There are several factors in play when it comes to a DS' popularity. Of course, skill is one such factor. A DS can't move up in the streaming industry if they just stay in the lower floors, especially considering there's already a niche filled in those floors called tutorial streamers[1]. To gain a bigger audience, streamers need to challenge themselves, aim for higher floors, and clear floors with a handicap. The one who defined these things is, of course, Yuveria Blanc - the White Dancer, albeit not intentionally.
Diving into a dungeon means risking your life, and adding unnecessary handicaps on top of that is just adding more jeopardy to it. But even still, there are those who try to copu what she had first started. Several streamers dive into the dungeon solo like she did, others try to get away with being unharmed, while others try a less methodological approach. Point is, competition for acknowledgement between streamers is harsh. You can't just do what others do, you need to make your content unique, if not better. Several have tried to imitate the White Dancer to start, but not many continue to do so. They eventually find their own niches to fill, their own spots in the industry.
For example, there's someone who fights using handcrafted explosives, a B-ranked Crafter[2] who gave hope for non-combat class adventurers to be able to climb the floors even without combat skills. There are some who try to survive several days in the dungeon without leaving, relying on monster drops for survival. Some even try to find relaxation spots in the dungeon, tourist destinations, so to speak.
Adventurers appear in many different ways, and so do dungeon streamers. A DS' way of moving up in the world is to find their own spot, become someone nobody can replace. That is exactly what the White Dancer was. Until now, no one has reached into an untouched zone solo like she had. Several tried, but not one came back unharmed like her.
Yuveria Blanc is what many would call an enigma, an irregular, more bold people might even call her inhuman. And with her feats? That's a very fair conclusion. Even without being tied to the White Dancer name, even when simply as Yuveria Blanc, she's untouchable.
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"Let's start with clearing the 25th floor."
In the adventurer's guild, Yuveria placed a piece of paper on the table where Qualia was waiting. Unlike yesterday when it was uncharacteristically quiet, the guild was crawling with adventurers looking for contracts to complete. Though, most of them were simply loitering around with some drinks or while eating a meal.
"Hold on, I haven't even cleared the 24th floor yet! The 25th is bit much, no?"
"I'll jump in if you're in real danger."
"That's not what I..."
The contract that Yuveria picked off the commission board was a subjugation request from the guild. The target was the 25th floor's boss monster, a man-eating plant-type named Hyvestia. The request was to harvest it's poisonous spores.
All boss monsters are a more monstrous version of a pre-existing monster, and they're all named. Hyvestia is a boss version of a man-eating plant known as a Nightmare Shroom. Nightmare Shrooms mimic their surroundings, acting like a simple mushroom at first. When they sense prey approaching, they release hallucinogenic spores to lull their prey into a deep sleep, after which they uproot themselves and plant themselves unto their prey, slowly eating them alive.
They were considered impossible threats to fight against, as the hallucinogenic spores were invisible to the naked eye, and dangerous. However, a method for combatting their spores was created, or rather, a pre-existing item was repurposed to fight against them. It was discovered that breathing in the spores was what caused the hallucinations, so naturally, the clear-cut method is simply to not breathe the spores. Adventurers repurposed oxygen tanks used in exploring the oceans into mobile air canisters used to provide air to breathe connected to masks used prevent spore intake.
"The 24th and 25th floor is a jungle-type field filled with Nightmare Shrooms, right?"
"Correct."
Qualia awkwardly fiddled with her hair, clutching her school uniform as she remembered almost falling victim to Nightmare Shrooms on the 24th floor. While she's already cleared the 23rd and stepped foot into the 24th, she's never made any progress.
"But I don't have something like an oxygen tank... I'm just a high schooler, y'know?"
"Yet you have five rapiers for different elements?"
Yuveria pointed to her robe's inner pockets, where the aforementioned rapiers hang, waiting to be used. She figured Qualia must be well off if she had specialized elemental weapons. Qualia seemed to shrink when she pointed them out, thinking of an explanation.
"These are... well... my second class is whitesmith[3], so..."
"You're a whitesmith?!"
Yuveria's eyes sparkled as she raised her voice in excitement for the first time since meeting Qualia. She leaned in heavily towards Qualia, not minding the prying eyes of onlooking adventurers or whoever may be listening.
