For Absolute Helixs Team 2 to be able to win against the Winter General, each of its members had to practice their own roles. At one point, Tsutomu observed Korinna while she explored the Dungeon with her teammates, and then talked with her about his findings.

You know, Korinna, maybe youre too nice.

Huh?

Being told that so suddenly, Korinna could only stare blankly back at Tsutomu, her eyes large and round like a little critter.

As far as Ive seen, you heal too often. Why not try casting your skills a little less next time?

Are you sure thats a good idea?

Yeah. You seem to always heal your teammates as quickly as possible whenever they take damage, and youre using <<Ray of Solace>> on Hannah too often as well. The excessive healing has made you generate too much aggro during the Winter General fight you mustve felt that too, right?

Well, yes

Then thats where you should start from. More support and healing make things easier for your comrades, sure, but if youre attacked and killed, all that will have been meaningless. If this doesnt sit well with you, maybe try discussing it with your party.

Her intuition enabled her to more or less predict the death of others, which naturally meant she was able to estimate how much damage her comrades sustained. Exactly because of that, she could always keep her teammates in perfect shape so perfect, in fact, that she ended up pulling too much aggro and got herself killed.

Between the two Tanks, Daryl had already realized this, and Hannah must have at least felt something during the battle. Moreover, she seemed to be more comfortable acting the way she wanted whenever she was not on the same team as Tsutomu.

Still, it was not the case that Hannah had refrained from mentioning this issue during the evaluation meeting due to how she was benefiting from it. In reality, regardless of whether or not she was aware of the excessive support and healing during a battle, she would forget about it and many other miscellaneous details as soon as the battle was over.

Also, maybe youre too easily distracted by the God Eye?

Im sorry

Indeed, being too conscious of the God Eye or rather, of the people watching her on the other side got her occasionally distracted during battle. With Tsutomu pointing that out, Korinna cast her eyes down in embarrassment, her face turning red.

The Monitors, especially the single digit ones, had at least a thousand viewers at any given time, so it was no wonder that someone like Korinna was unable to ignore them. And it was not just Korinna even Daryl and Hannah would get nervous and self-conscious sometimes.

Say, wanna try forming a pair with Amy?

Huh!? N-no, I wouldnt dare!

What about Xeno?

No.

The speed at which Korinna shot down the Xeno suggestion got a dry chuckle out of Tsutomu.

Well, anyway, the rest of your issues youll have to discuss with your teams leader. That would be Daryl whos being chewed out by Garm right now. Dont be too hard on him, alright?

Daryl, too, was currently in the Clan Houses living room, engaged in a discussion about his team with Garm. As the latter pointed out more and more of the formers faults, he seemed to be on the verge of breaking down in tears.

Yes, of course Uh, I mean, Daryl HAS done a lot for everyone, thats for sure. He managed to rein in Amira of all people, and was patient when he taught Hannah the strategies she needed to know. And to think hes quite a bit younger than me

Yup. He works so hard that its hard to believe hes around the same age as Amira. As far as your team goes, theres no better leader than him.

Hannah was out of the question, and if either Amira or Leleia were to become the leader, the team would immediately fall apart. As such, the only ones fit to lead were Daryl and Korinna, and this time, Daryl had been entrusted with the responsibility due to his experience from the Mount Golem battle.

You know, after youre done with the Winter General, you should give the leader role a shot. Gotta focus on the job now, though well, maybe you can support Daryl as a sub-leader of sorts.

Ill give it a try.

Cool. Now, I dont think theres anything else that needs pointing out If anything, Id say youve shown improvement in pretty much every way. Focus on lessening your skill usage and the God Eye problem.

Yes.

Korinna nodded firmly upon receiving the documents handed to her by Tsutomu. After that, she discussed additional Healer strategies with Tsutomu while waiting for everyones evaluation sessions to conclude.

Just as Healers and Tanks had their own discussions, naturally, the Attackers also got their session. Amy, who had sensed the friction between Amira and Leleia for some time now, was ready to mediate their conversation if needed.

Contrary to her expectations, however, both of them were perfectly peaceful.

Amira, you arent having any particular issues handling the Sylph, I hope?

Yeah.

Then I suppose there is nothing that requires addressing. All we need now is more combat experience against the Winter General.

Leleia had become surprisingly cooperative with Amira to the point of lending the latter the power of the Sylph, which could be considered a significant part of her own strength. The change in Leleias attitude left Amy quite confused, while Diniel let out her usual sleepy yawn without a care in the world.

After reevaluating the way in which she would get her revenge, Leleia had decided to cooperate with Amira. To begin with, she had to achieve results in their current team before she could even think about joining Team 1. As such, Leleia was giving Amira, who possessed a unique skill, a power boost by letting her form a contract with a compatible Spirit.

