The fast, exciting feeling in his blood started to fade away.
The freezing wind bit through his coat again. Ilya shivered. His right arm felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.
'My body is too weak,' Ilya thought. 'I made one good move, but my energy is completely gone. A good asset is useless if it has no power left.'
Captain Bracing shouted more orders. The camp went back to normal. The dead giant monster was dragged away into the snow.
"You four. Into the recruit tent," the giant Electro Vanguard grunted. He pointed his big purple hammer at a small, dirty tent near the mountain wall.
Ilya walked slowly. The three other boys followed right behind him. They were looking at him differently now. They were not just scared boys anymore; they were scared boys looking at a leader.
Inside the tent, it was dark and smelled like wet dirt. There were a few thin blankets on the cold, hard ground.
The boy with the red fire stone sat down next to Ilya. His name was Pyotr. Pyotr looked at his own shaking hands, then at Ilya's metal glove.
"How did you do that out there?" Pyotr asked. His voice was quiet. "My fire was totally useless. But you... you made it huge."
'He is confused and scared,' Ilya thought, watching the boy. 'Right now, these recruits are a massive liability. We are nothing but cannon fodder. But a smart manager does not throw away raw assets; he optimizes them. If I can teach them how to work together, we can become a highly valuable unit.'
"I did not make it huge," Ilya said simply. "You made the fire. I just used the wind to push it forward. Wind makes fire burn hotter. Next time, do not just throw your fire anywhere. Wait for me to get ready. We will hit them together."
Pyotr blinked. A small bit of hope showed in his tired eyes. He nodded slowly.
The tent flap opened. The giant Electro Vanguard stepped inside. He had to bend down so his head did not hit the roof. He threw a small cloth bag onto Ilya's lap.
"Hard bread and dried meat," the big man grunted. "The Captain says the smart one gets extra food tonight. And fix the wire on your glove. It is leaking magic."
The big man turned around and left the tent.
Ilya opened the bag. There was food inside, but there was also a small roll of shiny copper wire and a tiny metal tool.
His stomach growled loudly. He ate the hard bread quickly. It tasted like dry dirt, but his empty body needed the fuel. He gave a little piece of the dried meat to Pyotr. Pyotr smiled and ate it fast. Building loyalty was a cheap investment with a huge payout.
When he finished eating, Ilya looked at his metal gauntlet. He let his eyes relax and looked at the glowing magic lines in the dark tent.
The green magic inside the stone was still spinning perfectly. But the old wire connecting the stone to the glove was frayed and broken. Tiny bits of green magic were leaking out of the wire and fading into the air.
'It is wasting power,' Ilya realized. 'It is like a bad investment eating up my profits. I need to close the leak.'
He took the new shiny wire and the small tool. His fingers were cold and stiff, but he worked carefully. He pulled off the old, broken wire. He attached the new copper wire, tying it tight to the green stone and the heavy metal glove.
He focused his mind. He told the green magic to flow down the new, clean path.
The glowing green lines snapped into place. They flowed smoothly down the new copper wire. Not a single drop of magic leaked into the air.
Numbers flashed clearly in his mind. Energy output: Fifty percent. Connection: Perfect.
Ilya smiled in the dark. The heavy glove felt even lighter now. His weapon was getting better.
He looked over at Pyotr and the other two boys. They were already asleep, shivering under their thin blankets.
'I survived my first day in this freezing hell,' Ilya thought. 'I have a better weapon, a little bit of food, and recruits who will actually listen to me. These raw assets are starting to look useful. If I keep making smart choices and managing my resources, we are going to survive.'
He pulled a thin blanket over his shoulders. He closed his eyes, listening to the howling wind outside, and finally let himself sleep.