”You got stuck?” Jake asked.

“I got stuck,” Sandy confirmed.

“Really stuck?”

“If I didn’t want to break anything and make people mad kind of stuck.”

“So really stuck,” Jake sighed while staring at Sandy, now back at full size, lying on what looked like a giant mattress. Meanwhile, Arnold was busy operating some control panel as what looked like lasers shot over Sandy’s thick skin here and there. Jake felt quite a few more devices at work, too, ninety percent of which he had no idea how even worked.

“In my defense, he cheated,” Sandy protected themselves.

“You entered my workshop without permission and triggered the automatic defenses, then proceeded to escape those, forcing me to step in personally,” Arnold said, not even looking up from the screen.

“You still cheated.”

“I only disrupted your application of personal spacial shrinkage, forcing you to expand within a limited space while jamming that frequency of space magic.”

“And how is that not cheating?” Sandy kept complaining, wiggling a bit in annoyance, earning a glance from Arnold before the worm went completely still again so the scientist could continue his measurements. The big worm was practically on a massive scanner due to their crimes against Arnold.

From what Jake gathered, Sandy had smelled delicious stuff in Arnold’s workshop, which, fair enough, there definitely was a lot of. Many of the treasures he cultivated also had powerful space mana within, especially the ones involved in projects he had going while in Nevermore. This naturally attracted the senses of a certain worm, who could detect these treasures despite all the defensive measures Arnold had deployed.

If Arnold hadn’t been at home, Sandy would likely – no, definitely – have succeeded in wrecking the entire workshop by eating most of the power sources, thus ruining all ongoing projects. However, with Arnold there, he had deployed countermeasures that forced Sandy back to their full size, which was a problem when stuck within a heavily fortified tunnel. Together with a space-magic jammer of sorts, Sandy had been stuck unless the worm released a lot of power to forcibly break free. Sandy totally could have done that and gotten away easily, but they would have broken things for sure in the process.

So, instead of breaking free, Sandy deployed the strategy of negotiation. At least, that’s what Sandy said. In reality, Jake highly suspected this entire arrangement was Arnold’s idea. Sandy was undoubtedly an interesting creature, and Arnold seemed more than interested in researching the big space worm’s abilities.

“Do you feel this?” Arnold asked as Jake felt some odd wave of energy move over Sandy.

“Not really. Like, I felt it kind of, but not very much,” the worm responded. “Hey, by the way, how did you even find me? Like… I was super hidden I’m pretty sure, prepared to do a quick hit-and-run. Get in, get out, a quick second or two, but boom, you were there right away.”

Arnold didn’t even seem to listen to what Sandy said after the worm responded regarding the odd energy, making Jake take over.

“Sandy, he is quite literally blessed by a Void God known as the All-Seeing. I’m pretty sure he’s good at spotting people, even if they’re super hidden,” Jake said with a smirk.

“Bah. Don’t tell me he is also one of those weirdoes with a lot of Perception?” Sandy complained.

“Pretty sure he is,” Jake smiled.

“I am,” Arnold confirmed. “Now, tell me what kind of response this invokes.”

A blast of energy struck Sandy in the side but seemed to disperse all throughout their skin, as if the impact was spread out evenly, resulting in no real effect. Jake watched on with interest as Arnold nodded while Sandy answered.

“Nah, that didn’t hurt me either,” Sandy said in a happy tone.

“I see, I see,” Arnold said as he pressed a button. When he did, Jake saw a drone fly into the room, carrying what looked like a large slab of metal. Sandy gleefully opened their mouth, sucking it in, drone and everything.

“Yummy!” the worm said happily. “More of that later!”

Jake threw Arnold a glance as the man explained. “A piece of metal extracted from deep beneath the ground in a C-grade territory. So far, it has little purpose except its energy-richness and ability to handle certain affinities well. I fused a large amount of it into the slab and found no further use of it anymore.”

“I thought Sandy was doing this as an apology?”

“Bit of both!” Sandy said. “It’s only fair if I have to sit here for a while that I’m at least fed in the meantime!”

“I see,” Jake nodded before asking Arnold. “What are you using Sandy to research anyway?”

“Sub-space travel.”

“Sandy’s Sand World travel,” the giant worm corrected.

Ignoring the worm, Jake continued asking. “What even is this sub-space thing? Some other dimension or layer of space?”

Jake considered how his own stealth skill worked and how that made him shift on the spectrum of Perception. This wasn’t really the same, but Jake did know there were degrees to space and how stable or unstable it could be, as well as the presence of spatial layers.

”Rather than call it a different dimension or space, it’s more accurate to say it interacts with another layer beneath stable space, contrary to all other spatial layers that are stacked on top of stable space. It changes the fundamental rules dictating the laws of time, distance, and speed by modifying them with a new conceptual factor that I call the sub-space affinity,” Arnold explained. “This affinity is heavily connected to, but not to be confused with the regular space affinity. It’s instead something relatively unique I’ve found only some creatures or objects possess. It appears to have little to no active combat applications but is suited solely for travel over long distances without relying on teleportation.”

