After Narakino Rakuna’s first stream, the public was abuzz over the extraordinary rookie explorer who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
E-rank, yet she cleared an advanced dungeon.
She destroyed a tracking drone with a slap.
She fought a dragon barehanded, without any equipment.
She even streamed from an Interrogation Room after being taken in.
The more people dug into her, the more there was to talk about.
Countless highlight clips were made, and her fame only grew.
Despite having streamed only once so far, the subscriber count for the channel 【Narakino Stream (Temp)】 had already surpassed 100,000.
And today’s stream—her second—was titled: 【Apology】 A Walkaround Stream.
With so much attention on her, there were already 20,000 viewers even before the stream started.
On the pitch-black waiting screen, an enormous number of comments were flying by.
〝So excited〟
〝Comments are so fast lol〟
〝20k viewers already—insane〟
〝How many people are on a newbie stream that debuted yesterday? lol〟
〝And it hasn’t even started yet lol〟
〝Also what’s with “apology”??〟
〝No idea〟
〝An apology stream on only the second stream lol〟
〝LMAO〟
〝Well, she did end up in police custody yesterday…〟
〝An “A Walkaround Stream” tacked on next to “Apology” lol〟
〝Wasn’t her first stream title also “A Walkaround Stream”? lol〟
〝Is “walkaround stream” mandatory or something lol〟
While everyone was already stirred up by the title, the screen suddenly switched and the stream began.
What was shown was a dungeon entrance.
It looked like it was deep in the mountains—trees grew thick all around.
The moment it started, the audio picked up only a small “Eep!” and then the scene stayed frozen-like for a while, as if it were a still image.
〝She’s heeeere—!!〟
〝I heard something lol〟
〝Huh?〟
〝Where even is this? lol〟
〝In front of a dungeon?〟
〝Narakino-saaaan〟
〝Has “Find Narakino-chan” begun? lol〟
Just as the comments started to buzz with “Is this a still image?”, someone noticed—
〝Wait, is that tiny thing on the left Narakino-chan?〟
〝Huh〟
〝Ah〟
〝Which one?〟
〝It is lol〟
〝There she is!〟
〝She’s so far away lol〟
〝Thought it was a smudge on my phone—turns out it was Narakino-chan〟
Rakuna was hiding far behind the dungeon entrance, in the shadow of a distant tree.
She set an enormous backpack down in front of herself, then—still using it as cover—crept toward the camera little by little.
“Um… h-hello… w… welcome to the absolute bottom beginner explorer stream… S-someone’s watching, r-right? Probably. Hehe… hehehehe…”
From a slight distance away, she called out toward the camera.
Still wearing a stiff, strained smile, she stepped closer one step at a time.
“…A-actually, there’s something I need to apologize to everyone for… I… haven’t really talked to people properly for about five years, so conversation—or rather, people—are just a tiny bit hard for me…”
As she spoke, she finally reached the camera and slowly peered into the screen.
Her strained smile froze solid in an instant.
“…Eh. …Huh? …HyeaaAAAHHH!?”
She suddenly let out an enormous scream at the camera.
Then she toppled backward with force and vanished off-screen in an instant.
〝H-hey, what happened!?〟
〝Stop screaming out of nowhere lol〟
〝That startled me lol〟
〝I got scared and made the same noise lol〟
The comment section flew even faster at the sudden shriek.
Rakuna slowly lifted her upper body, trembling all over.
Fearfully, she checked the screen.
There, it read: 『32,000 watching now』.
“…T-th… th-thirty-two thousand…? There are already thirty thousand people watching this…? Um… if I say thirty classmates per class… then… does that mean I’m being watched by the equivalent of a thousand classes’ worth of classmates…? Huh? Hehehe… ehehehehehe…”
〝Hey, Narakino-chan just broke〟
〝A thousand classes’ worth is somehow harder to imagine lol〟
〝People said she seriously hates humans—guess it’s true〟
〝Where’d the Narakino-chan who fought that dragon yesterday go? lol〟
〝Dragon < humans is killing me〟
〝She’s seriously like a different person lol〟
Staring at the number as if she couldn’t believe it, Rakuna instinctively grabbed the drone with both hands in a tight grip.
