***

  Once we had finished getting prepped for our summer vacation, we made our way to an isolated corner of the first floor, with slimes oozing all around us.

  “Okay, this spot should be good. Hardly anyone ever wanders way over here.”

  “I know you’ve got some skills, Kei, but I honestly wonder whether you can actually create an entire beach...”

  “I spent a lot of time looking at pictures online. Considering how many images are crammed into my brain right now, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Okay, coral reefs...coral reefs...coral reefs...” I chanted to myself.

  “Actually, the French Riviera has a lot of gravel beaches. There really isn’t much in the way of coral sand...”

  “How would I know that? I’ve never been there! The classic beach archetype is just blue water and white sand, isn’t it?” I took a deep breath. “All right, here goes...!”

  With my eyes closed and images of the azure(?) waters of the Côte d’Azur in my mind, I snapped my fingers.

  However, nothing seemed to happen.

  “H-Huh?” Did I screw it up again?!

  No sooner had I thought that than all the slimes around us suddenly burst apart and disappeared one after the other. Then it felt like something in the area was rushing toward me, swirling all around my body.

  “Wh-Whoa?!”

  “Uh, Kei? Is this supposed to happen?!”

  “I-I really don’t think so!”

  “You’re not instilling a whole lot of confidence here...”

  It wasn’t like we had anywhere to run. All we could really do was stand there and brace ourselves for whatever was about to happen.

  Suddenly, the world shuddered violently like an earthquake, and when I looked around me—

  “Whuh?!”

  “No way!”

  —white sand and blue ocean stretched as far as the eye could see.

  We stood there dumbfounded, listening to the gentle lapping of the waves. The ocean in front of us was calm and peaceful, like the inside of a tropical cove.

  When she came to her senses, Miyoshi ran over to the shoreline, dipped her hand into the water, and licked one of her fingertips.

  “It’s actually salty, Kei!”

  “Ocean water usually is. But, uh...”

  I looked around us. The ocean seemed to stretch on forever, and I could see a rocky area just beyond the sandy beach. There was also a green area extending out behind us, but I couldn’t tell what was past that.

  “I don’t mean to toot my own horn or anything...but this is pretty awesome.”

  “It almost feels like the sky out there might just be a big backdrop painting, like in The Truman Show,” Miyoshi murmured, squinting at the ocean horizon in the distance. “But it all looks pretty real to me. If this catches on, it could make for some dramatic improvements to the housing conditions in major metropolitan areas. I wouldn’t envy the real estate agents, though.”

  She wasn’t kidding. If everyone could create new spaces around them at will, altering the environment as they saw fit based on a single image in their minds, real estate prices would instantly go into a free fall. Heck, if people could just create whatever they wanted, the entire money economy would collapse before that. Could you imagine—

  “Wouldn’t it be surreal to just see rows and rows of doors lined up in front of Shinjuku station—one for every resident?” Mail service and package delivery would be an absolute nightmare, that was for sure.

  “That would definitely feel kind of dystopian,” Miyoshi replied. “Though speaking of doors, how do we get in and out of this place, anyway?”

  “Oh yeah, good question.” I took another look around, but didn’t see anything that seemed like it could’ve been an entrance.

  “If there’s no entrance and no exit, wouldn’t that mean we’re stuck here?”

  There wasn’t any particular urgency in Miyoshi’s voice. I had no shortage of food and living necessities tucked away in Vault, and she also had Dolly in her Storage, so we weren’t exactly in dire straits.

  “Well, I’m sure there’s a way out around here somewhere. We can look around for it later—for now, we may as well kick back and enjoy a nice, relaxing vacation.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly call it a vacation—there’s no service staff. Maybe more of a camping trip?”

  “In that case, allow me to prepare your special vacation package, Princess.”

  Miyoshi adopted a regal tone.

  “Very well then, servant. I leave things in your capable hands.”

