"This is the explorer card."

""That was fast!""

At the nearest government office.

Kokone and I received our explorer qualifications.

It seems necessary to enter the dungeon.

What I went to were things like body measurements and lectures.

The time required is just about an hour.

"Explorers can come as much as they want. We are expanding the entrance as the country's top business."

""Wow.""

But the lady at the city hall raised her index finger.

"I'll say it again, but it's still just an ordinary explorer."

""Okay.""

There are general explorers and advanced explorers among the explorers.

Most dungeons can be explored with a general qualification, but some high-difficulty dungeons require an advanced qualification.

It's impressive that I remember what I learned in the course.

Anyway, I got the explorer qualification.

With this, I can dive with integrity.

At first glance, Kokone, who seems to be human, has also obtained the qualification.

Did she get motivated? It was the right decision to stop her when she said, "We'll force our way in."

"And also, the rental streaming equipment you requested. If it gets broken, you'll have to compensate, but if it's returned in its original condition, there won't be any charge."

""Awesome.""

Furthermore, we were even able to rent the equipment.

If rare items are recorded, it seems that the community benefits.

So this is what a nationwide project looks like.

...But still, Kokone, please stop fiddling with the gacha right away.

Because it's a mechanical sound.

"Alright, let's go."

"Ah, the equipment!"

Taking Kokone away, we stepped into the dungeon.

★

Diving into the dungeon for a while.

"Take that!"

"Cling!"

I cut down the slime with a sword (rental).

I quickly thrust the sword into the slime.

"Oh, I can get it here too!"

What I scooped up with my sword was a "Slime Core."

It is a round, glowing material that can mainly be used for equipment and such.

Simply because it is beautiful, it was also famous in another world as a gift given by novice adventurers.

I turn around while holding the "Slime Core."

"I got it safely! Yay, peace peace!"

"..."

But Kokone's expression is not good.

"Master, no viewers are coming at all."

"I knew that!"

I threw the slime core to the ground while blushing.

Surprisingly, it's sturdy enough not to break.

I sit down nearby just like that.

"Things aren't going to be that easy..."

We had already started the stream.

With the account I happily created earlier, using rented equipment.

I wasn't expecting it from the start either.

Even so, I thought around 100 people would come.

But even that was too optimistic.

"Currently, 0 concurrent viewers."

"Gak!"

As expected of top-tier content.

As the top tier of entertainment, the competition is fierce.

It wasn't a world where I could easily become popular overnight.

"Yeah, I guess we need to do something even more amazing."

"That might be the case."

I take out a large number of "Slime Cores" from my bag.

I over-harvested the slimes around here.

For some reason... it was left untouched without taking the core.

But, as content, it probably isn't very strong.

"What will you do, Master?"

"Hmm..."

At first, I had Kokone do the exploring.

After all, isn't it better to have a beautiful girl on camera than a guy?

But the results remain unchanged.

By the way, this is the nearest D-rank dungeon.

The reason I chose it is because it's close to home.

Also, I can still fight even after losing my strength.

"Let's call it a day... my spirit is broken."

"Yes, Master."

"Thank you for your hard work."

I wave my tired hand at the camera.

I don't even know who I'm greeting anymore.

Then, Kokone immediately sits down next to me.

"Is it okay to pamper you now, Master?"

"Do as you please..."

If it were the usual me, I would have been embarrassed.

But right now, this soft sensation is the only thing supporting my heart.

"Well, no one is watching anyway."

"We've made quite a bit of progress."

It's already been about two hours since we started exploring (half of which was spent setting up the stream).

Before we knew it, we had reached the middle layer.

I hardly see any people.

Well, I was thinking it might be time to head back when I heard it.

"""Aahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"""

""...!?""

From deep inside, a group of people can be heard screaming.

With a loud thundering of footsteps, people quickly appeared.

"Run for your lives!"

"Uh, um, what's going on?"

I stood up and asked the person at the front.

The flustered man shouted while running.

"An irregular has occurred!"

"!"

An irregular refers to an abnormal situation.

It refers to the occurrence of abnormal entities or the mass appearance of monsters.

"An abnormal entity! A Cyclops of unimaginable strength has appeared!"

"...!"

"I accidentally let it out of the boss room! It's coming this way! You guys should escape before you get caught up in it! Aaaahhh!"

A one-eyed giant Cyclops.

Was it the mid-level boss of this dungeon?

Even the normal ones are C-rank, so the abnormal ones must be even higher.

I watched the people fleeing and exchanged glances.

"An abnormal Cyclops, huh? With my current strength..."

"Master, if it comes to that, this Kokone will..."

"!"

Then, Kokone spread her arms wide.

At that moment, the surroundings felt like they had suddenly chilled.

Kokone was covered in ice in various places.

At that moment.

Furthermore... the voice I heard was.'

"""Uwaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!"""

"Another one!?"

The second wave of the group... is running away.

They seem stronger than the people from earlier.

But their level of panic is on a whole different scale.

"What happened?! Is it an irregular?!"

"Yeah! But that's not the kind of level we're dealing with...!"

He's a well-built old man.

But the way he's panicking is not normal.

"It seems an abnormal Cyclops appeared, so we headed out to subdue it. We thought we could barely win if we worked together! But it was taken down in an instant!"

"Eh?"

The old man exclaimed with a pale expression.

"I thought I saw blazing wings, and then in an instant, the entire level turned into a sea of flames!"

"Huh?"

"You all need to run away quickly! That’s not a monster; it’s a calamity itself...! Aaaahhh!"

And with that, the second wave dashed away.

After seeing them off, Kokone and I exchanged glances once more.

"...Shall we go?"

"Yes."

Kokone nodded in agreement.

She must have thought the same thing.

(““I totally have a feeling about this…””)

Even though I hadn't seen it, just hearing about it made the scenery vividly come to mind.

And so, our feet naturally headed deeper inside.

Chapter 2: In the Dungeon