After reaching a certain MA threshold, adventurers can select a second class to pursue, and hypothetically, even a third class. Though, apart from Yuveria, no one has reached that level yet. Adventurers' second class choice usually make up for the weaknesses of their first class. Though, more experienced adventurers or those in a good party know to double down on their class and pursue a second class that expands their first class.
Something to note is that class evolution is not a second class. A swordsman[4] becoming a sword dancer[5] or a spellblade[6] has nothing to do with getting a second class. Class evolution means to become more proficient in your chosen class and evolving it to become something stronger, and there are several more qualifications than simply accumulating enough MA to reach the second class threshold. In extremely rare and unusual cases, it's even possible to merge two classes together, freeing a class slot again.
Incidentally, Yuveria's first class is a sword dancer evolved from swordsman. Her second class is ice princess[7] evolved from mage[8]. Her third class, though a well-kept secret, is usurper[9] evolved from thief[10]. Yuveria is actually following a lead in her private time that could potentially let her merge her current classes into one, but so far, there hasn't been any results.
"I- I am, what about it...?"
Qualia was taken aback. That was the first time she'd heard Yuveria raise her voice. Granted, she only just met her yesterday, so she didn't know much about her in the first place.
"How much would it cost to hire you? I'll pay you, and I'll give you the raw materials, so just give me your rates."
"Uh, that's a bit unnece-"
"Qualia! Whitesmith equipment are top of the line, better than anything even the most skilled blacksmiths can make. I don't want anyone else's skills, I want you!"
As if her quiet demeanour was all a facade, Yuveria passionately gave a speech while trying to get Qualia to make her new gear. However, she was starting to get a bit too loud, and Maria had to step in to quiet her down.
"Uh... For now, let's just calm down and head into the dungeon?"
Qualia led Yuveria to the platform in the center of the guild and let the blue light of teleportation magic consume them both.
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"Forgive my earlier... eccentricity. I get a little excited at the opportunity to upgrade my equipment."
"A little, huh?"
The 24th floor, a large jungle stretched out as far as the eye can see. There are several threats on this floor, including the previously mentioned Nightmare Shrooms, that even the highest ranked adventurers struggle with. Yuveria and Qualia cautiously made their way forward.
"Incidentally, how far down have you gone, Yuveria?"
To "clear" a floor, you need to find a path down to the next floor. Every fifth floor, the path only reveals itself after defeating the boss monster, but every other floor, the path is hidden somewhere on the floor, and fortunately doesn't move around.
"Officially, down to the 29th."
"...What do you mean, "officially"?"
Yuveria thought for a moment whether she should share it, and ultimately came to a decision that it wouldn't hurt to tell someone. Besides, she felt like Qualia wouldn't tattle on her. She threw a knife to a nearby camouflaging monster and went over to pick up the drops.
"I've already cleared the floors down to the 44th. I just never reported it."
"You wha-? Why not?!"
Yuveria reached into her inventory and took out a pair of masks and oxygen tanks, handing a mask and half of her tanks over to Qualia. She placed the mask over her face, muffling her voice. Qualia did the same, too.
"The attention is unpleasant, that's why. I'll just wait for some big party to clear it before reporting my dives down there."
"Even though there's a monetary reward?"
"I stand by my words. Careful now. From here on out, it's Shroom territory."
Though Yuveria was skilled, even she found Nightmare Shrooms troublesome to deal with. An enemy that has invisible attacks is always a nuisance, no matter how experienced you are. And her goal today was to level Qualia up, not just guide her.
"You'll be the one fighting. I'll only be making sure nothing kills you, understand?"
"Got it."
Qualia readied her rapier, a soft red glow emanating from it. True enough, if you want to rid of plant-type monsters, you have to fight nature with fire. If this were the surface, Yuveria would've advised against it, but this is the dungeon. Even if you burn this entire jungle down, it'll grow right back at the end of the day.
"Let this overgrown jungle become your mana."
A blaze erupted, starting an unstoppable fire in the middle of the abundance of man-hating nature.
