Chapter 24

In the end, the problem with Ikezawa-san’s mismatch of talent and personality remained unresolved as the next dungeon stream time arrived.

As usual today, the four regular members—Kōya, Shiba-san, Daigo-san, and Ikezawa-san—set off to challenge the dungeon.

The stream started, and after the usual greetings, everyone began exploring the dungeon.

“I’ll make sure to stand out today!”

Ikezawa-san was, as expected, determined to make a mark. But could he stand out with support magic? Or would he be okay if he didn’t stand out as long as he was accepted?

“A monster’s coming!”

A large wolf monster appeared. It was about the size of Kōya’s back, quite large. The wolf growled, its silvery fur bristling.

“This monster is called a Chromium Wolf. It’s pretty tough.”

Shiba-san readied his spear, preparing to fight the Chromium Wolf.

“Kōya-kun, its fangs and claws have high lethality. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Got it!”

Kōya also unsheathed his sword, ready to face the Chromium Wolf.

The wolf swiped at them with its claws. The two of them managed to dodge the attack.

The claws scraped against the dungeon floor with a screech.

“Ugh, it even scraped the rock. That’s some serious power. But, we’ll win by striking first!”

Kōya swung his sword, landing a hit on the monster’s left front leg.

“Yes!”

“If we can immobilize the front leg, we can stop its claw attacks!”

The Chromium Wolf staggered back, seemingly stunned by Kōya’s strike. It growled and glared at Kōya.

“Ugh, is it… targeting me?”

As Kōya realized the wolf’s gaze, it lunged straight at him.

“Ugh…!”

Kōya was knocked down by the wolf, his head hitting the dungeon floor with a thud.

“Ugh, that hurts…”

“Kōya-kun!”

Shiba-san called out in concern and immediately rushed forward, preparing to thrust his spear at the wolf’s body.

The Chromium Wolf noticed and swiftly leapt away, dodging Shiba-san’s attack, but as it did, it slashed at Shiba-san.

“Ugh…!”

Shiba-san was scratched on his right arm, and he held it in pain.

“Wow, this opponent’s speed is unreal…”

“Can’t even beat it with Kōya-kun and Shiba-san together?”

The comments were beginning to buzz. I hadn’t expected such a strong monster to be lurking in this dungeon.

“Shiba-san, this thing is pretty tough. But since it has a name, it means someone must have encountered it before, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“So that means it must have been defeated by someone?”

“No… even if a streamer gets defeated, the footage of the monster remains. So, even monsters that haven’t been defeated can still be given names.”

Upon hearing that, Kōya’s face turned pale.

“Wait, so this means…”

“This is a monster that has never been defeated before.”

“Eh!? I didn’t know that…”

“So, one like that has been hiding in this dungeon?”

What should I do now? Should I issue a retreat order? But the enemy is fast. We don’t even know if we’ll get the chance to retreat.

“Kaito-kun, I have one request for you.”

Daigo-san started speaking to Ikezawa-san in a calm tone.

“I need you to cast a support magic on those two. The one I want is a speed-boosting spell—Idaten.”

“Eh? B-but, I’ve never cast that spell before…”

“You can do it, even if it’s your first try. You pulled off Shurariki, so I know you can.”

Daigo-san was asking Ikezawa-san to do something pretty difficult, but this time, we might have no choice but to take a risk.

“I’m counting on you. We need your power, Kaito-kun.”

“Ugh…”

Ikezawa-san seemed to be struggling. Was he still thinking about standing out even at this moment?

“If I fail… what will happen to those two?”

“Well, they’ll probably die.”

“Eh?”

“That’s the fate of dungeon streamers. If it weren’t for Shiba-kun saving my life during the Murder Machine battle, I might’ve been dead by now.”

Daigo-san spoke calmly, but Ikezawa-san’s face turned pale with the concept of death closing in.

“That… That can’t be…”

“Dungeon streaming isn’t a game. Everyone is risking their lives… Damn it! Fūjin!”

Daigo-san used magic, launching a large wind mass and hitting the Chromium Wolf with it.

“Grrrr…”

“That was close…”

Kōya almost had his throat bitten. If Daigo-san’s assist hadn’t arrived in time, Kōya wouldn’t have been so lucky.

“Both of you are struggling to keep up with the enemy’s speed. That’s why you need the support magic.”

“We can’t afford to be nervous now, right? Understood. I’ll do it.”

Ikezawa-san made up his mind and locked eyes with the Chromium Wolf.

“Idaten!”

He tried to cast the magic… but then:

“Ugh, my legs… they’re getting faster!”

“Failed, huh? But that’s okay. The magic worked. Now cast it on each of them, one by one.”

“Can’t I cast it on both of them at once?”

Ikezawa-san asked, but Daigo-san shook his head.

“Unfortunately, no method has been found to cast support magic on everyone at once. It can only be done one person at a time.”

“Ah, so that’s why I failed. I tried to cast it on both at once earlier.”

Ah, we didn’t communicate clearly at a critical moment. Now we’ve wasted magic energy and turns.

Meanwhile, the Chromium Wolf was growling, ready to strike.

“Danger! Both of you, dodge!”

Ikezawa-san shouted, his voice almost cracking with urgency. His eyes gleamed, and in the next moment, the Chromium Wolf lunged at them. Kōya and Shiba-san dodged its attack with incredible speed.

“!? Eh, what?”

“What is this speed!?”

Both Kōya and Shiba-san were shocked. Had they both just tapped into power beyond their own? What was going on?

“Is that Idaten? No… it can’t be. I can’t cast Idaten on both of them at once.”

Daigo-san was surprised. And Ikezawa-san…

“I did it! I did it! I just yelled in a frenzy, and I managed to cast Idaten on both of them! Yes! Both of you, go for it now!”

Ikezawa-san shouted once more, his eyes shining.

“Take this!”

Shiba-san thrust his spear at the Chromium Wolf, and a hole was torn in its body.

“Eh…?”

For some reason, Shiba-san, who had made the attack, looked surprised.

“Shiba-san’s amazing!”

“Shiba-san is this strong?”

“No, this wasn’t my strength. Someone must have cast Shurariki on me, but who?”

Shiba-san was frozen in place. Meanwhile, Kōya took the chance to strike the final blow.

“Take this!”

Zash! The Chromium Wolf was slashed and fell to the ground. This strike from Kōya was far stronger than the one before.

“I didn’t cast any support magic. So, did Kaito-kun cast it?”

“Eh? Oh, it seems so. But I didn’t even realize I did it…”

Everyone was confused. Neither the person who received the magic nor the one who cast it had figured out what just happened.

“I just yelled… and that’s all it took to cast magic?”

“Yelled…? That might be the reason for this…”

Daigo-san and Ikezawa-san exchanged glances.