Chapter

chapter03 · 077-ep77

Episode 74: The Multiplication of Karin Yamada

【Seriously, what even IS this ojou-sama lmao】

【She simultaneously killed three bullshit, cheating cerberuses. My brain can't keep up lol】

【Four, counting Mitsuki-sama lmao】

【Mitsuki-sama's dead AGAIN lol】

【Wait, hasn't clearing floor 2 of the deep layers already broken a world record!?】

【All the TV stations are running breaking news again lmao!】

【That station that questioned the ojou-sama's innocence is stubbornly refusing to run the news. It's almost adorable now lol. Please go down with the Tiger lol】

【At this point she's definitely gonna solo the deep layers. She's insane lmao】

【The overseas explorer community is finally starting to take serious notice lol】

【Words related to the ojou-sama are invading worldwide trends lol】

【Even accounting for time zones, Japanese trending over the English-speaking world's population advantage is insane lol】

【Mitsuki-chan's bringing in overseas viewers too. The ojou-sama's name is gonna echo across the world lol】

【Her viewer growth is ridiculous lol】

【S-e-v-e-n m-i-l-l-i-o-n concurrents lmao】

【This is so absurd I'm a major landowner with multiple lmao plantations, desu wa~!】

¥50,000

Congratulations on clearing floor 2 without a scratch, desu wa!

¥50,000

For clearing floor 2 of the deep layers AND reaching seven million concurrents, desu wa, ORAAA!

¥50,000

This is so crazy I can't stop laughing lol Keep it up lol

¥50,000

Ojou-sama, you're on the breaking news again! You're halfway through the deep layers! Show us the legendary moment you blow those allegations away!

Karin's stream was in an uproar after she defeated floor 2's obnoxious boss. At first, viewers had been stunned and unnerved by her incomprehensible feat. As time passed, that turned to praise, while clips and viewers carrying news to other streams sent her concurrency skyrocketing. Expensive congratulatory superchats flew in, and everyone cheered Karin's outrageous display.

But while her stream celebrated, Black Tiger's principal members watched from their Okutama base in dejection.

"You've gotta be kidding..."

Someone let out a hoarse whisper. They could hardly be blamed. Not content with clearing floor 2 and its swarms of hypnosis bats in a ridiculous fashion, Karin Yamada had instantly disposed of that monstrous, three-headed nightmare of a boss too.

Its official name was the Separation Cerberus. Unless its heads were crushed at once, it would rampage forever. The standard strategy was to divide and restrain it using a specialist in binding or barrier magic or the highest-grade magic items, then have close-combat fighters destroy all the heads simultaneously with everything they had. It was an opponent for a team of ten or more top-class explorers. No matter how you looked at it, it could not be defeated solo.

Yet she had done precisely that, alone, in hardly any time, without a scratch. She couldn't possibly be human.

The sight was so far beyond common sense that even Black Tiger's strongest fighter, who had watched the stream relatively calmly until now, muttered, "What the hell...?"

They knew she was a monster whose strength they couldn't gauge, despite being one of the top clans themselves. They knew it... but this was too far outside their expectations. The horrifying thought crossed their minds that the wyrm and Storm Dragon she'd fought before hadn't even been useful yardsticks for her power.

At first they'd suspected a Black Tiger traitor had given Karin advance information, but that didn't come close to explaining this. Knowing Okutama Valley Dungeon's difficulty and viciousness so well, Black Tiger's members grasped how abnormal Karin truly was more accurately than her viewers. They were speechless.

"No. Not yet...!"

A heavy voice rang out, as if to rally the members. It was clan master Kuroi.

"Yes, Karin Yamada is abnormal...! But have you forgotten the monster on floor 3 of Okutama Dungeon!?"

To be honest, he'd broken into a cold sweat when she cleared the hypnosis bats and Separation Cerberus unscathed. Even so, they still had hope.

"Karin Yamada is far stronger than we imagined. I'll admit it. Passing two Solo Killers unharmed is extraordinary. But no matter how strong she is... in fact, the more abnormal her strength, the harder a solo clear of floor 3 will be. Even if she has the power to defeat the boss of floor 4 of Okutama's deep layers alone!"

"Ah! Y-yeah, that's right!"

"That thing's on floor 3! Even against Karin Yamada, a monster that troublesome...!"

"Yeah! We've still got the strongest Solo Killer on our side! It'll do the job!"

The executives, still reeling from Karin's advance, looked up at Kuroi's words. Of course. Magical creatures possessed a huge variety of traits. Karin's abnormal strength might let her force her way through an unfavorable match, but even that had limits. Let her and her foolish viewers learn what came of recklessly facing creatures with peculiar powers without any preparation.

