"W-Where am I...?"

The rogue’s eyes fluttered open. He tried to move and immediately found he couldn’t. His wrists and ankles were bound, his body sprawled across the floor with no leverage to push himself upright.

Standing on either side of him were Sera and Damon, arms crossed, studying him with the curious gazes of students still deciding whether to turn him in or dig deeper.

"Think we should hand him over, boss?"

"That’d be the easiest way, yeah. But what if looking into this leads to some good exp?"

"Hmm. And what if we end up like him?"

"That’s... a fair point."

The two kept talking, completely ignoring the man below them, who had started squirming, trying his best to stay silent and inch away from the two monsters currently distracted by their own discussion.

It didn’t work.

"And where do you think you’re going, punk?"

Sera’s voice dripped with smug satisfaction, her newfound strength clearly going to her head. Damon sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, but he didn’t mind the energy one bit.

"We’ll handle him."

A voice echoed from behind them, one Damon knew all too well. Of course they’d send someone like him. The students they’d rescued must have reported in, and the academy had sent backup.

Matthew stood there, equipped with expensive gauntlets and robes that buffed his steel skin.

Then his eyes landed on Damon, and his expression immediately soured.

"What the hell are you doing in a C-Rank Gate?"

"I don’t think that’s any of your business," Damon answered.

"Think you’re so high and mighty now that you’re a Slayer, huh?"

Matthew shoved him, harder than even he seemed to expect, the kind of push that would have sent a newer student flying.

But Damon tanked it. His foot skidded across the ground, digging deep into the dirt, and he stayed upright.

"Are you satisfied?" Damon smirked, gesturing toward the rogue Sera had pinned on the ground. "You still have a job to do."

Matthew’s jaw tightened. For a moment, Damon thought he might actually take another swing, right here in the middle of a crime scene, with an unconscious rogue between them and two other Resonators watching.

Then Matthew’s shoulders relaxed. Not much. Just enough.

"Tie him up properly," Matthew said to the two Resonators behind him, his voice clipped and professional. "Standard restraints. Academy protocol."

The pair moved past Damon without meeting his eyes.

One was a woman with close-cropped black hair and a [Binder] class armband. The other was a tall man carrying a collapsible stretcher.

They worked quickly, efficiently, securing the rogue’s wrists behind his back with mana-suppressing cuffs.

The rogue didn’t resist. He was still dazed from Sera’s strike, his head lolling forward, his muttered ramblings too quiet to make out.

Sera stepped back, giving the team space to work. She kept her staff in hand, the crystal still faintly crackling.

"What happened here?" Matthew asked. The question was directed at Damon, but his tone had lost some of its edge.

But it wasn’t friendly, not by a long shot. But professional, like he was capable of separating personal grudges from field operations.

"Found him attacking three students," Damon said. "He was rambling about the system being broken. Something about seeing what’s on the other side of the portals."

Matthew’s expression flickered. "Broken System Conspiracy?"

"You’ve heard of it?"

"Barely." Matthew glanced at the rogue, who was being lifted onto a stretcher. "Also, you’re expected back at the academy tomorrow."

"What? Why?"

"Dueling class. The real kind, not the ones you used to sit through. Guess you haven’t checked your new schedule yet."

"You’re being surprisingly helpful. Could’ve just kept quiet and let me miss it."

"And miss the chance to watch you get beat up? Not a chance in hell."

Matthew laughed, but before he could slip into his usual routine, one of the other students tapped his shoulder. The rogue was secured and ready for extraction.

"We need to move, Matthew."

"Already? Just give me one more minute."

"The faculty’s already calling for us. Handle your rivalry later."

Matthew clicked his tongue and turned his back on Damon, the group starting to move out. Beside him, Sera looked strangely amused by the whole exchange.

"He’s a weird kind of bully."

"Tell me about it."

"Speaking of which... how many bullies do you actually have?"

"More than I can count. And if Matthew was right? I’m about to meet a lot of them tomorrow."

"Too bad our schedules don’t line up. Mine’s a day later."

"Guess that means solo grinding for you tomorrow, huh?"

"I don’t mind. I’ll just farm D-Ranks for a while."

"Too scared to take on C-Ranks without me?"

"Do I look like an idiot? I might be stronger now, but I’d rather not get disemboweled by a boar’s tusk."

The rogue was gone within minutes, stretchered away through the forest toward the portal, his mutterings fading into the trees. The academy team moved with practiced efficiency, Matthew at the rear, not looking back.

Damon watched until they disappeared from view.

"Guess that settles that," Sera said, slinging her staff across her back. "You okay? He shoved you pretty hard."

"I’ve had worse from him." Damon rolled his shoulder. The impact had stung, but nothing had cracked. "Besides, I think that was his way of saying hello."

"If that’s hello, I’d hate to see his goodbye."

They stood in the clearing for a moment longer. The boar farming had been interrupted. The sun was still high, the day still young, but the energy had shifted.

And Damon could feel it.

Anticipation.

"Still want to hunt?" Sera asked.

"No, let’s head back to town. I want to sell these materials before the market closes, and I need to check my updated schedule."

"You believe him?"

Damon paused. "Fair point. But either way, I should check."

They walked back toward Verdant’s Edge in comfortable silence. The trail markers guided them home, their faint glow brightening as the afternoon sun began its descent.

By the time they reached the market square, the vendors were beginning to pack up. Damon found the same material buyer from yesterday, the logistics corps veteran with the no-nonsense expression.

"Back already?" The vendor raised an eyebrow. "You’ve got that look."

"What look?"

"The look of someone who’s been busy."

Damon pulled the boar materials from his inventory and spread them across the counter. The pile was substantial, far larger than yesterday’s haul.

The vendor let out a low whistle. "Six boars in a day. That’s not bad for a first-timer."

"We had a good strategy."

"I can tell." The vendor tapped through his tablet, calculating the totals.

[OFFER]

[BOAR TUSKS: 480 CREDITS]

[BOAR HIDES: 360 CREDITS]

[TOTAL: 840 CREDITS]

Damon accepted.

"Pleasure doing business," the vendor said. "Come back when you’ve got more. Especially if you find any cores from the older beasts. They’re always in demand."

Sera sold her own materials at the next stall over, pocketing a smaller but still respectable sum. She counted her credits with the quiet satisfaction of someone who’d been budgeting for months and finally saw the numbers climbing.

"Feels good, doesn’t it?" she said.

"What?"

"Being able to afford things. I used to scrape by on academy stipends and the occasional party split. Now I’ve got more credits than I know what to do with."

"You know what would feel better than this?"

"Hm?"

"Finally being able to show off."

"Right..."