"I can't believe you're not even a little bit grateful after everything I just did."

Leonar sighed wearily, leaning slightly to one side.

"But isn't that your job, according to you?"

Eleonora pressed her lips together, clearly annoyed.

"Yeah! But a 'thank you' wouldn't kill you, you know? Ugh… reasoning with you is impossible. I'm taking a break, so figure out the way out on your own."

Leonar rolled his eyes and scoffed in disbelief.

"Fine, at least tell me how much time we have before all of this disappears."

Suddenly, a floating window with glowing letters materialized in the air before Leonar:

[Access to the floor will disappear in 8 hours and 11 minutes.]

The tab vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Leonar pondering.

He turned his attention to the others, scattered around the periphery, enjoying the fresh air. However, one detail caught his eye: nearly everyone had large bags either at their sides or slung over their shoulders.

"What the hell is that?" he asked, nodding toward one of the bags.

Damian, who was inspecting the contents of his, looked up, confused.

"This? These are the treasures we managed to grab."

Leonar blinked, incredulous.

"What are you talking about? Is there no bag for me?"

Damian frowned as if recalling something.

"Now that you mention it… Rita told me she asked you if you wanted one, but you said no."

"What?"

Leonar's jaw clenched as he shot a sharp look at Rita, who stood a few steps away, gazing blankly at the horizon.

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But something about Damian's words stopped him. His mind began piecing events together.

'Wait a second… Eleonora, was that you?' Leonar asked mentally, frustration creeping into his tone.

"What if it was?" Eleonora responded nonchalantly.

'You rejected the bag, didn't you?!' he growled.

"Of course. I don't care about that stuff," Eleonora replied with an air of superiority. "I had to focus on getting us out alive."

Leonar slapped a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes tightly as he struggled to contain his anger.

'God, I need those! How do you expect me to pay off all my debts?'

Eleonora sighed, as if dealing with a stubborn child.

"We can come back later and grab whatever you want. For now, the priority is your recovery. Once you're back in shape, you can earn all the money you want. Simple, right?"

'Recover?' Leonar gritted his teeth, irritated at how easily Eleonora dismissed his problems. 'And what if time runs out before that?!'

"Well, if you need it that badly, why not just take a bag from one of those humans? After all, they all owe you their lives."

Leonar froze in place.

'I'm not doing that!'

"Why not?" Eleonora asked, genuinely curious. "It's the most logical thing to do."

'Because I'd look ridiculous!' Leonar snapped, frustrated.

Eleonora remained silent, likely processing his logic, but Leonar had lost all interest in continuing the argument.

◇◆◇

The group began moving, cautiously exploring their surroundings. Though no one said it out loud, none of them wanted to risk being ambushed by a monster.

After a while, exhaustion and frustration started to take their toll, especially on those carrying bags full of treasures.

Leonar, who could barely stand due to the pain in his body, had to lean on Damian more than once.

Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, they spotted the structures of the camp in the distance.

The makeshift walls and dim lights brought them immediate relief. Some even let out small cries of joy, realizing they had made it.

"We're back!" one of the men exclaimed, dropping his bag to the ground.

As they approached, a group of armed guards came out to meet them, weapons drawn. One of them, wearing an earpiece, stepped forward.

"Identify yourselves!" demanded the man with an authoritative voice.

Leonar exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself while thinking of something to say.

But before he could speak, Damian stepped forward.

"We're gatherers from the 'Red Hand' guild. We had an accident during the mission and are returning."

The armed man raised an eyebrow, touching his earpiece to communicate with someone. After a few seconds, he spoke again.

"They say the 'Red Hand' gathering team was composed of thirteen people. Where are the others?"

Damian's expression darkened. He looked down for a moment before responding.

"They died. It was an accident…" he paused, as if reluctant to elaborate.

Another guard, his gaze sharp and suspicious, intervened.

"According to the report, a giant worm attacked your group, killing everyone. How is it that the six of you survived?"

'Wait. Did he just say we were declared dead?' Leonar thought, recalling his companions' remarks before entering that goblin casino.

Leonar clenched his fists, but before he could say anything, Rita stepped forward, her expression nervous yet determined.

"Leonar…" she said, pointing at him. "Leonar became a hunter."