After waiting nervously in front of the station for about ten minutes, Kokonoe-senpai and Mika-chan were the first to arrive. My voice was a bit tight from nerves, so I waved my hand with slight exaggeration to signal where we were. Kokonoe-senpai and Mika-chan seemed to spot us, raising a hand slightly as they walked over.
From the way the two carried themselves, there wasn't the slightest hint of the nervousness gripping us; they looked just like they always did when running into each other at school. Would we ever be able to treat heading into a dungeon as something completely natural like that?
"Morning. I never thought you two would be the first ones here."
"Good morning, Asami-chan, Suzune-chan."
Good morning.
Careful not to let our voices crack from tension, Suzune-chan and I returned their greetings with a slight bow. We tried our best to put on smiles, but I worried whether the corners of our mouths were twitching awkwardly.
Judging by their reactions, it seemed to be fine, though...
"Ah, all three of you are here already!"
As we chatted briefly with Kokonoe-senpai and Mika-chan, Saori-chan's voice carried over from a distance. Startled, I looked toward the sound and saw Saori-chan pointing at us with a surprised expression.
Saori-chan also seemed taken aback by how early we had arrived, but there was no sign of tension about heading into a dungeon from now on. She looked no different from her usual self.
"Good morning, Saori-chan."
"Morning! How are you two feeling? Were you able to sleep last night?"
"Yeah, well, kind of like I slept, kind of like I didn't..."
"Yeah, me too, kind of..."
In response to Saori-chan's question, both Suzune-chan and I replied with slight head tilts. I suppose it felt like we fell asleep before we even realized it. We had gone to bed early, but between the tension and excitement, it was hard to drift off. Even so, before we knew it, morning had come.
As the four of us continued chatting like that, the tension gradually melted away for both Suzune-chan and me.
"And then, you see..."
"Hey, you four. Yuji and Hiiragi-san are here. Wrap up the chatter and let's head over to the ticket gates."
Huh, ah?! G-Good morning!
Realizing we had been engrossed in conversation for quite a while, we turned toward Kokonoe-senpai's voice to find Hirose-senpai and Yukino-senpai watching the four of us with wry smiles.
Ah, we messed up.
"Yo, morning."
"Good morning, everyone. By the looks of it, you seem to be in good shape."
Having gotten too caught up in our conversation and losing our awareness, we flurried into bowing and greeting the two of them.
Kokonoe-senpai, instead of just standing by with a wry smile, you should have said something sooner when the two of them arrived!
"Well then, now that everyone's here, let's head to the station closest to the dungeon first."
"Yeah."
"Right."
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay."
Perhaps picking up on our slightly reproachful gazes, Kokonoe-senpai came to our rescue with a noncommittal smile, allowing the awkward atmosphere to dissipate without lingering.
Come on, let's get moving before anyone brings it up again. The four of us began walking toward the ticket gates with a slight sense of urgency. Just then...
"It's empty at this hour, but make sure you don't get in people's way. Also, this is public transportation used by plenty of regular people, so don't move around too frantically while carrying heavy luggage. If you bump into someone in this state, you could easily send them flying and cause serious injuries. With the physical abilities of an explorer who has leveled up, even if you only intend to brush against someone lightly, it won't feel that way to them."
"That's right. You need to be especially careful when carrying heavy gear. Just like Daiki says, you'll easily send someone flying from the sheer difference in mass. If the person you hit with built-up momentum happens to be a child or an elderly person, well, you can guess the outcome without me spelling it out, right?"
"Indeed. People might say we're worrying too much, but being cautious never hurts."
...Yes.
About to break into a hurried jog, we were brought up short by the seniors' warning and answered while averting our eyes with sheepish expressions.
Indeed, when you think about it, bumping into someone in this state could cause a terrible accident. We might still tumble alongside the person we hit due to losing our balance under the weight of our bags, but with Mika-chan and the others whose levels as explorers had increased, they would never lose in a collision against ordinary people. If that happened, only the other party would be blown back with tremendous force... yeah.
