With my [Appraisal] Skill, I Became the Top of the Streaming World - Chapter 33

 The Day the Juvenile Slated for Eradication Became My Temporary Companion

The next day, I headed back to Yokohama.

The previous night, Asada had sent me a blunt, single-line message: “Meet at the site at 10:00 AM.”

Given the gravity of the situation, I hadn't set up a stream for today.

When I stepped off the train at Minatomirai Station and walked toward the dungeon entrance, I found Asada standing there with Tanaka right behind him.

"Regarding yesterday's matter, we will be processing it on-site today," Asada said. "We will re-evaluate the juvenile's condition, and if there are no issues, we will transition its status to a 'Temporary Companion.' I'll then attach your appraisal results and push the application through."

"Understood."

After I presented my private appraiser license, the three of us entered the dungeon.

◇

The descent down to B5F was a familiar twenty-minute trek.

The humidity trapped inside the dungeon remained as high as ever. The thick scent of the ocean hung heavy in the air; this place was what people typically referred to as a water-type or water-attribute dungeon. The blue-green hue of the walls caught the light and glowed faintly. Unlike the usual gloomy, dark dungeons, the blue tones here really stood out.

As we moved deeper down the passageway, the pale blue luminescence of the tide-magic stones grew steadily denser. Rounding the same corner as yesterday, we arrived in front of the source rock.

The blue-gray lump was clinging to the exact same spot. Nothing had changed; the juvenile I discovered yesterday was huddled in the same position.

It was about four centimeters long, its translucent shells overlapping, with a faint fluctuation of light visible deep inside it.

Yesterday, I had looked at it thinking it was just debris. Today, I could immediately tell that the shell's shape and structure were entirely distinct from the surrounding bedrock.

"Is it just my imagination, or does it look a bit shrunken?" Tanaka asked.

"Yeah. It feels weaker than it did yesterday."

It remained pressed against the wall, barely moving. I focused my [Appraisal] on it once more.

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Tide-Crystal Shelled Beast (Juvenile)

Rarity: S

Status: Weakened (Progressing due to environmental changes)

Danger Level: Low

Contamination: None

Current Value: Difficult to Estimate

Notes: Its state of dependency on the source rock continues, and its deterioration is progressing under the current environment. Sustained survival within this source rock environment has been deemed untenable. Temporary protection and environmental relocation are recommended. Eligible for a Temporary Companion status under Management Bureau supervision. Unauthorized breeding is prohibited.

--------------------------------------------------

"It's worse than yesterday," I reported. "Leaving it here isn't an option anymore."

Asada pulled out his phone.

"Submitting the temporary protection request now."

The rapid tapping on his screen echoed down the passageway. Once an application number was generated, Asada continued.

"I'll attach the appraisal results. Give me your license number."

I recited the number, and he spent a few moments typing it in.

"The Temporary Companion permit has been approved."

Asada turned his screen toward me to show the confirmation. It displayed the application number, the permit classification, and three specific conditions: monthly reporting to the Management Bureau, immediate notification in the event of anomalies, and keeping a log of its rearing environment.

"Now you can take it home."

◇

I stepped up to the wall.

I slowly slid my fingertips beneath the perimeter of the juvenile. Moving carefully to avoid damaging the layers of tide-magic stone on the wall face, I felt out the boundary where the shell met the bedrock. Its adhesion was weaker than yesterday; it shifted with only a fraction of effort.

With utmost care, I pried it free.

It was lighter than I expected, and the shell felt cool to the touch. Holding it in both hands, a faint pulsing—closer to a high-frequency vibration than a heartbeat—transmitted into my palms. It was a weak, sluggish vibration.

Its eye-like feature was half-open, making it impossible to tell if it was actually looking at me. It didn't even attempt a defensive posture. It just existed, perfectly passive, in my hands.

Asada popped open a Management Bureau containment vessel. It was made of a rigid, translucent material lined with a thin layer of cushioning inside.

Once placed inside the container, the juvenile didn't move at all.

"The Temporary Companion contract is established," Asada noted.

"Right."

Yet, even after the container's lid clicked shut, that subtle vibration lingering in my hands wouldn't go away. The cool texture of the shell, that weak, slow pulsing. It felt entirely different from the sensation of stuffing harvested materials into a drop bag.

◇

We began making our way back the way we came.

Asada checked his phone as we walked.

"I'll email you the copy of the application and the monthly report templates once I'm back at the office."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

As we walked down the corridor just before the main exit bay, the juvenile inside the container shifted.

A part of it—I couldn't tell if it was its head or its neck—turned slightly toward my bag. The light deep within its shell flickered for a brief instant. A short sound clicked out. It wasn't a vocal cry, but rather the faint sound of something hard clacking gently.

I had no idea what it was reacting to. Inside my bag were my retrieval tools and a catalyst fragment from an old-model sealing cylinder I'd picked up last month. There was no way to tell which item had triggered it.

"What was that just now?" Tanaka asked, peering into the container.

"I don't know."

We kept moving toward the exit. Asada didn't make any comment about it.

◇

It was evening by the time I finally got back home.

I set the containment vessel down on my desk and stared intently inside.

The juvenile barely stirred within the container. Inside the shell, the faint light pulsed at perfectly regular intervals. Whether it was breathing or just its metabolism at work, I lacked the reference material to know for sure right now.

Starting next week, my monthly reporting obligations would begin, alongside logging its environment.

"Make sure you actually grow big and strong..."

As if reacting to my words, I thought I saw the juvenile inside the container twitch ever so slightly. But in the next split second, it was perfectly still again.

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