Chapter 27

Favorites over 6,360, PVs over 1,110,000, 9th place in the genre's daily ranking, thank you for your support!

---

When we entered the prefab building, there were a few sparse and empty reception counters. It seemed that many other explorers were still inside the dungeon, and only a few people were sitting in the waiting chairs.

We first looked at the signboard posted near the entrance to confirm the location of the buyback counter. The buyback counter was at the far end of the right side after entering, marked as window 7. We moved to the buyback counter and got a numbered ticket from the ticket machine next to the counter. Our numbers were 5, 6, and 7. It seemed that not many people had finished their dungeon runs yet.

"Customer with number 5, please come to the buyback counter."

We were called almost immediately after receiving our numbers and placing our bags on the waiting chairs. With so few people, there was no waiting time. I held the skill scrolls in the cloth bag and approached the reception counter.

"Thank you for waiting. What can I do for you today?"

"I would like to sell my drop items."

"Please submit your explorer card first."

"Sure."

Following the standard procedure, I handed my explorer card to the female staff member. She scanned the card with a reader.

"Next, please look at the red light on this camera."

The female staff member pointed to a camera on the opposite side of the ticket machine. I knew it had an IC chip, but I hadn't heard that it had facial recognition. I faced the camera and stayed still for a moment.

"Thank you, the identity verification is complete. May I see the items you wish to sell?"

I took the skill scrolls out of the bag and placed them on the counter. The female staff member gasped and widened her eyes slightly. It seemed that skill scrolls were rarely brought in for buyback.

"These are... skill scrolls, right?"

"Yes, I guess I was lucky."

"I see... I apologize, but the appraisal of magic items requires some time. We cannot determine the appraisal value on the spot, so we will need to keep the items and notify you of the appraisal value later. Is that acceptable?"

Well, that's to be expected.

But how do they verify it? Skill scrolls become useless once they are opened and the skill is granted to the target.

I decided to ask.

"That's fine, but is it okay? I heard that skill scrolls become useless once they are opened. If they are discarded before I can sell them, that would be a problem..."

"Please rest assured. Although they are rare, the association has magic items for appraising other magic items."

"Magic items for appraising...?"

"Yes, magic glasses with an appraisal skill. The association has a very limited number, but they are secured. However, due to the limited number, it takes time to appraise magic items from all over the country."

Wow, there are magic items with appraisal skills in addition to the skill itself. Maybe they were secured by elite teams in the deeper levels of the dungeon?

"The appraisal should be completed in about a week, and the appraisal value notification will be sent by mail. Please bring the receipt and the notification to your nearest association for the buyback procedure."

"A week, huh..."

Honestly, it takes longer than I expected.

But there's no point in complaining here.

"Understood. Thank you."

"Thank you. Here are the documents related to the temporary storage of the skill scrolls. Please review the content and sign in the designated area."

"Sure."

I received the documents from the staff member... the text is so small. Can't they write it a bit larger?

Despite my dissatisfaction with the tiny text, I read through the documents. In summary, they outline the handling of magic items if they are found to be hazardous. If the appraisal determines that the magic item is hazardous, the association will dispose of it, and the explorer must agree to relinquish their rights to the item.

...Wait, if the explorer doesn't have an appraisal skill or item, could the association or the government claim that the magic item is hazardous and confiscate it? Since the explorer doesn't know what the magic item is, it would be difficult to argue against it and they would have to comply...

"Excuse me, does this regulation apply even if the skill scroll is not hazardous?"

"Yes. Some skills have high criminal potential, so they are subject to disposal. In such cases, we will notify you by mail after the disposal is complete."

"I see..."

Wow, she answered without hesitation. This means that the association has a standard response for this. It's fine if it's used properly, but there will definitely be people who abuse such regulations.

...Wait, could this be a trap to identify those with appraisal skills? As the staff member mentioned, with the limited number of appraisal items, securing people who have used skill scrolls to gain appraisal skills in the dungeon is a priority. Those who protest the appraisal value are likely to have appraisal skills.

Given the association and government's tendency to set traps, like for underage weapon purchases, it's a possibility...

Feeling uneasy about this speculation, I signed the documents.

"Thank you, I have confirmed. I will issue your receipt. Please wait a moment."

The female staff member confirmed my signature, printed the receipt, and prepared a storage box. She deliberately placed the skill scrolls in the box in front of me, sealed it with a tamper-evident tape, and attached a barcode sticker from the receipt to the box.

"Here is your receipt. Please keep it safe as it will be needed for the buyback procedure. Thank you for using our services today."

"Thank you."

