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1: Expulsion and Betrayal
We’ve come quite far, haven’t we?
Sera, the party’s swordmaster and central figure, speaks up. It’s true—their four-person party had started as students and climbed all the way to A-rank status.
They really had come far.
Kuga wonders why Sera sounds so formal all of a sudden. They’re about to face what could very well be their final battle—but this is just the beginning of what’s to come.
Kuga . . . thank you for everything. This is where we part ways.
!
He was genuinely surprised.
He had thought this conversation might come someday, but he hadn’t expected it to be now. Kuga looks at the faces of the other members. One is Yuria the saint, the other is Mikari the enchanter. Both are looking down. They’ve already discussed this.
Could you at least . . . tell me why?
You're a jack-of-all-trades . . . you understand, don't you?
Kuga understood this all too well.
We think this is what's best for us.
. . .
So go to the hidden room ahead by yourself.
Huh . . . ?
It's my farewell gift to you.
Kuga thinks to himself: In other words, he’s telling me to end my dungeon life here.
Sera . . . m-maybe you should reconsider . . .
Mikari the enchanter hesitates. But Sera the swordmaster's resolve is firm.
No, I'm making him go. By force if necessary.
Mikari . . . it's fine. Sera . . . that farewell gift . . . I'll take it.
Kuga heads alone toward the hidden room.
◇
It has been fifty years since dungeons suddenly appeared on Earth and the existence of monsters, magic, and jobs was confirmed.
In recent years, Revive magic—which enables a one-time automatic resurrection—has become widespread, making dungeon exploration and dungeon streaming explosively popular.
Within these dungeons lies what has come to be known as the Hidden Room of No Return—a place from which no explorer has ever emerged to continue their dungeon run. Every challenger has burned through their single revival and abandoned the dungeon entirely. The monster responsible for this is . . .
What’s this? Facing me all alone . . .
. . .
Ah, could it be? Don’t tell me—is this one of those expulsions?
Beautiful golden hair cascaded down her back, framing mesmerizing crimson eyes. She wore what appeared to be an elegant black and red dress that hugged her graceful, statuesque figure, while red wings sprouted from her back. Despite her otherworldly beauty, her lovely face held a childlike innocence. Kuga had seen her before in streams.
The monster—the boss—of the Hidden Room of No Return . . . this beautiful vampire was actually speaking to him. Caught off guard, Kuga decides to respond briefly.
Well, to put it bluntly, that's right . . .
Haha, so it is . . . ! Hmm . . . ? Even so . . . you seem rather calm.
No . . . I figured it would happen eventually. In that sense, the timing might actually be perfect.
Hmm . . . is that so? Well, I'm pleased you came.
. . . ?
Why, you ask . . . ? That's simple . . . I was bored . . . !
!
As she speaks, the vampire unleashes a barrage of red, razor-sharp stone-like projectiles.
That was the signal for battle to begin.
Ngh . . .
Kuga draws the greatsword from his back and uses it like a shield to block the wildly flying Crimson Stones.
You use your sword rather crudely . . .
!
A whispering voice came from behind.
Oh, you blocked that too . . .
The vampire's wings transformed into tentacles that undulated like whips, yet their tips were sharp as blades. Kuga barely managed to block the red slash from those tentacles with lightning-fast reflexes.
The vampire's special skill—teleportation.
If she hadn't whispered, he might have been hit . . .
Sweat ran down Kuga's forehead.
Now I'll attack from here . . . !
Ngh . . .
Kuga swung down his greatsword with tremendous force. The vampire dodged by twisting her body aside, but her eyes widened as if the attack was far faster than she had imagined. Kuga pressed his advantage with a series of continuous strikes.
Ngh . . .
Caught off guard by his unexpected intensity, the vampire teleported backward to create distance.
However . . .
!
The distance she had gained was closed instantly through sheer physical ability alone.
Guh . . .
The vampire instinctively blocked the sword with her enlarged right wing.
Though not severed, the wing suffered damage as if struck by a blunt weapon.
Ngh . . .
The vampire wasn't the only one who took damage. As a counterattack, she transformed her opposite wing into a tentacle, and its blade pierced Kuga's left shoulder. But . . .
Heal.
