After finishing the dinner preparations in the late afternoon, Ollie entrusted the rest of the housework to her apprentice, and went by herself to the crowded square where the Monitors were. Then, once she reached the area of the single-digit Monitors, she looked around, looking for someone.
She had started to have some free time thanks to her apprentice being able to take over some of her work, so she had been spending it watching the Explorers to learn more about them. Having devoted most of her time until now to working for the nobility, however, there were some things she could not make sense of from watching them through the Monitors alone.
“Ah, Miss Ollie. This way.”
“Good day to you.”
“And to you as well.”
To make up for that lack of understanding, Ollie had commissioned a famous Dungeon Maniac — a woman with black hair in a short bob cut — to compile some easy-to-understand reading material and provide her with real-time explanations. Bowing to the woman, Ollie proceeded to the table that she had reserved and took a seat.
This was her second time meeting this Dungeon Maniac, so she was already somewhat familiar. Last time, the woman had jumped on Ollie’s request almost immediately… because she was none other than Pico, Xeno’s wife.
“This is the data I’ve put together so far for Monitor #3. It’s still in progress, but should be good enough for a little reading.”
“Thank you.”
Pico passed Ollie a stack of neatly-written documents that detailed the Absolute Helix exploration party’s progress that she had been observing since noon. They looked up at Monitor #3, and saw that the party was still there, doing their thing.
“Looks like Tsutomu’s party has been trying out something different, like usual. The Attackers include Amira using her <<Dragon Form>>, and Leleia combining her own attacks with her Spirits. And the evasion-based Tank, Hannah, is training to fight during snow storms by staying grounded the whole time.”
“Oh, I see.”
Ollie read through the documents with ease, having learned about terms such as Attacker and Tank from Pico in the previous session.
“These four have already managed to reach layer seventy-nine, so they can be expected to get through later eighty as well. Still, considering that this boss monster is much more powerful than the last, it will be difficult to win on their first try… Then again, I heard that Amy and Garm will be joining them soon, so it’s quite possible that they will be the first Clan to get through the layer.”
“The other Clans that have reached layer eighty are… Ealdred Crow and Silver Beast, yes? Are they not more likely to win?”
“They don’t seem to have a chance at winning at the present, no. Golden Tune has been performing much better than before, but… well, they still rely too much on Leon and his unique skill.”
Golden Tune had claimed their victory on layer seventy in less than two months after defeating the Fire Dragon on layer sixty — and it looked like they still had their momentum. The reason they had been able to do that, however, was the fact that many among them were level seventy, which was a suitable level for going against the Mount Golem. In essence, they had been pushing their way through with brute force.
For layer eighty, however, the recommended level was eighty, and the Winter General was quite a skilled fighter. As such, the first two Clans that had made it through the Snow Fields now found themselves hitting a wall.
“Besides, Absolute Helix has Tsutomu — and everyone’s expecting to see good things from him. All the Clans except Scarlet Devil Squad have been struggling against the Fire Dragon for quite some time, but he led a team of three and won against it in one try. And after the Stampede, the nobility considered him the biggest contributor to the town’s survival — and then he went on to win against the Mount Golem on his first try. Despite all that, it’s still unknown whether or not he possesses a unique skill. It would be strange NOT to expect a good show from him, really.”
Pico chuckled as she looked at the Monitor, on which Tsutomu was shown carrying out the roles of Healer and evasion-based Tank. His style was distinct from those of other Healers, and now that his layer progress was currently the highest, he was becoming more popular than his ‘rivals,’ Stephanie and Lorena.
Perhaps influenced by that, Lorena had recently been changing up her strategies and skill rotations, trying to increase her versatility. And perhaps happy because she was no longer constantly mentioned in the same breath as Tsutomu, she had been coming off as much more cheerful lately as she tried out new things with her comrades.
Stephanie, on the other hand, had been exploring the dungeon non-stop as if she was being cornered by something. Lately, she had dark circles under her eyes, and her expression was so gloomy that her fellow Clan members were worried that she might collapse one of these days.
Pico and Ollie proceeded to observe the activities of Tsutomu’s team, with the former explaining things to the latter while also preparing more reading material. Two hours later, when the hour approached evening, more people started gathering in the area, Pico cut the conversation short as she heard that Daryl’s team had just found the Black Gate down to layer seventy.
