“You finally finished the iron rod staff I wanted, and now you’re getting me into something else?!”
“Just use this to make the base of a shield first. I haven’t found the other parts yet.”
Will said this very casually, standing in front of the blacksmith shop.
“Wait, you said the staff is done? Quick, quick, show me—”
“Here you go.”
The blacksmith’s words sounded impatient, but his expression carried a hint of pride as he picked up the staff he had crafted.
“Even though the request was strange, I think what I made is incredibly awesome!”
He even puffed out his chest proudly.
Will held the “Staff of Ancient Flames · Novice”—since it would definitely need improvements later, he’d give it this name for now—his hand trembling slightly.
It was beautiful.
As expected of a “large town” like Yamik City and its most expensive blacksmith.
The craftsmanship was exquisite, with no excess or flaws. The iron staff body was glowing, and the crystal ball on top was polished to a sparkle.
Moreover, the surface had undergone a matte treatment, making it look considerably more elegant.
Most importantly, there was the small emblem stamped on it.
The cute, big-hatted witch emblem.
It added a touch of warmth and familiarity to the cold iron staff.
When Liya gets her hands on it…
It would surely be perfect.
However, while the iron blocks of Rock Fire Iron Wall were relatively loose in density and light, would it still be a bit too heavy for the petite Teacher Liya?
“Lost in admiration? I think you should just keep it for yourself. I think it’s quite nice,” Shuna said with a smile, patting Will’s shoulder.
“No, this was custom-made specifically for Liya’s physical condition. Ah, well, of course, the most important reason is…”
Will scratched his head sheepishly.
“I have one that my father gave me, which is more expensive and better than this. Since this is just the novice version, it still needs to be updated.”
One day, Liya would wield the “Staff of Ancient Flames · Complete,” and defeat the Ice Demon of her destiny.
Absolutely!
Just as Will was thinking, the blacksmith let out a groan—
“Is this crystal too difficult to work with?”
“It’s fine, we’ll pay triple the price!”
Will offered immediately.
Shuna was startled.
“…You really are a young master, aren’t you? You don’t think at all before quoting a price.”
The blacksmith placed the crystal stones from his bag on the table.
“It’s no use how much you offer! My strongest hammer can’t even dent it. You’ll have to find someone else.”
“We don’t know any other blacksmiths, and you’re the only one we can rely on.”
“Head towards the capital. There’s a place there that specializes in shield crafting, a hundred-year-old establishment.”
The blacksmith pointed in the direction of the capital—a direction Will was quite familiar with.
After all, it was where he had lived for three years.
“Alright.”
Will slung the entire bag of crystal ore onto his back.
It was too heavy; he’d have to find a way to stuff it into his ring and take it back.
And then…
Shuna looked at the stones in the backpack.
“It’s strange…”
She walked behind Will and picked up a piece, examining it.
“This ‘carved’ cross-section…”
“And the Green Ghost Stone we have…”
“Seem to be consistent.”
***
Sitting in a small tavern across from the Yamik Adventurer’s Guild, the two of them adopted a serious research attitude, intently staring at the small, fragmented stones on the table that looked like they could fly away in the slightest breeze.
“What if… the Emperors of the Dungeons all have their own unique eccentricities.”
Will carefully examined the fragment in his hand.
It was a tiny piece, but the white center was too incongruous with the overall green stone.
It looked as if someone had deliberately cut a piece out of the fragment.
“Maybe we don’t need to hypothesize. Although I haven’t interacted with many, there are those who like architecture, those who like painting, those who like chatting… Oh, and the one we met before who liked telling bad jokes. They’re indeed a motley crew.”
It was already eight or nine o’clock, dark outside, and considerably cooler.
It was the perfect time for a chat in a tavern.
“So, the Empress of Moonlit Ice Extreme… could it be that she… really likes carving?”
“Perhaps, we don’t need to guess this either.”
Shuna gazed at the scattered stones on the table, recalling her experiences in the Moonlit Ice Extreme dungeon.
The eerie ice sculptures of the first ten floors.
The various “regular” but noticeably different-looking monsters between floors twenty and forty.
And the BOSS on floor 40, which was exceptionally outstanding and different. It was clearly a crystal monster, but somehow, someone had “ingeniously” used sculpting techniques, making even the experienced duo mistake it for ordinary ice armor.
This must all be…
The work of the Empress, “Queen of Ice.”
Then…
“Little Will, this is good news!”
“It is indeed good news.”
If this Queen of Ice was particularly skilled at carving, especially carving crystals and gems, Will could even roughly guess what had happened to the Green Ghost Stone.
The Green Ghost Stone they saw had likely been “internally damaged.”
In that case…
Subjected to immense external force, the Green Ghost Stone would certainly not remain intact.
And if it was internally precisely cut into small pieces, while still connected on the surface, it would break into unrecoverable fragments like this.
Combined with the ice armor carving on the back of the Crystal Ice Lizard, this dungeon’s “Empress” might actually have this capability.
“In that case, we really need to go in and ask her. I hope she’s someone reasonable this time!”
“The next ten floors will require us to face her directly!”
Shuna took an excited gulp of her drink.
Because they had defeated floor 40 today, and there was even better news, Will had made an exception to allow Shuna, who got drunk easily and gave him psychological trauma when she did, to have a small alcoholic drink.
“That’s wonderful. We can probably recruit two or three more fighters. But when we directly face the BOSS, I’ll likely be the main force!”
Shuna’s expression was exactly like someone ready to deliver two powerful punches to the BOSS.
“Queen of Ice, I am fully prepared!”
“Don’t get too excited!”
“I feel like we shouldn’t call her the Queen of Ice anymore. What should we call her… Great Sculptor would be better?”
“Hey, hey, don’t go changing her name right away!”
“Speaking of which, you’re treating me to a drink today, the one you previously forbade me from having… it’s definitely not just because we defeated floor 40, is it?”
“This… well…”
Will had intended to give Shuna a small surprise.
But now that she had seen through it, the surprise could no longer be hidden.
He fumbled in his pocket and finally pulled out—
A new Adventuring Team business card!
While it wasn’t the bright red and eye-catching color of an A-Rank card, it had a layer of glitter, making it sparkle.
“That’s right, our achievement in clearing ‘Rock Fire Iron Wall’ has been synchronized! The 40th floor here has also been added to our accomplishments, so…”
He proudly slapped the card onto the table.
“Shining Star has been promoted to B1 rank!”
