Chapter 11 The Heroine
The thirtieth floor, the final floor of the Dungeon “Moon Eclipse,” was currently the site of a thrilling BOSS battle.
On the final floor, the Empress of Moon Eclipse had transformed into a giant moth with wings shimmering with faint blue light, her humanoid head the only part remaining in the center of the moth.
She circled once in the dungeon sky, decorated to resemble the moon and stars. As her wings brushed against the moon, they left a jagged notch.
A shower of silver dust fell, resembling the ash from the silver moon hanging overhead.
Despite her bizarre, inhuman form, there was a strange beauty to the moonlight and silver dust.
“Watch your cover! Extinguish all fire magic! Do you want to be blown up?! Why are you still lighting torches!”
“Careful, it’s poisonous. Don’t breathe.”
After the captain spoke, he used hand signals in the air:
“Draw your bows. Aim at her wings!”
The adventuring team clearing the final floor was the renowned “Silver Light” Adventuring Team, comprised of experienced adventurers rated B-rank or higher, from the captain down to the members. They had a history of clearing three dungeons up to the 30th floor. However, facing the final floor of a dungeon they were venturing into for the first time, they were still a little flustered.
Just then, a dark shadow shot out from the back row of the adventuring team.
With incredible speed, she moved across the ground covered in moonlight and silver dust, leaving only the shadow of her flowing black hair.
In the eyes of everyone, afraid to breathe, she leaped from the ground. There was still a considerable distance between her and the moth, an insurmountable gap.
However, the instant she leaped, several ice bricks arranged themselves in the air, as if everything had been calculated. She stepped on the ice bricks, rocketing towards the moon with the missing notch—
Towards the being where human and moth merged, towards the canopy directly above the only part that could still be recognized as humanoid, she thrust her dagger.
Under the moonlight, the grotesque and ugly moth was split down the middle. But instead of organs and blood, what flew from its dissected body were tiny, glittering silver-gray particles.
It was as if…
Countless starlight were falling from the moon.
Standing in the incomplete moonlight, amidst the dispersing luminous glow, was a black-haired young girl who looked to be fourteen years old.
Due to the backlight, her expression was unclear, only the silhouette of her shadow was visible.
She stood perfectly straight, with well-defined muscle lines—in this aspect, she was nothing like a minor child.
Her attire was also not that of a girl her age. She wore short boots on her lower body for ease of movement and long black socks that were both sweat-wicking and resistant to magic, coupled with leg straps that served as knife sheaths. Her upper body consisted only of a single-piece undergarment covering her chest, with a brown vest draped over it.
The oppressive feeling the dungeon BOSS’s transformation from a beautiful woman to a hideous giant moth had given everyone was completely overshadowed by her presence.
“Well, she’s dead, so it should be fine. We can breathe now.”
The girl spoke, twirling the dagger in her hand a few times before sheathing it on her leg strap.
“That was incredible! Shuna! You’ll surely be a legendary adventurer in the future. I’m willing to offer a higher price, what do you say…”
The captain of Silver Light was agitated. He walked forward in his boots, intending to give her a hug.
But…
Shuna swiftly withdrew the dagger she had just sheathed and threw it, embedding it precisely five centimeters in front of the tip of his boot.
“This…”
“Captain! Watch out!”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense and confrontational.
However, Shuna simply walked towards him a couple of steps with ease, then lowered her head and carefully…
In front of the captain’s feet, she picked up a sprig of crimson-red…
Mint.
“You almost stepped on it. As expected, dungeons with explosive properties tend to have plants like this.”
She pocketed the mint as if it were a treasure and then pulled out her dagger.
She walked forward a few steps before finally revealing what was behind her to everyone—the “clearance reward” from the dungeon she had personally conquered—
A mountain of gold and treasure, along with extremely precious rare mineral materials unique to this dungeon, capable of forging many special weapons. They were piled up like mountains of gold and silver next to the corpse of the Dungeon Empress.
But Shuna took nothing. She brushed past the captain.
“Commission complete. I’m heading back.”
—Her eyes seemed to be focused only on that sprig of red mint, which wasn’t even considered part of the dungeon’s background.
