Article Publication Date: May 10, 2020

After the initial outbreak on March 12, Dungeons continued to manifest throughout the world, with more than a hundred appearing in a day, about once every three days. However, unlike the first day, the red portals which served as the entrance and exit to the Dungeons did not immediately spawn monsters. Instead, there was a 48 hour timer for each of these later Dungeons. Inside the dungeons, the monsters were generally less aggressive, and thus were easier to fight against. The Dungeon Boss was also in a separate area so there was no risk of having to fight the Dungeon Boss and the other monsters at the same time.

Another difference was that if monsters are killed in the Dungeon, they actually drop items, just like a typical rpg. The smaller monsters typically only dropped D-rank Monster Cores, which were categorized as Common rarity. No other items at the time shared this rarity. There was also a small chance of dropping an additional Rare item. These included rings that raised a Stat while equipped, and potions that could heal your injuries or recover your mana. Despite them all being Rare items, the Dungeoneers that luckily acquired them viewed the rings as much more valuable than the single-use potions. The D-rank Dungeon Boss Cores were Uncommon items, and at this time, no other items shared this rarity. D-rank Dungeon Bosses were guaranteed to drop an additional Rare or Super Rare item. Super Rare items included rings that gave greater buffs, as well as various different types of equipment such as weapons and armour.

The world became even more chaotic after the second day of Dungeon manifestations. For one, the pair of Prussian Dungeoneers who cleared a Dungeon first (called Dungeoneers because they entered and cleared a Dungeon) set a dangerous precedent. Companies and governments around the world were driven to try to obtain these items for themselves in order to study them, and hopefully learn more about the Dungeons and monsters, as well as possibly fulfilling a more profit-driven desire. As such, many governments quickly dispatched various elite forces to clear the Dungeons.

To the surprise of some, one could enter the Dungeon even if they were a regular human. Some elite human squadrons did succeed in clearing the Dungeons, but others did not. The regular humans could not bring in any vehicles, and could only carry a limited amount of armaments. There were only so many grenades or grenade launchers they could bring with them to kill the Dungeon Boss while also carrying the guns and ammunition needed to deal with the common monsters. Even worse, it was discovered shortly afterwards that entering the Dungeons was not only very harmful to regular humans, but potentially fatal. Regular humans who entered and left the Dungeons suffered from symptoms similar to those exposed to high levels of radiation. Regular humans who spent more than a few hours in the Dungeons were almost sure to die within the week despite the best medical treatment. Even just an hour could leave one hospitalized and permanently weakened.

Many governments were not initially inclined to cooperate with Dungeoneers that were not already working for them, but the results of the first excursions into the Dungeons changed most of their minds. However, this is where the dangerous precedent came into play. Even with the max occupancy of ten, a team of ten Dungeoneers with no prior combat experience were arguably less effective than special forces operatives. When the Dungeoneers were still armed to the teeth, they could clear it, but if not, the results often led to casualties, and in some cases, even a total party kill. The Prussian pair were clearly extraordinary even among Dungeoneers, they thought. As such, many countries that lacked notable Dungeoneers chose to instead let the outbreak occur so that they could deal with the monsters without restrictions. This also gave up the possibility of item drops, but even now, their value is tenuous.

On the topic of extraordinary Dungeoneers, who could forget Sierra Madrazo from Colombo who travelled across the border to a neighbouring country in order to solo a Dungeon, breaking past police barricades in the process. She is potentially even more extraordinary and extremely bold to say the least. And if you were to not hold back on your words, probably crazy. After clearing the Dungeon, a firefight ensued as she resisted arrest. Well, they shot bullets at her. A lot of them. But they didn’t work and she went home. An extradition order for her detention was made to Colombo, but it was subsequently rejected. Since then, she has illegally entered three more Dungeons. She was also legally allowed to enter a two more Dungeons which manifested in Colombo. She is currently wanted in three different countries. As another interesting note, Colombo does not unilaterally deny entry of other countries’ authorities that want to arrest her in Colombo. They have just failed to succeed thus far.

By the end of the month of Dungeon manifestations, amidst total deaths relating to Dungeons exceeding 20,000, and the sudden claim to fame of several Dungeoneers, the Earth Alliance completed the first draft for the Uniform Guidelines to Dungeon Management for its member nations. A link to the most recently revised guidelines are provided below, but for the most part, the guidelines pertain to registration and identification of both Dungeons and Dungeoneers, restrictions against Dungeoneers entering active military service, Dungeoneer safety and insurance, and rules for redistributing item drops.

As of today, it has been exactly 29 days since the last reported Dungeon manifestation. The EA member nations have implemented some of the guidelines such as registration systems and they have agreed on enacting a special tax on all item drops. The exact tax amounts are still being negotiated. Various countries and large corporations around the world have started vying for the attention of the most notable Dungeoneers, attempting to entice them into relocating or doing business with them, and there is now a global market for Dungeon item drops. On this market, Monster Cores go for around $800 and Dungeon Boss Cores can sell for about a hundred times that amount, and this is despite the fact that there is still no known use for either of them.

During this time of relative calm, research continues into the inner workings of these magic items and some clinical trials are also being run on Dungeoneers, although limited in number due to a lack of willing participants. During this peacetime, some nations have even voiced the opinions of rejecting the Uniform Guidelines and one even going so far as to suggest segregating Dungeons from the rest of the population. One argument for holding such opinions is in the belief that the calamity has faded, or at least, that even if it were to resurge, the current adaptations already made would be sufficient in dealing with new Dungeons. To that, I would like to just point at one thing. These were D-rank Dungeons containing D-rank monsters. I do not know when a second wave will occur, or if that second wave will be the same sort of Dungeons, but I believe most will agree with me that higher rank Dungeons will occur. The Dungeoneers of today may very likely be our future heroes and I hope we take the steps now to ensure all of humanity cooperatively works towards the best future we can have.

Zack Liner