Live Dungeon!

After they were done spectating Ealdred Crow’s Winter General battle, Tsutomu gave Diniel a stack of documents and had her study them, supervising her the whole time. He could not afford to take his eyes off her, as he knew she would start slacking off the moment he looked any other away.

“Make sure you remember everything. If you don’t, I’ll have you read it on next week’s rest days.”

“……”

Receiving that warning, Diniel reluctantly started scanning over the Winter General’s data. Tsutomu, confirming that she was taking this seriously, walked out of her room and heaved a sigh of relief.

Ealdred Crow still was not successful today, but they did manage to put up a good fight. Tsutomu could see them finally scoring a victory soon, so he figured that his Clan should start working harder as well. In order to achieve their own victories, he needed his team’s members to do their best — especially Diniel, who needed some pushing for her to put in the effort.

Heading to the living room downstairs, he saw that Amy had just returned, humming a random tune as she looked through a huge pile of clothes. She was followed by Korinna and Hannah, both carrying large shopping bags. It seemed that the three had just completed their shopping trip.

“Mm~hmm~hmm~~”

“So… heavy…!”

“I need some rest…”

Tsutomu, after greeting the three of them, left the Clan House and headed for the Guild. Once there, he tried to get into the training area for some practice, but found the place crowded with people.

“Heh, you’re pretty good! Now THIS is what I expected from the solo Dungeon conqueror!”

“……”

Amidst the bustling crowd, a hammy voice reminiscent of a theater performer reached Tsutomu’s ears, prompting him to reluctantly wade through the crowd and check out what was going on. There, he witnessed a confrontation between Xeno, whose silver hair was drenched in sweat, and Weiss, who remained silent, both wielding weapons. Behind them, Garm, Daryl, and Amira seemed to be engaged in sparring matches with members of the Scarlet Devil Squad.

Tsutomu had no idea when they had started a joint training session with the Scarlet Devil Squad, and as he watched the four of his Clan’s members fighting earnestly, he could not help but sigh.

[I just want them to learn to get some much-needed rest… Is that too much to ask for?]

Xeno regularly returned home to visit his wife, so he had no problem on that front, but Garm and Daryl would diligently practice even on their days off. On top of that, Amira would often insist on dragging Tsutomu to explore the Dungeon, which could be quite annoying at times.

Nevertheless, Tsutomu did not mind too much since he himself enjoyed exploring and training. Though he occasionally complained, he did not actually have any negative opinions about any of those activities. Moreover, recently, he had been getting less frequent invitations than before thanks to Korinna taking a similar role among her peers in his stead… which ended up leaving him with a slight sense of loneliness.

What he did mind, however, was the fact that he had strictly ordered his Clan’s members to take a break at least once a week — but as he could see now, some of them still ended up engaging in training on their own. Observing the four with a slightly exasperated expression, Tsutomu then rented a private training room for himself to practice his skills.

The Winter General’s attacks had a side effect of causing intense snow storms, making it difficult to rely heavily on flight. As such, Tsutomu had been fighting on the Snow Field layers without casting >. Instead, he focused on his supporting efficiency, as he had to make sure everyone was taken care of while his visibility was limited.

Thanks to this, he had become adept at ground support, so there was no pressing need for him to train extensively in that regard now. Support and healing skill training had become routine activities for him, and there was no reason for him to come to the training grounds specifically for that purpose.

As such, Tsutomu mainly practiced offensive skills in the training room. These included > and its upgraded version, >. He also practiced >, a skill that repelled evil with sacred light, and its physical attack variant, >. Additionally, he occasionally trained with >, which could be used as a slight distraction. These five spells were ones he could not practice while going about his daily life, so he had to make sure that they were given the most attention whenever he was in the training rooms and the Dungeon.

Still, > and > were relatively simple spells that involved shooting blades of wind, making their applications quite restricted. As such, his training focused on maintaining a consistent level of mental energy while using them rather than making them more powerful.

Similarly, > involved shooting sharp Holy-elemental feathers, with its physical nature limiting its applications. Its range and power could be adjusted through mental image, but there was not much more he could do with it.

The noteworthy one among his skills was >, which, unlike his other offensive skills, had few limitations. For example, while chanting >, if he envisioned a sword, the spell could create and launch a sword of light. It was the only attack skill for a White Mage that had such versatility, allowing for a wide range of uses.

However, the Holy element was only effective against Dark-elemental monsters, dealing hardly any damage to non-Dark ones. As such, despite the skill’s versatility, this flaw made it challenging to use against most opponents.

Nevertheless, its effectiveness against undead creatures could not be overstated, and it had been a valuable asset on the Wasteland layers. And with knowledge from Live Dungeon, Tsutomu knew that from the eighty-first layer onward, there would be more monsters that > could affect. Therefore, he had been practicing its use in advance.

