Chapter 33 — Consequences

Chapter 33 — Consequences

POV: Rem

She was here again.

In this room.

The white light beyond the window was the same as always—steady, blinding, without sun or horizon. Not a hint of shadow. No day, no night. Only the eternal, scorched “now.”

…Hadn’t it ended?

Her mana had already recovered—she knew that for sure. But Alisar had still not appeared. Just a little longer—he had to appear. He had to.

Minutes passed. Then hours. Days. The sense of time became heavy, crushing. A cold suspicion took root inside her: he wasn’t coming. And with it—a terrifying thought that tightened her throat: the monster wave had broken through the wall.

She could clearly imagine it: the roar of battle, the screams, the defenders’ lines being torn apart… And somewhere in there—Sherial. Surrounded. Falling under the monsters’ assault. Her blood on the stones. Empty eyes.

Her heart dropped. Her palms went cold.

Rem rushed to the window. Her fingers gripped the frame until her knuckles whitened—nothing. Another attempt. No reaction.

Her fist slammed into the glass. Once. Twice. Thrice. Pain shot through her knuckles, her skin stung—yet the glass remained perfect.

No… no-no-no…

She snapped. Grabbed her sword. The steel fit into her hands, and everything inside demanded—break, cut, escape. A strike to the frame—dull thud, like hitting a mountain. To the glass—clear, cold chime. No crack. Again. Again. Again.

“Let me out…” The words slipped from her lips, swallowed by the dead silence.

Her fingers trembled. Her chest tightened, breath unsteady. Tears burned her eyes and rolled down her cheeks on their own. She lowered the sword. Sank to her knees. And…

…jerked upright, gasping for air.

Darkness. Real darkness. Soft. With the familiar rustle of night. Not the white hell beyond the window, but a quiet room.

She was sitting on her bed, her heart pounding so hard it echoed in her temples. Rem raised her hands to her face—her fingers touched damp skin. Her cheeks were hot and wet, and tears still streamed from her eyes without stopping.

On the bed next to hers, Sherial was sleeping. Peacefully. Steadily. Alive.

Rem stared for a long time, listening to her partner’s breathing, until the panic began to fade. Then she slowly rose, padded barefoot to the other bed, and sat beside it. Carefully, almost hesitantly, she touched her shoulder… and hugged her. Lightly. As if afraid the touch would shatter this morning miracle.

Sherial didn’t wake. Rem settled in closer, for the first time not caring about keeping her distance. The warmth of another person felt stronger than any wall.

---

POV: Sherial

Damn… tight. What’s going on?..

Sherial slowly opened her eyes. It was hard to breathe—her chest was being squeezed as if by iron chains.

But the answer was simple. It was Rem.

She was lying right beside her, on her bed, holding her in a tight, almost painful embrace.

Her first instinct was to wake her… but Sherial froze.

Her gaze lingered on Rem’s face. Her eyes were closed, but in the morning light filtering through a gap in the curtains, it was easy to see the dried streaks of tears, the faint shine that hadn’t yet faded.

I knew it… she thought. It couldn’t have gone without consequences…

Sherial sighed, relaxing her body carefully so as not to disturb her. She couldn’t bring herself to wake her.

That day, I realized how she had managed to summon so many golems. She used Alisar’s skill—“Training Room,” where time flowed many times faster. There, she could restore her mana again and again while the battle raged outside. It was a brilliant move, and thanks to it, we survived.

But back then, I didn’t think about the consequences. All I cared about in that moment was that we had won. When I found Alisar in the camp, he briefly explained what he and Rem had been doing, then went to bring her out of that room.

I remember her stepping into the tent’s entrance. The same Rem—straight posture, firm gaze. But in her eyes, I saw something no one else noticed. Just a little… just slightly… as if a piece of her life had been taken away. And yet, she smiled.

Back then, I simply hugged her and told her it was over. But I didn’t understand how hard it had been. Only later, when the silence came and there was time to think, did the memories rush in.

The first time I ended up in Alisar’s “Training Room” was by accident. He disappeared, leaving me there… for hours. Maybe five. Maybe ten. And when he returned, he said he had been gone only a couple of minutes.

For him, it was nothing. For me—it was an eternity. I remember my heart pounding, my thoughts tangling. I even began to think he was some kind of clever swindler or slaver, slowly breaking his victims’ trust. Or… a sadist who would lock someone in an empty place forever. I was in a panic. And only his return with Rem broke that nightmare.