“They’ll probably be on Pedestal 8. We should get moving — This way, Miss Ollie.”
Having reserved another seat near the single-digit Monitors, Pico stood up and walked on ahead, guiding Ollie. Although Ollie had difficulties wading through the crowd, she managed to follow Pico and sit down.
Though there were over a hundred people sitting in their respective reserved seats near Monitor #8 alone, many of those seats were still empty. On the other hand, the unreserved seats were all full by now, forcing the rest of the spectators to stand and watch. Adding them together made for quite a large crowd.
“Looks like this particular fight is getting a great deal of attention! Maybe I should write about this battle, too,” Pico said happily as she held up her worn-out fountain pen — as she only used her favorite quill pen at home due to it being a gift from Xeno — and stared at the party of five shown on the gigantic screen.
Then, the mission team commenced the battle against the Mount Golem with Xeno’s powerful <<Combat Cry>>.
“Ooh, it’s starting!”
“Hey, that’s Xeno over there!”
“Don’t get everyone killed, Xeno, my dude!”
Many of those in the unreserved seats recognized Xeno, and perhaps because of that, some of them were quick to scoff at him. Due to a combination of the fame he had built up himself and what he had gained from joining Absolute Helix, Xeno had become practically a household name, for better or worse.
“The currently popular approach to fighting the Mount Golem is to separate the boss monster and its minions. The team is doing that as well, with Daryl taking on the boss, while Xeno takes on the minions. Similarly for the Attackers, Melchor is responsible for destroying the minions, while Diniel deals damage to the boss. And Korinna is supporting everyone as the Healer, of course.”
“I understand.”
“It’s generally assumed that, in the first phase, the Tank taking care of the minions will have an especially hard time. Quite surprising that they’re having Xeno do it, since it’s his first attempt…”
If she were to look at things in a favorable light, Pico would have said that Xeno could do his thing just fine, but now she was being paid to provide commentary, so she talked from the same point of view as the other Dungeon Maniacs.
Ollie, seeing Daryl taking on the gigantic Mount Golem, started growing restless…
“NWOOO–!!”
“What a joker…”
…Then she facepalmed upon seeing Xeno’s comical state, repeatedly taking hits as he was surrounded by the Golem minions.
After that, she was visibly impressed by how well Diniel was landing her <<Stream Arrow>>, and how Daryl was able to keep the Mount Golem’s attention entirely on him.
Still, she seemed unsettled, perhaps out of worry, as she observed Daryl carrying out dangerous maneuvers.
“Daryl is performing especially well at his role, even for someone who’s already won the fight once. And he’s been practicing for this layer specifically, so he probably won’t die today. There’s no need to worry so much.”
“Ah… I see…”
Being told so by Pico, Ollie relaxed a little, unclenching her fists.
Eventually, the team avoided the Bomb Golems’ chain explosions and safely made it to the fight’s second phase. While explaining the battle to Ollie, Pico’s hands were constantly moving, writing her articles.
The Tanks carried on the same roles as before, with Xeno drawing the attention of the newly-spawned minions, and Daryl taking on the Mount Golem as it gradually gained speed. Diniel used ice arrows with her <<Stream Arrow>> to deal higher damage, and Korinna provided the two Tanks with support and healing.
“Will they be all right…?” Ollie said with a great deal of worry to seeing Daryl being knocked away repeatedly by the Mount Golem
“I do think they’re stretching themselves a little thin,” Pico replied calmly. “This might be a good time to switch up the Tanks.”
Shortly after that, when the number of minions was down to eleven, Xeno switched aggro targets with Daryl, facing the boss monster in the latter’s stead.
“The Tanks are taking turns fighting — that’s also a popular approach for layer seventy. The first time around, Absolute Helix did do something different by using a Tank that can evade, but… Well, basically, it’s safest to have the Tanks take turns defending against the boss monster’s attacks. And I think that’s what the team will do, since Melchor alone will probably be enough for dealing with the rest of the minions.”
“A Tank that can evade? Do you mean Hannah?”
