Lively footsteps cut through the streets of the Dungeon City.
Light, springy steps.
Glossy black hair, smooth as ebony, swayed in rhythm with them.
A fresh yet mature contradictory beauty blooming somewhere between girl and woman.
Even on a street teeming with countless passersby, her presence stood out sharply.
"So, back then, I... Ugh."
A man chatting with his companion by the roadside trailed off mid-sentence.
His puzzled friend turned to look, then let out a cough of his own, just like the man.
By now, gazes from all over the street were fixed on the woman.
Was it simply men's instinct to have their eyes stolen by a beauty?
But the emotions in their stares seemed far removed from lust.
Unease.
Surprisingly, the predominant feeling in the eyes turned toward the woman was unease.
"...Rusted Silver."
A small mutter slipped out like a groan from someone.
At that tiny remark, her brisk stride halted for a moment.
The woman turned her head, locking eyes precisely with the source of the words. A gasp escaped, and the street's air froze solid.
In this lawless city overflowing with outlaws, disputes were everyday occurrences.
But no one wanted to pick a fight with a 'Named' who bore an 'Epithet'.
Especially not when that epithet was the worst kind of moniker, seen as a curse among crawlers.
"Ahem... Um..."
The man who had uttered 'Rusted Silver' averted his eyes from the woman's piercing stare and coughed awkwardly.
Her russet eyes somehow felt blood-red.
Gulp.
The street was already under the woman's dominion.
Tension hung so thick you could hear the dry swallows of those around you, uncertain what might happen next.
Yet.
The woman's lips curved up slowly, her fine brows arching like a new moon.
But that smile was far from the pure portrait of a fresh beauty.
It was a twisted smirk that mocked the world.
A jeer at the coward who trembled, unable to even meet a woman's gaze.
That was all.
As if losing interest in something so trivial, she wiped the expression from her face and resumed walking.
"Haaah..."
Only after her figure had completely vanished from sight did the crowd finally exhale in collective relief.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
-My daughter.
A loving woman's voice resounded in her mind.
Not sound carried through the air to the ears, but a higher form of communication linked directly to the spirit.
"Yes, Goddess."
Even though revelations from the divine were something most people never experienced in a lifetime, her voice held no thrill of encountering her worshipped god or pious reverence.
It was routine for her.
-Your Goddess's heart grows heavy, for it seems my daughter's actions sow darkness in the hearts of the masses.
The Goddess's voice carried affection and worry, likely troubled by the earlier incident.
"It's easier to clarify relationships by being an object of fear than by appearing easy to exploit and getting used at will."
Especially in this jungle of a Dungeon City.
-Yet your Goddess's heart aches to see such a lovely girl bear the vile name 'Rusted Silver'.
'I don't really mind.'
-Such a beautiful and endearing appearance. If only you curbed your merchant ways a bit and treated others more kindly, you could win the love of all without fail.
"I don't particularly crave love. Isn't it enough if we just fulfill what each other needs?"
-Bonds tied only by benefit are looser than those woven by faith.
"Mixing needless personal feelings into business usually ends badly."
Memories of her past life flickered by.
Stars of the sports world. Among them, those loyal to their teams out of camaraderie or sentiment.
There were cases that ended beautifully, filling the void of human compassion, but most met tragic fates.
Contracts swayed by emotion, negotiations hobbled by loyalty.
This wasn't some fairy tale world.
Reality—the pro world—had to be cold.
Anyone swayed by sentiment and failing to secure their own rice bowl was a halfwit.
Scott... Scott... Pretty famous guy, but the name's slipping my mind.
Anyway, that agent with the name evoking abyssal fetishes wasn't renowned for nothing.
The teams might call him a devil, but he excluded unnecessary emotions and accurately valued players.
Sometimes even values the players themselves didn't know.
'...But.'
Truth be told, it was ironic. The Goddess, who should be advising her like an agent, was so soft-hearted herself.
What could she do? She had to stay sharp and protect her own rice bowl.
-Your Goddess warns her sole daughter against being consumed by excessive greed, blind to what truly matters.
