Dungeon Core Infestation Part One

"So, what do you think, boss?"

"Ja, Captain. Zu you like it?"

It was the early hours of the morning, our shift had just started, and the girls and I were hanging out in front of a ramen place. They wanted me to try their haul. They claimed the stew here was one of the best in the city. I had to skip my mother's cooking for this.

I slurped up my first bite and focused on the taste of the noodles. The texture. The sweetness of the spice. Whether it was actually sweet and not just unnecessarily hot.

The girls were staring at me with eager eyes and smiles, waiting for my response. Despite the fact we were on a quick meal break, we were ready to go at a moment's notice. Aki was wearing her bomber jacket, and Miko wore her middle-school-looking police uniform with the shorts and the cap.

"Hmmm." I pondered my reply as I reached into my bowl with my chopsticks for another bite.

"Soft noodles, a little chewy, but that's okay. Tangy, mm." I paused my analysis as I chewed some more. "Good balanced broth, the right amount of salt and pepper, green onions moderately sliced, hmmm. Six out of ten."

"Huh?!" The girls responded in unison, jumping out of their seats in utter disbelief.

"Barely above average rating?!" Miko shouted.

"Ja! Zis is unfair scoring, Captain!"

"What can I say, ladies, I'm just not a fan of food not prepared by my loving mother, that's all."

The girls were still busy processing the shock of my slightly above-average ramen experience when my phone suddenly pinged with an emergency alert on the table. I grabbed it and flipped it over. It was a message from HQ:

Dungeon core infestation on Downtown Tokyo Avenue. Shinomia office building, of Shinomia Conglomerate. Shibuya division to report on scene.

"Alright you two, grab your breakfasts to go. We've got a new mission," I said as I slid my phone back into my pocket.

Instead of packing up their food as I requested, both girls wolfed down their ramen as fast as they could, guzzling down the remaining broth.

"Ready!" they shouted in unison.

I had my mouth hung open in horror. Those cups were steaming hot. "How did you guys...? You know what? Just forget about it. Let's go."

***

We arrived on the scene a few minutes later. Some of the office workers were standing outside, murmuring amongst themselves.

Stepping out of the passenger side of the police cruiser, I closed the door and straightened my jacket as I slowly walked toward a man who was briskly walking toward me. I assumed he was the worried manager coming to report the situation, as the guy, wearing a tailor-made business suit, was bald and sweating profusely.

"Captain Daisuke Tanaka. These two are my subordinates, Special Agent Miko and Aki. M-SERT police, Shibuya division. We came as quickly as we could."

"Captain, thank you so much for coming. I am Kenji Yamamoto, the manager of this building. Oof, if you would excuse me."

The man took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his head with it.

"So much of ze sweat," Aki whispered from behind me.

"Right? It's gross, but I can't look away," Miko responded in a whisper of her own. They were being unprofessional. I needed to say something before he overheard them.

"So, Mr. Yamamoto, do you mind telling us what we're dealing with here? We heard it was a dungeon core infestation. But how far gone is the infection?"

I took off my glasses to get an unobstructed view of the building as the man explained.

"Yes, Captain. As you can see, some of my workers are already stranded outside. A few others are still held up in the cubicles on the second floor. The infestation has halted essential functions on all six floors of the company, and I can't have this continue, Captain. If the core remains, it's not just the end of Shinomia's west branch—it's the end for all of us here. Our jobs, our livelihoods... gone. And Captain, the people still hiding inside might very well lose their lives."

"That won't happen," I said to the man while still gazing up at the building. The infestation was starting to visibly show on the body of the structure, with tree roots and vines emerging from small cracks here and there. However, the inside would be where most of the transformation was occurring.

Dungeon cores were like seeds. And just like seeds, when they’re planted, they grow. But unlike regular seeds, they don't need water or sunlight to flourish. And they most certainly don't sprout up into mighty oaks or palm trees. All they need is a little bit of magic, and they can turn an entire six-story building into a fully raidable dungeon in a matter of minutes. Complete with goblins, traps, golems, you name it.

It was insane levels of magic, and the Japanese government understandably outlawed the use of it in urban, populated areas. Which meant whoever had done this was not only going to face significant jail time, but also going to have to deal with a crapton of lawsuits by the victims for the sheer destruction this thing was going to cause.

"Aki, help guide the office workers to a location away from the area."

"Yes, Captain."

"Miko, I'm going to need you to quickly hop on your bike and go grab a few things from the station."

"Aye aye, boss. Whatchu need?"

