Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - Assisting the Dungeon Stream

 

“Oh, so you’re going to do a dungeon stream,” I mumbled while looking at the floating object in the dark, cave-like place.

 

“Yeah! It’s called a floating camera!” replied my childhood friend, Amana Kawagawa, who was standing next to me.

 

She had shoulder-length brown bobbed hair and distinctive curly, large eyes. She was a lively girl, and though she could be a bit sharp-tongued, we could talk about anything with each other.

 

“But you’re an adventurer, and you don’t know about this?” she teased.

 

“I’m not well-informed about those things around here.”

 

“Everyone knows about it these days.”

 

In the past, dungeons suddenly appeared all over the world. Now it had become a common occurrence, and those who delved into dungeons were called “adventurers.” However, recently, there were even “Dungeon Streamers” who broadcasted their exploration activities, becoming a new form of entertainment and gaining popularity.

 

Amana was one of those Dungeon Streamers, with a considerable number of channel subscribers, making her quite popular.

 

“Maybe I made a wrong choice in recruiting help,” she said.

 

“That’s rude,” I retorted.

 

I Hikone Hoshi and Amana Kawagawa attended different high schools. We had recently only exchanged occasional messages, but three days ago, she suddenly invited me to help with her dungeon stream. I had some free time, so I replied, and that’s how I ended up being called as an assistant for the Dungeon Stream. As Amana said, I did have the qualification of an adventurer, so it made sense.

 

“Alright, are we good to go? Let’s start the stream,” she said abruptly.

 

“Isn’t this a bit too sudden?”

 

“It’s already time.”

 

And so, Amana began the stream, operating the camera.

 

“Hey, everyone~! It’s Amana Kawagawa!”

 

“!?”

 

Suddenly, Amana’s voice became louder, and she started talking with high energy. I looked at her in surprise and bewilderment.

 

《Konnanaa》

《Konnana!》

《Konnana~!》

《Been waiting!》

《Waiting naked》

《Hey》

《Daily healing》

 

However, there were no comments to her hologram-like projection displayed from the camera. It seemed like not commenting was the standard during the stream.

 

“As announced, today I’ve called for some assistance! Here he is!”

 

“….! U-uh, hello~ It’s Hikone Hoshi.”

 

Suddenly, the camera was turned towards me, and somewhat awkwardly, I bowed and appeared in the frame.

 

《Hoshi-kun, huh~》

《The real childhood friend》

《Assistant, huh》

《Nice to meet you~》

《Kinda cute》

《Are you nervous? Lol》

《Is your energy level low?》

 

Oh, the comments started about me already. But in this case, it wasn’t that I had low energy; it was just that Amana had…

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“Well, you suddenly raised your voice…”

 

“It’s a stream! I have to raise my energy, right?”

 

《Haha, lol》

《Starting off with a bang, that’s hilarious》

《Is Star-kun naturally like this? Lol》

《That’s his childhood friend》

《Seems like they get along well》

《It’s getting interesting》

《Was worried about the collaboration, but it’s good》

 

I guess I shouldn’t say things I shouldn’t.

 

“Ahem. Let’s refocus,” Amana said, stretching her arms wide.

 

“Today, we’re diving into a dungeon that was recently discovered!”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. It was found just two weeks ago. And it was made open to the public only yesterday.”

 

“You didn’t tell me.”

 

《He didn’t even tell Hoshi-kun, lol》

《He’s the same in real life as in the stream, huh》

《Living on momentum》

《No change, even in real life, huh》

 

Seems like things don’t change even in this kind of streaming.

 

“So, what’s the rank of this dungeon?”

 

Dungeons are categorized by difficulty levels called “Ranks.” There are seven ranks from F to S, and the higher the rank, the harder it becomes. The rank is determined by specialized agencies before it’s open to the public.

 

With a smirk on her face, Amana answered my question.

 

“Listen and be amazed! This is an S-rank dungeon!” Amana exclaimed.

 

“Huh?” I responded.

 

《Huh?》

《Eh》

《Oh no》

《Seriously?》

《Are you okay?》

《This is the end》

 

“But don’t worry! Only F-rank monsters appear on the upper levels!” she reassured.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s right.”

“S-rank or not, the top levels are questionable.”

“As long as we don’t go too deep, we’ll be fine.”

