After tossing our trash, we moved on to the corporate booths. Each company had put together elaborate displays to draw in the crowd, and the area was buzzing with energy.
We still had some time before the event on the main stage, so I decided we should take a look at a few.
"What’s going on at this one?" I asked, approaching a booth that looked reasonably busy.
Inside a fenced-off area, a man who looked like a staff member was explaining something to a visitor in his late thirties while handing him a urethane sword.
"Please hold it firmly with both hands. If your grip is loose, the sword might slip out of your hands when you swing," Staff-san warned.
"Understood," the man replied.
"We’re about to project footage onto the screen in front of you. Please swing your sword at any monsters that appear. If you time it right, you'll be able to land a hit and defeat them."
"Got it."
It looked like this booth was hosting a full-body dungeon exploration simulation. Having finished the basic explanation, Staff-san stepped out of the enclosure and began operating a computer.
"That covers the basics. We’re offering prizes based on how many monsters you defeat, so give it your all!"
"How many do I need to get a prize?"
"Five or more for a standard prize. If you hit ten, the rank of the prize goes up. Good luck!"
Prizes, huh? I probably shouldn't participate. I watched the interaction with a self-deprecating smile, realizing it would be pretty petty of me to jump in just to snag a reward meant for amateurs.
"Starting now," Staff-san announced.
With that, an image of a dungeon interior appeared on the screen. The footage was shot from an explorer’s point of view, bobbing slightly as it moved forward. The dungeon was dim, and the area illuminated by the headlight was narrow, making for poor visibility.
The man gripped his urethane sword, his face tight with focus as he stared at the screen. Even from the sidelines, I could see his body was stiff. At this rate, his reaction time would be a fraction of a second too slow when the moment came.
And then—
The slow march on screen stopped as a black shadow flickered at the edge of the light deep in the passage. Was that a hound dog?
Sensing the "explorer," the shadow let out a sharp Roar and charged at full speed.
"Whoa!?"
Panic flashed across the man’s face as the monster closed in. He raised his sword and swung down with everything he had the moment the creature leaped. A white slash effect appeared on the screen, followed by a burst of red as the monster went down.
"Ooh!" the surrounding crowd cheered.
"Phew..." The man exhaled, the tension in his chest finally easing. His expression softened slightly as he realized he'd succeeded.
However... well, I had my doubts.
"That was amazing! One hit!" Staff-san praised.
"Ah, no. I just got lucky with the timing."
"No, no, don't be modest. Getting the timing right is the hardest part. Oh, look, the exploration is starting up again!"
"Eh? Ah, you're right!"
The man looked a bit bashful at the praise, but he quickly tightened his expression and returned his focus to the screen as the footage resumed. Perhaps the first kill had settled his nerves, because he began taking down monsters with smooth efficiency. He hit five kills in no time and was closing in on ten.
"Wow, you’re incredible! Just one more for ten! Remember, ten kills gets you the deluxe prize, so stay focused!"
"Haha, leave it to me. I've got the hang of this now. I'm going to set a record!"
"Such a reliable answer! Go for it!"
The man was grinning, clearly in high spirits. It wasn't surprising; the staff was showering him with praise, and the crowd cheered every time he landed a blow. But that was exactly when people tended to fall into traps.
"There!"
The man swung his sword without a second's hesitation at a shadow that suddenly lunged from the side. The white trajectory of his blade flew straight and true, cleaving the shadow in two.
He had cleaved it, all right.
"Wait... what?" The man’s face twisted in shock as he saw what he had just "killed."
The shadow he had sliced through—now vanishing in a spray of red effects—was another explorer. It was a classic case of friendly fire.
"Ah... you got him," Staff-san said.
"T-This is..."
"Unfortunately, you hit an ally, so the game is over. Thank you for playing. Please wait a moment while I get your prize."
The man stood dazed as the simulation abruptly shut down. Staff-san, while looking a bit awkward, began preparing a gift with practiced indifference. The surrounding crowd was equally bewildered by the sudden, anticlimactic end.
"Wait, uh, what just happened? Is that really it?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Since you defeated an ally, it's game over. Dungeon exploration is generally a party effort, so this represents a failure in coordination where you accidentally strike a comrade."
"That’s how it ends? You didn't even mention there would be allies!"
