Chapter 58: 58. what comes next?

Right back at Nexus Prime, the Story Dungeon portal gate glowed with it’s long curtain of light waning, proof that the dungeon had been cleared and was on the verge of closing.

The area around it had been closed off hours ago—To protect from intrusion—with security barriers keeping the general public at a safe distance while media crews jockeyed for the best camera angles.

It had been three months since the hunters had Entered the dungeon, even though they spent only one within, they would come to learn of the the time dilation later.

The first hunter emerged from the portal stumbling slightly, as if adjusting to gravity that worked differently than where they had been. Then another. Then groups of three and four, some supporting wounded companions, all bearing the unmistakable signs of hard combat.

The media erupted into action.

Camera drones launched into the air, getting aerial footage. Reporters pressed against the security barriers, microphones extended, shouting questions that the exhausted hunters mostly ignored. News tickers on nearby buildings updated in real-time: “STORY DUNGEON CLEARED – SURVIVORS EMERGING NOW – FIRST TIME IN HISTORY FIRST ATTEMPT SUCCESSFUL!”

Hunter HQ representatives moved among the returning hunters, checking names against manifests, directing the wounded toward medical stations, collecting preliminary debriefing statements.

Then Odessa emerged with her party, limping but grinning broadly for the cameras. Her Azure Sky Dragon had been dismissed to save energy, but her natural charisma made her a focal point regardless.

Reporters recognized her immediately, the Only daughter of a prominent family, B-rank at just twenty-three, she had always been the kind of rising star that made good headlines.

“Miss Wayne! Miss Wayne! Can you comment on the dungeon’s difficulty rating?”

“What was the final boss encounter?”

’what was this story dungeon about?”

“How many casualties—”

But Alfred intercepted the reporters with a polite but firm redirection, creating space for Odessa to catch her breath. She waved to the cameras anyway, ever so conscious of public image and family reputation.

Then finally, The last hunter remaining in the dungeon, Yuki, stepped through the portal.

The transition was disorienting. One moment she had been standing within the broke remains of the ritual chamber, staring at the distant sky where Owen remained with Dominus and Chronara.

And now, The next, she was in Nexus Prime, surrounded by noise and flashing light and the overwhelming sensory assault of modern civilization.

Uru jiggled on her head, the primordial slime’s gelatinous form pulsing with agitation at all the stimulation.

Her clothes were torn and stained with the evidence of battle. Her hair was disheveled. She carried herself with the wariness of someone who’d spent too long in hostile territory.

But more than that, she felt a change. Not just physically, though her posture was different, more confident and combat-ready than it had been a month ago. It was something in her eyes. The weight of experience. The feeling of her anxiety diminished. The knowledge and experience of what she had gone through the past months had come to shape a new perspective on life for her.

The crowd’s reaction was muted. A few camera drones tracked her exit, but without her dragon tamed beast visible, she wasn’t particularly newsworthy.

Yuki preferred it that way.

She took a deep breath of city air—exhaust fumes, street food, the distinctive smell of too many people in too small a space—and felt something tight in her chest finally loosen.

She was back. Back in the real world. Back in modern civilization with its technology and convenience and blessed, mundane normalcy.

After more than a month in what felt like a medieval fantasy world—the dungeon’s internal timeline, plus Drak’thar’s timeless realm, plus the Tower of Royals with its impossible trials—returning to Nexus Prime felt surreal.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. The device had been in her inventory, protected and unused since she’d entered the dungeon. Now, reconnected to the city’s network, it exploded with notifications. Missed calls. Messages. News alerts. The digital detritus of a life put on pause.

Yuki ignored it all and walked toward the exit checkpoint where guild officials were processing returning hunters.

“Name and rank?” the official asked, tablet ready.

“Yuki Goldberg. C-rank.”

The woman’s eyebrows rose slightly as she checked her tablet. “You’re flagged for level verification. Please proceed to Station Three for processing.”

Level verification. Right. Yuki had gained… how many levels?. The Tower of Royals had pushed her significantly higher, though she hadn’t checked exact numbers recently. The system would need to confirm her gains, update her official rank, recalculate her rating.

Station Three was a booth with scanning equipment designed to interface with the system. Yuki stepped inside, and a technician guided her through the process.

[Level Verification in Progress…]

[Current Level: 89]

[Rank: C-Grade]

The technician whistled low. “Damn, That’s impressive, Miss Goldberg. You must have had significant contribution to the clear.”

Yuki just nodded, not trusting herself to explain that most of those levels had come from trials in a dragon kingdom that was like its own realm within the dungeon itself.

“You’re cleared to go. Congratulations on the successful clear.”

Yuki exited the booth and nearly ran into Odessa, who had apparently been waiting for her.

“There you are!” Odessa beamed, her natural enthusiasm undimmed despite her injuries. “I was worried you’d slip away before I could catch you. Here—” She thrust her phone toward Yuki. “Give me your number! We should grab coffee sometime!, I want to stay friends!”

The request was so genuine, so refreshingly normal after everything, that Yuki found herself smiling despite her exhaustion.

