"Unreasonable things always come suddenly."
They completely disregard my will and force disadvantages upon me one-sidedly.
To escape from unfairness, you can either live quietly to avoid being noticed, endure it in silence, or acquire the strength to confront it with even greater unfairness.
At that time, I didn't have that strength.
So I was swallowed up by this unfairness without being able to offer any resistance
That is, until I gained a force that was 'unreasonable' to this world in that dungeon…
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"Hm…yawn… I slept well… It's 6 o'clock now… Is it morning? No, maybe it's night…"
Yesterday, I read a web novel, watched M-Tube, then some old anime, checked out game forums… I do the same thing every day. TV? Haven't watched it in a year. Probably because of the recession, the media has been bashing NEETs hard.
The consumption tax has gone up to 25%, and the media, connected with the government, has started attacking NEETs to divert public dissatisfaction. Watching that just makes me feel worse.
Even the lifestyle I once envied when I was working has gotten boring after four years. When I do go outside, I feel so out of place. I can't shake this feeling of being left behind by society.
I guess it's time to find a job. But I still have the savings from my days as a corporate slave and my parents' inheritance… And I don't want to face that kind of unfairness again by working. I'll start looking when the money runs out.
I told myself I could stay like this for a few more years, and I started reading my usual web novel.
"Heh… A novel where the protagonist defeats the Demon Lord and returns to the modern world, only to end up in a parallel world. It's silly, but I can't help but read it. After all, the heroines are kemonomimi girls and elves."
Elves, huh… Not bad. Whenever I play games, I always choose to be an elf. Sometimes, I'll pick a voluptuous bunny girl character, too. Most of the web novels and anime I watch feature harems with elves or beastman heroines.
I especially love stories with big-breasted elves. Though those are usually rated R.
"A dungeon, huh… Ever since dungeons started appearing, these kinds of novels have skyrocketed. Finding skill books in treasure chests and gaining magic powers… Sure, I'd love to use magic, but reality isn't that kind."
Yes, two years ago, dungeons suddenly appeared around the world.
In Japan alone, 30 dungeons emerged. They all appeared near urban areas, with entrances ranging in size from ones where three people could walk side by side to ones where ten people could enter together. The shapes varied, but they all looked like cave entrances.
The first person to enter out of curiosity filmed the inside, and the video spread quickly. In the footage, they encountered a goblin, an ugly creature straight out of fantasy. The video ended with the person fleeing desperately back to the entrance.
Right after the video was posted, M-Tubers armed themselves with bats, pickaxes, shovels, and whatever they could find, rushing into the caves. But most of them stopped posting updates after entering. They likely never came back.
Some did return, but they were missing limbs or had been stabbed in the stomach. They were taken to hospitals, but their whereabouts afterward are unknown. Probably quarantined by the government as valuable survivors.
The first person who posted the video also went missing.
After that, people online started calling these caves dungeons straight out of fantasy stories.
The police were the first to seal off the entrances. Then, after dungeons appeared worldwide, the Self-Defense Forces blocked them off in Japan.
I usually never watch the news, but at that time, I was glued to the TV and scouring the internet for information. I even made a homemade spear and bought survival gear, just in case creatures from the dungeons came out.
When the Self-Defense Forces entered the dungeons to investigate, I was glued to the screen for days, waiting for updates.
Even though 20 soldiers entered fully equipped, only seven came back alive. At first, the government kept information about the dungeons secret, but since other countries were also sending people into their dungeons, information eventually leaked. Some countries don't control information as tightly as Japan does.
Testimonies from those who entered dungeons overseas revealed that the inside is vast and dimly lit by glowing walls. The monsters inside are tough. There are staircases leading underground. There are also traps like pitfalls.
Initially, that was all the information we had, but more details surfaced over time. The size of the dungeon entrance determines the strength of the monsters inside. There are treasure chests containing mysterious items and something called 'skill books.'
Skills… These let you use magic, enhance your physical abilities, or identify the names and properties of things just by looking at them. It's easy to understand since it's common in fantasy novels and games. The skill to identify things is probably called 'appraisal.'
Magic… I want it… I want to dominate the world like in the novels and games. But I don't have the courage to enter a dungeon where even fully equipped soldiers get wiped out. Besides, they're sealed off anyway.
As more information from overseas showed how dangerous the dungeons were, any thoughts I had of entering one vanished completely.
Now, two years later, countries around the world are still sending people into the dungeons.
There's more to it than just getting skill books, but that doesn't concern me. Greedy people can go ahead and risk their lives in those dungeons.
Because of the high casualties, many members of the Self-Defense Forces are quitting rather than being sent to the dungeons, causing a manpower shortage. While the government is blinded by greed, what will happen if another country attacks? My peaceful NEET life will be over! Politicians, get your act together!
For four years, I lived isolated from the world, staying in this big house my parents left me, getting all my food and whatever else I needed online. When I missed human contact, I'd visit certain places to get my fill. I survived by eating away at the savings from my corporate slave days and the inheritance my parents left me.
I kept reassuring myself that I was still fine, still okay… until this day came.
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Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
"What the…? Someone's really persistent. I'm not expecting a delivery, and who comes by at 8 at night? It's probably that annoying MHK guy trying to get me to sign up again."
I had just finished reading a web novel and was looking for funny videos on M-Tube when the doorbell started ringing nonstop. I figured it was the MHK recruiter I had driven away before, coming back for revenge, so I checked the monitor connected to the doorbell camera.
