They're just goblins...
'Maybe the other monsters are stronger, so let's keep our guard up.
Yes.....


　The hill on the ninety-one level, located in front of the outer gates of the creepy old castle, is home to many enhanced versions of the monsters from the main grassland level. So Daryl, who had been fooled by the appearance and had been left out of the game, was surrounded and beaten to a pulp by the unexpected power of the goblins.

　Hannah changed her mind after seeing this and took the hate instead, which didn't cause anything serious, but Daryl, who was about to have his dog's ears ripped off, looked a lot worse for wear. Although the injury itself has already healed due to the heel, he is still anxiously touching the hanging dog ears. After handing Daryl a hand mirror, Tsutomu handed him a hand mirror and then stared at the familiar old castle with binoculars.


(As far as I can see, the specifications of the old castle smells post-apocalyptic. I'm not sure if I should be happy that I was able to avoid the luck game or sad that there are more troublesome monsters).


　Unlike the past, in the old castle hierarchy, you must meet certain conditions in order to advance to the next level. In the beginning, when one of the PT members equipped the armor that rarely dropped from each hierarchical lord, the black gates in the old castle would open and you would be able to advance to the next level.

　However, the armor that dropped at a rate of less than 1% from the tier lords, and even those from the tenth level, were as good as trash for users who had reached the 91st level. Since it was necessary to aim for them just to open the black gate to the 92nd level, the management was blamed for forcing users to run a marathon that had no benefit to them.

　Later on in the update, the specification of opening the gate by equipping armor was changed so that it can be opened by magic stones that are dropped from the owner of the hierarchy. However, the subsequent tiers were filled with existing monsters that just messed with the STR and VIT values, which was also criticized by many.

　This was originally a "Live Dungeon! Since the company running the game "Black Gate" wasn't large, it was a last-ditch effort because they had run out of ideas on how to create the monster graphics. For this reason, the game was not supported right away, but after a year of stable operation, the game was changed to have a unique monster that can be defeated to open the Black Gate.

　Some of these unique monsters are visible from the outside, and the appearance of the old castle has changed slightly as a result of the upgrade. Tsutomu, who could see the difference, looked at the old castle and confirmed that it was probably a post-appointment specification.


'It looks almost the same, but the arrows don't penetrate deep enough, has the VIT gone up?'


　When Tsutomu looked away from the old castle after a certain amount of consideration, he saw Diniel, who had a black bow slung over his shoulder, mumbling and retrieving a fallen arrow.


(I thought I'd need to follow up to some extent, but it looks fine.)


　Amy says she used to complain with the biggest sulking face of the century, but she doesn't seem to be doing that anymore. The only difference compared to the past is that there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of slacking behavior. And perhaps to wipe away the stamp of being second-rate, it appears that their willingness to explore is higher than before.


(I'd almost put Amy in charge of mentoring the infinite circle.)


　Tsutomu has been in the center of the clan as a white mage of the upper echelon, and later as a clan leader as well.
　Because of this, she is well aware of the fragility of relationships within the clan. So while she is equipped with the ability to deal with and resolve fatal problems quickly, Amy has a detailed standpoint to prevent them before they occur.

　Not to mention the mental care of Diniel, whose shortcomings were exposed by the recent battle, as well as consulting with Hannah on her recently reduced pay and starting to maintain her money, and exchanging ideas about Amira's dragonization control. He has introduced Corina to a restaurant that is not open to visitors at first glance to motivate her to explore, and he and Zeno have been consulting with Daryl, who has recently become more popular.

　Amy, who has been both an explorer and an idol, has experienced the dissolution of the clan and the other side of the idol scene, so she is the perfect person to talk to, and people around her seem to be relying on her for advice. And she has a natural cheerfulness and attentiveness that surpasses even Tsutomu's, which is what makes her the best idol in the labyrinth city.


(As far as I can tell, though, that's about as far as it goes.


　But when it comes to Tsutomu, he tends to instantly stop thinking and become a clunker, so my impression of him is that Amy doesn't look very solid. However, her ability to make that Diniel so positive overnight was remarkable, and from what I heard from Xeno, she seemed to be doing a lot of great things, so I appreciated it.


'It's still a bit, but it's changed. And so has she.


　Then Leleia, who seemed to have noticed the slight change in Diniel as well, approached with a slightly uncomfortable look on her face, holding a wind magic stone. Behind her, Undine, who had the magic stone stuck to his viscous body, also followed curtly.


''Since you're an elf, it would have been easier to maintain an army if you had fallen more into the arms of your pride.
'If it wasn't for Amy, though, I would have dragged it out a bit more. Isn't it big to have your best friend in the same clan?
'Yes. I'm in the clan with Amira too, so I think I can still do well.
I know we're not best friends, though.
You may just be a clan member now, but you'll have a deeper relationship eventually.
Well, I wish you good luck.


　I don't know if Leleia is just doing Amira a favor, faith, or even affection. But at least Tsutomu knew it was a one-way street, so he just let it flow properly and looked at the area around the gate in the old castle with his binoculars.


''Come to think of it, it's somewhat weird that the small fry monsters have become so strong. And most of them are probably monsters in the grasslands.''
Yeah. Besides, the goblin army in front of that gate are all well armed. I think it's best to retreat today just to check on the monsters for once. It looks like we'll need to take measures to break that thing down.


　In front of the black gate leading to the ninety-two levels, there was a goblin squad fully equipped with silver weapon armor, and other giant slimes and gray wolves were also under the command of the goblins. And the Goblin King, wearing a pompous armor with a medal on it, looked back at Tsutomu, who was observing him with binoculars, to a point.

