Narakino Rakuna had defeated Wild Boar, a notoriously ferocious monster famous in explorer circles.
Not only had she beaten it, she did it as an E-rank, solo, with no exploration gear, one-shotting it with a slap, and calling it a “full-belly chance”――
Those various mysterious phrases became a hot topic on social media, and before anyone realized it, the stream’s viewer count had swelled to 15,000 people.
〝The concurrent viewers just shot up, lol〟
〝Heard there was some insane rookie on〟
〝I was expecting a complete lunatic, but she’s super cute〟
〝Note: she is indeed cute, but she’s also a lunatic who calls a monster a ‘full-belly chance’〟
〝I still can’t picture this girl one-shotting a Wild Boar with a slap〟
〝Hey hey, is she seriously in an advanced dungeon with no gear? lol〟
〝They were calling her a ‘free-to-play girl’ but it’s actually true lol〟
〝First time watching, why is this girl dressed like she’s in totally free-to-play gear?〟
〝Sorry, no idea. It’s my first time watching too〟
〝No, it’s everyone’s first time, lol〟
〝↑We already did that ‘first time’ bit lolol〟
The comment section was in an uproar over this mysterious crazy rookie.
And, as usual, that crazy rookie had no idea that 15,000 people were now watching her.
Muttering to herself, stomach growling loudly, she kept walking toward what she believed was the dungeon exit.
“…Ah…”
Rakuna had been following the passage for a while when she came to a dead end and stopped.
There stood a massive iron door, its surface lit eerily by the flickering flames of purple torches mounted on the walls.
Seeing that door, Rakuna let out a breath of relief.
“Yesss… I finally found the exit…”
〝Whoa whoa whoa lol〟
〝Narakino-chan, that’s not the exit, that’s the boss room lol〟
〝Boss room’s heeereeeee!!〟
〝No way, she’ll turn back here… right?〟
〝Well, once she opens it she’ll know it’s not the exit〟
〝True〟
〝Just getting to see an advanced boss live is pretty rare〟
〝Facts〟
She pushed open the heavy door with both hands.
Beyond it spread a vast, empty space.
She looked around as she walked toward the center of the room, when――
――Vwoom, vwoom.
A gust of wind roared down from above.
Rakuna held down her bangs and looked up.
There was a red dragon.
With a body even larger than Wild Boar’s, it beat its enormous wings as it glared down at Rakuna.
〝Eh〟
〝Huh〟
〝Whaaaaa that’s a dragon!!〟
〝No way, seriously!?〟
〝This is bad, this is really bad〟
〝The presence is insane〟
〝Okay run, just run right now!〟
An advanced boss monster: Infernal Flame Dragon, Red Dragon.
Dragon-type monsters were called rare species, and even on streams you hardly ever saw them.
Tactics for defeating them were not widely known, and there were explorers who gave up on clearing the dungeon the moment they encountered one.
Even just seeing the Infernal Flame Dragon through the screen filled the comment section with fear.
And amidst that, Rakuna――
“I finally found a monster I know! Heeey!”
She waved cheerfully like she had just bumped into an old friend, grinning from ear to ear.
〝That’s the happiest smile she’s had all day lol〟
〝This is not how you react to seeing a dragon lol〟
〝She’s reacting like she ran into a classmate on the street by chance〟
〝What does she mean ‘a monster I know’?〟
〝Maybe she saw it in another stream?〟
〝Even on streams you almost never get to see a dragon though〟
〝Either way, there’s absolutely no sense of tension, as usual〟
〝It’s a picnic stream, remember〟
〝This ‘advanced picnic’ is on a level I can’t keep up with…〟
〝Am I the weird one for watching this while being terrified?〟
〝It’s okay, my emotions are all scrambled too〟
“GUOAAAAAAA!!”
The Infernal Flame Dragon let out a roar that shook the entire room.
Then it threw back its head, and its mouth started to glow red.
〝Oh no, something’s coming〟
〝Looks like it’s about to attack〟
〝That’s the wind-up〟
〝Pretty sure it’s about to breathe fire〟
〝Wait, she walks into the boss room and it attacks immediately?〟
〝Its murder intent is cranked to max〟
When fighting dragon-type monsters, countermeasures against their breath attacks are essential.
For example, wearing armor with heat or cold resistance, or bringing a party member who has skills that resist breath attacks.
Tactics where the vanguard focuses on defense while the rearguard attacks from long range are also effective.
However, in Narakino Rakuna’s case:
Her equipment consisted of a white short-sleeved T-shirt and three-quarter-length pants.
Forget breath resistance; she was not even wearing basic exploration gear.
On top of that, she was completely solo.
Even if she shored up her defenses, there was no ally to attack while she held the line.
――FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Then a scorching inferno descended from above.
