The sun had barely risen when the three of us stumbled back into the Orvelia Hero Guild. Dust coated our hair, dirt smeared our clothes, and my sword—again—was in three pieces. But hey, we were alive. Mostly.
Lira looked up from her clipboard as if she'd been expecting this exact display of exhaustion and debt.
"Good morning, delinquent adventurers," she said cheerfully, adjusting her glasses. "I trust the Dungeon of IOUs was… enlightening?"
Mira groaned and dropped onto a chair. "Enlightening is a polite way to say we nearly died for negative money."
"Correction," I added, "we did die for negative money. Spirit-wise, anyway."
Tessa twirled her cracked staff and smiled. "I think it was fun! Right, Kai?"
I glared at her. "Fun? Do you call losing 994 gold fun?"
[Debt Level: –994 G.]
The system notification glowed red in my vision, blinking like a neon sign: "You Are Still Broke. Pay Attention."
Lira waved a hand toward the large board behind the counter. Rows of notices blinked softly. One of them read:
[Guild Notice: Tax of Heroes – Payment Required Within 24 Hours.]
I froze. "Tax… of heroes?"
"Don't ask," Mira muttered. "It's… complicated."
"You owe taxes on your quest rewards," Lira explained. "Even if your net balance is negative."
"So even though we barely survived and made almost nothing, we still owe more money?" I said, voice rising.
"Precisely!" Lira said cheerfully. "The guild operates on fairness. Everyone contributes."
I sank into a chair. "This world is insane."
Tessa perched on the edge of a table. "It's fine. We just need to pay, right? Easy!"
Mira's eyes narrowed. "Easy? The last time we tried that, we got attacked by a spirit with a suit and an abacus."
"Details," Tessa said, shrugging. "We survived."
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "Barely surviving isn't exactly a savings plan."
[System Alert: Tax Deadline Approaching — 12 Hours Remaining]
I groaned. "Twelve hours. Great. Let's get this over with."
The "Tax of Heroes" office was… smaller than I expected. A cramped building, three stories of polished wood, gold trim, and surprisingly cheerful bureaucrats behind counters. A large sign above read:
"Central Tax Authority for Heroic Services (CTAHS)"
I sighed. "Why does everything that involves money feel like a dungeon?"
Mira rolled her eyes. "Welcome to Orvelia, Kai. Every battle you fight has paperwork. Every victory has fees."
Tessa clapped her hands. "This will be fun! Maybe they have puzzle challenges or quizzes!"
I blinked at her. "Quizzes? You're joking."
"Nope," she said cheerfully. "It's all in the brochure."
A clerical slime rolled up to us, carrying a stack of forms nearly as tall as Tessa. "Greetings, valued clients. Please fill out Form 12-B: 'Quest Reward Tax Declaration.' Sign three copies, staple receipts, and submit in quadruplicate."
I blinked. "Quadruplicate?"
"Yes," it said. "It ensures compliance and allows for posthumous auditing."
Mira muttered, "Posthumous auditing… that's terrifying."
[Debt Level: –994 G.]
I rubbed my face. "And we're already in debt nearly a thousand gold. This is going to be fun."
The slime rolled past us, leaving a faint scent of paper and despair. "Step two: Verification. Your rewards must be itemized and declared."
I opened my quest log. "Rewards: 200 G minus 195 G in fees… that leaves 5 G. Do we… declare that?"
"Yes," the slime said. "And don't forget the miscellaneous expenses."
Mira groaned. "Which apparently includes emotional trauma, property damage, and property rubble."
[Debt Level: –999 G.]
I coughed. "And that's why Limit Breaker keeps triggering."
Tessa bounced. "Come on, Kai! We can handle this. It's paperwork… and maybe a little bit of danger!"
The clerical slime reappeared, carrying a golden stamp shaped like a hammer. "Late submissions are subject to collection enforcement."
I blinked. "Enforcement?"
"Exactly," it said, spinning in place. "Collection enforcement may include magical summons, binding contracts, or temporary imprisonment in the Vault of Overdue Heroes."
I swallowed. "Temporarily sounds terrifyingly permanent."
Mira whispered, "And we have to finish before the deadline, or it triggers automatic interest."
Tessa grinned. "No problem. I've got psychic powers. I can… sort of help with the forms."
I turned to her. "Sort of help? That's exactly what I need."
At that moment, the room shook. Papers flew, desks rattled, and a voice echoed from above:
"Attention, all taxpayers! Late arrivals will face the standard penalty… plus magical fines!"
I groaned. "Of course the tax office has magical fines."
Mira muttered, "You could pay your way out, but I think your balance would explode before you could blink."
I stared at the blinking system notification:
[New Objective: Pay Tax of Heroes before 24-hour deadline.]
