Chapter 60

I received a report that a dungeon had appeared.

When I stepped out of the tent, a staircase leading underground had appeared where there was nothing just a moment ago.

It’s always like this when a PD appears too; there’s no sound or anything, it just quietly comes into being.

Well, if an earthquake happened every time a dungeon appeared, that would be quite a problem.

First, the people with swords from the Self-Defense Forces went in.

After confirming the safety of the first floor, Shingen went in.

We go in last.

It takes about ten minutes.

"Then, everyone. I will test the streaming crystal. Here you go, Miss Hime."

Akashi said this as he handed Hime a purple crystal—the streaming crystal.

She put it in her bag at her waist.

In case something happens to the main streaming crystal, I took the backup streaming crystal and put it in my inventory.

Then, Hime activated the streaming crystal.

On the computer monitor, our four avatars appeared.

I had seen the avatars before, but it was interesting to see them actually moving.

It was a bit delayed, not in real-time.

Probably about three seconds, right?

"A, a, test."

"A, a, test."

The voice quality was quite different from mine.

"The voice is delayed."

"The voice is delayed."

I tried to mimic a ventriloquist, but the avatar's mouth movements matched perfectly, so it didn’t look delayed at all.

"Taira, what are you doing?"

"Beta, what are you doing?"

Huh?

Did Hime just call me Beta?

No, she called me Taira when she was talking normally.

Did the Hime in the computer call me Beta?

"To maximize personal information protection, personal names are automatically converted to codenames. By default, Miss Hime is Alpha, Mr. Ichino is Beta, Mr. Azuma is Gamma, and Ms. Makino is Delta. The codenames will remain as you requested. Additionally, information such as addresses and birthdays will be automatically censored, but age and gender will be transmitted normally."

"That's a relief. I don't have to be careful when speaking."

Ayame said this, and Gamma repeated it on the monitor.

"Also, comments from viewers that violate the terms of service, seek personal information, or are deemed meaningless will be deleted, and only necessary comments will be sent to the crystal."

He said this, and the crystal glowed, with text appearing in the air.

[Connection Count: 1/1]

[Support: This is how we send text.]

[Support: Test message.]

Wow, so this is what the streaming crystal looks like.

It's really groundbreaking.

"This could be useful for regular streaming. It's expensive at 100,000 yen, but setting up equipment would cost even more."

I muttered this to myself, but Akashi shook his head.

"That would be difficult. The streaming crystal doesn't work outside the dungeon without a magic stone. It consumes one black magic stone every five minutes."

"One black magic stone costs 500 yen, so that's 6,000 yen per hour... Yeah, that would be difficult."

Top-tier streamers could probably make it worth it, but they would likely buy expensive filming equipment instead.

By the way, Aoki used a regular camera for in-store filming at the shop.

And just as five minutes had passed, the streaming crystal's light faded, and the data disappeared.

The computer screen also went offline.

Furthermore, since this was a request from the government, there was no tipping function, and we received detailed explanations about other specifics.

"Okay, I understand how to use it."

"Yes, but the streaming is just a side task. Please explore the dungeon as usual and occasionally read out the text on the crystal and answer the questions you want to. This isn't about the name 'Tensho Muso' being mentioned."

"I'll do that. I'll try to make it at least minimally viewable for the audience."

Just as Hime said this, it was time for us to leave.

We entered the dungeon.

The entrance to the dungeon was no different from a regular one.

However, while PDs have a Danpon, and regular dungeons have a cash-in point, no one was there this time.

It felt like a newly formed dungeon.

Hime immediately activated the crystal.

[Connection Count: 124/124]

[It's started.]

[I'm excited!]

[Hello!]

"Oh, messages are already coming in. 124 people are watching?"

"It's a new dungeon investigation, after all. Well, we're starting the stream of the new dungeon that appeared in Tensho-ike, eastern Osaka Prefecture. This is a survey commissioned by the government, so we can't do anything silly, and it won't be very exciting. However, this is the first survey of a newly formed dungeon in Japan in eight years, excluding black dungeons. Please watch for as long as you can."

[Why are we avatars?]

"This is a test of the new dungeon streaming software developed by the government. Our appearances are shown as avatars. This is a new form of dungeon streaming, and the government is preparing to provide it for free in the future. Check the dungeon bureau's homepage for more details. That's what the government asked me to say first."

Hime returned to her usual tone.

"I think this will be a rather uneventful dungeon investigation. Oh, let me introduce ourselves. I'm Hime Osano."

"I'm Ichino Taiga."

"I'm Azuma Ayane."

"I'm Makino Milk."

After the introductions,

[Why Greek letters?]

There was a reaction.

Yeah, the names are automatically converted.

"We're using our real names, but they are automatically converted to the names we input when streaming. Alpha, Beta, etc., are the default settings."

Hime explained.

Well, that's enough explanation.

[Why is a kid in charge?]

...Ah, a natural question.

Akashi is supposed to filter the comments, but this one got through, so there must be a lot of the same question.

"I'm not a kid! All four of us are 18, and I'm the oldest!"

"Okay, okay, Hime, calm down. Let's head to the first floor. Regular dungeons have a cash-in point, but since this is a newly formed dungeon, no one is there, so we'll go through the door and hunt slimes."

I calmed the angry Hime and moved deeper into the dungeon.

On the first floor, we just hunted slimes.

We took turns defeating them.

I used a sword, Hime used a dagger, Milk and Ayane used magic.

[Only slimes are appearing.]

[Slimes always appear on the first floor.]

[Except for Dumpul Dungeons.]

[The dungeon in Cairo, Egypt, apparently has mummy slimes.]

[Mummy slimes < That's an urban legend. The dungeon is managed by the military, so it's just rumors.]

[Alpha, you're doing great for being so small.]

Text floated up.

Quite a few people are watching.

"Oh, I got slime wine."

I took slime wine from a slime.

This is the second bottle.

[Slime wine! (°∀°)!!]

[This is the second bottle. Why is so much slime wine coming out?]

[Isn't this to attract people to the new dungeon?]

[The video is edited, so it lacks credibility.]

Sure enough, they noticed the abnormal number of slime wines and started to doubt the video.

I expected the viewers to notice my high luck value during this stream.

As Ichino Taiga, I don't intend to reveal the abnormality of my luck value, but as Beta, I think it's okay to talk about it.

My position has started to deviate from that of an ordinary high school student due to my meeting with Hime, the incorporation of EPO, and this request from the government.

In this case, it would be convenient to reveal my luck value when accepting jobs from the government, and I wouldn't have to think of excuses when selling items I obtained to the country or important people.

We decided to do this after discussing it with Hime and the others outside the dungeon.

"I'll protect you with all my strength if anything happens. Declare it boldly."

"I think I'll have to rely on my dad's connections, but I won't let anything bad happen to Taiga."

"I don't have money or connections like Osano-san or Milk, but I won't leave Ichino-san alone."

Because everyone said this, I can say it confidently.

"I have an abnormally high luck value, so it's easy for me to collect slime wine."

Now, there's no going back, Ichino Taiga.

40,000 points reached!

Each of your points gives this work strength.

Thank you.