Chapter 6

I looked up the appraisal skill on an information site that summarizes internet skills.

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Skill: Appraisal

Rarity: ★★★★☆

Value: ★★★★★

Obtain basic information about items from unexplored dungeons.

Upon acquisition, you receive a certification as an appraiser.

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That's what it said.

Incidentally, the average annual income of an appraiser is apparently 30 million yen.

It's because the appraisal skill is very rare and there are few people who can do it.

Just having the appraisal skill is enough to be considered a winner.

However, there was no detailed information about the appraisal.

Is it really a rare skill?

It's said that non-combat skills like this can sometimes be used outside of dungeons.

Should I try it out?

For the item from the dungeon, I have the slime wine dropped by a red slime.

When I use the appraisal, the information floods into my head.

[Red Slime Wine: A mushroom medicinal wine dropped by a red slime. It has the effect of curing minor illnesses.]

Huh? Isn't it just slime wine?

I search for "red slime wine."

What, whoa!?

Buyback price at the exchange office: 150,000 yen, buyback price at the store: 1,200,000 yen, average auction price over the past five years: 2,113,251 yen!?

It was a very rare item.

Next, I check the D can.

It's an empty D can that once contained candy.

[D can (empty): A can with unknown contents. There are various ways to open it, but it is rarely opened. It boasts the highest strength, but loses that strength once opened.]

That's what I expected.

But isn't this just a regular appraisal?

What is the detailed information?

Just as I thought that, additional information flooded into my head.

[Opening Condition: Sell 20 or more unappraised items dropped by enemies on the same day at the exchange office.]

The opening condition appeared!?

It seems that selling 20 mushrooms was the condition, regardless of my determination.

The D can was supposed to be impossible to open.

Maybe—

I also check the D can that contained the PD generation skill.

[Opening Condition: Wish for a private dungeon with a luck value of 100 or higher.]

It appeared again.

Indeed, I did wish to monopolize a dungeon.

They said that people with a luck value of 100 are rare, and that people with level 100 or higher can go to the deeper levels of dungeons, which are almost monopolized, so they don't wish for such things.

So, this D can can only be opened by me, who has a luck value of 100 at level 1.

Next, I try a detailed appraisal on an unopened can.

[Opening Condition: Offer it at the altar on the 23rd floor of the Biwako Dungeon.]

It appeared!

Even unopened cans can reveal their opening conditions.

I can't go to the 23rd floor of the Biwako Dungeon, so I can't open it.

[Opening Condition: Place it in the mouth of a Red Grizzly.]

[Opening Condition: Punch it while having an attack value of 200 or higher.]

[Opening Condition: Transfer ownership to 10 or more people and wait 5 hours (currently 9th person).]

[Opening Condition: Pour poison slime solution on it.]

[Opening Condition: Boil it in hot water for more than 1 minute.]

[Opening Condition: Bury it in the ground for 1 year.]

[Opening Condition: Cut it with a dragon's fang.]

[Opening Condition: Equip it on your waist while having 200 HP and 150 agility, and complete a full marathon.]

The conditions are all over the place.

For now, the one I can open immediately is boiling it in hot water for more than a minute.

Should I transfer the can's ownership to my mother?

I start the experiment.

When I heat the D can in hot water, it really opens.

Inside is—

[Corn Soup: A warm corn soup. It's very delicious and good for your health. One serving.]

So it's a soup can!

It's freshly made and steaming hot!

I take a spoonful and taste it.

It's even better than the soup I had for lunch today.

"Oh, that smells good. Did you make corn soup?"

"Do you want to try it, Mom?"

"Is it okay?"

"Yeah, I've already had some."

It says it's good for your health, so it shouldn't be poisonous.

I'm sharing the happiness.

After that, my mother persistently asked, "How much did it cost? Where did you buy it? Was it from a certain store?" and I had a hard time dodging her questions.

When I gave the slime wine (the non-red kind) to my father, he was surprised.

My father knew that slime wine is rare.

That night.

I said I was going for a walk and entered the PD.

Dangpon is still playing games.

I'm a bit curious, so I appraise Dangpon's game console.

[Portable Game Console: A once-popular portable game console. It is still loved by retro gamers.]

Oh, it appeared.

I try a detailed appraisal.

[Dangpon's Creation: A copy of an item from Earth created by Dangpon. It can only be used in the dungeon.]

It turned out to be a copy.

