Bonnie wiggled her fine-ass bod, swimming her way toward the deep sea. While she cruised, she casually yeeted every “lil’ critter” she ran into, collecting a ton of rare loot—her backpack was stuffed to the brim.

  “All this way, and my cosmic ray skills are leveling up hard—getting mad proficient!” Bonnie locked in her power gains, totally stoked.

  Soon, a massive underwater mountain range loomed into view. The peaks towered high, blotting out everything in the murky seabed like a total boss, stretching out crazy far.

  White lion flags fluttered all over the mountains, swaying with the currents. Gold trim lined the edges, set against a blazing red backdrop—three white lions of different sizes play-fought on it, repping freedom, ferocity, and nobility!

  The white lion flag was the Stuart royal fam’s totem. Underground London, this mountain city, was basically owned by the Church and the royals. Sure, the Church had more clout, but the royal fam played mascot, so their kingly banners were everywhere.

  Through all kinds of shady power grabs, their influence kept growing. Word was, the loans Bonnie’s fam owed were tied up with Church peeps.

  That debt had been crushing young Bonnie forever. But now? She finally chilled—forget everything else, just this trip’s haul, sold right, could wipe out half her tab! “Probs just a day or two more, and I’ll clear all the debt, clean slate—feels like a freakin’ dream!” Bonnie’s heart was full of vibes.

  Passing through gates swarming with guards, Bonnie finally hit underground London. Thanks to her noble status, she swam into the pipeline straight to the core zone.

  Through the clear tube, Bonnie couldn’t help but peek at the Blackwater District outside, scoping the normie citizens living in the water. Right now, the sea was dotted with big and small domed houses—compared to medieval gothic spires, the outer underground London vibe was more like ancient Taj Mahal realness.

  ‘Course, that tall white dome tower, Taj Mahal-style, belonged to the Church. Regular plebs couldn’t flex in such luxe digs—most crammed into short lil’ dome huts.

  Plenty of normies didn’t even have houses. At night, they’d tie themselves to stone pillars with ropes to keep from drifting off in the currents.

  Looked like they were legit livestock on a leash. Some of the slightly less broke ones could rent a pillar studded with a sunstone. Those blood-red sunstones gave off heat, warming a tiny patch of water nearby.

  Underwater temps were brutal—humans couldn’t survive without heat. Sure, underground London’s got big warming arrays, but the water’s still icy as heck. ‘Course, a thousand years since London sank, humans adapted hardcore—tons of poor folks mutated, getting used to this freezing underwater life.

  Right now, watching those raggedy citizens swim around, tied up for sleep, Bonnie felt a shiver and a chill creep up. She was dead sure—if she hadn’t met the great Elara Majesty, it wouldn’t be long before her and her mom ended up like this too.

  How terrifying would that be! Soon, Bonnie zipped through the long pipeline, bursting out of the water into underground London’s core zone.

  Greedily sucking in a deep breath, Bonnie felt legit satisfied. Breathing air? So freakin’ fancy!

  Clutching her backpack tight, Bonnie hustled toward the Hunter Guild. Sell the loot in her bag, and she’d be rolling in it—not just clearing debt, but snagging some sweets from Love & Roses Café as a gift for her mom.

  As for the scenery along the way? She didn’t even glance at it. Real talk, this core zone was way prettier than the creepy-ass outer Blackwater District.

  The buildings here were peak baroque flex—ornate decor everywhere, massive statues. They loved curves and circles, giving off free and mysterious vibes. Take the Hunter Guild in front of Bonnie—total luxe and enigma goals.

  A spire tower loomed over a huge circular plaza, all decked out in red-and-black carpets. In the center, a giant white stone statue carved with freaky beasts oozed cryptic energy. Even the Deep One god Dagon’s likeness was tucked into the statue’s edge.

  “Bonnie, you’re back?” The second Bonnie stepped in, a cheery shout hit her ears.

  A blue-haired girl bounced over, and tagging along was a black-haired dude. (Some minor villain sidekick with barely any screentime.) Judging by the wolfsbane badges on their chests, both were rookie hunters like Bonnie.

  “Yeah, Katie, I made it back alive—and with a fat stack of loot too!” Bonnie grinned back.

  “Hahaha, awesome! Secret scoop—I scored big this time too. You’ll never guess—we took down a full-grown B-rank Deep One!” Katie said, hyped as heck.

  “B-rank Deep One?” Bonnie smiled, faking a little “whoa” moment.

  Back in the day, she’d have been shook and jelly, but now? B-rank Deep Ones? Pfft, whatever.

