This is the first time I've seen Gene since the end of the battle. The queen stands firm and tall, alone on her platform. Through our bond, I can feel her exhaustion. She is bruised, tired, and sad. I'd send her strength and comfort through our bond if I could. However, her burden can't be lightened by power. Externally, none of her weariness can be seen. Gene stands before us like a warrior. Her eyes are alight with a fierce determination.

"This —" Gene pauses. Her broken and powerful voice fills the room. Her voice rises, clear and strong. Each word is emphasized, and her index finger taps her side emphatically like her thigh is a pulpit. "This is our home." Tears stream down Gene's eyes as she pauses. She musters the strength to smile as she looks over all of us.

For a moment, the lycan's youth fails her, and I see a flash of the aged wolf that's lived through lifetimes of hardship. In her smile, I see fear, uncertainty, and hope. Above all, I see compassion. None of us here are the family Gene wanted to share this moment with. None of us here are family or even her people. Yet, in her smile, I see the same tender love and care she shares with Remny and Fury. "Let us make Wolvsden the best home."

"FOR WOLVSDEN!" A loud voice roars from the crowd.

“FOR THE WOLVS!” Azura shouts.

"WOLVSDEN!" Answers another cry before a chorus of chants erupts. Minutes pass before the fervor calms.

"A flame, you called it? Whispers Azura. "This is no mere flame." Two sentences are all it took for Gene to stoke our hearts. This is our home, and we will prosper. We are the Wolvs.

Gene takes a breath and turns to the spider queen. "Nette, if you will do your mind magic, I am sure no one will complain about speeding this next part up."

Colby is officially made king regent. Bones even puts the position to a vote. No objections. The youthful lad must be well-liked, or he made some devious enemies. To make matters worse, Bones motions to Glimmer, who presents Colby with a silver crown. It's a beautiful crown, a fine work of art and craftsmanship. The runes emit a soft glow, and mana can be felt at the back of the building.

As the acting king, Colby has the privilege of overseeing the growth of our nation. He'll have the chance to approve and dismiss building plans and give council on foreign affairs. Our king will dine with scholars, cultivators, and rulers looking to forge favorable relationships. He even gets his own council — half of which I already established. If the guy's smart, he'll abuse his powers, delegating and dulling off all responsibilities.

Completing the king's promotion is the dungeon ranking of boss that Bones already assigned to Colby. It's now officially acknowledged that Colby is the fourth boss of The Rising Fist. As a boss, Colby has raised two ranks in the templar level and given shared skills. The king immediately adds to his council, picking a stout orc named McGrady as our engineer and Tracy as the architect. Amy officially becomes his advisor, and Isabella is the chancellor. Likewise, Gavin and Cru are granted boss roles of general and forester. Glimmer and Bloom's position changes a little, their title being the relations and revels, and Scotty is added to their team.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Gene's role as steward of the people is named Matron. Her primary focus will be to aid others in their cultivation journey. Nette is appointed the head of the academy. Diti is the town healer. The arachnoid looks absolutely shocked that she's been given the role, and again, when the boss promotion lands upon her, Cru is equally excited for his priestess. Noth is given the position and title of Watcher, with Fury officially becoming the People's Shield. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds awesome, and who wouldn't be stoked to have a dragon as the people's champion.

Bones outstages the entire meeting with his appointment of Guildmaster not going to himself. I figured he'd bite at any chance for more authority. However, the skeleton takes a page from my book and appoints another leader. Emma Grant is the unlucky sap. The flabbergasted mom looks devastated. That's a good sign, I think. Becky is picked as the administrator, and Kaelin, Gavin's quartermaster and a fellow parent, is assigned the clerk role.

From promotions, our meeting moves to the management of Wolvsden and the guild, including our payment structure, guild advancement, payment, food, and security. Terra Verdant is setting up plans for crops as well as making a list of supplies for Scotty to pick up on his next trip. Likewise, Grom, McGrady, and Tracy share ideas about the new shape of our town.

We end the meeting with plans to open the portal with private access to the mainland tomorrow to get needed supplies and make our guild city official since Scotty couldn't complete the task due to being pulled away too soon. It's a tough decision, but it's also decided to keep the children in the dungeon core until things have settled here.

As soon as the meeting ends, I try to connect with Gene, hoping to smooth out some frustrations. Despite my best efforts, I'm not able to track her down. She quickly escaped through the shadows, so I respect her decision.

I find Lana resting at the lakeside, except she's using light mana to keep her presence masked. I don't intrude on her quiet moment and retreat back to town. Everyone else settles down for the night. I can already tell sleep avoids me tonight, so I skip retiring to bed. Wolvsden is in good hands. The people are excited and determined to make the city something special. I'm equally excited and also terrified for the future. The shinier our town becomes, the more eyes will rest upon us. It's a story Gene knows all too well. We can only trust and hope we are strong enough for what's to come.

I continue to walk through the forest as I think of the entire day. The fight with Bones, Gene nearly falling apart, the battle with demons and death. I'm not nearly strong enough to protect Wolvsden's dreams, and I pushed away the power that could help us. Fortunately, Bones was there to take what I could not. Still, I question, what's wrong with me?

"Where're we headed to tonight, Cap?" Bones' voice cackles just as I step into the eastern forest. I turn around to see my skeleton companion. The monster now stands two heads taller than me. His bone structure is entirely different than when he relied on me for his existence. He's thick and sturdy, and with his outfit, he looks nearly human, especially in the dim lighting.

"Most likely to the mountains to cultivate."

"Makes sense." It doesn't, and Bones' pause before speaking agrees with me when his words don't. "It's been a while since we had a proper mountain training session. We're due."

"Don't you have a dungeon to run?"

"Not my problem anymore. We sure did Emma and Colby dirty."

"Yeah," I agree with a chuckle. "Those poor saps. They'll do much better than us."

"And we still get the glory. We couldn't have planned this any better if we planned it. See you at the top of the hill." Bones sprints through the forest, heading to the mountains miles away without looking back. I meld into shadow, boost my strength and speed with mind mana, and take off after him.