At my house, everyone from the Shadow Stars is gathered: Kōya, Shiba-san, and Daigo-san. In addition to the usual male crowd, there was one more guy added to the mix.
“I’m Ikezawa Kaito! Nice to meet you!”
Today marks the official start of Ikezawa ‘s journey with the Shadow Stars. He, like Kōya, is starting completely as a beginner.
“Hehe, nice to meet you! I’m really happy to have a junior like you!”
Kōya seems quite pleased with Ikezawa ‘s joining. It might be comforting for him to have another beginner around.
“I’m Daigo Yanase. I’m the type who specializes in magic. From what I can see, Kaito-kun is also good at magic, so I guess I’ll be your main instructor. Nice to meet you.”
Daigo-san is giving Ikezawa a refreshing smile. He had pushed for Ikezawa ’s hiring during the interview, so he seems very friendly.
“I’m Shiba Atsunori. I’m not as good as Daigo-kun, but I can use some magic. I have plenty of experience diving into dungeons, so I think I can teach you a lot. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Shiba-san is also kind to beginners, so it seems like he and Ikezawa will get along well.
“Yes! Everyone! Nice to meet you!!”
Ikezawa greeted them energetically with a loud voice. It feels a bit too loud, but it’s better than being too quiet. He has a lively personality that is quite likable.
Compared to Makita-san, Ikezawa seems to fit in better with the group. Though comparing him to that wild dog, Makita-san, might not be fair.
I want to believe this is the more normal situation. But they say dungeon streamers often have strong quirks in many ways…
At the very least, I started to think that Ikezawa , who can use polite language and greet others properly, is a valuable asset just for that.
“Now that we’ve finished introductions, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Eito Kageno, the representative of the Shadow Stars. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you！！！！”
“Now, I’ve prepared the account for Ikezawa ’s channel and the tracking drone for filming here.”
“Thank you！！！！”
His volume is still high. It really isn’t a lie that he was the loudest in the soccer club.
“This is part of our employee benefits.”
The first hurdle for dungeon streamers is usually the filming equipment. If you don’t have the funds to get good streaming gear, the quality of the stream will suffer.
If the streaming visuals lack impact, fewer people will want to watch the dungeon streams. If you want to earn revenue from streaming, you can’t skimp on this part.
“By the way, I properly watched Shiba-san’s beginner lecture stream! I made sure to study well there.”
“Oh, in that case, we don’t need to cover the basics.”
Shiba-san seems a bit pleased that it saves him some effort.
◇
With introductions done, the four of us decided to head into the dungeon right away.
Having four people appear in one stream feels like quite a large group. That said, the number includes all the streamers who are affiliated with us.
Depending on the schedule, not everyone may be able to participate in the stream, and in such cases, the number will be reduced, so if we’re going to call ourselves a large group, we need even more members.
“This is Shiba from Shadow Stars.”
“Kōya here.”
“I’m Daigo.”
“Starting today, a newcomer will be joining us for this stream.”
At Shiba-san’s cue, the comments section buzzes with excitement.
: Finally here!
: There was a preview, after all.
: I wonder what kind of person it will be.
: Since there are so many guys, it might be a girl?
: Maybe someone as strong as Shiba-san or Daigo-san will come?
Well, the predictions in the comments section were completely off.
“Now, let’s call in the newcomer. Kaito-kun! Please come up!”
“Yes! I just joined the Shadow Stars today. I’m the newcomer, Kaito! Nice to meet you!!!!”
: Your voice is too loud, lol.
: Your voice is loud, but you’re not that tall.
: The height difference compared to Shiba-san…
Don’t say too much about his height. Ikezawa isn’t small just because he wants to be.
“That’s right! I might be small, but I have confidence that my voice and spirit are bigger than anyone else’s!”
He doesn’t seem angry at all about the height comment. Amazing. He really does have a big heart.
When I look at Ikezawa , he’s smiling brightly. Oh, I see. He likes to be the center of attention. During this newcomer introduction, he is definitely the most prominent one.
That’s why he looks so happy.
“By the way, I played soccer in middle and high school! My position was forward!”
While he has the spotlight, Ikezawa is sharing various things about himself. However, we are in a dungeon right now. We never know when monsters might show up.
“Kaito-kun! A monster is coming!”
Daigo-san noticed the monster. It’s a large, tiger-like creature, growling as it stares at everyone.
Then, it lunged at Shiba-san.
“Take that!”
Shiba-san deflected the tiger monster’s attack with his spear.
“Whoa… um. Daigo-san! Please teach me some magic!”
Ikezawa hurried over to Daigo-san in a panic at this situation.
“Okay. For now, let’s practice the Shura-Riki magic.”
“Shura-Riki? Isn’t that the magic that boosts strength? I’d prefer a flashy attack magic.”
Ikezawa started saying something similar to what Kōya had said. It seems that at their core, Kōya and Ikezawa might be quite similar.
“No, your case might be a bit different. Try to visualize casting the magic to boost Shiba-kun’s power.”
“Hmm… Shura-Riki!”
Ikezawa radiated a sparkling light, which enveloped Shiba-san.
“Here I go!”
Shiba-san pierced the tiger monster with his spear.
“Graaaah…!”
The tiger monster was impaled and vanished. With the supplementary magic, Shiba-san’s power had been boosted to the level where he could defeat the tiger in one blow.
“Thank you, Kaito-kun. I owe my success to you.”
“…Um. No, it’s nothing like that.”
Ikezawa looked somewhat troubled. He sighed while checking the comments on his terminal.
: Shiba-san is still strong.
: That tiger monster is pretty strong. I’ve seen a few dungeon streamers get taken down by it.
: As expected of Shiba. He didn’t struggle at all.
From the comments’ perspective, Shiba-san is the center of attention, while Ikezawa probably finds it less amusing.
However, this is precisely the talent that Ikezawa possesses. Being skilled in supportive magic, he can only provide back-up like this.
“Nice assist, Kaito-kun.”
Daigo-san praised Ikezawa ’s assist. Yet, Ikezawa could only manage a somewhat awkward smile in response.
“Oh, right. Hahaha.”
He had mentioned that his position in the soccer club was forward, which typically means scoring points. It seems he might prefer receiving assists to scoring points himself.
“Daigo-san. Please teach me an offensive magic next!”
Ikezawa closed the distance to Daigo-san. He looked eager and motivated.
“Learning offensive magic is difficult. It’s still too early for a beginner like you.”
“That’s… not true…”
It’s not so much that offensive magic is hard; it’s more that it’s challenging for Ikezawa because he is a support-type.
I could see some anxiety in Ikezawa ’s expression. This feels a bit dangerous.
I instructed Daigo-san through the intercom.
“Daigo-san. Please let Ikezawa try attacking next. If it seems possible, please raise your left hand for just a moment.”
Daigo-san raised his left hand for just an instant. There’s no point in making Ikezawa feel dissatisfied. I need to let off a little steam for him and allow him to do what he wants.
