Returning to the Bakasa Adventurer's Guild after a mission that nearly claimed their lives felt like a war hero coming home. The difference was, there was no flower parade. There were only shocked stares and whispers.
The logistics carriage stopped safely in the Guild's backyard. The horses were exhausted, the wheels stained with Goblin blood, but the main cargo—wheat and mining equipment—was intact without a single grain missing.
Dayat jumped down from the back of the carriage. He was still holding his Crossbow. Behind him, Dola descended gracefully; her cloak was slightly torn at the bottom, but she remained as calm as a porcelain statue.
Bara and Lina followed. Bara no longer walked with his chest puffed out. He walked slightly behind Dayat, an unwritten gesture of respect in the adventurer world: The strongest walks in front.
They entered the main lobby.
The afternoon crowd in the Guild instantly dimmed upon seeing the team's condition. Usually, rookie teams taking escort missions came back smiling because it was just a walk in the park. But this team returned with an aura of war.
Dayat walked straight to Nyssia's counter. He placed his Rank F badge on the table, then reached into his jacket pocket.
Thud.
A chunk of yellow crystal the size of a fist was placed on the wooden table. The crystal was cracked in the middle (from Dayat's arrow shot), but still radiated strong magical energy.
Earth Golem Core.
Nyssia, who was lazily filing her nails, jolted in surprise. Her eyes widened at the crystal.
"This is..." Nyssia looked at Dayat, then at the crystal again. "You were attacked by a Golem? On Route C? That's impossible. That route is a green zone."
"Impossible or not, the proof is on the table, Pretty Miss," Dayat replied flatly. "Two dozen Mole-Rat Goblins and one D-Level Rock Golem. Our team cleared them all. Cargo is 100% safe."
Nyssia picked up the crystal with trembling hands. As a senior receptionist, she knew the value of this object. And she knew the implication: A high-level monster slipped past Guild radar, or... someone put it there on purpose.
"Bara! Lina!" Nyssia called out. "Situation report. Is it true he killed it?"
Bara stepped forward. He nodded firmly.
"It's true, Nyssia. Dayat... he's crazy. He blew up the Golem's chest with strange arrows. Without him, we'd be fertilizer."
Lina nodded quickly, her eyes teary. "Brother Dayat saved me..."
The lobby atmosphere turned rowdy.
"Rank F killed a D-Level Golem?"
"Using arrows? Impossible!"
"Look at the weapon! That's a tool from Master Dalgor's workshop!"
Nyssia took a deep breath. She looked at Dayat with a new gaze. No more dismissive looks. There was only a look of business calculation. Potential adventurers were Guild assets.
"Very well. Mission completed with status: Exemplary," Nyssia said officially. She opened the magic cashier drawer. "Base payment 50 Silver. Plus Unexpected Hazard Bonus 100 Silver. And..."
Nyssia weighed the Golem core crystal.
"This Golem Core is of good quality despite the crack. The Guild buys it for 300 Silver. Total: 450 Silver for the team."
450 Silver.
Dayat held back a smile so as not to look tacky. That was almost 7 times his initial capital.
"Split it evenly," Dayat said wisely. "Bara and Lina risked their lives too."
Bara shook his head. "No. You killed the Golem. You deserve the Core share. Lina and I will just take the base payment. 50 Silver split in two is enough for snacks."
Dayat was stunned. Turns out this redhead had some pride after all.
"Okay. Thanks, Bro."
Dayat accepted the heavy money pouch. 400 Silver went into his pocket. Added to yesterday's remaining money, he now had enough capital to live decently... and to buy something more important than food.
"Dol," Dayat whispered. "We're going shopping."
However, before they could leave the Guild, someone blocked their path near the exit.
A tall man in a neat dark green artisan robe. His hair was slicked back, his face pale with a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Valmir.
Dayat stopped. He had expected this.
"Congratulations, Mr. Hidayat," Valmir greeted, his voice smooth like a snake. "I heard you experienced... a little surprise on the road. Thank goodness you survived. Route C is indeed unpredictable sometimes."
Dayat looked into Valmir's eyes. He could see the disappointment hidden behind that gaze. Disappointment that Dayat was still alive.
"An interesting surprise, indeed," Dayat said casually.
Dayat's hand reached into his jacket pocket again. But this time it wasn't money he took out.
He took out a small fragment of red crystal he picked from the Goblin Shaman's corpse.
Lure Rune Fragment.
Dayat played with the crystal shard between his fingers, letting it sparkle in the lobby light.
"We found this on a Goblin's neck," Dayat said, staring sharply at Valmir. "Man-made Lure Rune. High quality. Seems like some rich person is littering in the forest."
Valmir's smile twitched slightly. His eyes were glued to the crystal shard. He recognized his own work.
"Oh? Scrap items perhaps?" Valmir evaded, but a bead of sweat formed on his temple. "The forest is full of mysteries."
