TREHCS 15

Chapter : 15

The Rice-Eating Hero’s Capitalist Streaming

Constellation’s Game [Laika]

The bush maze changes its structure randomly every time you enter the dungeon.

Because of this, the exit coordinates can’t be fixed.

So, our party’s decision to run in both directions to find the exit was completely standard procedure.

As long as even one party member finds the exit, the maze is cleared.

Of course… that’s if you ignore the fact that I’ve gone through this place thousands of times. That changes the story a bit.

“So the Moonlight Garden maze isn’t completely random after all.”

The Awakened community claims there are no special rules in the Moonlight Garden maze.

But to put it bluntly, they’re wrong.

The maze has exactly 32 patterns.

So… thirty-two patterned mazes appear randomly.

That’s why I already knew which pattern it was as soon as I saw the entrance.

Meaning I already knew where the exit was from the start.

My goal, however, wasn’t to find the path.

The constellations, who couldn’t know this, were already grinning from ear to ear.

└ lol Should we tell them or not? lol

└ No, definitely not. They know what they’re doing. Just leave it lol

They look like they want to say something but are holding back—it’s adorable.

The longer I stall here, the higher the chance of failing the level-up mission, so naturally, the constellations who invested LP in the mission wouldn’t want me to help.

But what exactly are they trying to say?

It’s obviously a hint about the maze.

In this bush maze, whenever you reach a dead end, you get a hint about the exit. I’ve been ignoring all of them as I moved forward.

They probably think I don’t know. And they can’t think that it’s unnecessary to know.

[You dealt critical damage to the ‘Blood Bloom’ monster.]
[Successfully defeated the ‘Blood Bloom’ monster.]

I initially decided to run to the right because the exit was there.

But they probably can’t even imagine that I’m purposely avoiding other paths.

└ Wow—lol, can they really be this bad at finding the way?

└ lmao, it’s already their third failed attempt

└ Even if they tried to avoid me, it’s hard to avoid this much lol

└ Didn’t the leader blow all their luck eating the Moonlight Sword? lol

└ Isn’t it weird to find the exit without checking hints in the first place…

So why am I doing this?

Because this seemingly pointless wandering is the hidden gimmick of the Moonlight Garden.

Vroooom~!

When you step on the magic circle at a dead end, a system message appears…

[You have reached a dead end. The Yin energy of ‘Moonshadow Plaza’ strengthens.]

Stepping on all of these is my first task.

└ Crazy. The leader already has 6 stacks alone? lol

└ 2nd phase is gonna be insane

└ Visiting six dead ends alone won’t be easy lol

└ But seeing there’s still time left shows insane combat sense lol

No matter which maze pattern appears, there are 13 dead ends in this bush maze.

You have to visit all of them before heading to the exit.

Doing so and reaching the maximum wave for the 2nd phase is the first condition of the hidden gimmick.

I’ve already visited seven, so it’s about time to meet the rest of our party…

“Ah! Dave!”

As soon as I thought that, Leo came running from afar.

We met at the eighth dead end from my perspective.

And fortunately, as I arrived… the awaited system message popped up.

Ding!

A hidden message only appears when the 2nd phase wave reaches its maximum.

[Condition fulfilled.]
[The full moon appears.]

It seems Leo had already visited five dead ends before arriving here.

A smoother start than expected.

“Got it.”

Checking the remaining time, there were still 5 minutes left.

Having a skilled party member gave me plenty of leeway.

“Uh…? Full moon… what is this…”

Leo, seeing the hidden gimmick for the first time, looked confused. But there’s no time to explain.

We need to escape the maze.

“Follow me from now on, I think I found the exit.”
“Yep!”

Vwoooosh~!

Moving confidently through the path I knew, we reached the exit portal with about 4 minutes remaining.

Ding!

[You have found the exit of the ‘Illusory Bush Maze’.]

As soon as we stepped out:

[Phase 1 ends.]
[The rank of Moonshadow Plaza is raised to maximum.]

The second hidden message appeared.

At first, the constellations watching me wander around were laughing.

└ The leader’s confidence is fine, right?

└ lol No, come on, show the exit already lol the kid’s gonna cry lol

But when the first anomaly occurred, they started to notice something strange…

[The full moon appears.]

