Chapter 3: The Loner’s First Stream

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! My blog’s getting a massive spike in traffic!?”

The next day.

As usual, I checked my blog, and I was overwhelmed with emotion.

Somehow, the number of visits to my blog, which had been almost zero until yesterday, had exploded.

A total of 50 million page views. Honestly, I have no idea what it means. What on earth happened?

I have no clue… nothing comes to mind.

If I had to say, I thought I wrote a pretty good article yesterday, but…

Anyway, I can’t help but feel lucky.

With the increase in ad revenue, Fuu-chan’s food can be more luxurious. Let’s get the finest food for her.

“Good for you, Fuu-chan.”

“I’m hungry, hungry!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll give you your food now~”

◇◇◇

“Whew~. Let’s get to work today as well.”

As usual, I dive into 【Garden of the Gods】.

Today, I’m finally planning to venture into the sixth layer.

I’ve already finished gathering the map and monster information for the fifth layer, so there’s nothing left to do there.

Well, it might serve as a warm-up, but that’s about it.

So, I quickly dashed through the dungeon and stepped into the unknown area.

By the way, in this dungeon, the strength of enemies skyrockets with each layer.

If the 【Archangels】 (named by me) that appear on the first layer have a strength of 100, then the 【Dark Angels】 (also named by me) that appear on the fifth layer might have a strength of around 5,000.

Because of that, I always make sure to prepare thoroughly when entering a new area.

“Uh, handkerchief, lunchbox, water bottle… wait, this isn’t a field trip!”

My voice echoed emptily in the dungeon.

…Sigh. Being a loner means no one is around to retort when I make jokes. It’s lonely.

“Oh, come to think of it.”

That’s right, I came up with a good way to graduate from being a loner.

I took out my secret weapon from my backpack.

“Um, how do I use this…?”

It was a streaming drone that had been shoved into the closet and was covered in dust.

It’s quite old, so I don’t know if it still works, but for now, I’ll try turning it on.

“This is the power button… and this is… the emergency stop button.”

With the manual in one hand, I tried various things.

Then, with a low whirrr, the drone started up.

When I let go, the drone automatically floated in the air.

I tried walking around, and the drone obediently followed me.

Heh, not bad. It’s quite a cute little guy.

I’ll name it Dro-chan.

I took out my D-Device and proceeded to set up Dro-chan, which was connected wirelessly.

To stream, I need a D-Tube account, and what else…? Was it an Explorer ID?

Muttering this and that, after a few minutes of setup.

Finally, the preparations were complete.

My plan to escape loneliness, that is—

—《If I stream and interact with viewers, wouldn’t that mean I’m not alone anymore?》 That’s the theory.

At worst, even if no one shows up, I can still leave the footage like a vlog. It’s a win-win strategy.

Now then, what should I use for the stream title?

Given that my blog’s traffic has increased, maybe something like 【I Tried Conquering the Sixth Layer of the Garden of the Gods. #LookingForFriends】 would be good.

I typed the stream title into the app, and all that’s left is to press the button to start streaming.

“Oh, that’s right. I almost forgot.”

I pulled another item out of my backpack.

“Heh heh heh. I’ve heard that getting recognized is dangerous. I need to properly hide my face.”

It was another costume item that had been lying in the closet. Its name is 【Somewhat Nice Mask】.

After dusting it off, I tried putting it on.

…It slightly affects my vision, but it should be fine. I’ll get used to it.

“Now, let’s see…”

I checked my appearance through Dro-chan, and what I saw was a suspicious person in a tracksuit wearing a dubious mask.

…Alright.

Well, not really alright, but let’s go with this for now.

I’ll need to buy a better mask tomorrow.

I accessed D-Tube from my D-Device and tapped the “Start Streaming” button.

Then, the light above Dro-chan’s camera lit up red, indicating that the stream was live.

“………”

For a while, I anxiously waited for viewers to arrive.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t thought about a greeting. The Luna Stars used “Good morning, Lunas~” if I recall.

…Hmm. Now, what should I do?

—Ping!

As I was thinking, my D-Device made a notification sound.

Panicking, I looked at the screen to see that the concurrent viewer count had gone from 0 to 1. In other words, my first viewer had arrived.

—Ping!

《What’s with this stream title? Clickbait?》

A comment came in immediately.

“N-No, it’s not clickbait…”

I responded to the comment.

《Huh? What? Your voice is too quiet; I can’t hear you.》

But it seems they couldn’t hear me.

…Seriously? Since Dro-chan is an old model, maybe the microphone isn’t very good.

And now, I’m starting to feel nervous.

I’ve overcome my loneliness, but what’s this awkward feeling?

《By the way, what’s with that mask? It’s so lame.》

The harsh comment pierced my heart. …My spirit is already close to breaking.

No, wait. If I show them me conquering the dungeon, maybe they’ll change their mind.

“From now, I’ll be heading to the Sixth Layer of the 【Garden of the Gods】.”

I spoke in a much louder voice than before.

Finally, my voice seemed to reach them, and they responded with 《Huh, seriously?》

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. …Good morning, Loners~! I’m the loner streamer…”

After saying that, I realized I hadn’t decided on a name. This is bad; what should I do?

“Um… I’m Bochidan. Nice to meet you~”

Bochidan.

A combination of “loner” and “dungeon.” Honestly, it’s lame, but whatever. There’s only one viewer anyway, and I can think of a better name later.

“Th-Then, let’s get right into progressing through the dungeon…”

It’s a mess right from the start, but it’s my first stream, so it can’t be helped. I’ll take it easy and think of it as practice.

I climbed the stairs and headed to the Sixth Layer.

From here on, it’s uncharted territory. I need to stay alert.

When I opened the door, the atmosphere was entirely different from the previous areas.

《Huh? What’s this place? It’s a dungeon I’ve never seen before.》

“…Um, it’s supposed to be the 【Garden of the Gods】 dungeon.”

《That again? This is clickbait, isn’t it?》

“N-No, it’s not clickbait.”

As I was having that exchange with my first viewer, a jet-black angel-type monster appeared before me.

“Ah, that’s a 《Dark Angel》. It’s a monster that also appears on the Fifth Layer—”

As I was explaining, I saw the 《Dark Angel》 raise its hand. Impatient fellow. Can’t even explain.

I dashed forward and defeated it as usual.

“So, you defeat it like this. It’s all about striking first.”

《…I didn’t see anything, though.》

“Huh, really? Dro-chan is an old model, after all. Sorry, it seems it didn’t show.”

《See? It is clickbait after all.》

“Wait, hold on…”

After that comment, the viewer count returned from 1 back to 0.

They came all this way…

Do I have to replace my streaming drone with a newer model…? What a hassle…

—Ping!

As I was thinking that with my arms crossed, my device chimed.

It seems that Shion and the others have started their stream.

I know without even looking at the screen. For a loner like me, the only notifications I get are for the Luna Stars’ stream starts. Saying that makes me feel sad.

To calmly watch their stream, I retraced my steps and opened the stream at a safe point.

Then, Shion and Kanade were just giving their greetings.

“Good morning, Lunas! Today, we’re at the much-talked-about 【Garden of the Gods】!”

…

………

…………….Huh?