The air in the bedroom hissed as Vex moved.
She didn't run; she flickered. One second she was by the bed, the next she was airborne, her serrated daggers aiming for Kaelen's jugular.
Kaelen didn't blink. His [Abyssal Sight] painted the world in greys and reds. While her body was cloaked in shadow magic, her heat signature was a blazing crimson flare against the cold room.
'Fast. Rank D Agility. But predictable.'
He didn't try to dodge. He stepped into the guard.
Shing!
The daggers sparked against the mithril sword Kaelen had snatched back up from the floor. He caught the cross-slash on the flat of his blade, the impact vibrating up his exhausted arms.
"Reflexes of a soldier," Vex hissed, twisting her body in mid-air to kick at his knee. "But you move like a corpse."
Kaelen grunted, taking the kick. It hurt—his [CON] was still recovering from the arena fight—but he didn't buckle.
"And you talk too much for an assassin," Kaelen retorted.
He shoved her back, creating space. Vex landed on the mantelpiece above the fireplace, crouching like a gargoyle. She licked one of her daggers, her yellow eyes narrowing.
"You're running on fumes, landlord," she taunted. "I can smell the mana burn on you. You have maybe thirty seconds before you collapse."
She was right. The [Abyssal Sun] mutation and the duel had drained him. He couldn't win a prolonged fight.
He needed to end this in one move.
"Thirty seconds is plenty," Kaelen said calmly.
He dropped his sword.
Vex's eyes widened slightly. "Giving up?"
"No. Changing tactics."
Kaelen spread his arms. He didn't summon the black fire. He summoned the Presence.
He tapped into the [Sin Eater] core, specifically the massive amount of [Fear] he had absorbed from Rian in the arena. He didn't convert it into stats; he projected it outward.
[Skill Activated: Abyssal Aura (Minor).]
The shadows in the room deepened. The fire in the hearth seemed to shrink, suffocated by an unseen weight.
Vex froze. Her instincts—honed by years of survival in the underworld—screamed at her to run. The man standing in front of her wasn't a human noble anymore. He felt like a predator from the deep dark.
"What... are you?" she whispered, her grip on the daggers loosening.
"I am the dark," Kaelen said, his voice echoing as if spoken from everywhere at once. "And you are playing in my shadow."
He vanished. [Shadow Step].
Vex slashed at empty air where he had been standing.
Kaelen reappeared directly behind her on the mantelpiece. He didn't strike her. He grabbed the back of her neck and slammed her face-first into the stone wall.
CRACK.
"Yield," Kaelen ordered, pinning her arm behind her back before she could recover.
Vex struggled, kicking and thrashing, but Kaelen's grip was iron. He applied pressure to her spine, just enough to threaten paralysis without causing permanent damage.
"I said yield, Vex. I don't want to hire a corpse."
"Hire?" Vex wheezed, her cheek pressed against the rough stone. "You attacked me!"
"You pulled a knife on me in my own bedroom," Kaelen corrected her. "In most places, that's grounds for execution. I'm offering a job interview."
He leaned in close to her pointed ear.
"My father paid you to guard the house. I'm paying you to hunt for it. I offer room, board, and a share of the spoils. And in exchange..."
He released the pressure slightly.
"...You get to serve the only man who can kill the things you're afraid of."
Vex went still. She sensed the power radiating off him—the pure, concentrated darkness. Drow respected strength above all else. And this boy... this thing... was stronger than the old Instructor ever was.
"What's the pay?" she asked, her voice muffled against the wall.
"Power," Kaelen said simply. "And the heads of anyone who bores me."
Vex laughed. It was a dry, raspy sound.
"Fine. You're crazy. But you're strong. I yield."
Kaelen released her immediately. He stepped back, picking up his sword. He didn't worry about her attacking again. A contract made in blood and fear was binding for her kind.
Vex rubbed her neck, standing up and sheathing her daggers. She looked at him with a mix of wariness and respect.
"So, Boss," she said, leaning against the wall. "Welcome home. It's a dump."
[Ding!]
[Quest Complete: Taming the Stray Cat.]
[Relationship Established: Vex (Follower).] [Loyalty: 40/100 (Wary).]
[Reward: Estate Blueprint Unlocked.]
Kaelen ignored the notification for a moment. He walked to the window and ripped down the rotting boards. Moonlight flooded the room.
"It's not a dump," Kaelen said, looking out at the overgrown grounds where Seraphina was clumsily drawing a blood circle on the patio. "It's a blank canvas."
Suddenly, the floor beneath them vibrated.
A low, mechanical hum began to resonate through the stone walls. It wasn't the wind. It was coming from deep underground.
"What did you do?" Vex asked, jumping away from the center of the room. "The house... it's waking up."
"I didn't do anything," Kaelen frowned.
[System Alert.]
[Estate Power Source Detected.]
[The 'Vance Dungeon Core' has sensed the presence of the Heir.]
[Initialization Sequence Starting...]
A section of the floor in the corner of the room groaned and slid open, revealing a spiral staircase leading down into suffocating darkness.
"A secret basement," Vex whistled. "Original. Your dad really liked his secrets."
"It's not a basement," Kaelen said, peering into the abyss. His [Abyssal Sight] couldn't penetrate it. "It's a Dungeon."
He turned to Vex.
"Go get Seraphina. Tell her to stop playing with blood wards and get up here."
"Why?" Vex raised an eyebrow.
"Because," Kaelen smiled, the fatigue forgotten in the face of potential profit. "We're going to raid my own house."
[Ding!]
[New Territory Feature: The Pocket Dungeon.]
[Current Status: Overrun.]
[Objective: Clear Floor 1 to establish the Base of Operations.]
[Reward: Safe Zone (100% Mana Regen) & System Shop Access.]
Kaelen looked at the reward. System Shop Access. That was the holy grail. That was how he converted loot into power without relying on the Academy's rigged economy.
Seraphina ran into the room a moment later, breathless and holding a bloody dagger.
"Kaelen! The ground is shaking! Is it an earthquake?"
She stopped when she saw the Drow leaning casually against the fireplace.
"Who... who is she?" Seraphina asked, her eyes darting between Kaelen and Vex.
"I'm the maid," Vex smirked, flashing her serrated teeth. "I clean up the trash."
"She's the tank," Kaelen corrected, walking toward the hidden staircase. "Seraphina, you're the artillery. I'm the DPS."
He stopped at the edge of the stairs.
"We have exactly six hours before the sun rises and the Academy's politics come knocking at our door. In that time, we need to clear this dungeon, secure the perimeter, and figure out how to feed three people with zero gold."
He looked back at his two followers—a fallen princess and a feral assassin. It was a disaster waiting to happen.
It was perfect.
"Let's go to work."