“Did Sarah find a jewelcrafter for you to practice with? As drakes, both of you might like working with shiny things. Also, keep in mind that all of you should have long lifespans. That means you can always pick up another hobby later, you have plenty of time. Even if you don’t find anything you like, knowing about them is still a good thing.”

  Lin says “Your father is right, you don’t have to pick a craft or hobby. He just wants to give you the chance to find out if you like any of them. If not, it is no big deal.”

  “There are also other crafts out there that we don’t have access to, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t find something right away.”

  The kids seem to take what Lin and I say to heart, but there is no way for me to be sure. I know that as a kid, I never really spoke honestly in this kind of situation with my parents. Although, now that I think about it, I still remember most of what they told me.

  I guess that in the end, that is the best that I can hope for, that the kids remember our words. Only time will tell, but I notice that Lin doesn’t look worried at all, so maybe I am overthinking it. I force the thoughts out of my head and settle down to enjoy a meal with the strange little family I have built.

  “It’s too bad Myria can’t be here, then we would have the whole family.”

  Mulan says “Can’t you just use a gate to fetch her?”

  “No, I don’t know exactly where she is. It would only work if she were somewhere I had been before.”

  Mulan says “Haven’t you been to the land bridge?”

  “Only the demon’s side. Myria came to fetch me before I got a chance to explore.”

  Lin says “You sound disappointed by that.”

  “At the time I wasn’t, but now I kind of regret it. If I had explored, I would have been able to open a gate to get her there and saved her some time. Not to mention that I would be able to go visit her now.”

  Lin smiles and says “If you are missing her too much I could always shapeshift into a bunny girl?”

  “It wouldn’t be the same, but that does bring to mind some interesting options. We can discuss that once she is back.”

  Lin says “Speaking of options, has Bella talked to you yet?”

  “Nope. She has either been too busy, or she is avoiding me.”

  Lin says “Probably a bit of both. We will talk more about it later.”

  “Alright.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  We go back to our meal and I spend some time talking with the kids about crafting. I haven’t really mastered any crafts, but I have used most of them at least once or twice. Explaining to them how I used some of the crafts to survive in the pit might give them some inspiration.

  They seem to enjoy the conversation even though I am fairly sure I have told them these stories before. Maybe after trying out the crafts for themselves, the stories have more relevance now. Either way, it is certainly a safer topic of conversation to have around the kids.

  Once everyone is done eating the kids go to watch anime leaving Lin and I alone. I was expecting to have the conversation now, but instead Lin drags me to the bedroom for some fun. She waits until after we have had a couple of rounds of fun and then asks me to shapeshift into a female form.

  I thought that I was pretty secure in my masculinity, but this ends up bringing up some issues. Lin is very patient with me as she helps me work through these new issues and it ends up being really fun. I end up learning a lot and having a lot of fun, but there are still some lingering issues in my head.

  Lin is smart enough to end things there and not ask any questions or push things. She knows me well enough that she is going to leave me alone to sort through my own thoughts. However, I know that we will end up talking about this in depth sooner or later.

  Luckily, we have something else to do, Lin needs to summon Melissa back soon. I leave the castle with her and we head to Sarah’s inn where most of the summoned are waiting. Lin leaves me in the common room, she is still keeping her promise and won’t let me see the summoning spell.

  While I am waiting, I chat with those among the summoned that I am familiar with. Luckily, it doesn’t take long for Lin to summon Melissa and for them to come into the room. There are a lot of gasps and sounds of surprise when everyone sees Melissa.

  Her clothes are torn, dirty, and bloody, and there is also blood on her face, she looks to have been in a fight. To Melissa, it should have only been two hours between being sent home and being summoned back. For her to be in this condition after such a short amount of time is not a good sign.

  “What happened to you, Melissa? Did the spell not send you home? Or did someone discover you that fast?”

  Melissa says “No, the spell worked, I made it back to Earth. Things have changed there, it is not the same world we left.”

  “Are you sure that it was our Earth? Is it possible that it was some kind of alternate Earth?”

  Melissa says “Yes, I am sure. Or at least as sure as I can be. My friends that I found remembered me and remembered me disappearing.”

  “Then what do you mean the world has changed?”

  Melissa says “Well, for one thing it seems that time is moving differently. From the people I spoke with, it seems to have been five years since we were summoned. From what I was told, war broke out four years ago, but that isn’t the worst of it.”

  “Time flowing differently isn’t too much of a surprise and neither is war breaking out. So, what is the worst of it?”

  Melissa says “The war was normal at first, most people just ignored it, but then something changed. No one could tell me who did it, but someone released a biological weapon. It wasn’t contained to the battlefield, it spread around the world and tens of millions died.”

  “This is sounding a lot like the introduction of a post-apocalyptic manga!”

  Melissa says “It basically is. Once enough people had died, undead started appearing!”

  When the crowd of people hears that they go ballistic and start shouting out all sorts of questions. It takes a few minutes before the commotion dies down enough for Melissa to be heard.

  Melissa says “It is not just what I heard! I saw the undead for myself! I even killed a few of them before I was summoned back!”

  “Did you get experience when you killed them?”

  Melissa says “Yes, I did. I was also able to regain a little mana when I killed them. The rest of the time there was no mana available.”

  “So that should mean that you kept your levels, skills, and abilities?”