"Haa..."
The Goddess's nagging droned on, tedious and preachy.
If it continued, it would interfere with the business she had coming up.
She decided to strike first before more could follow.
"How was the Essentia Rosancti from Rosanctum I offered a few days ago?"
She brought up the top-shelf perfume from Rosanctum, the City of Roses outside the Dungeon City, which she'd painstakingly acquired and dedicated.
-Ah, that fragrance! The joy it brought your Goddess from my sole daughter's offering...
As expected, even a goddess was a woman at heart.
Recalling the rare high-quality perfume dedicated after so long, her tone brimmed with excitement.
"That one bottle costs over 5 gold."
Rosanctum perfumes were famed for their scent and quality, but the price was horrific. Even the finest, just over 400 drops in a bottle, for 5 gold.
A 20cm white wheat loaf cost about 3 coppers on average. 100 coppers made a silver, 50 silvers a gold. So one tiny perfume vial could buy over 8,000 loaves.
-...However.
"In that case, can I replace future offerings with cheap lavender oil from a general store, 4 silvers a bottle, and get along more amiably with them?"
-That...!
A sigh mixed into the Goddess's voice.
Lavender oil was the cheapest, but not poor quality. Still, after tasting Essentia Rosancti's allure, it would fall short for the Goddess.
Yet, having preached against greed as a goddess, backing down now would undermine her authority.
"And the prayer room contract I just signed isn't cheap. If it strains incoming revenue, I might have to cancel it too."
-!
Mentioning the recently contracted prayer room startled her.
The Goddess had long been forgotten, losing most divinity, without even a proper temple—just a modest prayer room as a gateway for new followers. She couldn't bear to lose that.
-Upon reflection, the people gathered in this labyrinthine city all scorn and disregard others, unworthy companions for my sole daughter. One cannot gulp seawater in haste; your Goddess hopes you befriend better souls.
In the end, the Goddess surrendered first.
"Wise words."
With the Goddess yielding, she pressed no further.
'No point pushing and having her sulk—it takes forever to cheer her up.'
The Goddess's actions stemmed from concern for her. How could she not know it worried over her tendency to make enemies easily?
And it was the usual WWE, so no big deal.
-Who are these companions for this venture?
The Goddess changed the subject to lighten the mood.
"A party formed less than a year ago, but each member's a mid-tier crawler with over 7 years of experience."
-Oh? Then this adventure should be smooth.
"We'll see."
-Hm? Are there issues with them?
"No real blemishes on their individual reputations."
-Then?
"But calling them a promising party is a stretch."
Even a party formed less than a year ago with 7-year vets should have a fixed support role member.
At that level, their range reached the mid-layers, making a support essential for party sustainability.
Yet they planned to fill the vital support role with an irregular like her.
"Supports are rare, sure, but after 7 years crawling, you'd have connections. Promising parties don't recruit supports this way."
-Hm.
"And their specs look decent on paper."
The target floor was the issue too.
Specs were relative, after all.
22nd floor.
Mid-layers, not low but not high either. Right in the middle.
"Judging by the goal, their specs make them just barely a cut party."
-Just barely a cut... I still don't grasp the term, but they're not exceptional, then.
"Right. The early dungeon will go smoothly, but the latter half might be rough."
Having a heavy hitter made dungeon runs easy, but they were rare. Especially unconnected to such a vanilla crawler party.
Named crawlers with epithets and fame wouldn't slip past her notice if in the party.
"Just a party that'll be decently grueling to run with."
-...Will you be alright?
With the Goddess's worried words, she arrived at the Crawler Guild.
She pushed open the swinging doors like in a Western and smiled faintly.
"Well, I'm a pro. As long as the terms are right, nothing's impossible."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"It's mostly satisfactory, but..."
She set down the meticulously reviewed contract, drawing tense gazes.
Terms, revenue split, chain of command, risk assessment—all reasonable.
Maybe due to her notoriety, it showed clear effort.
Just one thing missing.
The most important.
She smiled faintly.
"There's no support fund here?"