I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

Chapter 242: Call of the Underworld 2

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: 5/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

Join the discord! Here

The underground digging project didn't start right away.

As is typical with large-scale civil engineering projects, even for stone dwarves who live underground and dig through the earth, there was a lot to investigate and prepare.

The scene shifts when stone dwarf Bobo excitedly proposes opening a passage, and the others start running around like mad.

To the young stone dwarves, this project looked less like a massive construction effort and more like festival preparations.

One of the dwarves added,

"By drilling a large passage with a Vacuum Stone, we can gather a lot of rare ores and gems that come out of there!"

"Oh, I see."

"No need to thank us; we should be the ones thanking you!"

The tunnel excavation felt like a festival to them.

"Looks like the young dwarf who wanted to drill a tunnel earlier was a hint. But do ores and gems just appear by drilling a path?"

-Let's chalk it up as a fantasy thing.

-lol, this isn't MinerCraft.

-If the mountain range where the stone dwarves live was a super goldmine, then maybe.

-If monsters come out just by digging, ores might as well.

-Why bother with realism when you have smooth stone faces that can talk and eat without mouths?

This is how our time went in the underground city.

Grace and Katie went to the market to look at weapons like arrows and swords made by the stone dwarves for the multi-racial alliance fighting the Demon King.

Han Se-ah wanted to show her viewers the underground city too but ended up being dragged off by Irene.

Seeing Han Se-ah collapse from magical exhaustion, Irene dragged her off to an inn.

I wasn't particularly interested in exploring the market and headed to the inn as well, naturally to spend time on the internet.

Grace and Katie had subtly hinted to join them at the market, but... I already knew.

Even if the two were just looking at weapons, it was still women shopping.

Once you're caught up in it, there's no escaping.

"Ah, I'm really okay..."

"Still, you need to rest for a day. We heard monsters might appear while drilling the tunnel, so you have to take care of your condition."

So, I watched Han Se-ah being dragged away by Irene and made my way to a vacant room.

Since the entire city had moved to the tower, there were no other guests at the inn, and the stone dwarf managing the inn had disappeared somewhere after hearing about the Vacuum Stone.

Despite being made of stone, the city had some accommodations for visitors, like non-stone beds.

It would have been uncomfortable to watch online lying on a stone bed.

Although the buildings were made of stone, doors were considerately made of wood.

Most furniture was stone, but the beds had proper mattresses.

This inn might be the only place in the city where not everything was made of stone.

Peeking at Han Se-ah's stream through the hologram window, I saw Irene leading her to lie down in bed.

She was grumbling about the missed opportunity to explore the city, while her viewers, on the other hand, found the situation rather amusing.

Smirking at the usual scene, I switched from Han Se-ah's stream to a video streaming site.

---

Raei Translations

---

Just as news articles frequently mention Heroes Chronicle, the first virtual reality game, video sites have been flooded with content related to it for a while now.

From straightforward gameplay videos and reviews by game critics to discussions about virtual reality in science and general knowledge videos, and even conspiracy theories and fake news.

"The idea that virtual reality game machines are Satan's coffins sucking out people's souls is quite novel."

Among the trending videos was one featuring streamer Kim Seok-hyun.

"Ah, not this guy again?"

Having completed the 30th floor, Kim Seok-hyun looked a bit worse for wear from his struggles in the venomous marsh, resembling a seasoned mercenary more than a player, thanks to his battered shield and armor.

"Antonios, do you have enough divine energy?"

"Of course, brother."

Kim Seok-hyun, now on the 33rd floor, advanced towards a group of lizardman skeletons with a sword and shield.

Emmet, a mage, immediately transformed the marshy ground into mud, making it easier to traverse.

On the 33rd floor, he moved without hesitation toward a group of about a dozen monsters.

He had pulled out a giant metal plate from his inventory to block a charging horned wolf before and dodged the coordinated attacks of several orc warriors on the muddy ground, clumsily but with clear talent.

-Oh lol, Kim Seok-hyun's really stepped up his game?

-To be honest, no one swings a sword as cleanly as this guy, not even 6 Roland, the world's number one.

-He's grown a lot since the horned wolf skewer days.

-Gotta admire his determination to register at a kendo dojo just to swing a sword better in the game.

If it weren't for the chat popping up in the corner of the recorded video, it could almost pass for a promotional video made by BB Games, showing off the clean combat.

Old and rusty scimitars clashed with a one-handed sword, sparking briefly.

Then, the one-handed sword smoothly slid up the side of the scimitar and lightly slashed through the neck of a skeleton lizardman, leaving nothing but bone.

A swift and clean sword cut down the enemy in a single stroke.

"I'll cover the front, just keep an eye on those trying to flank us!"

The subsequent battle was equally one-sided.

He deflected swords with a small shield, and when sword met sword, he twisted his wrist, knocking aside the enemy's blade and striking at their necks.

Without flashy effects, his swordsmanship cleanly and concisely claimed the lives of his opponents.

In a video edited down to 10 minutes for uploading to the video site, Kim Seok-hyun alone took down seven out of fourteen enemies.

...I almost acknowledged him as nearly a senior adventurer level if not for the related videos where he funnily slips and falls into the marsh while interacting with viewers.

Both Han Se-ah and Kim Seok-hyun are skilled at control, but it's like they're missing a screw somewhere.

"These days, other streamers are all playing Heroes Chronicle, so it's hard to schedule joint streams~"

"Weapons? For men, it's gotta be greatswords. ...What, got stuck on a tree while carrying a greatsword and got knocked out by an orc?"

"Come on~! It's not my aim that's the problem, but the tank suddenly moving sideways, right?"

After Kim Seok-hyun's video ended, a flood of related videos appears, featuring other streamers playing Heroes Chronicle.

As expected in a game that requires physical movement, clean fighters like Kim Seok-hyun or Han Se-ah were rare.

Most were rolling in the mud, repeatedly facing game overs, or just supporting their teammates.

Especially among streamers who chose mage or archer roles, there was quite a few videos of them accidentally shooting their own warriors in the back.

It's not just game overs but accidental team kills that make for more sensational and entertaining content.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

"This is why rookie archers!"

"Mage, what are you doing! Did you learn anything at the magic tower?"

Videos feature warriors rolling on the ground after being hit by their own team while fighting goblins or orcs, ranging from hairy and grim-looking men to sharp-eyed women NPCs scolding, while the streamers sheepishly hit the reset button.

Scrolling past these videos to explore the vast cyber world, another theme emerges: the advent of virtual reality female streamers.

Confident in their looks but not in combat, these female streamers choose to become part-timers or entrepreneurs in adventurer cities.

They serve beer in inns, listening to adventurers' exaggerated tales while interacting with viewers.

"Hey, guys. Is it true that orcs can break logs barehanded?"

"Made 42 silver today! Just a bit more and I might be able to open a stall. Should I go for a stall, or wait until I can afford a proper shop?"

"Me? I've always wanted to be a caf owner. They have macarons here, right?"

Essentially, they're doing a fantasy version of a part-timer's vlog.

It's fascinating how creativity can stretch in all directions when it comes to making money.

A female streamer, cooking stew while wearing an innkeeper's outfit with a suspiciously low neckline for her vlog, interacted with viewers.

A stream that showcased cooking while flaunting one's figure, and at the same time, listening to adventurers' boastful jokes and interacting with viewers.

Truly, there's an overflow of stream types I never imagined.

...As I watched the gentle bubbling of stew, time flew by and morning arrived in the dimly lit underground city.