Live Dungeon!

Once the chatter faded and the major Clans’ representatives finally dispersed, Tsutomu gathered his party and led them toward the Guild, planning to hold a strategy meeting while reviewing a broadcast of the hundredth layer.

On the way there, it became clear that public perception hadn’t yet caught up to reality. The general populace still gave them wary looks, keeping their distance. But even in that climate, there were always a few eccentrics determined to make contact with the members of Absolute Helix.

“Mister Garm! Here’s a gift from me!”

“I’ve made sure they put in extra cream!”

“…Mm-hmm. Thank you.”

“Big bro Daryl! I was so worried!”

“You okay? Here, take this! You need to eat to keep your energy up!”

“I told you, I’m fine… Honestly…”

The children, particularly the orphans, continued to place immense trust in Garm and Daryl. The two were stopped repeatedly by people offering gifts, snacks, or handwritten notes, and soon they found themselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume. In the end, they had to borrow a Magic Bag from Tsutomu just to carry it all.

“Honestly,” Amy sighed, “these puppers have no clue how to handle their fans.”

As one of the few Explorers who maintained an idol-level popularity, Amy received her fair share of cheers and presents, but she had long since trained her fans to behave. She accepted quick greetings or requests for signatures on the spot, but anything bulky, like letters or gifts, was directed to be mailed to her personal residence. That policy had taken a long time to enforce, but the results were worth it.

“Oh? That’s weird,” Tsutomu said, glancing theatrically around the crowd. “Where’d all my fans go, hmm?”

“Pfft,” Amira, walking a short distance ahead, almost burst out laughing. She cleared her throat awkwardly to cover it up, but Tsutomu had already locked eyes with her.

“Hey, you’re not that popular either, so help me carry some of this. You’re free, aren’t you?”

“I’m still more popular than you.”

“Mehhh… this is why you don’t have a proper fan club yet. Maybe you should take notes from Garm?”

“Like I care what strangers think.”

“Okay, okay. Why don’t you think of this as not helping me, but helping Garm with HIS stuff, then?”

“…Tch.”

Still a little awkward after their last incident, Amira shot back with her usual harsh words, but ultimately gave in with a muttered “Whatever…” and began helping Tsutomu carry the gifts. Meanwhile, Garm weaved through familiar faces to approach them.

“Apologies…”

“It’s fine,” Tsutomu replied, stuffing a wrapped parcel into the Magic Bag. “I’ve already expected this kind of attention anyway.”

“Can’t buy virtue with money, huh?”

“Well, Amira, if you’d inherited more of your mom’s curves, you’d probably be popular like Hannah. Poor girl.”

“I. WILL. Kill. You.”

“…Anyway, Garm, check this out! Someone even gave you a bottle of Martot wine! There’s this huge slab of grass-fed beef, too.”

With that, Tsutomu deftly shifted the conversation, throwing out light comments as a way of defusing Amira’s rising bloodlust. They finished packing up just as the commotion drew the attention of the city’s Security Team. Once the staff stepped in, the group was finally released from their impromptu gift gauntlet and allowed to enter the Guild.

Thanks to Tsutomu’s early-morning briefings with prominent Explorers, rumors about the events on the hundredth layer had already started to settle. The fearful glances from their peers had lessened considerably, allowing them to move through the Guild without incident. After reserving a private training room, the group headed to the dining hall, ordered some quick meals, and turned their attention to Monitor #1.

[No nerfs yet, huh? Damn devs,] Tsutomu thought, watching the footage.

On-screen, Ealdred Crow’s Team 2 appeared to be testing various magic tools against the Corroded Elder Dragon, likely to gather intel. Tsutomu had hoped, however irrationally, that the God of this world would have weakened the monster after the previous forced ejection.

But in this world, monsters only ever got stronger; there had never been a case of an enemy being nerfed. So, if that emergency ejection had been a patch, it must have been to correct some black-box behavior rather than rebalance the Boss. Still, Tsutomu had allowed himself to hope… and that hope had just been dashed.

With a bitter look, he popped one of Daryl’s fries into his mouth. Daryl, mid-bite of a bear burger, gave a side glance but said nothing.

“I figured something might have changed, but no dice,” Tsutomu said. “Once our room’s ready, we’ll hold the strategy meeting and then try the fight again. Until then, read through these.”

“Aye-aye,” Amy replied.

While the others browsed the documents he had prepared in advance, Tsutomu kept his eyes on the Monitor, scrutinizing the Corroded Elder Dragon, but no new information revealed itself. Eventually, their private training room opened up, and the team moved inside to begin their strategy session in earnest.

“The first phase of the fight should be fine as-is. The real issue is in the middle, once the Corroded Elder Dragon starts turning us undead. That’s where we need a proper counter.”

