Live Dungeon!

That night, with Daryl and Hannah having gone to bed unusually early, Team 1’s review session was postponed until the next day. The returning members of Team 2, on the other hand, were bursting with excitement. Each of them praised Tsutomu with animated fervor, clearly thrilled by a performance that had far exceeded even their expectations.

”You — you’re unbelievable, man! All that bullshit about being outdone by your student — don’t think I didn’t catch on! You were just messing with us, weren’t you!? Huh!?”

”Could you not spray spit all over me while you’re yelling?”

Among the many celebratory voices, no one was more exuberant than Amira. The man she had once feared — and whom even her mother had come to acknowledge — had stood his ground against the Devourer Dragon, a creature she herself had once been paralyzed before. She had respected Tsutomu deeply for that. But lately, with his apprentices rising in prominence and Tsutomu seeming to lag a step behind, she had been silently frustrated.

Today, though — today was different. Tsutomu had done something extraordinary. At a moment when everyone else had given up on salvaging the party, he alone had refused to yield. He rebuilt the entire formation from the ground up with nothing but his own strength. The crowd at the Monitors had erupted as though the world itself had turned upside down. Even Korinna, whose skills had recently begun to shine, was left speechless. Amira, too, found herself balling her fists, unable to keep from shouting aloud in triumph.

”Tch… How noisy,” came Leleia’s murmur. ”Don’t forget — you were the only one in our recruitment wave that was not selected to fight.”

Leleia was standing quietly off to the side, clicking her tongue in irritation. With how Amira had once been so devastated at not being chosen for Team 1, she now seemed lively and cheerful — a sight Leleia could not stomach. And today, Amira — who until now had often shrunk away from Leleia’s unsettling displays of ‘affection’ — did not back down. Instead, she gave a defiant snort.

”I’ll get strong enough to be picked for the main team next time — don’t need you to tell me that.”

”…!”

Leleia flinched, unable to hold Amira’s gaze. Her eyes darted away, as if scorched by sunlight. Garm and Amy nodded in support of Amira’s declaration, though when their eyes briefly met each other’s, they both looked away again just as quickly.

▽▽

The next morning, news of Absolute Helix’s victory on the ninetieth layer filled the front pages of every paper. Solit Company, in particular, featured a well-composed photograph of Tsutomu taken from the Monitor’s footage, highlighting his pivotal role in reviving four party members and restoring order to what had seemed a doomed situation.

Even the other two major news outlets, who had grown bolder in their critiques of Tsutomu as of late, joined in the chorus of praise. This time, there was no room for cynicism. Dungeon Maniacs — the independent publications often considered the most discerning — unanimously ranked his performance even above those of Stephanie and Lorena. Considering the Corrupted Shell’s known difficulty — where reviving two people was typically the limit — Tsutomu’s feat of reviving four sent his reputation soaring.

”That was insane, right!? I mean, wow!”

”Man, it’s gotta be way harder when you’re up against the Corrupted Shell.”

”Tsutomu was so cool!!”

The dramatic nature of his recovery only amplified the audience’s awe. Until now, Tsutomu had been known primarily for his support and healing — keeping the party steady without flash or fanfare. But this time, the image of him reviving the fallen and orchestrating a comeback had been seared into everyone’s minds. Whatever lingering annoyance some might have felt toward him was now surely gone.

”Whoooa, Teach! They’re praising you non-stop!” Hannah exclaimed. ”Every article is all about you!”

”Until now, it was only the Dungeon Maniac folks who understood what you were doing!” Daryl added. ”Looks like the rest of the crowd finally caught on!”

”Yeah, I guess,” Tsutomu replied calmly, scanning the newspaper with focused eyes — a stark contrast to the two others, who were running on double energy due to having slept like a log last night.

”Ooh?” Hannah tilted her head and leaned in, grinning mischievously. ”What’s this? You embarrassed or something, Teach? It’s okay to be happy, you know~~?”

”Come any closer and you’ll regret it,” Tsutomu warned without even looking at her just as she leaned in close, practically ready to nudge his cheek with a finger.

”Oho? And what exactly are you gonna do?”

”I’ll wet this newspaper, wrap it around your wings, and mash it in so good you’ll be peeling off scraps of paper for hours.”

”That’s so petty! And so typical of you!”

But perhaps imagining the hassle of removing soggy paper from her feathers, Hannah promptly backed off. Tsutomu returned his attention to the article, his gaze narrowing on a small column of Dungeon Maniacs’ commentary.

[So there are a few people who’ve caught on, after all…]

Hidden amid the sea of praise were a handful of sharp-eyed Dungeon Maniac contributors who had noticed something odd in Tsutomu’s performance. One pointed out how he had a special Potion ready just before the Corrupted Shell’s grasping attack. The source of the Potion, capable of curing petrification, was unknown. His movement pattern also suggested he had anticipated the attack ahead of time, a detail that did not sit well with the more discerning viewers.

Moreover, despite the Corrupted Shell’s use of several never-before-seen wide-area attacks, Tsutomu had managed to avoid every single one. The point had not drawn much scrutiny, because his dodging, while all successful, had been carried out with awkward movements — but Tsutomu himself was well aware of the potential implications.

Even considering that Daryl had drawn most of the aggro in the latter phases of the fight, avoiding unfamiliar attacks with such precision was no simple matter. Still, it was a known fact among certain circles that Tsutomu was obsessive about reviewing the Monitor footage whenever he was not in the Dungeon himself. His previous accomplishments — reviving the Healer role, leading the charge against the Devourer Dragon — also lent him a credibility that shielded him from deeper suspicion… for now.

But from the ninety-first layer onward, it would be true blind exploration. Any more conspicuously perfect maneuvers, and people would start asking questions. The hundredth layer awaited as well — where the Corroded Elder Dragon, the only monster to have ever killed Tsutomu, would be fought. He needed insurance.

”Okay, listen… I’m not asking you to beat it on your first try.” He said to the members of Team 2. ”But I want you to give it your all on the ninetieth layer. After the meeting, I’ll be taking another look at the Pedestals — then I’ll give you any new advice I come up with.”

The best way to dispel further suspicion was to have his own Clan’s second team take the lead — Korinna and the others serving as a kind of vanguard. For that to happen, they needed to conquer the ninetieth layer as soon as possible.

At Tsutomu’s encouragement, Amira, Garm, and the rest visibly perked up, clearly eager for the challenge. Only Korinna, her eyes lowered, gave a quiet bow of acknowledgement, her expression faintly burdened.