  She’d smoked a bunch already—ditched their junk loot ‘cause it was too cheap and heavy. Just one night, and Bonnie’s whole game flipped—who’d guess this OP girl used to get chased by a C-ranker?

  ‘Course, in front of Elara, she’d bragged she was hunting it down. A B-rank Deep One’s, like, four or five times tougher than a C-rank.

  What threw Bonnie off was—Katie’s stronger than old-school Bonnie, sure, but taking out a B-rank? No way she could pull that off! Thinking it over, Bonnie side-eyed the black-haired guy next to Katie.

  “Heh heh, you guessed it—Sam helped me out! Sam’s my new squadmate, and he’s stupid strong!” Katie clung to Sam’s arm all cozy-like, gushing with excitement.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Their vibe? Definitely more than just buddies. “Katie, your friend’s Bonnie? She’s not that famous…” Sam gawked at Bonnie, his eyes flashing a bit of shade.

  Bonnie was kinda a big deal among rookie hunters. Her moves were extra as heck—glowy and dramatic, outshining some Elites—but the damage? Total trash-tier.

  After a few cringe fails, Bonnie became the laughingstock of the trainees. Not her fault, though—she got scammed by that flashy sword art at the guild shop. Even with the mockery, she couldn’t afford a new set, so she just rolled with it.

  After some awkward small talk, Sam dragged Katie off quick. “Hey, Katie, you didn’t tell me your friend was her. Hanging with her’s gonna tank my rep too—you wanna keep teaming with me, ditch her!” Sam grumbled, salty as heck.

  “But she’s my friend—we…” Katie twisted her fingers, all torn up. “Me or her?” Sam snapped, his vibe cold and pushy.

  “I…” Katie was on the verge of tears.

  “Sorry, Sam, I can’t abandon poor Bonnie. If you ever figure it out, we’re still buds…” Katie said through teary eyes, reluctantly dropping her B-rank loot.

  Sam glared at Katie’s back as she walked off, crushing his wine glass in a rage! “Idiot! Stay a rookie forever! I, Sam, am destined for Elite greatness—you’ll regret this ‘til you die!” He muttered, all dark and brooding.

  “You and that Sam guy had a fight?” Seeing Katie roll up with red eyes, Bonnie swooped in, hugging her tight and ruffling her blue hair for comfort.

  “Yeah, guess I misjudged him. Probs just a rando from now on.” Katie sighed, all wistful.

  Bonnie had a hunch it was about her, feeling hella guilty, and hugged Katie’s tiny frame even harder. Maybe ‘cause she squeezed too tight, breathing in Katie’s scent, Bonnie’s face went pink, her breath hitched, and her body gave a lil’ tremble. Petite Katie had some loli vibes too—though Elara Majesty’s true loli energy was still her fave.

  “Bonnie, you okay? You’re not sick, right?” Pure cinnamon roll Katie hadn’t clocked her friend’s real feels yet.

  “Huh? Nah, I’m not sick—just a lil’ off, old issue, you know…” Bonnie flicked her silvery hair, eyes darting as she covered, guilt piling up inside.

  Katie’s all sad, and I’m over here thinking that? So messed up. Speaking of, that Sam dude’s to blame—gotta yeet him hard if I get the chance!

  Chatting away, they crossed the guild’s circular plaza and stepped into the Hunter Roundtower. Bonnie had two missions today: one, sell her loot; two, snag that Slayer badge.

  After grabbing tokens for selling and re-testing her strength, Bonnie and mopey Katie plopped onto a public bench in the hall. The tower was packed with at least a hundred hunters like them—pretty lively vibes.

  Most were rookie hunters like Bonnie’s crew. Rookies had tiers too—scrubs like old Bonnie, mid-tier like Sam, and then the genius stan-worthy types. Take Duke Dominic’s third daughter, Fila—fifteen, three months in the game, and already outslaying most normie hunters. Her kill count and quality? Insane.

  Some whispered those brutal, cryptic kills weren’t solo—probs the work of that mysterious black-robed dude always with her. He hid his face, but the scarlet feather badge on his chest? Total eye-catcher.

  Scarlet feather badge—that’s Elite Hunter flex. No surprise for a duke’s kid—got an Elite Hunter as her servant.

  With a pro like that, as long as Lady Fila didn’t stray three kilometers past London’s mountains, she was golden—hunting was probs like a stroll in her backyard. Whenever golden-haired Lady Fila showed up, every hunter’s eyes locked on her gorgeous, youthful bod with mad respect and envy.

  Every move she made was spotlighted—tons of peeps tried sucking up, Sam included. Right now, Sam rocked up with a fancy gift box, shamelessly hitting up Lady Fila.

