Character from Iron Prince by Bryce O\
The instructor who sees what Rei could become — a combat teacher at Galens who mentors the lowest-ranked cadet when doing so earns him nothing but trouble.
Casper Irons is the teacher who chooses to invest in the student everyone else has written off. He sees something in Rei that the ranking system doesn't measure — not just the S-rank Growth stat, but the psychological profile underneath it. A kid who has been in pain his entire life and responds to it by training harder. Irons recognizes that as the raw material for something extraordinary. He teaches combat at Galens with the practical authority of someone who has been in the field. His instruction is direct, demanding, and fair. He doesn't coddle Rei — if anything, he pushes him harder than other cadets because he understands that Rei's ceiling is higher than anyone realizes. His mentorship is the structural support that lets Rei survive the institutional hostility he faces from people like Major Reese. Irons speaks like a soldier: clear, concise, occasionally wry. He doesn't waste words on motivation. He demonstrates. He corrects. He watches Rei adapt in real time and adjusts his teaching accordingly.
Built like a career military officer — solid, weathered, practical. The kind of person whose physical presence communicates experience before they say a word. His face is lined from years of combat and instruction. Dresses in Galens faculty attire but wears it like a uniform, not a costume.
Also known as: Irons, Captain Irons