The ultimate Solo Killer awaited on floor 3 of Okutama Dungeon.

Longing for the appearance of a monster against which individual strength meant nothing, Kuroi and the others fixed their eyes on the stream once more.

　　　　　　〇

"...? What a strange presence, desu wa."

Karin's detection skills picked it up the moment she entered floor 3: two exceedingly faint traces of mana moved side by side farther down the vast deep-layer passage. They seemed so weak she doubted they belonged in the lower layers, let alone the deep layers. She tilted her head.

Eventually, two black masses emerged from the darkness.

【? What's that?】

【Slimes? They're too dark and flat, though?】

【They look more like shadows...】

【They look weak (brutally honest)】

【My Side Effect is whispering... Going by their presence alone, they're around the weaker end of the lower layers...? Something feels off...】

【Even Side Effect bro says they're weak, not just Karin ojou-sama!】

【But why would weak monsters show up in the deep layers?】

【They're kinda creepy】

【Whatever they are, our ridiculous ojou-sama will have no problem lol】

【Karin ojou-sama smashed through hypnosis monsters and an impossible cerberus. Nothing can stop her now!】

【Let's kill them and move on, desu no!】

【Once she clears floor 3, she'll match Black Tiger's exploration record!】

Plenty of the comments were upbeat enough to seem out of place on a deep-layer stream. After Karin had passed so many unfair obstacles without a scratch, perhaps no one doubted her strength anymore.

"Hmm..."

Karin, however, stared intently at the two frail-looking monsters. Killing them immediately without incident wouldn't make for much of a stream, but she had also developed a habit of observing unfamiliar opponents first.

""—Keheh, keheheheheheheh!""

She'd watched them for only the briefest moment when the dark shadows gave eerie cries. Then—

"Eh?"

Karin's eyes widened. Both monsters had transformed in the blink of an eye into spitting images of her.

【Eh?】

【What is this!?】

【Two dark-gal Karin ojou-samas!?】

【Mimicry!?】

Chat filled with question marks at the unexpected display. And then the two creatures that had seemed so weak showed their true power.

""KUKEEEEEEEH!!""

They cried as if intoxicated by the vast strength welling up from inside them. The two dark-gal Karins tensed, gathering power, then each kicked a wall on opposite sides.

"Oh, that's bad, desu wa."

Karin leaped far backward almost on reflex. The next instant—

DOGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!

A monstrous impact. A huge stretch of the dungeon walls on floor 3 exploded. Already-spacious deep-layer passages connected with neighboring corridors, turning into an open space rivaling a boss room.

【Huh?】

【Wait, hold on】

【Huh?】

Dumbfounded comments poured in. Even Karin's most unbelievable feats paled beside the destruction on screen.

""Keheh, kukeheheheheh!""

But the silence didn't last long. The two creatures looking exactly like Karin emerged from the dust, laughing. Chat burst into near-screams.

【WHAAAAAAAAAAT!?】

【WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?】

【Those dragon-head cannon shots look TINY next to this much destruction!?】

【What's going on!?】

【Huh? Isn't this really bad?】

【Did the final boss of the abyssal layers crawl out or something!?】

【What happened to them being lower-layer weaklings!?】

¥50,000

My Side Effect is screaming... Even through a screen, there are two presences I can't measure besides the ojou-sama's own... and they both feel like HER!? This is seriously bad!?

【Side Effect bro!?】

【Two more presences like the ojou-sama's!?】

【So these things copied not just her appearance... but her power!?】

【There are MORE ojou-samas now...!?】

【WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?】

【D E S P A I R】

【T H E E N D O F T H E W O R L D】

【Wait, isn't this actually over?】

【No way... You're kidding, right?】

【Even if they can copy her, TWO at once is a lie! That's cheating!】

【Could this be another hypnosis attack!?】

Some commenters tried to escape reality, but Side Effect bro and several others had the essentials almost right.

Doppelgangers. Their official name: Double Shadows.

Their ability was perfect imitation of a target's appearance and abilities. They could copy physical prowess, trained skills, and even unique skills—an outrageous type of monster.

That said, the way to deal with them wasn't particularly difficult. A Double Shadow copied the nearest explorer. Put a detection specialist or similar noncombatant at the front for it to copy, and the other fighters could easily annihilate it.

But alone, things changed completely. The sole explorer became the obvious target, and a monster with the exact same specifications attacked them. It couldn't copy equipment or combat technique, so it wasn't an opponent of precisely equal strength. Yet Double Shadows always appeared in pairs, true to their name, covering each other's weaknesses. They posed an enormous threat even when an explorer held an edge in gear and technique. Add other monsters to the fight, and the situation became hopeless.