"…Yep," I said, gripping my sword. "Adventure continues. Somehow, even in an office."
Tessa spun in place. "Best. Quest. Ever."
Mira rubbed her temples. "Somehow, I feel like we're all going to die inside cubicles."
And so began the first official financial dungeon crawl of paperwork, magical fines, and overcharged coffee fees—the Tax of Heroes.
The second floor of the Tax Office was worse than the first. Paperwork hovered in midair, magically animated, flipping itself into new forms faster than we could read. Every step we took triggered faint chimes and glowing runes on the floor.
"Great," I muttered, "it's like walking through a casino that hates you."
Mira sighed. "These are magical bureaucratic traps. Each one charges a fee if you touch or trigger it."
Tessa spun happily, waving her staff. "I love this! It's like an adventure maze!"
I gaped at her. "It's a tax office, Tessa. There are forms. There are fines. And there's probably a potion-sipping accountant around the corner ready to haunt our dreams."
A soft chime echoed nearby. A ledger hovered toward us, opening itself. The pages fluttered wildly, displaying:
[Late Filing Fee: –5 G]
[Penalty for Non-Compliance: –10 G]
I backed away. "Is it… attacking us with money?"
Mira pinched her nose. "Think of it as a financial ambush. Every error costs more than the last."
Tessa grinned. "I've got this!" She reached out with her telekinesis to grab the ledger—but it twisted in midair and slapped her across the face.
[Damage Fee: –3 G]
"Ow!" she yelled.
"Welcome to Orvelian tax law," Mira muttered.
We cautiously advanced. The corridor ended at a room with three golden doors. Each door had a label:
"Income Verification"
"Expenditure Reconciliation"
"Audit Room"
I glanced at Mira. "Which one do we pick?"
She raised an eyebrow. "All three. In sequence."
I groaned. "Sequence? Of course."
The first door swung open to reveal a room full of floating quills and inkpots. Pages hovered around, scribbling endlessly. As soon as we stepped in, the runes beneath our feet glowed.
[Entry Fee: –10 G]
[Penalty for Hesitation: –5 G]
I groaned. "Even walking costs money now?"
Tessa leapt forward. "Relax, Kai! It's a fun puzzle!"
I glared. "It's a tax puzzle."
The floating quills suddenly darted toward us like javelins. I barely dodged one, feeling the sharp tip graze my arm.
[Minor Injury Fee: –2 G]
"Really?!" I shouted.
Mira raised her staff. "Focus, Kai. Channel your Limit Breaker subtly—don't explode the office."
I took a deep breath, energy thrumming in my veins. Carefully, I guided it through the runes, disrupting their magical circuitry just enough to calm the quills. The pages stopped writing and floated to the walls, neatly stacking themselves.
[Puzzle Completed: Reward –5 G]
I blinked. "Wait… we gain money for doing the paperwork correctly?"
Mira sighed. "Only a little. And only if you don't touch anything else."
Tessa clapped. "See? Fun!"
I glared. "You're evil."
The second room, Expenditure Reconciliation, was darker, with shadows creeping along the walls. In the center hovered a tall, thin spirit wearing a long robe and an accountant's visor. Its hands glowed with golden light, and stacks of floating coins spun around it like a halo.
"I am the Auditor Apparition," it said in a chilling calm voice. "You have incurred excessive expenses and failed multiple reporting requirements. You will be reconciled."
Tessa whispered, "Another boss… in a tax office?"
Mira groaned. "And we're going to die here if we aren't careful."
The spirit clapped its hands. The spinning coins shot toward us like missiles.
[Attack: Golden Coin Barrage]
I dodged backward, sending a wave of Limit Breaker energy through the floor to deflect a few coins. Sparks flew everywhere.
[Collateral Fee: –5 G]
"Collateral fee?" I shouted. "For dodging?"
Mira fired a bolt of holy light at the spirit. The apparition dissipated slightly, then glared. "Unauthorized adjustment detected. Penalty: –10 G."
Tessa levitated a nearby stack of forms, spinning them in a tornado to block attacks. "Got it! Defensive paperwork!"
I muttered, "We're literally being attacked by accounting."
The spirit raised its hands, summoning more coins. They were fast—too fast. I realized something: every time it attacked, the system counted it as a financial transaction.
[Debt Level: –1,024 G]
I groaned. "We're getting charged for being hit."
Mira shouted, "Kai! Channel Limit Breaker into a controlled burst—target the sigil behind the spirit!"
I focused. My body surged with energy, debt pulsing like a heartbeat in my veins. I slashed through the air with my hilt, guiding the energy toward a glowing rune behind the apparition.
The rune glowed brightly, feeding the spirit a backlash of magical debt energy. Coins scattered harmlessly around the room. The Auditor Apparition screeched, its form flickering.