  I gave her a polite butler-like bow, found a nice spot, then pulled a beach chair and large umbrella out of storage and set them up.

  “Hey, Kei?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Wouldn’t it be quicker to just create any supplies we needed from scratch?”

  “For me, it’s easier to just pick things out from all the stuff we already have. Coming up with all the designs myself is a pain.” Nothing would be more annoying than having to consider every last raw material and part that went into everything.

  “That makes sense, actually! So the D-Factor method just makes it easier for creators to create original works. Everything else could just stay within the framework of a money economy, like it always has.”

  “I sure hope that’s how it turns out,” I mused.

  As long as there were people out there who would try to create certain things—deadly weapons, precious metals, stacks of money, things along those lines—there was no way we could allow unrestricted use of an ability like that. Nonetheless, its sheer convenience would no doubt end up propelling humanity up a few rungs on the evolutionary ladder.

  ***

  “Hey! The slimes just disappeared!” Yoshida barked at his cameraman, Jo.

  They had seen this happen once before—just prior to a certain event taking place.

  “You think it’s the Wandering Manor again?!”

  “If so, our show’s future is starting to look a heck of a lot brighter!”

  Without its initial cast member Tenko or special guests like Ryoko Saito, Haruki Yoshida’s Dungeon Exploration Squad had been gradually slipping in the ratings due to an increase in competing programming. If they didn’t find a way to give themselves some kind of boost, the possibility that they might end up getting the axe was very real.

  With that in mind, Yoshida and Jo had taken advantage of some downtime to head over to the dungeon—and were already faced with what could’ve been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was no surprise they were pumped up and raring to go.

  “Damn, where the hell is it, though...?”

  There was plenty of time before the date rolled over. Unfortunately, the first floor of Yoyogi was a massive circle five kilometers in diameter. The chances of happening across their target by wandering around at random seemed next to nil—

  “Huh? Yoshida?”

  “Wha...?”

  As soon as they had turned the next corner, the duo found themselves face-to-face with a gift from the heavens: Ryoko Saito.

  If nothing else, we’ll definitely have some glamour in our footage, Yoshida thought to himself with an inward chuckle. As long as her production company gives the okay, that is.

  “What are you doing here?” Ryoko asked.

  “Well...we’re looking for a scoop, what else?” Yoshida replied.

  “On the first floor? After going as deep as you have?”

  “Well, you know what they always say: Leave no stone unturned, get back to the basics, learn from past mistakes, and all that stuff. What about you, Saito? You’ve already broken into the world of big-time actresses, why would you wanna hang out in a dump like this?”

  “No need to be rude. Popularity is a fickle thing in the entertainment biz. If I start slacking off, the rug’s gonna get pulled right out from under me.”

  Hearing Ryoko’s cover story, Haruka shot her a glare. The actress had ostensibly just come along for the ride. Not that Haruka wasn’t grateful to have a friend looking out for her, of course.

  “Man, it’s a cutthroat world out there, huh...” Yoshida put a hand behind his head and scratched awkwardly. Guess I’m not the only one, he mused, who needs to worry about shows being canceled. “So who’s that behind you there?”

  “Hi there. My name is Haruka Mitsurugi.”

  “Haruka Mitsurugi...? Wait, the model everyone’s talking about?!”

  Ryoko blinked in surprise.

  “Well aren’t you on top of things, Yoshida!”

  “How could I not be? She’s the hottest news out there right now! Hey, I don’t suppose—”

  “Let me stop you right there,” Ryoko interrupted. “No filming us without permission, unless you want to pay fines out the wazoo. Even sanctioned shots of her will cost you big bucks, buddy.”

  For professional models, their image was the product they sold. Even the models themselves couldn’t just offer that to people freely without getting permission. And when it came to supermodels, their likeness could fetch pretty staggering prices.

  “Bah. Well, no big deal. Anyway, Saito, I don’t suppose you’ve seen the Manor around, have you?”

  “Manor?”

