Alex motioned the team to gather around, rapidly thinking through the information Olivia gave him.

“Okay, everyone, put your arm bands back on and make sure they’re visible. We’re going to go and make contact with the group Liv saw. I don’t want to spook them, so I want you guys to hang back. Sarah, come up with me, but everyone else stay out of sight unless something goes wrong.”

Mark’s brows came together. “Why are we staying back? The whole reason we’ve been working so hard is so that we aren’t hanging back when you go into these kinds of situations.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you guys could handle yourself. The opposite, actually. I think that if a whole group of us comes out of the woods armed to the teeth, it will put people on edge. Remember how those Hunters reacted in Tianluo? That was in a city full of other Hunters… I’ve got to imagine that out here people are going to be even more jumpy.”

“Hmm, okay,” Olivia said. “As long as we’re nearby.”

Mark and Sam followed her lead, agreeing to stay hidden but close enough to react if needed.

Everyone was a bit shocked by Valtherion’s reaction, though. “I will come.”

“You should stay—”

“No,” the bond said in a flat tone. “I will come.”

Alex blinked. “Okay,” he said, dragging out the word. “Val’s coming too, I guess.”

Sam stifled a laugh, but with the plan set, they followed Olivia to where she’d seen the team.

The groups split, and Alex walked from the tree line with Sarah behind him and Valtherion keeping pace at his side. He’d grown even larger in the last month, coming close to fifteen feet in length, and the thickness of his body had almost doubled. He was roughly the diameter of a basketball. With the size of his body, his wings had grown in size as well. With his increased size, Val had taken to moving along the ground more, but needed to rear up far enough to keep his wings from dragging across the ground. This had his head come up to Alex’s chest as he slithered and wove his way across the ground.

Despite all of the obvious changes and adjustments in physical power, Alex’s favorite change had been the feathers that grew at his shoulder joints. They’d continued to come in, growing into a voluminous fluff of white and azure feathers.

Alex winced as he saw the clear panic on the Hunter groups faces as they approached. He raised both of his hands, palms out, to show that they were empty. The blue arm band on his shoulder was clearly visible and as they slowly closed the distance the group seemed to regain their wits.

“Stop!” one of them called.

The trio obliged, not wanting to cause further stress, Alex spoke up. “We’re heading back to the encampment and wanted to see what you were doing. We haven’t seen other people in a while.”

Several of the group began whispering, but a tall man in armor stepped forward. “You can approach.”

They started forward, Alex slowing his pace to allow Sarah to take over the conversation as they had planned. He stood just behind her shoulder, observing the group.

He performed quick scans on everyone. There was no resistance to his skill, and no one had a reaction to his probing. There were four Hunters clearly prepared for combat, wielding various weapons. They were all between levels 42 and 44. The other three individuals were between 6 and 15. The level six was a younger man, Alex guessed he was there to observe the other two higher-level researchers. Their class options were interesting, with one being an Engineer and the other being a Field Research Analyst.

Seeing the group's levels made Alex relax a bit. The group was lower leveled than most of the fights they’d had over the last month, and it looked more like an escort mission than anything else.

“Hello. My name is Sarah Lee. We’re with the Hunters Association as well. What mission are you all on?” he asked.

“Could ask you the same,” Tall Warrior responded. “Let me see your Hunter IDs.”

Alex had to consciously stop himself from rolling his eyes and let Sarah continue talking.

“We’ve been out here training for the last few weeks. Like Alex here said before, we’re heading back to the Rift exit to rest in the camp for a bit. We don’t have IDs, just the arm bands that we were given when we entered.”

The leader chewed on the information for a long moment, and before he responded, his scout whispered something into his ear. The warrior glanced at Alex’s hat, then at Valtherion and Sarah, before coming significantly more polite.

From where he stood behind her, Alex caught the corner of Sarah’s mouth turn up. It was only there for a fraction of a second, but he’d seen it.