“Sure. Yeah, coffee sounds good.”

They exchanged numbers, Odessa already planning out loud. “There’s this great place in District Seven that does amazing lattes, and they’re super beast-friendly, so we can bring Uru and my Azure, and—oh! We should compare notes on taming techniques! And I want to hear everything about your dragon’s transformation because that was insane—”

“Odessa,” Alfred’s patient voice interrupted. “The car is waiting.”

“Right, right.” Odessa squeezed Yuki’s hand. “Text me! Don’t be a stranger!”

Then she was swept away by Alfred and her party, leaving Yuki standing alone in the dissipating crowd.

Almost alone.

She felt eyes on her and turned to see two figures standing near the area’s edge. Lyra, still in her combat gear, looking tired but satisfied. And beside her, was the vice guild master of Glory Road, ahongad busted her once before. Garreth Cross.

He looked at Yuki, his expression neutral but the gaze of those black eyes of eyes still as haunting as it was the first time she met him.

Then, slowly, he nodded once. A gesture of acknowledgment. Respect, perhaps, or at least recognition that she’d proven herself worthy of notice. Lyra must’ve told him something.

Lyra offered a small wave, mouthing “see you later” before following Cross toward a waiting luxury vehicle.

Yuki watched them go, then turned and headed for the public transit station.

—

Her apartment was exactly as she had left it.

Small. Shabby. But with a bunch of new dust settled everywhere.

Yuki stood in the doorway, taking it all in, and felt the surreal disconnect intensify.

This was where she’d lived, where she’d struggled to make rent, where she had eaten cheap noodles and counted credits and wondered if she’d ever escape the cycle of barely-adequate hunter work and abuse from Abuse.

But in her bank account, accessible through her phone, was ten million(10,000,000) credits.

The thought was almost funny. She lived in a place that cost 800 credits a month, and even that was a stretch some months, but now, she could buy the entire building now if she wanted.

Owen emerged from the Beast Space with a shimmer of golden light, his humanoid form materializing in the center of the small room. He looked around, taking in the cramped quarters, the worn furniture, the general air of making-do-with-what-you-have.

“Finally,” he said, stretching his wings carefully to avoid knocking anything over in the limited space. “We’re back.”

His voice was normal. The dark expression Yuki had seen from a distance—the haunted look when Dominus and Chronara had revealed whatever terrible truth they’d shared—was gone. Or hidden. His golden eyes met hers with their usual warmth and intelligence.

“How are you feeling?” Yuki asked, searching his face for clues.

“Tired. Depleted. And Hungryyy! .” He moved to the window, looking out at the cityscape visible between buildings. “This…I missed this, this casual smell of capitalism in the air, Let’s order some chicken wings!”

Yuki stared at him quietly. Wondering if she should press on, but decided against it for now. No need to spoil the mood.

“yeah, let’s get come chicken wings.”

Uru jiggled on the counter where Yuki had set it down, the primordial slime curiously exploring its new environment. It formed a small tendril that poked at the microwave, apparently fascinated by the appliance.

Yuki had now gone to the bedroom and sat down on her bed and pulled out her phone. Opened her banking app. Stared at the number displayed there.

¥10,000,000

Ten million credits. More money than she’d earned in her entire career as a hunter. More money than she’d ever imagined having. Life-changing money. Future-securing money.

She could move out of this apartment tomorrow. Could buy a house. Could upgrade her equipment, hire a trainer, invest in her future as a hunter. Could do anything she wanted.

The possibilities stretched before her like an open road with no visible end.

“Yuki?” Owen’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. He had moved to sit beside her, his wing folding carefully to avoid taking up too much of the limited space. “What are you thinking?”

She showed him the phone screen. “That my life just changed forever.”

Owen looked at the number, then at her face, then smiled, “Nah, Your life changed the day you choose to be your own person…” Then he gestured to the phone, “—this is just confirmation.”

He was right, of course. The money was just a symbol. The real change had begun to happen years ago.

Everything since then—Vonn’s abuse, the hired thugs, taming a dragon egg, ranking up, Drak’thar, the Greater Dragons, the Tower of Royals, the Shadowgrave, even whatever dark revelation Owen had received in the sky—all of it traced back to that single choice.

Yuki set the phone down and leaned back against the wall, feeling exhaustion finally catch up with her now that the adrenaline had faded.

“We should rest,” she said. “Figure out what comes next after we’ve actually slept in a real bed for the first time in a month.”

“Agreed.” Owen shifted, getting comfortable on the bed that was definitely not designed for someone with wings and a tail. “Though I make no promises about fitting properly.”

Despite everything, Yuki found herself laughing.

She was home. Owen was safe. Uru was exploring her microwave. And in her bank account was proof that she had survived something extraordinary and been rewarded for it.

Whatever came next—whatever information Owen was keeping to himself, whatever challenges her newfound wealth would bring, whatever the future held for a C-rank hunter with an S-rank dragon—it could wait until tomorrow.

For tonight, she was just going to sleep in her own bed, in her own apartment, in the real world.

And try not to think about how nothing would remain the same by tomorrow.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep