Live Dungeon!
Chapter 226: Hands Full(?)

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“What happened?” Garm asked solemnly, his gaze fixed on Hannah, observing that she was unusually prickly toward Tsutomu.

“Just think of it as her rebellious phase,” Tsutomu chuckled and replied.

Hannah, hearing that, grew even grumpier.

“Tsutomu, I never knew you were such a cold-hearted guy!”

“Seriously, what’s gotten into her?”

“You know, I’m kind of surprised that she still remembers my name.”

“Well, I’m surprised you still call yourself human!”

As Garm attempted to understand Hannah’s situation while she fumed with indignation, Tsutomu leaned against the Shield erected around the Royal Capital, gazing outside.

“Nothing’s happening.”

Amira, leaning forward with her chin resting on her hand gripping the hilt of her greatsword, scowled at the outside world, grumbling.

“Meh, I say let them come. I’m bored to tears here.”

“If you’re that bored, why not practice <<Dragon Union>>? Here, stick it on me.”

“…Hell no, I’m never going to do it with YOU anymore.”

“Sure, anyone else will do, I guess. What about Leleia?”

“Ugh, that’s even worse! Hey, Hannah, come here.”

Amira, with a displeased glare, called Hannah over, grabbed her by the neck, and began practicing <<Dragon Union>>. Leleia, watching Hannah squirm uncomfortably with Amira’s hand around her neck, looked rather ominous.

At one point, a small figure wearing a white hood approached Tsutomu. The Vulpeer — as apparent from the golden-furred fox tail sticking out from behind her coat — sighed audibly upon seeing Tsutomu’s face.

“…Ugh, I wish you people would be at least a little nervous.”

“Who are you?”

“Eunice! Who else!?” she shouted, revealing her fox ears as she pushed back her hood

Tsutomu, assured that she was indeed Eunice upon observing her mannerisms, waved his hand as if he was brushing off the dust on his shoulder.

“Look, I already have my hands full with Hannah, so I’d appreciate it if you stayed away from me.”

“Hannah? Well, well… Looks like she’s finally had enough! You’re starting to show your true colours — now it’d be great if everyone ends up hating you!”

“I swear, Leon’s gonna have enough of YOU one of these days…”

“WHAT!?”

“What a lively conversation you seem to be having. May I join in?”

As Eunice was about to throw hands, Stephanie, dressed in a blue dress this time, also approached. Seeing that Stephanie had numerous skill wisps flying around her, Eunice put her guard up, while Tsutomu sneakily took a few steps back.

[She’s always practicing, huh…]

While Tsutomu occasionally practiced his skill control during his free time, Stephanie seemed to have her skills constantly flying around her as of late. That itself was not a problem, so to speak, but there was something off about Stephanie’s demeanor compared to before. The aura of madness seeping from her was akin to the chat logs of a hardcore player who had been keeping themselves logged in 24/7. Moreover, the chilling look in her eyes whenever she looked at Tsutomu made him feel uneasy.

“Tch, here comes the villainess…”

“And I thought the Vulpeer girl couldn’t get any more annoying… Mister Tsutomu, never mind her. Why don’t we have a little chat, just the two of us?”

“Shut up! All these wisps flying around you are what’s annoying!”

“If you find them annoying, it must mean you’re below third-rate.”

As the two began exchanging insults with faces ready to pounce, Tsutomu watched with a slightly withdrawn expression. While he knew that Eunice and Stephanie had clashed before, he had not expected their disagreement to escalate to a verbal brawl.

Despite their significant height difference, Eunice, with a fierce expression, was looking up at Stephanie, who appeared ready to crush her underfoot. Seeing the two seething with anger, Tsutomu intervened,

“Hey, can you both calm down for a moment?”

“Yes, Mister Tsutomu, if that’s what you want…”

Stephanie immediately backed off, but Eunice’s expression grew even more displeased.

“First off, who do you think I’m angry for? This girl… she made fun of the dumpling-type spell casing! Aren’t you upset!? It means you’re being made fun of, too!”

“…What? What does that have to do with me?”

“Don’t you get it!? I made it, and you acknowledged it, and she made fun of it! It’s not something I can let her get away with!”

“…I mean, yeah, I did acknowledge it, but…”

Regardless of Eunice’s personality, Tsutomu had acknowledged her skill in enveloping <<Haste>> with a <<Barrier>>, storing it for later use. Creating new techniques was crucial for one to stay in the meta of Live Dungeon, and Tsutomu understood the effort involved. He did not think it was necessary for Eunice to be so enraged over it, however, and as he crossed his arms, Stephanie, with her pupils dilated to a frightening extent, also approached him.

