arc4 · 060-ch60

Episode 60: Brother's Existence

It was the last Sunday of September. The Jozenji family was gathered around the dinner table.

Today's dinner was vegetable stir-fry using Curtain Frog meat. At first, the mother refused to cook it because it was frog meat, but when I showed her research that it's used in French cuisine, she said something like "Oh my, perhaps it's not such a bad ingredient after all" and started using it normally.

Seeing how easily she changes her mind, I start to worry she might get deceived.

Curtain Frog meat is actually pretty good, with a taste similar to chicken's seseri meat. It's bouncy with little fat, right up Suzuka's alley.

And yet, despite eating this high-grade dungeon-produced ingredient, the atmosphere at the dinner table was gloomy. It wasn't because Suzuka, whose dungeon exploration wasn't going well—the one making the atmosphere heavy was Suzuka's older brother, Sugō.

"Sigh..."

That must have been the tenth sigh. He wasn't sighing to ruin the atmosphere; he was breathing out because his stomach hurt and he was suffering. His face looked somewhat pale too, and he wasn't making much progress with his rice.

The reason was clear. His mock exam results were bad.

Sugō is currently in his third year of high school. It's the age for university entrance exams. While Suzuka was working hard at dungeon exploration during summer break, Sugō was busy with summer courses, spending almost all his time at a cram school.

Even from a younger brother's perspective, I think he's been working hard, but the mock exam results he took recently were bad. Having worked so hard during summer vacation and felt good about his progress, the shock must have been significant.

"Sugō, you should eat your rice. They say exam prep is a battle of physical stamina, you know."

"Annoying. I know, okay."

His response to Suzuka's words was curt. No, precisely because Suzuka is also an exam candidate—Sugō's older brother's wording became prickly.

If both were working hard at exam prep as exam candidates, Sugō probably wouldn't have taken such an attitude. But Suzuka now goes dungeon exploration almost exclusively, freed from exam prep.

And not just freed—he can solve past exam questions from Takaozan High School, which has a higher deviation score than the high school Sugō attends, perfectly. Even though he hardly studies, spending all his time in the dungeon.

Having someone like that right next to you, it's no wonder an exam candidate would feel on edge. Suzuka, having experienced the hardship of being an exam candidate in his previous life, didn't get worked up about Sugō's attitude either.

"Sugō, your attitude is terrible."

But the mother was different. It's fine to rot away alone, but when you take it out on others, that crosses a line, she warned him.

Sugō wasn't speaking his true feelings either. It's just because his health is poor and he has no mental leeway that his attitude becomes harsh.

"...Sorry."

"I don't really mind."

The conversation at the dinner table stopped again. Usually it's friendly and cheerful, but there are days like this too.

"How are things going with you, Suzuka? Not pushing yourself too hard in the dungeon, are you?"

The father tried to change the subject. Suzuka has been troubled recently because exploration hasn't been progressing either. Maybe that showed on his face.

"Suzuka's got it easy, right. This frog meat is even from a District 3 monster. You're already exploring District 3 as a middle schooler—what a genius, seriously a genius."

Sugō said it as if being sarcastic. Maybe he researched about the dungeon. As Sugō said, Curtain Frogs are District 3 monsters, and if a middle schooler can explore District 3, they'd be secure as an explorer.

"Not really. A friend I made recently who's one year older than me is exploring District 3 too."

"The kid you went to see the movie with? They're an Explorer High student, right?"

If Kirin and the others were called geniuses, that might be true, but it felt bad to keep rubbing it in Sugō's face. From Sugō's perspective, his own exam results are bad and he's struggling to improve, while his younger brother's talents are blooming and he's succeeding as an explorer. Of course that wouldn't be fun.

"Hoh, so you made a friend at Explorer High."

"Yeah. They've been really friendly to me."

Since then, we've been in touch occasionally. Suzuka isn't exactly diligent about contact, but Kirin has been considerate enough to reach out.

"I looked into it a bit too, but once you can explore District 1 on Floor 2, you can become a 4th rank explorer, right?"

"Seems so."

"Being 4th rank means you can join an Explorer Guild too—it's like a professional license qualification. That means Suzuka can join an Explorer Guild without going to Explorer High, right? Isn't that amazing?"

"I don't plan to join a guild, though."

