With my [Appraisal] Skill, I Became the Top of the Streaming World - Chapter 34
The Sealed Box Inside the Wall
In the morning, I checked the containment vessel.
The protected juvenile was completely still at the bottom of the container. Its blue-gray shell faintly reflected the light, and its eye-like feature remained half-open—showing no noticeable change from the day before. The monthly report template had arrived via email, but as of today, I had absolutely nothing to write.
“No environmental changes; low activity levels.”
The Management Bureau had only provided me with a document containing information on similar species, but I hadn't had a chance to thoroughly read through it yet. What this thing ate and what its activity cycle looked like were still complete mysteries, leaving me with nothing but a lingering sense of anxiety.
Even so, all I could do was focus on what was right in front of me.
"As for today's schedule..."
I opened the calendar app on my phone, which listed today's live stream slot.
Today would mark my 27th stream, and I was planning to hit my usual spot on B4F of the Shinagawa Pier No. 7 dungeon.
After confirming the schedule, I looked back at the containment vessel. I debated for a moment whether or not to take the protected juvenile with me, which reminded me of what had happened on the way home yesterday.
On the walk back yesterday, it had turned toward my bag, and the light deep inside its shell had flickered for just a second. Now that I was back home, there was no way to verify exactly what it had been reacting to.
"I'm completely in the dark here. Might as well test a few things out."
I happened to have a small pouch that could be clipped onto my waist. It was a size smaller than the containment vessel, but when I tested fitting the juvenile inside, it slipped right in perfectly.
I closed the case's lid once, then popped it open again. The protected juvenile remained as still as ever.
I couldn't tell if taking it outside would place too much of a physical burden on it. However, its deterioration was progressing, and if it weakened any further, I wouldn't even have the chance to test anything. Because of that, I wanted to observe its behavior away from the source rock environment while I still could.
"...Alright."
I made up my mind: I was bringing it along today.
◇
After presenting my license at the entrance of the Shinagawa Pier No. 7 dungeon, I started up the stream like I always did.
"Hey everyone, this is stream number twenty-seven. Today we're hitting a familiar spot—B4F here in Shinagawa."
The comment section began to scroll. I unclipped the latch on my waist pouch and gently pulled out the protected juvenile. It was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, its blue-gray shell faintly catching the light.
I pointed the camera directly at it.
"This little guy is a protected specimen I obtained official Bureau permission for. I'm letting it tag along with me today."
The chat spiked with rapid comments.
—What is that?
—Is it alive?
—If you got official permission, it must be legit.
—It's so tiny!
"I'll go into the specific details in a separate stream. For today, we're just going to focus on exploration."
I placed the juvenile back into the pouch and locked the latch.
"Let's move."
I headed deeper into the dungeon with my usual steady pace.
◇
B4F felt exactly the same as always.
The passageways narrowed a bit, and the floor grew uneven with plenty of drops and ledges. Looking toward the walls, I could spot old remnants of past harvesting.
Unlike B3F, this area was a mixed bag of sections that were either somewhat cleared out or left completely untouched. The layout and purpose of this floor differed from the upper levels, so the Management Bureau didn't keep many supplies or equipment stationed down here.
I kept a sharp eye on my surroundings as I made progress.
I was checking on the waist pouch frequently today, but there was almost zero sign of movement inside. The light within its shell wasn't flickering either, and I still hadn't found any criteria to judge whether this was its baseline state or if it was just completely inactive.
After rounding two corners, I spotted an old, discarded specimen bag rolled off to the edge of the path. The knot was still tied, but the contents had already been looted by someone else, leaving only the outer packaging. When I ran my appraisal skill over it, the readout returned "No Material Value," so I left it alone and kept moving forward.
Viewer comments popped up occasionally.
—A pretty quiet start to the stream today.
—The little guy in the pouch doesn't seem to be reacting much, huh?
—B4F is always a massive gamble between zero loot and hits.
