The hour of the wolf.

  Coldest, darkest part of the night, when even the stars seem to dim and huddle together for warmth. When old folk say evil spirits walk freely, when madmen hear their demons clearest, when the world belongs more to monster than man.

  A blizzard ripped through the air, winds screaming between trees and hills, snow cutting sideways like shards of glass. The cold was the kind that burned, that crept into bones and stayed there. It had turned Arkhos into a city of ghosts.

  And through all this mess moved the wolves. A hundred of them, iron-clad, their armor dark beneath snow-laden cloaks.

  Arthur led his men. Forward, towards the city.

  His enhanced senses picked through the storm's chaos. Imperial boots scraping against stone - guards taking positions in the streets ahead. A cat yowling as it fought over scraps in an alley. A cart wheel's creak as someone hurried to get it under cover. A child's voice, high and worried: "Papa, why are the soldiers-" followed by a sharp "Shh. Away from the window."

  The city lived and breathed ahead of them, but quietly, like a creature trying not to draw attention. Above them, through the blizzard, the floating buildings of Xerkes stood out - the only place still alive with light. The mage council was in session by now.

  "They're watching," one of the men muttered, eyes up.

  Arthur followed his gaze. Dark figures hung in the storm-torn sky, some on brooms, others floating freely, their robes and mana cutting through the snow. Even through the blizzard, he could see the gleam of their attention. Mages - Probably affiliated with the magisterium - waiting to see which way the wind would blow.

  They wouldn't interfere - not unless the fighting spilled into civilian quarters.

  The wolves kept moving, the city's walls growing taller with each step. Finally, they reached the gates of Arkhos.

  A magical barrier shimmered before them, thick and greenish in the storm. Arthur reached out, touched it. Pretty solid.

  Not that it would do much, were they to enter.

  "They're punctual," muttered one of his men, his voice barely carrying over the wind. "Got to give them that."

  The gates suddenly groaned open, metal shrieking against ice. Through the gap, hundreds and hundreds of soldiers stood in formation, red capes thrashing in the wind, silver armor everywhere. But you could see some gold among that silver. Those were Star Knights. At least two hundred of them.

  Arthur studied them. Some turned away from his gaze. One barely had stubble on his chin. Another's hands shook on his sword hilt. Through his enhanced senses, he could hear rapid heartbeats, shaky breaths. A lot of them weren't hardened warriors - just boys in silver armor. In a few years, Adom would be their age too, young adults.

  They were all so damn young.

  A single, golden-armored figure stepped forward from their ranks. Tall, broad-shouldered, moving with the easy confidence of someone used to command. "Commander Arthur Sylla. It is an honor to meet the leader of the Iron Wolves again." His voice carried clear despite the wind. "Though I wish it were under better circumstances."

  "Captain Darius." Arthur's voice was flat. "Heard you made quite a name for yourself in the southern campaigns."

  "And you in the north." Darius gestured at the gathered forces. "Shame we had to meet like this."

  "Is it?"

  "When dawn comes," Darius said, "and the morning bell rings, if you're still at these gates..." He shrugged. "Well. The empire doesn't look kindly on rebels."

  "Rebels?" Arthur's laugh held no humor. "That what they're calling us now?"

  "That's what you'll be. And we'll have to deal with you accordingly."

  "I'd like to see you try."

  Neither man moved. Behind them, soldiers and knights stood ready, hands on weapons, breath frosting in the air. The storm raged around them, but here, in this moment, everything was still.

  Somewhere in the city, Adom had until dawn. The Imperial forces would be occupied here, their attention fixed on the wolves at their door. Whatever needed to be done in the shadows of Arkhos, this was the time to do it.

  *****

  "Adom? Adom Sylla? Is that you?!" Professor Kim squinted at Adom, his hands fidgeting with his sleeve cuffs. He seemed more erratic than usual, his movements sharp and jerky. "No, no, you can't be here. This is- there are guards everywhere, and-"

  "Professor," Vex interrupted, stepping into the room with a predatory smile. She placed a finger against his lips, silencing him instantly. "We're the Iron Wolves. We're here to extract you. And while I'd love to hear your concerns..." her eyes traveled down and back up his body, "we really don't have time for rambling."

  Kim's face flushed immediately as he stared at her, speechless.

  Anders appeared at the doorway, eyebrows raised at Vex's approach before returning to scanning for threats. "Area's secure for now, but we need to move quickly."

  Kim swallowed hard, still staring at Vex. "You're... you're with the Iron Wolves? The elite military unit?"