“Sarah and Alex, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Zack, and I’m in charge of this research mission. We were asked to protect this group of researchers while they conduct tests.”

“Hey, you’re not supposed to—” one of the researchers started, but was quickly hushed by one of the other warriors.

“I apologize for being jumpy. There have been some reports of groups attacking one another since some of the more powerful Hunter groups left.”

“Groups left? Why?” Sarah asked.

The man, Zack, gave them a strange look and angled his head. “Why? How long have you been out here— never mind, I don’t need to know. They left because the government called on the Hunters Association to help with the Safe Zones. Ever since martial law was declared, they have had some issues keeping everything together.”

“Martial law?” Sarah and Alex said at the same time.

Zack looked back and forth between them. “Yes? Marital law was declared weeks ago, well, I guess that was only a few days in SET, but yeah… from what I understand, they’ve been able to catch up with everything now that they have the support of some of the highest hunters.”

There was so much for Alex to process in this news. He let [Parallel Mind] take over and run through the implications, while speaking up for the first time. “What about the research mission here, though?”

Sarah glanced at him, and he shook his head, signaling that they should let the other topic drop and find out more later.

“Uh, well, it was announced a week or two ago that the hunters had made some sort of big breakthrough in the use of technology in Rifts. Something about it being possible, and they have a new bright path forward for humanity.” He scratched his head, and rather than bothering to remember any more, he waved forward one of the researchers. “Just tell ‘em what you know.”

The young woman looked a bit frustrated at being spoken to in such a way, but answered regardless. “Through testing, we found that electronics can work in the Rifts. It wasn’t the System interfering with them. Instead, it was the mana itself causing the electrical currents to disperse. This Rift, with the Night, has afforded us the opportunity to test some theories, and our modern technology can, in fact, work inside the Rifts.” She adjusted her shirt and gestured to the member of her group holding the large backpack with an oversized radio on it. He held a large pole against his shoulder, with an antenna attached to the top.

He realized then what she was saying. “You mean, since the Night has made this part of the Rift so devoid of mana, the electronics can work? Because it’s similar to Earth’s environment?” The thought caused his mind to stutter.

Like Earth’s environment. Which is changing daily as more ambient mana leaks onto our world.

The implications were more staggering than the last revelation.

“Thanks for sharing with us,” Sarah said, a far-off look in her eyes.

Zack scratched his scraggly, brown beard and looked at them in the same curious manner that he had before. His scout whispered something again, and he nodded. “If you don’t mind, we’re going to keep on our mission. We’ve got a lot to get done before taking this lot back to the camp.” He jerked his head toward the noncombat personnel.

“Of course, thanks for the info. Good luck with your mission,” Sarah responded, giving a friendly smile and wave.

They moved back to the woods and rejoined their group, and gave everyone a quick rundown of what had happened in the quick conversation. They resumed their trek and when they were out of earshot, Alex turned to Sarah. “What was so amusing about what they were saying? Could you hear them? Or just see something in their aura?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she responded in an overtly innocent manner.

“Come on. I have to know so I can improve how I did things. That guy, Zack, got pretty nervous after his scout whispered something to him. Were they able to detect the rest of the group or something?”

Sarah shook her head, and a snort escaped her lips as she held in a laugh. “No, nothing like that.”

“Oh, it got a snort!” Mark exclaimed. “It has to be good. What was it? Spill!” He poked her side as they walked, adopting a more casual pace as they made their way through the dead forest.

She swatted at his hand. “Fine, fine. They were really freaked out that they couldn’t scan either of us. The guy apparently tried hard to scan you since you were behind me, thinking that you were weaker than me. The second time he said something was that he couldn’t even scan Valtherion, and that if it was just the three of us out here by ourselves, we must be extremely strong.”

The entire group got a kick out of that and felt the fruits of their hard labor for the first time.