“Wait, Shuna… Aren’t you going to consider joining us for another dungeon?”
“Let’s see if there’s any more of this in the next dungeon.”
Shuna Polol, her bag rustling, revealed the pointed tip of the small mint plant.
“See you another time—”
Then she waved goodbye to those behind her.
Among the “Free Adventurers,” Shuna Polol was an anomaly. Free Adventurers—those without a fixed party. Some just played around, while others were exceptionally strong and chose to work with adventuring teams as freelancers based on the price offered.
Calling them “Free Adventurers” was more like calling them mercenaries who worked for money.
Shuna was powerful, so powerful that it seemed she could clear dungeons solo without issue. Moreover, she was proficient in everything, capable of filling any role in a party.
She listed her profession as “Logistics,” explaining, “Ah, someone told me that only those in logistics need to understand a little about everything, making them the strongest ace in the party. I don’t know why they were so persistent, but just write it like that.”
She didn’t act for money. Her compensation was hard to describe. Sometimes, after receiving a pile of dungeon clearance rewards, she would only take a single worn book. Other times, after defeating a BOSS, she would leave with only the materials. Even when only clearing the first floor, she would participate for the thrill. She spoke little and left after the job was done.
A case like this, where she took a sprig of mint and left, was considered normal.
In her free time, she could only be found in taverns, reading books—books bearing the stamp of the Entak Second Academy’s library.
No one knew why a student who could borrow books from the Entak Second Academy library would choose to become an adventurer.
Moreover…
She looked too young, and her actions as a girl were too decisive and capable, giving her a terrifying disconnect between her age and her demeanor.
But Isaac, the branch guild master of the Adventurer’s Guild, whom she frequented, knew very well.
Her actions were driven solely by… letters.
Isaac personally handed her many, many letters signed anonymously “W.” She would typically read the letter and then directly find relevant dungeons on the commission board nearby.
“Oh? You’re back. Perfect timing. W gave you another letter. This one’s registered mail, they’re really afraid of losing it.”
“What?”
Shuna, so decisive and unpretentious, her eyes lit up at the news and she immediately snatched the letter.
A delicate metal bookmark fell out of the letter.
She held up the bookmark, aiming it towards the light.
“Hmm… It looks like stars in the galaxy. He really put his heart into it…”
Speaking in a doting tone, this decisive and capable Shuna wore a sweet smile, like a maiden in love.
Even Branch Guild Master Isaac couldn’t bear to watch.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. To avoid people thinking I’m abusing child labor, can you stop trying so hard next time?”
“I’m not trying hard,”
Shuna said, twirling the bookmark in her hand under the light. It slipped down onto the rustic table of the Adventurer’s Guild.
“That was a dungeon whose final BOSS form hadn’t even been registered yet, and you just accepted the job to clear it…”
“Floors twenty-five to twenty-nine were all related to nocturnal insects and had explosive properties. The BOSS form of the Dungeon Empress wasn’t hard to guess. Besides, regarding explosions, I recently had someone recalculate the updated data.”
Shuna lightly dismissed the most difficult part of dungeon clearing – “how to guess the BOSS’s form by inferring from the preceding floors.”
“Moreover…” she took out the mint, twirling it in her hand, “Don’t you think my luck is incredibly good? It’s like I have a halo, and things I want to do and want to achieve often succeed on the first try?”
Isaac did not deny it.
Shuna did indeed possess a “luck halo” that made everything go smoothly for her, but rather than just being powerful, it was more like…
“Hmm… Indeed, it’s like the protagonist?”
“Yes, like the heroine.”
“So, who exactly is W? Why do you listen to him so much?”
Shuna preciously placed the bookmark into the upper pocket of her jacket.
“According to the contents of the letter, he should be a pampered young master. Someone with a wealth of theoretical knowledge and a grand dream of adventure, but who has never actually stepped out of his own home.”
“Huh?”
“He might even have the surname Hysterm.”
“That’s not our Guild Master’s son…”
Isaac’s words trailed off as Shuna waved her hand.
“Just kidding. But…”
She opened the letter, licking her lips in anticipation. Only then did Isaac feel that she was indeed a 14-year-old girl, matching her appearance.
“I feel… he’s quite… cute?”
