Live Dungeon!

Chapter 266: Cat in Dragon Form

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“Aaaahhh! That’s–!” Lorena’s sudden scream rang out as she watched Diniel’s flaming arrow shatter the last Eyene’s core, scattering it into shimmering particles.

Tsutomu, startled by the outburst, turned to her, his usually narrow eyes wide with surprise.

“Whoa, we finally got one…!”

“We sure did, Tsutomu! A treasure chest! And it’s silver!”

Lorena, overflowing with joy, danced excitedly around the chest that had materialized amidst the fading light. After five grueling days spent exploring the eighty-third layer, they had finally stumbled upon something worthwhile. With two rest days ahead, this discovery brought their average loot rate to one chest per week — a promising start, yet at this rate, gathering all the necessary equipment felt like an endless grind.

Tsutomu could not shake a nagging sense of unease. Was their luck influenced by the ‘desire sensor’ he had once joked about? Perhaps it was too early to determine whether their fortune was good or bad. Nonetheless, a silver chest was no small prize — especially since Magic Bags, which were typically found in wooden or bronze chests, were rare in silver ones. Moreover, the Adventurer skill <> would help reduce the chance of such disappointment, a necessity now more than ever; the last thing they needed was to open the chest only to find a pile of coins or a mundane Magic Bag, which would surely dampen their spirits.

According to the contract between the two Clans, they were to take turns opening treasure chests. However, since the luck of the opener somewhat significantly influenced the loot, adjustments would be made if results became unbalanced. With Silver Beast set to open the chest first, Tsutomu gestured toward Misil.

“Tsutomu, man, you’re really gonna hand us a silver one just like that? It doesn’t feel right… you guys should go first–”

“C’mon, don’t be like that. We’re counting on your Clan to strengthen both our forces, so please use your <> and have one of your evasion-based Tanks open it. Riri especially needs an upgrade to her gear, since she doesn’t have aggro-generating skills — without more damage output, her fighting style wouldn’t work out.” At Tsutomu’s suggestion, Riri — the blue-feathered Birdkin of Silver Beast — looked quite disheartened. Her older sister, Rara, the red-feathered Boxer, could make do with <>, but Riri, as a Hunter, could only rely on damage output to draw aggro. She was not functioning well as an evasion-based Tank on the eighty-third layer, as she struggled to deal significant damage due to her Job’s lack of ability to consistently exploit enemies’ elemental weaknesses.

“Teach! You are NOT picking on Riri! Not on my watch!” Hannah stepped in, spreading her wings protectively as she protested, while Rara smiled dryly at the former’s enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, Tsutomu rummaged through his Magic Bag, pulling out some Light and Dark Magic Stones.

“Then why don’t YOU pick up the slack, Hannah? Get your Magic Fist working, and start blasting those monsters with these stones…”

“Ugh… I-I’m still fine-tuning it!”

“D-Don’t blame Hannah, please. It’s not her fault that I’m–”

“Riri, NO! Don’t show any weakness in front of Teach! He’ll exploit it like a debt collector!”

“…By the way…” Tsutomu interrupted, steering the conversation away from Hannah’s dramatic protests, “Leleia, how are you holding up? You’ve been looking pretty drained over there.”

Hannah blinked at the sudden shift of mood, while Leleia, conscious of the attention, gently cradled the Salamander coiled around her neck.

“The Gnome has overextended itself at times, but it’s manageable for now. The real issue is the Undine — it’s been in a foul mood lately… Actually, the same goes for the Sylph and the Salamander. I think all of them want to form a <> with you, Tsutomu… but honestly, I have no idea what they see in you.”

“Damn, was that last part necessary?”

“Seeing how the Spirits favor you so much, I wish you could draw in gold treasure chests while you’re at it.”

Leleia shot Tsutomu an envious glance followed by a resigned sigh, suggesting that her theory about his strange affinity with Spirits was tied to his rumored luck with treasure. But from the way her stare lingered, it was clear that she was not just jealous of that; other feelings — resentment, perhaps — simmered beneath the surface. Tsutomu, unsure how to respond, could only manage an awkward smile. 𝙧ἈŊồBЕ𝓢

“U-uh, Teach, is it just me, or is she–”

“Anyway, let’s get back to the matter at hand.” Tsutomu cut Hannah off, his gaze flicking from her to Misil, “You guys go ahead and open it.”

