Chapter 26

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After exiting the dungeon and passing through the gate, we first went through the hygiene management area equipped with container-type air showers and sterilization lamps. The joint investigation team from the Self-Defense Forces and the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare had thoroughly investigated the presence of viruses and other pathogens during the six months before the dungeon was made public, concluding that there were no dangerous viruses. However, since the deeper levels remain unexplored, the possibility of an emergency was considered, and these facilities were installed. All explorers returning from the dungeon were required to use these facilities without exception. Given the risk of biohazard, such measures were understandable, but...

"It feels like we're being treated like pathogens."

I couldn't help but say that out loud. I walked slowly through the container, where the air shower was activated and the purple light from the protective glasses illuminated the space. I followed the guide lights for over a minute. I thought it felt like a scene from a movie, but I shouldn't complain.

"You should feel lucky that they didn't douse us with disinfectant. It's better than that, at least," said Yuzi.

"True. This level of biohazard prevention is far from adequate," added Misaki.

"Yeah, I guess so, but..."

They were right. If the government was genuinely concerned about biohazards, they wouldn't allow civilians to enter the dungeon, even if public opinion was hyped. If they did allow it, they would require protective suits and not settle for such basic facilities. Explorers would be quarantined and subjected to various tests for weeks after returning from the dungeon.

"Phew. Well, Shizuka, when you're done changing, can you meet us in the waiting area at the reception?"

"Sure, I understand."

Yuzi and I parted ways with Shizuka at the changing room entrance and went inside. We opened our lockers with the keys we had stored in our backpacks, wiped down our swords and armor with wet wipes, and stored them. Then, we took our change of clothes and portable overnight kits and headed to the coin-operated showers with changing areas. We knew about the coin showers from the facility introduction on the Dungeon Association's website, so we had prepared accordingly. The shower stalls were surprisingly spacious, about one square meter, and didn't feel cramped. The coin slot indicated that a 100-yen coin would provide five minutes of use. After reading the instructions, I inserted a coin and pressed the cleaning button. High-pressure water jets sounded for about ten seconds before the cleaning process ended. It was quite an impressive sight, the first time I used such a facility. I took off my tracksuit, grabbed my portable overnight kit, and entered the shower stall.

I finished my shower within the allotted time and changed back into my original clothes before leaving the changing room. Yuzi had just finished his shower and was coming out, drying his hair with a towel.

"Hey, Yuzi. How was it? It was my first time using a coin shower, but I thought it was pretty good."

"Yeah, I thought it would be more cramped and uncomfortable, but it was surprisingly well-designed and comfortable."

"True, but if I had to nitpick, I wish they had installed hair dryers."

I dried my still damp hair with a towel, pointing out the one downside. Still, being able to take a shower in such a remote area was a luxury, I supposed. There was always room for improvement.

"Maybe you should suggest it to the reception later. If enough people request it, they might install coin-operated hair dryers eventually."

"Maybe, but if they were planning to install them, they would have done so from the beginning."

We dried our hair with towels and returned to the lockers. After changing out of our combat gear and storing it in a shoulder bag, we performed a quick maintenance check on our weapons. I drew Fushigi from its sheath and held it up to the fluorescent lights.

"The blade is fine."

"Of course, it's a military sword. Unless it's a poor quality one, it shouldn't chip after just one use," Yuzi said, checking his weapon in the same way.

He was right. It would be problematic if our main weapons chipped so easily. Although I had only used it for a short time, I had equipped Fushigi during my level-up period, so its durability and sharpness had been somewhat enhanced. However, the enhancement was far less significant compared to the roomy tracksuit I had used as combat gear. This was a result of not giving much thought to equipment while leveling up until I decided to explore the dungeon with Yuzi and Shizuka. My level had become too high, and the EXP required for further level-ups was substantial, making it difficult to enhance Fushigi in a short time. As a result, Fushigi's enhancement was far lower compared to Yuzi and Shizuka's weapons. Honestly, I could hit harder with my bare hands than with Fushigi. Still, using Fushigi to slash monsters was psychologically better than beating them to death with my fists.

"Still, it's a good idea to sharpen it. Neglecting maintenance can come back to bite you."

"I know. I've been told that by Zousou-san enough times."

I had learned how to sharpen blades from Zousou-san, and although it took time, I had received a passing grade.

"Also, after sharpening, do a test cut. A poor sharpening job can make the blade dull."

I nodded silently. Whether it was a katana or any other blade, a poor sharpening job could indeed make it dull. The first time I sharpened Fushigi, the radish I used for a test cut didn't even slice. It was quite a shock. Since then, I've been practicing sharpening with kitchen knives at home, and my mother has been praising the sharpness of the knives.

After finishing the basic weapon maintenance, we stored our weapons in our bags and left the changing room with our belongings. The waiting area was empty except for the reception staff.

"So, how do we pass the time until Shizuka comes out?"

"Maybe we can just wait and have a drink?"

