Demonic Pornstar System novel Chapter 247

Chapter 247: Not Good Enough

The clinks of utensils against ceramic faded one by one. Chopsticks rested gently atop bowls. Forks were set down beside the plates. Gradually, a hush swept across the table as the idle chatter gave way to a growing tension. Every set of eyes turned to the woman at the head.

Talia cleared her throat and began.

"This evening was meant to celebrate survival, and I hope you’ve all felt welcome. Because what you just endured was no minor event. It was a disaster narrowly averted, and not just avoided, but reversed. Every single one of you made it out alive. Not only that, you returned with four vampire-origin artifacts in hand."

She let the words hang for a beat. "That’s not a loss. That’s a major victory."

She smiled. "At the same time, Nova Circuit’s dive, accompanied by Diaz, encountered no such ambush. Not even a lone vampire. Their route was without any such irregular encounter, and their report shows no signs of dungeon instability. Which means..."

She leaned forward in her seat, looking as if she was letting them in on the secret. "The worst is behind you. We have cleared the danger. It was a one-time, unfortunate encounter. The rest of the dungeon seems to be regular."

There was a moment of quiet.

Then Luna spoke up. She was visibly struggling to remain respectful and not shower the Smith-type woman in an assault of gamer girl curse words.

"You speak with a lot of confidence, Guildmaster," she managed to mutter politely. "But even rookies like us have heard the saying: nothing is certain in the dungeons."

Talia hadn’t spoken yet. Luna pressed on.

"The next vampire ambush, or something worse, could be a single step away. Or maybe..." She tilted her head and sent Vaelira a look of contempt, "They just took one whiff of that team and decided even starving monsters have limits."

That earned a few awkward coughs. Nyx snorted into her cup. Both Vaelira and Sasha looked ready to return the favor tenfold, but a warning touch from Tessa kept the women seated and silent. Well, Vaelira never cared much for the opinion of her leader, nor was she afraid of repercussions for misbehaving.

It was actually Talia speaking up that made the woman remain silent.

Talia gave a small, strained smile to the Storm Valkyrie

"Luna, your caution is valid. But let’s not forget what you and the others have become. You’re awakened now, combatants at that. No matter how carefully you plan your next move, so long as you enter dungeons, uncertainty will always be part of your lives. As you said yourself, nothing is certain in a dungeon."

The tension didn’t break. It simply shifted focus.

Aria picked up from there, voice smooth as silk but underpinned by clear intent and preparation. The Moon Valkyrie had strategized a lot in her mind about what points of discussion could come up during the negotiations and what the best responses to them could potentially be.

"Miss Talia, you’re right; we have to be realists. After all, this is not a fairy tale we live in. We understand that now better than ever before," she began while tucking a stray strand of silver hair behind her ear. "But so are we right to be wary."

Her tone was polite but cold as well, making it clear she was in business mode right now. "We’re not saying this to stir needless drama. We came here prepared to speak. And I’m going to say it bluntly: Why should we go back into a dungeon that’s already bitten us once?"

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