Live Dungeon!

The aftermath was brutal. Amira, with her high STR stat, had given Daryl a thorough beating. Though Korinna patched him up, the emotional damage lingered — he still had hazy memories of his drunken behavior, and they clearly haunted him. Meanwhile, Tsutomu found himself the target of relentless scolding from Amy and Leleia, while Korinna drowned him in a flood of grievances.

The next morning, as Tsutomu’s team made their way to the Guild, Daryl, still looking dejected, turned to him and apologized. In response, Tsutomu assigned him a special task for the day — serving as Diniel’s practice dummy for head pats.

”But, um… Sir Tsutomu, everyone was mad at you because of me, right? Shouldn’t I be, you know, properly reprimanded or something?”

”You already look like you regret it, so there’s no need to scold you,” Tsutomu replied with a shrug.

”But still–”

”Sure, I thought it was a pain dealing with the aftermath, but honestly, Amy and the others needed to vent anyway. Sooner or later, I was going to have to listen to them, and this just gave them an excuse. It worked out perfectly.”

Repeating the same boss fight over and over without success took a toll. At some point, the doubt started creeping in — what if they simply were not strong enough to clear it? Tsutomu knew the feeling well. Back in his old world, spending an entire day failing to conquer the Secret Dungeon left him frustrated and drained. Here, in this world where failure had real consequences, the weight was even greater.

For Amira, Hannah, and Leleia, who were not used to being stuck on a single layer for so long, the frustration must have been unbearable. It showed in how harshly they treated Tsutomu and Daryl. Even Amy and Korinna, despite their experience, had clearly been itching to complain. Once they started, they just would not stop. And with the Shell Crab hunting team taking a break the next day, the ranting dragged on until deep into the night.

As a result, Tsutomu was still a little sleep-deprived, but listening to his Clan members’ concerns and grievances was part of his job as the leader. Compared to dealing with real-life middle schoolers, social recluses, attention-seeking catfishers, and insufferable drama queens back in online games, this was nothing.

At least here, people had actual conversations. Back then, the socially awkward players would not even type in chat, so reading their moods from their gameplay alone had felt impossible at first. But over time, Tsutomu had learned to pick up on their subtle cues, to the point where he could predict their thoughts just by watching how they moved. His Clan had attracted a surprising number of silent players. One of them, who had stayed until the very end, left behind a simple message — ”I had a lot of fun” — before disappearing for good. That moment had stung.

But unlike in Live Dungeon, where all interactions were text-based, here he could read people’s moods directly. He could even smooth things over with gifts — money, supplies, whatever it took. Of course, that also meant personal relationships and conflicting interests could easily tear a Clan apart. Even so, this world felt far less exhausting than the one he came from. And it helped that, aside from Leleia, all of the Clan’s members were fundamentally non-petty people.

”So, Daryl, just accept your punishment like a good boy. Your job now is to keep Diniel in a good mood.”

”Yeah, that’s right.”

From behind Tsutomu, Diniel wasted no time jumping in to provide him — or rather, herself — with backup. Daryl, still looking unconvinced, hesitated. Watching the exchange, Xeno raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances with Garm.

After a moment, Garm leaned over and murmured a quiet explanation — Daryl had gotten drunk after being offered wine by the Guild Master and had apparently made a fool of himself.

”Ah, I see…” Xeno nodded. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he declared, ”Very well! Then I, Xeno, shall personally teach you the proper way to enjoy wine, Daryl!”

”…Yes, please,” Daryl muttered, his expression wary.

Tsutomu could practically picture Xeno twirling a wine glass in an obnoxious display. Meanwhile, Diniel had already started absentmindedly petting Daryl’s drooping dog ears, looking strangely content. Ever since she realized her usual way of indulging her love for cute things was not ideal, she had been yearning for a proper fix.

”…I want no part in that, by the way,” Garm said flatly when he noticed Diniel’s intense gaze locked onto his own, much fluffier ears.

”Shame,” she murmured, her tone as indifferent as ever.

By the time the five of them arrived at the Guild, they found a large crowd gathered around Monitor #1.

