Chapter 390, Two Intersecting Paths

Translator: Barnnn

Editor: Silavin

 

“”Tsutomu!””

 

“Yeah, I’ve got this. <<Holy>>!”

 

As Garm deflected a hail of flying blood weapons and Amy dodged the relentless pursuit of the blood clones, Tsutomu responded to their calls immediately, wrapping both of them in a protective layer of <<Holy>>.

 

At that moment, the Corroded Elder Dragon’s presence turned more vile, its miasma thickening further. The blood weapons it wielded began to congeal with an eerie viscosity.

 

“Daryl, the usual. <<Combat Cry>> three times. If it doesn’t bite, I’ll try something else.”

 

“Understood! <<Combat Cry>>!”

 

Daryl let out three consecutive shouts, each one echoing with battle spirit. For a brief moment, the blood weapons faltered, as if having a moment of confusion-induced hesitation. But they soon resumed their deadly dance, now dividing their assault equally between Garm and Daryl.

 

Tsutomu’s strategy, refined through both the instinct he had trained from managing aggro in hundreds of parties in Live Dungeon and the numerical theory he had developed in this world, allowed him to create a situation where the Corroded Elder Dragon’s attention was divided between the two Tanks.

 

Last time, Garm had been overwhelmed, the combined forces of the frenzied blood weapons and the undead-turned Amy driving to the brink, resulting in a critical hit and instant death. But now, with Daryl sharing the burden, even if Amy were to succumb again and got turned into an undead, it would not spell immediate disaster.

 

“Self-destruct incoming!”

 

“Got it!”

 

Amy already knew the blood clones would self-destruct, and this time, the team came prepared. The moment she sensed the signs, she leaped backward, and Tsutomu, anticipating the move, cast a heavy <<Barrier>>, expending more mental energy than usual to reinforce its strength.

 

She already had a layer of <<Barrier>> around her beforehand, so although she emerged with a few cuts from the exploding blood shards, it was not fatal. The layer of <<Holy>> also helped safeguard her from turning undead.

 

“…So it won’t stop until someone turns undead, huh?”

 

The blood weapons suddenly stabbed into the floor. Then, like a malevolent seed, they bloomed into new blood clones. And unlike last time, the Corroded Elder Dragon’s aura showed no signs of weakening.

 

As the phenomenon had been anticipated and documented beforehand, none of the party members appeared shaken. Tsutomu, however, sighed in annoyance. As far as he could tell, the attack would not stop until someone turned undead. If two people ended up afflicted like last time, then pressing the fight might be their only option. But if it could be contained to one… it would be simpler to sacrifice someone.

 

“Guess I’ll go die, then!” Amy announced cheerfully.

 

“Sorry, Amy. I’m counting on you,” Tsutomu replied without hesitation, dispelling the layer of <<Holy>> shielding her.

 

They had decided in advance who would be the one to take the fall if necessary. Exchanging a brief glance with Garm, Amy then charged headlong into a blood clone that had taken on Daryl’s form.

 

“Tsutomu, I have a request,” Garm said calmly.

 

“What’s up?”

 

“When she comes at me, don’t interfere until after she’s made her first move. If possible, I’d like to counter her myself and take her down.”

 

“…Sure, that’s fine. But if your counter fails, Amira and I will proceed with the original plan. Agreed?”

 

“Yes. There’s a risk I’ll fail. If that happens, follow through.”

 

Noting the unshakable resolve in Garm’s expression, as if he had an aura that made it hard to imagine failure, Tsutomu tilted his head slightly. Still, since Amy would inevitably target the one with the most aggro, which would be Garm, the plan would not be disrupted either way.

 

In the end, Tsutomu nodded, accepting the proposal. He proceeded to relay the adjustment to Amira.

 

While Daryl continued to hold the Corroded Elder Dragon’s attention, Amy fell, her body pierced clean through the stomach by a flying blood dagger.

 

The transformation was immediate. The undead Amy, responding to Garm’s <<Combat Cry>>, flew at him like a compressed spring released all at once. Her monstrous agility startled Tsutomu, who instinctively raised his staff to prepare for an attack. Amira, however, remained perfectly still, her greatsword planted in the floor beside her.

