Bonus Chapter I – “Frostline Endurance”

  The morning frost bit through skin like glass.

  Even inside the city’s protective walls, the cold felt alive—creeping through the lungs, prickling across bare shoulders, turning every exhale into a pale ghost.

  Seven found himself standing in formation again. It was familiar—the rigid discipline, the sharp bark of commands, the smell of frost and sweat. For a moment, he could almost pretend he was back in his unit from another life. But now, he wasn’t surrounded by soldiers. He was surrounded by rabbits.

  The training grounds of the War Rabbit Guild stretched across the outskirts of Novastra—vast fields of frost-dusted dirt and packed snow bordered by shimmering mana barriers. The recruits stood in lines, stripped down to training pants and boots, with no shirts allowed—except for the women, who wore reinforced sports tops. Steam rolled off their bodies as they stretched and shivered.

  Seven rubbed his left shoulder absently, feeling the uneven scar where his right arm used to be. The skin had healed thanks to the guild’s healers, but the phantom ache still came and went with the cold.

  He muttered, “Is there a reason we aren’t wearing shirts, or did someone forget the part about hypothermia?”

  Fluffy’s ears perked instantly. “Oh, you noticed!” she said, grinning as she stretched one leg behind her head like it was nothing. “It’s Erik’s idea of ‘bonding through shared suffering.’ Cute, right?”

  Seven gave her a flat stare. “If freezing together builds friendship, we’ll be best friends by sunrise.”

  Fluffy winked. “Aww, look who’s warming up to us already!”

  Before Seven could retort, the sound of rapid footsteps cut through the chatter. Erik—tall, lean, and radiating an unshakable confidence—strode across the frostbitten yard with his extraordinary, astonishing precision. His breath came out steady despite the chill, not a hint of strain in his movements. Every trainee straightened instinctively.

  “Alright, initiates!” Erik’s voice carried like a whip crack. “Today’s lesson—the cold is not your enemy. Your body is. It decides when to quit. So we’re going to teach it not to.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  A few recruits groaned.

  Fluffy whispered to Seven, “Translation: We’re about to die running.”

  Erik’s ear twitched. “I heard that, Fluffy.”

  She stuck her tongue out. “Wasn’t hiding it!”

  “Good,” he said without missing a beat. “You’ll need that energy. We’re doing ten laps around the Guild perimeter. Each one’s two miles. Those who collapse before finishing owe me kitchen duty for a week.”

  Groans rippled through the ranks.

  Seven’s breath misted as he muttered, “Guess I’m peeling carrots tonight.”

  Fluffy laughed. “Not if I drag you first, human.”

  Erik’s sharp eyes caught their exchange. “That’s the spirit. Pair up—strength with weakness, speed with endurance. Learn to push each other. The frost won’t wait.”

  Ripper’s gravelly voice carried from the sidelines. He stood near the entrance, arms crossed. “And don’t you dare stop unless you’re bleeding or dead.”

  Erik grinned faintly. “You heard the old man. Move!”

  The group broke into a jog—then a run. Snow crunched under boots as a line of recruits surged forward. The first breath burned; the second froze. The cold bit into lungs, forcing a rhythm—inhale, exhale, keep moving.

  Fluffy darted ahead, laughing as she passed Hopper. “C’mon, slowpaws, this is just a jog!”

  Hopper, bundled tighter than anyone else, muttered through chattering teeth. “I hate this. I really hate this.”

  “Keep talking,” Seven called, running beside him. “If you stop, you’ll freeze.”

  “Why do you sound fine?” Hopper shot back. “You’re human!”

  Seven had already undergone training for endurance, but twenty miles is a bit too much, even for him, given his weakened state.

  “Can't really say I have the stamina for it,” Seven said between breaths. “Guess you could say i did endurance but the winter makes it hard.”

  Fluffy called from ahead, “Oh yeah? You ever sprint through a blizzard uphill while dodging ice golems?”

  “No,” Seven admitted. “But I’ve had frostbite.”

  “Cute! We’ll work on it!”

  Halfway through the third lap, the first few recruits slowed, gasping clouds of steam. Seven’s lungs ached, his body protesting every stride. His stamina wasn’t what it used to be—weeks of recovery had left him weaker, his once-solid endurance reduced to grit and memory.

  Erik’s voice echoed from the front. “Push your limits! The cold doesn’t care about excuses—only survival!”

  Seven’s pace faltered, but a blur of gold and white shot past him—Erik, already finishing another lap. He didn’t even look winded.

  Fluffy groaned. “Does he ever get tired?”

  “No,” Seven panted. “He’s not human.”

  Erik’s voice carried from behind them—impossibly calm. “You’re right about that.”

  Seven nearly tripped. “You—how?! You were ahead!”

  “Training,” Erik said simply, now keeping pace beside him. “And a reminder that strength isn’t about mana or muscle. It’s about control. You can’t rely on what you’ve lost, only what’s left.”

  Seven nodded slowly, forcing his legs to move again. The words dug deeper than he expected.

  By the final lap, his chest burned. Frost clung to his hair, his skin raw from the wind. But when Erik called out “Last mile!”—Seven didn’t stop. Neither did Fluffy or Hopper.

  They crossed the finish line together, half-stumbling, half-laughing.

  Erik raised an eyebrow. “Not bad. You didn’t die. That’s progress.”

  Fluffy collapsed backward into the snow. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said.”

  Seven leaned against a fence post, catching his breath. “If this is how you train every day, I get why you’re all giants.”

  “Discipline makes giants,” Erik replied simply. “And frost makes survivors.”

  He looked at Seven, his tone softening. “Don’t chase your old strength. Build new strength. You’ll need it when the real cold comes.”

  Seven didn’t answer at first. He just nodded, eyes drifting toward the horizon where Novastra’s walls glowed faintly through the haze.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Guess I’ve got time to rebuild.”

  Fluffy rolled over in the snow, grinning up at him. “See? You’re already halfway to being one of us.”

  Seven smirked faintly. “That a compliment?”

  “Maybe,” she said, brushing frost from her ears. “Depends how many laps you survive next time.”