Chapter 16 - Chapter 16: I Can Monetize, So Things Are Going Smoothly
I succeeded in filming inside the dungeon, so I decided to start video production in earnest.
If I can monetize on a video site, I won't have to engage in dangerous combat.
If it goes viral, it could turn into tens of millions of yen in no time.
That way, the longed-for FIRE (Early Retirement) becomes possible.
This isn't a job I can do forever.
It's fine for young people, but I'm an old man.
I ended up becoming a high-level adventurer by chance, but if I don't defeat the monsters in the deep layers, my level will keep dropping.
Before that happens, I want to make some money.
To become a full-fledged video streamer, a smartphone won't do it -- so I bought a notebook PC with the money I earned.
Now I'll edit videos vigorously and upload them to the site.
At first, the novelty will bring in access numbers, but this is a one-time thing.
The view count will drop quickly.
It's not a business I can continue forever.
I've actually seen many video streamers like that.
Only a tiny handful can stay at the forefront forever.
Make money quickly, retire quickly -- live peacefully in the countryside.
That's how I want to go.
Today, everyone is staying at a hotel.
Here, electricity is unlimited.
I set up the notebook PC I bought in the room and imported the data filmed with the action camera.
It's clearly captured.
Lighting with magic really is the best, isn't it?
That's fine, but what will we do for lighting now that Sana is gone?
"Hmm, that's it!"
Cameras are recognized as a single unit in the Item Box, aren't they?
If I firmly fix the light to the action camera, won't it be recognized as one machine?
If I set a strobe on the accessory shoe on top of the camera, it should be one solid block.
If I store the camera, the strobe shouldn't be left behind -- or so I hope -- probably.
"No, I'll check that later."
First, the video -- I can't ignore what's right in front of me.
I edit the filmed video and prepare to upload it.
Cutting and connecting videos can be done well enough with free software.
To add text and make thumbnail images, I downloaded free software for that too.
The hotel has fiber optic cables, so it's fast.
If the video length is above a certain limit, it seems you can fit in many ads, but I can't force it to be longer.
For now, I'll just upload the necessary parts.
For the thumbnail image, I'll put flashy, large text in red or yellow to make it stand out.
'Terror! Sharp Teeth! Wolf Battle!' 'Giant Pig-Headed Race! Approaching Massive Body!' 'Small Dragon! Scales All Over!' 'New Adventurer Beware! These Guys Are PK!'
And so on --.
Wolf battles, Orc battles, Lizardman battles, and then Player Killer battles.
Four videos at once.
Of course, Sana's appearance is cut out.
The sound of water filling the bath comes from the bathroom.
Sana and the others have started preparing the bath.
"Alright, all set -- Upload!"
I published it immediately.
I uploaded a video of the dungeon entrance hall, but this is the first time for pure combat or monster videos.
I'm looking forward to seeing how many views it gets.
Also, what are the conditions for monetization?
Let me Google it -- since there are over a million total views, I can easily clear that requirement.
And then -- three videos?
So if I just uploaded four, does that mean I've cleared it?
How much revenue comes in?
It seems to vary depending on the number of ads in the video.
To make it simple, if it's 0.1 yen per view, that's 100,000 yen for 1 million views.
Well, I'll stop before I start calculating for a monkey that isn't caught.
"Daisuke-san... the bath water..."
"You two can go in first."
"Eh? But..."
"It's gross after an old man, right?"
"W-Well, that's not it..."
"Then Mio-chan, go in first."
"I'm going in~!"
Mio looked like she was about to take off her clothes right there and get naked, so her older sister hurriedly dragged her to the changing area.
"Hehe, she's gotten quite energetic..."
After the two went into the bath, I took a bath too.
"Phew!"
Soaking in the tub -- this is my first bath since coming to Tokyo.
Showers are expensive, and if you get covered in monster blood, cleansing magic is essential.
I wish I could use magic myself...
Those with Magician aptitude learn the light magic first, but can those who haven't learned magic awaken to it later?
I'll look into that later.
After getting out of the bath, we eat together.
Since it's a hotel, it's room service.
There's a menu on the provided tablet.
I don't need to make a phone call; if I send a message through this, they'll bring it.
Of course, they charge extra.
"I'm treating everyone, so don't hesitate -- though I'd be in trouble if you ordered a full-course meal."
