At the spot where the rabbit monster had just been, a pelt was left behind.
“What is… this?”
“A dungeon rabbit pelt. It’s one of the materials. The rightful owner of this material is you, Yukiya, since you defeated the monster. Go ahead and take it.”
Yukiya picked up the pelt lying on the ground and placed it into his pouch.
“So, does the person who lands the finishing blow become the owner of the material?”
“No, that’s not the case. Anyone who lands a single hit on the monster also gains ownership. Actually, ownership can be shared among multiple people.”
“Eh? Really? I thought it would belong to just one person.”
“Materials with multiple owners can be used by all of them. When you go dungeon-diving with others, it’s usually better to share materials.”
“So if I make equipment from this pelt, normally only I would be able to bring it into the dungeon. But if Shiba-san had hit the monster even once, then we would both be able to bring the equipment in, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Yukiya nodded, showing he understood Shiba-san’s explanation.
“Well, shall we move forward?”
“Yes.”
Shiba-san and Yukiya continued through the dungeon until they encountered a treasure chest.
“Shiba-san! There’s a treasure chest here.”
“Ah, hang on. It doesn’t seem to be trapped. The chest should contain materials too. Generally, whoever opens the chest gains ownership of its contents. But Yukiya, try touching the chest—don’t open it yet.”
“Ah, alright.”
Yukiya touched the chest, and Shiba-san then opened it.
“This way, by touching it at the moment it’s opened, you also gain ownership of the materials.”
Shiba-san picked up a small bottle from the chest, filled with sand.
“This is… heavenly sand. Quite a rare material. Yukiya, you hold onto it.”
“Y-yes.”
Heavenly sand—now jointly owned by Shiba-san and Yukiya. Let’s check the comments.
“Wait, is that how treasure chest rules work?”
“I knew about monster loot, but not about treasure chests.”
“Wow, learning something new.”
It seemed Shiba-san’s teachings were not only helping Yukiya but also the viewers. This was a good trend; providing useful dungeon tips might increase Shadow Stars’ viewer count.
A wolf monster appeared on screen, and Shiba-san put a hand in front of Yukiya.
“That monster is strong. Your stone axe won’t cut it, so I’ll handle it.”
Shiba-san approached the wolf monster with his spear. The wolf lunged at him, and a battle began.
“Ha!”
Shiba-san struck the lunging wolf with his spear, knocking it back. The wolf gracefully landed and growled with a low, threatening sound.
“Here I come!”
Shiba-san then struck the wolf on the head, making it stagger. He seized the moment and thrust his spear into the wolf.
“Grrrraaagh!”
The wolf vanished, leaving only its fangs as materials.
“A-amazing… Shiba-san is so strong.”
Yukiya was in awe at Shiba-san’s skill, and even I, watching through the live stream, felt his prowess.
“Shiba is amazing!”
“This is why I’m here!”
“Watching an expert in action is the best.”
The comments were filled with excitement at Shiba-san’s performance. He definitely had both skill and charisma, not to mention good looks.
Shiba-san examined the fang the wolf had dropped.
“The quality of this fang… it’s a dud.”
“A dud?”
“Even from the same monster, materials can vary in quality. There are higher-quality rare materials and lower-quality common ones. This is a common one.”
“I see…”
Shiba-san and Yukiya continued to explore the dungeon. Generally, Yukiya handled the weaker monsters, while Shiba-san dealt with anything Yukiya couldn’t manage.
At one point, Shiba-san’s left hand started glowing red as he faced a powerful monster.
“S-Shiba-san, your hand… what’s going on?”
“Yukiya, watch closely. Dungeons are filled with magical energy, and humans start absorbing it the moment they enter. By concentrating that energy in one spot, you can cast magic!”
A fireball formed from Shiba-san’s hand and burned the monster to ashes, leaving only materials behind.
“Amazing! Shiba-san! That was like a special move! I want to try it too!”
“A special move, huh? But people vary in how efficiently they absorb magic. We aren’t very good at it, so we can’t use magic frequently.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. The magic I just used could only be cast after spending a long time in the dungeon. A magic-user could probably have cast it earlier.”
“Aw, that’s disappointing. I wanted to cast magic freely.”
Yukiya looked dejected, but Shiba-san smiled reassuringly at him.
“No worries. In fact, those with low magic absorption efficiency can become tougher in the dungeon, allowing them to endure more hits. That’s why I’ve been letting you take hits from monsters.”
“Really? But I’d rather be casting flashy magic than getting tougher…”
“Warriors who struggle with magic are usually sturdier, while magic users are more fragile, it seems.”
“Shiba’s magic is powerful despite not being a magic-user.”
“Well, there’s no direct correlation between absorption efficiency and magic strength.”
“Alright, let’s wrap up for today and head back.”
“Yes.”
Shiba-san began marking the dungeon floor with what looked like chalk.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m setting up a checkpoint. If you touch this mark, you can teleport here next time. Yukiya, touch this mark too.”
“Yes.”
Yukiya touched the mark Shiba-san had drawn, which glowed faintly blue.
“You’re registered. Only the person who drew the mark can erase it, so no one can mess with it.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“Next time, we’ll start from here. Now, touch the mark again.”
Yukiya touched it.
“Now, imagine the scene just before you got here.”
“Uh… okay…”
“Think of the entrance mark.”
“Hmm… whoa!”
Suddenly, Yukiya’s body glowed and vanished.
“Now, my turn.”
Shiba-san also touched the mark and exited the dungeon.
Shiba-san and Yukiya returned to the entrance of the dungeon, standing by the mark with their filming equipment intact.
“That concludes this dungeon exploration stream. This chalk I just used allows you to set one checkpoint per dungeon. It’s a costly item but highly increases exploration efficiency and survival rate, so don’t skimp on it.”
Shiba-san promoted the chalk. Even as an amateur, I could see that having a return point would make a huge difference.
“Yukiya, how was your first dungeon stream?”
“Well… it was a bit scary, but I think I can handle it.”
“Glad to hear that. Alright, everyone, see you next time! Thanks for tuning in!”
