Live Dungeon!

”Thankfully, they’ve calmed down quite a bit compared to before. It’s made things much easier,” said Biancaea with a soft smile.

Several days had passed since Tsutomu’s team’s rodeo on the ninetieth layer, and the feverish wave of popularity surrounding Tsutomu had finally begun to subside. Biancaea could feel the change through the protective Shield magic — less pressure, fewer gawking eyes. With her porcelain complexion and golden lashes like wisps of sunlight, she looked every bit the part of a French doll. Tsutomu returned her smile with a tired one of his own.

”Yes. If things keep up, maybe they’ll all lose interest and move on.”

”Oh my, that’s rather harsh. These people became your fans after watching your performance on the ninetieth layer, you know.”

”I don’t need fans who make my life harder.”

”Fair enough. The number of people banging on my Shield has definitely gone down, too…”

As Tsutomu spoke with Biancaea, his expression held a rare trace of calm. Truth be told, most of the women in Absolute Helix were ‘characters’ in the strongest sense of the word: an idol, a technically old lady, a delinquent, an airhead, a psycho, an actually devoted believer of God… There was hardly an individual he could hold a conversation with and feel genuinely at ease. Perhaps only Ollie, who maintained a strictly professional demeanor in the Clan House, gave him the same kind of peace.

Biancaea, for all her noble lineage as the Eldest Daughter of Dungeon City’s overseer, struck Tsutomu as refreshingly sane. At the very least, she lacked the overpowering eccentricity of his other comrades, which made her company feel like a breath of clean air.

”He looks like he’s enjoying yourself.” Leleia said, her voice deadpan and her eyes sharp with observation.

”N-now that you mention it, you’re right,” Daryl, walking beside her, nodded nervously.

”I’ve never seen that relaxed face on him in the Clan House…”

The tension radiating off Leleia was hard to miss, and the boy’s childlike face made it all too easy to see just how troubled he was by it. Ever since the ‘salty tears’ incident with Amira, things between the two had remained… awkward.

”Is this the way?” Biancaea asked coolly.

”Yes. Thank you again for walking with us,” Tsutomu replied.

With heaven ahead and hell behind, the four made their way through the industrial district, where the clamor of craftsmen echoed through the streets. They soon arrived at the Dorren Workshop, its sign flipped to ‘Closed’ for the day.

”Good morning!” Tsutomu called out as he stepped inside.

”Well, look who it is!” came a familiar bark of welcome.

From the back of the workshop emerged Dorren, as lively as ever. In contrast, his apprentices looked like overworked dogs — sponsoring Absolute Helix had already kept them plenty busy, but after the group’s first victory on the ninetieth layer, the pace had become positively brutal — a veritable death march of external orders and commissions.

”Pardon our intrusion,” Biancaea said politely as she followed inside.

At the sight of Biancaea and Leleia, the apprentices snapped upright. Whatever exhaustion they had vanished in an instant as they scrambled to clean up the workshop, stashing away empty bottles and straightening their postures as if their lives depended on it.

”Biancaea, if you stuck around more often, maybe these slackers would actually get something done,” Dorren said with a chuckle.

”I think I’d only get in the way,” she replied with a demure smile. ”You need focus for this kind of work, don’t you?”

”You’ve got a point.”

Thanks to Tsutomu’s introduction, Biancaea and Smith had both received equipment from Dorren’s workshop after deciding to become Explorers. Biancaea had visited the workshop multiple times, and despite her noble background, she never acted like anything other than a level-headed young woman. Their relationship with Dorren was easygoing — something rare in these parts.

”I’m sorry for dropping in late,” Tsutomu said. ”The whole commotion made it hard to move around.”

”No need to apologize,” Dorren replied. ”With all you’ve accomplished, it’s no wonder things got out of hand. I watched your run myself, you know — damn near gave me chills. Oh, and Amira was fired up. Said she’s DEFINITELY teaming up with you next time. I finished her greatsword too — thing’s on par with what Camille’s got now. Expect some serious power.”

”We’ll see. Whether she can deliver depends on skill and luck. Also, I imagine Miss Ollie told you?”

