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“It’s over…”

“Yeah, it’s finally over…”

“How were your entrance exams?”

“I’m gonna punch you, come here.”

“Turn around so I can Muay Thai kick you in the ass.”

“I was just joking. Calm down, will you, you meatheads”

Kumai-kun and I sent murderous intent toward Uoyama-kun. That just wasn’t a funny joke.

It was currently March. In just a month, 2 years would have passed since the [Return to the age of gods]. At the same time, our surroundings would change as well. All that was to say that our high school entrance exams were done and it was now our spring vacation.

I was currently in a fairly rural area, about 3 stations from where I live. As far as I could tell, there was only mountains, plantations, and paddy fields in the vicinity. I was waiting for a bus. A bus that only arrives once an hour.

“It’s fine, we made it through safely, didn’t we?”

“Shut up. Have some consideration for us who have just been released from a long and hard struggle, won’t you?”

“I don’t ever want to take another entrance exam again…”

“I mean, there’s still university entrance exams for one.”

““AHHHHH””

Kumai-kun and I plugged our ears and shouted like that.

Stop, Uoyama-kun, please stop. Your words are crushing me.

“Well, even before that, we have the adventurer license exam to worry about.”

“We’ll be alright for that, probably.”

“The passing rate was 90%, right?”

[Adventurer License]

Applicants—aged 15 years old and above—who could complete a week-long course plus an expedition into a dungeon accompanied by an examiner were awarded the said license.

The course fee was 15,000 Yen for each applicant. Additionally, 2,000 Yen was collected for the issuance of the license itself. Although it seemed like it was waved for the first year, there was also apparently a 10,000 Yen [Adventurer Tax] one had to pay every year. When I heard about that, I, a student, was stunned into silence.

At any rate, I ended up using even my New Year money to pay for the relevant fees. Firstly, becoming an adventurer was my won decision. And secondly, although my parents allowed me to be one, that didn’t mean they were enthusiastic about it. So, for those reasons, I saw no other choice but to pay for it myself.

I couldn’t help but wonder if my earnings as an adventurer would be enough to get by. There were still other procedures and fees needed in regards to delving into dungeons, a lot of which I needed to learn in this adventurer training course.

* * *

The bus we rode, which had ten people besides us, soon brought us to the [Adventurer Training Center]. In there was a large and splendid 2-story building, and behind it was something that resembled a sports ground. But there was nothing, not even any fields, in the vicinity.

If it was 2 years ago, building something like this with tax money was sure to earn everyone’s ire. Heck, even now, there were still many people objecting to it. Such places were built in each prefecture, but their locations in each prefecture were said to be in the rural areas.

There were already people here when we arrived. Maybe about 20. I didn’t bother actually counting them though. We passed through the reception and then into a place that looked like a classroom, where we took the seats we wanted. The classroom seemed like it could hold up to 30 people, so it was surprisingly quite spacious inside.

Are all the people in here Awakened Ones that want to be adventurers…?

“Ah,”

When I gave my surroundings a cursory scan, I found a bearded man. If that was all there was to him, then nothing was out of the ordinary. However, he was also quite short and yet his shoulders were so broad. But the most striking detail of all were the ears that peeked through his hair: they were pointed.

He was a dwarf. The first one I ever saw.

[Demi-humans].

There were only a few of them among Awakened Ones, so they were a rather rare sight. They could broadly be divided into [Elves], [Dwarves], and [Beastfolk]. There were variations among each subcategory, but I could think about those later.

Each of those subcategories honestly were just like how they were depicted in fiction like light novels. If I recall correctly, there were rumors about elves turning into frighteningly beautiful people when they Awakened. The rumors also said that their ears were much longer than those of dwarves.

As for the dwarf I found, he looked to be 50 years old but there was a chance his actual age wasn’t all that different from ours. Apparently, it was hard to determine the age of elves and dwarves based only on their appearance.

But I shouldn’t stare.

Just as I was about to look away, the instructor entered the room.

“Well, nice to meet all of you. First of all, I’d like to thank you all for taking this adventurer training course.”

That was how the course began…but by the end of it, I was quite exhausted.

The physical fitness test part of the course wasn’t so bad. In fact, I could even say that I enjoyed it a little bit. Each of us normally held back our true strength, so it felt pretty good to run around without worrying about that stuff.

Out in the training grounds, each of us changed into magical attires and ran. The sight of a group of people who looked like they were going to some costume party was quite stunning, if I may say so myself.

Where I had trouble with was the classroom aspect.

I was able make use of my gaming and anime knowledge to help with the parts about monsters and dungeons, but when it came to the parts about taxes and laws…

According to what I heard, the adventurer system—which was made at a neck-breaking speed—was derived from the Hunter laws that were already in place. The word plagiarize was even used.

Dungeons were roughly divided into ranks. Their ranks were of course based on the strength of the monsters within them.

