Demonic Pornstar System

The clinks of utensils against ceramic faded one by one. Chopsticks rested gently atop bowls. Forks were set down beside the plates. Gradually, a hush swept across the table as the idle chatter gave way to a growing tension. Every set of eyes turned to the woman at the head.

Talia cleared her throat and began.

"This evening was meant to celebrate survival, and I hope you've all felt welcome. Because what you just endured was no minor event. It was a disaster narrowly averted, and not just avoided, but reversed. Every single one of you made it out alive. Not only that, you returned with four vampire-origin artifacts in hand."

She let the words hang for a beat. "That's not a loss. That's a major victory."

She smiled. "At the same time, Nova Circuit's dive, accompanied by Diaz, encountered no such ambush. Not even a lone vampire. Their route was without any such irregular encounter, and their report shows no signs of dungeon instability. Which means…"

She leaned forward in her seat, looking as if she was letting them in on the secret. "The worst is behind you. We have cleared the danger. It was a one-time, unfortunate encounter. The rest of the dungeon seems to be regular."

There was a moment of quiet.

Then Luna spoke up. She was visibly struggling to remain respectful and not shower the Smith-type woman in an assault of gamer girl curse words.

"You speak with a lot of confidence, Guildmaster," she managed to mutter politely. "But even rookies like us have heard the saying: nothing is certain in the dungeons."

Talia hadn't spoken yet. Luna pressed on.

"The next vampire ambush, or something worse, could be a single step away. Or maybe…" She tilted her head and sent Vaelira a look of contempt, "They just took one whiff of that team and decided even starving monsters have limits."

That earned a few awkward coughs. Nyx snorted into her cup. Both Vaelira and Sasha looked ready to return the favor tenfold, but a warning touch from Tessa kept the women seated and silent. Well, Vaelira never cared much for the opinion of her leader, nor was she afraid of repercussions for misbehaving.

It was actually Talia speaking up that made the woman remain silent.

Talia gave a small, strained smile to the Storm Valkyrie

"Luna, your caution is valid. But let's not forget what you and the others have become. You're awakened now, combatants at that. No matter how carefully you plan your next move, so long as you enter dungeons, uncertainty will always be part of your lives. As you said yourself, nothing is certain in a dungeon."

The tension didn't break. It simply shifted focus.

Aria picked up from there, voice smooth as silk but underpinned by clear intent and preparation. The Moon Valkyrie had strategized a lot in her mind about what points of discussion could come up during the negotiations and what the best responses to them could potentially be.

"Miss Talia, you're right; we have to be realists. After all, this is not a fairy tale we live in. We understand that now better than ever before," she began while tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear. "But so are we right to be wary."

Her tone was polite but cold as well, making it clear she was in business mode right now. "We're not saying this to stir needless drama. We came here prepared to speak. And I'm going to say it bluntly: Why should we go back into a dungeon that's already bitten us once?"

Talia's fingers drummed quietly against her goblet, thinking how to respond. But Aria didn't slow down.

"That dungeon was irregular before we even took a single step past the first few chambers. Echo parasites mimicking human voices, warped paintings, vampire ambushes out of nowhere... What guarantee do we have that the next steps won't be hiding similarly dangerous irregularities behind them?"

"The deal we struck, where Valhalla's Sinners got a truly generous cut of the dungeon loot, might not happen again on another mercenary contract. In fact, chances are that it never will. And that's perfectly fine with me. I'd rather take less coin than risk even a single one of us dying."

She paused for a moment to look at each of her friends before her wandering gaze stopped on Kaiden.

"Because even one of our lives is worth more than all the loot in that dungeon. Or all the Chronos in the world. Or the entire value of Earth's resources, combined."

Silence followed.

Tessa exhaled slowly, casting a glance toward her old friend. It wasn't a look of judgment or sadistic satisfaction at the struggles of a fellow guild master.

Far from it. It was quiet support, the kind shared between two women who'd both seen more than their fair share of pain.

She silently thanked the heavens that when Kaiden's group had helped her with that emergency dungeon clear back then, no such re-negotiations had been necessary. Back then, they were true rookies; unpolished, overeager, still carrying the lingering scent of civilian life on their shoulders. She remembered Kaiden standing tall, but still uncertain about a great deal of things. The girls were bright-eyed and resilient, but undeniably green.

But now?

Now they spoke like seasoned professionals. Luna's words carried weight. Aria's tone was sharp enough to make the unprepared flinch. Nyx's eyes were evaluating every word Talia spoke. Even Kaiden had changed; his posture, his presence, the way he carried the attention in a room, all of it radiated confidence.

And then there was the real anomaly. The subjugated monster girl—the only person at the table who hadn't stopped eating yet… Just having something like her seated at the table said more about Kaiden's rise than any stat sheet ever could.

Things had changed. A lot.

Talia's lips trembled—just once, just enough to betray her exhaustion—as she turned her neck ever so slightly toward Tessa. Her eyes silently asked the question she couldn't.

But Tessa didn't come to her rescue.

In fact…

"I agree with Aria and Luna," Tessa declared, calmly folding her hands on the table, entering the same business mode the girls of Valhalla's Sinners had. "Why should I send in my most promising young talents—people our guild spent years and millions developing—into a dungeon that's clearly irregular and unstable?"

Her eyes met Talia's. There was no hostility in them.

"I'm no longer satisfied with our previous arrangement."

And just like that, Talia found herself alone.