As they made their way home, Kael kept rubbing his aching head, throwing accusing glances at Ronald.
"It was a damn joke, Ronald! A joke!" he finally burst out, exasperated.
"I know," Ronald replied with calm composure.
Kael frowned. "Then why did you hit me?!"
"Because it wasn't funny."
A heavy silence full of indignation fell between them, only for Kael to break it with a loud, frustrated exclamation:
"...Wait a minute. Are you laughing?! You're laughing, aren't you?! You think this is funny?!"
Ronald simply shrugged slightly, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
But the slight twitch at the corners of his lips betrayed him, and Kael noticed.
"I knew it!" Kael shouted, pointing a finger at him.
"You've got zero right to judge my sense of humor!"
"Let's drop the subject and talk about the magic stone."
"Tch, easy for you to change the topic..." Kael muttered, still massaging his head.
Ronald ignored him with his usual impassive demeanor.
"Right now, absorbing the stone would be a waste. Your body is already saturated with mana. If you use it now, you'll lose most of the benefits."
"So when should I use it?" Kael asked, finally more serious.
"When you feel like you need an extra push to break through the Expert stage. That will be the perfect time."
Kael scratched the back of his neck, thoughtful.
"And how long will that take, more or less?"
Ronald took a deep breath.
"And that's where things get tricky. No one can say for sure. Unlike the intermediate ranks, where progress mostly depends on discipline and steady training, moving into a new realm requires an event that deeply stirs your potential. For some, it's an intense battle. For others, meditation. And for a few, just the natural course of life. But one thing's certain: there are no shortcuts to true strength."
"I think I learned that last part a long time ago," Kael sighed.
"It never hurts to be reminded," Ronald replied with a small smile.
****
As evening fell, the air grew sharper and temperatures dropped quickly, making the snow crunch under their brisk steps. Despite the cold, Kael and Ronald managed to reach the village before night fully settled, thanks to the steady pace they had kept on the way back.
That evening, they were expected for dinner by Beatrice and the others, but first, Ronald needed to take care of Kael's wound, as he had only applied a temporary bandage earlier.
Ronald had Kael sit on a wooden bench by the lit hearth, its warmth a welcome contrast to the chill they had gathered during their journey. He quickly fetched a bowl of warm water, some disinfectant herbs, and a few clean cloths.
"Sit straight and take off that jacket," he instructed, his tone firm but caring.
Kael obeyed, flinching slightly as the fabric passed over his injured shoulder.
"Ouch... you could at least be a bit gentler."
"I'm already resisting the urge to smack you again for that joke earlier, don't push it," Ronald retorted with a half-smile.
With practiced hands, he cleaned the dried blood from the wound and applied the herbal salve he had prepared. The sting made Kael flinch, gritting his teeth, but he didn't complain much. Ronald wrapped his shoulder with expert precision, making the bandage tight but not too much.
"This should hold, but don't push yourself for a couple of days. Hah, it would be nice to have some potions right now."
Kael nodded, trying to move his arm a little. The pain was still there, but much more bearable.
"This'll do for now. It's not too serious anyway, and we both know how expensive potions are, Doctor Ronald."
"I'll take that as an insult if you ever call me that again."
They exchanged a knowing look before Ronald stood up and handed him the folded jacket.
"Come on, Betty will kill us if we're late."
Kael couldn't help but laugh, and together they headed to the house next door. As soon as they knocked, the door swung open, revealing Alice, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.
"Took you long enough. We were starting to think you weren't coming."
"Sorry, we took longer than expected to get back. Unfortunately, the hunt wasn't very successful," Ronald said, making up an excuse, though the last part wasn't entirely untrue.
It was normal for a game to be scarce in winter, but that year in particular, it had been unusually hard to find any animals.
As they stepped inside, Alice approached and gave Kael a friendly pat on the shoulder. What she didn't know, however, was that she had hit his fresh wound with surgical precision. Kael flinched involuntarily.
"Something wrong?" Alice asked, tilting her head slightly in concern.
"N-No, nothing serious," Kael stammered, forcing a pained smile.
When he turned to Ronald, he saw him struggling to hold back laughter. His shoulders shook slightly, and amusement sparkled in his eyes.
'You'll pay for this,' Kael thought through gritted teeth.
Ignoring Ronald, he shifted his gaze back to Alice, who was still watching him. Compared to the awkwardness caused by her change over a year ago, their relationship had grown... a lot.
