Klaus entered the General Guild building through the heavy oak double doors and went straight to his usual service slot at the counter, weaving between other adventurers milling around but he stopped short when he saw who was working behind his regular station.

Astrid was back... she’d returned.

He blinked.

"Astrid? I thought you quit your position here. I thought you couldn’t work at the Guild anymore after everything that happened."

The woman slowly looked up from the paperwork she’d been staring at without reading. Her eyes were dead, exhausted and hollow though they teared up slightly when she looked up.

She bit her lip hard, clearly fighting desperately to keep her composure and not break down crying right there in public where people were watching.

Astrid didn’t really know what to do with herself right now, she didn’t know how to feel or process or move forward.

Her brother Kahn... her only living family had been officially charged with two serious counts of premeditated first-degree murder for deliberately killing Garrick and Vex, plus two additional counts of attempted murder for trying to do the exact same thing to Klaus and Serra back in that resource dungeon ambush and he’d been sentenced to a minimum of twenty years in maximum security prison... not just any ordinary prison either, but one of the harshest facilities in the entire northern region up past Rivera City which was Oroe City Prison.

The kind of nightmarish place you didn’t come back from as the same person, assuming you survived that long.

Twenty years minimum and her brother would be old age by the time he got out.

Astrid didn’t know if she wanted to leave her brother to rot in that jail cell and never speak to him again, or if she wanted to somehow scrape together the absolutely massive amount of money required to post bail or hire expensive lawyers.

She was confused, painfully torn between family loyalty and horror at what he’d done but she didn’t want to burden anyone else with her problems.

The Guild had hired her back when she’d desperately needed the income after quitting in shame. The pay wasn’t great but it was steady and she needed money for basic living expenses but now people constantly looked at her weird whenever she worked the public-facing counter... some with genuine worry and pity, some with barely disguised hatred for being related to a convicted murderer and some with suspicion like maybe she’d secretly helped him.

"Welcome back to the Galen General Guild, how may I... wai—"

She stopped abruptly mid-greeting, her standard customer service script dying on her lips as she recognized his voice immediately... she’d know that voice anywhere after all their conversations but she didn’t recognize his face at all anymore.

When the hell did Klaus get so much more handsome?

His features were noticeably sharper now, more defined and masculine as he had a stronger jawline, more prominent cheekbones, even clearer skin too and it wasn’t just his appearance either... she could actually feel somehow that he was significantly stronger than before, even while he was just standing there.

"What the hell happened to your face? You look completely different. Did you use some kind of enhancement potion or magical procedure?"

Klaus touched his jaw self-consciously, running his fingers along the sharper angle.

"What, don’t like the changes? I’m still getting used to it myself honestly. I still don’t know how to feel about having such a sharp jawline. It feels strange." He paused, studying her expression with concern. "But that’s enough about my appearance. How are you doing? Really doing, I mean. How did things go with Kahn and the trial?"

She bit her lip so hard she tasted copper.

"My brother Kahn... he was sentenced to prison in Oroe City. Twenty years minimum. Two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The judge said he showed no remorse whatsoever and said he was a danger to society."

Klaus’s expression softened. "I see... Astrid. That must be incredibly hard for you."

"No, you don’t have to be sorry. Please don’t." She shook her head quickly. "If anything, I should be apologizing to you. My big brother’s actions caused so much trouble and hurt so many peopl and I can’t repay you for nearly dying because of him. I can’t pay back anyone else he hurt either. I don’t even know where to start."

Klaus sighed, leaning against the counter. "You don’t need to repay anything to me at least. What your brother did isn’t your fault, Astrid... You’re not responsible for his choices."

Klaus couldn’t believe he was becoming a Mental health advisor... It was leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

He shifted. "Anyway, I came here to recheck my Guild rank status. It should’ve updated by now if there were any changes."

Astrid blinked, momentarily distracted from her guilt. "You can check that with your Guild card directly, can’t you?"

Klaus blinked back, looking sheepish. "Oh. Right. I completely forgot about that feature."

"Ah, but actually wait... Klaus, please give me your Guild card anyway. Important information came in from the main Guild office in Rivera City which we need to process immediately."

*Guild in Rivera? What?*

While he’d been in Rivera, he definitely hadn’t done any official Guild-sanctioned missions. What was she talking about? He focused mana on the distinctive pie-shaped mark tattoo on his inner wrist and his Guild card materialized in a brief shimmer of light as he handed it over.

