Live Dungeon!

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“Hey.”

“All right… Leon, let’s talk strategy,” Tsutomu greeted Leon as he arrived with Eunice.

As he proceeded to speak, Tsutomu cast > on Xeno, who had been sent flying by Orbis’ powerful blow. He then directed Amy and Amira toward Orbis while clutching the Black Staff that he had planted into the ground, preparing to discuss their strategy.

“With me being the one providing most of the healing and support, I’ll start pulling too much aggro soon enough. We need to do something about that.”

Tsutomu’s aggressive support and healing, boosted by the power of the Black Staff, as well as Scarlet Devil Squad’s Cecilia and the other Healers, were maintaining the battle’s balance. However, this heavy reliance on Tsutomu’s abilities was becoming a liability. If he continued at this pace, not only would Orbis target him, but the monsters would as well.

Although Leon’s team had grown in number, making their situation less dire, it was still challenging to cast healing skills to those fighting Orbis.

Orbis’ relative familiarity with battling Explorers and ability to absorb support and healing skills made it dangerous for Healers to get too close. If given the opportunity, he would even intercept > sent to Explorers fighting other monsters, using his enhanced muscles to move with explosive speed, making things a nightmare for the Healers in general.

In this situation, Tsutomu, with his mastery of quickshot-type skills, was the only one capable of providing support to Explorers within Orbis’ range. While Christia also had the potential, her focus was better placed on leadership and powerful archery.

Relying solely on Tsutomu for support within Orbis’ range, while perfectly viable in the short term, would eventually draw too much aggro from the monsters, getting him targeted. In turn, their defenses would run the risk of collapsing — as such, another Healer was needed to pick up the slack.

If a skilled Channeler were available, they could replace Tsutomu, but neither the elite Scarlet Devil Squad nor Leon’s Golden Tune family currently had one. While Korinna or some of Ealdred Crow’s top members could provide a substitute, they presently had their hands full controlling the chaos in the Royal Capital and were thus unavailable.

“I’ll make Eunice the secondary healer for Orbis countermeasures,” Tsutomu declared.

Leon looked a bit surprised, while Eunice pressed her lips together and froze.

Had Stephanie been here, Tsutomu might have assigned her the role, but like the Channelers, she was also deployed in the monster-purging operations in the Royal Capital. Given the current battle conditions, Tsutomu judged that Eunice’s abilities were well-suited to the task.

Leon, still wide-eyed, watched as Tsutomu clumsily enveloped a > wisp with a > and held it out.

“Leon, distribute these… ‘dumplings’ that Eunice makes to everyone. This will allow her to heal the team and reduce the burden on my support. By creating these dumpling skills while holding the Black Staff, their effectiveness will significantly increase, making things much easier.”

“Ah, so that’s why you two are sharing the Black Staff, huh?”

Leon rubbed his chin as he observed the pair holding the Black Staff. Eunice, however, had turned away from Tsutomu, gripping the staff with her fluffy tail, giving no impression of camaraderie.

In Live Dungeon, weapon sharing would be impossible, but in this world, the Black Staff worked just fine with both of them holding it. Thus, while Eunice used it to enhance her dumpling skills, Tsutomu could simultaneously amplify his quickshot skills.

While Eunice molded dumplings with both hands, her golden-furred tail clutching the Black Staff, she shot an irritated glance at Tsutomu before quickly turning to Leon.

“I want to be closer to you, Leon,” she said, looking up at him with a coy expression.

“Well, this is awkward,” Leon replied, scratching his head, though he did not seem entirely displeased as Eunice continued to produce dumpling > and >.

Tsutomu wrinkled his nose at the overly sweet atmosphere between the so-called prince and princess. He then turned to Leon, who had just received a skill dumpling from Eunice.

“If Orbis targets us, we’ll be relying on you to carry us away like you did earlier.”

“Got it. Leave it to me!”

“If I have to, I’ll use him as bait and escape, so don’t worry,” Eunice added nonchalantly.

