The Twilight Giant's corpse still smoldered in the center of the chamber, headless and collapsed like a fallen monument. Kurt sat on a chunk of rubble, and stared at the massive body while his team caught their breath.
Rook was the first to move. He pushed himself up, golden armor fully receded now, and walked toward the corpse with purpose. "Alright. We earned this. Let's collect what we came for."
Emma groaned but stood, wiping her blood from her forehead. "About damn time. I'm not dragging my ass through this hellhole for nothing."
Lizzie giggled weakly from her spot against the wall, still too drained to stand. "Go get that shiny core, boys and girls! Mama needs a vacation!"
Kurt watched as Rook knelt beside the Giant's chest. The armor there had cracked open during the final blow, exposing a glowing core the size of a truck's tire, radiating heat even from a distance.
Rook reached in carefully, his hands glowing faintly as he channeled essence around his arm to protect himself from the heat, and pulled the core free. It was beautiful in a terrifying way, orange and red light swirling inside like a trapped star.
"Not bad," Kurt muttered. "That's worth a fortune, innit?"
"More than a fortune," Rook said, cradling the core. "C-rank boss cores go for millions. This one? With the Giant's reputation? We're looking at enough to fund the guild for a year. Maybe two."
Emma whistled low. "Now that's what I like to hear."
Cassandra, who'd been sitting silently near the entrance, finally pushed herself up. Her legs were shaky, her attire torn and bloodied, but her focus sharpened as she studied the core. "That's assuming the D.A doesn't confiscate it."
Rook's calm look suddenly got serious. "They won't. We cleared the dungeon. It's ours by law."
"Laws bend when enough money's involved," Cassandra said flatly. She walked over, her steps measured, and glanced at the Giant's corpse. "You should harvest the armor fragments too. Molten Giant carapace sells well. And the sword, if you can carry it."
Kurt stood and stretched, his body still sore despite the resurrection. "She's got a point big man. We've got dead guild members and a sabotaged dungeon to explain. The more loot we walk out with, the better our story looks."
Rook nodded slowly. "Alright. Everyone who can move, start gathering. Cores, fragments, anything valuable. We've got maybe an hour before I want us out of here."
The team spread out, those still conscious moving through the chamber and back through the dungeon levels they'd fought through. Kurt joined them, stuffing monster cores into a bag. There were dozens of them, glowing faintly, each one worth a small fortune on its own.
As he worked, Cassandra appeared at his side. She moved quietly, her presence almost unnerving, and when she spoke, her voice was low. "You died."
Kurt glanced at her. "Yeah. Please tell me you're not still trying to wrap your head around that?"
"And you came back," Cassandra continued, studying him like he was a puzzle she couldn't solve. "Thirty minutes. Every time."
"Give or take," Kurt said, shoving another core into the bag. "Why? Thinking of punching my ticket yourself?"
Cassandra's lips twitched to almost a smile. "Not yet. I'm still deciding."
"Oh, you're deciding are you?" Kurt asked, grinning around his cigarette.
"Yes," Cassandra said. She picked up a core, turned it over in her hands, and dropped it into her own bag. "You have saved my life twice now, and I don't forget debts."
Kurt straightened his posture, slinging the bag over his shoulder. "Well, don't go getting sentimental on me now. Might ruin your whole 'ice queen' vibe."
Cassandra stepped closer that he could smell the faint scent of cold air and blood on her. "You mistake my honour for sentimentality. But I will pay my debt."
She walked away before Kurt could respond, leaving him standing there with a half-smoked cigarette and a very specific kind of tension in his chest.
"Well what the hell am I supposed to do with that?" he called out but she kept walking. "And I thought I had women all figured out," he sighed and shook his messy hair with his hand.
***
An hour later, the team regrouped at the entrance to the boss chamber. They'd harvested everything they could carry; cores, armor fragments, weapons, even chunks of the Giant's sword.
