"Welcome to Frosthold, Mr. Kang."
I watched as Commander Voss left the room, and followed suit shortly after. I was met by a young man in his 20's who had black fatigues on and was currently zipping up a puffy coat overtop.
"Afternoon, Mr. Kang. I am Corporal Reyes. I'll be showing you to your quarters, and will retrieve you tomorrow morning to escort you for tomorrows tasks."
I noted that he wasn't entirely formal, but I couldn't care less, "Thanks, could you take me someplace I can grab some food first?" I asked, hoping that I could actually get some real food in me for once.
"Your room will have food delivered to it shortly after you arrive. Don't ask me what, even I don't know what the menu is day to day." He replied while turning towards the exit.
I followed suit, still in my cold weather gear. We exited and I felt the chill hit my face like a cold slap. It didn't help that I was no longer using any magics to keep myself warm.
I decided that it would be best not to use any magics while inside these walls for the time being. If they had already caught me then so be it, but I'm not trying to advertise what I can do.
I followed Corporal Reyes through the makeshift streets of the outpost. Prefabricated metal buildings. Smoke rising from chimneys. Training yards. Patrols.
"So what's your story?" Reyes asked. "Word around base is you came from the Parallax facility."
"I did. Woke up there around a week ago. Had to evacuate three days ago."
"Brutal. The Imperium's been here 10-15 years. Annexed the planet shortly after. Supposed to be some big assignment, but..." He shrugged.
We reached a large building, four stories, windows lining the walls. Some shuttered, others showing personal belongings.
"This is where you'll be staying until further notice." He said turning to me. "Let me show you inside."
As I walked past the double door entrance, I was hit with a warmth as I saw what looked like a common room.
Past a small entrance, I saw the common room filled with men playing card games, some going over documents, and a large group of men taking bets on a pair in Virtual Reality combat.
"We try to get by with whatever entertainment we can get. The cold doesn't make it easy. If you decide you want to hang out, meet the locals, you can come down here." He said as he went to start heading up the stairs. "You coming?"
I blinked. I wrenched myself from the scene before me and replied, "Coming."
Moving up to the second floor, the sounds of the downstairs were mostly quelled. This floor was a long hallway lined with rooms on either side. The faint hum of machinery whirring was oddly comforting.
"You'll be at the end here." Reyes said moving to the end of the hall.
A door on the right of the hallway: '28'. A small card reader above the handle was the only thing of real note on the door.
Reyes tapped his badge to the door and stated, "You'll get your own badge tomorrow when you register, until then, your door is mapped to mine. Food should be here soon. And I don't think I'm forgetting anything..." he stroked his clean shaven chin with his hand. "Nope, welcome to home sweet home."
He pushed open the door and I walked inside, with a small nod towards Reyes. "Thanks." And after I entered the room, I let the door sing past me and leaned back. I sat down, letting my back slide down the door.
I wanted to cry.
The amount of time that I spent outside, moments from death, and the above all, the cold. But finally, I was somewhere warm. I sat there for a moment, seconds turned to minutes, and I just sat there.
>"You should take a shower. It has been a long week."
"You're right, it has."
I finally looked up from my lap, and I saw a grey room, with black sheets. The room was maybe 4 meters by 6 meters, it had a desk, a bed, a storage locker, a bathroom, and a window that overlooked training grounds.
I picked myself up and went to take a shower. The bathroom was small but usable, a toilet, shower, and sink with mirror were all that were there. The hot water was heaven on my face, the cold ache in my bones melting away with the heat. I got out and looked at myself in the mirror.
I felt different. Something felt off.
My face was gaunt. My cheekbones more pronounced, jaw sharper. I'd lost weight, maybe eight kilograms. But underneath the thinness was something else. Muscle definition that hadn't been there before. My shoulders looked broader. My frame more solid.
The beard growth made me look older. Rougher. Not the clean-cut junior developer who'd died in a Seoul alley.
Yet after everything, it was still me. I was taller, thinner, my body had scarring and bruises, but there was a scar going over the bridge of my nose that I hadn't seen before. Looking at it closer I could see faint golden stitches in the same pattern I used to seal the dimensional tearing.
I touched the scar. Felt the raised tissue. The golden threads beneath, mana crystallized into my skin during the Precursor ruin experience.
Evidence I couldn't hide.
>"The mana integration has altered your cellular structure," AXIOM said quietly. "You're approximately 8% denser than baseline human. Bone density increased. Muscle fiber restructured."
"How long until I'm... what? Not human anymore?"
>"Unknown. The process appears to be stabilizing. But Mr. Kang, you are already something different."
I stared at my reflection.
She was right.
The man looking back wasn't Ethan Kang, junior developer. That person had died in a Seoul alley with a rusty knife in his gut.
This was someone else. Someone who'd carved pocket dimensions from reality. Someone who'd walked through a blizzard that killed trained soldiers. Someone who could feel dimensional fabric like other people felt temperature.
I wasn't pretending to be a mage anymore.
I was one.
I put my clothes back on, and went to go look out the window, the glass was frosted over, but I could still see soldiers on the field performing weapons training. Some were throwing knives, others were shooting guns.
