Live Dungeon!

The moment Tsutomu realized that the battle on the hundredth layer had reached a stalemate, the trauma he had long buried deep within, of being slain by the Corroded Elder Drago, burst forth all at once. It was a terror so overwhelming that it drove him to abandon comrades he had fought alongside for nearly a year. The moment he became aware of his own impending death, he began subtly shifting his movements to avoid drawing the Corroded Elder Dragon’s aggro.

And just before the Dragon’s brain finished regenerating, he fled, driven not by strategy but by sheer desperation to preserve his own life. He had dampened his aggro in advance to avoid becoming a target and even manipulated the God Eye itself to deceive the watching Clan members on the other side of the screen. It was a sly, calculated move, made not from courage but cowardice.

Though the God Eye had failed to capture Tsutomu’s escape, he had, in reality, fled the Ancient Castle’s arena alone, stumbling again and again, pressing his hands over his mouth to muffle the screams that terror clawed from his throat. And once he reached the deeper recesses, he cowered in silence, trembling, unable to act or even breathe too loudly for fear of being found.

Because he had vanished before the Corroded Elder Dragon’s brain had completed its regeneration, the monster never recognized him as a Healer. And with the undead-turned Amy and Garm focusing their aggression on those attacking the Dragon’s organs, Tsutomu had no fear of drawing aggro as long as he refrained from using skills.

So he did nothing, keeping himself curled up in a narrow gap within the Ancient Castle like a larva in its cocoon, unmoving and unresisting, letting time tick by uselessly. While he hid, Daryl and Amira died, and the Corroded Elder Dragon completed its regeneration. The longer he remained tucked away, the heavier the weight of reality pressed against him… until eventually, his spirit broke.

[…Dammit, I gotta pee…]

Four hours into his retreat, Tsutomu was struck not by an enemy attack, but by a mundane urge to urinate. And strangely enough, that mere biological need chipped away at the absolute terror that had consumed him. As his awareness returned to bodily discomfort, his mind found space to think and breathe again.

More time passed. He distracted himself with pointless thoughts, forcing his attention to anything but the fear. When he finally peeked outside his hiding place and confirmed he still was not being hunted, he relieved himself quietly and returned to his dark corner, inching about every so often in total silence.

[Whoever tuned the Corroded Elder Dragon like this deserves a punch to the throat. If it’s that same goddamn guy who summoned me to this world, then yeah, I’m never forgiving him. What a garbage update. The game’s second dev team handled balance better than this.]