  "Very elite," Vex winked, moving closer. "And we need to get you out of here right now. So how about you follow my lead, and I'll make sure to keep you..." she trailed a finger along his collar, "...safe."

  Anders and Adom exchanged uncomfortable glances.

  "Vex," Anders said flatly. "Time-sensitive mission here."

  "I am focused," she replied without looking away from Kim. "Just getting our package ready to move. And he seems very ready."

  Kim tugged at his collar, nodding rapidly. "Yes, ready. Completely ready. Wherever you want to go."

  "Good boy," Vex smiled, taking his arm. "Stick close to me, Professor."

  Absolutely repulsive.

  "Took care of some guards already," Adom said, checking the room while trying to ignore Vex's unusual approach. "But there will be more. We need to move now."

  Anders nodded. "Professor, anything essential you need to take?"

  "They... they took everything when they brought me here," Kim said, still visibly flustered by Vex's proximity. "My notes, my calculations..."

  "We'll get it back eventually," Adom cut him off. "But first, we need to get you out safely."

  "You shouldn't be here," Kim suddenly said, looking at Adom with concern. "You're just a student. You're what, thirteen?"

  "Twelve," Adom corrected.

  Before Kim could protest further, Vex tightened her grip on his arm. "Professor, I promise to explain everything about our amazing little prodigy once we're safely away. But right now..." she leaned closer, her lips nearly touching his ear, "I need you to stop talking and start walking."

  Kim's mouth snapped shut, his eyes wide.

  Anders rolled his eyes. "Perimeter check. Now." He stepped into the corridor, signaling an all-clear. "Let's move."

  They moved quickly into the hallway, Vex guiding the still-dazed professor while Adom and Anders took point. They made it halfway down the corridor before a sound made them freeze.

  Boots on stone. Multiple sets, approaching fast.

  Anders drew his sword in one fluid motion. "Six hostiles, east corridor."

  "Behind me," Kim whispered to Adom, attempting to shuffle in front of him.

  "Oh no, handsome," Vex pulled Kim back, placing herself between him and the approaching threat. "You stay behind the professionals. Both of you."

  Kim looked ready to protest but was silenced by Anders' sharp gesture. The knight motioned them toward an alcove in the wall while he and Vex took positions on either side of the corridor.

  The footsteps grew louder. A voice called out, "Patrol coming through! Anyone down here?"

  Anders gave them one last look, then melted into the shadows with Vex, both knights now invisible in the darkness flanking the corridor.

  The first two guards rounded the corner, lanterns raised. They spotted Kim and Adom immediately.

  "What the--" one began, reaching for an alarm whistle at his belt.

  He never finished the sentence. Anders and Vex moved in perfect synchronization, emerging from the shadows like wraiths. There was no wasted motion, no dramatic flourish--just clean, efficient strikes that left both guards unconscious before they could even register what had happened.

  The remaining four guards rounded the corner just in time to see their comrades drop. They pulled weapons, but too late. Vex flowed between them, her daggers finding gaps in armor--not killing, but disabling. Anders moved like water, his sword a blur that somehow never drew blood but left men crumpling to the ground all the same.

  In seconds, it was over. Six armored men lay sprawled on the corridor floor, all breathing but none conscious.

  "Clear," Anders announced, resheathing his sword.

  Vex grinned as she spun her daggers before tucking them away. "That was fun. Been a while since we've done a clean extraction."

  Kim stared at the fallen guards, mouth agape. "That was... you didn't even..."

  "Kill them? Not our orders," Vex said, brushing past him. Her shoulder touched his as she passed, and Kim nearly jumped. "Commander was clear - make as little casualties as possible. Unnecessary bloodshed would just complicate things." She glanced back at the unconscious guards. "Though we can do that too, if you'd prefer a more permanent solution."

  "N-no, no, this is... this is fine," Kim stuttered.

  "I thought so," she smiled. "You strike me as the merciful type, Professor. Soft hands." She glanced down at his hands, then back to his face. "I like that."

  Kim looked to Adom, clearly pleading for help.

  Adom just shrugged, not entirely sure what to make of Vex's behavior. Was she actually interested in the professor, or just messing with him to keep him off-balance? Either way, it was working--Kim seemed too flustered to panic about their situation.

  "We need to move," Anders announced, checking ahead. "More patrols will be coming through soon."

  "Do you even know where to go?" Kim asked, still trying to regain his composure.

