The camp fell quiet.
Only the gentle crackling of the fire and the bubbling stew filled the air.
Aldren leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
His playful smile hadn't disappeared.
But there was now a sharpness in his amber eyes that immediately reminded the students why he was a captain.
He looked at Jack.
"Jack."
Jack instinctively straightened.
"...Captain."
Aldren smiled.
"Excellent observation."
Jack blinked.
"...Observation?"
"You noticed things."
"You weren't just fighting me."
"You were studying me."
Jack remained silent.
Aldren continued.
"You noticed I wasn't using my full strength."
"You noticed I wasn't interested in finishing the fight quickly."
Jack slowly nodded.
"...I kept thinking something felt off."
Aldren nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
"You questioned what you were seeing."
"Most people accept the situation in front of them."
"You questioned it."
He pointed toward Jack.
"Never lose that."
"The Tower is full of creatures that lie."
"The first thing they deceive..."
He tapped his own temple.
"...is this."
Jack instinctively touched his forehead.
Aldren smiled.
"A sharp sword is useful."
"A sharp mind is irreplaceable."
Jack quietly nodded.
"...Thank you, Captain."
Aldren grinned.
"Just don't try hugging every monster you meet."
The camp erupted into laughter.
Jack buried his face in his hands.
"...I knew that was coming."
Eva shook her head.
"It'll never stop coming."
Aldren turned toward Thomas.
His smile remained.
But his tone became noticeably firmer.
"Thomas."
Thomas immediately sat up straight.
"...Captain."
"You've got leadership."
Thomas looked surprised.
"I do?"
"You naturally took command."
"When everyone else was reacting..."
"You were deciding."
"You gave directions."
"You made the calls."
"You kept everyone moving."
Aldren nodded once.
"That's not something I can teach."
Thomas smiled slightly.
"...Thank you, Captain."
Aldren raised a finger.
"But."
Thomas immediately became serious.
"You lost your composure."
The smile faded from Thomas's face.
Aldren continued calmly.
"You remember the moment?"
Thomas silently nodded.
"You stopped making decisions."
"You started waiting for mine."
"Then, you hesitated"
Thomas lowered his head.
"...Yes."
Aldren folded his arms.
"A leader can't afford that."
"The moment you surrendered the initiative..."
"...you stopped leading."
The camp became silent.
Aldren looked directly at Thomas.
"You didn't lose your sword because I was stronger."
"You lost your composure first."
"The sword was simply the consequence."
Thomas instinctively rested a hand on the sword hanging at his waist.
He understood.
Aldren wasn't criticizing the outcome.
He was pointing out the exact moment everything began to unravel.
"The hardest decisions..."
Aldren continued.
"...are made when you don't have enough information."
"If you wait until you're certain..."
"You'll already be too late."
Thomas nodded firmly.
"...Understood, Captain."
Aldren's stern expression softened.
"But aside from that..."
He smiled.
"I'd trust you to lead."
Thomas looked up.
"...Really?"
Aldren nodded.
"You already possess the hardest quality."
"You genuinely care about the people following you."
"I can teach composure."
"I can't teach someone to care."
Thomas smiled.
"...Thank you, Captain."
Aldren gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Next time..."
"When you make a decision..."
"Commit to it."
Thomas nodded.
"I will."
Thomas glanced toward the fire.
"I won't make the same mistake twice."
Aldren smiled.
"I hope not."
"Because I'll probably test you again."
Thomas looked up.
"...You mean another survival exercise?"
Aldren grinned mischievously.
"I didn't say it'd be scheduled."
Thomas sighed.
"...Of course."
Jack whispered,
"I don't like how he said that."
Oliver nodded.
"...He's definitely planning something."
Eva looked at Aldren.
"You are planning something."
Aldren smiled innocently.
"I'm offended."
Eva didn't even hesitate.
"I'm correct."
Aldren turned toward Mia.
Unlike before...
There was no teasing smile.
Only quiet approval.
"Mia."
Mia immediately straightened.
"...Captain."
"You impressed me."
She blinked.
"...Me?"
Aldren nodded.
"You remained calm."
"When your group became separated..."
"You didn't panic."
"When plans changed..."
"You adapted."
"When Jack and Thomas made decisions..."
"You followed without hesitation."
He smiled.
"And when I took your appearance..."
The camp fell quiet.
"You didn't immediately attack."
"You didn't immediately believe what you saw."
"You observed."
"You waited."
"You were prepared to react the moment things went wrong."
Mia lowered her eyes slightly.
"...I wasn't sure what I was looking at."
Aldren nodded.
"Exactly."
"You weren't supposed to be."
He folded his arms.
"People often confuse calmness with hesitation."
"They're completely different."
"Hesitation comes from uncertainty."
"Calmness comes from confidence."
"You trusted yourself enough to wait."
"And once you understood the situation..."
"You moved immediately."
Jack quietly nodded.
Now that he thought about it...
Every time the situation changed...
Mia had already adjusted.
She never argued.
She never froze.
She simply adapted.
Aldren smiled.
"That's the kind of climber people want beside them."
Mia lowered her head.
"...Thank you, Captain."
Finally...
Aldren finally turned toward Oliver.
The moment their eyes met...
A grin slowly spread across his face.
Oliver instinctively sighed.
"...Captain."
Aldren chuckled.
"I like you."
Jack frowned.
