We received a report that a dungeon had appeared.
When I stepped out of the tent, I saw a staircase leading underground where there had been nothing just moments before.
It was the same when a PD was created—there was no sound or anything; it just quietly emerged.
Well, if every time a dungeon appeared there was a massive earthquake, it would be a disaster.
First, the self-defense forces armed with swords entered the dungeon.
After confirming the safety of the first floor, Shingen-san went in.
Finally, it was our turn.
We had about ten minutes until we entered.
「Now, everyone, we’ll test the streaming crystal. Hime-ojousama, here you go.」
Akashi-san said as she handed a purple crystal—the streaming crystal—to Hime.
She placed it in her waist bag.
I took the spare streaming crystal just in case something happened to the main one and stored it in my inventory.
Hime then activated the streaming crystal.
Suddenly, our four figures appeared on the computer monitor, represented as avatars.
I had seen the avatars earlier, but seeing them move in real time was entertaining.
There was a slight delay, maybe about three seconds.
「Ah, ah, test test.」
『Ah, ah, test test. 』
My voice sounded quite different.
「The voice is delayed.」 『The voice is delayed. 』
I mimicked a ventriloquist, but in reality, the movements of the avatar’s mouth matched perfectly, so it didn’t seem delayed at all.
「Taira, what are you doing?」
『Beta, what are you doing? 』
Huh?
Did Hime just call me Beta?
Normally, she called me Taira when we spoke casually.
Was ‘Beta’ the name used by Hime in the computer?
「We maximize personal information protection, so personal names are automatically switched to code names. In the initial setting, Hime-ojousama is Alpha, Ichino-sama Beta, Azuma-sama is Gamma, and Makino-sama is Delta. The code names will remain as requested by ojousama. Additionally, information like addresses and birthdays will be automatically muted, but age and gender will be broadcast as usual.」
「That’s helpful. I don’t have to worry about what I say while talking.」
Ayame said that, and the monitor displayed Gamma repeating her words.
「Also, comments from viewers that violate regulations or seem to be probing for personal information, as well as those deemed meaningless, will be deleted, and only necessary ones will be sent to the crystal.」
As she says that,
The crystal glowed, and text appeared in the air.
【Number of connections: 1/1】
〔Support: Text will be sent like this〕
〔Support: Test message〕
Wow, so this is how the streaming crystal works.
It’s quite revolutionary.
「This could work for regular streaming as well. 100,000 yen is expensive, but once you set up the equipment, it’ll probably cost more than that.」
I muttered to myself, but Akashi-san shook his head.
「That’s difficult. The streaming crystal doesn’t work outside of dungeons without magic stones. It consumes one black magic stone approximately every five minutes.」
「Since a black magic stone costs 500 yen, that’s about 6,000 yen an hour… Yeah, that’s tough.」
A top-tier streamer might make it worth it, but someone like that would probably just buy expensive filming equipment.
Speaking of which, Aoki used a regular camera for shooting inside the trading post.
Just then, the crystal’s light faded, and the data disappeared.
The computer screen also switched to offline mode.
Moreover, since this was a government request, we received detailed explanations that there wouldn’t be any tipping features this time.
「Okay, I understand how to use it.」
「Yes, however, streaming is just a side thing. Please proceed with the dungeon exploration as usual. Occasionally, read the text coming in on the crystal and only answer questions you want to respond to. Since the name of Tenka Musou won’t come up this time, you don’t have to worry too much.」
「I’ll do that. Still, I’ll try to make it interesting enough for the viewers.」
Just as Hime said that, it was time for us to depart.
We ventured into the dungeon.
The entrance looked like that of a normal dungeon.
However, like the case of PDs, there was usually no one at the exchange points.
It really felt like a newly created dungeon.
Hime promptly activated the crystal.