“Olivia, can you go back to scouting,” Alex said. “We should keep our formation as we move. The faster we get back, the sooner we can relax. There’s a lot to unpack in what they told us, and I really don’t want to miss the deadline we set up with Edwin.”

“I still can’t believe there’s a chance for tech to work in the Rifts,” Mark whispered to Sam as they all moved back into position.

The last leg of their travel only took two hours. The space had clearly been frequently hunted, as they saw fewer monsters than they had in months. The ground was well trodden in some areas, dark black dirt packed down with constant travel.

It wasn’t until they cleared the wood line and got their first good look at the Hunters’ encampment that they saw the changes that had occurred while they were gone.

“Woah,” Mark said.

“That’s a big change,” Sam added.

Alex’s mouth fell open as he stared at the wall and removed his hat. Running his hands through his hair, he took in the changes. “Well, it definitely looks more defensible than it was. Make sure your arm bands are visible. We’ll head out when Olivia joins us.”

The wind blew across the open space, and he felt his clothes rustling around him. Looking to his left and right, he saw a changed group of friends. Each of them was strong in their own right, and he’d found a source of trust and comfort that he hadn’t even known was possible.

“Damn,” Olivia said from next to him, appearing out of no where.

He didn’t react other than grunting in agreement. “Let’s head up there.”

They all moved off, maintaining their formation and moving at a slower speed compared to their typical travel. Each of them used the [Running] instead of their normal movement skills to approach at a steady pace.

The space between the wood line and the Rift exit was the same section of the Rift that Alex remembered sprinting through in an attempt to get home all those months ago. At the time, it had been filled with dead grass that the Firstborn had hidden in it to cut off his escape. Now, with the Night having expanded so much further across the Rift, even that grass was completely gone. It had withered away, leaving the dead and rocky land sloping upward toward the peak of the crevasse.

When they approached the base of a large wall, they looked up at the gate.

Well, it’s more of a door, really.

With the entire encampment now being surrounded by forty-foot stone walls, he’d expect to find a gate or a huge drawbridge like he had seen on castles in fantasy movies. However, instead of a sturdy, wooden or grated gate, they faced a ten-foot-tall set of doubled doors. They looked sturdy and were made out of a strong metal that glowed faintly to his left eye.

“Identify yourselves!” Someone called through a small slit that he noticed as he inspected the door more closely.

They read off their names and were forced to wait five minutes while someone on the other side identified each of them by name through a roster. When they were admitted, Alex was greeted with even more dramatic changes.

He stepped from stone onto cement ground that ringed several yards into the encampment and traced the outer wall in either direction.

“Why are you identifying and locking people out?” Sarah asked, drawing Alex’s attention away from the construction that had been done and back to the guard and his team.

“Sorry about that.” The guard didn’t really look sorry, as he leaned into the heavy door and pushed it closed. “Guessin’ you guys have been out of the wire for a bit. A week or two ago, two cultists disguised themselves and stole HA armbands from fallen Hunters. They were discovered quickly, but we’re working on a better system of identification. Make sure you swing by the admin building to register for the new IDs they got created.”

With that, they were dismissed, and the group faced the new encampment at a slight loss. “Guess it can’t even be called an encampment anymore.” He shook his head and started to walk deeper into the small town. He reached into his pocket and removed the watch to check the time. “Okay, I’ve got to go meet with Edwin. Sarah, can you take the team and find the admin building to make sure we’re registered for whatever they need? Also,” He looked at the rows upon rows of permanent, rectangular buildings, “I’m guessing we won’t be staying in our tent anymore. Make sure that we have a place to crash and that someone is back at the Rift portal in exactly 24 hours. I’ll only spend three hours outside the Rift.”

“I can do that,” she smoothed back loose strands of hair and wrapped them around her messy bun.

“After that, make sure you guys get a lay of the area. Where are we getting food, showers, gear, and anything else you think we’ll need? Don’t start relaxing too early. We won’t be spending a ton of time here. Work first, play later. Val, you stay with Sam, okay?”