“Isn’t teleportation traveling through this sub-space?” Jake wondered.

“No,” Arnold shook his head. “Teleportation is far more simplistic. It’s merely shifting an entity’s coordinates in space to an already-known location. To teleport, one must know where they’re going, or at the very least have a strong general idea, for example, to teleport a set distance in a direction. Sub-space travel is far different, and also a lot more sustainable for long-distance travel. It’s also a requirement for exploration of unknown space, as teleporting there simply carries too much risk.”

Jake listened and nodded as he had another thought… did his Wings of the Malefic Viper escape skill make him enter this sub-space thing? It stripped away nearly all other concepts by corroding them, including space, so if it melted all layers away, maybe it left only this sub-space? At least it was possible that was how it worked. Definitely something to experiment with.

“So, how long do you think this research project will take?” Jake asked as he saw Arnold walk over with what looked like an overly large camera as he took a few pictures of Sandy.

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“I do not know; there is simply too much to explore,” the scientist said. “Before this, I used spacecrafts with special material and magic circles, allowing it to enter subspace through the consumption of vast amounts of energy, but this… this Cosmic Genesis Worm is like a being born to live within sub-space. It’s simply awe-inspiring that such a creature can exist.”

“Well, Sandy belonging in Sandy’s Sand World only makes sense, duh,” the worm said smugly. “And I am awe-inspiring, aren’t I?”

“Sure you are,” Jake shook his head. “Anyway, are you fine with staying here for a while, Sandy?”

“That depends…”

“Throughout the last three years of Nevermore, vast amounts of resources have been collected,” Arnold added.

“You heard the man! Why would I leave a nice buffet and a comfy bed?”

Jake just smiled and, after talking with the two of them a bit more, left the workshop for Arnold to continue to use Sandy for his experiments while Sandy happily lived the life of a living trash container for all the valuable material Arnold had stocked up but no longer needed. He did wonder why the dietitian hadn’t been spat out, but oh well, he wasn’t going to babysit a giant space worm and their eating habits.

He decided to take a bit of a trip around the city of Haven. Yes, it was a bit confusing that the metropolis once known as the Fort and the nice forest town were both called Haven, but what could Jake do about it. It wasn’t like changing the name was easy either, as the system interface for cities called it all Haven.

Going back slightly, his talk with Holstred had been very enlightening, even if it had been cut a bit short, as he got a message from Arnold that he had caught Sandy, and Sandy tried to play it off by saying Jake had told the damn worm to break in.

Either way, he and Holstred went over the most important parts. Earth was facing problems for sure, and the integration of the freed slaves would take some time, but honestly… things were way fucker better than he had feared.

Jake had half-expected to hear about some civil war having taken place or at least a purge of some kind. However, things had been pretty damn peaceful, even if there were still issues. It was clear Miranda had done a banger job, and done much to help integrate the former slaves to make them feel part of Earth.

That’s also why Jake decided not to get involved in any of it.

Could he perhaps stand up and make some grand declaration telling everyone to play nice? Maybe, but he wasn’t sure it would lead to genuine change. Jake also had to recognize that he was an idiot when it came to things like this. No, it was definitely better to not make any rash decisions but, at the very least, wait for Miranda to return. If she told him to do something, he would more than gladly step up and help, but doing so behind her back could easily fuck up things far more than it would help.

Walking around the city with his stealth skill active a bit longer, Jake kept being impressed by how much things had developed. It was all incredibly similar to a pre-system city, but the touch of magic could also be seen everywhere. People bought stuff and instantly put it in their spatial bags or other such items. There were flight lanes above the usual streets, and the stores made ample use of different forms of magic to better show off products while defending their valuable stuff with barriers.

It’s hard to imagine this was empty plains overrun by angry cows just a few years ago, Jake sighed to himself. The world was still changing at a rapid pace, no doubt about it.

Leaving the city, Jake returned to the “real” Haven. With Sandy preoccupied, Jake had a certain place he wanted to visit before he would take a bit of a solo journey.

Walking through a rocky tunnel, he felt the dense life mana from the cavern below. The walls were lined with shining moss and a few mushrooms here and there, all of them of high quality. He even spotted a few rare mushrooms.

Continuing, he soon reached his destination. A multi-colored cavern, filled with plants and life, appeared before him, with a hole in the middle of it all. In the hole, one could find a metal disc leading to the dungeon known as the Undergrowth.

Few creatures lived in the cavern... but Jake instantly spotted a slightly familiar-looking figure. He said slightly familiar… because while he recognized the patterns on its skin, the troll certainly hadn’t been that big the last time he saw it.