“I would never make fun of you, Mister Tsutomu. I am simply annoyed by how the third-rate Healer is getting carried away with a little praise.”

“…So she says. Hmph!”

“Mister Tsutomu, did you not say I was the best? You did, didn’t you? I’m the best, aren’t I?”

“H-hey, back off. You’re tearing me apart, Stephanie!”

As Stephanie tightly grabbed his right wrist, Tsutomu lightly pushed her hand away. Eunice, feeling she could not afford to back down now, proceeded to grab Tsutomu’s left wrist.

“What’s the meaning of this!?”

“Exactly what you heard — Mister Tsutomu said I was the best. You’re irrelevant. Leave Mister Tsutomu alone, Vulpeer girl.”

“What!? I don’t give a damn about him!”

[What the hell is wrong with these two?]

Tsutomu looked flustered as the two began arguing again. As the conversation reached a stalemate, something unusual happened.

“Kyah–!?”

“Whoa, what in the–!?”

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, causing Eunice and Stephanie to lose their balance and topple Tsutomu over. Tsutomu, not trained enough to brace himself while holding the two, ended up falling to the ground with them. Eunice and Stephanie then realized that they had hands on their chests.

“M-Mister Tsutomu…”

“Now you’re using an earthquake to cop a feel, huh!? You pervert!”

“…How about you take a good look at your own hands first?”

Blushing and teary-eyed, Stephanie and Eunice looked up at Tsutomu, who raised his hands to prove his innocence. He then pointed out to them that they were both grabbing each other’s chests while lying on top of him.

“Wha– get your hands off me, you Vulpeer!”

“Huh!? YOU first!”

“Just get off ME, both of you, damn it!”

As the two continued to throw exaggerated reactions at each other, Tsutomu managed to extract himself from under them. He quickly stood up and retrieved his staff from his Magic Bag.

“Anomalies detected in the southwest! The ground is rising rapidly!” A knight with binoculars, who had been keeping watch, alerted everyone through a megaphone.

Tsutomu looked in that direction and indeed saw the ground rising abnormally.

“You two, stop arguing already. We’ve got monsters incoming.”

Interrupting the ongoing argument between the two, Tsutomu focused on the rising ground. The first thing that emerged from it was the massive front paw of a giant tortoise.

▽▽

Erupting from the earth with a rumble, a colossal tortoise emerged, its massive form poised without any immediate action, firmly planted on all fours. However, from the shell it bore, countless monsters spilled forth.

[From appearances alone, it seems to be an Elder Bone Tortoise, but… I’ve never seen monsters spawning from their shells before.]

While resembling the monsters that spawned in Live Dungeon raid battles, this Elder Bone Tortoise had a different shell structure. Ordinarily, that shell should emit white steam, but the one that appeared before the Royal Capital had monsters emerging from it.

[Is it storing monsters in there? …No, that can’t be — It doesn’t seem like there’s enough space for that.]

Like ants streaming out of small anthills, monsters continued to pour out from the shell, with flying ones hovering in the air while the grounded ones used the Elder Bone Tortoise’s body as a platform to descend to the ground.

“Confirm the loading of magical tools. Prepare to launch Flash Bombs. Explorers, stand by at your designated positions. Knight Commander, inform the King and the other nobles that the Stampede is approaching. All remaining units, initiate evacuation and guidance for the residents.”

Emerging from her makeshift tent, Christia showed no signs of having just been asleep as she donned her gear and issued instructions to the Labyrinth Conquerors and knights. Soon after, Flash Bombs were launched into the sky to alert everyone of the enemy attack, and the knights rushed to warn the citizens of the danger.

“<<Haste>>, <<Protect>>. Everyone, get ready!”

Tsutomu, who had just moments ago been relaxed, now tightened his expression as he cast support skills on those present at the scene: Garm, Hannah, Amira, and Leleia. Garm, who had been conversing with Hannah, swiftly picked up his tower shield and moved to Tsutomu’s side, followed by the others.

Meanwhile, Eunice and Stephanie, upon witnessing the appearance of the colossal monster, joined up with their nearby Clan members.

As those who saw the Flash Bomb signaling the monster attack began to converge southward of the Royal Capital, monsters continued to pour out from the Elder Bone Tortoise, amassing before the Shield.

And atop the Elder Bone Tortoise stood two figures.

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