Thankfully triggering humanization level 5 this time caused no 'soul vessel' loss. But I used no pemadra points this time; my regards to the bandit Helen blew up. I have 11 days of transformation this time since [Loot Crate Maniac] went up to 6 with Zahariel's crystal.

"Guys, I think it is bad to call Zahariel by his name. What if someone recognizes him? There might be legends still living around. Can we call you 'Zarr'?"

"I'm fine with that."

We arrived in town a few hours before dusk. In a perfect situation, we would go only tomorrow, to avoid any trouble Kareena might cause for us. But with a millennia-old dungeon cracked open and pouring monsters like the world are ending again it is our sworn duty as adventurers to report the incident. #Sarcasm.

It is an odd parade. I am carrying a bundle of a dozen bags and sacks all tied up. The bloody thing weights around five hundred pounds, I think. Helen is walking a bit ahead and to the left with Emory on her shoulder and the other rats on their pockets inside the robe while Marcy is going hand in hand with Zahariel. People look and I suppress the urge to declare that I am the most powerful villager of this entire world.

We are now in front of the Guild.

"Let's go around to the warehouse entry at the back to deliver the collectibles," Marcy says while measuring that obviously, this bag bundle won't go through the front door.

At the back, there is a squirrel beastkin girl with receptionist uniform and bloody leather gloves and matching apron. One amazing thing about her eight-foot tall tail is that there is not a single blood smudge on it. The fur is silky and shiny. She grinning across a wooden counter that has seen better days. The groves and scratches on the wood count the story of the countless monster parts that were clumsily placed and handled over it.

"My, my! What do we have here? Seems someone got a hu-huge haul today!"

I lower the bag bundle to the ground carefully and begin to undo the maze of knots that bind all the bags and sacks. "We have lots of stuff to deliver, can you please verify them for us?"

"Sure thing, honey. Please give me your guild cards for verification."

Reluctantly I give her my card. I hope she doesn't mind the 'i' rank. Marcy picks the three cards up and hands them over to the raccoon girl. Zahariel is doing his best 'behaved kid' impression and is playing with Emory. The raccoon girl runs the cards over some crystal slab very similar to the one used for registration and mutters some chant under her breath. I could not listen to the words.

"I got your identification here. It seems you made quite the area sweep by the looks of the quests you picked up. Shall we begin?"

Good. Not a single word or scowl at me. I begin to open the bags and turn in the quests. It takes the best part of two hours to deliver, check and stow away everything. She is very meticulous in her work. The bags all empty up and now I am down to the starting three I had. One of them had only food and now is filled with the other bags and sacks.

"All your quests delivered and accounted for. There are also twenty-nine counts of repeatable wolf and seventeen counts of repeatable frostworm subjugation. Your points were awarded, and Mr. Beowulf can rank up. Do you want me to proceed with the rank up?"

"Sure, please go ahead!" I can't believe it! I am ranking up without any trouble or hindrance by the guild!"

She puts my card over the slab, mutters another chant and waits for a while. Then she frowns, her tail lowering until it is under the counter.

"I am sorry, Mr. Beowulf, but the Guild Master placed an executive block on your rank. You have to talk to her." Kareena! I can't believe. I expected as much, but I can't believe.

Marcy picks up the cards. "I believe the quest points were awarded without problem on all our three cards, right?"

"Affirmative, Marcy. Unfortunately for you and miss Helen most of the quests awarded almost no points due to differences in rank. But I can confirm that all quests points were awarded to Mr. Beowulf."

"Thanks, Soren. Your diligence is always appreciated. Is Kareena in? We have a severity A urgent report for her."

Soren raises an eyebrow. "Rank A? Are you sure, Marcy?"

"It might be even S or above for all I know. But reporting as A and then scaling up is not my concern."

Soren goes to a side corridor and yells inside. "Alisha, hurry up here. There is a 'wyvern case' here for Kareena."

Marcy is being serious with her poker face. I can't help but imagine her with the receptionist uniform. I think she would deserve a series for herself. She would hold all the adventurers tied around her pinky finger. Makes me think all that teasing and jokes are but an act and this serious business person is the real Marcy.