 

“<<Enchant Earth>>,” Garm muttered, channeling the power of earth into his tower shield. He adjusted his grip and took a firm stance to meet the charging Amy.

 

Amy responded by flinging one of her swords directly at Garm’s brow, aiming for the space between his eyes with uncanny precision.

 

Garm thrust his shield upward to deflect the flying blade. The impact rang out, but his vision was now partially obstructed by the raised shield. Trying to track her movements by her feet, he realized too late that she had already left the ground.

 

His canine ears twitched, isolating the faint sound of dust shifting to his right. She had leapt that way. As expected, Amy came from the right, the remaining blade in her left hand poised to strike for his throat.

 

“…<<Boost>>.”

 

Her whisper barely registered, but her movement did. The arc of which was a blur that defied all physical logic. She twisted in mid-air, shifting left without slowing, dodged the raised shield entirely, and, in the same motion, switched the blade to her right hand. Then, like a reaper’s scythe, she swung it straight for Garm’s exposed neck.

 

Had Garm followed the predictable rhythm of his own instincts, he would have been completely outmaneuvered. The feint was deceptive enough to take anyone by surprise.

 

“…?”

 

But Garm moved as if he had known Amy’s trick from the very start. He stepped precisely into position, lowering his stance and shifting his grip to thrust the sharpened bottom edge of his tower shield forward. It was an aggressive posture meant not just to defend, but to strike.

 

And strike he did. Amy, who had unleashed her full speed through her initial dash and a <<Boost>>, charged directly into the trap. Garm’s shield met her squarely in the gut, catching her at the height of her momentum.

 

“Haaah!”

 

Garm twisted his body and, using the shield like a lever, hurled Amy over his shoulder. With the full weight of Garm’s armored body driving her down, she slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch. Her spine and pelvis were shattered beneath the impact.

 

Still thrashing weakly beneath his shield, the undead Amy writhed like a broken doll. Garm pinned her down and barked at Tsutomu, who had frozen in place, momentarily stunned that the fight had ended in a single blow.

 

“Tsutomu!”

 

“R-right! <<Holy>>!”

 

Snapping back to his senses, Tsutomu raised his staff and attacked. The light of <<Holy>> washed over Amy like purifying fire. Her broken form shimmered, disintegrated into particles of light, and vanished, leaving only her gear behind.

 

The Corroded Elder Dragon’s ominous aura visibly diminished. Garm, finally letting his body relax, exhaled like a man who had just finished hauling a mountain.

 

Ordinarily, even with flawless execution, Garm would have expected a mutual takedown at best. But the reason he had managed such a clean victory was thanks to a private conversation he had had with Amy before this attempt at the hundredth layer.

 

It had been Garm who first suggested that, if a situation arose where one of them had to turn undead, he wanted Amy to be the one to put him down. He could not shake the shame of their last battle, where he had been blindsided and killed instantly while dealing with her undead form. That regret had weighed heavily on him.

 

So, ahead of this attempt, he revealed to Amy every tactical habit, every thought process he relied on in combat, believing she would be the one best suited to take him down quickly and cleanly if it came to that.

 

Amy had stared at him at first, visibly stunned by how easily he offered up his weaknesses. But then, realizing that she had been thinking the exact same thing, her expression had hardened. In her mind, if she were the one to turn, Garm was the only one capable of killing her within the five-minute window for resurrection with <<Raise>>.

 

From there, the two of them had taken turns arguing over who would be the one to die. “I’ll go.” “No, I’ll go.” Back and forth it went, like a macabre version of a schoolyard fight.

 

In the end, it was decided that Garm, who had prior experience fighting Amy’s undead form, would be the one to finish her. And it was because of one crucial line Amy had told him during that exchange, “If I ever come for you, I’ll use my dominant hand to go straight for your throat,” that Garm had anticipated her feint. He’d seen through her play and countered accordingly.

 

“<<Raise>>.”

 

With Tsutomu’s resurrection skill, a beam of light flew at the space where Amy had fallen, and moments later, her body returned in one piece. Lying on her back, she blinked up at the ceiling before a hand extended into view.

