Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 37

April 1st.

 

　Today, as always, I came to the dungeon in high spirits.

 

“Good morning, Hinata-san!”

 

“Yeah, good morning, Takeo-kun.”

 

　I met up with Hinata in the lobby of the association and went to the changing room as usual. From there, we met up again in front of the dungeon gate and entered the dungeon.

 

“Hinata-san, I’m thinking of carrying you from the first floor today, is that okay?”

 

“Well… It’s quicker that way, right?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“Hmm… If Takeo-kun is okay with it, I’ll ask him.”

 

“Leave it to me!”

 

　So, to shorten the travel time, I decided to carry Hinata on my back from the start and head to the 4th floor.

 

　I’ll form a party with Hinata at the Black Obelisk on the first floor and then depart. Hinata’s stream for today will start when we reach the monster room on the fourth floor.

 

　Well, until then, it’ll just be moving around, and Hinata won’t be running around to excite the viewers like she did yesterday, so there won’t be much to film.

 

　So, I carried Hinata-san on my back and just kept running.

 

　Along the way, he had to use his 《Fighting Spirit》 a few times to escape hordes of goblins, but there was no particular danger, and about two and a half hours after they set off, they arrived in front of the monster room on the fourth floor of the Shinjuku Dungeon.

 

　My level has increased considerably, and my stamina and status have increased, so I was able to get here in this amount of time, even with Hinata on my back.

 

　However, I spent most of the morning traveling.

 

　The deeper we go, the longer it will take to travel, so I guess I’ll have to consider staying overnight while exploring dungeons from now on.

 

　By the way, I plan to take my lunch break in the Monster Room today.

 

　The monster room is designed so that once all the monsters that appear are defeated, they will not reappear unless everyone inside leaves. So once you’ve defeated the monsters, the room can be used as a safe place as long as you don’t leave.

 

“We’ve arrived.”

 

“Thank you, Takeo-kun. Aren’t you tired? Are you okay with not resting?”

 

“It’s okay! Let’s go inside quickly!”

 

　Let’s level up quickly!! Quickly, quickly!!

 

“I-I get it…! Wait a moment, I’ll start streaming now.”

 

　It was.

 

　I waited nervously for Hinata to start broadcasting with the drone camera. And then–,

 

“Good morning,” “Good morning,g” “Good morning,” “Good morning,g” “Let’s start again” “Hinata-chan, you’re cute today too!!” “What?” “I thought the broadcast started later than yesterday, so maybe you’re already on the fourth floor?” “Isn’t it in front of the monster room, here?”

 

　The voice of a Voiceroid begins to ring out from the drone, reading out the comments.

 

“Hello, everyone. I’m Hinata. Today I’ll be streaming with Takeo-kun.”

 

“Usu, thank you very much!”

 

“Junkie Niki” “Junkie Niki was there!” “I wonder if I can watch Junkie Niki’s crazy Monster Room round endurance stream again today” “Yesterday’s stream was a buzz too” “Junkie Niki’s clip from yesterday is already spreading quite a bit” “I came from the clip! Is this the stream where I can see Ina Bauer Niki!?”

 

“Well, since it seems like some people already know, I’ll just say it. Today’s broadcast will start in front of the monster room on the fourth floor.”

 

『I thought so』『Oh my goodness……!!』『Can’t we see the spectacle of Hinata-chan running?!』『No way……!!』『The clipping of Hinata-chan from yesterday has already spread quite far and wide!』『I came from the clipping! Is this the stream where Hinata-chan is running and banging away?!』

 

“We’ve already moved around today, so we won’t be running. Or rather, Takeo-kun was carrying us from the first floor on his back today, so we didn’t run at all…”

 

『Junkie-niki?!』 『Damn Junkie-niki! What an unnecessary thing to say!!』 『Wait, you’ve been carrying it since the first floor today!!』 『Wow, the explorer’s stamina is incredible…!!』 『Junkie-niki doesn’t look tired at all, this makes you feel like you’re inhuman lol』

 

“Well, we’ll be going around the monster rooms all day today, so most of the footage will be of Takeo fighting. If that’s okay with you, then by all means, please keep watching.”

 

“lol” “it’s Hinata’s channel lol” “it’s hilarious that even she knows her channel has been hijacked lol” “it’s fine” “i wanted to see Hinata’s bang bang but i also came to see junkie nikki’s insanity” “there are nutrients you can only get from crazy junkie nikki”

 

　Viewers will be tuning in to today’s broadcast as well.

 

“Well then, shall we go inside, Takeo-kun?”

 

“Yes!”

 

　So, today I started leveling up with enthusiasm.

 

 

　●◯●

 

 

　1st lap.

 

　I easily wiped out the group led by the Goblin Commander.

 

『T- …

 

　The reaction from viewers seems to be very positive.

 

　Well, that’s beside the point.

 

“Alright then, Hinata, let’s pick up the magic stone and leave the room.”

 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

 

　I told Hinata-san, and the two of us started picking up the magic stones scattered around the room.

 

“Of course he’s trying to do a lap…” “Was he going to do a lap around the monster rooms…” “I thought that such a crazy thing only a few high-ranking explorers did.” “No, that’s normal lol” “You’re more used to defeating monsters than yesterday” “Seriously, how many laps are you going to do today–―――”

 

　and.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Picture?”

 

　Suddenly, the comments stopped unnaturally.

 

　At almost the same time, the door to the monster room opened, and someone entered.

 

“Hi, Hinata-chan, it’s been a while!”

 

“How have you been?”

