To my surprise, the Rock Trolls had managed to turn some of the boring canned goods into a pretty tasty meal. I suspected that to mean one of them had picked up some sort of cooking class, but the language barrier made it hard to fully determine just what if so. While Lukiss could continue to translate, there were some things that didn't come across very well. He would get better, of course, with time, but those were the limitations we were stuck with in the here and now.

  From what I could gather, it seemed to be some sort of class specializing in leftovers or preserved foods. I'd personally seen at least a hundred that did something like that. And as the Rock Trolls were a new species to me, who knew what unique ones the System could provide for them?

  While everyone started to pack in for the night, I took a quick look around the garage. Floof joined me, wagging his tail happily. Despite the excitement in that dog's eyes, he remained perfectly silent, carefully choosing each step as we made our way around the perimeter. More than ever, I wanted to know what was going on in that dog's head.

  On the back side of the garage, Floof's head swiveled towards the river in the distance. Even through the rapidly darkening sky, it was obvious what the dog had spotted. Thousands of tiny glowing pinpricks dotted the horizon, dancing across the top of the gently flowing water.

  Each one of them was awash with so much natural mana that it was lighting their tiny forms up, transforming them into miniature beacons. “Well, I think we have our answer to what lured the leviathan here,” I whispered to the dog. He looked up at me briefly, then returned his gaze to the river.

  Was there something out there I couldn't see? Considering the dog's natural senses and the likelihood that he had figured out the system already, there was a very strong chance that I paled in comparison to what he could sense.

  As I started to move, preparing to head back inside the garage, Floof butted my leg with his head, and then again pointed his nose into the distance. Was there something he was looking at beyond the glowing dots? Whatever it was, I couldn't see it, but if the dog was so determined that it was important, that meant I needed to.

  I carefully pulled the sword free from the makeshift cloth bindings that held it across my back. This time, I managed to do it without destroying any of them. One day, I wouldn't have to worry about these matters. Either we'd find something a little more robust to hold it, or the sword would finally absorb enough mana to unlock its own dancing abilities.

  Focusing on the mana within the blade, I gently pulled it into myself. As my arm had only barely started to work again, that meant there was still plenty of healing it still needed. I didn't need to further add to my body's burden by over-drawing from the sword's energy.

  I balled my left hand into a fist, flexing the fingers. My attention was split between paying close attention to any further damage to my arm, while also channeling the absorbed mana from the runic blade. I did my best to route all of it up into my vision and hearing, with the goal of only enhancing those senses.

  It was possible to heal myself with the mana I was pulling in. But that wasn't something I was practiced at. It was a very specialized refinement that I never had a reason to learn before, as the higher-level functions of the sword would let me heal even without doing so. That was now one of my greater regrets, but I couldn't fix the past. All I could do was work with what I had now.

  Taking several deep breaths as I close my eyes momentarily, I let the energy flow throughout my senses. I could feel my vision sharpening, and already I was able to hear the buzzing of the creatures above the river. The problem was the drawback that would come in the moment I opened my eyes.

  My body was just not ready for this level of input yet. But I needed to fight back against the sensory overload long enough to see what had Floof so interested. Forcing myself past the trepidation, I opened my eyes.

  Thanks to the integration, the overwhelming light pollution that had once flooded the earth was already gone. In its place, cosmic colors flooded my vision. Star formations I no longer recognized scintillated in the night sky.

  I could now count each of the creatures on the river if I were to try. But, considering the dull throbbing that had already started in the back of my head, I needed to keep my focus. None of this was what I needed to see. Following Floof's line of sight, I looked to the distant mountains.

  Even using my mana-enhanced eyesight, it was hard to make out just what that dog had spotted. Near the top of one of the mountains, there looked to be a cave, with a fire burning near the front of it. I couldn't be entirely sure, as I was pushing against the limits of my eyes, but there seemed to be several Rock Trolls moving about around the entrance.

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  The strain caught up to me before I could zero in on any other information. I closed my eyes with a small grunt of pain, killing the feed from the sword. I steadied myself through the momentary disorientation that followed, struggling to keep my dinner down.

  Floof's discovery meant that we had another objective to add to our list. We need to reunite the Rock Trolls with more of their people, or at the very least, to make meaningful contact. Plus, considering those same giant distant mountains now surrounded us, it presented a possible safe route through them.

  “Alright, come on, buddy. Let's get back inside. There isn't anything we can do about them tonight,” I said as I reached down and scratched his head. This time, he followed immediately.