Becoming a 4th rank explorer is also a condition for graduating from Explorer High, but as the father said, 4th rank is the grade where explorers are recognized as professionals. To become a professional explorer belonging to an Explorer Guild, a grade of 4th rank or above is mandatory.

But Suzuka has no intention of exploring Floor 2 District 1, nor of joining an Explorer Guild. Naturally. Belonging to something means that in addition to receiving benefits, obligations also arise.

I understand the security of being bound to a company, but right now I want to explore freely as an explorer.

"Hahaha. Coming to think of it, isn't it still too early to become a 4th rank explorer?"

"Well, about there. I'm stuck on exploration right now too."

Suzuka doesn't talk much about the dungeon at home. After all, the dungeon is a dangerous place, and I thought I might make my mother worry.

Usually, Suzuka only says things are going smoothly, so Sugō picked up on the complaint Suzuka let slip for the first time.

"Don't do anything reckless. You'll find out immediately if you research it that District 3 is dangerous. If you think it's too much, you can always go to Explorer High later—it won't be too late."

"Thanks. But that's not why I'm stuck."

He glanced at the mother there. She didn't seem to be in a bad mood. Would I get permission now if I asked?

"I just don't have enough time to explore, so exploration isn't progressing."

"Well, I hear the dungeon is incredibly vast."

"Yeah, yeah. That's why, Mom. I want to stay overnight in the dungeon to explore. Can I?"

I tried to ask as casually as possible. Would this work?

"No. Suzuka, you're still a middle schooler. That's dangerous, isn't it."

"No no, I mean, even though it's the dungeon, there are items that let you sleep safely, so it's fine."

"That's not the issue. At least wait until you're in high school. Right, Dad?"

"Yeah, well, that's true. Staying overnight means sleeping in the dungeon, right? That's still too early, isn't it?"

Not only the mother but the father stopped me too. They allowed me to go to the dungeon, but staying overnight still had too high a hurdle.

"Explorers normally stay overnight in the dungeon, right? If Suzuka's already exploring District 3, if he doesn't stay overnight eventually, he won't be able to do anything, will he?"

Unexpected supporting fire. Good, say more.

"Plus, if you're exploring District 3, you must be earning quite a bit, so you can buy camping gear and stuff, right? What do you think?"

"Earnings are good, yeah."

Earnings from Floor 1 District 3 were approximately 1 million yen. This is the amount deposited into my account after selling everything except necessary items.

This 1 million yen doesn't include high-priced but useful items like area boss items or the Mimicry Mantle. It's the amount earned by selling material-based items like Madness Serpent Mimic Leather and Curtain Frog Bones.

20 days of exploration for 1 million yen. Since Suzuka explores solo, all of it goes into his pocket, so it's a considerable amount, but for a 4-person party like zoo, it's 250,000 yen per person. For a 6-person party like Parks, who defeats fewer monsters per day than Suzuka, even if they explored thoroughly for 20 days, 100,000 yen per person would probably be the limit. For life-risking exploration, this amount is undeniably low. You might earn more working a part-time job poorly.

Money earned risking your life disappears in no time once you buy funds for armor and weapons, maintenance fees, items for sleeping, and potions for emergencies. If you can get rare items, your earnings increase significantly, but since expenses are high, most explorers are always worrying about money. In that sense too, you can understand how grateful a guild is where you can share items.

Amidst such financial realities of explorers, District 4 is insane. You can earn ridiculously well.

With 20 days in District 3 earning 1 million yen, that calculates to 50,000 yen per day. Meanwhile in District 4, the daily sales average 400,000 yen. That's not monthly sales. It's daily sales of 400,000 yen. That's 8 times the District 3 amount. Since I've already explored for 8 days, Suzuka's September earnings are approximately 3.2 million yen. That's a spectacular earning.

There's a reason District 4 earns this much compared to District 3. That's scarcity and performance.

Top guild explorers are, as usual, focused on hunting area bosses in Districts 1-3. Area boss drop items include many useful ones like the Ring of Twin Poisons, and since there are few explorers who can belong to top guilds, area boss item prices remain high. Furthermore, even when doing Area Boss Rush, they don't do reckless things like defeating 3 area bosses in a day like Suzuka did in District 3, so the number of area bosses defeated is never particularly high either.

