Live Dungeon!

<<Previous Chapter | Live Dungeon! | Next Chapter>>

“Korinna. Neck.”

“Huh?”

“Gimme your neck. C’mon.”

As Amira called Korinna over to her, Tsutomu glanced elsewhere, his attention swiftly shifting to the giant serpent that had suddenly appeared, as he had been informed by Christia. The serpent, adorned with earthy camouflage patterns writhing across its body, was familiar to him.

It was the Guisecoil, capable of blending into the surroundings using its versatile camouflage and optical illusions — a creature he recognized from Live Dungeon. However, Tsutomu could not help but wonder,

[It could turn invisible in the game — that’s what it’s supposed to do… but can it do the same here?]

In Live Dungeon, the Guisecoil would stay almost invisible no matter how much it was wounded, enabling it to blend into the environment with its camouflage the whole time, which made Tsutomu wonder what would happen in this world if he were to damage its camouflage or attach something colorful to its body.

Additionally, certain attacks unleashed by the Guisecoil had the power to render victims invisible, raising doubts about whether that could occur here as well. In Live Dungeon, players often encountered situations where invisibility became a disadvantage, making the Guisecoil notorious as a monster that may have been designed as a big trolling attempt by the developers.

[If it works the same here… that’s going to be a big problem.]

While it was still uncertain if the invisibility effect could occur as easily as in games, if other monsters were rendered invisible by the Guisecoil, it could disrupt the extermination of the Stampede. It was a monster that required immediate countermeasures.

“<<Air Blade>>.”

Tsutomu quietly blasted out his skills, set to the weakest power level, into the surroundings, checking if there were any invisible monsters lurking around. Confirming there were none nearby, Tsutomu glanced at Korinna, who now had a few red scales showing on her neck due to the effect of the <<Dragon Union>>.

“Thanks.”

“Now you’re strong enough to whack them. Make yourself useful.”

“Yeah, I know!”

Tsutomu, observing their camaraderie with satisfaction, proceeded to urge the Labyrinth Conquerors to stay alert, as well as informing them that only Absolute Helix would handle the giant serpent.

“<<Combat Cry>>.”

Upon Tsutomu’s command, the Tanks of the Labyrinth Conquerors swiftly retreated, with Garm taking on the Guisecoil’s aggro, and Daryl and Xeno following suit. Seemingly anticipating this, the Guisecoil reared up, its body swaying skyward.

“Everyone, get back! Korinna, prepare your Blessings. Leleia, bring out the Sylph for me.”

“Y-yes!”

“<<Contract — Sylph>>”

“All right, run!”

Sensing the impending attack from invisible monsters, Tsutomu immediately ordered everyone to take cover and had Korinna provide support. As Amy leaped over Tsutomu, the Guisecoil released a dense white mist-like substance from its mouth onto the ground.

“Sylph, blow the mist up as high as you can.”

“♪”

With a twirl of its finger, the fairy-like Sylph unleashed a gust of wind, the power of which was a contrast to its adorable gesture. While the wind dispersed most of the white mist, the portion that had settled near the ground was able to achieve its intended effect.

“Ah… AHHHHHH!! Your feet! Sir Tsutomu! Your feet are…!”

“Calm down. It’s not just me — it’s happening to everyone.”

“HUH!?”

Due to the mist at his feet, Tsutomu’s feet from the ankles down became transparent, prompting Daryl to panic as if he had seen a ghost. After calming Daryl down, Tsutomu pointed at the gradually vanishing Guisecoil and called out to the members of the Labyrinth Conquerors.

“Our legs aren’t actually gone. Everyone, can you still feel them, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

“They’ve most likely just become invisible. And like that giant serpent, there’s a high chance that there are other monsters turning invisible as well. Please inform Miss Christia of this. We might have to deal with those invisible monsters here, so leave us about ten people just in case.”

“…Got it!”

Seeing that Tsutomu was not showing any panic toward the unusual situation, the members of the Labyrinth Conquerors nodded at his instructions. After relaying the message to their comrades, they swiftly headed to report to Christia. The members of the Labyrinth Conquerors, now warned that invisible monsters might be lurking around, immediately began to vigilantly scan their surroundings.

“Xeno, try coating that serpent with your <<Ember Aura>>. Go big on it like you usually do.”

“…Ah, I see! Very well! <<EMBER AURA>>!!

Understanding Tsutomu’s intention, Xeno promptly struck a pose and unleashed his power at the partially invisible Guisecoil. The <<Ember Aura>>, shining even more brilliantly than usual, illuminated the Guisecoil’s body — and in reaction, the Guisecoil started asserting itself more aggressively than ever. At the sight, Tsutomu could not help but chuckle dryly.

“Korinna, if anyone completely disappears, it’ll be difficult for me to heal them. When that happens, I’ll rely on you for healing.”

“Yes!”