"..."

"..."

We placed our bags on the chairs and faced each other in silence. Then, as if on cue, we both said at the same time:

"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

I chose rock, and Yuzi chose paper. I lost.

"Damn!"

"Great!"

I stared at my fist in regret. We were deciding who would go to the vending machine corner to buy drinks.

"I want cola. Here's 160 yen."

"Fine, I'll go."

"Thanks. Oh, by the way..."

Yuzi leaned in and whispered in my ear, making sure no one else could hear.

"What about the skill scroll for cashing out?"

"It's already in the bag."

"Got it."

Yuzi's whisper was a reminder of our pre-arranged plan. Given the high expenses for high school students, we had decided to cash out one of the duplicate skill scrolls we had obtained from our home dungeon. We had checked the buyback prices on the association's website and chose a scroll that was in moderate demand and offered a decent price.

"I'll go buy them."

I entrusted Yuzi with our bags and headed to the vending machine corner, where I bought coffee, cola, and lemon tea, following our usual preferences. I returned to the prefab warehouse with the bottles in my arms, and Shizuka was sitting on a chair, chatting with Yuzi. Her hair, which she had just washed, was still damp, and she was drying it with a towel.

"Sorry, I'm back with the drinks."

"Thanks, Daiki. Good job on the errand."

"Sure, I lost the rock-paper-scissors, so it's my duty. Here, Yuzi, your cola. And, Shizuka, your lemon tea, right?"

"Yes, thank you, Kusanagi-kun. I'll pay you later."

I handed the cola and lemon tea to Yuzi and Shizuka, respectively. I sat in an empty chair, opened my can of coffee, and took a sip. The pleasant bitterness spread in my mouth, and I finally felt the tension in my body ease as I let out a sigh of relief. Yuzi and Shizuka also let out similar sighs.

"Still, we encountered fewer monsters than expected, right?"

"Yeah. We've been exploring since morning... for about four hours."

"During that time, we only encountered three monsters... just three. Even on the first floor, four hours is too short, isn't it?"

Our conversation turned to the low encounter rate of monsters in the dungeon. It was concerning.

"Maybe we're significantly over the recommended number of explorers for each floor?"

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the explorers here might not have the skills to delve deeper than the surface levels."

I recalled the levels of the explorers I had seen at the station that morning. At the time, the sample size was small, so I couldn't be certain, but the average level of civilian explorers in the country might be much lower than we thought.

"If they can't delve deeper, the hunting grounds for explorers will naturally concentrate on the surface levels. Unless the respawn rate is proportional to the number of kills, most monsters will be hunted immediately after respawning by the dense crowd of explorers."

This would mean that explorers would struggle to gather the EXP needed to level up, and few would be able to delve deeper. As more new explorers joined the already crowded dungeon, the competition for monsters would intensify, creating a negative spiral.

"Ah, I see. That's why we didn't encounter many monsters..."

"In a dungeon where monsters should be swarming, it's rare to find them moving away from respawn points."

"Exactly."

We sighed in frustration at this unpleasant conclusion. To break this negative spiral, it might be necessary to impose limits on the number of explorers entering the dungeon and focus on training those who can delve deeper. Without dispersing the hunting grounds, it would be difficult to resolve the issue.

"Since this isn't a game, we can't use respawn tactics. Leveling up against high-level monsters on deeper floors would take a long time..."

"True. We only fought three monsters today, and considering the time spent moving, fighting, and resting, it would be impossible to kill dozens of monsters in a day. Pushing too hard would lead to fatigue and decreased judgment, making us easy prey for monsters."

"Given the low levels of explorers, they can only grind low-EXP monsters, but there aren't enough of them."

Silence fell over the room. The more we thought about it, the more we realized the situation was dire. The veteran explorers I had seen at the station, with levels in the late teens, were likely from the first batch of explorers who had a head start. It was concerning that even after nearly a month, their levels hadn't reached double digits.

"Hey, what about our levels?"

"Hirose, let's not go there."

"..."

In hindsight, it might have been a good thing that we didn't overlevel as a safety margin, as Shizuka and Yuzi suggested. However, given the risk to our lives, I had also thought it was necessary to level up as much as possible. Without the skill scroll to fake our stats, I didn't want to stand out too much from the average explorer level. Even so, the levels we had reached were significantly higher than the average explorer level. But who could have predicted that the average explorer level would still be below 10 after nearly two months?

"Let's just go cash out the drop items for now. There's nothing we can do about this situation here."

"Right. Let's go cash out."

"True. There's no point in dwelling on it here."

We decided to put the issue aside and go cash out the drop items. It seemed we were putting more things on hold lately. But as high school students, there was only so much we could do... I finished the remaining coffee in my can in one gulp.

We left the prefab warehouse with our belongings and moved to the adjacent office and cash-out facility.

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The concentration of explorers in one dungeon has led to the worst possible encounter rate. Without a management system to balance the spawn rates, the situation is dire.