“Haa… haa… haa… haa…”
Will jumped up from the bed, gasping for breath as he clutched his racing heartbeat. He knew he had been woken up by a scare.
“Little… Little Will?”
Shuna seemed to be up a little earlier than him. Lately, Shuna had been waking up very early, though she also slept quite late. Will, sharing the same room with her, had never seen her actually sleep in bed.
She leaned closer, concern etched on her face, her hair tie not even secured in her hair yet. She preferred to tie her long hair into a high ponytail for strenuous activities.
They hadn’t chosen the most luxurious hotel because it was impossible to get a reservation. As a result, this small hotel felt a bit cramped. As Will sat up panting, Shuna, who was by the headboard, immediately noticed due to their close proximity.
“What’s wrong? You look… you look closer to death than I did after you made me do high-intensity exercises all day yesterday.”
It was the first time Will had seen Shuna flustered. “Do you need any help? Like some calming medicine? What kind of nightmare would do this to you?”
Will desperately wanted to give her an accurate answer… But he couldn’t remember what he had dreamed about at all! This wasn’t his fault; he rubbed his forehead vigorously. But he couldn’t recall anything! The dream had vanished from his mind as if it had never existed, leaving no trace behind. It was as if his brain, subjected to immense mental stimulation, had chosen to forget the event. He tried hard… with his still groggy, just-woken-up brain to recall a dreamlike dreamscape… but he remembered nothing. Even…
“I… I think…” He tapped his head. “I think I had a…”
“Nightmare?” Shuna finished his sentence.
“Good dream.”
“???” Shuna’s previously worried expression turned to confusion in an instant. “I mean, Will, do you… uh… have any strange preferences? I’ve heard that men from the Hysterm family are known for their perversions.”
“Are you saying I’m the type of masochist who would consider a dream where I’m tortured and scared awake a good dream?!”
Shuna remained silent. She didn’t nod in affirmation, nor did she shake her head in denial. But her silence seemed to imply that this was precisely what she thought.
“Don’t… don’t be like that, you’ve misunderstood. Uh… although I don’t know what my elder brothers did…” Will said, deciding to push the dream to the back of his mind, he ran his hand through his hair. “But the Hysterm family… at least from my generation onwards, we’ll break this habit of perversion!” He stood up from the bed with a flourish, pointing to the sky. Full of determination!
Shuna, standing below him, was slightly taller than him when he was on the bed, so she got a clear view of Will’s majestic pose. “Mm-hmm, I can feel your resolve, but your actions…”
Will seemed to realize something. Since he had sweated profusely during yesterday’s training and felt refreshed after showering, he had decided to… sleep naked.
“Wait—this is because I wasn’t fully awake, you you you you you should leave first, I need to get dressed!”
***
The next day’s training began with Shuna and Will entering the dungeon. Will followed Shuna into the “Moonlit Ice Extreme” dungeon. They had already reached the 21st floor, so they would now explore the area from the 21st to the 30th floor. The 21st floor was completely different. The previous ten floors had clearly been converted into a tourist area. Floors 11 to 20 were just a disorganized collection of various minibosses, lacking any “level design”—ah, Will’s professional disease acting up.
The 21st floor, upon entry, was an unlit cave with nothing in it. Seeing the pitch-black cave, Will realized how friendly the previous ten floors had been. And floors 11 to 20 hadn’t even designed such spaces. They had been so friendly that they had even installed lighting in the caves! Installed lighting! It was probably some kind of hidden luminous fluorite. It was only now that Will realized that caves, besides not having ice sculptures to see, were so dark that you couldn’t even see the path. Here, one would undoubtedly encounter the dungeon monsters very easily. Therefore, every step had to be taken with caution. Will reached out and lit a torch, carefully probing forward.
Today’s training involved Shuna acting as a “bodyguard” behind him to ensure his “safety,” while Will was responsible for all the combat. Shuna would no longer provide him with “trial experiences”; he had to rely entirely on himself. Even the torch was lit by Will, and he had to walk ahead.
“Hmm, although it doesn’t sound very good, Little Will, I learned today that the Hysterm family actually has the capital to be perverts.” Despite the fact that they were in an area where monsters could appear at any moment, Shuna spoke to Will without lowering her voice.
“Don’t keep thinking about… thinking about what you saw this morning.”
“What’s wrong? I didn’t avoid you when I was changing. Good friends should see each other’s things.”
“You didn’t avoid me, but I… I didn’t look either.”
“What? You feel like you lost out?”
