Solmere's Adventurers Guild had seen many parties return.
Victorious ones.
Broken ones.
Drunk ones.
Occasionally naked ones.
But never one quite like this.
The heavy guild doors opened before Jax and the Vixens even reached the steps.
Out strode the Guild Master himself.
Kaelor Fangmere was broad-shouldered, furred, and imposing in the way only someone who had survived decades of monster hunts could be. His mane of dark auburn hair framed a face that blended leonine sharpness with lupine discipline, and his golden eyes assessed everything in seconds.
The carriage.
The Grimsteeds.
The Vixens.
Jax.
Behind him stood several guild officials and the familiar slime receptionist, who was visibly quivering with excitement.
"We've been expecting you," Kaelor announced.
Then he added deliberately:
"The Vixens."
The girls exchanged uncertain glances.
Jax stepped down first from the carriage, taking no offense.
If anything, he seemed pleased.
Recognition for his team mattered more to him than recognition for himself.
He extended his hand.
"Jax Darquebane," he said. "Guild-registered adventurer. We have a significant load of Mana Bulbs ready for extraction and delivery. Should we unload here, or would you prefer a secured transfer somewhere else?"
Kaelor blinked.
The reports had mentioned four women.
A record-breaking dungeon clear.
Shadow beasts.
An absurd haul.
They had not properly explained the man standing in front of him.
The slime receptionist leaned close and whispered urgently.
"The party name is actually Jax and the Vixens, sir."
Kaelor's golden eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Ah.
So this was the man.
The one causing ripples through merchant circles.
The one the Slave Guild had quietly grumbled about after festival funding disputes.
The one local businesses seemed increasingly eager to align with.
Interesting.
"Kaelor Fangmere," the Guild Master said at last, gripping Jax's hand firmly.
His claws were trimmed immaculately.
"This hall will suffice. We have transport gates and laborers prepared."
Jax nodded once.
"Then let's make your clerks uncomfortable."
Kaelor tilted his head.
Jax walked to the rear of the caravan.
Opened the physical trunk.
Then opened the dimensional access within.
Kaelor followed him inside.
And stopped.
Rows.
Layered racks upon racks.
Mana Bulbs organized by size, potency, preservation state, color variation, and density.
Stored with professional warehouse precision.
Kaelor stared.
The slime receptionist followed him in, took one look, and literally liquefied.
Her clothes collapsed into a pile on the floor.
A second later, she reformed upward again, fully dressed, somehow more embarrassed than before.
"This…" Miri whispered. "This would cover multiple branch requisitions for years."
Kaelor walked forward slowly.
His claw passed carefully above a rack without touching anything.
Perfect preservation.
No bruising.
No mana leakage.
No careless handling.
"And you harvested these while clearing the Crystal Cave in record time?" he asked quietly.
Jax folded his arms casually.
"We were efficient."
That was all he said.
Kaelor looked at him again.
Now he understood.
The reports had focused on the Vixens.
Understandably.
Four women shattering an A-Rank dungeon record was the kind of story that traveled fast.
But this man—
This man was the axis around which everything else turned.
Kaelor stepped back out of the dimensional storage space and cleared his throat.
"You have surpassed mission requirements," he said formally. "Payment for the base contract will be processed immediately."
He paused, still calculating.
"The remaining excess will require treasury authorization. Allow us several days to secure full funds."
Jax extended his hand again.
"I trust a Guild Master of your reputation to honor his word."
Kaelor clasped it firmly.
"Good."
Then his tone shifted.
"If you and your party would accompany me to my office, there are additional matters to discuss."
Jax expected as much.
"Lead the way."
Kaelor Fangmere's office was less an office and more a hunter's sanctum.
Mounted beast heads lined the walls, meticulously preserved and labeled with location, date, rank, and method of kill.
Bookshelves stood organized along the back wall—monster theory, mana theory, dungeon ecology, battle tactics, and guild law.
Even the ledgers were arranged in labeled bins.
Jax noticed immediately.
Order.
Precision.
