Chris

"Come on, Chris, it will be fine. Just there and back, nothing else." Gabriel once again tried to plead.

Ever since he got his legs back a few days ago he had been insistent about doing more. Joining with the other groups of scouts. Being a participant when an appropriate level monster was found.

He had a Law and was working on his Anchor, but he still wasn't an E-rank yet which made the monsters around here too strong for him.

He could punch up if the beast wasn't as strong as its level would indicate, but most of the ones we came across were firmly in the E-rank, above what most people at that level could handle.

Even some of the newly evolved E-ranks in our employ couldn't go toe to toe with some of the ones we encountered.

Which was why Gabriel asking to split off to travel to a dungeon was out of the question. Even if he could sense the monsters in the area and avoid them, I was not going to let him go alone, especially here.

"Gabriel, we've talked about this. The area is too dangerous for you to go alone." I said exasperated.

His insistence was fine at first, but it was beginning to aggravate me. I knew he meant well, but sometimes his ability to not take no as an answer was supremely annoying.

"I can avoid any of the stronger ones and the dungeon isn't even that far away!" He tried.

I turned to level my gaze at him and just stared. I was through with this conversation.

The dungeon was far enough away that we weren't making a detour for it, yet he claimed it wasn't. I did have to admit, traveling alone on a horse wouldn't take nearly as long as the entire caravan but it was still far enough away to worry me.

And here I was worrying about him when I complained about Abigail doing it to me.

I guess it's hereditary.

It was at this point my mother decided to chime in, "Why don't you go with him, Chris? If you two go together everything will be fine. It will be good for him to get some exercise in."

I turned to gape at her, my mouth slightly open in shock. Betrayed by my own mother.

Was the world spinning in reverse? One where I was the worry wort and they were urging us into danger.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You could use a chance to let loose too. I see you all tense and broody up there." She added.

There was a reason for my tense and broody attitude. Things had slowly gotten more difficult and ever since the storm a few days ago. Things were becoming challenging.

The entire trip, the mana level had steadily risen, it was slow enough that most attributed it to moving into more mana-dense areas. Places that were richer in it than others.

That sentiment held for quite a while and no one thought anything of it. Until it continued to happen despite moving cross country where the map showed ups and downs in mana level compared to where we had been before.

Which didn't make any sense. The mana level was higher in some places than the map would indicate.

That was when we realized the base mana level was rising everywhere.

The scale of the map stayed the same, but the entire world rose in mana density anyway.

The areas with low density rose but didn't change color on the map because everywhere else rose to match. There had been some shifting on the map where different areas dimmed or brightened, but overall, things stayed the same.

The mana levels of different areas stayed constant, which made the map stay the same even though the mana levels we were experiencing should have been lower.

The only other explanation was that the base mana everywhere steadily went up.

With that being the case, monster levels rose to match and we weren't leveling fast enough to compensate. I had only gained 6 levels since our return, a pittance to the 57 I gained in the tutorial, and about the same time had passed.

Others did better and gained more, but it still wasn't enough to keep up with the levels of monsters we were beginning to run into.

They were outpacing us.

It wouldn't have been that big of an issue if we had already established our city and gained dominion over the local dungeons, but we were still a far distance away from doing that.

The caravan was struggling to make headway further North and we had to use more and more of our strength to deal with the challenges we encountered.

While that sounded mostly negative, there were good things that came out of it. The more challenging the monsters we ran into were, people's levels rose faster because of it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The materials we extracted from them and the area were better and our crafters could do better things with them.

Plus, the challenge brought breakthroughs for people struggling to step on the Paths of Power. The number who did so was few, but a few more Laws got added to our repertoire from the encounters.

After a meeting, we decided to bypass a few of the points we had originally intended to stop at. The dungeon Gabriel wanted to go to was one of them.

It was our original plan to stop there for a day before moving on but the circumstances made us cut it out to save time.

We were quickly becoming pressed for it for more reasons than one.

Other than the rising challenge of fighting through the wild, Mother Nature was turning against us. Well, not against me but against other people. I felt more at home as the days passed but the same couldn't be said for the others.

We left for the tutorial at the start of Spring and we returned at the start of Summer. It was just now becoming the start of Fall.

Winter would soon arrive and the air was already turning this far North. I could feel the barest hints of Ice mana in the air already.

Tree leaves began to turn first, and the air soon followed. It was a stark reminder of what was coming.

I loved it. It felt easier to breathe and as the heat died down, it felt easier to move.

Gabriel felt the same but we were the minority of people who welcomed the changing season. Most of the caravan's population came with us from Ohio. People who knew the cold and snow, but not the kind the land up here would see.

