(Zack)

"Hey, Zack?" Gavin asks. "I heard that the Santa Boss gives ten thousand percent Bonus Experience. I'm sure you got the extra reward, too, so that's… double that you got. Is that not enough to Level up?"

"I can Level," I tell him. "Actually, I have enough Bonus Experience to master four more Classes, including after Ascending again. So the two needed to reach my Third Ascension, and then two more into my Third Ascension. But really? There's no point to it anymore."

"Oh," he says. "That's why."

"But, theoretically," I say. "If something powerful came up, something more powerful than what I can handle now, even in Eidolon Form, then I would probably bring myself up to Level 750 and deal with it. If I couldn't, then we'd flee to the nearest City and I'd go through the Ascension Trial, then take on another 100 Levels. Then I'd go and kick its ass."

"Maybe," he says, and I can tell he wants to ask something.

I could just poke into his mind and find out, but let him squirm for a few minutes, before I end up deciding to just ask.

"Why were you wondering, Gavin?" I ask. "It's clear you had a reason for it."

"It's just," he hesitates for a moment. "What if we do come across something that needs a few more Levels? The Level Cap here is Level 15 right now, which means Bounty Beasts can be Level 35, and they're always much, much stronger versions."

"It would take something very powerful to be a threat," I remind him. "Something on the level of multiple King Monsters, A'Lutar, Ultimate Bosses, and Dragons. And even the latter, I'd probably manage to handle if they aren't too powerful. Unless the Shadow of Life decides to try to kill me again, which I doubt he will, we shouldn't have to deal with such things."

"Okay," he accepts it, though I can tell he's still a little doubtful.

"Gavin," I say. "How many of his attempts at killing you have succeeded? How many of his attempts at killing me have succeeded?"

"You have a point there," he admits.

"Of course," I smile. "Come on, let's keep walking."

The team and I resume our trip. As we walk, I think about something. Gavin's inquiry brought up a question in my mind, a question I feel is extremely important.

Big Flame?

Yes? He responds almost immediately, though he sounds tired, almost as if he were emulating Big S from before they released the other Boundaries.

Uh… everything alright?

Yeah. Seal had us doing some stuff, and it's made us all a bit sleepy as a result.

What kind of stuff?

Bryce needed to get into a City without risking being killed by an Avatar, so Seal had the eight of us exert our power and sacrifice the energy in two storage crystals to kill it.

It takes that much power for you to do something like that?

Yes, he answers. And it wears us out, too.

That explains why they've never done it before, then. Using up two storage crystals from each of them would put a heavy toll on them, especially while supporting multiple Boundaries. Since there's only one now, I suppose Big S felt it was fine for them to do that, especially with the end drawing near. As long as they don't need to use up more over the next few months for something big, things should be fine.

My gut says it'll be fine, too.

What did Bryce need to get into a City for?

He wanted a hot bath.

Good on Bryce for making them sacrifice so much power for such a thing. A true brother of mine!

Big S didn't tell us what it was until after we did that…

I laugh, drawing looks from my team, but they promptly decide that they probably won't be able to learn what it is and resume to watching the forest around us.

Okay, so I had a rather important question, Big Flame.

Sure, what is it?

Why is it that the Boundary would fall within a year, should Maelnor have been defeated? I mean, I get that as soon as Maelnor was defeated, the pass and mountains would be passable even without the other City falling, but still. It doesn't make sense. It took them billions of years just to get to Maelnor. Yet it takes less than one to get from Maelnor to the Temple of the Elements? What is up with that? Especially with the size of the Boundary. It just doesn't make sense they'd be able to cross it all that fast.

I can feel Big Flame musing over his response for several minutes as my team and I continue our walk. Eventually, he deigns to give me an answer.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

In order for Kaelmar to have been taken, he says. Every other City on one half of the Boundary must have been conquered. Same for each other City in the Valley of the Elements. So long as there was even one standing City in one half of the Boundary, it would not be possible to take out any of the Cities in the Valley of the Elements. That is why it took them billions of years to take out Kaelmar. Alexander spent that time ensuring every last City in the western half of the Boundary was destroyed. He had to build up his forces to ensure escape could only be managed within the City, not by the paths.

Hence the hordes.

Exactly. The hordes would surround the City. At first, it was because he didn't know if the Adventurers could handle a Dragon. But then it just became tradition, in a sense. The King Monsters could, with time, destroy the City Barrier, but the Dragons were most efficient at it. The ultimate of all monsters. That is why the Adventurers remained behind – to fend off the horde as long as possible, in the hope that that time was the one when the Dragon didn't show up, and that that time was the one where they managed to kill the King Monsters. Standard stubborn Adventurer stuff.

I don't get it, though. He doesn't need to take out every other City in the eastern half?

Correct, Big Flame answers. It was only necessary to start taking out the four Cities of the Valley of the Elements. A dragon can fly halfway across the Boundary in under a year. Were Maelnor to have fallen, the Shadow of Life would have sent one of the ones under his control to the Temple of the Elements, to destroy it.

