Chapter 68: Kanakon's Big Leap

As summer break was heading into its latter half, and my classmates were busy preparing for their upcoming entrance exams, I was casually chopping off monsters' heads. Recently, I'd been relying too much on my shikigami for fighting, so today I was wielding a sword myself and taking on the monsters. Well... it's not for fun this time. I'm here for work.

Fighting as an explorer has pretty much become my job at this point. It doesn't feel like something I can do purely for fun or out of curiosity anymore. Still, I think I really do enjoy diving into dungeons. Though there are places like Hachioji Dungeon, which are painfully boring.

"Phew..." S~eaʀᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Today's task was to take down a powerful monster that appeared in the lower floors of the Shibuya Dungeon. But lately, I've been feeling a little weird going into dungeons without streaming. It seems like I've gotten pretty addicted to dungeon streaming, whether it's watching or doing it myself.

[Thank you for accepting my collaboration invitation.]

[I'll do my best not to drag you down, even though I'm still inexperienced.]

[The date can be adjusted to fit your schedule, so please let me know when you're available.]

After getting home from work, I noticed a notification on my phone. It was from the person I'd agreed to collaborate with. Honestly, maybe she's being too formal, or maybe that's just how I think because I'm still just a clueless high school student.

But in reality, I've been keeping an eye on her as a dungeon streamer for a while now. If we're talking pure talent, I think she's on par with Asakawa-san. Of course, I won't know for sure until I see her live, but I don't think she's someone who should be stuck in the upper floors.

This isn't like trying to mimic Aizawa-san, but... as an EX-ranked explorer and someone who's been running beginner lectures on streaming, it feels like helping raise the level of dungeon explorers is part of my job.

[Thanks for your message.]

[I think I can clear my schedule for the day after tomorrow. Would that work for you?]

"Shibuya Dungeon, right?"

Since she's been streaming from Shibuya Dungeon most of the time, the collab will probably be there. Honestly, streaming the upper floors on my channel might feel refreshing.

[That works for me.]

[Let's meet at Shibuya Dungeon at 9 AM, the day after tomorrow. Sound good?]

[That's perfect. Looking forward to it.]

Looks like everything's set... When I collaborated with Asakawa-san, we made the plans in person. And Kamishiro-san just sort of followed me around. With Aizawa-san, I casually invited him. So this kind of formal scheduling feels a bit tense. It's not that I dislike it, but...

I hope it goes well.

With a bit of nervousness, I went about my day until the agreed-upon date arrived, and I headed over to Shibuya Dungeon.

"Um... Kisaragi-san?"

"Oh, good morning, Kanakon-san."

"Y-Yes!"

This is my collab partner for today... an E-ranked explorer, Kanakon-san.

Apparently, much like Aizawa-san, she left her salary job to pursue a full-time career as an explorer, but things didn't work out. Now, she's turned to streaming, hoping to boost her income from ads. But it seems like she's struggling with that as well.

"My name's Kanako Miyamoto."

"I'm Kisaragi Tsukasa... though, I guess you already know that."

"Y-Yes... I wasn't sure if you used your real name."

Kanakon-san—Miyamoto-san—initially had a solid start as a streamer. And, well, let's just say her... "generous assets" paired with a soft-spoken, gentle voice and an easygoing personality really helped her stand out. As a dungeon streamer, her image of swinging around a massive two-handed axe made a big impact, and for a while, she was trending on social media. She managed to gain a decent following.

But it seems like she reached out to me for this collab because, just like with Asakawa-san, she hopes to get stronger rather than just boosting her numbers. In other words, she's more interested in improving her skills than in a mere collab.

That's fine by me. The latter's more important than the collab anyway.

"Is it alright if I teach you everything on-stream?"

"Y-Yes, that's fine!"

She's a bit nervous... but she should be okay. She's been streaming regularly, after all.

By the way, she streams under the name "Konkon Channel" because she wears a fox mask to hide her face. The name "Konkon" comes from the fox mask, and her real name Kanako Miyamoto, hence "Kanakon." It's kinda cute, considering she's a former salarywoman.

"Good morning... Quite a crowd today."

: Well, of course.

Experience more on m|vl-em,py-r

: You gave a heads-up this time.

: This time.

: Still bitter about how you usually stream out of nowhere LOL.

: Can't blame 'em.

: Only jobless people can keep up with your usual stream times.

"It's summer vacation, after all."

"Whoa... that's a lot of viewers..."

: Huh?

: Is the collab partner already here?

: I heard a girl's voice!

: UNFORGIVABLE...

: You've betrayed us!

: EX-'us' has been disgraced!

"Wait, since when have I been called 'EX-us'?"

Apparently, my nickname has evolved without me knowing?

Am I getting trashed on message boards behind my back?

"Well, anyway, today's collab is with Kanakon-san."

"Y-Yes! Pleased to meet you!"

: Cute.

: Is this the first legit beauty on Kisaragi's channel?

: Finally, a normal person.

: Good choice.

: I don't know her, but I bet she's adorable.

: Kanakon-chan, do your best!!

"Wow, I see some of my viewers here too. Thank you for watching."

"So... as I said, today's a collab with Kanakon-san. Just like I did with Asakawa-san, I'll be teaching her some combat techniques."

"Y-Yes! I'll do my best, Sensei!"

: Ohhh.

: So you're in 'mentor mode.'

: Yeah, teaching suits you better.

: Not really a regular collab guy.

: Dungeon streaming is your calling.

: You were born for this, man.

: Kanakon-chan's about to get a serious power boost.

: I've seen her name on social media before.

With her fox mask and large two-handed axe, "Kanakon" has made quite a name for herself. Some of the viewers seem familiar with her, and I noticed a few comments about spotting her on social media. That's how I first saw her too—her talent caught my eye immediately.

"Alright... let's aim to get you into the middle floors by the end of today."

"Wait, wh-what?! Really?!"

: Huh?

: LOL.

: Wait, is he planning to take her from E-rank to D-rank in one day?

: Is that even possible?

: LOL.

: This is basically Dungeon Basics 2.0.

: Hilarious.

By the way, I'm dead serious.

I don't see why someone with her talent is stuck in the upper floors, which is why I accepted her collab request in the first place.