Chapter 23: Ryo, Kaori, and a Chatting Stream
Kaori’s home was a large house with a garden, owned by his parents.
Because his father practiced traditional martial arts, a small dojo had even been built in one corner of the garden.
Kaori also learned martial arts from his father, and since Ryo fought inside dungeons, he sometimes borrowed the space for training as well.
Because of that, it was a familiar place to both of them.
“So what do you even talk about in a chatting stream?”
“Just chatting, chatting.
Well, people asked for it during the last stream, so why not talk about dungeons and explorers?
Plenty of people know dungeon exploration as streaming content, but surprisingly few actually understand real dungeon exploration.”
“Hm…”
Inside the dojo, as they prepared for the stream, the two of them talked like that.
They had originally been discussing the next stream in Kaori’s room, but then it turned into, ‘Since we’re at it, let’s do a chatting stream,’ and that was how they ended up here.
That said, streaming in their school uniforms was out of the question, so Ryo had gone home once to change clothes.
At first, they could have just picked out some spare traditional clothing from Kaori’s house, but since they were going with the approach of hiding Ryo’s gender, casual clothes worked better.
Thinking about it, Kaori felt that being neighbors really did make things convenient.
And so, around five thirty in the evening.
Preparations for Ryo Channel’s sudden chatting stream were mostly complete.
“Alright, I’m gonna announce it on Warbler.”
“Okay.”
After getting Ryo’s approval, Kaori posted the announcement on Warbler.
[We’ve got a bit of free time, so we’re doing a sudden chatting stream.
About one hour.
Stream starts at 17:45.]
Almost immediately, a reply from Ohzumi Dia appeared.
[Waaah! I’m out right now so I can’t watch!!!]
Seeing that, Kaori couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Even while replying with complaints, she still made sure to re-warb it properly.
Whether that was diligence or her own style of promotion was hard to say.
“Business as usual for Ohzumi Dia, huh.”
“I wonder where that energy even comes from…”
“Yeah, it’s kind of a mystery.”
Chuckling, Kaori finished up the stream setup.
“And that should do it.
We’ll start when it’s time, so count on you.”
“Please take care of the cue cards in case I freeze up.”
“Got it.”
This time, they placed a box in the center of the dojo and set the drone on top of it.
A cushion was laid out at a good position in front of the camera, and Ryo sat cross-legged on it, ready to go.
Even though the broadcast itself had not started yet, people were already gathering in the stream waiting room and leaving comments.
: Is it starting soon
: Looking forward to Ryo’s first chatting stream
: You said you’d talk to Moka-P last time
: Excited
Watching that made Ryo feel strangely emotional.
Up until now, he had not been very interested in other people.
Yet here were comments clearly waiting for a stream where he would just talk.
Reading them gave him a strange sense of excitement.
According to Kaori, the number of viewers was still modest.
But even so, there were people, however few, who were looking forward to it.
At least for those people, he wanted them to enjoy it.
That feeling began to sprout within Ryo.
“We’re starting, Ryo!”
“Got it.”
At Kaori’s signal, the drone camera turned toward Ryo.
: Oh
: It’s on
: Started
: Casual clothes Ryo
“Ah, hello.
I’m Ryo.
Thank you for coming to this sudden chatting stream.”
: Still sounds stiff
: Hello
: Casual outfit is cute
: Yeah
: Thanks for the chatting stream
: Masculine vibe and masculine clothes
: Ryo sitting cross-legged is nice
Following the comments displayed on the drone, Ryo continued his unfamiliar talking.
“I don’t really know what to talk about in a chatting stream, so I had Moka-P prepare cue cards for me.”
: Correct choice
: Moka-P is competent
: Solid support
: By the way did Moka-P drink the Lake Consommé
: <Moka-P> It was really good
: Moka-P incompetent
: Unfair
: Guilty
: Never forgive Moka-P
The comments had been praising the preparation.
But the moment Moka-P admitted to drinking the consommé, the mood flipped instantly.
“Everyone.”
: Uh oh
: Is Ryo mad
: Did we push it
: Forgive us
: Sorry
“No matter how harsh you are to Moka-P, I’ll forgive him.”
: We’re forgiven
: Yay
: Didn’t get scolded
: <Moka-P> Hey, knock it off, Ryo
They joked around with Kaori dragged into it, and the comment section got lively.
For Ryo, who did not have much experience interacting with people, it felt refreshing.
“Let’s keep the Moka-P teasing to a minimum.
