The air in the cryo chamber was thin, sharp, almost biting. Frost clung to the metal walls like veins of ice. Inside one pod, Kael Ardyn stirred.His eyelids flickered open. Pale blue light hit his eyes, and every muscle in his body screamed. Cryo fluid stuck to him like glue. Moving felt like dragging a mountain through a blizzard.He just breathed for a moment. Shallow, slow, mechanical breaths. His mind, though, was wide awake. Too awake.“Warlord System,” he thought. Words echoed in his head. “How much time passed out there while I was inside the mission space?”A beat of silence. Then a crisp, synthetic voice cut through.“Only a few seconds,” said Lyndric Fayne. The mechanical tone had a cold precision. “Would the Host like to continue enhancing physical parameters? Another training world can be opened.”Kael’s stomach dropped. Another world? Another nightmare? No.

High above the dense canopy, Kael Ardyn scanned the forest below. The wind tugged at his jacket, carrying the earthy scent of moss and wet soil. For a brief second, he felt utterly alone. Birds of prey circled overhead, their massive wings slicing the air, shadows flickering across the ground like moving patterns of death. Sharp beaks, jagged talons—they didn’t look like they would hesitate for even a second. One strike, and it was over.He shifted his weight, wincing as the fracture in his right leg throbbed. Every step was a reminder. He readjusted the splint, then broke a thick branch from a nearby tree, gripping it as a crutch. Even with the branch, every movement sent sharp pain up his leg.Twenty-five kilometers a day, and through this forest. He muttered the words under his breath. Already, the constant commentary from the Warlord System felt like white noise.Scanning the host environment. Seventy-six percent matches with the Warlord

The Radiant Base glimmered in the morning sun. Metal walls, polished to a mirror shine, reflected the light in sharp lines. Inside, a young woman in her twenties leaned back in a steel chair, legs crossed at the ankles. Her red hair tumbled over her shoulders, catching the light with every subtle motion. The black leather uniform she wore hugged her figure perfectly—practical, sharp, and commanding. She looked effortless, yet every inch of her radiated authority.Murong Wan’er, Commander-in-Chief of the Skyward Empire’s Dark Moon Human Combat Alliance, was a storm disguised as a person. On the battlefield, she was the Pink Skull. The name alone made soldiers shiver with fear. She could halt entire armies with a single command, yet here she was, holding a small mirror in one hand and a report in the other.“Kael Ardyn,” she murmured, soft but weighted. The soldier standing just outside stiffened at the sound, eyes snapping forward. “I

The corridor that morning felt colder than usual. Sharp. Metallic. Almost like the air itself carried a weight. The overhead lights flickered, weak beams cutting across the walls. Each step Kael took echoed back at him—loud, insistent, impossible to ignore.Nyra Kaetan led the way. Calm, precise. Every step measured, every movement intentional. No words. Yet somehow, she commanded the entire corridor. Kael and Dax trailed behind her, shadows that tried not to stumble. Soldiers and officers automatically stepped aside. A few recruits whispered under their breath, eyes wide. Something about the three together made the base feel… tense. Like walking into a storm.Kael tried to keep his thoughts straight. He needed a plan. Fast.“Kael, why are you moving so slowly?” Dax’s voice cut through the silence, casual but sharp. “Sweating. You okay?”Kael forced a laugh. Nervous. Awkward. “…Ah. Yeah. My leg… It’s still recovering. Fractured before. I… I fixed it myself. Maybe we can skip the mecha

The Ripper Woman was furious, hotter than fire itself. Kael Ardyn, her new subordinate, didn’t even know how to operate a mecha, and yet he had the nerve to step into one that was fully personalized. Just thinking about it made her blood boil. Her fists clenched, teeth ground together, and her whole body trembled like a coiled spring ready to snap.“The greater the hope… the greater the disappointment,” she muttered through gritted teeth. Her eyes blazed, fierce and unrelenting. Every muscle in her body throbbed with restrained rage, threatening to spill over at any moment.“Big sister… calm down,” Da Xiong said, voice cautious but urgent. He stepped closer, hands raised like he was trying to hold back a storm. “Don’t get too worked up. Vice Captain Ardyn may not know how to operate a mecha yet, but he can learn. His neural sync rate is actually pretty high. Not perfect, but not bad either. Please… don’t explode. Having him on the squad is better than having nobody.”She forced a shak