Chapter 2 – The Vow of Vengeance and the Door to the Dungeon

The message from Suzuran remained on Karasu’s phone screen as if it had been burned there. That single, heartless line of text carved a searing pain deep into his heart. His classmates smiled warmly as they looked upon the “perfect couple” of Rouga and Suzuran. When he opened his social media, a photo of the two of them close together, showing off their dungeon loot, had been uploaded as if to mock him. Rouga wore a triumphant look on his face, as if to say, You and I are not the same.

“Hk…!”

Karasu bit down hard on his back teeth. A black emotion, the likes of which he had never felt before, swirled throughout his body. Despair had, at some point, morphed into hatred. His gaze was drawn to Rouga’s dungeon stream, broadcast on his smartphone. On the screen, Rouga cut down monsters with brilliant movements, and a flood of frenzied comments from his viewers filled the screen.

Dungeons—

Mysterious, underground spaces that had suddenly appeared all over the world several years ago. It was said that within them, just like in a video game, strange monsters writhed and mysterious treasures lay dormant. Although the government designated them as dangerous areas and restricted entry, there was no end to the young people captivated by their allure. And the “dungeon streamers” who live-streamed their explorations quickly became the object of envy for all youth. Immense wealth and fame. A life of excitement. To an ordinary high school student like Karasu, they seemed like an unreachable fantasy.

But Rouga had made it a reality. And he had taken Suzuran with him into that brilliant world.

Memories of the dungeon RPG he and Suzuran had once played so obsessively resurfaced in Karasu’s mind. Back then, he was just a geek who loved to play games. But now—

“I’m… going to become a dungeon streamer, too.”

That night, Karasu did not sleep, instead spending the hours relentlessly gathering information about dungeon streaming. How to choose streaming equipment, efficient methods for clearing dungeons, techniques for attracting viewers. He never imagined the knowledge and experience he’d cultivated through gaming would be useful in this way. He devoured the information like a starved beast.

A few days later, Karasu finally took the first step. It was a dungeon near his school that had only just been discovered. A relatively shallow one that not many streamers had set foot in yet.

He spent all of his savings to get the bare minimum of streaming equipment. A microphone, a webcam, and a PC for streaming. The somewhat cold expression on his own face, reflected on the screen, didn’t have the atmosphere of someone who could become a popular streamer. Even so, Karasu pressed the “Start Stream” button.

“…This is Karasu Kurosu. Starting today, I’ll be streaming from dungeons.”

Through the impersonal monitor, a mere handful of viewers sent comments.

‘Uh, who’s this?’

‘So plain, lol.’

‘Is this a King Wolf ripoff? lololol’

A stream of heartless words. But Karasu paid them no mind. His goal wasn’t just to gain popularity. It was to show himself to Rouga and Suzuran. And to make them taste a despair they had never known before.

“Alright, here I go.”

With a trembling hand, Karasu opened the door at the dungeon’s entrance. The dim passageway was filled with a mixture of damp earth and a faint, rotten stench. The dungeon’s interior was displayed in grainy video on the stream.

The first enemy was a slime-like monster with a jiggly texture. In a game, it would have been an easy opponent to defeat. But the real-life monster was far stickier, and more unsettling, than he had ever imagined.

“Ghk…!”

Suddenly, the slime lunged at Karasu’s feet. He dodged in the nick of time, but its mucus clung to his sneaker, releasing a powerful stench. Further in, several small, goblin-like monsters shrieked as they charged him.

Karasu mobilized all of his gaming knowledge to fight back. But his body wouldn’t move the way he wanted. His attacks missed, and his defenses were too slow. All he could do was dodge by a hair’s breadth and desperately run around.

‘Too weak lol’

‘Just give up, you have no talent.’

‘He’s not in the same league as King Wolf.’

The comment section grew toxic. His viewers quickly dropped to zero.

“Hah… hah…”

Somehow managing to shake off his pursuers, he leaned against a wall. His whole body trembled with sweat and fear, and his heart pounded furiously in his chest. Reality was completely different from a game. At this rate, getting revenge on Rouga was nothing but a pipe dream. Worse, his very life was in danger.

Karasu stopped the stream. The screen went black, and his face sank in despair. He was powerless. In this pathetic state, he could neither win back Suzuran nor defeat Rouga.

“Dammit…!”

He slammed his fist against the wall in frustration and regret. It was at that moment.

‘You’re an interesting one.’

A voice suddenly whispered in his ear. He spun around, but no one was there. However, a new message had appeared on his smartphone screen.

‘You have a talent that can’t be allowed to end with you as a simple “gaming geek”.’

It was a message from an unknown account. Accompanied by a strange emoji, it continued.

‘Do you want to get stronger? Do you want to make them taste despair? If so, contact me. I, Sui Hisui, will lend you my power.’

Karasu looked at the message suspiciously. But at the same time, a faint light of hope ignited in his heart. He couldn’t let it end like this. No matter what it took, he would make Rouga and Suzuran realize that the choice they made was a mistake.

Without hesitation, Karasu tapped on the account.