"...Why him?"
Aldren ignored the question.
Instead...
He looked directly at Oliver.
"You almost made me fail my own test."
Oliver blinked.
"...What?"
"I was trying my hardest to be a terrifying boss monster."
"But every time I thought I'd finally frightened your group..."
"...you'd say something."
Oliver slowly covered his face.
"...Oh no."
Aldren laughed.
"The first time was when Thomas asked how everyone was doing."
Thomas immediately remembered.
"...Right."
Aldren perfectly mimicked Oliver's voice.
"My sword's doing fine."
Jack burst into laughter.
Thomas shook his head.
"I completely forgot about that."
Oliver buried his face in his hands.
"...I was still in shock."
"I know."
Aldren nodded.
"That's exactly why it was funny."
The camp chuckled.
Aldren leaned back.
"But the one that nearly broke me..."
"...came much, much, later."
Oliver immediately had a bad feeling.
"...Captain..."
Aldren pointed at him.
"You looked straight at me."
"As politely as you possibly could."
He cleared his throat before once again imitating Oliver's voice.
"Mr. Tikbalang... can I go back and get my sword?"
Oliver slowly closed his eyes.
"...I really did say that."
"You did."
Aldren nodded.
"And do you remember what happened next?"
Oliver frowned.
"...You didn't answer."
"Exactly."
Jack blinked.
"...Wait."
"You never answered."
Aldren laughed.
"I couldn't."
Silence.
"I was trying my absolute hardest..."
"...not to laugh."
The four students stared.
"I kept telling myself..."
'You're the boss monster.'
'You're terrifying.'
'Do not laugh.'
He sighed dramatically.
"But then I looked at Oliver..."
"...standing there politely..."
"...asking permission to retrieve his sword."
Aldren covered his face.
"I almost lost."
The camp exploded into laughter.
Even Eva quietly looked away, hiding a smile.
Oliver groaned.
"...So that's why you took so long."
Aldren nodded.
"I wasn't trying to be mysterious."
"I was trying to remember how to be scary."
Jack laughed so hard he had to hold his stomach.
"I knew something felt weird!"
Aldren wiped away a tear.
"And then..."
He looked back at Oliver.
"That time when you charged at me."
"With your teammates clinging on to me"
Oliver immediately buried his face in his hands again.
"...Please don't."
"You took the biggest running start I'd seen all day."
"I thought..."
'Finally.'
'He's going to land a clean hit.'
Aldren spread his hands apart.
"And somehow..."
"You flew completely over me."
Jack immediately lost it.
Thomas bent over laughing.
Even Mia couldn't stop herself anymore.
"You landed face-first."
Oliver muttered into his hands.
"...I remember."
Jack pointed at him.
"And then we all remembered—"
"— the Tikbalang could crouch."
"Then Oliver said...What crouch?"
The camp erupted once again.
Even Eva let out an audible laugh this time.
Aldren shook his head.
"I had three students clinging to my back..."
"And while I was running through the forest..."
"I kept replaying that jump over and over."
Jack wiped tears from his eyes.
"So THAT'S why you suddenly started running like a madman!"
Aldren nodded proudly.
"I wasn't trying to throw you off."
"I was trying to outrun the memory."
Oliver sighed dramatically.
"...That somehow hurts more."
The laughter gradually settled.
Aldren's smile softened.
"But that's not why I like you."
The camp became quiet again.
He looked directly at Oliver.
"You knew nobody was laughing."
Oliver nodded.
"...Yeah."
"You still kept trying."
Oliver scratched the back of his neck.
"I figured..."
"If things kept getting worse..."
"...someone had to keep everyone's spirits up."
"I wasn't trying to be funny."
"I just didn't want everyone thinking we'd already lost."
Aldren nodded approvingly.
"Exactly."
"You weren't joking for attention."
"You were carrying the team's morale."
He looked around the camp.
"The Tower doesn't just break bodies."
"It breaks people."
"It takes away their confidence."
"Their courage."
"Their hope."
Then he smiled at Oliver.
"But as long as someone can still make the group smile..."
"...it hasn't won yet."
Oliver smiled sheepishly.
"...Thanks, Captain."
Aldren gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
"Never lose that."
"You can always sharpen a sword."
"You can always improve your skills."
"But someone who can keep their teammates moving forward..."
"...even when nobody feels like smiling..."
"That's far rarer."
Silence settled around the camp.
Then Eva stood.
She lifted the lid from the large iron pot.
A rich aroma filled the air.
"I think the stew's ready."
Aldren immediately stood.
"Finally."
"I've been starving."
Eva began handing everyone a wooden bowl.
As the students accepted theirs, she looked around the group.
"Eat well."
"We leave for the Northwest Explorer's Guild at sunrise."
The four students nodded.
Tomorrow...
The next stage of their training would begin.
Aldren accepted his bowl before grinning one last time.
"Oh."
"One more thing."
The students looked up.
He smiled innocently.
"The Guild has a very strict rule."
Jack narrowed his eyes.
"...What rule?"
Aldren took a sip of his stew.
"...Students are not allowed to ride the instructors."
Jack immediately buried his face in his hands.
"...I'm never living that down."
Aldren laughed.
"Absolutely not."
The camp erupted into one final round of laughter.
Above them...
The stars quietly illuminated the night sky.
Tomorrow...
A new journey would begin.