There was a chirp of confirmation and a round of affirmations followed from the group. He caught sight of Olivia shifting from foot to foot, and waved her over as Sarah and the other two began to move away.

“Everything okay?”

“Y-yeah. I’m just a bit uncomfortable here.”

“Because it’s the government?” he asked, somewhat surprised that this was still an issue.

“No,” she shook her head. “I mean, I still don’t love them, but I think I’m a bit past that. Everyone’s in over their head… it’s… It’s Nox. He’s in my shadow, but I’m worried someone will be able to sense he’s there. If people try to attack him, it’s going to turn ugly fast.”

“Hmm, okay. Why don’t you come with me to see Edwin? You could probably use a break from the Rift anyway. While we make our way there and back, we can keep an eye on how people respond or if they even notice Nox. Even with my eye and Willpower, I can’t tell he’s in your shadow.”

She seemed reassured and leaned into his shoulder. “Okay, that sounds good.”

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He smiled down at her, and they followed the tugging sensation at their core to find their way through the militaristic, simple cement buildings to the portal.

“You told me about the changes with the guild and the HA set up back there, but for some reason, I just wasn’t expecting… all that,” Olivia said.

She sat on one of the small concrete palisades at the entrance to the old Guild parking lot while he leaned against the side of it and rested his back on her shoulder.

“Yeah, they have made pretty crazy progress.” He glanced over his other shoulder to look at the ‘campus’ that the Guild had spent millions to create. Most of the buildings had been repurposed, but much of what had made the space aesthetic was now gone, torn up or reused for practical purposes. “Especially when you think that for everyone out here, it’s only been two weeks.

“I hope Elana’s doing okay. I know things went sideways there at the end, and a lot of that could have been avoided if she was willing to pressure Rylan some more and keep track of what he was doing… but… damn.” She sighed and kicked her legs again.

“I was really hoping to talk to her about Rylan before she found out from anyone else. I doubt that’s possible at this point.” Olivia didn’t respond, but he could see the tension in her shoulders.

While she and Rylan weren’t the best of friends, he knew that the spoiled warrior had saved her life, and part of Olivia felt that she owed him something. That was her nature, and leaving that unfinished is something that would hang over her.

“Hey,” he nudged her. “It’s going to be all right. One problem at a time. First, we get you taken care of and make sure both of you are safe. Then we can talk about what comes next for the group and the Guild.”

That’s going to be a conversation I want to avoid.

“Why? Just tell her what you think,” Maelis said.

I probably will. But it’s a sensitive topic right now. It won’t be easy for me to tell her that we don’t owe the Guild anything. We hardly got anything from them, and they treated us horribly. Looking back on things, we probably should have left sooner… The only reason I didn’t is because going off on our own is a bit nerve-wracking and I wasn’t sure how much we could trust the Hunters Association.

“Huh? What are you talking about, brat? You and the other kiddies are some of the strongest I’ve seen so far on this planet. You can go and do whatever the hells you want.”

I mean, yes and no. Our world is a very political world. The guild and Hunters Association are a good example of how quickly we tend band together, take sides, and decide what we believe is right and wrong. If I go off on my own, and take my friends with me, we won’t have any backing. That’s a risk.

The snort of derision that came from Maelis made him scowl.

“Kid, your world is changing. You have already accepted this in some ways. Your politics won’t mean anything if you have more power than the others. And you already do, in more ways than one. You remember that philosophy book you were reading a while back? It mentioned the other kinds of power.”

I know. That’s what I’m talking about. You say that the world is changing and power trumps politics, but I don’t know if that’s true. Someone could still be weak, or low leveled, and inspire confidence or leadership in others who are much more powerful. Loyalty is not dead and I know the people of my world love to cling to ideals and feel superior to others. It happens in almost every culture across our planet.