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Yuveria Blanc - An A-rank adventurer who's all white. Also known as the White Dancer, she's an experienced adventurer who's braved the dungeon countless times, officially reaching the 29th floor as a solo diver, but secretly already having cleared the 44th floor. She's trying to find a way to combine her classes, Sword Dancer, Ice Princess, and Usurper, into one. She's usually shy and keeps to herself.
Qualia - An A-rank adventurer wearing a witch's attire, though she is a rapier-wielding Spellblade. She's a skilled solo adventurer who's reached down to the 24th floor, as well as a dungeon streamer. Each of her rapiers specializes in a certain magical element and is handcrafted using her Whitesmith second class. She has a bright and outgoing personality.
[1] Tutorial Streamer - A DS that stays on the lower floors and makes tutorials for new adventurers. How to properly wield weapons, how to use magic, how to gather resources, how to kill monsters. They are responsible for the growth of several adventurers.
[2] Crafter - a basic class specialized in crafting items for support, usually healing or mana potions and cures. That's not all they amount to, though. A proper crafter knows how to utilize consumable items in combat well; bombs, traps, even tipped arrows and special items. In exchange for not having many combat skills, they are very versatile when it comes to the variety of items they can craft.
[3] Whitesmith - An advanced evolution of the crafter class. They can create heavily modified equipment from raw materials using a different method from blacksmiths: alchemy. Whitesmiths aren't as numerous as blacksmiths due to how hard the alchemical process combined with the creation process is, and most equipment usually end up as failures. However, there are some who succeed, and their equipment is usually top-class one-of-a-kinds. The qualifications to evolve into this class is to successfully create equipment using alchemy.
[4] Swordsman - A basic sword-wielding class. Swordsmen are frontline sword-wielding attackers that have versatility, able to act as both an attacker and protector.
[5] Sword Dancer - An advanced evolution of the swordsman class. By disregarding their durability, they become more agile and more powerful, yet still act with grace. They have a unique magic that allows their armaments to fight alongside them, truly performing a swords dance. However, because of their lower durability and harsh evolution requirements, swordsmen usually don't evolve into sword dancers. The qualifications to evolve into this class is to defeat a boss monster while remaining unharmed and utilizing atleast three different blades to do so.
[6] Spellblade - An advanced evolution of the swordsman class. They utilize both magic and swordsmanship in their combat style, usually infusing their sword with different elements or summoning magic blades to support them. However, because of a swordsman's lower mana pool compared to a mage's, they're not a popular choice, as most people would just pursue a mage for their second class as better alternative instead of evolving into a spellblade. Not to mention the qualifications of evolving into a spellblade is to use elemental magic while fighting with a sword in the first place, which orthodox swordsmen wouldn't think of doing.
[7] Ice Princess - A hidden unique evolution of the mage class. She exudes an air of coldness in response to her emotions, and is a powerful hidden class evolution. She is a more powerful variant of an ice mage, able to create more crystalline ice with extraordinary strength and durability. Only one ice princess can exist at any time, and when appraised by an external force, the class will be displayed as Ice Mage. As a unique hidden class, the requirements to evolve are much harsher than even the sword dancer. To utilize water or ice magic to defeat a boss monster while remaining untouched and calm, while completely overpowering the opponent, while being a sword dancer. No normal person would've fulfilled these requirements by sheer coincidence. Fortunately, Yuveria isn't a normal person.
[8] Mage - A basic magic-wielding class. They utilize powerful offensive magic when fighting monsters, but are completely vulnerable while preparing their magic.
[9] Usurper - A hidden evolution of the thief class. They have a unique magic to steal mana directly rom their opponents, weakening them while strengthening themselves. Sometimes, skills are also stolen as a byproduct. As a hidden class, there are not many who know about the usurper's existence. As a matter of fact, Yuveria is the first and so far the only one who knows about the usurper class. The condition to evolve the thief into the usurper is to defeat the 35th floor's boss monster, Zuccuto the Mana Robber, without letting it steal your mana.
[10] Thief - A basic dagger-wielding class. They are quick and agile, and utilize stealth skills to attack weaknesses. Thieves have powerful weakness-exploiting attacks which make them have more powerful bursts compared to mages, used for magic damage, and rangers, used for consistent damage.