System Anomaly: The Sin of Greed[LitRPG/Prog Fem/Anti-Hero]

The grand Headquarters of the Official Guilds of the Second Circle rose like a fortress of stone and marble in the heart of the citadel’s administrative sector.

Diana and Rhea walked through the pompous entrance hall, passing dozens of elite hunters wearing gleaming armor, until they reached the official registration counter.

The clerk from the factions sector, a demon in a gray suit with curved horns, evaluated Diana’s documentation and official citizenship medallions with a professional eye.

”Official Second Circle Faction Registration.” Diana declared, slamming ten gleaming silver coins onto the counter.

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[GUILD REGISTRATION PAYMENT]

- Official Citadel Town Hall Fee: -10 Silver Coins (1,000 Bronze).

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The clerk stamped the magical registry book with a flame seal that sparked a golden flare into the air.

”Faction Name, ma’am?” The clerk asked.

Diana looked at Rhea beside her, and the hybrid girl nodded with a confident smile.

”Arcane Greed Faction.” Diana answered, her voice crisp and firm.

The System interface flashed in a glowing golden shade before the eyes of both:

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[GUILD REGISTRATION SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED!]

- Official Name: Arcane Greed Faction

- Faction Leader: Diana (Commander of Arcane Greed - Level 10)

- Member: Rhea (Classless - Level 9)

- Active Benefits: [Shared Soul Vault] & [Expedition Aura (+10% Mutual Defense)]

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There was no time for celebrations.

The exact second the registration was confirmed, the emergency quest panel in the entrance hall flashed an emergency red light. A countdown notification popped up at the top of the guild board:

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[TIME-LIMITED EMERGENCY QUEST!]

[TIME REMAINING: 52 MINUTES!]

- Target: [Abyssal Mana Devourer - Level 12 (Mutant Boss)]

- Location: Crystal Thorn Ravine (South Sector Border).

- Description: A mutant monstrosity emerged from the elemental rift and is absorbing mana from the sector lines. If not destroyed in under an hour, the monster will escape to the lower levels.

- Official Guild Reward: 8 Silver Coins!

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Eight silver coins for a single emergency hunt.

Diana’s greed ignited like a bonfire in her chest.

”Eight silver…” Diana said, her dark eyes glittering. ”Rhea, we take this quest right now.”

”Understood, Diana!”

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Crystal Thorn Ravine - South Sector Border

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The Thorn Ravine was a desolate rift where gigantic spikes of black crystal protruded from the ground.

The air there was dense, heavy, distorted by the presence of the Abyssal Mana Devourer (Level 12). The creature stood six meters tall, resembling a shapeless mass of darkness tentacles clad in a purple crystal carapace, featuring a single pulsing red eye in the center of its chest.

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[TIME-LIMITED MUTANT BOSS!]

[Abyssal Mana Devourer - Level 12]

HP: 600 / 600 | Main Stat: MP Drain / Vacuum Blast

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Six hundred HP. Level 12.

Diana activated her new class skill immediately:

AURA OF ARCANE DOMAIN!

A wave of bluish-golden light expanded from Diana’s body in a 15-meter radius.

Rhea felt the impact of the aura instantly: her movement speed and reflexes increased by 20%, and the damage from her corrosive crystal daggers glowed with greater intensity.

”RHEA, FROM THE LEFT!” Diana ordered, priming an Arcane Arrow in her left hand.

The battle was frantic. Rhea moved like a green and black lightning bolt between the crystal spikes, applying paralysis poison to the joints of the monster’s tentacles. Diana fired Arcane Arrows from medium range, shattering the Boss’s carapace plates.

The Mana Devourer’s HP dropped rapidly: 500… 350… 180…

That was when the mistake happened.

Diana, consumed by the arrogance of her new class, the thrill of seeing high damage numbers, and the rush to wrap up the hunt before time expired, took three reckless steps forward to channel a double-charged Arcane Arrow.

She failed to notice that the Boss held a retaliation skill for when its HP dipped below 30%.

The Mana Devourer’s red eye glowed with a dark, destructive hue.

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[BOSS SKILL ACTIVATED: MANA VACUUM SPEAR!]

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A compressed beam of pure black, destructive energy shot from the monster’s eye at a speed Diana simply could not match with her 14 points of Agility.

BOOM!

The beam struck Diana directly in the center of her chest.

The Dark Crystal Chestplate, forged by Master Volkan, absorbed part of the impact, but the density of the Level 12 strike shattered the armor’s black crystal plates like glass.

The impact hurled Diana’s body twenty meters away. She slammed violently against a stone crystal spike, crashing face first into the dust.

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[DEVASTATING CRITICAL DAMAGE TAKEN: 118!]

[DIANA’S CURRENT HP: 2 / 120 (CRITICAL CONDITION: NEAR-DEATH / BLEEDING!)]

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Two hit points.

Two paltry hit points separated Diana’s soul from ultimate annihilation.

Her vision blurred completely, staining deep, pulsing red. Her lungs seized from the shock of the impact. She was paralyzed in the dust, unable to move a single finger, while the Mana Devourer raised a colossal stone tentacle over her head to crush her skull.

”DIANA!”

A scream of pure despair and fury tore through the ravine air.

Rhea didn’t think. She pushed her Agility 25 to the absolute limit of physical pain.

SHADOW STEP + MAXIMUM SPEED!

Rhea turned into an invisible blur that streaked across the ravine. She didn’t try to pull Diana away, she threw herself directly at the monster’s gaping eye.

With a roar of wild rage, Rhea plunged both Corrosive Crystal Daggers up to the hilt into the Mana Devourer’s eye, twisting the blades with her entire body weight.

CRUNCH! CRITICAL DAMAGE: 210!

