The Bottom-tier Dungeon Streamer Meets a Famous Streamer by Misunderstanding His Strength and Using the Skill "Intimidation," and Becomes a Legend Without Realizing It?! - Chap 3: The Excitement of the Internet

“…Didn’t get any mushrooms today, so no drinking tonight, huh.”

Muttering such, Shinya returned home. He took a shower, ate the beef bowl he brought back, and collapsed into bed.

“That monster was crazy. I’ve never heard of anything like it appearing… Kind of feels like mushroom picking isn’t worth risking my life for. Ah, but I don’t want to job hunt again.”

Lazing on the bed, he reminisced about the recent event. That gigantic snake-like monster. Its strength was unclear, but it must have been considerably strong.

Shinya had been dungeon-streaming for almost two years, but it was the first time he’d heard an alarm for an abnormal situation.

“But she was cute. The thought of her falling for me just like that…”

He immediately shook his head, dismissing the silly fantasy.

“No way. Besides, standing out too much would be a disadvantage. Need to be more cautious from now on… Well, her being in such a high-level dungeon probably means she isn’t all that famous. It’ll be fine.”

Lying in bed, Shinya casually opened a video streaming site, wondering if there was any interesting broadcast, when he suddenly noticed something.

“Huh. Is this the girl from earlier…?”

Recommended to him was the girl he had saved earlier, dressed like a magical girl.

“Her name is Sakurako… and she has 100,000 concurrent viewers?! Why is such a popular person in such an out-of-the-way dungeon!”

He sat up in bed, shocked. Meanwhile, Sakurako’s stream played on.

“That person was truly amazing! He just glared at that Dragonaid and, bam, drove it away! And he looked so cool and collected doing it! He was so cool…”

Sakurako spoke passionately, her face glowing like a girl in love. Countless comments flowed in response to her demeanor.

〈Sak-chan, did you fall for him?〉

〈Let’s do a confession stream〉

〈Glad your injuries weren’t serious〉

〈Forget that. Redo the speedrun〉

Many comments praised Shinya, joking about “chance” and “Haki of the Supreme King,” but as they reviewed the archive, Shinya’s face was captured.

“Hey, hey, hey. This isn’t good…”

As a dungeon streamer, he signed a consent form acknowledging that “you may appear in other streamers’ broadcasts. Is that okay?” So, he couldn’t complain now, but being celebrated like this was very problematic.

“If weirdos start raiding me, I won’t stand a chance.”

Shinya’s physical abilities were slightly above those of an average adult male who exercises a bit. If he were raided by bottom-feeding streamers looking for flames, he couldn’t fend them off. He might be able to drive them away using “Intimidation,” but he couldn’t deceive them forever.

If it somehow became known that he was weak, all this praise would become malice.

“…Need to do some damage control!”

Shinya hastily grabbed several devices and started posting self-deprecating comments under different accounts.

〈Come on, it wasn’t that big of a deal? Just that much〉

〈That snake probably just left because it was full〉

〈Also, doesn’t this guy have bad vibes? Looks like a dead man with those eyes. And his clothes are so lame〉

〈Blond doesn’t suit him at all, lol〉

〈Making a big deal out of a coincidence lololol〉

〈lmao）

Employing several devices and accounts to spread negative comments, Shinya persevered in his efforts. Despite knowing that such attempts were unlikely to alter the general sentiment, he remained undaunted in posting his comments.

Seeing his comments, Sakurako, with her face turning red, shouted,

“No, that’s not true! While my affairs are inconsequential, mocking Shinya-sama… That, I cannot forgive! Please retract your words!!”

Comments flowed in agreement with Sakurako.

〈Don’t be jealous, it’s unseemly〉

〈The real love fans should read the room〉

〈If Sak-chan is serious, we should support her〉

〈Forget that, do the run again〉

Reading the comments, Shinya grimaced at his smartphone.

“…Ugh. The situation’s turned dire… The internet’s penchant for negativity is emerging. From my middle school days of stirring up forums, I know all too well. Once the online crowd begins its mischief, it’s beyond any one person to halt.”

Shinya looked up at the ceiling in resignation.

“And what’s with this Shinya-sama? Did I introduce myself like that? …No, wait. My account’s been exposed!”

Upon checking, he found his channel subscribers had exceeded 2000. It had been around four just a little while ago. The power of going viral was terrifying. It was a relief he hadn’t left any mushroom-picking archives. Shinya sighed in relief.

“Shinya-sama is my prince! There’s no one as strong and cool as him! If anyone punishes him, not even the listeners will forgive them!”

Wait, strong? When did I show myself fighting? Shinya swallowed his retort and typed another comment.

〈But isn’t that guy ranked F? If he were really strong, he’d be higher ranked〉

〈Exactly. The association’s assessments are accurate〉

〈The story of a powerful person hiding their strength and staying in a low rank is just manga material〉

With her large pale pink eyes, Sakurako looked at Shinya… the camera.

“There must be some reason. If he’s that strong, there must be some deep reason… Yes! Maybe he became too strong and lost interest in popularity! The association’s judgments aren’t reliable anyway.”

Criticism of the association flowed as comments, but Sakurako, perhaps too excited, continued to praise Shinya without noticing.

Comments, too, got carried away by Sakurako’s enthusiasm.

〈Even if Sak-chan is overpraising, could such a strong person be overlooked?〉

〈A secret weapon of the association?〉

〈What kind of weapon, though? Maybe he just awakened to a strong skill by a mutation?〉

〈Maybe he just awakened recently, so he’s still under the radar〉

〈Could this be the birth of the 13th S-rank?〉

As the chat and Sakurako continued to escalate with facts and fiction, Shinya, the subject of the discussion, felt a stomach ache. He quietly closed the stream.

“I guess I have no choice but to stay holed up until this blows over…”

He flopped onto the bed as if running away and closed his eyes. Ever since his repeated failures in job hunting, he had been escaping reality in this way… But this situation wasn’t something he could easily run from.

Disguised as a bottom-tier streamer and making a living selling mushrooms, Shinya had almost no savings. He couldn’t afford to hide away forever.

Moreover, Shinya would go to the dungeon again the next day, causing an even bigger problem.