Muscle Guy puffed out his chest. "They're scouting me for sure. I crushed that frog." "Yeah, after kissing the wall," Lisa muttered under her breath. Kyle bit back a laugh. Wolfe ignored them, pulling a tablet from his jacket. He tapped it, squinting at the screen. "Results are in. When I call your name, step forward. If you're scouted, they'll tell you where to go. If not, sit your butt back down." The room went quiet, tension thick as mud. Kyle's stomach twisted. 'Scouted? Me?' He didn't even know what that meant, really—just that it sounded big. Better than hauling scrap, that's for sure. But after that messy wolf fight? No way. He'd probably freaked them out more than impressed them. Wolfe started reading. "Ken—" Muscle Guy stepped up, grinning like an idiot. "—scouted by Iron Fang Guild. Go to the west hall." "Yes!" He pumped a fist and strutted off, flexing one last time. "Told you!" "Jace—" Red Hair perked up. "—scouted by Crimson guild. East hall." Jace whooped, flippi

The ceiling tiles became Kyle's best friends during the next few hours. Thirty-two squares in total—he'd counted them twice—with one water stain in the corner that looked vaguely like a turtle. The beeping machines next to his bed provided the soundtrack to his misery, each ping reminding him he was still alive, despite feeling like death warmed over.When the door finally creaked open, Kyleturned his head slightly, wincing at the pain that shot through his neck. A doctor strode in, clipboard in hand, looking tired but professional in her white coat. Her name tag read "Dr. Hailey," and she wore thin-rimmed glasses that caught the harsh hospital lights."Mr. Anders, yes?" she asked, glancing from her clipboard to his battered face. "How are we feeling?""Like I got hit by a truck. Then the truck backed up and hit me again," he croaked, his throat dry and scratchy.Dr. Hailey's lips twitched into what might have been a smile. "Well, that's pretty accurate, considering your injuries." She

Lisa slumped in the Guild lobby's least-broken chair, her boot propped up on the table, a fresh gash running down her arm. The white bandages wrapped around it were already turning pink. She scowled at the ceiling, muttering curses under her breath. "Sewer rats. Of course it had to be sewer rats." The mission had been simple—clear out a nest of mutated rodents in the city's underbelly. But "simple" in Hunter terms usually meant "disgusting and likely to bite your face off." She'd taken an arrow to the shoulder and a claw swipe to the leg before finally putting the last one down. The lobby doors creaked open, and Lisa glanced up, half-expecting another rookie covered in monster guts. Instead, she saw Kyle—fully healed, no bandages, no limp, just the same scuffed boots and slightly-too-big vest. Her eyebrows shot up. "Well, look who's back from the dead." Kyle spotted her and grinned, sauntering over. "Miss me?" "Like a hole in the head," she said, but she shifted her boot off the

The next morning hit Kyle like a slap to the face. His room was quiet, the bed softer than anything he'd ever slept on, but his stomach still twisted with nerves. He sat on the edge of the mattress, boots dangling just above the floor, and let out a long, heavy sigh. "Alright, Kyle," he muttered to himself. "Day one of not screwing this up." His mind drifted back to Natalie. The way she'd shoved that crumpled stack of cash into his hands back in the slums. "You've got a shot," she'd said, her voice sharp but warm. "Don't waste it." He rubbed his face with both hands. "Yeah, Natalie. Working on it. Promise." He could still smell the rot of the slums, feel the weight of her trust. No way he was letting her down—not after everything. Standing up, he grabbed his vest and the dagger. The blade still had that sad, chipped edge, but it'd gotten him through the wolf fight. "You and me, buddy," he said, slipping it into his belt. "Let's not die today." He checked himself in the tiny m

'I am not scared.' He thought, ducking under a claw attack and kicking the monster in the chest. 'I feel like I can do anything.' He grabbed the monster's head and started punching it over and over again until the monster finally bled.A dark red blood.Just when he thought things were going his way, the monster's mouth charged up a beam that shocked him to the bone. He jumped back but the beam still connected, smashing him into the wall.Pain exploded through his body, bones cracking, muscles screaming. But something inside him refused to break."Is that all you've got?" He growled, pushing himself up. Blood dripped from his mouth. His ribs felt like shattered glass. Each breath was agony. But his eyes burned with something wild—something that wasn't going to die today.The monster charged again. Its claws ripped through the air, aiming to tear him apart.He didn't dodge. He didn't run.He lunged forward.A mad idea, born of desperation, flashed through his mind. Time seemed to stre