”About the gear for the ninety-first layer? Yeah…” Dorren stroked his white beard, but his expression turned apologetic. ”Didn’t think I’d have to worry about Slime countermeasures NOW of all times, honestly. I’ve been modifying some of the gear we’ve got in from the other Dungeons, but judging from what I saw on Pedestal #1, that acid is no joke. Some of the more specialized anti-corrosive treatments are being outsourced to folks with better expertise, so it’s taking longer than I’d like.”

”We’ve got some time before the real run. As long as the gear’s solid, delays aren’t a problem. Without proper Slime countermeasures, we won’t be getting past the ninety-first at all.”

”It’s that bad?”

”It is. These Slimes are way tougher — more resistant to both physical attacks and skills. It takes a lot longer to take them down. Worse, their cores move independently now. Even Diniel’s shots can’t reliably snipe them in one go.”

Leleia’s Spirit magic could still handle standard Slimes, but the giant ones embedded within Goblin ranks were another matter entirely. Some could shoot jets of acid like rifles, while others launched Slimes like catapults. Add them to elite Goblins trained in formation tactics, and Goblin Kings who constantly disrupted aggro management, and the battlefield quickly turned chaotic.

They would be looking at a full-blown melee — no chance of neatly sniping the threats from a distance. If they wanted to survive, they’d need solid countermeasures against those long-range Slime attacks.

”Oh, right,” Tsutomu said, clapping his hands together. ”I brought the Corrupted Shell’s Magic Stone.”

He opened his Magic Bag like an old-fashioned wrapping cloth. With Daryl’s help, he lifted a massive gem-like stone — divided cleanly into black and white — and placed it on the workshop’s main table. Everyone’s eyes were drawn to it. There was only one of its kind in existence so far, and the whole room fell silent. Even Biancaea gazed at it with a jeweler’s admiration.

”You had it appraised, right?” Dorren asked, his tone turning serious.

”Amy did,” Tsutomu said. ”Apparently it’s called a Pair Magic Stone. I’ll be handing it over, too — use it for your research.”

”We haven’t even finished with the Thorn Magic Stone yet, and now here’s another one…” Dorren muttered, though his tone lacked any true complaint.

In fact, his face was alight with joy. As a craftsman to the bone, Dorren was already spinning ideas in his head on how best to utilize the newly acquired Magic Stone. Schematics were taking shape behind his eyes even as he spoke.

”All right, I’ll make use of it. Of course I will,” he said, nodding. ”But lately, I’ve been running short on hands. Hate to ask, but… think you could do me a favor?”

”What is it?” Tsutomu asked.

”Could you post a recruitment notice for the Dorren Workshop on Pedestal #1?”

”A… job listing?”

Tsutomu’s eyes widened, caught off guard by the request. Still, he quickly regained composure and rested a thoughtful hand on his chin. Monitor #1 certainly had the reach to get the word out.

”I don’t mind,” he said. ”And I think we’ll get some decent interest, too. Do you have the job description ready?”

”I’ll draft something up and pass it to Ollie. Probably something along the lines of: ‘Bring your own creations.’ I want to see what they’re capable of.”

”Fair enough. In any case, until we’ve got proper countermeasure gear, there’s not much more we can do on our end. We’ll help however we can. Let’s start with a rough script for Leleia–”

From there, the two continued hashing out the details of the workshop recruitment. Once they had a working plan in place, they asked Biancaea to raise another Shield and made their way to the next destination.

▽▽

Having left the Dorren Workshop, Tsutomu and his party now stood before the Forest Apothecary’s Potion shop, where every last item had been sold and the shop shuttered for the day.

”We’re terribly sorry for the trouble we caused.”

The first thing Tsutomu did was bow his head in apology to the Elven shopkeeper.

It had not taken long to trace the source of the Potion Tsutomu had used when he had been caught and petrified by the Corrupted Shell. Only one person was capable of brewing a Potion that could reverse petrification — and that was the Forest Apothecary.

