Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: There Are Monsters That Don't Make Money
Sana, a member of our guild, is motivated.
She seems to be debuting as a video streamer using her own weapon.
Well, it's natural to want to utilize that since she does have a fine weapon――.
From the perspective of an old man like me, I wonder if it's appropriate to let young people do such things.
In this era, anyone over 16 is treated as an adult, so I cannot oppose what she has decided.
She needs to earn money not just for herself, but for her grandfather and her younger sister as well.
If things become dangerous, naturally, it will be my turn as the guild leader to step in.
I need to be careful.
――The video I uploaded the other day went viral.
The view count is so high I could almost live off just this.
Checking the video while eating breakfast.
I got the owner's official approval to cook on the rooftop, so I made bacon and eggs with instant soup.
"Hugu hugu..."
Mio is eating the bacon and eggs steadily.
It seems delicious.
Everyone eats the same thing together.
"Daisuke-san, you can cook too...?"
Sana stares at the bacon and eggs.
"It's simple men's cooking? I just fried it―― If you want to learn cooking, I'll teach you, shall we make it together?"
"Please!"
Since her parents were gone, it seems she never had anyone to teach her cooking.
That old man didn't look like he could cook either.
If you really wanted to, you could just Google it on the net and figure something out.
There are cooking videos on video sites, so watching those would be faster.
But they say a hundred hearsay are worth one look.
"Can I too?!?"
Ren also seems to want to learn cooking.
"Okay, okay."
Putting cooking aside, let's check the video.
Our future might depend on this guy.
First―― the video of the man who tried to PK me and turned into a Ghoul.
'Ha ha ha! W!'
'You tried to do PK, so it's karma, right?'
'Only people with the resolve to be attacked can attack.'
'If you get attacked by a monster in a dungeon, it turns out like this... That's scary!'
'Gore warning!'
'Are you quitting being human? Quitting being an adventurer?'
'I quit being human with this.'
The gag is old.
There are many comments, generally well-received.
Some posts say things like, 'He was human originally, can't anything be done about it?' or 'It's ethically wrong.'
But are the people who PK others ethically okay?
Well, as expected, it was filled with snarky comments.
'If you get attacked by a Ghoul, you turn into a Ghoul, so be careful.'
'Eh?! You can't be saved?'
'If you treat it immediately with magic or a potion, it's okay.'
Is that so?
Also, it seems you can prevent Ghoul-ification by cutting off the bitten area immediately.
That requires guts... even if you can heal with magic or medicine.
Potions are important after all.
I must not run out.
Next―― the video of the white wolf we took down.
'Eh?! There's a wolf like that?!'
'Is it a boss individual? Unique?'
'It's huge!'
'It's fake, right?'
'Is there still someone saying it's fake? Didn't you see the ones sold to dealers in short videos?'
'I was at the scene of the trade myself, it was a real wolf.'
'What kind of person is the uploader? Did you see them?'
'He was just an ordinary old man.'
Since I'm not showing my face, it will take some time to identify me.
'He was with two girls.'
'What's that? Guild members?'
'Something like that.'
'She was on the recommended channel here, right?'
'Really? I'll go watch!'
As expected, it seems most people haven't seen this individual before.
As other dealers said, there seem to be confirmed cases in foreign countries.
Both videos have already exceeded 1 million views.
The first video I uploaded seems to be approaching 10 million views.
This is amazing.
I'll be a small-time rich man soon.
Messages for sponsorships and such keep coming, but I ignore them.
There is absolutely no benefit for me.
I don't intend to become famous with this.
"Oh? Sana's video is getting quite a few views too."
"I'm watching it now."
The view count is around 10,000.
It was also discussed in the comment section of my video, and even though I'm linking and guiding people from there, 10,000 at the start is quite impressive.
'De!'
'De!'
'Mu!'
'Mu!'
'Mu!'
'Mu!'
There are many incomprehensible comments like that.
'She's hiding her face, but I know! This girl is cute!'
'I'll support you.'
Generally well-received.
"If we film actual combat and magic usage videos, we'll hit 100,000 or even 1 million views in no time."
"Really?!"
"Well, we won't know until we actually try."
"Yay!"
"No, no, it might just be premature joy."
"What is premature joy?"
"Eh? Eh~ um."
Even though her face is hidden, if a huge-breasted, cute girl like this uses magic, it will look great.
It will definitely go viral.
"Also―― I think you'll get mean comments and harassment, so don't take them seriously."
"I understand."
Well, if it's troublesome, I can just close the comment section.
"How nice..."
Ren murmured while watching the video.
"If we film scenes of Ren using healing magic, I think it will go viral."
"You'll film my video too?!"
"Well, you are a guild member."
"Yay!"
"You might end up in my video, so Ren might as well wear a mask too."
"Hmm―― I don't want my face exposed either."
"..."
