Live Dungeon!

The trio of Garm, Tsutomu, and Amy returned to the guild to have their status cards renewed. Now that he had reached level 10, the level of Tsutomu’s heal had risen as well, and it now became “High Heal”. Should he raise its level, it would then be able to revive a party member within 3 minutes of their death.

After he was able to receive confirmation, Tsutomu went straight to the receptionist and requested to withdraw some money.

“Well, then… here’s one high-quality gem… Oh, please include some cash since this will also include an appraisal certificate.”

“Gotcha.”

Tsutomu submitted his status card on the counter as he talked to the receptionist.

At the guild, they also have these financial institutions that allow you to store money in a huge custom-made magic bag. Tsutomu really liked the feel it had, so naturally, he used it a lot.

The service was essential to adventurers, who ran the risk of dying and losing their items. If there were any trouble near the guild, their staff would take care of it.

You could leave your equipment at the guild so that if you die, you don’t lose as much. Some explorers even choose to deposit most of their equipment, runes, and G at the guild and go out with only one piece of clothing.

“Let’s go out and see how much we can eat. I bet I’ll beat you!”

After seeing Tsutomu receive 100’000 G from the receptionist, Amy was bobbing up and down like a cat who just caught a fish.

“Yipee! Hooray!”

“… Tsutomu, are you sure?”

In contrast to Amy, who was singing carelessly, Garm looked at Tsutomu seriously and raised his eyebrows. Tsutomu tried to hide his voice so Amy couldn’t hear it.

“I’d like to discuss the dungeon search we’re doing tomorrow, but for you guys, it might be a little bit stressful, so it’s probably best we sit down and eat while discussing it.”

“Well, then, I guess I’ll follow your lead.”

“How about we eat at “The Barell’s Hat”?

“I think Amy’s banned from there. How about “The Fish Diner”? It has a reputation among catkin because they cook live fish there.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

Tsutomu gave Garm a thumbs up as they returned to Amy, who seemed upbeat.

They left the guild in the evening, when the road was really dim, and the lights from the fire runes began to flash. Garm traveled on the cobblestone road without hesitation.

“We’re here.”

Amy shook her body in excitement as she saw the big fish mascot on the front of the restaurant.

“We’re here! It’s usually costly and crowded.”

“There shouldn’t be many people at this time.”

Following Amy, who was acting like a child, Garm entered the restaurant. Tsutomu followed suit while gazing at the colorful fish they had on display.

They were received by a blue fox and a fish-man who was seemingly able to grow limbs.

When everyone was seated, a tall fisherman came to their table and handed out glass cups while singing. Then, water was created using magic and poured into empty glasses. In an attempt to show off, the fisherman danced while distributing the menu.

Amy ordered how much she saw fit and relayed her order to Garm and Tsutomu. The food was delivered to them almost immediately.

Black bread shaped like a baguette with a seaweed salad. A small dish of fried fish cooked entirely in a variety of colorful sashimi. And a fish that was so big Tsutomu couldn’t hold it with both arms even if he tried.

When all the food was almost at the desk, Amy began urging Tsutomu to eat, saying she’ll be the first to win. Tsutomu did not continue the conversation and started daydreaming about having soy sauce on top of the sashimi.

“Tomorrow will be our party organization, and I think I’ll use Garm as a tank.”

“Tank?”

Amy leaned her head forward while taking a large bite.

“Well, the tank plays the role of the party shield.”

“Can you protect Tsutomu? It would be a good match for a dog!”

“I don’t mind.”

Amy spoke while showing a broad smile. Garm, who had been briefed beforehand by Tsutomu, replied quickly.

“Since Garm’s a knight… can you use any skills that steal the enemy’s energy?”

“Well, I haven’t used any in a long time, so I might have forgotten. There’s this one called “Combat Cry” that fully counters enemies. I remember there are many others like it as well.”

“You should probably use your skills to complement your normal attacks to draw the enemy’s attention. However, your stats don’t cater to that style. Amy will defeat the monsters one by one with me, and I will slowly heal any injuries you sustain during battle.”

“Huh?”

Amy, who was busy eating fish, stopped chewing because her name was called.

“I don’t think Amy will have to move around much, and I believe she should only focus on one animal at a time anyway.”