Astrid took it carefully, examining the information.

"According to records that came through two days ago, the Arlain noble family scheduled a very high-ranking emergency mission through the Rivera City Guild office to locate their missing son. You successfully completed that mission while also taking out multiple dangerous members of the Death Cult. So you’re being officially promoted to B-rank status as an adventurer, effective immediately. You’ve also earned substantial Guild contribution points. As a B-rank, those points can now be traded for equipment and items from the Guild armory."

Klaus’s eyebrows rose. "Seriously? That counts?"

"Missions count whether you formally accepted them beforehand or not, as long as Guild officials can verify completion. The Arlain family verified everything." Astrid held his card carefully in both hands, magic beginning to seep from her palms to begin the formal ritual for rank advancement.

"By the authority granted to the Adventurer’s Guild, I acknowledge this warrior’s deeds," she intoned in a resonant voice that went through the building. "Let the rank reflect the merit earned through blood and courage... Let the merit shape the path forward... Rise from D-rank to B-rank and walk forward into your destiny."

The tattoo mark on Klaus’s wrist suddenly glowed intensely bright, almost painfully hot like a brand burning deeper and he gritted his teeth against the sensation then the burning glow faded.

Astrid opened her eyes and smiled genuinely for the first time since he’d entered... She was holding a silver-colored card instead of metal.

"Congratulations on your rank advancement, Klaus. You’ve earned it."

He nodded, accepting it back. "Thank you, Astrid..."

This was completely unexpected, but perfect timing. Now he had significantly more leverage when meeting with Mayor Aldwin.

The card returned to his wrist tattoo, which had now turned completely silver which was visible proof of his new status.

Astrid nodded with a small, tired smile. "Good luck out there, Klaus. Stay safe."

He nodded back seriously, pushing away from the counter. "You too, Astrid. Take care of yourself."

Every adventurer in the building was focused on him now. He could feel their stares boring into his back... most burning with obvious jealousy at his rapid advancement, a few showing grudging respect, and some filled with suspicion.

’Well well well, they can’t call me a fraud now, can they?’

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Serra at one of the common tables. He walked over to the blonde healer, who wore casual civilian clothes... a simple blue dress that looked comfortable.

She sat opposite an orange-haired shorter woman who had her legs propped rudely up on the table, drinking what looked like cheap alcohol straight from a glass bottle despite it barely being past noon.

"What’s wrong?"

Serra turned quickly, face lighting up. "B-boss! You’re here!"

The orange-haired woman looked up lazily with half-lidded eyes. "Thisss is your boss?" She gestured vaguely with the bottle.

She said it like an insult, like she’d been expecting someone more impressive but she shut up immediately once she got a proper look at Klaus.

Her eyes widened. "Huh. Actually... impressive. My bad."

She went back to drinking.

Serra spoke quickly. "Klaus, this is Garrick’s younger sister, Maurie. She’s the one Garrick wanted to enroll in the capital’s academy before he died. It was his dying wish..."

Maurie’s face immediately went somber at the reminder.

She set the bottle down with a soft thunk and pouted with her lower lip trembling slightly. "The only thing I know how to do is throw daggers at targets. I’m good at it, really good, but that’s it. I can’t even read properly beyond basic signs. How the hell am I supposed to write entrance exams to get into a prestigious academy? To become a scholar like my brother wanted?"

Serra jumped in immediately. "I can tutor you! I’m actually pretty good at teaching!"

Maurie raised one skeptical eyebrow. "Even though I literally can’t spell my own full name? Not even close? I can do ’Mau’ but that’s it."

Klaus immediately pushed away from the table, taking a decisive step backward.

"Hey!" both women said in unison.

He waved back casually as he headed for the exit. "Good luck to you both! I’m sure you’ll figure something out!"

’What kind of person can’t spell their own name? How does that even happen?’

He didn’t want to stick around before Serra got the bright idea to suggest that he could become Maurie’s tutor. Klaus exited the Guild building quickly and let out a small sigh once he was outside.

’I better go get Mirela from the inn. Time to go resource dungeon hunting with my new method.’

He headed back toward his place at a purposeful pace.

...

"Sir..."