After spending about two hours practicing all five skills, Tsutomu took a gulp of the Forest Apothecary’s apprentice’s slightly unpleasant-tasting Blue Potion to replenish his mental energy.

“Oof…”

With a slightly bitter aftertaste, Tsutomu stuck out his blue-stained tongue, then left the private training room and completed the checkout procedure at the reception desk.

One thing worth considering about Potions was that, in the second half of the Snow Field layers and during the Winter General battle, the temperature was below the freezing point of water, so Explorers had to assume that their Potions would freeze as well. Moreover, the Winter General had been known to interfere when Explorers attempted to drink Potions, releasing blasts of cold air to hinder them. Therefore, it was better to assume that those targeted by the Winter General would be unable to consume Potions.

Ealdred Crow had introduced expensive magic tools that utilized Fire Magic Stones to ensure a steady supply of Potions at the right temperature regardless of the environment.

Moreover, recently, there was news of the Forest Apothecary lady successfully developing candy-like Potions with reliable effects. Tsutomu had been given a prototype to try out, and he planned to put it to the test tomorrow.

For Tsutomu personally, all he needed to achieve from training with his primary team was the refinement of the little details; there was no need to dwell on the big things anymore. However, the four other members of the team were all seasoned Explorers, so they seemed to have no problem cooperating with one another. Though there were clashes of opinions between the Tanks, Xeno was unafraid to assert himself, dissipating much of the tension. The Attackers, on the other hand, had a friendly relationship and did not pose any issues.

Tsutomu particularly admired the uniquely positive relationship between Diniel and Amy, who were close friends and could openly exchange opinions without causing animosity.

In a mid-tier Clan like Absolute Helix, it was common for members to become overly close, leading to a lack of communication and stagnation in progression — in the game, this applied to both casual and hardcore players. Perhaps a player would have an idea to improve efficiency, but ultimately not say anything to maintain a smooth relationship among their peers. Players refraining from expressing their opinions to avoid conflicts could result in a passive and laid-back style of play.

Tsutomu did not condemn such a playstyle, of course, as it could be enjoyable for casual players in Live Dungeon. However, Absolute Helix was not such a Clan — and as the clan leader, Tsutomu preferred that members openly share their opinions, allowing him to make decisions more efficiently.

Amy and Diniel had already exchanged opinions quite often without any ill feelings. This kind of relationship was rare, however, and Tsutomu had experienced countless conflicts arising between members whenever ideals clashed in the past. Amy and Diniel’s ability to calmly discuss matters was akin to divine intervention for a Clan Leader like him.

Xeno, in a similar manner, appeared to be a prideful individual at first glance, but surprisingly, he was quite gentlemanly toward Garm. Though he would not compromise on his core beliefs, Xeno displayed a fair degree of flexibility in his thinking. Moreover, as the best mood-maker among Absolute Helix’s male members, he played an essential role in ensuring smooth interactions within the party.

However, Tsutomu was uncertain about Xeno’s capabilities when it came to facing the Winter General. Xeno’s performance in sparring matches ranked fourth among the main party members, meaning he was last among the Tanks and Attackers. Moreover, following the Mount Golem battle, the news articles were mostly about Daryl, with relatively little focus on Xeno.

Even though Xeno had the > skill for environmental adaptation, which would greatly help the cold-vulnerable Diniel and Amy, Tsutomu felt that it might not be enough for scoring the win on layer eighty on their first attempt.

Even Garm, who could push his performance past his physical limit, probably would not be able to take on the Winter General alone the first time he tried. That was why Tsutomu had considered either putting Xeno on his team or running a two-Healer composition with Korinna to make sure Garm received thorough support. On paper, it could be quite effective, even if it would not be as good as having an Enchanter like Ealdred Crow.

In the end, Tsutomu chose the former option. It was not just about the matter of not wanting to die; after observing Xeno for several months, Tsutomu had gained the impression that Xeno was not just all talk. Additionally, the stories he had heard from Xeno’s wife Pico, who was well-known among Dungeon Maniacs, further influenced his decision.

“All right! Let us go one more round, Weiss!”

“At least let me rest a bit…”

Xeno had enough stamina to outlast Weiss, so it was safe to say that he could keep up with Garm and Daryl. While an Explorer’s stamina was technically determined by their VIT rating, there still would be a noticeable difference between those who have done basic training and those who have not.

For example, Tsutomu himself, despite having a similar VIT rating to Corinna, was certain that her stamina was higher than his. After all, he had been an Explorer for just almost a year, whereas Korinna had been in his business for several years and pursuing a side gig as a nurse on top of it.

Xeno’s environmental adaptation skill was useful, of course, but if that was all he had, Tsutomu would not have included him. Thankfully, he had the physical fitness to keep up with both Garm and Daryl, as well as his vibrant personality.

After observing his four comrades still engaged in sparring matches for a while, Tsutomu returned to the Clan House without being noticed.