“Yes. People as fast as her can avoid all attacks that come their way, meaning they can deal with the monster by themselves. For Jobs with low AGI, like Daryl’s Heavy Knight, doing the same will be quite difficult — But a Paladin like Xeno actually can be an evasion-based Tank, at least to some extent.”
The AGI ratings of Knights, Paladins, and Dark Knights were not too low, so they could evade at least some attacks while carrying out their Tank roles. They would not be quite as good as full evasion-based Tanks like Hannah, of course, but they could make up for that with their higher VIT.
As Xeno stayed close to the Mount Golem and avoided its feet and fists, Pico seemed at least a little proud of him as she continued to provide commentary. She also took a moment to explain the Paladin skill <<Flash>>, which enabled one to temporarily disrupt enemies’ sense of sight, although it would go unused today due to it having no effect on the Mount Golem.
“N-now THAT is what I call a punch…”
Moreover, their high VIT made them durable enough to withstand a hit. Hannah would definitely be killed if she were to take a single punch from the Mount Golem, but Xeno could live through it just fine. As such, Pico thought there would be no problem now, but then she noticed Xeno acting strangely.
“Your cheers will be the source of my strength! Thank you, and again, thank you!”
Pico was the only one who could see the anguish behind his smile. She tightened her grip on her fountain pen, knowing that no one else — not even Xeno’s party members — was seeing through the bluff. Then, upon seeing Xeno reaching for a Potion only to suddenly pull his hand back, she shouted out in the spur of the moment,
“Drink your Potion, damn it!!”
“Hmm?”
“Ah… excuse me,” Pico said, blushing a little as Ollie turned to her.
Guessing that Xeno was competing with Daryl, who had also not been drinking Potions despite taking so many hits, she sighed at her husband’s unnecessary pride and continued writing as if to distract herself.
“Switch!”
By the time Daryl was through Xeno’s bluff, it was too late. Xeno was kicked away and, unable to regain his bearings in mid-air, fell into the lava sea. Seeing Xeno die, Pico stopped writing, staring blankly ahead for a moment before resuming.
“A Channeler is bound to have difficulties reviving a Tank. But I’m sure Daryl will be able to handle the situation somehow–“
“Two minutes until revival!”
Korinna’s performance caught her off guard, as a Channeler’s fastest revival time was technically five minutes — ten minutes for the revival skill, reduced to half with the <<Verses of Prayer>>. Despite that, Korinna had claimed that it would need only two minutes.
And sure enough, two minutes later, Xeno revived. Pico kept an eye on Korinna from that point on, and found out that she had been using <<Blessing of Resurrection>> ahead of time — and timing them so that she did not even have to use <<Verses of Prayer>>.
“Hehehe… Korinna really is something else, isn’t she? Surely even you haven’t noticed before how good she actually is.”
As Pico was stunned by the performance of a supposedly unremarkable Explorer like Korinna, a Dungeon Maniac came over from a nearby reserved seat. He claimed to be focused on observing Healer-type Explorers, and to know of Korinna’s ability to foresee death.
“…I may have done too little research, yes.”
“That’s understandable. She’s not all that famous, so her capabilities are barely even documented. Which brings me to the next point…”
“How much do you want?”
“Cutting to the chase, huh? Nice.”
“Sorry, Miss Ollie, mind if I negotiate with this guy for a bit? This will net me some info about Korinna to explain to you with, too.”
“Sounds perfectly good to me.”
With Ollie’s permission, Pico negotiated with the Dungeon Maniac, and in the end, she received the information for a fee and an agreement to include his name in her articles. And then, after scanning through the information, Pico narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
“She can predict death…? That’s nonsense… is what I’d say if I didn’t already see her do it.”
Xeno had died several times during the negotiation, and every single time, Korinna would revive him in just two to three minutes — and sometimes even a single minute. Since Xeno would never even propose a plan in which he strategically let himself get killed, it was without a doubt that Korinna was able to foresee death.
“And I thought she was just some random big eater… Looks like I was wrong,” she proceeded to say, positively reevaluating her opinion on Korinna as she looked at the latter defending herself with her Scorchstone Robe.
Then she promptly apologized to Ollie for that remark and resumed her commentary.
