“So just how did you meet Mel anyway? I thought the man had retired. I was shocked when he reached out to me,” the dragon said as we sat down in the dining room. He had shrunk his form to the size of Trolke now. He still had to take one of the bigger seats the giant had made for himself and any other visiting giants despite that.

  “Honestly, Cecile, Elicec, and I ran into him on our training world. He’s been a huge help ever since,” I answered. There was a lot more to it than that, but this was Mel’s friend, and he could tell him that story in full if he wanted to.

  “Yeah, Graglin, I met these idiots brand new ta the game, lucky I did do too, who knows what’d’ve to ‘em if I hadn’t?” Mel said, in between sips of something Timon had poured.

  “Hah, don’t think I’ve forgotten what you were like as my manager. If these guys pulled you back into the game, I know they are better than you’d ever admit,” Graglin replied.

  “Wait, Mel was your trainer? How long ago was that?” Cecile asked excitedly.

  “Couple hundred years. I’m mostly retired now myself,” the dragon answered as John started bringing out food for all of us. I wondered how our dwindling supplies were doing with the added mouths. I’d have to check with Pryte on that.

  “Get to eating, this the only break yer getting today!” Mel ordered the moment the food was in front of us. It turned out the man wasn’t lying, and as much as we may have wanted to grill the dragon for more information, we didn’t get that time.

  The rest of the day was spent chasing training balls, trying to knock Timon over before he had a chance to touch any of us, and even hunting the moose as it teleported across the forest. By the time we were done, the sun had long since set, and all of us, even Rabyn, were looking exhausted. Mel had done as he promised and was smiling about it.

  I didn’t even fully remember him dismissing us or drifting off to sleep until I woke up the next morning. I managed to get myself into a shower before making my way back to the dining hall to see just what kind of breakfast we were getting on our last day before the final floor.

  I was a little sad to see the dragon wasn’t there, but I knew he couldn’t stick around for long. Apparently, Mel even getting him here for the single training session had been risky, but I did agree it had been worth it. We got to see just what it was like to fight two people of his size alongside Timon. It had also given Mel a great idea of where we were all at for what to push us on the rest of the day. There would be plenty of time to talk to the many species of the Spiral in the future.

  “So, what’s the plan for today? More training trauma?” I asked, looking over to Mel, who was downing a bowl of cereal like it was the best thing he had ever tasted.

  “Nah, this is the day before the big one. Today we eat, we talk, we have fun, because tomorrow we may be dead.” Mel said these words with a smile that his tone didn’t remotely match.

  “I agree with Melhelm. It’s important that we enjoy what could very well be our last day, though I am surprised at no final words for the floor,” Elody added.

  “I’ve got a few, but we can go over those tomorrow as we leave. I want ‘em fresh in your heads anyway,” he replied.

  Rabyn walked out and dropped a plate of eggs with toast in front of me. “If you could please try those, I had John teach me the recipe this morning, and I want to see how well I was able to emulate it. I believe they are your favorite,” Rabyn said as the plate came to a rest. He added silverware and napkins to the side of it.

  That I hadn’t expected, in both a sense of curiosity and not wanting to disappoint the man, I took a bite. It was perfectly over easy. I spooned some egg onto the toast and took another bite. It was made to perfection. “This is amazing. Thank you, Rabyn. I really appreciate it,” I said.

  “You’re very welcome,” Rabyn replied with a slight bow before placing a cup of coffee in front of me and vanishing back to the kitchen. That was all I had needed to complete my routine. The one I hadn’t been able to do perfectly in awhile. I smiled as I took another bite.

  “How are those eggs? I’ve yet to try any from this planet,” Elody asked, looking over at my breakfast while she sipped at something.

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  “Want some?” I asked, moving one of the very generous portion of eggs onto a smaller plate with a piece of the toast and passing it over before she had a chance to refuse.

  She piled some of the egg on toast like I had moments ago and took a bite. “Ah, this is quite good. I can see why you like it,” she replied, joining me with her own smile. The door to the room burst open as Glorp and his siblings loudly entered. The peaceful part of the breakfast had suddenly come to an end.

  “Guys, we rode the moose!” Gorpila screamed in joy. They may be loud, but it was nice having kids around who could just be kids. Their fun was infectious.