Helen is sitting on a bench and sulking. It is the second familiar she loses and if fiction serves for something I think she received some backlash when the rat died in the frog's belly. I stand in front of her, crouch and grab both of her hands. No words. Just a friendly smile and caring eyes. She tries to smile back while I rub her knuckles with my thumbs.

I need to improve my defensive capabilities so this kind of thing doesn't happen. I don't want nobody dying around me.

Alisha returns after a long wait. "The Guild Master is ready to see you. Please this way, adventurers."

"Zarr, wait here please. Make company to Soren."

"I'm good."

Marcy takes a backpack and we leave the other luggage in a corner of the warehouse along with Zahariel and Soren and follow Alisha. I must say, if I had met these two before the others, my impression of the guild would be much better. After walking a bit in the maze-like inner halls, we reach the familiar staircase up to the guild master's quarters.

Alisha knocks on the door, and Kareena voice comes from inside. "Enter!" We soon find ourselves in those same couches from before. "What is this report you have to make?" If glaring daggers was a thing, this woman is a beholder with vorpal swords. Both Helen and I delegate the mission of reporting to the pro in the party.

"We found an ancient dungeon, Beelzebub's Hive. We believe it is at least an A-rank dungeon. We have sighted blood mantises and giant iceworms in the top layers. There are several signs of mass monster migration away from the site. There is also the death of several adventurers. We were able to retrieve five cards before we too had to return here." And she throws the five cards we got on the table without any ceremony.

I am amazed. There is not a single lie in what she said. The phrases are disconnected and not in the proper time order, but they are all true. Marcy might also be probing Kareena to see if she is related to sending those six thugs after us. But the level of this battle is way above my league. I can see the sudden shifts in body language, but I cannot understand them.

"Do you have proof of the monsters you reported?" Kareena calls our alleged bluff and steps on our trap. Marcy just smiles and takes out the folded iceworm jawrings from her backpack. I thought that toothed circular saw was big as Grendel, but here in human size, it is enough to swallow a person whole. Of course, it will be ground down, chewed as it went through.

Kareena stands up and examines the jaws up close. She even pokes a finger on one of the teeth. She picks the cards, examines each one of them. Little by little her smug grin dissolves.

"I can't believe. Where is this dungeon located?"

"It was beneath the Chalice Rock all this time. Cedric's party hit the chalice rock with several alchemical arrows, and then Cedric himself used his technique to break the chalice base. We were gathering herbs nearby and witnessed them fighting a monster. It was too far away to make out what monster it was. After that, the chalice broke and collapsed the first layer of the dungeon and creating a big crater. We fled the place when we could, but from afar we could see the blood mantises eating Cedric's party." Marcy lies through her teeth as if it was the gospel of truth. Of course, no single sentence she spoke is a lie again. I have to rethink everything I thought about this girl.

"Did any of you enter this dungeon? Let me see your cards." Do guild cards record this kind of data? I send an afraid glance at Marcy, but she smiles and takes her card out of her cleavage. I also get mine, and Helen remembers she is not furniture and offers her own card.

"This boy entered the dungeon first and fought this iceworm. I entered after him. Helen fought from the outside."

Kareena stands up and takes a metal box with small slits on a side from under her desk. She opens the lid and inside there is a big crystal, takes our cards and put them in the slits from the inside. The crystal glows and some characters float above it.

"Curses! This is an ancient dungeon, one of the big nine." She is visibly altered. Anger, fear, despair, and negation show in her face.

"Our A-rank report was delivered and confirmed," Marcy says like it is some secret society passcode.

"This is not A-rank by far. It is an SS threat. This whole continent might be doomed," Kareena says on autopilot with a mechanical voice.

"If it is as you say, please grant us our rank reward for reporting." Marcy pulls the lid on the trap.

"Yes... wait! Did you trick me?" She glances at me. "Answer?"

"Everything Marcy said is true. We fulfilled our duty as adventurers. Now honor the covenant." I spout more bullshit. I don't even know if there is a covenant, but seems appropriate to mention. Even if she doesn't take it in the literal sense.

Kareena mumbles something inaudible to herself, and then counterattacks:

"Beowulf! I challenge you to a duel!"