The guild hall was still a mess—scattered papers, hastily written notes, and half-finished recruitment lists piled on every surface.

  For the first time in a while, Rael, Elias, Leon, and Gale sat together with no trials left to run.

  "Fifty out of fifty," Rael said, leaning back. "Eclipse is at capacity."

  "Feels weird," Leon murmured, stretg. "Like we actually run a guild now."

  Elias scoffed. "You say that like we didn't just spend hours filtering through hundreds of people."

  Gale smirked. "Could've been worse. At least we found some solid picks."

  Rael tapped his fingers against the table. "Right. Let's gh them."

  "I'll start," Elias said, arms crossed. "I picked Kazan."

  "The berserker?" Rael asked.

  Gale frowned. "That guy? I saw his trial results—half his team barely made it out."

  Leon chuckled. "Yeah, I saw his health bar. Looked like he was on life support the whole time."

  Elias leaned ba his chair, smirking. "You weren't there. Trust me, he was the best damn pick I could've made."

  And he meant it.

  The others had only seen the reports. They knew Kazan had survived, that his trial team cleared the dungeon, that they had scraped through by the skin of their teeth.

  But they hadn't seen how Kazan fought.

  Elias had.

  He had been the invigitor for that group, watg from a higher vantage point while the recruits took on the A Warden.

  It was a brutal endurance boss—overwhelming pressure, relentless terattacks, and an ironcd defense. Most recruits either pyed it safe ot crushed trying to push through.

  Kazan?

  He threw himself straight into the fire.

  The first time the Warden nded a hit, it sent him skidding across the stone floor, blood smearing the ground.

  Kazan pushed himself up. He wiped the blood from his mouth.

  Then he ughed.

  Not a nervous chuckle. Not the forced bravado of someorying to hype themselves up.

  A genuine, delighted ugh.

  Then he charged right ba.

  From that moment on, he fought like a man disc something he loved. Every time the Warden struck him dow up faster. Every time he took a hit, his movements sharpened. He learhrough pain—through feeling the attacks, adjusting, and throwing himself ba again.

  It wasn't just reckless abandon. It was methodical masochism.

  At one point, the Warden plus greatsword into the ground, sending a shockwave through the arena. The other recruits scrambled back.

  Kazan ran forward.

  Straight through the dust, straight toward the boss's blind spot, and buried his axe into its side with a grin.

  By the time the fight ended, his armor was ruined, his health bar was a sliver away from empty, and the rest of his team looked like they had barely survived a war.

  But Kazan?

  He was still smiling.

  When the dungeon instance closed and the recruits reappeared iy, Kazan stretched his arms, flexed his fihen looked up at the sky a out a long, satisfied breath.

  Like he'd just had the time of his life.

  Elias had marked his name down instantly.

  Now, ba the guild hall, he smirked.

  "He's a problem," Gale muttered.

  "Yeah," Elias said. "But he's our problem now."

  Gale shook his head. "You just like unhinged people."

  "I like people who get the job done." Elias smirked.

  Rael g Leon. "What about you? Who'd you pick?"

  Leon sighed dramatically, rubbing his temples. "I swear, I thought I was recruiting a mage, not a walkiher phenomenon."

  "That Weathermancer girl?" Gale asked.

  Leon nodded. "Yeah. Her name's Mira—and trust me, you won't fet her once you see her in a."

  Leon hadn't expected much from the Weathermancer subcss. It was a niche specialization, usually fog on battlefield ditions rather than direbat. Most people pyed it safe, using minor weather effects to gain slight advantages.

  Mira?

  She ahe sky.

  Her trial team had been struggling against a paonsters—visibility was bad, terrain was slippery, and the fight was turning into a drawn-out mess.

  Then Mira cpped her hands together, grinning. "Alright, time to fix this!"

  Leon, watg from the invigitor's stand, had no idea what she meant.

  Until the rain stopped.

  Not gradually. Not naturally.

  One sed, the dungeon was drenched in torrential rain—muddy ground, waterlogged armor, reduced visibility.

  The sed?

  Clear skies.

  The shift was instant. The clouds above simply parted, as if obeying her will. The wet ground hardened underfoot. Light poured through the open sky, illuminating every shadow.

  Her team blinked in fusion.

  Mira? She just spuaff with a flourish. "Now you see! Get moving!"

  And that was just the start.

  As the fight tinued, she adjusted everything—wind speed, air density, even humidity. When archers needed a clear shot, she forced the air still. When melee fighters wao push forward, she sent a tailwind at their backs, speeding up their charge.

