It had been about ten minutes since we started exploring the 10th floor when we finally encountered our first orc. It was a lone specimen, raising its club toward us in a display of intimidation while letting out a low, guttural growl.
Despite being heavily outnumbered, the monster showed no sign of backing down.
"Finally found one... even if it is just a single."
"Well, at this depth, encountering lone orcs isn't unusual. In fact, it's rarer to find them in groups around here."
"That's right. Once we head down a few more floors, group encounters will become the standard, but for this entry-level zone, starting with singles is for the best. For explorers with no prior experience fighting orcs, taking on a pack right away would be a tall order."
While the orc continued its attempt to keep us at bay with threats, the three of us looked on with somewhat disappointed expressions. After spending so much time searching, finding only one felt like a dud.
Fortunately, we had already obtained enough drop items during this trip to ensure we wouldn't take a loss, so it wasn't a total waste, but the sense of disappointment still managed to leak into our voices.
"Setting that aside, Onii-chan, are Saori-chan and I still handling this one like we planned?"
While keeping a wary eye on the posturing orc, Mika turned to us with a slightly puzzled look, seeking confirmation for our next move.
"Hmm? Oh, right. It's a bit underwhelming with only one, but please go ahead and handle it as a duo as planned. Also, Hiiragi-san has something she needs to demonstrate, so she’ll step in once you've finished it off."
"Got it. Understood!"
"Understood, sir."
As originally intended, we decided to let Mika and Saori-chan take the lead. Since it was a single opponent, the two of them should be able to handle it without any injuries as long as they coordinated.
The rest of us took a step back to keep an eye on the surroundings while we watched their battle unfold.
"I’ll draw its attention first, then you finish it, Saori-chan!"
"Leave it to me, Mika-chan! I’ll end it in one hit!"
"That’s what I like to hear. Well, it looks like our friend over there is losing his patience, so shall we?"
Mika and Saori-chan leveled their spears and sank into low stances. Across from them, the orc glared, fully recognizing the two girls as its enemies. It let out a deafening roar and began its charge.
"Here it comes, Saori-chan! I’ll feint to stop it in its tracks, then you take the shot!"
"Got it!"
Mika moved to meet the charging orc, closing the distance at a light run with her spear held ready. The orc, sensing the threat from the girl closing in, shifted its focus entirely to Mika, taking its eyes off Saori-chan.
Once she confirmed the orc’s gaze was fixed on her and that Saori-chan had been dropped from its priorities, Mika accelerated. She closed the distance in a burst of speed to further command the orc’s attention. At this stage, her plan to act as a decoy had been a complete success. As proof of that...
"Saori-chan, it’s all yours!"
The moment she entered the orc’s reach, Mika used a high-speed side-step to leap far to the right, escaping its range before it could even swing. She must have jumped with everything she had, as she seemed to fly away even faster than she had approached.
The orc’s face contorted with a mix of shock and confusion as its eyes instinctively followed the target that had suddenly vanished from its front. It was a massive opening—a mistake one should never make when facing multiple foes.
"Hah!"
"Gueh!?"
Because its eyes were glued to Mika’s movement, the orc completely forgot about Saori-chan for a split second. It was left utterly defenseless as a lethal thrust to the neck struck home.
Saori-chan’s spear was perfectly accurate, piercing deep into the center of the orc’s throat while it was distracted. Then, to make sure...
"Hmph!"
Mika, who had retreated outside the orc’s range, saw Saori-chan’s strike land and immediately lunged back in to deliver a follow-up. Her spear buried itself deep into the center of the orc’s chest—another blow that was undeniably fatal.
The orc had suffered two mortal wounds in the blink of an eye. No matter how much larger and more muscular it was compared to a goblin, the outcome was inevitable.
"..."
"..."
Mika and Saori-chan pulled their spears back and retreated out of range, remaining wary of any final struggle. However, there was only one thing left for an orc that had taken two fatal hits to do. Its knees buckled, and it collapsed forward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Watching the two girls maintain their guard over the bleeding, fallen monster, we began preparing for our next move.
"...Yes, that looks like it's done."
"Well, after taking that many lethal hits, it wouldn't stand a chance."
"True. Well then, here I go."
If the kill was confirmed, then from this point on, it was a race against time. Hiiragi-san walked with steady steps toward Mika and Saori-chan.
By the time she reached them, particleization—the proof of a monster's death—had already begun.
Seeing the particles start to rise, Mika and Saori-chan finally exhaled and let their tension bleed away.
Hiiragi-san offered them a few words of praise as she passed between them.
"Good job, you two. This is urgent because we don't have much time, so I'll take care of the business I mentioned earlier."
She drew a single knife from the leather sheath at her waist and approached the disintegrating orc.
Standing over the body, she raised the knife high, making sure everyone could see it.
"There."
With a casual, light shout, she thrust the blade into the orc's particleizing form. Suddenly, the disintegration process, which had been moving at a steady pace, accelerated violently, radiating out from where the knife was buried.
What usually took over ten seconds was finished in a few heartbeats. Where the orc’s body had been, a single drop item now lay on the ground.
"Success."
"Um, Yukino-san, what was that...?"
"Today’s drop item: orc meat."
"Ah, no, that’s not what I meant..."
