Live Dungeon!

[…What am I supposed to do now?]

The moment Tsutomu opened his eyes, memories of the previous day returned with unwelcome clarity. With a sigh heavy with gloom, he closed them again, choosing instead to cocoon himself in the soft sheets like a child hiding from the world.

He’d been conscious of it ever since they reached the Black Gate on the ninety-ninth layer, but now that the reality of facing the Corroded Elder Dragon loomed ever closer, the very act of waking up had begun to feel burdensome. Though the ongoing exploration of the ninety-seventh layer did offer some enjoyment with its variations from Live Dungeon, the deeper they progressed, the heavier his mood grew.

[It’s been over a year now. I thought I’d forgotten how Goddamn scary it was, but man…]

True, the memories of his death to the Corroded Elder Dragon had mostly faded, the fear dulling with time. Truth be told, what lingered more sharply in his memory was the time he’d had a hole punched through his gut during the Corrupted Shell battle.

[And on top of that, there’s the matter of the party for the hundredth layer. Things might not go according to plan… Though somehow, they’ve been turning out better than expected. Yesterday honestly caught me off guard. I haven’t been that surprised in a long time.]

He had assumed Korinna would make the same decisions he would have, had their roles been reversed. After all, he had trained her in the fundamentals of being a Channeler, guiding her growth as a Healer. He believed she would naturally make the most optimal choices. At the very least, he had expected there would be some tug-of-war over the ace Attackers like Amira or Diniel and that Garm would certainly be claimed.

But instead, Korinna had blindsided him with an incomprehensible choice. He had suspected her of having some emotional attachment to Amira, but he never imagined the same would extend to Diniel of all people. And to propose a Tank swap of Daryl for Xeno was such an absurd move, he had practically stared at her in disbelief.

At one point, he even wondered if she had caught on to his attempt to use her party as a sort of sacrificial buffer, and thus had deliberately weakened her own lineup in retaliation. But there was no sign of Leleia pulling strings behind the scenes, and he could not imagine the timid Korinna orchestrating such a calculated response, let alone going through with it.

If anything, it was more likely that she had chosen out of sympathy or to avoid conflict within the Clan. That much, at least, he could believe. Yet there was something else beneath the surface: he remembered how, during a few somber conversations about the deaths of Explorers, she had shown an unusual sensitivity. Though she did not seem to yet realize how Tsutomu’s fear of death was much stronger than anyone else’s, the look she would sometimes give him was something like the careful concern one might show a crack on a glass ornament.

Moreover, Korinna had been the only one to realize that she had been given a team composed for, and tuned to, a Channeler’s operations. All these little disconnects between him and Korinna, which had just started to show recently, made Tsutomu uneasy; especially with the hundredth layer, the only place he had ever died, looming just ahead.

[Does she know what I have planned? Or was she really just that… oblivious?]

Wrapped in his sheets, lost in this spiral of uncertainty, he was abruptly pulled back to reality by a soft, hesitant knock at the door. Glancing over at the clock, he realized with a groan that the daily morning run and workout was already long over.

”Tsutomu, are you all right?” came Garm’s low, concerned voice through the door.

”…Yeah, I’m fine. Just overslept, that’s all.”

”I see. Well then, see you downstairs?”

”Sorry ’bout that. I’ll be down in a minute.”

The sound of footsteps receding down the stairs followed, and Tsutomu let out a long sigh. Stretching to shake off the lethargy, he rose at last, washed his face at the sink, and prepared to face the day.

He had just stepped into the hallway, intending to skim the morning’s newspapers, when the door of the adjacent room clicked open in near unison.

”…Ah.”

”Ah.”

Korinna, her long cream-colored hair cascading down her back, froze in place like a rabbit that had just been spotted by a predator. Tsutomu, for his part, stood stiff as a wary cat unsure whether the small creature in front of him would bite or bolt. For a few seconds, neither moved.

Remembering that they could not just stand there forever, Tsutomu gave a strained greeting.

”Good morning.”

”G-good morning!”

”……”

She looked as tense as she had when she’d first moved into the Clan House, and Tsutomu could not figure out how to speak to her. Just as he was about to say something more, she blurted out,

”U-um! I really am thinking it through properly, so it’ll be okay! I’ll see you later!”

”Huh? W-wait–”

Korinna was already making a break for the stairs, her movements hasty and uncertain. Tsutomu, worried she might trip, tried to call out, but that only made things worse. In her flustered panic, she missed a step and all but tumbled down, landing hard on her backside at the bottom.

Garm, who happened to be nearby, turned to the commotion with a perplexed expression.

”What was that about?”

