Chapter 64: The Reward Explosion, and the Truth About a Princess's Heart

Deep orange dusk light filtered through the ancient ferns of Floor 15, casting a warm glow over the swamp, its smoke finally settling.

Lucian sat on the massive black-metal shoulder plating of the fallen Titan Colossus. A large tear ran down the sleeve of his uniform coat, mud caked into his pant cuffs, streaks of grey ash smudged across his ten-year-old face. He worked his silver dagger methodically, prying loose finger-sized fire-element mana crystals embedded along the Boss's armor plating, dropping each one into the leather pouch at his hip.

Ting! Ting!

A dim black Unified System v2.0 notification appeared before him, gold text dancing across it.

[DUNGEON BOSS DEFEATED: CORRUPTED TITAN COLOSSUS (RANK B+).]

[LEVEL UP!] Level 32 → Level 38!

[TITAN SCRIPT COMPREHENSION: 100% — MAX!]

[SPECIAL FIRST CLEAR REWARD:]

• Learning Rate: 287,984 → 863,952 (×3!)
• Mana: 392,441 → 784,882 (×2!)

[UPDATED STAT SHEET: LUCIAN VANCE]

Level: 38

Rank: D — Elite (Real Combat Rank B+)

Spell Control: 95.2 BILLION | Physical Strength: 369,440

OVERALL COMBAT POWER: 38,900,000 (38.9 MILLION!)

His personal Combat Power had crossed thirty-eight million nine hundred thousand.

Lucian dropped the twelfth gem into his pouch and let out a long breath.

A few steps away, Evelyn sat on a boulder, wiping grease off her arcane wrench with a rag. She glanced at the black metal key etched with the World Tower emblem, sitting in Lucian's palm.

"That's the elevator activation key for Floors 1 through 30 of the World Tower. This field trip of yours just paid off big time."

"Paid off, my ass," Lucian muttered, tucking the key deep into his spatial ring. "Not before damages get sorted out."

The soft crunch of leather boots on rusted metal came from behind him.

Eleanor climbed up onto the Titan's corpse carrying a wooden first-aid box. Her knight's armor bore a few dents from the battle, her golden hair loose and drifting in the sunset breeze.

She walked over and sat down on the metal plating right next to Lucian, opened the first-aid box, and pulled out a white silk handkerchief soaked in herbal antiseptic.

Eleanor raised the cloth and gently wiped a dried streak of blood off Lucian's cheek, her voice soft.

"You just saved thirty lives... are you hurt anywhere?"

Lucian, still prying loose the last mana crystal, answered flatly.

"Hurt in the heart! I just burned through six high-grade mana stones — three thousand gold's worth — chain-activating Silent Blink to rescue everyone. Big tear in my uniform, that's fifty silver for a replacement. Chipped my dagger, another twenty silver to resharpen it!"

He turned and looked her straight in the eye.

"Total property damage comes to three thousand seventy gold and twenty silver. Have the Student Council draw up the payment now — I don't accept invoices past thirty days."

Eleanor sat there with the silk handkerchief in hand, looking at the mud-streaked, scowling face of the ten-year-old boy in front of her, calculating every last copper.

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She burst out laughing.

A clear, bright, utterly genuine laugh — brighter than anything anyone had heard from her before — lighting up the dim mist still hanging over Floor 15.

Eleanor didn't stand up, didn't bother straightening her armored skirt. She just sat there on the rusted metal beside Lucian, legs dangling toward the swamp below, watching the last light of sunset fade over the horizon.

For years, Eleanor had imagined the hero from The Nameless Hero as something untouchable.

A flawless figure.

A person who always made the right choice, always said the right words, and never showed weakness.

But sitting beside Lucian now, watching him complain about repair costs while covered in mud and ash, she realized something.

The hero in her imagination had always been a story.

The person beside her was real.

The boy beside her was the same person who had jumped into a deadly swamp without hesitation.

The same person who had ignored impossible odds, dragged thirty students back from death, and then immediately calculated the price of the damage he caused.

It was ridiculous.

It was annoying.

And somehow...

It was far more impressive than any perfect hero from a book.

Eleanor lowered her eyes slightly.

Maybe she had never been looking for a hero from a story.

Maybe she had just been waiting to meet someone who actually existed.

Below the Titan's collapsed body, Roger and the rescued students looked upward.

The scene above them looked strangely peaceful.

The battlefield was still covered in smoke and broken metal.

Yet the two people sitting there looked less like survivors of a disaster...

and more like they were simply taking a break after finishing ordinary homework.

They saw the Empire's first princess sitting casually on a ruined Titan's armor, smiling beside a young boy covered in dust and ash.

The sunset behind them made the entire scene look like something from a legend.

Which was unfortunate.

Because Lucian Vance was probably the least legendary person in the world when it came to his own opinion of himself.

Roger wiped his eyes with his sleeve, whispering to the friend beside him, deeply moved.

"Did you see that..."

Roger wiped his eyes.

"After surviving something like this, they are already calmly sitting together and planning the future..."

He lowered his voice.

"The rumors..."

His friend looked at him.

"What rumors?"

Roger nodded seriously.

"The future marriage between the Royal Family and House Vance."

His friend's expression immediately changed.

"You got all of that from two people sitting on a metal corpse?"

Roger looked offended.

"Obviously."

WHOOP... WHOOP...

A rescue horn rang out from the Floor 15 transport gate. A convoy of medical carriages and royal knight squads began moving into the forest to bring every student back to the capital.

Eleanor pushed herself up, brushing soot off her armored skirt.

She leaned down, close to Lucian's ear, leaving behind a knowing smile and a warm breath.

"That three thousand seventy gold in rescue fees..."

Eleanor smiled.

"I'll deduct it slowly from your tea budget whenever you come to the Student Council office."

Lucian froze.

"Wait."

She tilted her head innocently.

"You didn't think I was going to forget about the bill, did you?"

With that, she turned and climbed down off the Titan's corpse, her golden hair streaming in the morning breeze.

Lucian remained sitting on the Titan's shoulder, staring at the disappearing figure of the princess.

A few seconds passed.

He looked at the remaining mana crystals in his hand.

Then at the direction Eleanor left.

Then back at the crystals.

A deep sigh escaped him.

"Somehow I saved thirty people and still ended up losing money."

He paused.

"Definitely unpaid labor."