“<<Medic>>… Can’t fix it with this, huh…”

It was expected that the invisibility effect could not be dispelled by <<Medic>>, but Tsutomu still attempted it. Switching his focus to the Attackers, who were watching their vanished feet, Tsutomu clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Attackers, listen up! It’s time to get to work! Just be careful only of that white breath — everything other than that is nothing special. Go get ’em!”

“Hah, we’ll finish that thing off in no time!”

Amira, making a heavy thud as she hoisted her greatsword onto her shoulder, led the Attackers’ charge toward the shining Guisecoil. While Tsutomu remained vigilant for invisible monsters in the vicinity, he gazed at the royal capital towering behind the formation.

[…Monsters may have made their way into the Capital, too… Will they be all right?]

Orbis was sure to be aware of the Guisecoil’s characteristics. Even if its powers followed the specifications of Live Dungeon, where the invisibility effect lasted for only a short time, it would still be easy for invisible monsters to infiltrate the Royal Capital.

“<<Power Slash>>!”

“<<Rock Splitter Blade>>.”

“<<Salamander Breath>>.”

While Guisecoil’s combat abilities were not particularly formidable, it would still be a challenging opponent if it was just Absolute Helix taking it on. In Live Dungeon, the Guisecoil was considered troublesome due to its ability to team up with other monsters and take advantage of the environment’s gimmicks. It may have revealed itself now that its invisibility was counteracted, but it still had the option of concealing itself underground.

Tsutomu could not understand why Orbis had come forward so openly to engage in battle. Orbis, having been in the Dungeon City, should understand the strength of the Explorers. No matter how many monsters were sent, taking them down was routine for the Explorers. By now, even the Fire Dragon was only a slightly challenging opponent, so no matter how many monsters there were — even if they were mobilized like soldiers — they would not pose a threat.

Before long, the Elder Bone Tortoise found itself overwhelmingly outmatched by the agile Mount Golem, while the other large monsters were already largely taken care of. With the cooperation of hundreds of Explorers, even monsters on the level of the Devourer Dragon could be easily dealt with. The Explorers fought without fear of death, so their morale would not falter even against a monster horde hundreds of times their numbers.

[Winning isn’t the objective…]

Tsutomu pondered various factors while considering what Orbis might think, but the enemy’s actions so far did not seem geared towards victory. If they were aiming to win, they would have attacked the humans with more brutal means and not engaged the Explorers directly.

Still, from Orbis’ perspective, the situation was already dire. Meena might be his only ally with any semblance of consciousness, and monsters were being manipulated by aggro management skills. Moreover, there were nobles capable of powerful magic, Explorers of God’s Dungeon and the Labyrinth Conquerors, and knights and soldiers who had undergone rigorous training to defend the Royal Capital. Even assuming they could use many monsters, the Royal Capital’s forces were too strong. It would be extremely difficult to break their way through all this, and Tsutomu did not even want to imagine the struggle involved.

“<<Stream Arrow>>.”

As Tsutomu pondered while observing the battle, Diniel anticipated the Guisecoil’s movement and released an arrow into the sky. Then, after a beam of light shot straight up, a multitude of arrows rained down, pinning down the Guisecoil.

“Everyone, back away!” Tsutomu shouted out as he saw the Guisecoil shake its body. “Sylph! Now!”

“♪”

Once again, a white mist enveloped the giant serpent. While the Sylph’s wind blew away most of it, there were still a few who were once again rendered partially invisible.

“Amy… Your ears…”

“Huh?”

“Oh, still here. Thank goodness.”

Diniel looked shocked when she saw that Amy’s white-furred cat ears had disappeared, and only once she confirmed they were still there did he resume her attacks. The Guisecoil’s invisibility was a troublesome characteristic, but as long as they had <<Ember Aura>> as a countermeasure, the monster itself was not all that strong.

“DIEEEEEE!!”

The ferocious greatsword attacks from Amira in her <<Dragon Form>> were well-suited against the Guisecoil, which was already on its last legs. Despite its camouflage-patterned hide being slashed open and crimson blood staining the ground, the Guisecoil remained invisible, leaving Tsutomu with a slightly perplexed expression. It seemed that, just like in the game, disabling its invisibility without the use of special skills was impossible.

“Man, that’s it? This thing’s so weak!”

[Welp, rest in pieces, Guisecoil.]

Finally, as the Guisecoil’s invisibility wore off and it collapsed motionless on the ground, Amira, looking unsatisfied, swiped the blood off her stained greatsword. Tsutomu, who knew how annoying Guisecoil could be from Live Dungeon, felt a twinge of sympathy seeing it being mercilessly pummeled by Amy, Diniel, Amira, Leleia, and Hannah.

“All right, let’s go support Golden Tune.”

“I hope they’re at least putting up a fight! Hah!”

“Don’t let your guard down,” Tsutomu narrowed his eyes and cautioned Amira as the latter approached him.

“Hmph, this is nothing. No problem at all.”

The group proceeded to follow the Labyrinth Conquerors towards Golden Tune’s location.

<hr/>

<<Previous Chapter | Live Dungeon! | Next Chapter>>