Chapter 18: Ryo, Streaming, and the Forest Entrance
“…We’ll take a small detour.”
Ryo whispered to the drone and slowly began to move away from the spot.
[What?]
[What happened?]
[Did he notice something?]
As usual, Ryo slipped through the area with barely any monsters noticing him, and the viewers grew more excited watching him thread his way forward.
The unique tension of “not being noticed,” something you rarely get in normal exploration streams, was likely part of the appeal.
After putting some distance between himself and whatever he was avoiding and reaching the shelter of a rock, Ryo let out a small breath.
“Moka-P, I’m going to adjust the drone.”
After saying that, Ryo changed the drone’s direction.
“I’m letting go now.
Can you get that on camera?”
As he indicated while touching the switch on the top to display the comment section—
[What’s that?]
[An egg…?]
[It has legs though]
[More like legs sprouted out of it]
[It’s weirdly cute somehow]
“That’s a Grass Egg.
Just like the name says, it’s a Grasskokko egg.”
[Eggs walking around though?]
[A walking egg lol]
[There’s something surreal about this]
What the drone camera showed was a green egg about half the size of a Grasskokko.
The bottom was slightly cracked, with legs sticking out, allowing it to walk on its own.
“In terms of combat power, this is the weakest in this area—no, in this entire dungeon.”
“Honestly, if you look at combat power alone, it doesn’t even reach monster rank one.”
“It’s trash among trash mobs.”
[That sounds ominous]
[It’s wobbling around, makes me nervous]
[Wobbling, or more like toddling]
“However, it’s very curious.”
“If it sees any living creature other than a Grasskokko, explorers included, it’ll run over out of pure interest.”
[That actually sounds kind of cute]
“It is cute, but… there’s one problem.”
[Of course there is]
[What kind of problem?]
“Even if we don’t touch it, if the egg trips, or carelessly damages its shell, it’ll start bawling.”
“When that happens, female Grasskokkos in the area come rushing over at incredible speed after hearing it cry.”
[That’s the worst]
[So they treat whoever’s nearby as the enemy?]
[And once the females call out, the males come too]
“Yes.
If I’m nearby, even if I didn’t do anything, a whole group of Grasskokkos will come after me.”
[A walking landmine]
[It suddenly looks terrifying]
“Among this already unpopular dungeon, the reason the grassland area in particular is so hated is because of those Grass Eggs.”
[That makes way too much sense]
[That’s way too troublesome]
[‘Oh what’s that?’ → trip → waaah → ‘You made my baby cry?’]
[It’s a trap you can see but can’t easily avoid]
[Also, so this area is unpopular lol]
“If we move a bit farther and get out of this grassland, encounters with Grass Eggs will drop.”
“That’s our first goal.”
“I’ll hide the comment section again.”
After saying that, Ryo touched the top of the drone to hide the comments and fixed his gaze on the forest ahead.
“Alright, let’s go.”
With a quiet surge of determination, he layered multiple sneaking skills again and began moving carefully.
Weaving between Grasskokkos and Grass Eggs, slipping through their blind spots, he reached the forest entrance.
He was just thinking it might be time to check the comments again—
‘Crap.
A Burn Boar…
I can slip past on my own, but will the drone be okay?’
A boar-type monster with red-and-yellow marbled fur standing on end, making it look like it was on fire.
It was leisurely munching on grass at the forest entrance.
‘If we piss it off, that’s bad…
A normal Burn Boar is one thing, but if it goes berserk, I probably can’t win head-on…’
Simply being noticed would be fine, but if it was already in a foul mood and suddenly got angry, it would be extremely dangerous.
“That boar—Burn Boar—has high base combat power.”
“On top of that, when it gets angry, its strength skyrockets, and at that point I can’t win.”
“I’m going to try to pass quietly, so please be careful with the drone controls.”
Keeping enough distance not to alert the Burn Boar, Ryo whispered that to the drone and took a small, deep breath.
[Feels like an enemy Ryo could handle alone]
[So he can beat it?]
[No, it means he can avoid it]
[Oh right, the drone…]
[Wouldn’t assassination be safer?]
[Ryo said outright he probably can’t win]
[Messing up an assassination would be deadly]
[The tension is insane]
The drone moved as close to Ryo as possible.
“Here we go.”
With a firm whisper, Ryo stepped forward as if dancing, the drone flying half a step behind and to his right.
Ryo signaled for the drone to move to his left rear, keeping as much distance from the Burn Boar as possible while aiming for the forest entrance.
The Burn Boar stood almost in the center of the entrance, facing right as it ate weeds.
Ryo hugged the left side as tightly as he could and slipped past.
‘Good, it didn’t notice me.
If this keeps up…’
Ryo kept moving while watching the Burn Boar closely.
