Well over half a day after my conversation with Isolde, I found myself in my private quarters here in the Bastion. They weren’t very large, truthfully. The space was smaller overall than my lighthouse home, but still big enough to count as a small Terran apartment, complete with amenities. This was where Aveline and I had been staying for the duration of the crisis, and I had invited Sylvia to join us just yesterday. Considering the…step we’d taken, it only made sense that we wished to be closer. Most of the time, when she wasn’t watching Aveline, Rachel had her own quarters on a lower floor of the fortress, but today she had joined everyone else in here.

  It was, in a way, family time. I was a bit tired, though.

  Sighing, I slumped into a comfortable chair I had around the small, circular table I had in the tiny kitchen of my private quarters. There, gathered around it in the other chairs, were those closest to me still within the city. Aveline sat directly across from me, while Fade sat on his haunches next to her. He was large enough now that even sitting down, his lupine head was about the level of the table. Rachel was standing to my left, carefully setting down tonight’s dinner, held in a large metal pot. Frankly, I didn’t even know what was in there, and I didn’t care. Food was food, as far as I was concerned.

  In a mirror of my own exhaustion, Sylvia sat to my right, her Mithril head cushioned by her arms resting on the table. Her still short golden hair lay in a fan around her, framing he face in a way I would normally find quite beautiful.

  I was too tired for such thoughts, though.

  It had been a long day.

  I’d thought it would be, and in anticipation of that, made sure to get some sleep for the first time in days the night before. But from the moment I woke up, it was go time for the Order of the Polaris Reach. While Isolde immediately made a beeline for Kyronkar, I filled Renauld and Maria in on the basis of the plans my Commander and I had drafted. Renauld had gaped at me in shock for a moment at the thought of assaulting the home grounds of the Elves, but thankfully, Maria had a different reaction.

  My head Steward had just nodded sharply and began to immediately bark orders to our subordinates.

  Those of us who had been in the Nocturne Division were well used to desperate, last-ditch assaults. Honestly, you’d think Renauld would be used to it by now as well, with all the time he’d spent around me.

  But while I was busy getting my own forces in order, Sylvia still had to check in with her own, for multiple reasons. My partner had brusquely accepted the insane plan herself before immediately departing for the chapter house of the Order of the Eclipsed Dawn.

  Well.

  Not before leaving me with a parting kiss on the cheek, of course.

  There were…scant few members of the Dawn still left in the city, though. It was to the point that, although I hadn’t checked in with them personally, I’m not sure who was actually commanding those who had been left behind. I know that Marshal Leopold had gone with Grey and Honoka on the horde expedition, and he was the man who was being groomed to succeed my mentor. If memory served…I had briefly met Leopold’s adjunct many, many months ago. A Sclupted woman who I believed might be third or fourth in command of the Dawn.

  Nyx, I believe her name was. Perhaps she was still in Blutstein?

  In either case, Sylvia’s job had been to check in with her comrades and rally them to the cause. It was important that we gathered the highest-level people still left in the city, for when we made our push against the stronghold of the Mad God. While I’m sure most of the serious Classers in the Dawn had left on the horde expedition, there had to be more than a few left around who could assist. After all, there were always people who were held up for some reason or another. Either they were busy, or they had been wounded at the time, or something.

  Honestly, I was really wishing the Solstice Flame, or whatever it is that Kazuma had turned them into, were still around here in Herztal. That was a serious fighting force that I had personally seen in action. Although their previous loyalties were suspect, their competence was not. Alas, even before the Skyfall, news hadn’t been easy to get when it came to Kawamaran matters. The merchant who supplied me with my Oninite was suspiciously close-lipped about internal matters whenever I spoke to him. I suspect that Seimei had instructed him not to freely give out intel to someone who wasn’t explicitly sworn to the River Throne.

  I had been surprised that it hadn’t taken Isolde long to return from her meeting with Wenzel. From what she told me, almost shouting over the hustle and bustle within the Bastion, she’d gotten lucky. The Regent Lord had been in a closed-door meeting with the High Lords and the Matrons of the Throng when she arrived. When she informed them all of my findings and the proposal of our plan, things had started moving fast. Although I hadn’t been out in the streets to confirm it, apparently, messengers and runners were running all over the city, calling up and contacting whoever they possibly could to facilitate matters.

