—
For Will, standing in front of Yavik City and reading the letter in his hands…
His mind was as chaotic as Eir’s must have been when she wrote it.
This…
This letter…
Imdiately overshadowed all the strange things that had happened to him today, claiming the top spot on his personal “weirdness leaderboard.”
What… what even is this?!
Hugh didn’t apply for the logistics position?
Then who is the “protagonist” now?
Wait, could this have sothing to do with the fact that he didn’t “inherit” the na Morning Star but ca up with it himself?
If that’s the case, then who’s going to get kicked out of the team?
Leah and Treya left to find him?
That doesn’t make sense.
Why would they leave to find him?!
Well… maybe losing their team leader is a good enough reason to go looking for him.
But… how do they seem to know exactly where he’s headed?
Did soone tell them?
No, no, no…
The most unsettling part is…
Leah…
Leah might be…
Nearby?
For so reason, the other parts of the letter—even the part about Hugh not showing up—only gave Will a vague sense of unease. But…
The part about Leah filled him with…
A bone-chilling dread that started at his spine and spread to his entire body.
Even his brain felt numb.
Why?
Leah…
Leah was probably coming because she was worried about him… right?
If he t her, he could just explain everything, and she should… she should be able to join their team and explore Morning Star together.
After all…
She’s supposed to be a kind and understanding teacher…
Right?
The mysteries were piling up.
From the sudden appearance of the Green Wraith Stone, to Hugh’s absence as ntioned in the letter, to the disappearance of the “forr Morning Star,” and now Leah and Treya showing up…
All of these were mysteries Will was grappling with.
But these mysteries felt so disconnected, as if faint threads connected them, yet he couldn’t grasp them.
The closest lead to him now was probably…
Moonlit Ice Extre?
“Little Will? Are you okay?”
Shuna waved her hand in front of Will’s face, snapping him out of his daze.
Her five fingers moved back and forth in front of his eyes.
“You don’t look so good.”
Shuna was sharp; she imdiately noticed that sothing was off with Will.
“Should we hold off on heading out today? For one, you’ve been really unlucky, and for another, you seem a bit out of it after reading that letter.”
Will started to think.
The strange events that had been happening today felt like external warnings, as if sothing bad was about to happen.
But…
Will reflected on his life so far.
The ti he was closest to death was when Leah attacked him.
The ti he caused a massive scandal with the royal family was when Treya broke off their engagent.
And later, when he actually died, it beca the most codic mont in the entire book.
Clearly!
As a cannon-fodder villain, the more dangerous the situation, the more likely it was to trigger important plot points!
That was the key difference between him and the protagonist!
This was the ti to face challenges head-on to uncover the real clues!
He had an epiphany.
Today’s bad luck was a sign—a divine revelation telling him that today was the perfect day to explore the dungeon.
After all, he wasn’t going to die until a year later, so he definitely wouldn’t die now.
“It’s fine. We’re heading out today! Sothing good is bound to happen!”
Will tossed his hair dramatically and adjusted his glasses as he spoke.
“I feel like… you just had so sort of epiphany in the last ten seconds.”
Shuna was so startled by his sudden confidence that she took two steps back.
“Alright then. Morning Star—”
“Sets out today!” Will finished her sentence.
—
The dungeon exploration went surprisingly smoothly—almost too smoothly.
The 51st floor…
The 57th floor…
But perhaps this “smoothness” was another kind of strangeness for Will.
“It feels like this dungeon has undergone so subtle changes compared to when we scouted it earlier.”
Standing at the entrance to the 58th floor, Shuna didn’t open the door. Instead, she stood there with her arms crossed.
“Huh? I don’t see anything strange. Feels like a pretty normal dungeon to ,” the swordsman scratched his beard and said.
“Exactly, I agree with the swordsman,” the young mage almost moved to open the door.
“What’s the big deal? We’ve got Vice-Captain Shuna with us,” the shield-bearer waved dismissively, completely unconcerned.
“Mm.” The archer nodded, seemingly agreeing with the others.
Shuna rubbed her forehead, wearing an expression that scread, These four are hopeless.
Then, she turned to Will.
Will t her gaze with a firm nod.
They had previously reviewed the dungeon guide, especially the parts leading up to the final boss. The guide was available for free at the Adventurer’s Guild.
The six of them had spent an entire afternoon studying it, ensuring they were familiar with the monster layouts.
But…
“Sothing’s missing. On the 52nd floor, there should’ve been a mass-produced ice elephant—a common defensive monster in this dungeon. Without it, we didn’t even use the fire magic we had prepared for that section.”
Only Will understood what Shuna ant.
“The strange part isn’t just that. On the 53rd floor, there was no ice boar. On the 54th floor, the water lacked an ice whale…”
Oddly enough, the missing monsters all seed to be “defensive” types.
This was why the dungeon had been easier than expected. With fewer defensive monsters, advancing was a breeze.
These mass-produced, selfless monsters, resembling “ice sculptures,” were likely directly under the Ice Queen’s control. For this to happen…
She must’ve used them for sothing, but they were all wiped out—completely wiped out—leaving no replacents.
When Will voiced this thought, he finally understood the gap between himself and the other four adventurers in Shuna’s eyes.
The other four were essentially “rcenaries,” completely uninterested in the dungeon’s intricacies.
After Will’s analysis, the group fell silent. The atmosphere grew heavy.
“Maybe we should retreat,” the mage suggested, raising her hand. “If it’s as dangerous as you say, we’re just here for the money.”
“We still need to move forward. The earliest retreat point is after clearing the 59th floor, at the door where we decide whether to enter the boss room.”
Shuna rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought, before speaking.
“Right. Besides, no one’s injured, and we still have plenty of supplies. Let’s keep going.”
Will glanced at Shuna.
As long as she was in good shape, the others didn’t matter as much.
“Alright, let’s stay focused and move out.”
—Until.
After clearing the 58th floor, where they should’ve encountered the door to the 59th floor, they were instead t with…
Two doors.
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