[Undergrowth Cave Troll – lvl 112]

The troll that was still smaller than the troll in the dungeon had been was busy weeding as far as Jake could see. It hadn’t noticed Jake, as he still had his stealth skill active, allowing him to silently just admire its work. Going a bit deeper into the cavern he soon saw the one he had been looking for: Rick.

Jake instantly knew he had evolved, even if his size hadn’t changed in the slightest. His entire body had turned a slightly green color, with moss growing all over his back, something that didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Currently, Rick was busy tending to a large blue plant that towered above any of the others. It looked a bit like a tulip, and Jake could feel it was a valuable herb. Using Identity, he did confirm it was an ancient rarity natural treasure, and definitely one Rick had spent a lot of time cultivating.

Something Rick’s new race had definitely helped with.

[Troll Grove Keeper – lvl 227]

Jake decided to no longer sneak around as he revealed himself not far from Rick. The troll instantly noticed his presence and turned around as he smiled and waved.

“Hey Rick,” Jake said, smiling back. “It’s been a while, huh? How are things going?”

Rick gave Jake a thumbs up as he spread his arms to show off the cavern. Jake nodded, agreeing that it had become impressive. The cavern had even been expanded a bit, likely by the trolls themselves, to make more space for all their plants and flowers.

“Seems like things are indeed going well,” Jake nodded proudly. He didn’t get further as he heard the thundering steps of running trolls from behind him. Jake had, of course, already seen them coming and turned around with a smile to see two large Undergrowth Cave Trolls tower over him.

“You’re all grown up,” Jake said to two of them as one of them started clapping while the other reached out to poke him.

Rick roared lowly, stopping the troll from poking while looking a bit embarrassed. The troll in question then looked around before plucking a big flower and offering it to Jake, who gladly accepted the apology. Seeing the three trolls really brought a strong sense of nostalgia, as he definitely didn’t regret getting them out of the dungeon.

Jake decided to stay with the trolls a bit as he allowed Rick to show him around the large garden. While none of the trolls spoke, they did make sounds, and especially Rick was clearly intelligent. As for why they didn’t speak, Jake had no idea. Maybe they just didn’t ever have anyone to talk to and didn’t need to learn?

While being shown around, Rick also made it clear he and his two kids sometimes went deeper into the ground through the tunnels. Using a Pulse, Jake saw a network of tunnels expand downwards near-endlessly, much akin to the termite hive Jake had explored, except this expansion was entirely natural.

From the sounds of it and the shiny rocks Rick showed off, it became clear the three trolls pretty often delved deep to obtain natural resources and fight. Even if they were all working as troll gardeners, they were still combat-focused creatures who needed a bit of club-swinging once in a while.

After he and the trolls had chilled for a bit, Jake finally got down to business. “Hey, Rick, can you help me with a little something? I got some manure for the banana musa above, and I’m confident you would be better at using it than me.”

Rick didn’t even need to think as he nodded, and together, the two of them headed up to his lodge. When they got there, Rick instantly inspected the bags and the musa, with it pretty fast becoming clear to Jake this wasn’t the troll’s first time seeing the banana plant. He had probably been the one to take care of it during all the time Jake wasn’t there.

Jake also noticed how, despite Rick’s large size, he never left any footprints when he walked. He didn’t float above the ground either; it was more like the grass he stood on was somehow able to hold all his weight. Not to say he was light… he just definitely had some skill to not trample down any plants he stood on.

With interest, Jake watched Rick at work as the troll unpacked the bags and began to mix the manure with the soil around the musa while infusing it with energy. He even saw the troll make a sound before Rick spat a pretty damn big blob of spit on the mixture that instantly seeped into it.

Don’t question, just trust the professional, Jake told himself as he kept watching.

It didn’t take more than half an hour for Rick to finish, making sure to use all the manure – something Sandy would definitely be disappointed with. Once everything was done, Jake could practically feel the banana musa suck in energy from the soil all around it. One had to remember that the original soil it grew in had been brought there by Jake when he stole the banana plant from that ancient temple thing from the time monkey way back in the day.

“Thanks for your hard work,” Jake said, Rick just waving him off as he gave a double thumbs up.

“Will you help keep watch over it and make sure everything goes as it should?”

Rick naturally nodded in reassurance, making Jake feel pretty good about what the banana musa could grow into. Right now, it was an ancient rarity musa, but if he could get it to legendary rarity, that would be pretty cool.

“It’s been fun hanging out, but I think I’ll have to head off now,” Jake said. Rick didn’t seem disappointed but just nodded as he reached out a hand. Jake took it as they briefly shook hands. Still smiling, said his goodbyes as he headed off, while Rick also went back to his grove cavern.

It was good seeing the trolls, for sure, and it had been a fun reunion. Now, he planned on heading toward Skyggen to at least hang out there for a while until Sandy was done getting experimented on by Arnold. On the way, he did plan on having one more reunion…

Though he doubted the frost wyvern would be as happy to see him as the trolls had.