Chapter 33: A Ride Through the Lower Floors

Currently, I'm Kisaragi Tsukasa, preparing the camera on the first floor of the Shibuya Dungeon. Asakawa-san invited me to join her for a live stream, and I'm getting ready, but... I'm incredibly nervous. I guess if I were preparing and streaming alone, I wouldn't be this nervous, but doing it together with Asakawa-san, a popular streamer, is really getting to me.

"I'm starting now... Hi everyone, it's Asagao! Today, I'm streaming from the uppermost level!"

Asagao ch

: Hey, hey

: Hi, Asagao-chan!

: Is this after school? Good luck!

: Asagao-chan's stream is on!

: It's here!

: You look cute as always!

With a smooth and natural movement, Asakawa-san started her stream, nodding while looking at the comments.

"Today, as announced earlier, we have a special guest."

Asagao ch

: It's a guy, huh

: Oh, I see

: Yay, Kisaragi-kun!

: He's not on camera

: Where is he? S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

: I didn't think Asagao-chan would do a collab

: It's a guy, huh

I glanced at the comments, but... is this really okay? I feel like I'm being seen as the enemy just for being a guy... What should I do?

"Are you ready, Tsukasa-kun?"

"I-I think so... probably."

"Haha, you seem nervous."

Asagao ch

: Everyone's nervous on their first stream, don't worry about it

: I'm curious about Kisaragi-kun too, so I'll watch both streams

: Hurry up, let's go!

: EX's first stream is gonna be intense, huh

: Good luck!

I took a deep breath... Okay, enough with the hesitation. Let's start the stream and help Asakawa-san with her training. She told me to just be myself during the stream!

When I pressed the camera button, a countdown appeared. As soon as it hit zero, the stream started, and Asakawa-san nodded in satisfaction.

"Hello, this is Kisaragi Tsukasa. Um... Asagao-san invited me to start streaming, so... I guess that's the intro? Whatever. Nice to meet you."

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: Hey there, UNKNOWN-kun

: Yo, UNKNOWN

: It's UNKNOWN lol

: Good luck, UNKNOWN

"Could you not make fun of my old username? It's a bit of a sore spot."

Why am I getting roasted here?

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: Sorry, man

: Yeah, 'Kisaragi' is definitely the right kanji

: Was there ever any doubt?

: I didn't know that

: So, Kisaragi Tsukasa is written like that, huh

: Got it

I used my real name "Kisaragi Tsukasa" as the channel name, so it looks like a lot of people are just confirming the kanji. I guess it makes sense since I hadn't registered it anywhere before.

"So today, we're doing a joint stream down to the lower floors!"

Asagao ch

: What the heck is he saying?

: Did he just casually drop something insane?

: Whoa, lol

: You're gonna die!?!

: Are you still going for it?

: She hasn't given up yet?

"Don't worry, Tsukasa-kun will save me if things get dangerous."

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: That's a lot of responsibility

: Starting with a bang, huh?

: Good luck!

: EX's job isn't easy

: That's not what an EX is supposed to do...

"We're friends. I'll protect her... but only if it gets really dangerous."

Of course, protecting a friend isn't something I'd hesitate to do. But this is supposed to be Asakawa-san's training, so my role is just to watch over her from the back and only step in if things get truly dangerous.

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: Yep, that's the EX personality for you

: Tough love, huh?

: This training is wild

"We're only going to the 42nd floor, though."

"What?!"

"You're not ready to go to the 50th floor yet; it's not just about strength. You need knowledge to survive below the lower floors."

"Okay... if you say so, we'll stop at the 42nd floor today, right?"

Asagao ch

: Nice one, Kisaragi-kun

: Keep her grounded, good job

: He's a good guy

: The runaway train finally got brakes

: She finally has a sensible friend...

"Why is everyone so mean?!"

I'm not exactly her brakes... Well, whatever.

"Alright, let's head down to the lower floors. 'Kirin'!"

When I summoned Kirin, the creature I always ride on, Asakawa-san's eyes sparkled as she began petting its fur.

"Such a beautiful coat! It's so cute!"

Asagao ch

: So, this is the famous Shikigami?

: Those eyes are adorable

: I imagined Kirin would look more fierce

: I only know about Kirin the beer

: A giraffe?

: Kirin is a guardian beast from China

"Hurry up and get on."

"Okay!"

"Hold the camera in your hand."

Why does she look a bit dissatisfied? I thought she could pet it as much as she wanted once she's on... Maybe that's not what she wanted.

Once I confirmed that Asakawa-san was mounted on Kirin, I patted Kirin's neck, signaling it to start running, albeit at a slightly slower pace than usual. Even so, it won't take long to reach the lower floors.

"It's so fast!"

"This is slower than usual."

"This is slow!?"

Asagao ch

: I feel sick

: Terrifying

: Isn't this too fast?

: So, this is how UNKNOWN completes his tasks so quickly

: The camera can't even keep up, so that's why he said to hold it

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: Oh wow

: I'm used to seeing the upper floors go by like this

: I'm used to the mid-levels too

: A lot of dungeon explorers are watching Kisaragi-kun's channel

: Looks like a bunch of mid-level explorers are interested in watching this?

: Today it's just down to the lower floors, but this guy can go all the way to the depths, right?

Looking at it like this, you can really see the difference in the audience demographics.

I'm guessing that a lot of the people on Asakawa-san's channel are more general viewers who aren't as familiar with dungeons, drawn in by her popularity and curiosity about the dungeon interiors. Plus, her appearance, of course.

On the other hand, judging by the comments on my stream, it seems like there are more people who are into the technical side of dungeons, discussing mid-level stuff. My audience probably consists of explorers who are interested in the lower and deeper levels.

"Tsukasa-kun... you can look at your phone at this speed?"

"I'm used to it."

"I... see."

When I head down to the deeper floors, it takes quite a bit of time, so I usually have Raiju accompany me while I move even faster. During that time, I get bored, so I play games or something. Right now, I'm just keeping an eye on the comments as they scroll by.

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: If you're bored, take questions

: Is this a Q&A now?

: What's the difference?

: Did you enjoy Takayama Dungeon?

: What did you eat in Takayama?

Looks like the viewers are bored too, so I'll answer some questions.

"Takayama Dungeon was pretty much what I expected. It was a bit refreshing to see a different crowd tackling the dungeon on a weekend. I treated the driver to some Takayama ramen because he looked pretty worn out. I wanted to take him to a more expensive place, but I figured he might decline."

Kisaragi Tsukasa ch

: Fair enough

: I'd be hesitant to let a high schooler treat me to something expensive

: Age matters, man

: Takayama ramen is good stuff

: I like the curly noodles

: Now I want to visit Takayama

: It's easier to get there by the new train, but you drove?

There's indeed a train that connects Sapporo to Kagoshima.

It was built to pass through Sapporo Dungeon, Sendai Dungeon, Shibuya Dungeon, Takayama Dungeon, Nagoya Dungeon, Osaka Dungeon, Hiroshima Dungeon, Fukuoka Dungeon, and Kagoshima Dungeon.

"We had a stop to make in Shizuoka, so we took a car and spent quite a bit of time on the road."

I hate to say it, but being an EX is a busy life.

Seeing the comment sections on both Asakawa-san's and my stream buzz just from talking about Takayama Dungeon, I realize that everyone's really used to seeing Shibuya Dungeon all the time.