Fortunately, the procedures for internal organ destruction could be adjusted to accommodate the blood clones, and those tactics were solid. The biggest concern was their own party turning undead; losing one of their own while the enemy gained a fighter would be catastrophic. That kind of reversal had to be avoided at all costs.

Though the undead transformation had once spelled doom for their team, Tsutomu himself had already proven that it could be prevented through the proper use of Holy-elemental equipment and skills. With thorough reexamination, a concrete strategy to counter it was well within reach.

“Okay, so we’ll start today by running tests to confirm how to stop the undead transformation. If things go well, we’ll move on to the Corroded Elder Dragon’s organ restoration mechanics. That part’s a real headache, but I’m pretty sure it’s preventable. From what I saw, it resembled a White Mage’s [… so right now, our best bet is to bind the beams of light with [, like the Dumpling style. Not sure if I can pull it off in one go, though, so today’s mostly about testing. We’ll make a few attempts, gather data, and adjust as we go.”

In their previous attempt, they had managed to hold the line despite losing teammates to the undead transformation, thanks to Amira and Daryl’s raw potential and Tsutomu’s relentless support and healing. But it was the Corroded Elder Dragon’s final move. A [-like magic cast on its own liver that had tipped the battle, boosting the monster’s regenerative ability beyond what they could handle.

Still, if they could nullify both the undead transformation and the organ restoration, victory would be within their grasp. There might yet be some hidden ace up the Dragon’s sleeve, but Tsutomu, who had already come to terms with the possibility of death, welcomed the challenge.

By now, there was no real difference between this and what he used to do back in Live Dungeon year after year. Whenever a new monster was introduced, Tsutomu would be the first to defeat it, analyze it, and publish a detailed breakdown through live broadcasts.

“So, that’s the general flow of things. Does anyone have suggestions?”

“I do… if I may?” Garm raised a hand.

Tsutomu gave a slight nod, prompting him to speak.

“I have no objections to the strategy itself. However, I do object to calling today a test run.”

“…Hmm?”

“It’s true the situation has changed. But I suspect the public still doesn’t believe you were defeated on the hundredth layer. Which is why I want us to go in today not for data, but to clear the layer.”

“I’m with him,” Amira added, her tone challenging, grinning with a flash of white teeth. “Maybe you don’t care, but everyone who saw that broadcast… I doubt any of ’em thinks you actually died. Which means your little undefeated legend is still intact.”

“Yeah, and you know what?” Amy chimed in. “The idea that your perfect record ended when I was in the party really rubs me the wrong way. So come on, do it for me! Let’s clear it this time without you dying!”

“I feel the same!” Daryl added earnestly. “And this time, I’ll make sure… I’ll make sure you won’t have anything to worry about, Sir Tsutomu!”

As each of his party members made their case, Tsutomu crossed his arms and wore a look of deep reluctance, somewhere between pained and exasperated.

“Look, I get where you’re all coming from, but this run’s going to be rough without more testing. And all this talk of ‘undefeated legend’… you know that’s a lot of pressure, right? Don’t you think it’s about time you guys let me breathe a little?”

“I know this is selfish,” Garm said solemnly. “But even if we fail, I swear none of us will blame you. And I’ll make sure no one else does, either. So please… reconsider.”

“Me too!” Daryl added.

Tsutomu squinted at Daryl, partly to dodge Garm’s heavy words. “…You’re just going along with the crowd, aren’t you?”

“N-no way! I mean it! I’ve been thinking a lot about things. Like, whether things would’ve turned out differently if Sir Garm had survived instead of me…”

Tsutomu shook his head. “Doesn’t matter if it was Amy or Garm or anyone else. Either way, I was the one who ran. I was scared to die.”

“All right, all right,” Amira cut in. “The plan’s set, so let’s just go already.”

“Hey–”

“Our resolve is solid; no one’s backing out now. I’ll follow the plan, no problem.”

Tsutomu groaned. “Great. So even if I do die again and we need to set things up from scratch, no one’s going to agree to back out. You guys know that if we lose more gear, Miss Ollie’s gonna get another headache to deal with, right?”

“No worries!” Amy said cheerfully. “I’ll cover everything we lose today!”

“M-me too!” Daryl chimed in.

“If needed, I’ll contribute as well,” Garm offered.

“Guys, money isn’t the issue here…” Tsutomu muttered.

In truth, if they approached it the way Tsutomu had during his Live Dungeon days, playing it smart, pulling back when necessary, and learning from each attempt, they could likely clear the hundredth layer without too much trouble.

But looking at the four before him, all dead set on seeing this through without losing him again, Tsutomu could only slump his shoulders in resignation.