Live Dungeon! – Chapter 24, Run, Amy, Run!

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Translator: TipToe

Translator (November 14, 2024 Version): Barnnn

 

The morning after her interview with Solit Company, Amy woke unusually early, her pulse alive with the thrill of seeing her article in print. She hurried out to buy Solit’s morning edition, handing over 200 Gold in eager anticipation.

 

As she scanned the headlines, humming to herself, her gaze locked onto a photo of her three-person party, prominently featured. Her smile faded as she read the text, each line dropping like a lead weight in her stomach.

 

Fury flared. Solit Company’s audacity couldn’t go unanswered, and without another thought, Amy found herself marching toward Solit’s headquarters.

 

“M-Miss Amy! What are you doing here?” Mirul stammered as Amy stormed into her office.

 

“You wrote that article, didn’t you!? Fix it! Now!”

 

Solit’s headquarters was a massive, three-story building. Amy hadn’t hesitated to dispatch the guards on the first floor, wielding a pair of wooden sticks she’d picked up along the way. Now on the second floor, she had Mirul, the article’s author, gripped by the collar, shaking her as startled employees scattered like insects.

 

“So the Lucky Boy’s threatening you again, is he?” Mirul smirked. “Don’t worry, Miss Amy — I’ll keep you safe!”

 

“What? Who told you that!?”

 

“Miss Amy, it’s all right. I know you can’t say it outright, but I made sure everyone knows the truth now. The Lucky Boy won’t lay a finger on you ever again!”

 

Mirul was convinced, beyond reason, of Amy and Tsutomu’s twisted relationship. Interviews with other Explorers had only fueled her conviction. In Mirul’s mind, something sinister was plain as day.

 

When her editor-in-chief had hesitated to print the piece, Mirul had seen it through with flirtation and tenacity, tolerating the man’s lingering glances for the sake of “saving” Amy from the clutches of evil. A misguided fervor for “justice” radiated from her face. Sickened, Amy flung her aside and charged up the stairs.

 

“So you’re the one causing trouble downstairs,” a voice called.

 

Amy reached the third floor to find three members of Dungeon City’s Security Team waiting, their black uniforms a stark contrast against the pale wooden walls. One of them, a woman Amy recognized, stepped forward.

 

Tasked with preserving order in Dungeon City, the Security Team was a formidable unit. The entry test alone required clearing the thirtieth layer of the Dungeon; most captains had ventured to the fortieth or even fiftieth. It was intense preparation, their specialized combat skills honed for one purpose: to deal with Explorers who crossed the line into crime.

 

Unlike Explorers, the Security Team was trained for close combat and had the skill to subdue even top members of the Scarlet Devil Squad, currently the highest-ranking Clan, if necessary.

 

“I’ve already called for backup. Surrender now,” the woman ordered.

 

“If you’ll let me speak with Solit’s CEO, I might consider it.”

 

“Not happening. That aura of yours makes it clear you’re not here for polite conversation.”

 

“Well then… if you insist… <<Boost>>!”

 

With a sharp command, Amy’s skill activated, boosting her AGI. She gripped the wooden sticks, ready, and surged toward the three guards.

 

The security guards tensed, gripping batons embedded with rare Lightning Magic Stones — devices primed to deliver a paralyzing jolt with each strike. Amy dodged the first swing smoothly, her wooden stick snapping into the guard’s wrist and sending him stumbling back.

 

Two more closed in from opposite sides, batons sweeping in arcs. Amy flung one of her sticks to distract them, ducked low, and swept the legs out from under the guard to her left.

 

“<<Double Attack>>,” she whispered, activating her skill. Her hands moved in a blur, palms smacking sharply against the male guard’s ears, leaving him dazed from the ringing in his head. Before he could react, Amy darted behind him and chopped the back of his neck, watching as he slumped unconscious.

 

A final kick sent the last guard’s jaw crashing against the wall, knocking him out cold. Only one remained — the same woman who’d once arrested her countless times.

 

“How…?”

 

Amy recognized this guard’s skill in hand-to-hand combat; they’d sparred once or twice, and the woman had long proven herself capable, having even reached the fortieth Dungeon layer. But now, the confidence in her face had flickered into doubt.

 

Snatching the two fallen guards’ batons, Amy hooked them to her belt, then narrowed her eyes with an exasperated sigh.

 

“You didn’t think that was all I had, did you? That was just the warm-up.”

 

“A warm-up?”

