Live Dungeon!

[They said at first it was just luck, but Korinna’s reputation has stabilized by now… Well, I doubt there will ever be another Channeler who could sense the aura of death apporching, but even purely as a Healer, she’s steadily climbing the ranks.]

Tsutomu leaned back against the chair, nodding with satisfaction as he watched the Monitor’s broadcast. Among the Channelers gathered in the venue, many were visibly moved by Korinna’s performance.

[She’s even managing the party well now. Well, she’s still too soft on Hannah, but I guess that’s something she’ll figure out eventually.]

It had been clear for a while that Hannah, when too swept up in the heat of battle, tended to disregard instructions. Korinna had definitely noticed as much. Yet she had attempted to stop Hannah with reason alone, This was a fatal misstep, however well-intentioned.

After all, Hannah had been throwing herself into battle with reckless abandonment even before the concept of an evasion-based Tank had taken shape. With no vision and backing, she had tried to serve as a Tank using nothing but armor and the Boxer’s standard fighting style, and was promptly thrashed by monsters. Even then, those around her had tried to talk her out of it, but she threw away her standing as one of Ealdred Crow’s top Attackers and dropped down to a role others mocked as a ‘Feather Tank’.

In other words, she was strong, but dumb. In Live Dungeon terms, she was the kind who loved risky, high-reward ‘heroic’ builds. Tsutomu had found her at her lowest, beaten by reality, and had offered her a place in his Clan. From there, he had helped steer her strength in the right direction.

When calm, Hannah was capable of listening to others. But once her emotions were lit aflame, they eclipsed all else, and she stopped hearing the people around her. That was when Diniel usually kept her in check by loosing arrows that made death feel a little too close, or when Tsutomu would deliberately let her [ wear off to dull her movements.

But this time, Diniel had needed Hannah to go all out and could not afford to act as a stopper. Leleia shared Tsutomu’s willingness to use force when needed, but lacked both the courage to make the final call and the strength to physically restrain Hannah when she went off the rails.

Korinna, unfortunately, had assumed she could reason with her. To someone like herself: educated, disciplined, a graduate of the Royal Capital Academy; it might be natural to expect even an emotional comrade to eventually listen to logic. But Hannah was not that kind of person. Her self-detonation with the Lightning Magic Stone had almost been inevitable.

[Sometimes pressing through with emotion works better on idiots. Not something I could ever pull off, though…]

Hannah, for her part, had recovered some composure with a light reprimand, without losing her edge as a result. There was a danger in giving her a full scolding, as she was too earnest for her own good; be too harsh, and she would take every word too seriously, becoming too scared to take any risks at all. Korinna had struck just the right balance.

Even through the Monitor, Tsutomu could feel the pressure of Korinna’s fury at the start. But she had endured worse, including but not limited to unreasonable treatment in a time when Channelers were disregarded, and had clearly built up a certain degree of resistance to stress. She had held her ground and de-escalated the situation without losing control, which Tsutomu found genuinely impressive.

[Now, it all comes down to how long Xeno can hold out and how much damage the three of them can squeeze out. They’ve got a real shot at winning this.]

By now, in the fight’s second half, the party had begun adapting to the Corroded Elder Dragon’s increasingly vicious blood weapons and clones. If they could keep pace, there was a good chance they could destroy the heart before it could be sacrificed, ending the fight early.

Tsutomu had just begun thinking about how best to convince Xeno and Korinna to let him go home post-clear when a faint trace of perfume alerted him to someone sitting down beside him. For a brief moment, it was pleasant enough, but the moment he realized who it was, it seemed to curdle into an overpowering stench.

“…What?”

“Oh, nothing,” Tsutomu replied. “Just wondering how it feels to be the Clan’s Busybody Auntie.”

“…”

Alma, her long black hair flowing behind her as usual, clammed up in the face of Tsutomu’s jab. He had, after all, seen how she had stepped on one landmine after another with the new recruits, as broadcast on Monitors for anyone to witness. Tsutomu gave her a pitying look and subtly shifted in his seat, putting a bit more distance between them.

The Scarlet Devil Squad had recently launched its first-ever recruitment drive in a bid to break through a plateau in their layer progression. While the Clan’s reputation had taken a hit over time, their leader, Weiss, still carried the aura of a legendary Explorer. As expected, their call for members had been met with an overwhelming response.

After a careful selection process, ten new recruits had joined. They were eight Tanks and two Healers. They were divided into four parties to begin synchronizing teamwork and strategies.

The de facto Team 1 consisted of Weiss, Alma, Cecilia, and two high-level, experienced new Tanks. One male, one female. Things had started smoothly, but cracks soon began to form between Alma and the two newcomers, disrupting their coordination.

