Live Dungeon!

After their most recent encounters, they were attacked by packs of monsters at least 3 more times, defeating all of them without danger and advancing steadily. Since the only enemies on this level were birds, midway through their journey, Tsutomu suggested flying the rest of the way to more easily deal with them. Missil chose to stay at ground level to chase after the gems that went rolling down the mountain.

Tsutomu himself seemed to be impressed by Missil, studying him as they continued on. He began to enthusiastically ask him for various information about the valley.

“Were you also snatched easily by the birds at first?”

As they descended further, Tsutomu began to see the exit of the forest secretly camouflaged. Missil appeared to be a little anxious at the question, before breaking it off with a laugh.

“Haha, the valley became so popular when the mid-tier clans like mine began to make it in, so I died a lot here. How about you, Tsutomu?”

Tsutomu and Missil began to strike up a conversation as they journeyed on, relating and sympathizing with each other until Missil moved towards Camille.

“You guys are mostly fine, right? This terrain favors birds anyways.”

“Not really. I’ve been injured countless times since we’ve arrived here.”

The red bird woman seemed quite relieved thanks to Tsutomu’s healing spells and was now spreading her wings wider. Tsutomu was still being subjected to complaints about Missil, but after they had run out of things to whine about Tsutomu brought up something of interest to him.

“By the way, the Feather Dance skill. Isn’t it going to disappear?”

“No. Although it looks like you’re making the feathers fly, you’re not actually doing it. It’s that kind of skill. It won’t change that quickly.”

“Really? Then does it differ with the real Feather Dance in any way?”

“Oh, you think you know so much since you’re human? We’ve had a lot of practice, that’s all.”

He knew about Feather Dance from his experience in the game. It was a skill that cut off the enemy’s sightline with feathers and lowered their accuracy and was usually used as an attack skill.

“Oh, hey, Mr. Garm. I heard that you’ve helped countless of my friends. Thank you so much.”

“It’s just what I do, no need to thank me.”

“Would you mind shaking my hand if that’s fine?”

“I would but not right now. We must stay alert for monsters.”

“Oh, right.”

The girl with blue wings was quite embarrassed, turning her face red. Garm stayed attentive and continued the conversation.

“When we get back to the guild, we’ll receive our shares of the bounty from Missil. Until then, it’s important to stay on guard.”

“Oh, yes, sure, sure!”

“Let’s do good here.”

The blue bird girl danced in front of Garm as they continued their journey. Garm did not neglect his vigilance of the surroundings, even in such a situation.

They eventually reached the area specified by Missil without encountering any monsters. As the two birdwomen lowered their altitude, the Black Door began to appear.

Exhaling deeply, Missil pushed the gates open before turning around and facing Tsutomu, bowing generously.

“Thank you for helping me keep my gear safe. This thank you comes from the entire Silver Beast clan, and I’ll make sure to reward you more at the guild.”

“Thank you, but I’m sure you would have done the same.”

“No. I know most other parties would have abandoned us without any second thoughts.”

“That’s just how I was taught. I had a great teacher who always emphasized the importance of my values, right Garm?”

Garm turned silent, his ears folded halfway and his tail drooping. Seeing the awkwardness in the situation, Missil tried to break the silence.

“Garm you’re a great guy. Don’t tire yourself out too much, okay?”

Missil was stroking the heads of the 2 bird-people next to each other. Together with the, he began his descent into the Black Door. Garm accepted the kind words in silence. Missil turned back again to Tsutomu to gain his attention.

“You still going?”

“Yeah. I’ll probably keep adventuring until 18:00. I’ve already cleared today’s quota, but I’d like to make it to the 56th floor.”

“Wow, you’re aiming for the gorge? Well, if there’s anyone who can do it, it’s you.”

Missil glanced at Camille resting on her giant sword before turning back to Tsutomu.

“Wyverns sometime seem to drop the Great Demon Stone. If you can get that, it’ll be worth a lot of money. That’s our goal right now.”

“If you’re careful with the poison you can probably hunt it efficiently.”

“Well, we’re gonna level up. It doesn’t make sense if we farm a stone we can’t even get. Oh, when do you have time to give us our reward?”

“How about 19:00?”

“Alright. Wait around desk 1 at the guild receptionist.”

Tsutomu checked his pocket watch as he confirmed the meeting place with Missil.

“Tsutomu, you’re a good guy. I was cautious when I saw the article.”

“Thanks. That means a lot.”

They said their goodbyes before Missil disappeared into the Black Door.

“Now, are we going to find the 55th floor’s Black Door?”

Tsutomu looked back at Garm and Camille and grinned.

_______________________________________________________________

After they had traveled for another 4 and a half hours, the party had cleared the 55th floor and found the Black Door heading to the 56th floor. They all excitedly rushed through it.

The area they were transported to was not a land where you would come to see lush, green, forests but rather a dead land. Tsutomu’s skin was exposed to heat as he blocked the intense light with his arms and tried to look around.

Light brown hills towered around them, and it looked like cliffs were about to collapse. The area where the 3 were transported was a little way away from the highest cliff. Tsutomu stared at the cliff before they re-entered the Black Door.

Deciding to head back to the guild, for now, the 3 arrived in front of the Black Door at the guild feeling as though they were floating.

The time was 18:30, which was around the time when workers would begin to leave their shifts. Tsutomu lined up at the crowded reception area and collected their unused potions from Garm and Camille. As Tsutomu stored them in his magic bag, he glanced over at the guild’s huge TV screen.

The TV was currently displaying one of the major clans flying above the ravines and fighting off a wyvern. Thin wings shone an earth-like green in the Sun as it flapped up and down. At the end of its long tail, you could see numerous spikes ready to pierce whoever dared attack it.

Four attackers cut through the wind and rushed towards the wyvern, aiming for its wings. One was slapped by its wings and began to fall to the ground. In the meantime, the other 3 rushed even faster towards the wyvern.

The attackers just kept on going aggressive without any thought put towards defense as they boldly tried to cut through its wings.

The final 2 attackers were finally able to pierce the wyvern, killing it. In a flash of light gems began to fall towards the ground. The view switched to their healer who was waiting at the bottom. He picked up some falling equipment before returning to a Black Door, causing the TV to switch channels.

This was the typical hunting style of the big clan known as the Aldlet Crow. They had many members, so they could manage it anyway. There were comprised of many humans and other creatures, all of ranging age groups. They were split up, with one of their divisions in the ravine and around 20 in the swamps.

Next, the TV switched to a party of 4 light attackers and a healer.

It was another big clan that was expected to defeat the Fire Dragon next to the Red Demon Clan. The clan was headed by a golden wolfman who was said to have unique skills like Camille. They were the Golden Wolves.

They were a really major clan, and recently they had succeeded in crushing the eye of one of the fire dragons, which was why they were rising in popularity.

During the holidays, Tsutomu has gotten the chance to see the Golden Wolves fight on the big screen. They had plenty of spells to help fight against fire dragons, and their countermeasure equipment were not bad. If you go off of this alone, they could likely beat a fire dragon.

However, they seemed to revolve around the golden wolfman too much. Tsutomu had seen the other members frequently sacrifice themselves in vain for the wolfman, and the potions were unequally distributed towards their leader. When he dies, however, the party swiftly collapses. To Tsutomu, it seemed like a one-man army.

After a few more minutes of spectating, Tsutomu’s turn had arrived, and he looked away from the TV, renewing his status card at the receptionist’s desk.