By the time they returned from the mountain, the sun had begun its slow descent, casting long golden shadows across the town square. Boots dragged across the path and the youths’ shoulders sagged. Even the loudest among them had gone quiet; not even a peep was heard from the whole group except for the steady rhythm of marching steps.

Brahm marched at the front smiling and happy, as if he had merely taken a leisurely stroll, already optimistic about the town’s future.

They walked through town, receiving sympathetic glances from the townsfolk as they passed, dirty and beaten.

When they reached the space before the guild hall, Brahm stopped abruptly and turned.

"Alright, Line up."

A collective groan nearly escaped the whole group. Most of them were dead on their feet. Even Teclos, who had held himself upright through sheer stubbornness all day, felt his legs trembling faintly.

’Again?’

This was bordering on one of Talmir’s infamous "character-building" workouts — the kind where muscles and mind often both failed under the pressure.

Still, they lined up.

Brahm ignored the exhausted and hostile glares.

"In here," he announced, voice steady and merciless, "will be the last test today."

Relief flickered across faces — briefly.

"It is also a newly added addition to the coming-of-age ceremony. The chambers I am about to show you were completed two months ago during the renovations."

Concern replaced relief instantly.

Ralph leaned toward Teclos and Gillard, whispering, "What do you think they’re going to have us do in there?"

Teclos shrugged.

"Beats me."

Gillard did the same.

Ralph frowned. "This is why muscle-brained apes are useless," he muttered under his breath. "Can’t even hold a conversation..."

Teclos smirked faintly despite his fatigue.

"Just shut up and listen, will you."

Brahm handed a rolled parchment to one of the elders — clearly interim grading notes — before continuing.

"These chambers hold up to forty people each. We will split you down the middle again. Hunters will accompany you for safety as well."

He turned toward the entrance.

"For now — follow me."

Teclos had passed the guild hall countless times.

But he had never truly been inside it, except for that one time years ago.

As they stepped inside, a large lobby awaited them with a high painted ceiling and stone pillars along the sides. Fatigue faded for a moment, replaced by awe.

The Guild Hall dominated the center of town like a fortress built from stone, blood, sweat, and tears. It looked imposing and eternal.

Built from thick gray stone blocks darkened by decades of rain and smoke, the structure rose three full stories above ground — broad, rectangular, and unadorned. It was not built to impress nobles. It was built to endure and to be the last shelter if the walls were ever breached.

The reinforced entrance doors loomed tall enough for a mounted rider to pass through without lowering his head. Above them, the guild crest had been carved deep into the stone — so deep that even time itself would struggle to erase it.

Inside, the main hall opened wide and high, supported by heavy stone pillars blackened from years of lantern smoke. The ceiling stretched nearly two stories upward, allowing noise to rise and disperse — and it did.

The air carried layered sounds: boots on stone in hurried steps, clinking armor as it was fitted on, murmured negotiations near the reception tables, bursts of laughter, the sharp edge of arguments. It was alive, full of activity and people — until suddenly the sounds stopped as heads turned toward them.

More than one youth suddenly grew nervous.

They moved onward.

To the right stood long oak reception counters scarred by knives, ink stains, and the occasional fit of anger. Behind them hung quest boards covered in pinned parchments — escort missions, gathering requests, monster exterminations beyond the northern ridge.

To the left were tables and benches where hunters sat and compared injuries, boasted victories, quietly suffered or drank their worries away. Beyond that lay medical chambers — practical rooms where healers treated wounds too severe for field kits.

And farthest from the entrance were two wide staircases built into the wall.

One descended into what seemed to be a cellar. Strangely, it was sealed with an iron door that had no visible handle.

The other ascended into what appeared to be the administrative section of the guild hall.

Between them rested the Four Ring — a carved circular mechanism embedded in stone. Teclos watched as Brahm activated it. The ring hummed faintly with mana before unlocking the sealed passage downward.

Above ground were spare rooms, training chambers, vaults, offices.

Below ground...

The air shifted.

Cold escaped from the cellar.

Heavy and stale.

The first subterranean floor held reinforced storage rooms, monster-part processing chambers, holding cells, and several sealed doors.

Teclos’ steps slowed.

Holding cells...

The second underground level felt different. Mana-sealed chambers lined the corridors. Thick stone walls. Sigils etched into the bedrock itself.

The entire structure felt less like a building and more like a layered machine.

From the outside, it was large — the largest building in town.

But from within, it seemed even larger, holding many secrets. It was truly the cornerstone and heart of Kolma.

Even some hunters murmured quietly about the renovations. Brahm had not merely upgraded the guild hall with one or two rooms and a fresh coat of paint.

He had fortified it — added an entire additional floor above and below ground. With many new facilities.

At the end of the lowest corridor stood two massive iron-bound doors.

Brahm stopped before them and turned.

"This is where the final test will be held."

The corridor was quiet enough to hear someone swallow.

"For safety reasons, if you feel overwhelming discomfort, you may withdraw immediately. Hunters will escort you out if you pass out."

He gestured to the doors.

"These are climate-altering chambers. One fueled by volcanic rune stone shards. One by ice rune stone shards."

A ripple passed through the hunters accompanying them. Even they seemed shocked.

"You will enter the chambers, sit down, and endure the heat or cold for as long as you can."

He continued explaining — how to circulate mana through their bodies, how to build internal resistance, how the test would last thirty minutes per chamber, how quitting early would not disqualify them but the time would be noted.

When he finished, he asked, "Questions?"

Teclos raised his hand.

Brahm’s brow lifted slightly. "Yes?"

"How much did this cost?"

The hunters perked up their ears.

