Live Dungeon!

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Absolute Helix, Golden Tune, and Scarlet Devil Squad, after annihilating the flock of Wyverns, were now healing themselves and checking the damages to their equipment.

“Looks like they’re done over there now.”

Tsutomu gazed from afar at the Elder Bone Tortoise, now fallen to the ground with its shell split open, and the Mount Golem, white as burnt charcoal after exhausting all its energy. In Live Dungeon, the Elder Bone Tortoise was a monster designed around utilizing steam stored within its shell for combat. However, since its shell had been swapped with what could be considered a portable Dungeon, it was never going to pose much of a threat, as far as Tsutomu could see.

Of course, it being a mobile Dungeon was a challenge in itself, but Tsutomu found the idea of its colossal body hurtling toward the Explorers like a meteor far more terrifying. The experience was still vivid in his mind — thinking that he had already won when the Elder Bone Tortoise flipped over, his raiding party at the time was then decimated by that surprise attack.

With the Dungeon it had been carrying on his back now destroyed, the spawning of monsters had come to an end. The monsters around, including the Fire Dragons and Shell Crabs, were being picked off one after another, so it seemed that the battlefield was starting to calm down a decent bit.

Still, even the Mount Golem, which had its power boosted from the start with fire-based skills, now lay burnt out and white as ash. Presumably, due to prolonged activity since its initial boost, its body could not withstand the strain, resulting in its current state. Tsutomu had already known that applying fire skills would shorten the time it could move swiftly, but witnessing such a state was a first for him.

Its drooping, motionless form exuded a sense of melancholy, and Tsutomu thought that by now, Rook might be shedding tears. However, unlike Shell Crabs, it could not be eaten, so Tsutomu did not particularly care.

“So,” Amira asked as she approached Tsutomu, “What now?”

“Well, we’re pursuing them, of course,” he replied, casting a slightly annoyed glance at the distant Shield, “Looks like the monsters in the distance aren’t making a move, so…”

The monsters that had been continuously generated by the Elder Bone Tortoise were lurking in the distance, waiting patiently, showing no signs of movement. The sight of a group of monsters lying in wait was eerie, but presumably, the Summoners of Ealdred Crow would deal with them.

“Golden Tune and Scarlet Devil Squad — I’d like all of you to come as well,” Tsutomu called out to the two Clans, the former group still dumbfounded by how their leader had acted so recklessly, and the latter calmly talking among themselves. “Most of the other Explorers have probably been mobilized against the monsters within the Royal Capital, so we’re going to need all the power we can get here.”

“Yeah, boss, whatever you say,” Alma snickered and swiped her lustrous black hair, prompting Tsutomu to snicker right back at her before flying away after Amira, Xeno, Leleia, and Amy.

Confirming that both Clans were following him, Tsutomu administered > and > spells once more to his Clan’s members. As he drank a Blue Potion, Alma, flying in the group right behind him, upped her speed and approached him.

“Wait, isn’t that a Potion from the Forest Apothecary lady?”

“…Yes, it is. Why do you ask?”

“You know, I’m about to run out of energy too. Care to share?”

“……” Tsutomu replied with only silence as Alma playfully extended her hand.

Then he lightly nudged Alma’s hand away, prompting her to stare him down with eyes full of crocodile tears.

“Aww, c’mon, help a girl out! How else am I gonna keep blasting out my meteors?”

“A Black Mage who can’t even manage their own mental energy isn’t much more than dead weight, so feel free to sit back and take it easy.”

“What!? Remember, my level is still higher than yours–” Alma retorted, feeling that she had been rebuffed in a not-so-subtle manner, then quickly stopped herself and raised her voice, “…I mean, that’s not the point!”

Then, intending to offer the Black Staff, she held it out toward Tsutomu, who cautiously avoided its trajectory.

“…What were you going do with that? Smack me in the head?”

“What!? No, of course not! Since I’m out of energy, I’m going to let you borrow it!!” Alma shouted again as she approached Tsutomu and forcibly pressed the Black Staff into his hands.

As Tsutomu observed the staff, the embedded gems of which began to glow the moment he touched it, Alma rested her hands on her hips as if she were about to start a lecture.

“Look, you only get to have it while I wait for my energy to come back! Until then, make good use of it! …And what’s with the assumption that I was going to attack you!? Are you still salty at me or what!? Sure, I messed up, but being disliked by you makes my Explorer career harder than it needs to be, too!”

“……”

Ignoring Alma’s rant, Tsutomu gestured to the other members of the Scarlet Devil Squad for confirmation. It seemed they had already discussed the matter of the Black Staff, as Cecilia and the others smiled wryly and nodded in agreement.

“Remember, you’re just BORROWING it! And a little gratitude wouldn’t hurt either!”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks.”

“…See, that wasn’t so hard!”

Turning his gaze away from Alma, who continued to mutter complaints as she flew away, Tsutomu focused on the Black Staff he got to hold in his hands for the first time in about six months.

“Amy, one second.”

“Mm-hm?”

“Can you try appraising this again?”

Calling Amy over as she spun around with her hands spread wide, Tsutomu had her check out the Black Staff again. Now that her Appraisal skill level had increased since the first time she appraised it, perhaps more of the Black Staff’s properties would be revealed this time around. Amy stared at the Black Staff in Tsutomu’s hands, humming thoughtfully, then her eyes widened suddenly.