The bags were heavy, the loot was staggering, and despite their exhaustion, there was a sense of grim satisfaction in the air.
Rook counted heads. Seven survivors out of the twelve they'd entered with. He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and addressed the group.
"We did what we came to do," Rook said with a steady voice. "We cleared the Hollows. We survived. And we're walking out of here with enough to set us up for a long time." He paused as his gaze swept over them. "But this doesn't end here. Someone sabotaged this place. Someone wanted us dead. And we're going to deal with that."
Emma cracked her knuckles. "Damn right we are."
Lizzie, still leaning on one of the other guild members for support, gave a weak thumbs-up. "Revenge! I'm so here for it."
Cassandra said nothing, but her expression remained cold.
Kurt took a final drag of his cigarette and tossed it onto the ground. "Right then. Let's get the hell out of this furnace shall we."
They moved as one, leaving the boss chamber behind and retracing their steps through the dungeon. The heat was still oppressive, the smell of sulfur and ash clinging to everything, but the monsters were gone. The dungeon was quiet now, emptied of life.
When they finally reached the entrance and stepped out into the open air, Kurt felt the temperature drop and the sun on his face. He stopped, closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply.
"Oh, that's the stuff," he muttered. "Fresh air. Forgot what that felt like."
Emma walked past him and punched his shoulder. "Don't get used to it. We've still got shit to deal with."
Kurt opened his eyes and grinned. "Of course we do."
But as they walked toward the dungeon exit gate, Kurt noticed something. Figures waiting beyond the barrier. Official-looking figures in Authority uniforms, arms crossed and eyes sharp.
Rook saw them too, and his expression darkened. "They're waiting for us."
Cassandra's hand drifted to her sword. "Of course they are."
Kurt reached for his pack to grab a cigarette and was reminded it was empty. "Well, this ought to be fun."
***
They crossed the threshold, and the Dungeon Authority officials stepped forward. There were four of them, all D-rank at minimum, their uniforms crisp and their faces neutral.
Then a notification screen popped up in front of him:
[NEW SYSTEM QUEST AVAILABLE]
- Engage in successful negotiation with D.A officials
- Rewards: +3 points
[Failure would render all that effort meaningless]
Kurt stared at the notification with an eyebrow raised and grinned. It appeared that with each system level up, the system got a bit more interactive then his eye shifted to the officials.
The lead official, a woman with short-cropped hair and a scar across her jaw, looked them over. Her gaze lingered on the blood, the injuries and the bags full of loot.
"Raven's Crow," she said in a neutral tone that matched her look. "You're the survivors from the Crimson Hollows."
Rook stepped forward. "That's right. We cleared it."
The woman's eyebrow raised. "Cleared it? The Hollows was classified as high C-rank, bordering B. And you're telling me a D-rank guild cleared it?"
"We are standing right in front of you aren't we?" Rook said evenly. "The boss is dead. The dungeon's empty. You're welcome to verify."
The woman's gaze shifted to the rest of the team, then back to Rook. "We will. But first, we need to debrief you. All of you. Standard procedure."
Emma crossed her arms. "Standard procedure my ass."
The woman didn't flinch. "Yes. Standard procedure."
Kurt stepped forward, pulling his coat straight with casual confidence. "Well, love, hate to disappoint, but we're telling the truth. Giant's dead. Got the core to prove it. Now, how about you let us go celebrate this glorious win, yeah?"
The woman's eyes locked onto Kurt, and for a moment, something shifted in her expression, her professional mask cracking just slightly as she took him in properly. Kurt caught it, the subtle flicker of interest, and his grin turned lazy and dangerous.
He stepped forward, lighter in hand which he flicked open and close, tilting his head. "Even with such a pretty face, you look like you've had a rough day. All this paperwork, bureaucracy, chasing down dungeon survivors who probably don't want to be chased. Must be exhausting."
The woman blinked, clearly caught off-guard by his words and demeanor. "Excuse me?"