 

She batted it away like a cat swatting at an annoying toy and kicked her legs over her head, rising in a fluid motion.

 

“Don’t think this means you beat me or anything,” she huffed.

 

“…I know,” Garm replied quietly. “Had it not been for that advice, it would’ve gone very differently.”

 

“Hmph. Damn right.”

 

“…Ah, I see how it is,” Tsutomu muttered to himself. He had had his own suspicions, and with them all but confirmed, he chuckled in amusement.

 

Annoyed by his smug expression, Amy scooped up a handful of sand and threw it at his chest. Garm, standing beside her, looked vaguely embarrassed, shifting uncomfortably.

 

“U-um!! I would really appreciate it if someone helped me now!!” Daryl’s strained voice rang out from across the arena.

 

The Corroded Elder Dragon was still alive, and the blood weapons were more vicious than ever; they had been pressing him hard in the others’ absence.

 

“Well now,” Tsutomu said, brushing the sand off his clothes, “If you two can pull off something like that, then I’ve got no excuse not to give it my all. God, the pressure is unreal. I’m actually kind of scared for once.”

 

“…I’m counting on you,” Garm said firmly.

 

“I’ll be the one to land the kill!” Amy added, grinning widely.

 

“All right,” Tsutomu said with a nod. “Let’s hurry up and help Daryl before he gets flattened.”

 

“Yes, please hurry! Seriously!!” came Daryl’s desperate shout.

 

With the wall of turning undead finally behind them, only one obstacle remained: stopping the Corroded Elder Dragon from restoring its organs. There was no guarantee the <<Barrier>> technique would work to prevent it, but Tsutomu steeled his resolve to try as he sent a healing wisp toward the battered, bloodstained Daryl. His heart pounded with the same tension he had once felt during the fiercest Time Attack tournaments in Live Dungeon.

 

▽▽

 

[This is way easier than last time. It’s like night and day.]

 

Compared to the last attempt, when only Daryl and Amira had to hold back two undead while simultaneously contending with the Corroded Elder Dragon, this felt almost leisurely. Tsutomu could’ve yawned without guilt. Most of the vital organs had already been destroyed, leaving only the heart intact. The real threats: the stomach, liver, and lungs, had been thoroughly annihilated. They were now in the middle of tearing through the intestines, which, while resilient, did not pose much danger.

 

Ideally, Tsutomu would have gone straight for the heart and brought the battle to an early close. But among the organs that manipulated blood, the heart posed a far greater risk to destroy outright than even the stomach. Thus, he chose a more cautious path: dismantle everything else and wait for the enemy to attempt a restoration, just as it had during the last encounter.

 

[Here it comes.]

 

The Corroded Elder Dragon clutched its own organs in a grotesque grip, and in that instant, Tsutomu took to the air with <<Fly>>. His mind sharpened, drawn like a bowstring. Below him, the Corroded Elder Dragon tore its heart from its own chest and curled around it, as if offering a prayer.

 

And then, it began…

 

“<<Barrier>>!”

 

A glow, not unlike <<Raise>>, erupted from the Corroded Elder Dragon’s body. Tsutomu cast <<Barrier>> at the very start of the light’s emergence, trapping it like a net drawn over a firefly. The skill held fast; the light of resurrection did not penetrate the <<Barrier>>, confirming that its effect functioned almost identically to <<Raise>>.

 

Tsutomu’s heart was pounding, but not with fear. The tension clarified his thoughts, like a lens coming into focus. Instead of his usual wide-range dome-shaped <<Barrier>>, he compressed it into a sphere tight enough to fit in his hand while keeping his gaze fixed on the monstrosity below.

 

The organs were not regenerating. The heart remained inert. The Dragon’s skeletal frame began to burn, as if being consumed by divine fire. Light spilled from its body like a million fireflies. More and more of them flickered free, filling the air.

 

“Not yet! Don’t let your guard down until it’s all gone!”

 

Tsutomu snapped at Daryl, who had been about to cheer. Holding the glowing sphere in his left hand, Tsutomu continued to watch the disintegrating remains of the Corroded Elder Dragon, still wary of a second resurrection.

