Live Dungeon!

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In a stroke of fortune, Tsutomu and his party managed to locate the Black Gate leading to the eighty-second layer, after which they returned to the Guild without delay. The eighty-first layer had been shrouded in an oppressive gloom, making the search for the Black Gate a daunting task. However, through a combination of Tsutomu’s keen understanding of the Light and Darkness layers and a bit of luck, they stumbled upon it within the first day of exploring — much sooner than anticipated.

“Apologies! I must head home immediately!”

Taking Diniel’s words with the utmost seriousness, Xeno, whose face had turned an alarming shade of pale, quickly checked out with Tsutomu before bolting out of the Guild. Diniel, maintaining her ever-stoic demeanor, watched him disappear into the distance.

“I did tell him I was just joking,” she murmured.

The joke in question stemmed from an unreliable source — one of Hannah’s remarks had spiraled into a tabloid article that was now making the rounds. The article insinuated that Xeno had been toeing the line of acceptable behavior, with accusations of borderline stalking swirling around him. Despite the untrue nature of the claims, and the fact that Pico had been conversing with him without any apparent animosity just the day before, the rumor was enough to send him into a panic.

“Well, considering that poker face of yours, I can’t really blame him for taking you seriously,” Tsutomu remarked, taking a second to glance at Diniel as he focused his attention on Monitor #3, where the rest of Absolute Helix was displayed.

“……”

Diniel’s expression remained an impenetrable mask as she began to inch closer to him, her face devoid of any discernible emotion.

“Yeah, THAT’s the face I’m talking about. Lemme keep my personal space, will you?” Tsutomu added with a wry smile. His eyes remained on the screen where Amy was having a grand time slicing Garm to ribbons with her dual blades.

[…Huh, is Garm trying out the Near-Dead Tank style or something?]

The Dark Knight Job — which Garm was not a part of — possessed a skill known as <<Decisive>>, which granted its users enhanced status ratings and special abilities when their health hovered dangerously low. This skill enabled those adept enough to master it to intentionally keep themselves on the brink of death to maximize their potential as Tanks. This strategy, dubbed the “Near-Dead Tank” in Live Dungeon, wasn’t something just anyone could pull off.

Garm, lacked the <<Decisive>> skill or any equivalent, yet here he was, seemingly adopting the Near-Dead Tank strategy. He did possess the ability to trigger what martial artists referred to as the pushing of oneself to their ‘physical limit’, a phenomenon Tsutomu had heard about in passing from Melchor. Within Absolute Helix, both Garm and Daryl were supposedly capable of triggering this heightened state.

By pushing himself to this physical limit, Garm could shatter the usual restraints of his body, unlocking a surge of performance that significantly improved his maneuverability. Tsutomu had seen this remarkable feat with his own eyes, and while he acknowledged it as a unique advantage, he still deemed it an unnecessary risk. Even in Live Dungeon, the Near-Dead Tank playstyle was more of a meme among the community — a high-risk strategy that could easily result in an instant failure.

Garm, a veteran Explorer with a solid foundation in Tanking techniques, had always been more than capable of maintaining a stable health level. When he had sought Tsutomu’s advice on refining his performance, Tsutomu had shared with him the best Tanking strategies he knew, carefully omitting any encouragement to push beyond safe limits.

From Tsutomu’s perspective, Garm’s technique, while formidable, still had room for improvement. Garm had shown nothing but dedication in adhering to Tsutomu’s guidance, demonstrating a willingness to learn and grow without even a hint of reluctance.

Yet now, as Tsutomu observed Garm on the Monitor allowing Amy, the Dualblader, to slash at him, it was clear he was experimenting with something different — adjusting his health as he tested the boundaries of his physical limits. A pang of sadness tugged at Tsutomu’s heart, but he kept his feelings hidden.

“Tsutomu,” Leleia whispered, leaning in far too close for comfort, causing Tsutomu to recoil instinctively. “You seemed to be instructing Garm on something the other day… but did you teach him to fight like that? It doesn’t look like something you’d come up with.”

As she watched Tsutomu step away, clearly unsettled, Leleia curled her lips into a sly grin before adding,

“Heh, apparently not.”

“Yeah, I never told him to fight like… THAT.”

“…Hmm, I knew it. But it’s strange… I can’t imagine Garm ignoring your instructions. What could have possibly compelled him to change his strategy so drastically?”

