Red Cavern Results

Back to the personal home.

Normally, after clearing a multi dungeon, players would stay on-site to sort out reward adjustments based on loot drops and so on. But this time, Karona was the only one left alive, so there was no reason to stick around.

Plus, the place had been unnecessarily hot.

Karona settled into her luxurious, ojou-sama-worthy chair, facing the streaming camera set up on her desk.

"Well then, well then. Now, let us open up the results we've all been waiting for～! How much do you suppose the reward will be? If I got something like fifty thousand yen, that would be absolutely splendid…"

Karona opened the results screen with one eye squeezed shut.

The rewards page came up, and she peeked nervously through barely-cracked lids.

… It read: 100,000 yen.

"Eh?"

Karona did a double-take.

Still 100,000 yen.

"Ehh?"

It really did say 100,000 yen. No matter how many times she looked, it said 100,000 yen.

To be precise, there was a small remainder tacked on, but it came out to roughly 100,000 yen.

"Ehhhh～～!? Th-that's so much! The reward is a hundred thousand yen!? Isn't that awfully high!?"

"ooh, goal amount hit in one shot? good job ojou!"

"subtracting the little bits of damage you took, profit's like eighty or ninety k?"

"W-wait just a moment. I merely strolled through a dungeon whose gimmicks had already been cleared and played a round of driving-range golf, no!? Is it really alright for me to receive a hundred thousand yen for that!?"

"lol 'merely a round of driving-range golf'"

"you took down the boss's entourage while shooting down the dragon and got the last hit too, didn't you"

"and since everyone else wiped, you also count as the sole survivor. contribution's gonna be huge obviously"

"Is that how it works!? Well, now that you mention it, if I hadn't been there, it would never have been cleared and everyone would have just wiped. I see, I see."

Having finally convinced herself of her own achievement, Karona nodded along.

"Th-then, for now, I'll set half aside as savings for the future and… m-multi dungeons are… tasty～!? Why on earth have I only been doing solo all this time!?"

And just like that, Karona had developed a taste for it. The power of cold hard cash sweeps away all social anxiety.

"worked out well since it suited you, but yeah, multis generally pay better"

"you can also split up the stuff you're bad at, so party runs are a solid option"

"there are even multis that, like solos, let each party clear independently. maybe forming a party with someone down the line's a good idea?"

"… I've realized something!!"

Karona pointed dramatically at her viewers.

"If I pursue a dungeon that's already well on its way to being cleared, like this time, I can swoop in like a fisherman and reap the tasty prize money all for myself!!"

"ojou, that's not quite right…"

"oi, stop, don't"

"has she awakened as a hyena…?"

"And so, riding this momentum, it's time for one more attack～! Come, come, come, which dungeon is worthy of my presence～～!?"

Off she went, searching for another dungeon with similar conditions (first-to-clear ending, contribution split, no PvP) and plunged right in.

This time, in stark contrast to the previous venue, it was a land of bitter cold.

"Brrr!? Ahh, s-slip damage is starting to tick in!? My DEF might be a touch lacking… b-but, as long as I keep moving I shall warm right up～! Here we go—"

—The instant she took her first step, an announcement rang out: "The dungeon has been cleared. Due to zero contribution, you will now be returned."

"Eh? But I just arrived…"

"obviously lolol"

"knew it lolol"

"told you to stop didn't i lolol"

"Stop me more forcefully, everyone～～!! Uwaaaan! The slip damage is a total loss～～!?"

And thus, Karona's second attempt at a multi dungeon ended without her meeting a single soul, at a total loss to boot.

Well, the fact that the damage was only minor was perhaps the one small mercy.