Ch.2 A Rescue Request That's Supposed to be Normal

Hmm.

I came here according to the navigation, but..

"...Come on! Just give up already!"

There was a girl running at full speed while shouting like that...what a loud voice.

Her voice seems to be reverberating throughout this floor.

… Considering this is a rescue request, she seems to be in good spirits…

It may seem like a heartwarming scene, but she's probably in trouble.

And behind her...umm, there are 16 monsters chasing her?

As expected, no matter how high your level is, fighting them solo would still be impossible, although I don't know how long she's been chased by them.

[Is that Ruru-chan?]

[That's Fukaya Ruru, right?]

[Her unlucky constitution... So it's just her usual.]

[Her usual indeed. But it's dangerous when she's solo.]

[Usually there's someone taking care of her afterall]

[Well, it's part of her agency.]

[She's not a bad kid... , she really isn't, she's just unlucky...]

[Either she got separated from the group or she went in solo... Either way, she seems to be in a pretty serious pinch.]

[I snuck into that stream for a bit, but as expected...]

From what I can see from the comments, it seems that the listeners knew about her.

It seems like almost everyone knew her...I wonder if she's popular?

I mean, her face is pretty, and I think she's cute.

Well, she'd still lose to me right now though.

"………………………………"

[Ah, even Haru-chan would shake her head at this terrible sight.]

[But the screen shake felt a bit odd...?]

... No no, calm down, I'm a man, it's just my body that's changed right now, what am I gonna do if my heart is changing to a girl's too?

Girls are something to look at and feel comfortable with, not something to compete with.

...If I don't turn back into a man soon, things might get bad.

Before my mind becomes that of a girl too.

[We need to help her quickly!]

[But Haru-chan's basic movements are...]

Oops, that's right.

That girl is certainly in danger, no matter how you look at it.

Let me help her quickly.

'... A nice hollow... There it is.'

[... Of course, they need a place to hide first.]

[Even at a time like this, they won't even say a word]

[It's like this every time there's a request rescue...]

[Really, what does Haru-chan look like?]

Not far from where I had come up from the 78th floor, They're playing tag... No, I'm sorry, she's actually running for her life.

My most important task is to not get found by that girl.

...If it looks like I won't make it in time yo hide, it can't be helped, but it looks like she still have some leeway, so I want her to endure it a little longer.

That girl is also streaming, so if I steps forward too much I'll be shown on camera.

It's not that much of a problem, but it's still a bit of a problem, so just do your best.

I looked around and decided that "that must be the only place," and headed toward a hollow in the hills where I'd been hiding while hunting on this level just an hour ago.

Of course, I did it sneakily so as not to draw attention.

◇

I'm a sniper.

Rangers, hunters, ninjas, stealth, etc., the kind of people who observe from afar and take down things one by one.

There isn't a specific name for the fighting style in the dungeon, but this is how I would describe myself.

Moreover, since it's a solo role, I'm both a rear guard and a vanguard.

In a normal solo adventure, you'd have to be able to do everything, but...as long as the monsters don't find you, you can't get hurt, so it's not a problem.

This is true for the me in the past and the me now - from the adult man with a normal build and no outstanding features, to the child with a childlike build...well, not quite a child, but still a child, and on top of that, in terms of physical strength, the me before and after turning into a girl is relatively the same.

...Honestly, I'm glad I had this fighting style even before I became a girl.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to earn money like this...

[Ruru is a pretty fast runner]

[She's a part of a top-ranking agency afterall, ignoring her unlucky constitution]

[But her misfortune is like that]

[She probably fell into another pitfall leading directly to a monster's nest, and the rescue request means that she's either solo or separated from her team, and the fact that she's just running away like that means she's dropped the emergency escape device that she normally carries with her.]

[lol]

[Hee……]

[So sad]

[She's getting called "The Cursed One" On her stream from time to time...]

Hee....how pitiful that child is....

Well, this dungeon is about to be reset, so there are only a few monsters left, but still...

Ok, my setup is done.

...I don't really want to use expensive bullets...but nothing can replace a person's life.

[And then, our Haru-chan calmly moves forward while glancing at Ruru-chan who is running away, and when they climb up the wall, they have their gun ready.]

[As expected of a sniper, they remain calm at all times]

[Well... I've been watching from the beginning and I've never heard a single scream.]

[But they're really thorough in climbing up the cave walls by hanging ropes on them]

[Thanks to this, Haru-chan has never had to fight a monster in close combat.]

[They've never shown anyone else during their stream either]

[A loner?]

[Are you talking about us?]

[Stop it]

[Call it a solitary existence]

[I'm tired of hearing Ruru-chan's screams, I wanna hear Haru-chan's screams]

[No, the situation would turn for the worse the moment Haru-chan screams.]

[I guess so]

Apparently a listener also reported the incident, and other people are now on their way to help.

Well, that girl may be... famous, so I'm sure she's already requested rescue from the dungeon administrator over there.

...Well then, let's do it.

Aah, all my earnings for today will be gone...but I guess it can't be helped.

◇

[Good news for Ruru-chan, someone has just arrived]

[I'm glad there's someone on a nearby floor]

[Hang in there Ruru-chan, you'll be saved soon!]

[But it would be awful if he was a guy... He's probably a guy.]

[Well, it's a real emergency, so it won't count this time.]

[This is seriously bad, so don't say things like that]

[It seems like there are no famous streamers diving in today... but that means they're diving solo on the same level as Ruru-chan, right?]

