Live Dungeon!

As countermeasures against the Mount Golem, Daryl got a brand new armor set, and the two Scorchstone Robes were given to Xeno and Korinna. The team then agreed on the strategies they would employ, putting Daryl in the pivotal role. Everyone understood their duties and the general flow of things easily enough.

Xeno and Korinna were of educated backgrounds, having gone to school in the Royal Capital, so they had high understanding of strategy.

“That was easy,” Diniel said, happy that things were over quickly unlike when she had to explain the team’s plans to Hannah over and over again.

“Ahaha…” Daryl let out a dry chuckle, sympathizing with her due to having gone through the same thing with Amira.

The general strategy this time was a slightly altered version of what Ealdred Crow had used when they scored their first win. Unlike last time, the mission team would not be using an evasion-based Tank, so the key point to keep in mind was the suppression of the Mount Golem’s movements when it got a speed boost in the later parts of the fight.

One main difference with Ealdred Crow’s run was that they never had a way to completely defend against heat ray attacks. That resulted in them having to go in expecting their Tanks to die at least a few times, which would then necessitate the Healers’ sacrifices to revive them and maintain the rest of the team’s integrity. That strategy needed excellent Healers to pull off — at least one as good as Stephanie.

Absolute Helix, however, did have heat-resistant equipment for that — namely the heavy armor that Dorren had made as an improvement to his old model, and the Scorchstone Robes that had been obtained from the Dungeon. Having those was sure to make the Tanks’ work quite a bit easier, and make it possible for the team not to die even a single time throughout the whole fight.

Still, unlike what Hannah had managed, it was practically impossible for a single standard-type Tank to hold off the Mount Golem, so it was important for Daryl and Xeno to share the load and keep both of them functional.

“Sir Xeno, switch!”

“Very well.”

If the Mount Golem, especially in its speed-boosted state, were to focus too much aggro on a single target, then that target — even if it was Daryl — would die quite quickly. It was necessary to form a flow in which the Tank on standby would pull aggro towards himself, letting the exhausted Tank rest. As such, Daryl and Xeno had to make sure things worked reliably between them.

Fortunately, from today’s test run against a Bolseyer, they found their movements to be surprisingly in sync. Daryl had already gotten used to working with Amira, who would often move according to her own whims — and similarly, Xeno had a tendency to try and do things on his own, though he still was more willing to work with Daryl. It seemed that there would be no particular issues when it came to the Tanks’ cooperation.

As for the Attackers, Diniel would be mainly shooting at the Mount Golem, while Melchor was in charge of getting rid of the minions it spawned. Both of them were excellent fighters, so there should be no issues.

The others all had worrying factors to consider, however. This would be Korinna and Xeno’s first attempt at layer seventy. And there was Daryl, who had what could not be considered a pleasant experience last time. As such, both Tanks were at risk of dying, perhaps being both at once.

It was in such instances that the Healer’s true value would be tested, but so far, Korinna had yet to experience such a pressuring situation. No one knew how well she would perform when the team was in critical danger.

Moreover, the Channeler’s revival skill, >, was not instant unlike those of White Mages, so the team was sure to find themselves in quite a sticky situation if one of the Tanks were to die.

> was so slow, in fact, that even with >, it would not take effect instantly. This meant the remaining Tank would have to take on the Mount Golem by himself while waiting for the skill to kick in, during which even a little mistake could make things go even further downhill quickly.

“So in short, both Tanks need to stay alive at all times? Sounds simple enough,” Xeno said, sounding quite full of himself.

“SOUNDS simple, yes,” Korinna replied, not at all confident.

She might have been convinced if it was Daryl saying it, what with him having already gotten through layer seventy once. But the one talking now was Xeno — someone with the exact same progress as her — so she had quite a bit colder of a reply for him, perhaps out of annoyance at this overconfidence.

“We do have two shots at this, so there’s really no need to worry about failing the first time around. Just take your time to learn the Mount Golem’s behaviors — and Miss Korinna, if you could provide support at the usual efficiency, that would be good enough.”

“Hmm. I’d still prefer to score a splendid victory on our first time, though.”

“We’re going in expecting to win, of course.”

“….Oh-ho?”

Xeno raised an eyebrow, amused by Daryl’s bold statement. Ever since it had been decided that the team would get to try clearing the seventieth layer, Daryl’s attitude had noticeably changed. Now he had the aura of a reliable leader about him, and unlike before, he was willing to speak for himself, even against Xeno at times.

Everyone could definitely feel that Daryl was in this to win, and that gave the whole team a sense of tension — in a good way. Xeno cracked a wide smile, proud that Daryl was just as enthusiastic as he was, and Korinna tightened her grip on her talisman, determined to not disappoint everyone.

“Hohoho. Very good. That’s the attitude the younger generation ought to have.”

Melchor smiled, happy to see Daryl in high spirits.

“……”

Diniel, for neither better nor worse, had the same reaction as what she would have for everything else — though in her mind, she was leaning toward the negative.

Considering the team’s composition, she found the chances of them winning to be on the low side — except if Melchor were to go all out, in which case they would get past layer seventy quite effortlessly. She knew he was not about to do that, though, so aside from her, the only other reliable combatant was Daryl, who had fought the Mount Golem once before. Still, having seen his blunder and failure to rejoin the battle last time, Diniel could not bring himself to believe that he would perform perfectly. She knew that he had gotten back on his feet and gotten in more training since then, but there was a good chance of his stance falling apart again.

The two others were also excellent, but she did not see as much potential in them as she did in Tsutomu and Hannah. Perhaps they would be able to score a win after a few tries, but she believed that those as capable as the latter two were needed if they wanted to win on their first attempt.

