Nick’s sword carved clear through the Matriarch’s neck. The blow decapitated her and split her carapace open, revealing brightly colored guts that spilled out into the water in a sickening series of plops. A rank smell released into the chamber, and Nick stepped back, covering his face with his forearm.

Sae cringed, crinkling her nose. “That is… foul.”

“Uh, Nick? I thought you were going to give her the option to surrender.” Jinny said. She didn’t look particularly bothered by the turn of events, just confused.

Nick, by contrast, looked mildly shaken. “I… was. Seemed different from the other monsters we’ve fought. Then she reached for the door… and I just had a feeling that something terrible would happen if I let her.”

“It’s a massive, Junji-Ito-lookin’ spider. Pretty sure you made the right call,” Sae said. “At least it’s over now. Right?” She looked at me.

“Pretty sure,” I answered. had long since faded, but the short time it lasted gave me plenty of information on the chamber itself. There were no doorways left, hidden or otherwise. It was a fantastic ability for gleaning information, even if it was limited usage.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Audrey scurrying away. She’d taken my command to stay out of sight to heart. Almost reluctantly, I resolved her summon, feeling a tangible sense of relief as her essence returned to me. The Flowerfang had made the decisive win possible. Without her, this all got a lot more messy.

Someone was absolutely getting the best turkey Kinsley’s store provided when we got home.

Nick and Jinny both fussed over me as I fended them off. My back and side still hurt like a bitch, but the nausea and shakiness was gone, thanks in large part to the series of health potions Sae had been stuffing down my throat.

It was strange how unbothered I felt after the experience. It had been terrifying in the moment, yes, but now that it was over, the trauma faded nearly as quickly as it had appeared. My title probably factored in to some extent, but I suspected after so many near-death incidents in such a short span of time, I was growing accustomed to the stakes. Hard to know whether to count that as a positive or a negative.

“Dude.” Nick shook his head. “That was clutch. Now never do it again.”

“What? Be captured by a giant spider monster? It’s not exactly high on my to-do list.” I said.

“The idea of having to fight you was terrifying.”

“That should be my line.” I stared at him in bewilderment. “Did you see yourself? You were like a golden, glowing wrecking ball of do-not-fuck-with.”

“Still, the way you turned on her…” Sae started.

I winced, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

“… Might have been the coolest shit I’ve ever seen.” Sae finished, nodding in approval. “Zero hesitation. Literally wiped the smug look right off her face.”

“Did she look smug?” Jinny asked. “I was watching Matt when it happened.”

“Maybe? Dunno. Her freaky ass head was upside-down.”

As the part of the first team to clear the trial, you have received the following:

50,000 Selve

Chaos Spider’s Venom

Class Specific Boon: Ordinator’s Implements.

The group paused, gobsmacked, as we read through the screens.

Nick let out a low whistle. Jinny was grinning from ear to ear. Even Sae seemed dumbstruck.

“Fifty-k? That’s gotta be split four ways, right?” Sae said.

“Nope.” Nick flicked through his invisible interface. “Each. Two-hundred thousand total. That’s… insane. More than enough for provisions and upgrades.”

“Not that any of us are stupid enough to spend it all in one place,” I observed, looking at the rest of them meaningfully, “But from a brief overview of the store, I’m pretty sure that’s new car money.”

“Could be time for an upgrade. Someone was giving me shit about my Prius, recently,” Jinny waggled an eyebrow at me.

“As they should,” Sae commented.

“Hey!” Jinny said.

I snorted. Somewhere in the back of my mind, was nettling, warning that I was growing too comfortable, that none of this could last. In the bounds of this strange new world, the others were just adventurers. And the nature of my class would almost certainly put me at odds with them, if they knew. Especially Nick.

Talia was off by herself, looking somewhat awkward now that the fighting had ended. I was about to call her over when Jinny tackled the wolf, wrapping her arms around her neck. Talia looked completely flabbergasted, unsure of whether she was being attacked or praised.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Jinny said.

“I… simply fulfilled my role as guide.” Talia shifted uncomfortably.

“You did a lot more than that,” Sae commented.

Jinny released her as Nick drew closer, and went down on one knee in front of the wolf.

“Gotta agree with Sae. If you hadn’t told us where Matt was, we probably would have backtracked to find him. That tribute wasn’t nearly enough of a reward. You said at the beginning of this, you don’t receive rewards on the completion of the trial, right?”

“As a spirit guide, I have ascended beyond material needs—“ Talia started.

“She’s always getting hurt. Coincidentally, there’s a non-human armor category in the store.” Jinny observed, her eyes sparkling.

“There is?” I asked. Somehow I’d missed that.

“Yep. Also, maybe we could fashion a little satchel to put health potions in, so she’s not reliant on us to heal.”

Nick rubbed his chin. “Good ideas. Yeah. We’ll all chip in and buy something for her. It’s only fair. But only after we get a little pre-event barbecue going back at my place. Never met anyone, canine or otherwise, who didn’t like a little barbecue.”

“Vegetarians.” Jinny commented.

“Vegans.” Sae said.

Nick scowled at them both. “Barbecued tofu is a thing.”

“We might be jumping the gun here.” Sae said. She approached the wolf, still standing a measured distance away. “We don’t know how the spirit guide mechanic even works. Could you even stay with us if you wanted? Or are you tied to the Trial?”

The group’s enthusiasm dampened somewhat. Talia stayed silent and looked at me. Her expression was stoic, but her tail was wagging slowly.

”They take care of their own. It is the sign of a good pack.”

I considered our options. It was always dangerous, relying on others. It also went completely against the way I’d lived most of my life. But there was a possibility I was being too rash. If anything, the Trial was a demonstration that there were things I couldn’t do alone. And when I thought it was all over, I had known, with complete confidence, that Nick would take care of my family if I died.

How many people could I say that about?

”Okay. Make the call.”

Talia blinked, surprised at my reaction. ”Truly?”

”Like I said, earlier. I trust your judgment.”

That was surprising. With the circumstances of our first meeting, I’d never really expected the bond to ever increase.

“So long as you never ask to scratch behind my ears again… perhaps I could be persuaded to try this barbecue.” Talia said.

“Done,” Nick replied instantly.

“Then I suppose I can go where I wish. I am a spirit, after all.”

There was a whooping cheer.

I found myself smiling at the scene. The system gave me multiple identities for a reason. I could delve and explore various dungeons with Nick’s group and still position myself in the greater scope of things. If the terribly named “Adventurer’s Guild,” panned out to be even half as decent as I hoped it would be, I could guide them to it. Being attached to a larger organization would probably provide insulation and protection from Daphne’s group.

Maybe I didn’t have to choose.

This had been an incredibly lucrative outing, between the experience, Selve, and the Boon—

I pulled up my class screen, mentally kicking myself. In all the excitement, I’d almost forgotten. On top of finally leveling and opening up the possibility of selecting a Page feat, I’d received a class specific boon as well.

More than a little interested to see the quality of what we’d earned, I pulled up the description.