"W-We wouldn't do that."
"Hehe -- I think I'll have ramen."
Ramen at a hotel.
Well, it's on the menu, so what can I do.
Ordering fancy food wouldn't be fun anyway.
"Mio wants to eat ramen too!"
"Then I will too."
Sana raised her hand slightly.
"I'll order gyoza and rice too?"
"Please give us one serving of gyoza between me and Mio."
"Alright, OK! Send!"
'Is your order correct? Do you have any other requests?'
A reply came via the tablet.
"Then, 'Since there are children, please give us one small bowl.'"
'Understood.'
After waiting about 30 minutes, the door was knocked on, and the food was brought in on a wagon.
"Yay!"
"Thank you for waiting."
The woman who came was wearing black pants and a vest with a white shirt.
"Thank you."
"If you need anything else, just let us know."
They had properly prepared a small bowl for Mio too.
"Understood. Once we finish eating, what do we do --"
"Just take the whole wagon outside."
"Understood."
The three of us sat around a round table and slurped ramen.
It's a bit expensive, but being able to eat slowly in the room is nice.
"Gugu gu..."
Mio is stuffing her cheeks with gyoza deliciously.
I slurp the noodles too.
It's quite delicious -- or rather, if they charged high prices and it was bad, no one would order.
"Delicious..."
Sana seems to find it delicious too.
Good.
"Of course, the food here is more delicious than my curry, right?"
"Daisuke's curry is delicious too!"
Hearing Mio's words, my eyes suddenly grew hot.
Stop it -- that attack works on an old man like me.
After the three of us enjoyed our meal, it was free time.
Mio was jumping on the bed.
She can run wild here without any problem.
Well, there is a limit to things.
"By the way -- shall we watch the video we just uploaded..."
What's the access count like?
I opened my page and the access numbers were displayed.
"Eh? 100,000 -- already? It's only been about 2 hours since I published it?"
I published four, so that's 400,000 views just from this.
Of course, many comments were attached.
As usual, there were many posts saying it's fake or CG.
Why go to such trouble?
Well, if there are this many views, there will be people trying to make fakes with CG.
There must have been many streamers like that in reality.
I also had the perception that all videos inside the dungeon were fakes.
When the real thing appeared, it would cause a panic, of course.
'This must be the Special District of Tokyo Bay, judging from the entrance hall. The internal structure is definitely correct.'
It seems fellow professionals are watching.
'Are PKs really out there?'
'They exist. They don't kill, but they extort.'
'This guy is really here to kill.'
However, since my video shows my face clearly, there are many critical voices against it.
Even on the video site, it might violate privacy policies and get taken down.
If that happens, I can just add a mosaic and upload it again.
'PKs should be exposed as they deserve?'
-- There are many voices like that.
The Special District is indeed a treaty port with extraterritorial rights, but it is also a factory supporting the nation and a community of fate where adventurers gather.
If it becomes a complete lawless zone, it will ultimately be a negative for all adventurers.
If that happens, the country, which is promoting this as a national project, will intervene.
If you can make money, do as you please -- that's the feeling.
Currently, deterrence between guilds is working, but there are still many rule violations.
My footage might become a wedge to improve security inside the dungeon.
When Mio got tired of trampoline jumping on the bed, she started watching the internet.
She can watch whatever she wants here.
Her internet viewing continued until just before she went to sleep.
Mio seems to want to stay up late, but she has school tomorrow.
-- The day after staying at the hotel.
I checked the videos as soon as I woke up.
Overnight, all four had over 1 million views.
Fortunately, the PK video doesn't seem to have been taken down yet.
"Great! It's definitely going viral."
"It's the first time seeing real dungeon videos."
Sana also peeks at the notebook PC screen and seems surprised by the number of views.
"Let's make as much money as we can with this and aim for early retirement! Hahaha."
"..."
She seems to be thinking about something.
She might be worried about what happens after I'm gone.
I understand that, but I can't be with her forever either.
An old man like me can't do this business forever.
I also have my hometown and family in the Testing Land.
The comment section seems to be full of topics on how the video was filmed.
Many comments about fakes and CG also stem from the fact that filming inside the dungeon is difficult.
To make this succeed, I first have to get the rare ability called Item Box.
And whether I can find and master the bug -- multiple factors are intertwined.
In my case, finding the bug was also accidental.
"Oh?"
When I accessed the management page, a notification about monetization had arrived -- fast.
I thought I met the requirements as of yesterday...
Well, the access and subscriber numbers increased drastically all at once.
They must have noticed me.
It seems they add a little color to the revenue for exclusive streaming on this site.
Uploading to multiple places is troublesome, and I have no intention of posting elsewhere, so it's fine.
I selected exclusive streaming.
"Wow."
There are many inquiry messages.
Most of them are from streamers.
'Won't you collaborate with us?' 'We have XX million subscribers~'
So many messages like that.
I don't care about such troublesome things.
I don't even think about taking the top spot if I just go viral enough to earn some pocket money.
I don't intend to make a living off this.
Besides, I don't want them to know how I'm filming.
Naturally, the Item Box thing will get exposed too.
These guys are probably after that, right?
After checking the site, I turned on the recording switch on the action camera and stored it in the Item Box.
Now I can film again by taking it out inside the dungeon.
If I forget this ritual beforehand, I have to go outside once before I can use it again.
After the video, I checked the battery charging from the hotel outlet.
All of them were fully charged.
This means I won't have trouble with electricity for a while.
When the battery runs out, I can come back here.
I stored the fully charged battery in the Item Box.
Breakfast was a buffet at the hotel, and I was full.
The sisters also said, "Delicious!" and ate various things.
I wonder if Mio's stomach will hurt during class.
I remembered my elementary school days.
For some reason, my stomach would hurt in the middle of class.
I thought I should go to the toilet -- but if I pooped at school, I'd definitely get the nickname Poop Man.
I managed to endure it.
Anyway, unlike my childhood, I checked out of the luxurious hotel.
"I'm going~!"
Mio, carrying the backpack I gave her, headed to elementary school.
"'Have a good day~'"
"When you come back, it's that inn with Oba-chan, okay?"
"Yes!"
She waved her hand.
Looking at it like this, I notice many elementary school students heading to school.
The population has decreased, and since semiconductors can't be used, manpower is needed for now, and the birth rate seems to be rising.
"Well, what will Sana do? I want to dive a bit deeper..."
"...Can't I go with you?"
"Well, that's fine -- but the deeper areas have stronger monsters, and even if danger increases, I might not be able to protect you..."
"It's fine."
"As an adult, I suppose I shouldn't stop young people from doing this..."
"I chose this myself."
"Well, certainly, I think you can raise your level all at once..."
She seemed to be thinking about something at the hotel, but was she thinking about this?
If it doesn't work, we can turn back and dive solo again.
Sana is motivated, so I have no choice.
Still, if she gets scared out of her wits, she might say, "I quit after all..."
Ideal and reality being different is common in this world.
Falling is part of life.
The two of us came to the dungeon.
As usual, there were many people near the entrance.
"Oh? Maces are for sale."
Stalls lined up with weapons.
"These are all weapons taken out of the dungeon."
An old man wearing overalls and a headband told me, so I picked up one from among them.
It's a lump with protrusions attached to the end of a metal rod.
"Sana, try swinging it."
"Yes -- heave!"
"Looks safe. I'll take this."
"Thank you as always!"
One was 50,000 yen.
I don't know if it's expensive or cheap, but if I had custom-made such a weapon, it would cost about this much.
Mass production would make it cheaper, but if I were to make such things now, I'd make food or electronic devices instead.
So, since weapons come out of the dungeon, many people procure them locally.
It looks like a normal mace, but it might have some special effect.
Since there's no one who can Appraise it at this point, I won't know until I actually use it.
If I use it and find out, "It has this special effect," it might sell for quite a bit more when I sell it.
"Here, you use this."
"Eh? But, something so expensive... I also have the dagger you gave me."
"The dagger is for finishing blows. You should have a weapon with reach. If you take down a big one, you can pay for it quickly."
"Yes, thank you."
If I get hurt trying too hard, it will cost extra money.
It's better to have equipment ready -- though I said that, I entered the dungeon almost unarmed.
We, who had gathered weapons, entered the dungeon.
As usual, there were many adventurers in the entrance hall.
There are many people pushing bicycles too.
I guess they hate spending time moving.
Trains cost money.