“Yes,” Maelis drew out the word. The rest of his statement was said like Alex was thick-headed and needed to hear each word annunciated. “But you have that power now, too.”

His mind went back to what they had been talking about during their travel.

The Planetary Title?

“Yes. And, what else?”

The Integration Champion Title?

“Yes. And, what else?”

Uh, the world first title?

“Yes. And, what else?”

It took him a moment to think of another resource that might draw that sort of attention or power.

My group is now pretty strong. Stronger than most, at least.

“Yes. And, what else?”

My magic has gotten pretty damn strong. It’s uh, unique?

“Yes. And, what else?”

Damnit, can you stop that? What else is there?

“I don’t know, I was just going to keep going until you ran out of things to say.” The spirit chuckled. “All of those are good points to trade your reputation on, kid. Use those just like you use your skills in a fight. You don’t seem like the bragging type, or one to want the attention, but if you want to avoid being tied down, you’re going to need to use the tools you have at your disposal.”

Alex chewed on the thought for a bit, staring at the black pavement with his feet.

“You’re doing that a lot lately,” Olivia said, pulling his attention back to her.

“Hmm?”

“Staring off into space, or gesturing with your hands and face, when no one is talking to you. I’m guessing it’s Maelis, but that’s pretty rude…” She bumped his back with her shoulder. “You’ve got your woman back, and she missed you.”

He couldn’t keep the smile from his face, turning and sitting next to her on the concrete blockade. Wrapping an arm around her, he said, “And I missed you. Sorry. We’ve just been training so much lately, I almost don’t know what to do with myself. Like… what do we even talk about? My mind wants to go to skill development and combat formations.”

They both laughed and fell silent. Alex could tell something was on her mind, but he didn’t want to push, instead allowing her to come out with it on her own.

Several long moments passed, enjoying the company they shared, only broken when Olivia spoke up. “Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to mention.”

“What’s up?”

“Well, it’s about Nox. I feel like no one in the group acknowledges that he’s there, or at least doesn’t treat him like Val…”

The conversation caught him off guard and he wasn’t sure what to say. While he thought, Olivia tapped her foot on the ground and said, “Hush up. I know you wouldn’t say anything even if you could. Which is why I am.”

“I’m not sure what else you want from the group, Liv. We’re all willing to fight and risk ourselves for this plan to get Nox patched up…”

“Yeah, but you always refer to it as getting me healed. I’m struggling a bit because of Nox’s injury, but he’s in way more pain and suffering than I am. Why is it always about getting me healed, and not him?”

“I’m… not sure?” Alex thought on it for a moment, processing his feelings before trying to articulate it. “I guess, I haven’t really given it thought before. Nox is a creature of the Night. Even though he’s not from this Rift… the Firstborn was a figure of my nightmares for months. It was an opponent that was so out of my league, that the Night still seems like a huge, and vague enemy. Knowing that Nox is a part of that, has probably affected my behavior without even realizing it.”

There was more silence.

“That’s understandable. But Nox is treated like a traitor by his own people for binding with me. He’s saved my life and I’m going to do everything that I possibly can to get him healed. He’s not going anywhere.”

He nodded in response. “All right. I understand. I’ll work on it. After the last few months, he’s a lot less scary to me than he was before. When I’d only seen glimpses of him and he was siphoning from you nonstop, he seemed more like a parasite than a companion. I can see that’s changed.”

“It has. And… the others follow your lead. Even if they don’t notice it. I think you being so reserved about Nox, has led them to be as well…”

“Hmm, I get it. I’m sorry, Liv.” He paused and looked at the pavement. “Sorry, Nox.”

She smiled at him. “Well, that wasn’t really that fun to talk about, but I’m glad we did. What else is there.” She tapered off and looked around. “We could talk about the trees.”

“The trees?”

She nodded and looked back up at the green foliage overhead. In the early April afternoon, the forest surrounding the parking lot was in full bloom, and they both stared at the vibrant colors. “Have you ever seen anything so green before?” she breathed. The words were spoken so quietly that he almost didn’t hear them.