 

“…Huh?”

 

Just as the light within the <<Barrier>> sphere vanished, something dropped into Tsutomu’s hand. It was a mage’s robe… one that he recognized immediately.

 

[Wait, isn’t this the reward gear…?]

 

It was equipment he had seen countless times in Live Dungeon. It was an item that, in his efficiency-obsessed Clan, had marked a player’s graduation from the beginner phase. Glancing down, he saw that the other party members had received their own equipment, each holding a different piece.

 

“…Ah.”

 

And then, Tsutomu noticed something far more startling: two Black Gates had appeared. One of them was the return gate, shining with a brilliant white light he had never seen before.

 

He stared in stunned silence, unable to tear his eyes away. The calls of his party members finally brought him back to himself, and he turned toward Amira… who was now attempting to kick the other, never-before-seen Black Gate.

 

“Hey, Tsutomu! This one won’t open!”

 

“…It won’t open?”

 

That was strange; normally, a Black Gate could be opened without issue once they appeared. And yet Amira and the others made no mention of the glowing return gate. That could only mean one thing: they could not see the light at all.

 

[So only those holding the reward gear can see it… and return?]

 

If Tsutomu’s guess was right, entering the shining Black Gate while carrying the reward gear would return him to his original world. He tested this theory by placing the equipment in his Magic Bag and even setting it on the ground, but the gate’s glow did not waver. It seemed that just touching the gear had been enough to satisfy the condition.

 

Which meant… this was it. This was where he parted ways with this world.

 

[…Well, at least I won’t be leaving the others to fend for themselves.]

 

Tsutomu had set things up so that, if he disappeared for a full month, his assets would be distributed among his acquaintances. The Clan would not suffer. With the others still distracted by the uncooperative gate, Tsutomu quietly walked toward the glowing one.

 

Just as his hand reached out to touch it, the light vanished.

 

[…? Is it on a time limit?]

 

He touched the reward gear again, but the glow did not return. Baffled by this unfamiliar mechanic, he hesitated… until someone grabbed the back of his robes.

 

“Hey! Don’t go wandering off alone! What if we all need to touch it together to make it work!?”

 

“Huh? …Oh. Sorry.”

 

Amira’s call made his heart skip a beat; for a second, he thought she had seen through him. But she was still focused on the unresponsive gate, not the returning one. Without giving him time to explain, she dragged him back to the other gate.

 

One by one, they all reached out and touched it… but nothing happened. The gate remained closed. It was decorated with unfamiliar markings, and within those carvings, a single red light glowed.

 

“…Maybe it only opens once a certain number of other groups clear the hundredth layer?” Tsutomu suggested, his tone speculative. “That’s just a guess, though.”

 

“Sounds right to me! Which means we were first! I hope the next bunch comes soon!”

 

Amira, now holding something similar to Tsutomu’s reward gear, laughed joyfully with Amy. Daryl and Garm both looked relieved as well.

 

“Well, let’s head back already! I got some choice words I’ve been saving for Leleia!”

 

“Yeah… okay.”

 

“…You look weird. Something’s bothering you?”

 

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go home.”

 

“Hey, we made it past the hundredth layer! That’s worth celebrating!”

 

“I’m starving!”

 

Dragged along by Amira’s high energy and Daryl’s empty stomach, Tsutomu walked back to the returning Black Gate. The gate no longer had that mysterious light, but that only meant it retained its intended function. He stepped through it with the two of them, and returned to the Guild… but not without a puzzled look still lingering on his face.

 

Garm and Amy followed right after.

 

“What are you doing? You can appraise your equipment later,” Garm said to Amy. “Let’s move.”

 

“…Ah, yeah. Don’t… don’t worry about it.”

 

“…?”

 

Garm tilted his head, his canine ears twitching in confusion at Amy’s unusually muted response. But he said nothing more, and walked through the return gate.

 

Once she was sure the others had gone, Amy checked her surroundings for the presence of the God Eye. When she confirmed she was unobserved, she reached beneath the reward gear she had placed on the ground… and pulled out a strange sheet of paper she had hidden underneath.