 

　No, it wasn’t just one person.

 

　Roughly ten or so men with bad looks came into the room with grins on their faces.

 

　Among them, the two men who spoke up first seemed somehow familiar to me…

 

　As I was wondering about this, Hinata-san called my name in a trembling voice.

 

“Matsuda-san, Aoyama-san…!!”

 

　Mr. Matsuda and Mr. Aoyama.

 

　If I remember correctly, they were members of Hinata’s previous party, and when they were attacked by the Goblin Knights, they were the two who had abandoned Goda and Hinata and fled.

 

“Wh-why are you here…?!”

 

　Hinata’s face was completely pale, and her body was trembling.

 

　The two of them replied while looking at Hinata with grins.

 

“Well, we just want to become friends with Hinata-chan. We thought we’d try and get to know each other through physical contact.”

 

“That’s right. Sorry, but could you please keep everyone here company? Please, Hinata-chan.”

 

　Someone to have some skinship with, huh?

 

　Already feeling a sense of crisis due to the suspicious atmosphere, the men around him also began to speak up.

 

“Wow! This girl is seriously cute. Her br3asts are big, and she looks like she’d be comfortable to hug!”

 

“It’s awesome that I can do whatever I want with this girl from today. I’m excited.”

 

“Hey hey, you’re a valuable healing magician, right? You’re going to need her to earn some money from now on. Don’t destroy it.”

 

“I know.”

 

“But he’s going to end up addicted to drugs anyway, isn’t he? He’ll go crazy, so isn’t it okay to be a little rough with him?”

 

“You can even use healing magic yourself. You’re stronger than the average woman.”

 

　I’m not particularly stupid. From the men’s mood and what they were saying, it was easy for me to guess what was about to happen.

 

　And the same goes for Hinata.

 

“Don’t mess with me!! Who wants to be with you guys!!”

 

　Hinata screamed as she tried to distance herself from the men, but the men did not attempt to pursue her.

 

　The only way out is blocked, and they’re sure there’s no way to escape.

 

“Besides, your faces are on camera! If you do something, you’ll be caught right away! I won’t chase you now, so please get out of here quickly!”

 

　The men looked at each other in shock at Hinata’s words, as if they had been told something unexpected. And then–,

 

“Pfft, heh, heh heh heh…!!”

 

“Ahahahahahahaha!!”

 

　They all burst out laughing.

 

　That’s what convinced me. They didn’t try to break the camera by surprise, they came straight in. So there’s no way that these guys wouldn’t have a way to counter the investigators’ cameras.

 

“Too bad for you, Hinata-chan!”

 

“There’s nothing on the camera right now.”

 

“The communications are cut off.”

 

　Saying this, one of the men raised his right hand ostentatiously. In his palm was a sphere the size of a softball.

 

　Its metallic, mechanical design makes it look like some kind of machine, but it’s more like a magic item than a machine.

 

　-Magical communications jamming device.

 

　Magical communication systems are rapidly becoming more and more common all over the world, and their communication speeds are extremely fast, allowing communication to take place anywhere, even underground. They are a perfect upgrade over the radio wave communication that is currently being phased out.

 

　However, the vulnerabilities were the same as those of radio communication.

 

　In other words, if one wanted to, it would be relatively easy to thwart it.

 

　Of course, it’s now prohibited by law, and not only using a jamming device, but even possessing one can get you arrested, but it seems the device itself is easy to make. In short, if you make a device that indiscriminately scatters powerful magical waves, it will become a jamming device.

 

　The reason why the reading of the comments was suddenly interrupted was probably because the device had cut off communication.

 

“No way…”

 

　Hinata-san’s face turned pale as she muttered and went quiet. From the men’s attitudes, it seemed she had realized that this was true.

 

“Hey, how long are you going to play for?”

 

“Ah, Kanzaki-san.”

 

“S-sorry!”

 

　A particularly well-built man covered in tattoos, called Kanzaki by the men.

 

　This guy seems to be the most dangerous. It’s not like he’s just holding the men together like normal; it’s like his hair is standing on end.

 

　Before I entered the monster room for the first time, I had a sort of intuition that made me feel certain of victory, but now it was sending out a warning signal that I couldn’t beat this guy.

 

　What’s more, when I counted them, I found that there were a total of 11 men. There was no way I could win even if I stood on my head.

 

　For some reason-or rather, I know the reason-the men don’t seem to pay me any attention, but I’ll ask them just to be sure.

 

　I raised my hand and opened my mouth.

 

“Ummm…”

 

“a?”

 

　I asked, directing my gaze towards the man called Kanzaki.

 

“What are you going to do about me?”

 

“Yeah… I don’t need you.”

 

“……In other words?”

 

“I’m not needed here, so I’ll kill you. I saw your face, so that’s obvious, right? What? Did you think I’d let you go?”

 

　See?

 

　I knew from the start that these guys weren’t going to let me get away with it.

 

　That means, in all likelihood – no, almost certainly – I’ll be killed here.

 

　Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any chance of winning. My intuition tells me that it’s almost certain that I won’t win.

 

　I think those guys…or rather, this Kanzaki guy, are definitely at a much higher level than I.

 

　No, even if she escapes, I can’t choose to abandon Hinata-san, so it’s the same either way.

 

　In other words, the situation is dire.

 

“Phew…”

 

　So, I made up my mind.

 

　The determination to kill someone, and the determination to possibly be killed.

 

　Precisely because it was a desperate situation, I quickly made up my mind.

 

　But there was something even stranger.

 

　Even though I know there’s no way I can win.