A middle-aged man in expensive robes... clearly someone important in the town’s administrative bureaucracy based on the quality of fabric and official seals embroidered on his chest stood somewhat awkwardly next to Klaus.

Mirela stood a respectful few paces behind them both with her hands folded patiently. In front of all three was a swirling yellow dungeon gate, its surface rippling like disturbed water.

The entire gate was covered by an intricate glowing barrier made of dozens of containment runes.

"You paid twenty gold coins for access to view forty unregistered resource dungeons scattered across the region. This is the first one on the inspection list."

Yes, Klaus had paid about twenty gold coins... an insignificant chunk of his newfound wealth for this specialized service the city offered to wealthy adventurers and nobles willing to gamble on unknown opportunities.

Resource dungeons were usually inspected first by teams of employed adventurers who would carefully check the contents, catalog everything valuable, assess mineral levels, and file detailed reports.

Then they’d be announced publicly through official channels and auctioned off to the highest bidders at scheduled events.

That’s when the purchase cost would either skyrocket dramatically into hundreds of gold if the contents turned out to be extremely valuable, or drop to almost nothing if it was mostly worthless garbage but it was significantly cheaper to get direct access to unregistered resource dungeons that hadn’t been officially checked yet.

The massive downside was that you had absolutely no idea what was actually inside them. It could be diamonds and mithril or it could be one trash mineral.

An unchecked, complete resource dungeon without any usual dungeon hazards... meaning no monsters spawning, no deadly traps and just raw natural resources sitting there cost approximately twenty-five gold coins to purchase outright with full legal ownership rights.

The gamble was whether those unknown resources inside would ultimately be worth significantly more or disappointingly less than the twenty-five gold coin purchase price.

Most wealthy gamblers lost money on this but the ones who won? They won big.

"I see. Understood."

Klaus pulled out the Compass of Truth from his inner jacket pocket.

He focused his thoughts very carefully.

’Show me the direct way to a specific resource dungeon... one that has genuinely good, truly valuable, extremely expensive minerals within it. The kind that’s worth a fortune.’

The compass needle spun somewhat lazily, clearly not taking the question very seriously, then pointed vaguely northward without any particular conviction.

Useless! It was completely useless without proper motivation!

Klaus sighed and turned to look at Mirela over his shoulder. "Lay it on me... Do it now."

The Compass of Truth had one absolutely critical flaw: it wouldn’t show genuinely accurate, reliable results unless the person physically holding it was experiencing a real, authentic life-and-death situation.

So Klaus, being pragmatic if completely insane, had developed an unconventional solution.

Mirela reached smoothly into her jacket pocket without hesitation... they’d discussed and planned this exact moment multiple times beforehand and brought out a small glass vial filled with distinctly purple liquid that glowed with an eerie inner light.

Klaus took the vial from her without any hesitation and drank the entire contents in one smooth motion. The taste was absolutely horrible... it was very bitter and his skin immediately flushed a visibly bright pink color.

He’d just consumed a carefully measured dose of slow-acting, genuinely life-threatening poison which was actual poison that would actually kill him if left untreated. Why? To ensure with absolute certainty that the Compass would work at maximum accuracy.

’This is a genuine life-or-death situation after all, hehehehe~’

Klaus thought with increasing delirium as the poison began working through his bloodstream. Mirela had strict instructions not to give him the antidote under any circumstances until they’d successfully found real wealth.

And wealth they absolutely would find!

The world tilted noticeably with his perception shifting about fifteen degrees.

Colors in his vision seemed unnaturally brighter and more vivid, it was almost painfully intense and his heartbeat was suddenly extremely loud in his ears.

The poison would definitely kill him in approximately one hour if left completely untreated but that was fine.

That was plenty of time.

The Compass of Truth in his hand suddenly began spinning rapidly now, much faster than before, the needle whirling frantically in circles like it had suddenly woken up then it snapped sharply, almost violently, to point in a completely different direction... to the right in the southeast with absolute unwavering certainty.

The difference was night and day. The compass now *knew* with complete confidence.

Klaus slowly turned his head to look at the middle-aged bureaucrat, grinning slightly in a way that probably looked unhinged.

His pupils were noticeably dilated as the delirium was definitely setting in now.

"Hic..." He hiccupped involuntarily. "Can we see another resource dungeon instead? This one definitely won’t do it at all. It’s the wrong direction entirely."