While Shiba-san and the Murder Machine were locked in a fierce battle, Kōya was also desperately fighting against monsters.
“Hehe, you little demon over there! I’m going to use you to sharpen my new weapon!”
With a completely nonsensical energy, he picked up the sword I had ordered and drew it.
“Check it out! This sword is cool, right?”
Kōya was showing off his weapon to the monster. The monster tilted its head in confusion at Kōya’s strange behavior, who was not being attacked for some reason.
“Take my attack! Here it comes!”
Kōya swung the sword down at the little demon monster. The demon tried to block with the club it was holding.
“Cut in two!”
As Kōya shouted that, the monster was sliced in half, disappearing entirely.
“Phew. Job done!”
The sharpness of the weapon was incredible. It had the power to take down weak monsters in this area of the dungeon in a single blow.
Amazing. To think they could make such a high-quality weapon. The weapon shop Shiba-san introduced me to must be quite impressive.
“Oh, more monsters coming one after another!”
Now a rabbit monster appeared. Kōya had become so accustomed to defeating monsters that he was now able to do it with ease.
Perhaps he was finally acquiring the skills of a dungeon streamer.
Meanwhile, on Shiba-san’s side…
“I’m going to use Shurariki!”
It was a magic that amplifies strength. Using it, he faced off against the Murder Machine. The Murder Machine’s body was characterized by being resistant to magic. Therefore, it was necessary to attack without using spells.
“Here I go!”
Shiba-san swung his spear and struck the Murder Machine’s metal body. The Murder Machine retaliated with its axe.
The sounds of the axe and spear clashing echoed. Bang, clank. Heavy, dull sounds flowed through the streaming screen.
The opponent had entered caterpillar mode, increasing its mobility. It seemed that Shiba-san’s strategy was to engage in close combat since he couldn’t win based on mobility. However, the Murder Machine took advantage of an opening and tried to move forward, intending to run Shiba-san over!
“Whoops…!”
Shiba-san jumped up with his spear like a pole vaulter. He slipped over the Murder Machine’s height, avoiding the charge.
With Shiba-san’s graceful movement, the comment section began to flow rapidly.
“Whoa!”
“Is it really okay to dodge enemy attacks like that?!”
“I’ll use that as a reference!”
“That’s so amazing, it’s not even useful as a reference!”
“It’s like, ‘See? It’s easy, right?'”
“Wow…”
Shiba-san’s three-dimensional fighting style left me in awe. Furthermore, at the moment of landing, Shiba-san thrust the spear vertically into the back of the Murder Machine. A strike enhanced by the force of gravity hit the machine’s head.
“Ugh, ughhhh! Beep beep beep beep!”
With the head taken out, electronic sounds and hissing smoke emitted from the Murder Machine. Did we do it?
“Beep beep… Main camera malfunction. Entering rampage mode!”
Rampage mode. I heard a troubling phrase. Shiba-san pulled the spear out of the Murder Machine and prepared for the next move.
The Murder Machine was wildly moving its caterpillar in all directions, moving at incredible speed. If I got hit by something like that with a steel body, I wouldn’t come out unscathed.
But Shiba-san calmly took a deep breath. Once again, he jumped with his spear like a pole vaulter, delivering a vertical thrust enhanced by gravity to the head.
“Guh, gughgughguhhhh!”
With two consecutive spear jump attacks to the head, the Murder Machine emitted a series of electronic sounds before exploding into pieces.
All the parts of the Murder Machine vanished, leaving only metallic debris.
“Whoa!”
“He did it!”
“That’s our Shiba!”
“Shiba-san is so cool!!”
The comment section filled with voices praising Shiba-san. Meanwhile, in Daigo-san’s stream, the comment section was also going wild.
“Whoa! Did Daigo-san get saved?”
“Thank you, Shiba-san!”
“I thought it was over!”
“Did he happen to pass by and save us?”
“Daigo-kun, can you walk?”
“Ah, ah. Thank you, Shiba-kun. I owe you a huge debt now.”
“I don’t think of it as a debt. I just did what I wanted to do.”
Shiba-san extended his hand to Daigo-san, who took it and stood up. That was a relief.
Just then, I heard some loud footsteps approaching.
“Whoa! I’m here! Prepare yourself, Robot Guy!”
Kōya came in, sword at the ready. However, the fight was already over. There was nothing for him to do now.
“W-What’s going on!?”
Daigo-san was confused since he didn’t understand the situation well. Shiba-san smiled, “Hehe.”
“Kōya-kun, the battle is already decided.”
“Huh? Is that true! As expected of Shiba-san! So I didn’t have to step in after all!”
Kōya laughed happily, glad that Shiba-san had defeated the enemy and that Daigo-san was safe.
“Thanks to Kōya-kun drawing the monster’s attention. Without that, we might not have made it in time.”
“I-I see. Hehe.”
Kōya scratched his nose, smiling shyly.
It’s nice to see this brotherly bond between them.
I really like this duo, despite everything.
I get it. At first, I was anxious about the beginner teaming up with Shiba-san, but Kōya-kun is really doing well.
“Alright. Kōya-kun, Daigo-kun, let’s head back from the dungeon. The dungeon stream continues until we return.”
“Yes!”
“…Thank you, Shiba-kun.”
Thus, the three of them returned from the dungeon and ended the stream. Daigo-san had been in danger, but thanks to Shiba-san’s rescue, he was safe.
This thrilling and suspenseful stream became a topic of conversation for a while. I hope our agency, Shadow Stars, gains some attention from this.
◇
Daigo-san went to the hospital to have his shoulder checked. We were waiting for him in the hospital waiting room.
When Daigo-san came out of the examination room, he looked gloomy.
“They said I won’t be able to dive into dungeons for a while. I was told to rest for two weeks.”
Daigo-san smiled bitterly. For a freelance dungeon streamer, not being able to work for a period means not earning money. Unlike a company employee, he wouldn’t receive any sick leave benefits if he got injured.
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
“No, Shiba-kun. Thanks to you, I only got this minor injury. Just being alive is a profit.”
Daigo-san seemed to be forcing himself to act cheerful.
“Um… Daigo-san!”
“Huh? Um, Kageno-san? What is it?”
“Well… if you’re interested, would you like to join my agency, Shadow Stars?”
I decided to make the invitation here.
“Shadow Stars… Why do you think I’d want to join?”
“Our agency provides living expenses even if you can’t dive into dungeons due to injury.”
“I see. That’s a helpful offer. But I do have some savings for about two weeks.”
“What if it’s an injury that lasts longer than two weeks? Have you considered the frequency of injuries as well?”
“……!”
Daigo-san’s expression changed. It seems that humans find it mentally tough when their wealth diminishes due to living expenses. The ability to alleviate that anxiety might be attractive to him.
“We need your strength at our agency. I’m prepared to enhance the benefits as much as necessary for that.”
“I see… It’s nice to hear you say that you need my strength. I owe you, Kageno-san. Can you give me some time to think? I’m planning to consider it positively.”
