arc3 · 044-ch44

Episode 44: Explorer High School Job Hunting Situation

The late summer period was a time of anxiety for Explorer High School third-years.

To graduate from Explorer High School, you must be promoted to Explorer Rank 4. Since it's "by graduation time," there's still plenty of leeway, but job hunting awaited them before that.

Most explorers belong to an explorer guild. An explorer guild is an organization that supports explorers and manages drop items—in short, it's like a company that explorers belong to.

There are many benefits to joining an explorer guild, such as receiving preferential treatment from the Explorer Association depending on guild rank, and being able to borrow accessories and weapons that are drop items under guild jurisdiction.

While it's difficult for a party to gather 1% drop rate items, if multiple parties are active in a guild, those rare drop items can be collected. Early-game items are passed down to new guild members, while current members use items acquired by their seniors. This allows for effective use and circulation of items.

Not only that, but having more information in dungeons is also important. A single piece of information can save lives, or allow for efficient earnings. With the accumulated information such guilds have, efficient earning and growth becomes possible.

The disadvantage of belonging to a guild is basically having to give up part of your earnings to the guild, and it's said that the benefits you receive are greater. Of course, if you use the guild to efficiently level up to your growth limit and immediately leave the guild to join another guild or work independently, the large penalty fee can be a drawback.

But almost all explorers find employment with guilds when they graduate from Explorer High School. While you could start your own guild or continue exploring as a party unit, there are very few explorers like that.

If you compare starting a company immediately after high school versus joining an existing company, the latter would be overwhelmingly more common. Just as dungeon exploration is tough solo, trying to get by with just a party is also difficult.

Especially since you can't redo stats, the benefits of joining a company with know-how in explorer development are immeasurable. For these various reasons, most explorers belong to guilds.

Such guild job hunting takes place from summer vacation through autumn for Explorer High School third-years. It's quite rigorous job hunting where exploration results up to that point, level and stats, manifested skills, exploration policies, written exams, and practical skills are all evaluated.

The reason for the rigor is the problems explorers frequently cause.

Through leveling up, explorers can gain stat increases and mysterious powers through abilities. The benefits of stat upgrades are just increases in attack power and defense—they don't train your heart. If excessive power is handed to someone with an immature mind, the only thing waiting ahead is an unhappy ending.

Those who kill in anger at being mocked. Those who burn down houses or shops in anger when things don't go their way. Those who flash their power, oppress those around them, and extort and blackmail like gangsters. Those who take revenge on those who bullied them in school days.

The reality of this world is that such people still appear without end. And the fact that it's difficult to crack down on such people is also the truth.

Up to around level 100, they can be dealt with. Many explorers have a growth limit of around 100, and even if a criminal beyond the level 100 wall appears, you can gather explorers of the same level to capture or kill them.

But beyond level 150, it becomes almost impossible to capture them. That's because there's no one who can oppose them.

Of course, there are those beyond level 150, but they raised their levels to defeat monsters and explore dungeons. They definitely didn't raise their levels to capture humans.

At that level, they won't move for money, and an implicit understanding forms where they don't interfere with each other.

For monsters, there's information available, but when dealing with humans, they often hide their ace in the hole. Unless they're facing lower-level opponents or in a situation where they can gang up and beat someone down, most explorers dislike dealing with other explorers.

But then again, police and Self-Defense Forces haven't leveled up that much either. Therefore, explorers becoming extraterritorial when they reach a certain level is a current global problem.

In such a situation, when a criminal appears within your own guild, the ones who suffer the most are the guild they belong to.

I wrote that level 150 and above is a lawless zone, but explorers of that level exist only in small numbers. When you exceed level 150, you're promoted to First Rank Explorer, and the rank above that is Special Rank. Below First Rank Explorer is called Semi-First Rank Explorer, and even including those, they're less than 10% of the total explorer population. It's a rank of elites among explorers.

Many guilds have Third Rank and Second Rank explorers as members. If an explorer belonging to such a guild commits a crime, it's the guild that gets squeezed. Their tax rates change, preferential treatment from the Explorer Guild is prohibited, buying and selling rare items is forbidden—they suffer various crackdowns.

