Blackstone Keep was silent.
Kael marched at the head of the column. Behind him, the squad hauled the stretchers. Miller's body lay on the first; the pieces of Bronn's squad occupied the rest.
The recruits' boots struck the cobblestones in unison. Heavy. Rhythmic. Blood had dried into stiff, dark patches on their tunics. They looked straight ahead.
Master Garric waited at the gate. He lifted the sheet covering Bronn. He looked at the torn flesh. He looked at the gnawed bone. He walked to the sled and nudged the Alpha's carcass with his boot.
"Report."
"Bronn split the force in the fog," Kael said. He stood at attention. "He walked into a nest. My squad held the ravine. We broke the pack. We recovered the bodies."
Garric looked at Kael. Then his eyes moved to the squad—the tight semi-circle they had formed behind their leader.
"Bronn was strong," Garric said. He dropped the sheet. "He was also arrogant. Arrogance feeds the crows."
He pointed at the Alpha. "You put this down?"
"I finished it."
Garric nodded. "Miller's family gets his pension. You take command of Bronn's leftovers. You have eighteen men now. Don't waste them."
[ Two Days Later ]
Kael sat in his quarters. The room smelled of wet stone and mildew.
Outside, the window frame rattled under the wind. A blizzard had buried the training grounds in waist-deep drifts, freezing the mud into iron-hard ridges.
Through the whiteout, black rain fell.
It hit the stone sill with a hiss. Kael watched a thick, oily droplet land on the accumulated snow. It didn't freeze. It sizzled, boring a hole through the drift, melting the ice into gray sludge.
Kael wiped a splash of the water from the ledge. The skin on his finger reddened and stung.
Ironforge was suffocating.
In the mess hall that morning, the gruel had been thin gray water. The Quartermaster stood on a crate, shouting over the line. "Grain shipments are rotting in the wagons! Rain got through the tarps. Eat what you have or starve!"
Bread cost five coppers now. Meat was gone.
Kael walked through the Merchant District on his return. The streets were empty. Near the water pump, a washerwoman scrubbed a tunic, her hands shaking.
"Young Master Leo screams at night," she whispered to the girl beside her. "Says the plaster is scratching. Fired the cook yesterday for staring at him."
Kael had kept walking. He looked at his own hand now. Steady. But his stomach cramped—a sharp, hollow twist.
Gluttony Ritual burned energy. The recruit salary wouldn't cover the food costs.
He focused on the air in front of him.
[ USER: KAEL ]
[ CLASS: RECRUIT SQUAD LEADER ]
[ VITALITY: 1.8 ]
[ STRENGTH: 1.6 ]
[ AGILITY: 1.3 ]
[ AETHER POINTS: 6 ]
[ SKILLS: ]
Earth Breath Stance (Adept)
Gluttony Ritual (Adept)
Iron Breaker Style (Adept)
Six points.
He looked at the Strength attribute. Then he looked down at his chest. The tunic was threadbare linen. He remembered the weight of the Alpha, the claws tearing through the shield wall like paper.
He looked at the Skill list.
[ EARTH BREATH STANCE (ADEPT) ]
[ UPGRADE AVAILABLE: EXPERT ] [ COST: 4 AETHER POINTS ]
He focused on the upgrade.
[ AETHER POINTS: 6 -> 2 ]
[ INITIATING STRUCTURAL REFORGING... ]
[ WARNING: HIGH PAIN THRESHOLD REQUIRED. ]
Heat flooded his marrow.
Kael seized the edges of his cot. His knuckles popped. The sensation wasn't an impact; it was pressure, expanding from the inside out. His bones vibrated. The skin across his arms pulled taut, pores shrinking, the texture shifting.
He locked his jaw. Sweat ran into his eyes. His muscles seized, twisting against the new density of the frame beneath them.
The heat broke. The pressure settled into a heavy, dull solidity.
[ SKILL: EARTH BREATH STANCE (EXPERT) ]
Passive: Structural Reinforcement — Body stability and impact tolerance increased
Passive: Iron Skin — Dermis density +200%
[ DESCRIPTION: Dermis density increased by 200%. Minor resistance to blunt force and slashing damage. ]
Kael exhaled, chest heaving.
He picked up the iron dagger from his belt. He placed the edge against his forearm and pressed.
The skin depressed, but did not split.
He increased the force. The metal dug in, meeting the resistance of cured leather. He pressed until his hand shook. Finally, a single bead of blood welled up, thick and dark.
Kael sheathed the dagger.
[ AETHER POINTS: 2 ]
Two points remained. He closed the interface.
He sat on the bunk, listening to the black rain hiss against the stone.