Chapter 309, Nipping the Buds

Translator: Barnnn

Editor: Silavin

 

The Black Gate within the Guild flared open, disgorging five figures dressed in flaxen tunics, each clutching a Magic Bag. Among them, a woman with upright white rabbit ears swiftly got to her feet. She thanked the Beastkin orphans who had brought her cloak, accepting it with a nod of gratitude. Behind her, the red and blue-feathered Birdkin sisters also retrieved their garments in turn.

 

“Damn it–! One more try!!”

 

“Arghhh!!”

 

“We were so close this time…”

 

“If I hadn’t missed the <<Haste>> timing, we could’ve made it! Why’d it blink out like that…”

 

“I could almost see myself dodging better, too…”

 

“Just one more push is all it’ll take…”

 

The voices belonged to the members of Silver Beast, one of the Clans currently challenging the ninetieth layer. Healer Lorena, and the evasion-based Tanks Rara and Riri, walked together, discussing their performance as they headed to the changing rooms. Madeleine, the Sorcerer in an obscuring black hood, followed silently behind.

 

“Let’s get changed and get it over with already,” Misil muttered.

 

The only man in the group, he shed his flaxen garb on the spot, donning his armor and promptly joining the queue at reception. There, he spotted a familiar figure ahead — a tall Cynokin he recognized.

 

“Oh? Hey there, Garm.”

 

“…Misil.”

 

“Your team got wiped too?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Though their acquaintance had once been superficial at best, the two had grown closer ever since Tsutomu became involved with Silver Beast. After greeting Garm, Misil turned to the other flaxen-clad Explorer standing beside him — a man grinning with unshakable confidence despite the color of failure draped over his shoulders.

 

“Xeno,” Misil said with a casual nod.

 

Then his gaze shifted to Monitor #1, where the image of Tsutomu engaged in battle on the ninety-first layer played across the screen.

 

“Looks like you’re doing this without Tsutomu. Think you’ll manage?”

 

“…It’s been a grueling fight, but we’ve found our opening.”

 

“That so? Until recently, we were hitting all sorts of walls inside and out, but things started looking up thanks to Absolute Helix and Ealdred Crow.”

 

“Hmph. Hard to believe, considering how you lot looked not long ago,” Xeno said, leaning in and stroking his chin with an all-too-knowing smirk, his eyes narrowing as he studied Misil.

 

As Silver Beast had practically become Absolute Helix Team 2’s rival as of late, Xeno had received some intel on them from his wife, Pico — a Dungeon Maniac who kept him well informed on all things dungeoneering. Yet even she hadn’t mentioned anything about internal troubles. The new information piqued his interest.

 

“I had an edge early on, y’know, thanks to my unusual Job,” Misil said. “Got used to the Pedestal pressure before the others. But once we got through the eightieth layer during the Stampede, with most of the major Clans outta town… that’s when things started getting tense. The party just didn’t mesh like before.”

 

“You mean Silver Beast started fracturing?”

 

“We cleared the eightieth, and suddenly people were treating us like one of the major Clans. That pressure… it wore on us. Slowed us down.”

 

Silver Beast had made a name for itself with a sharp, specialized composition — one mobile Healer and two evasion-based Tanks — backed by tight coordination and dazzling, free-form tactics. It was that fluidity and precision that let them stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the major clans. But after toppling the Winter General and dominating Monitor #1 for a time, their freedom of movement dulled. They began leaning toward defense. The weight of maintaining their standing started to cloud their thoughts. No longer the underdogs chasing glory — they were now the ones being chased.

 

From the outside, no one would have guessed. But within the party, the air occasionally grew heavy. The confidence they once had began to falter. Even the Dungeon Maniacs — normally avid supporters of cutting-edge tactics — began to suggest a shift to a more stable, conventional formation. Those whispers bred unease among the members. No one wanted to speak first, and the result was an awkward, unspoken tension that dulled their edge.

 

“But then we saw Absolute Helix win the ninetieth layer,” Misil continued. “That changed everything. Ealdred Crow, too — they’ve been trying out new tactics since. It got us thinking again, about what brought us this far in the first place.”

 

Absolute Helix had always excelled at steady, controlled battles. But even when only Tsutomu was left standing — every other member of his party dead — he refused to give up. He held the line together alone, and somehow, from the brink of collapse, he rebuilt his party and surged ahead, becoming the first to clear the ninetieth layer.

 

Ealdred Crow, perhaps feeling the pressure, promptly began experimenting with bold new approaches mere days later. Watching them through the Monitors, the members of Silver Beast were reminded of what had carried them to this point.

 

“We’re still green,” Misil said. “We’ve got no business turtling up. If we’re gonna move forward, it’s gotta be with the same aggression we started with.”

 

“Shame,” came a childlike voice from behind him. “Would’ve been easier if Silver Beast had just folded right there.”

 

Misil turned to find Rook, the Clan Leader of Ealdred Crow, staring up at them with large, deep-green eyes, round as polished gems. Behind him stood Bittman — one of the most highly regarded Tanks, right up there with Daryl and Garm — and Sova, a versatile multi-weapon fighter who had recently been promoted back to Team 1 after an impressive run in Team 2.