As the three of us discussed various things, Mio looked bored.
"Mio-chan, what's wrong?"
"It's boring with just the big sisters..."
"Haha, Big Sisters are doing dangerous work to earn money for Mio-chan's meals and school fees."
"..."
"So you have to cheer for us."
"Boo!"
Well, she is a child.
"But because Big Sister is here, Mio-chan's illness was cured too."
"...Yeah."
It seems she understands.
She might start saying she wants to be an adventurer too, but there is quite a bit of time until that age.
Also, if Big Sister earns enough and saves up, we won't have to do dangerous things.
We could start some other business using the capital.
Like running an inn like the Oba-chan here, or becoming a dealer who buys things.
I always say this, but this kind of work cannot be done forever.
Actually, the guy who tried to PK me ended up like that.
That could be my state tomorrow.
After finishing breakfast, we all left the inn, I went to the dungeon, and Mio went to school.
"I'm going!"
"Have a good trip!"
It's a city where you get mugged while walking, but it's good that children are safe.
Usually, if public order worsens, children's safety is threatened too.
That part is very Japanese.
If something happens to a child, it seems each guild unites across boundaries.
Is that the pride of adventurers?
Ah, maybe―― am I thought to be that kind of person?
Maybe that's why they are talking about surveillance.
The proof is that the woman from yesterday followed us.
"Daisuke-san..."
Sana glances at the woman behind us.
"Leave her be. She won't catch up if she tries to ride a bike in the dungeon anyway."
"Oh, that's right."
She doesn't know I have an Item Box.
If the three of us ride bikes, we can shake her off in no time.
On the way, Ren bought a mask and such.
"How is it? Daisuke, cool?"
She is wearing a skull mask and giggling.
Even so, when she gets near the dungeon gate, her expression stiffens.
"What's wrong?"
"..."
In the direction of her pale blue face is a group in black robes―― the Labyrinth Cult.
As expected, given her mother's situation, I can't just ignore them calmly.
It's a difficult matter, but if we are diving into the dungeon as a business, we might have contact with them.
Well, if they don't bother us, we'll ignore them too.
We enter the dungeon as usual.
Ren also seemed a little shaken seeing the cult members, but she seems okay now.
"That woman――?"
The woman who has been following me from the inn.
"She's a bit further away. She's a persistent BBA, isn't she?"
Ren has a sharp tongue.
"Haha, to you guys, she's an old lady too."
"Yes, she is."
"Does she really intend to follow us?"
"She's bored, haha."
Ren is quite venomous.
Inside the dungeon, Ren and Sana took off their robes.
Especially Sana―― the moment she took it off, her violent cleavage became visible.
"What about Ren? Is it okay?"
"Okay!"
If Sana has breasts, I have bare legs and a navel.
They are overflowing with youth, and I envy them.
I take the bike out of the Item Box, and the three of us get on.
Sana is behind me.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Yes!"
"We can ride in the dark without any light, so they can't follow us."
"They probably don't think we have a bike."
Just as Sana, who is riding behind, said.
I think she's probably still in shock.
Let's shake her off like this.
There's no time to mess around with grunts here.
We increase speed and head down the path to the 2nd floor.
"It's fast, be careful."
"Hehe! It's okay, it's okay!"
"I-it's scary!"
Sana, who can't see anything in the pitch black, might feel that way, but Ren and I can clearly see where we are going in black and white.
We don't stop at the camp below, we just charge through.
We kick aside the annoying wolves as we are, and descend to the 3rd floor.
Skipping the camp on the 3rd floor, we decided to hunt around here.
I want to raise the girls' levels a bit more.
Personally, I want to go to the 4th floor, but I'll hold back for a bit.
Besides, the 3rd floor feels like the best cost-performance for business.
They have a large camp set up too.
Arriving at a suitable spot on the 3rd floor, we get off the bikes and prepare for battle.
I take out weapons from the Item Box and hand them to the girls.
"Well, I'd be happy if Orcs or Lizardmen show up."
I don't think Lizardman leather will make money.
It's just like crocodile skin.
After walking for a while, we encountered an enemy.
"Light! 《Light》"
Sana's magic brightens the surroundings.
I use the Item Box to set up the camera.
"Gorgorgor..."
It's a large humanoid, but not an Orc or a Lizardman.
Pointed ears, pale green skin, and a muscular large body.
"What's that?"
"That is probably a Hobgoblin!"
"Oh, like the boss of the goblins."
I see, it's like a large version of a small oni.
"Goraaa!"
It holds a large wooden club and swings it wildly.
Close combat is impossible with this.
I take some distance and try out a new weapon I took out of the Item Box.
"Oryaaa!"
After swinging it wildly, I throw the bola at the enemy.
"Goa!"
It wrapped around the enemy's body, but it seems it cannot cut the nylon rope.
As a weapon, it was a success.