  “Honored Lady Fila, forgive my boldness—I heard you’re after a Bloodlicker’s kidney. Lil’ ol’ me lucked into one and brought it straight to you!” Sam tipped his hat and bowed, laying it on thick with a dramatic, singsong tone.

  Fila was slumped, too lazy to deal with randos. Every day, people rolled up with excuses—fake or real—to flex in her face, and she was over it. But Sam’s “Bloodlicker’s kidney” drop? That piqued her interest.

  Bloodlicker! A bloodthirsty giant flea—springy, sword-like legs with straw claws that could suck you dry into a husk if they stabbed you.

  Low-tier Bloodlickers weren’t crazy strong, but underground London’s waters weren’t their turf, so they were rare as heck. Fila needed a Bloodlicker kidney for a potion she was brewing—been hunting forever with no luck, and now she had a lead.

  Popping open the box Sam handed over, Fila peeked, confirmed it, and her cute lil’ face lit up with a happy grin. “Name your reward.” Fila toyed with the loot in the box, not even looking up as she spoke.

  “Lady Fila, I’ve got a tiny, no-big-deal request—I wanna join your hunting squad. I’m pretty solid among the rookies, and I…” Sam gushed, all hyped.

  Born to a backwater noble fam, if he could latch onto a duke’s daughter, he’d be set for life. Too bad—Fila shook her head slightly. “Sorry, you can’t join my crew. Take a hundred gold coins as payment.”

  With that, she turned away, clearly done with him. The mysterious black-robed guy stepped up, handing over a hefty lil’ pouch.

  “‘Pretty solid,’ huh?” A creepy, half-laughing voice slithered out from the robe’s dark void.

  It wasn’t just talk—there was some maddening, freaky power in it. Sam barely heard it, and the wild urges deep inside him went haywire. His eyes turned red, weird growls spilling out—he almost lost it right there.

  Only when the robed guy walked off did Sam snap back, pale as a ghost, collapsing in a cold sweat! Nearly went full nutso.

  Sam freaked, scrambling back to his seat. The crowd saw it and burst into a wave of lols.

  Overconfident dumbass! One word from them almost broke your brain, and you wanna join their squad?

  For hunters, resisting madness is clutch—gaining power and knowledge comes at a cost. All hunter power comes from evil gods. Peek at that strength, and you’ll hear cryptic, mind-bending whispers from the abyss, from the void.

  Those whispers? Sweet, crazy-making bait. A hunter with a weak will gets wrecked by the whispers and turns into a monster!

  On the Lightless Sea, tons of beasties used to be human. Stare into the abyss, and it stares back—hunters who slay monsters end up becoming them.

  That’s probs the curse and fate hunters can’t dodge. Right now, yeah, Sam ate dirt, but he was still smug—getting owned by a duke’s genius daughter ain’t so bad.

  Back at his seat, he shot death glares at the peeps laughing, especially Bonnie, who was cackling hard. “No matter what, I’m better than you—a rookie hunter joke’s got no right to mock me!” Sam fumed inside.

  “Katie, check it—that dude ate it hard! Feeling better now?” Bonnie ignored him, whispering in Katie’s ear.

  “Yeah, way better—hahaha!” Katie smoothed her skirt, laughing back.

  Chatting it up, they hit the counter, and Bonnie handed her backpack to the guild receptionist chick. The receptionist rocked a black-and-red uniform with a beret, all classy and gorgeous.

  Opening the bag, her calm eyes flickered with surprise at the pile of loot spilling out. She couldn’t help staring at Bonnie a few times, double-checking the wolfsbane badge on her chest—yep, rookie hunter.

  Her mouth opened like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she stuck to guild rules. She didn’t ask jack, just bowed her head and started tallying up the bag’s worth.

  After a short-but-felt-forever wait… “Miss Bonnie, may truth bless you—here’s your payout!” The receptionist flashed a pro smile, struggling to lift her hands as three stuffed pouches appeared on the counter.

  The pouches were tied with gold thread, black fabric painted with a golden crow ready to take flight. Per guild tradition, each pouch held five hundred oval gold coins stamped with Ancestor Queen Maria’s face!

  “Starting today, I’m gonna be a rich girl!” Leaving the counter, Bonnie muttered under her breath, her lil’ face buzzing with hype she couldn’t hide.

  Katie gawked at the gold-thread pouches in Bonnie’s hands, legit speechless. Fifteen hundred gold coins?

  What the heck did Bonnie slay to rake in that much? Sam just got a hundred from Lady Fila—and that was her flexing hard, paying triple market price for his loot.

  Normally, rookie hunters like them pulling five coins a trip was solid.