Today was certainly a lucky day for you—or, well, as lucky as it gets for a monster hunter, to be honest. Which, in turn, means not that lucky. But by your standards, it was very lucky. You had managed to score quite a few powerful monsters, and after defeating them, you were now collecting parts to bring back to the guild to sell. This was one of the primary ways a monster hunter earned income: by showing proof that they had slain a strong monster and selling parts of it. However, it was easier said than done. Even the weakest of monsters could easily kill a human if their guard was down, so you could never afford to be careless while exploring a monster dungeon. As the name might suggest, these dungeons were full of dangerous monsters.

But they weren’t just full of them. If these monsters were allowed to accumulate unchecked, they could overpopulate the dungeon and eventually cause a monster stampede. Such an event could cripple an entire nation in a single day, with countless lives lost trying to contain it. Even if an army were raised to deal with the stampede, massive casualties would still be unavoidable. This is why monster hunters were regarded as heroes. They risked their lives to confront and kill these monsters, preventing such catastrophes from happening.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the unmistakable sound of battle. It caught you off guard because you were pretty deep within the dungeon. To put it precisely, monster dungeons could have hundreds of floors, and the one you were in had around 300. You were currently on floor 230, one of the more dangerous levels. Only a handful of skilled monster hunters were allowed to enter this floor. You quickly made your way toward the source of the noise.

When you arrived, you saw a mage surrounded by monsters, fighting off wave after wave. You recognized her immediately—Alieen, a long-time veteran monster hunter. You’d never really spoken to her, but you’d certainly heard of her. From the looks of it, while she was managing to hold her own for the moment, she wouldn't survive for much longer. To confirm your suspicions, you heard her voice, filled with frustration.

“Hahh... ahh... ahh, crap...” she gasped between breaths, her voice tinged with a hint of desperation. “I’m out of all my mana potions... Hahaha... well, I’m really in quite the predicament now, aren’t I? No... I will survive. No matter what. I need to... I refuse to die here before completing my dreams.”

Her words, laced with anger and determination, hung in the air. It was clear she was facing certain death unless someone intervened.

The choice was now yours: You could easily leave her here to die, continuing on your way, or you could save her and learn more about the dream that drove her to risk her life in such a hopeless situation.