"Cass! Anne! You guys in there?"
Urgent knocking pounded on the door.
"Cass! Anne! You guys in there?"
It was Olaf's voice.
Cassius got up and opened the door.
Olaf stood outside, covered in snow, looking grim.
"Something's wrong. Kim hasn't come back."
"Who's Kim?"
"The technician who maintains the generators. He went to check the backup unit twenty minutes ago. He should've been back by now."
"Where was he checking it?"
"Northwest corner of the base, in the separate generator shed. About three hundred meters from here."
Olaf pointed in that direction. "We're organizing a search party, but the blizzard's too bad. We need more hands."
"I'm in."
"I'm coming too."
Anne stood up.
"Anne, you stay here."
Olaf shook his head. "Visibility is zero out there. Winds are hitting thirty meters per second. One more person means one more risk."
"I've been training. I can handle it."
"Training and real conditions are two different things."
Olaf's tone was firm. "Cass, you're with me. Anne, you stay put and keep comms open. If we're not back in an hour, alert the main building."
Anne looked like she wanted to argue, but Cassius cut in. "Listen to Olaf. You stay here."
He pulled on his cold-weather gear and checked his flashlight and radio.
"Channel three. Check in on the hour. If you don't hear from us, do exactly what Olaf said."
Anne bit her lip, then nodded. "Okay. Be careful."
Cassius and Olaf stepped out into the storm.
The walk was brutal. They were heading toward the edge of the base with zero cover.
The wind slammed sideways, forcing them to walk like crabs.
"Hold the rope tight!"
Olaf tied a safety line between them so if one slipped, the other could pull them back.
After a hundred meters, Cassius's face had gone numb.
Ice had crusted over his mask. He had to keep wiping it clear just to see.
"How much farther?"
He had to shout over the wind.
"Two hundred meters! But it's rough—there's a downhill section coming up."
Sure enough, the ground soon sloped away.
Ice and snow made every step feel like skating.
Cassius kept his center of gravity low and took short steps.
Olaf led the way, glancing back every few seconds.
"Watch the ditch on the left!"
Cassius shifted right, but his foot slipped. He slid three or four meters before stopping.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine!"
He climbed back up and kept going.
Ten minutes later, the outline of the generator shed finally appeared.
It was a small metal shack, half-buried in snow.
The door was closed, but a faint light glowed from the window.
"Kim! You in there?"
Olaf hammered on the door.
No answer.
Cassius pressed his face to the glass. He could see a shape slumped over the control panel.
"He's down!"
"The door's locked from inside. We'll have to break the window."
Olaf pulled a window hammer from his pack, but the wind made it hard to stand steady.
Cassius took the hammer, braced himself against the gusts, and smashed the corner of the glass.
It shattered.
He reached in, unlocked the window from inside, and climbed through.
The shed was warmer than outside, but only just above freezing.
Kim lay draped over the control panel, face purple, breathing shallow.
"He's hypothermic!"
Cassius checked his pulse. It was weak.
Olaf climbed in after him and swore when he saw Kim. "Damn it. He should've called for help earlier."
"Now what? Carry him back?"
"No. Moving him like this would make it worse. We need to warm him up first."
Olaf looked around and spotted a small heater in the corner, but it wasn't plugged in.
He checked the generator. The indicator light was green.
"Generator's fine, but the line must be buried under snow and shorted out. Cass, find the break. I'll get the heater running."
Cassius nodded and scanned the wall with his flashlight.
He found the problem right away—a connection point had iced over and shorted.
"Here! Need electrical tape!"
"Got it in my pack."
Olaf tossed him a roll.
Cassius cleared the ice, rewrapped the connection, and sealed it tight.
"Try it now!"
Olaf flipped the switch. The heater's light came on.
Warm air started blowing out—weak, but better than nothing.
They moved Kim closer to the heater, stripped off his wet outer layer, and wrapped him in dry blankets.
"He needs real medical help. We have to call the base."
Cassius looked at Kim. Another half hour and he might not make it.