In short, just continuing to hunt area bosses allows you to get valuable high-priced items, making it a sufficient money-making strategy.

Only explorers who can belong to top guilds can explore Districts 4 and 5, but in terms of both personal growth and earning money, there's no need to deliberately explore Districts 4 and 5. That means people who explore Districts 4 and 5 disappear. Unless a guild receives a request, items rarely appear on the market.

Like the tracksuit top and bottom made from Striped Spider silk, a Floor 1 District 4 monster, that was displayed in the glass case at Seekers Shop, Districts 4 and 5 materials are traded at high prices.

This is not only due to premium prices from scarcity, but also because many items that can only be obtained in Districts 4 and 5 are useful. If it were just performance, items from Floor 2 District 3 or Floor 3 District 3 would have higher item grades and higher magic affinity, so they'd be more useful when repurposed into products.

However, items from Districts 1-3 and items from Districts 4-5 have different compositions. Using familiar objects as an analogy, if Districts 1-3 items drop metal-type materials, Districts 4-5 drop resin-type materials.

Things in this world aren't made of metal materials alone; resin materials are also indispensable. Dungeon items are the same—materials obtained from Districts 4 and 5 are also capable in terms of composition.

That's why, even for ordinary items dropped by District 4's normal monsters, they become high trading amounts due to their scarcity and performance. That's why Suzuka earns this much even though the number of monsters he can defeat per day has decreased.

"Sigh, must be nice. I'm planning to work part-time when I go to college too, but you earn more going to the dungeon, don't you."

"Dungeon or not, Sugō, you're going to a training facility. That's expensive. If it's a national university, we'll pay, but if it's private, pay half yourself working part-time."

Training facilities are expensive; raising someone to Level 10 costs about 500,000 yen. For courses that can boost stats more, it would probably be double that.

Raising stats in the dungeon has major benefits—your body becomes stronger, making you less susceptible to illness and injury. Looking long-term, medical costs are also suppressed and the risk of major illness decreases, so 500,000 yen isn't actually that expensive.

Plus, when your stats go up, your appearance changes too. It's like plastic surgery without failure. And there's no downtime. Suzuka's own face has changed so much that while there's a faint trace of his former self, it's become handsome enough to say he's practically a different person.

While changing your appearance as much as Suzuka requires exploding stats and is difficult, it's a fact that training facilities have effects beyond minor cosmetic surgery. Like how a face after makeup becomes the bare face, you get closer to the face of a similar actor or actress, and while keeping traces of yourself, you move closer to the face you want. This much is possible even with normal stat boosts.

With reduced risk of illness and injury, and improved appearance to boot—if this were possible for just 500,000 yen, that would be cheap.

"Sigh, well, if I can get into a public university, that's fine, but..."

The conversation returned to exam prep again, and Sugō pressed on his stomach area.

Suzuka knows how Sugō turns out after this. In the end, his grades continue to struggle, the university that was originally his first choice becomes a commemorative attempt, and he enrolls in a mid-tier private university.

He enjoyed attending the private university, and he did well at the company he joined, so maybe it's fine. But for Suzuka too, it would be happier if his older brother Sugō got into his first-choice university.

"Maybe I should raise my stats in the dungeon like Suzuka and get smarter too."

"Stop that. You hear stories all the time about people getting hurt and skipping exams because of that."

"Yeah, right."

Does that kind of story exist? When people are pushed to the limit, they take actions different from normal. For an exam candidate, that might be understandable.

No, but... the dungeon, the dungeon...!! That's it!! That!!

"It's the dungeon, Sugō!! Let's go to the dungeon!!"

Suzuka suddenly shouted loudly, and his family looked at him with puzzled expressions. No one seemed to get it.

"Ah, are you taking me there to blow off steam?"

"No no, not that. I'll help you raise your level to 10!"

When stats go up in the dungeon, your intelligence rises and your brain's processing speed increases. Since your intellect doesn't change, not everyone can make Nobel Prize-level discoveries, but your head turns faster, making memorization smoother and leading to improved academic performance.

In other words, if Sugō's grades are improved by raising stats in the dungeon, there's a high possibility it will solve the problem.

"Eh, is that okay? Didn't the Explorer Association say it's not recommended to help family members level up either?"

"I don't care about that. Doesn't matter. Even with my current level, I can help with level grinding safely up to Level 10."

