"More people!" Wyatt exclaims when he spots us approaching. "I don't know these two."

While I did hook up with Trent for a few months and it was after Wyatt and I became friends-with-benefits, they never actually met as far as I know. I'd mentioned Wyatt to Trent a few times, though I'm not sure if I had mentioned Trent to Wyatt. At the time, I was mostly just seeing if Trent would be interested in a threesome, since I knew Wyatt wanted them and was intimidated by Dakota.

I felt it was better to ask the unknown first before asking the known. If I invited Trent to it, then Wyatt would trust his inclusion. Trent wasn't interested in that, though, so I saw no reason to introduce them.

"This is Trent," I indicate Trent. "We were friends before the Mana Flood, and he was one of my friends-with-benefits last year. Stopped that after a few months because he wanted romance and I didn't. Grace is his girlfriend. We found them in the woods."

We fill in Wyatt on what happened after Lucas and I left, and he lets me know that he's finished his testing and confirmed that his potion bombs are good for combat.

"Managed to aggro about twenty of the snakes and mice," he says. "And blew 'em all away with one of the stronger ones I brought with me. Well, not 'blew 'em all away' so much as 'tore 'em all to shreds', but that's close enough. Right?"

That explains the more severe bit of damage I can see to the clearing. A forty-foot-wide circle has been completely torn apart, no doubt the result of the strong bomb he used. While there's some disturbances and gashes in the ground throughout the clearing, none compare to that one spot.

"Sure," I snort.

"We can start making stronger ones," Wyatt says. "Though I guess there's also the problem that the stronger they are, the more likely there might be a problem if their bottles get jostled or impacted while carried around."

"Chance already solved that problem," I remove the waveburst potion from my belt and hold it up. "He figured out an enchantment to strengthen the bottles. We're strong enough to break them with our spells, or we can use a little bit of wind to cut one of the lines in the enchantment and it'll fail."

Wyatt squints at the bottle in my hand, then steps closer while examining.

"Are you unable to call up the information if you can't see it clearly?" I ask.

"Nah," he says. "I can do it as long as I can at least make out the item, but what the hell, Carter? You had something like this and didn't tell me? It's way stronger than the stuff I've been able to make!"

"Because you're using stuff from the Dungeon, dumbass," I snort. "We used locally-sourced materials, like from water slimes by the lake."

"Lake?" Trent asks. "What lake?"

"The ponds at the sports park are merging into a lake," I explain, then direct my attention back to Wyatt. "I take it your tests went well?"

"Yup!" He answers. "So I think I'll be doing this for combat, either entirely on its own or as a compliment to you fighting. Won't be doing castings to break them, though, so I'll cut the enchantments before throwing."

That's actually part of why Chance tried to find a way to make it so the enchantments could be broken with a small bit of wind magic. Aiming at a small, flying object while having blurry vision probably isn't the best experience.

"J-just be careful they d-don't b-break too c-close," Lucas tells him.

"Aye aye, Captain!" Wyatt salutes. "Oh! Hey, Lucas! Did you get to test your attacks? You wanted to come along because you wanted to give fighting a try, right? And Carter! Did you get to see what you wanted to see?"

"I wanted to go on the trail on the other side of the glade," I point north. "It's a walking and biking path that's mostly wooded. Figured it'd have something interesting there. That's where we came across Trent and Grace."

I fill Wyatt in on what we learned and what's happened, with Trent and Grace adding a little about how they handled things. Then Lucas tells Wyatt about [Thorn Shot] and using that as an attack.

"Whoa," Wyatt says. "That sounds pretty epic, Lucas."

"Yeah," I say. "And he figured out a better crowd control than my use of [Wind Mastery] to just push things back. Once he's got more Mana and a higher level of skill with [Plant Mastery], he'd probably be pretty good at it."

"T-there may b-be a proper s-spell for it," Lucas's face is red. "I-I just haven't l-learned the r-right formation f-for it y-yet."