I wish there was a return magic like in games, but it seems no such magic has been confirmed at this point.
I took out the bicycle in the darkness, stored Sana's mace in the Item Box -- and aimed for the deep layers riding together.
As soon as we went down to the second layer, we were attacked by wolves.
This is why adventurers aiming for big targets from the start take the train.
If you ride that, you won't encounter grunts.
If monsters appear on the tracks, just knock them away.
Mass is justice.
I wonder why they don't lay railways all the way to the lower layers, but it can't be done.
As you go deeper, monsters become bigger and stronger -- then the train won't be free.
Laying tracks also involves danger.
-- That's why the railway and elevator stop at the fourth layer.
I guess that area has the best cost performance.
Trash left unused gets absorbed by the dungeon, but things people use seem to be fine.
Railways and elevators seem to be spared from absorption that way.
Of course, camp equipment and the fiber optics crawling on the ceiling too.
I don't really understand the dungeon system, but that's the specification, so it can't be helped.
Red eyes chasing us increase.
"This won't do."
Running around leading monsters could involve other adventurers.
It's a hated behavior called train or blame-shifting.
The two of us got off the bicycles and kicked away a nearby wolf.
"Gya-in!"
"Sana, light."
"Yes -- Light! [Light]"
I prepared the camera using the Item Box.
At the same time, I took out the mace and handed it to her.
Grunts' videos might not be interesting, but since I upload these every day, more regular viewers will watch to kill time.
"Sana, save your magic."
"Yes! Heave!"
"Gyan!"
She hit the wolf's head.
Since her level has also risen, she can fight quite well.
"Oraa!"
Wolf battles are already boring.
I knock them down quickly and let Sana deliver the finishing blow.
Since the battle was over, I checked the surroundings to prevent someone from stealing it and stored it in the Item Box.
"Ah, I leveled up again!"
This makes me Level 10.
It seems you can fight on the second layer at around Level 12, so my level matches that.
Well, we are aiming for the lower layers.
"Phew... Well, let's move quickly before they spawn again."
"Yes!"
As I tried to store the camera, I heard a strange sound.
A growl and a sound of dragging something.
"Guuuu..."
Appearing before our eyes was a strange humanoid dressed as an adventurer.
Wearing dark armor, eyes wide open, mouth agape.
Dragging gait.
Like zombies I saw in old movies --.
"Ah! Daisuke-san! It's a Ghoul!"
"Ghoul? This is it?"
A rotting stench that makes you want to pinch your nose wafts over.
"Yes."
"Isn't it a zombie?"
"Some people call them zombies. If you get attacked by a Ghoul, you become a Ghoul."
Sana also covers her mouth, probably because it smells.
"Eh?! So this guy too..."
He's not dressed as an adventurer, but was an adventurer originally?
I understood that -- but his outfit looks familiar...
"Daisuke-san! This person looks like the one who attacked us yesterday."
"Oh! That guy?!"
Hearing Sana's words, I realized the true identity of the Ghoul before my eyes.
An adventurer who was fired from some guild or held a grudge and tried to PK us.
"Probably, yes!"
"I get that -- but he was an adventurer originally, is it okay to do this?"
"But, he's a Ghoul now, so he's a monster..."
"That's what I thought..."
He was human originally, but is this not a problem?
-- I think so, but as she said, the opponent has already become a monster.
I'd like to go out first and Google to check precedents...
But there's no time for that.
Originally, this dungeon is a lawless zone.
The ones who become Ghouls are at fault.
If you get attacked by a Ghoul, you become a Ghoul -- did he get attacked by a Ghoul after he was staggered by my attack?
And still -- if he was attacked yesterday, can he become like this today?
If they say it's the dungeon, then that's how it is...
No -- if I dawdle, I'll become a mummy myself.
Fortunately, the opponent's movement is slow.
I can't let Sana do this, so I have to do it.
Once I create distance, I took out a slingshot from the Item Box.
"Oraaaa!"
A large stone released from the spinning slingshot blew off the Ghoul's head.
Rotting brain matter splattered.
Without light, it only looks black and white to my eyes, but now it's illuminated by magic.
Thick red stuff splattered everywhere.
Whoa! Splatter.
In terms of video, is gore okay?
If I upload this, it might get taken down...
The opponent is already a monster, so is it okay?