new reader here. Just wanna know - does that Stanga guy or whatever ( from chap 5) die? Li...

I don't think so. He is used as a motivational stepping stone for Vlad to push himself further. They will meet later on, and are not on friendly terms, but I don't think "Stanga" role is over. But i personally think they have handled him and Vlad as characters really well. This is a good story so i recommend reading through it all!