"No worries," I say. "Why don't we all head back home now? We need to get something set up for Trent and Grace, and they should make their first visit to the System Shop today."

"Is there one nearby?" Trent asks.

"Near my house is the closest one I know of," I inform him. "Though it's still a bit of a walk past it from here. There might be one closer but unless you know of it, it's better to just go to the one I know about. You'll get some useful things from your [Starter Pack]s there. It's better to get it today than not."

Though I reserve the right to change my mind on that, depending on if I want to test the two of them a little, especially Grace. I don't know her well enough and their survival is suspicious. It could also just be paranoia, so we'll see.

"What kind of things?" Grace asks.

"A basic tool, clothes, food, and a [Skill Scroll]," I answer. "The latter of which is for a basic Skill of nearly any type. Try to think of what kind of Class you want to focus on as we walk."

"Are there plans on returning here in the future?" Wyatt asks as he pulls his pack back on. "I'm assuming you'll want to take on those spiders again? Those are some huge ones you've got there."

"Yeah," I answer. "They also have maginiite in their brains. Plain maginiite. That'll help with Chance's slime breeding plans."

"Their brains?" He asks. "Seriously?"

His surprise is understandable, considering that they're the first creatures we've come across with any form of maginiite in their brains.

"Yup," I answer. "Want to ask the golems about that. And to answer your question… yeah. There's a Dungeon up there according to these two, so I'll want to return eventually. Maybe when the three of us are closer to Level 2, since they said it's a Level 1 Dungeon. That should be enough for us to handle it on our own and I can feel a god in my mi-there it is."

A new Quest notification has appeared. Could they at least let me finish saying that I can feel them in my mind? I'm starting to think they're interrupting me on purpose.

You have received a Quest. [Quest Type]: Special. [Requirement]: Complete the Rank 1 Standard Dungeon [Vroltatim Dark Forest Plateau] [Reward]: Varies. The dark forest which rests atop a pair of plateaus is a perfect challenge for a budding mage and his team. Take on this domain and lay claim to the resources within to bolster your power and your home.

"This doesn't make sense," I can still feel the god in my mind. "I was already going to take it on. I just said that. There was no reason to issue me a Quest to nudge me into it."

"What?" Grace asks.

"Gods like watching people," Wyatt explains. "Sort of like how we like watching TV. If someone they like is on the fence about doing something that will actually benefit them and make them happy – and won't be a cause of strife or whatever – then they'll issue a Quest to nudge them into doing it."

"I think… maybe the Quest itself isn't the nudging here," I frown. "Are they unable to put time-based things in the Quests they issue to people if that isn't the focus of the Quest?"

Though that does seem to contradict the first Quest a little bit, since the focus is probably actually the part about living here. I don't have enough information to know for sure what's going on, however, so I can't say with certainty anything about this.

"What do you mean?" Wyatt asks.

"I just got an incentive," I tell him as I read the second notice which appeared. "For starting an attempt at clearing the entire thing within the next two weeks."

You have received a special Quest incentive. [Mana Crystal Pack]; [Maginiite Pack]; [Holy Maginiite Pack]; [Holy Slime Goo Pack] Begin your attempt at challenging the Rank 1 Standard Dungeon [Vroltatim Dark Forest Plateau] within the next 2 weeks (14 days).

There's very little chance the three of us would be strong enough to take on the spiders properly within the next two weeks unless we push ourselves hard. I'm not sure any of us are fond of having to challenge ourselves that hard, though. At the same time, I doubt the gods would issue a Quest that's outright impossible.

Some way to reach the Dungeon must exist.

We begin the journey to my house, not stopping at the lake as we pass by. As much as I want to look at the plants growing along the shore to see what we might find, I also don't want to have to deal with the slimes while having two non-combatants with us. It's also better if we get them settled in sooner rather than later.

"That's a pretty nice-looking house," Trent comments as it comes into view.

