I Was the Supporter of a Popular Dungeon Streamer, but the Power Harassment Was Too Much, so I Quit. I’m Useless Anyway, so It Shouldn’t Be a Problem, Right? Huh? The Views Are Dropping Like Crazy? - 25-26

Chapter 25: Power Drunk

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“Come on, stop being stubborn and just bow your head already.”

With her arms crossed, Mia spoke haughtily like a queen. I downed the tea in my cup in one gulp.

“Puahhh! Ahhh! That’s it. I’ve had enough.”

“Enough? Of what?”

“I’m going to say everything. Mia, you’re the worst Seeker.”

Mia’s expression went blank at that. She probably couldn’t grasp the meaning of my words. Then I’d just have to keep talking until she understood.

“Your OOPArt is powerful. It’s at an A-rank level, but your skill is below C-rank. You can’t use magic, and your martial arts are average at best. You’re not even fully utilizing the power of your OOPArt . Watching other Seekers explore the labyrinth makes me confident to say that you’re weak.”

“Huh? What??”

“I watched the livestreams of A-rank Seekers while I was hospitalized and every single one of them was twice as competent as you. There wasn’t a single A-rank who couldn’t use magic.”

Being A-rank despite not using magic was impressive in its own right, but in her case, it was just because her OOPArt was exceptional. Everything else about her was below average.

“Despite lacking skill, you take out your frustrations on your Supporter. You slack off on training, too busy with gravure modeling and other jobs. You’re lazy and arrogant. A Seeker as incompetent as you is rare. Why the hell would I ever want to team up with you? I’d rather work with a total rookie than be stuck with you.”

I closed my eyes for a moment. I was too afraid to see what kind of expression Mia was making. Taking a deep breath, I gathered my resolve and opened my eyes.

“…So that’s how it is.”

Mia was crying. I already expected her to either explode in rage or break down in tears, so this reaction wasn’t surprising.

“…Are you seriously saying all those to me…?”

“What? You’re going for tears now that anger didn’t work? Too bad for you. I know you, Mia. Even if you’re crying, I can tell your heart isn’t actually shedding a single tear.”

“-!!”

Mia raised her arm and swung her arm at me, but I blocked her slap with my left hand.

“…!?”

“I’m not going to take your slap anymore. I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”

“You… Are you seriously, really, seriously planning to leave me?”

“Yeah.”

“…I won’t forgive you.”

“Same here. You might have heard from Iizuka, but my guild, Odd Cat, is going up against Fenrir in a Guild Duel. I’m going to be in it. There, we’ll settle everything. Once and for all.”

“……I won’t forgive you. I will never forgive you!!! I’ll never forgive you!!!”

Shouting loudly enough for the next room to hear, Mia grabbed her bag. She stomped her way out and left. Watching her back as she disappeared, I found myself remembering the old Mia. She had been a crybaby, a coward, and a bullied kid. I used to stand up for her against the ones who tormented her. Back then… Yeah, she was a lot like Kisaragi. Timid, but had a strong inner strength. She changed after she got her OOPArt.

The phrase “drunk in power” fit her perfectly. Gaining a powerful OOPArt and rising in status, she kept growing more arrogant. By the time she reached A-rank, no one could stop her rampage. People say OOPArts parasitize their owners’ souls. Maybe hers had something to do with how she ended up like this…? No, if that were true, almost every Seeker should have gone through the same change.

I wished she could return to the way she was before, but after getting skewed this much, it might be impossible for her to return to how she was before. Would anything change if someone she saw as weak, someone like me, managed to defeat her in a duel?

As her Supporter, I had failed to stop her descent to downfall. That responsibility was mine to bear. If there was still something I could do, I wanted to at least try. Well, at least for Mia. As for Iizuka, I’d crush him without a second thought. I had to win the Guild Duel, no matter what.

Booting up my PC, I checked my email. A message from Abisu had arrived, along with an attached file. The file’s title read: “Odd Cat Supporter Ability Chart.”

Naturally, it was password-protected. I had already received the password, so I opened it without issue. Inside, a long list of Supporters’ data was displayed. To be precise, it included their photos, names, gender, age, magic capacity, martial arts rating, magic abilities, special skills, personality, and intelligence. That seemed to cover everything I needed.