  At one point, whetle dragged on too long, she tilted her head.

  "Hmm… you guys look tired. Here, have a breeze!"

  A wave of crisp, invigorating air swept through the battlefield. Every stamina bar ticked up.

  It wasn't healing. It wasn't direct offense.

  It ure, unfiltered utility.

  And it was terrifyingly effective.

  By the time the dungeon ended, her team was still standing, barely even worn out, while every roup had crawled out exhausted.

  Leon had been watg the whole thing with a slow, dawning realization.

  Mira wasn't a damage dealer. She wasn't even a traditional support.

  She was a force multiplier.

  The kind of pyer that could turn an average team into an unstoppable one.

  So when it came time to pick recruits, Leon didn't hesitate.

  Ba the guild hall, Leon crossed his arms. "She's something else."

  Rael raised an eyebrow. "That useful?"

  Leon smirked. "More like a force of nature."

  Gale exhaled sharply. "She sounds a little..."

  "Unhinged?" Elias offered.

  "Too eic."

  Leon chuckled. "Yeah, well, wait till you see her. She's like bottled lightning—never sits still, always got something going on."

  Gale leaned back, arms crossed. "Alright, my turn."

  Rael motioned zily. "Go for it."

  "Lupus."

  Leon raised a brow. "The wolf guy?"

  Elias made a face. "The we are one guy."

  The first time Gale noticed Lupus, the guy was standing off to the side, arms crossed, three spectral wolves sitting in a perfect li his feet. He didn't introduce himself. Didn't look around. Just watched—like he was already measuring the strength of the group.

  "Alright," Gale cpped his hands, breaking the silence. "Let's go around—names and roles."

  A few mutters. Someone coughed.

  Then Lupus spoke.

  "Lupus. Summoner."

  Gale blinked. "...Okay. And your wolves?"

  Lupus tilted his head slightly, as if the question itself was odd.

  "They are me. I am them. We move together."

  Gale wasn't sure whether to be amused or ed.

  The first half of the dungeon was standard. Lupus used his wolves smartly—scouting, trag enemy movements, keeping pressure on stragglers. He never spoke unnecessarily, just gave brief firmations:

  "Perimeter secured.""Enemy shifti.""We move."

  But then came the A Warden.

  Its blows could crater the stone floor. Shields barely held against its strikes. The frontline was scattering, spells were going wide, and the entire raid was seds from falling apart.

  And then Lupus moved.

  It was like watg a predator slip into the hunt.

  One wolf darted left. Anht. The st rushed in, drawing the Warden's attention for a split sed—just long enough for Lupus himself to dash into the opening.

  ation. No dey.

  He flowed between them, each motion mirr his wolves exactly. If one leaped, he leaped. If oed, he followed up. His attacks came from impossible angles because his own wolves were setting up his movements.

  This wasn't just summoning.

  It was synization.

  When the Warden swung, one wolf took the hit, dissolving into mist—only for Lupus to materialize in its pce, bde carving deep into the exposed joints.

  It was eerie. Precise. Almost meical.

  By the time the fight ehere wasn't a single wasted motion.

  Lupus exhaled, straightened, and gave a short nod.

  "Hunt plete."

  Gale had stared for a moment, then simply grinned.

  "Yeah, I'm pig you."

  Lupus just turned. "Aowledged. We move."

  Leon shook his head. "So what, he just treats the wolves like part of his body?"

  "More like they're part of the same mind," Gale corrected. "He doesn't trol them. They just... move together."

  Elias rubbed his temples. "Aalks like that all the time?"

  "Pretty much," Gale admitted. "I don't even thirying to be dramatic. That's just how he is."

  Rael sidered it. "He useful?"

  "Oh, definitely. Just don't expect much small talk."

  Leon sighed. "Great. Another oh a weird speech pattern."

  Elias groaned. ", please."

  Elias narrowed his eyes. "Alright, you're st. Who'd you end up pig?"

  Rael didn't hesitate. "Takane and SureArrow."

  Leon blinked. "Two?"

  "They were both worth it."

  Gale crossed his arms. "That swordswoman barely spoke the whole time. She any good?"

  Rael just nodded.

  Leon chuckled. "And SureArrow... he had that whole leader thing going. Think he'll listen to you?"

  "Doesn't o," Rael said simply.

  Elias tapped his fingers oable, sidering. "Huh. You always did like the quiet ones."

  Rael didn't respond to that.