On the screen, I saw a man in a suit and three police officers. Behind them, a patrol car with its red lights flashing was parked on the street.
"What…? Did something happen around here? Are they investigating around?"
I thought maybe there had been an incident in the neighborhood, so I assumed they were here to gather information. I turned on the intercom, thinking that this visit must be related to the investigation.
"Mr. Akutsu! Mr. Hikaru Akutsu!"
I felt something off about the suited man who looked like a detective, but the police and the patrol car made me nervous, so I answered the intercom.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"We know you're in there, so please come out. I'm Noyama from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare's Special Employment Task Force for Youth. Here's my ID."
"Huh? Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare? Not the police?"
Why the Ministry of Health? Is this some kind of outreach from a job placement office? But I don't want a job right now!
"Yes, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. We're not suspicious, as you can see with the police officers accompanying us. Could you come out, please?"
"O-okay…"
Seeing the man's photo ID through the intercom and the presence of the police, I felt it would be better to comply before the neighbors started getting curious, so I opened the front door.
The moment I cracked the door open, the bald guy from the ministry, who called himself Noyama, quickly shoved his foot in to stop me from closing it.
W-what? Are these people used to this?
"Ah, thank you. It seems we have the right person. Let me confirm: You're Hikaru Akutsu, 29 years old, unmarried. Blood type A, both parents deceased, no siblings. You've been unemployed for four years. Is that correct?"
"Y-yeah, that's right."
How does he know so much about me? Are the police involved in this?
"You know why we're here, don't you?"
"Huh? Why? I have no idea…"
Why is this guy so overbearing? He's using polite words, but there's no respect in his tone. Is this really some kind of outreach from a job office?
"Oh dear… You haven't been watching the news? Don't you know about the 'Emergency Dungeon Exploration Act for NEETs?'"
"What?"
With the police watching closely, Noyama smirked and handed me a pamphlet from his briefcase.
"It's the Special Employment Act for Young Unemployed Individuals. Though for people like you, it's easier to call it the NEET Special Employment Act. You know, for those of you who live carefree without working and are labeled as society's trash."
"What!? S-Society's trash!? Y-You don't have to say it like that! There are people who can't work for various reasons!"
This bastard… He's just riding the wave of NEET-bashing spread by the media. And now someone from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, who should be creating employment opportunities, is calling people trash?
"Oh, I know. There are those who can't work due to illness, and those who want to work but can't find a job. There are many reasons for young unemployed individuals. But you're different, aren't you? You're healthy and yet have no intention of working. You've been living off your parents' inheritance for four years without even trying to find a job. In other words, you have no desire to work. Am I wrong?"
"W-Well… It's just that… a lot of things happened at my last job, and…"
"Everyone experiences unpleasant things at work. I'm feeling it right now, at this very moment. And so are the officers standing here. It's an awful job, really."
Damn… I can't argue back. But what's the point of all this? The NEET Special Employment Act? I remember seeing something on the internet about this last year… something about a law that forces NEETs to work. But I thought that was fake news, no way such an inhumane law could pass… Could it be…?
"Wait, are you saying that law forcing NEETs to work has passed?"
"Oh, so you have heard of it. Yes, the bill passed last year, and it was implemented this spring. The targets are healthy men aged 25 to 35 who haven't held a continuous job for more than six months within the last two years, who haven't reached the required tax amount from employment, and who lack the will to work. This year, we're targeting those who haven't been job hunting for more than three years. It's mandatory. You'll be required to work at a job we designate for a minimum of six months."
"What!? I don't have a choice!? That's forced labor! There's no way such a ridiculous law could have passed…"
"But it did. There were groups that opposed it, but public opinion overwhelmingly supported it. The general public, the ones who sweat and toil at their jobs, couldn't stand the idea of people like you living without the will to work in such hard times. Homeless people might still be excused since no one feels the need to kick someone already down. But you? You have a home, money to eat, and yet you choose to do nothing. If you were paying taxes as an M-Tuber or investor, you wouldn't have been targeted. But you've spent more than three years living carefree off your savings in this country, and society calls people like that trash. So, with that, we don't have much time. You have 15 minutes to get ready. We have more houses to visit. Don't worry about money or valuables; just bring a change of clothes. The job will provide a place to sleep. If you refuse or try to run, we'll have to detain you. Oh, and this house is surrounded, so don't bother trying to resist."
N-No way… This is so absurd… Can this really be happening? Could they be fakes pulling a prank? No, the cops' faces are dead serious. Wait, why is that officer's hand on his gun? Shouldn't he be holding a baton?
There are more police officers around the patrol car in the back. It really looks like I'm surrounded… This isn't a prank.
What do I do? Well, there's nothing I can do… It seems I'm screwed either way. It's probably going to be some dangerous, dirty, and difficult work—the kind of 3D jobs no one wants. Six months… I just have to endure for six months.
Damn it… If I knew this was coming, I would've at least pretended to job hunt.
Once I finish this six-month sentence, I'll definitely get a job for real.
And then I'll start a campaign to vote out the politicians who passed this law. NEETs of Japan, when the time comes, lend me your strength!
"Alright, I'll come quietly. But what kind of work is this? What job are you going to force me to do for six months, living on-site? It's not something like cleaning up crime scenes, is it…?"
"You don't know? The job is resource collection inside a dungeon."
"W-What!? A dungeon!?"
I could do nothing but despair as I stood there, staring at the government official's annoyed expression and the police officers behind him, who were waiting impatiently.