Mika looked a bit dazed by the strange phenomenon she had just witnessed, asking her question with a hint of hesitation. It was a natural reaction to seeing something so inexplicable for the first time.
Beside her, Saori-chan was also staring intently at the knife and the meat in Hiiragi-san's hand, looking equally perplexed.
"I know, you're curious about this, right?"
Hiiragi-san held the knife up so both girls could get a good look at it.
"This is a magic item known as a skinning knife. As you just saw, if you thrust it into a monster once particleization has begun, a food item—dungeon food—becomes a guaranteed drop."
"A food item... becomes a guaranteed drop?"
"Yes. For explorers who want to gather food items for collection requests or collection quotas, it’s a coveted tool that most would kill to own. The downside is that once you use it, only food items will drop. If you're aiming for rare drops like skill scrolls or magic items, using this will guarantee you pull a dud, so you have to be careful."
"I see. Still, I can't believe such a convenient magic item exists."
Mika and Saori-chan stared at the knife with eyes full of curiosity, letting out voices of genuine admiration. Whether or not an item dropped from a monster was never a certainty. Even if it was restricted to food items, a guaranteed drop was an extraordinary effect.
But a look of suspicion soon crossed Mika’s face as a new thought occurred to her.
"But Hiiragi-san, I've never heard any stories about an item like that. With an effect that powerful, even if the actual items are rare, I’d think I would have at least heard rumors among other explorers..."
"It’s a natural thing to wonder why such a powerful effect hasn't become a massive rumor. But of course, there's a reason for that."
Hiiragi-san nodded in agreement with Mika’s doubt and began to explain why the skinning knife remained a relative secret.
"To start with, the skinning knife is a magic item. By nature, its drop rate is very low. On top of that, there are many different types of magic items that can drop, so aiming specifically for a skinning knife is nearly impossible."
"That’s... true. You can’t really pick and choose a specific magic item. Even with our short time as explorers, we can tell how difficult that would be."
"Exactly. So the absolute number of skinning knives in circulation isn't that high to begin with. After all, it's only been a little over a year since the dungeons first appeared. The numbers will likely increase over time, but for now, the supply doesn't come close to meeting the potential demand. Because of that, combined with its utility, it’s a 'those who know, know' situation. People don't want to invite more competition, so they don't want it to become a major topic until they've secured as many as they need."
"I guess if there aren't enough to go around, it makes sense that people would keep quiet. Still, you'd think at least a few rumors would get out..."
A magic item that guaranteed food drops—setting aside student explorers who did it for the trend or as a hobby, this was a tool that professional explorers would consider essential for stabilizing their income. If word truly got out, the demand would be astronomical.
"The word on the street is that the major dungeon food companies are working together to keep the information from spreading while they scramble to secure every skinning knife they can. I've heard they even approach explorers who own them to negotiate buyouts."
"What? Is that really happening?"
Hearing Hiiragi-san’s explanation, Mika and Saori-chan both looked visibly disgusted. They likely saw it as major corporations teaming up to unfairly monopolize the gains that other explorers could have had.
Hiiragi-san gave a wry smile at their reaction and offered a bit of a defense for the current situation.
"But think about it—as a result, you've heard that the supply of dungeon food in supermarkets has been steadily increasing while prices are coming down, right? That’s because the major food companies managed to get their hands on enough skinning knives to efficiently mass-produce those ingredients. Because delicious dungeon food is becoming affordable, the public perception of the providers—the explorers—has actually improved quite a bit."
"When you put it that way, maybe it's not all bad..."
"And as for keeping the rumors quiet, apparently they just asked the Association to suggest to owners that there's a buyer willing to pay a premium whenever a skinning knife is brought in for appraisal. From what I hear, they don't force the buyout negotiations either."
"Well, in that case... I guess it’s barely acceptable?"
A reputable company wouldn't dream of using heavy-handed tactics against explorers whose true strength is hard to gauge. If they underestimated someone and tried to bully them, they might find their own collection teams being sabotaged deep in a dungeon. If a powerful explorer decided to prioritize a grudge over logic, a company's bottom line could suffer significantly.
"Well, corporate politics aside, I wanted to show you this today because I thought you might not know about the skinning knife yet. If you use one of these, you can secure monster meat consistently."
"I see... but why didn't you tell us about it a little sooner? I feel like just knowing it existed would have changed things for us."
"Because making food items the core of your earnings only works once you're strong enough to efficiently hunt things like orcs, which have high encounter rates and high purchase prices. If you don't have that level of skill yet, you're actually better off relying on luck like you have been. At least that way, you have a chance at pulling a jackpot like a recovery potion or a skill scroll, which keeps your income a bit higher."
I agreed with her logic. While food gathering can work in the shallow floors if you can handle high volumes, those floors are currently so crowded with explorers that it's hard to find enough monsters to make it profitable. Since you can't reach the necessary volume, using a skinning knife for food income isn't as viable there. Recovery potions don't sell for as much as scrolls or magic items, but they drop frequently enough that aiming for them provides better returns for beginners.
Mika and Saori-chan seemed to accept Hiiragi-san’s explanation, even if they still looked a bit curious about the details.
After all, the big players with solid logistics are always going to be the ones who can gather in massive quantities most efficiently.