“Adreanell... is that you?”

Gazing up and down her body, I note a small scattering of opalescent scales around her neck and shoulders. She has two small, pale white horns poking out of her curly hair which has also turned white. On her back is a pair of small, leathery wings with more opalescent coloration, not reaching farther than a foot and a half out into the air behind her.

Lastly, she has a tail with the same coloration as the rest of her scales that just barely reaches the floor.

“Sure is. I’m seeing a lot of weird messages right now.” She tentatively touches her horns, wings, and tail. Flexing the last two slowly, clearly learning how to control a new musculature she’s never had before.

“Like what?”

“I’m apparently a half-dragon now. A light-type half-dragon, specifically. I’ve got Perks like Draconic Anatomy and Draconic Ichor. Anyway, where is… Cassandra!” She notes the smoldering pile of girlfriend on the ground and sprints over to check on her. I see a thumbs up from Cassandra as Adreanell slowly helps her to a sitting position, so I feel okay leaving them to work things out for now.

‘Guess Colt isn’t the only one with a magical racial change now. I’ll have to ask more about it later when she’s done fussing over Cassandra. Anyway, I should address these notifications before I address… Erika.’ That last train of thought brings my mood down again considerably.

Level up! For continuing to show mastery with your anchor and defeating a boss-level foe, your Talent: Adept Anchorist has reached (25/50)!

For reaching your fifth Talent milestone in Adept Anchorist, you have been awarded applicable stat points to Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Willpower and + 150 XP. In addition, you have been awarded one Perk Point! Perk Points can be only spent on a Perk that came from the associated Talent.

Level up! For continuing to develop your strengths within the realm of your highest affinity element and using it to defeat a boss-level foe, your Talent: Adept Mage has reached (11/50)!

Level up! Cold resistance has reached (4/100)!

Level up! Piercing resistance has reached (5/100)!

Agent of Restruct: Demetria of Frost and Rime defeated! 11,468 XP awarded!

Agent of Restruct: Demetria of Frost and Rime dropped: 84 Sparks, 93 Glints, 13 Gleams, Draconic Heart, and Scales of the Frigid North.

Level up! You have achieved level 27, you are awarded 5 unallocated stat points, +80 HP, +130 MP, +2.8 HP regen, +4.8 MP regen, +34 Strength, +51 Endurance, +26 Dexterity, +62 Intelligence, +55 Attunement, +50 Willpower, +16 Charisma, and +38 Insight. 2840/13202 remaining until level 28.

Congratulations, Lucas Creo! You have completed the Northern Peak Dungeon Zone: Mount Katahdin Dungeon!

Calculating rewards…

Completion Rewards are: 20 Gleams and the Skill Book: Icicle Spear

‘Okay that last reward is just rude.’ I frown as I look down at my sauna coat which is littered with holes now from how many icicle spears have pierced through my body.

Due to no imminent emergency, you have a five minute grace period to collect any additional rewards of your choosing before you are teleported out of the dungeon.

“Everyone, start collecting stuff from this room. The gold coins aren’t Gleams but I’m sure we’ll find a purpose for them. I see a few scattered magical items here and there too.”

With a few nods, everyone begins sifting through, storing coins and items in their storage Perks or bags of holding. Kayla and Caleb are helping distract the kids with the collection process, so I walk over to Erika’s body and kneel next to it with a heavy heart.

“Why? Why did this have to happen?!” I punch the ground, causing it to shatter.

Tears fall from my eyes freely. Realizing I’m making somewhat of a scene and the kids keep looking back at me, I reign in my emotions for now and regard Erika’s body. ‘It’s just the reality of this world I guess.’

The icicle spear is gone now, so all that remains is a hole where her heart should be filled with frozen blood. Touching a hand to her body, I vow to give her a proper burial. I store her in my hold so the kids won’t keep staring back at her.

I allow one final sob to rack my body. Standing up, I Clean the tears off my face and turn to help out with the collection. Before I turn around, I notice Erika’s whip I made her, the Toxitail, on the ground. Storing that away in my hold, I head over to collect treasure.

My hold is surprisingly full between all of the yeti weapons and enchantment tiles, so I can’t personally store very much. I fill up on exclusively coins, storing as many as I can and leaving the enchanted items for others to grab.

The items mostly appear to be basic effects like weapons enchanted with ice or wind aspects, or a mix of the two. I spot one necklace that gives a cold resistance bonus as well.

Time begins to run out and there’s still a lot of treasure left in the cavern. Just about everyone’s storage is full though, so we can’t take much more even if we want to.

