kscans

Chapter 6 - Inevitability and Coincidence

"My hands and feet, you say?"

"Precisely. But before I explain that, why don't I disclose my skills?"

"Uh, sure…"

Her brisk, clear way of speaking was a bit overwhelming.

Besides, who just tells their skills to someone they've just met? I wondered, but I held my tongue so as not to interrupt the flow of the conversation.

"I have two skills: [Telepathy] and [Appraisal]. That said, my [Telepathy] is a little special."

As she spoke, Arisugawa-san took two small hand mirrors from her bag.

She placed one on the desk and held the other up in front of her face.

'This is how it works.'

"Wha—!?"

Suddenly, Arisugawa-san's face appeared in the mirror on the table. Wait, is this a video call?

No, it wasn't a tablet. This had to be her skill.

'Even with the same skill name, the effects and procedures can differ. Most telepathy is just that—telepathy—but mine requires an extra step. It needs these special mirrors. In return, I can see scenery through the mirror, not just transmit words.'

"I-I see…"

'Annnnd! While radio waves don't work in dungeons, my skill is a different story. I can give instructions to someone I've given a mirror to beforehand and tell them to show me this or that!!'

Ah, so she really is Rinzaki-san's relative. Her energy level is just as weirdly high.

Putting the mirror down, Arisugawa-san graced her beautiful features with a nihilistic smile.

"And that's the gist of it. I'd like you to accept my offer."

"Umm…"

"Paisen! That explanation was way too short, Paisen!!"

Rinzaki-san was right. I understood how her [Telepathy] worked, and I had a vague idea of what she wanted me to do.

But that was it. I still had no idea who this person was or why she wanted to do this.

"Hmm. Then allow me to explain in a little more detail."

"Y-Yes, please."

...Wait. How did I end up being the one asking?

"I am, as you can see, a university student in the bloom of her youth, and the professor in my lab happens to be intensely curious about dungeons."

As she spoke, Arisugawa-san offered me a business card.

I took it instinctively and was a little surprised to see the name of a famous national university in our prefecture.

No way... a person this eccentric is from...?

"However! If you've taken the course, then you should know, yes? The government 'does not permit items obtained in a dungeon to be taken outside the Dungeon Store without permission'."

"Y-Yeah, I know…"

Arisugawa-san sighed dramatically. As she said, drop items, minerals, and plants found in a dungeon are forbidden from being taken outside the store.

Adventurers can only sell dungeon items at the designated buyback counters inside the Dungeon Store.

"I think I learned that they're sent as samples to government-designated research labs after that…"

"Those 'designated labs,' you see, are almost all overseas. I'm sure it's partly because they have more funding and better technology, but it seems there's some politics involved as well."

"...Seriously?"

"Seriously."

So the rumor that the Dungeon Law was passed with a push from foreign countries might actually be true.

If what she's saying is correct, anyway.

"If you think I'm lying, try searching online. You'll see the names of four famous domestic universities and research institutes, followed by the single word 'etc.' to round it all out. Meanwhile, there are alreeeady tons of papers published under the names of foreign researchers."

Though she was smiling, a dark light flickered in Arisugawa-san's eyes as she continued.

"Ah, it's truly a terrible state of affairs. I want to see, touch, and study dungeon items, too. To be robbed of an outlet for my intellectual curiosity is nothing short of torture, you know…!"

What is with this woman...?

Shouldn't she be more concerned about getting her name on a paper or something?

"Paisen's a pretty huge weirdo! You can't grow up to be an adult like her, Kyou-chan!!"

"Ah, right, well, um…"

Aren't you, the one saying that with a huge smile while she's sitting right next to you, also on that side of the line? Just in a different way.

I thought about saying it but kept it to myself. That would be a bit too rude.

"Are you two even listening? In any case! I, and my professor, are dying to research dungeons!!"

"Oh, by the way, the professor is our grandma! She's exactly like Paisen!"

I see. So a higher-grade weirdo, then.

"Um, in that case, couldn't you just become an adventurer yourself...?"

"I told you a moment ago. I am frail."

"Paisen once got into a brawl with an elementary school girl back in high school and got totally wrecked! She's a weakling who came home crying! Watch what you say to her!!!"

"Heh heh heh, let 'em have it, Erina-kun."

"Somehow, I'm sorry."

And shouldn't Rinzaki-san be the one watching what she says?

"This [Telepathy] is quite convenient, you see. I can even use [Appraisal] remotely."

