After checking Hal's stats, I confirmed I had everything packed.

The portal stone was going to be vital for my long-term survival here—assuming I ever found a place safe enough to set up a base.

The Mana-Heatstone was already doing its job beneath my jacket, pushing back the worst of the cold.

"Ready for an adventure?" I asked Hal.

The frost wolf pup tilted his head up at me. Not that he had to look up all that much.

"We're gonna have to do some bad things," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Hopefully to some bad people."

[Time Remaining Until Calamity Staging: 1 hour, 2 minutes] Enter staging area? Y/N

"Damn… I can't Brand like that again without planning. If it knocks me out every time, I'm gonna get killed mid-bond."

I looked over at Hal again, who seemed calm but alert, nose twitching like he was sniffing out more than the air.

"Let's get this over with, Hal. Hopefully we're headed somewhere warm."

Enter

The storm of violet lightning returned, swallowing us whole.

I arrived in a blank space—eerily similar to the one from Vero's realm. The smell of ozone disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Without the constant snowfall, though, I was suddenly overheating in my winter gear.

I stripped down some layers and packed them away. Around me, relief carvings stretched across the walls—scenes of previous Calamities, if I had to guess. Some showed titanic duels, others brutal massacres. One even depicted what looked like a child taming a dragon.

I turned to Hal, checking that he was alright. He gave a small chuff and nosed my hand.

Curious, I tried using Oathsense to see if I could get more.

It was listed as a passive skill, always active—but I hadn't felt it yet.

I focused on Hal, reaching out with intent.

Are you okay?

There was no "voice" in return, not really. But something settled into place between us—a sense of calm. Reassurance. I could feel his heartbeat, steady and calm. I wondered how the wolf pup could feel so solid after everything he had recently been through, though maybe it was the Brand affecting his thought process and mood.

I walked over to a podium tucked into the shadows of the room, half-hidden by a carved pillar. As I approached, a glowing panel unfurled like a scroll in the air.

A list appeared—names, planetary origin, reason for assigned Calamity, and estimated power level. In the top-right corner was a filter icon, blinking softly.

Some of the names were unpronounceable—clicks, symbols, growls in written form—but a large portion were understandable. Maybe, if I played this right, I could use this Calamity job as a way to gather not just power, but resources and information.

Still… I eyed the panel warily.

It would be all too easy for Vero to lie andTo manipulate. Feed me tailored targets with falsified crimes. Guide me into some cosmic agenda cloaked in justice. That wasn't my impression of Vero so far but I wouldn't let that happen. I would pick my own path and my own targets.

First, I filtered for Initiates only.

The Initiate Tier was relatively simple in structure. Most of these people were mid-breakthrough, gaining foundational Dao insights—fire, wind, earth, water, metal, and stranger ones like silence or decay.

They weren't shaping empires or forging legendary artifacts. But they were on the cusp of becoming something dangerous.

Even so, I wouldn't just bring calamity to anyone. Not for learning. I wanted the worst ones. The ones abusing their talent. People who deserved to fall.

I focused my will into the podium, pushing past the surface interface and willing the panel to reveal more. It flickered, resisting me for a heartbeat—then new columns emerged: how each person gained their levels, how they encountered their Dao, and a short log of any noteworthy deeds.

That would work.

I filtered again: Initiate-tier only. Level 20 or lower. The list shrank drastically.

Out of trillions of beings across thousands of planets—only 709 matched my criteria. That should be an indicator for how talented these people are in itself. I checked the time: just under an hour. Not nearly enough to vet all of them.

I scrolled. One gained Dao insight from watching a tide recede. Another, from lighting a forge for the thousandth time. One farmer came to understand the Earth itself through years of planting, tilling, and harvesting.

Some were stranger. One young girl gained Dao insight into luck while gambling in a tavern.

"Interesting... but not evil".

Then one caught my attention.

Target: George Skari Planet: Mydros Power: Level 19 Class: Apprentice Mage Dao Path: Bone Notes: Dao insight gained while desecrating a graveyard. Repeated body theft. Suspected necromancer aspirant.

Perfect. A mage—so likely low physical stats. If Hal and I played this smart, we could get the drop on him before he even realized we were there.

And if we couldn't… then hopefully he's alone and I can't get third partied.

Before I could second-guess myself, I selected him and was once again teleported in a storm of lightning. This time was different, though. I was descending in roaring thunder and lightning. Dark storm clouds covered me and shrouded the sun. I could see lightning racing me to the surface. Ozone surrounded me, and static made Hal's fur stand on end. He howled his displeasure at the situation as we descended in storm and fury.

As we got closer, I saw a lone figure looking up at me in fear. He was moving his hands in a pattern, but before I could make sense of it, we hit the ground. Earth blasted around us, and trees splintered from the impact.