?!
Kuga immediately heals the wound.
You can heal as well . . . how versatile . . .
The vampire licks Kuga's blood clinging to her tentacle blade.
. . . Maybe so.
Yes . . . that's the cause.
The vampire's words remind Kuga of recent events.
Kuga . . . thank you for everything . . . this is where we part ways . . .
Could you at least . . . tell me why?
Simply put, jack-of-all-trades . . . you understand, don't you?
Hero—he had been fooled by that job title.
The title was somewhat embarrassing, but he had been pleased, believing he could protect his party.
In reality, from swordplay to defense, attack magic, support magic, and even healing . . . he was a generalist who could handle everything at a high level. His overall capabilities were unparalleled.
However, he couldn't master a single thing.
In every area, he couldn't match specialists who had mastered their respective fields. Party composition theory had gained prominence after Kuga became a hero. Due to the dungeon barrier's effects limiting parties to four members, it was considered optimal to form teams of specialists, utilizing each member's strengths while compensating for their weaknesses. Currently, the four-person composition of physical attacker, magic attack specialist, healing specialist, and defense or support specialist had become the optimal party that could achieve maximum performance.
In other words, within a party, he was a jack-of-all-trades . . . a half-measure. That's what the Hero job was. And fatally, in Kuga's former party:
Physical attacker . . . Sera the swordmaster.
Magic attack specialist . . . Yuria the saint.
Support specialist . . . Mikari the enchanter.
Healing specialist . . . absent.
This meant Kuga the hero ended up serving as the healer. But now . . . in his battle with the vampire, Kuga was feeling something strange.
I never realized how liberating it would feel to fight without worrying about keeping everyone alive.
By the way . . .
As he was thinking this, the vampire stopped her attacks and asked him a question.
I've been wondering . . . what is that floating object? Those who came before had them floating around too.
Hm . . . ? Oh, this . . . ?
Indeed.
This is a streaming drone.
Streaming . . . ? That betrayal thing?
No, that's different . . .
Being good-natured, Kuga explained streaming to the vampire.
He told her that the footage was broadcast worldwide, and that viewers could comment in real time with whatever thoughts they had. During his explanation, the vampire stopped attacking and listened with interest.
Oh, so this battle between you and me . . . everyone's watching it?
Yeah, that was my former party's final parting gift to me.
How interesting . . . I'm getting a little excited . . .
The vampire grins.
Thank you.
Hm . . . ?
You're the first person to actually explain it to me so politely.
. . .
By the way, what kinds of comments are being made right now?
Hm . . . ? Well . . . [Vampire girl, cute]
Huh?!
The vampire flushes.
It's nothing but comments like that?!
. . . Yeah, there are quite a lot of comments about your appearance . . .
. . . ! Wh-what insolence . . . Are all humans such creatures?
It's not really insolence—comments are just people's honest thoughts.
. . . Honest thoughts.
The vampire blushes slightly.
. . .
After a moment of silence, the vampire lifts her head and speaks.
Say, would it be alright if I asked something a bit strange?
Hm . . . ?
Would you teach me streaming?
. . . Huh? Wh-what do you mean . . . ?
Exactly what I said. I've become interested in streaming, so I want you to teach me how.
The vampire says this as if wondering what could possibly be unclear about her request.
I-I get that . . . but can you even do that as a boss? I mean, can you even leave this room?
I can leave! Did you think I was always here?
Well, yes . . . thinks Kuga.
Look around carefully. There's nothing in this room, is there?
Now that she mentions it, that's true. This room is indeed just a crude, dome-shaped rocky chamber . . . with nothing needed for actually living. It had never occurred to him that bosses might have lives outside of battle.
Uh . . . then when and how do you get to this room . . . ?
Whenever explorers show up—which probably isn't very often—she's always here. No, that's backwards. Even though it's rare, whenever explorers do appear, she's always here waiting.
I get a notification when invaders appear. Then I quickly warp over here. Just now, I was sleeping peacefully when I got rudely awakened and had to rush over.
My apologies . . . thinks Kuga.
She's not still half-asleep, is she . . . Kuga wonders.
Now you understand, right? I can leave this room. So hey! Let's stream together. Your blood is very . . . no, you seem very promising.
