Live Dungeon!

Tsutomu had come to the Guild to watch Korinna’s party take on the hundredth layer. Amy and Amira had tagged along, the latter currently chatting with Camille while she was still mid-shift. In the meantime, Tsutomu and Amy sat together in seats with a good view of Monitor #1.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dini like this before,” Amy remarked, eyes wide. “She’s really going all out.”

[Good God, if all it took her to perform like that was a bit of extra effort, every other Archer out there might as well quit!]

In the earlier versions of Live Dungeon, it had been systemically impossible to destroy the Corroded Elder Dragon’s heart without taking out the surrounding organs first. Later updates had removed that restriction, but even then, attempting an early heart strike usually led to damage shortages unless the participating Attackers were exceptionally powerful. That was why Tsutomu had taken the safe route of relying on Amira, who possessed a unique skill, and the highly trained Amy to achieve a methodical, stable victory.

But Korinna’s party had taken a different path, one Tsutomu had deemed too risky. Their strategy placed Diniel and Hannah front and center as the team’s aces, aiming for the early destruction of the Dragon’s heart. Watching it now, their approach felt like something out of the bleeding edge of Dungeon-clearing meta, and to Tsutomu, it shone with a brilliance he had not expected to envy.

“Want some fries?” Amy asked, holding out a crispy stick of potato between her fingers.

“I’m good,” Tsutomu replied.

“Hmm…”

[…She’s fishing, and she’s not even trying to hide it.]

She already knew his background and his plan to return to his original world. To Tsutomu, that made her a ticking time bomb; he could not afford to treat her as casually as he had before. She was much calmer than yesterday, and judging from how she acted, she likely was starting to realize just how much leverage she had.

Amy, it seemed, was thoroughly enjoying the game. Like a cat toying with a cornered mouse, she waved the fry back and forth in front of his face. Tsutomu eventually gave in and took the offering, prompting a satisfied nod from her.

She had not demanded anything outrageous yet, but from the moment breakfast began this morning, Tsutomu had noticed her testing boundaries, probing to see how far she could push. And the poking had not stopped since.

To put it plainly, Amy now held Tsutomu’s life. Or at least, his way back home firmly in her grasp. If she so much as whispered the conditions of his departure to someone like Diniel or Leleia, the odds of him getting home safely would plummet.

“Ugh, my head feels so lonely today…”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Mmm… a little to the left…”

For someone who could theoretically demand anything, her requests were still soft. So far, she had only asked him to feed her fries, or give her cat ears a light massage. Just slightly more spoiled than usual.

It was not blackmail… not exactly. It felt more like she was teasing him for the fun of it, basking in the fact that they shared a secret. And Tsutomu, quite aware of the growing tension, reluctantly played along.

[Things are still tame now, but if she finds the right excuse, I can already see her upping the stakes. If I’d kept that card on me, she might’ve snatched it the first chance she got. I was right to hand it off to Garm.]

The situation remained manageable. Cute, even. But Tsutomu had already anticipated escalation down the line. That was why, the moment he picked up on Amy’s probing during breakfast, he had gone straight to Garm and laid everything bare, asking for his help.

He had also considered what Amy might do if she found out he had entrusted the card to Garm. Giving her sole authority over his return home had always been too dangerous, considering how she was opposed to the very idea of it. That was precisely why he had chosen to speak honestly with Garm. It had been a risky move, but far better than letting himself be kept on a short leash by Amy for the foreseeable future.

“Hey, Amira and the others should be back soon.”

“Hmm? Guess that means break time’s over… But you’ll finish this later, right?”

“Go easy on me,” he sighed.

Amy, thoroughly satisfied after finally getting her fill of headpats, tried to smooth the goofy smile off her face as Amira and Camille returned from behind the Guild counter, their conversation apparently concluded.

“How’re they doing?” Amira asked, flopping into her seat and grabbing a handful of fries.

“Xeno’s doing his best to pull aggro right now,” Tsutomu replied.

“Tch. Acting like he’s hot stuff.”

On the Monitor, Diniel could be seen downing water while Korinna dabbed her forehead with a towel. Watching the scene, Amira clicked her tongue and leaned back heavily into her chair. In front of her, Camille placed down a platter of pizza dripping with cheese and a mountain of salad beside it.

“…I don’t want this crap.”

“Eat your greens.”

“She’s right,” Amy chimed in. “It’s fine for now, but if you keep eating nothing but pizza, your skin’ll go to hell.”

“What, old people have to worry about that kind of stuff too? Sounds rough.”

“…Excuse me?” Amy’s eye twitched as she slowly dragged the salad bowl in front of her and, without a word, began chewing through leafy greens like a machine.

She was still only twenty, young by any measure. However against a high school-age girl, even she could not win.

“Speaking of skin,” Camille added, glancing at Tsutomu, “yours is surprisingly clear. A lot of Healers lately are breaking out from stress, and it shows.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m not that stressed? Plus, I’ve been eating Miss Ollie’s healthy cooking.”

“Your arms are so smooth, too. You don’t even look like someone who takes care of their skin.”

“I was born like this. Don’t touch me.”

“And your nails aren’t bad either… kind of unfair if you’re not even trying.”

“Hey.”

Tsutomu pulled his arm back, fending off appraisal attempts from both Amy and Camille, then turned his back to them with a light-hearted scowl. When Amira offered him a slice of pizza, he waved it off and returned his attention to the Monitor.

[Xeno’s doing better than I expected for that party. At this pace, he should be able to draw the aggro back. The real test is whether they can destroy the heart before the Corroded Elder Dragon sacrifices it. It all depends on Hannah’s execution and how far Diniel can push herself.]

As Hannah and Diniel unleashed their absurd levels of damage, Xeno was steadily rotating skills to draw aggro even without the Corroded Elder Dragon directly facing him. Bit by bit, his efforts added up. If this continued, the Dragon’s focus would shift to him again. And with the support of Leleia and a Spirit Contract with the Gnome boosting his VIT by half a tier, he wasn’t likely to die anytime soon.

If his pieces of the puzzle held, the rest would come down to Hannah’s use of her Magic Fist and whether Diniel could give it everything she had. If the two of them synced up, there was a real shot at pulling off the early heart destruction.

[With Xeno and Korinna’s level-headedness, there’s still a shot I can return without complications. But they need to win this by tomorrow. There’s no telling when everything might fall apart. Please, I’m counting on you guys…]

Tsutomu watched the Monitor intently, heart brimming with hope and unease in equal measure.