I Die to Rise: Resurrection System-Chapter 79: The Raven’s Rise!

Three weeks had passed since the rank evaluations, and Proxima City, the beating heart of the B-rank district, had transformed a once empty lot into something that actually looked legitimate.

The weeks had flown by in a blur of hammers, constructions, and more paperwork than Kurt ever wanted to see again.

Kurt stood on the street corner, cigarette between his lips, watching the construction crew put the finishing touches on Raven’s Crow’s new headquarters.

The building rose five stories into the sky, and workers in hard hats swarmed the site, putting the final touches on the massive structure.

A worker descended from the scaffolding, removing his helmet and wiping sweat from his forehead. "That’s the last of it, Mr. Manchester. She’s all yours."

Kurt nodded. "Cheers, mate. You lads did solid work."

The emblem caught his eye as the final covering was removed, a massive raven with a crow tattooed across its outstretched wings, rendered in black metal, and for once, he wasn’t complaining. Hell, he was almost smiling.

"Looking good," he muttered to himself. "Real good."

Rook approached from behind, arms crossed, surveying the building with quiet satisfaction. "We did it."

Kurt glanced at him. "You did most of the heavy lifting. Literally."

Rook snorted. "You handled the bribes."

"Details," Kurt said, grinning.

The rest of the guild filtered out from the construction zone, Emma wiping sweat from her brow, Cassandra brushing dust from her skirt, Lizzie already pacing quickly towards the entrance, only to be pulled back by Emma.

Sam clutched a clipboard close to her chest, and Zaza... well, Zaza was staring at a nearby wall like she had beef with it.

"Alright," Rook called, raising his voice loud enough to be heard by everyone. "Grand tour time. Everyone inside."

They stepped through the entrance, and the reception hall opened before them like something out of a corporate wet dream.

Marble floors stretched across the space, polished to a mirror shine. A fountain sat in the center, water flowing in gentle arcs, and Lizzie rushed over to inspect.

She placed her ears close to the fountain and knocked on it two times then nodded frantically like she knew what the hell she was doing. "It’s perfect! Look at the fountain! I told you a fountain would make it classy..."

Emma smirked. "Classy until you fill it with rubber ducks."

Lizzie gasped dramatically. "Don’t give me ideas!"

"You were right," Kurt admitted. "It does class the place up."

To the left, a massive quest board dominated one wall, digital displays cycling through available contracts. To the right, a reception desk sat empty, waiting for someone to man it.

Sam moved toward the desk slowly, running her fingers along the smooth surface. "This is... incredible."

Rook led them deeper into the ground floor, pointing out each section. "Armory’s through here."

The armory was everything Kurt had hoped for—rows of weapon racks, glass cases for artifacts, and a vault door at the back secured with both fingerprint and password locks.

Emma immediately gravitated toward a display of firearms, whistling low. "Not bad," she murmured, examining a rifle with professional appreciation. "This is really not bad."

"Let’s Keep moving," Rook said, though he was smiling.

Next was the medical bay, and Lizzie practically vibrated with excitement. State-of-the-art healing pods lined one wall. The other side of the room was set up as a laboratory with tables, equipment, storage for supplies.

"Oh, Mama likey," Lizzie murmured, her fingers wandering over monitors and peering into beakers with curious delight. Meanwhile, Paul’s attention snagged on an odd-looking device. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands.

"What is this?" he asked, intrigued.

"Don’t touch!" Lizzie suddenly appeared behind him, slapping his hand away with a sharp warning. "Alright, people, time to move on!" she declared, shooing everyone out of the medical bay.

They pressed forward, following Kurt as he led the way. "And now, the most important part..." he announced with a flourish, throwing open a set of double doors.

Inside, the bar and lounge sprawled before them. Dark wood counters, leather booths inviting quiet conversations, and a massive, fully stocked bar that radiated an air of comfort and camaraderie.

"No guild’s complete without a proper pub," Kurt said proudly.

Cassandra’s blue eyes narrowed as they swept over the shelves, the bottles arranged like adversaries in her gaze.

Rook raised an eyebrow, glancing at Kurt. "You insisted on this."

"Damn right I did," Kurt replied with a grin, stepping behind the bar and pulling out a bottle of top-shelf bourbon. "First round’s on me."

Without hesitation, Lizzie vaulted over the counter. "Dibs on bartender!" she called out, already slipping into her role.

***

They moved to the second floor, and the atmosphere shifted from public-facing to operational. The council room looked professional with a large table in the center, holographic displays built into the walls, screens showing potential available dungeons in the area and district maps.

"This is where we plan," Rook said, running his hand along the table. "No more of that red strings on a corkboard."

The archives came next, and Sam held her breath before she even stepped in. There were row after row of organized files, digital terminals for contracts and quest logs. Kurt caught Sam’s reaction and grinned.

"Archives here," Kurt said, leading them through. Sam stepped in immediately, eyes lighting up at the organized shelves and digital terminals. Kurt grinned. Who would have thought she had a thing for organizing?

"I’ll handle contracts and records," she said quickly. "I... I have experience from the Foxhole. Mama made me manage transactions."

Kurt smoothed her hair, staring into her eyes. "You’re full of surprises." He walked out of the archive room, Rook already leading the rest of the guild to the next floor.

