Chapter 11

In the morning, I woke up with a tight feeling in my chest—today, my sister was sleeping with her head resting on my chest like a pillow.

It’s scary how people can get used to things. At first, I was so nervous I could barely move, and my heartbeat sped up. But now I’m finding myself thinking, “She’s so honest and cute when she’s asleep,” feeling almost protective toward her.

Maybe even these “experiences with women” are being accumulated by the effect of 【10x Experience Gain】… though in reality, the only “experience” I have is being used as a hugging pillow.

“Onee-san, wake up, wake up.”

“…Mm, good morning.”

“Morning. Can you move your head? It’s hard to breathe.”

“I discovered this is the most comfortable spot to sleep. Listening to your heartbeat lets me relax.”

I know she’s still dealing with fear, so I can’t tell her something like “Don’t sleep next to me.”

Besides… this is embarrassing to admit, but having someone’s warmth next to me makes me sleep amazingly well.
Maybe I really should buy a bigger bed.

“Alright, I’m going to get changed. What about you, Akira? Training somewhere? Aren’t all the training-facility tournaments closed by now? Summer break’s almost over, right?”

Summer vacation—long as it was—only has two days left. I had been entering tournaments at various training centers, but apparently, once you win once, you’re banned from entering again. No chance to build a winning streak.

So I expanded my search to Kanagawa and Saitama, entering every tournament I could find—and won them all. I’ve probably made quite a name for myself this summer.

“Today I’ll do self-training at school. Even during summer break, we can use the mock-exam combat course. I’ve never taken that training before—I wasn’t planning to advance academically.”

“I see. Big sis is heading into the dungeon again. I’m pretty famous lately, you know? They’re saying, ‘The mysterious cool beauty maid turned back again right before the 10th floor.’”

“Heeeh! Wait, you really go all the way to floor 10 every time? Isn’t that insane?”

“Well, big sis is special! I already decided that when I challenge the 10th floor, it’ll be together with Akira. Until then, I’ll keep showing my presence as a kind of local attraction of the Ginza Branching Dungeon!”

The 10th floor is the final floor of the Ginza Branching Dungeon.
Clearing it brings you to the floor before the “Japan Shared Dungeon,” known as the Convergence Floor.

That was also the furthest point I ever reached in my previous life.

Maybe she doesn’t want to head there alone out of consideration for me.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, onee-san.”

“No need to apologize—I’ll always wait for you. And I’ve already reached level 8! Plus, I’ve saved up a good amount of money! Once PC prices crash, I’ll be the first to buy one! I hope they drop soon!”

“A price crash… Oh, right. This cycle hasn’t reached that point yet—the announcement of the Magic Network.”

“That’s right. The technology spreads around the world in mid-March. But that timing might change. It depends on how deeply mana has permeated the world.”

Right now, electronic devices don’t work inside dungeons. The only communication is through the basic text-posting system in the window.

But soon—a moment will come that overturns the world’s norms and network technology overnight.

That moment is the birth of an entirely new communication system: the Magic Network.

With it, communication inside dungeons will become possible. People can stream while using the window’s camera, and monitoring becomes easier. Both internal and interpersonal incidents will decrease drastically, leading to a world where life and accident insurance becomes applicable inside dungeons.

Right now, no insurance applies inside dungeons.
It’s an incredibly dangerous place.

That’s why many explorers hesitate to actually enter—even if they become explorers in name. Some only challenge during crowded summer breaks for safety.

“Listen, okay? For some reason in the previous cycle, your status had a field called ‘Fate.’ And it was bugged. I think it’s because I forcibly intervened and transferred an authority that shouldn’t normally be given to a human. Because of that… your fate inside the dungeon went totally off-script.”

“Right… I did encounter absurdly rare monsters. And my current level is only this high because a Celestial Variant appeared in the low floors, and defeating it stacked with the 10x EXP effect.”

There are various monster types and grades:

“Subspecies,” “Variant,” “Rare,” “Superior.”

These start appearing from the 5th floor, where difficulty spikes.
But there is a grade that doesn’t fit any of those.

The Celestial Variant.

It’s so rare it can appear anywhere, and that includes floors that should only contain normal monsters.

In my previous life, I defeated one that appeared in the low floors. That’s why my level is where it is now.

In game terms, level 17 might not sound impressive…
But as far as we know, the highest-level explorer on Earth is level 29.

People at my level probably only exist among those who’ve reached the Central Dungeon.

“Akira, you gave the country so many special monsters and magic stones that the research advanced instantly. Because of that, mana spread worldwide, and the approval for the Magic Network went through.”

“‘Approval’… You make it sound like someone applied for it.”

“I did. I can’t say everything yet, but there are others like me scattered around the world. We evaluate how much humanity has adapted to the dungeons, how much potential it has. I left that role to stay close to you, though.”

She dropped this bombshell with a casual tone.

What… there are others like her?
But thinking back… I might have seen hints of that…

“That’s insane. So in the previous cycle, you decided based on the magic stones’ condition?”

“Yes. The Magic Network is useful, and it helps maintain dungeon safety. I’m earning a lot now and selling magic stones to the government, but it’ll still take some time. I haven’t even encountered a Subspecies yet.”

She went to her room to change, and I got ready too.

Others like her… dungeons being overseen by some advanced civilization…?
And she was sent by that group but chose to remain with me…?

“…I’m kind of honored.”

I went to the living room and focused on making breakfast—something that had become my job lately.

Maids are not morning people. And since she’s in the dungeon during the day, I also cook dinner.
Wait… does she do any maid work at all?

“Fuu! You understand, Akira! Butter toast tastes best when you toast it after spreading the butter!”

“I agree. I used to be a rice-for-breakfast person, but recently I’ve gotten really into bread.”

“When your school starts, big sis will make your breakfast and lunch, okay?”

“Huh, really? You’re busy with dungeon runs though—”

“What are you saying? With big sis’s ultra housework skills, that’s nothing. The dungeon is just like a casual stroll.”

Ah, so her maid duties are on summer vacation as well.

“I’d really appreciate the lunch. But simple stuff is fine, okay?”

“Leave it to me! I’ll make rice balls with nori and salmon! And sweet rolled omelet!”

“Haha… yeah, that sounds great. Thanks.”

“In return, Akira will wait at home for me, okay? And have a nice cold energy drink ready.”

Talking about our post-summer-break routine, we finished eating.

Alright, time to change into my school uniform and head to school for training.

I wonder what the entrance-exam practical course is like?
I’m not holding back anymore.