“Caleb, Kayla, and Vincent, I want you guys to take the teleport back to Portland with the kids. The rest of us will teleport to just outside the dungeon and take the airship home. It was a bitch to build it and I worry we’ll need it some other time too. I need you all to find Gabe. Bring Daniel and Maria to him. Charlie’s mom is named Melinda Baker, see if Gabe knows where she is too. He probably does with Charlie having been missing for about two days now.”

“Sure thing, Lucas, see you back in Portland.” Kayla waves quickly to me, giving me a small, sad smile as her eyes dart to where Erika was for a split second.

“See you there, Lucas. We’ll get these kids home safe.” Caleb nods and mimics Kayla’s action, frowning at where Erika was.

“I’ll try to calm down the situation if at all possible. Safe travels, Lucas.” Vincent shakes my hand quickly, giving it a squeeze as he looks at me with sad eyes and steps back.

The kids try to resist a bit, they’re crying now too, but Kayla, Caleb, and Vincent each hold on to one of them as the last second of the timer ticks down. In a flash, the rest of us appear outside next to where Colt hid the airship.

It’s daytime out, the afternoon, as far as we can tell, meaning we’ll probably arrive back in the middle of the night.

“Time to head home, everyone.”

Colt unearths the airship and we have it up and in the air minutes later.

“Lucas, I’m so sorry about Erika. I had some chats with her too, a bright light went out today.” Colt squeezes my hand as I stand next to him and watch the trip go on. Looking at him, he has tears in his eyes. Colt’s other hand guides the winds into the sails of the ship. Cassandra calls out instructions every so often but she’s pretty busy talking with Adreanell.

“...Thank you.”

“If you need to talk-”

“I know. You’re here for me. I think this is just something I have to… process a bit more.” Shrugging, I stare off into the clouds and try to let my mind wander.

“Of course. Always.”

We stand in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Colt speaks up again.

“Soooo… Adreanell, right?”

“Yeah, half-dragon, apparently. You guys have some common ground to relate on now.”

“Kinda, I think she isn’t made of magic like me, just has… magic flesh? I’m not really sure what the difference is there but she’s more solid than I am.”

“I don’t know you were pretty solid when-”

Colt’s hand slaps over my mouth as his cheeks and ears blush green. “Lucas! I-” He sighs. “Dirty minds aside, can I ask you something?”

His phrasing surprises me. “Of course! What is it?”

He stares off into the distance for a moment before turning back to me. “Think we could… go on a date? Just have a single moment of normalcy. No magic weaponsmithing, no making potions, I’ll just set up a picnic basket full of your favorites and we can have a picnic somewhere.”

“That sounds amazing, and a bit surprising to ask coming from you. Did your trial change something?”

“It did. I think I need to do this too.” He pulls me in for a deep kiss to the point that I feel my own ears heat up. Once we break away, I look for anyone glancing at us. Becky averts her eyes quickly when I look over, but I see a too-pleased smile on her face.

Shaking my head, I laugh and spend a good while longer just standing and chatting with Colt. Eventually, everyone joins us in watching the ship fly through the sky.

We learn more about Adreanell’s transformation. As far as she can tell, she can’t fly, though she can glide somewhat with her wings. Her tail is weird for her to control as she’s still getting used to the muscles there.

The half-dragon race seems to function similarly to the Fae in that it has an elemental focus, but it’s much more specific as only her light-based attacks receive a boost in strength. Her resources are the same as before too.

She has normal HP and MP, unlike Colt’s resources combining into Wild Magick, but her mana pool is much bigger than before, a distinct benefit of her draconic side.

Apparently, Adreanell can enter into a further draconic state at a constant mana cost that empowers her further, it’s just quite expensive.

Finally, we get to looking through all our rewards from the dungeon. Looking inside my hold, I find the Scales of the Frigid North, the Skill book, and the draconic heart.

The first item turns out to be a scalemail chest piece which I Inspect.

Scales of the Frigid North

Quality: Excellent

Traits: Extremely Durable, Blessing of the Frigid North

Description: This scalemail chest piece is made of highly durable ice dragon scales, allowing it to take heavy hits without breaking. The shape of these scales will allow most projectiles to slide off rather than dispersing their full force provided they hit at an angle. The Blessing of the Frigid North will freeze some of the incoming force of attacks, lowering the damage of the overall hit.

‘I’d rather not just pull a heart out right now, I’ll check that out later.’

“It’s about damn time I got some decent armor. ...And I guess I’ll use this stupid Skill book.” Holding it up, I receive the confirmation from The Construct and learn the Skill. The sensation is strange as I feel the knowledge of how to form an Icicle Spear etch itself into my mind.