I was lost thought over how many people really lived on this base when I heard a loud knock at my door.
I pulled it open and there was a small woman standing in front of me. She was in the normal fatigues that I saw most people wear outdoors, and was holding a covered tray, and beneath it, a smaller box.
"Afternoon, sir. I was instructed to deliver these to you." She said.
"Thanks." I said weakly.
"You're new around here right? I haven't seen your face, and I know them all. There hasn't been a ship in or out of this post for months so that means you came from outside the walls right?" She was handing me the stack as she said that, her eyes looking expectant.
"Yeah, not nearly as fun as this grey box here though." I jested.
"I've got other things I need to do but I'm glad I got to meet you. See you around!" She said, and she was turned to leave without a second thought. Her pace oddly quick for her short legs.
I closed the door and went to eat. I took the cover off and while it didn't look much better than the rations, it sure tasted better. I ate while watching the people train down below, the rhythmic bolts of light coming out of the weapons mesmerizing while I ate. After that I looked in the box and saw a new set of clothes. Underwear, thick pants, a tank top, and a sweatshirt. They were black with red stitching, and a white logo on each of the garments showing a galaxy.
I put them on, and they were super warm, warmer than my coats and clothes that I took from Parallax. I took off the sweatshirt and tried to go to bed.
Looking up at the ceiling, I thought about today's events.
"How do you think I handled today?"
>"You handled today well. Revealed enough to seem cooperative, concealed enough to maintain an advantage. The will definitely push for more information tomorrow. If Parallax is informed, which they will be, they'll send representatives. They still want information, and the remaining data from CL-7731."
"So less of a utopia, more of a prison."
I braced a chair against the door, closed the blinds and fell asleep quickly.
"Goodn-"
>"Goodnight, Mr. Kang."
I woke up to a loud knocking at the door.
"Good morning, I'm here to collect you for your registration."
It was Corporal Reyes.
"Commander Voss wants you at the testing facility in 10 minutes."
I scrambled out of bed, removed the chair from the door, and opened it.
Corporal Reyes stood there, looking far too awake for whatever ungodly hour this was.
"Morning," he said. "Sleep well?"
"Like the dead." I immediately regretted the phrasing.
He handed me a badge, a simple white card with my name and photo (when did they take that?) and "PROBATIONARY MAGE" stamped across it.
"Your temporary ID. Real one comes after registration. Get dressed. We leave in five."
The door closed.
>"Mr. Kang, remember the plan, we need to hide as much as possible. Try to aim for A grade minimum and S grade maximum."
"I know. Let's get this over with."
I dressed quickly, the new clothes fit perfectly, almost suspiciously so. Someone had scanned me. Probably during that airlock entry yesterday.
Five minutes later, I followed Reyes out into the cold.
The testing facility was different from the other buildings. Newer. Purpose-built rather than prefabricated.
Clean white walls instead of gray metal. Glass windows showing multiple chambers inside. Through one, I could see a mage throwing fireballs at targets. Through another, someone practicing barrier formations.
Reyes led me to the entrance.
"This is where I leave you. Magister Thorne will handle the assessment. Good luck."
He left before I could ask questions.
The door opened automatically. Inside, a man in his sixties waited. Gray beard, civilian robes with an unfamiliar insignia: a stylized eye surrounded by magical patterns.
"Mr. Kang. I'm Magister Thorne, Mage Guild representative." He extended a hand.
I shook it. His grip was firm, measured.
"The survivor from CL-7731. Fascinating case. Unsupervised mana integration; you're the first I've encountered who lived." His eyes gleamed with academic curiosity. "Shall we begin?"
He led me deeper into the facility. Sterile corridors. Measurement equipment visible through windows. Other mages being tested.
"Three standard assessments," Thorne explained. "First: capacity measurement. We channel mana into a crystalline device that measures total reserves."
"Second: control evaluation. Precision tasks to assess technique quality."
"Third: spell demonstration. Show me your most advanced capability."
We entered a large chamber. Ten meters across, walls inscribed with glowing runes. In the center, a crystalline pedestal hummed with latent energy.
"Questions?" Thorne asked.
I looked up. Observation window. Commander Voss stood there, watching.
"Who's observing?"
"Commander Voss. Standard protocol. Military likes to know what assets they're hosting. Don't worry, this is Guild business. They can watch, but the assessment is mine alone."
He gestured to the pedestal. "When you're ready. Place your hand on the crystal and channel mana into it. Don't hold back. I need accurate measurements."
I approached. My heart rate increased.
"Remember," AXIOM whispered through our connection. "S-grade. Bright gold glow. Stop there."
I placed my hand on the crystal.
Reached for my cores, all three pulsed in response. I carefully regulated output, drawing primarily from the solar plexus core while keeping the others subtle.
Mana flowed from my hand into the device.
The crystal began glowing. White... pale gold... gold...
Bright gold.
I held the output steady. The glow stabilized at what I hoped was the S-grade threshold.
"Hold that for sixty seconds," Thorne said, writing notes.
I maintained it. Sixty seconds felt like an eternity under Voss's observation.