Brahm looked at him and answered flatly.

"A lot."

Teclos nodded slowly.

His gaze drifted briefly back toward the holding cells they had passed.

Chambers that manipulated extreme heat and cold...

Useful for training like this.

Also useful for other things, like torture.

The dark thought lingered longer than he liked.

Brahm turned back to the doors.

"Alright, split up and enter."

When the doors opened, a violent mixture of heat and cold surged into the corridor, clashing currents twisting the air.

The sixty youths split in half.

Teclos, Ralph, and Loric entered the volcanic chamber.

The moment Teclos stepped through, it felt like walking into the mouth of a monster and being swallowed alive.

If he had to describe it—

It was like stepping through the gates of hell.

The mana in the chamber felt warped. Distorted. Oppressive.

Stone benches lined the circular walls. Rune-etched crystals embedded between stones glowed faintly red.

They sat down and were immediately pressed by the Heat .

Their breathing became ragged at once.

Each inhale felt like swallowing fire.

Some youths lasted barely three minutes before panic overtook them.

"I can’t breathe!"

Hunters escorted them out swiftly.

Teclos closed his eyes and focused on his mana.

This chamber reminded him of a Sauna.

He remembered them from his old world — small wooden rooms filled with dry heat.

Only this was ten times worse.

But the memory helped nonetheless.

As he began circulating mana slowly, carefully, through his entire body.

It formed a faint internal barrier — not blocking the heat entirely, but dulling its ferocious bite.

Sweat poured from him in waves; he was soaked almost instantly.

His skin burned.

Muscles still ached from earlier trials.

Beside him, Ralph tried to be brave at first.

"So... easy..." he muttered weakly.

Five minutes later, he was silent, jaw clenched, he was barely enduring and Loric fared no better.

Time stretched and each second felt like eternety.

Teclos felt exhaustion creeping in. Lifting stones, running hills, climbing cliffs — all of it weighing on him...on all of then.

Maintaining mana flow required discipline.

He treated it like training to forget the pain.

Like forging steel.

He entered a deeply focused state.

By the time a hunter tapped his shoulder, he wasn’t sure how long had passed.

"It’s time."

Thirty minutes had passed.

It had felt like eternity.

He opened his eyes slowly and stood on unsteady legs.

When he stepped out, he realized the chamber was empty.

He had been the last one to endure.

Outside, the others from both chambers stood in various states of recovery.

No one else had lasted the full duration.

Teclos smirked faintly at Ralph and Gillard.

"I win this one."

Ralph stared at him. "You’re a masochist dude."

Gillard shook his head. "You really do love pain."

Teclos just shrugged.

His insides still felt like molten iron.

It had been hell.

But he didn’t let it show.

After ten minutes of recovery, Brahm ordered them into the second chamber.

This time, Teclos entered the ice chamber.

The cold was unbearable — even worse than the heat.

It was immediate and Violent.

Their bones felt like they could fracture at the faintest touch.

Breathing felt like inhaling shards of glass.

Frost formed along hair and lashes within seconds.

Stone benches radiated bone-deep chill.

Some lasted five minutes.

Some less.

Teclos forced mana to circulate again.

Different from the heat chamber, this time mana helped preserve warmth inside his body so he wouldn’t freeze solid.

Instead of waves of sweat, frost formed along his skin.

His limbs trembled. His jaw remained clenched the entire time.

Vision blurred as frost crusted over his eyes. He closed them to be safe.

Time froze.

Quite literally.

Every second stretched painfully long.

It felt like being inside the stomach of a wraith.

When the hunter tapped him again, he tried to open his eyes.

They were frozen shut.

The hunter helped him stand as he trembled uncontrollably and guided him forward since he could not see.

When he emerged, his hair had turned white with frost. His skin nearly blue.

Ralph and Gillard stared.

He moved slowly, and stiffly.

Even the hunters looked impressed — and slightly concerned.

To endure both chambers fully — after everything else that day —

It bordered on insanity.

Or obsession.

Or both.

Teclos sat down next to Gillard and Ralph. They remained silent.

Shivering and with burning eyes, he asked, "What? No snarky comment?"

"There is something seriously wrong with you," Gillard replied, still shaking aswell.

"I think his training obsession has turned into a mental illness by now," Ralph added.

Gillard nodded in agreement, as did several others who had overheard.

Teclos didn’t mind.

If that was what it took to be first, he would gladly accept the criticism and push forward.

After all, this was his second life.

If not now, when? 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

After another ten minutes passed and everyone had mostly recovered, Brahm spoke for the final time that day.

"Everyone is dismissed. Good job enduring the trials so far. Tomorrow is the final evaluation day. Get some rest, and we will see each other tomorrow."

And with that—

The day finally ended.

Teclos barely remembered walking home.

His body moved on instinct alone, one heavy step after another through the dimly lit streets of town. The night air was cool, but after the ice chamber it barely registered.

When he opened the door, Saldia and Talmir were already waiting inside.

"There you are—" Saldia began, relief washing over her face.

Teclos gave a faint nod.

"I’m home."

That was all he managed.

He walked past them without another word, entered his room, and collapsed face-first onto the bed.

Still dressed and in his boots.

He was asleep before his head even properly settled into the pillow.

Saldia stood frozen for a moment.

Her brows furrowed.

"He didn’t even eat... he looks pale... do you think something happened?"

Talmir glanced toward his room, listening to the silence. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Don’t worry," he said calmly. "He’s just exhausted."

Saldia didn’t look entirely convinced.

But she nodded slowly.

Teclos didn’t move a muscle.

There was only darkness and deep, deep dreamless sleep.