Live Dungeon!

[…This is becoming absurd.]

Stephanie clenched her jaw in frustration as she watched Sova and the others stoop over puddles of Engraving Oil, collecting the viscous, jelly-like substance with an oversized dropper. The oil occasionally dropped in place of Magic Stones from layer 101 onwards.

Ealdred Crow’s Team 1 had been the third group to claim a victory on the hundredth layer, triggering the third point of light on the Black Gate, opening it up. That milestone brought sweeping changes to the environment in and around God’s Dungeon, but none more significant than the transformations that overtook the Explorers’ Jobs themselves.

Stephanie, who had already reached level 100 before her party even first fought the Corroded Elder Dragon, was among the first to witness these changes. The words White Mage on her Status Card had turned red, and while basic skills like > remained intact, many others had vanished, replaced instead by unfamiliar new ones. Thankfully, she could revert to her previous skillset by simply touching the Job name, but the transformation was undeniably curious.

The first clue to this phenomenon came from the entire Ealdred Crow party, whose Skills were reshuffled the moment they passed the hundredth layer. It was thus discovered that upon exceeding level 100, an Explorer’s Job evolved, unlocking a derivative form with an entirely new skill structure.

This was not the only revelation; Korinna’s ability to perceive a combatant’s moment of death was redefined as the >, a newly-emerged unique skill. Additional Sub-Jobs, particularly those related to crafting like Blacksmith and Tailor, were added as well, further shaking up the meta.

That was why, rather than continuing to advance through the layers, Stephanie and her team had been stuck gathering Engraving Oil. These new crafting Jobs required the oil to use their foundational skill, Engraving, which had become essential in the post-hundredth-layer world.

Up until now, the common practice was to switch to new weapons and armor obtained from treasure chests as one progressed through layers, selling the previous primary gear as second-hand items to lower-ranking Explorers. As layers were cleared and updated, equipment from earlier layers was ignored, no matter how low the drop rate made it difficult to obtain, and they only held demand among a few collectors.

Considering that, Engraving was nothing short of revolutionary. By applying it to equipment, craftsmen could not only boost stats but also grant secondary effects similar to those found in the Black Staff, essentially creating gear with built-in skills. Furthermore, early-layer equipment seemed much more receptive to Engravings, with their effects drastically stronger and coming in greater varieties.

With the Engraving skill, gear from layer 91 could be enhanced to outperform ones from the hundredth layer. Even the drab flaxen garments once derided as the symbol of defeat could be turned into formidable battlewear capable of enduring the dangers of layer 101.

There had always been demand for skilled craftsmen who could dismantle Dungeon gear for parts, combine enhancements, or re-stitch Magic Bags to increase capacity. But now, thanks to the new Sub-Jobs and Engraving, interest in the crafting path has exploded. Many began to pursue careers not as Explorers, but as artisans.

Veteran crafters, those who had been working with Dungeon gear long before the update, already had a head start in leveling their Sub-Jobs. But newcomers had to start at level 1. While handling Dungeon gear remained the classic method for leveling up, testing soon revealed that the most efficient way was to apply Engravings… Again and again.

Hence, the current situation: Engraving Oil has become one of the most coveted resources in the city. Ealdred Crow already employed a number of artisans who had long supported their Explorers from the shadows. Now that Stephanie’s team had crossed the hundredth layer, they were expected to pay it forward… by gathering oil.

But the problem was not that; it was the fact that the oil-farming grind had dragged on for over a month now, from dawn till dusk every day. Stephanie had reached the limit of her patience. No matter how valuable the new Sub-Jobs were, and the scope of their production workers’ contributions, the endless quotas were absurd. The fact that they had finally overtaken Absolute Helix in layer progression no longer even felt significant.

To make matters worse, compared to other renowned workshops, Ealdred Crow’s artisans tended to be lower in level. The likely reason was that the Clan had too many Explorers. Artisans were pushed into efficient division-of-labor models, repeatedly assigned monotonous inspections or basic modifications, leaving them with little room to hone their skills on diverse Dungeon-sourced gear.

Some even had the audacity to claim, ‘It’s because we were forced into these narrow roles that our levels never rose. It’s only fair you collect the oil now.’ And so, Stephanie and her team were stuck slaughtering Oil Slimes… which, true to the name, reliably dropped Engraving Oil. They did this just to clean up the production workers’ mess that had been left behind for so long.

Even Sova, who had close ties to many artisans due to his frequent use of Magic Tools in combat, was starting to question the rationale of these complaints after hearing them brought up in strategy meetings.

