“Do you care if I go ahead and register for housing while we’re here?” I asked carefully after we left Ava’s apartment.

Though she didn’t appear as upset anymore, I knew Zavira well enough to recognize that her disappointment and frustration at the added delay had not abated – it was simply hidden as a courtesy to me and the others.

“That’s fine,” Zavira said before adding, “I might as well get a place, too.”

My eyes widened in surprise, and my steps faltered.

“Here?” I asked. “Aren’t you going to pick an apartment in one of the cities?”

“Perhaps later,” Zavira replied noncommittally. “I don’t want to deal with factions or any of that drama right now.”

Ava had informed us that the only real differences between the floor’s two ‘safe-zone’ cities were the factions in charge and the seasons they focused on.

Harbor dealt mostly with materials from the Spring and Summer zones, while Hexaport traded in materials from Fall and Winter. The two cities used the materials to craft goods, which they then traded with each other and the outlying settlements.

The central village was excluded from both cities because this floor didn’t allow non-challengers to enter the small space. I was sure that wasn’t the only reason, but it was the explanation Ava had found, and she’d verified the restriction actually existed.

“I’d still like to do a little research of my own,” I said as we walked down the stairs toward what served as a lobby. “It’s not that I don’t trust Ava…”

“No, I understand,” Zavira assured me. “I also plan to do my own form of research. It will likely be much more lucrative to trade in the cities, so it would be good to have an idea of where to go before it’s needed. We can focus on a single city for today and reassess afterward,” she suggested.

We obtained apartments next to each other. I was surprised at the availability of accommodations, given the number of challengers visible in the village below.

However, with two decent-sized cities nearby, it made sense that many would choose to go somewhere else. In fact, I was still surprised that Zavira had opted to stay in the small village, given her expressed preference for easy access to amenities and entertainment.

But I wasn’t going to question my dungeon partner on the topic. I was sure she had her reasons.

Once our long-term accommodations were secured, Zavira and I headed toward Harbor. We’d decided to start there since I’d always preferred spring and summer over fall and winter.

I was also a little curious about how we would be received, given the fact that the Springhearts had been a large part of the faction that ran Harbor prior to the war with the sect alliance. From what Ava told us, the Springhearts’ status in the city basically ended as soon as the war was declared.

But with how some of the residents had reacted on the fifth floor, I wanted to see things for myself.

The walk was short, given that the city began only a few hundred meters from the southeastern edge of the village.

It was just far enough that the cityscape wasn’t obvious from the village square. But once we passed the village’s structures, the city was apparent.

Nobody stopped us when we entered the gate closest to the village. In fact, it looked like nobody was manning the gate at all.

It was a little odd, but considering both of the cities and the village were surrounded by water, I guessed it made sense. If the only threat the leaders were really concerned with was beast waves, then not having a guard at the gate made sense.

After asking a few locals, it didn’t take long to find the city’s library. Zavira opted to use her normal approach to intelligence-gathering and headed off toward what served as the city’s entertainment district instead of relying on documents.

My next several hours were occupied by research into the floor and the recent changes it had undergone. There was a surprising amount of information available regarding the changes, especially given how recent they were.

Then again, I probably shouldn’t be surprised, considering there were almost certainly Scribes and Historians on the floor. I was sure those with such scholarly professions would have been quick to use the opportunity to earn some easy experience by documenting the changes reported by those exploring the zones.

As I was finishing up a report on the material properties of some of the beast parts from the newest iteration of summer dungeon creatures, I received a message from Zavira asking if I wanted to meet her for dinner.

Seeing no reason to decline, especially since I was at a good stopping point, I quickly replied and made my way to the nearby restaurant Zavira had selected for the meal.

She was already seated when I arrived, and her expression informed me that her mood had not improved significantly during our time apart. If anything, it had only darkened.

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“Hey! Learn anything interesting?” I asked casually as I took the seat across from her. I hoped that by acting relaxed and casual, my companion's mood might lighten, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on her.

There was already a sampling platter on the table, so I helped myself to a few new flavors as a sort of consolation.

“Not particularly,” she said with a frown as she poked at the item on her plate with a three-pronged fork. “Your friend’s claims were confirmed. I am trying to adjust my perspective to see the delay as a positive, but I am finding it difficult.”

Zavira’s words were far more stilted and rigid than normal, emphasizing just how unhappy she was. The only time she really spoke like that was when she was interacting with unknown elites or was unusually upset or angry.

“The delay is certainly disappointing,” I agreed. “I hoped to pick up Time Magic Mastery sooner rather than later.”

“I thought you were going to choose something else since the topic will be covered through your inheritance,” she said with a spark of interest.

“That was the plan,” I said. “But Master Kairos advised me to take the skill if I got the option of getting it at the intermediate stage right away. Even with his lessons, it would likely take years, perhaps decades, to push beyond the lowest level of comprehension.”

Zavira sat up a bit straighter. “I thought the same, but I wasn’t going to question your decision. You seemed so sure about it.”