“Oh, and don’t worry if Weiss doesn’t reply right away when you talk to him,” Alma had said to them once. “That’s just him thinking. He’s not ignoring you.”

“…”

Her attempt at elder wisdom had been one of the triggers. While Weiss had shown progress in basic communication, he still occasionally stumbled over his words and left behind awkward silences. Alma, acting like some sage interpreter, had tried to explain that to the newcomers.

But these recruits had joined the Scarlet Devil Squad out of admiration for Weiss. They did not need Alma to tell them how to treat the man they idolized. They had seen her before, too, ranting at Weiss through the Monitors, talking over him without a hint of self-awareness. She had not made a favorable impression.

They had tolerated her for the sake of harmony within the Clan. But once she started lecturing them on how to communicate with their leader, resentment flared. Many of them had watched Weiss’s broadcasts religiously; they already knew how he worked.

The veteran Clan members had forgiven Alma, helped along by the remnants of old camaraderie. But to the newcomers watching from the sidelines, it was only natural that their impression of her had soured. And yet, Alma, utterly oblivious to the chill in the air, continued forcing her unwanted kindness on them.

Before she realized it, she had achieved the astonishing feat of being disliked by every new recruit. While the other newly formed parties grew steadily more cohesive, the one led by Weiss was visibly the most dysfunctional of them all.

“I mean, come on! How was I supposed to know they hated me from the start!?” Alma’s voice rose in protest.

“Well, you’d think Cecilia might’ve picked up on it,” Tsutomu remarked.

“Now that you mention it… she did try to subtly stop me! But I didn’t notice at all!”

“At this point, it’s almost impressive. My condolences.”

“…Hey, maybe it’s all because of this thing.” She lifted her staff and gave it a shake.

“No refunds,” Tsutomu replied without missing a beat.

“Why not!? Two years ago, I was graceful and dependable, just like Cecilia! Everyone relied on me! So why am I like this now!? It’s all this staff’s fault!”

Alma wailed like a child venting frustration after being denied candy. Normally, Tsutomu would’ve ignored her entirely, but today, he was not particularly in the mood to chat with his own Clan members either. So, still watching the Monitor, he let her rant wash over him like a stiff breeze.

And so went on the tirade about how getting the Black Staff had ruined her life.

“Anyone would lose it if they suddenly got handed a thing like this!”

“That might be true,” Tsutomu said with a sidelong glance.

“Right!? And hey, when we beat the Fire Dragon, even the party thanked me! Weiss actually praised me for once! Reporters swarmed me afterward! I got so many interviews, and the reward payout was insane! It showed me what luxury tasted like!”

“They even ran a special on you, ‘A Day in the Elegant Life of Alma.’ I can imagine the check.”

“…So yeah. I didn’t want to lose all that.”

Tsutomu listened with perfect neutrality, nodding here and there without affirming or denying a thing. He could not help but marvel at her ability to bare her soul so dramatically in front of others. Around them, Camille and the others, picking up on the stormclouds, drifted away to give the two space.

“…It really is my fault, huh?” Alma muttered at last. “I mean, of course it is. Who would want advice from the girl who used to yell at Weiss like that…”

Eventually, her complaints turned reflective; reality had settled in. She began to own her mistakes.

Having half-listened to her for nearly an hour, Tsutomu offered a generic exit line,

“Maybe if you change your attitude going forward, things’ll turn around.”

Alma, still collapsed facedown on the desk, peeked up at him with tired eyes.

“…You’re being surprisingly kind today. What, do you want something?”

“Just passing time.”

“Hmm… You’re not so ba– ow!? What the hell? Why do you have a [ up!?”

“To protect myself from your kind. [.”

Alma had tried to jab his elbow with her finger, only to stub it hard against an invisible force field. Rubbing her bruised digit, she was just about to launch into a storm of complaints when Tsutomu casually cast [ to fix it. His gaze, meanwhile, drifted to the various people now subtly watching them.

Amy and the others looked on with mild curiosity. But beyond them, a handful of unexpected visitors had entered the Guild. Milway the silver-furred Vulpeer sat nearby, chatting with Eunice, who was sneaking glances in their direction. Lorena, still in her flaxen respawn outfit, glared murderously at Tsutomu; she was likely fresh off a full-party wipe on the hundredth layer.

Even the Scarlet Devil Squad’s new recruits, waiting at the reception, were throwing cautious looks toward the table where Tsutomu and Alma sat. Taking it all in, Tsutomu gave a faint, derisive snort.

“Looks like we’re both pretty unpopular these days.”

“…Yeah, well, I’d say I’m doing better than you, at least. What did you do to get glared at like that? Dump someone in the most brutal way possible?”

“No idea.”

Tsutomu’s flat reply left Alma momentarily speechless. And somehow, seeing him take it all so lightly made her feel just a little better about her own mess.