"...Ah, you don't mean—"

My gaze instinctively flicked to Rinzaki-san's earring.

"Exactly. I have a mirror embedded in her earring. I was examining the stats of all the candidates at the testing site before the exam began."

"It's the clip-on type!!"

These two beautiful-but-disappointing women puffed out their chests proudly. What they did was basically half-voyeurism.

Wait, did she disclose her own skills at the start... as a way of atoning for looking at mine without permission?

Ah, no, that's not it. Her eyes have been sparkling this entire time. From the very beginning.

"Of course, I turned it off during the test, so you can rest easy. As for your performance in the fight, I only know what Erina-kun told me via email on the way home."

"...Well, I understand why Rinzaki-san approached me now."

It wasn't just a coincidence, nor was it because we were both loners. She judged me based on my skills and stats.

I wasn't going to say it was wrong, and I wasn't offended. If anything, it made sense.

Dungeons are a matter of life and death. As long as you're not breaking the law, there's nothing wrong with putting in the effort. Though I do think it's a breach of manners.

"Promising adventurers, with few exceptions, are already spoken for. So we decided to bet on finding new talent. Man, I was lucky to succeed in reeling one in like this!"

In the middle of our conversation, the items we ordered arrived.

I don't usually drink much tea, but the one before me had a wonderful aroma rising with the steam that tickled my nostrils.

"So, what do you say? Won't you team up with us? I think this will be highly beneficial for you as well. Of course, you'll be compensated by our lab."

"...You said you saw my stats and skills with [Appraisal], but is that really enough to hire me?"

Before I could even question how suspicious this was, another question popped into my head.

[Appraisal].

It's a god-tier skill in countless works of fiction, and it's highly valued in this country now that reality has turned into a fantasy.

But it's not omnipotent. For starters, when it comes to 'Unique Skills,' it seems it can only reveal the name.

That's why I could keep a straight face when I underwent [Appraisal] at the government office.

There was no way someone would see the name [Sage's Nucleus] and immediately connect it to a Philosopher's Stone. If someone asked for details, I planned on saying something like, 'Thanks to this skill, my head feels clear and I'm overflowing with stamina.'

...That excuse makes it sound really bad for my health, though.

On top of that, I've heard that it can only read regular skills in broad strokes. It gives a fuzzy idea of 'what it can do,' but the finer details remain unknown.

The skill [Appraisal] is convenient and useful, but it's not absolute or all-powerful.

With just that information, why me?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're so naive, Kyou-chan-kun."

Arisugawa-san clicked her tongue and wagged her finger.

"You may not know this, but an Awakened Person with 'three normal skills' and 'one unique skill' is incredibly rare. We're talking only '0.001%' of the population in Japan."

"What?"

Seriously? I thought I read online that there were more... wait, was that a lie? But who's lying?

I guess I should trust Arisugawa-san over some anonymous person on the internet...? But still.

"Personally, I think of 'one skill' as 'C-Rank,' 'two skills' as 'R,' 'three skills' as 'SR,' and 'three skills plus a unique' as 'SSR.' My, oh my. I really did pull a divine roll."

"You make it sound like a gacha game…"

I get what she's trying to say, though.

Still, 0.001%... That's certainly not a lot. So does that mean I really was one of the chosen ones...?

...Wait, that's not 0.001% of Awakened Persons, it's of all Japanese people. The current population is, what, 120 million...

Yeah, there are still a lot of chosen ones.

"Besides all that, your physical abilities are quite high for an Awakened Person. You should have more confidence in yourself."

"Uh, okay. ...But still, wouldn't it be more efficient if you went to the dungeon yourself, Arisugawa-san...?"

She said she lost to an elementary schooler, but that must have been before she became an Awakened Person.

The difference between being Awakened and not has a massive impact on physical ability. I cleaved a Zombie Kobold in two today, but before I Awakened, it would have eaten me for breakfast.

Even if her skills aren't suited for combat, I don't think this is a job for some high school kid.

When I voiced my thoughts, Arisugawa-san set her cup back on its saucer with a fearless smile.

"I see. So you're that curious about—my true power."

"...!"

The moment Arisugawa-san said that, I swallowed hard.

What was this... 'intensity'? A shadow fell across her elegant face, and the corners of her mouth curled up like a crescent moon.

"Eighteen seconds."

"...What's that number for...?"

At some point, a cold sweat had started to run down my spine.

An indescribable weight enveloped my entire body. It was a fear greater than the first time I'd locked eyes with the Zombie Kobold.

