Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 242: Respect

The next morning, light filtered gently into the hospital wing, painting the sterile white walls with a golden color. Most of the machines had gone quiet, save for the occasional beep or mana pulse. Kaiden was up, stretching his shoulder. Bastet munched lazily on raw fish wrapped in foil. Aria sat on the windowsill, watching the street below with her bandaged arm cradled against her chest.

Luna, who refused to leave Nyx’s side and slept while hugging the woman, had parted her eyelids just as the door to their room opened.

Tessa stepped in.

She made her way around the room, pausing at each of them.

First Kaiden. Then Luna. Nyx. Aria. Bastet.

A handshake for each of them.

No words.

Just firm contact and utter respect in her eyes.

It wasn’t just polite gratitude.

It was reverence.

Aria raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious. ”Okay... what’s going on?”

Tessa unclipped the flap of her bag. ”We ran a scouting operation last night. After your team got safely brought to the hospital, Talia and I began to gather a proper scouting party and authorized a sweep of the dungeon toward where you guys went.”

She pulled out a small, ornate chest which was about the size of a toolbox, but beautifully engraved. Blackened wood reinforced with silver accents. Whatever was inside radiated danger, even while sealed.

Tessa placed it on the nearest table, flipped the latch, and opened it.

Inside lay four items, each resting in a padded indentation.

Three were near-identical: long, curved necklaces crafted from blackened bone, strung together with crimson thread, each bearing a blood-ruby centerpiece that pulsed with dark energy. The ruby resembled a stylized eye, narrowed in eternal judgment.

The fourth was a signet ring. It was large, ornate, and unmistakably male in design. The band was a twisted braid of dark crimson, with a bloodstone gem set in its face, carved with a noble crest: a rose pierced by fangs.

Tessa’s voice rang out next. ”We found the battlefield. What was left of it.”

Kaiden and Aria exchanged looks.

Tessa continued. ”You walked straight into a Fallen Vampire Noble’s trap. A bloodbound family of four. Three wives, one husband.”

She gestured toward the chest.

”These are their Monster Drops, you guys left behind. They are vampiric Relics. The wives dropped these necklaces called Crimson Pendants of the Bloodbound. The patriarch dropped that, the Predation Signet of Valiar. Each pendant alone is valued at over 5,000 Chronos. While the ring is at least ten thousand.”

Luna blinked. ”T-Twenty-five thousand total?” These were not even boss monsters!

”That’s... two and a half million USD,” Nyx murmured with a big grin emerging on her face. ”Just from one encounter.”

Kaiden couldn’t help but sigh at the revelation. ”This dungeon is high-risk, high-reward.”

Tessa nodded. ”It really is high risk, but you guys were unlucky. Incredibly, at that. This close to the entrance, something like that shouldn’t even be possible. That family had been nesting near the entrance for some reason, when based on their level of difficulty, they should’ve been much further in. Furthermore...”

Her eyes wandered toward the items. ”These are not just good-looking, expensive jewelry. The necklaces each provide +5 Mana and Magic stats while the ring provides 10% lifesteal, which means those who wear it will get healed based on the physical damage they deal.”

There were two types of accessory artifacts. Those that contained imbued spells and those that provided static buffs, be they raw stats like the pendants from the vampire wives or other passive buffs like the ring from the male vampire.

Each awakened could only wear a certain number of accessories, however.

The number depended on how many times they reached and surpassed their bottlenecks, which would happen at levels 25, 50, and 100. 100 was the highest bottleneck anyone has ever reached. Some people were already in the level 100s, but they hadn’t reached the next bottleneck yet.

As for the number of accessories one could wear, meaning any magical item beyond the armor and weapon they wielded, was as such: those who hadn’t surpassed the first bottleneck could wear 2. Then, each bottleneck unlocked one more slot.

Tessa paused her words for a few seconds so that they could all digest the new information in peace, then added: ”As per our previous agreement, I, as the representative of Nova Circuit, should take some of this, but I wish to waive our share.”

”Are you taking pity on us?” Aria asked.

Tessa strongly shook her head in response. ”No. All I feel for you five, is an immense amount of respect.”

She closed the chest and slid it toward Kaiden.

Kaiden looked at the chest but didn’t keep it in his hands for long, as he soon passed it to Aria.

Aria gingerly opened it again, staring at the loot like she was looking at cursed treasure. ”I... this is absurd.”

Bastet leaned over her shoulder. ”It’s beautiful.”

Luna took one of the pendants in her hand, and for a moment, the ruby pulsed brighter. Just once, like it was acknowledging her.

She just held it and nodded.

”We’re keeping them. These will become mementos that ensure we always remember this event.”

Each of them nodded in agreement. The items were worth a lot, but their emotional value was much higher.

Furthermore, as Tessa said, it wasn’t like they were only decorations. Each piece held immense buffs in them. They needed that a lot more right now than cash.

The decision on who would wear what was quickly made.

Kaiden got the ring despite his insisting that the girls should have one artifact each. The reasoning of the girls for denying his suggestion was simple: lifesteal only worked on physical damage dealt.

Aria was a pure mage while the other three were heavily magic-focused as well. Luna was technically a physical fighter with Agility focus, but her weapon, the [Stormblade], dealt magic damage, meaning the artifact would mostly be wasted on her.

As there were only three rings and four women, someone had to make a noble sacrifice, which ended up being Luna. Each girl wanted to be the one who didn’t get a pendant, but Luna was the most adamant about it.

She cast the fewest spells out of everyone, so the others had to begrudgingly accept it.

With that settled, came the time to have one of the hardest discussions of their lives:

What should they do now?

Attempt a second clear if the girls can get back into shape in time, or leave it all behind and look for new opportunities?