Chapter 221: Request

Words : 1090 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

*Knock. Knock. Knock.* "Enter." Vaelira didn’t hesitate. She opened the door and stepped inside without a second thought, the thought of letting the guild’s high-profile guests go first not even entering her brain. The office was elegant and minimalistic. Stacked reports, sealed scrolls, and a glowing mana-core lantern on the corner desk. A personal sword hung on the wall above the guildmaster’s seat, a remnant from Tessa’s own adventuring days. And there she was. Tessa Verain. The guild leader of Nova Circuit was dressed not in full combat gear but in an elegant blouse. She stood up with a surprised smile the moment they entered. "Well... I can’t say I expected you guys to return." She stepped around her desk and shook each of their hands, even Bastet’s. "After how things ended in the desert dungeon..." She sent Vaelira a very icy glare before adding, "I figured you’d pretend we no longer existed." Kaiden returned the smile. "We thought about it," he said as he settled into one of the guest seats. "But after some deliberation, we decided that we don’t want to burn this bridge just yet." Vaelira took the seat opposite them, legs crossed, watching. She did not care one bit for the hostile aura her own guild leader was sending her way. Instead, she was eyeing Kaiden with curiosity. Tessa smiled at him once again. "That’s good to hear. We’ve had a look at our guild’s performance in the desert dungeon and gave strict pointers to everyone." Though the woman’s smile lessened when she saw the five dry expressions sent Vaelira’s way when they heard the words ’strict pointers.’ But due to the Arcane Puppeteer being the sole A-tier awakened in her guild, she could do nothing but sigh inwardly. Kaiden’s voice turned a touch more businesslike as he elected to move on. "You mentioned once that you’d like to hire us again in the future as mercenaries. If that offer’s still on the table... we’re wondering if there’s a dungeon you need cleared." "I see... Tessa leaned against her chair. "There’s always dungeons, Kaiden," she said after a bit of inner deliberation. "But as far as the high-priority ones go, the ones we’d consider hiring external help for? Not really." She paused, studying Kaiden’s face. She could see it. He did not like her answer, but clearly expected it. Tessa decided to continue her explanation. "With your help, we just finished our last mandated clear a few days ago. Low-tier guilds like us don’t get assigned constant do-or-die dungeons by the Association like the major players. We’re allowed a breather window now." Kaiden nodded in acceptance, already having expected these exact same words to come from the guild leader’s lips. "That’s good news." "But not for you," Tessa replied knowingly. He met her gaze without confirming or denying it. Tessa exhaled softly, then offered a solution. "I can grant you access to one of the dungeons we’ve been farming. They’re not top-tier, but they’ve got decent spawn cycles. As they’re owned by us, you won’t have to deal with the hassles of public dungeons." "Explored dungeons are already optimized. We’d only be getting the leftovers. The XP, the gear drops, the monster density... It’s all diluted. If there’s any drops left to be had at all." Tessa understood. "You want a virgin dungeon. Something untapped." He nodded once. "Exactly. We’d like a high-risk, high-reward dungeon to help us continue our current rate of growth. If we farmed XP in easy dungeons, we fear our amount of skill points gained per level-up would drop drastically. We need to defeat challenging enemies to achieve the future we envision for ourselves." At that, the room fell briefly silent. Tessa didn’t respond right away. Neither did Vaelira make a snarky comment. They just looked at him. Closely. Two sharp women, very different, but both incredibly intelligent, and both now realizing the same thing. What Kaiden had just said... wasn’t something a streamer chasing clout would say. It wasn’t the voice of someone who just wanted numbers on a leaderboard or fans throwing money at him. It was the voice of someone planning for a legacy. The refusal of a free, low-risk dungeon said more than a hundred boasts ever could. They could’ve accepted her offer and turned one of those explored dungeons into a glorified studio. Controlled encounters. Tailored pacing. A perfect backdrop for tightly-produced, viewer-optimized dungeon streams. Most men in his place would’ve jumped up from their seats and eagerly shaken Tessa’s hand. But not them. They weren’t clinging to their moment in the spotlight. They were trying to grow through it. To outpace it. To build something larger than the fame itself. Tessa remained silent for a bit, with her expression shifting toward Vaelira. Despite the two not seeing eye to eye one bit, they had a mutual understanding of each other’s intellect. The arcane puppeteer gave a thoughtful hum in response, though her expression remained unreadable. Eventually, Tessa spoke again. And this time... her voice held a strong note of respect. "... I might have something for you after all." She tapped twice on her tablet, and a holographic display came to life, casting a pale blue light across the room. The projection showed a news article, complete with grainy footage, shaky-cam clips, and red-tinted headlines that made even Vaelira’s eyes narrow. [TRAGEDY IN THE ABYSS: The Runewoven Guild Suffers Catastrophic Dungeon Failure! 95% Casualty Rate!] The screen rolled grainy footage. A single awakened could be seen limping out of a decrepit, red-veined dungeon gate. Tessa narrated quietly. "The Runewoven. A new up-and-coming guild with strong ties to the regional government, mostly active in the western territories. Four months ago, they launched an expedition into a newly discovered dungeon known as VE-09. It was a blind dive. First entry protocol, virgin dungeon. Exactly what you guys are asking from me now. They sent in twenty awakened, including their top four members who were low enough level to fit the entry criteria." It was Vaelira who spoke up, watching the image of the sole survivor. "Only one came back out." The screen zoomed in on a bloodied, tattered man. A name flashed. [Diaz Reilin – A-tier rogue-type awakened] Tessa tapped again, and the projection moved to a document summary from the Awakened Association. Guild status. Penalties. Extension approvals. "That dungeon has already been taken care of by the association. Which in turn means they failed to clear it. They had a second assignment, another mandated clear."

Chapter 221: Request

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