Eighteen seconds. Was she telling me, 'That's how long it'll take me to kill you,' or something...!

"That's my time for the 100-meter dash."

"...Huh?"

"Before I Awakened, it was a struggle just to finish the race."

You're a university student, aren't you? Isn't it kind of a problem that you couldn't run 100 meters at your age?

"...Ah, by any chance, do you have some kind of illness—"

"I've never even had a cold in my entire life."

"Ah, I see."

I'm not sure what to say to that proud declaration.

"Paisen! This croissant is seriously amazing!!"

"Right?"

And at some point, Rinzaki-san had already finished her croissant.

I'd seen her in the corner of my eye, tearing off bite-sized pieces and popping them into her mouth. Her movements were graceful, but the pace was so fast that it was a slightly surreal sight.

What is with these two?

"I'll give you two orders from outside the dungeon and navigate for you using a map. If there's an accident, I can even call for rescue from the Dungeon Store. And Erina-kun has extremely useful skills outside of direct combat. Using my earlier analogy, she's an 'excellent SR'."

"Heck yeah I am!"

"And as I said before, you'll be paid by the university lab. Don't you think it's a good deal?"

Well, it is a good deal. It really is.

That's what makes it so suspicious, but it seems they just hold me in high regard.

Above all, having a professor from a national university backing this adds a lot of credibility.

I'm torn. I'm really torn.

"Ah, right. The professor told me to give the candidate a summary of the specific payment amounts and various conditions."

With that, Arisugawa-san took out her phone.

"May I have your contact info? Dealing with paper documents is a pain, so I didn't bring any."

"Oh, sure."

I answered on impulse. A beautiful university student's contact info...

Is this really a honey trap?

"Alright. Looks like it sent properly."

"...Um."

When I saw the contents of the contract she'd sent, I froze for a few seconds. Then, I somehow managed to force out my voice.

"What is it? Is the pay not enough? Every company out there is desperate for dungeon-related information. I could probably get the companies partnered with our lab to increase it."

"No, on the contrary, it's, uh, a lot."

"What's up, Kyou-chan? You're talking all stiff."

I don't want to hear that from you, fake foreigner.

According to this contract, I'd get a minimum of 50,000 yen for a single dungeon exploration. And that's for an 'F' or 'E' rank dungeon.

If it's a 'D' or 'C' rank dungeon, or if we find information on a useful drop item, the pay goes up even further.

Even if I only explore once a day, that's a guaranteed 50,000 yen daily. If I dedicated myself to this, I could live a pretty comfortable life, couldn't I?

Well, dungeons are a recent phenomenon. There's always a chance they could suddenly disappear, so I have no intention of quitting high school.

"It's not too much at all. When dungeon items eventually hit the market, knowing what kind of things will be available is extremely valuable information. Any company would gladly spend that kind of 'chump change' to get advance intel."

It's true, dungeon items could flow into the market in the future. So this is an investment and information gathering, with that in mind.

Considering the amount being offered to a mere high school student, it started to seem reasonable.

Though, to be able to pay this much even when it could all end up being for nothing, my first thought is still, 'They must be loaded.'

"...Can I take this home for a bit? I'd like to discuss it with my parents."

"Of course. More importantly, your tea is getting cold, you know?"

"Ah, yes."

I took a sip of the now slightly lukewarm tea, but I'd forgotten to add sugar, so it was bitter.

Yeah, I still prefer orange juice.

"Oh, by the way, Kyou-chan."

"Yes, what is it?"

Having already finished her tea and croissant, Rinzaki-san tilted her head and looked at me.

"It's true that the reason I invited you to be my partner was because of the [Appraisal] results, but there's another reason I talked to you, you know?"

"Huh, really?"

She was closer to my age and we'd been in a dungeon together, so Rinzaki-san was easier to talk to than Arisugawa-san.

I calmly sipped my tea as I replied.

"Because we go to the same school."

" "

My hand, which was about to raise the teacup, froze.

"And we're in the same grade."

"...Srsly?"

"Srsly!!"

I couldn't help but ask in slang, and she responded with a huge smile and a victory pose.

"We're in different classes, but I look forward to working with you! Kyou-chan!!"

...Let's just get to the conclusion.

After talking it over with my parents, I decided to accept Arisugawa-san's offer.

What sealed the deal for my parents was the 'ability to request rescue in an emergency via [Telepathy]' and the 'credibility of having a national university professor backing it.' They even called the university to confirm, so the business card and contract were both legit.

As for my reason... let's just say there were a number of them.