Chapter 22: The Named Boss
“Welcome! Oh my, if it isn’t little Shifa—hello there.”
Behind the polished counter of the Adventurers’ Guild, Canaria, the receptionist with a warm smile and gentle manners, greeted the young woman who had just stepped through the great wooden doors. The guild hall, bustling with the chatter of adventurers and the clinking of armor, briefly quieted as the faint sound of her voice carried across the marble floor.
Shifa, barely eighteen, returned the greeting with a polite nod. Despite her youth, she had already achieved the distinguished B-Rank—a feat that even seasoned adventurers took years to reach. Her calm, amber eyes and confident posture spoke of experience far beyond her age. Within the guild, she was whispered about as a prodigy—someone destined for greatness.
Trailing beside her were Anii, her reliable companion, and Sena, a bright-eyed girl who had only recently become an adventurer. Sena still carried the timid energy of a newcomer—her guild badge was new, her armor slightly ill-fitting, and her enthusiasm boundless. Canaria guessed she was still in the stage of being drilled on the ABC’s of adventuring.\
“Has she still not returned yet?” Canaria asked, glancing at the parchment notes on her desk.
Shifa quietly shook her head.
“I see… That’s a shame. We were all hoping she’d be back soon. Especially now that you’ve welcomed a new member into your party—it would really help balance your team. You’re all front-liners; you could use a proper mage.”
Indeed, Shifa’s party once had a magician among them. But due to some circumstances, that member was currently away from the city.
Canaria sighed softly. The absence of a capable mage could prove to be a significant handicap in the field. Replacing such a crucial role with a newcomer was, in her eyes, far too heavy a burden to place on the young Sena.
(She doesn’t look particularly strong either…)
Out of curiosity, Canaria glanced toward the girl in question—only to find Sena drooling absentmindedly while mumbling, “I wonder what’s for dinner today…”
That sight made Canaria’s concern deepen further.
“So, what brings you here today?” she asked, regaining her professional tone.
“To report a subjugation,” Shifa replied simply.
“A subjugation report? Wait—did you take on a request recently?”
“Not exactly… Here.”
From her pack, Shifa drew out an enormous scale, nearly twenty centimeters across. It shimmered faintly in the lamplight, the surface tinted a deep, molten red.
“What in the world is this? Could this possibly be… a dragon scale?”
“Not a dragon,” Shifa corrected. “Volcano’s scale.”
“Eh?”
For a brief moment, Canaria couldn’t process what she’d just heard.
“The named boss of the Volcano Area,” Shifa said plainly. “We defeated it.”
“EHHHHHH!?”
Canaria’s shriek echoed through the hall. Instantly, every head in the guild turned their way.
Realizing her mistake, she hastily lowered her voice and leaned forward, eyes wide.
“W-wait… You defeated the Named Boss of the Volcano Area? Are you absolutely certain?”
“It’s true. This scale is proof.”
Canaria examined it closely. The thick, gleaming surface was unmistakable. “Th-this is definitely from a Red Lizardman… but this size—it’s beyond normal species parameters!”
Her gaze shifted from the scale to the trio before her. They looked… ordinary. Too ordinary. Three young women, barely out of girlhood—it was impossible to imagine them bringing down such a monster.
Then it struck her.
“Ah, I see! You must have cooperated with another party, right?”
Shifa shook her head. “No. We succeeded on our own.”
“Ehh…” Canaria could only gape.
Unbothered by the receptionist’s disbelief, Shifa continued briskly.
“The boss’s body remains where it fell. We’d like to request assistance with the retrieval.”
“R-right, of course. I’ll dispatch a recovery team right away. I just hope… we have a team capable of that…”
Her voice trailed off. The Named Bosses were massive creatures—retrieving their corpses was a difficult, often dangerous task. And this one had fallen in the Volcano Area, a place so inhospitable that even standing there for long was torture.
Normally, adventurers returned to the surface first, then arranged a guild-sponsored retrieval expedition. But with the heat and distance involved, even that was a daunting prospect.
Before Canaria could voice her worries, Shifa held out a small vial filled with pale blue liquid.
“There’s no need to worry. For the retrieval, they can use this.”
Canaria blinked. “What is that?”
“An Ice-Cooling Potion. With it, exploration within the Volcano Area will be comfortably cool.”
“What!? Something like that exists!?”
Canaria had never even heard of such a potion. Between that, the unbelievable slaying of a Named Boss, and this mysterious concoction, her mind was spinning in chaos.
“E-excuse me for a moment! I—I’ll be right back!”
Realizing this was far beyond her authority, Canaria bolted toward the back offices.
(This… this is definitely a job for the Guildmaster!)
Not long after, Shifa and her companions accompanied the retrieval team back to the Volcano Area.
The team consisted of seasoned adventurers who specialized in dismantling and transport operations—professionals well-versed in carving up monsters on-site for efficient hauling. Even so, few among them had ever dared to work in this infernal region.
“Just staying here for thirty minutes would dehydrate a man to death,” one muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“Did these girls really kill the Named Boss here?” another whispered skeptically.
To their surprise, Shifa calmly handed out small vials of that same blue potion.
“Here—drink this.”
One of the men frowned. “What’s this stuff, missy?”
“Ice-Cooling Potion. Once you drink it, your body stays cool. You won’t feel the heat of the Volcano Area.”
He scoffed. “Come on, there’s no way—”
But before he could finish, he downed the potion. Moments later…
“—Achoo!”
“S-so cold!”
“My god, it actually works! I’m freezing!”
Within seconds, the entire team was stamping their feet and shivering in disbelief. Then, laughing, they charged eagerly into the blazing terrain that just moments ago had made them hesitate.
“It’s true! It’s not hot at all!”
“This is incredible!”
“At this rate, we’ll be done in no time!”
Following Shifa’s lead, they traversed the cracked, fiery plains, occasionally cutting down stray monsters until at last they arrived at the site of the battle.
“There,” Shifa said quietly, pointing ahead.
The retrieval team fell silent.
“…Damn. You weren’t kidding.”
Before them lay the colossal body of a Red Lizardman, its frame easily several times larger than the norm. But even more shocking was its condition.
“Why… why is it this pristine?” one of them breathed.
Usually, monsters with hard scales ended up battered and shredded during combat or disassembly. Yet this corpse looked almost untouched—its crimson plates gleamed in perfect rows, unmarred by scorch or crack. The appraisers would pay a fortune for materials of this quality.
Then one of the adventurers noticed something else—and froze.
“Wait… these cuts… Who made them?”
Another knelt down, tracing a clean line that ran through the creature’s armor-like hide. “No way. Someone sliced through Volcano’s scales this cleanly!?”
“Oh, that was me!” chirped a cheerful voice.
Three heads snapped toward the source.
Standing there, smiling innocently, was Sena—the same girl who, just earlier, had been daydreaming about dinner. Her youthful face still held traces of childishness, yet her eyes sparkled with pride.
The hardened adventurers could only stare, jaws slack, as the realization sank in.
They had just witnessed something utterly beyond reason.