She forced a stiff smile toward the screen.
“Hehe… hehehehe… N-no, that can’t be right… Thirty thousand on a stream for a bottom-feeder Mijinko like me… W-what is this…? What is this!? Aaaahh, what is this—could it be broken!?”
She shook the drone with both hands, and the video feed distorted.
Then she started hitting it, and the stream screen shook violently.
It was sheer madness.
〝Uwaaaahhhh〟
〝Scary scary scary lol〟
〝Drone: ‘The one that’s broken is YOU.’〟
〝Stoppp lol〟
〝Hey, she’s gonna break another drone lol〟
〝Drone-crusher Narakino〟
〝↑ Don’t give her a weird nickname lol〟
〝Calm down! We’re just text!〟
“…Just… text…?”
Rakuna, who had been thrashing around, suddenly stopped dead.
Her eyes caught on one of the comments scrolling by at tremendous speed, and she widened her eyes as if struck by inspiration.
“When I was a kid, I loved catching bugs. I’d put lots of Bugs into a cage and just stare at them, thinking they were cute.”
〝What’s with the sudden turn〟
〝What are you even talking about now?〟
〝Did her brain short out?〟
〝Don’t go from frantic to calm so fast lol〟
“It’s scary because I think of you all as humans. Thank you! I’m going to think of you all as black eggs instead!”
〝Huh, what? lol〟
〝Black eggs???〟
〝What are you thanking us for? lol〟
〝What was the Bugs story even for? lol〟
〝What even is a black egg? lol〟
〝A Hakone specialty〟
〝↑ That’s not the point〟
Rakuna clenched both fists like she was a completely different person from a moment ago, looking into the camera with sparkling eyes.
Through self-suggestion, she seemed to have stabilized mentally somehow.
“Viewers are black eggs”—it was an incomprehensible notion to any normal person, but the comment section, which had been confused, also began to calm down at her smile.
〝Must protect this smile〟
〝Guess we’ve got no choice but to live as black eggs now〟
〝Alright everyone! We’re black eggs!〟
〝Yeah… we’re black eggs〟
〝I forgot—I was a black egg〟
With tens of thousands in the chat showing bizarre coordination, from today onward the viewers became black eggs.
〝She’s cute when she’s acting normal〟
〝So like, why did you end up disliking humans?〟
〝Why are you so strong?〟
〝Is it true you’ve been into the Abyss?〟
Seeing Rakuna finally able to hold a conversation, the black eggs began firing off questions.
Rakuna watched the comments and nodded along, “Mm-hm, mm-hm.”
“Um, for the record, I don’t hate humans. I’m just a little bad with them. …As for whether I’m super strong, I honestly can’t tell myself. I did train for about five years, though. And I stayed holed up in a cave where monsters appear—like a dungeon. That’s why I’m a little bad with people. …Um, what is the Abyss?”
She answered each question one by one.
Then the comments began moving even faster.
〝A cave where monsters appear!?〟
〝Hey, so that rumor was true〟
〝Narakino-san, monsters don’t spawn outside dungeons…〟
〝So she really is a victim of the Abyss Incident…〟
〝Meaning she trained without realizing it was the Abyss?〟
〝Five years training in a special-grade dungeon…〟
〝Well yeah, anyone gets strong if they train in the Abyss for years (dead eyes)〟
〝It’s a miracle she’s alive〟
〝Seriously, how did she survive that long?〟
〝That explains her abnormal strength〟
〝So not Narakino Rakuna, but Rakuna of the Abyss, huh〟
〝Rakuna of the Abyss lol〟
〝At this point it’s not Narakino-chan, it’s Abyss-chan〟
“…Rakuna of the Abyss… …Abyss-chan…”
At a comment that drifted past, Rakuna’s body began trembling.