 

For a moment, I was surprised, but the comments in the chat seemed to agree with Amana. That provided some relief. Perhaps her earlier comments were meant to be lighthearted, and she knew that.

 

Still, I had lingering questions. “Why come all the way here?”

 

“Come on! It’s obvious, to create buzz! Going to a familiar place wouldn’t be as exciting,” Amana replied.

 

“I see. Dungeon streamers have it tough,” I commented.

 

“Don’t say that!”

《Lol》

《Explaining everything, huh?》

《Hilarious》

《Hoshi-kun is really naive, huh? Lol》

《Maybe just ignorant? Lol》

 

“Well, anyway, we’re going forward!” Amana declared.

 

“Wait, that’s not the planned route,” I warned.

 

“Streamer’s instinct is telling me this way!”

 

“Uh, okay then,” I conceded.

 

I remembered that Amana wasn’t fond of dark places, but she came to this dungeon for the sake of content and invited me along. She was doing her best in her own way. Then, I noticed a comment in the chat.

 

《Hoshi-san, what rank are you as an adventurer?》

 

Adventurers also have ranks, just like dungeons. I honestly replied, “I’m F-rank.”

 

“Really?”

“Seriously?”

“A complete beginner among beginners.”

“Are you okay?”

“Getting an F-rank is as easy as getting a driver’s license.”

“I’m lower than Amana-chan?”

 

“I’ve only explored one dungeon so far,” I explained.

 

“Wow.”

“Are you alright?”

“Getting nervous?”

“Are you not even an escort?”

 

Anxious comments filled the chat. Maybe I should have lied, but then again…

 

Fortunately, Amana intervened, saying, “Don’t worry, everyone! I’m here!”

 

“Even more worried now.”

“No reassurance at all.”

“Oh no.”

 

“What do you all think of me?” Amana scolded.

 

“Sorry, sorry.”

“It was a joke.”

“Aww.”

“Got scolded.”

 

“Oh well~” Amana said.

 

It seemed like she steered the comments towards herself. Maybe she defended me? She seemed quite savvy with these things.

 

“Anyway! Let’s move on!” she announced cheerfully.

 

As we continued our exploration, Amana defeated the monsters, and I applauded from behind, just as the chat had suggested. As they mentioned, the upper levels were populated with weak monsters.

 

《Haha, laugh at this!》

《The applause guy.》

《The hype guy.》

《Hoshi, you should fight too. Lol》

《Nah, don’t push yourself as an F-rank. Lol》

《It’s fine as long as Amana-chan shines and fans are happy.》

 

The chat was in agreement. I didn’t need to stand out; it was best if Amana was doing well and her fans were enjoying it.

 

“Alright, let’s go this way!” Amana decided to deviate from the planned route.

 

“Wait, that’s not the way,” I warned again.

 

“Streamer’s instinct is telling me this way!”

 

“Uh, alright,” I agreed reluctantly.

 

However, this decision turned out to be a mistake.

 

A little further ahead…

 

“It’s even darker here─ahh!”

 

“!?”

We stepped on something, and the surroundings started to faintly glow.

 

《Uh-oh!》

《It’s a trap, right?》

《It’s glowing!》

《Is it a teleportation trap?》

《Run!》

 

“What is this!?”

“Amana!”

 

But it seemed like Amana’s feet were stuck, and she couldn’t move away from the spot.

 

Does that mean once you step on it, there’s no escape!?

 

“……!”

And then, we were engulfed by the growing brightness, disappearing into somewhere else.

 

“Hmm?”

The light around us faded, and I finally opened my eyes.

 

At the same time, I heard Amana gasping in disbelief.

 

“N-No way…!”

Holding her face with both hands, she trembled all over.

 

In her line of sight…

 

“──Gyaaaaaaah!!”

A large wyvern with green wings glared at us, flapping them menacingly.

 

《Wyvern?!》

《Did we teleport from the trap earlier?!》

《This is bad!!》

《Didn’t Wyverns recently force an S-rank party to retreat?》

《What do we do now…》

《Run!》

 

“──Gyaaaaaaah!!”

“!!”

The wyvern roared loudly once again.

 

At the same time, its tail swung, aiming for Amana.

 

I pushed her away, taking the hit from the tail in her place.