Chapter 60: [Two-Party Perspective] Sabotage Swiftly Dealt With
☆★☆【Side: First Penguins】☆★☆
We, the First Penguins, had reached the 4th floor of the Utsunomiya Dungeon.
“If you attack while stepping like this, you can defeat enemies without losing speed, so please, give it a try!”
《No way I can do that LOL》
《Too strong LOL》
《The opponents who get to face this party are too lucky!》
《Being happier if you lose… this isn’t even a match from the start…》
The number of concurrent viewers also surpassed 8,000.
At this rate, hitting 10,000 should be easy.
We didn’t announce it beforehand, but gathering these numbers is a testament to our skill.
“This might be too easy if we continue like this, so maybe we should try a handicap play. For example, fighting barehanded on the next floor…”
《Too cocky LOL》
《Though I bet they’d still win》
《RTA (Cocky Play)》
《You don’t have time for that! The other team is on the 12th floor!!》
“Huh…?”
For a moment, I saw a comment I couldn’t understand.
“Now, now, no lying. You all probably don’t have any information, and we’re taking the shortest route. The other team is probably around the 2nd floor, don’t you think?”
I turned around and checked with the government Explorer.
Naturally, I had arranged for them to inform me of the other team’s situation.
I also had the assistant section chief from the government provide me with the exam rules beforehand.
That’s because we’re on the side of the examiners, not the examinees.
That much is obvious, right?
“Is the viewers’ information true?”
At that, the government Explorer… nodded.
“Huh…?”
《The other team is streaming too. And hey, Ko-chan is there!》
《Moonbow Hermit, one of the strongest A-rankers, is also there.》
《Ko-chan and Hermit are in the same party!?》
《Too stacked!》
《This is Hermit’s first stream, right?》
《While these guys were taking it easy, they’re now in the latter half of the 12th floor.》
《Spatial Transfer?》
《Nope. They took a hidden route to shortcut. Their dungeon knowledge is insane.》
《Anyone can take the hidden route as long as they have a skill to move on water.》
《Maybe I’ll go watch that one. Seems like I could learn something.》
《Let’s go watch Ko-chan.》
“Ah…”
Before my eyes, the concurrent viewership started to plummet.
The 8,000 viewers had, before I knew it, dropped to 4,100.
“Those bastards…!”
Information about the shortcut wasn’t on the map the government gave us.
They’re truly useless.
And Moonbow Hermit, you say?
Among A-rank Explorers, the common understanding is that blog account is a fake, a fraud with a falsified history.
That weakling, whose only redeeming quality is 【Spatial Transfer】, must have teamed up with a con artist and is just bluffing.
“Getting so damn cocky…!”
“What do we do? Go back?”
I realized my party member, Ibuki, had spoken to me.
If we repurpose her barrier, we could probably walk on water.
However, even if we go back, the time saved getting to the 11th floor would be minimal.
In fact, it’s more likely we’d waste extra time finding the route.
“We’re going as planned. Let’s get serious.”
“Roger.”
We picked up speed, proceeding along the shortest route based on the map.
I was prepared to leave anyone behind who couldn’t keep up, but everyone, including the government Explorer, was able to move at the same speed.
《They’re fast, but…》
《Compared to Spatial Transfer, though…》
《Hey, don’t bring up other streams.》
《Apparently, Ko-chan is banned from using Spatial Transfer. They said so on their stream.》
《So the First Penguins are being gone easy on LOL》
《Can’t even win with advantageous rules? LOL》
《Heard one person in Ko-chan’s party is also banned from combat.》
《So they’re effectively a 3-person party over there?》
《It’d be embarrassing if they lose like this.》
《”Maybe we should try a handicap play” (smugly)》
《”We’re taking the shortest route” (ignorant)》
“Kuh…!”
The comments were getting rough too.
I have to stop their momentum, and fast.
When I found the stairs leading to the 5th floor, I said to the drone flying alongside us.
“Only trained teams like us should be moving at this kind of speed, you know. If, by some chance, there’s a dangerous trap or an irregular situation, it would be bad if they couldn’t escape.”
Saying that, I gave a knowing look to Ibuki, who possesses the 【Monster Sealing】 skill.
The 【Monster Sealing】 skill is Ibuki’s hidden ace, not publicly disclosed.
In this exam, ‘bringing items’ isn’t prohibited, and ‘prior exploration’ isn’t prohibited either.
And ‘skill deactivation’ can be done at any time by breaking the crystal in hand.
“I really hope the team that went ahead is being careful…”
The real showdown is on the 15th floor.
☆★☆【Side: Team Secret Base】☆★☆
“Whoa, what is this…!”
The moment I stepped onto the 15th floor, smoke filled the area, and five armored knights appeared.
“It’s Ghost Knights…!”
According to Shi-chan, they’re monsters that appear on the 24th floor of the Shibuya Dungeon.
They aren’t bosses, but they’re known for being ‘vicious’ because they appear as a team of five, magic attacks don’t work on their armor, and after their armor is broken, they transform into ghost monsters that physical attacks don’t work on.
《Why are they here!?》
《An irregular!?》
《This is bad, run!! Forget about the exam!!》
《Ko-chan!! Use your Ota experience!!》
《These guys are seriously dangerous!!》
《They’re strong enough to make even the First Penguins get serious!!》
《The Devils of Shibuya!》
A storm of comments was coming from the over 4,000 viewers we’d gathered before I knew it.
