[Chapter 117. Paid Debts]
"This ans I have debts to pay."
His voice was remarkably calm as it drifted through the biting evening chill, each word arriving precise, asured, and devoid of unnecessary emotion. The dense forest seed to quiet instantly around him, the rhythmic chirps of insects and the distant, haunting hoots of owls falling silent as if the world itself were holding its breath in anticipation. The travel drone hovering behind him maintained its low, artificial hum—a steady, chanical counterpoint to the thick tension building within the small clearing.
A dium-sized round shield materialized in Searanox's hand with a soft shimr of displaced air. It was approximately seventy centiters in diater, a formidable piece of defensive equipnt. The base of the shield was crafted from a single, seamless piece of polished, deep-blue coral-like tal that caught the fading twilight. The front was dominated by a central, prominently raised boss made of a solid, mother-of-pearl-white material, intricately engraved with a swirling, hypnotic vortex pattern that seed to move if one stared too long. The outer rim was reinforced with a heavy band of tarnished silver, etched with faint, almost invisible tidal sigils that pulsed with a dormant power.
"Lana," Searanox said, his voice a low rumble as he held the heavy weight out toward her. "This is Wavebreaker. May it serve you better than your previous scrap."
Lana stared at the shield, her breath catching in her throat as the azure light reflected in her wide eyes. The intricate patterns and the sheer craftsmanship of the piece seed to draw her in, the silent promise of absolute protection palpable even from a distance. Her hands trembled visibly as she reached out, her fingertips brushing against the cool, glass-smooth surface of the coral tal. As the weight settled firmly into her palms, she felt a faint, rhythmic pulse emanating from its core—a comforting, steady hum that imdiately began to settle her fraying nerves. This wasn't just a piece of equipnt to her; it was a physical manifestation of a lifeline in a world that wanted her dead.
Next, a single-edged dagger materialized in his other hand. It was approximately 25 centiters in length, designed for swift, lethal strikes. The blade was not made of traditional polished steel; instead, it was forged from a dark, grey-black teorite tal characterized by complex, swirling patterns. Thin, phosphorescent veins of mycelium ran through the tal, creating a srizing Damascus-like effect that emitted a faint, ghostly blue-green light in the encroaching darkness. Its guard ford a small, elegant crosspiece of the sa teorite tal, where the mycelium veins thickened into small, glowing nodules. The handle, wrapped in a layer of preserved, leathery fungus, provided a surprisingly secure and ergonomic grip that pulsed with a slow, internal luminescence.
"Sarah," Searanox said, holding the glowing blade toward her. "I heard from Iris that you did especially well during the boss fight. Tell ... do you truly enjoy crawling into places where you weren't invited?"
Sarah flinched at the remark, a deep, hot blush rising rapidly to her cheeks. The mory of the night she had slipped uninvited into his bed chamber returned to her with vivid, embarrassing clarity. Her usual mask of sharp defiance faltered for a split second before she managed to regain her composure, her chin tilting upward with practiced, defensive bravado.
"I do what I have to," she retorted, her voice significantly tighter than usual as she accepted the Mycelial Fang. The bioluminescent veins of the dagger cast an eerie, sickly glow across her sharp features. The blade felt impossibly light in her hand, almost weightless, which stood in stark contrast to the heavy, oppressive weight of his gaze.
A thick to bound in dark, unadorned leather appeared in Searanox's hands next. No title or insignia marked its heavy cover, and the leather felt aged, as if it had sat in a vacuum for a thousand years. His gaze shifted to Vanessa, who watched the exchange with a volatile mixture of desperate hope and mounting apprehension.
"Vanessa," he said, "the Empty To I promised you." He extended the book toward her. "I do not yet know the full extent of what it does. The System categorized it as a specific catalyst for a magic caster."
Vanessa's eyes widened, her pupils dilating as she reached for the book. Her fingers brushed against the surprisingly smooth, cool leather as she took it from him. She flipped it open, only to find the parchnt pages inside were stark white and completely blank. Her brow furrowed in imdiate confusion. "It’s... it’s empty," she said, her voice trailing off before sharpening with a hint of disappointnt.
"That is the nature of an Empty To," Searanox replied flatly, his tone brookling no further argunt. "You are the caster. You will figure out how to fill it."
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He turned his attention finally to Carn, who had been observing the entire exchange with her characteristic quiet, analytical intensity. Her dark eyes took in every detail of the new equipnt, her mind already assessing the statistical impact these items would have on their collective survival odds.
Carn’s voice cut through the lingering tension, steady and lodic despite the visible lines of exhaustion tracing her features. "And what about , Searanox?" Her dark eyes t his, calculating and sharp, refusing to show even a hint of vulnerability or the expectation of a reward.