[Boss Damage: Effective]
Tessa grinned. "I can help! Psychic nudge!"
She extended her hands, pushing the spirit slightly toward the sigil. The apparition stumbled, glowing brighter.
[Debt-Infused Damage: +50%]
I shouted, "Now, Mira!"
She released a blast of holy light, striking the spirit's halo of coins directly. A golden explosion shook the room.
[Auditor Apparition defeated!]
[Reward: 150 G]
[Magical Penalty Fees: –145 G]
[Balance: –1,019 G]
I collapsed against a desk, breathing heavily. "Even when we win, we still lose money. That's… our life now."
Tessa twirled her staff. "Adventure and finance, best combo ever!"
Mira pinched her nose. "I swear… I'm going to need therapy."
Outside the office, the hallway stretched on, lined with blinking runes and floating forms. A new notification appeared:
[Quest Complete: Tax of Heroes]
[New Quest Unlocked: Hero Guild Rent Payment – Due in 12 Hours]
I groaned. "Next up… rent."
Tessa spun. "Bring it on!"
Mira rubbed her temples. "We're doomed."
We stumbled out of the Tax Office, exhausted, papers fluttering around us like defeated confetti. My HUD blinked aggressively:
[Next Obligation: Guild Rent – 12 Hours Remaining]
I groaned. "Of course. Because surviving the tax office didn't bankrupt us enough."
Tessa grinned. "Come on, Kai! It's just rent! Maybe it'll be fun!"
"Fun?!" I shouted. "We're already at negative a thousand gold! Fun is paying money we don't have and getting hit with magical fines!"
Mira pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is why I drink mana potions. And I should have invested in life insurance."
We returned to the guild's main hall, where the receptionist Lira was humming as usual. "Back so soon? How did the Tax of Heroes treat you?"
I muttered something unprintable. "It's an adventure maze… staffed by accountants… that hurts money."
Lira tapped her clipboard. "Good. Then you're prepared for rent collection. Your total owed: 500 G."
I blinked. "Five hundred? We're still in negative!"
"Yes," she said cheerfully. "But now you're technically current on the tax ledger, so we're generous enough to allow partial payment toward rent."
I slumped into a chair. "Generous… yes… I feel very loved."
Tessa bounced forward. "I can help! I have psychic powers! We can make a plan!"
Mira groaned. "No. You're just going to explode something and add more fees."
Tessa pouted. "Probably…"
[System Alert: Suggested Strategy – Earn Gold from Miscellaneous Quests.]
I sighed. "Miscellaneous quests… meaning, more danger, more fines, more debt. Yay."
Lira handed over a clipboard. "Your options: delivery missions, monster cleanup, or optional tutorial quests for a small bonus. Choose wisely."
I stared at the list. Each task promised gold—but each also promised fees, fines, and magical debt multipliers.
[Debt Level: –1,019 G]
I rubbed my temples. "We're doomed, aren't we?"
Mira nodded grimly. "Pretty much. And the system knows it."
Tessa spun, grinning. "Then let's doom ourselves spectacularly!"
I groaned. "That's your rallying cry now?"
"Yes!" she said cheerfully. "Come on, Kai! Adventure awaits!"
We huddled at a corner table in the guild. I tried to calculate our combined debts, gold, fees, and miscellaneous fines. Mira sighed every time I added another number. Tessa kept bouncing in her seat.
Finally, a chime rang in my vision.
[System Alert: New Event Detected – Mysterious Benefactor Watching.]
[Notification: "Your financial exploits have drawn attention. Expect visitors."]
I froze. "Visitors?"
Mira narrowed her eyes. "Visitors… that means trouble."
Tessa grinned wider than ever. "Ooh! Adventure! Mystery! Maybe treasure!"
[Debt Level: –1,019 G]
I rubbed my temples. "I feel like I'll never see positive numbers again."
A shadow fell across the doorway of the guild hall. The light flickered as a tall figure appeared. Their features were obscured, but there was an unmistakable aura of authority and danger.
[System Alert: Unknown Entity Approaching.]
I swallowed. "Well… that's not ominous at all."
Mira muttered, "It's probably another debt collector. Or worse."
Tessa twirled her staff. "Or maybe it's a gift! I like gifts!"
I shook my head. "Nope. Too late for optimism. We're broke. We're hunted. And… I think this is just the beginning."
The figure's presence filled the hall. I could feel the system thrumming against my Limit Breaker—hungry, hungry for debt.
** Volume 2 Teaser:
Kai's broke, bruised, and somehow still smiling—but his next quest might finally pay off… or get him killed trying. Volume 2 begins —new powers, new allies, and the same old debt. Don't miss it!
First two chapter come out October 22 **