Luke and Scarlett stepped out of their car and walked over to the Blue Crow, keeping their sights on the haunted airport. Meanwhile, the leader looked them over, trying to understand their relationship, but he chose not to ask any questions.

"Keep your guard up," he said as he led the way into the dark terminal.

"Gates like these might come with slight issues because of the Aeon instability in places like this.

And remember, we are swimming in muddy waters, there are no safe nets out here. If things go sideways in that gate, don’t expect any backup from me. I’ll leave you two to die."

Luke understood these terms before he made this agreement, so he just nodded as they walked through the terminal past desks and over broken glass. After a minute, they reached a hangar housing the gate.

"It’s all yours," the leader said, pointing at the blue vortex floating in the middle of the room. "I will be heading back to set up your barrier as agreed."

Luke and Scarlett watched the man walk away into the darkness before they looked at the portal again.

"What a bear," Scarlett said. "He’s making a fuss over a routine clear."

"You would be too if this is your livelihood," Luke replied. "I prefer him being overcautious."

Suddenly, Amigo popped his head out of Luke’s jacket, taking in the freezing terminal.

"This place has a spooky vibe," he complained. "Miss? You must remember you are the one doing all the fighting today. I hope you are well-prepared?"

"He is right," Luke added. "Just focus on a clean sweep inside. All we need to do is clear the boss, gather the loot, pay the big guy, and we’ll be on our way."

"Don’t worry. Just sit back and watch how it’s done," Scarlett replied. "I’ve trialed Beta-grades with stronger fortitude."

Buzzz. Buzzz.

"Well, I guess we’re good to go," Luke said, looking at the text message from the Team Blue Crow leader.

The perimeter was secure, and they had the green light. He and Scarlett didn’t waste time as they stepped into the glowing portal.

〖Warning: You are entering a Beta-Rank Dungeon!〗

〖Objective: Defeat the Boss!〗

FWOOOOSH!

The dungeon was a monastery, but there was something wrong about it. The walls and ceiling were coated with a black powder. The same black powder clouded some areas or formed a ribbon around others, creating a nightmarish web.

"Whoa..." Luke whispered as he landed on the ground. "These are signs of dungeon corruption."

"Did the big guy know about this?" Scarlett asked, narrowing her eyes. "If he set us up, I’ll burn his bloodline to the ground."

"I doubt it," Luke replied as he scanned the dungeon. "If he knew it was corrupted, he would be far away. A corrupted gate leaks a lot of chaos into the real world and might alert the Bureau. If the Bureau shows up, he’s done for."

"This won’t be anywhere near as easy as we thought!" Amigo wailed, hiding his face. "We are going to die."

"No, we won’t die," Luke said, glancing at Scarlett, who still looked ravishing even in a mask. "All we have to do is clear the dungeon ten times faster. Can you do that?"

Scarlett thought his question was ridiculous, so she stared at him instead of answering. However, the monsters started to appear, giving her a chance to back up her attitude.

The first wave was golems stumbling out from the black fog, deformed and corrupted with glowing eyes.

"Nymeria!" Scarlett yelled, calling out her Empyrean Phoenix because the numbers were too much.

The Mythic bird soon appeared, blinding the chamber as it hovered in the air, cultivating a narcissistic image for all to see.

Luke did see it, alright.

It was his first time witnessing the Empyrean Phoenix. Now he understood why Scarlett was so highly respected in the academy.

"Purge them!" she ordered, and the divine beast swept forward, unleashing torrents of flame from its beak.

But the monsters were so suicidal because of the corruption. Some ignored the pain of being burned alive and continued running, recklessly throwing their flaming bodies at the Phoenix.

The Empyrean Phoenix shrieked as they bit and punched its wing as long as they could till they turned to ash. The bird flapped its wings desperately, forced to release twice as much fire to push back the pests. It took a lot of effort, but the beast finally managed to destroy every monster in the wave, leaving their cores behind.

"Normal monsters should have turned to dust the second the Phoenix’s fire touched them," Luke thought. "This means the corruption is also buffing their health."

He looked up at the giant bird panting. The Phoenix had to waste way too much energy just on grunts.

"Our five-minute speedrun plan is already out the window. If the regular monsters are this durable, the boss at the end is going to be a problem."

Luke took a few steps toward the phoenix, his eyes examining its body like a tailor.

He was thinking about how he could forge armor for the beast sometime in the future to prevent hit points like this again. But it seemed the phoenix picked up on his intentions and quickly flew up, circling the foggy ceiling.

"Hey, come down," Scarlett ordered, looking up at the ceiling, but the beast ignored her as it perched on a pillar to preen its feathers.

"Your summon is a bit independent, isn’t it?" Luke stated as he met up with Scarlett.

Scarlett sighed, taking her gaze away. It seemed she didn’t like this topic.

"That’s because it’s a Negotiation contract," she muttered.

"A Negotiation rank? With a Mythic beast?" Luke asked in surprise.

"Yes, it is," Scarlett admitted. "Everyone thinks I’m the best summoner of my generation, but in reality, every time I call my beast it drains twice as much Aeon because I have to ’bribe’ it to move.

If it’s in a bad mood, it won’t even do anything. I’m literally at the mercy of its daily attitude."

Luke listened to her complain, and it made him think about the system of Contract Authority that everyone learned about back at the academy.

It really showed that not all summoners were created equal, and how much control you had over a beast was ranked based on obedience levels: Rebellion, Negotiation, Cooperation, and Dominion.

The average summoner had a Cooperation or Dominion relationship with their beasts, but here Scarlett was—the country’s famous Mythic Summoner.

She couldn’t even fully tame her own beast. How ridiculous...