"Excellent." Thorne made a mark. "S-grade capacity confirmed. Approximately 850 mana units. Lower end of S-grade, but definitively S."
I relaxed slightly. The deception worked.
"Next test," Thorne said. "Control assessment."
"Create a flame. Palm-sized. Hold it steady for two minutes."
I channeled mana through my primary core, shaped it into combustion. A sphere of fire appeared in my palm. Orange, steady, perfectly controlled.
Thorne circled me, observing.
"Good. Now increase temperature without increasing size."
I adjusted the mana flow. The flame shifted from orange to yellow to blue-white.
"Excellent. Now decrease to minimum combustion threshold."
I reduced output carefully. Blue-white down to yellow to orange and lowered it to a dim red, barely burning.
"Hold."
Two minutes. The flame never wavered.
"Remarkable precision," Thorne muttered. "Most S-grade mages struggle with fine control at low output."
He conjured three metal spheres.
"Create a barrier. I'll launch these at you. They won't injure, but they'll hurt if they connect."
I formed a mana barrier, a flat plane, one meter square. I thought of how I made the dimensional space, and reinforced each portion.
Thorne launched the first sphere. My barrier deflected it perfectly.
Second sphere—deflected.
Third sphere—deflected.
"Now create a curved barrier. Hemisphere. I'll increase velocity and number."
This was harder. Curved surfaces required complex shaping.
I visualized: dome structure, reinforced with lattice patterns like my cores. The barrier formed a translucent golden hemisphere.
Thorne launched five spheres simultaneously from different angles.
My barrier held.
Then something happened.
It adapted, reinforcing stress points automatically where impacts occurred.
All five deflected.
Thorne stopped. Stared.
"That's... Mr. Kang, adaptive barrier reinforcement is an advanced technique. Where did you learn it?"
"I didn't learn it," I said slowly. "I could feel where the barrier needed support. The dimensional structure showed me."
Thorne's pen stopped moving. "You could feel it?"
"Yeah. Like..." I searched for words. "Like the barrier was telling me where it was weak. And I just... listened."
Thorne set down his notebook entirely.
"Mr. Kang, that's not technique. That's dimensional sense. An innate awareness of spatial structure."
"Most mages work blind. They calculate, estimate, hope their barriers hold."
"You're perceiving dimensional stress directly."
He looked at me differently now. Not suspicious, just... fascinated.
"How long have you had this ability?"
I thought about it. When had it started?
Carving the demi-plane: I'd felt the dimensional fabric resisting, yielding.
Sealing cracks in the Precursor ruins: I'd sensed the pathways beneath the ground.
Collapsing the Witness's timelines: I'd seen probability branches like physical structures.
"Since integration," I said. "Maybe before. I don't know."
"But when I work with dimensional magic, I don't have to guess. I can feel what's happening."
He wrote extensive notes. "S-grade capacity. S-plus control. Your technique is... exceptional."
"Final test. Show me your most advanced spell. Freeform. No parameters."
I considered. The demi-plane was too unique.
...As if I wasn't in the danger zone enough.
I chose a dimensional blade. It was less unique, showed dimensional affinity without exposing everything.
I extended my hand. Focused my mana into a thin, sharp edge.
Thirty centimeters of dimensional construct materialized. The blade shimmered, warping space slightly along its edge.
Thorne's eyes widened. "Dimensional manipulation. Rare specialty."
He provided a steel bar. "Cut this."
I swung the blade through. It passed through like butter. Clean cut, no resistance.
"How long can you maintain it?"
"Haven't found the limit. Five minutes is comfortable."
I held it for five minutes. I wasn't breaking a sweat. I just hoped I was making a decent impression for an S grade without going too far over.
Thorne set down his notebook.
"S-grade capacity. S-grade control. Dimensional affinity." He looked directly at me. "Mr. Kang, I'm classifying you as S-grade Dimensional Specialist, pending Guild approval."
"However..." He paused. "Your control is too good for unsupervised integration. Your techniques too sophisticated."
My pulse quickened.
"Either you're naturally gifted beyond anyone I've tested, or someone did train you. Which is it?"
I chose to reveal a very careful truth. "I had access to seventy years of research data at CL-7731. Parallax studied dimensional magic extensively. I read everything."
"It also helps that these things just click for me."
Thorne studied me for a long moment.
"...I'll accept that. For now."
He made a final notation in his book.
"Mr. Kang, in thirty years of testing mages, I've encountered three individuals with natural dimensional sense."
"All three became Master-class specialists. One serves as Guild Archmagister. Another leads the Imperium's Dimensional Research Division."
"The third died attempting to stabilize a collapsing pocket dimension that would have killed thousands."
He looked up at me.
"Dimensional magic is powerful. It's also dangerous. The ability to perceive spatial structure is a gift."
"Don't waste it. And don't underestimate how badly people will want to control someone who has it."
A chill ran down my spine.
He handed me the card. Holographic Guild seal. My name. "S-GRADE DIMENSIONAL SPECIALIST" printed below.
"Congratulations, Mr. Kang. You're officially registered."