Blunt Type Ogre Girl's Way to Live Streaming

Chapter 299: Btog 299 The Hunt For Authenticity

Climbing the exterior of this building brings to mind two immediate concerns.

One is, “Can it be climbed?”

The other is, “Is it okay to climb it?”

Firstly, from a structural standpoint, this merchant hall is certainly climbable. There are windows and ledges, and the outer wall itself seems to have enough grips. Unless it’s a completely smooth building without windows, it’s unlikely that any building wouldn’t be climbable with a status over level 100. However, SP (stamina points) consumption is a factor, so it’s not a given.

Therefore, the issue from the perspective of “Can it be climbed?” mainly revolves around whether there are any restrictions preventing climbing the building itself. For example, scenarios like “SP consumption increases rapidly when grasping the exterior wall” or “the exterior is designed to be ungraspable,” and the most likely, “there’s an altitude restriction around the merchant hall.”

This is because, from the rare skill [Air Walk] I received from Melty, I learned that this world’s fields have altitude limits in certain places. It’s mainly to prevent reaching high places in dungeons or fields before unlocking certain gimmicks, but it’s not impossible that such restrictions could also apply in towns.

“Well, we won’t know unless we try, so let’s leave that for now.”

Then, the second issue, “Is it okay to climb it?” This is a simple matter: Is it permissible to freely climb the exterior walls of buildings in this world? While it’s probably fine for ruins, the buildings in a town each have their own owners’ rights. It’s natural to wonder if it’s okay to climb them without any consequences.

“There are a lot of security guards around…”

“Well, it is a high-end store.”

“By the way, is it a crime to climb? What are the rules?”

“It wasn’t specifically stated in the merchant hall’s guide. The town’s rules also didn’t say ‘Please do not climb buildings.'”

“Well, this is more about common sense and decency…”

<LOL>

<Sukuna lecturing Rinne about common sense, LOL>

<Seems like he doesn’t think much, but he does consider various things>

<Sukuna has a record of being detained in-game, after all>

<†For the crime of attacking NPCs in town†>

<She does have her sensible moments>

“Should we ask the owner of the merchant hall if we can climb?”

“Are you going to find out who they are now? If it belongs to someone, they’re more likely not to be here. And if it’s town property, asking might just be announcing a crime.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

<Well, if someone asked ‘Can I climb your building?’ I’d be on guard>

<Even if it’s not a crime, they’d probably get weird looks>

<Easy to imagine>

<I kind of want them to ask>

Despite all these considerations, there’s something about staring up at a huge building from below.

“Well, whatever. I’m starting to feel like climbing it myself.”

“Hehe, I thought you’d say that.”

<What?>

<LOL>

<The woman who abandoned her regained common sense in a second>

<It always ends up like this!>

<That’s not good>

“Could you distract the guards for a moment?”

“Understood. Where will you start climbing?”

“Hmm… over there looks good.”

I said this, pointing to the east side of the merchant hall.

When I assessed the building earlier, I identified the area with the least security. Lila=Liro Merchant Hall, unlike typical Japanese department stores, doesn’t have entrances on all four sides. The main entrance is accessible only from the south side of the city. There’s also a large entrance on the north side, likely for goods delivery, but it’s currently closed. These two points are heavily guarded, probably because they’re important. In contrast, the east and west walls have only the bare minimum security.

However, the merchant hall is right in the center of the market, and to prevent overcrowding, the area around it is like a plaza. Despite the sparse security, there are too many eyes, including NPCs and players, on the east side of the hall.

“25 seconds from now. I’ll draw everyone’s attention just for a moment.”

“Thanks!”

Rin-chan said and blended into the crowd. In the meantime, I examined and touched the wall, finding enough friction to grip, even in the worst-case scenario.

(The route up isn’t a problem. I can climb it unless there’s some serious barrier.)

Just as I finished checking, a loud bang, like a firecracker, echoed.

“What’s happening!”

The guards, saying such things, ran towards the source of the sound. Their reaction was almost comically predictable.

(A loud noise… Well, the classic methods are the easiest.)

With that thought, I took a big leap and landed in midair.

(Climbing a wall doesn’t allow much speed, but I have Air Walk. Creating footholds in the air like wall kicks…)

Air Walk doesn’t let you step on the air but generates footholds in midair. I used the building’s edges, like window sills, where I could step and created footholds in the air where climbing was necessary. This way, I could ascend much faster than just climbing.

“Hup, yup.”

<This is different from what I expected!>

<Is she floating in the air?>

<↑Right now, Sukuna can float>

<Fast>

<Reminds me of an action game stage>

<The thought of slipping while doing this is thrilling>

“Here I am. It turns out there were no restrictions after all.”

It took 17 seconds to reach the roof. Air Walk is a skill I’ve been using more often lately, and it’s incredibly handy.

“Looks like Rin-chan managed to get away smoothly too.”

Glancing down, I saw Rin-chan blending into the crowd, moving away from the market. I’m a bit curious about what item she used to make that sound, but I’ll forget about it for now.

This is the highest point in the city.

About 73 meters, I guess.

It’s not that high compared to the apartment where I usually live, so the height itself isn’t impressive.

“It’s really beautiful… That’s the Dos Orca active volcano, and over there must be Griffiths. And before we go to the holy city, there’s a big mountain.”

<It’s less impressive in night vision mode>

<It’s really a circular city>

<That’s not just an active volcano, it’s like a sea of magma>

<You can even see it erupting right now!>

<What’s with that huge mountain range?>

“Ah, right. It’s night, so it must not look as beautiful to everyone else.”