I received the receipt, nodded to the female staff member, and left the buyback counter.

The procedure itself was simple, but I felt very tired.

---

We completed the buyback procedure for the drop items and stretched our backs as we stepped outside the building.

Yuzi's copper ore was bought for a better price than expected, around 1,400 yen, which covered our train fare.

However, Shizuka's core crystal was not bought for a high price, only about 500 yen.

"At this rate, it's hard to earn more than 10,000 yen in a day."

"True. There are too many competitors, and the encounter rate with monsters is too low. Even if we defeat a monster, the buyback price for the drop items is low..."

"Without getting lucky and obtaining a magic item, it's a loss despite risking our lives."

The concentration of explorers of similar levels has thrown the dungeon's profitability out of balance. Ideally, explorers should be spread out across different levels, which would prevent excessive competition for monsters and ensure a reasonable income.

"Do you think the situation will improve if we wait?"

"Unlikely. More people will become explorers and enter the dungeon."

"True, it might even get worse."

The root cause of this situation is probably the lack of a cap on the number of participants in the first special underground structure armed exploration permit exam. If the number of people entering the dungeon at once had been regulated, the levels of explorers might have been more evenly distributed.

"Given this, it's not surprising if conflicts arise between veteran and new explorers..."

"True. For us, it's still a hobby we do between school. But for those who rely on exploring for a living, the increase in hobbyists is a serious issue. With their enhanced abilities, if they get into a physical fight..."

Shizuka's face turned pale at the thought.

Well, explorers who usually fight monsters probably don't know how to fight humans. A single bad hit can be fatal. With their enhanced physical abilities from leveling up, it could be even worse...

"We can only hope they're not that stupid."

"True."

As Yuzi said, we can only hope. But sometimes, people act on emotion without thinking. We can only pray that there are no reports of deaths from explorer brawls.

Sighing, we moved to the shuttle bus stop and checked the schedule. The next shuttle bus was due in 20 minutes.

We sat on the chairs at the stop and waited for the shuttle bus. Leaning back and looking at the blue sky with clouds drifting by, I muttered to myself.

"Feeling like it's finally over."

"True. We gained some practical experience and learned about our own issues."

"True. But thanks to Kusakabe, it was quite unconventional, right?"

Yuzi and Shizuka nodded in agreement.

Shizuka, it was unconventional, but we gained the most important experience.

"Being able to kill a monster with our own hands safely is a good thing. I realized that, despite our superior stats, we couldn't keep killing monsters and continue exploring in our current mental state."

"True. I agree."

"Me too. Just one strike to a monster..."

Recalling the moment we killed a monster, we fell silent with slightly pale faces.

Even with higher stats, it doesn't mean we are mentally stronger. Realizing this was the biggest takeaway from this experience. Exploring the dungeon means continuously killing monsters. Without mental strength, it's impossible to continue.

The monsters we killed in the dungeon, which resembled familiar animals like dogs and rabbits, had a significant psychological impact. The slime, being an amorphous mass, had less of an impact, but the monsters we killed bled profusely.

Because of this, we...

"Guys, what do you think about only entering the dungeon a little, fighting some monsters, and then returning for a while? I don't think we can go deep into the dungeon in our current state."

"I agree. It's not a good idea to push ourselves at this stage."

"I'm okay with that, but..."

"Is there a problem?"

"The shop."

Right, Shizuka mentioned that she needed to enter the dungeon to gather ingredients for her father's shop. She probably wants to reach the 10th floor, where orcs appear, as soon as possible.

But can a new ramen dish be created so quickly?

"My father has been letting me taste test ramen made with dungeon ingredients. It seems he will start selling the finished product soon. Even if it means a loss..."

It seems he can. Shizuka's father must be quite skilled in cooking. But it's concerning that he's putting his daughter in danger for this.

Shizuka sighed deeply, looked at me and Yuzi, and declared:

"But I don't want to force it. I agree with the plan to take our time and gradually get used to the dungeon before going deeper."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I feel that pushing ourselves now will lead to regret later. That's what I learned from this experience."

Seeing Shizuka's determined expression, Yuzi and I exchanged glances.

"Understood."

"But please let us know if anything changes."

That's all we could say.

But once we get used to the dungeon, we'll try to reach the 10th floor as soon as possible. Yuzi and I confirmed this with a nod.

At that moment, a loud noise came from the prefab building of the shop. We turned to see a door blown off, and a teenager, not much older than us, was lying on it, holding his stomach and coughing.

What's going on?

---

The daily life of waking up to find a dungeon appeared... was featured in the 23rd "Book of the Day" on Narou!