I didn't sleep.
Okay, technically, I did log off for four hours, closed my eyes, and tried to convince myself I wasn't anxious. But my mind kept running dungeon routes and dialogue options like I was prepping for a final exam that no one else had studied for.
Because today wasn't just another quest run.
It was the test.
Not for me. For the guild. For us.
Aiko was in, Brutus had proven himself, and Sera… well, I had no clue if she'd even show up. But if she did, and I screwed this up, I wouldn't get a second chance. People like her didn't hand out trust like candy.
By 6:00 AM game time, I was already on the edge of the Cinder Plateau.
The sun wasn't fully up in-game, which meant everything looked washed in smoky lavender and amber hues. Ash drifted in the air like snowflakes with a grudge, and the obsidian cliffs glinted like broken glass.
Brutus was there, standing like a nervous statue in his chunky armor. He waved when he saw me.
"You sure she's coming?" he asked.
"Nope."
"…Cool. Should we… warm up or something?"
"Sure. Let's stretch our polygons."
He didn't laugh. That was fine. I was a mage, not a comedian.
We waited in awkward silence for five minutes.
Then we heard footsteps.
Light, deliberate, and not trying to be noticed.
Sera emerged from behind a basalt pillar, her hood pulled low, staff slung across her back like she hadn't just ghosted us for an entire day. She didn't say a word. Just walked over and stood next to me.
"Hey," I said, careful not to make it weird. "Glad you came."
"I had nothing better to do."
"I'll take that."
Brutus gave a small wave. "Hi. I'm—"
"Sera," she cut in. "I know."
Brutus blinked. "Oh. Cool. I—wait, how?"
"You showed up in the local leaderboard for damage received. Yesterday."
Brutus went bright red. "That… was a strategy."
Sera didn't reply.
Okay. Ice still unbroken. Noted.
"Alright," I clapped my hands, trying to inject some energy. "Here's the deal. The Obsidian Trial is technically a level nine dungeon, but I'm pretty sure the devs were drunk when they balanced it. It's more of a logic challenge than a brawl."
"What kind of logic?" Sera asked.
"Pattern recognition, spell chaining, memory tiles. Basically, it's a group IQ test wrapped in lava."
She nodded. "Sounds tolerable."
We entered the dungeon instance.
A system prompt pinged as we crossed the boundary:
Trial Initiated: The Obsidian Crucible
Challenge Type: Intelligence | Endurance | Coordination
Warning: Failure to solve puzzle phases will trigger combat escalation.
"Combat escalation?" Brutus muttered.
"Translation," I said, "if we mess up the brain puzzles, they throw fire elementals at us until we cry."
"Got it."
The first chamber was the Memory Glyph Room.
Twelve tiles on the floor, each marked with a different arcane rune. The game flashed a pattern once — quick, blink-and-you-miss-it — and then made us replicate it using coordinated step commands.
We lined up. I went first.
"One," I said, stepping on the flame symbol.
Sera followed. "Two." She hit the lightning rune.
Brutus took a deep breath. "Three!" He stomped on a tile that glowed green.
Nothing happened.
"Wait—was that the right one?" I asked.
"I think so—"
The floor erupted in fire. We all yelped and scrambled off the grid.
Sera raised an eyebrow. "You're sure you watched the pattern?"
"I blinked," Brutus admitted.
Sera sighed. "Next time, don't."
We retried. And retried again.
Third time, we got it. Barely.
The door opened with a low grind, and a single line appeared on our UI:
Puzzle Phase 1: Complete.
"See?" I said, brushing soot off my robe. "Not so bad."
"That was the easy one?" Brutus groaned, sipping a health potion.
Sera just kept walking.
The next chamber was worse.
It had three arcane switches, four rotating fire glyphs, and a rotating platform in the center with a chest on it. The puzzle: redirect three fire beams using mirrors, but without overlapping the damage zones. And do it in under two minutes.
"Okay, this is fine," I muttered. "We just need to angle the first mirror—no, Brutus don't step there—"
Too late.
The floor lit up.
Fire elemental, level 10, spawned dead center.
"Oh no."
"I got it!" Brutus roared, charging.
He didn't have it.
The elemental slammed into him, knocking off 40% of his HP.
I ran a pulse spell to draw aggro while Sera rotated one of the glyph wheels from a safe distance. I saw her expression change — that tiny squint of focus, the tilt of her head — and then she started casting.
It wasn't flashy.
Just clean. Efficient.
Each spell chained perfectly into the next. Arcane Chain. Frost Tap. Ignite. Repeat.
The elemental staggered. I hit it with a combo burst, and it dissolved into cinders.
Sera didn't gloat. Just returned to the puzzle like it was an errand she needed to finish before lunch.
Five minutes later, the platform spun correctly into place and the chest unlocked.
We looted the contents.
Sera got a rare charm that reduced cooldown times by 8%. I let her have it without comment. She'd earned it ten times over.
Brutus wiped sweat from his brow. "We… did it?"
"Almost," I said. "One more room."
The last chamber was a platform puzzle.
Two bridges. One path visible at a time. Step on the wrong tile and the platform dropped you into a lava pit. No respawns.
I paused before entering.
"This part," I said, "is a leap of faith."
Sera frowned. "Meaning?"
"Meaning the last tile doesn't light up. You have to guess it."
"Or?" Brutus asked.
"Or you die and the instance resets."
They stared at me.
"No pressure," I added.
We crossed one at a time, stepping carefully.
When we reached the final tile, we all stood on the second-to-last square, staring at the blank space before us.
Sera folded her arms. "You remember the correct one?"
"No," I admitted. "It's randomized."
Brutus blinked. "Then how do we—?"
Sera stepped forward.
And walked.
Nothing happened.
Then a soft chime echoed.
Puzzle Phase 3: Complete.
Trial Complete.
+2,400 XP
+Trial Achievement: Obsidian's Echo
Loot Unlocked: Flame-Touched Ring (INT +5, Mana Regen +2/sec)
Brutus and I just gawked.
Sera turned back to us, her face unreadable.
"I guessed," she said.
"Lucky guess," I muttered.
She gave the tiniest shrug. "Or maybe I'm just smarter."
We walked back to the entrance in silence, the kind of quiet that settles over a team after they survive something that could've gone really, really wrong — but didn't.
Before she logged out, Sera turned to me.
"I'll join," she said. "Your guild."
My heart kicked in my chest.
"Seriously?"
"I still think you talk too much. And your tank is easily startled."
"Hey!" Brutus squeaked.
"But you're better than the others. At least you try."
She turned and faded into logout particles.
I stared after her, stunned.
Brutus clapped me on the back. "Dude. We did it."
"We really did."
The guild wasn't official yet.
But it was real.
And soon?
The rest of the world would find out what we were building.
One trial at a time.