He glanced back at Sam who was probably envisioning new ways to code information and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let’s get going. If Rook’s okay with it, then you may go nuts."

Sam’s eyes gleamed while Kurt pulled her along towards the rest as they entered an elevator to the third floor.

The third floor opened into pure function. The combat arena stretched wide with reinforced floors and barriers built into the walls to prevent property damage during sparring.

There were also cultivation chambers built in, small, quiet rooms designed for meditation and essence control.

Then Emma spotted the shooting range and froze. The smile on her face was so out of character. "You built a shooting range."

"Course I did," Kurt said. "Can’t have you shooting up the bar every time you get bored."

Emma’s expression softened, just slightly, and she punched his arm. "You’re alright, Manchester."

Lizzie walked over, examining the range, then shrugged. "I don’t know. My aim’s already pretty good."

"You should probably make use of it." Rook muttered. "Considering you shot me."

Lizzie grinned sheepishly. "Hey! Are you still mad about that?!"

"Let’s just keep going," Rook said and they continued to the pool. It stretched before them, Olympic-sized with crystal-clear water.

Temperature control dials lined one wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of Proxima City. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Kurt thought it was unnecessary, and Rook agreed. But if the ladies wanted a pool, they would get a pool.

The simulation rooms came last, and Emma stepped inside one, eyes widening. "This is insane."

Cassandra’s voice was flat, clearly unimpressed by it. "Silver Tail had one of these."

"Little good it did you," Emma smirked, and in an instant, Kurt could have sworn he saw lightning spark between their eyes from the tension crackling as they both forced grins.

"Moving on," Rook said, stepping between them.

The fourth floor was the living quarters, and the energy shifted again, this time to something more personal.

Private rooms for core members lined the hallway, each door marked with a name. Emma immediately claimed the corner room. Cassandra took the one directly across from her.

"Of course," Emma muttered.

"Problem?" Cassandra asked sweetly.

"Not yet."

Sam found her room and stood in the doorway, staring at the bed, the desk, the window overlooking the city. Her name was on the door. This was hers.

Lizzie had already started decorating her room with what could only be described as "organized chaos"—medical posters, weapon schematics, a dartboard with a photo of Jerry taped to it.

Kurt found his own room at the end of the hall. It was spacious, clean, had a bed that looked comfortable, a desk by the window and space for his things. It felt... permanent.

He lit a cigarette and stared out at Proxima City.

"Where’s Zaza?" Rook’s voice pulled him back.

Kurt turned, scanning the hallway. "She was just here."

They searched the fourth floor, then the third, eventually finding her staring at a blank wall in the hallway. Zaza had wandered off mid-tour, gotten lost and found herself in a different floor.

"Zaza," Kurt called, approaching slowly. "You alright?"

She didn’t blink. "The wall is... symmetrical."

Kurt followed her gaze. It was just fresh paint. "Yeah. Very symmetrical. Come on, we’re heading to the fifth floor."

Zaza turned her head slowly and nodded once. "Lead the way."

By the time they regrouped and rode the elevator up, the others had already gathered outside Rook’s office door. Zaza trailed behind Kurt like nothing had happened.

The fifth floor was restricted, housing Rook’s private office, a vault containing the guild’s most valuable artifacts, and at the very back, a reinforced door leading down.

"Sub-level," Rook explained. "Where we’re moving Morra’s cage. More secure. More isolated."

Kurt nodded. It made sense. Having a Reaper in the main building was asking for trouble.

***

The Dungeon Authority officials arrived two hours later, clipboards in hand, inspecting every corner. They checked structural integrity and safety protocols.

One of them tested the barrier system, a massive sphere with cables stretching to handlers throughout the building. When activated, the barrier shimmered around the entire headquarters.

"Impressive," the lead official said, making notes. "Very impressive."

After an hour of inspection, they gathered in the council room.

"Congratulations," the official said, extending a certificate. "Raven’s Crow is officially certified as a B-Rank Guild."

Champagne appeared from somewhere, Lizzie’s doing, probably, and glasses were passed around. Kurt immediately swapped his for bourbon.

Photos were taken. Handshakes exchanged. The officials left, and the guild was alone in their new home.

Rook raised his glass. "To Raven’s Crow!"

"To Raven’s Crow," Emma added.

They drank, and for a moment, everything felt right.

***

News spread fast.

At the Foxhole, workers gathered around a screen showing the certification announcement. One of them grinned. "Sammie’s in the big leagues now."

In other guilds across the district, reactions varied. Some sent congratulations. Others watched with thinly-veiled jealousy.

In the D-rank district, civilians celebrated in the streets, grateful for the reconstruction funds Raven’s Crow had provided.

But in a dark room somewhere beneath a city in the F rank district, five figures sat around a table. Four seats were occupied, the people shrouded in shadow.

"The Loan Shark King is dead," one said.

"Braun was a fool," another added. "He underestimated his enemies."

A feminine voice spoke next. "Then we’ll need a replacement. Where are our suggestions for the new King?"

Folders dropped onto the table, each containing photos and dossiers. The topmost folder fell open, revealing Rook Jones’ face staring up at them.