Chapter 79 – The Obsidian Thread.

The landscape south of the Ivory Citadel gradually shed its white marble stones and flower-lined avenues as the road descended toward the sector's great tectonic fault. The vegetation darkened, purple-leaved trees gave way to petrified trunks, and the ground became a thick shell of black volcanic glass, gleaming beneath the reflection of subterranean lava running under the fissures.

Diana led the march, her new long frock coat of black imperial leather unbuttoned over her Dragon Chestplate. Beside her, Rhea moved without making the slightest sound in her night-blue overcoat, Kael carried his Volcanic Shield secure in his heavy grip, Aurelia-Elysia adjusted her potion pouches on her belt, and Seraphina carried her silver grimoire with the Resonance Gem set into its spine.

The squad's destination was one of the densest transition zones in all of the Second Circle: The Volcanic Glass Gorges (Level 38-40).

Unlike the Amethyst Labyrinth, which had been a closed, claustrophobic siege of endurance, the Gorges were an open chasm of obsidian canyons carved by magma geysers and natural bridges of black glass. The monsters inhabiting the location didn't rely on illusions or curse spells; they were elemental predators of raw thermal damage and razor-sharp carapaces ranging from Level 38 to 40.

At the volcanic border's forward checkpoint, Diana paid the official fee of two silver coins to secure a high-level hunting permit. With that, the faction vault's balance adjusted to three hundred eight silver coins before they took their first step into the canyon.

The air inside the chasm was dry, hot, and smelled of burnt silica. Walls of pure obsidian rose thirty meters high on both sides of the trail, reflecting the orange glow of lava pits like gigantic black mirrors.

Diana activated [Aura of Arcane Domain] and [Commander's Loot], feeling her 980 mana points and 151 Intelligence points circulate in a steady rhythm through her channels. But as they walked down the stone gorge, the Commander's mind wasn't focused solely on the monsters ahead.

She was calculating the group's new combat geometry.

With Seraphina's permanent addition, the Arcane Greed Faction was no longer a traditional four-member squad, but a mixed five-headed unit. And adding a Level 38 Summoner with stone golems to a team used to working with open space created friction that Diana needed to smooth out before reaching the bottom of the ravine.

The first practical test of this new formation happened at the canyon's bend.

The black glass floor crackled loudly as a pack of six Obsidian Magma Hounds (Level 38) leaped from the wall ledges. The creatures were the size of warhorses, with carapaces made of sharp black glass scales and jaws dripping liquid fire.

Seraphina reacted out of pure solo adventurer reflex. She snapped open her silver grimoire and slammed her hand onto the page set with the resonance gem.

Summon: Level 37 Runic Quartz Titan!

A four-meter-tall titan of pure rock materialized in the center of the trail with a monumental crash of dust and purple light.

The problem was positioning.

***

The Titan's colossal body materialized squarely in Kael's charge line. The vanguard, who had already sprinted with his Volcanic Shield to lock down the frontline using [Iron Taunt], had to slam on his brakes, his boots skidding across the black glass to avoid plowing into the back of Seraphina's golem.

That interruption in Kael's sprint disrupted the center line. Two of the magma hounds flanked the Titan on the left at the exact second Rhea was using [Phantom Step] with Agility 103 to launch an aerial strike.

The wolf girl had to twist her body in midair to dodge the Titan's blind swinging arm, losing her critical slash angle on the monster's neck.

To compound the confusion, Aurelia-Elysia and Seraphina projected defensive spells onto the same target: Aurelia cast a [Protection Barrier] over Kael's shoulder in the exact millisecond Seraphina activated a quartz shell on the same spot, causing the two magic matrices to collide and dissipate part of their mana into the air as useless sparks.

Diana didn't shout. She stepped two paces forward with absolute coldness.

With Intelligence 151, she unleashed an [Arcane Storm Orb] that exploded among the magma hounds, stunning the beasts for three seconds with static electricity. Next, she channeled a sweeping [Greed's Flame] that engulfed the monsters' black glass carapaces, devouring the creatures' MP and cracking the obsidian until Rhea and Kael finished off the stunned targets.

Combat concluded in two minutes, but the disarray had been obvious.

Diana raised her left hand, halting the party in the center of the black rock clearing.

Kael rested his shield against the obsidian wall, taking a deep breath and scratching his neck behind his helm. “Your golem is impressive, Seraphina… but it's the size of a house. I nearly ran right into it.”

Seraphina blushed, adjusting her glasses with trembling fingers, hugging her grimoire against her chest. “S-Sorry… I'm used to throwing the Titan into the middle of everything to give myself time to run…”

Diana crossed her arms over her Dragon Chestplate, fixing the five of them with a calm yet firm, surgical gaze.

“We are a siege unit, not hunters fighting over space.” Diana said, her crisp voice cutting through the crackle of lava. “Seraphina, your golems are not our primary vanguard. This faction's fixed anchor is Kael with his volcanic shield. When you summon the Quartz Titan, position it three meters to Kael's right, acting as a mobile flank-containment wall, never in the center.”

She turned to Aurelia-Elysia and Seraphina:

“Aurelia, you handle direct protection for Kael and my rear guard. Seraphina, you manage the mana and barriers of your own spirits using your new imperial gem. No overlapping protection spells on the exact same spot.”

Finally, Diana looked at Rhea:

“Rhea, use the Quartz Titan's height to your advantage. If the terrain is narrow, use the golem's stone shoulders as a jumping platform with Phantom Step to land on the monsters' backs.”

Rhea perked her silver ears, her amber eyes glowing at the idea. “Using the golem as a springboard… That's brilliant, Diana!”

Seraphina nodded firmly, flipping through her book to calibrate her summoning circles. “Understood, Commander! Right flank and containment support!”

***

The test of the adjusted formation happened ten minutes later, as the squad descended to the second shelf of the Glass Gorges.

Three Black Glass Drakes (Level 39), six-meter winged reptiles coated in razor obsidian plates, swooped down from the chasm walls, roaring as they spewed jets of concentrated lava.

The new machinery operated with terrifying harmony.

Kael pressed through the center, anchoring his 870 HP Volcanic Shield and pulling the first drake with [Iron Taunt].

Seraphina summoned the Quartz Titan exactly three meters to the right, pinning the second drake against the rock wall with its massive stone arms.

Rhea streaked forward with Agility 103. She used the shoulder of Seraphina's stone Titan as a foothold, vaulted ten meters into the air via [Phantom Step], and dropped straight onto the third drake's neck mid-flight. Her Dragon Daggers slashed the creature's wings in a five-hundred-damage critical strike, sending the monster plunging to the ground.

Diana finished off the engagement from medium range.

With Intelligence 151, she fired two [Arcane Ice Lances] that froze the drakes' hot glass scales, shattering their thermal carapaces into thousands of fragments before the monsters could take flight again.

No formation clash occurred. No spell was wasted.

Kael laughed aloud, clearing gravel from his shield, while Seraphina adjusted her glasses with a wide smile of accomplishment upon seeing her summon integrate flawlessly with Rhea and Diana's offense.

Rhea collected the lava cores and obsidian scales dropped along the way. Thanks to [Commander's Loot], the harvest from the first sectors yielded 12 Pure Silver Coins, raising the faction vault's balance to 320 Silver Coins (32 Gold Coins).

Diana looked down the deep trail descending toward the heart of the volcanic fissure, where Level 40 monsters guarded veins of black iron.

The machine was tuned with its five members. Synchronization was found. And the Arcane Greed Faction pressed forward on its unstoppable march toward the top of the Second Circle.