Naturally, this led to chaos. Ealdred Crow’s staff members descended upon the shop, joined by a gaggle of eager journalists who had caught wind of the information. They demanded explanations: why had she sold such an effective Potion to Absolute Helix? Could she sell to them as well?

”Don’t worry about it,” the old woman said, brushing off his apology with a wave of her hand. ”I’ve already reminded those kids of their place.”

In truth, no one could afford to challenge the Forest Apothecary’s authority. She had developed Potions that bordered on panaceas, and she remained at the forefront of magically enhanced medicine to this day. Only a fool would treat her lightly.

All it took was for her usual kindly smile to vanish, and the Ealdred Crow representatives and nosy journalists had no choice but to retreat. Offending her meant losing access to the highest-quality Potions on the market. For the reporters, it could mean the difference between life and death when illness struck their own families.

White Mages and Channelers could heal wounds, but internal illnesses still eluded them. In contrast, the old lady could craft thousands of variations of Potions to cure disease. Her power was such that even the nobles of old, with their magical authority, had never managed to rein her in. Among the electorate she had saved, she was revered.

”Still, I feel awful for putting that burden on you,” Tsutomu said. ”And for not coming sooner to apologize.”

”I saw everything on the Pedestal, you know,” she replied. ”It was incredible. If my Potion helped you pull through, then I’ve got no regrets. I’d rather be thanked than apologized to.”

”…In that case, thank you — sincerely. I can’t imagine how things would have turned out without that Potion.”

”Glad to hear it. Makes it worth making, it does. Hehehe…”

Her chuckle was warm, her smile even warmer. Seeing it, Tsutomu relaxed and returned a bashful grin of his own. Leleia and Daryl, watching the exchange, traded surprised looks.

”Oh, and before I forget — Tsutomu, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

”What is it?”

”You know your Clan’s Elf, Diniel? Could you do something about her?”

”Did she do something…?”

”Not exactly,” the old lady said, waving her hand again as if to calm the situation. ”Thing is, she keeps asking me to teach her archery.”

Tsutomu’s brow furrowed at once, but the old lady only tilted her head with a helpless smile.

”I mean, I’ve lived long enough to know the basics better than most Elves, sure. But I’ve neither her talent nor her years of practice. She’s got more natural skill than I ever did. I can’t teach her anything useful — but she keeps coming every day, asking anyway.”

”I see…” Tsutomu turned to the two behind him. ”Did you guys know about this?”

”No,” Leleia said, shaking her head.

”N-not at all,” added Daryl, eyes wide.

Apparently, neither had any idea Diniel had been making these visits. Tsutomu hadn’t noticed anything either, and now he stood with arms crossed, mulling over what to do.

”I understand. I’ll talk to her about it myself.”

”Thank you. If I were three hundred years younger, I might’ve had something to offer her. But now, my hands just aren’t what they used to be. I can’t keep up with that kind of talent.”

”This is our Clan’s responsibility. You shouldn’t be the one worrying about it.”

”Well, I must say — it’s impressive. I never imagined a human like you could get through to that girl. I thought only someone like Melchor could manage to do it. And yet, here you are, with Christia’s own seal of approval…”

She spoke as she stirred a crushed medicinal herb, her expression contemplative.

”Please, I didn’t get through to her,” Tsutomu replied. ”She opened up on her own.”

”Is that so? Hehehe…”

The old lady had seen for herself — Diniel staring at Tsutomu as if she were seeing a monster, watching him rebuilding the party and surviving the boss fight. The memory brought another amused chuckle from her lips.

They stayed and chatted for another hour or so. By the time Tsutomu stepped out of the Forest Apothecary, he looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest.

”You know, Daryl,” Leleia murmured. ”Do you think Tsutomu’s… into older women?”

”Could be,” Daryl replied seriously. ”Miss Diniel’s over a hundred, right? Maybe that’s the minimum for him…”

”Guys!” Tsutomu snapped.

Leleia and Daryl fell silent, caught red-handed whispering behind his back. Watching the exchange, Biancaea chuckled softly to herself, feeling the energetic thumps of children bouncing off her magical Shield as they played around them.