"Well, there's no point in stressing over it too much, but if you're going to become explorers, just keep in the back of your mind that these kinds of concerns exist."
Yes.
Though framed as a casual piece of advice, it was likely something the seniors had personally experienced at some point. They had been working as explorers longer than Mika-chan and the others, let alone us, so they might have had a close call or two like that.
While we were pondering that, we passed through the ticket gates.
"Well, on a holiday morning, this is about what you'd expect. But if you're planning to commute after school on weekdays, you'd better be careful."
Yes.
The commuters waiting on the platform were sparse, creating a situation where we wouldn't be in the way despite carrying bulky gear. Considering it was early on a holiday morning, I suppose that was only natural.
However, thinking about the weekday morning and evening rush hours, I realized we needed to take the seniors' warning to heart.
"Will the train be here soon?"
"Well, it'll arrive in about five minutes, so let's just wait patiently."
"Right."
After checking the timetable, we took up positions in an out-of-the-way corner of the platform and decided to wait quietly for the train. Since it would arrive in about five minutes, it wouldn't be much of a wait, which was a relief.
The train pulled in right on schedule, and we boarded the car.
"There are open seats, but since we have bulky luggage, let's just stand in the corner so we don't get in the way. We'll only be riding for a little over ten minutes anyway."
"Yeah. Is everyone fine with that?"
"Yes, that's fine."
Yes.
Rocked by the train for ten-odd minutes while standing, we arrived safely at the station nearest to the local dungeon.
Upon stepping onto the platform, we spotted several groups carrying bulky gear who appeared to be explorer groups, just like us. There was a wide variety of people: student groups, groups of young men and women who looked like fresh graduates, groups of middle-aged men with grim expressions, and more.
"There really were other explorer groups on the same train."
"Well, out of the dungeons in this area, this one has the best transit access. Today's a holiday, so a lot of groups probably want to start dungeon exploring first thing in the morning. If you can secure even a little more exploration time, your income increases by that much."
"In reality, when dungeon exploring, the time spent searching around is longer than the time spent fighting monsters. If you don't secure as much enemy search time as possible, before even talking about whether you can defeat a monster or not, you won't even find one to fight."
"I'd heard the rumors, but seeing people moving this early in the morning really drives it home."
We had heard stories about dungeons from Mika-chan and the others many times, but putting ourselves in that position for the first time truly made us grasp the reality of their words.
Unlike in games, there was no such thing as encountering a monster at fixed intervals just by walking into a dungeon. Steadily scouring the dungeon over long hours, and then discovering and fighting monsters along the way—that was the job of an explorer.
"Come on, everyone, don't just stand around there; let's go. There's the shuttle bus schedule to consider, and if we don't hurry, we'll end up waiting through several buses."
"Ah, right, sorry! We're coming!"
Noticing our seniors had already started heading down from the platform, we hurried after them without losing our composure.
The shuttle bus stop heading toward the dungeon was packed with numerous explorer groups. Everyone carried massive backpacks, slung weapon storage bags like bamboo sword cases or golf bags over their shoulders, and hauled duffel bags in their hands.
Yeah, with so many people carrying oversized gear, the shuttle buses wouldn't be able to hold their regular passenger capacity.
Whoa...
"Well, I suppose it's the usual sight, but there really are a lot of people."
"Yeah. Running to the dungeon would be faster than waiting for the bus, but exhausting ourselves before even starting the dungeon exploration is a problem too. Once Asami-chan and Suzune-chan get their levels up to a certain point, jogging to the dungeon will become an option, but..."
Mika-chan and Saori-chan voiced an unsettling suggestion while glancing between the shuttle bus queue and the two of us. No, I'd really rather pass on jogging while carrying this much luggage.
Jogging all the way to the dungeon in this state would easily drain half our stamina before we even set foot inside.
"Running to the dungeon is an option, but you should hold off until you two raise your levels enough to get adequate recovery power. Once your levels go up, you'll recover the stamina spent on the run while waiting in line at the admission desk, but that's impossible right now. It's a viable choice to save on transportation expenses down the road, though."
