The week after Shiranui Kai and the other weapons were returned from the forge, we finished our familiarization training during our practice sessions with Juzo-san and headed to our usual dungeon.
Passing through the crowded surface floors, we put the reborn Shiranui Kai to the test against the monsters inhabiting the shallow floors.
"Hah!"
A sharp exhale escaped my lungs.
"!"
The hound dog didn't even have time to yelp. Shiranui Kai split the creature’s head cleanly in two, from top to bottom. Its sharpness was peerless.
"...That is some incredible cutting power."
"Yeah. Things are looking pretty impressive on my end, too," Yuji agreed.
"Mine as well," Hiiragi-san added.
At Yuji’s feet lay a hound dog sliced into three neat rings, while the spear in Hiiragi-san’s hands had skewered another beast in a straight line from nose to tail.
Bisected, sliced, skewered... Surrounded by a sea of blood, it was quite the gruesome scene.
"...No warping in the blade, either. Kyosuke-san did excellent work."
After Hiiragi-san used her Cleansing skill on the weapon, I slid Shiranui Kai back into its scabbard. It went in without the slightest resistance, just as it had before the fight. If the blade had been even slightly warped, it wouldn't have seated properly.
By the way, the monsters had been so badly mangled that we didn't get any drop items this time.
"No kidding. At this rate, we shouldn't have any issues using these on the lower levels."
"I agree. At the very least, it seems we can use them just as we did before," Hiiragi-san noted.
"Still, we have to be careful. If we use them recklessly, it’ll shorten the lifespan of the weapons all the same. We need to keep that in mind."
We needed to avoid using them as blunt instruments whenever possible, like we had during that fight against the goblin horde. That was likely one of the factors that had worn down the original Shiranui.
"So, for today, our plan is to head for the orcs on the 10th floor while checking the condition of our gear, right?"
"Yeah. It’s our first time using them in actual combat, so it’s best not to overdo it."
"I have no objections to that policy."
"Then let's move."
Once our preparations were set, we began our descent.
Testing Shiranui Kai and the others against various monsters, we took several times longer than usual to reach the 10th floor. There, an orc raised a threatening roar as it faced our drawn weapons.
"Alright, shall we head back up once we finish this one?"
"Sounds good. We've more than confirmed the condition of the weapons."
"Yes. Besides, it’s getting to be that time."
"Then, without further ado..."
With the plan settled, I closed the distance to the orc in an instant. The orc noticed my approach and raised its club to strike, but before it could reach the apex of its swing, I drew Shiranui Kai through its neck.
The dull thud of the orc's head hitting the ground echoed through the area, followed by a literal fountain of blood erupting from the headless stump.
"...Okay, that’s that."
I turned, maintaining my follow-through stance as the orc’s body collapsed. After confirming the kill, I returned to Yuji and Hiiragi-san, blood still clinging to Shiranui Kai.
"Shall we head back?"
"Yeah."
"Hiiragi-san, could you give me a Cleansing?"
"Certainly."
With Hiiragi-san’s Cleansing skill, the grime on the blade and the light backsplash of blood on my clothes vanished.
"Thanks."
"You’re very welcome."
I sheathed the now-pristine Shiranui Kai. Thanks to Hiiragi-san’s magic, maintenance had become so much easier. Honestly, I wanted to be able to use Cleansing myself soon. Unfortunately, the money I’d been saving to buy a Cleansing skill scroll had been completely drained by the cost of reforging our weapons.
Maybe I should put some magic items up for sale?
"Still, Daiki... setting aside the blood on the blade, you probably could have avoided the backsplash if you’d kept a bit more distance. It’s not like you were fighting a group this time."
"Yeah, you're right. Knowing I have Hiiragi-san’s Cleansing to fall back on, I might be getting a little sloppy in that department."
"It might be fine for now, but we might eventually run into monsters with toxic blood. It would be better to get into the habit of avoiding backsplash now for the sake of the future, don't you think?"
Yuji had a point. While we hadn't encountered any monsters with such specialized traits yet, there was no guarantee we wouldn't in the future. If we ever ran into a hydra, it’ll be a disaster. It was better to avoid getting covered in blood as a general rule.
"You're right. I’ll be more mindful of how I take monsters down from now on."
"I agree," Hiiragi-san said. "My spear gives me a wider range, but you two use shorter weapons, so you need to be especially careful."
"Try not to cause excessive bleeding, or just back off immediately after the strike."
"I guess that’s all we can do..."
"We could also try to learn resistance or nullification skills, but since those are usually passive skills, the EP cost is the problem."
"I really don't want us to be in a situation where we're low on EP. Running out of EP in an emergency is something we have to avoid at all costs."
We actually had some resistance and nullification skill scrolls stored in the Spatial Storage—items we’d picked up from the slime dungeon. However, they were almost all high-consumption skills. Unless we were in a situation where such a skill was absolutely mandatory, I wanted to avoid using them because of the strain they put on our EP capacity.
"It would be great if we could find equipment enchanted with resistance or nullification skills..."
"Maybe those kinds of items appear on even deeper floors?"
"Probably. Considering they haven't shown up on the Association's auction site yet, I think Hirose-kun is right—they must drop further down."
I found myself desperately wanting accessories with special effects, the kind you’d see in a video game. Unfortunately, we hadn't seen anything like that drop from the slime dungeon yet.
"Well, no use crying over what we don't have. For now, our only option is to be careful about the blood."
"I guess so."
"Indeed."
The three of us sighed in unison. I lightly slapped my cheeks to refocus.
"Alright, no point standing around forever. Let's go home."
"Right."
"Oh, Kokonoe-kun. Could you take out today’s portion of the orc materials?"
