Chapter 152: Should Have Been Roasted
After the break, the team continued exploring layer seventy-one and engaging in more combat. Since Amira had been given permission to use her <<Dragon Form>> in the afternoon, she spent most of the time barely in control of her consciousness while fighting.
Though Amira now had some degree of control over her <<Dragon Form>>, she still could neither listen to instructions nor disengage the transformation by herself. Carrying out the actions she thought she wanted to do was the most she could currently manage.
As such, Tsutomu was having a much harder time preventing Amira from generating more aggro than him. Fortunately, though, Amira had a tendency to take more hits while transformed, so Tsutomu had a reason to cast <<Heal>> more often and generate aggro from that as a result. All in all, there was not much of a problem on his part 鈥?though Hannah did have more difficulty keeping the aggro on herself.
鈥淭each鈥?This! Is! So! Tedious!鈥?
鈥淎ren鈥檛 you supposed to be the best evasion-based Tank?鈥?
鈥溾€ww, guess I can try a bit harder, eh?鈥?
Hearing just a few of Tsutomu鈥檚 carefully chosen words, Hannah鈥檚 expression instantly turned bright, and she proceeded to keep on trudging through the snow. Amira was visibly baffled by that reaction, while Leleia closed her eyes and pretended not to see anything, as if she had no intention to comment on it.
Over the subsequent battles, Hannah and Leleia鈥檚 teamwork was starting to take a decent shape.
鈥淔iring now!鈥?
鈥淕ot it!鈥?
Hannah pretended that Leleia鈥檚 voice was like the sounds of Diniel鈥檚 signal arrows, and each time she heard a command, she stopped attacking the monsters and focused on evasion.
鈥?<Salamander Breath>>.鈥?
The Salamander responded to Leleia鈥檚 chant, jumping off her shoulder and launching a laser beam-like breath attack from its mouth. It pierced right through one of the Snow Wolves, burning its body and splitting it open, tearing off its innards and causing them to plop down onto the ground.
Afterward, the team tried forming contracts with the Gnome and the humanoid Sylph as well, and Leleia mainly performed long-ranged attacks to kill the Snow Field鈥檚 monsters. Leleia wanted to show Hannah all of her main long-ranged skills during this trip, so she was quite particular in choosing which attacks she used in which situation.
Since Leleia had been welcomed into the Clan as a combatant with long-ranged attack skills, she had been told by Tsutomu to start out by showcasing that part of her arsenal first. However, while her Spirits and long-ranged attacks were certainly powerful, she also excelled in Spirit-augmented swordfighting.
And even though her compatibility with Spirits was not as high as Tsutomu鈥檚, it still could be considered quite impressive by normal people鈥檚 standards. In fact, most normal Spiritualists were not even able to interact with some Spirits by themselves at all.
A Spiritualist normally would have some Spirits that they had low natural compatibility with, and the use of their associated skills may be difficult or outright limited. The Sylph and the Undine tended to be incompatible with men and women, respectively, but Leleia had no particular limitations when it came to the Spirits that she could use.
As such, she could employ Spirits of all four elements in combat, and was able to have them enhance her swordfighting for close-ranged versatility. Her ability to do almost anything at a high level had been quite appreciated by Ealdred Crow, and she had been able to quickly produce results that got her promoted up to that Clan鈥檚 secondary party.
Considering that she was an excellent fighter both at close and long ranges, it could be said, due to the current situation, that she was not making the most of her abilities.
鈥淲e should be on the right track, yeah?鈥?
鈥淵es, I think so. Now that I have shown you most of my skills, I would like you to try and get used to responding to them.鈥?
鈥淵ou got it!鈥?
Thanks to Hannah鈥檚 change of mindset, she now was able to pay attention to Leleia鈥檚 voice most of the time, so there was no longer a risk of friendly fire. She still had to rely on Leleia鈥檚 skill to make certain things work, however, so she still had improvements to make going forward.
Seeing that their teamwork was starting to work out, Leleia placed her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Tsutomu鈥檚 evaluation of her would drop if her first attempt at cooperation did not go well.
Leleia proceeded to reach into the Magic Bag on her waist and take out a Magic Stone, handing it over to the lizard-like Salamander鈥檚 mouth as if to feed it.
Tsutomu, watching from the side, curiously asked,
鈥淥h? You have to feed them Magic Stones?鈥?
