The Will to Live Is My Strongest Skill

Fifteen minutes later, Iron was standing beside a massive stone wall that stretched high into the sky.

The townspeople stood nearby. Iron silently counted them in his head. There were exactly twenty-two people. He let out a heavy sigh, rolled his shoulders, and glanced at them.

Just then, he spotted a familiar woman and her daughter out of the corner of his eye. Iron immediately walked over to them.

"Oh, so you decided to come after all?" he asked quietly as he stopped beside them.

The woman looked at him and nodded.

"Yes... Alice just wouldn't let it go. She's been going on and on about how much she wanted to see your place."

Iron turned to the girl and smiled faintly.

"I'm glad. I'm sure you won't be disappointed, Alice."

The little girl nodded in response, clutching the candy wrapper in her hand.

Suddenly, the air above them rustled, and Elyria swooped down. Waving her arms and practically beaming with pride, she shouted over the noise of the crowd.

"Hey, hey, Iron! Look who I've brought you!"

Another group of people followed behind her, around eleven in total, whom she'd gathered from the neighboring streets.

Iron straightened up and looked over the newcomers before turning to the spirit and silently giving her a thumbs-up.

"Good job, Elyria."

Elyria immediately flew closer, planting her hands on her hips and practically glowing with satisfaction.

"Yeah, yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

Iron turned around, about to explain what the newcomers should expect from the teleportation, but then froze. Noah was standing right beside the group.

"Noah, you're already back?" Iron asked in surprise. "How long have you been here?"

Noah shot him a brief glance.

"Just got here."

Iron had already opened his mouth to ask about the people Noah had managed to bring along, but at that very moment, Noah pointed at the man standing beside him.

Iron immediately stopped himself and shifted his gaze from Noah to the man.

"Good work."

He then turned toward the gathered crowd, drawing everyone's attention.

"First, a quick word for those who just arrived. When I snap my fingers, you might feel a little dizzy. But don't worry, it's completely harmless and perfectly normal. So please, don't be afraid."

Without giving anyone time to panic or ask unnecessary questions, Iron snapped his fingers.

The space around them warped, and the next moment, the entire crowd vanished.

They materialized beside the Main Building.

Some people were visibly disoriented by the sudden spatial transfer, staggering unsteadily as they clutched their heads and doubled over. Others had taken it much better and now stood motionless, gazing in amazement at the sturdy buildings and the unusual design of the Main Building.

Iron calmly looked them over and spoke.

"This is your new home. I'll call Eliza now. She'll show you around, tell you what kind of houses you'll be living in, and explain everything else. In the meantime, you can stay here with Elyria and Noah and ask them whatever questions you have."

Noah immediately turned to him and snapped indignantly:

"Are you fucking kidding me? I need to train, you know."

Iron was already turning away, not bothering to stop.

"Just stay here for a minute. Is that really so hard?"

The next moment, he dissolved into thin air, disappearing without a trace right in the middle of the street.

The bewildered townspeople stared at the empty spot where Iron had just been standing. Elyria immediately crossed her arms, puffed out her cheeks in an exaggerated pout, and cupped a hand to her ear. Without giving the confused townspeople a chance to get a single word in, she rattled off in one breath:

"Well, fine! Any questions for us? No?" She gave them a thumbs-up. "Great!"

Meanwhile, Iron made his way between the buildings and approached an ordinary single-story house. He climbed the small porch with its neat railings and stopped at the front door. There was a window on either side of it, both tightly curtained from the inside.

He grasped the handle, pulled the door toward him, and stepped inside, muttering quietly:

"She should be here."

The interior was spacious, but completely dark. That wasn't a problem for Iron, though. His scanner instantly generated a clear three-dimensional image before his eyes. At the far end of the room stood a fireplace, with a sofa and a pair of armchairs in front of it. A soft carpet covered the floor, while wardrobes lined the walls. A large bed stood off to one side of the entrance.

Glancing toward the bed, Iron immediately spotted Eliza sleeping there. Realizing she was asleep, he quietly closed the door behind him and turned the lock to the right until it clicked. The mechanism secured the bolt firmly in place, completely blocking access from outside.

Once he was sure everything was taken care of, Iron silently vanished from the room.

