[The Abyssal Academy - The Principal's Office]
The first week of the new fiscal quarter brought a strange, suffocating silence to the Abyssal Academy. The trapdoors were reset, the vending machines were restocked with overpriced anti-rust potions, and the Class-A Chimera was sleeping peacefully by the toll booths.
But the labyrinth was completely empty.
Victor Thorne stood by the towering glass windows, watching the freezing rain wash over the empty courtyard. He checked his gold pocket watch, his jaw tightening.
"Principal Thorne," Seraphina's heels clicked sharply against the mahogany floor. She adjusted her glasses, looking at her silver clipboard. "Since the total defeat of the Holy Vanguard, local foot traffic has dropped to zero. Adventurers are terrified of us. We have had no new user acquisitions in seven days."
"A dungeon without traffic is a dead asset, Seraphina," Victor said, his voice flat. He turned around, his impeccably tailored midnight-blue suit catching the dim light of the fireplace. "We have the best extraction mechanics on the continent, but our marketing funnel is non-existent. We need a growth partner."
Victor's cold eyes shifted to the corner of the room.
Elara, the Paladin intern, was organizing a stack of invoices. She froze, feeling the Tycoon's Aura press down on her.
"Elara," Victor walked slowly toward his desk. "As a former Heroine of Light, you possess intimate knowledge of the Adventurer Guilds network, correct?"
"Yes..." Elara replied cautiously, clutching a stack of papers to her chest. "The Guilds post bounties and quests for independent mercenaries."
"Excellent," Victor tapped his fountain pen against the Tycoon's Ledger. "I am promoting you. You are no longer an unpaid intern. You are now my official Growth Partner. Your sole KPI is to generate leads."
Elara blinked in confusion. "Generate... leads?"
"Heroes, Elara. We need fresh heroes to walk into the toll booths," Victor smiled a ruthless, predatory smile. "I want you to travel to the Capital's Adventurer Guild. You will act as an anonymous quest-giver. You will post desperate, high-reward bounties claiming that the 'Evil Principal' is hoarding a legendary artifact of unimaginable power in the first-floor labyrinth."
Elara's jaw dropped. "You want me to... to write fake quests? To trick innocent adventurers into entering your corporate meat-grinder?!"
"It's not a trick; it's targeted advertising," Victor corrected her, pulling a stack of golden flyers from his desk. "Tell them the dungeon is vulnerable. Tell them there's a princess to save. Whatever gets them through the door. I will pay you a five percent commission on every piece of armor we extract from the traffic you bring in."
"I am a Paladin!" Elara shouted, her heroic pride momentarily flaring. "I will not become a... a bait merchant for a villain!"
"Your current debt stands at three hundred and ninety thousand Gold," Victor adjusted his cuffs, entirely unfazed by her outburst. "If you don't hit your monthly quota of fifty new leads, I will repossess your holy aura. Go."
Defeated by the absolute weight of her financial obligations, the Heroine of Light took the flyers. She was officially about to become the most lethal affiliate marketer in the magical realm.