They spent more time together than ever, but the way they joked, talked, or even just looked at each other had changed.
They weren't kids anymore.
Alice would turn seventeen in the spring, and Kael would follow a few months later, in the summer. They had grown up side by side like siblings, true, but they both knew they weren't really brother and sister.
Once, their closeness had been innocent, just part of childhood. Now, there was a certain tension neither of them could fully acknowledge... or ignore.
He had known her forever. They had laughed together, cried together, supported each other. Alice was a part of his life, and maybe that's why, sometimes, he felt like his thoughts were betraying something sacred.
Family.
He took a deep breath, hoping the fresh air in the room would calm the storm inside him.
Now wasn't the time to think about such things.
And maybe, deep down, it wasn't even the right time in their lives.
They had their promise, to travel together someday, and perhaps then, he'd better understand what he truly felt.
Unlike the chaos in his mind, the atmosphere in the house was peaceful and filled with joy. And the main reason was obvious.
"Ronald, Kael! You're finally here, come, let me hug you!"
Angela tried to get up from the couch, but Ronald quickly stepped in, stopping her with a gentle gesture.
"No way, girl. You need to stay put and rest."
"Oh, not you too, Ronald! It's not like this is my first pregnancy… and sitting still all the time is torture."
Angela was pregnant, and her large belly spoke for itself.
When they had learned the news, the joy was instant and shared by everyone. After Alice was born, the couple had tried for years to have another child, but with no success. Now that Alice was nearly seventeen, they had almost lost hope… and yet, against all odds, a new life was growing inside her.
Luke was glowing with happiness every single day, and both Beatrice and Alice took great care of Angela with affection and dedication. Even Ronald had put in more effort than usual, hunting all over to find a soft, warm fur to give her.
While the others were busy with final preparations, Kael slowly walked over to Angela.
He had the instinct to place his hand on her belly, but he hesitated, afraid he might hurt her or be too rough.
As if sensing his hesitation, Angela smiled gently and took his hand, guiding it to her belly.
"Don't be afraid," she said in a calm, motherly tone. "This one's stronger than you think. You have no idea how much it kicks," she joked.
Kael stayed silent, letting the warmth of that new life spread through his skin.
"What are you thinking about?" Angela asked softly, running her fingers through his hair.
"…My parents. I wonder if they were happy too, when they found out about me."
Angela looked at him with sadness.
To her and Luke, Kael was no different from a real son, they loved him with all their hearts, but both knew they couldn't truly fill the void in his heart.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm not sad," Kael said, smiling at her. "It's just… sometimes I think of them. And the mother I've had up to now is more than enough."
"You… you're going to make me cry, you know that?"
Angela hugged him tightly, doing her best to hold back tears. Being this sweet should be a crime!
"Hey! Not fair, you're hogging Mom all to yourself!" shouted Alice.
"She's the one squeezing me!"
At Kael's protest, they all burst into laughter.
No matter what others said, they were a family, and nothing could break that bond.
****
"Mike! We need to set up camp somewhere, it's too windy and too dark!"
"I know! I shouldn't have chased that deer for so long!"
Mike and Brian were two hunters from the village who had made the foolish decision to stay in the forest until nightfall. Now, darkness and icy winds had wrapped around them.
Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have ended up in a situation like this. But after days of finding no animal tracks, they had finally spotted and hunted down a deer, it had just taken the whole day.
"Let's camp near that cliff. There's some shelter between the rocks!" Mike said, pointing toward a slope not far ahead.
But as soon as he took a step forward, the ground beneath his feet gave way.
"MIKE!"
"I'm fine!"
A groan escaped Mike's lips as he opened his eyes again. His back ached, and his legs were numb, but he was alive.
"I need a hand getting back up, I think I broke my leg!"
"I'm tying a rope, hold on!"
Brian sighed in relief, tying a rope to a nearby tree and lowering the other end down into the hole.
"Can you climb up?... Mike?"
Worried that his friend had passed out, Brian climbed down himself.
It wasn't too deep—just three or four meters at most.
"Mike?"
But once he reached the bottom, Mike was nowhere to be found. The strangest part was that it wasn't a hole, it was some kind of underground tunnel that stretched into darkness, its depth impossible to judge.
Brian instantly knew something was wrong. He barely had time to take a step when he heard a rustle behind him.
Then, something grabbed him hard and dragged him into the darkness, vanishing without a sound.
Moments later, the rope was yanked into the hole, and snow slowly began to fill it in, erasing every trace of their presence.