  “Anything out of place?” Ralph asked while I was closing the door behind us.

  “Nothing I'd consider abnormal in an integration. Is Ash already asleep?” I spotted her a second later, already sprawled where she had slept the night before.

  “After she finished her food, she didn't have a lot of energy left. I figured you'd prefer she take an early night.”

  He had figured correctly.

  I still didn't entirely know what to make of him. While it might have been a long one, it still had only been a single day since we had met him, and as much as he was playing up this kindly grandfather routine, it was just an act. At least, I assumed it was an act. Had I always been this jaded?

  “Good, yeah, after whatever is going on with a potential God connection. I'd rather have her get as much rest as possible. Also, Floof and I spotted more of the Rock Trolls. Looks like a group of them has taken up residence in a cave in the far mountains.”

  “I assume that means we have a trip in store?” Ralph asked, sounding excited at the prospect.

  “Likely, but there's a lot we need to handle first. I especially don't want to try crossing that river, not until everyone here is a bit higher in level. Not to mention that the trip is going to take several days even then, and I'm not big on leaving the dungeon here alone, expanding that long.”

  “Makes sense. You probably want to start securing this as a settlement yourself. At least, assuming that your long-term plan is to take control of this planet. I guess it's possible you could be planning to take your family and flee deeper into System space,” he said.“No, what little I know of you so far suggests otherwise, I think.”

  He had that knowing look in his eyes again. But this time, whatever was behind those words, I didn't have enough information to puzzle it out. At least, not beyond the fact that he clearly thought it was not the best idea for us to abandon the planet. That much, though, I already knew.

  It would take years, if not decades, for this planet to really matter to any of the larger forces within the System space. Hiding out here and slowly building our power while trying to determine what had happened in my absence was almost certainly the best move. The only real problem with it was who knew how long I could stay hidden, and just who would come looking once I was revealed?

  “One of these days, I'm going to pry out of you exactly what you know,” I said, shaking my head at the old man.

  “Maybe, but I do know quite a lot, and who knows how much I even remember?” he replied, smiling.

  “Anything important you care to share tonight?” I doubted there was, but I figured I may as well pick his brain before I grab some sleep myself.

  “Were you aware that beans are a magical fruit?” Somehow, a smile had managed to grow even larger as he asked the question.

  “Well, thanks for making me regret that,” I said, ignoring the bait. I had raised two children on this planet. I was very aware of how magical beans were.

  Just as I'd hoped, Ash was already sound asleep. Floof had taken to the floor next to her. Her breathing was a nice, steady, rhythmic pattern. Now, if that could just hold for a few more days, we would have a real chance at beating the cancer entirely.

  Placing the sword next to my own lounge chair, I stretched out on it with a groan as I forced my left arm into a few positions it wasn't happy about. Feeling had fully returned to the arm, making it clear just how much pain I was in for. At least I had a long lifetime behind me of forcing myself to sleep while parts of my body throbbed in anger.

  I briefly considered pulling back some of the constitution I was lending Ash in order to heal my arm faster.

  I couldn’t remember it, the last time I had seen her sleep so peacefully. If it meant risking that, I wasn’t willing to touch a single point. I could handle a little pain and a longer recovery time as long as it made her life even the slightest bit easier.

  My eyes shot open. I wasn't even sure when I had finally drifted off to sleep. But next to me on the ground, Floof was wide awake. His upper lip was curled back as a low growl came from his throat.

  As I reached over to grab the sword, preparing to see what had him on edge, the presence of something powerful heading our way finally registered in the back of my head. “We've got a fight coming, boy. You ready?” I said as I hopped to my feet.

  “Ulrun!” Adam yelled, spotting the giant man in a small group approaching Humans, and completely interrupting Grimbleflork, who was showing Alecks some weapons.

  “Eighdum, is that you? And Alecks? I'm glad to see both of you alive,” Ulrun called back, his slow approach immediately turning into a charge. In one of his hands, he carried a giant hammer with a strange blue and green glow coming off the head.

  Adam didn't recognize most of the people who were with the blacksmith, other than his wife, who was nearly as large as him. She had a weapon of her own, but unlike Ulrun, it wasn't something that could double as a smithy tool. It was a long spear with a bright red head at the end of it.

  “I'd been so worried about your family, but we couldn't risk heading that way in the forest yet. The monster that nested out there is far too dangerous,” Ulrun said as he reached the brothers.

  Memories of Adam Miller before he found Earth