Conversely, explorers who commit crimes might pay fines but are almost never sentenced to prison.

Explorers are entities to whom a special law called the Explorer Law applies. Taking into account their excessive power and the benefits of national strength enhancement from it, it's a law that gives preferential treatment to explorers. While Explorer Law is frequently criticized in public opinion as discriminatory or unconstitutional, if explorers aren't given preferential treatment, the country would collapse, so it continues unamended to this day.

Thinking about what to do with such uncontrolled explorers, the idea came up: have other explorers manage them. This was also the beginning of explorer guilds. Explorer guilds also receive benefits like more favorable tax treatment than ordinary companies thanks to the Explorer Law. In exchange, as mentioned earlier, if a criminal appears among their own members, the guild gets squeezed.

What's troublesome when a guild-affiliated explorer commits a crime is other guild staff. Not to mention administrative staff, but other explorers also suffer damage like receiving penalties and decreased income, or being forced to take on troublesome item requests.

Once that happens, naturally the flow is to punish the explorer who committed the offense. Even powerful explorers, when pressed by same-guild explorers of the same level bracket, have no choice but to comply. Moreover, if it's judged that the guild can't handle them, they're often dealt with inside dungeons.

The guild system disperses explorer power, and even if some guild were to raise the flag of rebellion against the nation, other guilds could suppress them. By incorporating explorers into the social framework through the guild system, explorers could be reduced to mere company employees.

In other words, the country's current method of managing explorers is to have explorer guilds stand on the front lines so hate doesn't turn toward the country, and let them punish internally.

With such a background, guilds hiring explorers need to strictly evaluate explorer aptitude. They assess whether they can grow to their guild's level, judge personality aspects like whether they can fit into the organization, observe their dungeon exploration to ensure they won't die early from reckless exploration, and thoroughly verify they haven't gotten involved in criminal behavior and can be properly bound by the guild.

What Explorer High School third-years facing such job hunting do is figure out how to sell themselves at a high price. For explorers, the best way to demonstrate their value is their current level and how high their stats are. Since stats can't be shown to others, if you want to fake them you can do it however much you like, but if you look at their dungeon combat training, you can easily distinguish whether they really have those stats. Plus, the school also submits approximately what stat values they have, so if there's a discrepancy it's immediately exposed.

Since faking stats is a serious falsehood involving life and death, if it comes to light, not only will employment to guilds become impossible, but you could also be expelled from the Explorer Association or sentenced to prison. Since Explorer High School students are at most around level 30-40, even police and Self-Defense Forces who level up in dungeons can deal with them sufficiently, so prison sentences are sometimes given.

Therefore, to raise stats, you purely need to take risks in dungeons and boost stats. Explorer High School job hunting clearly shows the results of your efforts up to now.

Parks, an Explorer High School third-year facing such job hunting, was also conducting dungeon exploration today. Location: Floor 1, District 3. They were conducting stable exploration on their usual route.

"Summer vacation's almost over, huh."

"When I think about job hunting starting now, it feels heavy, man."

Tobuki and Kamiyuzuki, carrying spears, were lamenting the end of the long weekend.

"We'll be fine. We're graduating District 3 on schedule during summer vacation, and we can join a Second Rank Explorer Guild."

"Today everyone reached level 40, so shouldn't we go to Floor 2 tomorrow? That would be more advantageous for job hunting too."

As Komiya optimistically replied, Naganuma uneasily proposed. In Floor 1, District 3, excluding area bosses, the maximum level of monsters that appear is 40. If advancing to Floor 2, District 1, it's recommended to raise your level to 40 in Floor 1, District 3.

"We discussed multiple times that we're not advancing to Floor 2, right? If you rush to Floor 2, the risk is huge. Floor 2 exploration is after job hunting. Right, Ryonan?"

"Yeah, what Fujimori says is correct. Rather, if we explored Floor 2 here, there's a possibility we'd be criticized for poor risk management. I understand you're anxious, but we'll be fine, so don't worry."

Fujimori and Ryonan offered words of encouragement. As Ryonan said, even for guilds on the front lines who prioritize stats over risks, explorers who rush and take risks are disliked.