“I…”
At that moment, a particularly large… blue bat lunged from Will’s side! It was exhaling icy mist from its mouth— No problem! Will began preparing a fire shield, casting magic with his hands, and then unleashed it at the blue bat. It was a one-hit kill. The bat’s icy mist didn’t affect Will at all—the mist would have slowed Will by about 20%. Oh, this figure was also filled in by Will.
“Not bad, I’ll give it a 90. Considering your actual combat experience is practically zero, you get a perfect score.” Shuna clapped her hands. “The magic you chose was accurate, the consumption was minimal, and you knew to avoid the negative status effects.”
“Stop, stop, stop, Shū~na~ Tea~cher, I… although I lack practical experience, you know my theory is solid, you don’t need to tell me more…” Another ice mouse, half the size of a person, popped out from the side! Will again used scattered flames to drive it back to a safe distance and then used his knife to attack its front teeth. This time, Shuna merely clapped, saying nothing. She knew that for Will, despite his lack of skill at this level, with his rich theoretical knowledge and experience, he could completely solo this dungeon. Shuna had no room for guidance regarding his “awareness.” However, Shuna wasn’t here to hone Will’s practical awareness. Will once again dealt with a light blue ice pig—its color made the pig look unappetizing as a food ingredient. Instead… she wanted him to feel the fear of “losing his life the next second” when a monster rushed him, even when dealing with minibosses… Sometimes, only when facing the fear of “death” would people cherish “life” more. Will was probably that kind of person; he seemed to be too far from death, and therefore too far from “life.” As soon as he felt that… as if he were about to lose his life… fear…
“Ahhhhhh—!” Will, who had been calmly fighting monsters in an orderly fashion, suddenly jumped two meters high with his torch and then grabbed Shuna’s shoulders, hiding behind her.
“What… what’s wrong?”
“So… so… so scary…” Shuna heard his teeth chattering. Huh?! It looks like he really encountered a monster that scared even him? Let Shuna take a good look (six) dad (nine)捂芭冥-罒球呜箘看 what kind of… An ice slime. It blinked its large, dark blue bean-like eyes, innocently and roundly bouncing in place with elasticity.
“…” Shuna was speechless for a moment.
“…” Will was also speechless.
“Young Master, would you care to explain?”
“…It, it suddenly fell from above, and it was quite scary.”
“Can you provide a more serious explanation?”
“This is the deepest, most profound fear from the depths of my destiny, gripping the lifeline of my soul.”
“…Is there a more easily understandable reason? It can even sound fabricated.”
“I was once hit by a slime when I was little. It took me three days to recover, leaving me with psychological trauma.” Will thought for a moment… Actually, he wasn’t that scared. But as he had said before, after reading a book, one often forgets many details from the original work, only remembering a few famous scenes that remain etched in memory, even becoming more prominent. The cannon fodder young master dying by being hit by a slime upon entering the dungeon was likely such a plot point. The kind that would play out repeatedly in Will’s mind.
“Alright, that reason convinces me. I’ll deal with it for you.” Shuna cautiously took a step forward.
“Where is it?”
“It’s right in front of you, can you see it?!”
“Oh, I see it. It’s not very big.”
“Of course, it’s not big, this is just the smallest type of slime!”
“Okay, watch me.” Shuna nodded, her expression serious and solemn. She walked up cautiously, as if afraid of waking it. Then, it seemed she applied some fire enchantment to her foot. *Snap.* One kick… It dissolved.
“There, all done. Don’t be scared anymore, Little Will.”
“I feel like… your actions just now were like a husband dealing with a cockroach in the house for his wife?”
“Hm? Is… is that so? Your… your misperception, hahaha.” Will felt as if Shuna was looking down on him!
***
In the most luxurious room of the largest hotel in Yamik City, a strange young lady arrived. She appeared to be a member of the “Adventurers” because, unlike nobles who just came to play and lingered in the first ten floors of a dungeon with a temporary team card, she wore a formal B5-ranked adventurer team badge. Every time she returned, she brought back a stack of books related to how to clear the “Moonlit Ice Extreme,” specifically concerning the Ice Empress Queen. She was also constantly asking about recent attempts to clear “Moonlit Ice Extreme” and the current requirements for entering the dungeon. But the most peculiar thing was…
*Knock knock knock.*
“Hello, this is room service. Do you need housekeeping?” She opened a door. “Come in, don’t touch anything.”
The most peculiar thing was that she entered and exited this room empty-handed, but now the room was filled with… many, many… props printed with witch hats.