"Radio's dead. The metal walls are blocking the signal."
Olaf tried anyway. "Someone has to go back and get help."
"I'll go."
"You remember the way?"
"I marked the landmarks on the way here. That crooked tree. The red warning post."
Olaf studied him for two seconds, then nodded. "Alright. Go fast and come back with the medical team and a stretcher."
Cassius retied the safety line and climbed back out the window.
The return trip was uphill and even harder.
He was practically crawling at times, using his hands and knees while the wind shoved him from behind.
More than once it nearly knocked him over.
His flashlight beam barely cut through the storm, lighting only a few feet ahead.
He focused on the landmarks—the crooked tree, then the red post.
Another hundred meters and he should see the tent lights.
He pushed faster, but suddenly the ground gave way beneath him.
Snow collapsed under his feet!
Cassius plunged downward. The safety line caught on something and jerked him to a stop, leaving him dangling in midair.
He looked down. An ice crevasse yawned below him, bottomless in the dark.
"Fuck!"
He grabbed the rope and tried to climb.
His gloves slipped on the ice. He slid back twice.
Wind screamed through the crevasse mouth while snow poured down on him.
Cassius took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.
He focused and activated his physical attributes.
Limb control kicked in at full strength. Muscle coordination spiked to the limit.
He climbed hand over foot like he was scaling a rock wall, inching upward.
Ten centimeters. Twenty. Fifty—
Finally, he hauled himself back onto solid ground.
Lying in the snow, gasping, he watched a large golden orb drop from his body.
[Extreme Environment Survival +16]
Well. Almost dying in exchange for a golden orb wasn't the best trade.
It should've been silver, at least. Two hundred experience points would've been fair.
Cassius got to his feet and kept moving.
This time he moved slower, using his ice axe to probe every step.
Twenty more minutes and the tent lights finally appeared through the storm.
Anne stood in the doorway. The moment she saw him, she ran out.
"You okay? Where's Olaf? Where's Kim?"
"Kim's hypothermic. Olaf's with him in the generator shed. We need the medical team and a stretcher. Right now."
Anne nodded and sprinted toward the main building.
Five minutes later, the medical team was geared up and ready.
Cassius led the way back. With more people, the risk dropped.
The round trip took nearly two hours, but they finally got Kim back to base.
The doctor said if they'd been even thirty minutes later, he wouldn't have made it.
Cassius sat on the bench outside the medical room, too exhausted to move.
Anne handed him a cup of hot chocolate. "Drink up, hero."
"Don't. I'm no hero."
Anne smiled and sat beside him. "When you went out earlier, I kept thinking—what if you didn't come back?"
"Then Nolan would've had to recast the lead."
"Not funny."
"What do you want me to say? That I was definitely coming back?"
Anne didn't answer. She just stared into her cup.
After a moment she spoke. "I actually admire you a little."
"Because I almost fell to my death?"
"Because you could've stayed inside where it was safe, but you didn't."
Cassius took a sip of the hot chocolate.
It was sweet and warm.
His whole body started to thaw.
"If I hadn't gone, I wouldn't have been able to sleep."
"Guilty conscience?"
"Would've felt like I didn't earn my paycheck."
Anne laughed again, softer this time.
The day after the blizzard, training resumed.
Olaf stood at the edge of the training field, watching Cassius and Anne walk across the ice in thirty-kilo training suits, stopwatch in hand.
"Nice pace. Fifteen seconds faster than yesterday."
Cassius stopped, breathing hard. "Feels like I'm carrying a fridge on my back."
"Fridges don't move this well."
Anne pulled off her mask, face shiny with sweat. "I finally get why astronauts train for two years. Just getting used to the suit takes six months."
"Six months? We've got two weeks."
Olaf checked their gait. "Cass, your left foot is still landing too heavy. You're controlling it well, but the camera will pick it up. Lighter steps. Like you're walking on eggshells."
"Eggshells?"
"Imagine you're stepping on eggs. You don't want to break them."
Cassius adjusted and immediately felt the difference.