The Level 12 Boss unleashed a screeching roar of agony before exploding into particles of black light, collapsing dead onto the crystals.

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Rhea didn’t even glance at the victory notification.

She sprinted to Diana’s limp body sprawled in the dust, dropping to her knees beside her with hands shaking uncontrollably.

”Diana! Diana!” Rhea screamed, her voice choked with tears.

With trembling hands, Rhea pulled one of the Intermediate Healing Potions from her belt, popped the cap with her teeth, and poured the red liquid straight into Diana’s mouth, forcing her to swallow.

The potion’s red light wrapped around Diana’s body. The bleeding stopped, and her health bar climbed from 2 to 82 HP.

The physical pain passed. The wounds closed.

But Diana’s mind… Diana’s mind collapsed.

The instant she returned to full consciousness, Diana’s brain was steamrolled by an overwhelming wave of primal panic.

The phantom memory of iron crushing her body on Earth merged with the terrifying sensation of 2 hit points. The black abyss of death. The feeling of being small, powerless, fragile, and a millimeter away from vanishing forever.

The anxiety attack hit Diana like a punch to the chest.

Her breathing turned terribly short and erratic. She began hyperventilating desperately, gasping for air, but feeling as though her lungs were filled with hot cement.

I was going to die…

I was going to die again…

I almost lost everything… I almost vanished…

Her vision tunneled into darkness. Her heart hammered in her chest at a terrifying speed, nearly ripping through her ribcage. Her hands shook violently, cold with sweat, and an uncontrollable tremor seized her entire body.

”Agh… huff… huff…” Diana clutched her own throat, clawing at her skin, unable to pull air, involuntary tears of pure panic streaming down her cheeks. ”Rhea… I… I can’t… I can’t… breathe…”

The arrogant human girl, the invincible Commander, the greedy anomaly… was reduced to a seventeen-year-old huddled in the dust, hyperventilating and weeping in pure terror of death.

Rhea understood instantly what was happening.

Without hesitation, Rhea pulled Diana’s trembling body into her arms, hugging her tightly against her chest, holding her friend’s head against her neck.

”Breathe, Diana! Look at me!” Rhea said, her voice firm, yet filled with desperate sweetness, as she stroked Diana’s black hair with a trembling hand. ”You’re alive! You’re here with me! I’m holding you! The monster is dead! You’re alive!”

”Huff… huff… let… let go of me… I… I need…” Diana stammered, gripping Rhea’s coat with white knuckles, shaking from head to toe, fighting the panic choking her mind.

”I won’t let go of you!” Rhea squeezed her hug even tighter, refusing to let her sink. ”I’m here, Diana! You saved my life that day in the cage, and I’m never going to let anything kill you! Breathe with me! Pull air in… one… two… three…”

Rhea kept Diana embraced on the ravine floor for twenty long minutes.

Little by little, feeling the warmth of Rhea’s body, the steady beat of the wolf girl’s heart, and the constant voice repeating that she was alive, the dark tunnel in Diana’s vision began to dissolve.

Diana’s erratic breathing began to settle. The violent shaking subsided into light, involuntary twitches, and she was finally able to pull a deep breath of air into her lungs.

Diana remained resting against Rhea’s shoulder, her eyes closed, her body completely exhausted and drained by the peak of anxiety.

The armor of arrogance had been destroyed. What remained in the dust was only the raw certainty that she was human, imperfect, and incredibly vulnerable.

And the certainty that Rhea had saved her life.

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[EMERGENCY QUEST COMPLETED!]

[Target Defeated: Abyssal Mana Devourer (Level 12)]

- Guild Reward: +8 Silver Coins!

- Direct Boss Loot: +4 Silver Coins and 20 Bronze!

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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]

Previous Balance: 15 Silver Coins and 80 Bronze Coins.

Guild Registration Fee: -10 Silver Coins.

Subtotal: 5 Silver Coins and 80 Bronze Coins.

URGENT HUNT EARNINGS SUM:

- Official Guild Reward: +8 Silver Coins.

- Direct Boss Loot: +4 Silver Coins and 20 Bronze.

GRAND TOTAL:

5 Silver + 8 Silver + 4 Silver = 17 Silver.

80 Bronze + 20 Bronze = 100 Bronze -> (1 Silver Coin).

[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 18 SILVER COINS (1,800 Bronze!)]

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Eighteen silver coins stashed in the vault.

Back in the duplex apartment at the Ivory & Silk Residence, Diana lay in her bedroom bed, covered by a soft sheet.

Rhea sat on the edge of the bed, changing the cold water compress on Diana’s forehead, maintaining an expression of constant care.

Diana looked at the clean wooden ceiling.

The panic had passed, but the lesson remained burned into her soul like a branding iron.

Blind arrogance killed. All the greed in the world was worth nothing if she was reduced to a corpse on a ravine floor.

Diana slowly turned her face toward Rhea.

”Rhea…” Diana called, her voice raspy, much softer than usual.

Rhea leaned forward right away. ”Yes, Diana? Are you in pain?”

Diana looked at the hybrid girl. This time, without masks, without mathematical excuses, and without pretending disinterest.

”Thank you…” Diana said, her dark eyes sincere. ”You saved my life today.”

Rhea’s amber eyes widened slightly… and a sweet smile of pure relief and warmth lit up her face. Rhea held Diana’s hand firmly.

”We’re a faction, Diana.” Rhea said softly. ”We look after each other. Always.”

Final Notes:

Well... intense chapter, this one. Diana’s first major ’defeat’, so to speak. As you can see, she’s far from invincible. If it weren’t for Rhea being there, she would’ve died in a VERY painful and, in a way, tragic way.

But hey, she’s alive, so all good-