Then the Burn Boar whimsically turned its body—
‘Crap, our eyes met…!’
The Burn Boar’s gaze crossed with Ryo’s.
[Ryo’s expression changed?]
[Did it notice him?]
[Camera, show the boar!]
[Don’t say stupid stuff, reckless movement is dangerous]
[This stream only works because Moka-P follows Ryo’s instructions exactly]
Ryo’s tension and the taut atmosphere transmitted through the camera, spreading sharp nervousness through the comment section.
Ryo raised a hand in front of the camera and gave a hand signal.
Moving extremely slowly, the drone followed his instructions and drifted to the left front.
[All I see is forest]
[I’m just watching a stream but I feel like I’m exploring]
[Camera show Ryo or the boar!]
[Does this kind of thing really happen?]
[All the time]
[That’s why Ryo’s sneaking techniques are seriously useful]
[This is life-or-death]
[It really is]
[Oh, the camera’s angle is changing]
[Ryo and the boar in a staring contest?]
[You’re not supposed to avert your eyes with wild animals]
[He’s backing away super slowly]
[And Moka-P can match that movement perfectly]
[This is nerve-wracking]
[I can barely watch]
[Ryo said he can’t beat this thing, right?]
[If it attacks, it’s bad…]
Little by little, Ryo retreated deeper into the forest.
Sliding his feet, careful not to provoke the Burn Boar.
He never broke eye contact, but he also avoided glaring or intimidating it.
Between Ryo and the Burn Boar stretched a silence like a drawn thread.
Meanwhile, the wind rustled through the trees and sent waves through the grassland.
“Snort.”
Suddenly, the Burn Boar snorted.
In that instant, the built-up tension snapped, and the air sharpened.
[What?]
[This is bad]
[What’s the boar doing?]
[Is it attacking?]
[This is bad]
Then, as if it had lost interest in Ryo, it turned its back and went back to eating the weeds at its feet.
Cold sweat ran down Ryo’s cheek, dropping from his chin to wet the ground.
[It chose eating]
[That butt is kind of cute though]
[Combat avoided]
[True, that round butt is cute]
[The curly tail is nice]
[That was terrifying even through the screen]
“We’re disengaging immediately.”
After telling the drone that, Ryo moved swiftly deeper into the forest.
Once he reached an area with fewer monster presences, Ryo finally let out a breath.
“That was really tense.”
As he said that, he touched the top of the drone to open the comment section.
[Good work]
[Nice job]
[That tension was insane]
[Are explorers always this tense?]
[Good work]
[When you run into new monsters or strong enemies, pretty much]
[I always imagined explorers just steamrolling everything]
[My palms were sweating just watching]
[Streamers usually pick areas with big safety margins]
“The lake we’re aiming for is just a bit farther, but I’ll take a short break.”
“It seems like I should work more on techniques for sneaking not just solo, but together with a drone.”
[Rest up]
[What is sneaking with a drone?]
[Definitely want to see that improved]
[Is Burn Boar tasty?]
Ryo pulled a canteen from his SAI and roughly poured the water into his mouth.
The way he let it flow from a slight distance made the comment section oddly lively.
[His profile is kind of thrilling]
[That’s an athlete’s way of drinking]
[Hydrating Ryo is kinda sexy]
[Not touching the mouth is important]
[Does that actually matter?]
[Remember that if you carry bottles in summer]
[Bacteria grow where your mouth touches]
After replying to a few comments, Ryo remembered one that had flowed by earlier and decided to answer it.
“About the Burn Boar…”
“I think it’s probably delicious.”
[Oh?]
[Why?]
[Do you know?]
“That thing literally burns with rage.”
“When it goes into full rage mode, that flame-like fur becomes real fire, and its stats jump to about double.”
[Rage rage mode lol]
[That description versus those stats is wild]
[It’s already strong and then doubles?]
“While it’s enraged, you can actually smell pork roasting.”
[Wait]
[Hold on]
[Burning with rage, literally…]
“Yes.
Once it enters rage mode, it burns until it dies.”
“If you avoid fighting head-on and just keep running, I can technically win.”
“I never want to do it again though.”
[An anger super mode you can only use once in your life]
[What kind of creature is that]
[And it gets called rage rage mode…]
“In the end, it becomes a completely black pig—well, boar—roasted whole and lying on the ground.”
[Is that good or bad?]
[Winning by running away is something, I guess]
[Hard to react to that monster]
“I tried eating it once, but the inside was charcoal too, which was a shame.”
“It smelled really good though.”
[Hey]
[LOL]
[You actually tried it?]
[That is a shame lol]
[Ryo is amazing]
“Alright, I’ve rested enough, so I’ll head toward the lake.”
[OK]
[Looking forward to it]
[I wonder what it’s like]