[Gait Control +3]
A small green orb dropped from Olaf and Cassius absorbed it.
His calf muscles shifted slightly on their own. His footfalls became smoother and more natural.
"There. Just like that."
Olaf nodded. "Keep it up."
After the morning session, Cassius picked up a few more orbs:
[Low-Temperature Tolerance +5]
[Weighted Walking +4]
[Balance +5]
The [Reputation-Building] progress bar jumped to 35%.
At lunch, Anne sat across from Cassius with her tray.
"You don't look tired at all."
"I am. I'm just good at hiding it."
Cassius took a bite of his sandwich. "Actor basic training. Never look weak on camera."
"This isn't on camera. This is the cafeteria."
"Habit."
Anne laughed and started eating.
[Anne Hathaway favorability +1 — Current: 82]
Up again.
Cassius noticed her favorability had been rising steadily. Almost every interaction added a point now.
Afternoon training was ice crevasse rescue drills.
The field had several simulated crevasses of different widths. The actors practiced using ice axes, ropes, and how to rescue a teammate who fell in.
The instructor was an Icelandic woman named Eleanor, mid-fifties, with deep wind lines on her face.
"Iceland's glaciers are full of hidden crevasses. Some are covered in snow and you won't see them until you're falling. During filming you might be working on real ice, so you need basic self-rescue skills."
She demonstrated the proper ice axe grip. "Hold it vertical. Swing hard. When you hear a solid thunk, it's set. Don't hesitate—hesitate and you fall."
Cassius tried it. His first swing glanced off.
"Use your wrist, not your arm."
Eleanor corrected his form. "Think of it like hammering a nail. Fast, accurate, hard."
Cassius tried again.
Thunk!
The axe bit deep into the ice.
[Ice Tool Use +4]
A purple orb dropped and Cassius absorbed it.
His wrist technique instantly felt more natural.
When it was Anne's turn, she looked nervous.
"I'm afraid of heights!"
"Get over it."
Anne took a deep breath and swung.
It stuck solid.
"Good. Now learn the self-arrest position."
Eleanor lay on the ground and demonstrated. "If you start sliding, flip onto your stomach immediately. Hold the axe across your chest and kick your toes into the ice. This stops you—if you react fast enough."
Cassius tried it several times and stopped cleanly every run.
[Crisis Response +5]
After absorbing the orb, his reaction speed felt sharper.
If he actually started sliding now, he was confident he could self-arrest in under 0.3 seconds.
"You're learning fast."
"Have you climbed ice before?"
Eleanor sounded surprised as she logged his data.
"No, but I've got good motor skills."
"Professional level."
Eleanor recorded the numbers. "Your self-arrest reaction time is faster than some of our local guides."
A couple of the Icelandic guides nearby looked over.
One of them—a big red-bearded guy named Magnus—walked over. "Really? Faster than me?"
"Data says so."
Eleanor handed him the tablet.
Magnus checked it, then looked at Cassius. "Want to test it?"
"Test what?"
"Live drill. I push you. You self-arrest. Let's see who's faster."
"I don't know if that's a good idea—"
"What's the worst that happens? The snow's soft. You won't get hurt."
Magnus was already standing on the slope.
A few crew members gathered to watch.
Olaf grinned and shouted, "Go for it, Cass! Don't embarrass the actors!"
Cassius glanced at Anne. She gave him a thumbs-up.
Fine.
He walked up the slope and stood beside Magnus.
Below them was a gentle incline covered in deep snow.
"I'll count to three."
Eleanor acted as referee. "One… two… three!"
Magnus shoved Cassius hard.
Cassius instantly flipped onto his stomach, axe across his chest, toes kicking into the snow.
The whole motion was smooth. He slid barely a meter before stopping.
At almost the same moment, Magnus did the same move—but slid an extra half-meter past him.
The crowd clapped.
Magnus climbed to his feet and brushed off the snow. "Damn. I've been ice climbing for ten years and I've never seen a beginner react that fast."
