It took some time, but I managed to find my way back home, but by the time I reached my land, it was already midnight. Tonight, however, was beautiful, with more stars in the sky than I could count. The world was illuminated by the endless stars on a black background, but soon it will be difficult to see them all when the two moons start illuminating the sky.

Stepping onto my nation's land always revitalized and strengthened me, but it was nothing compared to when I set foot on my own land. It welcomed me back warmly, and I almost felt it was eager to start a new season of growth immediately. However, I calmed it down and simply strolled around, reconnecting with my land.

A constant smile adorned my face, and it felt like I was breathing the purest air possible. Everything here just felt right, and I was so grateful for my decision to stay and build a life on this land. Often, when we were in the dungeon and others discussed different builds for various classes, I found that my choices weren’t optimal for becoming the strongest I could.

But being here reaffirmed that being the strongest isn't always the best, especially when simpler things bring me so much joy. This sentiment might not resonate with everyone, but for me it does and I'm glad to have my own land.

I continued my walk, observing the surroundings until the sun began to rise. It was time to address my neglect. There's so much I've overlooked, but before focusing on myself, I need to attend to my 12 apprentices.

As I approached the main house, I noticed the chimneys smoking. Upon opening the door, I was pleased to see four individuals busy preparing food. They instantly turned around, and one even grabbed a knife in surprise. Seeing me, smiles spread across their faces. "Rich, you're back!" one of them exclaimed. At which point, Thomas began banging on a pot, rousing everyone else up.

"Yeah, I’m back. Let me help you make some breakfast, and after that, we should catch up," I told everyone. After the banging stopped, a few people, still with sleepy eyes, glared at Thomas because he woke them up a bit too early. I suspect a few pranks have found a new target.

Helping with breakfast was a treat and I taste tested everything being cooked. I was quite tired of rations, so a proper breakfast of eggs, fried potato, and meat was heavenly. I only assisted a little, but it was a good time because it gave us a chance to discuss what they had been up to.

Their stories were interesting. By this time, they had all discovered their passions and were pursuing them, even beyond where my knowledge could assist. However, what I could do was guide them on strengthening their foundations, enabling them to excel further in their chosen interests. As we ate, I shared my story. They enjoyed how I described the dungeon and the battles within, but they all became silent and focused intently when I got to the part about the hydra.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

It was hard for them to believe, but they tried because they knew I wouldn’t lie to them. Watching their reactions to my tale was fascinating but even more interesting was seeing their expressions fight between disbelief and the understanding that what I was saying was the truth.

After breakfast, I quickly gathered everyone so I could get their schedules so I could spend time with each person alone. This would allow us to delve deeper into what they had achieved and what they aimed to accomplish.

It would be a lot of work, but I genuinely enjoyed it. It was wonderful to witness such growth. It was also a relief not to push myself with testing new abilities or traits, as my body still needed recovery, even if I appeared healthy.

On the first day, I spent most of the morning in the greenhouse. It was quite lovely to see it remain vibrant green inside. Clara and I spoke for hours, and I learned from her about how she managed to keep everything so green so far into the cold period.

Apparently, she had bought some broken climate stabilizers that were used to maintain large storehouses at the perfect temperature and humidity. She was able to fix one up sufficiently to keep this small greenhouse as it would be during summer.

All of my apprentices still needed a few levels until they could become full homesteaders, but that will be addressed during the winter. Clara already knows she wants to grow specialized plants that will likely require multiple greenhouses with varied environments.

While I couldn’t assist her directly, we could theorize, and I could help her with the design work for her envisioned homestead. They didn't know it yet, but come spring, they will all need to start building their own homesteads. However, before I announce that, there are some bureaucratic homesteader matters I need to address back at the capital.

It's kind of awesome that people have started to refer to it as the capital, even though by population and size, it's just a small town. But, considering its rapid growth in just one year and the fact that I don’t see it slowing down, I suppose the title isn't too much of a stretch.

Although its growth should slow down a lot as we begin to build different outposts that will eventually evolve into villages throughout our nation. During lunchtime, I visited Francis, who was nearby preparing new fields for the upcoming spring. He was quite excited to still be working, and it seemed he had missed me a great deal.

Back at the homestead, I spent the rest of the day with another apprentice who was quite torn about where she wanted to make her home. She absolutely loved fish and fishing. A few months back, when I mentioned fish farms, she hasn't been able to let that idea go since.

We discussed logistics and how much she might have to dig. But honestly, when she began to realize the amount of work it would take, she wasn't disheartened. Quite the opposite, in fact. It seemed the more work involved, the more excited she became. It was incredibly satisfying to see such passion, especially when I could help her realize her dream.

That night, I slept peacefully in my own bed. I was quite pleased when I woke up to the smell of breakfast. But before I headed to eat, I decided to focus a bit more on my own body. I could see the damage was still there, but it was steadily healing. What interested me most were the energy cores that were now so numerous.

A total of 17 were in my energy body and it looked like that will be the max amount. All of the smaller ones were about 1/5 the size of the original, and they also produced about 1/5 the amount of core energy that the original core did. Still, that was significantly more than before. Energy paths connected all the cores, making it much easier for me to expel tremendous amounts of energy for abilities.

I would still need to do the same thing with all the other cores that I did with my main core when I copied it from my energy body into the physical one. Once again, I wasn't sure about the consequences, just as I hadn't been when I originally did it. But so far, it has benefited me greatly.

I hope nothing goes wrong. Did I just jinx myself? Regardless, the smell of delicious food was too much to resist any longer. It was time for breakfast, and afterward, a chat with another one of my apprentices.