Tires crunching on the gravel road that led to the parking lot announced an arriving vehicle. Alex noted it, and dismissed it, not recognizing the sleek, all black SUV as it pulled in and parked.

It wasn’t until a well-dressed, mustachioed man stepped out of the passenger door that he realized who it was.

“Edwin!” He said happily. Both he and Olivia stood to greet the suave old man.

The butler stood tall and straightened his vest by gripping the bottom and tugging on it twice. He didn’t wave or smile as they approached, but the way that his mustache twitched made Alex beam.

“Master Moore, I’m pleased to see you’re whole. Ms. Santoro, it’s good to see you again. I missed your hasty departure.”

Olivia made a pfft sound before throwing her arms wide and giving him a hug. Edwin stiffened, but didn’t move. Neither hugging her back, nor stepping away.

“It’s good to see you, too, Edwin. Nice ride!”

A stranger stepped out from the driver’s side, and it took Alex a moment to recognize the woman he’d interviewed for the driver position. It took him a few moments to remember her name, but when he did, he snapped his fingers and gave her a smile. “Diane, right?”

She nodded and gave a small smile. But, just as he had in the interview, he appreciated her quiet confidence.

Much better than that phony Alex.

“Ms. Foster started with us this week. I assumed this to be a good opportunity to test her skills and get her acquainted with you in the professional sense.”

Alex nodded, suppressing the smile that came with his warm feelings for the butler. He scanned the man and was unable to suppress the surprise that crept onto his face. He didn’t say anything, but he was shocked by what he saw.

“Edwin, you got your class!” he blurted. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you, sir,” Edwin replied, cool as ever.

“I uh… I am curious why your second-most-used skill is [Chop], though? Does Gabby have you helping in the kitchen?”

Edwin coughed and looked away. “I have helped her of late, yes, sir.”

“Well, I know you’re busy. Don’t let her capitalize on all your time. Did you hire some help for yourself like we talked about?”

“I haven’t yet had the opportunity. Things have been progressing nicely, however.”

“How have things been? We just heard about the martial law declaration. Has that affected the house or plans at all?”

There was a very brief pause before the older man shook his head. “Not as such, sir. We have seen some refugees from the nearby Safe Zone come to the property seeking employment or safe haven, though we have turned most of them away.”

“You turned them away?” Olivia asked, confused.

Edwin looked at her passively. “Indeed. My instructions were to manage the estate and work on the expansion that Master Moore outlined. Taking on refugees was not included in that plan. Even then, some of them were much worse off than others, and seemed to have genuine character and were just seeking assistance. I helped these people in small ways, like sharing the occasionally printed resource or directions to nearby areas that we noted were not monster-infested.” Olivia looked a bit ashamed of her reaction, but Edwin continued. “Even then, Ms. Santoro, what would you have me do? Even sharing the few resources that I have opens the household up to certain potential disasters. If word begins to circulate that we have enough resources to give to others, we may very well find ourselves well out of the depth of what I can handle.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry, Edwin.”

He turned back to Alex. “With that being said, Master Moore, I would like to request permission to bring on some of those seeking shelter as part of the staff. In spite of the reasoning I just presented, I think that increasing the number of people on the property could help deter… squatters. At present, John Riley and Ian Flynn are the only ones to defend the several properties that are now under your name. Forming a group or providing housing for additional bodies may aid in this.”

Alex shifted his weight and could feel Olivia’s expectant eyes on him. “I don’t know, Edwin. Part of me doesn’t want to start making this something so big as all that. I can understand that the protection is needed for now, but what about when we come back?” He paused and thought through the conversation that he and Maelis had been having just a short time before. Squinting his face, he moved his head from side to side. “All right, yes. Bring on some people if you feel it’s necessary. I trust your judgement, and even when we come back home, we won’t always be there. It’s a good idea to get things self-sufficient there, that’s been the goal after all.”

