Chapter 75 – Party Over.

“Ah, finally we’re out, and it didn’t even take that long!”

“You’re right, Miss Odelette.”

Layla smiled at the smaller halfling girl as they ventured outside the dungeon. Guild officials were already waiting for them, and most of the other parties that had finished their test were long gone. Odelette raised an eyebrow at how Layla had addressed her and quickly corrected her.

“Miss? Come on, we went through that whole dungeon together. Just call me Odelette!”

Layla chuckled softly and nodded.

“Alright, if you insist. Odelette it is.”

Their camaraderie had grown naturally after the ordeal they’d shared. Rusty watched quietly as the two talked, unsure of what was unfolding before him. It seemed similar to his own relationship with Gleam, who was still captured by these strange beings made of flesh. As they neared Garren, the silver-rank adventurer, the party’s archer moved to Rusty’s side with a question.

“Albert, can I ask you something?”

“Yes?”

“How were you able to resist the sleeping mist when we were in there?

Rusty had anticipated this moment, as Alexander had already instructed him on how to respond.

“This helmet is special as it can resist most airborne toxins, like the sleeping mist.”

“I see, a special helmet…”

Though Rusty was still a monster pretending to be human, he needed to conceal his true identity. Most adventurers without special abilities or items would be vulnerable to poisons, paralysis, or sleep. Norkas eyed Rusty’s helmet suspiciously, squinting slightly. Rusty sensed that this wasn’t a good sign, but before he could react, the silver-ranked guild official approached them.

“I see you’re the last team to return in one piece. Do you have the badges?”

Garren’s voice sounded tired, as if he didn’t care much for the well-being of their party and he only wanted proof of their completed task. Norkas, their temporary leader, nodded and handed over the two badges.

“Good, looks like you’ve completed the task. Mark it down.”

Garren turned to another guild worker holding a clipboard, who quickly took note. It seemed that was all the confirmation needed, and before Rusty or anyone else could ask questions, Garren spoke again.

“You can come get your new cards tomorrow. That’s all for the test, you can return to the city.”

The guild official’s quick dismissal hung in the air as the group exchanged glances. After all they had been through – facing near-death, unknown threats, and even possible betrayal, this ending felt anticlimactic. Their temporary leader looked like he wanted to ask something but ultimately decided against it.

“Thank you, sir.”

Norkas replied, lowering his head slightly. Garren turned away to address the other guild members, who seemed eager to leave. Meanwhile, their group gathered for one last conversation before parting ways.

“I wonder if everyone made it out alive… Were we the only ones who had trouble with outside interference?”

Norkas asked, his frustration evident. He didn’t like that he had nearly lost his life, not to monsters, but to someone else’s meddling. He wasn’t sure if the attack had been aimed at him or at someone else in their temporary party, but without investigating further, they couldn’t be sure.

“Maybe we should ask the guild about it?”

Layla suggested while the halfling girl shook her head in disapproval.

“Do you really think they’ll tell us anything? They could be in on it! I say we lay low for a few weeks. With the monster parts we gathered, we can easily live well for a month, feasting on all sorts of delicious food!”

Layla nodded thoughtfully, while Rusty remained silent. He wasn’t truly paying attention to the conversation. These issues didn’t concern him anymore. In his mind, his only goal was to earn more money and rescue Gleam. After that, his adventuring days would probably be over. He hadn’t yet thought about what he would do afterward, but for now, he was focused on one thing at a time.

‘Can I leave now?’

Rusty asked Alexander for advice, unsure of what to do. The test was apparently over, but he still had to wait until the next day to receive his new iron card. Only then would he be able to officially enter the dungeon.

‘It’d be better if you stayed with them for now. We still need to divide the earnings from the monster parts between the four of you.’

‘Divide them? Even when I killed most of the monsters?’

Alexander chuckled.

‘That’s how parties work. They might give you a bigger cut since you did most of the work, but first, you need to sell the parts and that requires you to return to the guild. Just tag along with them for now, they will probably do that first.’

Just as Alexander finished his sentence, the temporary party leader brought up the issue.

“How about we head back to the guild and sell those monster parts first?”

“Oh, good idea, leader!”

Odelette chimed in, which surprised their temporary leader.

“Leader?”

Norkas responded in a flustered tone at Odelette’s casual title for him. Layla on the other hand just chuckled while Rusty remained silent. The three quickly realized their companion, Albert, was the strong, silent type and didn’t push him for conversation. That didn’t stop them from mentioning him occasionally, to which he responded with as few words as possible. Eventually, the group arrived at the guild building where they were greeted by loud shouting coming from inside.

“Doesn’t it feel more rowdy than usual?”

Layla inquired as their group moved in through the guild entrance. Inside they could see a small group of people arguing with the guild receptionist wearing large glasses. The woman seemed in distress but she was being protected by some adventurers as well.

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“There is something not right about that test of yours, how did my brother get injured this bad?”

“Please sir, calm down, accidents happen, even during the rank up tests…”

Rusty and the others paused as they entered the guild hall, taking in the scene of commotion before them. An armor-wearing middle-aged man with a deep scowl was standing at the counter, pointing accusingly at the guild receptionist. His voice carried across the hall as he gestured toward the limp form of another man being held up by a healer nearby. Blood-soaked bandages were wrapped around his left arm, that had been severed near his forearm.

“You call this an accident? He went in for a simple rank-up test, and now he’s missing an arm! You’re telling me that’s normal?”