But now… Rem had spent two days there. For us—only two days. For her, inside that room, it could have been months. Maybe years. She didn’t even know exactly. I asked—and from her look, I understood: she wasn’t sure how much time had passed.

At first, it seemed like she was fine. She tried to act as usual—calm, composed, confident. Only two days had passed since those events. We spent the first night still in the dungeon, and only then returned to the city.

And now, on the first night at the inn, she did something she had never done before—quietly slipped into my bed and fell asleep holding me. Before, even when I offered to share a bed, she always refused—whether from embarrassment or maybe pride.

But now, looking at her face with the traces of dried tears, I understood—she had a nightmare. A heavy, tormenting one.

I only hugged her tighter in response and stayed like that, deciding not to wake her. Let her sleep. Let her rest as long as she needs.

This is all I can do for you, Rem… I thought quietly.

---

POV: Darian Halbeck

Darian Halbeck sat at the massive oak desk, the silence of his office wrapping around him. Just moments ago, high-ranking adventurer Darmon, a B-rank, had finished his report on the recent events and, after a brief bow, left the room.

“Just what I needed…” Darian muttered, furrowing his brow. “What do you think about this?”

He turned to the dark corner of the office. Even experienced Darmon hadn’t noticed the presence of the man standing there.

From the shadows stepped his old friend and trusted confidant.

“We need to investigate,” the man said evenly, but with a steely note in his voice. “Whoever tried to destroy the dungeon… they must answer for it.”

A heavy, pressing silence filled the room. The stern, almost sentencing tone of those words left no room for doubt—decisions had already been made.

“Yes, as guildmaster, I am obligated to investigate this matter using all my authority and resources,” Darian said slowly, looking at his companion over his clasped hands. “But you know, whoever did this succeeded in destroying the dungeon’s core.”

He paused, weighing his words.

“And you also know that the fourth-rank dungeon didn’t have a real core. It was only a trap—one that released a massive number of monsters when destroyed. So, most likely, whoever did it… is already dead.”

The man in the shadows shook his head slightly.

“There’s no guarantee of that,” his voice was calm but as firm as stone. “You know there are people in this world with unique skills that can let them survive even such conditions. Even there. Better to be sure.”

Darian exhaled heavily, his gaze turning cold.

“…You’re right,” he admitted. “I’ll send my best people to investigate.”

Silence returned, but now it carried the energy of coming action.

“All right,” Darian leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced. “Let’s move on to the main matter. What do you think about that girl who summoned so many golems?”

The dim room held a pause as the shadowed figure considered his answer.

“That’s a more complicated question,” he finally said. “Such a skill… capable of creating an army of golems that could rival the military might of an entire country… You understand perfectly what this could lead to. If word spreads, she’ll be hunted. Many nobles and powerful people will try to claim her. And not all will act honestly—some will resort to vile means. Others might simply try to eliminate her. That information must remain… hidden.”

“Yes,” the guildmaster nodded, frowning. “I’ve already ordered all adventurers who were there to strictly avoid spreading such rumors. But you know… I can’t just force them into silence. They’ve done nothing wrong. I can only explain how important this is.”

He sighed deeply.

“And still… when so many already know, keeping it secret is almost impossible.”

“I’ll use my own channels to keep this rumor from spreading,” the Stern Voice said firmly.

“That won’t be necessary,” the guildmaster shook his head. “Let the rumor spread.”

From the shadows came a short, wary question:

“What are you planning?”

“Since we can’t stop the spread, we’ll alter it slightly,” the guildmaster’s voice held cold confidence. “According to Darmon, aside from him, his group, and the girl’s partner, almost no one knows she summoned the golem army. Darmon’s group can be trusted—they’re reliable. As for the golems… We’ll just spread the story that some A-rank, or maybe high-level S-rank adventurer was there on assignment and stepped in to stop the monster wave and save the others.”

A faint nod came from the shadows.

“Yes… That’s reasonable. No noble would dare try to forcibly recruit an A-rank adventurer. Few would even want to get involved in affairs at that level,” the Stern Voice admitted.

“That’s exactly why I suggested it,” the guildmaster confirmed.

“What do you know about her?” the voice in the darkness asked.