”That’s the gate to the ninetieth layer, huh?”

On the screen, the Ealdred Crow main party was shown standing before the Black Gate on the eighty-ninth layer. Garm glanced toward Tsutomu, watching for his reaction.

”I’ve already asked the Dungeon Maniacs to compile all available information on the ninetieth layer, so we don’t need to waste time watching,” Tsutomu said. ”What we do need to focus on is adjusting our new equipment — if we want to overtake Ealdred Crow, that is.” ŗ𝒶ℕồΒĚs̈

Of course, Tsutomu was curious to see how far they could push, but realistically, even with prior knowledge, there was no way to clear the ninetieth layer on a first attempt. At a minimum, they needed to understand how the boss’s petrifying Mystic Eyes functioned and find a way to accurately predict its wide-range attacks.

Ealdred Crow was certainly in good shape, but their gear was not quite at peak performance yet. That meant their battle would not be the most instructive to watch. Instead of lingering with the other Explorers murmuring in front of the Monitor, Tsutomu walked straight past them and lined up at the reception desk.

Ealdred Crow had been in the lead since the seventieth layer and showed no signs of slowing down. Yet Tsutomu had spoken about surpassing them as if it were only natural. Garm nodded in agreement, while Diniel’s expression remained unreadable.

Daryl and Xeno, however, still could not quite shake the doubt gnawing at them. No matter how many times Tsutomu said it, some part of them found it hard to believe.

Ealdred Crow had the best personnel — Stephanie, the town’s best Healer and the highest-ranking Explorer in terms of Dungeon progress. Bittman, the lone Tank who carried his entire party on his back. And Pollux, the prodigious Enchanter who had clawed his way into Ealdred Crow’s main force at an astonishing pace.

These three names had become legendary within the Explorer community, turning Ealdred Crow into a banner of strength and prestige. Their influence now rivaled even those with Unique Skills, and among them, Stephanie held such sway that even Rook, the Clan Leader, was utterly devoted to her. Ealdred Crow was no longer seen as a faceless elite group; rather, it had become a beacon for the strongest Explorers to gather. The question now lingered — could anyone surpass their momentum?

”Hello, Mister Tsutomu,” The beautiful receptionist greeted. ”Aren’t you going to watch? They’re on Pedestal #1.”

”Nope. But you know, thanks to how they’re drawing quite the crowd, the reception line was clear today.”

”I suppose that’s a blessing in disguise — you were never the type to line up for my counter,” she teased. ”Here, your paper slip.”

Normally, Tsutomu and his party would never get the chance to speak to this popular receptionist without enduring an agonizingly long wait. Today, however, the line was nonexistent. The bald Guild staff member nearby shot them a sharp look, but Tsutomu, pretending not to notice, bit down on the registration slip and handed it over.

”Your hair looks so fluffy,” the receptionist murmured, looking at Daryl’s ears. ”I’d like to touch it…”

”Nope. He’s mine today.”

”I’m not anyone’s property, Miss Diniel…”

Daryl let out an unamused grunt as Diniel absentmindedly crumpled his drooping dog ears between her fingers. The receptionist, watching with slight envy, efficiently processed their party registration. Once the paperwork was done, the group headed toward the teleportation Magic Circles as usual.

”Well then, time to get to work.”

”Ugh, fiiine.”

For once, Diniel responded when Tsutomu gave the signal to start. The Elf, still toying with Daryl’s ears, was in an uncharacteristically good mood.

▽▽

Several days passed, and as expected, Ealdred Crow’s attempts on the ninetieth layer had proven grueling. The greatest obstacle was petrification — a status effect never before encountered in this world. Just meeting the gaze of the Corrupted Shell was enough to trigger it, making it an exceedingly difficult challenge.

By now, Ealdred Crow had suffered multiple full-party wipes and was struggling to progress beyond the initial phase. However, Bittman had begun adapting, learning to avoid direct eye contact while maintaining aggro. Stephanie, too, had devised a countermeasure against the dreaded Dark Silence status effect.

