(Braden)

The swamp rapidly changes into plains, the trees just stopping and the ground increasing in height, the water thinning out, then ceasing to fill the ground. There's a river which cuts to the plains a little to our south, feeding into the swamp, but other than that, the plains are rather clear, so we can see the City from here.

Much like the plains back around Maelnor and the other Cities in the valley, these plains are full of slimes. There are a few rabbits as well, along with the occasional rocks and trees. I'm sure there are rats in the rocks, but we don't move too far off the path. For the most part, Max and I kill anything which comes too close, with Gavin only occasionally using Stone Spike to kill something.

The trip to the City is made quite peacefully, but I noticed before the others that something seemed off about it. The City Walls are whole and complete. Undamaged. According to Zack, every City out here was destroyed, and Bryce is still a fair distance away and not powerful enough to handle the Avatars of the Shadow of Life.

"Uh, Zack," Gavin says. "Why does this City have complete walls?"

"Because I visited it while you guys were sleeping last night," Zack casually answers. "Killed the avatar, killed the monsters, then restored the City's Barrier. Actually, I accessed the full interface available and restored the buildings, too. So we don't have to worry about wind or rain attacking us."

We all stare at him, because that is not something he said he could do.

"I noticed a week ago," Zack explains, stopping with us to explain. "That when I focused hard enough, I could actually sense a map of the City whenever I did what I did to restore the City Barrier. That's connected to the City Walls, but there's other stuff as well. It turns out, I can restore the buildings in addition to the City Barrier, it just takes more focus and effort."

"And," Gavin sighs. "You decided to come to the City we're heading to just to restore it before we arrived?"

"Yup!"

Gavin and I groan as we resume our journey towards the City. That's exactly the sort of thing Zack does, and I bet he did it without any real reason. He just decided to do it while we were sleeping, went off and did it, then returned.

We reach the City and make for a house near the Dark Temple, a house which resembles ours back in Maelnor. Zack leads us there, and we find that the bath is already set up, the water nice and hot.

"Sweet!" Luca exclaims, charging into it and stripping off his clothes, before hesitating for a moment as he looks at them. "It's a shame to burn such an expensive robe."

Then he sits down on one of the stools and starts scrubbing. Zack set up furniture throughout the property, including a familiar picnic table. Did he return to Maelnor, then? Because that's definitely our picnic table I saw back there.

I strip off my gear and put it with the others' so that we can clean it later. Zack has a soap that will scrub out the smell of the swamp, he mentioned it to me last night when I asked him if there was a way to get the smell out of my white liger outfit. Only the two jackets I have aren't soaked with it, since I didn't wear those, but everything else? They're were worn through the swamp. Pants, boots, vest, headpiece, bracelets, necklace – everything. And I put so much work into them and like them, I don't want to never use them again just because of swamp stench.

So I asked Zack, and he told me that he'd gone back to Maelnor the first night we were in the swamp and located a shop which sold stuff that will work. The only reason he didn't have us use it yet was because, well, we'd just get our clothes and gear soaked through with the smell again.

I scrub down myself, though Gavin takes care of my back and I take care of his, then we all rinse off and enter the bath. Max has his wooden wolf toy, and Luca has a wooden rabbit, and they goof around with those. While working on my skill at collecting and treating pelts, I also worked on my woodcarving skills. I have a wooden liger.

But I don't join them in playing, mostly because it's Max and Luca. Instead, I just relax and listen to the sound of Zack cooking, smell the food he's preparing for us. Or… not? I sniff the ear as I strain my ears, but Zack's not here. He left the property at some point.

I suppose he's not going to cook while soaked in the smell of the swamp, just in case the smell incorporates itself into the food and makes it taste off.

When we finish our baths, I notice that all of our gear is missing as well, and realize what Zack is probably doing. He probably went somewhere else to scrub our clothes clean.

"Oooh!" Max exclaims as he pulls on his night clothes. "Boss be burning our stuff! Yay! We no longer have to smell that nasty stuff!"

"He also has all of our food," Gavin says as we all finish drying off and start dressing. "Which means we have to wait for him to return."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

While we wait for Zack to return, we strike up a game of cards at the table, and this time I decide to let Luca win three games before I actually give him a challenge and abuse my memory and knowledge of everyone else's tricks to get the most pairs.

Zack returns after a bit, dressed in fresh clothes, his gear on, and he hands Gavin and Max their metal gear. His hair is wet and he smells like soap and shampoo, the gear smelling like soap as well. Yeah, he cleaned the gear and scrubbed himself clean as well.

"For the softer stuff," he tells us. "It's drying elsewhere. There's soap that can get the smell of swamp out, but I wanted to use it away from here."

"Thanks," Gavin says.

Zack heads to the kitchen and starts cooking, and I just watch as the other three move off the picnic table to play marbles. Now, all we have to do is wait for Bryce to show up and then for whatever happens. If Zack's right, everything will come to an end after Bryce arrives.