He studied Cassius seriously. "Your physical conditioning is impressive. That kind of talent is rare."
[Reputation-Building] progress jumped +2% to 37%!
Up again.
Getting recognition from actual professionals made the bar climb faster.
Training continued.
Next came rope descent practice.
The actors learned to use figure-eights and prusik knots to lower themselves into a crevasse and climb back out.
Eleanor demonstrated first. "Control your speed on the way down. Don't just drop like you're bungee jumping. On the way up, push off the ice wall with your feet to save arm strength."
Cassius went first.
He clipped in, attached the figure-eight, and started lowering himself.
The simulated crevasse was only five meters deep.
Still, the pressure of the narrow space hit him as he descended.
The ice walls closed in. Light faded until only a small oval of sky remained above.
At the bottom he followed Eleanor's technique and started climbing.
Feet kicking, hands pulling, alternating. When he reached the top his arms were burning, but he made it.
[Climbing Technique +4]
[Upper Body Strength +3]
Two orbs dropped.
After absorbing them, the ache in his arms eased noticeably.
"My turn."
Anne clipped in and started her descent.
She moved slower.
At the bottom she called up. "How do I get back up?"
"Kick off the ice wall like you're climbing a ladder!"
Eleanor coached from above.
Anne tried, but her feet kept slipping.
She'd climb two meters and slide back one.
"Cass, can you come down and demonstrate?"
Eleanor asked.
Cassius clipped in again and lowered himself beside Anne.
He stopped next to her and showed her the foot technique. "Use the balls of your feet, not the whole foot. Kick in until you feel resistance, then push."
Anne copied him and improved immediately.
"Don't grip too tight with your hands. Let your legs do the work. Arms are just for balance."
They climbed side by side.
Cassius kept pace with her, offering quiet corrections.
When they reached the top, Anne sat on the ground, breathing hard.
"That was harder than I expected. If you mess it up you're stuck down there."
"We'd throw you a rope and haul you out."
"That'd be even more embarrassing."
Anne laughed, sweat running down her face.
[Anne Hathaway favorability +2 — Current: 84]
Up two more points.
Cassius noticed that when he actually helped her master a skill, her favorability jumped more.
Before training ended, Eleanor gave a summary.
"Everyone did well today. Especially you, Cass. Your ice technique is already at basic guide level."
"Does that mean I can pick up some guide work on the side?"
Cassius joked.
"After you finish filming, come by the company. We could use a bilingual guide."
Magnus looked at him seriously. "We're getting more tourists every year."
On the walk back to the tents, Anne asked, "You actually thinking about guiding?"
"Just kidding. I can barely keep up with shooting."
"Fair point."
They walked in comfortable silence for a while.
The Icelandic evening was beautiful—sky painted in shades of pink and purple, distant glaciers catching the last light.
Training days kept passing.
Cassius stood at the edge of the glacier in the full forty-kilo suit.
White stretched out in every direction.
Wind whistled across the ice.
"Test run—five-kilometer glacier hike."
Olaf held a GPS and stopwatch. "Route's marked. You've got an hour and a half to complete it. You'll cross two crevasses and one slope along the way."
Anne adjusted her pack straps. "An hour and a half? Carrying all this?"
"Training suit weight. The filming version is heavier."
Olaf patted her pack. "And during actual shooting you might be walking for hours straight. This is just the warm-up."
Cassius checked his crampons. "We good to go?"
"Wait. One more person."
Olaf checked his watch. "He should be here any minute."
"Who?"
"Classified."
A few minutes later a modified off-road vehicle pulled up.
Three people got out.
The last one to step down was a man wearing a hat and sunglasses.
He took off the hat and Cassius froze.
Matt Damon?
"Hey."
Matt gave a casual wave, looking slightly sheepish. "Sorry I'm late. Flight got delayed."
"Matt? You—"
Anne recognized him too.
"I'm in the movie too. Playing Dr. Mann."
Matt lowered his voice. "Warner wanted it kept quiet, so my training's been separate. Today's the first time I'm joining you guys."