Elias threw his hands up. "Nope. hat's some hidden protagonist bullshit, and I demand answers!"

  Rael sheathed his sword as the st traces of dark energy faded. The cavern around them was eerily silent, save for the occasional dripping of venom from the Broodmother's corpse.

  "I already told you," Rael said. "My css isn't Tempr anymore. That's all you o know."

  Leon crossed his arms. "That's not an answer."

  Gale scoffed. "You don't just delete a boss and expect us to move on."

  Elias jabbed a fi him. "Exactly! What's ? You're the secret son of some fotten war god? A reinated hero? A hidden developer with admin powers?"

  Rael sighed. "None of that."

  Leon narrowed his eyes. "Then what is it?"

  Rael didn't respond.

  The three of them exged looks before Elias groaned. "Fine, fine! Keep your mysterious anime protagonist vibes. But one day, I'm dragging that info out of you."

  Rael ignored him and pulled up his status menu. A quice firmed what he already knew—his level had spiked after the fight.

  [Noctus – Level 27]

  Leon and Gale checked their own levels.

  [Leon – Level 25]

  [Gale – Level 26]

  Elias grinned and swiped open his menu. "Alright, moment of truth—"

  [Elias – Level 20]

  "YES!" He threw his arms up. "Finally! I get my subcss!"

  Leon smirked. "Wele to the real game."

  Gale rolled his shoulder. "Alright, so what are you pig?"

  Elias scrolled through his menu, muttering under his breath. "Alright, let's see... Sharpshooter? Nah, too basic. Beastmaster? Not my thing. Duelist? Cool name, but I feel like I'd just die faster."

  His eyes flicked through the options before stopping on one. He read the description, then grinned.

  "Oh, now this is iing."

  Gale raised a brow. "What?"

  Elias' grin stretched wide—too wide. "Oh yeah." His eyes gleamed with something deranged. "Increased trap efficy, faster setup time, and my traps are harder to detect. Also, I get access to some very fun toys."

  Rael's instincts screamed at him. "Define 'fun.'"

  Elias flipped open his ability menu, practically shaking with excitement. "Let's see... Wire Snare – instantly immobilizes a target for three seds. Venom Spikes – deploys a row of poisoned spikes. Oh, now this one's beautiful—Tether Bomb – attaches an explosive to a surface or an enemy aonates after a dey."

  Gale ran a hand down his face. "Oh god, he's gonna be worse."

  Leon sighed, already exhausted. "So, in summary... you're about to turn every fight into absolute chaos."

  Elias cpped his hands together. "No, no, no. Every waking moment into chaos." He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Imagine... a world where every step could be your st. A world where even the air might betray you."

  Rael pihe bridge of his nose. "Friendly fire is on, you know."

  Elias' grin faltered for half a sed. Then he inhaled deeply, looked Rael dead in the eyes, and whispered, "Boom boom. No friend."

  A long silence followed.

  Rael sighed. "We're all going tret this."

  Elias cackled. "Not me, though! I'm gonna thrive!"

  Rael crossed his arms, watg Elias mess around with his new abilities like a kid with a oy. "Alright, now that you're finally pulling your weight, did you get your Mark quest yet?"

  Elias paused mid-motion, one hand h over his status s. "ht. Almost fot about that."

  Rael gave him a ft look. "You fot the main reason why we're here?"

  Elias shrugged. "Listen, I was a little busy unlog the power of explosions—priorities, Rael." He flicked through his quest log. "Okay, yeah, here it is. Looks like I o do some trial thing. 'Prove my capability to the Order,' bh bh, standard bureaucracy."

  Gale smirked. "Hope it involves a lot of suffering."

  Elias gasped dramatically. "How dare you?" Then he read the quest description again. His face fell. "Oh. Never mind. It actually does."

  Rael raised a brow. "What's the trial?"

  Elias groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Ugh. One of those 'prove your worth' quests. Apparently, I have to infiltrate an abandoned watchtower overrun by monsters and secure some old relic the Order left behind." He squi the fine print. "Oh, and it explicitly says I have to do it alone."