The man grumbled as he stared at the dark screen, clearly unsatisfied. To be fair, it wasn't the kind of ending anyone would walk away from feeling good. Staff-san offered a basket of prizes with a sorry-about-that look.
"Here... please pick one."
The man reluctantly grabbed a prize and hurried out of the enclosure without a word. The atmosphere was a bit too heavy for him to linger.
Better luck next time, I thought, offering a silent word of consolation to his retreating back.
Once the awkwardness of the scene faded, we moved away from the booth and began discussing what we'd seen in hushed tones.
"That staff member was totally baiting him into a friendly-fire mistake, wasn't he?" Mika asked.
"Yeah. He kept heaping on the praise, but it felt like a distraction to make him lose focus," Saori added.
"But why would they do that?" Hino-san wondered.
"Maybe they didn't want to give away the deluxe prize?" Tatebayashi-san suggested.
It definitely felt like the guy had been baited, but I doubted a company at an event like this would be stingy with prizes just to save a few yen.
"I think the simulation itself is the point," I said. "It's probably for training newcomer explorers."
"Training?" Mika looked at me.
"Yeah. It’s better to have a simulation to build up some mental preparation before diving into the real thing. They’re running it as a public event, but I bet they’re actually demonstrating the product to the other corporations here."
In the current industry, most promising talent—aside from student explorers and high-ranking independents—has already been snatched up by dungeon enterprises. If a company wants to expand, they’re left with non-explorers or those who haven't made the cut yet. Student explorers are off-limits until graduation, with a few exceptions. This means the biggest headache for these companies is training new hires into capable combatants.
That simulation was likely a demo for a human resource development tool targeted at those businesses. And this event provided them with a endless stream of ordinary people willing—no, eager—to playtest their products for them. Real amateurs.
"I see. Since the companies here have to raise their new recruits from scratch," Saori noted.
"Thinking of it that way, it makes sense for companies to sell products to other exhibitors," Tatebayashi-san said.
"But using the guests like that..." Hino-san trailed off.
"Well, the guests seem to be having fun, so I guess it’s a win-win," Mika said.
While Tatebayashi-san still looked a bit put off, the others seemed to accept it as "just how things work."
We watched with a somewhat pitying gaze as the next challenger stepped up with renewed determination, then we headed toward the main stage as the start time approached.
A massive crowd had already gathered in front of the stage. There were families here and there, but the majority were students our age. Their expressions ran the gamut from pure curiosity to the deadly serious looks of job-seekers scoping out potential employers. For those graduating soon without an offer, this was likely their last big chance.
"There are so many people..."
"Everyone’s curious to see what they’ll show off," Mika said.
"Explorers perform at Dungeon Association events all the time, but it’s rare for dungeon enterprises to do something like this," Hino-san added.
"Most ordinary people just think of dungeon enterprises as companies that hire explorers to bring back drop items. People want to know what the job actually looks like," Tatebayashi-san noted.
"Honestly, I couldn't really tell the companies apart before today. But after walking around, I’m starting to see how they each have their own specialty. If they're putting on a big show, of course everyone wants to see it."
She was right. Events where dungeon enterprises gathered to sell themselves were rare. You’d see dungeon fairs in department stores selling food, but corporate intro events were almost non-existent. People might see top-tier explorers on TV specials, but getting to see them live was a rare treat. With every company bringing out their best talent to prove their worth, the hype in the air was palpable.
"You're right... Oh."
As I scanned the crowd near the still-empty stage, I caught sight of a familiar face on the right side.
"What is it, Onii-chan?" Mika asked.
"Ah, nothing... I just saw Shigemori over there."
"Shigemori-san?"
I pointed him out. He was standing by himself, waiting for the event to start. I thought about calling him over, but when I saw Mika and the others make slightly awkward faces, I hesitated.
Before I could decide, a male and female pair of MCs stepped onto the stage. Time was up. I gave up on Shigemori and focused on the stage.
"Thank you all for waiting!" the male MC shouted into the mic. "It’s time for our main event: the corporate explorer appeal demonstrations!"
"Each company has prepared a unique performance showcasing their skills and innovation. Please enjoy the show until the very end!" the female MC added.
"We’ll keep our greetings short and get right to the action!"
With that high-energy opening, the corporate appeal demonstrations officially began.
I wondered just what kind of "performances" we were about to see.