The Darkness Was Comfortable for Me

8th day of the Viewer Count Race. 

Today is a break day and I am entering the dungeon alone just like on the 4th day. 

The viewer count is increasing constantly and I have reached 600 million, but my rank is still 8th. 

If the population of Earth is around 7 billion, my viewer percentage is 8.5%.

It is a high number…no, it is a shocking number, but 8th place is 8th place.

My viewer numbers were low when it started, so I have to get an even more overwhelming number of viewers in order to get 1st place.

It would be better to think that it would be hard to get 1st place if I continue doing the same thing. 

I only have half of the time remaining. I need something special.

Something that a Chosen has achieved for the first time among all the others. 

The modern era is an information era. 

If someone achieves something, that news will spread like wildfire in the world.

More so when it is about an isekai otherworlder.

However, I can’t think up that ‘something’. 

That’s why I am putting my life on the line. 

Today, I will be going down to the 4th Floor, the Rain Dragon Grand Waterfall.

I can ignore all the monsters till the 2nd Floor, but I have to properly deal with the monsters of the 3rd Floor as I advance. 

That’s because advancing by hiding with the Darkness Fog that has worked in the 1st and 2nd Floor doesn’t work in the 3rd one. If I forcefully advance, I could end up dragging all the monsters I meet along the way. 

If I am going to be incurring such risks, it would be safer to kill them as I encounter them. 

I bought a map of the 3rd Floor in the guild. Judging by how cheap I bought it for, it is most likely distributed freely. There’s no point to withhold this type of information for the guild. 

The more explorers, the better; the less deaths, the better. 

I have a good sense of direction, so I didn’t have any problems with taking the shortest route. However, the 4th Floor stairs are practically at the very opposite side of the floor, so it ends up taking time no matter what. 

Moreover, I have to think not only about the going but the return as well. I see, I understand why Rifreya said it is hard to dive to the 4th Floor and lower. 

Anyways, I reach the stairs to the 4th Floor and take a break before it.

I can use Spirit Abilities a pretty good amount of times and still be okay, but that’s not the same for my body. 

I can’t confirm my own Tier…in other words, my level, in the Status Board, so I have a hard time telling if I have gotten stronger or not. 

(Should I try asking God? That if this world works on levels, to make it so we can tell ours.) (Hikaru)

You can apparently tell your level by asking a Great Spirit, but I myself can’t do that, so I don’t know what level I am. Levels are like an evaluation of yourself, but that evaluation is unexpectedly pretty important, and it is to the point that the guild has a recommended Tier before going down the 4th Floor. 

By the way, the recommended Tier for the 2nd Floor is 6.

3rd Floor is 10.

4th Floor is 20.

Moreover, this is an estimate for when you have a party of 6, with all of them being able to use Spirit Abilities. 

They are basically telling you that you have to do your best in raising your Tier, find comrades, and save money to make a contract for Spirit Abilities.

The recommended 6 people party is: 3 warriors, 1 healer, 1 scout, and 1 porter. 

And so, my Tier. 

The old blacksmith said I am Tier 9 when seeing my swing. 

I have taken Physical Strength Up Level 1, so I would say I was Tier 4-6 at that time. 

It hasn’t been that long since then, so realistically speaking, my Tier should be at most 10. In other words, I am at a level where I can finally go to the 3rd Floor with a full party.

And here I am, going alone. This is completely reckless.

But I will do it. 

That’s why I am doing it. 

“Now then, I will be going down to the 4th Floor. The 4th Floor’s danger level is apparently a lot higher than the 3rd Floor, so I would like to concentrate. I don’t want to die after all.” (Hikaru)

If I die, reviving Nanami would go down the drain right then and there. 

I have to not die, but also have to put on the best of performances. 

I don’t use Darkness Fog as I go down the stairs.

Being careless is the last thing I want to do, but monsters apparently don’t appear in the stairs. Of course, even if it ends up with ‘that wasn’t the case’, no one will be coming to rescue me, so this might be quite the risky action. 

I am going to be shouldering all those risks here, so you could say it is a bit late for that. 

“The recommended level in the 4th Floor is apparently level 20 when you are in a full party. I don’t know what level I am, so I can’t really say for sure, but I am at least sure that I am not 20.” (Hikaru)

I speak as I go down so that it is not a completely silent broadcast. 

“The monsters that appear in the 4th Floor are Giant Crabs, Slimes, Mantises, Sahagins, Lizardmen, Lamias, and Scyllas. In terms of enemies I am a bad match against, I would say it is the Slimes and the Lizardmen. Even if I hide in the darkness, they apparently still attack regardless. Quite the crude monsters.” (Hikaru)

This time around, I gathered information at the guild.

Viewers will increase if I end up on the verge of death from going down to the dungeon with no information, but if I place my death for being my first time and the number of viewers that would increase from this on a balance, I judged that information about the 4th Floor was necessary. 

The 4th Floor monsters are apparently a lot stronger than those of the 2nd Floor and 3rd Floor as a whole. 

