"Is that true?"
Susan's voice didn't rise above the hum of the guildhall, but it pulled everything toward it.
Amanda nodded once. So did Leo.
That was it.
Susan let out a slow breath and straightened. The weight behind her words landed before the words themselves did. "And yet... you're still not an adventurer."
She looked at Leo, but spoke louder. For everyone.
"Which means there's only one explanation."
A voice behind them completed the thought.
"He's a system user."
The crowd parted without a word. Like water under a cruise ship.
He walked through it.
Bright red armor shimmered as he passed. The scale-lined plates moved like a living thing, sharp at the edges, regal in motion. No clank. No clatter. Someone important had entered the room, and everything less important needed to step aside.
Susan dipped her head. "Dragon Lord. Do you require something from the guild center?"
He stopped short of the desk.
"I came straight here after completing my system quest."
His eyes cut to Amanda.
"To take the request she placed."
Amanda's jaw locked. She held her ground, but didn't speak.
His stare lingered a moment longer than polite. Less like he was trying to read her and more like he already had.
Then his gaze moved to Leo.
"And instead, I arrive to find a nobody." His voice didn't change, but the words hit sharper now. "Claiming he cleared a dominion."
At that second, the quiet room was filled only with the sound of rhythmic breathing.
He let the silence hang, like the pause before a sword drops.
"As a fellow adventurer," he continued, "I'd be careless if I didn't ask for proof. Surely someone of your alleged capability wouldn't show up empty-handed."
Leo glanced at Amanda, then Susan, then back to him.
"...Now that you mention it, I don't think I have anything."
He turned to Susan. "Was there something I was supposed to bring?"
Susan reached under the counter. Pulled out the original request form. Unrolled it with care.
She pointed near the bottom.
Leo leaned forward. Read the line aloud.
"'Please bring the Orc Lord's head as proof.'"
Amanda blinked slowly. "I remember adding that," she muttered. "Forgot all about it."
Leo turned back toward the Dragon Lord.
"Yeah, see, that might be a problem. Head's not really an option."
He scratched the back of his neck. "Its whole upper body sort of blew up."
Silence.
Then a grin, sharp as broken glass.
The Dragon Lord didn't laugh.
A smirk.
And Leo's ears burned like someone had flipped a furnace switch behind them.
Then his voice snapped out like a whip. "What nonsense. Just like the rest of the frauds."
The sound hit harder than his presence did.
Murmurs broke out. Adventurers exchanged side glances, shifting weight, whispering low. Some were in disbelief. Some were eager for what came next.
Amanda opened her mouth.
Didn't get far.
"I invoke the Scourge Rite!" his voice slammed into the room.
No one moved.
Then the murmurs exploded. Louder, sharper, like birds startled out of a tree. Chairs scraped. Boots shuffled. People leaned in to hear better or leaned out to avoid being involved.
Susan's eyes widened. She turned to Leo.
"Do you have anything that can prove your claim?"
Leo handed the request slip back.
"No," he said. "Didn't know I needed to take proof."
Something about that line made Amanda flinch.
Leo didn't look at her. The thought was already there, loud in his head.
I didn't even know this request existed until now.
He kept it locked down. No point in looking guiltier than he already did.
He looked at Susan instead.
"What is a Scourge Rite?"
Susan exhaled slowly. "Requests come with rewards. For an adventurer to claim it, they need to bring proof like monster parts, loot, cores, and runestones. Something that shows the job was done."
She hesitated.
Leo caught it.
"Anyone can ask for a Scourge Rite if they think the person who took the job... is lying," she continued. "If the challenger wins... they get the reward instead."
Her eyes flicked toward Amanda. Too quick for most to notice.
Leo didn't miss it.
His stomach twisted.
"And the one being challenged?" he asked.
"Gets up to three days to prepare," Susan said. Her voice had lost some of its steadiness. "During that time, they can gather proof, train, or choose how they'll face the challenge."
Then the Dragon Lord cut back in.
"Not if the fraud is a system user."
Susan stopped.
Her mouth opened again, slower this time.
"That's... correct," she said. "If the adventurer is a system user... the preparation time drops to one day."
The crowd didn't gasp.
The silence around them pulled tight.
Then, the guild entrance suddenly shut.
A single crisp click echoed like a punctuation mark.
Then, slowly, it creaked back open.
Cold spilled inside, real cold. Not just a breeze but something older, slower. A crawling chill that made even the torches sputter. Mist followed it in, thin as breath, spreading across the floor in silent ripples.
Then came the sound of steps.
Step.
Stomp.
Step.
Stomp.
Each one tapped alongside the heavy thump of a long staff. Rhythmic. Inevitable.
She didn't stop at the door. She didn't slow for the crowd.
The mist parted for her feet as if recognizing who walked above it. When she passed the benches, the side of the wood iced.
Her cloak, dusted with star-thread fur, dragged starlight and frost behind it. Loose braids of black hair caught silver glints from the mist, and her violet eyes didn't look at anyone, but everyone saw them.
The door closed behind her with a low groan.
She stopped in front of the reception counter. Tilted her staff slightly. Then turned her head, enough to show a small, crooked smile.
"Fights between system users tend to leave holes where kingdoms used to be."
Nobody responded.
She clicked her tongue and turned her wrist.
"But," she said, and the smile curled wider, "I happen to be a little free tomorrow."
The mist twitched like it were listening.
She shifted her weight, one thigh slipping into view between the dark slits of her tunic. Didn't matter. No one breathed.
"I can prepare the Astral Arena," she said, voice silkier now, almost amused. "That way, you can all enjoy the show without risking the kingdom."
A beat passed.
Then, she exhaled like she was bored again.
"Besides," her fingers tapped her staff twice, "it's been a while since I saw anything worth watching."
The Dragon Lord laughed hard.
Mockery in its purest form, the kind that made even confident adventurers lower their heads.
"Even the Astral Sovereign wants to see your defeat," he said, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.
He turned.
His gaze found Amanda. And lingered.
A slow, indulgent smile curled on his face before he walked away, the sound of his armor brushing like scales with every step.
"I'll be waiting in the arena tomorrow," he called over his shoulder. "You'd better not run away."
Then, he pushed open the guild doors.
The sudden flood of city noise poured in all at once. Clattering wheels, shouting vendors, clinking swords. Like the world outside had been holding its breath.
Then came a softer sound. Bare feet padding gently across the misted floor.
[System Notification] You have encountered the Astral Sovereign.
[System Notification] System User details acquired.
[System Notification] Open details?
He ignored the prompt, and it went away after a while.
The Astral Sovereign leaned in, close enough for her breath to brush Leo's cheek.
"I knew you were here," she said, almost like a secret. "Ranna told me."
Leo flinched.
Her proximity was distracting. And her outfit wasn't helping.
He shifted slightly, eyes forward, not daring to glance anywhere inappropriate. The fabric of her tunic barely clung, and the high slits exposed more leg than he was prepared to process.
She noticed.
A low chuckle escaped her lips as she pulled back.
"Adorable," she said, smirking, before casually turning and treading away.
And just like that, she was gone in the city's fray.