Chapter 11: Encountering a Twin-Tails on <C-Guild Street>. <Wappen Seal Sticker>.
After parting ways with the nameless princess, I headed off for some shopping, just like I’d planned.
I arrived at <C-Guild Street>, one of the main streets where guild bases are clustered.
It's commonly known as C-Street.
Guilds are ranked based on strength and dungeon achievements, and this street is where all the C-Rank guild bases are gathered.
All guilds start at F-Rank, but once they reach C-Rank, the school gives them a bigger base as a perk, and they’re allowed to open shops.
Here on C-Street, they sell all kinds of items, materials, resources, and crafted goods brought back from dungeons by C-Rank guild members.
Any student is free to shop here.
I had a bunch of reasons for coming, but the main ones were market research and networking.
Yesterday, I sold everything to the <GPA>, but they only buy stuff at the lowest possible price, so I'd prefer to avoid them.
This time, the goal was to find guilds willing to pay higher prices.
And yeah, such guilds do exist.
See, when something’s bought by the <GPA>, it gets listed in the school shop at retail price—usually about 5 times what they paid for it. Insane markup.
So for guilds, it’s cheaper to buy directly from students than from the store at full price. That’s why many guilds are open to buying stuff themselves.
That said, unlike the <GPA>, they don’t just buy anything.
If they don’t need it, they won’t buy it. On the flip side, if they really need something, they’ll jack up the buy price to get it.
It’s kind of like an MMO in that way.
So if you build good relationships with lots of guilds, you can learn what each one wants and doesn’t want—and get tips from them, too.
That kind of info is super valuable in <DanKatsu>, where you’re limited in how much you can carry out of a dungeon.
Since inventory space is tight, you gotta prioritize high-value loot. It’s a necessary skill.
There’s a ridiculous variety of drops in <DanKatsu>... and remembering them all was tough. But I got used to it. Both the <DanKatsu> database and my brain are loaded with every item name.
With a notepad in hand, I wandered down C-Street, jotting down all the buy info I could find.
Most shops had their wanted-item lists posted out front, so I checked them and took notes.
Hmm, hmm...
"Looks like the prices for loot from Beginner-level dungeons are spiking. Makes sense—second-years probably haven’t touched that place in a while, and not many would bother going back to a low-level dungeon just to gather stuff. Plus, now that first-years are about to start diving in, it’s quicker to buy directly from them."
Looks like a perfect time to cash in.
The dungeon we’re about to dive into should have no trouble finding buyers for its loot.
But this trend won’t last forever. Once the supply increases, prices will drop naturally.
Glad I kicked off my starter dash early.
Because I got my dungeon license fast, right now, we’re probably the only ones going into the Beginner-level dungeon.
First-years haven’t cleared the <Beginner Dungeon> yet, and upperclassmen won’t bother going to lowbie dungeons anymore. In other words, we’ve got it all to ourselves.
"Alright, let’s grab Hanna and get into the dungeon!"
Networking can wait. For now, I need to focus on earning those Meals.
Just as I turned to leave, someone stepped into my path.
"Hey, hey, mind tellin' me more about what you just said? You plannin’ on diving into a Beginner Dungeon, mister?"
A girl student, who apparently overheard my muttering, called out to me.
She had a thick, distinct accent and was about the same size as Hanna.
Judging by the green embroidery on her skirt, she was a second-year, though she didn’t look it at all.
The likely reason? Her light brown twin-tails that ramped up her loli vibes to max.
Something about it felt borderline sketchy, so I instinctively scanned the area. Damn, there’s a guard standing at the corner!
"Are you lost, little one? Where are your parents?"
"Hold it."
I tried to play the harmless good guy, but she clapped back with a sharp voice. She was not joking.
"Fufufu, you’re funny, mister. Name’s Marie. I’m with that C-Rank guild over there—<Wappen Seal Sticker>. Got a little business to discuss. Mind hearin’ me out for just a bit?"
She pointed toward a flashy store plastered with all kinds of logos and character art. Judging by the name, it was probably a production-focused guild. Maybe.
Marie-senpai (hard to believe she’s older than me) seemed to want a favor after hearing I was diving into a Beginner low-tier dungeon.
Makes sense now.
Since earlier, she hasn't been calling me 【Hero】, so this probably isn’t a guild recruitment attempt.
Which means… this must be a <Delivery Quest>.
In <DanKatsu>, there were occasional sudden quests like "Deliver items that are in short supply."
Clearing one would earn you a reward. If the quest came from a combat guild, you'd usually get Meals, and if it was from a production guild, you'd usually get crafted goods as rewards.
The higher the rank of the requesting guild, the better the reward tended to be.
But with production guilds, the rewards would vary based on what they specialized in, so you had to be careful. If the reward seemed weird, it was best to skip the quest.
In this case, though, it’s a quest from a C-rank guild, and it's probably about delivering materials from a Beginner low-tier dungeon. That’s a pretty sweet deal.
If the reward is something produced by a C-rank guild, it’s guaranteed to be either strong gear or useful items—definitely valuable to someone at my current level. Plus, if I can take care of it while exploring a dungeon I was going to anyway, that’s even better.