Her eyes glistened, and she smiled as if melting.
“…Hehe… Someone gave me a nickname for the first time in my life… hehe… hehehehe…”
〝She looks so happy lol〟
〝Wait, is she kinda crying? lol〟
〝Seems Abyss-chan really suits her taste〟
〝She just casually said something kind of heartbreaking lol〟
〝First nickname in her life…〟
〝We’re allowed to laugh, right?〟
〝Also, it’s wild she can even read these comments at this speed〟
The comment section was a little bewildered.
Rakuna wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes with a finger, then responded to the last comment.
“Ah, yes. I can see all of your comments.”
〝Huh?〟
〝Wait lol〟
〝Did she just say ALL!? lol〟
〝She can see ALL of these comments!?〟
〝What is her dynamic vision, even? lol〟
“And also, someone said, ‘I can’t believe you survived,’ but I wasn’t training alone. An old man I happened to meet stayed with me, so even a Mijinko like me managed somehow.”
(TL Note: mijinko is a type of water flea)
〝An old man you happened to meet!?〟
〝Who even is that? lol〟
〝【Good news】 A wild training grandpa appears〟
〝Is that good news? lol〟
〝Even if you ‘just happened to meet him,’ sticking with Abyss training for five years… what a kind old man (dead eyes)〟
〝That’s beyond “kind” lol〟
〝Wild training grandpa (spawn location: Abyss)〟
〝Wild training grandpa (Level 99・Kind personality)〟
〝Sorry, what does “Miji” mean??〟
〝Probably short for Mijinko lol〟
〝First time I’ve ever seen someone abbreviate Mijinko lol〟
While watching the viewers’ questions, Rakuna answered them one by one.
Her usual fear of humans didn’t surface at all.
If anything, she was starting to think interacting with the viewers was fun.
Her spur-of-the-moment 『Black Egg Strategy』 seemed extraordinarily effective.
〝What kind of training did you do in the Abyss?〟
〝Who is this training grandpa?〟
〝Why are you using no-pay gear, Abyss-chan?〟
〝Where did you buy that huge backpack?〟
〝Are you sure that equipment is okay?〟
The questions wouldn’t stop for Rakuna, who had far too many mysteries around her.
But realizing that at this rate it would end as nothing but a chatting stream, Rakuna decided to cut it off for the moment.
Yes—there was still something she wanted to do today.
“Ah, today I’m aiming for C-rank, so I’m going to try clearing a beginner dungeon first. For now, I’ll head in. I’ll answer the questions I received while exploring.”
〝Oh, so you got promoted to D-rank〟
〝Congrats!〟
〝Grats〟
〝Honestly, you could skip ranks and it’d still be fine〟
〝You have A-rank or higher ability, for real〟
〝Guess rank-skipping still isn’t a thing〟
〝Well, it’s better than having your license revoked lol〟
〝True〟
“Ehehe, thank you. Then, Abyss Rakuna’s walkaround stream begins!”
〝So the walkaround stream part isn’t changing? lol〟
〝You really like walkarounds lol〟
〝Well, for Abyss-chan, beginner difficulty really is just a walkaround〟
〝Clearing beginner is way too easy lol〟
〝I mean, her first dungeon was basically an advanced clear〟
〝Looks like today will finally be a chill stream〟
She hoisted her backpack and set off, wearing a white T-shirt and cropped pants.
The same look as always—mocked as “no-pay gear.”
At the entrance, she held her Explorer license up to the red drone, then headed into the dungeon together with the black eggs—now increased to fifty thousand.
As an aside, the channel name was changed from 【Narakino Stream (Temp)】 to 【Abyss ・Stream (Temp)】.
It seemed she was truly delighted to have been given a nickname.