And above all, Diniel was quite peeved by the choice Tsutomu and Melchor had made. The original plan was for Xeno and Korinna to make way for Tsutomu and Hannah specifically on layer seventy. But then Tsutomu just had to go and suggest a change to that — and Melchor even agreed to it. She had been against it when Tsutomu mentioned this to her beforehand, but ultimately refrained from speaking up.

By going with the original plan, Hannah would have dodged her way around the Mount Golem without difficulty, and Tsutomu would be able to keep the party together in case someone died. Xeno and Korinna could not be expected to do the same — and Diniel knew that she had to work harder to cover for them.

[How annoying…]

Diniel looked somewhat grumpy as she observed the three others while checking the condition of her bow’s string.

――▽▽――

“Well then, I will see you all later!”

After the test run with Daryl, Xeno took a set of documents detailing the team’s plans for layer seventy before going his own way, walking in the direction opposite to the Absolute Helix Clan House.

The air of confidence around him caused many people to turn around and look as he passed by. And being a man with many acquaintances, quite a few people stopped him for the usual small talk. He greeted them — some by shaking hands, some by winking — on the way to his house, where his wife was.

“I’m home!”

“……”

Pico welcomed him quite coldly — after getting a single glance, she said nothing and went back to writing her next article.

Only the sound of quill on paper echoed through the room. Still, this was much better than when Xeno first announced that he would join Absolute Helix. At that time, he had been kicked out of the house immediately, forcing him to stay temporarily at the Clan House.

Shortly before Absolute Helix began recruiting, Xeno had been scouted by a certain major Clan — Ealdred Crow.

Part of that was thanks to his own tireless efforts, but then the larger part of it was from Pico’s direction. She had steered him off the path of aimless recklessness, guiding him every step of the way. She had even invested some of the money she earned from her job and secretly carried out a plan to get him noticed by Ealdred Crow.

Pico had been overjoyed when Xeno brought home his invitation to Ealdred Crow — and of course, he was grateful that she had done so much to support him.

But then, the following day was when Absolute Helix started recruiting long-term members. They were a hot topic at the time due to having successfully cleared layer seventy on their first try, and it had been rumored that Garm, a fighter whom Xeno thought of — one-sidedly — as a rival, would be joining them at some point in the future.

Confirm that Absolute Helix was also looking for a Tank, Xeno wanted to try signing up for it despite knowing that Ealdred Crow was the safer choice. He let his emotions take the wheel and went to consult his Pico on the matter.

What followed was, predictably, an argument. Being his junior back at the academy, Pico had come off as a meek, non-confrontational person most of the time. But on this occasion, she stood her ground and clashed with him head-on, breaking down every single one of Xeno’s arguments by meticulously explaining all the help she had given him — which almost broke his heart in the process.

But Xeno would not yield, either. His intuition had told him that Absolute Helix held greater potential than Ealdred Crow, and as baseless as that was, he intended to follow it.

“Like I said, just go with Ealdred Crow! It’s better for you!”

“BUT! I have made my choice! I will join Absolute Helix!”

“YOU… YOU THICKHEADED BUFFOON!!”

“GWEH–!?”

In the end, Xeno got a punch square in his face that blew him quite a few meters away. He was then kicked out of the house, albeit not before being told to do whatever he wanted.

He did genuinely feel guilty towards Pico, however, so he went home every single day since then. She did not even let him in at first, necessitating his stay at the Clan House.

Then he started taking a sleeping bag to sleep right in front of his house’s door. While it did not snow in this region, the winters were still cold, so sleeping outdoors was naturally detrimental to his health. Xeno understood that he was in the wrong, though, so he made it a point to keep doing it every single day.

After a month, Pico finally let him inside — though not before heaving quite a deep sigh.

Right now, she was as cold to Xeno as before, but a month’s worth of apologies had restored their relationship to the point where she would at least listen to him speak.

“We’ll be going down to layer seventy tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah?”

“We’ll win. I swear it. And then… will you forgive me?”

“……”

Pico looked down at Xeno as he knelt in front of her. In truth, she had already forgiven him when she let him back inside the house. It was just that she had been unsuccessful in finding the right time to talk things out with him, resulting in her being unable to bring herself to speak.

Now she was relieved, knowing that some kind of special occasion — that being Xeno’s upcoming boss fight — would get them out of this awkward deadlock at last.

“Well…”

“Ohh! I’m listening!”

“Let’s make a bet, then. If you don’t win tomorrow, you’ll do anything I say. How about that?”

“…If it is within the realm of possibility. And no, us breaking up is… something I’d rather not consider possible.”

Seeing Xeno’s face cloud over with deep dejection — a face he had almost never shown anyone — Pico recoiled in shock. Then she rushed back forward and grabbed Xeno’s hands.

“What!? Why would I want that!? Look, if you don’t win, then go on a date with me! All right!?”

“…Are you sure?”

“Why are you asking ME!? You’re the one who’s supposed to make a choice!! YOU!”

Pico, her face bright red, pulled Xeno up by his hands. Xeno proceeded to hug her, tears streaming from his eyes.

“I’m sorry… for being so selfish.”

“Look, it’s fine. I’ve always known WAY too well what kind of guy you are. Now come on — we shouldn’t dwell on this! You have to get ready for tomorrow!”

“…Still, a date with you if we DON’T win? Maybe I should fail on purpose–“

“Want me to punch you again?”

“N-no. I’m sorry,” Xeno promptly apologized as Pico started clenching her fists.

Pico heaved a sigh of exasperation and brought out the documents and equipment she had prepared beforehand, then started going over them with him to help prepare him for layer seventy.