Before he knows it, her request has escalated from "teach me streaming" to "let's stream together."
. . .
Kuga thinks.
In truth, there was one major problem for Kuga.
He had lost his sense of purpose.
His dungeon exploration and streaming had started with a student's mindset. He'd been fighting to protect his companions all this time. Even while streaming, he couldn't say anything interesting and never took center stage.
That's why he accepted Sera's final farewell gift.
After all, he had become self-destructive, thinking it wouldn't matter if his dungeon life ended here.
And then he met this strange vampire . . . who was grinning with confidence for some reason.
If asked whether he was sane, he couldn't confidently say yes. However . . .
. . . Understood.
It didn't take Kuga very long to give that answer.
◇
Several hours later.
Can you see me?
[We can see you!]
[We can see you]
[It's really vampire girl]
[Whoa, no way!]
Oh, comments are already coming in. Well then, let's begin our memorable first stream.
. . .
Kuga's first thought:
The comments are incredible.
For a first stream, the comment activity is incredible.
Usually, first streams get almost no comments, leaving you wondering what you're even doing there. But they're getting comments from the start. And their subscriber count is visibly climbing.
Hey, Kuga. I'd say this is an excellent start, wouldn't you?
That's right.
Sera's farewell gift was proving to be exactly what she'd intended.
When Sera announced Kuga's expulsion, there had already been a decent number of viewers watching. His opponent was the boss of the Hidden Room of No Return, a vampire also known as a peerless beauty. In fact, more people had been cheering for the vampire than for Kuga. And then had come the unexpected streaming invitation.
This was probably unprecedented for a dungeon monster. Word spread that an expelled hero and a monster were working together, drawing unexpected attention.
Kuga thinks:
Did Sera actually predict it would blow up like this . . . ?
Completely ignoring Kuga's thoughts, the vampire announces:
So for our very first stream, we'll be doing invad—oops, I mean explorer hunting . . . I think!
[Huh . . .] [What . . .] [Seriously?]
[Murmur . . . murmur . . .]
Rewinding a bit.
Streaming aside, what exactly do you want to do?
After they'd agreed to stream together, Kuga was talking with the vampire off-camera.
Ah, Alicia.
. . . ?
That's my name.
. . . Forgive me for asking, but who named you?
I don't know. I've been Alicia for as long as I can remember existing.
I see . . .
The exact process wasn't well understood, but monsters were said to be born from mana essence that emanated from dungeons. They probably didn't grow from infancy like humans did.
I'm Kuga.
Having learned her name, he felt obligated to introduce himself.
Heh, Kuga . . . that's a cool name.
Is it? Kuga wonders.
By the way, how old are you?
I'll be twenty-four this year.
Huh?!
What's she surprised about? Kuga wonders.
. . .
Kuga was also a bit curious about Alicia's age, but he held back, thinking it might be rude to ask a woman, even if she was a monster. Judging by her appearance, she'd probably be around twenty.
So then, Alicia, what is it you want to do?
Well . . .
Perhaps because Kuga had called her by name, Alicia looked down slightly. She'd never experienced this before. However, she soon lifted her face and began to speak.
Actually, I've been so bored lately that I've been thinking about something.
What is it . . . ?
I want to reach the top . . .
O-oh . . . ?
Apparently, the pinnacle of monsters is called . . . "final boss"? I thought I might try becoming that . . .
. . .
Kuga wonders if becoming a final boss is really something you can achieve just by deciding to do it in the monster world.
I see, so how exactly does one become a final boss?
Well, apparently the first step to becoming a final boss is to become an SS-rank boss first. These are the conditions for becoming an SS-rank boss.
With that, Alicia shows Kuga a hastily scribbled memo. The handwriting was messy and hard to read, but he managed to make out the contents.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
[How to Become an SS-Rank Boss]
• Hunt 30 invaders
• Hunt an A-rank party
• Hunt an S-rank party
• Command followers (S-rank boss)
• Establish a boss castle
• Create an opening in the SS-rank boss roster
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Kuga thinks:
It's quite well documented.
Wait, but if we're going to do this . . .
That means we'd have to hunt explorers . . . ?
That's right.
. . .
