I turn, and see several men and women outside the forest.
Three men and one woman to be exact. And since the woman is also wearing armor, I imagine they’re all part of an adventurer team. They’re all clad in steel, and their colors also match.
But they feel different from other adventurers on the second floor. Their equipment tells me they’re more used to fighting on the third floor, at the very least.
This place is out their way if they’re going to the third floor, so what are they doing here? But I can’t just ignore them if they’re calling out to me. It’s not like I’m doing anything wrong anyway.
And so, I make the box go away, and get out of the forest.
“Hum, are you talking to me?”
“Yes, but relax, we’re just checking things out.”
“Checking…?”
“Yes. We hunt mostly on the fourth floor, and we were on our way back. But on the entrance to the second floor, we saw people who were panicking because they said they saw a giant monster, so we came to see how things were over here.”
Says the female adventurer with a gentle tone, noticing my suspicion.
“If you’ve been hunting around here, do you know anything about it? About that big monster, I mean. We want to take it down, if it’s dangerous.”
I think they’re telling the truth. I’m sure what those panicking adventurers saw was that rabbit playing tag with me. And when this group heard that, they got worried about an unknown monster rampaging, and ran over here.
This forest actually has broken trees all over the place, and it’s obvious even from afar that it’s been beaten up. Of course they’d speak to someone like me, who’s hanging around in a place like that.
I peek over at their equipment, and it does look like they’ve been fighting for a long time. Both their armor and what they’re wearing underneath have dirt stuck to them, and although they’re not showing it, I can feel that they’re tired.
They really came here out of concern, so I tell them the truth.
“I took down the rare monster that appeared here. If other people have never seen it, it must be a new species not in the association’s database. At the very least, it was my first time seeing it.”
“Eh!?”
“New species!?”
“You took it down?”
“Isn’t that incredible!?”
They all have their own reactions, but they’re all positive.
Aren’t they going to doubt it?
“And I’m resting here because I got tired. I was going to report to the association after that.”
That’s not a lie.
I did take down a rare monster, and I really did get tired. I just wanted to test something and raise my level.
“Did it drop something?”
“Haha, I’m taking that to the association too.”
“Ah, sorry, I just got too excited. I know it’s bad manners to ask what items you have.”
“Come on leader. He’s tired, so don’t say things that make him even more uncomfortable.”
“Sorry. And sorry to you too.”
“No, I get being excited about a new monster. I have that inclination too.”
“I know right? Ah…”
The woman stares at him, and the guy that’s apparently their leader shrinks back. The other two laugh as they see this.
It’s a nice time. I would want to be in a team too, if I didn’t have any secrets…
“I’m the leader of First Magnitude Star, Shuuji. Call me Shuu!”
“And I’m Shouta. I’m kind of a solo adventurer.”
“So you really did take down a rare monster by yourself!? Not bad, Shouta!”
And as I’m pampered by the kindness of First Magnitude Star, we chat as we go back together.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
When we get to the association, Maki comes running when she sees me.
“Welcome back Shouta! Ah, you’re with First Magnitude Star.”
“Oh, Maki really did come to welcome you back. That’s incredible, Shouta!”
“Well, hahaha.”
On our way back, we started talking about exclusives, and they were surprised when I talked about Maki. And about the test from the branch manager too.
To get an exclusive, the receptionist has to agree, but the manager of the branch she’s assigned to also has to give permission. Apparently Maki is different from the others, because it’s well known that the branch manager throws unreasonable demands at people.
And I got a light clap and a ‘good luck’ from them. They really are nice people.
“I’m back, Maki. I have something to report, but can First Magnitude Star come along?”
“Y-yes.”
Maki seems perplexed, but she takes us to the same conference room as always.
And then Shuuji… I mean Shuu, the leader of First Magnitude Star, tells her what happened. How they heard about an unknown monster by the entrance to the second floor, and ran to that location, only to find me resting.
And how they came along to check for proof that I took it down.
“Shuu, again…”
“Hahaha, sorry about everything so far.”
Apparently Shuu is crazy about new things, so he gets excited about equipment he’s never seen before, and has a history of charging towards adventurers wearing it. It’s not violent, and people watching think it’s funny to see an adult running with a sparkle in his eyes like that, but the actual people he does it to are pretty bothered.
Apparently it always ends with him apologizing, and the lone woman in their group, Ayaka, scolding him for it.
Well, I can tell from our short conversation on the way here that Shuu isn’t a hateful person, and he doesn’t have ill intentions.
“Well, I don’t mind. I just didn’t really know about Shuu.”
“If Shouta isn’t upset, I guess it’s fine… Well then, about that report. Shouta encountered a rare monster and defeated it, and it was a new species?”
“Yes. This is what it dropped.”
I say as I put the murder rabbit twisted horns, murder rabbit fur, and medium magic stone on the table.
“It’s huge! And long!”
“Shuu, shut up.”
“Oh… I have never seen this in this dungeon. And the shape of these horns… Shouta, what was that rare monster?”
“It was a murder rabbit, a rare monster related to killer rabbits.”
Everyone reacts their own way to what I say, but Maki gets up, and pulls my arm as she drags me until we’re near a wall.
“Shouta, do you have Appraisal?”
“…Ah.”
That’s right, if the name isn’t in the database, I wouldn’t know it unless I used Appraisal.
“…Geez, be careful. Appraisal doesn’t just work on monsters and items, it can be used to see people’s information if its level gets high enough. I trust that you won’t do anything bad with it, but others might not think that.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think it through.”
“Thankfully, First Magnitude Star are pretty strong adventurers here in this branch, and are trustworthy. You really do need to be careful…”
“…Yes.”
I knew Appraisal was useful, but I didn’t know it caused people to come under suspicion.
But yes, if you think about it, it’s obvious that as Appraisal levels up, it steals more information from its target. And I’m sure there are people out there who want information about strong adventurers.
So is the point of Appraisal Obstruction to block that? It would be dangerous if someone read my skills, so I guess it doesn’t hurt to raise its level.
“First Magnitude Star, we need to talk.”
“About that skill? It’s fine, we’ll pretend we didn’t hear it.”
“Shuu…!”
“Yes, I know how tiring it can be to have it, Shouta. I also have Appraisal. I understand the risk of being seen as dangerous.”
Says Ayaka.
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
“Thanks everyone!”
First Magnitude Star really are nice people.
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