Live Dungeon!

While Korinna and her party searched for a way to save the Fenrir parent and child, Tsutomu’s team spent their days locked in combat drills against the powered-up Goblins and Slimes. Yet, despite the monotonous grind, the expressions on his teammates’ faces had grown lighter. Among them, Amira in particular was beaming.

”I’m finally getting used to all this,” she said with a sharp grin. ”Can’t believe I’ve gotta adjust to YOU of all people, though.”

”Thanks,” Tsutomu replied with a smile. ”I appreciate it.”

Amira had gone out of her way during the last fight to step into a lingering orb of [ he’d generated, maintaining her AGI boost without prompting. She strode up to him with a look that all but said, ‘See? I can play nice too.’ Tsutomu offered his thanks, though inside he let out a weary sigh, sending a [ wisp spinning around his head to distract himself and steady his mood.

[Looks like everyone’s finally starting to get used to working with a White Mage Healer again. I don’t have to do all the adjusting anymore,] he thought as he watched his teammates regroup.

Ever since joining Korinna’s now-vacant slot in the party, Tsutomu had made a conscious effort to adapt himself to each of the four members. He’d observed every move they made, anticipating their rhythms and shaping his support and healing around them. But seeing even Amira — arguably the worst at working in sync — begin to widen her field of awareness was proof enough. The proactive-style Healer, who cast his skills without waiting for his teammates to need it, was finally settling into place.

No party starts off perfectly aligned: not in personality, skill, or battle instincts. The idea of five individuals, different in age, gender, temperament, moving as one in combat was already a fantasy in a controlled environment like online games, and even much less so in real life.

And so Tsutomu had learned: the fastest way to fit into an existing team wasn’t by asserting himself as a leader. It was by lowering himself, to be the first one who made the effort to adapt.

Sure, it would’ve been easy, maybe even fair, to expect Garm and the others to do the adjusting. They were the established four, after all. But waiting on others was never faster than changing himself.

Even though Tsutomu already had a strong working relationship with Garm and Amy, that didn’t mean he should expect them to meet him halfway. By adjusting first, he could keep the gears of teamwork from grinding. And when combat flowed smoothly and morale stayed high, teammates like Amira began to reach out of their own accord.

[Even if, at first, it’s hard not to hope they’ll meet you halfway…] he thought.

But if he were to be blunt, being the one to do all the adjusting was quite exhausting, especially when fighting monsters with little room for error. Mistakes from teammates, unexpected moves, even minor slips could wear him down, making his nerves fray.

When Garm or Xeno, the Tanks he relied on, acted out of sync, he found himself thinking, ‘Daryl or Hannah would’ve done it better.’ Amy’s gear, too, had started to lean more toward what would look good on broadcasts than what was practical. And when Amira started in with her usual sharp tongue, Tsutomu sometimes found himself mentally preferring the bird over her.

But those frustrations weren’t unique to him; Garm and the others surely had their own unspoken complaints. After all, they’d fought to reach the ninetieth layer together with Korinna supporting them all the way. They’d built their rhythm, forged their trust… and now, after their hard-earned triumph, here came a replacement.

And it wasn’t just a matter of switching Healers. Channelers and White Mages worked in fundamentally different ways. The team had to rewire their instincts to accommodate him. They were doing their best; if Tsutomu let his irritation slip, even a little, it would only give their own frustrations an excuse to surface. And that would poison the air around them.

So Tsutomu kept it all in, making sure his tone stayed light and his expression not too blatantly gloomy. He wasn’t Korinna, not a cute girl who naturally radiated a warm presence, but the least he could do was keep things from turning sour. Because if he didn’t, the atmosphere would go from bad to worse, and fast.

People like Korinna, or Lorena with her boundless cheer, were special.

[I’m sure she has her own struggles, but man, I sure wish I had her personality. Maybe then I’d be able to communicate better.] He thought with a touch of envy, watching Xeno give a Goblin a thumbs-up after a clean kill.

Tsutomu mirrored the gesture with a glowing [ and a grin.

”You know, Xeno, you might want to try Tanking more with your gear,” Garm suggested, brushing Goblin blood from his armor.

”Yes, I suppose,” Xeno nodded. ”Tsutomu’s prepped for it, after all.”

”Crushing Goblins is fun as hell, but I keep missing. There’s gotta be a better way,” Amira grumbled.

”I just want to take them out in one clean hit,” Amy added, miming a dramatic finishing blow. ”Like, bam! And they’re gone.”

[They’re starting to experiment,] Tsutomu noted with satisfaction. [That’s good. And most of Live Dungeon’s principles still hold true here…]

The four of them were growing fast, and with smiles on their faces. Tsutomu offered guidance when asked, but didn’t push. For now, his role was to keep the momentum going, maintaining the lighthearted mood and making battles go smoothly. That alone helped create an atmosphere where his presence was welcome.

He was, to put it kindly, not quite charismatic, nor was he a comedian in any capacity. He wasn’t someone who naturally drew others in. He had no illusions about that. But if there was one sure way he could earn his place, it was through results.

