Live Dungeon!

”This layer’s Boss is pretty twisted, huh?” one noblewoman murmured.

”I still think the Corrupted Shell was more disturbing,” another replied, cradling her child. ”Maybe because it looked human.”

Several mothers sat together before Monitor #1, soothing their frightened children as the monstrous image on the screen continued its grotesque transformation. The Corroded Elder Dragon, initially not much more than a heap of bones, was now morphing into something more sinister and alive. Their light chatter reached Tsutomu’s ears, but he paid them no mind. He was too busy suppressing the overwhelming urge to scream.

[There’s no way that’s the Corroded Elder Dragon! That thing is something else entirely!]

The Corroded Elder Dragon that Tsutomu knew did regenerate, but never like this. In Live Dungeon, it remained true to its name, which was a creature of rot and ruin, unable to truly heal its decaying body no matter how many times it rose again. It would claw its way toward Explorers in a desperate bid for life, its corrupted essence reducing weapons and armor to scrap, spreading lethal poison as it went. An undead-type layer Boss, it could be manipulated through healing and resurrection-type skills, making support-based Jobs particularly effective against it.

But the version now playing out on the monitor had taken a different turn. Its behavior had matched Tsutomu’s expectations at first… until its heart regenerated. Then, it began manipulating blood. Its once-hollow chest now bore an exposed, pulsating organ, and other viscera showed signs of returning as well.

Tsutomu could not help but think of a Raid Boss from Live Dungeon, a golem-type monster known as the BFG, created by the devs with one simple goal: make it freaking big. It began as a shell and gradually formed organs, all constructed of magical machinery. Its blood was not blood, per se, but magical fluids; its organs were not flesh, but mechanical components. These were measures taken in accordance with CERO’s age rating guidelines. As the organs regenerated, the Boss gained new abilities, and players had to adapt strategies on the fly, prioritizing organ destruction depending on their party’s strengths.

The BFG was introduced some time after the opening of the Secret Dungeon, and it became a popular event for mid-tier players. Tsutomu himself had tackled it with friends more than once. He knew its patterns and tells, knew how to prioritize organ destruction, and adapt to the shifting mechanics.

But never, not even in his wildest dreams, did he imagine that knowledge would become useful here, in the hundredth layer of a fantasy world’s Dungeon.

[Why are they changing even the monster’s core mechanics at this point!? Even the Corrupted Shell just got a few new attack patterns, nothing this drastic!]

If this had happened on another layer, Tsutomu might’ve accepted it. It wouldn’t have been different from the Mutated Shell Crab, for instance or the Fire Dragon, which rumors said had started changing too. And that would’ve been fine. But here, on the hundredth layer… this felt less like a challenge and more like a direct insult.

Still, Tsutomu could not afford to look away. No matter how much he wanted to bury his face in his hands, his eyes stayed glued to the divine pedestal.

The rest of the Absolute Helix Clan, however, seemed thrilled. Even as the Corroded Elder Dragon transformed before them, their excitement only grew. Some spectators recoiled at the visceral imagery, but the true Dungeon Maniacs watched with glittering eyes.

And as the Dragon’s other organs: its liver, lungs, began to form, its abilities evolved further.

The liver brought with it enhanced detoxification, rendering poisons nearly useless and accelerating the Dragon’s regeneration. The lungs expanded the range of its corrosive breath and increased its overall speed. Though the Absolute Helix party had thus far survived the onslaught, they were forced into a reactive posture, unable to keep pace with its escalating aggression.

”If even Diniel and Leleia can’t destroy it, that heart’s got some serious durability,” one watcher muttered.

”I’ve got no clue what the other organs even are. Isn’t there anyone here who knows this stuff?”

”I know a guy,” someone replied. ”But he’s with a patient right now. Still, we should probably send him some sketches… see if he can make a reference sheet or something.”

”Dammit, I wish we had cameras…”

Due to general education’s low coverage of biology, hardly anyone knew much about internal anatomy. And even among those who could identify organs, they couldn’t exactly explain what they did in real time. Among the Dungeon Maniacs, only a rare few could speak with any authority.

”…”

”Hannah! Switch in!” Korinna called.

”On it!”

With the Corroded Elder Dragon’s heart, lungs, and liver now active, and new blood-based attacks pouring forth, Xeno had finally been pushed back. A fresh blast of corrosive breath had forced him to swap out his damaged equipment, and he was now covering the bottom half of his face, or what remained of it, with one hand.