“I dunno… Maybe he’s just feeling particularly adventurous today?”

“You know he’s not the type to change things on a whim,” Leleia pressed.

“……”

Sensing Tsutomu’s growing irritation, Leleia promptly said, “Sorry. I might have overstepped.”

With her apology being met with a stony silence, she quickly redirected her attention back to the Monitor.

Garm’s efforts to push his physical limits seemed to have put him on a different wavelength from Korinna, a Channeler. Their coordination was now marred by a series of missteps, each one more glaring than the last — that much was clear even to those watching the broadcast.

“Take that!” Amy’s voice rang out as she swung her blades in a flurry of strikes.

It was clear she was experimenting with a new fighting style, one that departed from her reliance on <<Dual Wave Slash>>. Her movements bore a faint resemblance to those of Ealdred Crow’s newly-promoted Team 1 Dualblader. The mimicry, while impressive, was far from flawless. The subtleties of the style eluded her, and it showed in her execution.

Meanwhile, Garm, so intent on maintaining his power boost, had lost the steady composure that usually defined him. His focus wavered, his movements grew erratic, and in the end, he was crushed to death by a Gargoyle. Amy, too, struggled as she veered from her established techniques; her damage output dwindled, and she sustained more injuries than usual in close combat.

“Huh? It’s rare to see Sir Garm die like that…” Hannah remarked, her voice tinged with surprise as she noticed the unusual turn of events.

“What the hell are they doing?” Amira groaned, her expression contorting into a puzzled frown.

“Oh no, oh no, oh no…” Korinna’s voice trembled, her hands clasped tightly together as she struggled to maintain her composure. Despite her ability to foresee Garm’s death, the actual event still rattled her, sending her into a panic.

Despite the growing disarray, the party hadn’t completely lost its cohesion. They still had an evasion-based Tank whose speed was amplified by Korinna’s buffs, and a Greatsword Fighter whose performance had become markedly more stable, her damage output consistently high. Korinna’s foresight, while not perfect, had proven to be reliable, too.

Garm was resurrected as soon as one wave of the battle ended, and he promptly bowed his head to Korinna.

“Sorry for the trouble. May I try again?”

“Y-yes, of course! No problem at all!”

With her permission, Garm returned to the battlefield, allowing Amy to cut him down once more as he pushed himself to the physical limit, determined to refine his unorthodox approach.

Watching the pair experiment with their new strategies, Hannah rummaged through her Magic Bag, eventually pulling out a Magic Stone with a determined gleam in her eye.

“All right! I’m gonna take this chance to try out my Magic Fist!”

“Hmm… you know what?” Amira chimed in, “I think I’ll start using my <<Dragon Union>>.”

“Umm, please don’t push yourselves too hard…” Korinna’s voice wavered as she tried to rein in her increasingly reckless teammates.

But her plea fell on deaf ears — with a collective surge of enthusiasm, the entire party began to act on their whims. The results were as disastrous as they were predictable — Hannah lost control of her Inferno Magic Stone, resulting in a fiery explosion that wiped her out. Amira, unfamiliar with the demands of using <<Dragon Union>> in live combat, quickly found herself drained of mental energy and collapsed to her knees. In Korinna’s mind, a grim vision unfolded, one where all four of them would soon meet a grisly end.

“…Oh no. They’re totally wiping,” Tsutomu observed.

“Huh!? That’s… not good, is it!?” Daryl asked, his eyes wide with confusion.

“If I may be perfectly honest,” Leleia chimed in, “they all are behaving as if this is the first time they’ve ever formed a team…”

The monsters emerging from the surrounding statues were not falling fast enough, their numbers overwhelming the party’s inadequate damage output. Garm’s attempt at the Near-Dead Tank strategy wasn’t paying off. Meanwhile, their other Tank had fallen victim to her own Magic Fist technique, and the Channeler, despite her ability to foresee death, was ultimately unable to maintain the cohesion of the group.

With desperation setting in, Amy and Garm tried to revert to their previous tactics, hoping to salvage the situation. But it was too late by then. The five members of Absolute Helix were wiped out on the eighty-first layer — when they were finally expelled from the Guild’s Black Gate, they had lost everything except for their Magic Bags — the most valuable of the items they carried. Though their equipment could soon be replaced, the loss was heavy — both emotionally and financially.