“Okay, okay, fine…” Misil turned to Riri. “I’ve already cast <> on you, Riri. Go ahead.”

“Y-Yes… um, sorry in advance if it turns out to be a dud!” Riri said, her voice wavering with uncertainty. She glanced at Misil, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then back at the silver chest.

Her fingers trembled as she reached for the lid, slowly lifting it. A soft glow spilled out, and everyone crowded around, eyes wide with anticipation as they peered inside.

“…It’s a one-handed sword.”

Inside the silver chest lay a black shield and a gleaming white sword, its blade slender and balanced for single-handed use. Among the weapons suited for a Hunter, a one-handed sword was just fine — neither a perfect fit nor a complete mismatch. And since, unlike in Live Dungeon, anyone could wield anything they wanted in this world, it was a welcome addition. Riri could likely integrate it effectively into her skillet with some improvisation.

“We’ll need to appraise it to be sure,” Tsutomu said, studying the sword, “but it doesn’t look bad at all. Congratulations.”

“Th-Thank you…”

Relief washed over Riri as she handed the one-handed sword to her sister, Rara, who had been eyeing it with barely concealed excitement. Tsutomu already had a rough sense of the weapon’s quality — it wasn’t extraordinary, but it wasn’t worthless either. It would undoubtedly enhance Riri’s damage output, making their future encounters a bit easier.

“It’s a little early, but how about we have our lunch break now?” Tsutomu suggested. “I’d like to get the sword appraised and see it in action afterward.”

“Sounds good,” Misil agreed. “Let’s head back.”

“I’m starving~~”

“Wonder what I should get~~”

Lorena and Rara began chatting animatedly as the group made their way back toward the Black Gate they had entered through.

Tsutomu, noticing Hannah sulking, hovered a green <> wisp ahead of her and gently nudged her toward the gate.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

“T-Teach… You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“No, I’m not. I just ignored you because you were being a little annoying.”

“Annoying!? What’s that supposed to mean!?”

Tsutomu did not fully understand Hannah’s mindset, but he had a hunch she enjoyed this sort of back-and-forth. He often saw her pestering Diniel in the living room, only to end up with Diniel’s iron claw grip on her head — almost as if she was walking straight into a trap she knew was there.

“Hehe…” With that thought, Tsutomu could not resist teasing her. “I meant exactly what I said. Right, Diniel?”

At his prompt, Diniel, who had been staring off into the distance, cast a tired glance down at Hannah, her face a blend of boredom and irritation.

“Did you really have to drag me into this? I’ve had more than enough of her, Tsutomu.”

“Huh!?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Teach!? What do you mean, ‘what you thought’!? I don’t get it!”

Hannah, small and fidgeting between Diniel, who was tall for a woman, and Tsutomu, of average height, looked up at them in confusion.

“C’mon, Diniel, go ahead — do your usual thing.”

“Nah. Ignoring her will be more effective.”

“I think sweet-talking her once in a while might be fun, too.”

“…That’s just cruel.”

“W-What are you two up to!? You’re scaring me!”

As the two exchanged hushed, mischievous remarks, Hannah’s bewilderment grew as she was left completely out of the loop. She followed them back to the Guild, all the while struggling to make sense of it all, and later, during their lunch break, she immediately began venting her frustrations about the incident to Amy.

▽▽

“<>!”

The raw intensity radiating from Garm, who had pushed his body to its absolute limit, was overwhelming. Even his allies instinctively took a step back, feeling the force of his presence. Korinna, in the middle of channeling her <> for Amira, also couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at Garm. He resembled a cornered beast, fierce and unyielding.

“<>!”

Xeno, by contrast, struck a cool, almost theatrical pose as he unleashed his own <>, making Korinna wonder if he ever took anything seriously. Still, in this eighty-third layer, teeming with Dark-elemental monsters, Xeno’s Job as a Paladin was indispensable.

His focus was on bolstering the party’s equipment with the Light element through <>, effectively assuming the role of a Buffer. He also utilized the light-elemental attack skill <> to draw aggro, functioning as an evasion-based Tank. Though Paladins were vulnerable to Dark-elemental attacks, Xeno managed to hold his ground admirably.

“Raah!!”