There was nowhere to run from the wide-reaching flames, and Rakuna was engulfed with no way to resist.
Naturally, the stream screen was also swallowed in fire in an instant.
〝GYAAAAAAAHHHHH〟
〝I can’t see anything〟
〝Okay yeah, it’s actually over…〟
〝There’s no way free-to-play gear can block that…〟
〝This is why we told her to run…〟
〝Oh… damn…〟
The comment section was painted in despair.
Viewers stared at the orange-filled screen with empty expressions.
“Heave-hoooooooo!!”
At that moment, Rakuna’s shout rang out.
At the same time there was a guh-pop sort of sound and, right after――
――BOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A deafening explosion roared through the room.
The flames vanished, and the stream now showed the boss room filled with drifting black smoke.
Rakuna pumped a tiny fist with a quiet, “Yes!”
Overhead, the Infernal Flame Dragon had its head thrown back, staring up at the ceiling.
The dragon’s head was completely scorched black, and there was an enormous backpack jammed into its mouth.
〝Huh??〟
〝What??〟
〝Sorry, what just happened??〟
〝I don’t know what she did, but Narakino-chan is alive!!〟
〝Wait, didn’t Narakino-chan shout something just now!?〟
〝I heard an explosion too!〟
〝The dragon’s head is totally charred!!〟
〝And for some reason it’s biting down on a gigantic backpack!!??〟
Everything had changed in the brief time when the screen showed nothing but flames.
Naturally, the comment section was in total chaos.
On top of that, dragons were rare species.
There were hardly any known strategies for them, so the viewers could not even begin to guess what had happened.
In the midst of that――
〝Inside a Red Dragon’s mouth there’s a ‘flame sac’ that it uses to generate fire〟
〝If you block that while it’s using its breath, the flames have nowhere to go and it causes a blowback〟
〝I think Narakino Rakuna used the backpack she was carrying to shield herself from the fire, then threw it straight into the dragon’s mouth, blocking the flame sac and causing the blowback. I’d really like to know what that backpack is made of to be that tough, though〟
Suddenly, an oddly detailed explanation appeared in the comments.
〝!?!?〟
〝Did we just have a commentator drop a breakdown in here!?〟
〝I saw some super legit explanation. But it vanished in a second〟
〝Commentator bro, don’t goooo!!〟
〝That explanation was way too fast. Anyone would miss it〟
Unfortunately, that explanation was swept away at high speed by the raging torrent of comments.
And no wonder: the current viewer count had surpassed 30,000.
There were several factors behind this explosive growth.
Even in streams by famous explorers, getting to see a dragon-type was rare among rares.
On top of that, the one facing it was a supposedly free-to-play girl on her very first dive into a dungeon.
And then, a host of other mysterious phrases from the stream were starting to trend on social media.
All these factors combined to generate massive buzz, and rumors of the crazy rookie Rakuna were spreading at an accelerating pace.
“GUOAAAAAAA!!”
Spewing black smoke from its face, the Infernal Flame Dragon spat out the backpack and roared.
――THOOOOM!
With a massive impact, it landed on the ground.
It spread its huge wings wide, its eyes bloodshot and blazing with fury.
〝Oh crap, it’s still aliveeeee〟
〝Mr. Dragon is totally fine〟
〝If anything, he’s absolutely pissed〟
〝What’s she planning to do from here?〟
〝Yeah, that’s the real question〟
〝Narakino-chan, isn’t it about time you ran away…〟
Ignoring the fearful, anxious comments from the viewers, Rakuna was already moving on to her next action.
The instant the Infernal Flame Dragon came down to the ground, she dashed forward, closing into its guard in a heartbeat.
Then she drew back her fist――
――BOOOOOM!
A blast like an explosion echoed through the dungeon.
“GYAAAAAAA!!”
The dragon’s scream overlapped with the roar.
It threw its head back and howled.
Right beneath it stood Rakuna, her fist thrust up into the air.
〝OH MY GOD that was insane!!〟
〝That sound was crazy loud lol〟
〝Didn’t the dragon’s body leave the ground for a second!? lol〟
〝She’s still fighting bare-handed even against a dragon lol〟
〝Sorry, I was stupid to worry. This girl’s an actual monster〟
〝Is she seriously going to solo-clear a dragon…?〟
――DUDUDUDUDUDUDUDUDU!
Rakuna did not let up her assault.
She kept driving her fists into it in a relentless barrage, until the Infernal Flame Dragon could not even manage a scream.
Just when everyone was convinced she had won――
――VWOOOOOM.
『――Beep-bee… Warning… A 『Connection』 has been detec… inside this dun… This dunge… is now classif… as an advanced dungeon. This area is extreme… dangerous, so please evacua… immedia…――』
An uninvited intruder, something no one had expected, appeared in the boss room.