I looked at my friend curiously. She seemed so serious about not interfering that I was concerned there might have been some kind of miscommunication between the two of us.

“Not at all. I’m remarkably unsure about many things,” I said lightly. “Feel free to question me if you think I’m making a bad decision or going down the wrong path. There’s still a lot that I don’t know, and you may have insights that I don’t. I promise that I won’t get mad at you for pointing out my short-sightedness,” I assured her.

“I may not follow your recommendations,” I quickly added, “but I won’t be angry you made them.”

At the phrase ‘short-sighted,’ I couldn’t help but think about Justin. In the grand scheme of things, my actions may have been deemed as such, but I still did not regret them.

Justin was now living happily with his new family on Hadier. They were safe and had access to resources and advantages that the dungeon wouldn’t have been able to provide.

Most of all, they were together.

According to the messages I’d received, Bell, Justin, and the kids were all doing well.

Bell was attending one of the better academies in the city. She’d been sponsored to attend the local Enchanters’ Academy, but the school suggested she attend a secondary academy first.

It was probably like law schools wanting someone to have a regular four-year degree before attending, I supposed. I never got very far in my attempts to gain access to the Enchanters’ Academy in the other timeline, so I couldn’t know for sure.

Though he got a late start, Justin had made quick strides toward advancing and catching up to his new wife, especially since he started his new job with the local Training Tower.

It had only been a few months, but he’d already paid off the upgrade and almost reached Tier Two. Most of his time was spent assisting youths in the wave rift who needed an additional party member, but he likely had other responsibilities as well.

Once he reached Tier Two, he planned to shift to working part-time and join a resource acquisition team that delved the wave rift once per week. He wouldn’t be allowed to keep anything he collected, but he’d steadily gain experience, even if it was at a penalty.

I was pretty sure that some under-the-table dealings had occurred between whoever ran the tower and my sect for my brother to get such a series of positions, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care overmuch. As long as my family was benefiting from the arrangement, I had no complaints.

That was probably a bad mentality to have, at least as far as fairness was concerned. But the universe wasn’t fair, and it would be a little crazy not to make use of such an advantage when it was available.

Amie seemed happy in her new school. As far as I could tell, she fit in just fine with the other Alliance youths.

The twins were apparently growing like mana-fueled weeds. They spent most of their days at an education-based childcare center much like the one Amie had attended through Atlas.

My parents were still slogging their way through the upgrade and Tier One, but they seemed content enough. I hoped they’d change their minds about relocating, but I wasn’t sure it would happen. Both had skills that were in demand on Earth – Mom as a Healer and Dad as a Smith.

“What do you think about focusing on our alt level first instead of spreading it throughout the tier?” Zavira asked after an oddly long bout of silence.

I’d let my mind wander, but I doubted she noticed. She was very clearly distracted, but I wasn’t quite sure how focusing on crafting instead of hunting dungeon beasts would solve anything.

The experience needed to be gained either way, so I didn’t really see a problem with a little change. My biggest concern was with how sudden her suggestion seemed. It almost seemed counterintuitive, given her professed goals of quickly challenging the Trial and obtaining a new skill.

“It wouldn’t be bad to get it out of the way,” I conceded after a moment. “Maybe not the whole level, but I’d be fine earning a good chunk of alternate experience up front,” I added before eyeing her closely. “Is there a reason you’d rather focus on crafting instead of spreading it out like we have for the past two tiers?”

Zavira shifted a few times before sighing. “I’m so tired of hunting and killing and harvesting and processing. It feels like it’s never-ending,” she said before pausing for a few breaths. “I think we pushed a little too hard these past few years… but I really wanted to get Force Magic Mastery. Now that I’m not going to get that anytime soon…”

I understood her perspective. I really did. Spending the last few years in a constant grind had been rough. We’d barely taken any days off, and the stress had really built up.

“I want a break. I need a break,” Zavira said earnestly. “Obviously, we’ll need to hunt some to obtain cheap materials… but since there’s no chance we’ll be able to challenge the Trial in the next half-decade, I’d rather rest… for a while.”

She looked at me with worry, like she thought I might deny her a short respite. It wasn’t like she wanted to take the time off; she just asked for a break from grinding.

I could certainly support that.

“I don’t mind focusing on crafting and maybe soaking in the Hot Spring for the next few months,” I said. “We need to do both anyway, so why not now?”

The relief on her face was obvious.

I felt bad that she apparently didn’t know me well enough to feel comfortable expressing such a need. I would have certainly felt comfortable telling her if I was getting burnt out.

Still, it was an awfully quick shift from wanting to push as fast and as hard as possible to not wanting to hunt at all. I hoped that taking a few months off from hunting and killing mobs would be good for her.

I didn’t want to think about what I would do if Zavira burned out and left the dungeon before we reached the eighth floor. I could do it alone, and I’d likely have to when I returned, but I wasn’t ready for that.

Master Kairos was right. I needed at least one friend.