The opposite of Eldrich's laboratory.
This wasn't the lair of a chaotic genius.
This was the den of a disciplined predator.
Chairs were rearranged hastily when one guild clerk realized they needed five seats instead of four.
They had expected only the Vixens.
Jax sat in the center.
The Vixens settled around him naturally, their chairs subtly angled toward him without anyone seeming to notice.
Kaelor noticed.
Of course he did.
"You accepted a Mana Bulb contract," Kaelor began, settling behind his desk.
"Correct," Jax said.
"Then cleared an A-Rank dungeon."
"The cave happened to be nearby."
Kaelor stared at him.
Jax stared back.
Bunny leaned toward Zee and whispered, "He's doing the thing."
Zee whispered back, "What thing?"
"Breaking people's brains."
Nyxian nodded sagely.
"He's very good at it."
Kaelor's mouth twitched once.
A dangerous sign that he had nearly laughed.
"You understand," Kaelor continued, "the Guild does not encourage parties to exceed rank parameters. Adventurers die when ambition outruns judgment."
Jax nodded immediately.
"That policy is correct."
Kaelor paused.
"Excuse me?"
"You can't build a guild on dead adventurers," Jax said evenly. "Rank restrictions exist for a reason. We have no intention of claiming unauthorized dungeon rewards under an E-Rank banner."
That answer surprised Kaelor more than any argument would have.
"Yet," the Guild Master said carefully, "you did complete the raid."
"Yes."
"And set a continental record."
"Yes."
"And returned with a harvest that may destabilize several commodity markets if mishandled."
Jax smiled faintly.
"Also yes."
Kaelor leaned back.
"As Guild Master, I can re-evaluate your party status."
The Vixens shifted subtly.
Jax smiled.
"I'd be happy to show you my rank."
Llandra instinctively moved as if to intervene, but Jax gently lifted a hand.
His eyes never left Kaelor's.
The system interface appeared.
Experience Level: One
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kaelor stared.
He had faced dragons.
Negotiated with nobles.
Buried adventurers he had personally recruited.
Nothing in thirty years of guild service had prepared him for a Level One adventurer who casually cleared an A-Rank dungeon in record time.
His golden eyes slowly narrowed.
"That is impossible."
Jax shrugged.
"You said it yourself. Evaluations can be wrong."
Kaelor leaned back even farther.
"You," he murmured, "are a riddle."
Jax smiled.
"Wrapped in a mystery."
Kaelor's ears twitched.
"...Inside what?"
"An enigma."
The Guild Master considered that.
Then grinned slowly.
"I like that."
Nyxian leaned toward Bunny.
"He likes Jax."
Bunny nodded.
"Predator recognizes predator."
Zee frowned.
"Should we be concerned?"
"Probably," Llandra said calmly.
Kaelor reached into a cabinet beside his desk and withdrew a bottle of amber liquor alongside several glasses.
"Perhaps," he said, "drinks would aid this discussion."
Nyxian perked up immediately.
"Finally. A professional."
Jax accepted the drink.
The others followed.
Kaelor poured for himself last, then leaned back in his chair.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then the Guild Master laughed.
Not politely.
Not professionally.
A genuine laugh.
"Well," he said, pouring himself a second drink far too soon after the first, "that certainly complicates things."
Jax raised an eyebrow.
"How so?"
Kaelor took a slow sip.
"Because two days ago, I thought my biggest problem was an overcrowded notice board."
He set the glass down.
"Now I have a Level One adventurer who cleared an A-Rank dungeon in record time."
Another sip.
"A party of women the entire continent is about to start talking about."
He glanced toward the window overlooking Solmere.
"And a town that somehow became wealthier while you were gone."
The room chuckled.
Kaelor did not.
His golden eyes settled back on Jax.
"And that's before we discuss the three letters waiting on my desk."
The room grew quiet.
Jax tilted his head.
"What letters?"
Kaelor smiled.
The smile of a man who knew something everyone else didn't.
"That," he said, "is tomorrow's problem."