We put our heads together, fretting over the problem of finding a training location. Once we adjusted to high-speed movement, the lack of space might not be as big an issue. However, in the early stages, things would get dangerous—like crashing into each other—unless we had room to maneuver. Acclimatizing in a large space, then gradually transitioning to tighter environments—that seemed like the right way to go about it.
Finding a reasonably spacious place where we could keep our activities hidden, however... that was a tall order.
"I guess we have no choice but to ask Genya-san again," I said.
"Maybe so," Yuji agreed. "His place is about the only one we know that we might be able to use if we ask."
"You're right," Hiiragi-san added. "But it feels a bit wrong to keep relying on him over and over..."
Within the scope of our knowledge, asking Genya-san was indeed the safest choice. Regarding the secrecy of our abilities, we were already past the point of formalities with him anyway; he likely already grasped how specialized we were.
However, as Hiiragi-san said, it did feel bad to constantly rely on his kindness.
"Hmm... Why don't we just make our own dedicated training ground?"
"Our own training ground?" Yuji repeated. "It might not be impossible, but wouldn't that cost a fortune?"
"Besides, if it has to be somewhere people won't see us, it would need to be deep in the mountains, far from human habitation," Hiiragi-san pointed out. "A remote area with poor transportation... Since we don't have a car, the candidate sites would be quite limited."
"True..."
Since I had been submitting various finds and earning well this year, we might be able to manage the money, but the requirements for the property were strict. Unless it was a mountain reasonably far from town but still along a train line, it would be outside our range of activity. There certainly weren't any remote mountains within cycling distance.
But could we really find a property—a mountain—with such convenient conditions so easily?
"Well, it's true that having a place we can use freely would be convenient," Yuji mused.
"Yes, the benefit of not having to worry about prying eyes is huge," Hiiragi-san agreed.
"Y-Yeah."
Despite the various hurdles, both of them seemed in favor of creating a dedicated training ground. If we had our own facility, we could do types of practice we hadn't been able to attempt before. We would even be able to use skills and magic freely once we set up the location and obtained the necessary permits. I’d heard that corporate explorers practiced in training grounds owned by their companies; while the bureaucracy was tedious, it wasn't impossible to get the permits themselves.
While there were headaches like the initial investment, maintenance costs, and paperwork, the benefits of having a private training ground as an explorer were significant. Public training grounds were always fully booked, after all.
"It might be worth looking into once we set some criteria," I said.
"Right," Hiiragi-san said. "We only have a vague idea right now, so we should probably start by laying out the budget and location requirements."
"At the very least, we can't start searching without a price range," Yuji added.
And so, we decided to begin looking for candidate sites—mountains—as a preliminary investigation.
A private training ground deep in the mountains, far from civilization... Yeah, it had a nice "secret base" feel to it.
Since our review meeting was over for now, we decided to withdraw toward the surface. We had planned for a day trip, and since our objective was met, there was no need to linger. We headed back promptly.
As we left the 29th floor and took the shortest route toward the surface, we encountered a team of corporate explorers near the 27th floor. They seemed a bit wary of us, as we were unfamiliar faces. For teams capable of reaching these depths, their numbers were few, meaning most parties tended to recognize one another. If a "new" team appeared in such a place, anyone would be at least a little cautious. Therefore, we offered a polite greeting so as not to provoke them.
"Hello. Good work today."
"O-Oh, good work..."
When we greeted them with light waves, I felt their tension soften slightly. By speaking first, we showed them we weren't in an extreme mental state or the type to attack without provocation. They returned the greeting properly, albeit reservedly.
We continued forward, passing them with light bows. However...
"Ah, sorry. Do you have a moment?"
"? What is it?"
"Um, I feel bad asking this, but is this the first time we've met?" A male explorer, who looked like the party leader, asked. He wore work clothes with a corporate name on them. "I'm mostly acquainted with the explorers who come to these floors... but I don't know your faces."
He wore a somewhat apologetic expression, but he was clearly trying to gauge who we were. He likely wanted to gather information on us since we were new; after all, we were rivals. Furthermore, if we belonged to a corporation, it would be vital intelligence for his company to know a competitor was entering the market.
"Oh, yes," I replied. "We usually dive in a dungeon elsewhere. Today was just... for a change of pace."
"A change of pace... I see."
"Yes, indeed..."
It wasn't as if we were probing each other, but for some reason, the man's eyes grew sharper at my answer. Ah, he probably thinks I have some strange ulterior motive... maybe.
I felt like the situation would only get more complicated if we kept talking, so I decided to force the conversation to an end.
"Well then... we're in a bit of a hurry, so let's both stay safe on the way out."
"Is that so? Thank you for answering my sudden question. Well then, take care."
"Yes. Thank you very much."
We parted ways, but we felt his searching gaze on our backs until we turned a corner and were completely out of sight. Once I confirmed the presence was gone, we let out the breath we'd been holding and stopped.
Sigh. That was exhausting.
"I didn't expect to be interrogated about our identities so suddenly," I muttered.
"Well, if we're new faces, it's only natural they'd be curious," Yuji said. "We're business rivals; they want as much information on the competition as possible."
"True," Hiiragi-san agreed. "Depending on the situation, they might have to change their area of activity, so they’d want to keep tabs on us. But it's a breach of etiquette to suddenly ask for names when there’s barely been an interaction. I wonder if they thought we'd answer just because we're students?"
We voiced our complaints about the corporate explorer's behavior as we started walking again. In the dungeon we usually frequented, our faces were already known, so problems like this didn't occur.