  "Every corridor, every stairwell, every guard post," Vex answered. "We've explored most of the place, Professor."

  Kim gulped, his fingers drumming against his leg. For a moment, he looked like he might argue more. Then his shoulders slumped, and he nodded. "What... what should I do?"

  "Follow us." Adom moved forward. "And please stay close."

  *****

  A few moments later...

  "So what's the plan?" Kim asked, trying to keep up as they moved through the corridors.

  "We're getting you out of here," Adom said firmly. "Right now."

  "Now?" Kim looked between them. "But there are guards everywhere, and-"

  Vex placed a hand on the professor's shoulder. "That's why we brought the kid."

  Adom closed his eyes, his consciousness splitting. Through the golem's eyes, he could see Dirk and Bram waiting, weapons ready. He made the hand signals they'd practiced - Found him. Clear to transport.

  Dirk nodded, touching the golem's shoulder. Bram did the same.

  "Stand back," Adom instructed, opening his eyes.

  The air before them shimmered, reality folding in on itself. A flash of blue light, and suddenly the golem stood there - massive, armored, imposing. Behind it, Dirk and Bram appeared, weapons drawn, looking momentarily disoriented from the teleportation.

  Kim stumbled back, eyes wide with shock. "What in the- that's the golem!" He turned to Adom. "That was you? You built that?"

  "I'll explain later," Adom said. "Professor, grab onto the golem's arm. It'll teleport you to safety."

  A pulse of energy suddenly rippled through the air. Adom felt it immediately - a dampening field, subtle but unmistakable. The golem's runes flickered, its steady blue glow faltering momentarily.

  "Something's wrong," Adom said, his senses tingling with warning. "The transportation crystal is being interfered with."

  Anders drew his sword in one smooth motion. "Trap?"

  Vex was already moving, daggers appearing in her hands. "I'll check the-"

  "No need for that," a voice called from the shadows. "I'm right here."

  Gale stepped into view, looking exactly as relaxed as he had when Adom first met him. His sword hung loosely at his side.

  "Well, well," Gale said, his eyes fixed on the golem. "Didn't think I'd see this beauty again so soon." His gaze shifted to Adom. "Twice now, you've used it to escape me. Quite the clever trick."

  The Iron Wolves moved as one, forming a protective semicircle around Adom and Kim. Dirk and Bram flanked the left, Vex and Anders the right. The golem stood center, its massive frame dwarfing everyone.

  "Oh, hi everyone!" Gale called out, spreading his arms wide. "I'm Gale. Pleasure to meet you all properly."

  Dirk's grip tightened on his sword. "We know who you are."

  "And we know what you've done," Vex added.

  "Perfect!" Gale clapped his hands together. "Then we can skip the introductions. Good, because I've been preparing this monologue for a while now, and I'd hate to waste it."

  He cleared his throat dramatically, rolling his shoulders and taking out a piece of paper. "You see, there's an old saying where I come from in Fraug that goes, fool me one time, shame on... shame on you." He kept reading. "Fool me twice, can't put the blame on you. Fool me three times?'" His smile turned cold. "'Fuck the peace signs.'"

  Complete silence followed.

  The Iron Wolves exchanged baffled glances. Anders's eyebrow raised slightly. Vex tilted her head. Dirk and Bram looked at each other, then back at Gale. Even the golem seemed to stare blankly, if that was possible.

  Gale's confident expression faltered at their reaction. "No? Nothing?" He gestured vaguely with his sword. "I thought it was cool. Did I not look cool saying that? I practiced it in the mirror and everything."

  Adom's mind raced. The mana dampening field - that's what was interfering with the golem's transportation ability. Gale must have set it up, but where was the artifact doing that?

  "You know," Gale said, "teleportation magic is fascinating stuff. So convenient... until someone introduces the right countermeasures." He pointed at them. "I was kind of hoping to see this golem again." His eyes then drifted to Adom. "Adom. How ironic. I've been searching for you all this time, and you were right under my nose. At the academy I visited so many times."

  Anders shifted his stance. "Six against one, Gale. Not great odds, even for you."

  "Oh, I'm well aware," Gale replied, not looking the least bit concerned. "But your extraction window is closing fast. " He tapped his ear. "I heard there's a full battalion moving this way as we speak."

  Was he stalling for time?

  "The Iron Wolves may be at the gates," Gale continued, "but down here? This is still our territory. And you're about to be very, very outnumbered."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Bram stepped forward, his war hammer held ready. "Then we'll just have to finish this quickly."