  “All the slimes on the floor suddenly went away. Obviously that’s gotta mean the Manor showed up again!”

  “Whaaat? But I heard that once someone summons the Wandering Manor with a certain type of monster, that type can’t be used again, right? There’s nothing but slimes on the first floor!”

  In other words, it should’ve been completely impossible for the Manor to ever appear there again.

  “Well, something weird’s definitely going on,” Yoshida muttered, spreading his arms wide as he gestured to the emptiness all around them.

  “I mean, sure, maybe...” Ryoko conceded.

  “And every rule has its exceptions—”

  Suddenly, Haruka, who had been standing in the back, arms crossed, looking around while she waited for the conversation to be over, let out a gasp.

  “R-Ryoko!”

  “Hm? What?”

  “L-Look...” She pointed to the end of the corridor, where something stood that absolutely did not belong.

  “Huh?!”

  “What? What’s the big d—”

  As soon as Yoshida walked over to the corridor, his speech suddenly failed him and his eyes shot wide open. He frantically beckoned Jo over to take a look.

  “Come on, Yoshida, why so dramatic?” Jo groaned.

  “Ro...”

  “Ro?”

  “Roll camera! Now!”

  “Huh...?”

  Hoisting up his camera, Jo peered down the corridor through the viewfinder, then froze on the spot as the out-of-place object came into view.

  “A door?”

  There was a random door at the end of the tunnel.

  “What is it?” Jo murmured. “I’ve never seen anything like that in the dungeon.”

  “How the hell would I know?” Yoshida roared. “All I know is I’m gonna open it!”

  Ryoko frowned dubiously at the man’s sudden outburst.

  “Really? Don’t you think that could be dangerous?”

  “Who cares? All I know is if I don’t open this thing, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life!”

  While all of them had experienced the Wandering Manor before, Haruka and Ryoko had the added bonus of having been chased by the monster eyeballs that lurked there. The thought that hordes of eyeballs might’ve been lying in wait behind the door gave the two women serious pause.

  “Hey, Haru—”

  Ryoko gasped involuntarily before she could finish her suggestion that they haul butt out of there. Haruka was standing there staring at the door, a gleam in her eyes.

  Remembering that her friend was more of a childlike adventure-seeker than people who didn’t know her that well tended to assume, Ryoko’s shoulders slumped in defeat. After all, Haruka had been the one who first suggested they go into the dungeon without knowing anything about it whatsoever.

  “Hm? What?” Haruka blinked.

  “Oh, not a gosh darn thing.” Ryoko mused that out of the two of them, Haruka was probably the one who was more Haruki Yoshida’s Dungeon Exploration Squad material. Nonetheless, she stood ready to flee at a moment’s notice, mentally planning an escape route.

  Having made it to the door before anyone else, Yoshida put on his best display of nervousness and spoke to the camera. “Here, in the depths of the dungeon, we’ve discovered a door that leads into the abyss.”

  Haruka couldn’t help but put on a pained smile.

  “We’re on the first floor. And how can you claim it leads into the abyss when you haven’t even checked it yet? Aren’t you laying it on a bit too thick?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Variety shows do this kind of thing all the time.”

  With that, Yoshida grabbed the handle to the supposed abyss door...and pulled.

  “Guh...”

  The door didn’t budge. However, there was nothing on it that seemed to be any kind of keyhole either.

  “It appears to be set up with some kind of hidden mechanism,” Yoshida said to the camera.

  Jo hit the pause button.

  “Um, are you sure you’re not just supposed to push?” he asked. “I can’t see any hinges on this side.”

  “Bwuh?”

  Clearing his throat loudly to try and cover up the ridiculous grunt he had let out, Yoshida collected himself, put on a steely expression, and began filming a second take. After repeating the same lines as before, he pushed on the door instead of pulling. When he did so—

  “Ah...”

  —it opened.

  “Whaaaaat?!”