“Wow, you guys need to try that. Did any of you get a Skill book for the dungeon completion reward?”

Everyone confirms the same, surprising me.

“Yup. I got one called Polar Vortex. I’ll have to wait until later to read it, I’m Mana Burnt and don’t wanna risk anything.” Cassandra holds up an icy blue Skill book.

“Mhm. Ice Prism.” Adreanell presents her book before it dissolves into light as she learns the Skill.

“I got… Cryogeomancy.” Colt holds up a book that’s light brown with light blue accents.

“That sounds rarer, that’s unfair.” I fake-pout at him and he laughs.

“Look at it this way, I just got some frozen dirt.” He learns the Skill, eyes widening from the sensation.

“I already learned mine.” Becky smiles. “Shimmering Flurry.” Glistening snow spreads around us, obscuring our vision. We quickly get her to stop so Colt can steer properly.

“I received a fitting Skill book, Frozen Volley. It’s exactly what you think.” Pierce shrugs. “I did receive these, however.” He smiles and shows off some light blue vambraces on his arms.

“I got an item too.” Colt holds up a small parrying dagger, fitting for his newfound Fencer Talent.

“Same here. Check this shit out.” Becky equips a silvery-blue tiara with light blue gemstones inset on it. Her already-blue eyes turn icy as she stares at me. I feel a deep cold build up around myself the longer she glares at me.

“You can stop now, Becky.”

“Oh. Sorry, got carried away. The trait is called Cold Glare by the way.”

“Wait, did you actually apologize? Wow, that trial did you some good, didn’t it?”

She blushes and elects to not say any more, making me feel quite guilty.

“I got this necklace that improves my breath Skill. Guess it’s pretty dragon-specific.” Adreanell smiles, revealing two longer fang-like canines.

“Oh, that reminds me, I should change out of these. Good thing I upgraded my storage Perk, no mana cost.” She frowns at her burnt witch robes and fiddles with her menus for a second. The robes swap out for another set that are similar in style but light blue in color.

“They’re called Wingswept Robes of the Frigid North. They have this ability that cancels out some of the force I take from direct hits by freezing it.”

“Oh, my scalemail has that too.”

“Makes sense. Similar items from the same drop pool. I’m gonna have to recolor these when we get home. Red hair with a light blue robe on this skin tone? I don’t think so.” Cassandra tsks and picks at her robes a bit. “They’re certainly comfortable though…”

The remainder of our trip ends up with some complaints of tiredness, especially once the sun goes below the horizon. I can feel exhaustion at the edge of my mind but I don’t want to sleep yet just in case, we still need vigilant eyes.

We keep up idle chatter but everyone is exhausted from the trip. Finally, we see Portland.

“About five minutes until landing!” Colt calls out to everyone.

A few lights on the ground flash at us, indicating where we should land. The moment our craft touches the ground, we all get a notification.

City Improvement Quest complete! Rewards received are: Increased Construct Shop tier and Higher Tier Quests. New Construct Installments are available for purchase!

“Oh wow, they completed the rest of the houses while we were gone!”

“Yeah, that’s impressive. And um, Lucas. Look over at our house.”

“What is it- oh.” Next to our house is a considerably taller tower made of stone and wood. It towers at least a whole story over our own home. Karie waves to us from the top of it. She seems to be calling out but we can’t hear her from the distance.

We all begin laughing, feeling some of the tension of the day melt away.

Gabe approaches the ship, looking somewhat haggard. I jump down to greet him.

“Gabe! I’m so sorry. I didn’t know the kids were in the ship and-”

He holds up a hand. “I know, Lucas. I know. They left us a note of their plans. We found it after you all left. Daniel and Maria are at home with Selena now. They’re grounded for the foreseeable future. Daniel told me about what happened with the wolf. I don’t blame you, Lucas. Well, I did, but I had ten hours to think about it before you all got back.”

“I’m still sorry, I should have tried harder to protect him.”

“And you will next time with someone else, won’t you? Lesson learned.” He pulls me in for a rough hug and I feel a few tears hit my shoulder. “Thank you, for bringing my children home safely.”

“Of course, Gabe.”

He breaks the embrace and looks around. “Where’s Erika? She didn’t come home with the rest of them, I assumed she was with you all-” he sees my face and frowns.

“Oh, Lucas. I’ve been there, being a firefighter. It hurts to lose someone on your team. Any time you need to, my home is your home, come talk to me.”

“Did she have family?”

“No, none she could find as far as I know.” His expression turns mournful.