I see . . . I got carried away and didn't think that through. You're right. Kuga, you're an invader . . . it would be awkward for you to fight your own people . . .
Alicia looks a bit dejected.
. . . Actually, I don't really mind.
Huh . . . ?
The truth is . . . combat between explorers isn't forbidden.
!
Kuga explains the automatic revival magic, Revive, to Alicia. Human dungeon explorers cannot enter dungeons for exploration unless they have automatic revival magic cast on them—no exceptions.
Automatic revival (Revive) is a special magic that transports someone outside the dungeon and revives them when they die inside. It's also the only existing revival magic, known to be effective only once in a lifetime. Therefore, once someone dies, they can never re-enter a dungeon again.
However, since they're guaranteed to be revived, explorers are granted a certain degree of freedom within dungeons at their own risk. Combat is one such freedom.
In fact, there are dueling streamers who specialize in fighting other explorers. The party Duelist—said to be the third of the four existing S-rank parties—is the most famous. Well, they don't actively hunt people; they use more of a "seeking challengers" format . . .
Heh . . .
Alicia listens with interest.
By the way, one condition for becoming an SS-rank boss is hunting S-rank parties, but there are only four human S-rank parties . . .
That's right . . .
Hmm . . . and what about you?
I was in an A-rank party . . .
I see, I see . . . so there are those who rank higher than you.
Alicia seems somewhat pleased.
That's how it is. By the way, do you have a rank, Alicia?
As far as Kuga knew, she wasn't included in the S-rank boss list.
I am unranked.
I see . . . probably because you're a hidden boss?
That could be it . . . Well, starting from zero is more interesting, right? So our channel will document my "Journey to the Final Boss" as an unranked boss! And we shall instill fear in humans, making them refrain from such distasteful activities as dungeon streaming!
Alicia declares this in high spirits.
O-oh . . .
That's all well and good, but Kuga wonders what exactly his position is supposed to be . . .
Several hours later.
Hey, look . . . Kuga . . . intruders.
Ah . . . yeah, I see them.
Within their line of sight was a single party—four explorers.
How brazenly they show themselves . . .
Alicia's lips curve into a smile.
◇
They had met back in high school.
There was an Occult Science Research Club in the middle of nowhere, with four members on the verge of disbanding.
Occult Science Research was just a name—everyone was actually interested in dungeons.
Among them was Yomogida, the club president and childhood friend, who was an enthusiastic dungeon researcher. The club room always had streams of his favorite party, Evil Slayer, playing.
Yeaaaah! Nice going, Evil Slayer!
Shut up, Yomogida!
Chikako was always berating Yomogida this way.
What do you mean "shut up," Chikako? Don't you understand how magnificent Evil Slayer is?
Shut up! You said the same thing yesterday!
Whenever Yomogida tried to talk about his favorite Evil Slayer members, Chikako always got irritated.
Man, I want to get to a dungeon soon too and try doing live monster dissection streams and everything.
What sick taste you have!
But you can't resist your curiosity either, can you?
Ugh . . . well, that's . . .
Akina watched their bickering with a wry smile—they sounded like an old married couple. She would always read books while observing the two of them, occasionally smiling to herself. She was quiet and didn't talk much.
And Kenzo, why are you always sleeping?!
. . . !
Kenzo . . . yes . . . that's me.
I always came to the club room to nap. After being dragged into the club by my childhood friend Yomogida—something about solidarity—I didn't have anything particular to do, but for some reason I kept showing up and sleeping the time away. Then one day . . . looking back, this day would change everything.
I wake up from my nap.
. . . Huh? Did I oversleep . . . ?
The light streaming through the window was red . . . it was dusk.
Oh . . . you're awake . . .
. . . !
In the club room, Yomogida and Chikako were gone—only Akina remained.
Oh, yeah . . .
. . .
We sit in silence for a while. We had never been alone together like this before. The air feels heavy between us. Surprisingly, it was Akina who broke that silence.
. . . Kenzo . . .
Huh . . . ?
Um . . . do you . . . do you have any interest in going to dungeons?
Huh . . . ?!
The question caught him completely off guard.
When I turn eighteen . . . I want to go to dungeons . . . with all four of us . . .