  "I wouldn't," Gale warned, gesturing to the walls around them. "This section of the Undertow is... structurally unsound. Start throwing around that kind of force, you might bring the whole thing down on our heads." His gaze fixed on Adom. "And I'm guessing you wouldn't want anything to happen to the professor."

  Kim's hand gripped Adom's shoulder. "Don't listen to him," he whispered. "Just go. Take your people and go."

  Adom did not listen.

  Riddler's Bane activated, the world sharpening into focus as he saw the mana structures around him.

  Adom scanned the corridor. Something about the dampening field felt... familiar. Not natural mana interference, but engineered - precise.

  Then he saw it. Tiny crystals embedded in the stonework, barely visible except for their faint purple glow. Arranged in a geometric pattern that created overlapping fields of disruption.

  "Modified amethyst crystals," he muttered. "Hexagonal arrangement. They're creating a counter-resonance field that disrupts teleportation by inverting the harmonic frequency."

  Vex glanced at him. "What?"

  "The walls," Adom pointed. "Those crystals. They're creating the dampening field, but they're interdependent. If we damage enough of them..."

  Anders caught on immediately. "The whole network collapses."

  "Exactly," Adom nodded. "Hit them hard enough, create enough structural damage-"

  "And we can teleport again," Dirk finished, gripping his sword tighter.

  "So we just need to break things," Bram grinned. "That, I can do."

  Gale interjected. "Well, this is--"

  Anders didn't let him finish.

  The knight launched forward, his sword a silver blur. The blade connected with Gale's parry so hard it sent him flying backward, slamming into the wall. Stone cracked. Dust rained down. The wide corridor shook.

  Crazy.

  "Choke point!" Anders roared, silver Fluid erupting around him.

  Dirk and Bram converged from opposite sides, floor cracking beneath them. Dirk's blade sliced toward Gale's hamstring while Bram's hammer came down with bone-crushing force. Both weapons connected, shockwaves rippling through the corridor.

  A purple glow pulsed beneath Gale's shirt. The weapons didn't penetrate.

  "Fuck!" Gale spat, counterattacking. His sword whistled toward Dirk's face, but the knight rolled beneath it. Bram blocked the follow-up, the impact shattering stone around them.

  Adom yanked Kim backward as fragments whistled past their heads.

  "Something's protecting him," Bram growled through bloody teeth.

  "It's an artifact!" Adom called out. Seeing the artifact's magic through Riddler's Bane. So this was how he survived the explosion at the docks, and the golem's explosive punch during the jumps. "Absorption artifact. Medallion at his sternum!"

  "Vex! Disable!" Anders ordered, blood streaming from his nose.

  Vex appeared behind Gale, one dagger slashing his shirt open while the other drove toward his back. Gale twisted, catching her wrist, but Dirk was there, his pommel crushing into Gale's kidney.

  Gale grunted in pain. The medallion flared brighter.

  "Pincer!" Anders shouted.

  The knights attacked simultaneously, Fluid blazing. Gale blocked Anders but couldn't stop Bram's hammer from smashing his ribs. Stone exploded beneath them as Gale staggered.

  Vex's knee drove into his groin, her dagger slashing his face. The blade didn't penetrate, but the force snapped his head back.

  "Goddamn knights!" Gale hissed.

  "The medallion has a limit!" Adom shouted, hearing distant footsteps. Reinforcements coming.

  "Overload protocol!" Anders barked, spitting blood.

  The knights unleashed hell. Bram's hammer shattered Gale's shoulder. Anders's sword struck his thigh with bone-splitting force. Dirk's blade found his side. Each hit created its own shockwave.

  Gale fought back savagely. His sword opened Dirk's cheek to the bone. His kick sent Vex crashing through stone. For every hit he landed, he took three more, each one deadlier than the last.

  The medallion's light became visible under the assault, probably struggling to absorb the damage.

  "He's breaking!" Bram roared, driving Gale to one knee with a hammer strike that fractured the floor.

  Vex launched herself from the rubble, wrapping around Gale's arm and wrenching it backward. The joint snapped with a wet crack. Gale screamed in agony.

  "Hold this fucker down!" Anders commanded.

  Bram seized Gale's legs, Dirk grabbed his unbroken arm. Vex torqued his broken limb until tendons tore. Their Fluid swirled violently around them.

  Anders's sword pressed against Gale's throat, drawing blood. "The artifact. Now."

  Gale's face twisted with rage and pain. "You think it's that easy?"

