arc1 · 001-ch1

I Got the Rare Job "Drone Pilot" That's Useless in Battle, but After Doing Streaming and Transportation Work, I Somehow Ended Up with the Strongest Fleet

Momopapa

Chapter 1: The Streaming Arc

Episode 1: The Hikikomori Game Otaku

"That makes 177 consecutive wins. I'm getting tired of this game too."

My name is Soramine Sota. I'm technically a second-year university student. Currently, I'm a certified hikikomori. The cause is clear—it all started when I got "Drone Pilot" as my job awakening a year ago.

Twenty years have passed since dungeons appeared on Earth. At first, people were in an uproar over the monsters inside them, but once it was discovered that monsters couldn't leave the dungeons and that resources impossible to obtain on Earth were hidden within them, dungeon exploration became a national priority.

However, for some reason, conventional firearms from the surface don't work on dungeon monsters. You can only damage them with weapons obtained inside dungeons or through skills and magic used by awakened individuals. As a result, the status of awakened individuals rose, and correspondingly, the treatment of unawakened people grew increasingly harsh.

The job awakening rate is about fifty percent—not particularly high. That's why when I awakened to a job, I was overjoyed. But that joy quickly turned to disappointment. Because the Drone Pilot ability was "manipulate drones at will"—absolutely useless in combat.

Being able to manipulate drones at will? You don't even need a job for that. Especially now with AI being so advanced, almost all dungeon streamers use AI-equipped drones. They're a bit pricey, but they'll capture decent footage without you lifting a finger.

That's right—I don't need to manually operate them at all.

Thinking this kind of job would definitely get me laughed at, I hid the fact that I'd awakened and pretended to be unawakened. That was a mistake. At the university I'd finally gotten into, awakened students strutted around like they owned the place while unawakened ones huddled in the corners.

I've been shy and unable to hold a proper conversation in front of people since I was little, so becoming a hikikomori in that kind of situation was only natural. Oh, being a quarter British and Japanese might have something to do with it too. I look a little more Western than typical Japanese people.

I dove into the hikikomori lifestyle within a month of enrolling, and now past the halfway point of my second year, I've been doing nothing but gaming. At least my gaming skills have reached a professional level thanks to that.

Because of my shut-in lifestyle, I've caused my mother to worry, and I've made my little sister Umi suffer too. Fortunately, society is becoming more understanding of hikikomori, so for now they're patiently waiting for me to come back to the world.

By the way, my dad's not in the picture. Apparently, he was the type of father who chose career advancement over his family. He abandoned us and chose work. Mom was already pregnant with my sister at that time, so after Umi was born, she raised us single-handedly up to this point.

I know I'm causing trouble for Mom like this. But once you become a hikikomori, it's hard to pull yourself out. I don't really understand why, but I just can't take that first step. To distract myself from that inner conflict, I dive back into the online world. A vicious cycle.

One day while continuing that lifestyle, something happened. Mom, who always brought dinner to my room at eight o'clock, didn't come today of all days. Thinking she was just a bit late, I watched a dungeon stream, but after waiting an hour with no sign of her, I knew something was wrong. Even straining my ears, I couldn't hear a sound. For reference, my sister Umi should already be asleep.

Thinking this was definitely strange, I left my room. Quietly descending the stairs so as not to wake Umi, I opened the door to the living room and found Mom collapsed in the kitchen.

"Mom!?"

I rushed over in a panic, but I had no idea what to do.

"Mom! Stay with me, Mom!"

Even calling out loudly, she didn't move a muscle.

"Right—an ambulance!?"

That's when I finally remembered ambulances existed. On my way out of the living room and up the stairs, I banged my shin on something, but that was the least of my concerns. Dragging my aching leg, I grabbed my cell phone from my room and called for an ambulance. My fingers were trembling so badly I kept misdialing.

"This is 119. Is it a fire? Or medical emergency?"

A young woman's voice came through the phone.

"M-medical emergency. M-M-Mom is—!"

I can talk tough in chats, but when it actually comes to speaking out loud, I get so nervous I can barely talk.

"Please calm down. First, tell me your address and what's happening."

I gave the woman who I assumed was the operator our address and explained that Mom had collapsed. For the first time, I learned that even I, who normally can't speak properly, could manage somehow when my mother's life was at stake.

Following the operator's instructions, I went back to the kitchen to check on Mom's condition. Maybe because I'd been in such a panic before, I'd missed it, but Mom's chest area was faintly rising and falling. Her heart was beating, and she seemed to be breathing.

There were no visible injuries, and her throat wasn't blocked. Following the operator's instructions again, I turned her onto her side, then waited for the ambulance. I learned later that this position is called the recovery position.

After waiting a few minutes, I heard the sound of ambulance sirens. The sirens, usually heard from a distance, were gradually getting closer. I went outside to guide the ambulance.

"O-over here!"

Seeing the red lights, I waved my arms to flag down the ambulance. It stopped right in front of our house immediately, and two paramedics got out.

"Where's the patient?"

I led the paramedics to the kitchen. Umi had come downstairs from the second floor, probably woken up by the sirens. Seeing the paramedics, she froze in confusion. I explained the situation to my sister, took her hand, and headed to the kitchen.

When we got to the kitchen, one paramedic checked on Mom's condition while the other went to get a stretcher. I could only watch, praying for Mom's safety. The grip of Umi's hand on mine tightened.

The paramedics worked together to lift Mom onto the stretcher and carried her to the ambulance. We rode along with them to the hospital.