With my [Appraisal] Skill, I Became the Top of the Streaming World - Chapter 35

 Analyzing the Protected Juvenile

On my desk, the items brought back from yesterday's exploration were still laid out exactly as they were.

The metal housing of the old-model sealed box, the three catalyst fragments now placed in storage bags, and my notes for the monthly log. The notes contained only a few lines detailing the protected juvenile's reaction:

“B4F Northern Passage—reacted toward the sealed box. Shell glowed, head turned, brief clicking sound.”

Checking the containment vessel, the protected juvenile was perfectly still at the bottom. The light deep within its shell was faint and stable.

It gave off a slightly more settled impression than the day before, but I still couldn't judge whether that was due to recovery or if it was simply growing accustomed to the environment.

Staring down at the motionless shell, I mentally lined up the reactions the protected juvenile had shown so far.

It had shown distinct movement exactly twice.

The first time was on the way back from Yokohama, reacting toward something inside my bag.

The second time was on B4F in Shinagawa, reacting toward the sealed box inside the wall.

Both instances involved seals, but a sample size of two was still just two. At this stage, I couldn't definitively say whether specific conditions had lined up or if it was pure coincidence.

I needed to recreate the conditions myself and test it one more time.

◇

I selected four items from my inventory and lined them up on the desk: two items related to seals, and two unrelated items to serve as a baseline comparison.

For the sealed category, I used the catalyst fragment from the old-model sealing cylinder and one of the catalyst fragments from yesterday’s sealed box.

For the comparison baseline, I chose a refined mana crystal shard and a piece of worthless scrap metal I'd picked up in Shinagawa.

First, I brought the mana crystal shard and the scrap metal close to the containment vessel one after the other. I watched for about a minute each time, but the juvenile didn't budge, and the light in its shell didn't change.

Next, I tested the two sealed items in sequence.

The moment I brought the old-model sealing cylinder fragment close, the light deep within its shell flared a level brighter, and the juvenile turned its head directly toward the fragment.

After a single, brief clicking sound, I moved the fragment away, and the light returned to its usual dim glow. I did the exact same thing with the catalyst fragment from yesterday's sealed box, and it produced the exact same reaction.

It had reacted to the two sealed items, and completely ignored the two baseline comparison items.

I added a follow-up entry to my notes:

“4th confirmation test. Highly probable sensitivity to objects preserved via seals or spell-matrices. No reaction to non-sealed objects.”

It seemed safe enough to say it was highly probable that the creature was sensitive to objects preserved by seals or spell-matrices. However, four instances still didn't make it a certainty. If I altered the conditions more drastically, a completely different behavioral trend might emerge.

I closed my notebook and checked the latch on the containment vessel's lid. The protected juvenile had gone completely still at the bottom again. I decided to call it a day for the verification tests.

◇

Afterward, I reviewed the archive of my 27th stream. The chat comments were heavily concentrated right around the moment the protected juvenile had appeared on screen.

—What was that little thing anyway?

—Lmao looks like a scavenger's animal companion.

—That thing was definitely reacting earlier, wasn’t it? Is that how he noticed the wall?

—If he's got official permission, then it's totally fine.

Checking the forums, I found a single thread titled “The Protected Juvenile with a Permit,” though the post count was still low. The general consensus of the comments boiled down to: “It’s officially approved by the Bureau, right?” “Details are unknown but it’s in the clear,” and “Hey, couldn't that reaction actually be useful?”

It wasn't anything worth stressing over, but I felt like the public perception was starting to shift slightly. The pairing of a scavenger and a juvenile creature was starting to be viewed through a completely new lens.

◇

That night, I scheduled my 28th live stream from the Shinagawa Pier No. 7 dungeon.

I transferred the protected juvenile into the small waist pouch and clipped it to my belt. After presenting my license at the checkpoint, I started up the broadcast like usual.

"Hey everyone. Today we're going to be running through B4F in Shinagawa again, just like last time."

—Is the little guy back today?

—Tagging along today too, huh?

—It’s becoming a regular feature.

"The protected juvenile is accompanying me again today. It's a dungeon-derived creature under official protection with a Management Bureau permit. It poses zero danger."

The comment volume picked up a bit.

—So it really is permitted.

—What kind of creature is it?

—Does it have a name?

"The species is a juvenile Tide-Crystal Shelled Beast. I haven't given it a name yet. For its temporary companion registration, it's just processed under a management serial number."

The chat kept moving rapidly.

—A serial number?

—Sounds so bureaucratic.

—But hey, that means it’s official government business.

"Until its permanent status is finalized, it's not really appropriate for me to be naming it. I'm fostering it for now, but there's no guarantee I'll be the one protecting it indefinitely."

I cut the topic at a natural transition point and pressed deeper into the dungeon. Mid-walk, I checked the position of the waist pouch on my belt; through a gap in the cover, I could see its blue-gray shell.

B4F hadn't changed since my last run. The floor was full of uneven drops, and old remnants of past harvesting scarred the wall edges. I scanned my surroundings, occasionally casting my eyes down toward the pouch. If it reacted, I would know by the sound or the light, but nothing happened for quite a while.

Near the middle of a passageway, I spotted an old stamped evidence bag discarded on the floor near the wall and walked over. Upon closer inspection, the contents were still inside. When I focused my appraisal skill on it, it revealed two degraded spell-matrix remnants with a combined value of around 12,000 yen. I harvested them and kept moving.

The protected juvenile barely moved inside the waist pouch. Given that we hadn't crossed paths with anything significant related to seals, the lack of reaction was well within expectations.

"We're going to wrap it up here for today. We didn't hit any massive scores, but hey, some days are just like that."

With that final sign-off, I closed the stream.

◇

Immediately after ending the broadcast, a message popped up from Takasaka.

“I have something I’d like you to look at. Our clan recovered an old-model sealed vault, and I need an appraisal on the contents. The problem is, the mechanism seems built to degrade the interior if it's opened incorrectly, so our people are having a hard time making the call. It would be a massive help to have an appraiser’s eyes on it.”

The exact instant I read the phrase “old-model sealed vault,” today's validation tests and the juvenile's previous behavioral patterns naturally snapped together in my mind.

"Bringing it along might actually be a great idea," I murmured.

If its sensitivity to sealed objects was the real deal, there couldn't possibly be a better testing ground than a vault site. For now, I sent a reply back to Takasaka.

“Understood. Let me know what days work for you so we can coordinate.”

Next time, I was going to bring this protected juvenile straight into a place practically overflowing with seals.

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