Hannah had no choice but to step in. With the Dragon’s arsenal expanded thanks to its newly regenerated organs, it was now her job to buy time. As an evasion-based Tank, Hannah was ill-suited to initial contact with unknown foes. Her low VIT made any direct hit potentially fatal. But she surged forward anyway, releasing a [ as she charged. The crowd erupted in surprise.

Among the audience, Amy leaned forward, white tail twitching gently as she murmured,

”She’s okay. She’s keeping her cool.”

”Maybe,” Amira beside her grunted. ”But she’s also the type to get herself killed for no good reason.”

”Hannie dies when she’s too tense,” Amy corrected. ”But when she looks like that, she’s fine.”

Amy had accompanied Hannah when she paid off her debts, and it was then that she realized just how anxious the girl could get. One point of tension was all it took to send her spiraling, whether it was the death of another Tank, or having to use unfamiliar Magic Stones for her Magic Fist. That pressure would turn to panic, and panic led to death.

”But I’m sure Korinny knows that. She wouldn’t have put her in if she wasn’t confident. And anyway, Xeno needs time to recover. That thing’s still evolving. Better to throw in someone stable now than push him past the limit.”

”You think so?” Amira asked, unconvinced. ”What’s your take on this, Tsutomu?”

”Well, Korinna’s not the type to do things without thinking it through,” Tsutomu replied. ”And remember, if anyone can tell who’s most likely to die, it’s her. Surely she’s aware of the risks involved and has weighed them accordingly.”

Tsutomu, who had been watching the spreading acidic breath with growing nausea, finally exhaled and shifted his gaze to Korinna, who was pre-emptively cycling through her skills.

”Buying time now!” Hannah announced.

Though she had plenty she wanted to test, especially after Korinna had told her about how organs generally functioned, her priority was to buy time for Xeno’s recovery. She shattered an auto-tracking blood spear with [, turning the attack into combo fodder without losing sight of the Dragon for even a moment.

While the number of blood-based attacks had increased, their windups had not changed. Every time the Corroded Elder Dragon moved, it ruptured its own veins and used the spilled blood as a weapon. Hannah watched for those cues, her eyes scanning for signs of imminent danger, ensuring she wouldn’t be caught off guard.

She knew she couldn’t afford to be tense. Not now. If she was not caught by surprise, there was little that could threaten someone like her, a combatant whose aerial mobility and kinetic vision far outstripped the average. The Corroded Elder Dragon’s crude blood-forged weapons and straightforward charges couldn’t even graze her. Alone, she weaved through a storm of crimson projectiles, shattering the tracking spears mid-flight with well-aimed punches and kicks. The audience erupted with cheers, swept up in the intensity of her performance.

”Should we put the heart on hold?” Diniel asked calmly, her bow still drawn.

”…Yes. We’d hoped to destroy it, but it’s no use,” Leleia admitted, casting a glance toward the colossal heart still pulsing defiantly. ”Let’s shift to those two other organs.”

Though their relentless attacks had stalled the regeneration, the heart refused to break. Frustrating as it was to abandon the target after getting this far, Leleia reasoned it was better to focus on the lungs, the likely source of the Corroded Elder Dragon’s enhanced breath attack.

”Excellent! We’re back in action!” Xeno’s voice rang out, loud and clear despite the absence of any amplifier. ”Hannah! I can switch in anytime! Leleia, Diniel — good call! That breath was a menace! If you can destroy those lungs, it would be a huge help! Korinna, continue with support and recovery, please!”

Having recovered enough to speak, thanks to successive [, Xeno resumed his role with characteristic enthusiasm. Hannah laughed at his unreasonably loud voice, while Diniel merely scowled as she loosed another arrow.

”Then I’m going all in!”

With Xeno back in action, Hannah racked up more of her combo count by smashing down blood spears, accumulating power for the finishing skill. She crushed an extra Magic Stone in one hand as she launched herself toward the Corroded Elder Dragon’s exposed heart. Crimson weapons surged to intercept her, but she beat her wings, angling her flight just right to evade them.

”Time for a little cardiac massage! [!”