“That was the wise choice. This is a good man to have. Trust him.”

I do trust him. I just hate the idea of dealing with people. If we get more and more people to start joining us, it becomes something to manage. Not just what they’re doing, or what they can’t do, but also how they get along.

“It is something to manage. But not really something you need to manage. That’s what you have people like him for.”

Alex rubbed his forehead.

“Very well, Master Moore. I will ensure that they are a good fit for the house and your goals. I shall use that option with discretion.” He nodded with his arm bent at the elbow and over his stomach.

“How are you doing, Edwin? You look tired,” Alex said.

“It has been a busy two weeks, sir. However, it’s nothing I cannot handle. Things will adjust in time.”

He eyed the old man skeptically, trying to pick up any shifts in his mustache. “Okay, well, give me the update. I want to hear how things have been going.”

“Of course, sir. Supply chains were initially disrupted by the martial law declaration, though we have found alternative sourcing for the materials needed to get one of the industrial greenhouses started, along with the herbal greenhouse for the main property.

“Labor is becoming a more concerning issue at this point, as many who perform such jobs have abandoned much of their normal life and work to seek safety within the Safe Zone. We have begun contract negotiations with one company of non-combat class holders, willing to come and do the work with the agreement that either Mr. Riley or Mr. Flynn is present to watch over the group in case of a nearby Rift break.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“Indeed, but their asking price is not. Being some of the only companies willing to take on such work at the moment, their rates are nearing the point of extortion.”

“Hmm,” Alex thought on the issue. “Hire them. I don’t mind the asking price, but do what you can to make good relations with any of them. Don’t pamper to their every need, but see if there are any people in the group that you think are trustworthy or do good work. It could be helpful in the future to have good standing with builders like this. What else?”

“Clara Mitchell has asked to stay on the premises and to bring her young teenage son to stay with her. I gave her one of the spare rooms in the main house for the time being.”

Alex was already nodding before he finished. “Good. How are they doing?”

“She is thankful for your protection and has repeatedly asked me to state as much to you.” He turned his wrist over so that his palm was face up, as if offering the sentence as thanks.

“No problem,” Alex said with a small smile. “Do you have anyone you want to bring in? Do you need anything from me?”

“I have a niece, who I was hoping to offer a position to, if it suits you. But, no, Master Moore. Things are running smoothly, and I have brought some of the things that you needed from me. Is there anything else before we move on to that?”

“Of course you can bring her on. When you go back, see if Gabby has anyone she needs to make sure is safe and if there is a way that they’re willing to help around the house.

“I have been curious to know about monster breaks, though. Are they being handled? Someone in the Rift told us a lot of the high-level HA members were pulled out of the Rift to go and aid with the martial law business in the Safe Zones.”

“Notwithstanding the panic and the riots that came as an immediate result of the government’s decision, there has also been a surprising amount of coordination. Teams are being organized, incentive programs are being extended, and patrols are being sent to areas around most of the Safe Zones.”

“That’s good to hear. How are the people in the Safe Zone?” He thought back to the surprising scene from their drive through the New Jersey Safe Zone. It hadn’t been anything like he imagined or how it was portrayed. Supplies and space were both running thin, and tensions were high.

“Improving. As I said, there were quite a large number of Riots, declaring the government to be corrupt and looking for a change, but from what I can gather, it was a vocal minority stirring the panic and chaos of the moment. The Hunters Association and military responded with a strong hand, and most of it has stopped at this point.”

“A strong hand?” Olivia grumbled.

“I assure you, it was quite necessary. Two Safe Zones completely fell to riots and rebellion. One was led by a group of three gangs in the Detroit Safe Zone after a particularly strong Awakened left, and they were no longer held in check. The other instance was a group calling themselves the Warlords in Arizona. Both were met with severe action from the government and the Hunters Association. It was… not something that I’m used to seeing and was quite brutal.”