  Leo out a low whistle. "That's rough, buddy."

  Gale cracked a grin. "So, when do we watch you suffer?"

  Elias shot him a deadpan look. "You don't. I mean, obviously, you guys 't help me, but that doesn't mean you get to sit back with pop while I crawl through a death trap."

  Rael smirked. "Teically, we follow you. We just 't intervene."

  Elias jabbed a fi him. "If I caty of you spectating and pg bets on how fast I die, I will dedicate my entire existeo making your lives hell."

  Gale scoffed. "You say that like we'd bet against you."

  "It's called strategic resourcefulness, thank you very much," Elias shot back.

  Rael pulled up his map, marking the location. "It's about a thirty-minute ride from here. If we leave now, we'll get there before dark."

  Elias groaned. "Right. Because we still have to rent mounts like peasants."

  Leon sighed. "Yeah, yeah. We unlock personal mounts at level 30. Until then, deal with it."

  Gale smirked. "Holy, renting isn't so bad. o feed them, them, or worry about someone crashing theirs into a tree."

  Elias scoffed. "Why are you looking at me?"

  Leon raised a brow. "Because if anyone's going to do it, it's you."

  Elias rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable. Snder before I've even had the ce to prove yht."

  Rael ighem and handed a few s to the stable master. Moments ter, four rental mounts—a mix of sturdy warhorses and sleek reptilian striders—were brought out.

  Elias eyed his suspiciously. "Why does mine look like it actively hates me?"

  The stable master cleared his throat. "That one's got… personality."

  Elias groaned. "Great. Love that for me." He begrudgingly climbed into the saddle, fling as the creature let out a deep, uling growl.

  Rael adjusted his reins. "Let's move out before you bond with it too much."

  Elias scowled. "I'd rather bond with a ndmine."

  Gale smirked. "Close enough."

  With that, they set off, the sun dipping lower on the horizon as Elias muttered a steady stream of curses, his mount occasionally trying to bite his leg.

  * * *

  Elias stood before the crumbling remains of the watchtower, hands on his hips, staring up at the moss-covered stone walls. "Alright, abandoned creepy building? Check. Potential death traps? Probably. Let's do this."

  A notification fshed in his interface.

  [Trial of the Fotten Watchtower]

  Objective: Retrieve the Relic of Order

  ditions: No outside assistance. Leaving the area will result in failure.

  He let out a breath. "No pressure."

  Behind him, Gale crossed his arms. "You sure about this, man? Not gonna lie, I always thought yreatest strength was being bait."

  Leon nodded. "Yeah, you excel at drawing aggression and dodging at the st sed, not... methodically w through a dungeon alone."

  Rael tilted his head. "You do have a habit of running ahead and nearly getting killed."

  Elias scoffed. "Wow. Incredible fidence from my so-called friends."

  "We're just ed," Leon said dryly.

  "Uh-huh. Because you're worried for me, and not because you won't have your favorite distra when things go south?"

  Rael shrugged. "Little bit of both."

  Elias groaned. "Alright, you know what? I'll prove you guys wrong." He cracked his knuckles. "Watch me absolutely crush this trial."

  "You do realize we literally watch from outside, right?" Gale smirked.

  Elias poi them. "If I caty of you spectating and pg bets, I will find a way to make you suffer."

  Gale grinned. "Oh, we'd bet for you."

  Leon nodded. "Yeah, we'd wager you make it at least halfway before triggering something stupid."

  Rael added, "I'd put money on you setting something on fire."

  Elias clicked his tongue. "You know what? Fair."

  Shaking his head, he turoward the tower. The entrance was sealed shut, the heavy iron gate rusted into pce. He pressed against it. No give. No keyhole. "Of course, it's locked."

  He circled the structure, sing for another way in.

  he side, he spotted a crumbliion of wall, vines creeping up the surface. Testing the handholds, he muttered, "Hope this thing doesn't colpse on me."