I threw bolas one after another.
One of them wrapped around the Hobgoblin's leg, and its giant body collapsed.
"Alright! Tackle him!"
"Hey! Hey!" "Oryarya!"
We surround it and beat its head.
Ren seems used to it, beating the monster to a pulp.
"The finishing blow, Sana, you do it!"
"Yes! Ya!"
The mace she swung down with all her might crushed the enemy's head lying on the ground.
As a red stain spread on the ground, Sana's body glowed at the same time.
"Oh, you leveled up."
"Yes!"
I found out that bolas work.
I also found out that nylon ropes cannot be cut by enemies on the 3rd floor.
Just this much, we can hope for a power-up.
"Goaaaa!" "Goraaa!"
This time, two Hobgoblins.
"Check levels later! Next enemy!"
"Yes!"
"Another Hobgoblin?!"
I'll take one.
This time, a catapult.
I set a stone, spin it around, and throw it at the opponent. The launched rock mass blows off the opponent's right shoulder.
"Gaaaaah!"
Without a shoulder, it can't wield a weapon anymore.
I summon a Rebar Mace from the Item Box, approach the enemy, and sweep its legs.
"Oraa!"
"Guah!"
I crush the fallen enemy's legs. To stop its movement.
"Ren! I'll draw the other one, you finish this one!"
"Un! Dorya!!"
Ren rushes over and stabs a dagger into the flailing enemy.
I swing the mace to distract the other Hobgoblin.
"Alright! Sana! Try attacking with magic for the video?"
"Yes! I'll try."
"Then I have to draw aggro."
I switch to the catapult and throw stones just to harass.
"Goraaa!"
Naturally, hate is drawn to me.
"Hey hey! Here, here!"
"Light Bullet!"
Blue light gathers around Sana.
"Alright!"
I step back.
This way, I can capture the moment she fires the magic in the video.
"Strike my enemy! 《Magic Missile》"
As the bundle of glowing light increases in brightness, it is fired at the enemy.
Previously, against the Lizardman, it hit the shoulder, but today it lands perfectly on the center line.
With that power, the head and above are blown off, scattering flesh chunks everywhere.
"Gyaaaah!"
A high-pitched scream is heard, but that is Ren's voice.
It was a slightly shocking scene, so she might have been startled.
As expected, if the head is gone, even a monster dies instantly.
Sana's body glows immediately, and it seems she leveled up.
We stop filming for a moment here.
"Oh?"
A bottle drops again―― this one might be a potion.
"Haa haa... Daisuke-san!"
"What? Sana, are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"No! I think I can fire that magic one more time!"
"――Ah, probably you leveled up from that one just now."
"Yay!"
She immediately checks her own status.
I store the prey I took down in the Item Box and scan the surroundings.
"How is it?"
"I did it! Level 12!"
"I'm Level 10! Ah! I learned the Clean magic!"
"Cleaning and healing, all useful magics."
"Yeah!"
"With this, we can save on bath and shower fees, and do laundry too, right?"
"Yay!"
Ren raises her fist.
It's welcome that we now have two people with Clean.
For now, fighting in the dungeon makes you dirty.
You sweat when moving around.
"How nice, I wish I could use magic too..."
"Eh? Daisuke-san, you are incredibly strong, aren't you?"
As Sana says, but I really want the Clean magic?
"Um, Daisuke, what level are you?"
Ren seems curious about my level.
"That's a secret. But it's definitely quite high."
"Eh~?"
Well, even if I told the truth, they wouldn't believe me.
"Gyah! Gyah!"
A cry is heard from the ceiling.
"What?!"
She must have heard this for the first time.
At low levels, you usually can't get this far.
I take out a bola from the Item Box.
"This is the cry of a Harpy."
"A-are you okay?"
"I don't know..."
I don't feel hostility, so maybe it's that one again.
As I spin the bola to be on guard, a sound of flapping wings comes down nearby.
"Gyah"
Coming out of the darkness is, as expected, the previous Harpy.
"It's you again―― you weren't defeated?"
"Gyah"
The Harpy flies to me, flapping its wings.
"Eh?! Really okay?!"
"It's okay. For some reason, it's tamed."
I take out bread from the Item Box and tear it up for her.
"Hugu hugu..."
She can't use her hands, but skillfully grabs and bites with her feet.
"Gya"
It seems happy.
Looking at it like this―― her face looks like a human girl, but her teeth are jagged.
Maybe because she needs to tear off meat.
"Do Harpies eat adventurers too?"
"Ew, that's gross."
Ren makes a disgusted face.
Well, I don't know if they really eat them.
It seems they sometimes raid and scavenge adventurers' meals.
More like a scavenger type.
"Is that so? She's quite cute, isn't she? Look, she has boobs too, haha."
I show the girls the nicely shaped chest of the monster.