“First of all, we should just beat up the monsters!”

“Yes. Even if Garm can’t defeat those monsters, we’ll get Amy to do it since that will work.”

“Don’t bother. If it’s me, it will be too easy!”

Sashimi after sashimi, Amy stuffed everything into a fork and pushed it into her mouth. Tsutomu ordered a glass of water and slowly drank it.

“Garm, I don’t think you’ll be able to catch enemy attacks that effectively right now. Remember, it is the most burdensome role, and I think it’s challenging, so thank you.”

“Well, I don’t mind if you think it’s for the best.”

“Thanks. I might also make mistakes at the start and apply healing skills to the enemy, so we should practice our roles in the grasslands first. I want to reach the swamp eventually.”

“Understood.”

Garm, who had put a portion of the large fish in the baguette, threw it into his mouth.

“Let’s continue the conversation while in the dungeon. Bon appétit!”

And with that, Tsutomu and Garm joined the feast with Amy.

_______________________________________________________________

“Combat Cry!”

Almost the same time as his scream, a red wave came oozing from Garm’s body. The five goblins who were hit by the spell began to struggle. They cried out some insults and began to charge towards Garm. Unlike the previous day, Garm was wearing proper equipment, handling his staff on the right and a silver shield on his left. Tsutomu slapped the charing goblins with his hand.

In the meantime, Amy was playing around with her armor set, when she pierced the neck of a goblin with her sword.

In front of Tsutomu, the five goblins suddenly turned into gems. Tsutomu ran towards the gems and picked them up hastily, being wary of the surroundings.

Since he saw no enemies approaching, he continued on and placed the gems inside his magic bag. At present, his party was able to advance to the 9th floor, where they felt the breath of nature amidst the vast grasslands. As he looked up, he saw a large black gate splitting the space in front of him.

“Tsutomu? It’s the gate to the 10th layer.”

“Yup. Let’s check it out.”

“Ok.”

Garm rushed forwards towards the black gate. The grass had spread around the black gate, but the center was devoid of any life, and wooden huts were irregularly erected on the leveled soil. As soon as the last person, Tsutomu, entered, the black gate closed.

With that, a crowd of goblins rushed out from the huts carrying clubs and swords. There were also about 50 with bows and arrows. When a few blueish goblins emerged and shouted their battle cry, they all began charging towards Tsutomu.

“Protect!”

As Tsutomu slammed his white cane towards the ground, cherry-like colors then surrounded the trio. Several goblins were focusing on Tsutomu, and a few others were shooting arrows towards him.

“Combat Cry!”

The same red wave from a while ago spread around Garm. Most of the goblins began to struggle around him. In a desperate attempt, they continued to fire their arrows.

Tsutomu turned his staff towards the goblins. An invisible blade cut the front of the goblin’s feet as they fall to the floor.

Then, two pairs of assaults came on the side of the archers. Amy, who was silent until now, threw the charging goblins backward. Amy was cutting through the goblins as if she was cutting grass.

The goblins who were not affected by their spells jumped towards Garm, who eventually bashed all their skulls in with his silver shield. They were then stabbed and turned into gems.

However, they were still losing the numbers game. Ten goblins alone were not enough to take down Garm. His silver armor can sustain multiple hits as the goblin chased in pursuit.

A goblin who was laughing maniacally while raising his club had his head blown off by Garm’s shield, and was shaking violently until dissolving into green particles. Some goblins were taken aback by the sight.

Garm’s stats were B+. This meant that even the fire dragon’s breath, which was the boss of the valley biome, could not blow him away immediately. In addition, Tsutomu’s “Protect” spell stacks on top of this so that the goblin’s blows feel like a massage to him. At one point, he was taking on more than 30 goblins at once.

Meanwhile, Amy rushed towards their leader, the blue goblin, as soon as she finished off the archers.

It was a little smarter and stronger than the other goblins, but it quickly died and transformed into a gem after Amy hit it over the head. Amy soon hurried to Garm’s aid.

As Garm pierced through the last goblin, it transformed into the same gems as the rest. With a squeaky sound coming from afar, two black gates appeared in front of the trio.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s.”

On that day, Tsutomu was able to beat his previous floor record and reached the 21st floor.