Though I think back to the wording he gave me. His exact wording initially said that it was after we arrived here. That something which happens here sparks the end. Is it really after Bryce arrives, though? What if we do something here which causes Bryce to face the Shadow of Life and somehow kill him through a stroke of luck?

He is Zack's brother, after all. That kind of shit would not surprise me.

Thinking about the end, I wonder about my next life. I already decided I'm reincarnating. But I might not do it right away, if I'm allowed to wait. If I am, then I'll probably stay with my family for awhile. My family from reality, not Brandon.

But then, because I'm staying with my family, I'll get to meet him again. Rather than acting as a father figure for me, he'd be the proper grandfather figure that he is. I don't know what my family was like before, but I think that would be nice.

For reincarnation, I want to be a prince. The others are probably forgetting that they won't remember their decisions from here, but I think my decision is something I'd make even without these memories.

Whatever the reason, being a prince appeals to me. Which is weird, considering how shy I am. That's why I think it's something that carried over from reality, not just from my experiences here. So if I'm allowed to choose how I'm reincarnated, I know I'll probably ask to be reincarnated into royalty.

Dinner tonight consists of steaks, roasted vegetables, a salad, and fruit, along with pudding and biscuits. It's delicious, as Zack's cooking always is. After that, we all relax for awhile, then we head to bed. There are bunks in here, and I'm pretty sure these are ours from Maelnor.

The other don't question them, just climb onto their usual beds and fall asleep, exhausted from the journey. Now, we're in the resting phase, and we'll get to rest and recover for at least a week and a half. Maybe we'll spend time training out in the fields.

Well, I'm calling it training, but it would probably be Max having fun slaughtering monsters, Luca doing his thing, and Gavin trying to protect Luca. Meanwhile, I'll just do some archery using monsters as target practice.

I enjoy archery, so for me, it would be a recreational thing, not training.

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(Zack)

The flames on the altar roar to life, consuming the heart of the Dragon to fuel the Dark Temple's revival. With the end on its way, I'm not bothering to use it and the heart of the Shadow Wolf King to make a demonic familiar.

As my gut says that something which happens in this City ends the war, I'm not worried about saving the powerful hearts for something big. In honor of this City being where the end truly begins, I'm using one of them up for the altar's revival and temple's restoration.

"Big Flame," I send up a prayer. "Thank you for your guidance and aid, thank you for your companionship, and may the hunts be well and the flame strong."

Big Flame giggles in my head, his usual response to a prayer to Dark Knights if he responds, then I turn and make my way out of the chamber. The moment I'm out of it, I'm tackled by Gold, who's giving me a hug.

"Uh, hello to you, too," I tell him as I pull him off of me and look at Nik, who's looking amused. "What just happened?"

"Gold wanted to say 'hi'," Nik tells me. "And got excited."

"You guys had to have shown up as soon as I turned the place back on."

"Gold was waiting for the City's name to appear in the list."

"There are billions of names in that list!" I exclaim, then look at Gold. "Were you just sitting there, having pulled up the list, gone to the R's, and then to the spot it would be if it were active?"

He blushes as the images come forth in his mind, and I sigh.

"Of course," I ruffle his hair. "I take it you were missing me coming and harassing you and stealing everything?"

His face turns even redder, causing Nik and me to laugh. Yeah, I had a feeling Gold was starting to realize just how much he didn't actually mind me stealing the bedding.

"Plus," I say. "I know you miss wrestling and training with Max."

He nods, then bids us a good night before leaving, though I know he's heading to the place we set up for our home until the end. It seems Kit came with them, too.

"So," I look at Nik. "I guess Gold's staying with us for a bit?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Actually, a few of us are coming out here."

I raise an eyebrow.

"You told us," he says. "That you have a feeling that something which happens here is what sparks the end. You also said you're meeting up with Bryce here, and your theory about him using Bonus Experience to bring himself up to Ascension and wanting someone to watch while he's in Power Jump."

"Oh," I say. "That is why you guys were waiting for us here! You did the math on how long it would probably be before we got here, and were keeping track of which Cities ended up in the list!"

"Yes," he admits. "I haven't shown Gold how to do the sorting yet, but I did tell him when I expected you to be here."

"I see," I say. "So because of what I said, some people are coming out here?"

"Me, Blaine, and Jackson," he informs me. "The Boundary can do without me managing things for the Dark Order. Theodore will act in my stead until I return."

"You for additional training which might be needed," I say. "Blaine for potions, and Jackson for equipment. To prepare Bryce for the final run."

"Yes," he nods. "We're also going to bring out a Certified Assessor with the Scholar Class, so that we can bring in supplies and use the Trading Post as well."

"Makes sense," I nod. "How many people in total?"

"Including the beastborn," he says. "Around ten to fifteen. Not many."

"Alright," I stifle a yawn. "Well, I'm tired Nik, so Imma head to bed. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight," he chuckles.