Iron materialized inside the little shop. After looking around and making sure the sales floor was empty, he went behind the counter, opened the door, and looked inside.

Nastya and Helda were sitting at a worktable, both completely absorbed in their work as they sewed clothes.

Hearing the door creak, Nastya looked up and immediately smiled.

"Oh, Iron, you're back already?"

Iron silently nodded and got straight to the point.

"Do you know where Liana or Sylphi are? Or any of the other girls?"

Helda carefully held the fabric in place with her fingers and answered without looking up from her sewing.

"I think Liana's in the warehouse, and Sylphi's helping her."

Iron frowned slightly.

"Is anyone free right now?"

Nastya immediately perked up with interest.

"Do you need help with something?"

"Yeah, some new people just arrived. I need someone to show them around, explain everything, and all that," Iron explained.

"I can show them around," Nastya offered.

Iron shook his head.

"No, you're already busy sewing."

"But I can put it aside," she insisted. "I really want to explain everything to them, just like Eliza used to explain everything to me!"

Iron let out a heavy sigh, giving in to her enthusiasm.

"Fine, go ahead."

Nastya immediately tossed the piece of fabric onto the table and headed for the exit, but just then, Helda called out sharply.

"Iron, wait!"

Iron stopped in the doorway, blocking the way, forcing Nastya to stop behind him as well. He leaned his head back into the room and looked at Helda.

"What is it?"

Still stitching the seam steadily without looking at either of them, Helda said, "Clerk was looking for you. He wanted to give you some kind of letter or note, I think."

Iron raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"A letter?"

"Well, I don't know. He wanted to pass something on to you. I think that's what it was," Helda replied, keeping her attention on the fabric.

"All right," Iron said briefly.

Iron and Nastya stepped out of the shop.

"I already told them Eliza was supposed to come and show them around," Iron said as they walked. "Just tell them you're filling in for her."

"All right," Nastya nodded.

They walked down the street between the houses. A few seconds later, Iron slowed his pace slightly and asked:

"So, how are things? Everything all right?"

"Yep! Like I said, I really like it here," Nastya replied immediately.

"That's good," he nodded. "And... have you remembered anything about your past?"

Nastya paused for a moment, thoughtfully resting her fingers against her chin before answering.

"My past... Honestly, I can't remember anything."

Iron exhaled, gazing ahead.

"But... some things do come back to me, only to disappear again almost immediately. It's strange."

"As soon as you remember anything, tell me right away," Iron said firmly.

"All right."

"And tell Vadya and the others the same thing."

"Okay," Nastya replied.

The newcomers had already gathered up ahead. They were chatting among themselves, getting acquainted and looking around, while Elyria proudly hovered nearby with one hand resting against her chest.

Nastya stepped forward, breaking into a light jog as she happily waved at them.

"Hi, everyone!"

Meanwhile, Iron silently turned in the opposite direction. Leaving Nastya to deal with the newcomers, he headed deeper into the forest, where the rest of their settlement was located.

As he walked between the trees, he soon began to hear familiar, muffled sounds: the steady chopping of wood and the heavy thuds of an axe. A faint smile appeared on his face at the sound. After walking a little farther, he spotted Clerk working alongside several other men.

Iron pulled his hand out of his pocket and raised it slightly.

"Yo, Clerk."

The man immediately stopped what he was doing and turned toward him.

"Oh, Iron, you're back already?"

"Yep," Iron nodded, walking closer before adding, "Helda told me you wanted to give me some kind of letter."

"Oh, right," Clerk said, remembering. "While you were away, some guy came to our settlement and asked me to deliver a letter to you."

Iron raised an eyebrow.

"A guy?"

"Yeah, a young guy wearing white pants and a loose white T-shirt."

"Did he seem hostile?"

"Oh, no," Clerk immediately shook his head. "He didn't seem hostile at all. Quite the opposite, actually. He was pretty polite."

"All right. So where's the letter?"

"Oh, I left it on the desk in your office."

"All right, thanks."

Iron abruptly folded space, and the next moment, he materialized inside the Main Building, standing right in front of the desk in his office.

A neatly folded note lay on the desk, with "For Iron Everfall" clearly written on the front.