Chapter 1
The 30th Floor Boss of the Dungeon’s Lower Layer
Earth, in a Japanese dungeon.
“Streaming again today~!”
A cheerful, energetic voice.
The Prime Minister’s daughter — the Saintess.
“Alright! Today we’ll break our record again!”
The ambitious Hero, a self-made man from humble beginnings.
“Hmm, safety first.”
The Tank, a scaffolding company president’s son.
“….”
The silent, petite Magical Girl, granddaughter of a prestigious academy headmaster.
In this world, dungeons have spread everywhere.
If they aren’t cleared regularly, stampedes occur — monsters overflow onto the surface.
It’s said such disasters have destroyed cities in the past.
It’s the kind of setting you’d find in any fantasy novel.
God had turned modern Earth into a modern fantasy world.
No one knows why.
Still, humanity’s adaptability is remarkable.
People learned to use the Jobs and Magic granted by the gods,
exploring dungeons and maintaining peace in their daily lives.
(Do your best~)
(Starting the lower floors today, huh?)
(Japan’s ranked #1 in the global dungeon rankings!)
(Proud to be Japanese!)
(Big fan of the Hero’s party! Here’s my donation ¥)
(Saintess-sama! I love you! Fufufu…)
Now, every nation streams their dungeon expeditions,
competing for global prestige and influence.
This is the cutting-edge form of entertainment and power.
Japan’s #1 ranked Hero Party
is being watched by over one million concurrent viewers.
They’re currently deep inside the Tokyo Dungeon,
at the final point known as the Lower Floors.
- Floors 1–10: Upper Layer
- Floors 11–20: Middle Layer
- Floors 21–??: Lower Layer (unknown beyond this point)
Only Japan’s Hero Party has ever reached
the 30th floor — the lowest known level.
Is there something beyond it?
Or is this the end?
No one in the world knows.
Other countries’ dungeons have not yet been conquered below the lower layers,
and it’s known from livestream data that monsters there
are roughly the same strength across nations.
Every 10 floors, a boss monster appears —
different in type and weakness depending on the region,
but roughly equal in strength.
The deeper you go, the stronger the enemies become —
that’s how dungeons are designed.
“Alright everyone, ready?”
The Hero calls out.
Everyone nods.
(I’m getting nervous…)
(This is history in the making!)
(Saintess-tamaaa~)
(There’s always that one guy in love with her, lol)
(Give it up, man. The Hero and Saintess are childhood friends — you’ve got no chance, haha!)
The Hero opens the 30th floor’s boss room door…
and inside stands a muscle-bound Goblin King wearing a crown.
“Alright! Same formation as always!”
The Hero commands.
Tank takes the front, Hero follows behind,
with the Saintess and Magical Girl in the rear.
- Tank: a massive shield.
- Hero: a holy sword.
- Magical Girl: long-range fire magic.
- Saintess: healing and buffs.
It’s a textbook formation — basic, but proven through countless life-and-death battles.
“We can do this!” the Hero shouts.
The fight is fierce,
but after an hour of intense combat,
they finally wear it down and barely win.
The Hero lands the final blow with his holy sword.
“We did it!” he cheers.
Everyone high-fives, exhausted but triumphant.
Thanks to the dungeon’s gradual difficulty curve,
no monster had been impossibly strong —
their progress had been smooth, almost charmed.
“Alright, we’re worn out. Let’s check the magic stone and treasure chest, then head home!”
“““Ooooh!””” the party cheers.
Magic stones replace electricity, gas, and other energy sources,
and sell for enormous sums.
A boss from this level drops one the size of a human head —
worth around 20–30 million yen.
Treasure chests, meanwhile, can contain holy swords, staffs, shields, rings,
and other magical artifacts.
The rarer the item, the more valuable —
some become family heirlooms or national treasures.
The chat explodes in celebration:
(Congrats!)
(Japan Team #1!)
(No one can beat them!)
(I wanna join that harem!)
(If I were the Hero, I’d protect Saintess-sama too… Wait, no, never mind!)
(This day should be a national holiday!)
(Even world leaders must be watching right now!)
(What’s inside the chest? Must be worth millions or even billions!)
“Thanks, everyone!”
The Saintess beams, her radiant smile and bouncing chest captivating the crowd.
As the party moves to open the treasure chest—
a blinding light fills the boss room.
“Teleportation?!”
The Hero shouts as they ready their weapons.
“Everyone, stay sharp! Something’s not right!”
yells the Tank.
From within the glowing magic circle,
a demon-like man appears.
“Hmm… it seems the random transfer was a success,”
he says calmly.
“What… is that thing?”
The Hero’s party freezes.
(What’s going on?)
(Didn’t they just beat the boss?)
(That thing’s got horns!)
(This looks bad…)
Their victory high turns into dread.
“Hmm, some insects are in the way. I suppose I’ll start by cleaning up.”
The demon sighs.
“Who the hell are you?!”
The Hero demands, breathing hard.
The demon’s presence radiates an oppressive aura,
far beyond anything the Goblin King gave off.
Every instinct screamed — this is bad.
“Who am I? Hah… does it matter?
You’ll all be dead soon anyway.”
“What did you just say?!”
In the blink of an eye—
the demon stood before the Tank.
A casual backhand swing.
“Gah!!”
The Tank’s shield shatters,
his body smashed into the wall behind him.
No one even saw the movement.
“Eh…?”
The party is stunned.
(The Tank?!)
(He destroyed the shield?!)
(This is bad!)
(An intelligent monster?)
(No way… can anyone rescue them?)
(They’re the top-ranked party! Who could even help?!)
The chat erupts in panic.
“Oh dear… I didn’t mean to hit him that hard,”
the demon smiles.
“Don’t you dare mock us!!!”
The Hero roars and swings his holy sword.
The demon stops it — with two fingers.
Neither moves an inch.
The Magical Girl quickly casts her spell:
“Fire!!”
A massive red fireball — the size of a boulder — launches.
Normally, human mages can only manage a head-sized flame,
but she’s a prodigy, chosen for her immense magical talent.
The fireball hits the demon square in the back.
The Hero retreats, letting go of his sword to avoid the blast.
Maybe physical attacks won’t work…
but if it’s magic, maybe—
“Did… did we get him?” the Hero mutters.
(Ah, he said it…)
(That line…)
(Death flag!)
The smoke clears—
“Did you… do something?”
The demon stands unscathed — not even a burn mark.
“No way… I used all my mana…”
Hope turns to despair, then fear.
The Magical Girl’s teeth chatter uncontrollably.
“Let me show you how fire should really be used.”
The demon raises a hand — a blue flame erupts,
striking her directly.
She’s wearing a high-grade magic defense ring,
preparing for the worst since the Tank fell…
“KYAAAAAA!!!”
A piercing scream — unlike anything her friends had ever heard.
The blue flames consume her.
Her ring shatters.
Her beautiful face and small body are covered in unbearable burns.
She’s barely breathing — but she won’t last.
Even the Saintess, a healing expert, can do nothing.
Curing mortal wounds or restoring missing flesh is a fairy tale;
even the best can only heal injuries and restore stamina.
The demon grabs the Hero’s holy sword,
still held between his fingers,
and tries to snap it across his knee—
“Guhhhhhh! W-what is this sword…?
I underestimated it…”
The demon’s leg — below the knee — is severed.
Everyone — the Saintess, the Hero, the viewers —
stare in shock.