"Sure. How much do you need?"
"Two cooler bags' worth, please."
"Got it... here."
I pulled the cooler bags and the orc materials out of my Spatial Storage.
"Thank you."
"Is that all? You used to take home a lot more."
"The market price for orc ingredients has been dropping lately, so we've been increasing the amount we buy from commercial vendors. My father said he's going to switch over to those vendors entirely pretty soon."
"Heh, Eiji-san said that?"
"Yes. So for now, two cooler bags' worth is plenty."
"I see."
Hiiragi-san finished packing the orc materials and stood up.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."
With Hiiragi-san carrying the bags in the lead, we began our ascent.
We were waiting for our turn to exchange our loot at the Association office near the dungeon. Several parties were already ahead of us in the queue.
"Ticket number 23, Oretachi Saikyo ni TUEEE. Your appraisal is complete. Please come to counter number 7."
"Pffft!" "Pfft!" "Bwah!"
The moment the party’s name was called, the sound of people stifling laughter erupted throughout the waiting room. Several people hurriedly covered their mouths and looked around the room, their shoulders shaking.
Amidst this awkward atmosphere, a group stood up from a corner and walked toward counter number 7. There were several boys our age walking with their chests puffed out triumphantly, followed by a college-aged young man—likely their guardian—who was walking behind them with his head hanging in absolute mortification.
"...Wow."
"...Yikes."
"Um... right."
We were at a loss for words. We watched the party approach the counter with the kind of looks one might give a strange creature.
So they really existed—explorer parties with meme-tier names. How could they act so dignified? The college student following them had his face hidden, but his ears were glowing bright red.
"That... would be awful."
"Yeah. Talk about public humiliation."
"I'm so glad we picked a sensible name. Really..."
Yuji and I sent looks of profound pity toward the college student, while Hiiragi-san looked genuinely relieved at our own choices. I felt bad for the guy, but I was definitely celebrating our decision to go with something mundane.
As if sensing the gaze of everyone in the waiting room, the young man shrank even further and covered his ears with both hands as he reached the window.
"...Rest in peace."
We pressed our hands together and offered a brief silent prayer for the man.
Those boys who are so proud of themselves now will probably be rolling around on their bedroom floors in agony when they remember this next year. With that thought, I watched the backs of "Oretachi Saikyo ni TUEEE" with distant, knowing eyes.
So this is how a "dark history" is manufactured.
About ten minutes after the Oretachi Saikyo ni TUEEE commotion, our turn finally came.
"Ticket number 35, please come to counter number 7."
We stood up and headed to the window.
"Thank you for waiting. How can I help you today?"
"We'd like to sell some items and complete the paperwork to take home some meat materials."
"Understood. I'll take your drop items now."
"Here you go."
After the identification process, we handed over the cooler bags with the orc materials and the drop items we’d gathered from our hunts.
"We'll call you once the appraisal is finished. Please have a seat."
We returned to our chairs in the waiting room.
"Ticket number 35, Team NES. Your appraisal is complete. Please come to counter number 7."
A few minutes later, we were called back.
I was privately relieved that I didn't hear any laughter from the waiting room when our team name was announced. If the sound of snickering or pitying looks had focused on us... I would have died of shame. I wondered how that young man had ever agreed to such a name. He probably just got outvoted by the kids.
"Thank you for waiting. The appraisal is complete. This is the breakdown of the purchase prices for your drop items."
"Thank you."
We quickly looked over the statement.
"...The appraisal value for the orc materials has gone down quite a bit."
"Yes. Since the volume of materials being brought in by explorers has increased, the purchase price has been trending downward."
"I see."
Orc ingredients weren't the lucrative cash cows they used to be. Well, that was probably for the best as far as Hiiragi-san was concerned.
"Since you requested to take the meat materials home, please sign these documents."
"Oh, I'll sign them," Hiiragi-san said, stepping forward.
She filled out the paperwork for the take-home materials and handed them back to the receptionist, completing the process.
"Next, regarding the payment. Would you like the total transferred to a single account, or would you like the amount for each item split into your respective accounts?"
"Could you split the total into three and transfer it to our separate accounts?"
"Split into three, then?"
"Wait a moment, Kokonoe-kun. You need to deduct the value of the orc materials from my share."
"Ah, right. Can you do that?"
"Yes, we can. One moment, please."
The receptionist handled the transaction efficiently and provided confirmation documents showing the transfer amounts for each of us.
"If these amounts are acceptable, I will initiate the transfers. Is that alright?"
"Yes. Please proceed."
"Understood. The transfers have been completed. Thank you for using our services today."
"Thank you for handling the distribution for us."
We picked up the cooler bags and left the counter. After buying drinks from the vending machines, we sat in the lobby to chat while waiting for the bus to the station.
"Still, the purchase price for orc meat really has plummeted."
"Yes. It’s because the number of explorers who can actually handle the dungeon has increased."
"Before, it felt like there were just a lot of people, but not many actually diving."
"Exactly."
"Thanks to the entry restrictions, the explorers have finally spread out across the various floors. That’s increased both the variety and the quantity of drop items."
It seemed things were going well enough that the posters announcing "bonus purchase prices" for certain items, which had been all over the bulletin boards recently, had finally been taken down. To increase our earnings now, we’d have to use the direct approach: dive into the lower levels and bring back high-rarity loot.
"Hey, Kokonoe-kun, Hirose-kun."
"Hmm? What is it, Hiiragi-san?"
"I have a bit of a proposal... Why don't we try diving to a slightly deeper floor?"
"...Eh?"
Yuji and I both blinked in surprise at Hiiragi-san’s suggestion. What did she have in mind?