Adventurers were given remuneration when they defeat a monster in a dungeon. The reward for defeating a monster in an E rank dungeon was 300 Yen. For each dungeon rank above E rank, you add 100 Yen to the reward. So, for defeating a monster in an A rank dungeon, adventurers were rewarded with 700 Yen. There were dungeons with a [+] next to their rank and that meant each defeated monster was worth 50 Yen more than normal. For example, An E+ rank dungeon would give 350 Yen for each defeated monster.

…Isn’t this too low though?

If my memory serves, a hunter was rewarded somewhere between 5,000 Yen and 30,000 Yen for each deer killed, depending on the area they were in. That was just what I was able to look up before I applied for this training course though.

When one’s income as an adventurer exceeded 200,000 Yen, they could include their remuneration for defeating monsters as miscellaneous income when doing their final income tax returns. The instructor also noted that, when calculating for our expenditures, we should be careful to keep the relevant receipts when we include the tools and such we used in our dungeon explorations.

Final income tax returns…what the heck, how is someone who has just graduated junior high supposed to know about these things…

When blue and white tax returns were mentioned, I glanced at my friends and they both looked just as puzzled. The class went on despite that, almost as though the instructor himself just wanted to wrap it up.

I guess I’ll just go ask my dad when I get home…

At any rate, I kept on writing down on my notebook and on the booklet distributed to us. This all felt like any class in school.

Apparently, when entering a dungeon, adventurers had to present their adventurer license and pay a 300-Yen entrance fee. There was also a tax similar to what hunters had. A Type 1 adventurer license and stuff would generally set us back about 11,000 Yen per year.

…isn’t that too high though?

By having an adventurer license, one was allowed to use their magical attire and superpowers to take down monsters. Weapon laws would not be applied to them, provided that its deployment and use was all within dungeon.

With the exception of circumstances where they were clearly in danger, using one’s magical attire and fighting outside of dungeons was punishable by 1-5 years of imprisonment as well as a 1-million-Yen fine. This seemed to be comparable to a firearm violation with a hunting gun. Naturally, the punishment and compensation for damaging properties and hurting people were separate matters.

Moreover, other taxes were imposed on the selling of [Items] and [Equipment] made with an Awakened One’s superpowers.

…crap, I feel like my head’s about to burst. Ahh, I feel like all the things I’ve crammed for the entrance exams are being pushed out.

But then, something caught my attention. And that was the sale of monsters’ item drops and the things that could be obtained from treasures chests within dungeons.

Wait, what? There are item drops and treasure chests?

I couldn’t help but be surprised to learn those existed. After all, there was no videos at all that featured what was inside of dungeons. Basically, any footage taken after entering a dungeon were not allowed to be taken outside and had to be submitted to the [Dungeon Store]—a complex built in the premises of a dungeon, which also handled the calculation for the remuneration an adventurer would receive. However, this restriction would only be in effect until April of this year. In other words, by the time we become adventurers, we didn’t have to worry about it. But well, I digress.

So, according to the instructor, even though monsters were basically lumps of magic power and would thus usually disappear entirely when slain, some of them would leave behind these goods we now called item drops. Item drops were said to be monster parts that had obtained material form.

Next, regarding treasure chests. Treasure chests were, to put it plainly, just another trap set by the dungeon. One aspect of dungeons was that they gathered the negative emotions seeping out of humans. These emotions didn’t manifest in only monsters but also in traps as well.

Most treasure chests contained minerals or things that were like item drops. However, from time to time, a hermit-crab-like monster called a [Mimic] would get inside a treasure chest and wait for its victim. This monster’s attack methods included making use of its stinger, so we were told we must always be cautious when opening treasure chests.

Item drops and things obtained from treasure chests were being treated like “found items”, with the local region having ownership over them. In other words, an adventurer could only do business with the local government regarding such things. In such deals, the adventurers who turned in those “found items”, would be given a monetary reward of 5-20% of the value of the item.

Also, since those things were being treated as found items, there would be penalties imposed to those who take them home and/or traded with another entity aside from the government. And if it was deemed that there was malicious intent behind such actions, it was even possible the offender would be given a criminal penalty.

…aren’t they being too stingy?

And so, with this and that, the classroom aspect of the training course proceeded along. Despite the term adventurer invoking nothing but heroic tales and the like, in reality, it was quite the dreary affair.

By the way, since adventurers were a thing since last year, they already had the figures for the income of the adventurers for that year. The instructor told us that it was around 1.1 million Yen.

Really dreary.

* * *

I had now spent almost a week doing the course that was so devoid of the romance of adventure. Even though my purse was hurting now due to the fare, I still managed to get to the last day.

On the sixth day, we had our final classroom lesson. There was a lot of material to go over, but it was relatively simple, so it was no big deal.

The actual test was what about to come.

“As per the schedule we gave you, today we will be venturing into a real dungeon.”