"Daisuke is perverted! Pervert!"
When I first met Ren, I thought she was a pervert...
She was just an ordinary girl.
"Haha, what's wrong with you, you're quite dirty~"
I wipe the Harpy's face a bit.
"Gyah"
Having her face wiped by me, she closes her eyes.
Can't we take a bath here?
No―― the feathers are clean, so only the face is dirty.
Speaking of which, I heard there is water at the campsite, and there are springs inside the dungeon.
Even if that's true, she has no hands, so she can't wash her face.
"By the way, Ren, cast the Clean magic a bit――"
"Try it?"
"Hmm, no, let's do it after carrying the prey."
If we carry it to the camp, it will get dirty again.
If we clean it all at once with magic then, it will be done in one go.
Magic is precious, so we must use it efficiently.
"Alright, come back a bit later."
"Gih!"
I release the Harpy for now.
"That rope weapon is useful~!"
"Ren, try making your own original weapons or testing various things."
"Yeah!"
"It's better to research things that seem useful and try them out to create your own winning pattern."
"I'll try."
I think sandbag attacks using the Item Box are effective, but if I use them while filming, my abilities will be exposed.
Even so, in an emergency, I consider giving up the video and using them.
If sandbags don't work, I can drop a light truck.
That weighs about 1 ton.
Well, I don't want to break my beloved car, so I won't do it.
Even without using a precious car as a weapon, I can just find large rocks in the dungeon, put them in the Item Box.
Large rocks can be used as hiding spots too.
Using multiple rocks, you can bivouac―― a natural fortress.
"Well, let's take the Hobgoblin for now."
"Goblins don't make money, so it's impossible, isn't it?"
Sana's opinion is reasonable too.
"Well, Goblin testicles seem useful, so maybe that can be used, haha."
"Ugh..." "Ew~"
Both of them look very disgusted.
Even if they say they dislike it, if that's the only thing usable, we need to cut it off on site and take it to a dealer.
If I'm there, I can do it, but there are times when only they are around.
I rest sometimes too.
Eventually, they might go independent or become leaders of other guilds.
For now, I store all the prey in the Item Box, take out the bike, and head near the camp.
Arriving at the destination, I get off the bike, take out the Hobgoblin in the darkness, and carry it on my back.
"It stinks!"
As expected, these guys smell.
What kind of smell is it? The smell of a toilet and a sewer.
Why do Goblins smell?
Orcs aren't that bad, and Lizardmen don't smell.
"Gya, Gyah!"
The Harpy flies and lands on top of the Hobgoblin I am carrying.
"It stinks..." "Super stinky!"
"If I wasn't here, you two would be carrying this."
"Do you really have to?" "Eh? Really?"
"Well, if Goblins smell bad and don't make money, maybe we don't have to carry them?"
Carrying the smelly prey, we aim for the light.
"Ew! It stinks!" "A Hobgoblin!" "Don't bring that thing!"
Just getting close to the camp, other adventurers are condemning us.
I asked the adventurers nearby.
"Do Hobgoblins not make money?"
"Ah, no good. Only the magic stone and testicles are usable."
"Oh, as expected..."
Then there's nothing to be done.
I return to the darkness and tear open the monster's large body.
There are three of them in total.
Next time, if I meet them, what should I do?
Should I just blast them and leave them?
"Ew, gross!"
"As I said before, Ren, you won't be able to earn money if you can't do this?"
"Ugh~"
I take the magic stone from the chest area and cut off the thing between the legs, putting it into a plastic bag taken out of the Item Box.
Tie the mouth part―― now it doesn't smell.
"Hey, Harpy."
"Gya, Gyah"
She flew to me, so I picked her up.
"Ren, please cast Clean magic together."
"I'll try!"
"Sana, why don't you join in too?"
"Understood."
"Mu~! Clean!"
When Ren casts the magic, blue light dances and soaks into our bodies.
Monster blood and dirt peel off and fall to the ground in pieces.
"Oh! It's clean. Thanks."
"Yay!"
Ren shows her white teeth and makes a V-sign.
After that, I sold the Goblin's magic stone and testicles.
50,000 yen for three, 150,000 yen total.
For a day's earnings, isn't that pretty good?
Everyone feels the 4th floor is the best cost-performance―― so I think they built a large camp here and are hunting overnight.
"As expected, Orcs and Lizardmen that yield meat and leather are better and more expensive. Hobgoblins are the worst of the worst."
"Yes~" "It's just stinky, seriously the worst!"
The Harpy knows it makes money too, but seeing that Harpy, I don't feel motivated.
Unless it's a different individual clearly hostile, I suppose.
After that, the three of us were hunting, but only Hobgoblins.
After taking down a total of six, we decided to give up.
"Haa haa―― I finally found you!"
"Hm?"
When I turned around, it was that woman who had been following us.
She's persistent.