That's why it took billions of years to reach the valley, but would take less than a year from the fall of Maelnor for him to achieve victory.

Wait. There aren't any Dragons in the eastern half?

Nope. There used to be, but because the Temple of the Elements on that half and the Valley of the Elements held, Alexander couldn't influence them. Eventually, they died off. Because of the high numbers of Adventurers on it, it was rare for a Dragon to manage to feed itself well. We might have influenced things a little bit as well. In the end, they died off because of that. So the entire eastern half is free of Dragons, the only beasts which can destroy the Temple of the Elements and ensure Alexander's victory.

Got it. Thanks.

You're welcome, he lets out a yawn. I'm going to take a nap. We've decided to kid-pile on Seal for what he had us do.

You do that.

His presence fades from my mind, and I chuckle. Big S is probably annoyed by it, and will probably move them off of him once they're all asleep.

At least a major question of mine has been answered. I've thought about it a few times, and Gavin made me think about it again. I'd contemplated asking Big S and Big Flame about it before, but had always figured they'd try to act mysterious about the reasoning.

What Big Flame said makes sense, though. And to think they nudged events until Dragons in the eastern half died out, just to ensure it wouldn't happen sooner. That's… rather impressive.

"You seem like you just had a major revelation," Braden tells me.

"I did," I nod. "But nothing that will help us in defeating the Shadow of Life sooner. That's okay, though. I'm confident in leaving this to my brother's hands."

He nods, then resumes watching our back, and I start thinking about what my father said. My true father, not the man who raised me.

Supposedly, I know a way to defeat the Shadow of Life, and have had it for awhile. As we've traveled between Cities here, I've tried thinking of what it could be. What could possibly enable us to kill him without fighting? I know he never said it didn't involve fighting, but something in my gut says it does.

There was always the possibility that whatever it is Existence says I know could have been the realization that caused the end, except that Big S is one hundred percent certain that the realization turned me to Alexander's side. The whole thing is making my head spin as I try to figure it out.

What I do know is that whatever knowledge I apparently do have about how to defeat the Shadow of Life, it doesn't appear to matter. Does that mean it's beyond my reach? Or is it actually something that would help Bryce?

Big S has always known more than he revealed, so if he believes that my realization would turn me to the Shadow of Life, then it would. That means that defeating Alexander is up to my brother.

GAAAH!

This is making my head spin too much!

----------------------------------------

(Luca)

"Max?" I whisper after looking back at Lord Zack, who seems frustrated by something.

"Yes, Luca?" He whispers back.

"Are rabbit's feet actually lucky?" I ask.

Some people say they are, some say they aren't. I don't want to ask Lord Zack because he probably wouldn't give me an actual answer. Or he'd give me an answer, but it would make my head spin. So I'm asking Max.

Partly because he's carrying my right now, since my legs are tired, and partly because if anyone in our party knew, he would. He's a wolf beastborn, which means that rabbits are their natural prey, which means that he would know, if anyone did.

"Depends on the rabbit," he answers, and I look off to the side. I think I just saw something. "Normal bunnies, their feet not be lucky. Same with the horn ones."

"So horned rabbits and normal rabbits, unlucky feet?"

"No, no, no," he shakes his head. "They not be unlucky, just not be lucky. Shadow Bunny feet, those ones be unlucky. Max heard of a slave who once slipped one into her master's food. He got super sick and died. So those ones definitely be unlucky."

"So Light Rabbit feet are lucky?" I ask as I look ahead again. Maybe I didn't see something. "Since they're the opposite of light, and light is opposite of shadow?"

"No," Max answers. "Me think Light Rabbit feet be unlucky, too. Heard about a Scholar who got hurt carrying one to his house. So they probably be unlucky."

"Oh," I think for a moment. "So what rabbit feet are lucky?"

"The ones which bring you good luck!"

That doesn't answer my question. I reach up and tug on one of his ears, causing him to yelp.

"The variety of rabbit they come from, Max."

"Oh, that," he answers, and I can tell he has to think about it for a minute. As he does, I feel like I saw something again, and look to the side once more. "Me not ever actually heard of bunny feet giving good luck. Just not being lucky or being unlucky."

"Oh, so no rabbit's feet are lucky?"

"Well," Max says as I look to the front once more. Still nothing, but now I'm sure something's there. "If a bunny did have lucky feet, then it would be Candy Bunnies."

"Why do you say that?" I ask. "I don't remember them being very lucky at all."

"Because then Max gets to eat them and not get all bloody!" Max answers excitedly. "That be very lucky to me!"

Oh. I should have known better than to ask Max about something like this. His mind went to food. Speaking of food, I'm hungry.

Max, Braden, and Lord Zack all stop walking, and Gavin stops a moment later, looking between them, then scanning the trees. I think he felt something off, too.

"Something be here," Max says quietly.

"It's coming from behind!" Lord Zack exclaims. "Everyone move back, it's another Special Boss!"