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? - 64

Chapter 64: Time-Limited Labyrinth

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

Amatsugahara, 53rd Floor.

Kisaragi and I made our way through the cave. Our labyrinth backpack was already packed with a large number of drop items and magic stones. Simply put, our haul was looking good. The drop items included monster fangs, horns, fur, eyeballs—just about everything. As for magic stones, we managed to get a lot of high-quality ones. By the way, magic stones were all like glass beads. They came in various colors, and at the center of each hard glass-like magic stone, a number floated. 

The ‘color’ indicated the type, while the ‘number’ inside represented the energy capacity and output. For example, a ‘Red 4’ could emit heat for about two hours without needing to recharge the magic power.  It was about as warm as a hand warmer, though. Magic stones had limitless applications, and those with high numbers could sell for a hefty price. Generally, the numbers of the magic stones corresponded to the floor they were found on, so in this 53rd-floor area, we could expect to find ones ranging from 48 to 56.

However, selling magic stones came with heavy taxation. Seekers only got to keep 20% of the selling price. The same applied to drop items. If we wanted to sell magic stones or drop items through official ‘sales’ rather than just dumping them for cash, we’d need a qualification and approval from the Guild Association. But obtaining that qualification and getting the Guild Association’s approval was extremely difficult, and balancing it with being a Seeker made it practically impossible. Crafting our own equipment from drop items or processing magic stones into crystals or magic tools was also tough—it required at least four years of study.

Hence why most Seekers ended up selling labyrinth resources at low prices and buying the refined products at high prices. Selling low, buying high. It was a terrible cycle, but since it was the fastest way, all we could do was sigh. Some guilds hired dedicated blacksmiths to process magic stones and drop items in an attempt to break free from this vicious cycle. With such exorbitant taxes and strict regulations, it was no surprise that smuggling ran rampant and places like the Zero District emerged. At least, that was what I thought.

Since Kisaragi and I didn’t have income from video streaming, we relied primarily on selling drop items and magic stones for daily earnings. Just so you know, we were making a pretty decent living. Even diving four times a week could easily net us over ten million yen a year. Our teamwork had also improved considerably.

Kisaragi’s rune bullets came in five types. 【Binding Nail Bullet】 to restrain targets. 【Freezing Bullet】 to freeze them. 【Thunder Bullet】 to electrocute them. 【Healing Bullet】 to heal wounds. 【Barrier Bullet】 to create a barrier at the point of impact. If I failed to finish off an enemy, she’d follow up with a 【Thunder Bullet】 to land the final blow. She used 【Barrier Bullet】 to counter enemy attacks or to restrain fleeing targets. If I got injured, she healed me with a 【Healing Bullet】. She sniped from a safe position, so I didn’t even have to worry about her. It made things ridiculously smooth.

Thanks to that, we could clear the labyrinth efficiently.

“Should we call it a day?”

“……”

Even though Kisaragi was normally so capable, she had been oddly absentminded today—at least outside of combat.

“What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”

“—Huh? Ah! I’m sorry! Letting my guard down in the labyrinth is inexcusable for a Supporter!”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. You handled your role perfectly. But if something’s bothering you, I’d rather you talk about it with me.”

“…Yeah. It’s nothing big, it’s just… It’s about Iizuka-san…”

So she was still dwelling on it.

“Iizuka-san was… Well, he was a tactless person. But still… That ending was too cruel even for someone like him.”

Turning into a monster, losing all reason, and being slain. Yeah, it was a brutal way to go.

“I was always by Iizuka-san’s side, just following his orders… Maybe I’m partly to blame for enabling him. If I had spoken up more, maybe things wouldn’t have ended like that…”

“Even if you had said something, I doubt he would’ve changed….But I suppose that’s not what you want to hear.”

Being too kind could be its own kind of curse. To think she could even sympathize with someone like him…

“Use that regret as fuel and improve your skills, even just for a little bit. Sooner or later, you’ll have to fight the ones who turned Iizuka into a monster. Defeating them will serve as a tribute to him as well.”

“…Yes. You’re right.”

This was all I could say.

“By the way, Kisaragi, today’s mask…What is that exactly?”

It was a mask of some handsome anime character. The face alone was good-looking, but from the neck down, it was still Kisaragi, creating a jarring juxtaposition.

“This is from the anime I’m obsessed with right now! It’s the protagonist from My Silent Boss (♂) Only Talks to Me!”

“I see… Is it interesting?”

“Huh? Eh!? You’re going to let me talk about it!?”

Damn. I must have triggered some weird switch.

“Ah, no, uh, I mean, sure. Tell me about it.”

If it could help take her mind off Iizuka, then I’d endure it.

