chapter01 · 010-ep10

Episode 10: An Outrageous Upper-Layer Conquest

"Huh? The comments have stopped moving?"

Just after turning the wolf-shaped monster into a wall stain with her lightning-fast fist, Karin glanced at her phone and tilted her head.

"Is my stream still connected, desu no...?"

Worried, she tapped her phone a few times. (The phone was strapped to the arm holding her teacup, but even then the tea didn't so much as ripple.)

Right afterward, comments began pouring in as if a dam had burst.

【H-hold on just a moment!?】

【What did you just do, desu no!?】

【The hellhound vanished out of nowhere!?】

【Was that a shock wave!?】

【Is it some kind of skill!?】

【What on earth did you do, desu no!?】

"Eh? I merely punched it, desu wa."

Relieved that chat was back, Karin was a little taken aback by the intensity of the comments. More hellhounds came rushing toward her with a chorus of "GRRRRROOOOOO!"

"See? Like this."

Karin lightly closed her fist.

In an instant—DOPAPAPAPAPAPAAAN!!!

The hellhounds approaching her vanished almost at once.

One new stain after another appeared on the wall, yet the tea in Karin's hand, as she kept walking, remained perfectly still. At the otherworldly sight, chat finally descended into total chaos.

【What the hell is happening!?】

【The wolf pack disappears as soon as it gets near her and more stains appear on the wall instead!?】

【There's a whole series of noises like bombs going off!?】

【It's not just the wolves—hasn't one of Karin ojou-sama's hands been disappearing too!?】

【Oh!? Is she actually PUNCHING all those monsters away!?】

【Her arm's moving too fast to show up on camera!?】

【Lmao WHAT】

【You say you're punching them, so why isn't your tea spilling? The surface isn't even moving, desu no!?】

【If we take Karin ojou-sama at her word, she's punching hard enough to turn wolves into wall stains, yes!?】

【What about the recoil? The RECOIL!】

【The laws of physics have been disrupted!】

"Eh? I am not doing anything unusual, desu wa. What was it called again—that skill which reverses the recoil of an attack and drives it into the enemy, too... Ah, the name has slipped my mind."

【You're so casual about it lol】

【Ojou-sama!? As an explorer, please at least remember your own skills!】

【Do you mean <Recoil-Free Cannon>?】

"Ah, yes, precisely that, desu wa! The skill is called <Recoil-Free Cannon>, desu no!"

【Yes, that can lessen the recoil of a melee attack, but...】

【No recoil at all, down to not disturbing the surface of the tea by even one millimeter!?】

【That's not the <Recoil-Free Cannon> I know!?】

【What level IS that skill!?】

【Does <Recoil-Free Cannon> do this when you max out its level!?】

【If her punches can send Lord Vomit flying AND pack in all the recoil, of course upper-layer monsters won't stand a chance...】

【Not even leaving chunks of meat behind is terrifying】

Amazed comments raced past at Karin's unconsciously abnormal abilities.

(People on the internet really do have such good reactions, desu wa. I see this on other people's streams sometimes too. I'm so grateful they make the video more exciting with these exaggerated responses.)

But Karin took it as the usual online enthusiasm.

(How lovely! I must do my best to give them something worthy of it!) Her spirits rose even higher.

【U-um... just to check, is this what you call an Elegant dungeon conquest, Karin-sama...?】

"Naturally, desu wa!"

Karin nodded emphatically at the comment that caught her eye.

"Clad in a dress, enjoying my tea, and vanquishing my opponents without permitting them to land a single blow... That is the Elegant dungeon conquest I learned from Setsuna-sama of 'Dungeon Alive,' desu wa!"

As though her warm-up were over, she began tearing through the dungeon at an even greater speed, scattering the approaching monsters while sipping tea.

【No way this girl is real lmfao】

【She really is drinking tea WHILE running a dungeon!?】

【How does any of this work lmao】

【Take away the dungeon background and she looks as relaxed as a rich ojou-sama out for a stroll with her tea lmao】

【Her expression, sure, but that's no strolling speed lol】

【I don't care if it's the upper layers, this is impossible!?】

【Oh no lmao I'm at work and laughing out loud in the office. WHAT is this lol】

【Fake-video makers, take notes lol Reality's way crazier than your videos】

【As a fake-video maker, I have to say, if I made something like this it'd be called fake instantly and get zero views!】

【For the first time, I find myself agreeing with the scum who make fake videos】

【That hard-to-move-in dress, all that extra surface area, and not a SINGLE hit even brushes it lmao】

【Oh, Dungeon Alive got a live-action adaptation? (dead-eyed)】

【Came late thinking the upper layers wouldn't have much to see and got shown THIS...】

【Late ojou-sama is trembling, lmao】

【I just arrived, and I believe this is a different "elegance" from the one I know!?】

【What are you saying? This massacre is exactly what Karin ojou-sama means by 'Elegance.'】

【W-well, 'elegant' and 'Elegant' ARE different things...】

【'Elegant' ← At this point that's a Karin ojou-sama term lol】

【Lmao】

As more viewers joined the live stream, comments kept pouring in at the spectacle of Karin's incredible run.

(S-so many comments on my dungeon stream...!)

Karin occasionally glanced at chat and couldn't help trembling at the excitement, though only minutes had passed since she began. It made her former void of eternal zero comments and zero concurrents seem like a lie.

But at the same time—

【No way... I thought that anime tribute was a cover for her unique skill or just a character act, but is she seriously trying to recreate Setsuna-sama!?】

【To put it mildly, she's bonkers, desu no...】

(For all the excitement, they don't really seem to think this is 'Elegant'...)

The concept of her channel was, after all, "Elegant Dungeon Conquest."