  His green Fluid exploded outward. His hand flicked something across the floor – bronze spheres rolling in all directions.

  It did not take long before Adom could recognize the artifact with [Identify].

  [Rupture Orbs: Spheres inscribed with destabilization runes that contain compressed mana programmed to detonate in controlled bursts]

  "Move!" he shouted.

  But it was too late.

  The sphere erupted, not with fire but with a pulse of dark energy that rippled outward. The golem staggered, its runes flickering wildly. A second sphere followed the first, rolling toward a different section of the corridor.

  "He's trying to split us up!" Adom realized. "Don't let him—"

  The second sphere detonated. This time, the blast struck the weakened ceiling section. Stone and masonry crashed down, dust billowing through the corridor.

  Vex and Anders pulled Adom and Kim back from the falling debris. Dirk and Bram were suddenly on the other side of a growing wall of rubble, the golem between them.

  Gale capitalized on the chaos, moving with shocking speed. His sword flashed, catching Dirk across the arm.

  Slash

  The knight roared in pain as his limb dangled uselessly, blood spattering the wall behind him.

  "Get the professor out!" Dirk shouted through the narrowing gap in the debris.

  Bram's hammer smashed into Gale's back with enough force to shatter stone. The mercenary barely flinched, that strange glow beneath his shirt pulsing brighter. He turned and drove his knee into Bram's chest, sending the larger man crashing into the wall.

  Gale moved again, creating chaos after managing to escape. "You guys broke my fucking arm!"

  He flicked his wrist, and a third sphere rolled across the floor—directly toward Adom, Vex, Anders, and Kim. Anders lunged for it, but Gale was already there, driving his elbow into the knight's temple. Anders crumpled.

  "No!" Vex cried, moving to intercept Gale. Her daggers slashed in tight arcs, driving him back momentarily.

  The sphere detonated, and the floor beneath them collapsed.

  Adom grabbed Kim's arm as they fell, twisting to take the brunt of the impact. They landed hard on cold stone, a level below the main corridor. Dust and debris rained down, cutting off their view of the battle above.

  Through the settling dust, Adom could see Gale landing lightly a few yards away, completely unharmed by the fall. Vex lay crumpled nearby, unconscious or worse.

  "Haah... haaah...whoo that was close," Gale said, advancing slowly. "Finally. Just you and me now, kid. Well, and the professor."

  Adom stood, placing himself between Gale and Kim. He used Riddler's Bane, analyzing the artifact on Gale. Somehow, he needed to neutralize that artifact. It was the only thing allowing Gale to not get beaten by the Iron wolves.

  Above them, he could hear the sounds of boots on stone—multiple sets, moving quickly. Reinforcements were coming.

  Gale tilted his head, listening and wincing at his broken arm. "Ah, and right on schedule. The reinforcements are here." He glanced upward, then back to Adom. "They won't be able to stop your knight friends up there, not permanently. But they'll buy me enough time to take the professor and be gone."

  "Get behind me, Adom," Kim said, stepping forward. His hands moved in practiced patterns, Fluid gathering between his fingers.

  A fireball erupted from his palms, hurtling toward Gale. The mercenary didn't move, didn't even flinch as the flames washed over him. The glow beneath his shirt pulsed brighter.

  Kim tried again. Another fireball, larger this time. Then another. Each one crashed against Gale with no visible effect.

  "Are you done?" Gale asked, brushing a speck of ash from his shoulder. "All you're doing is useless, Professor. Please stop complicating things and come here."

  Kim faltered, his hands dropping to his sides.

  Adom shifted his weight, ready to move, eyes still tracking the artifact.

  "Had the Iron Wolves not been patrolling the waterfront the past few days, we would have already extracted you," Gale continued, taking a step forward. "I knew this would happen eventually. Your protectors were inevitable. Just not as... numerous as they turned out to be."

  "Hey! Stop staring at me, it's creepy!" His eyes shifted to Adom, then sighed. "Look, kid, I don't like beating children, much less killing them. That's why you're still breathing, by the way."

  He gestured at Adom's stance. "But I was always underestimated as a kid too. Took advantage of it against much stronger opponents. I have a feeling you're the same. You killed Helios, didn't you?" He winked. "Game recognizes game, after all."

  Gale's Fluid flared green. "So fair warning—I won't underestimate you and won't hesitate to incapacitate you if you don't stop getting in my way."

  There was something Adom noticed thanks to Riddler's Bane.