“Huh, so it’s got more powers?”

“Yeah. I kinda figured this was the case when I looked at it “

Pretending to be oblivious, Tsutomu listened to Amy’s appraisal, then he tried using the staff to cast > on her. The Support Stack effect from one of the Treasure Tools attached to the Black Staff made the enhancement effects of his support skills additive; now the targets would gain buffs from both the marching band and his skills instead of the one with the greater effect overriding the other. Since the band’s performance was ongoing, their support effect was continuous, meaning Amy’s AGI was now getting boosted by two levels.

Amy felt even lighter as she began to spin joyfully while flying. Tsutomu proceeded to cast the stacking support effects, limiting them only to the five of his Absolute Helix members for now. Then, a woman from Golden Tune approached him. She came with a bashful bow, her silver-furred fox ears folding nervously as she addressed Tsutomu.

“U-uh, excuse me.”

“…Yes, um… Milway, was it?”

“Y-yes. Sorry for being sudden, but could you help us with something?”

“What’s the matter?”

“…I was hoping you could give Eunice some encouragement, you see…”

Tsutomu tilted his head at her words and waved his hand in reluctance.

“To be frank, I think asking me to do that would produce the opposite of the intended effect.”

“W-Well, that’s fair — she sees you as a rival and isn’t usually very kind to you. But whenever she sees you on the Pedestals, it’s like… it looks like she actually respects you, you know? So…! If you encourage her, it might actually work out!”

“..Okay, calm down. And first things first, let me ask you why you want me to do this — are Eunice and the others feeling down or something?”

Showing a willingness to listen, Tsutomu gestured to the visibly nervous Milway, who began to sweat profusely and tremble as she recounted the recent events.

It seemed that before Tsutomu’s arrival on the scene, Leon had been busy defending the Healers as Orbis had been targeting them, resulting in a lot of strain on him. In the process, he had been hit by minor attacks several times, eventually getting himself pushed into a corner.

During this time, four Healers had been unable to do anything but flee — and they were being a burden to Leon, even, as the trajectories of their healing skills had been predicted and intercepted by Orbis. Faced with a sense of helplessness, the Healers could only reliably heal the other combatants, leaving Leon to cope with his injuries.

Listening to the summary of the battle from the distressed Milway, Tsutomu crossed his arms and looked down at her. He proceeded to encourage her with a nudge on her back from his Black Staff, and then he headed over to where Eunice was.

“Hey, Eunice.”

“…What?”

Eunice, feeling humiliated from being a burden to Leon, turned to Tsutomu with a feral gaze. Tsutomu poked her with the tip of his Black Staff. Eunice, expecting to hear insults, widened her eyes in surprise, and she recoiled in confusion.

“S-seriously, what do you want?”

“I need you to do something — something only you can do. Now listen…”

While creating some sort of shape with a >, Tsutomu proposed a plan to Eunice, who gradually began to listen intently, her initial confusion turning into seriousness. Seeing Eunice like this, Milway looked relieved, and Amy at her side tapped her shoulder, encouraging her.

Alma, on the other hand, was horrified when Tsutomu handed the Black Staff over to Eunice. She was about to go and complain but was stopped by her companions.

“Whoa, what the f– Hey! You guys! STOP THE HELL RIGHT THERE!!”

“Calm down. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.”

▽▽

“Damn, you’re one tough nut to crack!”

Discarding the long sword that had been rendered useless after countless attempts at breaking through Orbis’ defenses, Leon reached into his Magic Bag for a replacement weapon and threw himself into the fray once more. Amidst fending off Leon’s lightning-fast attacks, even challenging for the reflexes of a monster, Orbis had made his way to the city’s Shield, near where the civilians were gathered.

“…That’s Orbis?” Brooklyn, managing the Shield, murmured quietly, noting the vastly different appearance of Orbis from before.

Her gaze upon Orbis from within the Shield carried no hint of anger; rather, she seemed more concerned with Leon, whose movements her eyes could not quite follow, her expression troubled.

Leon, upon arrival, was somewhat shocked by the low number of Explorers left in the Royal Capital as a result of the monster purge. Currently, there were only about ten of them gathered here, including the members of Labyrinth Conquerors and Ealdred Crow.

“This guy’s tough as nails, like some kind of Ogre! And he hits HARD — even a Tank would feel it! Oh, and don’t heal me! He’ll just intercept the shots!”

“Oh my, we have quite a crowd here as well.”

While fending off Leon’s attacks with his durability and the reflexes of monsters, Orbis observed the people gathered within the Shield. Placing a hand on his neck, he also glanced towards the black-obscured Shield perimeter in the distance.

“Whoa there…”

Orbis caught an arrow flying towards him from behind with his left hand. Surprised by how the arrow was vibrating in his hand as if it were about to latch onto him, Orbis promptly crushed it.

“They’re almost done sweeping the monsters in the Capital now. Keep stalling,” Christia continued to issue commands from the air and released a second shot.

“What a troublesome bunch…”

Orbis, grabbing handfuls of earth with his giant hands, scattered them around like shotgun pellets. Leon, having anticipated this attack, quickly moved out of range, while Christia defended herself with >.

“It’s about time…”

Orbis, looking tired as he gazed up at the sky, placed a hand on his neck and cracked its joints. Then, blocking Leon’s attack with his thick arm, he kicked up the ground.

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