　In the post-app edition specifications, each level of the game has a mid-boss-like monster, and defeating it will also open the Black Gate. Therefore, defeating that goblin army and advancing would be a safe way to break through.


We'll have to get used to the monsters in this level before they do. If you think it's just a slime or a gray wolf, you'll end up following the footsteps of Daryl.
I won't let my guard down!
Okay, well, good luck next time.
I wasn't the only one who let my guard down...
Oh, that's the thing about times like these. Don't you dare!
I don't want Hannah to be the only one to say that.


　Daryl's voice was unusually sullen in response to Hannah, who gave him the words that Tsutomu and Xeno sometimes used. And Hannah, who seemed to be the most careless in front of the goblins, just tilted her head, as if she had forgotten about that too.


　oooh.


Meow. No?
I don't like it!　Let's make the most of it next time!
You really have a lot of gumption, don't you?


　Two army PTs of the infinite circle who had been wiped out more than ten times in the ninety levels; Amira glanced at her mother, who was smirking behind the reception desk while talking petulantly to Zeno, who was bright despite her flaxen clothes, and then glanced at her mother, who was smiling at her.


(We've all gotten used to the end of the line. But yet, we haven't even gotten to the endgame yet. Tsutomu-san, it's really strange...)


　Perhaps the current Amy, Garum, and others have fought many times in the ninety levels, so they can stand up against the end of the line better than a single army PT attacker tank. However, even so, they are still unable to break through in the middle stages of the battle. The result made Korina feel once again that Tsutomu had broken through the 90th level.

　He had seen the battle pattern on the divine table at that time, so he had some memory of it, but now he wanted to look back at the footage over and over again. The walls in the middle stages of the game are so thick, and with the end of the game coming up, it's hard to breathe.


(But there's a response to this PT. Amira-san is right. I'm going to do what I can to help. (Along with everyone else.)


　It's hard to get over the wall, but it's not that hard. It's because Korina feels that he will be able to break through at some point.

　It is true that I am not a godlike healer like Tsutomu, and there is absolutely no way I can deal with the end of my life on my own. But there are four reliable PT members standing in front of me.


It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's not a good idea to be able to have a good time.


　Amy is an excellent attacker by nature, but at the same time, her idol activities have helped her to develop her ability to see the situation around her in detail. As a result, she has recently started calling out to the general public and reducing the frequency of the dragonization knot, which can make her stronger, but limits her vision.

　Plus, I'm starting to get the efficient skill rotation and standing around with reduced mental power that Tsutomu was teaching me, so I don't need to rely on the Dragonization Knot for firepower anymore. There was a feeling that if the PT meshes a little better, they could get around in good shape.


''Then it's a hassle, but we'll just have to tie a dragonization knot on Garum and Xeno as well.


　After Amira was avenged by Leleia after she was not chosen for the first round of the 90th level, she used it as a springboard to further revise her skill spinning and standing. She changed her mind about not being able to tie the knot with someone she disliked and practiced against the incompatible Xeno as a start.

　You'll be able to see that you're not the only one who can do this. The combination of this and his handling of the large sword, which was visibly growing before, and his personal growth, has made him an even better attacker than before.


''Xeno, who has been practicing, will be fine, but I'm still a little nervous. Amira, can you match it today?
Oh, well, then I'll get your grandmother and I'll put you both together.
''Well I don't think it's a good idea to bother you, Camille.
'Hey!　Baba!　Come here!
..........


　Garum seemed somewhat lost from when he and Tsutomu had gotten into a giggle before, but his current stand-up is a very stable tank and close to Bitman. Originally, Garum was the opposite of Bitman, as he used to stand around as a mad dog, but since he retired and joined the guild, he has been learning the basic techniques.

　The spirit of disregard for his own body that he developed during his time as a mad dog, and the skills that he matured over the years in the guild. By combining these two skills with Tsutomu's knowledge, Garum has transformed himself into an excellent tank, able to use his skills without fear of monsters.

　He didn't want to rely on Tsutomu after that, so he decided to leave and establish the tank on his own, but now he was able to establish what he could do while watching other tanks from the Divine Table. And Korina had been checked on the tank a few times, and now she was able to stand up to the prayer warrior as well.


''Huh, I'll lose a bit of my grace if I tie a dragonization knot... but if it's for breaking through the ninety levels, I have no choice. I shall become a dragon as well.
You're the one who can't control it at all. Korina has more control than you do.
We'll take control today!　Corrina!　I'm not going to lose!
Ha ha.....


　As for Zeno, I honestly don't know what to make of him. While he showed a surprisingly strong bottom line in the Winter General battle, I still can't shake the impression that he's the weakest tank in the infinite circle. The wasted confidence due to his self-consciousness doesn't seem to be helping him much either. What in the world is his strength?


(.....................It's no good. Xeno is kind of no good. (It makes my stomach churn.)


　Corina didn't like Xeno much from the start. The main reason is probably that narcissistic confidence. Unfounded confidence, vanity, and self-overestimation.


(But I can't keep this up. I don't think I'll be able to break through the ninety levels if I'm paying attention to the fact that I don't like Zeno. And it's already causing real harm.)


　I didn't realize until Amy pointed it out to me the other day that I was apparently getting a thicker recovery against Garum. I don't run out of support against Xeno, but I don't actively recover against him. Realizing that she had been doing this unconsciously, Korina recognized the problem.


(And Amy and Garum aren't working very well together either. .........Amira has started to do dragonization knots, even to Xeno, who seems to dislike them. We have to face it properly, too.)


　Whatever the trigger, Amira is also changing. And yet, if I'm running away from it, I won't be able to break through. I've been thinking about this as I just stared at the PT members.