And just as expected, the one that caught my eye was the Supporter of S-rank Seeker, Abisu Yuiga. Her name was…

“Sae Isshiki.”

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Chapter 26: The Perverted Supporter Appears

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Sae Isshiki. I had known about her name for a while. She was Abisu’s supporter and she was also a year older than Abisu.

She had black hair, black eyes, and pale skin. A beauty on par with Abisu herself. Though she was a Supporter, she stood out due to her striking appearance and her constant choice of gothic lolita fashion. Cool and taciturn, she had an air of mystery that drew in many male fans. Rumor had it that she even had a personal fan club. While many Seekers had fan clubs, it was quite rare for a Supporter to have one.

Her abilities were nothing short of impressive.

Magic Power: A

Martial Arts: A

Intelligence: A

Considering that the average A-rank supporter had all C-rank stats, she was undeniably exceptional. Her magic lineup was strong as well.

■ Two-Character Spells

・Blue Flame, Insight, Presence Concealment, Scout Bee, Devourer Swamp

■ Three-Character Spells

・Dragon Chains, Moonlight Thunderstrike, Seal of Weight, Earth Quicksand

■ Four-Character Spells

・Radiant Shield, Soaring Swallow Explosion, Binding Nail Bullet

Her magic composition was somewhat similar to mine. We might get along well together.

However, she had more binding-type spells than I did. That was probably for better coordination with Abisu. Since Abisu relied on hitting her targets with the OOPArt gun, Bullet of Sin, she had likely learned multiple restraint-type spells to ensure Abisu could land her shots.

One slot was set. Now for the other.

Odd Cat had four A-rank Seekers and each of their Supporters possessed outstanding abilities. These four Supporters were almost equal in rank, but their combat styles differed. Since Isshiki and I could handle the support-type spells, the last slot needed to go to someone who could fight independently.

“This one, maybe.”

Riku Kazuhara

Magic Power: C

Martial Arts: S

Intelligence: C

The available spells were:

■ Two-Character Spells

・Wind Shoes, Steel Fist, Healing Mist

■ Three-Character Spells

・Giant Fist, Flame Fist, Crimson Bullet, Blinding Bullet

■ Four-Character Spells

・Blossoming Healing Mist

Under special skills, Riku Kazuhara had boxing, judo, karate, and Chinese martial arts listed. It looked like Riku Kazuhara had trained in multiple forms of hand-to-hand combat.

Based on the composition of his magic spells, status and skills, there was no doubt about it. This Supporter must be fighting on the front lines during labyrinth exploration. Riku Kazuhara probably learned mid-range spells like Crimson Bullet and Blinding Bullet as a last-resort measure against long-range enemies.

What made this Supporter particularly appealing was the fact that this Supporter had learned two high-difficulty healing spells. Riku Kazuhara could fight at the vanguard while also providing healing support. This Supporter fit perfectly into the last slot and covered exactly what was needed.

I made my decision. 

“《Sae Isshiki and Riku Kazuhara, please.》”

I hit send, submitting my request to Abisu. This would be my first time meeting the supporter of an S-rank Seeker. I was looking forward to it. Aside from the guild duel, there were a lot of things I wanted to ask them.

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In a dimly lit apartment room… The walls were covered with countless photographs. Every single one of them featured the same boy. Black-haired, missing one arm, or with a mechanical prosthetic. Shibuki Hamura. Staring at his photos was a girl dressed in black lingerie.

“S-Rank Supporter… Hamura Shibuki…”

Her face flushed as she gazed at the pictures.

“…At last, I’m finally in the same guild as you…”

Even though there was no one else in the room, she glanced around cautiously.

“Alright…”

Then, ever so gently, she pressed her lips against Hamura’s in the photograph.

“Nn… Fufu…!”

Pulling away, she covered her mouth with both hands, giggling shyly, before collapsing onto her bed.

“I-I did it… A kiss… I really kissed him… Ehe…”

Just then, a notification popped up on her PC. It was an email. The moment she read its contents, drool trickled down from her lips.

“…This must be fate.”

Murmuring softly, she rolled onto her bed once more.

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