Furthermore, her fear of Amiras <<Dragoon Form>> had somewhat diminished; without that distracting her as much, her movements had become more agile. The other team members were equally surprised by the change they saw in Leleia, as if some kind of weight had been lifted off of her.

Uh, so Amy asked, Youre all right now?

Yes. Apologies for worrying you. Ill do my best to help us get past the Winter General as quickly as possible.

Oh, okay!

Amy, having felt hints of insincerity in Leleia before, hesitantly nodded as she saw that the smile on the latters face was genuine this time. From then on, Leleia and Amira continued their discussions, with Amy overseeing them.

With Korinna reducing her excessive skill use and the Attackers resolving the conflict between them, Team 2 finally came together properly, functioning effectively as a cohesive unit. The absence of friction between Amira and Leleia, in particular, seemed to have a positive impact on Daryl, the teams leader.

Hey, youre doing better than usual today, yeah?

Huh? You think so?

Dont tell me youve been slacking off

I would never do that!

Daryl, taking offense to Amiras statement, attempted to perk up his black-furred dog ears, but with them being droopy, they moved only slightly. As Amira pointed out, however, Daryls performance in Dungeon exploration had indeed improved.

Daryl had a naturally timid personality, and a negative atmosphere within the party would make him subconsciously hold himself back. With the newfound ease in the relationship between Amira and Leleia, he was able to focus more on exploration.

Hannah? A-are you all right?

Korinna, following Tsutomus suggestion, had reduced the frequency at which she cast the <<Ray of Solace>>. After a battle, she checked with Hannah to ensure the latter was not exhausted. In response, Hannah turned back with a nonchalant demeanor.

Hmm? Yes, I am, why?

O-oh, thats good, then

As it turned out, Hannah did not seem to mind that at all. Seeing that, Korinna felt rather hurt herself, but refrained from saying anything unnecessary.

Ugh, this things kinda annoying

The more you think that, the more Sylph will move around. Its somewhat of a prankster.

The Wind-elemental Spirit, Sylph, perched on Amiras head, gently playing with her long red hair. As an Explorer who possessed a unique skill, Amira was able to benefit from greater enhanced parameters through Spirit contracts compared to the average person, which made her reluctant to dismiss Sylphs helpfulness.

While Amira could not use Spirits magic skills like Tsutomu, even a slight increase in her AGI was advantageous. Furthermore, her own skill, <<Enchant Flame>>, allowed her to exploit the Winter Generals weaknesses, and with Leleia having the Salamander at her disposal, their tactics were unaffected.

Still, although the atmosphere was much improved compared to their previous silent interactions, Amira remained somewhat suspicious of Leleias newfound cooperation.

With preparations in place, Team 2 confronted the Winter General once more. As it turned out, though, Korinna continued to struggle with aggro management, making it challenging for her to provide support and healing.

<<Defensive>>.

But in such dire circumstances, Daryl was able to shine with his ability to push himself past his limits. His prior experience battling the Winter General had honed his combat strategy.

And now for Miss Amys secret technique STEAL!

Hannah succeeded in stealing the Winter Generals swords using Amys guidance on the third try. On the first and second attempts, she had failed and gotten herself subsequently cut down, resulting in her deaths.

However, since Korinna was alive, and Hannahs impending death had been evident, her revival was swift.

AHHHHHH!! SO ANNOYING!!

Amira was at the mercy of Sylphs pranks, but Daryls stability as a Tank ensured that the team had no actual problems. Leleia, no longer afraid of Amiras <<Dragon Form>>, performed her role as an Attacker with both ranged and close combat skills.

After the Winter General lost a certain percentage of its life and summoned its giant horse, the battle continued with an effort to keep both enemies in one place. In the end, Hannah, holding a Large Inferno Magic Stone in both hands, charged toward the horse-mounted Winter General.

FLAME ATTACK!!

Hannah had yet to master the Magic Fist style, but she had learned one thing from Melchors training: how to release magical power from a Magic Stone.

The Inferno Magic Stone exploded, blowing the Winter General and its horse to bits. Naturally, the attack had the unfortunate result of being a self-destruct, but it ended the fight with Absolute Helixs Team 2 successfully defeating the Winter General without any significant issues.

By this time, Ealdred Crows secondary team had also conquered the eightieth layer, making Absolute Helix Team 2 the fourth group of Explorers to do so. Thus, the crowd applauded in appreciation of their accomplishment.

It was worth noting that Daryl seemed to have gained a fan following, his influence growing as of late. As a result, rumors were circulating among Dungeon Maniacs about potential sponsorship requests.

Good job, guys, Tsutomu, having watched the whole battle through a Monitor, said as he came over to welcome the team back.

Thank you, Leleia responded immediately with a composed expression.

Daryl, standing behind her, put his hand to his chest in relief. Hannah, who had been resurrected after the Winter Generals defeat, had a satisfied smile on her face.

<hr/>