The gates of Aurumspire rose before them like a monument carved from ambition itself.

  Towering walls of pale stone, reinforced with gold-veined metal, reflected the midday sun in radiant sheets of light. Massive guard towers flanked the entrance, banners bearing the city’s sigil, a golden pillar wreathed in flame fluttering proudly in the breeze. The city didn’t just stand tall; it declared dominance over the land around it.

  Yukio craned his neck as they approached on foot.

  “Yeah… okay,”

  He muttered.

  “This place is definitely rich.”

  Kaede crossed her arms, smirking.

  “Told you. Fortress city. Probably hasn’t fallen in centuries.”

  Michibiki’s gaze remained sharp as she surveyed the walls and the guards lining them.

  “And if it has, they rebuilt it fast. The mana reinforcement alone is impressive.”

  The guards barely questioned them once their guild insignia was presented. Recognition sparked quickly, A-Rank adventurers weren’t something cities ignored. The trio passed through the gates and into the heart of Aurumspire, where the streets bustled with traders, soldiers, and artisans alike.

  Gold wasn’t just decoration here, it was structure.

  Pillars lining the main roads gleamed with enchanted metal. Shops bore reinforced shutters, and even the streetlamps hummed faintly with mana. This was a city built atop old power and determined to keep it.

  It didn’t take long to find the Adventurers’ Guild.

  Unlike Primordia’s cozy hall, Aurumspire’s guild was a massive, multi-level structure built directly into the stone of an inner wall. Wide steps led up to towering doors, etched with depictions of past heroes and fallen beasts.

  Inside, the air buzzed with controlled chaos.

  Adventurers of every race and rank crowded the hall. Notices covered boards three times the size of those back home. Clerks rushed between desks, while armored veterans shared drinks and scars near the back.

  Yukio let out a low whistle.

  “This guild puts ours to shame.”

  Kaede grinned.

  “Bigger city, bigger problems.”

  They made their way to the reception desk, where a sharp-eyed clerk quickly assessed their badges.

  “A-Rank party?”

  She said, eyebrows lifting.

  “We were expecting.”

  That caught Yukio off guard.

  “Expecting?”

  She nodded, already signaling toward a stairwell.

  “Guildmaster requested immediate audience. Top floor.”

  Michibiki exchanged a glance with Kaede.

  “Sounds serious.”

  The stairway spiraled upward, growing quieter with every step. By the time they reached the final door, an imposing slab of dark stone reinforced with gold, the noise of the guild below had faded into nothing.

  The clerk knocked once.

  “Enter.”

  The voice on the other side was deep, firm, and carried a faint rumble beneath it.

  The door opened.

  The office beyond was spacious, its walls lined with maps, monster trophies, and glowing mana crystals. At the center stood a large desk carved from obsidian and gold.

  Behind it sat the Guildmaster of Aurumspire.

  She was tall, nearly Kaede’s height even while seated and unmistakably dragonkin. Crimson scales traced her temples and jawline, fading into warm bronze along her neck. Two curved horns swept back through her long, dark hair, and her amber eyes burned with a sharp intelligence that made Yukio instinctively straighten his posture.

  She wore a fitted guild coat, open at the front, revealing scaled arms crossed over her chest.

  “So,”

  She said, gaze sweeping over them.

  “These are the A-Ranks from Primordia.”

  Michibiki bowed politely.

  “Michibiki of Primordia Guild. This is Kaede Ebenforge, and Yukio Yoshino.”

  The dragonkin’s eyes paused briefly on Yukio, studying him more closely than the others.

  “…Yoshino,”

  She repeated.

  “I’ve heard that name recently.”

  Yukio smiled awkwardly.

  “I get that a lot.”

  Kaede stepped forward and placed the sealed letter on the desk.

  “We’re here regarding the request for extermination and investigation of the underground ruins.”

  The guildmaster broke the seal with one clawed finger, scanning the contents quickly.

  “Good,”

  She said after a moment.

  “Because things are getting worse by the day.”

  She stood, and the temperature in the room seemed to rise subtly as she moved. Walking around the desk, she gestured toward a large map pinned to the wall.

  “This,”

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  She said, pointing to an area beneath the city’s foundation,

  “Is the ruin zone.”

  Yukio frowned.

  “That’s… directly under the city.”

  “Exactly,”

  She replied.

  “These ruins predate Aurumspire by centuries. We always knew they were there, but they were dormant. Sealed.”

  Kaede raised an eyebrow.

  “Until now.”

  The guildmaster nodded.

  “Two weeks ago, lower-level patrols reported monster activity emerging from sealed tunnels. At first, we thought it was just beasts drawn to residual mana.”

