Episode 22: The Explorer Exam, The Day Of ①
—8:30 AM.
I was at the Ota Dungeon, located in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture.
The Ota Dungeon is situated on the outskirts of an industrial park, within a vast parking lot.
Originally, it was a parking lot for employees working at the factories, but after the dungeon appeared, the government apparently bought it.
In the center of the sprawling concrete lot, there’s a cubic structure, also made of concrete.
That’s the entrance to the Ota Dungeon.
“The exam reception is… over there, huh?”
Near the dungeon entrance, there’s a simple, two-story prefabricated building.
That seems to be the Gunma Prefecture Explorer Association – Ota Dungeon Branch.
In front of the building, there was an event tent, and at a long table there, Otama-chan and another woman of about the same age were seated.
A paper sign reading “Reception: Tochigi Prefecture Residents” was posted in front of Otama-chan, so I called out to her.
“Yo, good luck with everything today.”
“Ah, Ko-cha… I mean, ahem, your exam number and name, please.”
“…Exam number Tochi 05, Natsume Kouichi.”
Since Otama-chan was acting serious, I responded seriously as well.
Otama-chan took a card from the table and handed it to me.
“This is the Dungeon Pass you will be using today. Please wait inside the building until the exam time.”
“Ah, yes.”
I obediently took it and walked towards the prefabricated building.
Following the signs, I entered the briefing room, where about ten people were already seated.
“Ahaha, you confident?”
“Goblins are a piece of cake.”
Since it was March, there seemed to be many people around high school or university age.
The groups that likely came with acquaintances were chatting amicably.
I found the seat with the 【Tochi 05】 placard and sat down.
“…Everyone seems pretty relaxed.”
In the exam, you engage in actual combat against goblins, and the pass/fail result is determined by that outcome.
According to what I found online, as long as you have decent enough stats, you can beat goblins, so getting a General Explorer License isn’t supposed to be that difficult.
The real hurdle lies beyond that—in the certification of the license rank.
The General Explorer License has ranks from E to S, and the higher the rank, the fewer restrictions there are on your range of activity.
In this exam, if you can overwhelm a goblin, you can get a Rank D license.
With Rank D, you can widely enter dungeons of normal difficulty.
On the other hand, even if you defeat a goblin, if the examiner judges that you struggled or your fighting style is concerning, you’ll end up with Rank E.
Rank E Explorers are only allowed to explore the very lowest floors of limited dungeons, and they can’t advance to Rank D until they’ve accumulated a track record of delivering magic stones.
A huge gap is created right at the starting dash of an Explorer’s career.
“I’ve got to aim for a Rank D start too…”
Now that I’ve promised to party up with Otama-chan, I can’t afford to dawdle.
No matter what, I’ll show them I can overwhelm a goblin.
—And so, after about 30 minutes of waiting, during which I went to the restroom and checked the equipment I’d use in the dungeon.
After a while, Yamada-san from the Explorer Association and a burly, bearded man entered the briefing room.
“Examinees, please be quiet and remain seated!”
The bearded man said as he placed some documents on the lectern.
With a creak, the door at the back was closed.
Near the door, Otama-chan and the other woman who had been at the reception desk were waiting.
A deep, powerful voice echoed through the silent room.
“I’m Jonuma from the Gunma Prefecture Explorer Association. It’s the scheduled time, so we will now begin the General Explorer Exam.”
“I’m Yamada from the Tochigi Prefecture Explorer Association. Today’s exam is being held jointly by Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures. All examinees, please follow the instructions not only of your respective prefecture’s association but also those of the other association. Failure to comply with instructions may result in disqualification.”
“Alright, then, I’ll explain the exam!”
Jonuma-san’s explanation was as follows:
・Accompanied by Explorer Association staff, two examinees from each prefecture will enter the dungeon in order of their exam numbers.
・Inside the dungeon, you will fight a goblin twice.
・One fight will be with skills allowed. One fight will be with skills prohibited (those with martial arts skills must use a weapon type they are not proficient with; rentals are available).
・In the fight with skills allowed, the examinee’s maximum combat power will be assessed.
・In the fight with skills prohibited, survival ability in an emergency will be assessed. Note that it is not strictly necessary to defeat the goblin; successfully fending off its attacks for a certain period is also acceptable.
・If it is determined that the examinee cannot defeat the goblin, or if they give up, an Explorer Association staff member will subjugate the goblin. In that case, the examinee will fail the exam.
・If you are injured, a recovery potion will be provided, so please report it inside the dungeon.
“…That’s all. Any questions?”
A young man who looked like a high school student, sitting in the front, raised his hand.
“Yes, a question! For the ‘skills allowed’ and ‘no skills allowed’ fights, which one comes first?”
“The examiner will specify when you encounter the goblin. You are to follow their instruction. Any other questions?”
No one, myself included, raised their hand.
“Alright, then let’s begin the exam. Gunma examinees number 1 and 2, follow me.”
“Tochigi Prefecture examinees number 1 and 2, please come with me. The rest of you, please wait until your turn.”
And so, the four people from the first row of the briefing room went out of the room.
Otama-chan and the other woman who had been near the door also went out.
Suddenly, the briefing room started to get noisy.
“Hey, it’s started.”
“Wonder if they’ll struggle and end up with a Rank E start, heh.”
“That’d be hilarious.”
—And so, ten minutes later.
“Ugh, ugh… sob…”
“…………”
Four examinees with gloomy faces returned to the room.
“Ah…”
It seemed even their friends from the same group were at a loss for words.
They silently watched their companions leave the briefing room, carrying their belongings.
“Next, examinees number 3 and 4, follow me.”
“Yes!”
The four people in the row in front of me went out.
…Could it be that everyone in the first group failed?
A sense of unease suddenly crept over me.
The female examinee in the seat next to me also spoke to me.
“Um, do you think everyone in the first group failed?”
“Well, I don’t know. But it doesn’t look like they had a good result.”
“It’s unusual, isn’t it? Everyone should have come prepared, yet for a whole group to be wiped out…”
“Certainly, it’s different from the advance information I saw online…”
The opponent monsters for the General Explorer Exam apparently vary by region—sometimes kobolds, sometimes a combination of slimes and walking mushrooms—and there are slight differences in difficulty.
However, goblins are considered standard exam monsters and shouldn’t be particularly difficult.
There was no information suggesting that the exam at Ota Dungeon was especially challenging either.
After a while.
Examinees number 3 and 4 from each prefecture returned.
“…………….”
All of them were looking down, silent.
“…Again, it seems the results weren’t good.”
“I wonder why…”
The atmosphere in the room gradually became heavy and oppressive.
“Alright, number 5 and 6 from each prefecture, follow me.”
—It’s our turn.
“Let’s both do our best.”
“Yeah.”
The four of us exited the Explorer Association building.
There, staff from both prefectures’ Explorer Associations, including Otama-chan, were waiting.
“Exam number Tochi 05, Natsume Kouichi-san, correct? I am Yamada, and I will be your examiner.”
“Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you.”
I wanted to say, “I knooow,” but I replied seriously.
“We will now conduct the goblin subjugation exam inside the Ota Dungeon. We just re-measured a moment ago, and it seems the ambient magic particle levels are slightly higher than this morning. It shouldn’t have a major impact, but please be cautious just in case.”
“Understood.”
Maybe the goblins are a little stronger because the magic particle levels have risen…
I followed Yamada-san, entertaining such thoughts.
…Even if something happens, surely I can at least get a Rank E license, right…?