 

“Oh, forget it,” Amy grumbled, rushing forward. She deftly sidestepped the baton swinging toward her, twisting the woman’s arm behind her back. Pinned, the guard fought to free herself, but Amy held firm.

 

“Let me go!”

 

“All right, all right.”

 

Amy knelt, pressing her knee firmly on the woman’s arm to pin it down. She wrapped her own arm around the woman’s neck, tightening her hold until the woman’s struggling slowed, then stilled. As her opponent slipped into unconsciousness, Amy released her grip, retrieved her sticks, and strode deeper into the building.

 

“Kitty~~?”

 

“…Ugh!”

 

She froze at the booming voice, turning to find a towering figure — well over two meters tall and solid as an Orc, every inch of the Security Team uniform stretched taut over bulging muscle.

 

“I was out on my morning jog when I got Solit’s distress call, and look who it is! Amy, still as cute as ever! Let’s go shopping for clothes sometime!”

 

“This is the worst…” Amy groaned, drawing her dual blades and slashing with full force. The steel sliced through the guard’s uniform but hardly scratched the skin beneath.

 

“Mmm!” The guard let out a satisfied groan that made Amy cringe. Otherwise undeterred, she unleashed a whirlwind of attacks, each one barely sinking in.

 

[Why did it have to be Bruno?] she thought bitterly. This brute wasn’t just a guard but Bruno, Director of the Security Team, whose unique skill <<Muscle Body>> hardened flesh like iron. Tilting their head with a sickeningly cutesy look, Bruno scratched their chin.

 

“I’m still not sure what’s going on, but storming Solit like this… You know this’ll be more than a night in lockup, right?”

 

“I know.”

 

“Oh… that look in your eyes! I haven’t seen that in ages!”

 

With a click, Bruno activated a small device, calling for backup. Fists clenched, Bruno’s muscles coiled like cables under strain.

 

“Well then, come at me! I’ll take it all!”

 

Bruno struck a dramatic pose as Amy’s blade descended in a powerful arc toward their face. She gritted her teeth — the blow barely scratched the surface. Desperately, she pulled out an electrified baton from her belt and drove it into Bruno’s arm, flipping the switch to activate the electric charge.

 

“Ohh, now that’s more like it!” Bruno’s muscles quivered with exaggerated pleasure.

 

Amy stepped back, creating some distance. Even at her full strength, the fight would be grueling. And now, without her best gear… she might not even have a chance.

 

Amy considered making a break for it. A jump out the window, a sprint at full speed, and she might have escaped. But after a steadying breath, she closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and opened them again, resolve hardening.

 

She had made her decision: to fight. There was no time to waste. Her only chance lay in aiming for Bruno’s eyes, a quick, disabling strike that might give her an edge.

 

But the hulking opponent had read her intent, shielding their face at every turn and blocking her dual blades with swift deflections from forearms and shins.

 

“<<Boost>>! <<Double Attack>>! <<Rock Splitter Blade>>!”

 

Amy chained her skills in rapid succession, her blades flashing, yet they still failed to break through the wall of flesh before her. A joint lock could work, but Bruno was a close-combat expert with the upper hand in strength. They traded blows in a fierce rhythm, neither able to land a decisive hit, the seconds ticking by.

 

Amy’s breathing grew strained, while her opponent seemed unfazed — energized by the clash, even. She pushed through her exhaustion, determined to keep going.

 

“If you had a proper weapon, I might actually be enjoying this!” Bruno taunted with a smirk.

 

Seeing her movements slow, Bruno lunged forward, a massive hand outstretched. Amy twisted, coiling around Bruno’s arm like a snake and yanking the figure to the ground. But when Bruno’s grip shifted toward her ankle, she leaped back instantly, avoiding the trap.

 

The brute climbed to their feet, and Amy sprang back into action, hurling a baton at Bruno’s face. It was swatted aside, so she followed up by flinging one of her blades, which Bruno brushed off like a toy.

 

But by then, Amy had closed the distance and landed a fierce kick between Bruno’s legs, aiming for the vulnerable spot.

 

“Aaaaaahhhhhh!”

 

The bellow tore through the air as Amy moved to strike at Bruno’s eyes — until her right leg was snared, trapped in a vise-like grip. Locked in a brutal hold, she realized the brute had managed to snare her ankle.

 

“Heh-heh… Gotcha! A little obvious with that move, don’t you think, Amy?” Bruno chuckled, hardly fazed by the low blow, and raised both hands, reaching to grab her head.

