Live Dungeon!

[Is she really planning to spend the whole day silently trailing after me? This damn Elf…]

Ever since Smith had retreated, wary of Tsutomu’s feather dusters, not a single word had passed between the remaining two. They simply sat and stared at the Monitors in silence, like a living room filled only with the sound of a TV playing to a disengaged audience. Tsutomu held his tongue for the time being, but if this kept up, the entire day would pass under a suffocating awkwardness.

”Didn’t you say you wanted to talk about the ninetieth layer?”

As much as the idea of pretending Diniel was part of the furniture and enjoying a pseudo-solo outing was tempting, Tsutomu couldn’t do that. Not after everything with Korinna and Xeno. He tore his gaze away from the projection on Monitor #1, where Lorena’s oversized hand-shaped [ glowed bright, and directed the question toward Diniel. The Elf straightened from her lazy sprawl and turned her sleepy eyes to him.

”…I want to understand why Amy’s team still can’t get through the ninetieth layer.”

”Huh… And what do you think the reason is?”

”…”

Tsutomu already had his own thoughts on the matter, but he tossed the question back to her to buy a moment to organize them more clearly. Diniel mulled it over, eyes half-lidded, before replying at last.

”Right now, Xeno’s the weak link. But Korinna and Amy are covering for him, so it’s not beyond repair. Everyone’s getting better at handling the Corrupted Shell. If the team can really sync up, they should be able to make it to the last phase.”

”Pretty much. That’s more or less how I see it too.”

Xeno had recently stopped putting on airs around his party, which meant he was finally requesting healing when needed rather than toughing it out for show. Korinna had the skills to provide the necessary support, and with that stability, Xeno’s movements had already started to improve. As a result, the entire party’s flow had become noticeably smoother.

Of course, that also meant Korinna’s workload had increased. She could not switch gears on a dime for every new demand. Right now, they were still in the trial-and-error stage, with Amy acting as commander to lighten the load wherever possible.

At this pace, Diniel’s prediction about reaching the final phase of the fight did not seem far off. A clear path through the ninetieth layer was beginning to emerge. That said, beating the other Clans to the punch was another matter entirely.

”[!”

One Clan had already crossed that midpoint: Ealdred Crow. Their progress had captured everyone’s attention, and not without reason. Stephanie was the standout. She had engraved Tsutomu’s movements into her mind and rewired her own style to match, adjusting her techniques through sheer repetition and grit. Her growth was astonishing, even to Tsutomu, who felt as if her progress was breathing down his neck.

Her burden had also lessened. Now that Sova had taken over the primary Attacker slot, Stephanie no longer had to spend precious attention ensuring her [ buffs landed. Meanwhile, their primary Tank, Bittman, had finally adapted to dealing with the Corrupted Shell, making for a much smoother distribution of responsibility throughout the party.

[The sheer discipline and focus behind her efforts are on another level entirely. I can’t see Korinna or Lorena surpassing her anytime soon.]

The Corrupted Shell demanded much of a Healer. It was not just strong support and healing, but also total awareness of the shifting battlefield. Stephanie, through her relentless analysis and imitation, had turned herself into a mirror of Tsutomu’s methods.

That kind of transformation was not without risk. One misstep and she could’ve lost her own sense of identity as a Healer. But she had pushed through it, reshaping her entire style from the ground up. The result: a performance in the mid-phase that could go toe-to-toe with Tsutomu’s own.

Compared to that, Korinna and Lorena still lagged behind. But then again, observing Stephanie push the limits would be an invaluable influence. They could learn without the pressure of being trailblazers themselves.

In fact, that was exactly the kind of experience Korinna would need if she were to one day challenge the hundredth layer. So Tsutomu had resolved to offer only minimal advice and let her earn her comrades’ trust on her own.

”Okay, so,” he asked Diniel at last, ”what is it you really wanted to ask?”

”……”

He knew the bit about the second team was not the heart of it. As he folded up the memo he’d been scribbling — a set of personal notes on Lorena’s imaginative [ technique — he caught the shift in Diniel’s gaze. Sleepy though her eyes remained, there was a rare sharpness in them now.

”There are a lot of things that make you strong, Tsutomu. But the biggest one… is how much you cling to life…” she said. ”You don’t want to die, so you prepare obsessively. You don’t give up, even when things look hopeless. And you’re the best Healer of all, no question about it. That’s why you managed to recover from that disaster on the ninetieth layer… Thinking about that, I finally understood why you called me second-rate. I hated it. Still do. But I get it.”

Though Diniel had only just reached adulthood by Elven standards, the age gap between her and Tsutomu was nearly eighty years. And Tsutomu, for all his worldly airs, was weak enough to lose in a direct contest with even Korinna. His detached attitude could sometimes grate on her nerves.

When he had dismissed her as second-rate, she had seriously considered wrestling him into a hold and forcing him to take it back. But she had sensed, no matter how thoroughly she pinned him down, that he would not retract those words.

So instead, she had turned to Amy for perspective. After thinking it over, she had finally arrived at this conclusion. To make Tsutomu take back that remark, Diniel had begun to rethink her role entirely. To rebuild her approach to combat based on how a Healer might view an Attacker. Ever since setting that goal, she found herself enjoying her sessions in God’s Dungeon just a little more than before.

”Right now, I’m training to make you take back what you said about me being second-rate,” she told him flatly. ”But… there’s something that’s been bothering me. Amy told me she’s never once seen you die in battle. So tell me, how many times have you actually died?”

”Uh… just once.”

At that, Diniel’s brow creased in a deep frown.

”Your refusal to die is definitely a strength. It’s probably THE reason you managed to live through the ninetieth layer. But it’s also a weakness. There are a lot of Explorers who quit because they can’t come to terms with dying. And someday, you WILL die again. When that happens… I worry about what it’ll do to you.”