—I don't mind these chill, normal runs honestly.
—This stream feels like high-stakes gambling, so when it hits, it hits insane.
Without finding any particularly eye-catching loot, I pressed deeper into the depths of B4F.
◇
While moving down the northern passageway of B4F, a sound clicked out from inside the waist pouch.
It was a brief sound, like something hard clacking gently. I immediately recognized it as the exact same kind of noise from yesterday's walk home.
I carefully expanded my gaze to scan the area. Inside the pouch, the protected juvenile had raised its head slightly, pointing toward the wall on the right side of the corridor. The light deep within its shell flashed intensely for a split second before returning to its usual dim glow.
I stared at the section of the wall the juvenile was facing. A vertical seam ran down the old surface. It looked like a patch job from a past repair, or perhaps the sealed scar of an area that had been filled in. You could find similar seams all over the passageways down here, so it wasn't a distinct landmark by any means.
However, on the far right edge of the seam, there was an incredibly subtle warp in the structure. If the juvenile hadn't reacted to it, I would have walked right past it without a second thought.
"Is there something there?"
I focused my [Appraisal] directly on it.
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Old-Model Sealed Box (Buried State)
Rarity: A
Material: Mana-Shielding Alloy (Exterior)
Status: Structurally Preserved (Protected by burial)
Contents: Sealed & Preserved Catalyst Fragments ×3 (Type and quality to be verified upon opening)
Estimated Value: 120,000 – 180,000 Yen (Depending on internal quality)
Notes: Forcing the exterior open may degrade the quality of the internal materials. It is recommended to process the buffer layer at the wall contact point first, then extract the object in the correct sequence.
--------------------------------------------------
"...There's a box hidden inside the wall," I told the stream. "It's an old-model sealed box, and the contents inside are still perfectly preserved."
The chat erupted.
—Wait, what?
—Inside the wall?!
—Where were you even looking to spot that?
—Appraisal can even read through walls?!
◇
I traced the boundary where the box met the wall with my fingertips. The surface looked like a basic repair job, but the physical feedback against my fingers felt entirely different from the surrounding rock. It felt as though something solid was securely embedded deep inside. Locating the buffer layer indicated by my appraisal, I wedged my fingers into it.
Rather than trying to pry it out by brute force, I removed the materials in the exact order specified to avoid damaging the wall face. The gap widened bit by bit until a metallic exterior came into view. Once the buffer layer was completely cleared away, a small box about ten centimeters tall partially emerged from the wall.
"Got it," I said, carefully pulling it free. There was no rust on the surface; the airtight seal had held up perfectly.
The method for opening it was displayed by my appraisal. The structure required pressing the ridges on the side in a specific order to release the internal seal. After pressing them three times, the lid popped loose.
Inside were three catalyst fragments. They were small, individually sealed crystals, each a different color. When I appraised them one by one, the total value came out to around 150,000 yen.
"The contents are out. Three sealed and preserved catalyst fragments. Combined, they're worth around 150,000 yen."
—No way!
—He literally dug treasure out of a wall.
—Guess this wasn't a chill, normal run after all!
—This is exactly why I can't stop watching this stream lmao
◇
I spent a few more hours exploring B4F after that, but didn't find anything else of note, so I wrapped up the stream. After turning off the broadcast, I checked the waist pouch to find the protected juvenile perfectly quiet again. It had returned to its usual inactive state, making its sudden reaction earlier feel almost like an illusion.
That made two separate occasions—yesterday's walk back and just now—where it had shown the exact same type of behavior. In both instances, it had reacted to something related to seals.
(Maybe it reacts to things like that...)
Then again, it was only a sample size of two. I couldn't judge yet whether it was pure coincidence or if specific conditions had lined up.
I figured the next logical step would be to intentionally bring a sealed object close to it. Before drawing a definitive conclusion, I wanted to verify its behavior at least one more time.
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