The reason the Explorer Association says such things is that many people get injured and end up in conflicts, and also to protect the interests of training facilities. With training facilities, they have know-how and can definitely raise levels, so it's arguably better, and it's natural for the Association to recommend it.

"Hey, Suzuka. Don't drag Sugō into this."

"No, Mom, you know I got smarter too, right? If Sugō raises his stats in the dungeon too, he could get into a national university instead of private!"

"Well, maybe... he could?"

To make her understand that exam prep wasn't necessary during summer break, Suzuka had shown her that he could solve past exam questions from Takaozan High School, a famous college-preparatory school in the area. Naturally, since the content was from a 30-year-old, being able to solve middle school exam range by cramming was significant, but perhaps due to the benefits of stats or his youth, he memorized smoothly and understood it too.

That stats contribute to academic performance was something he could say from actual experience.

"Plus, if I raise him to Level 10, training facility expenses won't be necessary, right?"

"What, is that your motive? How much do you want?"

It seems she thought Suzuka wanted the training facility expenses. The mother had also researched a bit about dungeons since Suzuka started going. There, she learned that while explorers earn a lot, they also need large sums for equipment and such. She probably thought there was some item he wanted.

"No no, not that. I don't need money. I'm earning plenty."

If I mentioned the price of the tracksuit Suzuka is wearing, the mother would be surprised.

"Instead, when Sugō safely reaches Level 10, I want permission to stay overnight and explore in the dungeon! How about that?"

Sugō's level goes up and exams become easier. The parents don't have training facility expenses, and if Sugō gets into a national university, tuition is also suppressed. And Suzuka can explore while staying overnight in the dungeon.

Everyone's happy. A brilliant plan.

"Hmmm. Dad, what do you think?"

"Well... I know Suzuka is excellent as an explorer. I asked our young people too, and they said you're amazing."

The father seemed to have researched the dungeon too, occasionally asking Suzuka about his situation. That's why he had noticed that his own son was a bit odd, but since the person himself seemed to be enjoying it, he thought well, maybe it's fine.

"But, teaching someone else is a whole different story from doing it yourself. More than anything, Sugō is still Level 1, and unlike Suzuka, if he takes a monster attack, he could get seriously injured."

"That part is fine. There are items that increase stats properly too, so if I have him equip those, he'll be safe."

"Eh, you already have stuff like that? Hmm. Sugō, what do you think? You're the one actually entering the dungeon."

When the conversation was passed to him, Sugō hesitated.

Going to the dungeon means stopping exam prep for that period too. At this timing, less than half a year until exams, for an exam candidate that's not an easy choice to accept.

But it's also a fact that Suzuka became able to study well. He wasn't stupid to begin with, but he shouldn't have been at the level where he could easily enter Takaozan High School. Considering that, stat boosts in the dungeon would be quite advantageous.

(Plus...)

Sugō glanced at Suzuka's face. Since he's his younger brother, he doesn't feel anything, but Suzuka has a beautiful face that transcends gender—man, woman, doesn't matter. If that were someone else, even if told it was a man, he might have fallen for him.

He doesn't want a face like Suzuka's, but going to the dungeon with Suzuka rather than a training facility seems to have a higher probability of becoming handsome. If that happens, a fulfilling, happy campus life awaits.

(That's right. University entrance exams aren't everything. I need to look beyond that. A campus life is waiting for me!!)

As Sugō closed his eyes, in his mind, female college students were flocking to the handsome Sugō.

"...Suzuka, can I ask you?"

Sugō the exam candidate decided to raise stats even if it meant stopping exam prep. Feeling the weight of that decision, Suzuka and his parents felt they needed to respect it too.

"Sigh, fine. When Sugō reaches Level 10, you can stay overnight in the dungeon."

"Sugō and Suzuka too, safety first. When you think it's perfect, that's when carelessness is born. Always stay on guard in the dungeon."

Overnight dungeon stays, which I thought would be impossible until graduating middle school, were unexpectedly approved. Suzuka rejoiced at this unexpected good fortune.

"It'll be fine! I'll raise Sugō properly to Level 10! We'll go to the dungeon starting next weekend!!"

"Yeah, I'm counting on you, brother!"

And so, Suzuka began raising the level of his older brother, Sugō.