So, there’s no harm in at least hearing them out.
"Alright. I’ll hear you out, for now."
"You’re a good one, mister. Then come with me~"
Marie-senpai beamed with a childlike smile and walked into the shop. I followed behind.
Man, those twin tails are impressive.
"Okay, here’s the list of materials we need you to gather."
And with that, I took the note Marie-senpai handed me.
After entering the guild building for <Wappen Seal Sticker>, I met a few of the members. Then Marie-senpai handed me this note with everything summarized.
Just as I expected, it’s a delivery quest.
I’m relieved it didn’t turn out to be a trap with a bunch of muscle warriors trying to sell me overpriced paintings on installment plans. Not that <DanKatsu> has loans or anything.
Looking at the memo… yep, all Beginner low-tier dungeon materials. But still…
"That's quite a lot… And from three different Beginner low-tier dungeons?"
"Wow. You're a first-year, right? Just joined, haven’t even dived into a Beginner low-tier (Shocker) dungeon yet, but you're already this well-informed? I wish my guildmates were like that~"
She seemed impressed that I figured out which dungeon each material came from at a glance.
By the way, <Shocker> is the nickname for Beginner low-tier dungeons.
There’s also <Shotchu> for Beginner mid-tier and <Shokko> for Beginner High-tier, named with a rising sense of difficulty.
Still, I never told her I hadn’t entered a <Shocker> dungeon yet. How’d she know?
"Fufufu, you look confused? It’s simple—Mister, you’re the talk of the town, the first-year 【Hero】, right? Word’s already out that you cleared the <Beginner Dungeon> faster than anyone yesterday."
"Seriously?"
"Oohh, totally seriously~"
Not sure where it leaked from, but rumors sure spread fast!
Ugh… being famous is tough. Heh, guess I'd better get used to it.
"You look kinda happy. I bet you're gonna be a big shot, mister."
Oops, I guess it showed on my face. I sipped the tea she offered to cool myself off.
"Anyway, about the requested items—got it. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble with them."
"Right? Normally, figuring out where each material comes from is a hassle, but you already know it all. You're saving us so much time!"
According to Marie-senpai, lots of people take on these quests without knowing where to get the materials or what they even are—and end up failing.
Just being able to recognize the materials by name is enough to earn trust.
Makes sense. Unlike most games, <DanKatsu> has a ridiculous number of item drops.
One monster dropping 10 or 20 different items is totally normal. If you don’t research which monsters drop what, it turns into a huge pain.
Getting lost and not finding anything is par for the course in <DanKatsu>.
"Alright, next is—"
"I know, I know—the reward! Here it is!"
When I looked at her for confirmation, Marie-senpai proudly whipped it out like she'd been waiting for this moment.
"Ten free-use tickets for <Wappen Seal Sticker>! How ‘bout that?!"
Usage rights—basically, free coupons. Marie-senpai flashed ten of them with a smug look on her face.
"I see."
"Fufufu, this is something the mister 【Hero】 is absolutely gonna need in the future, right?"
"For sure!"
This place, called the <Wappen Seal Sticker>, is a production guild.
So, what’s their specialty? They're a <Design Paint Customization Shop> for equipment. In other words—coordinating outfits.
This happens in other games too: the stats on a piece of gear might be great, but the color or design is just not your style. That kind of thing is super common.
Whether you prioritize performance or looks, there are very few items that manage to deliver both—like the <Sky Series>.
That’s where the <Design Paint Customization Shop> comes in. It’s a production store that includes jobs like 【Colorist】, 【Accessory Engineer】, and 【Stylist】.
Just like the name suggests, it’s a place where you can customize the appearance of your gear to your liking without changing its stats. And this is really important.
Nobody wants to wear ugly gear—especially not in real life.
With this shop, you can perfectly coordinate even a mismatched jumble of equipment that isn’t part of a matching set. That shows just how crucial it is.
In this Dungeon Academy, everyone’s clothing is fixed to the school uniform, but your equipment is totally up to you.
So if you want to enjoy fashion, this <Design Paint Customization Shop> is a must.
Well, that said, even though you can customize things, you can’t make it so different that you can’t tell what the original gear was. Still, just changing the colors, designs, or adding patches can totally change the impression the gear gives off.
Now that I’ve earned the 【Hero】 title and everyone’s attention is on me, this is definitely going to be a necessary expense going forward. No doubt about it.
It’s not something that directly boosts my current combat ability, but looking ahead, it’s a good investment.
Customizing your gear can cost a ton of Meal. Considering that, being able to do it ten times for free makes this a pretty sweet quest.
But seriously, Marie-senpai—she’s got a cute face but a pretty cunning mind, huh?
She made sure not to let her connection with me (the Hero) end here, restocked the materials she needed, and used a celebrity (me) as a walking advertisement for her guild. It’s a win-win-win strategy.
She’s really smart.
I definitely want to stay on good terms with her.
『Quest Accepted: <Deliver Materials in High Demand>』
I accepted the request without a second thought.
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