Live Dungeon!

[God dammit! I’m SCREWED!]

Watching Diniel hand the mysterious paper card to her party members while she studied the Black Gate that likely led to the next layer, Tsutomu felt an overwhelming urge to simply give up on everything.

The paper, he knew, would not translate itself into the local language until someone with the appropriate Appraisal skill examined it. For now, Diniel and the others had not realized it was written in Japanese. But once they returned, it was inevitable that she would ask Amy to appraise it. And Amy, being Diniel’s best friend, would not lie to her.

Even if she tried to lie, Tsutomu could already imagine Diniel seeing through the deception. She would simply bring it to someone else with an Appraisal skill, and everything would come to light.

And then what? He could imagine a hundred different outcomes, but none of them were good. As his mind spiraled, another line of thought resurfaced, one he had already wrung dry countless times: even if he returned to Earth now, if he were thrown back two years into the future, would there be any place left for him? That ever-present fear of what might await him in the real world clawed back to the forefront of his thoughts.

As he brooded, something small and soft came to rest gently atop his head. It took him a few seconds to register the touch as Eunice’s hand.

“There’s no reason to look so hopeless, you know? The hundredth layer isn’t the end! God’s Dungeon will go on! So cheer up, okay?”

While Tsutomu had been trapped in his thoughts, Eunice had been puzzling over what had caused his sudden shift in mood. She assumed, wrongly, that he was worried about the Dungeon’s potential end. So she offered her clueless comfort and, with exaggerated cheer, began to pat his head like she was consoling a sulking child.

Tsutomu had no idea what she was talking about. But the forced smile on her face was so earnest in its intent to cheer him up that he could not bring himself to stop her.

“…You…” he muttered. “Honestly, I don’t even know where to start with you.”

“Hey! You’re talking again! That means it worked!”

“Pfft…”

Her complete and utter misfire cracked something in him. He could not help but laugh. And the moment he did, Eunice lit up, clearly proud of herself for cheering him up… though for all the wrong reasons.

Her triumph made her look even more ridiculous, and Tsutomu chuckled harder, before exhaling like a man who had been holding his breath for days.

No, her words had not changed anything. Nothing had been resolved. But still… that unbearable weight pressing down on his chest had eased, even just a little.

[I’ve already worried myself sick over the future. At this point, I may as well treat it like a fight against an all-new monster.]

“Ugyaaah!?”

Without warning, he reached up and grabbed both of Eunice’s fox ears, squashing them between his palms.

“Wh-what are you doing!?” she squeaked, thrashing.

“Payback,” he said bluntly. “Don’t touch my head again, idiot. I hate that.”

“Liar! You looked totally comforted! You were practically purring!”

“Want me to do it again?” he challenged. “I can’t see you lasting very long, though…”

“Oh, ohhh? Is that how it’s gonna be?” she snapped back, wiggling her fingers mockingly. “I dare you! You’ve been bossing me around for ages, and I’ve had enough! Today’s the day I get you back!”

They glared at each other, both wearing mischievous grins. And so began a ridiculous, pointless, thoroughly cathartic head-patting battle. The two of them squabbled and grappled all the way up until Korinna’s party returned through the Black Gate.

When they arrived, welcomed by Amy and the others, Eunice had slumped forward over the table, her ears flushed bright red in defeat. Tsutomu, meanwhile, rose calmly from his seat, pointedly ignoring the knowing smirk from Milway, who looked at them as if watching a pair of lovebirds. He quickly walked over to greet Korinna and her team.

He congratulated them with an easy smile, refraining from mentioning the paper card Diniel had found. For now, he let the moment be about their achievement.

The returning party basked in the praise of fellow Explorers and answered a flurry of questions from the reporters. By the time the excitement died down, the weariness in Korinna’s team was plain to see, and Tsutomu led the five of them home to the Clan House.

▽▽

“So, this weird paper card dropped along with everything else,” Diniel said over dinner. “It might be related to the next layer, assuming there is one.”

“That was my thought, too,” Leleia replied. “It has this… mysterious feel to it, and it somewhat resembles a Status Card. Also, a second spot on the locked Black Gate lit up. We might unlock the way forward once another party clears the hundredth layer.”

“You know what, Amy, you should appraise it later.” Diniel added, passing the card to her. “We might find out something then.”

“Ooh, sounds fun!” Amy chirped.

[Y-yeah… real fun…] Tsutomu thought bitterly.

From the sound of Amy and Garm’s voices, they were not any more comfortable than he was. They all knew that, no matter what the appraisal said, or whether Amy lied about it or not, this was going to be a turning point.

[So how the hell am I supposed to explain this…?] Tsutomu wondered, already throwing around excuses in his head.

“All righty then, let’s see what we’ve got here…” Amy said after clearing her plate. She took the slip from Diniel and activated her Appraisal Skill.

“Hmm, hmm, hooh…” She muttered vague reactions as she read through the results. “…Well, I couldn’t appraise every character on it, so I can’t say for sure.” Amy said, eyes scanning the card. “But I think it’s something necessary to progress past the hundredth layer.”

“Is that so? Then we must be careful not to lose it,” Leleia replied.

“Boooring,” Hannah sighed. “I was hoping for something more exciting.”

