With my [Appraisal] Skill, I Became the Top of the Streaming World - Chapter 18
At noon on the fifth day after leaving the broken magic steel greatsword with the restoration shop, I received a notification that it was finished.
『It’s ready, so please drop by whenever you have time.』
I went to pick it up in the afternoon.
Looking at the greatsword resting on the counter, I let out a small breath of awe. The snapped blade had been seamlessly rejoined. The surface was so smooth that I couldn't even tell where the break had been, and the entire length of the blade held a dull, heavy luster. Looking at it now, you’d never imagine it had once been in two pieces.
"How does the finish look to you?"
"It’s more beautiful than I imagined."
"Magic steel is a material that responds well if you treat it with care."
The craftsman pointed to the spot where it had snapped.
"This is the joint. Can you see it?"
I wouldn't have known if he hadn't told me. There was a faint line, but it was polished so uniformly that there wasn't even a hint of a bump.
"With ordinary iron, a seam remains even after re-forging, but when you apply heat to magic steel, the molecules bond and blend together. The craftsman's skill matters, of course, but the nature of the material does half the work."
"So that’s how the material behaves."
"It’s been a while since I’ve handled magic steel of this purity. Where did you find it?"
"In a passage on B4F. It was just lying there."
The craftsman narrowed his eyes slightly. "The person who threw it away is going to regret it—if they ever realize it could have been fixed."
I signed the receipt.
◇
I shouldered the greatsword and headed to my usual dealer.
But man, was it heavy. There are people who swing these things around effortlessly to face monsters, but that was a world I couldn't even begin to imagine.
"We’re both explorers, yet our worlds are so different..."
Lost in thought, I realized I couldn't exactly carry a meter-long blade onto the train, so I scanned the street for a taxi.
I found one immediately. As I approached, the trunk popped open without a word from the driver. I took the silent hint and placed the sword inside. The driver’s nonchalant attitude made me think that this sort of cargo might be a fairly common occurrence in this neighborhood.
The dealer’s representative stood up the moment he saw the greatsword on the table.
"Do you have an appraisal certificate?"
"Yes. The restoration shop provided one."
I handed over the documents, and the representative looked back and forth between the sword and the paperwork. He held the blade up to the light, observing it from various angles and running his fingers along the joint.
"...This is a magnificent restoration."
"The shop was excellent."
"Magic steel, Purity Rank A. In this condition after a repair, there’s nothing to complain about. I’ll give you the absolute upper limit."
The offer was 305,000 yen.
After subtracting the 38,000 yen repair fee, I made a profit of 267,000 yen.
When I found it, it was a broken piece of junk. Now, that broken junk had turned into 267,000 yen.
"Please come back if you find anything else."
"I will."
On the way home, the feeling of being empty-handed felt a little strange.
◇
At night, I started my 13th stream. My subscribers had reached 5,870.
"Today I’m going to explore the deep sections of B5F. Last time I turned back just before the boundary, so I want to see what’s beyond that."
『Oh, deep B5F!』
『How far are you going?』
『Looking forward to it.』
On the way in, I ran into the middle-aged staff member at the loading dock.
"Going deep today?"
"I’m going to check out the deep end of B5F."
"Watch yourself. Hardly any explorers go in there, and because of the uneven terrain, trash often falls off the waste transport trucks. It's a tricky spot, so the Bureau only cleans it once in a blue moon, and the flooring isn't well-maintained."
"Understood."
It was just his usual brief warning, but having that one piece of advice makes a world of difference for one's peace of mind.
Moving even more conservatively than usual, I pushed deeper. In the depths of B5F, the lights were spaced far apart, and dark passages stretched between sections, making it hard to see my footing. Perhaps because so few explorers entered, there was very little to find on the ground.
"It doesn't look like there’s much here. However, places where people rarely go sometimes yield the most unexpected finds."
『Should we get our hopes up?』
『He says that, but he always finds something.』
"I won't know if anything's here until I look."
After about twenty minutes, I spotted a small metal fragment on the floor. A piece of equipment, or perhaps part of a tool. I directed [Appraisal] at it.
Metal Fragment (Magic Steel Offcut)
Rarity: D Current Value: A few hundred yen
Notes: Likely an offcut produced during the processing of a magic steel product. Has slight material value, but the trade-in price is low.
"Looks like a magic steel offcut. It has almost no value though, so I’m leaving it behind today."
『Unusual for him not to pick it up.』
『He has standards.』
『He’s judging by cost-performance.』
"If I pick up everything, I’ll run out of space. I only take back what’s worth the effort."
I pushed further in.
Thirty minutes later, I noticed something wedged into a hollow in the wall. It looked like a stone, but it wasn't part of the bedrock. The color was slightly off—a deep bluish-gray compared to the surrounding rock—and the surface had a faint, subtle glow.
"What is this?"
『Something in the wall again!』
『How does he always spot this stuff?』
"The color is different from the surroundings. I don't think it’s part of the cave wall."
I reached in and pulled it out. A fist-sized lump emerged. It was heavier than it looked, with a solid, dense weight in my palm. I directed [Appraisal] at it.
Mana Crystal Cluster (Immature)
Rarity: B
Current Value: Low (Due to immaturity)
Estimated Value After Refining: 60,000–90,000 yen
Notes: Mana accumulated on dungeon walls that has crystallized. Currently contains many impurities and holds low value, but purity will increase with professional refining. A fully matured specimen can reach Rarity A.
Recommended: Bring to a mana refinery.
"...The value is low in its current state, but it’s a material that becomes worth 60,000 to 90,000 yen once refined. It was just wedged in the wall."
The comments went wild.
『He dug it out of the wall!』
『Is it just me, or is that actually amazing?』
『The price jump after refining is insane.』
"Apparently, it's mana that accumulated on the wall and hardened. It looks like trash, but to those who know, it’s not. I'll check the area to see if there are more."
I carefully inspected the surrounding walls for five minutes, looking for the same bluish-gray discoloration or similar hollows, but found nothing else.
"Looks like this is the only one. There might be more further in, but I'll call it a day here."
『Come back again!』
『Hope you find more next time.』
『Report back after it’s refined!』
"I will. I'll take it to a refinery."
With that, I cautiously retraced my steps and left the dungeon.
◇
By the time I closed the stream, the viewer count had exceeded 6,100. It was my first time breaking the 6,000 mark.
"We passed 6,000 viewers today. Thank you."
The comments had already passed, but they would remain in the archive.
Looking at the numbers, I thought back to not long ago. During my first stream, there were zero viewers. The reason I started streaming felt a bit different back then, too.
But what I did tonight hadn't changed. I walk through the dungeon, appraise what catches my eye, and pick up what has value. That simple act was now being watched by over 6,000 people.
My mood was slightly elevated as I left the dungeon, but I checked the "Identity Thread" on the way home, even though I didn't really want to.
『Based on the hood and his build, the list of candidates is narrowing down. A male in his 30s operating and streaming in Shinagawa Pier No. 7. Arrives alone, leaves alone. Does anyone know him?』
No name yet. But the net was definitely tightening. I wondered if I needed to take countermeasures, but then again, that's a risk that comes with the territory of streaming.
I tucked my phone away and adjusted my grip on the bag containing the Mana Crystal. To most, it’s just a rock. If you don't know what it is, you’d walk right past it.
Finding those things and drawing out their value—as long as I can keep doing that, I feel like I can keep this channel going.
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