A slightly awkward atmosphere hung in the air, but I nudged them along and headed toward the next area.
Located next to the corporate introduction booths were the merchandise stalls. Unlike the shops outside aimed at the general public, these showcased items tailored specifically for explorers.
"Oh, they’ve got a lot of interesting stuff lined up here."
"Armor, weapons... it’s basically a full range of explorer equipment."
"They’re even selling tents, sleeping bags, and all sorts of camping gear," Mika and Saori-chan noted.
"Whoa, look at those prices..."
"That sleeping bag costs twice as much as the one they were selling outside..."
While the explorers among us were impressed by the selection, Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san were bug-eyed, their faces pale at the exorbitant price tags.
The goods in this section were professional-grade, meant for serious explorers, which explained the bold pricing. From our perspective, these were tools we’d trust with our lives, so the hefty tags didn't faze us much. For non-explorers like Tatebayashi-san and her friend, however, the prices must have been staggering.
"What do you think? Want to take a quick look at the front of the shops?"
"Hmm, yeah. I’d like to see what they have," Mika said.
"I'm a little curious about the variety myself," Saori-chan added.
"I’m interested too, but..."
"There's no way we could afford any of this with our allowance," Hino-san admitted.
Mika and Saori-chan were eager to accept my suggestion, but Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san looked away awkwardly.
"Now, now, Tatebayashi-san, Hino-san. We're just taking a peek; there's no obligation to buy. We aren't planning on picking anything up either, right?"
"Eh? Oh, yeah. We’re just browsing, not shopping."
"Yeah. We’re just curious to see what’s out there," Mika and Saori agreed.
"In... in that case..."
"Maybe we'll take a look too..."
Having gained their somewhat hesitant consent, we decided to poke around the merchandise booths for a bit.
To start with, we stopped by a shop selling armor.
"Hmm, is this a full entry-class set for beginners?"
I was currently looking at a set of armor displayed on a mannequin at the front of the shop. It consisted of reinforced plastic protectors lined with shock-absorbing material, designed to cover the body’s vital points. It seemed to guarantee a baseline level of protection. The price for the full set was about 100,000 yen. It was a bit pricey for someone just starting out, but if you wanted to avoid serious injury, armor of at least this class was the bare minimum.
Of course, equipment also benefits from the level-up modifier. If someone intended to pursue life as an explorer seriously, buying the highest-grade armor they could possibly afford—even if it required a major financial stretch—was a valid strategy.
"Whoa, brand-new armor really is expensive..."
"Yeah. We managed to keep our expenses down because we bought used, but if we'd tried to buy a full set brand-new... we wouldn't have been able to afford it without working part-time jobs all through summer vacation."
Mika and Saori-chan looked relieved as they stared at the price tag. The two of them had been lucky enough to find "new-old" stock—items that were essentially unused—at a low price. If they had paid the full retail price, their explorer debuts would definitely have been delayed until after the summer.
Watching them, Hino-san tilted her head with a confused expression and threw a question their way.
"Wait, Mika-chan, is your armor second-hand?"
"Yeah. Onii-chan told us about the Association's used equipment buyout site, so we found some nearly new gear for cheap."
"Even though it was technically 'used,' most of it was sold by people who quit being explorers right after they started, so it was basically in mint condition."
"Huh, I didn't know you could get gear that way..."
Hino-san and Tatebayashi-san had been reeling from the "explorer prices," but they now looked impressed and a bit surprised by Mika's explanation. Without knowing about the second-hand market, people tended to view the industry as one where every single thing required a mountain of cash.
They likely hadn't imagined that equipment—the most expensive part of the job—could be obtained reasonably.
"That said, even for a used set, it still cost enough to wipe out all the money we'd earned from our part-time jobs. Even second-hand gear isn't exactly pocket change."
"That's true. Even though we used used items to cut down the initial investment, they were still half-price at best."
"Yeah... our finances were really down to the wire back then."
"If we hadn't made money on our first dive, we would've had to spend our time working at regular jobs just to earn enough to go back into the dungeon."
"Hahaha..."
Perhaps remembering the state of their wallets during their debut, Mika and Saori-chan let out dry, distant laughs.
Honestly, it was incredibly difficult for a regular high school student to put together a full set of explorer equipment without help from a sponsor—usually their parents. Even if they tried to save up on their own, it would take a long time to earn enough for a proper, complete kit.
"So... if we want to be explorers, we should save up a lot of money first?"
"...Asami, if you guys are going to do this, you’ll need a decent nest egg. Otherwise, the initial investment will leave you totally broke."
"Mhm. If you're stressed about money, you lose your mental composure during a dive."
In fact, there were endless stories of rookie parties who, desperate to make back their initial investment, became reckless and ended up injured.
This was especially true now that summer vacation had started. The influx of rookie high school parties had increased the population density in the dungeons. This caused the encounter rate with monsters to drop, leading to a surge in injuries among frustrated rookies who took unnecessary risks.
"I see... yeah, I get it. I'll keep that in mind."
"I'll think about it too."
Tatebayashi-san and Hino-san nodded, looking slightly troubled as they stared at the mannequin in its full armor.
After leaving the armor shop, we checked out the next booth: a weapon shop. Perhaps because they dealt with dangerous items, the atmosphere was more intense; the products were chained to display cases or stands to prevent theft.
Even at an explorer event, it seemed they took safety measures very seriously.
"Wow, look at all these different weapons."
"Swords, spears... is that a morning star?"
"..."
