...?
You see, I don't have any either.
R-really?
That means we can be one another's first friends
I can't treat a work superior as a friend.
No way
A body that has at some point decayed so that bone is exposed....
I take on a strange shape, as if fearing fate, pointing a blade at my own.
I can no longer hold back the feelings welling up inside.
Er, Ms. Clay...
That's still a bit heavy. I know, how about reading it with a smile?
With a smile?
Next time on Dungeon People, Episode 3,
The Ice Wolf's Fangs
"The Ice Wolf's Fangs."
E-even her smile feels heavy...