“Okay! First, I really want you to watch episode one of the TV anime! There’s also a compilation movie, but it cuts a lot of the side stories, and those are really great, so you have to start with the TV anime! Oh! But first, the premise! The protagonist is a bespectacled guy named Sadao Dounuma. He’s 29, but he’s got this super adorable puppy-like vibe! And every episode follows the pattern where his silent, muscular boss, Kurabe, gets flustered by Dounuma-kun’s cuteness! Dounuma-kun is always messing up at work and crying alone, but Kurabe-san is always there to comfort him. Kurabe-san is totally head over heels from the start, but he doesn’t want to ruin their boss-subordinate relationship, so he tries to keep things professional. But! Dounuma-kun is totally oblivious! He completely ignores the distance Kurabe-san is trying to create between them and just keeps closing in! You’d think it’s Kurabe×Dounuma, but no! The usually untouchable Kurabe-san is weak only to Dounuma-kun! At first, you think Dounuma-kun is an angel, but he’s actually a little devil, while Kurabe-san is the real angel in this relationship! Oh! And then there’s this side character, Ichijou-san, a flirty-type boss! But I swear he totally has a thing for Hamura-san! He works crazy hard behind the scenes, staying late every day just to get recognized by Kurabe-san, and—”

This conversation lasted three hours.

◆◆◆

As soon as we returned to the entrance hall from Amatsugahara, my smartphone rang. It was a message from Odd Cat. Looking at the recipient list, it seemed that the message had been sent not only to me but also to Kisaragi and other Seekers and Supporters affiliated with Odd Cat.

『At around 9:00 AM today, A-rank Seeker Yuna Asahina was attacked in the time-limited labyrinth Tapilo by multiple individuals possessing OOPArts. Yuna Asahina is in critical condition and unconscious. Tapilo was conquered and subsequently vanished due to the actions of the assailants. Based on Yako Asahina’s testimony, the attackers’ objective was the resources within the labyrinth. In response to this incident, exploration of time-limited labyrinths is temporarily prohibited.』

“This is…”

Kisaragi also checked her phone and read the message.

“Time-limited labyrinths… That’s the ‘Nora’ thing, right?”

“Yeah.”

Time-limited labyrinths were dungeons that appeared sporadically and could manifest anywhere in the world. Currently, due to a labyrinth accumulation device called ‘Dungeon Field,’ most time-limited labyrinths had been concentrated on the eastern side of Amatsugahara. Among Seekers, they were commonly referred to as “stray labyrinths” or simply “Nora.”

“Banning exploration… But if I remember correctly, leaving time-limited labyrinths alone is dangerous, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. If left unchecked, a labyrinth disaster will occur.”

“I’m not very knowledgeable about labyrinth disasters… I know they’re supposed to be serious, but I have no idea about the details…”

“For real!? Didn’t you learn about it in school?”

“Well… I couldn’t afford to go to school…”

“..Ah… I’m sorry.”

Right… Kisaragi had been burdened with her parents’ debt. Considering her home environment, she probably wasn’t given the chance to receive a proper education. And yet, she still managed to grow into someone this capable and kind-hearted.

“This is a good opportunity. I’ll explain it to you.”

The “time-limited” in time-limited labyrinths came from the idea of a time bomb. The reason for that was—

“Labyrinths outside Amatsugahara eventually disappear if left alone. The time it takes for one to vanish varies depending on its size, but generally, the higher the difficulty, the longer it takes to disappear and the greater the scale of the disaster it causes.”

Low-difficulty time-limited labyrinths disappeared in about three weeks to a month, while high-difficulty ones took anywhere from a month to five years.

“When a labyrinth disappears, all the monsters inside the labyrinth will spill out to the surface.”

Technically speaking, a labyrinth was like an insect cage. When it vanished, the insects inside were set free.

“Not only do the monsters escape, but the materials within the labyrinth and even the labyrinth itself turn into an immense negative force, causing disasters in the surrounding area. Earthquakes, storms, plagues, radiation—you name it.”

“If monsters go berserk on top of that kind of disaster happening…!”

“Back before Dungeon Fields existed, multiple cities were destroyed by labyrinth disasters.”

A labyrinth could form unnoticed beneath an ordinary house, then vanish without anyone realizing it—leading to a disaster. Or one could form deep in the ocean, where nothing could be done to stop it, resulting in catastrophe. That era must have been a nightmare. I couldn’t help but sympathize with the people who lived through it.

“Oh, right. Japan also—wait, I forgot. Ah, that’s it. Okinawa. The prefecture called Okinawa was wiped out by a labyrinth disaster. I heard it used to be a major tourist destination.”

Given the severity of the situation, I doubted anyone would let things escalate to the point of an actual disaster, but—

“Let’s go see Abisu. We can’t ignore this incident.”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

T/N: Kisaragi is a fujo?! Σ(°ロ°)