  Needless to say, our plan had been approved, and with rapid speed.

  The thing is…apparently, the Gnolls had wanted in on things. They had outright offered the usage of their best warship to our cause. This…had taken me aback, because I hadn’t been aware they had such a thing.

  Apparently, the Throng possessed a number of different ships that could also double as land vehicles. Some kind of hybrid ship, only really possible through heavy enchantment. Considering the sheer size of the Throng, it was totally possible that I had just missed these…landships in the press of the caravan.

  From what a terse Isolde had told me, it was named the Ashen Bride.

  Well, alright then. Along with my Astray, and Grey’s White Gull, which made three ships.

  Inspections were currently underway among Blutstein’s naval assets to see which two other ships would join us. Many of the ships in Herztal’s Navy were already occupied with helping the fleet of people out on the open ocean, who had chosen to flee the city. More than a few of them were trapped and unwilling to brave the corruption in the shallows. Hopefully, with the APD’s, we could help recover those trapped out there. From what I understood, there was practically a new settlement forming out there on the water.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Which brought us to now.

  It had been a very, very long day. In a long succession of long days, even. Between the Skyfall, worrying about my friends and family, the research for the APD’s, and now the expedition I was helping put together...

  I know it was selfish of me, but all I wanted to do was crawl into a deep, dark hole to hide from the world. Maybe read a book, maybe practice my hobbies.

  God, how long had it been since I’d had the opportunity to do any calligraphy?

  But, duty neither rested nor stopped calling.

  I had to keep pushing.

  I was knocked out of my exhausted thoughts by the sound of a bowl setting down right in front of me. I jerked in place, unaware that I had even closed my eyes. Startled, I opened them to find a stern looking Rachel had served me my dinner, a glimmer of concern in her gaze. Looking down, I saw a bowl of what seemed to be a hearty fish soup. The smell of it made my stomach suddenly rumble, reminding me I hadn’t had time for lunch earlier. I’d been too busy poring over supply manifests, trying to portion out just what we could bring with us into our journey north.

  “Eat,” Rachel told me in a commanding tone, cocking one arm against her waist. I noticed that everyone else around the table had already set into their bowls. Even Fade had gotten a wolf-sized portion, in a bowl bigger than my head. “Ye’ll feel better with a full belly.”

  I mumbled my assent, already reaching for my spoon.

  She was right.

  The food did make me feel better.

  I let out a relieved sigh once I was done, leaning back in my chair and letting my mind wander once more. Gradually, though…I thought I felt eyes on me. Glancing up, I found Sylvia staring at me with an almost contemplative gaze, leaning her head against one palm idly as she did so.

  Despite myself, I flushed a little under the gaze. “What?” I asked, almost self-consciously.

  Sylvia blinked rapidly, as I had woken the Sculpted woman from her own daydreaming. “Ah…? Oh!” She straightened up, flushing slightly at the giggles of Aveline directed at her. “I was just…wondering, Nathan. I thought you would have breached the second Breakpoint by now. The last time I saw you, before my…mission, you told me you were close to level two hundred.”

  I blinked rapidly at my lover for a moment, raising a single finger in thought, before bringing the knuckle to my lip. And then I raised the finger again, and I felt my ears twitch.

  At his end of the table, I heard both a canine chuff of amusement from Fade, as well as his mental chuckles over the Familiar bond.

  “I…” I said in halting embarrassment. “I…forgot.”

  Sylvia blinked rapidly at me, while I heard Rachel sigh off to my left. “Excuse me?”

  My head, and my ears, drooped. “I said I forgot,” I mumbled. “I…haven’t checked my Status in the past week. With all the crafting I’ve done with the research project…I’m pretty sure I’ve hit two hundred by now. I’m…probably even over it.”

  Now I was the one subject to Aveline’s laughter.

