Chapter 75: The Booty!

Chapter 75: The Booty!The sun had already begun its descent by the time they finally emerged from the dungeon’s mouth, weary but alive. The fresh air hit them like a blessing—cool, sweet, and utterly free of sulfur and blood. Inigo was the first to step out, Wheeler trailing obediently behind him. The others followed in silence, the weight of their victory—and their loot—beginning to settle in. "Feels like we’ve been down there for days," Lyra muttered, squinting at the sky. "Because we have," Serina replied, slinging her cloak over one shoulder. "Three full days, by my count." Elira leaned on her staff, her ribs still sore despite healing magic. "Worth it, though." They made their way down the forested path toward Eldrath’s city gates, taking the less crowded route that wound behind the cliffs. None of them were in the mood for onlookers or crowds. Inigo had already packed the gold and treasures into his system’s storage, opting not to risk a cart full of ancient riches rolling openly through town. When they arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild, the receptionist nearly choked on her tea. "You’re back?!" Elise blurted out. "Everyone thought you were... well..." She looked them over—burnt clothes, bandages, tired eyes. "...dead." Inigo just smiled. "Not yet." The lobby filled with whispers as more adventurers noticed them. A silver-ranked team from the back table stood up, clearly surprised. Lyra waved at them as they passed. "You can all relax. The demon’s toast." "Wait, what demon?" another adventurer asked, wide-eyed. "Don’t worry about it," Inigo replied. "Just update our quest record. We’ll be filing a completion report." Inside the guildmaster’s office, they were ushered in quickly, where the Guildmaster, Thorne, was working through a pile of paperworks until he was interrupted and saw the familiar figures. He folded his arms, eyeing them. "Seeing you in this establishment meant that you have completed the job?" Elira nodded. "It’s done. The demon guardian was annihilated. We recovered four sealed chests and a sealed sarcophagus containing ceremonial treasures and pre-Empire coins." Serina added, "There were no cursed residues. I personally checked." Thorne grunted, clearly impressed but trying not to show it. "Well then. Let’s see the loot." Inigo summoned a few samples—one coin, one artifact, and a palm-sized gold bar—onto the table. Thorne whistled low. "That’s the real deal. We’ll have to get an appraiser, but this’ll count far beyond any standard quest reward." He pulled out a thick ledger and scribbled rapidly. "You’ll be issued with the rewards as stated from the contract, plus a 5% recovery tax on the treasure if converted here." "We won’t be converting it through the guild," Elira said, stepping forward. "My family runs the Arkwell Banking Syndicate. We can liquidate and verify the treasure through them." Thorne raised an eyebrow. "Well, damn. I knew the name Arkwell sounded familiar." Elira smiled faintly. "We’ll cover the report and cut the Guild its percentage." "That’ll work." He stamped their quest sheets with a heavy seal. "Official completion. Rank adjustments will be processed within the week—Serina and Elira, expect promotion to silver. Lyra, you’re already gold." Inigo tilted his head. "And me?" Throne smirked. "You’re a walking war crime, Velasquez. You’re not being promoted—you’re being studied." That got a laugh from everyone. They stepped out of the office moments later, paperwork in hand, and the guild began to buzz again. Eyes followed Inigo, not with suspicion, but awe. By the time they left the Guild Hall, a courier from the Arkwell Bank had already arrived. Elira passed him a folded note with an embossed sigil, and he bowed deeply before rushing off. "I sent word ahead," she explained. "We’ll have a private room to evaluate and convert everything by tonight." "Efficient," Inigo said. "I like that." They took a carriage to Arkwell’s headquarters located in a place full of high-arched buildings and enchanted lampposts. Once they arrived, Inigo saw it, it stood like a cathedral made of marble and silver, its entrance guarded by armored knights with runed halberds. Inside, they were led to a private vault chamber. Appraisers, dressed in navy-blue robes with monocles enchanted for material analysis, gathered around the display tables as Inigo summoned the loot one item at a time. It took hours. Gold coins were tested, weighed, and catalogued. The magical tomes were immediately marked for archival consultation, their origins tracing back over four hundred years. The artifact circlet alone fetched a base valuation of fifteen thousand gold. When it was all done, a final summary scroll was placed on the table. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Elira read it aloud: "Total treasure valuation: 213,700 gold pieces. Less Arkwell’s commission and appraiser’s fee—186,200 remains." Lyra’s jaw slackened. "We’re rich." Serina blinked. "I don’t even know what to do with that kind of money." Elira looked to Inigo. "You’re the leader. How do you want to split it?" He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "Even four-way split. You all risked your lives. I just had the fancy cannon." "You had everything," Serina muttered. "Still," he said firmly. "Equal." They all nodded in agreement. The transfer was done discreetly—each member given a private storage ledger enchanted to hold up to 100,000 in liquid credit, redeemable anywhere under the Arkwell system. A discreet fortune. As the evening fell and the group stood outside the bank, Elira turned to Inigo. "Thank you," she said sincerely. "Not just for the gold. For saving us." He shrugged. "I didn’t want to carry your corpses out of there." Lyra elbowed him. "That’s how you say thank you?" He grinned. "That was me being polite." They all laughed again—lighter this time, freer. The horrors of the dungeon were behind them. Now, the future felt wide open. "So what now?" Serina asked. "A vacation?" "I’ll be setting up the shop tomorrow," Inigo said. "We’ve still got a business to run." Lyra raised an eyebrow. "You mean... after all that, you’re going back to flipping burgers?" He smirked. "Not just burgers. I’ve got plans. Big ones." Serina nodded with gleaming eyes. "I will visit your shop tomorrow!" "Same," Elira added. "Very well, I’ll see the four of you in my restaurants. Foods on me so no need to pay me a dime." "Not that you are going to need it."