  During the earlier fight, each time the knights struck Gale, the artifact pulsed brighter. Each fireball Kim threw, the glow intensified.

  Something clicked in his mind. The artifact was storing energy - absorbing impacts and maybe converting them to power. Every attack on Gale was rendered useless.

  The mercenary noticed Adom's focused stare. "Boy. I told you to stop. It's really not polite to stare like that. Plus you're making me uncomfortable, I'm shy you know?"

  Above them, the sounds of combat intensified. The knights were fighting hard.

  "Why?" Adom asked, mind racing through options. "You probably already got what you wanted from the professor's research. Why bother now?"

  Gale's smile tightened just slightly. "You like running your mouth, don't you?" He took a step forward, and both Adom and Kim tensed.

  No way out. The knights couldn't reach them fast enough.

  Keep him talking. Buy time.

  Huh?

  Adom was in the air.

  I'm in the air?

  How was he in the air?

  None of that mattered right now. Adom's hand shot to his inventory. The potion his mother made for the knights - she'd fought against it, warned him about the risks, but right now? Right now he needed every advantage.

  The bottle came free. Liquid sloshed out as he yanked the cork, droplets hanging in the air around him like suspended stars. The sweet taste hit his tongue - different from the white concoction in the dungeon. Had his mother tweaked the formula?

  His last gulp coincided with the apex of his arc through the air. Then everything sharpened.

  Colors intensified. Sounds crystallized. His heart hammered against his ribs, but it wasn't fear - it was power, raw and electric. The world slowed down just enough to matter.

  [Fluid Control at 80% Capacity]

  Blue fire erupted across his skin as his whole body warmed up, Fluid and mana mixing into something new. Wam and Bam activated on his hands.

  The [Fire] rune on Wam flared white-hot. Flame exploded from Adom's palm, throwing him forward like a rocket. His other hand - Bam - shot out at Gale's face, enhanced by momentum and gravity.

  But Gale's eyes widened, and he was already moving. The mercenary flowed backwards like water, Adom's strike cutting through empty air. He landed hard, rolled, came up in a boxer's stance.

  A whistle from Gale. Behind him, Kim had a fireball ready, face twisted with concentration.

  "You're quite full of-"

  Adom closed the distance. [Flow Prediction] struggled to track Gale's movements - the man was too fast, too unpredictable, his feints masking his true intentions. Still, [Boxing Mastery] guided Adom's strikes - short, sharp jabs, no wasted motion. He froze the ground under Gale's feet, followed with a wind blast to push him off balance.

  But it was like fighting smoke. Each time [Flow Prediction] caught a pattern, Gale would shift, change, adapt. A feint to the left became a strike from the right. A step back turned into a sudden advance. The mercenary's movements defied prediction, each feint layered with another feint, each attack coming from an impossible angle.

  [-7 Life Force]

  [+4 White wyrm's body]

  [++6 Healing Factor]

  Gale's counter caught him in the liver. Clean hit.

  It hurt. Despite the potion, the adrenaline, it still hurt so much.

  But Adom pressed forward. Couldn't give him space. Couldn't let him set up. Lightning crackled between his fingers as he threw combinations - jab-cross-hook, each strike backed by magic, each movement calculated.

  [-5 Life Force]

  An elbow slipped through his guard. Stars exploded behind his eyes.

  Where did that c-

  [-3 Life Force]

  A kick swept his legs out. He rolled with it, barely avoiding the follow-up that would have crushed his windpipe.

  Gale moved like a damn snake, each attack flowing into the next.

  [-5 Life Force]

  A knee to the solar plexus. Adom's lungs seized.

  "Hey. You're making me look bad beating up a child. How come you're not knocked out already? Your body's quite sturdy for your age."

  [+6 White Wyrm's Body]

  [+1 Healing Factor]

  He needed seconds. Just seconds. But Gale wasn't giving them.

  Kim's hands moved in desperate patterns as Adom dropped, gasping. The fireball that erupted was massive, roaring through the corridor like a small sun.

  And Gale... Gale just walked straight through it.

  When the flames died, he didn't have a single scorch mark.

  Kim was shouting something at him. Run? The word seemed to come from far away, like he was underwater, and then-

  Gale appeared in front of Kim. One punch. The professor folded like paper, body convulsing violently as he dropped. Retching.

  Adom's palm immediately ignited. The [Fire] rune launched him forward while Gale's attention was on Kim. For a split second, he thought he had him.

  Then his world exploded.