Back home, we were lucky to get any substantial snowfall and the temperatures would only dip low for a short amount of time compared to here. It was the main reason we left.

The part of my family who had Water affinities could find that anywhere. Lakes, rivers, oceans, even snow, all of it gave off Water mana and while the levels and purity differed, it was at least available for them.

Austin and his Solar could be found literally anywhere and so could Wind. Both affinities were common throughout the globe. The type and intensity changed, but it could be found.

Vinny and Rachel were somewhat out of luck for fire but there wasn't anywhere we could go for that. At least nowhere that was closer than our current journey.

The deserts of Arizona were smothered in the stuff based on the bright orange glow of that area on the map but nowhere else had it in any large capacity. America wasn't known for its volcanoes after all. Fire mana popped up as a small blip in Northern Pennsylvania or Eastern New York, it was hard to tell, but that wasn't enough of an incentive to change plans.

While there were spots on the map that were better for Water mana, or Wind mana, there were few places for Ice mana.

Now that sounded altruistic in that we were going somewhere most people would have something to work with, but there was also a selfish side as well.

This was going to be my City and I was going to build it where I would be strongest. I wasn't forcing my family to come with me, while they were appreciated and I wanted them with me, I wasn't forcing them.

If they didn't want to, they were welcome to set out for somewhere else and I would support them wholeheartedly.

While Winter was the main reason we were traveling North, it did not mean people were ready for what they were about to experience.

With Winter soon upon us, we would have to make even better time if we were to make it there before the first snowfalls. We also had to make sure to recheck our food and begin planning and rationing.

There was no way we weren't going to have to, there were too many people and too little food not to. We did our best to scavenge and forage, but it wasn't going to be enough to last the winter.

It was another reason I couldn't agree to Austin's detour a week or two ago, as adamant as he had been.

Future plans aside, the dungeon was removed from our journey and it was one Gabriel had been looking forward to. He knew the timeline of his recovery better than anyone and he spent ample time with the map.

He knew roughly when he would be able to delve into one and he had set his sights on it long ahead of time.

He did not take our change of plans well.

I had held firm on my decision, until my mom decided to sabotage me.

"I can't leave. Not now of all times. Maybe I could have before, but not when I could be needed." I rebutted.

"It won't take you that long, half a day at most. Get there, do your thing, then catch back up when we stop for the night. Not even half a day if you go through the night instead." She answered.

As she continued, Gabriel's face got brighter and brighter, his excitement near bubbling over.

She was doing this on purpose.

"We will be fine without you. We aren't as helpless as you like to think we are." She added, putting the final nail into the coffin.

"Fine! Fine. We leave in an hour and only for one run. No more than that, no matter how much you beg." I pointed at him, "And we're back before the morning. I don't care if we have to ride through the night!"

"Yes! I'll get my stuff." He said excitedly before running off.

With him gone, it left only the two of us alone.

"Was there a reason to rile him up? I don't need this right now and you were the last person I thought would side against me." After what happened last time was left unsaid.

"He needs this, Christopher. As much as he puts on a brave face, he needs a win right now and this will do that for him." My mother sighed, "No matter how much I don't want him to."

"He's not alone in that department, a lot of people need wins right now." I pointed out.

She just gave me a look. One that she gave me a lot when I was being a smart ass, "Not everyone is my son. Doing this for him is trivial and it will make him feel better."

"I know, but this is a one-time thing. I won't be doing this again." I stated.

I loved my brother dearly, but I wasn't going to compromise the security of our camp just because he wanted to go off dungeon diving. The only reason I was doing it this time was because my mother was right.

It wasn't that far away and I wasn't strictly needed here. We had enough E-rankers to cover everything, I was just paranoid that something unexpected would happen.

That was another reason for my tenseness.

I didn't have that much to pack, really. My hammer stayed with me most of the time and the only other thing I needed was my armor.

That and my horse.

Where did Remi get off to?

Having a horse was a new experience for me and one I was quite enjoying. It was similar to having a dog but one you could ride. He was still working through his attitude problems but he was shaping up to be a decent steed.

I had no plans of riding him into battle or anything, but he made getting around significantly easier. I wasn't sure how he would handle the kind of fighting I did and didn't want to kill him on accident.

A few people who wanted one decided to single one out to take care of and groom. Not everyone wanted one which was good, as we didn't have enough to go around for everybody, but most of the people who did had the opportunity.

I was on the fence at first but decided to try. Some companionship helped me work through some of the things I felt. Our family dog wasn't there when we returned and Remi was quickly filling that hole.

There were so many other things to deal with at the time I hadn't thought much of it. The world ending and all was a major distraction.

I did wonder if any stayed and awaited their owner's return, though.

Now that would be a good dog.