Dark Silence was a crippling affliction that sealed vision and rendered skills unusable, but it didn’t negate existing effects. The moment an area-wide Dark Silence attack was detected, Stephanie would preemptively deploy a [ spell above her own head, allowing her to drop it and immediately recover after the attack struck.

It was an ingenious tactic, something that would not have been doable in Live Dungeon. Yet despite their adaptations, the overwhelming Light and Dark-elemental attacks and the sudden spike in aggro when petrification was removed made progress nearly impossible.

As for the Mutated Shell Crab, its true horror lay in its final phase. Once its carapace cracked, the exposed muscle fibers beneath were vulnerable but frighteningly reactive. Wounded fibers would regenerate at an accelerated rate, growing stronger with each cycle of destruction and healing.

If a limb was severed and subsequently devoured for regeneration, the creature’s power would skyrocket beyond control. Even powerful fighters like Leon and Weiss found it difficult to subdue at that stage. Thus, the Dream Team had shifted their entire strategy toward preventing the Shell Crab from ever healing in the first place.

Meanwhile, Absolute Helix maintained their brute-force approach. Hannah’s prowess as an evasion-based Tank and Korinna’s consistent support kept their movements stable. They had also adopted the Dream Team’s tactic of throwing sand to counteract the enemy’s adhesive attacks, and by avoiding clinging to its back, they had reached the final phase consistently.

However, a concrete strategy against the reinforced muscle fibers had yet to be found. Too cautious an approach led to the enemy retreating to its den, healing, and emerging even stronger. Though they were accumulating valuable battle experience, a breakthrough remained elusive. Even so, Absolute Helix had managed to match the Dream Team in terms of performance.

Amidst these challenges, Tsutomu continued refining his own team’s strategies. He worked alongside Diniel and the Tanks, helping them acclimate to their new equipment while also closely observing the Shell Crab battles to determine the best lineup for their new Team 1.

At the same time, he was also investigating a troubling development — his own growing reputation, or rather, the surge of slanderous rumors about him.

[Those good-for-nothings should have been weeded out by now, and I don’t remember pissing off any orphaned Explorers…]

Tsutomu suspected this was a repeat of the so-called ‘Lucky Boy’ fiasco, when the struggling good-for-nothing buggers, unable to progress past the thirtieth layer, were spreading falsehoods out of spite. The instigators this time seemed to be newcomers from the Royal Capital, Explorers unaware of his background, and the orphaned Explorers — those who had assumed he was one of them and now resented his success.

However, despite his inquiries with informants and the Dungeon Maniacs, there was not much substantial information. Sure, if a noble had been behind the rumors, it might have made sense, but mere orphans from the Royal Capital? It seemed unlikely they could sway public opinion so easily.

[Then again, Garm and Daryl were orphans too. Garm is terrifyingly strong, and Daryl is sharp. The informants treated orphans like insignificant nobodies, but I shouldn’t underestimate them… Looking back, even that whole Guild incident might have been a setup to bait me. If they WERE actually as smart as Daryl, they definitely could have pulled something like that off…]

Tsutomu refused to dismiss them outright. He had no personal recollection of wronging anyone to the extent that would warrant public disdain, yet he had noticed occasional glares from onlookers. That left only one plausible explanation — Royal Capital Explorers, assuming he had risen purely by luck, were the true source of the rumors.

Did he find the orphans’ actions commendable? Not in the slightest. If this had happened when he was still alone, he would have dismissed them as nothing more than little brats. But now that he had enough perspective on the ways of this world, he found himself grudgingly impressed. To be fighting for survival at the age where they should have been in school, in a world this unforgiving, took no small amount of intelligence and resourcefulness. Compared to the pampered players of Live Dungeon who had the game bought for them by their parents, these orphans were undeniably more cunning.

”…Excuse me.”

”Oh, there you are.”

Lost in thought, Tsutomu sat at a table in the Guild when a girl in worn, ill-fitting equipment approached. He turned to face her and the four others — two boys, two girls — standing at her side. At their center stood Riki, the de facto leader of the Royal Capital’s orphan Explorers.