Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 133: Into the Desert Dungeon!

“Welcome back, everyone,” Kaiden said, greeting his viewers. Nyx posted the announcement of the upcoming dungeon descent on their socials yesterday as soon as the decision was made to accept Tessa’s invitation. The posts on the internet and the awakened platform received a lot of favorable reactions, their followers were excited to witness this event.

– Lady Leia: Heh. I’m first. Suck it, dumb bitches.

– Kaiden’s Wife: Curses! I must train my reflexes, I was slow once again!

Princeless Princess timed out Lady Leia for thirty minutes. Reason: Usage of profanities.

– Princeless Princess: Hi Kaiden! I wish you good luck on this dangerous undertaking!

– Shadow Warrior: Dang son, already in a D-rank dungeon?!

– Thirsty247: My senior is rapidly moving up in the world of awakened.

– TouchGrass: He didn’t accept you as his junior. He didn’t even acknowledge your request to be taught.

– Thirsty247: Princess, can you ban this fatass? I bet he’s a drooler irl.

– Feet Sniffer: I did a little bit of research, and it turns out this is not just a D-rank dungeon, but an uncharted one at that.

“Indeed, Feet Sniffer is right. We were hired by the Nova Circuit guild as mercs to help clear this dungeon. It had the annoying restriction of allowing entrance only to those who were level 10 or below,” Kaiden revealed, making the chat buzz. People were rapidly flooding in; nearly a thousand viewers were tuning in to the stream already.

“Ha?” Multiple gasps rang through the gathered awakened. They were about to step through the gate into the dungeon, but then Kaiden started talking loudly to a ‘Feet Sniffer,’ confusing them greatly.

“Did he lose his marbles?”

“I-I-I think he’s streaming right now…” the timid teenage girl with many backpacks muttered shyly.

“Now that you mention, he did indeed upload first-person videos from what I remember, but I thought he had a recording device… How does he record?”

While many curiously observed Kaiden, a robotic humming sounded as Vaelira activated her mana camera, intending to stream as well. Normally, she should’ve had very little following as a trainee who just started her dungeon-diving career not long ago, but she smartly used the opportunity to begin a Yout*be career as soon as she awakened, where she vlogged her daily life.

Even though Vaelira remained level 1 for multiple years due to the schooling she received at Nova Circuit, people were still fascinated with her because of her A-tier status. It was a real privilege to follow the journey of an awakened with her illustrious tier from before she even killed her first monster.

Naturally, her social persona and hot body also played a major role in her success as a vlogger. A pretty face went a long way to make people click on video thumbnails.

“Welcome back to the Vaelira Show, everyone!”

Thanks to her four years of content creation and the money her parents spent on advertising this dungeon descent of hers, Vaelira’s stream had more than ten times the number of viewers compared to Valhalla’s Sinners.

With that, it was time to go. One after the other, the members of the expedition stepped through the dungeon gate. The moment they did so, the world around them shifted. The cool morning air was replaced by the searing heat of a sunlit wasteland. The scent of the green clearing where the dungeon gate emerged on Earth was replaced by dry, sandy winds.

Golden desert dunes stretched endlessly as far as the eye could see; there was nothing but sand… Sand on top of sand. With one exception. In the far distance stood a pyramid.

As the only positive note of this dungeon’s environment, a lush oasis surrounded the gate and its immediate proximity, offering a contrast that was akin to heaven and earth when compared to the barren expanse that lay beyond. Palm trees and other greenery surrounded a crystal-clear pond in the center, it was a body of water that was teeming with fish.

A small camp had already been established under Tessa’s direction. Several tents had been erected, and supply crates rested in the shade, containing water, rations, and dungeon survival gear. The scouts she assigned had already surveyed the surrounding kilometer for immediate dangers.

Who were these scouts? Usually rangers and rogues, people who were good at being sneaky. Being a scout was the most dangerous role an awakened could have, even triumphing that of the tanker, the people who took hits on purpose so that their teammates wouldn’t have to. The reason for such danger could be accredited to the many threats looming in a dungeon that no man had ever set foot in.

Not every dungeon had a safe starting area; sometimes, monsters were observed camping the dungeon gates, especially if it was an older dungeon and the monsters had learned that humans might step through the entrance at any moment. If that wasn’t enough, the environment of the dungeon also posed grave threats to the scouts.

There were reports of scouts stepping into a dungeon gate, and instead of landing on solid ground, a cold ocean awaited them, and as luck would have it, a Leviathan monster just so happened to pass by, eating them all in an instant.

All that is to say, scouting was a dangerous job, but it paid handsomely. Only a few class archetypes, such as the healers or truly outstanding damage dealers, could command higher pay than them.

Vaelira clapped her hands to gather attention. “This oasis will serve as our base of operations for the first day. We’ll spend the next twenty-four hours grinding experience so that we can tackle the later monsters, gathering information on enemy patterns and acclimating our bodies to the desert biome. Tomorrow, we begin the march toward the pyramid. For now, you have ten minutes to take your indicated tents, secure your belongings, and get ready to move out.”

None opposed her suggested plan. Taking time to adjust and level up was their best bet, and everyone understood it. Rushing through an unknown desert was a fool’s errand. As such, the group dispersed. Since Kaiden and the squad had no clue which tent was theirs, they remained in place, waiting to see which one was free. However, before that could become clear, Vaelira approached the four of them once the others had left.

“This is Kaiden, one of the many boys who confessed to me in high school…” she revealed slyly to her mana camera. Then, having read a question from her chatters, she grimaced visibly with disgust. “Did I go out with him? Gods, no!”

“What the hell is going on? What’s this blonde bitch on about?” Luna growled, not liking the attitude of Vaelira one bit.

Not bothered by Vaelira’s taunts, Kaiden replied in a neutral tone. “Long story short, I was deceived by her kind persona act, so I tried my chance with her. I was shot down, and then she fabricated lies to mock me for whatever reason.”

“Kind persona? You’re telling me this chick’s hot piece of ass played no role in your confession whatsoever?” Nyx asked with a coy smile, instantly understanding the main reason why the inexperienced Kaiden crushed on her.