After catching our breath at the rest area, we heaved our heavy bodies up and headed toward the changing rooms. Since we’d spent a fair amount of time resting and dealing with the trash, I figured we wouldn't cross paths with Kagawa-san's group inside.
Or so I’d hoped.
"...Oh, Kokonoe-kun. Finished with the trash already?"
"...Ah, Kagawa-san. Yes, we dropped it off where the staff member directed us."
We ran right into Kagawa-san and his team just as they were coming out of the changing rooms.
"Sorry about that. We shouldn't have left the final cleanup to you."
"Don't worry about it. We were the ones who volunteered for the trash run anyway."
"Haha, well, I appreciate you saying so."
I didn't see the rest of Kagawa-san's teammates immediately behind him; perhaps they were still finishing up inside.
"Are you all heading to cash in your loot now, Kagawa-san?"
"Yeah. The others should be out any second, then we’ll head over together."
It seemed my guess was right. While we were exchanging a few more words, the rest of his team emerged from the room.
"Sorry to keep you—oh, it's you guys."
"Ah, hello. Good work today."
"Yeah, thanks for handling the trash."
"No problem. Well, Kagawa-san, we’re going to go ahead and get changed."
"Right, sorry for holding you up."
"Not at all. See you later."
With a polite bow, we parted ways with Kagawa-san's group and stepped into the changing room.
I was just glad we hadn't run into them while we were actually inside the room; that saved us from a drawn-out conversation. It was always a hassle trying to deflect questions if people started digging too deep into our exploration results.
After Yuji and I finished changing quickly, we sat down in the waiting area to wait for Hiiragi-san. Looking around the lobby, I noticed a lot of fresh-faced explorers who looked like students. It really felt like summer vacation was the prime time for students to make their explorer debut.
"They look so green..." I muttered.
"Yeah, they do," Yuji agreed.
"I wonder how many of them will actually stick with it?"
"Who knows? Getting past the 7th floor is usually the first real hurdle. That’s the breaking point."
The 7th floor was where most explorers first stumbled against the monsters. Even back during the initial dungeon craze, plenty of people hit a wall there and gave up. While some managed to overcome that setback and push into the lower floors, most either quit the explorer profession entirely or limited their activities to the shallow floors.
Now that the initial frenzy had settled, it was anyone’s guess how many of these rookies could overcome that trial on their own. It might be different if they had proper guidance, but since the junior development system was still in its infancy, finding a good mentor was mostly a matter of luck.
"...Well, unless you have connections, you aren't likely to find a senior explorer willing to sacrifice their own income to focus on teaching juniors," I noted.
"For an individual, time spent exploring is time spent earning," Yuji said. "It’s hard to commit to training others unless you're getting paid. But..."
"But can a rookie explorer afford a coaching fee high enough to cover a veteran's lost wages? Probably not."
Most new explorers were high schoolers who had only recently cleared the age requirement. Expecting a student to pay tens of thousands of yen a month for lessons was a tall order. On the flip side, a senior explorer couldn't look after many people at once, which meant the cost per person was inevitably high. Maybe it was feasible during the buyback bubble when the dungeons first opened, but with prices falling, it was hard to make a living solely on the shallow floors unless you got lucky with rare drops.
In short, most rookies were forced to explore on their own, a style not much different from the very first pioneers. In fact, now that the initial hype had died down, you could argue the conditions were actually worse for them.
"And corporations would rather secure immediate assets and market share than spend time raising rookies," I added.
"It'll probably be a few more years before companies find it viable to train explorers from scratch," Yuji said. "Even now, most dungeon material companies require you to list your actual explorer track record on your resume."
Human resource development cost money. That was a fundamental reality in any field.
In the dungeon materials industry, the market was currently in a transitional phase of fierce competition for market share. Companies didn't have the luxury of raising rookies; they needed to scout high-level explorers or hire mid-level ones who could be immediate assets to boost their competitiveness. If they didn't, they’d be swallowed up by rivals. So, while it might look like companies were hiring in droves, they were strictly picking people with proven results.
"Unless they can produce results or find a way to profit as individuals... it’s a pretty brutal time for rookies to survive," I mused.
As I was talking with Yuji, a voice came from behind us.
I recognized this presence.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, boys. Also, you really shouldn't discuss such gloomy topics in a place like this."
"Ah, Hiiragi-san. Why not?"
"What do you mean 'why'... look at everyone behind you."
...Ah.
Yuji and I both looked back. A group of rookie explorers was glancing at us with anxious, somber expressions, whispering nervously among themselves. They had clearly overheard our grim analysis.
Yeah, that definitely wasn't a conversation for a public lobby. My bad.
"Uh, shall we, uh... head out?" I stammered.
"Yeah, let's go," Yuji agreed.
"Good idea. It's getting a bit uncomfortable here," Hiiragi-san said.
We grabbed our gear and made a hasty exit, feeling the gazes of the rookie group on our backs until we were out of sight.
Leaving the changing room building, we moved toward the drop item buyback window. Along the way, we passed several groups who seemed to be coming back from their appraisals. They were split between those with beaming smiles and those letting out heavy sighs with furrowed brows. Judging by the vibes, the happy ones were veterans who had been active since the start, while the ones looking grim were mostly rookies. With corporate explorers saturating the market, material prices had dropped, making it difficult for rookies in the shallow floors to turn a profit.
