Heather took out a communication crystal, the faint glow pulsing in her palm as she pressed it to her lips. She spoke quietly, professionally, relaying the facts—location, confirmation of the wyvern, and its state. The crystal dimmed as she slipped it back into her pouch.

"Great job," she said at last, her voice carrying just enough authority to cut through the heavy silence. "The quest will be processed shortly. You should all get the maximum reward—eight hundred XP."

That broke the spell. A ripple of tired smiles, relieved exhalations, and a few quiet chuckles passed through the group.

"And with time to spare," Tarni proclaimed, rubbing his sore arm. "I thought this dungeon level was going to be hard."

Kai smirked. "Why would you Jinx it like that?"

The banter was enough to lighten the air, though the weight of what they'd just done lingered. Bell glanced back at the wyvern's body, the finality of it etched in her expression. She didn't say anything—didn't need to.

Heather noticed, she did not get the dungeon level reference, but she did notice their behaviour, filing it away in her sharp, ranger's mind. These ones weren't just reckless greenhorns. They fought hard, they fought smart, and they carried the cost of it on their faces. That mattered more than the flashy gear.

"Come on," Heather said finally, tightening her bowstring and turning toward the road. "The guild will want you back before sunrise. Drinks will taste better when you're not covered in wyvern dust."

Bell looked at Heather as a frown crossed her face. "800XP, you said, and that's the maximum?"

Heather was surprised at her tone; she had thought that they would be very happy with their reward.

Bell turned to Tarni just as she got a system message, her brain already having done the maths

_________________________________________________________________________________

Congratulations

You have levelled up

Level 9

Your 3 Stat points will be rewarded upon return to Earth

Quest Complete

Level up to level 9 within 24 hours

Do you wish to return to your world

4 of 5 party members have completed this quest.

(You can leave now, but poor Mate Tarni can't until he levels up.)

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Yes/No

_________________________________________________________________________________

Bell froze mid-step, her eyes darting as the glowing text burned across her vision. Her frown deepened.

Tarni caught her look immediately. "What? Don't tell me you're upset about levelling up."

Bell shook her head slowly, almost in disbelief. "No… it's not that. It's the quest." She turned her eyes toward him, lips pressed in a tight line. "Four of us made it to nine. You didn't."

The smile slipped off Tarni's face. "Oh. That's…" He trailed off, trying to laugh, but it came out brittle. "Figures. Story of my life."

Heather looked between them, clearly out of the loop. "What's going on? You all look like someone told you the wyvern's mom is still out there."

Lily bit her lip, having gotten the same message as her mum, her voice low. "The system gave us the option to return home. But Tarn has not levelled so he can't yet."

Kai clenched his bat until his knuckles whitened. "Which means Tarni's stuck here until we fix that."

Heather arched a brow, still not understanding fully, but catching the weight in their tone. "So what—you're not going home yet?"

Zane let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "Not unless we ditch him. And we don't do that." He clapped Tarni on the shoulder, though his grin didn't reach his eyes. "Guess the adventure continues."

For a moment, silence settled over the group, heavier than any monster's roar. Then Bell exhaled, long and slow, setting her jaw.

"Alright. Then we hunt. Tarni's getting to nine—even if it kills us."

Heather blinked, a chill crawling up her spine. She'd signed on to guide a bunch of oddballs with strange weapons and stranger jokes. But now, watching the grim determination harden their faces, she wasn't so sure who was really being tested here.

Bell turned sharply to her. "Okay, Heather. What's the fastest, easiest way to get XP before morning?"

Heather hesitated, then asked the question that seemed obvious—at least to her. "Why before morning? A simple guild quest would get you the XP you need." She glanced around the dark trees. "We're at least three and a half hours from the Guild Hall if we rush. Sunrise is probably four hours away."

Zane shook his head. "So what you're saying is: we'd have to sprint back, grab a quest, finish it, and turn it in before sunrise? Too risky. Odds are we'd run out of time."

Heather frowned, still confused. "But… why the rush?"

There was a long pause before Tarni slapped his forehead. "Oh, right! Didn't we tell you?"

Heather's eyes narrowed. "Tell me what?"

Tarni sighed, shaking his head dramatically. "We've got a quest that requires all of us to level up before sunrise. Technically, it gave us twenty-four hours, but when we checked with the Guildmaster, he confirmed the timer runs out at sunrise. Apparently this world's got more hours in a day than ours."

Heather froze. Her brows furrowed. "This… world?"

The rest of the group stiffened. The Guildmaster had warned them not to mention they weren't locals. And now Tarni had gone and dropped it without a second thought.

Heather's gaze swept across each of them, suspicion rising. Then, finally, she shook her head. "You know what? Forget I asked."

"Forget what?" Tarni shot back immediately, grinning.

Heather almost started to explain—then realised he was just being a smartass. She glared at him instead.

"Fine. Here's the problem," she continued. "Most—if not all—of the monsters in these mountains have already been chased off or eaten by the wyvern. The nearest place with decent spawns is the swamp on the other side of town." She shook her head. "That's more than five hours away. You'll never make it before sunrise."

Kai's eyes lit up anyway. "Most of them? So… what are the odds something's still here?"

Heather gave a grim little shrug. "Poor. Very poor."

But the spark of hope was all the group needed.

"Poor's better than none," Zane said firmly, gripping his machete.

"Yeah," Bell agreed. "We don't need a horde. Just enough for Tarni to level."

After more back-and-forth, the choice was made.

They would not run back to the Guild. They would not gamble on the swamp. They would scour the mountain range, hunting in the shadow of the wyvern's domain, and pray something—anything—still prowled here for Tarni to kill.

The race against dawn had begun.

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