chapter02 · 033-ep29

Episode 29: The D-Rank Dungeon Conquest Begins

Sunday, 10 AM — I passed through the Chikusa dungeon's gate.

The drone was still in my bag, powered off.

Down on Floor 1, I turned into an empty side passage and pushed all the way to its dead end. A check over my shoulder: nobody there.

Good. Breathe in.

"—No inscription, no meaning — cut, Nameless."

Space split, and black particles swirled. A bare-bladed katana settled into my hand.

Summon it before the stream, and nobody hears the chant. Exactly the plan I'd come up with Monday. Prep: complete.

I took the drone out and powered it on; with its low hum it lifted and stopped at my diagonal front. The lens ring glowed black.

Opened the app, pressed Start Stream.

Viewer count: zero.

Wait — zero? Last week I had four hundred; one week later, they've ALL gotten bored of me? It's only my second stream!

For a moment, my heart genuinely stopped. Then the next instant, the number leapt — 12, 40, 80. Thirty seconds in, it broke 130.

"Ohh?"

The ramp is nothing like last week. Apparently this many people left their notifications on. Don't DO that to me.

"Uh, hello. Dungeon Strolls here."

『Been waiting』

『He's here』

『Last week's guy』

『Hm?』

Fast. They caught on already.

『Uh, isn't the backdrop different?』

『This isn't Mizuho』

『That's Chikusa, isn't it』

"Ah — busted, huh. Yes. This is Chikusa."

I turned toward the camera.

"So — sudden announcement. The project is changing."

『What』

"E-rank, 100 floors — canceled!"

『Whaaat』

『We're only on Floor 25』

『Isn't that a bit fast?』

"The efficiency was bad."

No lying needed on this one — easy street.

"The upper floors of an E-rank only spawn trash. My level barely moves at all."

『Fair』

『Farming below your level is pointless』

『So — switching to D-rank means』

"Yes. Same idea, but D-rank Chikusa. I'm thinking 150 floors."

『A HUNDRED FIFTY?!』

『Ditching E-rank for D-rank 150 — is he sane?』

『The difficulty just went UP, you know』

I know. Because I know, could everyone please stop saying it in chorus.

『Also, what's that in his hand?』

Here it comes. Sooner than I expected, but I knew it would come.

"Oh, this?"

I raised the katana a little. Even under the drone's light, the black blade didn't shine.

『It's pitch black』

『It's not reflecting light?』

『What's the material』

"It's a skill."

『A skill?』

"I have a skill that brings weapons out. This is one of those."

『Weapon-summon type』

『Those are rare』

『Can't be ten people in the country with it』

There's someone saying word for word what Fujidou said. Everyone who digs into it ends up at the same place, huh.

『Where does it come out from?』

"No idea."

『'No idea'?!』

"I call, and it comes out. Really."

Not a single lie in there. I truly have no idea. "The void" is the only word for it — and what that void actually is, only me-from-back-then knows.

『Does it have a name?』

This answer was pre-decided too.

"Nope."

『Huh?』

『No name.』

"Never gave it one."

『Why not?』

"Who knowwws."

Like I could ever say. Me-from-back-then forgot to pick a name, and three whole years went by.

『A nameless katana, huh』

『That's actually kind of cool』

『It works in its favor, honestly』

Hey — stop saying the right answer! Stop saying exactly what Yamabuki said!

Within five minutes of walking, an orc.

『Here it comes』

『An orc』

『The standard Floor 1 spawn for D-rank』

Half-step back as the orc heaved its club up; on the return, cut.

Sand.

『Huh?』

『One hit?』

『One-shotting an orc is not normal, man』

Wait, it's not?

"Well — it IS a skill weapon."

『And that explains it?』

『It does not.』

"...It does not."

But from there on, things went smoothly.

Floor 3 brought Orc Soldiers, and slotted into the armor seams, the blade went through without resistance.

『It went through the armor』

『He's targeting the seams』

『That last call was fast』

『That's not how a beginner moves』

The content of the comments had shifted from last week.

Last week was "fast" and "amazing." This week it's "what was he aiming at" and "why that call." Knowledgeable people are mixed in here. No careless talk allowed.

Floor 7, Floor 10 — and the viewer count passed 500.

『It's over 500』

『Double last week』

『It was going around on the boards』

The boards.

Just seeing that word put a little cold in my spine. I haven't looked. I'm making a point of not looking. If I ever went to a place like that, I don't think I'd recover.

Floor 12.

Something different stood at the end of the passage.

A size bigger than an orc, an axe in its hand, and a metal plate lashed across its shoulder.

『Orc Captain』

『The Floor 12 boss spawn』

『This one's a bit hard』

A boss spawn!

The exam wrapped at Floor 3, so this is my first time seeing one. Uh-oh — I'm getting a little excited.

The axe came down. Sidestepping, its wind pressure grazed my cheek.

Fast. Not even comparable to an Orc Soldier.

Into its guard — katana in.

It went. ...Shallow, though.

The blade skated off the metal plate.

Whoa — not going through AT ALL.

The axe came back around, and backpedaling, I re-gripped the katana.

Ah. I may have been underestimating this.

D-rank, 150 floors. Yeah — I said that pretty casually just now, didn't I.