Chapter 113: Early Bird Takes Flight
: I got rejected in the document screening (angry)
: I got rejected too
: I didn\'t even have an explorer license
: Congrats on starting your company, Kisaragi-kun
: I thought about applying for the office position, but it seemed like a hassle, so I gave up
"To those saying they got rejected, I offer my prayers. To be honest, I rejected over 90% of applicants based on their documents alone, so I didn\'t even interview most of them."
: Seriously?
: No wonder everyone\'s talking about being rejected
: So you actually did interviews?
: Can you really tell just from documents?
: Sounds like you had set criteria for selection
: Well, it\'s your company, so you can run it however you want, right?
Yep... I was looking at their magic levels and backgrounds, and there just weren\'t that many who cleared the cut-off point I set. I did do remote interviews for a few who made it past, but some got rejected even there.
"In the end, only three people passed the interview and got hired. The number of available slots was limited to begin with."
: Only three!?
: That\'s so few
: You mean for dungeon streamers, right?
: Yeah, they\'re still recruiting for office staff, aren\'t they?
: I kinda wanted to be a dungeon streamer too
: Becoming one is easy. Just get your explorer license, buy a camera, and start streaming in a dungeon
: True
: Well, becoming one is easy, but...
Looking at the flood of resumes we received, I realized that while many people had an explorer license, a lot of them had never actually gone into a dungeon. We sent out a questionnaire to the applicants, and about 80% of them responded that they got the license just to have it on their resume but had no actual dungeon experience.
That explains the huge number of G-rank explorers. They\'re not even sticking to the upper floors—they\'ve never even set foot inside a dungeon.
"I\'ll introduce the people who passed next month... or, actually, in two weeks."
: Oh, nice
: Looking forward to it
: So Kisaragi-kun\'s finally a corporate-affiliated streamer...
: More like, he\'s an entrepreneur streamer, right?
: Lol
: It\'s funny because he literally started his own company
: Yeah, that cracked me up too
"As for virtual streamers, we haven\'t started recruiting yet, but we\'re planning to do so around June... so if anyone\'s interested, polish your skills until then."
: What skills?
: Streaming skills, duh
: Uh, right...
: Polish your skills—or your voice, I guess
: Can you even polish your voice?
"Anyway, the real dilemma I\'m facing is figuring out how to drag the new streamers into the depths of hell."
: Huh?
: Suddenly glad I didn\'t make it (changed stance)
: Why is it a given that you\'ll be dragging them around?
: So that\'s the kind of stream this is...
: RIP to those who passed
Once someone becomes a member of the company, it\'s like they\'re under my wing. That means it\'s my responsibility to make sure they can survive as explorers. And the best way to get stronger is to take them through hell. At least, that\'s how my grandma raised me. I\'m not saying they need to reach the deepest layers, but I\'d like them to at least be able to handle the lower layers consistently.
It might sound extreme, but being able to handle the lower layers is essential if they want to stand out and survive in the current streaming landscape. Just streaming from the mid-layers isn\'t going to cut it anymore. I\'ve heard that a lot of people are trying out the mid-layers after watching my streams, but there are still only a few who can manage the lower layers.
If you want to build a stable, popular career as a dungeon streamer, being able to handle the lower layers is a must.
"I need to see them face-to-face, observe how they handle themselves in a dungeon, and give advice... but we\'ll take it slow. As for \'Early Bird,\' I plan to turn everyone into lower-layer explorers, so if you\'re planning to apply for the second round of recruitment, be ready."
: Is it that easy to become a lower-layer explorer?
: Well... with Kisaragi-kun and Asagao-chan as examples, yeah
: But Kanacon-chan can\'t go to the lower layers yet, right?
: Kanacon is still in the mid-layers, but given her talent, she\'ll probably be ready for the lower layers soon
: Hopefully, she won\'t face the same power issues as Asagao-chan
"Regarding Kanacon-san\'s power, I\'ve already figured out how to handle that, so I expect she\'ll be able to start exploring the lower layers soon."
Miyamoto-san, who struggles to turn her magic into usable forms like spells, has been putting all her magic into her weapon and physical abilities. She\'s currently looking for a new weapon. After asking me for advice a few months ago, she\'s been doing a lot of research but hasn\'t decided on anything yet.
When she joined \'Early Bird,\' I told her we\'d provide a weapon for her, but that means I need to gather some materials. I\'ll probably do that on one of my streams soon, once things settle down.
"As for Asagao-san, she\'s been making her own spears from materials, but she hardly ever fights with them anymore... her style is starting to resemble Kamishiro-san\'s."
: Totally get that
: She used to use spears to make up for her lack of magic power, but now that her magic has improved, she doesn\'t need them as much Experience tales at mvl
: She\'s becoming a magic gorilla
: At this point, does she even need the spear?
Yeah... The spear is still great as a secondary weapon, but with Asagao-san\'s unique vision that lets her see magic, her control of magic flow is so good that she almost doesn\'t need it anymore.
"Anyway, we\'ll be supporting the streamers who join us, so I want them to dive into dungeons and push themselves. We\'ll also have donation functions enabled for their streams, so if you like what you see, feel free to donate to them."
: What about you?
: Kisaragi-kun\'s donation function when?
: Let us throw money at you
: I want to support Kisaragi-kun, so let us donate
: So many people want to throw money at him lol
: The guy\'s already rich; throwing money at him won\'t be as fun
: Doesn\'t matter, I still want to throw money at him
"I was thinking of keeping donations off for my own streams... but do you think I should enable it? I do plan to have a paid subscription model with members-only content, but I\'m not planning on doing many exclusive streams."
: Just do it
: Doesn\'t matter, just set it up
: No need for exclusive streams, it\'s fine
: You can use all the donation money for the company, so just set it up
: Implement donations to fund the office
: With your viewer count, you\'ll easily raise money if you set it up
Hmm... I thought people would hate it if I enabled donations, but I guess not? Alright, maybe I\'ll enable it starting in April. It would make things feel more official for the company\'s streamers anyway.