The guildmaster reached for a folder on the desk, opened it, and began reading:

“Name—Rem. Surname unknown, if it exists at all. Rank—C. She has a partner named Sherial, also C-rank. Officially, they’re not in the same party, but in practice they always work together.”

“According to the guild’s confidential data, both recently reached fifth rank,” he added, flipping through the folder.

“And why are they still C-rank?” the Stern Voice asked. “They should have been promoted to B-rank long ago… Or do they lack guild points?”

“No, their points are sufficient for promotion,” the guildmaster shook his head. “They simply don’t want to advance.”

“Don’t want to?..”

“Yes. The guild can demote someone as punishment—say, from B to C. But we can’t forcibly promote someone if they refuse. That’s their right.”

“And why wouldn’t they want to be promoted?”

“You’re a former adventurer yourself—you should understand,” the guildmaster replied calmly. “Yes, B-rank brings more status, more opportunities, more money… But it also brings unwanted attention. Invitations from nobles, assignments from the wealthy, attempts to recruit or use them for personal gain. Especially when it’s two young women reaching B-rank at such a young age—they’d be at the center of attention, and not just from the guild.”

“…Yeah. That gets tiresome,” the voice said shortly, as if remembering his own past.

“And how dangerous do you think her golem summoning skill is?” the guildmaster asked.

“The report said there were about eighty thousand fifth-rank golems,” the voice replied. “And she summoned them in just two days. I wouldn’t be surprised if an adventurer of seventh or eighth rank could do that… But if I understand correctly, she herself is only fifth rank?”

“That’s right,” the guildmaster confirmed.

“Then the question arises,” the voice continued. “I know the ‘Golem Summon’ skill. There are different variants—some allow creating golems, others summoning them. From the description, this is summoning—after the battle, the golems vanished instead of breaking apart. Summoning that many golems equal in strength to the summoner is practically impossible… unless they have additional skills that synergize with it. One… maybe two fitting abilities.”

“I thought the same,” the guildmaster nodded.

“Such a fortunate combination of abilities… In the hands of a warrior, it could form a true army,” the voice said, his tone a mix of respect and concern.

“Finding out what those supporting skills are and how much they enhance her summoning… will be difficult,” the guildmaster said.

“You could use your authority as guildmaster,” the voice suggested.

“Stop joking. I won’t do that. The guild would lose face and the respect of adventurers. We can’t force adventurers to reveal their skills. It’s enough that we know their exact rank and level. I’m already bending the rules by telling you this,” the guildmaster replied.

“All right, all right. I respect you for holding to your principles,” the voice said in a conciliatory tone. “But if she can summon such a strong army now, what will happen when she reaches sixth… maybe even seventh rank?”

“Yes, she’s young and already reached fifth rank at her age, but reaching sixth might take many years,” the guildmaster noted.

“Not necessarily,” the voice countered.

“What do you mean?” the guildmaster narrowed his eyes.

“Think about it. Her army killed so many monsters that she may have already reached sixth rank.”

“…Damn. I didn’t consider that. You’re right,” the guildmaster admitted.

“In this dungeon expedition, another man joined the girls,” the guildmaster said, glancing at the papers on his desk. “Name—Alisar. Officially an E-rank adventurer, but by power he’s likely fourth rank.”

“Another one who refuses to rank up to hide his strength?” the voice asked.

“No, that’s fine. He just registered recently, so he hasn’t accumulated enough guild points yet,” the guildmaster replied.

“Fair enough,” the voice said briefly.

“All right, let’s forget about him. Nothing important. As for the girl—don’t try to recruit my adventurers to your side,” the guildmaster said sternly.

“Come on, you make it sound like you’re accusing me of something,” the voice replied.

The guildmaster just looked at the silhouette in the corner.

“All right, all right. Yes, I’ve recruited a couple of your adventurers, but it was voluntary. I simply offered them good terms,” the silhouette said. “And besides, if they willingly choose to work for me, you can’t object.”

“Fine. If they agree willingly,” the guildmaster nodded. “Now, enough talking. I have plenty of work to do.”

“Yes, looks like I do too,” the voice replied. “Well then, until next time.”

And with that, he vanished from the room—silently, as if he had never been there at all.

The guildmaster glanced at the desk in the corner, buried under papers.

“Damn… whoever tried to destroy the dungeon core… if they survived, I’ll kill them with my own hands.”