"Well, we need to clear out the dungeon and find the core to stop the infestation. So we are going to need a lot more weapons and tools."

***

Ten minutes later, Aki, Miko, and I were standing in front of the six-story building, ready to begin the raid. I brandished a sword, Miko carried a backpack filled with magitech weapons, and Aki carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

"So I guess for you magic users, it's paramount for you guys to sometimes carry battle equipment in case you run out of mana, huh?" Miko said from over my left shoulder.

"Yeah," I replied. "We have six floors of dungeon to clear out, and depending on how many mobs were, or are being generated by the core, we might find ourselves fighting waves of overwhelming enemy combatants. Running out of magic in the middle of all that would pose a big survival problem."

I glanced over my right shoulder.

"Aki, you okay?"

She looked spaced out. There was inevitably going to be a lot of blood from the coming fighting. Her berserker mode could get triggered even before we finished clearing out the first floor. If she couldn't control it, it was going to prove one hell of a disaster for the mission.

"I understand if you want to sit this one out," I said.

"Nein, Captain. I want to help," she replied with a brave face, but I could still see the tiniest bit of hesitation in her violet eyes.

In a normal circumstance, any captain would see the liability she presented and would act accordingly to remove her from the mission. But admittedly, my judgment was already compromised.

I was given a chance to redeem myself in the eyes of these girls. They still wanted to be part of my team, even though I tried getting rid of them. So instead of benching her, I was going to let her prove herself, prove that she can control the demon inside.

This may or may not backfire spectacularly, jeopardizing not only the assignment but also the lives of the people hiding inside. I was risking civilian lives on an emotionally driven, clearly selfish decision. However, I had already made up my mind. I want to earn their trust. This was the way to do it.

"Alright," I said to her. "Let's go."

The first floor was a reception area. At least, it looked like it used to be. The ground still retained its polished marble flooring, but the entire place now resembled a dark tavern. Desks became large wooden tables, chairs became barrels, and water coolers became ale kegs.

There were also goblins everywhere. Many of them were holding daggers or spades. The moment they saw us, all hell broke loose. Their eyes turned red, identifying us as enemy targets, and they immediately rushed toward us, weapons raised, giving us only nanoseconds to react. Aki and I dove for cover from the coming horde, while Miko lifted one of her machine guns over her head and yelled out a nonsensical battle cry.

"Kum gaga yamaaa!"

Before I knew it, magitech machine gun fire began flying everywhere.

In an enclosed place like the office building, Miko's shooting was almost deafening. It was so loud, I could feel every shot reverberate in my chest. I glanced over the barrel I was hiding behind and saw the goblins simply bursting into dust and particles with every blast. Stray fire was chewing through the walls and floors, and it was clear this girl had re-modified her weapons yet again above regulation standards.

Unbelievable. What is wrong with this girl?!

But, if I were willing to look past the collateral, there was at least a plus side to her blasting. She was eliminating the enemies in no time flat. Soon, there would be none left for me or even Aki to fight. And barely ten seconds later, that was exactly what happened.

"Hasta la vista, bros."

Miko blew away the steam from the tips of her guns when she had finished clearing out the goblins. I stood up from behind the wooden barrel I was using as a cover and stepped in beside her. First, I gave her my honest evaluation of the initiative she had taken all on her own, without waiting for me to give her orders.

"Nice shooting, officer," I said.

"Thanks, boss," she replied, her lips curved up in a dumb smirk as she puffed out her chest in pride.

Then I reached over with my finger and flicked her forehead. Hard.

"Awwww! Boss! What gives?!"

"What did I tell you about watching out for collateral?! You modified your weapons again, didn't you?!"

Miko covered her forehead in pain. Big baby, I didn't even flick her that hard.

"But I thought you said you liked my shooting, boss. Wasn't that the whole reason you bought me that dress?"

Wait... Was she talking about the maid uniform?

"Idiot, I gave you that dress as punishment for exactly this scenario. How did you forget already?"

"Fine. Then I guess I'll wear it when we get back."

Miko straightened up and wiped away her fake tears. She obviously didn't see the uniform as the humiliating punishment I initially intended. She was just looking for an excuse to wear it again at this point.

"You’d better lower the capacity on those things," I warned, pointing down at her rifles.

"Fine."

As Miko went over to the corner to adjust her weapon's settings, I approached Aki, who had also stepped out of her cover spot and was combing goblin chunks from her hair.

"So far, so good?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Yes, Captain."

"Alright, let's get moving," I said to the group.

Miko was angrily mumbling to herself in the corner as she adjusted the settings on her machine gun back to regulation standard.