Searanox’s gaze lingered on her for a mont longer than the others, his expression remaining unreadable behind his visor as he considered the youngest and perhaps most pragmatic mber of their group. The forest around them seed to hold its breath again, waiting for his judgnt.
"You have done your part," he said, his voice dropping to a low, resonant rumble. "You have kept them alive in situations where they would have surely died. That level of utility deserves a reward."
He paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he were searching through a vast, invisible inventory. "I haven't co across any pre-existing drops specifically suited to a dedicated healer's path..." He watched as Carn's carefully maintained composure began to waver, her brief, hopeful smile vanishing. "Don't look so defeated," he continued, his tone softening by a fraction. "That doesn't an you will be left empty-handed. It just ans your reward is different."
A soft, flickering blue light materialized between his gloved fingers, coalescing into a small, dark steel ticket stamped with a bold number ten. Searanox extended his hand toward her, the tal glinting in the twilight. "This is an Weapon Voucher. Pick sothing useful from the exchange."
Carn reached for the voucher, her fingers closing tightly around the cool, stamped tal. The token was small and unassuming in her palm, but in her mind, it represented sothing far more precious than a pre-determined weapon: it represented choice—sothing she hadn't possessed since the mont she had been torn from her family’s garden and thrust into this nightmare. A genuine, small smile touched her lips before she smoothed it away, returning to her neutral, professional expression.
"Thank you, Searanox. I will select sothing practical for the team."
She tucked the voucher securely into the hidden pocket of her tunic, her mind already racing through the possibilities, analyzing how this new variable could alter their survival equation during the next dungeon run.
"Now, we move to accessories," Searanox’s voice cut through the quiet of the forest as he began to materialize several smaller items in rapid succession. "In addition to your primary gear, each of you is being issued two earrings, one necklace, and a full set of eight rings."
His eyes swept over the four won, pausing on each of them for emphasis. "Understand this: providing this level of equipnt is not cheap. It costs a significant amount of resources. I expect appropriate compensation for this investnt."
"Compensation?" Lana asked, her fingers tightening reflexively around Wavebreaker's grip. "What kind of compensation?"
"You'll figure it out soon enough," Searanox replied cryptically. He produced the first set of jewelry from the System interface, placing the cold tal directly into Lana’s hands before turning to the others.
"The rest of you will receive Simple Mana Rings and matching jewelry." Three more sets of silver accessories appeared before Vanessa, Sarah, and Carn. As they accepted the items, Searanox’s gaze flickered montarily to a private system notification, a slight, almost imperceptible flinch crossing his features as he absorbed the true cost of the transaction.
[System Notification]
─ Purchase Complete
─ Cost: 96 Silver Coins
─ Silver Coins Remaining: 38
The silver vanished from his storage as quickly as he had gathered it—a relentless, punishing cycle of acquisition and expenditure that left his personal resources perpetually depleted. For every dungeon he cleared and every high-level beast he slew, there was always another necessary equipnt upgrade, a more advanced material purchase waiting to drain his coffers.
Lana's breath hitched as she slid the rings onto her fingers. Each one emitted a soft, pulsing blue glow for a few seconds before becoming inert and syncing with her biology. Her eyes widened, darting imdiately to her translucent status window as she watched her Health pool literally double in size before her eyes.
A chorus of sharp gasps and soft exclamations echoed through the clearing as the others followed suit. Vanessa and Carn stared at their own holographic displays, watching their Mana reserves nearly double in an instant, the blue bars extending across their vision. Only Sarah managed to maintain her outward composure, though her fingers moved rhythmically, tracing the bioluminescent patterns on her new dagger with a fierce, newfound possessiveness she didn't bother to hide.
Carn, having used her voucher during the brief silence, now clutched an ornate wooden staff. Its surface was carved with incredibly intricate gold detailing that seed to shift like liquid, and it was crowned with a large, hovering crystal that pulsed with a deep, inner light. She had wasted no ti visiting the System Shop, selecting a catalyst that amplified her area-of-effect healing abilities rather than focusing on her own personal defenses.
"Yes, they are very helpful, aren't they?" Searanox said, his voice cutting through their mont of revelation like a cold wind. He began to mount his travel drone, the machine tilting slightly under his weight. "Now, go. Enter the portal."
The drone's anti-gravity engines whirred back to full life, stirring a storm of pine needles and loose dirt around his feet. "Have fun. Good luck. Don't die before you pay back."
With that final, curt instruction, he ascended vertically, his silhouette vanishing into the darkening purple sky within seconds and leaving the four won to face their fate once more.
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