2026-08-18 14:17:39
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A Guild Takes Shape
Mirae found him in the training hall not long after he'd worked up a decent sweat testing out different angles with Rending Claws, Yuna trailing in behind her with Pyra perched on her shoulder as usual."Wrap it up," Mirae said, waving a hand toward the door. "Everyone's here. Time to make it official."Seojin let the faint light fade from his knuckles and fell into step beside Yuna as they followed Mirae down the corridor. "Everyone who?""You'll see," Yuna said, grinning like she already knew something he didn't."That's not ominous at all.""Never said it was ominous. Just said you'll see." She bumped his shoulder with hers, Pyra letting out a small chirp of amusement, and Seojin gave up trying to pry anything else out of her, falling into step behind Mirae instead as the halls grew busier the closer they got to the meeting room.The meeting room was bigger than Seojin expected, a long table down the center with enough chairs for everyone Mirae had apparently gathered. Jin and Jae
The First Steps
By the time Seojin got home, showered, and finally collapsed onto his bed, exhaustion had settled so deep into his bones that even lifting his arm to pull up his interface felt like a small act of defiance. He did it anyway, curiosity winning out over how badly he wanted to just close his eyes. The skill tree bloomed into view above him, familiar branches for Strength, Speed, and Durability arranged in their usual loose spiral, most of their paths still dimmed and locked further out. But now there was a fourth branch sitting beside them, one that hadn't existed before tonight, glowing faintly gold where the others glowed blue. A small label hovered over it: Technique, Unlocked by Skill Key. "Guess that's what the key was for," Seojin murmured, propping himself up on one elbow to look closer. Fenrir, curled at the foot of the bed in his smaller form, cracked one eye open. "Show me." Seojin angled the interface slightly, though he wasn't entirely sure Fenrir could actually see it th
Paying the Price
Minjae knelt on the polished floor of Obsidian Fang's main hall, arms raised above his head, shoulders shaking. The bruises from the alley had darkened, one eye swollen half shut, and he still hadn't looked up once since Mirae had walked in."Would you like to rot in prison for the rest of your life?" Mirae's voice carried none of the easy warmth Seojin had gotten used to over the past few days. It was flat, cold, the voice of someone who had clearly done this before and had no patience left for excuses."No," Minjae whispered, barely audible."No, what?""No, ma'am."Mirae circled him slowly, arms crossed, boots clicking against the floor. Soondae sat perfectly still on her head for once, no chittering, no squirming, as if even the bat knew better than to interrupt this. "You hired armed mercenaries to hunt down a classmate in broad daylight. Do you understand how many charges that carries? Attempted murder alone would put you away until you're an old man."Minjae's breath hitched, a
The Beast Within
The shadow lunging in from the side never reached him.Fenrir met it head on, already at his full size before the attacker's blade could finish its arc, shoulders slamming into the masked figure with enough force to send them crashing through a stack of crates and into the alley's far wall. Wood splintered. The masked figure crumpled to the ground and didn't get back up right away, one arm bent at an angle it shouldn't have been."One down," Fenrir said, not even looking particularly satisfied about it.Seojin scrambled the rest of the way to his feet, heart slamming against his ribs, the quest prompt still glowing faintly at the edge of his vision. He counted heads fast. Not four. Closer to seven, maybe eight, spread across the mouth of the alley and the fire escape above, cutting off every exit he could see."Fen, there's too many—""There are exactly as many as there are," Fenrir cut in, unbothered. "I could end this in under a minute if I wished. But you will not grow if I always
The Ones Watching
Seojin woke to his alarm for once, no early stirring, no lying there staring at the ceiling before it went off. He dragged himself upright, blinking against the gray morning light, and reached automatically for his uniform hanging on the door. "You're slower than usual," Fenrir said from somewhere near the closet, voice still thick with something like sleep even though Seojin wasn't entirely sure the wolf actually needed it. "Long day yesterday," Seojin muttered, pulling his shirt on. "Cut me some slack." Fenrir didn't answer, just let out a low huff that Seojin had learned to interpret as agreement dressed up as complaint. He got dressed, grabbed his bag, and headed out the door with the guild card tucked into his pocket, the same shimmering jacket settling over his shoulders the moment he pressed his thumb to it in the hallway mirror. School passed in the usual blur, one class bleeding into the next, and for the most part nobody bothered him. A few glances here and there, nothing
Reflection and Bonds
The Obsidian Fang headquarters buzzed with activity well into the late afternoon, crates of equipment scattered across the labs and halls, wires and mana conduits spilling out like veins of some half-grown beast. Seojin hefted a crate of training pads, arms straining as he followed Mirae's directions toward a storage room, while Yuna walked ahead, balancing a box of tech components, Pyra chirping indignantly on her shoulder every time it wobbled."This is worse than training," Yuna groaned, setting her crate down with a thud. "My arms are gonna fall off."Mirae, leaning against a cluttered lab table, smirked without looking up. "Quit whining, firecracker. You're building character.""I've got plenty of character already," Yuna shot back, flopping down onto the crate to catch her breath. "I don't need more; I need a nap."Seojin lowered his own crate and wiped the sweat from his brow. The work was grueling, but there was a rhythm to it, and despite the ache settling into his shoulders,
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