Having more subscribers was good, but if they signed up without seeing it as 'Elegant,' that would eventually clash with the kind of streams Karin wanted to show them. Subscribers would leave; chat might turn ugly. It concerned her a little that the concept wasn't getting across.

She thought the run was going pretty much as she'd envisioned it... so why didn't they see it as Elegant?

(Ah! Of course, desu wa!)

Then it occurred to her.

(I haven't been dodging at all, desu no! I suppose just punching everything isn't Elegant enough. At a time like this—oh, what perfect timing!)

She looked toward the presence drawing closer from down the corridor.

"""GRRRRROOOOOOO!"""

What approached was another wolf pack, like the ones before.

This time, though, things were different.

"GRRRRROOOOOO!"

One particularly large hellhound was leading a pack of more than ten.

Some even had armed goblins riding on their backs, and their teamwork was sophisticated.

Using the dungeon's wide corridor, they fell on Karin from every direction.

But—

"I've punched a little too much, and my hand is tired, so I shall take a break, desu wa."

"""Grr!?"""

They couldn't hit her.

Karin dodged every attack that came from all sides.

Naturally, she spilled none of her tea while doing so.

Despite this preposterous feat, the monsters couldn't so much as touch a fluttering hem of her dress.

【Fwaa lmao】

【Seriously, what the hell is this lol】

【Karin ojou-sama's moving so fast it's like watching a ballroom dance video at double speed!?】

【The goblins and hellhounds are confused too lmao】

【We're still confused about how she's not spilling the tea...】

【Even if they're upper-layer monsters, how is a coordinated hellhound attack not even brushing that dress!?】

【Then what was all that trouble I went through the first time I faced a coordinated attack...?】

"Um, everyone, what do you think? This is Elegant, is it not??"

【Why are you staring at chat while monsters attack you from every direction!?】

【Don't tell me you jumped into that pack ON PURPOSE after saying your hand was tired!?】

【Forget texting while walking, this is on another level!?】

【Okay, okay! It's Elegant!】

【Very Elegant indeed! (desperate)】

【It's Elegant, so please concentrate!? Watching this is terrifying!】

【How ARE you dodging all their attacks while staring at your phone!?】

【You just dodged an attack from directly behind you like it was nothing!?】

【Have you maxed out a detection skill too!?】

(Ah, so dodging was important after all.)

She had a feeling she might have forced them into saying it, so she'd have to consider that... Still, Karin was satisfied they thought her at least a little more Elegant.

Mixing in dodges as she went, she burst through the upper layers, which were only the opening act.

"Phew, the upper layers are conquered, desu wa!"

Karin paused before the great hole leading to the middle layers.

Not that her breathing was in the least disturbed. There wasn't a drop of sweat on her skin.

Naturally, her dress was undamaged, and apart from what she'd occasionally drunk, she hadn't spilled a single drop of tea.

"The tea run did take a little longer than usual today... but how did you all find it, desu wa? I hope you weren't bored?"

Karin checked her completion time. She feared she might have focused too hard on making the run look Elegant and slowed the video's pacing, and so she asked the viewers on the other side of the screen.

【Like I had TIME to be bored!】

【No, that time's way too fast lmao】

【Didn't you finish nearly twice as fast as veteran streamers...?】

【How are you moving at time-attack speed with a ridiculous strategy like that...?】

【How did you even FINISH at all!?】

【Forget keeping the dress untouched—even walking a normal road without spilling tea is impossible, desu wa!?】

【I was stunned at first, but I couldn't look away... This IS Elegant】

"...! Then I am glad, desu wa. Now I'll refill my cup from the thermos, since I've just finished it, and... After a sip, I'll head on to the middle layers—BWOOFH!?"

【Whoa, that's gross, desu wa!?】

【Why'd you suddenly spit out your tea!?】

【I was finally thinking you really were Elegant, and now you've ruined it!】

Chat erupted in retorts at the unladylike sight of Karin suddenly spraying tea everywhere.

But Karin didn't notice the comments.

"S-seventy thousand concurrents, desu no...!?"

She'd been so focused on chat that she'd overlooked her viewer count. It had reached a staggering number. Yesterday's chatting stream had peaked at fifty thousand. She'd comfortably surpassed that, though she had only cleared the upper layers.

She'd assumed interest would fall off a little with time having passed since the Kagerou incident... but she forgot she'd sprayed her tea as she stared at the unexpected number.

【Whoa, you're right!? Congrats!】

【We were too stunned to notice it ourselves!?】

【A celebration for passing seventy thousand!】

【Even right after going viral, this is crazy for an upper-layer stream】

【Well, show people THAT footage and of course...】

【If anything, seventy thousand is too FEW】

【Clips everywhere lmao】

【A post saying there's a crazy ojou-sama clearing the upper layers without taking damage while drinking tea went viral. Is this the stream...?】

【Here from a clip. Isn't this a fake pretending to be a live stream!?】

【A newcomer, I see. Terrifyingly, this is a real live stream...】

【This is so unbelievable "Tea RTA," "Dungeon Ball," AND "Fake Video" are all trending lmao】

Apparently footage of her upper-layer run was being shared everywhere, and even past seventy thousand the audience kept growing.

Thanks to all the clips, she was trending again on social media. New comments from people who appeared to have followed them were arriving in droves.

"...! Thank you all so very much for sharing the stream, desu wa. And now, with the lower layers as our goal, we shall conquer the middle layers first, desu no!"

Her viewers had helped bring in even more viewers, and their congratulatory comments almost moved Karin to tears. Quietly deciding the commotion over passing seventy thousand meant her tea-spitting incident hadn't happened at all, she leaped down into the middle layers.