The replay had ended long ago. And yet the screen still burned with Kaelen's image—frozen in crimson, his blade resting against the stone, his eyes empty and alive all at once.
Headmaster Draeven stood behind the viewing glass. Alone. Watching the loop restart again.
"I assume you've reviewed it three times," came a voice behind him.
Professor Caldera stepped into the dim light. Her coat was folded over her arm. For once, she looked tired.
Draeven didn't turn. "Four."
Caldera nodded, then looked up at the paused frame. "He didn't break," she said.
"No," Draeven answered. "He became the reason others might."
A silence stretched between them.
Then Draeven asked quietly, "Would you do it again? Sign for him, bend protocol?"
Caldera didn't hesitate. "I'd break more than protocol if it meant releasing that."
Kaelen's file:
Combat Run: Solo Deployment – Tier One Dungeon – Status: Survived
Final Level: 10
Combat Record – Solo Run Evaluation
• Physical Endurance: 98th Percentile
• Mental Stress Tolerance: Off-Scale / System Override
• Combat Aggression Index: Critical Zone
• Control Stability: Unstable – Manual Review Required
• Team Integration Profile: Incompatible
• Strategic Deployment Note: Recommend solo-clearance only. Do not assign to squad formations.
• Additional Advisory: Subject exhibits reactive adaptation and aggression thresholds beyond expected cadet range. Monitor closely.
Draeven tilted his head. "He forgot to check his stats when he came back," he said.
Caldera let out a slow breath. "Because numbers didn't kill monsters."
Draeven closed the file. "No. But monsters like him—they forget they have limits until it's too late."
Across campus, inside one of the academic wings, a row of training terminals glowed in the dark. Every cadet at Stalward Academy had access to mission archives—recordings of dungeon runs stored for analysis and instruction. Most watched for tactics. Weaknesses. Mistakes.
One file had started climbing the watchlist.
Kaelen's run.
View count: 7. Then 42. Then 196.
By the time Thalen stepped into the booth, it had passed 400—and it hadn't been an hour.
Unofficial forums buzzed. Paused screenshots spread. Instructors ignored it. But they watched too.
Here, in one of the corner booths, a cadet sat alone.
Thalen.
The same projection looped on the smaller screen in front of him.
He didn't stare like a fan. He stared like a mirror.
No words. Just one thought.
He's not ahead. He's the reason I have to go further.
And for the first time in years—Thalen smiled.
Final Stats
Query: Cadet #019 – Post-Dungeon Status – Anomaly Report
[Loading—]
Warning: Value overflow – Strength exceeds expected range
Warning: Control Index out of bounds
▸ Strength: 135
▸ Endurance: 220
[Remaining values temporarily inaccessible]
Notes:
– Spike patterns do not match projected curves.
– No visible signs of stat fatigue or degeneration.
– Subject exhibited sustained output beyond regulation limits.
Suggested Action: FLAG FOR REVIEW. Suspend for psychological diagnostics if thresholds persist.