"I'm just saying," Kurt continued, his voice dropping into that smooth, Kurt charm, "maybe we don't need to do this the hard way. You seem like a reasonable woman. Sharp, professional, and did I mention pretty faced?" His gaze surveyed her and it felt like he was undressing her right there with his eyes.
"Probably got better things to do than interrogate a bunch of beat-up dungeon crawlers who just want a drink and a bed," Kurt continued, still keeping his eyes on her.
The woman's jaw clenched, but her eyes lingered on him a moment too long. "That's not how this works."
"Isn't it, though?" Kurt took a step closer for the scent of smoke and ash to cling to the space between them. "Look, we cleared the dungeon. Got the loot. Got the proof. What's really going to change in a debrief that you can't already see with your own eyes?"
The woman opened her mouth to argue, then paused. Her gaze moved over his face, his posture and the easy confidence that radiated off him despite the blood and dirt.
"Walk with me," she said abruptly.
Kurt's grin widened. "Thought you'd never ask."
He followed her toward a corner of the Authority checkpoint, away from the rest of the team and her colleagues. As they walked, Kurt's hands gestured lazily, like he was explaining something in a casual manner, completely at ease.
Behind them, one of the officials crossed his arms and muttered, "What the hell is he doing?"
Another official snorted. "I bet she's giving him the business. Reading that asshole his rights."
Rook, standing with his arms crossed, watched them disappear around the corner. A smirk tugged at his lips, and he whispered under his breath, "Oh, she's giving him something alright."
Emma glanced at Rook, then back at the corner where Kurt and the woman had vanished. "You're kidding."
"Nope," Rook said, still smirking.
Lizzie, leaning against one of the other guild members, let out a weak giggle. "Classic Kurt. Bet he doesn't even remember doing this before."
Cassandra's blue eyes narrowed as she stared at the corner. "Unbelievable."
"Fucking believe it," Emma muttered, shaking her head.
***
Nine minutes later, Kurt and the woman emerged from the corner. The woman's hair was slightly mussed, her uniform a bit askew, and her face was flushed. But more than that, there was a soft, satisfied smile on her lips, the kind of smile her colleagues had never seen before.
Kurt straightened his coat, smoothing out the wrinkles, and walked back toward the team with a cigarette freshly lit, one he probably borrowed from her after they were done 'negotiating'. "Looks like we've come to an understanding, mates."
The woman cleared her throat, adjusting her uniform and trying to smooth her hair back into place. Her colleagues stared, and she met their gazes with forced composure. "Yeah. They're... they're good to go."
One of the officials opened his mouth to protest, but the woman's sharp look, still carrying that soft edge from moments ago, cut him off. "I said they're good to go. Move along."
The officials exchanged glances but didn't argue. They stepped aside, and Raven's Crow walked past them, bags of loot in hand, heading toward the exit.
The woman couldn't help but glance at Kurt one more time, and when he caught her looking, he shot her a grin that made her turn away quickly, fighting a smile.
As they walked, Rook fell into step beside Kurt, still grinning. "Now I remember why we had an F-ranker for a teammate."
Kurt took a drag and exhaled slowly with a lazy grin. "Always good to have skills that don't require essence, mate."
Emma punched his shoulder as she passed. "You're a piece of work, you know that?"
"Aren't we all," Kurt said.
Lizzie's laugh was short due to her exhaustion. "Having those skills will make information gathering sooo much easier."
Kurt glanced back at her and winked. "Trade secret, sweetheart."
Cassandra walked silently behind them, her expression hard to read, but her eyes stayed on Kurt just a little longer than necessary.
They left the Authority checkpoint behind, the woman still standing there with that rare smile, and stepped out into the open streets of the D-rank district.
[QUEST COMPLETE: - Engage in successful negotiation with D.A officials] +3 points
- Points Awarded: +3
- Available Points: 30
Kurt tapped ash onto the ground and looked up at the screen, then the sky. "Okay... who's buying the first round?"