“Oh. Thanks for letting me know. We have one other person too.” Carefully depositing the body of the dungeon scout from my hold, I look at Gabe. “I was hoping you could help return him to his family, if he has any.”

“I’ll have to find out about that, but I promise you I will, Lucas.” Gabe kneels down and pokes a finger to the scout’s body, storing it away in what must be his own storage Perk.

“When did you get a storage Perk?”

“I… had to relieve some stress while the kids were gone. Helped protect the wall.” He shrugs.

“Ah.”

“Yup. There was something else I was waiting to tell you but… I think I should just tell you now. There’s another small town of people nearby us. They’re… weird. Very anti-Portland stance. No violence, yet, but some of them have come and yelled at our people on the walls. We invited them inside to talk but they just spat on the ground and left.”

“Oh. That’s not good. Do we have any plans of how to deal with them?”

“Not sure yet. From what we’ve seen of their fighters, they’re strong. Maybe closer to you in strength than anyone in Portland. They might be some of the people who left Portland after… the incident from when you… defeated Brandon.”

“You can say kill. That’s what I did to him. I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Right, well. Just wanted you to know. And we’ve finally formed a council. Cassandra is elected to be part of it if she wants the role.”

“I do!” Cassandra calls out from atop the ship.

“...Well, that settles that. I’ll let you all get home and get some rest, I’m sure you’re tired.”

“Thanks, Gabe. Stop by again sometime.”

“I can do that.” He smiles and walks off.

Everyone else jumps down and I fill them in on the important parts of my conversation with Gabe, Colt kept them up on the ship until I was done talking.

Cassandra frowns. “Another town? I’ll have to meet with this new council and learn everything I can about it. For now though… I’m exhausted.” She yawns, making everyone else do the same.

“I can agree with that. Let’s go home, Cassandra.” Adreanell smiles and takes Cassandra’s hand in hers.

“Oh, I meant to ask about that. Colt and I are gay too, why the secrecy?”

“...Our parents wouldn’t approve. We haven’t seen them since The Construct and don’t plan on it, but… old habits are hard to break.” Cassandra shrugs. “Why do you think we had Colt build a single house for us?”

“Fair enough, I’m glad you guys can be open with us now though. See you tomorrow for some shop work?”

“Maybe. We’ll see how long I sleep.” Adreanell laughs.

“Can’t argue with that.” Colt chuckles and we wave off Cassandra and Adreanell.

There’s still one last person to address, for now. “Pierce, thank you for coming with us to the dungeon, your help was invaluable. Come to the shop any time you need repairs. No charge.”

“Of course, Lucas. I’m sorry about Erika, we didn’t talk much but she seemed like a nice girl. It’s a damn shame what happened to her. I won’t keep you two though, I know you’re just as tired as I am, see you later.” He waves goodbye and we turn around to head back home.

“Hey, Colt? I have one more thing I need to do, can I meet you at home?”

Realization shows on his face. “Of course. See you there.” He squeezes my arm and heads to the house.

Taking a flight potion out of my hold, I down a dose and fly out of the city. Reaching a forest, I find an appropriate open spot inside a grouping of evergleam firs.

As I move to use Geomancy, I stop myself. Digging into the ground by hand, I make quick progress and find myself with a six-foot deep rectangular hole, only using my magic on occasion to make sure it’s stable.

The sun is rising as I create a stone casket with Geomancy and enchant it with runes of preservation and durability.

‘If her family ever appears, I want them to be able to give her a more proper burial. I’m sorry, Erika. I wish I could have saved you.’

Lowering her body into the casket, I seal the stone top and enchant the rest of it, tears falling on the stone as I do.

I cover the rest over with the dirt and back it down to the ground with Geomancy to make it look natural so that no Restruct creatures find it, hopefully. Lastly, I make a gravestone and etch her name into it. Only the first, I never learned her last name I realize suddenly.

You have established the Evergleam Cemetery!

An air of calm falls around the area, I can feel a sort of pacificity in the air around me.

My thoughts move back to the dungeon scout momentarily. ‘I didn’t even learn his name… Just how many bodies will this cemetery hold someday?’

After giving myself time to mourn, I stand up, dust myself off, and run home. Colt is awake by the time I arrive, but I simply wave at him and head inside, only stopping quickly to say hi to Karie and compliment her tower.

Pasivier looks at me sadly as I walk by. I thank him quickly for helping out so much and he assures me he’ll still be here when I’m awake again.

Climbing into bed, I stare at the wall until my eyes get heavy and sleep takes me. Sleep is blessedly dreamless. I wake up hours later to the midafternoon sun, ready to face another day.

End of Arc 2