“Today should be the last of it… for now. Just bear with it,” said Bittman, keeping his voice low so as not to be picked up by the God Eye and have the whole conversation broadcast on the Monitors. As the eldest member of their main party, he had taken it upon himself to negotiate behind the scenes and ease the burden where he could.

Stephanie gave him a tired nod, raising one hand in thanks.

“I do appreciate what Ealdred Crow has done,” she said at last, glancing back at the others laboring in silence. “But don’t you think there have been too many internal issues lately? Is this just what happens when a Clan grows too big?”

Rook, now focused full-time on his duties as Clan Leader, had been doing his best to mend the rift between Team 1 and the production-side members. Though that particular crack was starting to close, countless other problems still loomed.

Factional infighting had begun to swell within Ealdred Crow. The Clan’s sheer size, once its greatest strength, had started to eat away at it from the inside. These factional disputes weren’t just slowing down internal coordination; they had begun to erode the working relationship between the main party and the artisans as well, and the factions were all too happy to exploit such vulnerabilities for their own advantage. Even routine exploration preparations were beginning to suffer.

“Teams 2 and 3 still show no signs of breaching the hundredth layer. Their tactical skill is, quite frankly, a joke compared to Absolute Helix, or even ours. With better gear and more complete information than we ever had, their failure to advance is simply inexcusable. And yet they still have the gall to cling to some inflated sense of pride as Explorers. I seriously question their reason for existing.”

It was painfully clear that Teams 2 and 3 lacked proper Healers, Tanks, and Attackers on the level of Stephanie, Bittman, and Sova. That was the core reason they had failed to claim a victory on the hundredth layer. There had been an idea to solve the problem by rotating two of their members into Stephanie’s team, letting her, Bittman, and Sova provide them a stable axis for advancement. But even that effort was derailed by the web of factional rivalries that had quietly formed even among the Explorers themselves.

One particularly aggravating case was Kisaragi, the Healer of Team 2, who carried herself with an air of resigned limitation, as if this was simply the best she could do. Though she had shown marginal improvement after taking a short leave, both her thinking and her execution remained shallow. Before going on about talent or lack thereof, she ought to be watching the Pedestals and exploring the Dungeon every spare moment to refine her technique. Stephanie herself had no innate talent to speak of, and still, she had gotten this far.

“And the ones below that aren’t even worth criticizing,” Stephanie continued with a scoff. “There’s not a shred of ambition left in them. I swear, they’re like hibernating animals…”

To her, those who had only made it as far as the Snow Field layers seemed like little more than retirees basking in their final days.

At present, reaching the seventy-first layer and cashing in Ice Magic Stones was enough to make a modest fortune. That alone had sapped the drive from many Explorers, leaving them lounging in makeshift igloos rather than challenging the Winter General.

“At this point, they’re no better than the good-for-nothing Explorers who used to plague the first thirty layers. Maybe it’s time we gave them a proper derogatory nickname,” she muttered.

“You’re absolutely right, Miss Stephanie,” Dorssia agreed with her usual sycophantic sweetness.

“…”

Stephanie shot her a frosty glare, unimpressed by the blind affirmation. A safe distance away, Sova had begun tending to his equipment. Watching this, Bittman sighed and planted his hands on his hips.

“Are you finished?”

“Yes,” Stephanie said with a weary sigh. “I’ve aired out most of the meaningless gripes. You may call back the God Eye now.”

And yet, despite all her complaints, Stephanie remained genuinely grateful to Ealdred Crow. Annoyances aside, the Clan had taken her in when she had no real strengths of her own. She had spent her early days achieving so little beyond sticking close to Sova. But now, she had grown. The Clan had given her more support and benefits than she could have asked for.

And above all else, it was this place that had led her to Tsutomu. To be able to call herself his student was, in itself, a treasure beyond price.

“It’s not your problem to worry about,” Diniel said bluntly. “What you need now… is to take a chill pill.”

Stephanie blinked at the unfamiliar phrase. It was the kind of foreign slang Tsutomu used sometimes. One of those strange little expressions he had brought from his world. Knowing at least who it came from and able to guess its meaning from there, she looked up and met Diniel’s eyes.

“Monsters should be respawning soon,” Diniel continued, standing without any change in expression.

“…Then shall we head off?” Stephanie replied with a faint smile, brushing the dust from her black dress.

Behind her, Sova finished wiping down the oversized dropper, custom-made for Ealdred Crow’s oil collection missions, and slipped it into his Magic Bag.

“Next time, you’re helping collect the oil too, Diniel,” he said.

“I can kill Oil Slimes much faster than you, Sova. It’s more efficient this way.”

“God damn it, Archer! Put a little heart into your work, would you!? I swear, you’re so damn infuriating!”

“Take a chill pill, dude.”

“Shut uuup!!”