"Yeah. Mysteries," Dayat stepped forward, bringing his face close to Valmir. He whispered, "Next time you want to send a package, make sure the courier doesn't die foolishly. It's a waste of expensive goods."
Dayat dropped the crystal shard into Valmir's stiff open palm.
"A gift for Mr. Vice Chairman. As a souvenir."
Dayat patted Valmir's shoulder—acting overly familiar—then walked away holding Dola's hand, leaving Valmir frozen with a face red from suppressing anger and fear.
"Master," Dola whispered when they were outside. "That was a dangerous provocation. Valmir now knows that we know."
"That's the point," Dayat replied. "So he knows we're not easy targets. Now he'll think twice before attacking openly. He's afraid his secret will be exposed to Dalgor."
"Psychological Analysis: Valid. Fear of scandal will restrain his aggression temporarily. But be alert, Master. A cornered enemy bites harder."
That afternoon was spent doing the most enjoyable activity: Shopping.
With 400 Silver in hand, Dayat overhauled their appearance.
First, he bought a Light Leather Armor (Studded Leather) for himself. Not heavy plate armor, but flexible hard leather armor suitable for a marksman. He didn't want to look like a hobo in a second-hand jacket anymore.
Second, and most importantly, he bought Dola new clothes.
The rough tarp cloak was thrown into the trash bin. Replaced by a Mage-Type Adventurer Robe in dark blue (matching Dola's eye color) made of high-quality thick fabric. This robe had a deep hood, but the cut was fitted, not baggy.
Dayat also bought Dola fine leather gloves to cover her synthetic hands, and sturdy boots.
"How is it?" Dayat asked when Dola came out of the fitting room.
Dola admired herself in the mirror. She looked... elegant. Mysterious. Like an elite mage in disguise.
"Thermal Analysis: This material has 40% better air circulation. Mobility increased by 15%. Thank you, Master. This is a logical asset investment."
"You're welcome, My Wife," Dayat smiled with satisfaction. "Now you don't look like a rice sack anymore."
They used the remaining money to buy entrance tickets to the Bakasa City Public Library.
Not Vael's used bookstore anymore. But the grand library owned by the city government located in the Middle District. This place was heavily guarded, but with fake Ids from Vael and their convincing new look, the guards let them in.
Here was Dola's main objective.
Dayat sat at a reading table, pretending to read a newspaper while keeping watch. Meanwhile, Dola disappeared behind the Ancient History bookshelves.
Dola worked fast. She didn't need to read word for word. She just needed to touch the book, open it briefly, and her optical sensors recorded the entire content into her internal Hard Drive.
[DOWNLOADING DATA: HISTORY OF THE DARK ERA]
[DOWNLOADING DATA: THE GREAT MACHINE WAR]
In an old book whose cover was made of thin metal, Dola found something that made her stop processing other data.
The book title: "The Fall of Deus Machina" (The Fall of the Machine God).
On page 142, there was a faded hand-drawn illustration.
The image showed a burning battlefield. In the middle of the fire, stood a female figure.
The woman had long hair. Her body was made of sleek black metal with lines of light. She floated in the air, surrounded by thousands of swords and arrows shattering to pieces before her.
Below the image was written:
"The Maiden of Steel. One of the Seven Apocalypse Generals who led the machine army against humanity 500 years ago."
Dola froze.
The facial structure of the woman in the picture... her body structure... the light line patterns...
It was her.
Or at least, a model identical to her.
Dola's heart rate sensor (which should be stable) spiked sharply.
[SYSTEM ALERT: MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED.]
[History Data conflicts with Initial Identity Data.]
[Initial Identity: Service Chatbot.]
[History Identity: Weapon of Mass Destruction.]
"No..." Dola whispered softly. Her hand trembled touching the book page.
Was she really just an AI Chatbot who 'accidentally' got a body in this world? Or... was this body truly hers from the past? Was she... a forgotten General of the Apocalypse?
Dayat, seeing Dola standing still for a long time in the aisle, walked closer.
"Dol? What's up? Found a good recipe?"
Dola closed the book quickly BLAM. She turned around, her face pale (or her lights dimmed).
"Nothing, Master. Just... boring and inaccurate historical data," Dola lied. Her voice sounded flat, too flat.
Dayat frowned. He knew Dola was lying. But he also saw fear in those blue eyes—a very human fear.
"Okay... if you say so," Dayat said slowly, deciding not to press. "Let's go home? It's late."
"Yes. Home. I need to... perform data defragmentation."
They walked out of the library. Bakasa's sky was already dark.
Dayat didn't ask again, but he noted in his heart: There was something in that book that scared Dola. And I have to find out what it is, before that fear consumes her.
In the distance, the tower of the Gear-Breaker Church loomed high, its bells tolling, as if warning that an enemy of the past had returned to this city.