I worried this income gap between explorers might eventually lead to some serious social friction.
"Doesn't look too crowded," I remarked as we approached the counter.
"True. It's still morning, after all. Most of the day exploration crowd is probably still inside the dungeon."
"I guess so. As long as we don't have to wait, I don't care either way."
The building was relatively empty, just as I’d hoped. Including the wait, we’d probably be done in about thirty minutes. We took a numbered ticket and sat in the lobby to organize our items. It was bad manners to fumble around at the window and hold up the line.
"Okay, so we're submitting this, this, and this."
"Daiki, what are you doing with the crimson gem we found?" Yuji asked. "Are you taking it home?"
"No, one is enough for me. Let's trade this one for cash."
"I mean, that's fine, but... won't it cause a stir?"
Yuji had a point. The crimson gem was currently known as a rare drop specifically from the ogre. Turning it in was essentially announcing that we’d farmed the boss multiple times.
"We’re planning to dive even deeper from now on anyway. Besides, we’ve submitted a crimson gem for appraisal before, even if we didn't sell it then. It'll be fine... probably."
"Probably, huh?"
"Yeah... probably."
Information regarding appraised items was technically private. The staff member at the window wasn't likely to make a scene. Though, for some reason, these things always seemed to leak eventually, leading to unwanted scout offers.
"Well, since we're turning in a high-grade recovery potion anyway, there’s no point in hiding the crimson gem," I pointed out.
"...True. If anything, the high-grade recovery potion is going to turn more heads than the gem."
"Most likely."
The effects of a high-grade recovery potion were just that potent.
While we were finalizing our inventory, our number was called.
"Number 112, please come to the reception window."
"That’s us. Ready?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go."
We carried our gear to the designated window. They said prices were falling, but I was curious to see what the final tally would be.
After the appraisal was finished, we sat in a deserted rest area with drinks in hand, looking over the price list we’d been given.
"Hmm. It’s true. Aside from magic items with high demand, buyback prices are falling across the board."
"The food-based drop items from the upper floors have taken a massive hit," Yuji added.
"Personally, I’m glad the food items are getting cheaper," Hiiragi-san said, "but it’s definitely a harsh market for explorers who specialize in those floors or for the rookies."
The total for this trip came out to 1,383,720 yen. The magic items and skill scrolls we’d acquired from Hamatani-san’s group made up the bulk of that, but the monster meat I’d included from the upper floors as a test was appraised at a pittance. It had dropped to less than half its peak price—and for meat with low demand, it had plummeted to about a tenth.
As Hiiragi-san said, shops were probably thrilled, but for the independent explorers supplying the goods, it was a nightmare.
"If they don't do something soon—like subsidies or putting more effort into junior development—the industry is going to run out of new blood," I said.
"If a job doesn't pay, people stop doing it," Yuji agreed.
"It would be a real problem if the people supplying the ingredients disappeared," Hiiragi-san added. "I'd have to go out and hunt them myself again."
If an industry stops attracting people, it inevitably withers away.
"So, will the future of the industry just be people getting hired by training corporations, with only a few elites going freelance?" I wondered.
"At this rate, that's a real possibility," Yuji said. "If the national policy is to increase explorer numbers to secure dungeon resources, the government needs to step in with more long-term support."
"Like a vocational school for explorers?" Hiiragi-san suggested.
"Yeah, something like that."
A specialized school would ensure a steady supply of trained rookies every year. That would likely prevent the industry from collapsing. If they had a solid foundation, rookies could dive deeper and earn more. Most would probably still end up working for companies, but that was better than an industry with no future.
"Well, the bus should be arriving soon. Let's head to the rotary."
"Hm? Oh, is it that time already?"
I checked the clock; the bus for the station at the foot of the mountain was due shortly. We’d earned enough that we could have taken a taxi, but there was no reason to miss the bus. We cleaned up our trash and headed out.
By the time we finally reached our local station, it was nearly mid-afternoon.
Usually, we’d head to a family restaurant for a "launch party" and a quick review meeting before heading home, then meet with Juzo-san the next day for a formal debrief. But this time, we decided to just split up and go home immediately.
This trip had been mentally exhausting. I honestly didn't have the willpower left for a meeting. I just wanted to get home and crawl into bed.
"Alright, good work today. I’ll be at Yuji’s place tomorrow morning."
"Good work, Hirose-kun. I'll email you before I head over," Hiiragi-san said.
"Yeah, sounds good. See you guys tomorrow."
We exchanged brief goodbyes at the station and headed our separate ways. I walked past the other students enjoying their summer vacation in the shopping district and made a beeline for home.
The afternoon sun was relentless, scorching my skin as I hurried along. Finally, I reached my front door. I couldn't wait for the simple luxury of sleeping in a safe environment. I opened the door and stepped inside.
"I'm home..."
The cool, conditioned air hit me as I stepped into the entryway. Mission accomplished. I had returned safely from the dungeon; now, it was straight to bed.