Chapter 69: Acquiring a Drop Item
After Mom got back from the convenience store, I was walking the mountain path leading to the Private Dungeon.
Remembering Mom holding newspapers in both hands makes me feel a little embarrassed.
“Seriously… Buying out all the newspapers from two stores is such a nuisance…”
Her show-off side hasn’t changed a bit since the old days.
Well, I guess it just means she was that happy.
Apparently, we were even in national papers like the Asaichi Shimbun and the Keisan Shimbun.
“…When I first came back home, I never thought things would turn out like this.”
Back then, it was February, and the air was cold.
My future was empty, and I didn’t even have the energy to look forward.
Thanks to the Private Dungeon, everything turned around for the better.
Starting tomorrow, it’ll be May, entering the season you could call early summer.
Summer is coming again.
“This year, I’ll be able to spend summer with all my childhood friends…”
Being able to look forward to the future is truly a happy thing.
I climbed the mountain and headed for the Private Dungeon’s door.
I’m already wearing short sleeves even outside the dungeon.
There’s no need to take off my coat like back then.
I gripped the knob and opened the door to the Private Dungeon.
Greeeeeak…
Miiiin, minminmin…
Upon entering the Private Dungeon, the sound of cicadas and the summer sunlight greeted me.
Lots of Shio-kara Magic Dragonflies were flying around.
“…Come to think of it, it all started with this guy.”
When I extended my index finger into the air, one dragonfly landed on it to rest its wings.
The first experience points I ever got were from catching this dragonfly.
Feeling a wave of nostalgia, I pinched the dragonfly’s wings.
And then.
Bwan!
Clack!
“Hm?”
Along with a magic stone, a small wooden box dropped.
“What’s this…”
I picked it up from the ground.
It’s about the size of a pencil case.
So items can drop from insects too, huh.
I opened it right away.
And inside…
“Glasses, huh…?”
There was a very ordinary pair of glasses with metal frames.
“They don’t seem particularly strange…”
I tried them on.
“Hmm…?”
My vision didn’t change.
It seems the lenses have no prescription.
“Are they just fashion glasses…?”
I stared intently.
“…? Ah…!”
Just then, a circle overlapped with one of the countless Shio-kara Magic Dragonflies flying around, and the information “Name: Shio-kara Magic Dragonfly” was displayed.
“Don’t tell me these are…”
I took a Potion out of the pouch on my waist and stared at it.
‘Name: Potion
Effect: Restores 50 HP’
“It’s the 【Appraisal】 skill…!”
It seems to be an item that activates 【Appraisal】 when you wear the glasses and look at a target.
“This is useful.”
I saw on TV before that if you can use the 【Appraisal】 skill, you can apparently earn enough as an item appraiser to make a living.
To think I’d get something this good.
Though, I’ve already caught about 200 dragonflies, so the estimated drop rate is 0.5% or less.
“Ah, come to think of it…”
I remembered there was a “Drop Items” section in the Monster Creature Encyclopedia.
Bwan!
I flipped through the pages of the book floating in mid-air and opened it to the Shio-kara Magic Dragonfly entry.
Encyclopedia No. 10/251
Name: Shio-kara Magic Dragonfly
Rarity: 0
Capture Skill: None
Capture EXP: 1 (0.1 for those Level 3 or higher)
Drop Items: Magic Stone (Tiny), Appraisal Glasses (※Appraisal power mainly depends on Wisdom stat)
“Ooh…!”
So they’re called Appraisal Glasses, huh.
Come to think of it, when I caught dragonfly-type insects, the drop item field sometimes said “???”.
That must have been referring to this item.
“Dragonfly glasses, huh…”
If its effectiveness depends on the Wisdom stat, maybe I’ll have Shi-chan or Manamin-san try them when I see them next.
I’m sure they’ll be able to use them better than I can.
“Well, I guess I’ll try them out today.”
Wearing the glasses, I walked along the rice paddy path.
Grasshoppers jumped out one after another from the grassy patches.
‘Name: Dungeon Grasshopper’
‘Name: Dungeon Grasshopper’
‘Name: Dungeon Grasshopper’
“Hmm.”
It’s all information I already know.
Maybe only those with the 【Childlike Heart】 skill can appraise information about insects, though.
Just knowing the names of the insects I’ve caught isn’t very meaningful.
I wonder if it’s not a very useful item in this dungeon.
We’re all going to the Shinjuku Dungeon the day after tomorrow, so maybe it’ll be useful then.
“It’s a little disappointing, but well, I guess today will be business as usual.”
Still, I’ll try them out a little more.
Still wearing the glasses, I headed towards the forest path.
‘Name: Indigo Scarab Beetle’
Bwan!
‘Name: Small Sword Stag Beetle’
Bwan!
I caught the usual members.
There are no particularly new insects.
“…Maybe I’ll go check out the river area.”
Just as I thought that and stepped into the forest.
“…Hm?”
At the tip of a tree branch, ‘Name: ???’ was displayed.
“Is something there?”
I got closer and looked carefully at the branch.
“…There’s nothing there.”
No matter how much I looked, I couldn’t find any insects.
Not a trace, not a shadow.
“…Something’s strange.”
Are the glasses malfunctioning?
“I wonder if I can’t use them properly without a higher Wisdom stat…”
It’s a bit of a shock.
The ‘Name: ???’ display has been on the glasses continuously.
There’s no appraisal target at all, so what on earth is it mistaking it for?
“If there were still berries or something on it, I could understand.”
There aren’t, right?
I stared intently at the tip of the branch again.
And then.
“Hmm…?”
I felt like one of the thin twigs branching from the tip swayed unnaturally.
“Nn…?”
It really is.
It’s not just a branch.
“Ah…!”
I see.
I suddenly realized.
“…Alright.”
I slowly extended my arm and pinched the tip of the branch.
When I moved my right hand, what I thought was a branch separated from the tree…
Bwan!
Encyclopedia No. 105/251
Name: Edafushi
Rarity: ★★
Capture Skill: Presence Concealment
Capture EXP: 520
Drop Items: Magic Stone (Medium)
Description: An insect that mimics tree branches and the like. Its hiding ability is high, and ordinary people cannot even perceive it. Can be captured by someone possessing both the 【Childlike Heart】 and 【Presence Detection】 skills.
“Yes!”
A stick insect, huh.
It seems you can’t find it without the 【Childlike Heart】 and 【Presence Detection】 skills, but the Appraisal Glasses probably fulfilled the role of 【Presence Detection】.
“Nice.”
I bet even Shi-chan or Manamin-san wouldn’t have been able to find this.
I have my own strengths.
There are things that can’t be measured by stats alone.
“Shall I try it out right away?”
Using the 【Presence Concealment】 skill, I approached a butterfly flying near the river.
The butterfly flew right in front of me without a care.
It doesn’t seem to have noticed my presence.
I summoned the Monster Capture Net and swung it in one go.
Bwan!
Encyclopedia No. 90/251
Name: Fuji Swallowtail
Rarity: 0
Capture Skill: Wisdom +2 (First-time bonus)
Capture EXP: 20
Drop Items: Magic Stone (Small)