Is there anything you want to ask?”
: What I wanna know most is where Ryo is streaming from
: That
: Yeah, looks like a dojo
“Ah, here?”
After nodding at the question, Ryo glanced toward Kaori.
Kaori, understanding immediately, moved the drone slightly.
Careful not to capture himself, Kaori slowly panned the camera around the dojo.
: Definitely looks like a dojo
: There were wooden swords of different lengths on the wall
: You can tell it’s really well taken care of
“This is Moka-P’s family dojo.
There’s a small dojo in their garden.”
: Seriously
: A dojo in the garden
“Moka-P is a ranked martial artist, so outside of dungeons, he’s stronger than me.”
: So Moka-P is strong as an explorer too
“No.
As an explorer, Moka-P is weak.
Below a beginner.
I think active explorers watching will understand why.”
: No dungeon aptitude
: Dungeon aptitude
: What’s that
: Guess it’s not well known
“To put it simply, it’s whether or not you can acquire skills inside a dungeon.
Not just arts and breaths, but even passives that boost physical ability.
Moka-P has absolutely no aptitude for those.
Without passives, you can’t move like superhumans in manga or games.”
Ryo glanced at Moka-P, who shrugged with a wry smile, showing he did not mind.
: So his physical ability doesn’t increase in dungeons
: No special moves or magic, not even exploration skills
: I see
: That’s rough, Moka-P
“Since this is a good opportunity, I want to ask everyone something.
Aside from active explorers, how many of you actually know why explorers become superhuman inside dungeons?”
: Honestly not at all
: Never thought about it
: Now that you mention it
: Aren’t they amazing even in real life
“Dungeons are part of reality too.
But yes… if you’d like, let me explain a bit.”
: OK
: Please
: Teach us
“The inside of a dungeon, and a certain area outside centered on it, is called the dungeon domain.
Within that domain, there’s a force commonly called mana, and it affects physical abilities in various ways.
How much it affects someone differs from person to person.
Explorers convert the mana stored in their bodies into passives that enhance physical ability, or into martial arts, magic breaths, and other skills.
The amount of mana one can store is called mana capacity.”
: Like max MP in games
: It’s like max MP and skill points combined
: When you leave the dungeon domain, MP drops to zero
: So Moka-P’s max is zero
: Zero MP and zero skill points
“As someone commented, that’s exactly right.
If you can store even a little mana, the capacity gradually expands from there.
It’s similar to leveling up in a game.
Strictly speaking it’s different, but we’ll skip that today.
And in Moka-P’s case… he can’t store mana at all.
He’s like a level one guest NPC that gains zero experience.”
: That’s kind of sad
: Hard to even say good luck
“Since mana capacity came up, shall I talk about Ruma as well?
I think a lot of people are curious.”
: Ruma
: Roomba
: Zunda
: Kanda
: Come on
: The formal name is Rune Mana
: Basically it’s experience points
: Thanks for the blunt explanation
“It’s a special type of mana released at various times, like when you defeat monsters or gather materials.
It’s called Rune Mana, or Ruma.
By absorbing it, your mana capacity increases, passives strengthen, and you can acquire martial arts, magic, or exploration skills.”
: What does acquiring a skill feel like
: It seems sudden
: It really is sudden
: Like the usage just pops into your head
“That matches what active explorers are saying.
It feels like an inspiration, or suddenly remembering something.
Also, depending on what actions you take in a dungeon, you can influence what kinds of skills you acquire.
The principle isn’t well understood.
That’s why using swords leads to sword-based arts.”
: Interesting
: Learned something
: Strong people really train in dungeons
“There are also items called materials that let you acquire or enhance skills.
You get them from treasure chests or monster drops.
They look like candy.
Crush one in your hand and you gain or strengthen a skill.
However, there seems to be a personal cap on how many skills one can hold.
Once you reach it, you can’t acquire any more, no matter what you do.”
: I see
: Can’t tell your limit
: There’s no way to check
: That’s why people hesitate to use materials
: Makes sense
: It’s literally life or death
: Materials also sell for good money
: That’s another reason to hesitate
Watching the comments, Ryo thought that people were listening seriously.
Maybe because there were fewer viewers than during exploration streams.
Or maybe because they were genuinely interested.
Either way, this might be a chance to help people understand dungeons better.
Thinking that, Ryo asked the viewers.
“Dungeons give explorers superhuman abilities, but have you ever thought about why explorers go into dungeons in the first place?”