When the instructor said those words, the classroom grew a bit noisy.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say out loud that it was the thing I most awaited in this course, but still, I would finally delve into my first dungeon. For better or for worse, I was excited.

As mentioned in the itinerary, since this would be our first time, we would be challenging a dungeon with a relatively low danger level. According to the instructor, we would be using an E rank dungeon for this test.

And so, we moved elsewhere. However, instead of going outside, we simply went underground. To my surprise, under this adventurer training facility was an entrance to a dungeon.

Now I understood why there was no traffic around this facility: it had lost its appeal.

“Alright everyone, we’re delving into the dungeon in pairs, with one taking the vanguard and the other taking the rearguard. An examiner will be going with you, so don’t worry too much.”

“““!?”””

When the instructor said so, sparks flew for a moment between my friends and me.

[Pair Up]

I had lost count how many times that phrase has brought me headaches. It might as well be a curse placed on me at this point. It was the evilest kind of calamity, if you ask me.

As though we were hit by something, the three of us looked at one another.

“Ah, thinking about it, since I’m better off taking the rear position, I’m the one who’s gonna have to choose, aren’t I? Guess I don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Uoyama-kun, who is more important to you? Me or Kumai-kun!?”

“Yeah, make it clear!”

“I won’t allow you to two-time us!”

“Ah, is that the theme we’re going for here?”

Even though we were joking around and acting like we were in some kind of daytime soap opera, I was a bit serious about this.

After all, if I failed to pair up with either of them, I would have to explore my first dungeon with a stranger. And that was on top of having an examiner accompanying us.

So, so, so embarrassing…

I was not proud of it at all but I was a rather shy person.

Never mind failing to cooperate, I won’t even be able to communicate with the other person!

“So, it seems we will have to settle this with that.”

“Are you for real right now, Kumai-kun…!?”

“Eh, that’s how you two are doing it? What about my opinion though?”

Kumai-kun asked as he showed off his fist.

So, it has come to this…! If only we could have settled this with words…

And so, the two of us held out our fists.

“Shoot!”

Wait, what happened to the “rock, paper, scissors” part!? You’re supposed to chant “rock, paper, scissors shoot”!!!

In that moment of panic, my defeat was probably decided.

“No…! I lost…!?”

“Ahh, it’s done…so this is the outcome…”

“Look who’s uselessly acting so self-important. Fine, gloat some more, I guess.”

Opposite my fist was Kumai-kun’s open palm. It was my lost.

Damn it…! Damn it…!!

“Gehahaha! It’s decided! I’ll be the one partnering with this guy!”

“My, is this what a princess being snatched away feels like. Sounds so rough.”

“Shut it, Four-eyes Mob. You’re a hundred years too early to think of yourself as a princess.”

“Exactly. In fact, you should apologize to all the kids wishing they could become a princess.”

“The heck, why are you guys ganging up on me for? Actually, if anyone’s a mob here, it’s you two. Especially you Mob-taro.”

Like that, I saw Uoyama-kun off as he was being rice bag carried (this isn’t a typo of princess carry!). Meanwhile, I looked around in hopes of asking someone else to pair up with me.

Woah, everyone already has a partner…

“Err, everyone who still doesn’t have a partner, come here. We’ve arranged it so that there is an even split between the vanguard and the rearguard. There should be no leftover among you.”

I did as the instructor said and dragged myself over to him.

I guess I can’t sneakily add Layla in…

The one I was to be paired with was a girl who looked to be in a bad mood. She also seemed to around the same age as me. When she glanced at me though, I heard her click her tongue.

I wish she didn’t, but…is that why no one else paired up with her? But then again, no one also paired up with me…

She looked very much like a “gyaru”. Gyarus were a group of people who had nothing at all to do with me, so I didn’t know how to talk to her. Despite all the nervousness though, I managed a “nice to meet you”, wherein she replied “…yeah, sure” with a look of utter disdain.

I just wanna cry…

“Well then, only 5 pairs at a time will be going into the dungeon, so the rest of you can go to the standby room where you can watch footage other adventurers have brought back.”

And like that, my first dungeon exploration began.

…what do I do though? I haven’t even entered the dungeon and I already want to go home…

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Author (Taroppe) corner

Thank you for reading. Please consider leaving your reactions, reviews, and also bookmarking this title (on syosetu page). Your support always give me encouragement. I hope to have your continued support.

Q: Can it be that adventurers aren’t meant to make a profit?

A:

Foreign scout’s perpective: if they were, that’ll make recruiting them harder, would it?

That friend: Yup, yup

Ordinary bureaucrat: We don’t have enough budget, you know?

Q: Even so, isn’t this system too much?

A: Prime Minister Arikawa: Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.

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TL note: regarding the “typo” Kyotarou made, the pun here is that princess carry is お姫様抱っこ(oHImesamadakko), while the rice bag carry thing is お米様抱っこ(oKOmesamadakko).

Also, as of January 2024, 1 US Dollar is about equal to 144 Yen.

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