Live Dungeon!

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“Was it a good idea to let them go?” Leleia turned to ask Tsutomu.

“From the looks of it, they would’ve gone even if I stopped them. Besides, the Royal Capital side does need help, too, so…”

As soon as the sound of the explosion echoed from the Royal Capital, Hannah immediately rushed to the scene, and then Tsutomu sent Corinna, Garm, Daryl, and Diniel after her. Later, he learned from Christia’s report that numerous monsters had appeared in the Royal Capital, so sending enough of his people to form a proper team ended up being the undoubtedly right call.

“More monsters will keep popping up. We’ve got work to do here.”

“…Indeed, we do,” Xeno said, holding up his shining, meticulously maintained silver shield, as he observed Orbis in a fight against a group of around thirty Explorers composed of Golden Tune and Scarlet Devil Squad.

In addition to Orbis, bipedal monsters like Orcs and Ogres joined the fray, with Attackers and Tanks stuck holding the line while Healers like Eunice and Cecilia wore grim expressions.

The Tanks were drawing the monsters’ attention without issue, but Orbis was clearly targeting the Healers. While Leon, enveloped in a faint golden aura from his > skill, seemed to be holding him off well enough that no casualties had occurred yet, he was starting to appear fatigued from the constant caution needed to protect the Healers.

In stark contrast to Leon’s out of breath state, Orbis, resembling a trained ogre in stature, showed no signs of fatigue. With enhanced muscles as if they had been sculpted from stone, Orbis, even with his surprisingly gentle face, cast a confident gaze toward the five members of Absolute Helix who had come to provide support.

“Oh, you’re finally here. I’ve been watching from afar as you battled that invisible monster.”

“>.”

Ignoring Orbis, Tsutomu started casting his skill at Leon. Orbis swiftly moved, causing the ground under him to collapse as he attempted to intercept the > shot, prompting Tsutomu to quickly redirect it.

“Ahh, so that’s what you’ve been doing.”

Tsutomu had wondered why Leon seemed so worn out despite having six Healers at his disposal, but it seemed getting a > shot to land on him was not as simple as it appeared. While the Attackers and Tanks around him seemed relatively unscathed, Leon looked worse for wear, likely having received no healing since the standoff against Orbis commenced.

As Tsutomu signaled for his Clan’s members to disperse, Orbis, with eyes previously narrowed as thin as could be, opened them wide.

“Hahaha, well done! Some of the monsters we’ve brought should only exist in confidential records, yet you knew what to do against them immediately… I see you’re quite knowledgeable about monsters.”

“Yeah. >. I guess I am.”

Mid-sentence, Tsutomu swiftly released a quickshot >, successfully landing it on Leon. Orbis, observing the green energy residue of the blast that had flown past him, raised an eyebrow with amusement and twirled a finger in the air.

“Your skill shots are quite fast. Perhaps you’ve added a spin to the projectile… is that what sets you apart from the others? The lack of telegraphing makes it quite troublesome as well.”

[He could even figure that out, huh…]

Tsutomu, pointed out for adding a spin to his > shots to increase their velocity, internally marveled but proceeded to attempt other skills delivery methods like the regular shot and placement to aid Leon’s recovery.

“Give it up.”

However, his regular shots were easily anticipated and absorbed, and even attempts to place a pick-up at Leon’s feet were detected and disrupted. Moreover, with the enemy ranks containing Ogres that were even larger than the Orcs, it was a battlefield where even shooting recovery skills out was a gamble that required a great deal of courage. Observing Orbis, who seemed accustomed to close quarters combat with Healers present, Tsutomu wore a vexed expression.

“Xeno, try to draw Orbis’ attention. Amy, Leleia, Amira — attack from a safe distance. And Leon! Protect me, and I’ll make sure I can heal you!”

At Tsutomu’s call, Leon managed a rough nod with tired eyes. Then Xeno readied his silver shield, and other Attackers also prepared their weapons.

“Here I go! >!!”

“How annoying.”

