-Bang!

The Ember-Maw Basilisk, in all its sixty-foot, magma-scaled, horrifying glory, materialized on the empty area of the summoning circle.

"...!"

Its massive head lolled to one side, its six eyes still dark and lifeless, but its body was pristine, utterly intact.

-Tssssssss...!

The residual heat from its core immediately warmed the frigid air, causing wisps of steam to rise from its scales.

The silence that followed... was absolute.

Gromm, the ever-stoic orc, stood frozen, his prized scorpion venom sac forgotten.

His jaw, with two outgrown teeth, was slightly agape.

One of the junior butchers dropped a cleaver, the metallic clatter shockingly loud in the stillness.

"Ahem."

The orc slowly walked forward, his eyes wide with something beyond professional interest— this right there was reverence.

He reached out a thick, calloused finger and gently touched a scale on the beast's flank.

"By the bloody forge-fires…" he breathed, his voice full of awe. "Not a scratch. Not a single misplaced cut.

The glands are full… the core is stable…" He turned his disbelieving gaze to Borin, then to me. "How?"

"That's a trade secret." With a triumphantly weak smile, my legs still trembling from the effort of summoning it back, I maintained to calm my heartbeat.

As fabulous as this entire scene might have been, the headache after taking it out of the storage space was nothing like I'd ever experienced.

My head throbbed, but I kept my calm.

Then, Sir Gromm grunted, a sound of pure approval.

"Ye there! Let's get to wyrk, ye?"

He immediately began barking orders to his stunned staff, who scrambled into action, bringing over reinforced carts and specialized tools.

"An hour!" he declared, his professional demeanor snapping back into place, though a gleam of excitement remained in his eyes. "Come back in one hour. We wyll have every scale, fang, and fylament cataloged!"

As his team swarmed the colossal corpse, Captain Borin stepped close to the orc, stopping him midway. "Sir Gromm. The tail section, from the last point down. Please leave it fully intact. It is not for sale."

He was keeping his promise to me... my good captain.

The orc butcher glanced at me, then back at Borin, and gave a single, sharp nod. "As you wish, Sir Captain. The tail remains whole."

-Swiiiiiiiiiiiish...

The hour passed in a blur of food and exhaustion at a nearby tavern.

We ate in a comfortable, weary silence, the weight of the dungeon finally lifting, replaced by the pleasant anticipation of a massive payday.

By the time we returned to the Corpse-Hall, the scene had transformed.

The basilisk was gone. In its place, on Sir Gromm's main slab, was a breathtaking array of materials, laid out with the care of a master jeweler presenting his finest work.

"Wow..."

There were piles of the gleaming, obsidian-edged magma scales. Bundles of fangs longer than my forearm.

Intricate, glass-like glands that still pulsed with a faint orange light— the creature's fire-producing organs.

And, most stunning of all, not one, but two Ember-Cores, each the size of my fist, swirling with condensed, fiery power.

"Two cores…" Finn gasped, his voice trembling. "I've only ever heard of that… the mana must have been incredibly dense…"

Sir Gromm wiped his hands on his apron, a look of profound satisfaction on his face. "A prystine specymen yields prystine parts.

The second core was a latent formation, not yet fully developed. You are very fortunate." He then gestured to the materials. "The Association wyll make an offer on the lot. It yis… a significant sum."

The other individuals from the association, also stunned in the presence of such a fine specimen, stepped forward.

As Captain Borin and Finn began the complex negotiations with a team of Association accountants who had appeared later, their voices a rapid-fire exchange of numbers and terms I couldn't relate to, I slipped away from the crowd.

There, right where I had dropped the main body, set respectfully to the side, was my prize: the six-foot section of the basilisk's tail, perfectly intact.

The party was still gaining great profits thanks to me, so this much was something I genuinely deserved.

"Let's see what we get."

I placed my hand on the cool, leathery hide, feeling the dormant power within the corpse.

"Material Collection."

[Ding!]

[Skill: Material collection (Beginner) will be used on the target.]

[Ding!]

[Processing High-Tier Material: Ember-Maw Basilisk (Pristine Tail Section).]

[You have obtained: Essence Points (+28).]

[You have obtained: Ember-Core Fragment (Lesser) x1.]

[You have obtained: Fortified Sinew x8.]

[You have obtained: Ember scales x11.]

[You have obtained: Essence vessel (Tail).]

[You have obtained: 500 Coins.]

The tail section dissolved into streams of brilliant, particulate light.

Then, a wave of pure, creative energy—the EP, in the form of life force— flooded my system, more potent than anything I'd felt in a while.

A smaller, but still valuable, core fragment materialized in my inventory alongside other rare components, and my coin count jumped significantly.

There was a certain metallic thing resembling a small container, but I'll have to look into that later.

"Haaaaaa."

A sharp intake of breath made me look up.

One of the junior butchers had been watching, his eyes wide with shock.

He'd just seen me conjure a core and other materials from a part of the creature his master had deemed "non-viable."

I had been caught, but I simply gave him a wink before turning back to the party.

If he were sensible enough, he wouldn't open his mouth about this.

"We're almost done here."

The negotiations were concluding, with handshakes and looks of stunned glee on everyone's faces.

We were all, unequivocally, rich. Well, at least in the city's peasant standards.

"Yawn~. It was a long day indeed."

As we left the Corpse-Hall, stepping back into the afternoon sun, the world felt different.

Lighter.

The fear and exhaustion of the dungeon were behind us, replaced by the solid, comforting weight of success and wealth.

"Qwy~!"

Qwy chirped happily on my shoulder, her single eye reflecting the sunlight.

"See you later, guys. See you, Cass darling."

As I walked back to the inn, the weight of the coins in my pocket and the surge of EP within my soul were a tangible comfort.

Qwy nuzzled my cheek with her soft feathers, an empathetic purr rumbling through her small body.

Stepping into my quiet room, the door closing on the world, I finally let out a long, slow breath.

"Haaaaaaaaaaa... it was fun."

The dungeon was done. The loot was secured. I had survived, I had thrived, and I had built something resembling a life here.

For the first time since I'd been unceremoniously dumped into this world, the future didn't feel like a terrifying unknown, but a canvas waiting for my brush.

And I was finally ready to paint.

I had people I liked here, places I want to go back for snacks, and a dungeon that still contained many mysteries I needed to learn from.

'It almost killed us the last time, but this time, things were fine...'

I know Reddy would hear everything that happened in the dungeon today from the party, so I guess I should expect to see her soon.

'Hopefully, she wouldn't slap me for almost getting everyone killed once again.'

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