【Number of connections: 124/124】
〔It’s started!〕
〔So exciting!〕
〔Hello!〕
「Oh, we’re already getting messages. 124 people are watching?」
「Well, this is an investigation of a new dungeon, after all. Um, we’re about to start the stream for the newly created dungeon at Tennyo Pond in the eastern part of Osaka Prefecture. Since this is an investigation commissioned by the government, we can’t afford to mess around, and I don’t think it will be very entertaining, but it’s been eight years since an investigation of a newly created dungeon in Japan, aside from the black dungeons. Please enjoy the stream as long as you can.」
〔Why avatars?〕
「This is also a test play of a newly developed dungeon streaming software by the government. Our appearances are displayed as avatars. This is expected to be a new way of streaming dungeon content. The government is preparing to offer it for free in the future. For more details, please check the Dungeon Bureau’s website. That’s all the information I was told to convey by the government.」
Hime returned to her usual tone and added,
「I think it will really be a dull dungeon investigation. Ah, but I’ll at least introduce myself. I am Oshino Hime.」
「I’m Ichino Taira.」
「I’m Azuma Ayane.」
「I’m Makino Milk.」
After our introductions, we received another reaction.
〔Why Greek letters?〕
There was a response.
And it seems like our names were really automatically converted.
「We’re actually using our real names, but when we’re streamed, they are automatically converted to pre-entered names. Alpha and Beta are just the initial settings.」
Hime explained.
Well, that should suffice for an explanation.
〔Why is a kid in charge?〕
… Ah, here it comes—the obvious question that I had anticipated.
Akashi must be filtering the incoming comments, but the fact that this is still coming through means there are probably countless similar questions flooding in.
「I’m not a kid! We’re all 18 years old, and I’m the oldest among us!」
「Okay, okay, Hime, calm down. Now, let’s head to the first floor. Normally, there would be an exchange point in a regular dungeon, but since this is a newly created dungeon, there’s no one here. Let’s pass through the door and go slime hunting.」
I calmed down Hime, who was getting angry, and we moved deeper into the dungeon.
In the first layer, we were simply hunting slimes, taking turns to defeat them.
I used my sword, while Hime used kunai, and Milk and Ayame cast spells.
〔Only slimes are appearing〕
〔In the first floor, there are only slimes〕
〔*Except for Danpol Dungeons〕
〔I’ve heard there are Mummy Slimes in the dungeon in Cairo, Egypt〕
〔Mummy Slime < That’s just an urban legend. It’s a dungeon managed by the military, so it’s just a weird rumor〕
〔Alpha-chan is small, but she’s doing a great job!〕
Messages floated up on the screen. Quite a few people were watching.
「Oh, slime sake dropped.」
I picked up the slime sake from the slime.
That made it the second bottle.
〔Slime sake has dropped—(゜∀゜)—!!〕
〔That’s the second one. Why is so much slime sake dropping?〕
〔Maybe it’s a setup to draw people to the new dungeon?〕
〔The footage is edited, so it lacks credibility〕
As expected, people started to question the strange abundance of slime sake.
I figured the viewers would notice my high luck value during this stream.
While I didn’t plan to reveal the abnormality of my luck as Ichino Taira, I thought it might be okay to mention it as Beta.
With my encounters with Hime, the establishment of the EPO, and now this government commission, my position had begun to diverge just a bit from that of an ordinary high school student.
Revealing my luck stat could be useful for government work, and it would also make it easier when selling items I acquired to the state or other officials—I wouldn’t have to come up with excuses.
This was something we had discussed earlier outside the dungeon.
「If anything happens, I’ll protect you with all my might. Just declare it boldly.」
「I’ll probably end up relying on my Papa’s connections too, but I won’t let you get into any weird situations.」
「I don’t have money or connections like Oshino-san or Milk-chan, but I won’t let Ichino-san be alone.」
Hearing everyone say that gave me the confidence to speak up.
「I’m a sharp abnormality in terms of luck stat, so slime sake is easy for me to gather.」
With that declaration, there was no turning back, Ichino Taira.
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