Though Orbis momentarily halted under the effect of Xeno’s silver >, it was not enough to distract him for long. During that moment, Amy, wielding dual swords, leaped at him, but her blades could not penetrate Orbis’ tree trunk-like arms.

“Gah! This is why I hate buff guys like you!” Amy exclaimed as she retreated from Orbis, whose transformation gave him an exaggeratedly muscular build akin to Bruno of the Security Team.

Other Attackers and Tanks of Golden Tune and Scarlet Devil Squad also engaged, struggling against the powerful punches and kicks unleashed by Orbis’ colossal limbs.

While the Attackers were of high levels and possessed decent VIT, critical hits could lead to severe injuries or even instant death. And despite being experienced fighters from major Clans, they seemed to have their hands full against Orbis, whose resilience was on the level of high-end monsters, and whose speed could not be underestimated. Additionally, the other monsters he had brought along were not going down as easily as usual, either.

“He’s tough! Like, Bruno tough! So what now!?”

“His moves aren’t perfect, so we’ll have to chip away at him from a distance!”

“Don’t let him hit you, though — it hurts like hell! Seriously!”

“The Ogres are tougher than I’m used to, too!”

Ignoring the complaints of the Explorers as they battled, Tsutomu observed Leon’s standoff against Orbis while walking towards where the Healers were gathered. Orbis’ fighting style indeed resembled Bruno’s, head of the Security Team famous for possessing the unique skill >.

His punches were packed with enough power to make Xeno vomit, and his agility was comparable to Amy’s. Moreover, he seemed decently adept at fighting multiple opponents, easily handling everyone except Leon. The surrounding Orcs and Ogres also seemed to mimic human-like movements when Orbis touched their necks, likely having received instructions from him.

To make matters worse, Orbis seemed to also be receiving the effect of the marching band’s buffs, making it difficult for healing skills to land unless they were of the quickshot type. The positioning of his monsters was cunning, increasing the likelihood of misfires. At least, it seemed impossible to heal Leon with regular shots.

As Tsutomu pondered how to provide healing amidst observing the behavior of Orbis and the monsters, a small hand tugged at the hem of his robe. Turning around, he saw Eunice, her eyes red and swollen.

“…I’m leaving the rest to you!”

“Wait, what?”

With those parting words, Eunice suddenly attempted to run off, but Tsutomu, in a spark of suspicion, quickly grabbed her hand. Caught off guard by the sudden halt, Eunice stumbled and fell, then promptly got back up.

“What’re you doing!?”

“You’re asking me? What are YOU even trying to achieve?”

“…Well, you’re the only one here who can heal Leon right now. So I’m gonna go in and heal him directly. I’ll do it like that Mobile Healer.”

“…Are you insane? That’s not something you can pick up and use right away. You’ll just end up dead.”

Lorena, the Healer of Silver Beast, had not acquired her ability to perform her trademark healing style overnight. While Eunice, with her decent Explorer track record for a Vulpeer, might have the potential to become a Mobile Healer, it was not something she could master immediately. With that fact pointed out to her, Eunice rubbed her eyes and then glared at Tsutomu.

“Shut up!! You’re being helpful, so it’s none of your business — but for me… the rest of us… there’s not much else we can do! We’re not about to let him die here!”

“…Look, I know you all love him, but you could at least not let your emotions blind you.”

The Healers seemed to have their spirits broken after having their healing attempts repeatedly intercepted and exploited. Eunice’s suggestion, emerging amidst this desperate struggle, might have seemed like a brilliant idea to them. As Golden Tune’s four Healers, filled with determination to do anything for Leon’s sake, pleaded with Tsutomu, he let out a heavy sigh and thrust his staff forward toward Eunice.

“Even if the four of you go in at once, it’ll achieve nothing. This plan of yours clearly has flaws, so first, go get input from the Scarlet Devil Squad’s… uh, Cecilia, was it? She looks like she has something to say.”

“…B-but Leon’s at his limit already! There’s no time to talk! Please! I’ll do anything, just heal him! If he doesn’t get any healing soon, he’s gonna die!”