“The Shibuya Dungeon… isn’t that the Penguin-san Team’s…”
“…There’s no proof, though.”
The armored knights approached with a clattering sound.
“What should we do? For now, should Otama-chan and I take them on?”
If magic doesn’t work, then we, the vanguard team, have to step up…
But Otama-chan and Manamin…
“It’s fine, I’ll take them down for now.”
“Our main firepower should hold back. We’ll be counting on you for the 20th floor.”
“Eh…”
《They’re gonna do it with just the two of them!?》
《Run, it’s impossible!》
《Being A-rank means nothing if you die!! Don’t be stubborn!!》
《Ko-chan, help Tama-chan!!》
Otama-chan gripped the katana at her waist.
“Here I gooo! 【Body Enhancement】 and 【Water User】 combo… Raging River – Iaigiri!!”
“Oh…!!”
Using her 【Water User】 skill, she jetted water behind her, accelerating as she charged and slashed at the enemy.
And then.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!!
All the suits of armor crumbled to the ground.
“I did it! Ko-chan, did you see!?”
“Yeah. That was cool.”
“Yaay!”
『Judgment: Average 508 damage to Ghost Knights (Armored)!! Ghost Knights (Armored) defeated!!』
Even according to the drone’s damage assessment, she’d put out considerable firepower.
“Hey… Tama. Don’t let your guard down.”
“Harmin-sama, I’ll leave the rest to you!”
Black smoke-like things rose from the crumbled armor.
“Leave it to me. O great sword of brilliance, tear through the darkness! Prism Blade!!”
In front of Manamin, a great sword of light, its blade at least two meters long, appeared and was swung horizontally.
“Gyaaaaaa…”
『Judgment: Due to weakness attribute, average 852 damage to Ghost Knights (Spirit Form)!! Ghost Knights (Spirit Form) defeated!!』
“Yaaaay!!”
“Hmph…”
Smack!! Otama-chan and Manamin high-fived.
《Wha-what!?》
《In an instant!》
《What about the spirit forms?》
《Can’t even comment in time.》
《Hermit-sama’s firepower is insane!》
《Tama-chan is amazing too!! Eh, what happened to make her so strong!?》
《Her growth is incredible!》
《The concurrent viewers have reversed!》
《Glad I came to this stream from the Penguins’!!》
《Ko-chan, you have more firepower than this? Seriously?》
《Ko-chan, strong enough for Hermit-sama to acknowledge him!?》
《I want to send a Super Chat but I can’t. Why!?》
《Because it’s an exam?》
《I want to pay!! Let me spend moneyyyy!》
《Concurrent viewers increased by nearly 1000 again!》
《Came from the Penguins’ stream.》
“Oh…”
When the Ghost Knights’ armor disappeared, five large coin-like objects had been dropped.
《That’s Dungeon Platinum!》
《High-grade material!》
《Nice, I want some.》
《Its mana conductivity is super high.》
“Ko-chan, that…”
“Yeah. I was thinking of using it later.”
It’s probably perfect for an offering at the Private Dungeon shrine.
“Alright, shall we go? Just a little more to the 20th floor.”
“…Wait.”
Just then, Shi-chan was crouching down by the dungeon wall.
“What’s wrong? That…?”
Looking closely, there was something like a small piece of glass.
Like the armor of the defeated Ghost Knights, it was trying to disappear as black mist.
Shi-chan called the drone over and had it film the scene in close-up.
Shi-chan, with a smile like when everyone pulls a prank together, made a “shhh” gesture with her index finger.
“Huh~? That’s strange~. Did the Ghost Knights have transparent parts? For now, I’d better record it with the drone.”
“Oi, Shi-. We’re in the middle of an exam, so hurry up.”
Hermit-sama was also sporting a very wicked grin, so it seemed he understood Shi-chan’s intentions, but…
“Ah, sorry. Natsume-kun, we need to hurry, don’t we? Let’s investigate later and move on for now.”
“Ah, yeah…”
《What’s that?》
《Curious.》
《Isn’t it an ornament on the Ghost Knights’ sword?》
《Did it have one?》
《I wanted Hermit-sama to see it!》
《It was turning into magic particles, so it’s definitely dungeon-made.》
《It looks like a Sealing Crystal…》
《You know of it, Raiden!》
《Come to think of it, I’ve heard of that (total lie).》
《A crystal that can seal monsters. I learned about it at Toumei University.》
《A wild elite appeared.》
《Shi-chan, I think it’s a Sealing Crystal!》
《Sealing… Ghost Knights… Shibuya…》
《Ah!!》
《Shibuya is the Penguin-san Team’s area of activity!》
《Eh, seriously?》
《You mean it’s an intentional irregularity?》
《Eh, if that’s true, I can’t forgive them!!!!》
《It’s a coincidence, right?》
《There’s no proof, but…》
《Stop arguing in the comments.》
《Is the identification squad here?》
《Come to think of it, I remember seeing a similar scene in a video from three years ago.》
Shi-chan whispered in a voice too low for the stream to pick up.
“If an A-Rank Party has the media and corporations on their side, we can’t win on our own, you know.”
“—Our allies are all over this country. Natsume, Tama. It’s thanks to you fighting in Oota.”
…Ever since Shi-chan showed the glass shard, the comments had suddenly exploded with activity.