Once, the ancients flourished here on the continent of Helcacia, passing their days in peace and abundance.
Blessed by Dia, the god that had been revered on Helcacia since ancient times, they constructed an unimaginably high-level society using advanced technology and knowledge. They named it Diania after their deity.
But one night, they suddenly vanished from the continent, meeting an abrupt end. With the ancients gone, the monster population soared, completely transforming the peaceful and bountiful Diania into a dangerous region that none dared enter.
Two hundred years ago, a dauntless band of individuals dared to set foot on the continent, and they began its conquest. Yes, they fought with monsters, entered dungeons, and once again built human villages. Those were the adventurers.
“But c’mon! How can they call themselves adventurers? They’re just a bunch of riffraff who can’t even defeat a single boss…!”
In the east of Helcacia, deep inside the Belfla forest, there was an open hole that led to some subterranean ruins: the Belfla Underground Ruins.
It was an A-class dungeon, which the guild recommended be explored in a party of four, but Alina was strolling around its deepest level all alone, complaining to herself all the while. “They have no idea…no idea how much suffering this overtime has caused me…!”
Dungeons created by the ancients generated ether, which heightened magical power. Monsters gathered in search of ether, causing these valuable sources of knowledge from the ancients to wind up as dens for dangerous creatures.
“…Overtime sucks so bad…”
Alina was headed for the deepest area of that floor. She occasionally peeked out down a side route to see a candelabra that was still glowing after two hundred years, or a collapsed decoration that contained a mysteriously glowing rock. These were all valuable relics made from the ancients’ advanced technology. If she took them home, she could exchange them for a ton of cash—but instead she strode briskly onward, not even sparing a glance at the pile of treasures.
“…Overtime sucks so bad…”
She was not dressed in her usual receptionist outfit. Instead, she wore a cloak with a large hood that completely covered her face. Additionally, she had nothing in the way of weapons or tools to protect herself. If another adventurer had seen her, they would have panicked and stopped her.
But there was no sign of anyone but Alina here.
In the depths of the strata, where the ether was thickest—otherwise known as the “boss room”—sat the boss’s throne. The monsters would compete for this territory until one beat out its weaker competitors; then the victor would reign as the boss, and the other monsters wouldn’t come near. On a similar note, adventurers who lacked confidence in their abilities would also steer clear of the boss room.
“Overtime.”
Suddenly, Alina came to a halt. A large door had appeared before her. The thick aura of ether oozed out from behind it. The moment she opened it, she was hit by a wave of suffocatingly hot air.
Past the entrance was a broad, circular open area.
Once, there must have been grand ceremonies held here. But now the place was inhabited by a great fire dragon, roaring and thrashing around.
It was the floor boss of the deepest strata—the Hellflame Dragon.
“Crap, it’s strong…! Can we even get near this thing?!”
“Its scales repel ice magic, too…!”
A single party was struggling against the rampaging fire dragon. Their armor was engraved with matching crests of two swords crossed—they were members of Silver Sword. Among them was Ganz the Raging Blade, who had taken on this quest.
“My battle-ax isn’t working…”
Ganz now showed none of the spirit he’d had when he’d taken on the quest—he was looking up at the floor boss, dazed. The weapon he was so proud of, the relic arma, was greatly damaged, and there was not a single wound on the scales of the raging fire dragon to show for it.
“Don’t give up, Ganz! Pull yourself together!” The tank of the party, a young man, aggressively encouraged him while raising his giant shield to protect him. Despite his encouragement, the situation seemed grim for them, and a scowl formed on the tank’s face as he looked at the Hellflame Dragon. “It’s so strong, even relic arma won’t work… This thing must have eaten a relic…!”
Monsters could grow in power by absorbing more ether of increasing density, but very rarely, one would ingest a relic by accident. The intense power of the relic would typically overwhelm the creature who ingested it, but every now and then, a monster would resist it, gaining a toughened body and enhanced magical power. This meant they could get much stronger by absorbing relics than from ether alone.
Even knowing that, the dragon’s power had come as such a shock to Ganz that he lost not only his will to fight, but his confidence as well. “I-it’s no use, I can’t…” He groaned. It seemed like their frontline attacker, indispensable for defeating a boss, was beyond recovery.
Seeing that, the tank hesitated for an instant before he quickly made a tough call. “…This isn’t looking good. Let’s withdraw for now— Wait, who are you?!”
Cutting past the elite party as they made to withdraw, Alina headed straight for the Hellflame Dragon.
The tank blanched when he laid eyes on her. “H-hey, what are you doing?! Without any kind of armor, you’ll get burnt to a—”
“Skill Activate: Dia Break.”
Alina muttered, cutting off his attempt at restraint. Suddenly, a white magical sigil formed beneath her feet as she headed to the fire dragon, and a mysterious white light enveloped her cloak. She thrust her palm out and spread her fingers, and a giant war hammer appeared out of thin air.
“A skill?!”
“Hey wait, what’s with that skill?! I’ve never seen anyone create a weapon—”
With the voices of the shocked elites at her back, Alina took hold of the war hammer and went into a combat stance.
It was a massive weapon as tall as Alina herself. Fine silverwork that could only be produced with advanced technology decorated the hammer of the weapon, and white light ran across its surface. Opposite the massive hammer was a sharp, pointed pickax, making the weapon even more lethal.
You clearly couldn’t find it on the open market.
“So it’s you…you damn miserable dragon…” Alina approached the Hellflame Dragon, grumbling to herself.
You’d think the war hammer would take quite a lot of strength to lift, but she swung it up with ease, slinging it over her shoulder. The weapon was completely unsuited to someone as small as her.