  The viewfinder screen, which had been washed out into a bright glare momentarily, gradually started to regain its colors. Soon, a vast blue ocean and a white sandy beach came into focus, extending far into the distance. Not only that, but the doorway had opened up a good distance above the surface, as if a rectangle had been cut out of the middle of the air. The water was about two meters below them, and the beach was perhaps thirty meters away.

  “Wow! Isn’t it gorgeous, Ryoko?”

  “I mean, it is...but aren’t we in a dungeon?”

  In the bright glare of the sun, a lone figure could be seen out on the sand.

  “Wait, what?” Ryoko gasped.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Is that...” Squinting and putting a hand to her forehead to block out the sunlight, Ryoko pointed at something sticking out of the sandy beach—apparently some kind of umbrella. With a beach chair underneath it.

  “Someone’s actually out here?!”

  “We’ve found our first sea dweller!” Jo announced as he increased his zoom to 10x and brought the figure lying on the beach into full focus. “Seems to be a woman,” he murmured.

  As soon as they heard that, Haruka and Ryoko looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. If something completely unbelievable was happening in the dungeon, and there was a woman in the vicinity, that could mean only one thing.

  “It’s Miyoshi!” Ryoko squealed, then grabbed Haruka’s hand and leaped into the ocean with a jubilant “Woo-hoo!” Haruka could only shriek as she was pulled in alongside her.

  ***

  Hearing a woman screaming followed by the sound of something splashing into the water, Miyoshi propped herself up in her beach chair and turned in the direction of the noise.

  “What the heck was that?” she exclaimed.

  As I stood next to the umbrella pulling out drinks of various kinds, I looked up at Miyoshi, who was pointing off into the distance.

  “Looks like we have visitors!”

  “Visitors? Here?” I asked dubiously.

  Taking a closer look, I saw a small black portal suspended above the surface of the ocean. Apparently somebody had come in through it.

  “You weren’t kidding.”

  “It looks like there’s some kind of floating hole out there,” Miyoshi said.

  Any given floor of a dungeon typically only had one entrance connecting it to any adjacent floor. If the space I had created followed that same pattern, then that hole was probably an entrance or exit that connected our location to somewhere else.

  “If that’s the only entrance into this place, a quick search of the area might not’ve been enough to find it...”

  It was hovering in a random, unassuming spot two meters above the ocean, after all.

  Miyoshi shrugged.

  “Oh well. We have plenty of food.”

  “If we go incommunicado for too long, we might end up sparking a nationwide manhunt,” I mused. It wouldn’t have been as big a deal if all we had to worry about was a scolding from Naruse, but alas, our worries were plentiful.

  “Yeah, I’d kind of like to avoid that if possible.”

  You know, if your average person ended up creating an area like this, then failed to locate the exit, wouldn’t they just die of starvation...? Even with a cell phone signal, they wouldn’t have any idea where they were, meaning nobody could come and rescue them. GPS certainly wouldn’t be any help either. It’s possible they could use D-Factors to create food, but they couldn’t exactly live out their whole lives there either.

  “Well, I guess we’ve found a new issue to consider,” I said with a sigh.

  “This is why playtesting is so important,” Miyoshi declared.

  ***

  “Jeez, Ryoko! What’d you have to do and do that for?”

  “Hey, it’s summer, isn’t it? The beach sounded like a perfect place to visit!”

  “How do you expect us to swim in these outfits— Whoa, what?”

  “This beginner gear lets you float! You gotta hand it to the Dungeon Association—they even considered the possibility that people might fall into water!”

  Each piece of beginner gear had a decent buoyancy, with floatation properties similar to a life jacket’s. Apparently it was pretty easy to move around in the water with them too.

  “I still can’t believe you just jumped in all of a sudden.”

  “We were once two beauties in our prime—but now we’re all washed up!” Ryoko said with a wide grin.

  “Excuse me... Wasn’t it you who said, ‘Dad jokes shorten the lifespans of models’?”

  “What do I care? I’m not a model!”