Karin, moreover, had a disadvantage against them.

At the Okutama base, Kuroi's people roared, "There they are!" "Karin Yamada's finished!" "Double Shadows are everywhere on floor 3!" They gleefully posted anti comments about how solo conquest had been impossible after all. Meanwhile, chat voiced its fears.

【Wait, wait, wait! That doesn't make sense!】

【Sure, the ojou-sama can break dungeon walls barehanded, but never on THAT scale!?】

【There must be a trick!】

¥10,000

But wait... Karin ojou-sama fights while making sure her dress doesn't take a hit, or probably even tear, right? So if she kicked with everything she had without that restriction... maybe it WOULD be that powerful...?

【WHAT!?】

【Wait wait wait wait!?】

【We've speculated about it plenty, but do we really have to learn the answer NOW!?】

【An ojou-sama without her Elegance restrictions is an uncontrollable nuclear missile!?】

【Hold on, if they only copy her stats, Karin ojou-sama can beat them with her crazy weapons!】

【Will she even have time to pull one out against TWO enemies with her stats...!? And she's wearing a dress that's hard to move in, even if she stops holding back...】

【They're dressed like her too, but the dresses are probably part of their bodies, so I doubt they get in their way...】

【This is why you should've changed into proper gear before coming hereeeee!】

【Wait... Is this seriously bad?】

【This is her worst crisis ever...】

【I figured she could handle any monster, but nobody said the strongest monster (the ojou-sama) would show up!】

【Wait, without her Elegance restriction, Karin ojou-sama's kicks are THAT strong...?】

【Hey, is she going to be okay!?】

【Ojou-sama, now is not the time to worry about taking damage or protecting your dress!?】

"I see... How troublesome, desu wa."

Karin understood the threat before her as well as chat, if not better. Her voice was serious.

"But fighting a shadow with the same power as oneself is a classic awakening-arc moment! Only by overcoming it can I become a more Elegant ojou-sama like Setsuna-sama!"

She ignored chat's cries and clenched her fists, gathering mana, prepared to face the monsters that had copied her abilities while still in her dress.

Then it happened.

""Kukeheheheheh! ...!? Ku... ke...?""

"Hm?"

The Double Shadows had wrapped themselves in mana at full strength to match Karin, laughing all the while. Suddenly their faces twisted in confusion and pain.

""Guh... geh...!? GUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?!?!?""

SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!

Before Karin could throw a punch, both Double Shadows burst apart with a tremendous noise. As though their bodies couldn't withstand the immense power they'd taken into themselves.

"Eh...?"

【Huh?】

Silence.

Karin had been all fired up, thinking this would be the highlight of the stream, and now she stood there blinking. Viewers were just as baffled and froze alongside her for a while.

【Um... Did they maybe fail to withstand Karin ojou-sama's power...?】

【So the copy monsters couldn't handle the ojou-sama's strength? Is that it...?】

【Th-that's something out of an anime...】

【The ojou-sama's already reenacting anime scenes in real life with her bare hands】

【Lmao (voice shaking)】

【You're joking...】

"I see."

After a good ten seconds of silence, Karin nodded in understanding.

"In other words, those wicked monsters could not withstand my Elegant soul. That must be it, desu wa!"

【S-sure...】

【F-fine, let's go with that... I'm scared...】

【Winning without fighting... the supreme art of war (eyes glazed over)】

【A true strategist (voice shaking)】

【Everything about this is too ridiculous lmao】

【Copy monster: 'Ojou-sama, copying you is suffocating me... POP! (explodes)'】

【If they couldn't withstand her power, is it possible those copy monsters weren't even reproducing the full strength of her kicks...? ...No. I shouldn't confuse everyone with baseless speculation】

Karin resumed her conquest with the same Elegant steps as ever. On the other side of the screen, Kuroi murmured in disbelief, "Double Shadows... can that even happen...?" Black Tiger's last hope, the ultimate Solo Killer, had lost to Karin Yamada's absurdity without a fight.

Black Tiger's current loss in information assets: ¥2.7 billion.

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Starting next time, updates return to the usual twice-weekly Wednesday/Sunday schedule, desu no.

If you enjoyed it, I'd be delighted if you supported the story with stars or a follow so more people can discover the ojou-sama!

(I'm a little startled but really happy to see so many of you reporting that you've bought the book, desu no! The daily updates have slowed down my replies, but I read every comment! Thank you, desu no!)