"It's damn nice, yeah," I say. "We'll stop to rest and eat lunch here, and I'll build a shelter for you two to stay in. It won't be as fancy as this, but it'll do until we can get something better built. It should block out most of the wind, at least, and there will be a fireplace."

I might have to get creative with the entrance to it to make it more optimal. I don't trust Grace due to lack of knowing her, not because of anything she's actually done. There's no reason to be a full dick and leave them in the cold.

"Where do your brothers stay?" Grace asks.

"In the house with us," I answer. "We could fit the two of you in there as well, except it's my house and I'm reserving it for those I'm sleeping with or the brother of. And I don't do payments for sex, so I wouldn't ask someone to sleep with me just to sleep in my house."

"And I'd never sleep with someone just to get something," Grace says. "I might not know you much, but I figured as soon as we saw the house that if it was yours, we weren't sleeping in it. That's fine."

"How long did it take to build?" Trent asks.

"Chance and I built it in about a day," I answer. "But we spent more time than that preparing the bricks, foundation, and other materials. Don't worry – making something basic isn't too much effort. It won't be as warm or damage-resistant as my house, but it will still offer protection from the elements to some degree. Let's head around back."

When we reach the back yard, Chance is examining a small nugget of bluish-green metal while Collin is throwing a stick and watching his familiars race to grab it.

"Hey, guys," I say. "We picked up some strays while out."

"Carter!" Trent exclaims. "That makes it sound like we're strangers!"

"I'm sorry," I give him a blank look. "Who are you?"

Trent gives me a playful shove and I laugh.

"This is Trent," I introduce him as Collin walks over. "And his girlfriend, Grace. I hooked up with Trent for a few months last year and met Grace after the two of them started dating. They went to the public school, and it seems Trent knew Lucas? Or at least, recognized him?"

I look at the two of them.

"W-we had p-pottery c-class together a c-couple years a-ago," Lucas says.

"Our senior year," Trent tells me. "Didn't talk to him back then, though I did think he was cute. And we did stay friends after we stopped hooking up, Carter."

"He's very cute," I agree. "Want to make lunch, Lucas? If not, I can handle it. I know there's a bigger group now."

"I-I've got it," Lucas says. "M-mind if I use t-two of the kits? W-we have t-too many, anyway."

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

With how many we have and how long they last for in token form before reverting, we're almost to the time where most will pop out as crates. After that, there's a much shorter time period before the food within needs cooking.

"Go ahead," I tell him. "They're not like the meal pouches. While you do that, I'll build their temp. shelter. It's going to be a little bit of a walk away, so that you two have privacy. A door isn't quite feasible at the moment, so-"

"Now that I'm figuring out magic smithing," Chance interrupts. "I can probably make hinges with a little practice. Nails, too. Just give me an hour or two and I can probably get a door and frame worked up."

"Alright," I pull off my pack. "Before any of that, though – letter time. Fea! Come on down!"

Fea flies down from where he was doing more loop-de-loops and lands on the stand Chance built for him. The harness is different from before and there's a larger tube now, and the way it's strapped indicates that it was redesigned so a certain bird can't open it without breaking something.

Grandma definitely figured out what he was doing.

"Huh," I say as I pull out the letters. "There are some eggs in here. And a rock."

It's a small rock that makes absolutely zero sense as the System's information on it reveals that it's just a small rock. The eggs, on the other hand, belong to cloud chickens. Each one is marbled white and greys in color and is around half an inch in length.

Those are set on the table as I sort out everyone's mail, Lucas giving Trent and Grace some meal bars to hold them over until lunch. They sit on the floor of the patio with their backs against the house while the rest of us sit and check our mail. Chance retrieved writing supplies for all of us to respond with as I started sorting out the letters, so we can get straight to things.

I have three letters today, one from Grandma, one from Dakota, and one from Tessa. As always, I read the one from Grandma first.

Carter,

It seems Fea has decided your parents are blacklisted from sending mail through him. I had a new harness created for him so that he can't open it, though he refused to take off until after the letters from your parents were removed.