"Impossible! There are no more Calamities!" the lone figure screamed.

His robes were in disarray from the descending storm. The clouds remained overhead, casting a heavy gloom over the forest. Wind whipped through the area, blowing up leaves and brush.

Half-desiccated bodies surrounded the figure—elderly, healthy, and the worst of all, children. I could see their smaller forms hidden by the larger ones.

The anger returned in full force. It raced through my veins and body, and before I knew it, I was charging forward with Hal next to me. He quickly outpaced me with his enhanced stats, and I pumped my legs and arms, trying to keep up. This man deserved his death.

He started moving his hands in a pattern again. My instincts screaming, I veered left while Hal went right. Oathsense worked through my anger, syncing us despite the skill's low level.

Just as we separated, a spread of dark bolts tore through the space we'd just occupied, impacting the ground and dissolving the undergrowth. That would've killed me instantly if I'd been hit. I wasn't sure about Hal, but it wouldn't have been good for him either.

Looking for options as I sprinted forward, I saw Hal nearly on him. He waited until the last second to use Frozen Pounce, ensuring he couldn't miss. But as he launched himself, he bounced off a blue shield that wrapped around the mage—some kind of mana-based armor. It didn't stop Hal's momentum, though, and he was knocked down.

I sprinted in, avoiding the bodies surrounding the doomed man. My fury peaked. Suddenly, a wave of darkness rushed from the man, catching Hal as he charged. I jumped over it, and it dissipated as it traveled away.

I felt Hal's pain through Oathsense—alongside his rage at being wounded. His fury matched mine, amplifying both of us. Hal's fur had dissolved in places, and he was bleeding from several exposed areas. He couldn't take another hit like that.

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The mage scrambled to his feet and turned to run, fear twisting his face.

"Hal! Go!" I shouted.

Despite being a mage, the man was faster than me—I had no chance of catching him. Hal surged forward, pain echoing in our bond, but so did his joy. The joy of the hunt.

I crashed through the underbrush trying to keep them in view. Branches slapped against me—one even smacked me in the face hard enough that I'm pretty sure it took off a point of health.

Up ahead, I heard snarling. I arrived just in time to see Hal crack the mage's armor and sink his teeth into the man's leg. Frost spread from the wound, climbing up his body.

"Hal! Dodge!" I screamed.

But Hal, consumed by fury—mine and his—didn't see the next spell. The mage blasted a bolt straight down into Hal's head, punching a hole through it.

Hal collapsed. The frost receded.

I saw red. I sprinted, yanked the makeshift garrote from my belt, looped it around the bastard's neck, and hauled him off his feet.

He struggled, but injured and frostbitten, George didn't stand a chance. I slammed him into the dirt and braced a knee against his back, yanking the wire tighter. He tried to cast again, but I stomped on his fingers—no damage, but it stopped the spell. It would've killed me.

I held him like that for two minutes. My muscles screamed from the adrenaline and rage, but I didn't let go. Anger at my weakness. At losing Hal. At being forced into another life of violence. I poured it all into that garrote.

Finally, a notification appeared:

Calamity Complete Returning to Staging Area in 4:59...

Numbly, I walked over to Hal's bloody body and pulled him into my arms. The first real friend I'd made here—and he was gone. He followed me into this madness, and I repaid him like this.

I must've sat there the entire five minutes. When the timer expired, I disappeared in a flash of ozone and storm, reappearing in the same room as before.

Still seated, Hal's body in my lap, I stroked the frost wolf's face, trying to wipe away the blood.

Then another storm appeared. Gerold arrived.

He looked at my tear-streaked face. It was the most expressive I'd ever seen him—there was sympathy there.

"Harold, if I could bring Halvor back, would you sign this contract?"

I looked up at the red-eyed devil in his suit, holding out a scroll. Anger surged again.

Who were these people to drag me from death just to give me more pain? Who was he to try and profit off it? Who was he to make me feel again?

"Harold. Calm down, please," Gerold said in that raspy, careful voice. "While I could bring Halvor back now, it would form a karmic debt between us. I could use that debt to extract real concessions from you in the future. A contract eliminates that. Please, just read it."

Still fuming, but desperate, I took the scroll. I read it.

Then scrambled to my pack. Tripped in my haste. Dug out a silver coin. I rushed back and signed with the pen provided, a dull ache pounding in my chest as the silver vanished from my palm.

Behind me, Hal stirred.

I turned. He was trying to rise. Before he could stand, I rushed forward and wrapped him in my arms. I felt his confusion through our bond—but I didn't care. I scratched his ears and let the tears fall freely.

Eventually, Hal squirmed away.

I turned to Gerold. He was smiling—genuinely—while retucking his tie.

"I can't do that every time, Mr. Greyson. It skirts the rules—and it's risky," he said.