Ignoring her, Tsutomu fired another shot of > at Leleia, who was engaged in battle with Orbis.

With the two-level > effect boosting her, Leleia’s sword strikes became a blur as she kept Orbis at bay. This allowed Amira, wielding a greatsword, to close in for a powerful blow.

Before she could land the strike, however, Orbis stepped into her range and swatted her away with his thick arm. Amira managed to break her fall, but contrary to expectations, Orbis did not pursue her, instead blowing away Leleia’s Spirit magic with a punch.

[…For some reason, he’s going easy on Amira.]

Had it been anyone else lying on the ground, Orbis would likely have crushed their skull. From his distant vantage point, Tsutomu could see that Orbis was serious about killing Xeno, Leleia, and Amy. Orbis’ calculated moves against the other Explorers suggested he had strategies tailored for each of them, putting both Tanks and Attackers in a tough spot.

[Looks like he has some special tricks up his sleeve for those with unique skills, like Leon.]

Tsutomu sensed murderous intent in Orbis’ actions, akin to PvP players in Live Dungeon who would exploit every weakness to kill their opponents.

Orbis’ raw strength was enhanced by his strategic targeting of Explorers’ vulnerabilities — aiming for critical spots with weak VIT protection and absorbing White Mages’ healing skills.

Moreover, he changed up his moves depending on the Job of the Explorer he was engaging, and likely had even thought up countermeasures against specific individuals, too. The explorers facing him knew that a single misstep could be fatal. The Tanks, though avoiding lethal injuries, struggled under the relentless assault, while the Attackers could not find an opening against Orbis’ deadly speed and power, even when outnumbering him.

Yet, Orbis seemed to be holding back against Amira, a subtlety only noticeable from outside the heat of battle. Fortunately, Amira had not realized this, which gave Tsutomu some relief. If she knew, she would undoubtedly make reckless moves.

[Now then… He should be done passing the stuff around by now.]

Tsutomu watched Leon move with incredible speed, handing out the dumpling skills to the Explorers. With that task complete, Tsutomu redirected his focus, reserving his quickshot skills to provide support and healing for Leleia, Amira, Amy, and Xeno.

As Eunice finished creating a batch of dumpling skills, she ascended to get a better view of the battlefield, inadvertently pulling Tsutomu up with her as he held onto the Black Staff with his left hand.

“Hey, stop pulling me down! You fly too!”

“You were the one who shot up suddenly. If making skill dumplings in mid-air was efficient, I’d have you come up here from the start.”

“…Shut up! I’m trying to concentrate, so stop talking!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Unable to retort any further, Eunice bit her lip and focused on the Explorers below. Tsutomu sighed, observing the battle while considering what to do if Eunice were to become unavailable.

Encasing support and healing skills like > and > in a transparent > to prevent their dispersion — a technique Tsutomu had dubbed the dumpling skill — required a great deal of precision. Eunice had adopted this as her primary tactic in God’s Dungeon.

Having mastered all the skills Tsutomu taught her, Eunice could use the quickshot-type skill without issue and even hit Leon with > while the latter was in motion. Watching Tsutomu support Leon with quickshot skills during their collaboration in the Volcano layers, Eunice had practiced the technique herself.

However, maintaining continuous support with quickshots, like Tsutomu could, remained a challenge for Eunice. Although a quickshot skill flew at the velocity of a firearm’s bullet, its lower potency necessitated a higher frequency of use. Eunice was able to land them on Leon about half the time at best.

To address this, Eunice had devised the dumpling skill, enabling her to provide sustained support by giving Leon the dumplings. Despite its effectiveness, however, the dumpling skill was not highly regarded among White Mages.

Crafting small, spherical > required considerable skill manipulation, and the enclosed >’s effectiveness diminished over time. The cost of mental energy was significant, and opportunities to use it were limited, leaving Eunice as its primary practitioner.