I would say I need to be careful about Slimes. They are apparently weak against Spirit Abilities, so I have no choice but to go with the mindset of Search and Destroy.

Lizardmen can be snakes or lizards. If they are the snake type, their eyesight is weak, but there’s the chance that they have an organ that allows them to perceive heat. If that’s the case, it would be really bad. 

When talking about monsters that darkness doesn’t work on, it would be the Treant in the 3rd Floor, but that monster moved slowly, and it wasn’t as if its attack power was high. 

But a Lizardman screams strong, and they look fast too. An opponent that I can’t escape from even inside the darkness should definitely be avoided. 

By the way, the Lamia has the lower half of a snake and the upper half of a human, so they don’t have heat perception…probably. 

Whichever the case, there’s the need to test out which monster the darkness works on. 

The one classified as the strongest monster there is the Scylla with its lower half that are long tentacles. Her legs are weapons, so just getting close to her is difficult in itself. 

Moreover, you can even encounter 3-4 Lamias, so in those cases, even veteran high level parties would be wiped out. 

Even the guild recommends to throw as much dried meat as possible and scatter smokebombs to escape at once. 

“There’s a lot of information posted in the guild, but according to that, monsters are apparently ones that have received the influence of Chaotic Spirit Energy. The more ‘mixed’ that figure of theirs is, the higher the degree of influence they have gotten from the Chaos. Lamias are a mesh of snake and human; Lizardmen of lizard and human; Sahagin of fish and human; Mantis of praying mantis and humans; those kinds of monsters apparently have a high chance of dropping a Chaotic Spirit Stone.” (Hikaru)

Normal monsters can drop Chaotic Spirit Stones at a set percentage. 

Actually, since the time of my solo exploration and in my explorations with Rifreya and Grapefull, I have actually gotten a few in stock.

“I am thinking of using Create Undead. There’s a Dark Spirit Ability like that, and if I have Chaotic Spirit Stones, I can create a monster based on the stone.” (Hikaru)

I am going to be exploring the 4th Floor alone. 

Moreover, different from how it has been until now, there’s a drastically low amount of parties that explore the 4th Floor.

There shouldn’t be much worries about using Create Undead and being seen. 

“There’s the sound of water now. The humidity level feels like it is increasing too.” (Hikaru)

The flight of stairs went on for as long as the one in the 3rd Floor, but to think there would be a space like this underground… It is a bit hard to believe. 

The stairs reached an end after a while. 

*Dododododo*

A thunderous sound was echoing in the place.

The ground is damp from the spraying water, the air has water mixed into it, and my clothes were dampening just from being here. 

“…What incredible scenery. It is to the point that it is a shame that only an explorer can get the privilege of seeing this.” (Hikaru)

When I went down the stairs, there was a gigantic waterfall that really looked like a dragon twisting its way up. 

I am most likely around the midpoint of the waterfall. 

The water seems to be coming from a pretty high place. Maybe it is a water vein? 

I have confirmed the map of the 4th Floor just in case, but it is a three-dimensional floor, so I couldn’t tell clearly from the map. I see, so you wouldn’t be able to tell if you don’t walk around it yourself. 

“It might even be 100 meters in height. If you were to fall into the basin, it would be deadly.” (Hikaru)

Even when speaking like this, I am unsure if my viewers can even hear me. The noise the waterfall is making is just that loud. 

I can’t see the basin of the waterfall, but if you don’t have a safety measure, a way to avoid slipping, or a rope around you, you could end up just slipping and falling right down. It is a dangerous place that wouldn’t be strange for something like that to happen. 

“I kind of understand why the 4th Floor is dangerous and isn’t recommended for exploration. It is possible to not notice the presence of monsters with the loud noise.” (Hikaru)

And in reality, in a silent space, sounds like footsteps and breathing can provide a lot of information. 

If that’s being erased by the noise of the waterfall, I should consider the possibilities of getting hit by surprise have increased drastically. 

“Now then, I will begin the exploration… Ah, before that, I will try out my new ability.” (Hikaru)

My View of Darkness has reached Tier 3 and has become a new Ability.

“My Dark Vision that allowed me to see in the darkness has changed into Dark Sense. Let’s try it out.” (Hikaru)

My current Proficiency is like this:

————————-

[Dark Spirit Ability]

Tier 2 Ability 

・Falsehood of Darkness [Shade Shift] Proficiency 4

・Casket of Darkness [Shadow Bind] Proficiency 74

・Call of Darkness [Summon: Night Bug] Proficiency 69

Tier 3 Ability

・View of Darkness [Dark Sense] Proficiency 0

・Transformation of Darkness [Phantom Warrior] Proficiency 6

・Deposition of Darkness [Shadow Storage] Proficiency 5

Tier 4 Ability 

・Revelation of Darkness [Darkness Fog] Proficiency 88

Special Technique

・Return of Darkness [Create: Undead] Proficiency 1

————————-

The Tier 1 is finally gone. You could say they are being raised well. 