鈥淣o, it is not necessary, but it helps in building a relationship of trust with them, so they may lend us more of their power.鈥?
鈥淗uh鈥︹€?
Tsutomu crossed his arms and observed the Salamander as it gnawed on the Fire Magic Stone, fascinated by yet another aspect of this world that had not been in the game. He was not necessarily enjoying it, however, despite the sight being adorable. Spirits could not exactly be considered humans鈥?pets, and he could not help but think of the cost of the consumed Magic Stones.
Summoners were required to expend Magic Stones to use their skills, but Spiritualists had no such requirement. Still, feeding Magic Stones to a Spirit with bad compatibility would undoubtedly increase the level of power they were willing to lend.
There also existed equipment and items that temporarily increased one鈥檚 compatibility with Spirits, mainly obtained as loot from rare treasure chests. Since they were consumable and fairly expensive, however, it was more advantageous to have good compatibility with Spirits from the start.
鈥淢ind if I try feeding it, too?鈥?
鈥淒o feel free.鈥?
鈥淥oh, thanks!鈥?
Receiving a piece of crushed Fire Magic Stone, Hannah held it in her fingers and brought it close to the Salamander鈥檚 mouth. The Spirit promptly gobbled it up, prompting her to giggle happily.
Tsutomu, seeing that, took out a leftover Medium Water Magic Stone from his Magic Bag. The Slime-shaped Undine came crawling out of his pocket, jumped to his wrist, and clung to it.
[Ah, it鈥檚 not cold anymore.]
It seemed that the Undine, after getting Tsutomu鈥檚 reaction from earlier, had adjusted its body temperature to the level appropriate for human skin. While Tsutomu looked on, impressed by how considerate the liquid-bodied Spirit turned out to be, the Undine stretched out its spherical body and started poking at the Water Magic Stone.
鈥淕o ahead and eat it.鈥?
With that, the Undine started wrapping around the Magic Stone as if to swallow it whole. Tsutomu watched with interest as the Water Magic Stone melted away, and once he was sure that it was all gone, he put the Undine back into his pocket.
鈥曗€曗柦鈻解€曗€?
鈥淵ou know, maybe you should鈥檝e been roasted at least once back there,鈥?
After the Dungeon exploration run, the four returned to the Clan House. They proceeded to discuss today鈥檚 achievements with the other team that had returned before them, and Diniel quite promptly threw out a scathing comment at Hannah鈥檚 part in particular.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e the kind that won鈥檛 learn unless you get hurt. You鈥檇 have gotten things down quicker if you had died to the fire beams a few times.鈥?
鈥淣-no way, that鈥檚 not true鈥?right?鈥?
Hannah turned to Tsutomu, as if to ask for his help. For a moment, it seemed that Leleia鈥檚 brows twitched in annoyance.
鈥淣ot sounding very confident there, bird girl,鈥?Tsutomu impulsively quipped and turned the other way. 鈥淲ell, she and Leleia will be working together a lot more going forward. Hannah will have to focus on improving her awareness, so that she could pay attention and respond to Attackers鈥?actions. Anyway, there鈥檚 one thing I鈥檇 like to鈥?ask.鈥?
Tsutomu looked at Daryl, who was posing like a Power Ranger in the corner of his eye, and turned to Diniel for an explanation. And explain she did, with her eyes as unreadable as ever,
鈥淗e picked that up from Xeno.鈥?
鈥淗ow the hell鈥?鈥?
Tsutomu chuckled awkwardly while looking at Daryl mumbling something to himself while striking more poses. Feeling that the boy was clearly under a bad influence, he proceeded to ask Diniel,
鈥淲hat about you?鈥?
鈥淧erfectly fine.鈥?
鈥淯h鈥?okay. Hey, Daryl, one second.鈥?
Tsutomu gave up on getting a comment out of Diniel, calling Daryl instead. He promptly walked over to Tsutomu鈥?without changing his pose.
鈥淲hat is it, Sir Tsutomu?鈥?
鈥淒o you even have to ask? What in the world are you doing?鈥?
鈥淎h, I just thought I鈥檇 try acting a little like Sir Xeno, you see.鈥?
鈥溾€ell, I won鈥檛 pester you about it, but remember to control yourself, all right?鈥?Tsutomu replied, feeling awkward due to Daryl鈥檚 comically serious answer. Then he proceeded to get to the actually important point, 鈥淎nyway, how鈥檚 the mission been so far?鈥?
