I rushed toward Mary, already summoning my new skill and striking at her.

  The scythe cut through the air and embedded itself in her shield. Then I struck again, and in that second, she gasped like a newborn. Her wound closed, her organs realigned, and I came down on her shield once more.

  She panted, coughed up blood, then rolled to the side—away from Elk's lap—and got on all fours, coughing and gasping while I kept hammering the shield until I ran out of mana.

  We were back in the forest when she told me to stop.

  "I'm fine," she finally said between breaths. "Is that how it feels when I'm the one healing you?"

  She sat on the ground and wiped her sweat-drenched forehead. The healing hadn’t just mended her wounds—it restored her armor, my injuries, and everyone else’s too.

  "Yeah, and it sucks," I said, panting as I sat in front of her, mimicking her gesture of wiping my brow.

  Elk stood beside me, but he wasn’t wiping away sweat—he was wiping away tears. Mary noticed it at the same time I did and stood up quickly, rushing toward her friend.

  "Hey, Reddie. I'm fine," she told him, taking his hand and reaching out to wipe away a tear he'd missed.

  It was strange seeing her so small trying to comfort Elk, who stood seven feet tall and looked like a demon. Strange, but heartwarming.

  Tress approached us with slow steps. She’d been healed too and smiled at the sight.

  "I swear by the Dragons, I saw you stop breathing," Elk said after taking a deep breath.

  "Maybe. But you guys brought me back," she soothed him, pressing her hand against his.

  "Zach brought you back. I froze with you on my lap."

  "Stop, I'm fine. Forget about it," Mary insisted, pressing him more firmly until he nodded and stepped back.

  "All right. What did we get?" he asked, changing the subject and looking around.

  A safe zone had been established where the dungeon was seconds ago, and another diamond chest appeared before our eyes, close to a tree trunk. We moved toward it, eager to see if there was anything for all of us.

  This time we weren't so lucky.

  There were only three things inside the chest: two separate horns described as epic Minotaur horns that could be used to make new armor, and an epic shard lying in the middle. It shone bright purple, and we all inspected it at the same time.

  Epic Skill Shard – Piercer

  kills or projectiles used by the owner of this shard gain extreme piercing quality, upgrading the speed and power of projectiles up to 20 times their normal rate. This will pierce almost any over-leveled enemy armor or skin, unless their defense includes protection of similar constitution by skill or armor.

  "I think this needs to go to Tress," I said first.

  "No, it could be useful for your lightning attacks—especially now that you can summon them from anywhere," Tress protested. But I knew it was the bond speaking, her need to make sure I survived. That often made her misjudge things.

  "Your arrows are becoming lackluster compared to our powers, Tress. You're saving credits for no reason. How can you protect me if you can't protect yourself?" I asked, and Elk nodded while Mary pointed a finger at her.

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  "He's right, you know. It's time you started getting stronger. We all got massive upgrades, and you keep self-sacrificing for us. There'll come a moment when you'll fall behind. If you'd had this skill today, that Minotaur would've gone down fast," Mary added, and Tress had no arguments left.

  She grabbed the shard and stored it, making all of us smile with joy for her.

  "All right, but the armor you'll be able to make should go to you. And if we find another crafting material, the second armor should go to Elk. Me and Mary are more covered than you guys in that aspect," she argued.

  "Fair enough," I told her. Honestly, I was already excited to see this new armor anyway.

  With that, we set our way back to the mountain. The hours passed faster than we expected, but at least this time there were no monsters waiting for us at the top—only the town we were building.

  When we arrived at the top, it was well past noon and the sun had already started to set.

  We all went home to take a shower (which was a boon almost as good as anything the gods had given me) and change clothes. They were quite cheap in the shop, and I decided to spare some credits to get new jeans, a new pair of sneakers, and a black T-shirt. I combed my hair back with my fingers and looked at myself in the mirror of my bedroom.

  My beard had grown. I'd never let it grow to the size it was now. There was no rule against it at the office, but none of the top lawyers wore one, so I'd followed their example. Now, I had a scruffy beard at least an inch long covering my whole face. I decided to keep it—it made me look a little older, in a good way.

  When I stepped back into the hall, I noticed everyone else had the same idea. Elk wore human clothes again, but he had on baggy jeans, a big T-shirt, and a hoodie over it.

  "It was Mary who bought those, wasn't it?" I asked, pointing at him.

  "How do you know? I like them," he said, pointing to the center of his hood where a little Martian with a big green head chugged a beer.

  "It looks nice. You're like a streetwear model," I told him, and Mary looked proud, sitting on the couch.

  She wore jean shorts, a white top, and a pair of sandals—leaning into a more casual look.

  It didn't take long for Tress to come out of her room, changed as well. She wore a dress covered in abstract shapes. I couldn't tell if it was human or from her planet, but it hugged her body well and made her look elegant.

  It looked like we were heading out for dinner, not to an assembly for our new town—but I liked it.

  "Let's go?" I called, slapping my hands together and heading for the door. The sun had already set, and everyone had returned from their expeditions.

  I took the center of the city, climbed onto the edge of the fountain, and spoke to them about the city-building issue.

  I asked if everyone planned to go to the tower when it appeared, and half the people said they wouldn't, which I respected.

  Their arguments varied—some wanted to tackle dungeons and prepare for the next one, while others simply couldn’t take it anymore. People were tired from the past week, and I couldn't blame them.

  "Staying here is a mistake," I said plainly. "I understand your reasons, but you should go to the tower. The show wants us to climb it—and keep climbing the others. That’s the most guaranteed way to get stronger. But yes, staying does seem like a valid option."

  I looked at those who said they wouldn't go, but they seemed determined.

  "We’ll build walls around the town as soon as the system allows it, in two days," I told them. "But we’ll use minimal resources, focusing only on security. You’ll be free to stay here and use your credits, but I strongly advise you to keep moving and exploring. Stay put too long, and monsters will start dropping on your heads just to please one watcher or another."

  That seemed to shake a few of them—some swallowed hard—but no one said anything.

  As I spoke, I noticed Adriano and the teenager a few strides away. Adriano stood with his arms crossed, nodding along like he agreed with me. The young man beside him—John—kept looking at... Mary?

  I spoke about the walls and the perimeter I wanted to build and couldn’t help noticing the kid kept getting distracted, looking toward Mary. Was he crushing on her? I asked myself, but decided it wasn’t important. I was pretty sure Mary wouldn’t be interested in a kid still in high school, and town matters were more pressing.

  So, I finished saying what I had to. The last subject I brought up was the idea of saving money by making food for the whole community at specific times. The people who said they wouldn’t go to the tower volunteered for it, and we decided dinner would be made by them using the shop. But tomorrow, we'd hunt for food since the forest had plenty of animals and rivers—and it wasn’t infested with monsters anymore, just dungeons.

  Everyone agreed, which made me feel a little proud.

  "Good work," Elk said, patting me on the shoulder as I walked toward the crafter station. Mary and Tress came up beside us but said nothing.

  "Time to see what the crafter can make with these materials."