. . . !
He never would have expected Akina to be thinking about dungeons—Yomogida, maybe, but not her.
Well, um, based on our personalities I'd probably be a healer . . . Chikako would definitely be a black mage, and Yomogida would surprisingly make a good tank . . . and you, Kenzo . . . you'd be the star swordsman . . . I think . . .
Akina seemed a bit embarrassed, but she spoke more eloquently than usual about dungeon exploration.
Knowing Yomogida . . . he'd probably make us do monster experiments and dissections, wouldn't he?
That's fine with me . . . as long as I can be with everyone . . .
Does it have to be the four of us . . . ?
Yes . . . especially you, Kenzo . . . I definitely want you to be there . . .
. . . !
He never did find out why she said something like that on that day.
Even now that they've become a B-rank party . . . he's kept that day secret from the other two.
And he had sworn that when they eventually became the S-rank party they aspired to be, he would ask her what she really meant. He had sworn it. But had he really sworn it?
◇
Gyah!
Ngh . . . ?! Y-Yomogida . . .
Like Chikako before him, Yomogida was pierced through the abdomen and vanished.
D-damn it . . .
Kenzo . . .
Akina had injured her leg in the fall and now looked toward Kenzo.
Akina . . .
Why . . . ? Why is this happening . . . ?
Kenzo crawled desperately toward Akina, dragging himself along the ground. Their monster hunting had gone smoothly today—no problems, just like the other close calls they'd survived before. They shouldn't have gotten overconfident.
Akina . . .
Kenzo was almost close enough to touch Akina.
If only he could reach her . . .
Kenzo . . .
*THUNK*
Ngh . . . ?!
A crimson blade pierced through the top of Akina's head right before Kenzo's eyes.
Good work out there.
The alluring woman with crimson eyes smiled boldly.
Behind her, a man covered his face with one hand, looking troubled.
Aaaahhhhhhh . . . Wh-wh-wh-what are you people . . . ?!
Kenzo shed tears as he spoke, venting his rage at the woman.
Hmm . . . ? I'm simply hunting humans.
What . . . ?! Don't mess with me . . .
I fail to understand why thou art so angry. ’Tis precisely what you do on a regular basis, is it not?
Ngh . . . !
Tell me, what is thy purpose in dungeon streaming?
. . .
Money . . . or perhaps the desire for recognition?
Ngh . . .
I can understand those feelings . . . but we have been tolerating thy little hobby even while our lives are threatened by it. Thou shouldst be grateful.
Y-you bast—
*THUNK*
Kenzo disappears without ceremony.
Hmm . . . ? Ah, forgive me. Were you trying to say something?
. . .
This woman really went all out . . .
The merciless slaughter of some up-and-coming B-rank party that was supposedly rising through the ranks . . . At least the Real-time Correction System toned down the gore considerably, which was a small mercy. Alicia isn't the kind of powerhouse that should just be casually roaming around this floor. It was pure bad luck . . . how tragic . . .
Say, Kuga, quite a few humans are watching this, right?
Y-yeah . . .
Good.
Alicia grins wickedly.
How about it? You're disgusted, aren't you, humans?!
[That's horrible . . .] [Makes me sick] [Poor guys]
[Drop dead, monster . . . !]
Yes, yes, exactly, exactly.
Alicia looks somewhat satisfied.
If this teaches you a lesson . . .
But then . . .
[Hmm, I wonder what this is . . .]
[Yeah, I don't know why, but I'm feeling kind of excited right now.]
[What is this feeling?]
Huh?
[My brain is releasing weird chemicals.]
[Besides, those guys were doing experiments on monsters too.]
[Right, right, like slicing up slimes to see how long they would regenerate. They were sickening from the start.]
[Hmm, I'll keep watching for now . . . ]
[Wait, wait, calm down, humans . . . monsters are cruel and merciless . . . ]
[Thank you. You've awakened something in me.]
Whaaaat?!
Alicia begins to waver at this unexpected reaction.
K-Kuga . . . are humans monsters?!
M-maybe they are . . .
No, aren't they even worse than monsters?
. . .
Kuga couldn't deny it.
The unpredictable reactions from the human viewers had completely thrown off Alicia's plan.
