Chapter 360: Sweep Them All Away
For nearly three hours, Tsutomu and his party had been clearing out the monsters that spawned in the corridors of the ninety-sixth layer. They hunted down enemies of various attributes, collected Magic Stones from their remains, and repeated the loop through the donut-shaped area three full times before Tsutomu finally raised his voice.
"That should be enough. Amy, Xeno, you two take the load north. Garm, Amira, head south with the rest."
"…Tch."
"Look, sorry for making you do all the heavy lifting, all right? I’ll make it up to you soon enough. We’re just getting to the fun part."
It was only natural that Amira clicked her tongue like a sulky teenager; to prevent leaks, she had deliberately been kept uninformed of the plan. Still, she followed instructions, albeit with visible reluctance. The others understood the rationale and showed no particular reaction. If anything, they seemed faintly amused by her attitude.
The ninety-sixth layer, as Tsutomu saw it, was essentially the stress relief stage of Live Dungeon. It was designed from the ground up as a raucous, bombastic battlefield, where players could use stage gimmicks to mow down hordes after hordes of monsters as if they were playing a tower defense game. From its structure and mechanics, it was clear that the developers intended it to be a cathartic experience.
In the game, players were given five minutes to gather Magic Stones by fighting monsters. Then, using Dragon statues positioned outside the ancient castle, the team split into two roles: one squad would defend against the incoming waves using the Dragons, while the other would continue gathering Magic Stones. The goal was to prevent the castle’s durability from reaching zero.
Players who mastered the defense weapons and kept up a strong supply line of Magic Stones could breeze through the stage. The rewards were generous, and the efficiency it offered made it a favored bonus stage among players.
Back then, Tsutomu had never skipped a daily run.