  The hit came from nowhere. His right eye filled with red, swelling instantly. Colors burst across his vision - green, purple, white. The adrenaline shot in his system made everything too bright, too sharp, even as darkness crept in from the edges. His enhanced senses picked up every detail of his own collapse - the way his legs gave out, how his arms went limp, the copper taste flooding his mouth.

  His brain was out of service, and his body was following.

  Aaah, I hate this feeling...was the thought Adom had as the he lost consciousness while falling.

  He got beat down again.

  What was he even thinking? The gap was ridiculous. He should've kept talking, found another way. And yet, here he was, knocked out like he was nothing. How unnerving.

  That powerlessness - Adom knew it so well. Had tasted it too many times. Through Damus, through the wars, through life...

  He was nothing. Frail and small and skinny, like... like a shrimp.

  Shrimp.

  For a while, that word had haunted him, defined him in his first life. Too small, too weak, too easy to beat down. But during his training sessions with Kaius, between getting thrown around and learning to take hits, his vulnerability made him think about something interesting.

  See, there was this creature somewhere in the Thousand Seas, right where all the currents met. Tiny thing. Pathetic, really. The kind of monster most adventurers wouldn't even bother with. They call it the Thunder Shrimp.

  Funny thing about the Thunder Shrimp - it had this claw that snapped shut so fast it created a bubble in the water. When that bubble collapsed, it generated a shock wave hot as the surface of the sun. Seriously. The impact could stun creatures ten times its size. A hit so devastating it seemed impossible from something so small.

  The Thunder Shrimp shouldn't be able to survive its own attack. The force should tear it apart. But it did. Every single time.

  That's when Adom started thinking of himself as a Thunder Shrimp.

  Started working out how to recreate that impossible hit. The math was simple - horrifying amounts of mana, concentrated and released in a single point, creating a cavitation bubble that would collapse with devastating force. The kind of hit that would shatter every bone in his arms if he tried it bare-handed.

  Wam and Bam flared to life, drinking in Fluid and mana even as his consciousness flickered. The rune patterns weren't complex just for show. Each spiral and intersection had been designed with this in mind - containment arrays to handle the pressure, conversion matrices to channel the energy, stabilization networks to protect the wielder.

  He'd never actually tried it. The theory was solid though - use the gauntlets to create a sealed space, pump it full of concentrated mana, then collapse it just like the Thunder Shrimp's bubble. The runes would handle the recoil, direct the force outward instead of back through his arms. The math worked. The principles were sound.

  Whether his body could handle it was another question entirely.

  [Indomitable Will]

  [Push] threw him forward just as Gale looked up. Wam ignited with blinding light, mana rushing through the runes like a dam breaking. Adom screamed - not from pain, but from the sheer pressure building in his arm.

  Time seemed to slow in [Flow Prediction]. Gale's eyes widened - the first real surprise Adom had seen on his face. The world tunneled as Adom's body accelerated, everything narrowing to that single point of impact.

  WAM

  At long last, his fist connected and - ah, there it was.

  Blink and you'd miss it. A shimmering barrier materialized around Gale, emanating from something glowing beneath his clothes. The artifact's effect.

  The Thunder Shrimp's punch met the barrier. For a split second, nothing happened. Then - crack.

  The barrier shattered like glass, the concentrated force finding its target. The boom was deafening, contained and focused into a single point of impact. Physics bent as the cavitation bubble collapsed, unleashing force that should have spread through the tunnel but instead drove straight into Gale's chest.

  But something else happened.

  Through Riddler's Bane, Adom could see the overloaded artifact couldn't absorb this new surge of energy. Its capacity had probably been reached, pushed beyond limits. The artifact itself fractured, releasing all its stored energy at once.

  The mercenary flew backward, smashing through the tunnel like a cannonball. The sound echoed for seconds afterward, stone cracking and settling in his wake.

  Wam went dead, suddenly heavy as lead. Adom stripped it off - the gauntlet had channeled more power than it was ever meant to handle. The runes were burnt out, scoring patterns into the metal like acid.

  A hit that would have leveled half the tunnel, compressed into a space smaller than his fist. The math had worked. The theory had held.

  Hah.

  "Are... are you okay?" Kim's voice came from behind, shaky and raw. The professor was trying to stand, clutching his stomach where Gale had hit him.