Please make sure the punishment to the others is effective.

I do apologize for not responding these last few days. The day your letters arrived, we ended up dealing with a problem that I've been sorting through the last few days.

Some of the normies decided they didn't like listening to our rules and policies, nor like being punished for violating them. A total of 57 normies left our group to start their own path. To their fortune, they should be in an area that's at least relatively safe. Not one magic-blooded person left with them.

While I do wish they stayed with the larger group for safety, they will probably be fine. If they aren't, then that's on them.

Our scouts found a Rank 0 Dungeon and a Rank 1 Dungeon not far south from there and close to each other, so the rest of us talked the remaining normies to travel with us until we reached there. We arrived last night, then I and some of the others worked on temporary shelters. For the next week, we'll be staying here to allow the others time to rest and recover.

After a week of that, the normies should be okay with us moving on again. Those who aren't can stay here if they desire, though that should be enough time for them to see that things are growing more dangerous and further travel is necessary if they wish to be safe. We'll see. During that week, we'll have a couple of runs of the Dungeon done. There's also a System Shop here as well.

How's the house? I'm assuming it's finished now? Did it work? If so, do you mind sharing your recipes? We have a couple of builders and alchemists among us, and those will prove helpful when we finally arrive at our destination. Some of them aren't even magic-blooded – not ALL normies are idiots. One of the normies here even received a Quest from a god! It seems they were on the fence about becoming a hunter and a god both liked them and felt they would be happy hunting beasts for food.

Regarding the four eggs, I found them in a Rank 2 Dungeon we passed by. I found eight, actually, but kept four to myself.They're for Collin. He has more information.

Any other news?

Lots of love,

Grandma

"These are for you," I nudge the eggs toward Collin.

"Thanks," he says. "Already got to that part in my letter. They're just magic chickens, not monsters. Can breed 'em for meat and feathers. Did she mention the rock in yours?"

"Nope," I say. "Anyone else have a mention of the rock?"

No one does but not everyone has finished reading yet, so I decide not to mention it when I write my response back to Grandma. There's probably some reason it's in there and the person it's for just hasn't gotten to that yet.

"Grandma asked if I'd be willing to share the mortar and seal brew recipes with her," Chance tells me. "I think it's a good idea since it'll help the group out when they finally settle."

"She asked me, too," I respond. "It's a good idea, yeah. And getting those recipes now might actually help improve spirits – it'll let some of the normies have a hope for a better future. You want to copy them down, or should I?"

"I only have the one letter," Chance tells me. "I'll respond to Grandma and write the recipes down."

"Hey," Wyatt says. "I'm going to write the potion bomb recipes I've figured out, too. That might help them out a bit. They aren't perfected yet, but maybe someone there can come up with something I haven't thought of."

A collaboration via bird mail, huh? Not a bad idea, especially since Fea seems more than capable of keeping things secure when he wants to.

"Go ahead," I lean back and look at Trent and Grace. "By the way, if you two want to write letters in case someone you want to be in contact with is alive and with the group, you can. Just put their names on the letters and make clear it's from you two, and Grandma will see if they're around. If not, then the letters'll be returned with a note stating they couldn't be found."

"We don't know what happened to our parents," Trent tells me. "Though mine were visiting family in Cali when Earth's mana veins woke up, so they won't be with the group."

"Mine might be," Grace says. "You said your grandma gathered everyone she could find up at the high school, right? I live close to there, I was just spending the night at Trent's when things happened."

"Alright," I indicate the writing supplies at the end of the table. "It'll take a little getting used to, but you can write something up. Be careful, though – it's a little pricey to buy so try not to waste paper or ink."

"Thanks," she stands and walks over to the table.

I begin working on my response to Grandma.

Grandma,

The house is holding up, but it's only been a few days. We'll see how things go.

Collin accepts the eggs. Chance is writing the recipes. Wyatt is adding his potion bomb recipes. We're interested in collaboration, if others are.