[Eh? If they're that strong, they should be famous.]

[Famous streamers... There aren't any after all]

"It doesn't matter so just hurry up! I'm right here, I'm right here, Ruru is right here! It's right here!!"

[lol]

[Ruru-chan is always energetic]

[I wouldn't think you're in actual danger]

[I heard that Ruru-chan was in trouble]

[Wow, that's a lot of concurrent viewers... Is this the buzz that puts your life on the line?]

[Good news: Ruru-chan wakes up in a life-threatening situation]

["The Curse One" has descended upon us]

[lol]

Fukaya Ruru ran at full speed for more than 10 minutes.

No matter how high level she is, this is still tough.

On top of that, she can feel their breath on her back.

Furthermore, she cannot afford to stop streaming, so she's conscious of the "viewers all over the world'' and therefore in a difficult position to complain.

'If only everyone's here.'

While thinking that, however, due to her pride as an idol, she deliberately tries to behave more than usual in an effort to reassure viewers.

'Because if I die here, this will be the "final me".

Emi also said that Idols have to remain an idol until the end, that's what an idol is.

... But I want help to come quickly and save me!!'

She cries inside, conscious of the three cameras flying around her.

ーーー Baaang!

"…… Eh?"

A faint sound in the distance.

After a moment's pause, a demon screamed right behind her.

'... Help has arrived!'

"Alright, now I'm going to show you the magnificent Ruru's true power!"

[Suddenly back to normal lol]

[Ruru-chan running with a pale smile was delicious, but this still suits her best]

[But gunfire? Then the flying monsters are―]

Bang!

Gunshots.

Drop.

A heavy sound.

"Thanks for helping me! Now, to avoid being shot by mistake... Eh, huh?"

When she turned around, she saw three monsters in front of her.

Their wings lie on the ground and didn't move.

"Eh, one hit? That's amazingー"

ー Drop, drop, drop, drop.

The only thing that caught her eye was the sound of the symbols of death that had been chasing her only seconds ago being slammed to the ground.

[Huh? Aren't these guys over level 70?]

[No, it's a trap monster, so it's 80... no, maybe more than that.]

[Sniper? But with one shot? What kind of power that bullet has?]

[A high-level streamer who is good at long distances... none, they're all on break or in another dungeon so I have no idea who they are]

"Eh... Uhh..."

'... Did someone amazing just came?'

………………………………………….

"... What about Ruru's highlight...?"

With a quick decision, I try to soften the enormity of the scene.

[Ruru-chan is still belligerent even at a time like this lol]

[You're still thingking that after being desperate for a while? ]

[If it's not like this, it's not Ruru-chan]

ー Thud.

"………………………………"

In the end, there were more than 10 monsters in front of her - 16 to be exact, 1.5 times stronger than her - lying dead.

"...Amazing. One shot with a gun...and multiple hits..."

[Those are the flying monsters that are chasing Ruru-chan, right? Amazing.]

[Taking down even one is impressive, but taking down 10 in rapid succession]

[My Ruru-chan was saved...!]

[She's ours, don't try and get ahead of us]

[But it would have been nice if someone had said something like "It's okay now" or "Crawl down because I'm going to shoot" because if a bullet with that kind of power had hit Ruru-chan...]

[Their voice didn't reach, maybe? It felt far away.]

[It's possible that they're heavily armed... Really, those streamers are...]

'That's not it.'

Fukaya Ruru shivered as she thought of the other members whose abilities she knew well.

Long distance... They're not visible, and there was a delay after the sound of the gunfire, so it had to be at least 50 meters away.

From there, that person killed all the monsters chasing me one by one, moving up and down and left and right, in just about 10 seconds.

They're definitely an incredibly talented person.

They're definitely a senior, no, maybe even one of the top tier of the Dungeon Association.

[! Ruru-chan, on the left!]

"Eh?"

As she was looking at the comments with a sense of relief, one caught her eye.

Her combat experience caused her to react faster than her conscious mind, and she instantly flew to the right with all her might.

At the same time, she was assaulted by a sound that sounded as if her eardrums would burst and a light that made it impossible for her to keep her eyes open.

'What on earth happened?'

She quickly dodged the attack and fell, then instantly dropped to her knees to prepare to intercept.

But in front of her...

"Dr- dra- dra- dra- dra-."

[Dragon?!]

[Aieee, a dragon?! Why a dragon?!]

[Ruru-chan, run away! Run as fast as you can]

[Wait, what's this? I never heard any of this]

[Is this for real? It's not fake?]

[If it was faked, there's no way they'd have dropped the emergency escape device]

[It's really bad]

[Ruru-chan, people from the agency are coming, so please do whatever you can to survive]

A giant dragon that appears to be the boss of this dungeon.

Boss monster.

An entity that is supposed to only appear at the lowest levels of each dungeon.

And for some reason, it was only about 100 meters away from her.

"A"

Suddenly, she lowered her gaze and a livestream drone began following suit.

[A]

[Huh?]

[Under Ruru-chan's feet...no way]

[This magic circle...huh?]

"...Is this the second monster summoning trap today...?"

[lol]

[Bad news: Ruru-chan summoned a boss]

[Eh……]

[You don't have to be so unlucky...]

[And then you get the boss? That's so unlucky.]

[If you come back alive, let's perform an exorcism.]

[At this point it's actually a curse lol]

◇

Ehh―……A dragon is coming, in this middle layer…what should I do?

The thought of the 1 million yen bullet popped into my head as I stared blankly at its large body.

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