  She tapped the map again, harder this time.

  “They were wrong.”

  Michibiki’s eyes narrowed.

  “What kind of monsters?”

  “Twisted ones,”

  The guildmaster replied.

  “Creatures warped by something unnatural. They’re violent, territorial, and completely unresponsive to conventional deterrents.”

  Yukio leaned forward.

  “Corruption?”

  The dragonkin’s gaze snapped to him.

  “That’s our working theory.”

  She turned back to the desk and retrieved a stack of reports, sliding them across.

  “Every scouting party sent down there has either been injured or forced to retreat. The monsters don’t behave like normal dungeon entities. They fight like they’re defending something.”

  Kaede cracked her knuckles.

  “Sounds like a nest.”

  “Or a source,”

  Michibiki added.

  “Precisely,”

  The guildmaster said.

  “Which is why this quest isn’t just extermination.”

  She looked each of them in the eye.

  “I want you to eliminate the monsters and investigate what caused them to appear. If there’s a core, artifact, or ritual site down there, I need it identified.”

  Yukio felt a familiar tension stir in his chest. Threads brushed against his senses, faint but restless.

  “…And if it’s something worse?”

  He asked.

  The guildmaster’s jaw tightened.

  “Then I want to know before it reaches the surface.”

  Silence hung for a moment.

  Kaede broke it with a confident grin.

  “Sounds straightforward enough.”

  Michibiki nodded.

  “We’ll handle it.”

  Yukio smiled, though his eyes remained serious.

  “Yeah. We’ll take care of it.”

  The dragonkin studied them for a long second longer… then nodded.

  “Good,”

  She said.

  “Your access permits are already prepared. You’ll enter through the old eastern descent—sealed for public access.”

  She handed over three engraved tags, each glowing faintly.

  “These will keep the city’s defensive wards from mistaking you for intruders.”

  Yukio accepted his, feeling the weight of the task settle in.

  “Any last warnings?”

  He asked.

  The guildmaster’s eyes burned like embers.

  “Whatever’s down there,”

  She said,

  “It doesn’t want to be found.”

  Kaede smirked.

  “Then it picked the wrong adventurers.”

  A rare smile tugged at the dragonkin’s lips.

  “Dismissed. Prepare yourselves.”

  As the trio turned to leave, Yukio felt it again, a tug, faint but undeniable.

  Something beneath Aurumspire was pulling at the Threads.

  And whatever it was.

  It was waiting.

  The stairs from the guildmaster’s office felt longer on the way down.

  Not because of the height but because of the weight that now sat on their shoulders.

  Yukio let out a quiet breath as the sounds of the guild hall returned, voices rising, weapons clinking, life carrying on as if something dangerous wasn’t brewing beneath the city.

  At the bottom of the stairs, a familiar presence waited.

  The dragonkin guildmaster stood near the entrance, arms crossed, watching adventurers pass with a sharp, practiced eye. As the trio approached, she turned fully toward them.

  “I forgot my manners earlier,”

  She said, tone calmer now.

  “Guild business tends to make me curt.”

  Michibiki bowed politely.

  “No offense taken.”

  The dragonkin exhaled, a faint curl of heat shimmering in the air as she placed a clawed hand over her chest.

  “Kaelith Duskflare,”

  She said.

  “Guildmaster of Aurumspire.”

  Yukio blinked.

  “Duskflare?”

  She smirked slightly.

  “Born at sunset. My mother thought it fitting.”

  Kaede grinned.

  “Sunset blaze. Yeah, that tracks.”

  Kaelith huffed in amusement, then looked between the three of them more seriously.

  “I won’t sugarcoat this,”

  She said.

  “The ruins aren’t a normal dungeon. Whatever is down there is old. And it’s angry.”

  Yukio nodded.

  “We’ll be careful.”

  Kaelith’s gaze lingered on him for a second longer than necessary.

  “You’d better be.”

  She stepped aside, gesturing toward the open doors of the guild.

  “You’re cleared to move freely within the city. If you need supplies or support, my people will cooperate.”

  Michibiki inclined her head.

  “Thank you, Guildmaster.”

  Kaelith turned away as the next wave of adventurers entered, already back to her duties.

  “Sunset blaze indeed,”

  Kaede muttered as they stepped outside.

  Yukio chuckled.

  “I kinda like her.”

  The Luminelle Trading Firm branch in Aurumspire was impossible to miss.

  It stood near the inner ring of the city, a pristine stone building trimmed with gold inlays and enchanted glass windows that shimmered faintly in the sunlight. The sigil of Luminelle, a radiant flower encircled by light, hung proudly above the entrance.

  Kaede stopped dead in her tracks.

  “…Candessa owns this too?”