”Ah… well, I think you overheard some of it yesterday. We were talking about the hundredth layer. I guess she’s still rattled.”

”…I see.”

It was not an ideal start to the day, but perhaps it was for the best. Tsutomu had planned to loop in the rest of the Clan soon anyway. Seizing the moment, he gave Garm a brief explanation of the situation. Garm folded his arms, his expression solemn as he listened. The ruckus must have drawn others as well, what with it otherwise being a peaceful holiday morning. Hannah, Leleia, and a few more trickled in to see what was going on. After Tsutomu offered a quick summary, Hannah’s eyes lit up.

”We’re finally talkin’ about the hundredth layer!? I’ve been waiting for this!”

”I won’t press you on what you said to Korinna,” Leleia added, her voice cool and pointed, ”but if things between you continue to be… suspicious, I’ll be expecting an explanation.”

”I’ll explain everything soon,” Tsutomu replied, stifling a yawn as he made his way to the breakfast table.

Nearby, Amy and Daryl, who had been listening with their Beastkin ears, were visibly excited as they sat down with their meals. Diniel, meanwhile, sipped her water without the faintest change in expression, as if none of it concerned her in the slightest.

Not long after, Amira wandered in, still bleary-eyed from sleep, followed by a more composed Korinna. With nearly everyone gathered, the breakfast table soon filled with idle conversation.

Daryl, Garm, and Hannah chatted about what gifts to bring to the orphanage they planned to visit later that day, while Leleia leaned lazily toward Amira, her lips curled into an unsettling smile that hinted at mischief.

At the other end of the table, Diniel and Amy were exchanging opinions on the monsters of the ninety-seventh layer. Occasionally, Tsutomu and Korinna joined in with small nods or brief comments. The conversation soon shifted, almost inevitably, to the topic that had been on everyone’s mind: the hundredth layer.

”So, have the party lineups been decided yet?” Amy asked brightly, ears twitching with curiosity.

”This time around, we’re letting Korinna decide partially,” Tsutomu replied. ”She’s become a stable enough Healer to handle the responsibility.”

”Whoa! Look at you go, Korinny!” Amy grinned and nudged her.

Flustered, Korinna drew her shoulders in slightly. ”W-well, I don’t think I can make the decision on my own, so I was thinking of visiting Miss Pico today to hear her thoughts…”

”I think that’s a great idea,” Tsutomu said with a small smile. ”I know I said a lot yesterday, but if the final decision is something you’ve really thought through after considering all the opinions, I’ll respect it. And I’m sorry if I was too harsh.”

”N-no… It’s my fault,” she said softly, her lips pressed into a tight line, her face clouded with embarrassment.

Amy gave her a comforting poke on the cheek, trying to lighten the mood, but Korinna’s strained expression showed little sign of easing.

”So hey,” Amira said between bites, ”what comes after the hundredth layer anyway? If there’s more, does that mean the Dungeon goes all the way to two hundred?”

”Hard to say,” Leleia replied. ”We won’t know until someone gets there. But I hear even the Dungeon Maniacs are getting restless. If things really do stop at the hundredth layer, there’ll be… complications.”

”The Ancient Dragon’s probably shitting bricks then,” Amira scoffed. ”Depending on how things go, the Guild’s business might not survive.”

Garm nodded gravely, sympathizing as a former Guild staff member. ”I can say with certainty: if there’s no deeper progression, it’ll become a serious problem. Not right away, but give it a year and cracks will start to show.”

”Y’know, the upper rankings on the Pedestal might stagnate real fast,” Amy added. ”Folks’ll get bored seeing the same stuff over and over. Sponsors could pull out, too.”

”The Dungeon Maniacs rely on fresh intel,” Korinna added, seeming to have recovered some of her composure. ”If new discoveries dry up, so does their influence. And what happens to the major Clans? There might still be demand for Magic Stones for a while, but eventually supply will outpace it. If the Dungeon really ends at the hundredth, what will you do, Amy?”

”Hmm… Not sure,” Amy said with a shrug. ”But heading to another Dungeon outside could be fun.”

Korinna spoke with an undertone of anxiety about the future, while Amy, as usual, remained lighthearted. Diniel, half-awake and only half-listening, sipped her water with her usual indifference.

[If it’s the same as Live Dungeon, there’s probably the Secret Dungeon past the hundredth layer… but there’s no guarantee things will line up like that.]

As the others speculated on what awaited on the path ahead, voices laced with hope and uncertainty, only Tsutomu remained silent on the deeper implications. He chewed his breakfast with apparent calm, offering the occasional nod, but in truth, his thoughts were on his own uncertain future.