Daryl looked up and spent a moment thinking.
鈥淗mm鈥?We made it to layer forty-five today, so I would say it鈥檚 been smooth so far. Oh, and Sir Melchor really is something else! Like, he hits VERY hard!鈥?
鈥淚 see. How were Xeno and Korinna?鈥?
鈥淪ir Xeno is a powerful Tank, I think. No glaring flaws as far as I could see. Sir Melchor seems to have taken a liking to him, too.鈥?
Hearing a very unexpected answer, Tsutomu looked both surprised and worried.
鈥淚nteresting鈥?What about Korinna?鈥?He proceeded to ask, and Daryl cast his eyes down, seeming uneasy.
鈥淢iss Korinna is鈥?well, honestly, I don鈥檛 feel like I can do anything in either way yet. I鈥檓 too used to your style of support, so she just feels鈥?different, not to mention that I don鈥檛 quite understand how her Job works yet.鈥?
鈥淩ight. Well, if anything comes up that you鈥檇 consider a problem, just let me know.鈥?
鈥淯nderstood!鈥?Daryl cheerfully replied.
While moving on to talk with someone else, Tsutomu wondered if he should spectate them through the Monitors next time, now that he was not quite sure if things were all right on that front.
Currently in the Clan House, the usual five, plus Korinna and Leleia, were in the living room.
Xeno was not here, however. Being a married man, he naturally wanted to spend the evenings at home, so he had not fully moved into the Clan House. He did leave some luggage in one of the spare rooms, though, just in case he got kicked out of the house as a result of arguments.
Looking around the living room, it seemed that Amira was having a good time laughing at Daryl鈥檚 attempts at striking poses, and Diniel was explaining to Leleia quite thoroughly how bird-brained Hannah was. Even Hannah herself, listening in on that, was not sure how she wanted to react.
In the midst of all this, only Korinna, the Channeler, was sitting uncomfortably. Tsutomu sat on the other side of the table, prompting her to get fidgety and clutch the hems of her frilly dress.
鈥淗ow did the first team-up go for you?鈥?
鈥淎h, well, everyone鈥檚 been a great help. They鈥檙e all so strong鈥︹€?
鈥淢uch easier than when you solo queue鈥檇鈥?I mean, when you relied on the Guild鈥檚 matchmaking, right?鈥?
鈥淭hat鈥檚鈥?actually, yes.鈥?
Korinna nodded awkwardly as she stroked her long cream-colored hair. Back when Tsutomu had decided to recruit Korinna, he had seen her on one of the Monitors as a Healer in a party arranged by the Guild. Surely there was a world of difference between that and long-term groups like her former Clan or the current team.
Before the joining of the new recruits, Xeno had been the only potential troublemaker, but asking even Korinna about him now, there seemed to be no problem so far.
Afterward, everyone was getting ready to have dinner when a certain thought ran across Tsutomu鈥檚 mind.
[Now that I think about it, it鈥檚 mostly girls here, huh鈥
Including the upcoming Garm and Amy, the Clan鈥檚 lineup consisted of four men and six women 鈥?which was not that much higher, but if Ollie and her apprentice were to be included, then the difference would be quite noticeable. Moreover, all of the Attackers were women.
Seeing that Ollie and her apprentice were starting to bring food to the table, everyone took their seats, and began eating right when everything was set up.
As usual, Amira and Daryl competed to see who could finish their mountain of food first. Diniel, Leleia, and Korinna simply ate in silence. Hannah, pretty much the whole group鈥檚 entertainer, started chatting about whatever topics that came up in her mind.
[Well, everyone鈥檚 strong, so I guess that鈥檚 fine.]
He still felt awkward to be surrounded by mostly women, however, so he wished Garm would come to join up soon. Hannah, noticing the face he was making, asked him,
鈥淗mm? Something wrong, Teach?鈥?
鈥淣o, I was just thinking how the Clan has way more girls and guys, that鈥檚 all.鈥?
鈥淥oh, way to go! Keep buildin鈥?that harem, Teach!鈥?Hannah cracked a joke and struck a sarcastic sexy pose.
鈥淗ell no,鈥?Tsutomu said with a dry chuckle. 鈥淚 just want strong fighters 鈥?anyone can join if they鈥檙e strong and can do their job.鈥?
鈥淏oo~~鈥?
Seemingly peeved, Hannah turned away, her cheeks puffing out.
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