Landing right at the entrance to the canteen Mark heard the sound of churning winds. Looking up he saw Sam landing behind him.

She was laughing as she came over.

“Mark! I spotted you in the air just now. So you got it?” she asked.

Mark had to say he was a little sad he didn’t get the chance to surprise her with his new flight as she had done to him but his mood was sky high right now so he couldn't muster up the energy to be annoyed.

“Yup! Wanna hear how I did it?” He asked.

The two of them fell into step as Mark began to explain his two-step method. They compared their flight spells and in terms of speed, Mark came out on top, though his Mana consumption was twice that of hers. Both of them suffered from the cold but Mark less so as he could easily block the windchill. Though probably not the inherent cold if he went high enough.

They were still discussing the intricacies of the spell when they got to the front of the queue.

Joslin greeted them with a smile. She wore a white armband with a shield on it.

During his absence, she had joined The Knights. Her husband George had too. Though they both played roles in provisioning them rather than fighting. Joslin had started a side business in procurement. Getting what people needed. You'd be surprised -even with the system- what people still fought to get. Though she insisted she didn’t do any illegal substances. If anyone gave her trouble The Knights would make sure to protect her. While he didn’t know how far that would extend, he did notice at least three Knights hanging around the mess hall.

“Hey Mark I got you special order to go,” she said grinning like she was part of some conspiracy.

Even subtly passing him the package while watching the corners of the room.

Grinning he played along and quickly popped it into his inventory.

“Thanks, Joslin. You always got the good stuff” he said.

She laughed.

When he tried to transfer her the Sp she just shooed him away.

Sam had seen the interaction but didn't comment. Choosing to instead grab herself a snack.

Walking out of the tent Sam told him why she had really come.

As it turned out they wanted him to join them on the mission coming up. She told him that he didn’t have to decide now and that he still had a day to confirm it with her.

Mark was grateful because he wanted to see how the wall did tonight before deciding. Plus this was probably going to be a significantly longer mission than the last. The helicopters could only get them 60% of the way there before having to return. They could not risk having the choppers in the air during the evenings. Apparently, the Ghasts were drawn to the sound, and with their high mobility in the air, the helicopters may as well be sitting ducks for the Corrupted.

Which meant traveling part of the way on foot. Then once they got there the engineers would have to assess and fix the damage and who knew how long that would take.

At the same time, she transferred 350 Sp to Mark for services rendered. Sayin it was for the class and his jobs over the last two days.

Mark said he would think about the job and give her an answer tonight. At which point she waved goodbye and rose into the air, bolting away.

Now Mark just needed a moment to himself to get ready. As began heading towards his tent when someone called his name.

He frowned and looked around spotting Andy sprinting towards him. Which with his speed and skills was not slow. Mark saw the look on Andy’s face was one of worry. Stopping, he waited for Andy to close the distance. Soon enough he came to a panting halt.

“Mark… Been looking all over for you… I need your help with something” he said through deep breaths.

“Alright, calmly Andy. What's going on?” Mark said trying to get some sense from him.

“It’s Sophia, she needs a doctor,” he said after collecting himself.

Mark didn’t understand but he trusted Andy and he wouldn’t act this way without a reason.

“Alright. Lead the way”

Andy didn’t wait and took off toward their tent.

Only this time Mark could keep up. With his natural speed and liberal use of [Sculpt Mana] along with small bursts of [Telekinesis], he was able to keep up with Andy.

When they arrived at Andy’s tent Mark entered only to find Jason and Noah there too looking nervous. Searching the tent he saw Sophia sitting on the edge of her bed, she did not look hurt.

Frowning at Andy he said.

“So what's going on?”

Walking closer, Mark tried to get a better look.

Andy followed closely behind him and whispered something.

Frowning Mark asked him to repeat it.

“Um, it's her stomach” he whispered.

Mark stopped and rose an eyebrow at Andy, but Sophia drew his attention away from him.

“Hey Mark, sorry to call you like this we know you are a pretty important guy nowadays, but I was late and I just couldn't stand going to the medical tent and the system doesn’t offer tests.”

During the time Mark had known Sophia, he had always seen a strong-willed woman, but now she was bumbling and seemed on the verge of tears.

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Her comments aside he decided to simply make this as easy as he could for her.

Making a calming gesture he said

“Alright Sophia, I’m going to cast a spell. Once I have all the facts we can talk” Mark said.

She still seemed nervous but nodded anyway.

Mark cast [Prana pulse].

Almost as soon as he confirmed she was in good health he felt something else. A weak pulsing heartbeat responded to the Prana, drawing it in like a sponge. Another life was beginning to burn within Sophia.

She was pregnant.

Taking a closer look he got a gauge for the fetus's health. It seemed to be developing fine, but this was not a recent thing. He couldn’t place it exactly when it had happened but the fetus's development was just under a month. Putting the conception way before the start of the apocalypse.

Mark knew they were all older than eighteen so he was not sure what the hesitation was to go see the doc, but it may just be fear of the unknown.

Turning to Sophia he explained what he found.

The moment she heard this she burst into tears. None of the guys seemed to know what to say so Mark spoke up.

“Listen, Sophia, you are healthy. Everything is going well but my recommendation is to go see the Doc and get your options. Regardless of what he tells you, whatever happens next is up to you.”

Wiping her eyes she slowly nodded.