"Thank you, Gerold. I admit—I thought the worst of you. But... I guess there's honor among devils," I said.

"I can't do it again," he replied, still smiling. "But I encourage you to find your own ways to revive allies. There are universe-sanctioned methods—but you'll have to earn them. I only managed this because of the soul bond you share with your young frost wolf."

"Gerold, I don't know what to say. Thank you. I ow—"

"Ah-ah," he interrupted, wagging a finger. "Don't ever say those words to someone with a Devil bloodline, Mr. Greyson. I fulfilled the terms of our contract—nothing more, nothing less."

He turned to leave. "Good luck in your future endeavors, Mr. Greyson."

And with another flash of storm, he vanished.

It was just me and Hal again. I reached down to scratch his head—finally noticing the blinking notifications.

Name: Harold Race: Calamity Human Level: 6 Class: Oathbound Brander (Tier 1) Cultivation Rank: Initiate Occupation: Calamity

HP: 14 (Base 140 -90% due to Class) Mana: 160

Core Attributes:

Intelligence: 8

Willpower: 10

Charisma: 6

Fortitude: 10

Strength: 8

Agility: 6

Perception: 9

Dao Affinity: Soul, Freedom

Brands Active: 1 / 2 Unassigned Stat Points: 72 (12 per level × 6 levels)

Seeing my level increase but no stats go up confused me—until I saw the unassigned stat points at the bottom, and my jaw dropped.

Doing the math quickly, I realized I was gaining around 33% more stat points per level than Hal was, and I could assign them wherever I wanted. The advantage that gave me was undeniable—and I needed it.

Hal died out there. I couldn't close the distance fast enough, and even if I did, I didn't have a reliable way to put someone down. There are going to be targets that strategy just won't work on.

I needed more information before I committed to how I wanted to develop... though I doubted that snowy planet was going to give me time to think. The name of it escaped me at the moment.

I dumped 30 points into Fortitude. I needed the health—and maybe, just maybe—it would help me resist the cold a little more. The remaining 42, I split evenly across every other stat. Without knowing how I was going to grow, I didn't want to specialize too soon and spread myself too thin.

Going over the status screen again I saw that Hal gained a level and increased some of his skills as well.

I gained skill levels in Grappling and Oathsense and saw the level in Brand that I missed before.

The stat points took effect and I could feel my body harden and get tougher. I looked at my new status screen.

Things were looking up after that mixed bag of a Calamity. Hal was still alive, and I wasn't dead. By the standards I was working with, that counted as a win.

Status Screen

Name: Harold Race: Calamity Human Level: 6 Class: Oathbound Brander (Tier 1) Cultivation Rank: Initiate Occupation: Calamity

HP: 47 → Fortitude 40 × 10 = 400 → Strength 15 × 5 = 75 → Total: 475 → (Reduced by 90% due to Class) = 47 HP

Mana: 215 → Intelligence 15 × 10 = 150 → Willpower 13 × 5 = 65 → Total Mana: 215

Attributes:

Intelligence: 15

Willpower: 13

Charisma: 13

Fortitude: 40

Strength: 15

Agility: 13

Perception: 16

Dao Affinity: Soul, Freedom Brands Active: 1 / 2

I glanced at my status screen one more time, watching the numbers settle after I'd spent the points. Fortitude stacked deep for survivability, the rest spread to keep my options open. Already, I could feel the change—bones sturdier, breath easier in the cold, muscles a little more responsive. The System didn't just pretend the upgrades happened; you felt every inch of it.

Hal laid nearby, resting but alert, his ears twitching every few seconds. No wounds now, just the ghost of them in our bond—faint echoes of pain and anger. He looked up at me, and for a second, I could almost feel the question in his eyes.

What now?

"We get stronger," I said, voice low.

Hal huffed.

"Yeah, I know. That was close. Too close."

I couldn't afford to let that happen again. He was fast and vicious, but he was still just one body, and right now, he was my only ally. If something overwhelmed him again, I wouldn't be able to save him. I'd barely managed it this time—and only because a devil offered me a loophole wrapped in a contract.

No more gambling on miracles.

I needed backup. A pack. One of those frost bears would be ideal—massive, resilient, pure muscle and rage. If I could Brand something like that, Hal would have breathing room. I could finally act like the strategist I used to be, not just a man running on adrenaline and desperation.

The Brand pulsed in the back of my mind, a quiet promise. I'd tested it once, blindly, and it'd worked. Now I needed to understand it—how far it could reach, how far I could push it. What else was out here, lurking in the snow?

"We'll find something," I told Hal. "Something mean. Something big enough to take a hit so you don't have to."

Hal blinked once. No confusion in our bond, just agreement. Anticipation, even.

We weren't done. Not even close.

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