Mika and Saori-chan were impressed by the selection, while Asami and her friend were overwhelmed by the silent, heavy pressure radiating from the weapons. It wasn't often that an ordinary person saw so many weapons lined up in one place, so their reaction was understandable.
In contrast, Mika and Saori were already used to the sight, so they looked at the items with pure curiosity. Humans really can get used to anything.
"Even so, seeing them like this... weapons really are pricey..."
"Mhm. The swords, spears, and other main-weapon type items are all over 100,000 yen."
"...There's no way we could buy those on our budget."
"Yeah, definitely not."
Though they were impressed by the variety, Mika and Saori-chan frowned when they saw the price tags. It made sense; these weren't prices a student or a rookie explorer could easily manage.
Furthermore, the "cheap" weapons on display weren't actually of very good quality for a beginner. According to my Appraisal Analysis, most of the weapons lined up were subpar. I could overlook it for blunt-weapon type items, but I'd advise against the edged ones. Unless used by someone with significant martial arts experience, a novice using them recklessly might have the blade snap in the heat of battle before the level-up modifier could even do its work. Having the weapon you trust your life to break in the middle of a fight was the ultimate nightmare.
"The knives and stuff are... well, affordable? I guess?"
"But you can't exactly go into a dungeon with just a knife..."
"Yeah. At least until you're used to diving, you should have a weapon with some reach that’s easy to handle."
"Right. Until you're used to the monsters, getting that close isn't easy."
Looking at survival knives with price tags around 10,000 yen, Mika and Saori-chan recalled their own early experiences and concluded that it was impossible for a rookie to head out with only a knife.
They were right. Even we were nervous during our first encounter. If we'd been told to fight with nothing but a knife... we might have been hurt. We could handle it now, but the distance required for a knife is completely different from a sword or spear. Besides...
"If you're fighting monsters instead of humans, wouldn't it be better to just buy a machete at a hardware store than an expensive knife?"
"Exactly. It has more reach than a knife, and it's thicker and sturdier."
There was little reason to go out of one's way to buy an expensive knife. In fact, a rookie explorer swinging two machetes would probably have a higher win rate than one using a single knife.
Hearing Mika and Saori's conversation, Asami and Hino-san looked away from the weapons and spoke up.
"Hmm, hearing you guys talk, it sounds like we don't necessarily have to buy weapons at a specialty explorer shop."
"Well, most student explorers have very little money for their initial investment. So instead of 'weapon-like' weapons, they dive into the dungeon with substitutes they buy at hardware stores."
"A lot of people bring shovels or iron pipes, right?"
"Yeah. I even saw someone with a nail bat once—that was a weird one."
"Does that actually work?"
"Who knows...?"
Mika and Saori-chan tilted their heads as they remembered the explorers who challenged the dungeon with eccentric gear, while Asami and Hino-san wore strained expressions as they tried to imagine it. Still, shovels and iron pipes were the standard armaments for rookies who couldn't afford proper gear.
Looking closely at the surrounding weapon shops, quite a few had sturdy shovels out front—models improved with different materials and shapes specifically for explorer use. But seriously, a total titanium entrenching tool? And it cost tens of thousands of yen...
After looking around the weapon shops while voicing our various opinions, we moved on to the next booth: the bivouac goods corner. The selection here wasn't much different from what you'd find at high-end outdoor shops.
Of course, since these were explorer-grade items—lightweight, high-strength, and compact—they were a bit more expensive than the stuff outside.
"A tent made of slash-resistant fiber... is that actually useful?"
I touched a tent spread out in front of a booth, wondering if slash-resistant fiber could really stop a monster's attack.
Beyond tents, there were folding beds and chairs made of titanium, but I found myself wondering if they really needed to be titanium. While weight was a factor when you had a carrying limit, it felt a bit excessive. Well, functionality aside, the "cool factor" was important too, I suppose.
"A tent... hey, Onii-chan? Do we need a tent inside the dungeon?"
"Hmm, for now, we don't really need one. The main thing is just having a private space where you can't be seen. A fancy tent is just bulky luggage. At our current stage, I think just hanging up a screen is enough."
"I see..."
In response to Mika's skeptical look, I gave her my honest opinion. On the floors we'd dived to so far, it didn't rain, so a tent felt unnecessary. It would be far more meaningful to spend that budget on a comfortable bed to aid recovery.
Besides, if you were attacked by monsters, you wouldn't have time to pack a tent up, so it would just become a consumable item. In other words, a decent, cheap one was more than enough.
"Onii-san, what about cooking utensils?"
"Hmm, you don't really need full-scale cooking gear. As long as you have the bare minimum to boil water, you can manage your meals in the dungeon."
Saori-chan pointed at an elaborate barbecue set and asked about eating in the dungeon, so I told her that elaborate equipment was a waste. A small party would almost never have the chance to cook. The only ones who could afford to prepare fresh food inside a dungeon were corporate-type parties with full backup logistics or the Self-Defense Forces. Or perhaps a party that had given up on diving deeper and just wanted to camp.
For a small party like ours, meals usually consisted of retort pouches or freeze-dried products. In other words, the cooking gear Saori-chan was pointing at was just useless weight.
"Um, I have a question about these sleeping bags too..."
Answering everyone's questions as we went, we finished our quick tour of the merchandise booths and headed toward the next area of food stalls. It definitely wasn't because we were running away from the pressure of the store clerks' glares, which seemed to be silently demanding we either buy something or get out!
If you walk around a booth loudly criticizing the necessity of the products, the clerks really do glare at you like demons, don't they?