 

Amy arched back, dodging Bruno’s hands and wrenching one of Bruno’s arms backward, attempting to shift her weight to free herself. Bruno staggered slightly but held her leg tight, dragging her down in the process.

 

The two hurtled toward the ground. In mid-air, Amy aimed her remaining blade directly at Bruno’s eye, and this time, her strike hit its mark. Yet even so, the iron grip on her ankle held as they crashed to the floor, and Amy scrambled to pry free from Bruno’s legs.

 

“<<Blind>>!”

 

Suddenly, dark gas burst around them both, followed by clouds of yellow and purple mist. Magical fumes seeped into Amy’s senses, muddling her mind and sight as she choked, feeling the numbness of spell-induced paralysis take hold.

 

Reinforcements had arrived from the Security Team’s headquarters. Nearly the full squad had mobilized after Bruno’s urgent request, along with Solit’s initial alarm.

 

As Amy lay ensnared by status effects, the Security Team swiftly bound her with ropes. A White Mage hurried over to the bruised, hulking figure on the ground, chanting <<Medic>> repeatedly until the spell jolted Bruno back to consciousness.

 

“Well, well, looks like I got saved just in time!” Bruno quipped, attempting a cheerful tone. “But next time, maybe skip knocking me out in the crossfire, yeah?”

 

A bespectacled man approached, shaking his head. “I come rushing here on an emergency request, and who do I find? Amy the Chaotic Dancer. Any others with her?”

 

Bruno shrugged. “Couldn’t say for sure, but I doubt it…”

 

“…They probably showed up because of the slandering article. Which means we might have Lucky Boy and Garm lurking around too.”

 

“Ohh~~! So Garm’s here, huh?”

 

Despite the sword being embedded in their eye socket — a weak spot of the human body — Bruno casually pulled it out and let the White Mage close the wound with healing skills.

 

“I’ve got a search team sweeping the place. The Lucky Boy is a White Mage, power level unknown. And if Garm is here, we’re in for a rough time,” the bespectacled man warned.

 

“You mean a decent challenge! Finally…” Bruno replied, rolling their shoulders.

 

“If those two fight together collaborating, things could get messy even for you,” the bespectacled man muttered, eyes narrowing. “We’ve got every entry under watch, but Garm’s likely aware of our tactics. He might already be inside. We’ll keep sweeping the building.”

 

As the figures talked, Amy felt her consciousness fading.

 

When Amy came to, she found herself confined to a holding cell.

 

Her release came just three days later — a surprisingly brief detainment. Solit Company had twisted the narrative, publishing an article that cast her as a hapless victim, manipulated by Tsutomu. With no lives lost and only minor injuries sustained among the Securit Team — Bruno being the most notable casualty — Solit had opted to downplay her actions. Bruno, fully healed, even gave her a knowing wink, as if to signal that all was forgiven.

 

Yet there was no reprieve from the Deputy Guild Master. The typically mild-mannered man, lines of exhaustion from a thousand misfortunes etched into his face, delivered a scathing reprimand. He reminded her of the damage her impulsive act had inflicted, not just on her own reputation but on the Guild’s and Tsutomu’s as well.

 

Amy listened silently, absorbing his words, and when she finally rose to leave, she muttered that she would apologize to Tsutomu. The Deputy Guild Master stopped her before she reached the door.

 

“You’re planning on apologizing to him?”

 

“Of course! I owe him that much!” she insisted.

 

“If you go to him now, Solit will twist it against him again. He’ll look even worse.”

 

“……”

 

Amy’s hand froze on the door, her protest fading. The Deputy Guild Master’s expression remained firm.

 

“That apology would only be for your own conscience. If you truly regret what happened, you’ll stay away from Tsutomu until this mess settles. Do you understand?”

 

“Yes, sir…”

 

“…I’ll see that he hears what you’d want to say. So dry those tears, and walk out of here with your head up. That’ll help him more than any apology.”

 

With a sympathetic smile, he handed her a towel. And there, in the privacy of the office, Amy broke down, her sobs echoing through the Guild hallways as guards exchanged glances at the unexpected scene. Finally, when she left the Deputy Guild Master’s office, there was a lightness in her steps, as if some weight had been lifted. From then on, she kept mostly to the dormitory, never venturing out except for one minor incident later on.

 

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Silavin: Last Chapter. Let us pray that a translator will be interested to join us.

 

Here is our discord. PM me if you are interested!

 

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