Lucas and I took down some spiders today and discovered they have plain maginiite in their brains. Not sure why, but will ask the golems if they know. Hopefully, it counts as "basic information".

I received a Quest to take on the Rank 1 Dungeon past the spiders, then an incentive to start the attempt within the next 2 weeks. While I'm not sure the reasoning behind it, I'm sure I'll figure it out after challenging the Dungeon so I'll be trying it. Since there's a 2-week part to it, I doubt it's to rescue more people.

Speaking OF rescuing people… I came across one of my friends/former fwb and his girlfriend. They're not fighters, haven't been to a System Shop, and did loot the bodies of some people who had been. Something's not right, though. They aren't strong enough to resist the ambient Mana.

I'm suspicious.

The friend/former fwb is Trent, do you remember him? I know him enough to trust him. Grace, on the other hand, I don't know that well. She might be hiding something even from Trent – I haven't picked up any signs that Trent is trying to hide something or is nervous. Trent's family was in Cali when things happened, but Grace is sending a letter back with Fea. She claims to have lived near the high school. If true, then her parents might be with your group.

Regarding your group… I'm way too selfish to put up with all that crap. Are you sure you aren't going to ditch them and come out here before arrival?

Lots of love,

Carter

PS – Fea helped Lucas and me take down some giant spiders.

Once my letter to Grandma is finished, I make sure to stack the pair of pages face-up. The part about my suspicions are on the back of the second page. While Trent and Grace can't see them right now, there's no reason to leave it exposed.

Something really is suspicious about their survival. Two and a half weeks as non-combatants in an area where monsters are abundant and the air itself is deadly? Healing magic was involved somewhere, either in potions, food, or a person's abilities. At the same time, they had injuries that looked older than a few days. Things just aren't adding up.

Until I have more information, both of them are under suspicion. It could be nothing at all and just me being paranoid, or it could be a threat to us.

Neither of which is too important in the current moment, so I begin reading the letter from Dakota.

Carter,

I'm shure Grandma Elm's left it out of her letter to you (see she seems to do that a lot), but a masive massive fight happened. Some of the normies tried to say that the policies were unfair but they wheren't weren't contributing that much. Not all of them. So they and some of the fighter normies grouped up and tried to lead a coo coup.

You're Your grandma just stared at them for a few moments. Then exiled them and banned them from all meals, traveling with us, temporary bathing facilities, etc. And some of the hunters – normie and magic-blooded together – pushed them out. Everyone agrees to the policies when joining up and they where were breaking that promise. I'm glad it's done with. Had to punch a few of them, myself.

We've stopped at a place with a Rank 0 Dungeon and a Rank 1 Dungeon. Will probably push a little into the Rank 1 Dungeon to get a few more Levels. I've only just reached SL 1, so will probably be in a group only doing the first Stage.

How're things going their there?

Best of luck,

Dakota

He's only just hit Status Level 1? I guess that makes sense when considering that he's in an easier area and is doing Dungeon runs with full Parties. It sounds like things are getting fun there, and I'm not surprised tensions are heating up and Grandma is omitting information.

I grab a piece of paper and start writing.

Koda,

I still say ditch the group. Grandma won't listen, but maybe you might. There's space for you here.

Good luck with your Dungeon run. I'm going in a Rank 1 one in the next two weeks due to a gods-given Quest and its following incentive. We've got a bit of a suspicious situation here, too (ask Grandma for more information; I mentioned it in my letter to her).

We're making progress on stuff. The first house is built and we're testing it now. We're not professionals so I know it's not the best, but it's working so far. I fought against the stoneshot squirrel queen by myself and learned how to use missile-type spells. Encountered some really dangerous spiders today; Lucas and I worked together to take them down and even Fea joined in at the end. Weird bird was doing circles and loop-de-loops overhead while waiting for us to return home.