“All right, all right, I’ll do it.”

Pushing away Eunice, who clung to him with tearful pleas, Tsutomu directed his staff toward Leon.

[My quickshot can heal Leon without Orbis intercepting it. But then…]

He was confident that with his level of proficiency, he could heal only Leon without inadvertently hitting Orbis or the monsters. However, the recovery amount from his quickshot-type skill was low, and it likely would not suffice for Leon’s heavy injuries. There was a risk he might be killed before being fully healed.

“>, >, >.”

There was no time for honor and elegance. Tsutomu made up his mind and raised his White Staff high, unleashing his skills repeatedly, creating a massive wave of > aura before him. This wide-area type of skill had been devised for the > skill to cancel Amira’s >.

And so Tsutomu unleashed the wave of >, directing it indiscriminately toward friend and foe alike. Most were taken aback by the sudden surge of green energy approaching, only to realize it was healing them. Everyone caught in the wave found their injuries mended. Scarlet Devil Squad’s Healers were astonished by Tsutomu’s idea, but then they quickly followed suit, attempting to send their healing shots toward Leon.

“H-HEY!! What do you think you’re doing!? You’re healing the enemies too!”

Eunice slapped Tsutomu’s back, and the latter replied in a nonchalant tone,

“It’s fine. I mean, Leon IS getting healed, right?”

“Uh…”

Tsutomu proceeded to cast another wave of energy, this time with the > skill.

Indeed, Tsutomu’s > had restored all the wounds Orbis had sustained. Though it meant returning to square one, Leon was also being thoroughly healed in exchange. After following up with a massive wave of >, Tsutomu shouted out,

“Tanks! Carefully manage the monsters’ aggro! Healers will be heavily targeted! Attackers, focus on taking down the monsters! Leave Orbis to us! And Leon! You should be feeling a bit better now! Make sure you defend me!”

Tsutomu’s sudden indiscriminate healing left the Golden Tune Healers dumbfounded. The Tanks quickly realized that the monsters’ attention had shifted away from them and began pulling aggro once again with > and similar skills.

“This is getting troublesome.”

“Hahaha! Thanks, Tsutomu! Don’t you worry, I’ll keep you safe!”

Leon, now healed by Tsutomu and the Scarlet Devil Squad’s healers, smiled as he dashed with blinding speed and landed a three-hit combo on Orbis. His body, previously fatigued and struggling under the pressure of defending the Healers from Orbis, was now moving more freely, filled with strength. While Orbis also had his injuries mended and fatigue alleviated, neither side had gained a significant advantage. Leon was still tackling a challenging battle, but it was now a battle he had a chance of winning.

“Don’t worry about hitting the monsters — I’ve already healed them all anyway. Just make sure Leon gets the healing! Unlike in God’s Dungeon, we don’t have to win this fight with force alone. Reinforcements will come eventually — so for now, focus on keeping our allies alive!”

“A-all right!”

Explorers of God’s Dungeon always faced monsters with a five-person party. While cooperation with other parties was possible on normal layers, no more than a five-person party could attempt a boss battle. As a result, Healers tended to fear putting their team at a disadvantage by accidentally landing their skills on monsters.

Here, however, victory did not hinge on strength alone. The Scarlet Devil Squad’s Healers understood this, but the Golden Tune’s Healers still had difficulties grasping it. Their desire not to hinder Leon overshadowed their perspective, narrowing their logic when it came to him. That was, in fact, the reason why Tsutomu held a low opinion of the Golden Tune as a professional organization.

“If that’s how you’re going to play… I suppose we ought to take our fight somewhere else.”

As Healers began firing off healing skills without worrying about misfires, Orbis placed his hands on the black scarf around his neck. Then, a flock of Wyverns descended from the sky, charging toward the Explorers.

“God damn, there’s so many of them!”

“Now then…”

Orbis, concealed within the flock of Wyverns, assumed a low crouching position and proceeded to sprint in the direction of the Royal Capital. Leon managed to keep up with his speed, but the others were left behind.

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