“Whew…”

Eunice exhaled to focus, mentally organizing the nearly eighty > and > she had encapsulated in >. Then she targeted the Explorers who had been knocked down by Orbis’s blows, aligning her trembling fingers.

Green energy clouds circulated through the injured Explorers, healing their internal injuries. Meanwhile, Leon pocketed new dumplings and moved to intercept Orbis.

“Looks like they’re working pretty well.”

“…Of course they are.”

Though she likely could not keep track of all eighty skill dumplings, Eunice seemed to have a rough sense of their locations. As Orbis and the monsters attacked, the > tucked in the Explorers’ pockets and hoods deactivated one by one, releasing their effects.

Tsutomu watched Eunice’s dumpling skill in action, impressed by her ability to heal effectively in real combat. Earlier, when discussing the strategy, Eunice had complained that managing dumpling skills for a large group was impossible. But now, she seemed to be handling it quite well.

[Well, I figured she could manage. She’s got a knack for this.]

Tsutomu had firsthand experience with Eunice’s quick learning ability from her training days. Despite her personality being difficult to handle, she possessed natural talent. Observing Golden Tune’s battles from the Monitors, he noted that Eunice still had untapped potential. That was why he decided she could handle the large-scale use of the dumpling skills to provide support and healing.

While continuously checking on the members of Absolute Helix and sending support to the four of them, Tsutomu monitored the overall battle situation. In addition to him and Eunice, Scarlet Devil Squad’s Cecilia was coordinating the Healers, providing support to the Explorers fighting the monsters.

The Explorers near Orbis, bolstered by Eunice’s dumpling skill, managed to fight with some degree of ease. Though the situation was tough, it was not dire, making their position tenable.

With the reinforcement of Absolute Helix and other Explorers, Orbis found himself on the defensive. Christia’s arrows and Leon’s swift attacks kept him off-balance. However, both sides struggled to land a decisive blow, creating a deadlock.

The most concerning issue was the army of monsters approaching from behind. Ideally, they needed to defeat Orbis and retreat within the city’s Shield to regain their bearings, but that seemed difficult for now. Christia would likely be the one to make the call on that.

“It’s about time we went back down. You gotta make more dumplings.”

“…I know.”

“Well, no need to be so nervous. If you mess up, I’ll take over.”

“Sh-shut up! I can handle this myself!”

Eunice’s bravado did not fool Tsutomu, who could feel the trembling of her tail echoing through the Black Staff. He did not want to bother her, but he knew her nerves could lead to mistakes if left unchecked. To keep her calm, he offered occasional reassurances and instructions.

“Ooh… oof…”

Then, as soon as they landed and Eunice began creating more dumplings, she clutched her chest and collapsed, looking pale and sweating profusely. Her mental energy had clearly been exhausted.

“You got any Blue Potions?”

“……”

Though mental exhaustion would not kill her, it brought a debilitating, almost death-like nausea. Seeing Eunice hunched over and unable to move, Tsutomu sighed. He pulled a vial of Blue Potion from his Magic Bag and brought it to her lips, tilting it gently.

“!!”

Eunice clung her clips to the vial, drinking the potion greedily. Tsutomu intended to give her just a small amount, but she ended up gripping it with both hands, refusing to let go, much like a stubborn toddler with a milk bottle. Tsutomu looked down at her with an exasperated expression.

“Gah…!”

Rejuvenated, Eunice released the vial and stared at Tsutomu with wide, bewildered eyes. He gave a slight nod, signaling her to resume creating the skill dumplings. Scowling, she returned to her work.

Just then, Orbis charged, aiming to cut off the source of the dumpling skills. But Leon, anticipating this, grabbed both of them and whisked them away in an instant. Though carrying two people slowed Leon down, the speed was still impressive, leaving Tsutomu feeling as if they had teleported.

“Everyone, retreat! Fall back within the Shield!”

For about five more minutes, Eunice’s skill dumplings kept the situation under control. But with a massive horde of monsters closing in, Christia finally ordered the retreat.

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