  With a deep breath, he climbed. The stones groaned under his weight, but he mao reach a narrow window and haul himself inside. He nded with a soft thud, brushing dust off his coat.

  Then he heard a soft click.

  Elias froze.

  Oh, e on.

  The floor beh him shifted. A sed ter—

  WHOOSH!

  Metal spikes shot up from the ground where he had just stood.

  He threw himself backward, barely dodging them. "Great. Instah traps. Love that."

  Outside, Rael's voice echoed faintly through the party chat.

  "So... does that t as triggering something stupid?"

  Elias scowled. "Shut up."

  Shaking his head, he sed the dimly lit hall. A long corridor stretched before him, torches flickering weakly. The walls were lined with faded murals depig armored figures—Temprs, most likely—kneeling before a radiant symbol.

  And on the floor...

  Elias narrowed his eyes. Pressure ptes. Dozens of them, arranged in a stratern.

  He crouched, tapping his . "Alright, puzzle time."

  The ptes had different markings. Some bore the same symbol as the murals, others had swords, shields, or nothing at all.

  A pque on the side read:

  "Only those who walk the righteous path shall proceed."

  Elias smirked. "They really went all in on the holy vibe, huh?"

  He reached for his menu and opehe forums. A quick search ter—

  [Trial of the Fotten Watchtower – Puzzle Solution Guide]

  Step 1: Only step oes with the Tempr sigil.

  Step 2: Ighe swords and shields, they trigger traps.

  Step 3: Don't move too fast; some ptes require a dey before stepping on the one.

  Elias grinned. "Well, that was easy."

  Following the guide, he carefully stepped onto the correct ptes, pausing when necessary. A few tense moments ter, he made it across without a scratch.

  "You cheated, didn't you?" Rael's voice came through the party chat.

  "It's called strategic resourcefulness, thank you very much," Elias shot back.

  "Mm-hm," Rael replied, clearly unimpressed.

  Elias ignored him, pressing forward, deeper into the watchtower.

  The real challenge was still ahead.

  Elias crept through the corridor, his steps light against the a stohe air ihe watchtower was thick with dust, carrying the faint st of decay. His eyes flicked between the crumbling walls and the flickering torches ahead.

  "Alright, what's ? More holy-themed nonsense?" he muttered to himself.

  He moved into a circur chamber. At its ter, a stoal stood beh a stained-gss window depig a radiant figure. Resting on the pedestal was an ornate relic—a silver pendant shaped like a sunburst.

  "That was too easy," Elias said, his voice tinged with suspi.

  Elias knew better than to rush in. He crouched, sing the room. Sure enough, the floor was covered in faigs. The whole thing reeked of a trap.

  "Cssic setup. Take the relic, get impaled. No, thank you," he thought aloud.

  He searched for another clue. A faded inscription ran along the walls:

  "The worthy walk in the light, lest they be swallowed by the abyss."

  Elias sighed. "Cryptisense. Love that."

  Cheg the forums again, he quickly found a post detailing this exact se of the trial.

  [Watchtower Trial – Light Puzzle Solution]

  -Step onto the tiles illuminated by the stained-gss window.

  -Stepping outside the light activates the trap.

  -If the light shifts, move accly.

  Elias looked up. The stained gss cast a multiclow on specific tiles. He grinned. "Easy mode."

  Carefully, he stepped into the first patch of light. The floor didn't colpse. No spikes. No fireballs. "Nice."

  Slowly, he moved from one glowing tile to the . As he reached the ter, the sunlight dimmed, shifting the pattern. "Oh, you sneaky bastards."

  He quickly adjusted his path, narrowly avoiding stepping into darkness. After a tense minute, he reached the pedestal.

  Grinning, Elias grabbed the relic.

  The moment his fiouched it, the entire room rumbled. "Oh, e on."

  The stained gss shattered. Darkness spread across the floor, dev everything outside the safe tiles. A deep, guttural growl echoed through the chamber.

  A figure rose from the abyss—a knight in bed armor, its eyes burning like embers.