...Phew.
Thanks to Kokonoe-senpai's intervention, Suzune-chan and I let out a shared sigh of relief, feeling saved. While agreeing in principle with Mika-chan's suggestion but noting it was too early for us, Kokonoe-senpai explained the transportation cost realities faced by newcomer explorers.
From what we heard, travel expenses were a surprisingly heavy burden for rookies.
"If you two are going to continue as explorers, you have to think carefully about that sort of thing. Because whenever you form a group, it's an issue that will always follow you. Increasing the number of people in a group improves both the safety and stability of the dungeon exploration itself, but the more people you have, the more you have to split the profits from cashing in drop items, which reduces the income per person. If you aim for high-exchange items like rare drops to boost income, the danger of exploration rises; if you reduce the number of people to keep the profit cuts larger, the risk of the exploration itself goes up."
"As a result, discord spreads within the party, making dungeon exploration impossible and leading to disbandment—I've seen plenty of groups end up like that."
"That's right. Breaking up after an argument once you're out of the dungeon is still on the better side. In the worst cases, opinions clash inside the dungeon over whether to push forward or retreat, and they disband right on the spot. It seems there are even groups where the ones who choose to continue overextend themselves and end up severely injured."
...
Listening to the seniors, Suzune-chan and I—who had thought this was just a casual chat about saving bus fare—felt a chill run down our spines. At first, I had thought, It's just travel expenses, but hearing their explanation made me realize it wasn't a problem to take lightly. I looked once more at the queue waiting for the shuttle bus to the dungeon.
The line that I had initially viewed as merely crowded, when seen from a different perspective, revealed people with cornered expressions, people with grim faces who seemed weighed down by anxiety, and more.
"Among the people lined up at this bus stop, I bet quite a few groups are currently driven into a corner because of transportation costs. Especially the newcomer explorer parties, you know?"
...
Suzune-chan and I looked toward Mika-chan and Saori-chan as if seeking reassurance, but the two met our eyes with straight, earnest gazes despite their solemn expressions.
Though unspoken, their silence affirmed that the seniors' words were completely true.
"During the newcomer explorer phase, maintaining that delicate balance between income and expenses so you can sustain your explorer profession is the first major hurdle. Even more so than fighting monsters."
"That's true. Monsters just need to be defeated, but human relationships involving money are far more complicated. If your income drops, it directly affects the next dive, and if you cheap out on necessary expenses for exploring, the risk of getting injured goes up."
"And if you get injured, your income cuts off, accelerating discord within the party and making it impossible to continue dungeon exploring—that's how the cycle goes."
"Things used to be a bit better in the past, though..."
Wearing apologetic expressions, the seniors explained the current dungeon market realities that newcomer explorers needed to watch out for. What they referred to as "the past" was the early period when dungeons were first opened to the private-sector, a time when the market circulation of drop items was low and demand was high, meaning buyouts fetched high prices. Even drop items that would only sell for pocket change today were priced at hundreds or thousands of yen back then.
In those days, the financial situation of newcomer explorers was far better, allowing them to make it through their rookie period without stressing over travel fares. By the time Mika-chan and the others became explorers, buyout prices for drop items had already dropped, but it was reportedly still better than now, after swarms of student explorers entered the market over summer vacation and drove buyout prices down even further.
"Did we jump into this at the wrong time, I wonder?"
"Maybe, but there's an age restriction on getting the permit, after all..."
...
In response to my frustrated complaint, Kokonoe-senpai offered an awkward, helpless look and murmured that it couldn't be helped. It was true that without being old enough to obtain the permit, entering the dungeon had been out of the question, so it really was unavoidable, but... it still left a bitter taste.
Surrounded by that heavy atmosphere, we waited for the bus for about fifteen minutes. After watching three full buses pull away, our turn to board finally came. Phew... we'd better work hard today so we can at least earn back our travel fare.