  Yukio stared up at the building.

  “I think she owns half the city.”

  Michibiki sighed.

  “At this point, I’m not even surprised.”

  Inside, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The air was cool, scented faintly with herbs and mana-infused oils. Clerks moved efficiently between desks, and armed guards stood discreetly at the corners.

  The moment Yukio stepped inside, a man in a tailored vest hurried forward.

  “Sir Yoshino!”

  He said, bowing deeply.

  “Welcome to Luminelle Aurumspire.”

  Yukio flinched.

  “Ah… hi?”

  The manager straightened, smiling warmly.

  “I’m Ravel. Lady Candessa informed us of your arrival.”

  Kaede leaned in, whispering,

  “She didn’t waste time.”

  Ravel gestured for them to follow.

  “We have everything prepared.”

  They were led through the building to a secured storage room. Shelves lined the walls, stocked with vials, crystals, and sealed crates humming softly with enchantment.

  Kaede’s eyes lit up immediately.

  “…Potions.”

  Ravel nodded.

  “As requested. Advanced healing, stamina recovery, anti-corruption draughts, and mana stabilizers.”

  Kaede grabbed one of the vials, inspecting it closely.

  “Top quality.”

  “Only the best,”

  Ravel said proudly.

  Yukio smiled.

  “We’ll take a few extra stamina potions.”

  “Already included,”

  Ravel replied smoothly.

  Michibiki glanced at Yukio.

  “She really thought of everything.”

  Once the supplies were packed, Ravel reached into his vest and produced a small velvet box. He opened it, revealing three ornate keys made of gold and obsidian.

  “These are for you,”

  He said.

  Kaede blinked.

  “Keys?”

  Ravel nodded.

  “One of Lady Candessa’s estates within the city. She insisted you use it during your stay.”

  Yukio’s mouth opened.

  “…Estate?”

  Michibiki closed her eyes.

  “Of course she did.”

  Ravel handed them the keys with a bow.

  “It’s located near the western terrace. Fully staffed, stocked, and warded.”

  Kaede stared at the keys in her palm.

  “…How rich is Candessa?”

  Yukio laughed weakly.

  “I don’t think numbers apply anymore.”

  The estate was absurd.

  That was the only word that came to mind.

  High iron gates opened at their approach, revealing a sprawling mansion of white stone and gold-veined marble. Gardens stretched along both sides of a wide path, fountains humming with soft enchantments, and the building itself rose three stories high, its windows gleaming in the afternoon sun.

  Kaede stopped again.

  “…This is bigger than the one she gave us in Primordia.”

  Yukio rubbed the back of his neck.

  “We’re definitely going to owe her.”

  Inside was even worse.

  Spacious halls, polished floors, chandeliers glowing softly with mana crystals. Servants bowed politely before retreating, giving them space.

  Michibiki glanced around.

  “We’re supposed to sleep here?”

  Kaede dropped her pack.

  “I could get lost in this place.”

  Yukio explored briefly, peeking into rooms that were larger than his entire apartment back home.

  “Okay,”

  He said eventually.

  “No touching anything expensive.”

  Kaede snorted.

  “Everything here is expensive.”

  They didn’t linger long. The sun was already beginning its descent, painting the city in gold and amber.

  Michibiki checked the time.

  “We should head out soon. If we’re going underground, I want daylight above us.”

  Yukio nodded.

  “Agreed.”

  The entrance to the ruins lay beyond the eastern quarter, concealed behind reinforced stone gates and guarded by city soldiers.

  The ward tags Kaelith gave them pulsed faintly as they approached, and the guards stepped aside without question.

  Beyond the gates, the air changed.

  Cooler. Heavier.

  The descent spiraled downward, stone steps worn smooth by age. Faint runes glowed along the walls, flickering like dying embers.

  Kaede rested her hammer on her shoulder.

  “I don’t like this.”

  Yukio smiled faintly.

  “You scared?”

  “No,”

  She replied.

  “I really don’t like this.”

  Michibiki’s eyes glowed faintly as she scanned ahead.

  “Mana’s distorted. Whatever caused the monsters hasn’t settled.”

  As they reached the threshold, Yukio felt it again.

  A tug.

  The Threads stirred uneasily.

  “…We’re not alone down there,”

  He said quietly.

  Kaede cracked her knuckles.

  “Good. I was getting bored.”

  Michibiki took a steadying breath.

  “Stay sharp. We eliminate the threat and find the source.”

  Yukio nodded, drawing a slow breath.

  “Alright,”

  He said.

  “Let’s see what’s hiding under Aurumspire.”

  The shadows below seemed to shift, waiting.

  And the ruins welcomed them in silence.