Emberwood Village was in the heart of the park. A mixture of old and new, huts and thatch shacks sat beside modern shops and stalls. Five small rides wove between the buildings and homes, drawing crowds of mostly children. The proximity and low thrills of the rides were perfect for families and a great place for kids to expel excess energy.

Recently, some of the locals had complained about the proximity of the rides, which Luka had to agree with. They were a product of the early days in the park. Between the WHEEL and the carousel, he and the others never thought about the impact the park would have on the residents.

At the time, everyone was just happy the village was making money. But now that they had made money, they wanted their privacy back. And they would get it, soon—Luka hoped. First, they needed a place to put them, and a theme to redecorate them. Moving the rides was simple with his magic, but until everything was ready, here they sat.

Luka walked through the crowds, waving to kids and adults alike, his purple suit shining like a World Walker spotlight. He checked the gears in all the rides, confirming they were still in perfect shape before heading off into the salty land of the Stormcorsair Harbor.

As the park’s first themed land, Luka could point out the many errors in how he had built things. Between a poor layout and a lack of open real estate for shops and restaurants, the land was a good learning experience. He traveled along the path, coming into contact with the first hurdle of the journey—Rogue Wave.

The pirate ship pendulum swing ride sat at the end of a fork in the road. One side went beyond and further into the park, the other stopped at the entrance to the ride. And therein lay the problem. Because of the fork in the road, people bottlenecked around the entrance, blocking the path further in. It also didn’t help that the queue for Rogue Wave was an underwater experience. People stood around it and watched the creatures of the dark depths swim around.

Luka pushed his way through the crowd and up the exit path and into the ride. He checked the hinges before heading off deeper into the harbor. On his right, a dock spread across the rough seas. Above him, an illusionary storm turned the sky gray and rainy. On his left, shops and damp buildings beckoned customers in with churros, pirate hats, or stuffed cartoonish sharks with an eyepatch.

Little Nicole, one of the village orphans, designed every stuffed animal the park sold. She loved her dolls and toys and drove a hard bargain on royalty sales. She also happened to be the richest individual in the village since Luka and Mayor Tram didn’t pay themselves. They, of course, paid everyone else, but what was the point of holding money when their rent was free, and the park had plenty of food and drink to give them?

Moving on, Luka next visited Whirlpool Plunge and the mana guests singing and drinking in the Whirlpool Tavern. Housing the entrance to the park’s one and only log flume ride, the tavern sat at the end of the lane. It had a façade of a smuggler’s hideout, dank, dusty, and dark. Once inside, an illusionary storm battered the windows and walls, edging a liveliness only hardened sailors could create.

Sea shanties and wild swinging songs bellowed from the wooden drinking hall, and recently the park hired a musical band to perform at certain intervals throughout the day. They were dynamic in what they played, always seeming to find the perfect song for whatever might be happening in the tavern. This world loved to drink, and where better than World Walker Park.

Luka checked on the mead reserves before heading out of Stormcorsair Harbor. Plans to expand the park were never not on his mind, but there were some issues. His magic made the creation of rides, lands, and buildings easy. But filling those with employees was not. It wasn’t that the park was short on applications—the opposite, actually. So many people applied to work in the park that they could be picky about who and how they hired.

Was it smart to hire a hundred people all at once? No, not at all. From training them to providing the necessary amenities for them, hiring too many people at once was a surefire way to drown the park. Maybe, if the park closed for a few weeks, they could reopen with a hundred new employees. But it was that acclimation time that would set everyone up for success.

So, instead, Tram and Luka decided to take things slow for now. Eventually they’d have enough employees to promote some into proper managerial positions—wherein they could train new employees under them.

Eventually, soon, in the future… Everything was getting pushed back. Everything was on the docket to get done later. Everything needed something else to happen first before it could get done.

Luka sighed and continued on. He passed the tavern, stepping over a rope-fence, and through an illusionary wall. He tried to do it subtly, but people saw and tried to follow.

“Please, everyone, for your safety, remain in the park. Back here we’re not responsible for any injuries,” he told the—mostly teenage—followers.

“Come on dude, we won’t get hurt,” one of them said.

Luka set his jaw. Most of the time, guests were amazing and great. They were the life of the park and the soul of the happiness he sought to create. But sometimes, especially with teenagers and adventurers, his patience is tested.

He reached into his pocket and purposefully fished around for a moment. “Look, I don’t want to have to call security to escort you all back inside. But I will. But I don’t want to. So, how about this.” He removed a small wooden token and held it up for all to see. “This is a free smash burger voucher. I’ll give everyone one if you all head back into the park.”

The teenagers looked amongst each other while the few adults nodded. Luka quickly duplicated the coin several times utilizing fallen sticks in the surrounding area. He handed them out, and the adults quickly left. The teens deliberated amongst themselves.

“But dude, I’m hungry. My mom only gave me enough money to ride a few rides,” one of them said, a human kid.

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“Me too. And I hear amazing things about World Walker smash burgers,” another said, a timid looking elven girl who was dragged back here by her friends more or less.

The leader of the pack, however, wasn’t convinced. “But think about all of the cool stuff we’ll see if we follow the owner of this place!”

Luka loudly coughed. “I’m not doing anything special. I’ll just be marking some trees for rehoming in the future.” It wasn’t a complete lie, but then again, why would he tell some random kids what he was actually doing.

“Look,” he continued, “just take the vouchers and go have fun. I’m not doing anything magical or impressive, just marking out the future of the park.”

The leader pursed his lips before snatching the coins from Luka’s outstretched hand. He trudged back through the illusionary wall, his friends following.