I was a bit moved by the view from the highest point in the city, but then I realized that my listeners, viewing through a night vision mode, might not be as impressed as I am.

“Alright, then. We can’t stay here forever without getting scolded, so let’s get started quickly.”

I walked a bit on the roof of the trading house, moving closer to the center of the city. It’s been a while since I’ve seen proper triangular roofs. Just to be safe, in case I fall, I crouched down. Taking a deep breath, I fully unleashed my senses.

☆

For Sukuna, the most reliable weapon is not their extraordinary physical abilities or endurance, but her sharp senses, particularly her “vision.” Even Melty, who possesses the “Heavenly Eye” capable of perceiving all information in the world, is astonished by the amount of information Sukuna’s eyes can gather.

A normal person gets about 80% of their information through sight, with the remaining 20% or less coming from hearing, smell, touch, and taste. In Sukuna’s case, this bias towards visual information is even more pronounced, exceeding 90%.

Thus, when Sukuna decides to completely block out her vision, more than 90% of their information processing capability becomes void. She then use the remaining capacity for other senses. Sukuna touches the ground, feeling the slightest vibrations, and shifts all her remaining processing power to hearing.

(1…3…5…7… That’s 10 kilometers. I can still go on, but have I covered the city?)

She catch all sounds within a 20-kilometer diameter hemisphere centered on herself. The onslaught of sounds is so overwhelming, it’s like a typhoon or hurricane, a maelstrom of intertwining noises that Sukuna begins to untangle one by one.

(This is intense… I need to filter it or I won’t last a minute. This is the highest point, so I just need to pick up sounds from below.)

Sukuna first filters out environmental sounds. With a radius of 10 kilometers, most of the volume she cover is in the air, not the ground. The wind clashes and whirls, and even on a relatively windless day, the atmosphere is never silent. So, Sukuna decides to quickly discard unnecessary noise by determining the angle of incoming sounds.

(That’s good. Inside buildings… I can cut off anything except public facilities. I’ll try to minimize everyday noises too. Let’s just focus on human movements and voices. If it’s not enough, I can always increase it.)

It seems the girl’s group can only infiltrate as far as the players can. Since the players are tasked with finding the main body, it’s natural that it’s not in an area inaccessible to players. So, I can eliminate sounds from those areas, effectively narrowing down most of the information.

(From the quality of footsteps and the sound of clothes, there seem to be 1,022 people in total. Since I expanded my senses, only 8 have spoken about “finding the real thing”… but there must be more.)

I narrow the focus to human-shaped beings in the city, approximately 1,022 of them. I need to find out what those captured by the players are talking about, and for the others, what they are doing and where they are going.

(16…18… Ah, I see. This rhythm indicates the individuals talking about “the real thing.” OK, so there are 30 in total.)

All the individuals seem to be using the same equipment and avatars, and they all appear to be running around in the same form, making their footsteps sound similar. But Sukuna notices a slight difference in the rhythm of their steps. The sound of the foot hitting the ground is the same, considering the differences in surfaces like cobblestones or carpets. But the rhythm of the sounds is slightly different, whether they are walking or running.

(Out of 1,022, I’ve narrowed it down to 30… but how do I narrow down to the main body? Maybe I have to make contact with all these 30…?)

About 990 people are either just running around or laughing, and 30 are going around spreading the message to find the real thing. I’ve identified the 30 fakes, but the main goal is still unclear. With so many sounds to process, it’s hard to think clearly, even though I’ve narrowed it down significantly.

(…Wait, about 80% of these 30 are in the upper layers…)

Suddenly, Sukuna notices. Focused on the sounds, they realize there’s a bias in the distribution of the girls. About 80% of the “real ones” are in the upper layers of the city, mainly in the Orca Market and the Lira-Liro Trading House, while the rest are below the middle layer.

(Such a bias… It’s too much, isn’t it? The way they’re distributed seems strange.)

Most of the important NPCs seem to be clustered in the upper layers, and the rest are below the middle layer. This stark disparity in their placement…

“Ah…”

This realization highlights Sukuna’s critical mistake.

“I see…”

Sukuna murmurs, then slowly stands up.

After returning their senses to normal, they refocus their hearing within a 100-meter radius, this time concentrating intensely on both hearing and vision. In fact, they mobilize all their senses.

<What’s going on?>

<???>

<I can tell they’re doing something incredible>

<Guess I’ll just cross my arms and watch from the back for now…>

Viewers noticed that Sukuna had stopped the pose where they were clearly sensing something – eyes closed, hand on the ground – and had shifted to a more vague, standing still pose. They sensed something had changed but still didn’t understand what was happening.

10 seconds. 20 seconds. 30 seconds.

Perhaps about a minute had passed.

Amidst this mysterious tension felt by the viewers, Sukuna suddenly murmured,

“Right there.”

No sooner had they spoken than they walked towards the south from the center of the building – towards the direction of the general entrance below. Stopping about two meters from the edge of the roof, Sukuna casually took out her kanabou and swung it sideways, as if slicing through something.

With a sound like glass breaking, cracks appeared in the air.

The cracks slowly widened, and finally with a loud crash, a large quantity of mirrors collapsed.

Emerging from the wall of mirrors was a girl, sweating and sitting down. Her appearance was unmistakably that of the ‘girl’ who now had 1,022 duplicates spread throughout the city.

“Does this mean I’ve found you?” asked Sukuna with a smile.

“Yes,” the girl nodded, clearly frightened.