Diving beneath the massive, pulsating heart, Hannah delivered a mighty strike, augmenting the [ with Magic Fist. The motion was almost comically slap-like, but perfectly timed. Following Korinna’s advice, she had synchronized her blow with the heart’s rhythm. The impact landed just as it contracted, and for a moment, the heart seemed to seize up in place.

The result was impressively immediate: the flow of blood that had surged through the Dragon’s body weakened. The weapons chasing her melted midair, splashing harmlessly to the ground.

[…What the hell?]

Tsutomu blinked in disbelief, staring through the Monitor. In Live Dungeon, the BFG would also cease blood manipulation temporarily and lose a significant portion of its strength once its heart was destroyed, but achieving that in the fight’s early stages was nearly impossible. If anything, it took until the final phase of the fight to even start reaching that point.

And yet here, with one well-placed strike and a bit of ingenuity, Hannah and Korinna had managed to paralyze the Dragon’s central offensive mechanic, if only for a moment. The crowd roared, electrified by the sudden turn. Even Hannah looked stunned by what she had achieved.

”That was nuts! Are they actually gonna clear this first try!?”

”Hannah’s savage!”

”That combo’s insane when it lands!”

[It really was incredible. But… that didn’t destroy the heart.] Tsutomu’s admiration cooled into concern. [If this thing’s inherited the BFG’s mechanics wholesale, then letting it fully grow all its organs will be catastrophic. They have to destroy the liver next, before it accelerates its regeneration further…]

”The heart was just too tough, huh?” Someone muttered.

The fight raged on. With Diniel and Leleia coordinating, the Corroded Elder Dragon was forced into a temporary state of cardiac and pulmonary arrest. And yet, even as its heart stilled, other organs pressed onward in their grotesque reformation. The pancreas, the stomach, the intestines… and then, to Tsutomu’s mounting horror, a dark pulse of blood began gathering at the one organ that must not be allowed to fully regenerate.

[If the brain finishes, they won’t even stand a chance. Looks like they’re not winning this today…]

But Korinna and the others, facing the Dragon for the first time, could not possibly know that. The party still had momentum, and the crowd still had faith. Even the other Clan members, while uneasy about the constant organ regeneration, had not yet grasped the depth of the danger.

”…Huh?”

The shift was as abrupt as it was absurd. The moment the brain fully regenerated, black blood surged into the skull, trailing into the eye sockets. Within seconds, two pitch-black spheres formed! Eyes gleaming with cruel intelligence! They turned unerringly toward Korinna.

”[! [!” Xeno roared, already charging forward.

Hannah mirrored the call, reinforcing the aggro. They had done everything right. They had held the Dragon’s attention. But it didn’t matter. Now reborn with a complete brain, the Corroded Elder Dragon fixed its hate-filled gaze on Korinna… and it never looked away.

”Ah…!”

Cornered near the edge of the arena, Korinna had no time to scream. The Dragon’s claw slammed down, crushing her flat.

From that moment on, aggro meant nothing. The Tanks could no longer intercept. With its heart’s function fully regained, the Corroded Elder Dragon’s speed now rivaled that of the Devourer Dragon. It hunted the Attackers down with ruthless focus; Diniel managed to keep herself alive at the cost of her left arm. But with that, she could no longer draw her bow. Leleia, caught in the center of the corrosive breath, was vaporized on the spot.

It turned to Xeno next, who was the slowest of them all and bore down with terrifying speed. He never stood a chance. The newly sentient monster, ignoring all mechanics of aggro, smashed him until his body gave out entirely.

Even Hannah, though she fought on with desperate valor, could not hold out forever. One grazing blow from a blood spear crippled her wings, sending her tumbling… and with that, her battle ended.

Only Diniel remained. Her arm severed, the wound cauterized with a Green Potion, she could do little but gather the belongings of her fallen allies. Still, she did not stop. With a lightning arrow in her remaining hand, she climbed the Corroded Elder Dragon’s body and stabbed it repeatedly.

Of course, that was not close to enough. A massive strike sent her flying, and she crashed into the Ancient Castle’s wall with a sickening thud, dying on impact.

[Of course it goes after the Healer, like a logical creature… But still, isn’t this a bit much? It’s supposed to be a Boss monster, damn it!]

Tsutomu exhaled as the murmurs of disappointment spread through the crowd. He avoided looking toward Amy, who was crying out with frustration, her eyes still glued to the Monitor.

Silently, grimly, he began rethinking everything he knew about the Corroded Elder Dragon.