  Elias stood frozen as the armored figure emerged from the abyss, its burning eyes log onto him. A heavy, suffog pressure filled the chamber, making his instincts scream at him to run.

  Instead, he pulled up the forums.

  [Watchtower Trial – Guardian Enter Cheese Method]

  -The Guardian only attacks if you step outside the light.

  -The trial doesn't require bat—just leave with the relic.

  -Moving slowly prevents the Guardian from reag.

  Elias blinked. "That's it? That's actually it?"

  The Guardian took a siep forward, its sword scraping against the stone.

  Elias very carefully shifted his foot to the glowing tile.

  The Guardian stopped moving.

  His lips curled into a grin. "Oh, this is so dumb."

  Gale's voice crackled in the party chat. "Elias? You good? We heard the whole 'giah knight appearing' part, but then you went silent."

  Elias moved aep. The Guardian remained frozen.

  "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he murmured, his grin widening. "I, uh... I think I broke it."

  Leon scoffed. "Broke it? What do you mean you—"

  Aep. ion.

  Elias practically vibrated with excitement. "Cheese mode activated."

  Slowly, deliberately, he ioward the exit, never once breaking the pattern of the light. The Guardian remained deathly still, its eyes flickering but tag.

  "This is the dumbest thing I've ever done, and I love it."

  A few agonizingly slow mier, Elias reached the door.

  He exhaled, adjusted his grip on the relid took one final step——outside the light.

  The chamber trembled. The Guardian's eyes bzed.

  Elias didn't eveate.

  He smmed the exit door shut behind him.

  Silence.

  Then a horrific crash as something massive smmed into the other side.

  Elias doubled over, wheezing with ughter. "Oh my god, that worked."

  For a moment, he just stood there, grinning at the sealed door, listening to the furious pounding from the other side. Then, with an exaggerated sigh of relief, he turned on his heel and strolled down the hill, twirling the reli his hands like he hadn't just danced around an a death mae.

  His teammates stood waiting, arms crossed, their expressions h somewhere between impressed and deeply unimpressed.

  Rael crossed his arms. "That was fast."

  Leon narrowed his eyes. "I 't believe I just watched that happen iime."

  Elias beamed. "Nope."

  Gale squinted. "...How?"

  Elias tapped his temple. "Gentlemen, I have asded beyond the straints of mere bat. I have entered a realm of pure strategy, where battles are won not with ons, but with—"

  Rael cut in ftly. "You cheesed it, didn't you?"

  Elias gasped, clutg his chest. "How dare you insinuate such—I mean, yeah, absolutely."

  Gale groaned. "Of course you did."

  Leon sighed. "Alright. Expin. How does one cheese aire trial?"

  Elias held up a single finger. "Step one: read the forums. Step two: abuse bad AI. Step three: collect rewards."

  Rael rubbed his temples. "Details, Elias."

  Elias grinned. "Fine, fine. So, there was this giah knight, right? Big, terrifying, radiating unholy doom. But turns out, it only attacks if you step outside the light."

  Gale frowned. "...And?"

  Elias spread his arms. "And I just didn't step outside the light."

  Silence.

  Leon blinked. "...That's it?"

  "That's it," Elias firmed, smug as ever.

  Gale dragged a hand down his face. "You mean to tell me this a, sacred trial could be beaten by walking carefully?"

  Elias nodded. "Painfully slowly, yes. But the real trick?" He held up a finger. "No panic. The moment you paniove too fast. And if you move too fast..." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the watchtower. "That thing wakes up for real."

  As if personally offehe tower rumbled, a distant boom eg from within.

  Rael sighed. "I hate that this worked."

  Elias grinned. "Don't hate the pyer, hate the game."

  Leon shook his head. "I was really hoping you'd suffer for this."

  Gale scoffed. "Same."

  Elias flipped the reli his hands. "Yeah, well, joke’s on you. I'm officially Marked now. Which means... Vash'kar, here we e!"

  Another ominous boom from the tower.