  Instead, he leaned back, letting the versation drift.

  * * *

  The guild hall felt different.

  Not just in the way the room looked, though the ges were obvious. The once bare interior now had a sense of structure—wooden tables arranged ly instead of scattered at random, polished floors that no longer creaked underfoot, banners of deep argent and bck draped against the high walls. The soft glow of ented nterns cast a steady, weling light, repg the dim, uneven flicker of the old torches.

  More importantly, the hall was no longer empty.

  Dozens of people filled the space, voices overpping in quiet versations, the occasional ugh breaking through. A few leaned against walls, . Some gathered around tables, already f small cliques. And then there were those who stood out—whether by personality, presence, or sheer force of being themselves.

  he entrance, Kazan stood with a wide grin, arms folded across his chest as he leaoward Lupus.

  Kazaed his on his hand, smirking. "So, you guys hold secret war cils? Maybe huddle in a circle and vote on who's leading the hunt?"

  Lupus turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "We do not vote. We move as one."

  Kazan snorted. "Right, right. And what if one of you wants to take a break? Just, I don't know, kick bad enjoy life for a sed?"

  Lupus blinked. "We do not waste time."

  Kazan raised an eyebrow. "You're telli a single one of your wolves has ever flopped over in the sun and just vibed?"

  A pause. The rgest wolf let out a slow, zy yawn, its tongue rolling out before snapping its jaws shut.

  Kazan grinned. "See? That os it."

  Lupus stared at the wolf for a long moment, then back at Kazan. Finally, he nodded. "A moment of rest before the hunt. Effit."

  Kazan chuckled. "Alright, alright, I work with that. You're weird, but I like you."

  Lupus gave no response. His wolves remained perfectly still, watg.

  Kazan sighed, stretg his arms. "Man, I feel like I just lost an argument I didn't even know I was having."

  Oher side of the hall, SureArrow had ered Takane near one of the tables, arms crossed as he peered at her with exaggerated scrutiny.

  "You know," he started, "ime, I'm taking the lead. You had your moment back there. 't have you stealing the show every fight."

  Takaurned her head just slightly, her expression unged. "... Do what you want."

  SureArrow's jaw twitched.

  "Tch." He leaned back, crossing his arms. "No fun."

  As if on cue, Mira, the weathermancer, was chugging down a gss vial of suspiciously pink liquid. Every few seds, the mixture crackled with tiny bursts of energy, the sound remi of distant fireworks.

  Leon, watg from the side, raised a brow. "You sure you should be drinking that?"

  Mira wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, grinning. "It's fine! Just a little co to help me get a feel for the air here. Atmosphere's a bit stiff, y'know? Needs a little—"

  She wiggled her fingers.

  A faint breeze swept through the hall, fluttering banners and sending a few loose papers skidding across the floor.

  Elias, lounging zily against a table, lifted his head. "If you make it rain indoors, Rael's kig you out."

  Mira pouted. "Oh, e on! Just a drizzle?"

  "No."

  She sighed, taking another sip.

  Rael stood he front, arms crossed as he surveyed the se.

  The guild hall had ged.

  Not just in appearance, but in feeling.

  A month ago, it had been nothing more than ay room—a barebones space, barely qualifying as a guild hall at all. Now, it felt real. It wasn't just the furniture, or the banners, or the newly installed mission board standing against the far wall, stacked ly with quest postings. It was the people.

  Eclipse had started as four people.

  Now, it was something more.

  The weight of it settled in his mind—not heavy, but present. A quiet aowledgment of the foundation they had built.

  Rael stepped forward, his gaze sweeping across the gathered members. The quiet hum of versation tapered off as people turoward him. He let the siletle for a moment before speaking.

  "We started this guild with just four people," he said, his voice steady. "Now, we're standing here with fifty. We've cleared the trials, pushed through, and every single one of you earned your pce here."

  He goward the mission board. "From today, Eclipse is officially a guild that take quests. That means progress, opportunity—growth. Whether you're here for the challehe rewards, or something else, remember ohing."

  His eyes sharpened. "We move forward. Always."

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then, Kazan smmed a fist against his chest. "Hell yeah!"

  SureArrow smirked, rolling his shoulders. "Sounds like a pn to me."

  Mira pumped a fist in the air. "Let's gooo!"

  The energy spread through the room—a ripple turning into a wave.

  A collective cheer echoed through the hall, voices overpping, rising, until it wasn't just resence. A mark of something new, something real.

  Rael let the momele, then released a slow breath.