Amira, in her formidable <>, stood out with her greatsword strikes, the force of which was unmatched by any other Attacker. Her favorite skill, <>, was so potent that its wind pressure rippled through the air, reaching even Korinna from a distance. In her <>, she could even forcefully blow away even the gelatinous outer bodies of Eyene, earning herself a reputation as a true powerhouse among Dungeon Maniacs.

Recently, Amira had also mastered a new skill: <>, which allowed her to share her unique power with others. However, its success seemed to depend on interpersonal compatibility, and thus far, she could only reliably use it with Amy, Korinna, Tsutomu, and Hannah. With Daryl and Garm, it sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t, while it failed entirely on Xeno, Leleia, and Diniel.

Amy, following Tsutomu’s advice, had begun experimenting with a broader range of combat skills, and her progress was clear in her sharper movements. Although she sometimes overextended and drained too much of her mental energy, her damage output had significantly improved. Over the past week, she had also been benefiting from the boosts granted by Amira’s <>.

“Ammie! Come on, hurry up! Do the thing!”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that!?”

Amira’s <>, though seemingly simple on the surface, proved invaluable in amplifying the team’s already impressive damage output. She had even learned to fine-tune the amount of power she channeled through it, aware that too much energy could be overwhelming. If pushed too far, the effect could rival the intensity of her full <>, putting the recipient at risk of losing control — just as she had once experienced herself.

She had to scale it back significantly when using it on Tsutomu or Korinna. In stark contrast, Amy had managed to master full control of her linked <> with just three days of practice.

“Ohhh, yeah! I’m really feeling it!”

“……”

Amira stared at Amy in disbelief, her expression caught somewhere between irritation and amazement, while Korinna chuckled at the sight — only to be chased down by Amira in a fit of wrath.

“Don’t my eyes look cool or what? If I had Xeno name them, he’d probably say something like ‘golden red whirlwinds,’ you know?”

“Nah, they look gross.”

“What!?”

Thanks to <>, the party now effectively had two members who could enter <>. Combined with Xeno’s <> and Korinna’s holy-based skills like <> and <>, they gained a strong advantage over the Dark-elemental monsters.

Korinna herself had also been performing better as a Healer since her discussion with Tsutomu following her previous party wipe. Having shed the unnecessary pressure she had placed upon herself, she felt she was managing her duties much more efficiently. The practices Tsutomu had suggested now came to her effortlessly in the heat of battle.

As a result, their skirmishes on the eighty-third layer had become significantly more stable, allowing her to provide healing and support on par with Tsutomu’s offerings to the Silver Beast party. Although Silver Beast wasn’t weak, Korinna sensed that their dynamics weren’t functioning as smoothly as they could be.

As a result, their fights in the eighty-third layer had grown much more stable. Korinna even found herself providing the same level of support and healing that Tsutomu offered to Silver Beast.

And on the subject of Silver Beast — they were certainly not a weak team, but from what she had observed, their dynamics weren’t running as smoothly as they could.

[Still… why is it that, compared to them, we’re kind of struggling to get along?]

Korinna couldn’t deny that everyone in her party was fulfilling their roles — on the surface, they were tactically sound. But it felt as though they were all operating in isolation, without the cohesiveness of an ideal unit. The contrast became even more stark whenever they fought alongside Silver Beast, where the bond between its members was undeniable.

Amy and Garm were still on tense terms — if anything, the friction seemed even worse than before. Xeno existed in his own little inland empire, and Amira barely tolerated him. Korinna, too, found Xeno’s baseless, endless supply of confidence difficult to understand, let alone like.

In contrast, Silver Beast, despite its imperfections, definitely had the camaraderie. Even on Absolute Helix’s side, Tsutomu, Garm, and Amy had forged a strong trust as a trio, which seemed to extend to his team’s two other members. It was this kind of bond that made their atmosphere bright and harmonious, something Korinna quietly wished for within her own team.

[I know it’s not easy to create that kind of unity, but it’d be nice if our party could develop at least a hint of it…]

If Amy and Garm, Xeno and Amira, and even she herself could find some common ground, their team would undoubtedly become much more powerful. Korinna had pondered as such often whenever she observed Silver Beast’s activities, though she lacked the courage to voice her thoughts.

[I mean, Tsutomu would have handled this perfectly! Back during the Winter General fight, Garm and Amy weren’t awkward around each other at all…]

Ultimately, Korinna arrived at this conclusion and, without uttering a word, simply continued to fulfill her role as the party’s Healer.

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