  I sighed under Sylvia’s recriminatory stare. “Nathan…”

  “Alright, alright,” I said hastily, already reaching for Hidden Amidst the Spheres. “I’m on it.”

  I had never gotten the hang of checking my Status often. I think it had something to do with my Terran upbringing.

  Bah.

  No reason to put it off any longer.

  I pulled up my Status in my mind's eye.

  And…that was it. Probably one of the simplest level-up notifications I’d ever received.

  But simultaneously, one of the most momentous.

  There it was. I was now level two-hundred in the eyes of the System. Scratch that.

  I’d done enough Crafting in the last week or so to reach level two-oh-one. That extra level was just blocked from me, because I had yet to perform my second Ascension Ritual.

  Which meant I knew what I needed to do.

  One…problem, though.

  “Well,” I said aloud, not wanting to spoil the mood and aware of four separate pairs of eyes looking at me with curiosity. “I did it. I’m over level two-hundred now.”

  Aveline let out a little yell of excitement, well aware now of just how momentous that was in modern Veredenese society. In some ways, she was integrating better than I was. As she slid off of her, accompanied by barks from Fade, she scurried over to my side to throw her arms around me in a childish hug. Looking up, she beamed at me. “Congratulations, Papa!”

  That word still threw me for a loop every time I heard it, but also with more pride and affection than I knew what to do with. Slowly, I was getting used to the sensation. I returned her smile and reached down to return the hug. “Thank you, Lina,” I said softly. “I appreciate it.”

  I felt a cool hand settle onto my shoulder, and I looked up to find Sylvia staring down at me with her own quiet pride. “Good job, Nathan,” She said, her hand drifting to rest on my cheek. “You’ve done well.”

  I lay one hand over top of hers and leaned into her palm. “I couldn’t have done it alone,” I said seriously, staring up into her crystalline blue eyes. “If I didn’t have support from you guys…”

  I’m not sure I would have ever seen the point. I may enjoy the quest for more strength…but that wasn’t a reason to pursue it.

  We were social animals. You needed people to strive for, if you ever hoped to reach the peaks.

  “Took ye long enough,” Rachel teased gently, laughing throatily. She shook her head. “I bet ye coulda gone and done the ritual days ago.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “So? What are you waiting for? Get a move on! Yer gonnna need all the strength ye can get yer mitts on, if ye want to succeed on this quest o’ yers!”

  I winced slightly. “I…suppose,” I said, to everyone’s confusion. Under their stares, I scratched my cheek self-consciously. “It’s just…I designed the ritual with Grey. And I was hoping he would be here to help me with it.”

  Sylvia’s confusion dissipated into a fond smile. “But you don’t need Father to perform it,” She said knowingly. After all, she had already been through a second Ascension ritual. Even though hers had been a Cultivator version, that didn’t matter.

  She understood. At the second Breakpoint, you didn’t need an existing Magi or Cultivator to spark your own Mana or Ki. You just needed to purge more impurities

  “Father wouldn’t begrudge you this, in these circumstances,” Sylvia said confidently. With one hand, she pulled me up. “Now, come on. I’m sure you have a circle already prepared.”

  I nodded. “At Grey’s lab at the Academy, yes.”

  “Then let’s go,” She said, to my surprise. Sylvia just smiled at my confusion. “There’s no time like the present, and Rachel is right. You’ll need the strength for what’s to come.”

  I studied her for a moment before nodding. She was right. It's not like the proposed expedition into the northern lands would be easy. I could barely imagine what kind of pushback we were likely to receive up there.

  It would be downright stupid of me not to grasp for what strength I could.

  Sylvia and I were interrupted from our little moment when I felt a small hand tug at my shirt. Looking down, I saw a tentative-looking Aveline. “Can I…come?”

  I blinked down at her. “To see my Ritual?” At her sheepish nod, I considered the matter. Eventually, I nodded. “I don’t see why not. From what I understand, it’s not as…dramatic as the first. There’s no danger. So, let’s go, all of us,” I said, smiling first over at Fade, and then at a surprised Rachel.

  “Let’s make a family day of it.”