Chapter 135: I’m familiar with it

Sera was going to drop me off at the company. My place was closer from there.

While stopped at a traffic light, Sera spoke first.

“About what the team leader mentioned in the meeting just now. Increasing the advertising fee and revealing your face. Similar proposals might keep coming. Are you sure you’re okay with continuing to refuse?”

“Wasn’t that the original company policy? Not revealing my face?”

Sera stepped on the accelerator again and replied.

“That’s right. The basic policy is still the same. But there’s talk that… it might be better to make an exception for you, Leah. Your appearance is so striking that there’s analysis suggesting it would actually benefit the brand image. Of course, the company won’t be the first to request it. Ultimately, it’s your choice, Leah.”

“But what about you, Sera?”

I looked out the window and slowly spoke.

“You used to want to change even my avatar’s eye and hair color. I’m curious if you think it’s okay now.”

Sera, without turning her head, paused for a moment before answering.

“My stance is the same as before. Revealing your face is a big risk, and it’s best to avoid it if possible.”

She shifted her shoulders slightly, adjusting her driving posture.

“I’m just letting you know that the company atmosphere has changed a bit, and that you have a choice now, Leah.”

Glancing at the passenger seat, Sera turned her gaze forward again and added,

“However, you’ll have to bear any discomfort that comes with it… so think carefully.”

“Yes. I’ll think about it.”

I didn’t particularly dislike the idea of revealing my face. It was just… the massive change that would follow. That’s what gave me pause.

---

Week 3 on the Blooming Core server.

The village was now bustling with various buildings, and there were changes as well.

[Current Contribution Points: 34,152 / Stage 2 Unlocked]

[Until Lumina Core Activation: 57%]

“…I wonder what happens when this reaches 100%?”

• The village explodes

• Seriously?

• You’re lying

• Was that a joke??

• Even the Pia don’t know, it’s their first time too lol

“Sister!”

There was only one person on the server who would call me that. I turned around and, as expected, it was Senior Ciel in her robe.

“I see you often these days. Did your streaming schedule change?”

“Yes. My sleep schedule’s gotten a bit reversed.”

• Ciel’s serious about Voxel Craft too

• Koharu of the 3rd generation, Ciel of the 2nd generation

• Aren’t there any Voxel addicts in the 1st generation?

• They’re old…

“You’re still not thinking of selling the unicorn, are you?”

“No.”

“Hmm… that’s too bad.”

Senior Ciel paused, then said with a smile,

“But you remember the down payment I gave you, right? You promised to help me capture a wild animal.”

“Yes. I remember.”

“About that –”

Senior Ciel lightly raised a finger.

“I’ll change it to a dungeon run. Let’s go together.”

It seemed dungeons had appeared with the Stage 2 unlock.

“I don’t mind, but… why?”

“It’s because of that… arrogant little demon brat.”

Just then, a new silhouette approached from the corridor next to the square. Wearing a witch’s hat and leisurely riding a mule. It was Senior Miya.

“Oh? ‘Good-for-nothing’ Ciel. Fancy seeing you again.”

“Good-for-nothing?”

I echoed Senior’s words, puzzled.

Senior Miya waved at me.

“Wild Soul! Leah’s here too. Hi~ I’m Miya the Mage.”

And she continued triumphantly.

“But… ‘Wild Soul’ isn’t a job title, is it? It’s just something you got for catching a few animals, right? Different level from what you get for changing jobs, like me. I’m a Mage~ You get a title when you change jobs. Just in case you didn’t know~”

When she finished, my gaze shifted to Senior Ciel.

“…You see.”

Senior spoke quietly, but firmly.

“If we stay like this, I’ll have to keep hearing that little
‘s taunts. So, we have to go to a dungeon. Right now. To get a job.”

“Little
? Oh~ I think someone said that… I heard it from the ‘good-for-nothing’ direction, so I must have misheard.”

I turned my head without saying anything.

Senior Miya rode her mule in the other direction, conjuring a fireball in her hand.

“Jobless Wild Soul! See you later!”

The [Mage] title next to Senior’s name was particularly visible in the square.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

“Really?”

“If you can get a job there… we should check it out.”

• Jobless Leah…

• Why is she provoking Leah too lol

• Doesn’t she know Leah’s physical abilities??

• The little brat is too excited lol

• Dungeon annihilation imminent lol

• Getting schooled is part of the little
  experience~

“Then… we should find a new dungeon!”

Senior Ciel said enthusiastically.

“Why?”