I moved forward with those thoughts, but I never imagined that similar things would happen two more times before we reached the 25th floor. Everyone really was curious about new faces.
Taking about three and a half hours from the 29th floor, we finally returned to the surface. Perhaps because the number of explorers in the dungeon had increased, it took a bit longer than the trip in, but it was within the expected range. After exiting the dungeon, we changed in the locker room and made our way to the purchase counter to exchange today's spoils for cash.
However, in proportion to the large number of people in the dungeon, the purchase counter was also overflowing. There were many student explorers in particular, likely because of summer vacation.
"What a crowd... The wait looks long."
"Yeah," Yuji agreed. "But we can't exactly go home without cashing in, so let's just wait our turn."
"You're right. Fortunately, there seem to be many windows, so we shouldn't have to wait that long... hopefully."
Wearing expressions of slight disgust at the crowd, we took a number ticket from the dispensing machine. Our number was 312. Since the current number being called was 268, nearly forty people were ahead of us. There were a decent number of windows, but it looked like we'd be here for a while.
On top of that, the waiting area was full, so we had to find somewhere else to rest.
"Let's move to the vending machine corner outside for a bit," I suggested. "There's no place to sit in this mess."
"True. It should be fine if we keep an eye on the time. Let’s go."
"Yeah."
We temporarily left the counter and headed for the empty vending machine corner outside. Other people were doing the same, taking tickets and leaving in a practiced manner, so this level of congestion was clearly common.
After each of us bought a drink, we took a break in the shade of the building.
"Still, in dungeons with this many users, the wait times for everything—from travel to exchanges—get so long..."
"This place has good transportation, so it's likely a result of all the nearby student explorers concentrating here," Yuji said. "It'll probably settle down once summer vacation is over."
"If it's only for the summer, that's fine," Hiiragi-san said. "If it were like this all the time, people would be complaining constantly."
"You're right..."
I took a peek and noticed that they even had a window specifically for registered business operators. It was probably a response to existing complaints. Wait, we were technically sole proprietors, weren't we? That fell under the business category. Should I use that window? No, better not.
I brushed that thought aside as I drank my canned coffee.
"That aside, regarding today's exchange... do you have a moment?"
"Hmm? What is it, Daiki?"
"Actually, about the skill scroll we found... could you let me have it?"
"The skill scroll? You mean 'Cleansing'?"
At my request, Yuji and Hiiragi-san both gave me puzzled looks. After all, everyone in the party had already acquired the Cleansing skill. If I was asking for the high-value scroll on top of that, they were bound to wonder why.
I explained my reasoning.
"Yeah. Since we went through the trouble of getting a 'Cleansing' skill scroll, I was thinking of giving it to Mika and the others."
"Ah, for Mika-chan's team..."
"Certainly," Hiiragi-san said. "Having the Cleansing skill makes cleaning up after fighting monsters much easier. Once blood gets on your hair or clothes, it's quite hard to get out, even with a shower. Especially once it dries."
"Right. That's why I want to give it to them. Well, just giving it to them for free might cause issues, so I'll probably set some kind of task and use it as a success reward."
Mika seemed to be struggling with something right now, so it would be a perfect prize for when she overcame it. The skill was incredibly useful if one planned to continue as an explorer.
I lowered my head to Yuji and Hiiragi-san, asking them to let me have the scroll.
"I see... Fine by me," Yuji said.
"I'm fine with it too," Hiiragi-san agreed. "As someone who knows how effective it is, I think it's a skill that at least one person in Mika-chan's party should have. It's essential for everything from washing clothes to maintaining weapons."
"Thank you, both of you."
And so, it was decided that the 'Cleansing' skill scroll wouldn't be sold, but given to me instead. Since it was an expensive item, I wondered what kind of task I should give Mika's team...
As we talked, time passed, and we returned to the purchase counter.
"Oh, that was close."
When we checked the display, it showed number 310; we had almost been skipped. I would have hated to have to pull a new ticket and line up all over again.
After waiting for two minutes, our number was called.
"Next, please."
"Here you go."
We submitted the drop items from our exploration and waited for the appraisal. Since we had avoided combat as much as possible, we hadn't picked up much, so there shouldn't be much of a wait.
After five minutes, the process was finished.
"Thank you for waiting. The appraisal is complete. Here are the details."
"Thank you."
The staff member handed us a sheet. Among our spoils were things like a high-grade recovery potion and the skill scroll that were still waiting for a full appraisal, so the preliminary total stayed within several hundred thousand yen. If they had been fully appraised on the spot, the total would have been at least several million yen.
Although the supply of high-grade recovery potions had increased lately, they were still traded for nearly ten million yen thanks to their efficacy. Anyone would want a medicine that could instantly heal even lost limbs.
"I'll sell everything except the items waiting for further appraisal," I said.
"Understood. Then, would it be alright to split the payment three ways and deposit it into your registered accounts?"
"Ah, no..."
Just as I was about to say I would decline my share since I was taking the scroll, Yuji and Hiiragi-san cut in.
"Yes, please split it three ways," Yuji said. "That's fine with you too, Hiiragi-san?"
"Yes, please do," she replied.
"Eh?"
"Understood. I will process the transfer accordingly."
Before I could get a word in, the transaction was finished. After moving away from the window, we stepped outside to discuss it.
Ultimately, they insisted that since the scroll would be a reward from all of us, I should still accept my share of the cash from this trip. Man, I really had some great friends.
A private training ground... has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?