Chapter 361: Deciding on Members for the Hundredth Layer
"Welp, I knew this was happening. They’ll probably clear it by tomorrow."
Back at the Guild, Tsutomu watched with a sour expression as Ealdred Crow’s Team 1 began their assault on the ninety-sixth layer. Now that the strategy for the defensive battle had been made public, they had wasted no time taking action. With the help of Bittman, who had experience in military tactics, and the Dragon’s functions now revealed, it was only a matter of time before they broke through.
[I should talk to Korinna before the day’s out…]
With both of their teams nearly finished with the ninety-seventh layer, there were only two left before the hundredth. Given how close Ealdred Crow was behind them, there wasn’t much room to breathe.
The rival had proven more formidable than Tsutomu had anticipated. Of particular concern were the two Tanks: Bittman, a seasoned veteran, and Dorssia, a rising star who had recently begun making waves. The two brought a remarkable sense of stability to the front line, especially Dorssia, who followed orders with disturbing precision and threw herself into battle with such abandon that Tsutomu sometimes wondered if she’d disabled her sense of pain.
Then there was Rook, the Clan leader and an active Summoner; Sova, who had finally broken out of Weiss’s shadow; and at the helm of them all, Stephanie. Both in terms of strength and mental resilience, she was someone Tsutomu would prefer not to get on the bad side of if he could help it.
But he could not afford to worry only about things external to the Clan. Within Absolute Helix, Korinna had grown into a surprisingly capable Healer, so much so that she had managed to earn the trust of both Amira, whose interpersonal struggles were no secret, and Hannah, a pure evasion-based Tank. That was no small feat. Originally, Tsutomu had planned to let Korinna freely choose her party members. But now that she had grown strong enough to potentially seize the Clan’s top assets, the possibility of his own defeat felt far more real.
"Ah, looks like Korinny’s group is back too," Amy remarked.
As Tsutomu stood around, looking idly at some random Monitors, Korinna’s party returned from the ninety-seventh layer. After stopping by the appraisal counter to unload their Magic Bags’ contents, the five members dispersed. Korinna approached him hesitantly, as if unsure when to speak up.