"You tell a girl you like her shooting, even going as far as buying her a godforsaken ugly but admittedly cute dress, but now you want her to dial back on the same thing you found appealing about her, and still want her to function like a normal human being. I swear, the first chance I get, I'm switching this back up to full power. Heh heh heh."

"Do that, and you're getting benched for a week," I said.

"Eh! Oh, come on boss. Maximum shooting is my life. Go big or go home, isn't that the saying?"

Sighing, I just ignored her. I didn't have time for her antics right now.

After ensuring the ground floor was cleared of all hostile mobs, we took the elevator to the next floor. Which, according to the manager, was where the remaining office employees were hiding. However, when the elevator doors dinged and slid open, we faced a new problem that collectively stole our breath away. The entire place was a giant maze of brightly lit cubicles, with walls as high as the ceiling. There were a few entryways, but any of them could easily lead to a dead end if we weren't careful.

"Rats," Miko commented at the sight of the structures. "This is gonna be tricky."

"Ja, how are vi meant to find anyone here?"

I paced around a bit in front of the girls as I thought of a solution out loud. They both stared at me awkwardly as I did so.

"Since this was a dungeon core infestation, any employees would know to hide in their cubicles to avoid running into any generated monsters in the halls. But, if we tried to shout out their names to confirm their locations, the monsters in the area could use that and get to them before us." I sighed, running into a dead end in my logic.

"I don't think there is an easy approach to this," I turned and said to the girls. "We have to methodically search every nook and cranny of this maze of cubicles if we are going to be able to find the employees."

"Or we could just blast our way through!" Miko instantly dialed up the settings on her machine gun as she aimed the weapon at one of the nearby walls. "Maze? Get ready for some Miko mayhem. Hiya...!"

I slapped the barrel of her weapon away from the structure. "Don't do that, idiot, you might kill someone hiding in there."

"Ah, Captain?" Aki called as she looked past us with worried eyes. She reached for an arrow from her quiver and nocked it. "Vi have company."

I followed her gaze to the far side of the maze and sighted a new band of trouble coming our way. More armed goblins, roughly about ten of them, with the group being escorted by what resembled a mid-level dungeon boss: a seven-foot-tall orc holding a giant mace over his shoulder.

That wasn't good. This just got a lot more complicated.

"Intruders come to steal our food," the orc announced as he growled, bringing his weapon to bear. "Kill them!"

The goblins began running towards us, and I quickly utilized the precious seconds we had before contact to turn around and issue orders to my agents.

"Miko, you're on range attacks. Cover me, but also do whatever you do to take that orc out before he reaches us."

"Right!"

"Aki, go into the maze and begin searching for the employees. Use your fire magic to carefully melt, burn, or cut through the walls to make it faster for you to find them. We'll catch up with you when we're done here. Now go!"

The blonde girl hesitated a little, but quickly recovered and nodded.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Alright Miko," I muttered as I turned to face the approaching horde. "Let's dance."

I charged forward to meet the enemy, shooting a bolt of high-intensity lightning spell at the first cluster of five goblins in the front. The magic exploded on the ground in front of them, sending the goblins flying back, disoriented. That should buy me a few precious seconds to handle the remaining five that were still standing.

Steel clashed against steel as I met the goblins with my sword. I swung, parried, and sliced off the creatures chunk by chunk while magitech machine gun fire flew past my head. Despite shooting from a distance, Miko was keeping the large orc occupied, stopping him from advancing and pushing him back with steady suppressing fire. I was just surprised she actually listened to me.

Her weapons didn't seem to be set to overkill; otherwise, the orc would have been nothing but chunks of meat and green paste by now. Instead, bro seemed to be tanking a lot of the damage as he was repeatedly pushed back by the superheated blue lasers emanating from Miko's blasters.

"Grrr, I shall not be bested by a little girl."

"Hey! Who’re you calling little?! I'm just short!"

I risked a glance behind me when I finally had some breathing room from fighting the goblins. I saw Aki using her fire magic to melt through one of the walls of the cubicles by placing her palm over the structure. As soon as she created an opening large enough, she ran through with her bow and arrow.

Since none of the monsters generated by the dungeon core possessed actual human blood, I was hoping she could easily take out any creatures she encountered within the maze without worrying about triggering the demon inside her.

But, what if they managed to land a hit on her and draw her own blood? Could the demon be triggered that way too? Did I make a mistake sending her off alone?

No, she is a level six fire mage. She can handle herself. I need to focus on my part.