Each member of the party reacted differently to Amy’s appraisal results, but most took her words at face value. No one suspected she was lying, at least not outright. All except Diniel, who, while not claiming deceit, could not shake a vague sense of something being off.

“Tsutomu,” Diniel said, tilting her head slightly, “did your team find anything like this? Something like a Status Card?”

“No,” Tsutomu replied without hesitation. “I didn’t see anything like that.”

She glanced back and forth between Amy and Tsutomu, studying their faces for a sign of deception. Amy’s voice had been as light as ever. Tsutomu, meanwhile, showed no hint of unease.

And that was the truth, technically. Tsutomu had known about the card, but he had not actually seen it drop during the hundredth layer’s clear. By clinging to that fine thread of plausible deniability, he managed to avoid the small tells that usually betrayed a lie.

“Then you should hold onto it, Leleia.” Diniel said finally.

“…Me?”

“If it’s as important as Amy says, we can’t afford to lose it. You have the most experience protecting important things.”

“I don’t mind,” she said calmly. “But if something does happen, don’t go blaming only me. Everyone in the party should take responsibility. That includes guarding it properly.”

“Sure,” Diniel nodded.

Even if she had not seen through Amy’s lie, Diniel had clearly grown just cautious enough. The card was now in Leleia’s possession.

If Ealdred Crow or Silver Beast happened to clear the hundredth layer and receive the same item, the truth would be exposed in an instant. Once that happened, there would be no getting the card back. Diniel might even ask someone else to appraise it, just to be sure.

“What do you think’s on the 101st layer?” Hannah asked, her tone already giddy with anticipation.

“I dunno,” said Daryl. “But I’d rather go back and try to save the Fenrir again. It’s been a while, and now we have some breathing room, so…”

“I’m still thinking about trying that mutated Shell Crab a few more times,” Amira chimed in. “And there’s talk of the Fire Dragon starting to show mutation signs, too.”

[Guess there’s no turning back now,] Tsutomu thought.

He listened to their cheerful speculation, all while wearing a calm mask. Deep inside, he knew the moment had passed. He could have confessed, told his Clanmates the truth, claimed he missed his family and wanted to go home. They might have even sympathized.

But missing his family was just a convenient excuse. The truth was simpler and far more selfish.

He was breaking. His grip on the fantasy was slipping. Tsutomu had known the signs since his days playing Live Dungeon. He had sensed, even then, that he could not keep this up forever.

Wasting thousands of hours on a single game had felt like madness. His parents had never said as much, but they did not have to. Even with their relatively free-range discipline and lax expectations on academic performance, their disappointment had been clear enough.

He had watched as the game lost players. Clans dissolved, friends stopped logging in. Eventually, it came to the point where barely anyone queued up for matchmade parties. Tsutomu made his own decision then: face reality on his own terms rather than let the world shove it down his throat. Clearing the hundredth layer solo had been his curtain call.

With his life on track, his family had been relieved. His friends were supportive, while also ready to welcome him to any of the other online games they had migrated to. And for the first time in years, Tsutomu felt free. He had finally stopped clinging to the long-gone golden age and started walking forward.

[I’ll have to convince them.]

He sighed, stood up, and headed to his room. The second his back was on the bed, his mind threatened to slip away into the warm cocoon of escapism… but he pushed himself up again. Running was no longer an option.

Just then, someone knocked. It was hurried, almost frantic.

“Tsutomu!”

“Amy…?”

She burst in without waiting for a response, and as soon as the door clicked shut behind her, she advanced with pleading eyes.

“I lied to Dini,” she said breathlessly. “I lied to her to protect your secret. See? I really am on your side, Tsutomu! I didn’t betray you. I wouldn’t betray you! I’ve proven it, right!?”

Her voice was too high, strained like a balloon about to burst. She sounded intoxicated in the aftermath of wrongdoing, giddy and desperate all at once.

Tsutomu was rendered speechless by the sheer force of her emotion.

…And as if that were not enough, Amy pulled something from her pocket. Something that made his blood run cold.

“And look! I snuck this out for you. I didn’t actually appraise it either! Now no one else will find out anything! It’s brand new, so you only need one authorization to go home! Isn’t that great!?”

“You… stole it.”

Indeed, she held the mysterious paper card in her hand. She had somehow taken it from Leleia without anyone noticing. It was theft. There was no sugar-coating it. And a foolish one at that; there was no way this would go unexposed by morning.

“W-what else should I do? I’ll do anything you say! I’ll appraise this right now! I’ll appraise this card right now and approve the return request! I’ll get stronger too, I promise! I’ll train my skills. I’ll be a better fighter than Dini! I’ll be so much more useful, you’ll see!”

She had spiraled; so blinded by the fear of losing what she believed to be her only chance, she could not see the line she had crossed.

She had been the first to learn Tsutomu’s secret. She had seen it as her chance to grow closer to him. And she had tried, seriously, in her own way.

But Amy was not used to chasing love. She had never known how to close that distance. Around Tsutomu, her usual energy crumbled into nervous uncertainty. The secret she held had turned into a deadly double-edged sword.

She could feel him slipping away. And now that the secret was about to go public, she panicked. Her desperate heart told her there was only one option left: give everything.

“So… please…” she said.

And then, she dropped to her knees as if begging for her life. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Please… don’t throw me away…”