I personally am looking forward to the next stage of Night Bug. It is my only attack ability after all. 

So I say, but judging from the amount of times I have used it, Night Bug falls into the category of the ones that are hard to raise. At this rate, Bind will be getting to Tier 3 first. 

“Now then, here I go. [Dark Sense]!” (Hikaru)

The moment I activated the Ability, a wave of perception felt as if it spread around me like a radar, scanning the darkness. 

The 4th Floor is a lot darker than the 3rd Floor. I would say that it is in the middle of the 1st Floor and the 2nd Floor in terms of darkness. 

It is a strange sensation. 

My ‘vision’ spread around the darkness I can see around, and I managed to learn about the terrain and even the monsters that are hiding in them. 

If Dark Vision is an ability that allows me to see in the darkness, then Dark Sense is an ability that lets you find the ones in the darkness. The two are similar, but pretty different. 

Being able to find enemies actively is big. 

Moreover, the AOE is big, and it is possible to control for around a radius of 100 meters.

It spreads spherically with me as the center, so being able to search three-dimensionally is big too. With this, I can even find the ones hiding in the water. 

I explain this out loud as I walk towards the monster that I found with Dark Sense. 

It is a cave that you could say is filled with wet bare rocks. There are many places where monsters can easily hide in, like in uneven walls and ceilings.

And even when I knew where they were, they were in a shape that is hard to find. 

“There it is; a Slime. There’s one sticking in the wall.” (Hikaru)

It is 20 meters away from here. 

I don’t know if it has noticed me, but that figure of being half assimilated into the rock could make you miss it. 

“[Summon: Night Bug].” (Hikaru)

Night Bug is an attack ability that has long range. 

They are bugs, so you could say that’s natural. 

The summoned dark insects made buzzing sounds and rushed to the Slime all at once. 

The attack means of a Slime is to wrap their bodies around their target and dissolve them, or suffocate them, but against opponents like the dark insects that there’s no knowing if they even have any solid form, it is not that effective.

The insects munch onto the Spirit Vein center, and the Slime changes into a Spirit Stone in a few seconds. 

It would be a troublesome opponent if you don’t find it, but as long as you notice it first, there doesn’t seem to be any problems. 

“I safely defeated it. It really is important to get the first strike. Looks like Dark Sense will be doing work in the 4th Floor. It has an effective range of around 100 meters after all.” (Hikaru)

Even if the 2nd Floor is as dark as this place and the vision is bad, it is a floor that is filled with artificial-looking constructs in the whole area, and the ground, walls, and ceiling are made of stone. That’s why, on places like corridors, you would only need to be careful about your front and back, and there would be no problems, but that won’t go the same in the 4th Floor.

I can understand why Rifreya doesn’t like the 4th Floor.

“Now then, I would like to explore a bit. I have confirmed the map of the 4th Floor just in case, but it is a three-dimensional floor, so it doesn’t help much. I will just learn my way around.” (Hikaru)

I give my clumsy commentaries that I don’t know if they have any point at all, move away from the stairs a bit, confirm the terrain, and return. I repeat this process a number of times. 

With just written information, I can’t really tell well just how the monsters come out, what kind of senses they rely on, or how fast they attack. 

In the end, I have no choice but to learn in actual practice. 

Last time, I had prior info that ‘the 3rd Floor isn’t that difficult’, so I could be slightly reckless, but if I were to pull that on the 4th Floor, I really would die. It wouldn’t be that amusing for the viewers, but this is as much as I can compromise with. 

“[Dark Sense].” (Hikaru)

After walking for a while, Dark Sense detects a monster that is outside of vision. 

I am using Darkness Fog as well, so I don’t think the chances of being attacked suddenly are high, but I shouldn’t lower my guard. I don’t have a scout, and this is my first time on this floor, so I won’t waste my abilities. 

“There’s 2 Giant Crabs deeper in. They are bigger than I thought.” (Hikaru)

Dark Sense is convenient since I can tell by feeling the shape of the monsters it detects even without seeing them. 

Giant Crabs are literally as the name states, and on top of having pincers that can split a human in half, it is covered in a hard shell. This looks like a monster that is a bad match for me. 

Most of all, it is big. It is the size of a van…is going a bit too far, but it does feel like it is something close to that. 

If it is Rifreya with her gigantic weapon, it might be possible to fight it, but fighting it with a normal weapon might require some real work. 

By the way, I have investigated where the Spirit Vein center of this monster is at the guild, and it is in between its eyes.

“Honestly speaking, fighting two Giant Crabs with my combat capability is a bit difficult, but…I can’t withdraw here. I will do it.” (Hikaru)

I unsheathe my shortsword from my waist, and arrange my plan inside my head on how to fight it. 

Fighting in a style that relies on Dark Spirit Abilities can corner me into a fatal situation with one irregularity. More so when I am alone. No one will be saving me here. 

Even so…no, that’s why I am doing it. 

In order to attract even more viewers, I have to create situations where the people watching can expect ‘this guy is going to die’.

I have already decided on this path.