He's using super technology to play games.

"Huh? Taira, did you just use detailed appraisal?"

Dangpon looks at me and says.

He noticed the detailed appraisal.

"Yeah. You can tell?"

"Of course. This is not an illegal copy but a licensed product. The licensing fee has been paid."

"No, I didn't think that."

"Is that so? Detailed appraisal is a rare skill. You are indeed the owner of a PD creation. You are lucky."

"That's it! I had a luck value of 100 from the start. Is that abnormal?"

"I don't know of any precedents."

"Why is my luck value so high? I don't feel that lucky in real life."

"Status affects little outside the dungeon. But, have you never felt really lucky?"

I don't feel that lucky.

I don't gamble or anything.

Well, I'm pretty good at rock-paper-scissors. I win four out of five times.

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket next time?

"The reason is unknown to me. Just consider yourself lucky."

"If even Dangpon doesn't know, there's no point in thinking about it."

"......Taira, press this button."

"Huh? Okay."

Following Dangpon's instructions, I press the button on the game console.

Maybe something will happen?

Then—

"Yay! I caught a Ken〇ros! Now I can beat my friends!"

"That's great."

It's about the game.

Is Ken〇ros that hard to get?

I don't know much about Po〇mon.

"Dangpon, I went to the second floor of Umeda D. Can I go to the second floor in this PD too?"

"Yes, you can. Do you want to set it up?"

"Please."

"──Done. There should be a staircase to the second floor somewhere on the first basement floor. Go down from there."

"Thanks."

I borrow a sword and enter the dungeon.

Of course, I take out the slimes I encounter along the way.

No slime wine appeared.

As Dangpon said, there was a staircase leading further underground where there hadn't been one before.

I go down the stairs.

I don't feel any difference in the atmosphere, but a red slime suddenly appears, so I take it out.

Yeah, I can't tell the difference from regular slimes.

I had only been checking roughly before, but from now on, I'll check things properly.

Monsters that appear on the second floor:

Walking Mushroom. Drops mushrooms. Minimum luck value is 80. However, the drop rate is high, so it appears more often than slime wine.

Red Slime. A mutated slime that has eaten walking mushrooms. It preys on walking mushrooms when encountered. Drops red slime wine. Minimum luck value is 70. The drop rate is the same as regular slime wine, but the high minimum luck value means that even level 100 adventurers rarely get it.

Goblin. A monster with the intelligence of a monkey. Most injuries in Umeda D are caused by this monster. It has killed three people in the past, all due to having their weapons taken. The initial wooden stick is very fragile and can't even knock someone unconscious. Level 10 explorers can defeat it easily. Drops black magic stones. Minimum luck value is 5. The drop rate is high, and many explorers get this as their first drop.

Eats both red slimes and walking mushrooms.

It's the top of the food chain on the second floor.

The experience points are: slime 1, walking mushroom 2, red slime 3, goblin 5.

In other words, the efficiency is at least double.

Level 10 explorers can defeat them easily.

It's a safety margin.

Japan is too safety-conscious. In many countries, level 5 explorers can go to the second floor.

The number of casualties is the lowest in the world, but according to Aoki, the average level is lagging behind.

It seems that only top-level explorers are strong.

Then, a goblin appeared.

A green, hairless monkey standing on two legs.

About the size of a Japanese macaque.

It's holding a wooden stick in its right hand.

Actually, it's more like a branch.

I think being bitten would hurt more than being hit with that stick.

But, if that stick were a sword, it would be terrifying.

The goblin runs towards me—

"Too slow."

I crush it with my sword.

It feels unpleasant.

A magic stone and a D medal are left behind.

The D coin is white for the first time—500 yen when exchanged.

The magic stone is also 500 yen, so the total is 1000 yen.

I carefully put it in my backpack.

At this rate, leveling up on the second floor should go smoothly.

Then, the long holiday season began, and I used the break to level up further.

I thought about using this break to explore dungeons in other regions.

Before I knew it, my level had already increased to 15.

Everything was going smoothly.

Then, on that day, a major event that shook not only Japan but the entire world occurred.

The first to notice the anomaly was just a regular tourist, who had nothing to do with dungeons.

He posted a photo on social media.

"Is this a dungeon entrance? It suddenly appeared at the summit of Mount Fuji."

He posted a photo of a black staircase leading underground.

Then, mysterious dungeon entrances appeared in various places around the world, not just in Japan.