When a party was making progress, resentment had little room to take root. As long as the Healer stayed quiet and steady, doing their job, stabilizing the team, the good vibes would follow. And from there, others would start reaching out. No awkward small talk, no forced smiles; just trust built through momentum.

[I’m an air purifier… yeah, that’s right. An air purifier…] he told himself, half-joking.

He’d learned the value of that in Live Dungeon, from his time in random parties and temporary high-end content groups. He knew better than to try and win people over through chatter. That was Xeno’s job, or Amy’s. His job was to keep the air clean and let the rest fall into place.

▽▽

Thanks in no small part to Tsutomu’s diligent work as the party’s ‘air purifier,’ morale remained high, and their momentum only continued to climb. The day’s Dungeon expedition came to a smooth close, and as usual, the group returned to the Guild to update their Status Cards.

”Ah, Tsutomu,” Xeno called just as they were finishing up. ”Do you have a moment?”

”Hmm? What’s up?”

Normally, Xeno would flash a chiseled smile, offer a brisk goodbye, and vanish soon after returning from the God’s Dungeon. But today, he beckoned Tsutomu over with a rare sense of purpose, running a hand through his gleaming silver hair with theatrical flair.

”The other day, for my wedding anniversary, I opened a fine bottle of wine. We still have some left. I thought, since we’ve been working well as a party, perhaps we could share one together sometime soon. What do you think?”

”Ah, I see,” Tsutomu said, tilting his head slightly. ”I don’t know much about wine, though…”

”No problemo! I’ll personally guide you through the experience.”

”…Then sure, I’ll take you up on that. Amira seems like she’d enjoy it too, even if she’s not much of a drinker.”

”Huh? You say somethin’ about me?”

Amira’s ears twitched as she strode over with a scowl at the sound of her name. Tsutomu gave her a sheepish look, then repeated Xeno’s offer. Her frown melted into a look of interest, and before long, Garm and Amy, who had clearly been eavesdropping, perked up their beast ears and ambled over to join the conversation.

”Ooh, Martot wine, huh? I’m impressed you managed to get your hands on more than one bottle,” Amy said with wide eyes.

”I’ve heard about that stuff from the Ancient Dragon!” Amira added, her voice rising. ”It’s supposed to be crazy expensive.”

”I’ve… heard of the name, at least…” Garm murmured.

”Hehehe! It wasn’t easy, let me tell you!” Xeno puffed out his chest with pride. ”I’ve been keeping my eye on them ever since I first came to Dungeon City. Finally managed to snag them!”

Apparently, the Martot label was well-known even in this city, and everyone expressed genuine interest. Even Tsutomu, who had never tasted wine back on Earth, found himself quite intrigued as Xeno launched into a passionate explanation.

”Well then, why not open one tonight?”

”Yeah!” Amy cheered.

”Gotta go brag to the Ancient Dragon about this,” Amira grinned.

”So… should we drink at the Clan House?” Tsutomu asked.

”Good idea,” Xeno said. ”I’ve already checked with Miss Ollie about it, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Go on ahead; I’ll fetch the wine!”

With dramatic flair, Xeno pivoted and strode off with the exaggerated swagger of a man parting a crowd with his shoulders. Amy and Amira chatted excitedly about the evening ahead, while Camille looked on with a peculiar expression. Though mostly envy toward what her daughter had just boasted to her.

”Hey, don’t look at me,” Tsutomu said flatly. ”I don’t know anything about wine.”

”But I want to try Martot too!” Camille pouted.

”Then buy it yourself,” he replied, deadpan.

”That’s not something you can just pick up, you know…! It’s not fair. I wanna drink it too!”

Tsutomu didn’t budge; he’d much rather spend his coin on Dungeon-related supplies than wine for Camille. Leaving her grumbling behind, she still had work to finish, anyway. So, he turned to Garm, who stood beside him.

”By the way, Garm. You ever drink wine?”

”Not often. I prefer stronger stuff on the rare occasion I do drink.”

”Like the kind Sir Dorren favors?”

”Exactly.” Garm paused for a moment, then added, ”Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you drink alone.”

”I only really drink in social settings. I don’t mind it, though. I like drinking with everyone.”

As Tsutomu spoke, he happened to glance down and caught the long shadow of Garm’s tail swaying rhythmically in the light of the setting sun. His expression remained stony as ever, but the traitorous tail gave him away. Tsutomu raised a brow at him, somewhere between amused and exasperated.

Noticing the look, Garm glanced back, then abruptly stilled his tail with one hand.

”People often misunderstand, but just because a tail’s wagging doesn’t mean its owner is in a good mood,” he muttered defensively. ”If you observe other Cynokin around town, you’ll notice their tails move on their own all the time.”

”Is that so?” Tsutomu replied, clearly unconvinced.

”……”

Garm said nothing more, but the embarrassed tension in his jaw suggested he was fully aware how flimsy his explanation sounded.