 

For a moment, Misil faltered inwardly, intimidated by the three. But he recovered quickly, putting on a grin and answering in a joking tone,

 

“Now that’s a hell of a greeting, kid.”

 

“I’m the kind of guy who likes to nip budding sprouts in the… well, bud. Especially now that Absolute Helix has passed us — makes it all the more tempting. If we fall any further behind, it’ll just be a pain all around.”

 

[The look in his eyes says he’s totally not joking. Creepy…]

 

Rook’s words might have sounded like a casual joke, but his eyes carried a sharpness that betrayed how serious he was. As the one who had maintained top standing from the seventieth layer onward, Ealdred Crow had just recently been overtaken by Absolute Helix — and the sting of it showed. Misil found herself hesitating to respond to Rook’s comment, uncertain how to read his tone.

 

Thankfully, Sova stepped in, grabbing Rook by the scruff of the neck and hauling him back like a misbehaving cat.

 

“Sorry about that. Rook’s just in a foul mood. As Clan Leader, he’s been getting a lot of heat since Absolute Helix passed us.”

 

“I’m NOT in a foul mood!”

 

“Bittman.”

 

“…Yeah, yeah.”

 

At Sova’s prompt, Bittman crouched with a deadpan expression, let Rook climb up onto his shoulders, and then stood. Even perched high atop Bittman’s tall frame, Rook wore a sour expression, though he didn’t seem particularly opposed to the arrangement. Watching this bizarre display, Misil froze with a baffled look.

 

“Wh-why a shoulder ride all of a sudden?”

 

“Beats me. But apparently getting lifted up helps his mood a little. Anyway, let’s both do our best. Absolute Helix may be ahead, but we’ll catch up soon enough.”

 

“R-right.”

 

“……”

 

“……”

 

With that, Sova ended the conversation, shrugging off his flax-colored tunic and beginning to equip his armor. Meanwhile, Garm stared at Bittman — still carrying Rook — with an unreadable look. Bittman responded with nothing more than a solemn nod.

 

▽▽

 

[W-why is this happening…?]

 

The women’s changing room — always crowded during nighttime hours — had descended into utter chaos. Just as Korinna finished changing after yet another full-party wipe on the ninetieth layer, she stepped out and was immediately met with the sight of two women in a full-blown fight.

 

As shouting erupted, Korinna instinctively stepped between them to break it up — only to realize she had stepped right into the eye of a storm.

 

“Hey! Don’t get in my way! I was just about teach her a lesson!”

 

“…You’re from Absolute Helix…”

 

[Of all people, why these two!?]

 

She could scarcely believe it. Lorena — the famed Mobile Healer of Silver Beast — and Stephanie, Ealdred Crow’s formidable Conductor, had each other by the hair and were seconds away from drawing blood. Korinna’s face turned pale as she wedged herself between them, completely stunned.

 

Though she had the gentle appearance of a simple caregiver, Korinna had a background as a nurse tending to Explorers. Her job had required a certain degree of toughness — not just physically, but mentally. She’d had to subdue plenty of reluctant patients, and she knew exactly how to hold someone down when needed. Stopping these two wasn’t the problem.

 

“Absolute Helix? Ah, so you’re… Korinna, right?”

 

“…The… Channeler, yes?”

 

“Y-yes. A-and, um… p-please don’t fight…”

 

Korinna’s calm but firm grip and her presence seemed to gradually cool the boiling tension between the two women. With her hands gently but effectively holding them in place, Lorena was the first to exhale and ease up.

 

[Oh, God, this Stephanie girl is much more intense than I expected… I need to be really careful around her.]

 

Lorena’s temper was straightforward and impulsive — Korinna had handled enough of those to know what to expect. But Stephanie was different. Her reactions were extreme, flipping from one to one hundred in a heartbeat, and her eyes were disturbingly cold. They reminded Korinna of Explorers who had taken lives before.

 

Letting go of Lorena, she kept a close watch on Stephanie as she asked, “W-what in the world happened between you two?”

 

“She’s the one who started it!”

 

“You’re the one who said something outrageous first.”

 

Having stepped into it, Korinna had no choice now but to see it through. Now it became clear that both had said things that hit each other where it hurt.

 

They had only started talking because they were waiting for their turn in the changing room. At first, it had been a simple conversation about Tsutomu. But when Lorena brought up his use of her Mobile Healer style, the conversation took a sour turn. One thing led to another, and soon they were exchanging barbs about each other’s recent failures. The fight escalated from there.

 

“If you two start brawling, it’ll just cause trouble for your Clans. Please, try to avoid that.”

 

“I know, I know…”

 

“……”

 

Lorena seemed pacified, if reluctantly. Stephanie, on the other hand, said nothing. She only stared silently at Korinna, her gaze unreadable as she seemed deep in thought. That look alone sent a chill crawling up Korinna’s spine. She tensed, her instinct telling her to stay alert.

 

“Miss Korinna, I–” Stephanie started, but before she could say more…

 

“S-sorry, I really have to go now! Please excuse me!” Korinna blurted out an excuse and practically fled.

 

She had never wanted to intervene in such a volatile situation in the first place.

 

“–alous…”

 

She didn’t catch the start of the word, only the end. But the tone alone was cold enough to make Korinna shudder. She did not dare look back as she hurried out of the changing room.