The older man looked a bit queasy at whatever he was remembering, and Alex made a mental note to look more into the incidents later. “That must be what they pulled the elite hunters out for… but you’re saying it’s getting better now?”

“Precisely, sir. In most areas, it’s getting better. The general stance is that the Hunters will not overly patrol or manage private groups attempting to set up in ‘the wilds.’ But there is a zero tolerance policy for interfering with Safe Zones or their supplies.”

Alex closed his eyes and shook his head. “This is such a shit show. You guys just worry about you and stay safe. Let me know how I can help, all right?”

“Of course, sir. If you would?” He turned to the side and held out his arm, motioning both of them to the back of the SUV. Following behind, he opened the back hatch to reveal several military grade Pelican cases. They all had locks on them, and he undid them one at a time to show off the obtained materials.

The first box opened to show several stacked manuals. The sight got Alex and Olivia to perk up and crane their necks to see the items. “That’s a decent number of books. Which ones were you able to get?”

“All of the ones that you requested, though only two are consumables.” He closed the lid, each latch clacking back into place as he snapped them shut. He opened the next box to reveal the two precious materials sitting within.

Alex nodded, impressed. “I really didn’t know if you could find these, since the materials were from this Rift. It’s interesting to think that similar resources can be harvested from other Rifts.”

“The last case is full of preserved meals made by Gabby. They are all labeled with their purpose and ingredients.” His mustache twisted up in a way that Alex hadn’t seen before.

“What is it?”

“I would advise, sir, not to look at the ingredients.”

Alex and Olivia both laughed, and he stored the hard cases in the spatial storage item on his arm. “This is perfect, Edwin. Thank you. Before we go, I have something for you.” He smiled as both of Edwin’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Here,” Alex said, holding out both hands.

The old butler’s eyes went wide, and his expression was one of the most expressive Alex had seen him wear.

“Master Moore, I cannot—”

“Hush. You can, and you will. If anyone deserves to get one outside of the main team, it’s you.” He let go of the leather pouch as Edwin gingerly held it. “I know it’s a big pouch, but do your best to keep it hidden. You want to talk about people realizing you have a resource? This could be more trouble than it is helpful, but I trust you to be smart with it.”

“Smarter than we were,” Olivia chimed in with a guilty smile. “We wore them around far too openly early on.”

“If I can get you a smaller one later, I’ll pass that along instead.” Alex motioned to the ring he’d gotten from Rylan. “This thing is gaudy, but its convenience really can’t be beat.”

“Master Moore, can you truly part with this?”

Alex put his hand on Edwin’s shoulder. “I can. And I’m telling you I want you to have it. Please accept it. You tell me I need to make decisions and give orders. Well, this is an order. Take the pouch and use it as best you can to help in your everyday activities. You do a lot for me—for all of us. There’s some stuff in the pouch for you, too. Don’t pull any of it out until you’re in private, but hopefully it’ll be some things you can sell to help with your tasks and running the properties.”

Edwin nodded and thanked him profusely before tucking the pouch under his arm and straightening his back. They traded some more pleasantries and talked a bit more about the mundane happenings around the estate, but as the sun began to set, Alex and Olivia said goodbye to Edwin and Diane.

They showed their two temporary passes to the Hunter administrators as they walked back through the rapidly changing campus, and Alex couldn’t hold in his laugh any longer as they approached the Rift entrance.

“What’s so funny?” Olivia asked.

“I’m just picturing Edwin’s face,” Alex said, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

“What?”

“When he realizes what’s in the pouch!”

“Alex… what did you do?”

He continued to laugh until they passed the guards in front of the gate and into the partially cleared rubble that used to be the building enclosing the Rift portal. Leaning over, he whispered quietly to Olivia, “There are two pouches of mana stones from Eura in there.”

The whites of her eyes became visible before she started to giggle, no doubt picturing a scene similar to the one Alex saw.