  Adom's fingers fumbled with Wam, finally managing to store it in his inventory. The gauntlet had served its purpose - maybe too well. He grabbed Kim's arm, hauling him up. "We need to move. Now." His own arm tingled where he'd thrown the punch, but the pain was manageable. Without the gauntlets' protection, that hit would've liquefied his bones.

  "What about Vex?" Kim looked back at the fallen knight.

  "Priority is your extraction," Adom said, already moving toward the corridor. "The knights know the risks."

  The professor hesitated, then nodded, following Adom's lead. They had made it halfway down the corridor when a sound stopped them - shifting rubble from where Gale had been thrown.

  A ragged, wet cough echoed through the tunnel, followed by disjointed, mumbled curses.

  "That's... that's impossible," Kim whispered. "No one could survive that kind of impact."

  That familiar chill ran down Adom's spine. He couldn't waste any more time.

  "Move!" he urged, pushing Kim ahead of him. "We need to reach the others before--"

  Gale staggered into view, collapsing against the wall for support.

  His shirt was torn open, revealing the shattered remains of what had been his protective artifact. The medallion was completely fractured, hairline cracks spreading across its surface as wisps of purple energy escaped from its core. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth, and his breathing came in shallow, rapid gasps. His chest showed deep bruising where Adom's punch had landed, ribs visibly shifting with each labored breath. His left arm hung at an awkward angle, the joint wrenched from its socket by Vex's earlier attack.

  But it was his eyes that had changed the most - dilated, unfocused, darting around with the thousand-yard stare of someone whose body had just processed how close to death they'd come. His skin had taken on an ashen, clammy pallor, and a fine tremor ran through his limbs.

  Shock.

  "Holy... fucking... shit..." Gale wheezed between bloody coughs, eyes wide with stunned disbelief rather than anger. "What... the actual... FUCK... was that?"

  He slid further down the wall, seemingly unaware he was even moving. His good hand pressed against his injured ribs, but the movements were uncoordinated, almost drunk. Shock was setting in fast.

  The fact that Gale survived the Thunder Shrimp at all proved how dangerous his artifact was - had the knights not already pushed it so far with their relentless assault, the medallion might have absorbed even this devastating attack completely.

  "K-keep going," Kim told Adom. "I'll hold him off."

  "Don't be ridiculous, Professor," Adom said. "He's still dangerous." Though looking at Gale now, Adom wasn't sure the mercenary was even fully aware of where he was anymore.

  Gale's gaze wandered, taking too long to focus on them. "The artifact... it..." He coughed again, wincing as if surprised by the pain. "Did I just... die?" The question came out slurred, genuinely confused. "I think I died for a second there..."

  His breathing quickened even more. "Can't feel my... fingers... that's... that's not good..." He looked down at his hands as if they belonged to someone else.

  Adom tensed to move, but he knew he'd be too slow. His body was reaching its limit, and Gale, despite his deteriorating condition, was still unpredictable.

  The air crackled.

  Three attacks sliced through the space between them - a war hammer materializing from nowhere, a bolt of lightning that made Adom's hair stand on end, and a fireball that turned the tunnel's humidity to steam. Gale flinched away from them reflexively, movements clumsy and uncoordinated. The dodges were instinctual rather than calculated, his training taking over while his mind struggled to process what was happening.

  "Too old..." Noss' voice echoed from the tunnel entrance, heavy with exertion. "Too damn old for running around like-" The words cut off. "Oi! Boy, are you- what did he do to your face?"

  Right. His face. Adom could feel his right eye swelling shut, blood still trickling into it. His jaw throbbed where Gale had connected. Probably looked like he'd picked a fight with a cave troll.

  Heavy footsteps announced Hugo and Kaius sprinting up behind Noss. They probably followed the battle sounds and took another route. Their weapons were drawn, faces grim. Four against one - better odds, especially with Gale in shock and Noss present.

  "This is..." Gale mumbled, eyes struggling to focus on the newcomers. He tried to straighten up and immediately slumped back against the wall, legs barely supporting him. "I need to... need to..." His thoughts were visibly fragmenting, consciousness beginning to waver.

  Noss stepped forward. His knuckles cracked like miniature thunder, and the gentle uncle was gone. In his place stood someone who'd earned his reputation in the war. "Trust me," he growled, "you'll be lucky to walk away from what you did to the kid."

  Gale's eyes widened with delayed recognition. "Wait... who are you? Where... what?" A confused, pain-filled laugh escaped him. "The kid... the kid just tried to punch a hole through me... Ask him about that..."

  General Trivia:

  PATREON plug here for 10 and 20 chapters ahead!