“Uhuhuhu…” Leleia could not suppress a smirk as she watched Amira, now clad in the flaxen clothing that marked her as one of the defeated, her pride visibly wounded.

“Leleia, you’re creeping me out.” Tsutomu teased, his voice prompting her to regain her usual composure.

“A-ahem. Apologies.”

The five who had just returned, acutely aware of the curious and judgmental gazes directed at them by the other Explorers in the Guild, gathered together to discuss the situation as they lined up at the Guild’s reception desk to receive replacement gear.

“I-I’m so sorry, everyone!” Korinna stammered.

“Nah, don’t worry about it.” Amira said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Maaaaaan, I really thought I could’ve pulled it off, too!” Hannah laughed, though her voice was tinged with self-deprecation.

“I messed up. Sorry about that,” Garm said, his voice low.

“Sorry, my decision was too slow,” Amy added, clasping her hands together.

Tsutomu’s gaze lingered on Garm, who, upon noticing the stare, awkwardly averted his gaze. Puzzled by the reaction, Tsutomu tilted his head slightly before approaching him.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“……” Garm remained silent, his expression conflicted as if he were grappling with his misstep.

“Hello? You still here with us, Garm?” Tsutomu pressed, waving a hand in front of Garm’s face as if to snap him out of a daydream.

Amy narrowed her eyes as she, too, watched Garm closely.

“Look, I don’t mind you pushing yourself to your ‘Physical Limit,’ despite all the warnings I’ve given you before — but at least give me a heads-up next time, so I can plan around it, you know?”

“…This is my own problem to deal with, Tsutomu.”

“Huh? …Man, I don’t know about that. I am the Clan Leader — everyone’s problems are my problems.”

As Tsutomu tilted his head, a look of puzzlement crossed his face. Garm had turned away, his blue-furred tail drooping apologetically. The latter’s gaze remained firmly averted — something was off, that much was clear, and Tsutomu found himself at a loss for how to respond.

His gaze shifted to the rest of the Clan members, but all he saw were expressions of surprise etched on the faces of Hannah and Amira — they seemed just as bewildered as he was. It did not appear to be some kind of elaborate prank or punishment game — no, the guilt emanating from Garm was too sincere to be anything but genuine.

An awkward silence settled between them, heavy and uncomfortable. The air seemed to thicken with tension as Korinna and Hannah watched on with bated breath. Garm remained stubbornly mute. Tsutomu, growing increasingly frustrated, scratched his head in a gesture of exasperation.

“Well, I mean, if you insist… I won’t stop you,” he relented.

“……”

[What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?] Tsutomu wondered, crossing his arms as he mulled over Garm’s sudden shift in demeanor.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cheerful voice from behind him — it was Amy, popping her head out like a curious mole.

“Hey, Tsutomu~~! Did you see my moves~~?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, I saw. You were trying out some techniques you picked up from Ealdred Crow’s new Team 1 Dualblader, right?”

“That’s right! So, what do you think? I figured I couldn’t keep relying on <<Dual Wave Slash>>, so I tried switching it up…”

“So far, so good. But you still seem a bit unaccustomed to the new skill usage, so that’s probably the first thing you should work on.”

“Cool! Mind telling me about it in detail when we get back?”

“Sure.”

“Yay!”

Amy raised her hands in a triumphant gesture, but as she did, her gaze briefly flickered over to Garm. Seeing that he still was not speaking, she furrowed her brow slightly but chose to remain silent on the matter.

“Oh, Korinna,” Tsutomu called out, turning his attention to the Channeler. “When we get back, make sure to report the lost equipment to Ollie, all right? And don’t forget about the review meeting.”

“Y-yes!! I’m so sorry!!”

Korinna dropped into a full kowtow, her long, cream-colored hair sweeping the floor in a gesture of profound apology.

“Uh, could you please NOT bow like that in public?” Tsutomu’s voice took on a slightly uncomfortable edge, feeling a twinge of awkwardness at the display.

With their business at the Guild concluded, the members of Absolute Helix, now nine strong in Xeno’s absence, made their way back to their Clan House.

As for Xeno, he rejoined them later that evening, after finally clearing up the misunderstanding with Pico that had driven him away in such a hurry.

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