Day fifty-eight.
Jake could move better now. The awkward shambling gait was improving. He walked more like a person and less like a broken puppet. Well, like a very stiff person. But still a person.
2.2% control helped. Not a lot, but some.
His fingers worked with less concentration required. He could grip and hold without thinking about each individual finger. His legs coordinated slightly better. His balance was more solid.
"This is what 22 EP gets me. I can walk without falling. I can grab things. I can think... well, still foggy, but better."
He watched the horde from his sitting position. They never moved unless commanded. Never scratched an itch. Never adjusted their position. Just sat like statues.
"I'm ahead of them. They're stuck at 0% control. I'm at 2.2%. That's... that's something."
The thought made him want to smile. But dead faces still didn't smile.
Day fifty-nine.
Kazhor rode off and Jake stood immediately.
He'd gotten faster at this whole process. The standing, the scanning, the planning. It was becoming routine now.
A rabbit was digging in the snow about twelve yards away.
Jake approached with careful, controlled steps. His movements were quieter than before and more deliberate.
Ten yards away from the rabbit. The animal was still focused on digging.
Seven yards. Still digging, completely unaware.
Five yards. The rabbit's ears twitched slightly.
Jake didn't wait for it to bolt. He closed the distance in three quick steps. The rabbit tried to run but Jake was already there. He grabbed it mid-jump.
The rabbit thrashed violently in his grip. Its teeth found his thumb and bit down hard. Black blood welled up from the wound.
Jake squeezed with steady pressure. No hesitation.
The rabbit went limp in his hands.
[+1 EP]
[Total: 23/1,000]
"Eight seconds. From standing to kill in eight seconds. That's a new record."
Jake hid the body and returned to his position. He sat down just as Kazhor appeared five minutes later.
"Getting better. Slowly, but better."
Over the next week, Jake hunted with increasing efficiency.
Day sixty. A fox tried to circle around him while maintaining distance. Jake predicted the pattern based on previous encounters. He caught it when it came too close on the third circle.
[+2 EP]
Day sixty-one. A bird was perched on a low ice formation. Jake grabbed it before it could take off. The kill was clean and quick.
[+2 EP]
Day sixty-three. Another rabbit. The hunt was routine by now.
[+1 EP]
Day sixty-five. Yet another rabbit. Quick work.
[+1 EP]
[Total: 29/1,000]
Day sixty-seven. Jake spotted another rabbit near an ice formation.
He approached carefully as always. The rabbit was alone, digging in the snow with its small paws.
Five yards away. The rabbit looked up suddenly and saw him standing there.
It bolted immediately.
Jake lunged forward and caught its hind leg. The rabbit twisted in his grip, screaming that high-pitched sound. Its claws raked across his face in desperation. One claw caught his left eye and tore it open. Blue light spilled out like glowing liquid, running down his frozen cheek.
Jake held on despite the damage. He pulled the rabbit close and got both hands around its small body. Then he squeezed hard.
The rabbit went still in his grip.
[+1 EP]
[Total: 30/1,000]
Jake sat there in the snow, holding the dead rabbit while his ruined eye leaked down his face.
And something changed in his mind.
Not dramatic. No surge of power or flash of light. But the fog lifted another notch. His thoughts became a bit sharper.
3% control.
The fog was still heavy, but he could hold more thoughts in his head now. Could think maybe three or four steps ahead instead of just one or two. Could remember sequences better.
"Thirty EP. Three percent. Still a long way to go."
He tested his body's response. He moved his arm in a deliberate motion. It responded faster than before with less delay. Smoother movement.
He stood up and pushed through the rest command more easily. The command was still there in the back of his mind, but weaker. Less oppressive.
"I can move better. Not like I'm alive. But better than before."
His ruined eye regenerated as he walked to hide the rabbit corpse. Bone formed first, then tissue rebuilt itself, then the blue glow returned to normal. The whole process took only minutes.
"Three percent control. Keep grinding. That's all I can do."
Day sixty-nine.
Jake had been thinking about strategy. His 3% control gave him enough mental clarity to think beyond just the next hunt.
"Rabbits are everywhere and easy to find. But they only give 1 EP each. Birds and foxes are worth 2 EP but they're harder to catch. Wolves would be worth more. Maybe 10-15 EP based on that first wolf the horde killed. But I can't take a wolf alone. Not yet."
He'd seen wolves occasionally during the marches. Always in packs of three or four. They were smart enough to avoid the wight horde entirely.
"At my current strength, a wolf would destroy me. I'm only slightly stronger than a human was. Wolves hunt in packs and they coordinate their attacks. They'd surround me and tear me to pieces."
But the math was tempting to consider. One wolf could equal ten rabbits or five birds in terms of EP gain.
"Need to get stronger first. More EP means more control which means better coordination which means maybe I could handle a wolf."
It was a progression problem. He needed power to get power.
"Classic catch-22. Need gear to fight the boss. Need to fight the boss to get the gear."
Day seventy-one.
Kazhor rode off on his elk and Jake stood up immediately.
A rabbit was nearby, maybe ten yards away. Easy prey that he could take quickly.
But Jake hesitated when he looked beyond the rabbit.
Because thirty yards away, he saw a fox lying in the snow. Bigger prey that would give him better EP gains.
"Do I take the guaranteed 1 EP? Or risk it for 2 EP?"