The spiders are actually on the way to the Dungeon, so Lucas, Wyatt, and I are going to have to do some casting practice to boost our abilities before we try to reach it. I'm curious about what's in the Dungeon that a god thinks I'll be happy with encountering so soon.

Best of luck,

Carter

There's one last letter for me, as Tessa's sent me one this time. She sends them even less often than Dakota does, though it doesn't bother me. If there's not much to say, then there's not much to say.

Tessa

As it turns out, your baby did not die from the Mana Flood. He's alive and well based on an analysis done by a doctor here. We figured it out because I started craving mushrooms-and-meat and your grandma said it might be a sign. Apparently, your mom craved the exact same thing with you.

It seems the baby is just as resilient as his parents. Grandma Elm said it should be safe for me to be up there with you even with a baby on the way. I've seen enough of her knowledge to know that if she says that, it's true.

However, I'm just the surrogate – I'm carrying him for you, not me. He's your son. Even if he won't be in danger from the ambient Mana as long as I'm not, there's still the risk of monster attacks and other things. Besides, you said you're only planning on staying for the first month for sure and only maybe the other five. If you're leaving, there would be no point in me coming up there.

Other than that, things are going well. Dakota and I had to help deal with an attempted coup and push out the exiled. What part of "you made a promise to abide by the very reasonable rules created for the smooth flow of the travel, abide by it" is hard to understand and follow?

My job is mainly helping watch the borders of the camp for monster attacks when we're set up. It seems calm to most, but it helps shield us. The number of monsters I've taken on at night… these idiots need a wake-up call and I hope those that left us get it. Before they die.

Tessa

Whatever happened during the coup, there must be a lot more to the story if all three of them mentioned it and Dakota and Tessa both had to help deal with it. I'll have to find out more later. More important things have come up from Tessa's letter.

The baby's alive? Knowing about the membrane from before the Mana Flood made me suspect they survived that, but still died from the ambient magical energy after. And it sounds like she knows the sex now, too, since she's referred to him as my son. I'm glad to hear that he's alive, though Tessa should be more concerned about her own health.

"What's up?" Collin asks, noticing whatever expression I had in response to the letter.

"Seems my son survived," I answer. "Tessa wants to know if she can come up here."

"You're expecting a kid?" Trent asks.

"Surrogate mom," I explain. "She brought it up. And now I've been given a Quest to invite her to live with us here. I really want to know what the heck is up with the gods?"

"So the baby's still on the way?" Chance frowns. "I wondered if that was possible, considering he's got the blood of two magic-blooded people in him, since Tessa's one as well. Collin discovered something while you guys were gone that I think might help me with my own Quest. If you say she's good for coming up, tell her to wait a week."

"The Quest one to make a membrane-creating amulet?" I ask.

"Yeah," he looks over at Slushy. "Slimes are the answer… I think. Or at least, they provide it. I'm done with my letters, so I'm going to get started on that. Slushy, I need your help with something."

Chance gets up and walks over to the slime, softly singing about getting to be an uncle. It seems he's looking forward to that quite a lot.

I grab a piece of paper and write up my response to Tessa.

Tessa,

While I'd be happy with you out here as a friend and potentially with my son on the way, the choice is ultimately yours. Do what is best for you.

If you do come out here, don't come alone. The trip will be a little dangerous and it'll be a good idea to have someone watch your back. If Grandma's willing, ask her to loan you one of her familiars.

Best of luck,

Carter

I'm the last one to finish reading and writing, so I bundle up all of the letters now that I'm done and roll them up, then slide them into the tube along with the pebble. No one knows why the pebble was in there as no letter mentioned it, so we decided to return it.

"See you, Fea," I pat the magihawk on the head. "Stay weird."

Fea does a little dance on his perch, then takes off.

"Alright," I say. "Time to get started on the next order of business. I'm going to go make the house for Trent and Grace now. Lucas, you're still making lunch, right?"

"Yeah," Lucas nods. "It'll take about forty minutes, so you've got time."

"Cool," I say. "Trent, Grace. Let's go pick out your spot."