”Well… you’re not wrong. I really don’t want to die again. If I did, there’s a decent chance I’d just throw in the towel and retire for good…”

Tsutomu’s tone was half-joking, but the moment he glanced at Diniel and saw the storm in her eyes, he snapped his mouth shut.

”That is absolutely unacceptable. At the very least, not until you take back what you said about me being second-rate. No matter what happens, no matter what it takes, I WILL drag you into the Dungeon again. I’ll use any means necessary.”

”…You’re scaring me, Diniel.”

”And whose fault do you think this is? You started this, and you WILL take responsibility.”

”Well, that’s not really my problem. I’m going to keep doing what I think is best.”

”…Fine.”

With that, Diniel turned her head away in a childish huff and fixed her gaze on the Monitor where Silver Beast’s team was projected. Watching her sulk, Tsutomu stifled a laugh and reached for a fresh memo sheet.

[What happens if I die again, huh…? I’ve never really imagined it. More like I’ve gone out of my way to avoid thinking about it altogether.]

He’d only ever died once, and it had been at the breath of the hundredth layer’s guardian, the Corroded Elder Dragon. Even now, the memory of that horrific death was seared into his mind, so vivid it still sent chills through him. In many ways, his relentless effort and preparation all stemmed from one desire: never to experience that again.

[Yeah, like hell I’m dying.]

He’d repeated those words so many times in his heart, he’d lost count. And now, with the familiar rhythm of note-taking to ground him, Tsutomu turned his attention back to the Monitors, burying himself in the data, warding off the thought of death.

▽▽

”[!”

”Hyah!? I can SEE the murderous intent in that shot!!”

It seemed that ruining Tsutomu’s carefully orchestrated day off had not been in vain after all as Diniel’s arrows had only grown more precise, more forceful with each passing day. The proof was in Hannah’s reaction; her exaggerated yelps and dramatic evasions had been growing more colorful ever since.

Two weeks had passed since that fateful holiday. In that time, Absolute Helix’s Team 1 had made steady progress, pushing through layer after layer with momentum to spare. They had now reached the ninety-fifth layer.

Since encountering Forest-type monsters on the ninety-second layer, all their prior preparations had paid off. The Dorren Workshop was running at full capacity, outfitting them with specialized gear to counter the threats. Tsutomu’s knowledge from Live Dungeon and the presence of an evasion-based Tank in their aggressively built formation had combined to fuel their rapid advance.

[They’ll be catching up soon, though…]

While their current pace was strong, Tsutomu could sense the shifting winds. It would not be long before Ealdred Crow breached the ninetieth layer. He had built in a five-layer margin of safety into his plans, so technically they were still on track. But the fact that Stephanie of all people was matching even his stricter predictions made Tsutomu sigh as he glanced down at the morning newspaper.

”Stephanie’s still going strong, huh? It’s honestly terrifying. It says here she only sleeps three hours a night. How does she not collapse?”

”I believe she’s someone’s apprentice… though I forget who,” Leleia murmured sarcastically.

”Wow, if she has a mentor, they must be an AMAZING Healer. Oh wait — that’s ME!?”

”……”

In the Clan House living room, Leleia sat with a cup of freshly brewed tea — courtesy of Ollie — and shot Tsutomu a flat, serpentine stare as he grinned over the rim of his own mug, riding high on his own joke.

Stephanie keeping pace was not ideal from the standpoint of a race to the hundredth layer. But as a Healer, Tsutomu could not help but feel a twinge of pride. Even if it was inconvenient strategically, knowing someone trained under him was pushing so hard gave him reason to celebrate, at least in his own uniquely overexcitable way. Leleia, of course, did not so much as crack a smile.

”Hey Teach, hey Teach,” Hannah chimed in, swinging her legs from the couch. ”There’s this girl who’s learned the Magic Fist, right? They say she’s the best evasion-based Tank out there. And get this, turns out she’s got a teacher too!”

”No way! Who IS this mysterious master…?”

”Uhh, I think their name started with a T… hmm… Leleia, any ideas?”

”…Would it be Tsutomu, perhaps?”

”Oh no! It’s ME again!?”

”Bwahahaha!!”

”……”

As Tsutomu clutched his head in exaggerated despair, Hannah burst out laughing, practically falling off the sofa. Leleia, meanwhile, looked on with a mixture of exasperation and resignation. Even the Salamander on the table, nibbling lazily at a Fire Magic Stone, seemed to share her sentiment.

”We’re aiming for the ninety-sixth layer today, you know?” Leleia said, her tone icy. ”Would it kill you to show a little more seriousness?”

”I’ll get serious once we’re inside the Dungeon,” Tsutomu replied.

”It’s almost offensive that THIS is the party currently holding the record for deepest layer cleared. Especially when Team 2’s wound up so tight they look like they’ll snap.”

”They’re probably feeling the pressure now that they’re getting close to a breakthrough. Makes sense they’d be a little stiff.”

Team 2 had already left early that morning, all full of eager energy as they marched off toward the Guild. But Tsutomu suspected they would fumble this particular run. When nerves overtake muscle memory, mistakes happen. Ideally, one should approach the real thing as if it were just another day of practice, but that was easier said than done.

”Well, I’m not too worried. They’ll score a win soon enough. In the meantime, we’ve got our own work to do. Let’s get going.”

Just as he stood to leave, Daryl, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, spoke up in a hesitant voice.

”…Lately, there’s been someone teaching Tanking to the orphans.” He said, as if the thought had been weighing on him for some time.

”Uh… yeah.” Tsutomu cracked a dry grin. ”The joking ship’s long sailed, man. Better luck next time?”