“It seems you can’t get another job in a dungeon where you’ve already obtained one. There might be exceptions, but… probability-wise, a newly opened one would have the highest chance.”

I thought for a moment and nodded.

“Is that so? Then I know a place. Let’s go there.”

“Oh my, Sister. Did you… already do some research?”

“Not research, but… I just remember seeing it before.”

“The dungeons appeared today.”

Senior tilted her head, puzzled.

---

The forest outside the village.

It was the suspicious ruins I discovered on the first day of Voxel Craft.

Back then, there was no reaction –

But now it was different.

The bushes covering the ruins were gone, and some of the broken pillars seemed crudely repaired. And most importantly, in the center, the pattern on the buried altar was faintly glowing.

“…Is this the place?”

Senior Ciel asked cautiously.

“Yes. It was closed back then. It seems to be open now.”

I looked at the half-buried entrance at the bottom of the stairs.

• Right, there was this place

• She remembers this lol

• The wild explorer shines in moments like this…

• She already got her value with the mount last week lol

• Wow, back then, wild contribution efficiency was trash… we were saying things like this lol

As we passed through the entrance, a system message appeared.

[Entering: Unpurified Altar]
[The Seal of Memories is released.]

“…Wow.”

I heard Senior gasp behind me.

“The atmosphere is ominous… I think I hear something too.”

I gazed inside.

A long corridor, broken block walls, a three-dimensional visual structure deliberately designed to disappear into darkness.

I quickened my pace with Senior following behind.

The corridor was deep, narrow, and dark.

The texture of the blocks occasionally shimmered where the light didn’t reach. It was happening now too. But this wasn’t an effect –

“It moved, just now.”

Before I could finish my sentence, a crack sounded from both sides of the walls.

The patterns on the walls suddenly burst out. The entire wall section separated, revealing stone soldiers with thick arms and bodies made of stone. Their skin had the texture of mineral blocks, and glowing red dots replaced their eyes.

“Kwaaaaaaa!”

Just now, I thought I heard a sound that shouldn’t come from a Vtuber’s mouth… no, a sound that shouldn’t come from a woman’s mouth.

• ??????

• What was that sound lol

• Must be Ciel lol

• I was startled too lol

• Sister…

“The stone soldier’s cry… is really strange!”

I turned my gaze to the side.

“No, I heard it coming from you, Senior.”

“…You must have misheard.”

Senior Ciel paused for a moment, then immediately corrected her posture.

“To make such a sound! These monsters, I cannot forgive them!”

Although no one asked her to, she was already charging towards the stone soldiers with a diamond sword.

I quietly took a step back.

The stone soldiers were slower than expected. But their movements were strangely deceptive in their timing.

Senior swung her sword at precisely that timing.

Whoosh – swoosh.

The first strike cut through the air, the second passed over the soldier’s shoulder. The third seemed to aim for the center quite well, but the soldier suddenly stepped forward, causing the swing to stop mid-air.

“Oh, this… is surprisingly tricky.”

Senior Ciel’s sword cut through the air once more –

And the next moment, the stone soldier’s arm rose swiftly. It was a straightforward movement, but timed perfectly to exploit Ciel’s opening.

I silently raised my bow.

My target was the half-block gap between the arm and the torso.

Thwack.

With a short sound, the stone soldier’s movement froze.

Its red eyes blinked, and a moment later, it crumbled like blocks.

“Wow… good shot.”

Senior Ciel muttered in surprise.

Meanwhile, the walls on both sides of the corridor rumbled again.

Vibrations. Block dust like fine particles.

And more stone soldiers appearing one after another.

The walls in front, to the side, and even behind began to crack.

There was no point in counting how many there were. It felt like they kept coming.

I quickly turned my gaze and stepped back.

I positioned myself so that Senior Ciel would be behind me.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Arrows struck swiftly and accurately.

Joints, eyes, necks, even the tips of their toes emerging from the ground.

Some were hit before they could even begin to move, others while they were attacking.

A few charged towards me with all their might, but
arrows, wrapping around their ankles, shattered their balance.

Their falling bodies crashed into the corridor walls, becoming obstacles themselves.

Breathing grew ragged behind me.

“Here… more!”

A soldier was approaching Senior Ciel, as if trying to flank her.

I turned my head slightly and drew my bowstring.

Thwack.

The arrow, released almost reflexively, struck the soldier right between the eyes.

By the time I reloaded, the corridor had fallen silent. Only the remains of the shattered stone soldiers covered the floor.

“…Did you… just block all of them by yourself?”

I nodded slightly and slowly put away my arrows.

“Defensive battles are… something I’m used to.”