For guilds, nothing is more important than avoiding the death of employee explorers. While there's an emotional aspect of not wanting companions to die, the loss when considering explorers as human capital is quite significant.

Considerable funds must be invested to raise a single explorer. Most explorer equipment is expensive, and if they die, not only the person but the equipment rarely comes back either. If injured, treatment is also necessary, potions are expensive, and without a recovery magic caster, expensive treatment fees are often charged. In the case of Explorer High School, even if injured, recovery magic casters belonging to the Explorer Association treat them for free, but that's not the case once you join a guild.

For guilds, explorers safely completing quotas and returning is more important than anything. They seek explorers who can judge their own strength and conduct exploration knowing their limits.

"Yeah. Sorry for bringing it up again."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm anxious too."

Parks has high skill even within Explorer High School, and since they switched to solid exploration after their setback in District 2, for guilds they're quite an attractive property. Top explorer parties in the grade like Parks inevitably have some pride in their own strength, and many explorers can't give up their hero complex. Guilds accept even those aspects and often put effort into education.

However, Parks, having experienced setbacks, and in the grade above them, there was Karin Rikuzen's party, Kagika Rurei, which had already decided to join a First Rank Explorer Guild. Having seen genuine genius up close, making compromises with hero complex wasn't that difficult.

As Ryonan said, Parks would probably be able to get a job at their desired explorer guild, but until it's certain, anxiety is still anxiety.

"But Naganuma's opinion has a point too. We reached level 40 earlier than scheduled, so why not make tomorrow a day to research Floor 2?"

"Ah, you mean not exploring but just researching?"

"Yeah, yeah. Like, we're researching Floor 2 too, but holding off on exploration for risk management—wouldn't that rate higher? Like, Floor 1 is done, and we're preparing to move on next."

At Komiya's proposal, everyone nodded to show agreement.

"That's nice. Then we can smoothly enter Floor 2 exploration after job hunting ends too."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, once we hit level 40, there's little merit in exploring District 3, and it's tough to grind for 'Proof of Devotion' anyway."

"Proof of Devotion" is a bracelet-type accessory dropped by Curtain Frogs, an item that raises Stamina and Defense stats by 25 each. It's an excellent item, but the drop rate is stingy, said to be around 1%.

Though it's such a stingy item, Parks was lucky enough to get just one, and Ryonan, who got the drop, had been equipping it. Since Curtain Frogs are stronger than Beginning Frogs and difficult to hunt in numbers, if you hunt for stingy drop items, a considerable amount of time gets taken up.

In that case, it's better to spend time preparing for Floor 2 exploration. From Floor 2 onward, treasure chests also appear, so it's not difficult to obtain items of equivalent level to "Proof of Devotion."

"What should we do?"

"Well then. Exploration has been smooth lately and we've maxed out our levels, so let's adopt Komiya's proposal."

"Oh! Then since it's the last day today, let's hunt expecting drops!"

As everyone got excited, they walked their usual route. A route with few blind spots and no surprise attacks.

"Madness Serpent Mimic, huh."

"There's Curtain Frogs too."

"Wait, aren't there two Madness Serpent Mimics?"

"True. That's three total."

The Madness Serpent Mimic is a monster that disguises itself in olive color tinted with brown, blending with grass. Once you get used to it, you can find it even from a distance, but initially it's difficult to discover, making it the natural enemy of explorers active in District 3.

"Me and Tobuki, Fujimori and Kamiyuzuki on Madness Serpent Mimics. Komiya and Naganuma on Curtain Frogs."

"I'll take the first aggro."

"Got it. Leave it to me."

As Ryonan gave instructions, Naganuma volunteered for aggro duty. Ryonan and Fujimori are tank roles carrying kite shields, while Tobuki and Kamiyuzuki use spears to attack utilizing their reach, so their roles are set. On the other hand, Komiya and Naganuma both carry round shields and one-handed swords, so they needed to coordinate who would take the front.

Since everyone recognized their own roles, they formed their formation with few words.

"Well, let's hope for item drops."

To wrap up District 3 exploration, Parks and the others challenged the monsters.