After comforting her and telling her everything would be okay he got up and said in a firm voice.

“Alright, you three with me”

Andy, Jason, and Noa followed him from the tent.

“Alright, what happened? Which one of you was it”

Both Jason and Noa turned to look at Andy.

When he fumbled with his words Mark smacked him upside the head.

“Seriously dude? Condom!”

Andy tried to make some half-hearted excuses but Mark could tell even he didn’t believe them.

“Calm down. What’s done is done. No one is going to berate you anymore. Next time go see the Doc even if you’re embarrassed. This is the end of the world no one is going to judge you for that. Now what are you thinking now?”

Andy looked torn and confused but at least he took a moment to really think about it.

“I don’t know… But if she decides to keep it then I want to help.”

Mark nodded.

“Whatever happens now is not up to you. However, I can tell you that raising a child in this new world won’t be easy. You are going to need to be much stronger than you are now to protect them”

Andy seemed lost in thought, but his shoulders were set in determination.

Mark took them all back into the tent and from there they all went over to the medical tent. Mark got them comfortable and told the doc to play nice before giving them privacy. He’d check up on them later, they had a lot to discuss.

Checking his phone he noticed it was almost four. Almost time.

Finally, with a moment to himself, he headed back to his tent. Sitting on his bed he began searching the Market place for clothes, nothing too fancy. He just needed something more laid back. When he had found everything he needed he bought them for 12 Sp. From there he moved to the outside showers. They were a short distance away and honestly, this was only his second time coming here.

Moving into the stall he closed the curtain. Stripping down he stored all his items.

There was no mirror in the stall, yet Mark could see new definition in his body that he didn’t have a week ago. Taut cords of muscle flexed beneath his skin.

Mark had never been overweight and he enjoyed exercising, but this was something else.

The attributes were changing him. Probably all of them.

Mark noticed having more Aura didn’t turn you into a roided-out monster. Jonathan was an example of that. But Mark came to the conclusion that other attributes were affecting their bodies too and by the looks of it for the better.

Once he was done he toweled down and slipped on the new jeans along with a T-shirt and jacket.

Clean, he headed out towards another section of the civilian housing. As he got to the Knights housing someone called his name again.

Turning to see who it was he saw George carrying a wooden crate, getting closer Mark saw they were weapons. Swords to be exact.

Mark asked him about it.

Apparently, the knights were slowly working to outfit themselves and George being a weapon enthusiast had agreed to help. He had been trying his hand at making them from scratch as they had officially proven that there were entire professions worth of skills if one wanted to craft.

George had been working towards some of those crafting skills and told Mark to pop by if he was interested.

Mark was and told him as much but had to extract himself eventually because he discovered that the normally quiet guy became animated when discussing weapons and if he didn’t leave now he’d be late.

Saying goodbye Mark was off again. Just as he was reaching the main tent he heard someone calling his name again.

Turning towards the voice he didn’t notice the flap in front of him part. Turning back to face the opening he saw a smiling Daphne standing there.

The Valkyrie armor was gone, replaced by simple jeans and a black long-sleeved crop top.

Mark didn’t even have time to say hello before she grabbed him by the hand and said.

“Run!”

From inside the tent, he heard Ethel's voice ring out.

“Daphne, just sign this last one!”

Daphne laughed and dashed from the tent pulling Mark with her.

Hearing his name being called again he followed after her.

The two of them made for the area where the civilian tents ended and thicker tree cover took over.

Mark took the lead and directed her toward a spot he had seen while in the air earlier.

When they were completely surrounded by trees and the sounds of the busy camp were but distant noises, they collapsed under a large tree.

Both laughed over their escape.

Daphne was the first to speak.

“You are lucky you came when you did, any later and I would have had escape without you”

smiled Mark.

“Well, then half of the spread would have gone to waste,” he said as he took out the package he had gotten from Joslin.

Inside were a wide array of foods like fresh Sandwiches, Fruit Salad, Cheese and Crackers, Quiche, chocolate brownies, and more.

Things that without the system and a skilled hand would not exist in this kind of world. Handing the package over to Daphne, Mark took out a blanket he had purchased earlier and laid it down.

Looking around he still wasn’t happy with the level of privacy. So taking a few steps away he began pouring Mana into [Earth control] lifting up walls of stone. Making sure to keep them at a gentle angle so as not to disturb the grass and foliage on top. Leaving a hole open near the top so that natural light could get to them, but if one was looking from outside they would see a slightly conspicuous hill in the park.

Moving back to the blanket he saw Daphne had already begun unpacking the food.

Sitting down she handed him a small plastic bowl with cut-up fruit in it. Grabbing a neat cube of pineapple he munched on the sweetly sour fruit.

They chatted over the food and lazed about under the clear sky. Mark told her about the possible mission coming up, his worries about the power grid, and even his optimistic view of the wall.

In turn, she shared her difficulties managing a rapidly growing faction, and the ever-growing list of supplies they need. He even learned their first sanctioned expedition was tomorrow morning.

Eventually, their worries turned to lighter topics and the two just relaxed into one another's company. With Daphne resting her head on Mark's chest they enjoyed the warm rays of the afternoon sun.

For now, they stole a moment to themselves, 'The End' could come later.

An: Grove layout

[https://www.dropbox.com/s/sh6vssn7x6l59au/Chapter%2070%20-%20Grove.png?dl=1]