The rabbit would be quick work. Five minutes maximum from start to finish. But the fox was farther away. It would take longer to stalk properly. More chance of Kazhor returning early.
"Risk versus reward."
Jake made his choice. He walked past the rabbit and headed toward the fox instead.
The rabbit noticed him moving and bolted immediately. It was gone in seconds.
The fox was lying in the snow with its eyes closed. Sleeping maybe? Or just resting?
He approached carefully and quietly. Twenty yards away. Then fifteen yards.
The fox's ear twitched suddenly. It woke up and saw Jake standing there.
It stood quickly with its body tensed. It watched him warily.
Ten yards separated them now.
The fox turned to run.
Jake broke into a sprint. His improved coordination made him faster than before. Not fast exactly, but faster than his previous attempts.
The fox ran with incredible speed. But Jake kept pace behind it. Barely, but he managed. His frozen legs pumped steadily. His dead lungs didn't burn from exertion. His muscles didn't tire or cramp.
The fox started to pull ahead gradually. It was too fast for him to catch in a straight chase.
Jake dove forward desperately. His arms stretched out as far as they could reach. He flew through the air toward the fleeing animal.
His hand caught the fox's tail and grabbed hold.
The fox yelped in surprise and pain. It twisted around violently and bit at his hand. Its sharp teeth sank deep into his wrist.
Jake pulled it back toward him forcefully. He got his other hand on the fox's body. The animal thrashed wildly, clawing and biting at him. It drew black blood across both his arms with its claws.
But Jake held on tightly through all of it. He squeezed with his full strength.
The fox went still in his grip.
[+2 EP]
[Total: 32/1,000]
Jake lay in the snow, panting out of pure habit. His wrist was torn open badly. Black blood pooled in the white snow around him.
"Two points. Risked it and got two points."
He hid the fox's body carefully and returned to his position. He sat down in his spot.
Kazhor appeared just three minutes later.
"Cutting it close. But worth it."
Day seventy-four.
Jake encountered something unexpected during a rest period.
The horde was sitting as usual. Kazhor rode off on his elk to scout. Jake stood up to begin his hunt.
And he saw another wight shambling through the snow about fifty yards away.
It wasn't from his horde. Jake had memorized all fifty wights by their damage patterns and the way they moved. This one was different. Unfamiliar.
It shambled aimlessly with no apparent direction or purpose. No White Walker was visible nearby.
"Where's its master?"
Jake watched it carefully. The wight shambled past without noticing him at all. It didn't notice the sitting horde either. It just walked in its aimless pattern.
A thought pushed through the fog: "If I killed it, would I get EP? It's already dead. But it's moving. Does that count?"
But the wight was too far away. And Kazhor might notice a destroyed wight near his horde.
Jake stayed perfectly still. No reason to risk it.
The wight disappeared behind an ice formation and was gone.
"Weird."
Jake filed the observation away. Another strange thing about this frozen wasteland. Maybe he'd test it later if he saw another stray far from here.
Day seventy-six.
Another rabbit appeared during a hunting opportunity. The kill was quick and efficient.
[+1 EP]
Day seventy-eight. A bird was perched within range. The hunt was routine by this point.
[+2 EP]
Day seventy-nine. Yet another rabbit. The kill was clean and fast.
[+1 EP]
[Total: 36/1,000]
Day eighty. A fox appeared, but this one was bigger than the others Jake had fought. It was stronger too. During the struggle, it bit through his finger completely and took it clean off. Jake held on through the injury and squeezed until the fox stopped moving.
[+2 EP]
His finger regenerated over the next hour. He was getting used to losing body parts during hunts.
[Total: 38/1,000]
"Thirty-eight EP accumulated. Need 962 more to reach evolution. At my current rate, that's still going to take years. But I'm improving. Getting faster with each hunt."
Jake sat with the horde, his mind working through calculations.
"I'm not stuck in place anymore. I'm moving forward. That's what matters."
Day eighty-two.
Kazhor led the horde to a completely new area. The terrain was different here with more ice formations and steeper cliffs surrounding them.
And there was significantly more prey visible.
Jake saw three rabbits within twenty yards of where the horde stopped. Two birds were perched on nearby ice formations. He even spotted a fox in the distance.
"Target-rich environment. Good for hunting."
When Kazhor rode off, Jake had real options for the first time. Multiple targets to choose from.
He chose the closest bird for efficiency. He approached slowly and carefully. The bird was preening its feathers and wasn't paying attention to its surroundings.
Jake got within three yards before the bird finally noticed his presence. He lunged forward immediately. His hands caught the bird before it could take off.
The bird fought back viciously. It pecked holes in his frozen face with its sharp beak. It scratched deep gouges across his arms with its talons.
Jake squeezed hard until it stopped struggling.
[+2 EP]
[Total: 40/1,000]
Forty EP. 4% control.
The mental fog lifted another notch. Not dramatically, but noticeably. Jake could hold longer chains of thought now. Could plan maybe four or five steps ahead. Could remember patterns better.
"Four percent. Still mostly fog. But better than 3%."
He tested his body's capabilities. He moved his arms in patterns and made circles in the air. He made a fist, then opened it, then closed it again. The movements were smoother and more coordinated than before.
"Motor control improving. I move more like a person now. Still frozen and dead. But more coordinated."
It was progress. Slow progress, but real.
"Forty EP down. Nine hundred sixty EP to go."
The number was still massive and overwhelming.
But Jake was learning patience. Or maybe not.