Luka sighed and moved on. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked, the forest teeming with life—well, sort of. Other than birds and bugs—and trees, bushes, and plants—the forest definitely lacked little critters running around. He wasn’t sure of all the details, but the emberwood trees pulled magic from the air, absorbing it through their bark to create their orange luster. In turn, most wild life chose to find shelter elsewhere.

Which doesn’t make that much sense, Luka thought, because Leo and Sebby go hunting every meal. Where do they get their food? Vaguely he remembered something about the monstrous ribblet toads living in the lake. So maybe there? Either way, there wasn’t much of an environmental factor in expanding the park. So long as he could move the trees instead of chopping them down—which he knew he could.

Or rather, Annie could.

His daughter and his fellow World Walker, Annie had a monstrous god-thing inhabit her body for a time. And while she came out of it unscathed, some side effects remained. Magic, when routed through her body, amplified in strange ways—a fact the other gods could attest to. Because of this, Annie inadvertently created a world-spanning shockwave after drinking a potion of reincarnation. No one was hurt, but it sure drew some eyes to the park.

Similar to Luka’s own fabrication spell, Annie also got World Walker divine magic. Hers dealt with terraforming, a magic specially curated for the girl after she expressed interest in helping the park expand.

Briefly Luka thought about Vladdy’s World Walker magic and shuddered. The gods explicitly said no other reincarnated people from Earth would get special magic for a reason. Some things were better locked away.

His walk through the woods wasn’t long, but it did take a while. Without a proper path, walking through the underbrush was akin to chopping through a jungle while walking on stilts. The bushes seemed to reach for him, exposed roots wanted to trip him, and the trees longed to confuse him. Magic lived in this forest, magic that would be around long after Luka and the park died… or that was what the dyads wanted him to believe.

They were always going on about the trees and this and that.

“Hey guys,” Luka said, stepping into a clearing. His three favorite people in this world stood around, talking animatedly.

“And I’m saying that if a pirate were to go up against an adventurer, the pirate would lose. Simple as that,” Eve explained, her silky black hair bouncing with her jaw movement.

She was an orc, and like most orcs, had a massive underbite with thick tusks curling up over her lips. She was tall for her kind and her toned arms and neck carried black inky bird tattoos. She wore loose overalls stained with dirt and grime, attached only by a singular button on her right shoulder. A black sleeveless undershirt shone under the saggy outerwear; it too was stained. She was wearing her “work” clothes, a must when around Annie and her magic.

Her brother, Franky nodded in agreement. “Unless they’re on a pirate ship. In that case, factoring in the rock of the wave might turn the tables.”

Franky was bald. And also jacked. If he was a human on Earth, he’d win every bodybuilding competition and force a rule change to give other competitors a fighting chance. But here, in this still nameless world, he was just average. His skin was a shade of green, his underbite and tusks flared out wide. He had a jaw like a boxer and a smile like a singer. He stood relaxed against a tree, not a care in the world.

For as long as Luka had known the lad, only once had he seen Franky get mad. It was when a rude mage visited the park to order Luka to court. After a few insults, Franky threw a punch… only to be launched across the area by a magical attack spell. But, before the orc could get revenge, the mage was turned into a bean… but that was a whole other story.

Annie, the last of the trio, flinched at Franky’s words. “That might have been the most intelligent sentence I’ve ever heard you say. ‘Factoring in?’ Do you even know what that means?”

Franky rolled his eyes, smiling. “Harsh words for such a little lady.”

Annie was indeed small, at least compared to some of the folks of this world. After a complete and fulfilling life on Earth, she died an old woman only to be later reincarnated here. And while the initial shock was rather blunt, she soon adopted this world as her own and set up a life—exactly as her father had done. They’d both be hard-pressed to admit it, but this world had a charm Earth simply didn’t have.

Looking like a twenty-year-old version of herself from Earth, Annie wore a similar pair of overalls to Eve’s. Her short blond hair was tied back, her face was perfectly smooth and blemish free, and she didn’t so much as walk with a crick in her back—a miracle, as far as she was concerned. She stood like a tree, her bare feet sunk into the dirt. She wiggled her toes, small, almost nonexistent pulses of magic vibrating the loose soil like quicksand.

Sadly, her showing of magic wasn’t intentional. Magic was weird around her, and out in the magical forest, she sank. It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t dangerous. But gods if it wasn’t annoying to scrape dirt from her toenails every night.

Annie didn’t grace Franky with a response and instead stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled at the gesture, and soon all eyes turned to Luka

“What’s up, boss, how’d the rounds go?” the bald one asked.

“No real issues. Might need to add a second churro fryer. It’s the most popular shop in the harbor,” he replied.

“What about adding another dessert option in the land instead?” the tattooed one asked.

“A good idea.” Luka thought for a moment. “Ice cream?”

The little one snapped her fingers. “Yes please! Dad, you’ve got to make an ice cream shop! I just realized how much I’ve missed ice cream since arriving here.”

He softly smiled, knowing the feeling. This world and Earth were very different, yet also very similar. Sometimes, however, small luxuries—like ice cream—were forgotten in the shadow of magical popping fruit or steamed buns that could literally make the eater breathe fire.

Then Vladdy flashed into Luka’s thoughts. He echoed Annie’s snap and said, “Root beer floats!”

Annie threw her hands into the air. “Yeeesssss!”

The orc siblings watched, amused. “Little humans are kind of weird,” Franky quietly whispered.

“So puny, so weak,” Eve said back with a smirk.

The father and daughter glared, then everyone laughed out loud.