Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 10

After allocating the skill points I had reserved, I decided to go home since I was at the limit of my physical strength for the day.

　When I stepped onto the teleportation circle in front of the stairs to the second floor, the number “1” appeared in my head. I selected it, and after a moment of floating, I was transported to the teleportation circle in front of the stairs to the first floor.

　There’s a black obelisk nearby, and several explorers are resting there, so this is the first floor.

　– Or rather, seeing people resting reminded me.

“Now that I think about it, my HP is also decreasing… I need to rest here.”

　What this means is that HP and MP do not recover on the ground.

　Actually, to be more precise, it seems that even on the ground a very small amount of it recovers, like 5 percent every 24 hours.

　On the other hand, in a dungeon, even without the use of potions, if you just rest, your HP and MP will be fully restored in about two hours. Therefore, explorers who are exhausted from battle often rest in the square where the teleportation circle on the first floor is located until they recover.

　That’s why, even though Shinjuku Dungeon is unpopular, there are always people here at any given time.

　Following the example of the other explorers, I moved to the wall and sat down.

　I took out my smartphone and decided to kill time until it recovered – but,

“Um, well, excuse me.”

“Yes?”

　He called out to me immediately, so I looked up from my smartphone screen.

　I looked and saw a man there who looked a little older than me.

　I thought to myself, “I’ve seen that face somewhere before,” and when I tried to search my memory, I immediately remembered. It was the Bourgeois brother who was peeking at me from the corner of the corridor yesterday when I let out a strange cry after my first level-up. There was also a state-of-the-art drone camera floating nearby.

“Oh, the guy from yesterday.”

　When I called out to him, he was surprised and said, “Eh?!”

“Um… do you remember me?”

“Yes, I remember.”

　I nodded at the confused older brother and urged him on.

“So, is there something you need?”

“Ah, yeah, yes. Well, you see…”

　When I asked him about it, I found out that he was a dungeon tuber. A dungeon tuber is someone who broadcasts their exploration activities on sites like Dungeon Tube.

　He asked me to appear on his channel and do an interview.

“That’s fine, but why me?”

　This is a simple question.

“Well, actually, I wish you’d listen without getting angry…”

　The older brother began to explain awkwardly.

　Actually, it seems that yesterday, my brother’s live stream caught me yelling something strange. I don’t know why, but the video of that time has gone viral. So the viewers of his channel left a lot of comments asking him to interview the weirdo from yesterday (that is, me), and to answer those expectations, he spent the whole day waiting in front of the teleportation formation on the first floor.

“I’m sorry. I filmed it without permission…”

　The older brother bowed his head deeply and apologized.

“No, that can’t be helped. We’re in the dungeon after all.”

　This might have been a problem on the surface, but portrait rights were an exception within the dungeon.

　This is because a similar lawsuit over portrait rights had taken place in the past, which ended up in the Supreme Court, where the plaintiffs lost the case.

　He said that it is impossible to take care not to capture other people in dangerous dungeons when filming with cameras required by law and often broadcasting in real time.

　Well, portrait rights aren’t protected in the first place. Even TV still shows passersby and other ordinary people without permission.

　So even if I were to sue them, it would just be a waste of money to pay for the lawsuit. I don’t intend to sue them, though.

“It’s helpful to hear you say that.”

　The older brother said with embarrassment. He seemed like a nice guy.

“So, was it an interview? I don’t mind.”

“Really?! Thank you so much!!”

　Listening to my brother’s story, I realized that the reason I received the 【Title】 was probably because I appeared on his stream.

　Apparently, although the older brother is a newbie as a DanTuber, he was originally active as a YouTuber and apparently has quite a few viewers who have been drawn to his channel from that channel.

　Without that, I would never have gone viral, and I would never have gotten the title.

　Although it wasn’t something I asked for in the first place, I indeed gained some useful skills thanks to it. I thought I’d cooperate as a token of my gratitude.

　Plus, by answering my brother’s interview questions, people will understand that I’m not a crazy person, but just a normal, nice guy.

　And so, I was interviewed in the plaza in front of the stairs on the first floor.

　During the shoot, the explorers resting in the plaza were paying a lot of attention to him. Maybe he was a more famous streamer than I thought.

　But I think I was able to speak without being too nervous.

　After answering a lot of questions, my HP had almost completely recovered by the time the shoot was over, so I said goodbye to the guy and decided to go home.

　By the way, today’s profit is

　Level 1 Slime Magic Stone 200 yen x 3 = 600 yen

　Level 2 Slime Magic Stone 300 yen x 15 = 4500 yen

　Level 3 Slime Magic Stone 400 yen x 5 = 2000 yen

　Level 1 Goblin Magic Stone 500 yen x 6 = 3000 yen

　Level 2 Goblin Magic Stone 750 yen x 50 = 37,500 yen

　Level 3 Goblin Magic Stone 1000 yen x 23 = 23000 yen

　After withholding tax was deducted from the total of 70,600 yen, the total was 63,392 yen.

　This surprised me too.

　And this income, even though it’s only the second floor… Explorers must be profitable, don’t they?

　What was that all about when people said that beginners can’t make money online?

　Oh, and the reason I only sold magic stones today isn’t because no other items dropped. I did get five Goblin Clubs and two Goblin Loins.

　However, at present, there is no good use for these dropped items, and although they are purchased for research purposes, the prices are 50 yen for the club and 100 yen for the loincloth. They are ridiculously cheap and will be a burden to carry, so I threw them away on the spot.

　On the other hand, slimes have a low magic stone value, but they drop “Slime Jelly”, “Slime Core”, and “Basic Heal Potion”.

“Slime jelly” is used in cosmetics and sells for 500 yen each.

“Slime Cores” are used as materials for the Alchemy skill, and can be sold for 1000 yen each.

As for the “Basic Heal Potion,” it’s an extremely rare drop, but one can cost as much as 30,000 yen.

　The difference in the items dropped by goblins and slimes is also one of the reasons why goblins are not popular.

　Therefore, it is commonly believed that goblins are not worth much… but the magic stones alone are worth a fair amount, so I think it might be a good idea (a bit of a cliche).

　However, even though I killed over 20 slimes, they didn’t drop anything…

　Maybe I’m just unlucky…