└ Huh? Wait. What is this?

└ Yeah?

└ They said the full moon appears? That’s not normal, is it?

└ Uh…? I don’t remember this from long ago… feels like the first time.

When phase one was cleared, they began to panic.

[The rank of Moonshadow Plaza is raised to maximum.]

└ ;;; What is this?

└ It says the rank increased?

└ WTF??? Anyone know what this is?

With my taunt added…

How about it, guys? Something’s happening, right?

Countless handshake requests began coming from the constellations.

└ No way;;; This is really the first time I’ve seen this;;;

└ Leader, are you seriously doing something you know?

└ What is it—_- tell me too;;

But the constellations were most shocked when we reached Moonshadow Plaza and phase two began.

[Phase 2 begins.]
[Pass the ‘Trial of Moonshadow Plaza’.]
[Remaining time: 20 minutes]
[Clear condition: All party members survive]

The impact was intense.

Boom—Bam—!!

As the phase two message appeared, a massive sound echoed and the dungeon itself underwent catastrophic change.

Even…

[Special condition fulfilled.]

Rare monsters, normally impossible to appear in the Moonlight Garden, began to spawn.

[Forest and Moonlight Spirit, Moonwarden Dryad has been summoned.]

If the constellations know the game, they’d realize how special this is.

└ ???

└ Wait… what???

└ Dryad? This could appear in ■■■???;;;;

└ How did you do it;;

The monster had a dreamlike appearance: a faceless woman covered in translucent silver bark reflecting the moonlight.

Being a plant-type monster, the Dryad was closer to a spirit.

It’s so rare that it can’t be seen on normal fields.

Not just the starting island, it’s nearly impossible to find on the continent.

Typically, you’d encounter it only after climbing the Tower of Trials.

└ Crazy;;

└ Leader, what the hell is this guy doing?;;

Of course, the ones here are only half-strength.

Why? Because they don’t drop the Dryad’s core item, Moonlight Sap.

If they did, farming a 100 LP material here would break game balance.

Still, the fact that these appeared in a dungeon on the starting island alone was shocking for anyone familiar with the game.

It took me about 500 runs to summon a Dryad here for the first time.

The shock I felt then was probably similar to what the constellations felt.

└ How did you do this?

└ Leader;; can we record today’s stream and upload it?

Could I?

I don’t even know how to record or upload, and even if I did… why would I help them?

└ Wow; seeing a Dryad appear might mean it’s a hidden gimmick;

What’s truly encouraging, though… isn’t that I triggered the gimmick or summoned the Dryad.

It’s that I succeeded in provoking the constellations. That’s my biggest achievement.

From experience, provoking constellations pays off.

“Looks like I got them good this time.”

So what I need to do now…?

└ But leader, can we actually clear this?

Clear phase 2 safely.

If we fail, the taunt is meaningless.

One more thing requires attention.

“Da…ve?”
“Yep.”
“W-what’s happening?”

Our party member, probably even more surprised than the constellations, needs reassurance.

“It’s nothing.”
“Uh…?”
“It’s just that a hidden gimmick triggered.”
“…!”
“I know this place well. You can trust me.”

If Leo panicked and tore the scroll, the carefully triggered gimmick would be wasted.

In Moonlight Garden, if even one party member leaves, everyone gets ejected.

That cannot happen.

“In that case, Leo…”
“Yep.”
“Can I give the orders from now on?”
“This… difficulty is okay, right?”
“Of course. I’ve done this dozens of times, no worries.”

Earlier, constellations would have raged at such words, but this time, they were completely silent.

Perhaps they’re considering the possibility that everything I said is true.

Of course, it’s already unusual that a freshly leveled 12 Dave entered Moonlight Garden.

But what’s happening now is even more surreal.

“Then, please, Dave.”
“All right.”

Luckily, our party member wasn’t a coward.

Despite the unexpected chaos…

Boom—
Rattle—!

As the wave officially started, Leo’s previously shaking gaze steadied.

Even his back looked determined as he drew his sword.

Hmm. This is… definitely an ideal party member. But…

└ So now Leo’s carrying us, right?