  “Oh, did you?” I asked as I stood up, looking at the smiles on all of their faces; even Glorp looked thrilled.

  “Yep, Alex convinced the moose to let us. She just asked, and he bowed his head, and we all climbed on. It was super fun!” Glord said.

  “Yes, I was quite impressed with their skills at handling such a large animal, especially at their ages,” Sanquar said, appearing in the still-open door.

  “Sanquar flew after us the whole time!” Gorpila added, excitedly.

  “Well, that sounds like it’s time for everyone to have a special breakfast. Let me go check with John and see if we have everything for Belgian waffles. I used to love it for a treat as a kid,” I said, remembering the times my mother would make it on special occasions.

  I spotted John as I entered the kitchen. “Hey Dad, what’s up?” John said as he stood in front of a sink chopping up something I didn’t recognize.

  “Any chance we have the supplies to make Belgian waffles? I want to give the kids a treat. Keep today as special as we can in their mind in case the worst happens,” I said.

  “Hmm, we don’t have the strawberries, but Rabyn has something with a similar profile. We will have to make the whipped cream, but that should be doable. What do you think, Rabyn?” John yelled to the other side of the kitchen.

  “Yes, I’ve read a recipe for those in one of the books I liberated. I can have some prepared shortly,” he replied with what I thought was a wink at John. What was that about? John didn’t say anything, so I didn’t want to press. Rabyn was training him, after all.

  “Perfect,” I said as I headed back to the other room and let everyone know about the treat that was coming. I sent the kids out to find everyone else, thinking we should all enjoy this together. When they returned, I hadn’t expected the everyone to include the moose, but I wasn’t surprised.

  “Missing grandma?” Alex asked as she sat down next to me; her pregnancy had started to show. It wouldn’t be long until I had a grandkid, which was all the more reason to win tomorrow.

  “Always, but this just seemed like the right meal,” I replied. What would they have thought of all of this? My dad likely would have been right here beside me, trying to help me build a better tool set. My mom though, I wasn’t sure, maybe it was for the best she hadn’t been around to see this. I had inherited a lot of my anxiety issues from her. She had done great at hiding them, but as an adult, I could see them much easier in my memories.

  “Oh my god! Yes!” Maud suddenly screamed from the other side of the room, and I quickly spotted why. She had pulled a ring out of her waffle, and in front of her, John was kneeling, with a giant grin on his face.

  I stood up so fast, I almost lost my balance, and had I not had a System with attributes backing me up, I’d likely have broken my face on the table in front of me, but instead in this moment of pure elation that we had managed to snatch from the jaws of possible death, I clapped. Everyone joined me. My son was getting married, and I couldn’t be prouder of him.

  Next to me, Alex whistled loudly and cheered her brother on before leaning over and whispering. “Did you know he was going to do that?”

  “I had no idea. From the looks of it, Rabyn may have been the only one to know,” I replied.

  We spent the rest of the day in celebration. Rabyn refused to let John back in the kitchen and instead claimed Glorp as an assistant. The food and drinks flowed like we were kings. I made spent the night making liberal use of my healing magic just to keep us all in fighting form for tomorrow. It was worth it.

  The day marched into night as Elody, of all people, began to put on a fireworks display to rival anything I had ever seen. All the beautiful colors mingled in the sky, and yet none of the explosions accompanied them. Unlike the night before, by the time we all finally went to bed, no one did so from physical exhaustion. I fell asleep that night, somehow against the odds, free of anxiety.

  Marriages are one of the more common ways factions unite with each other, usually through arranged or convenient circumstances. Sometimes, they are power broker games between two people looking to save their own factions by uniting for greater power. Rarely, though, is true love the cause. The AntilionForges are such an example of a love that could not be stopped. When the Deep Iron Forge faction leader fell in love with the Carapace Antilion’s leader, they defied all expectations and united two vastly different species into a force that holds to this day, led by their great-grandson.

  Factions, Dynasties, Royalty, and the Holdings by Trig Plunderscan

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  ? The Myth Seekers [A litrpg fantasy adventure] ?

  by Luminous Zephyr

  Sever the strings of gods and kings.

  But no favors come free, and the more he fights for freedom, the tighter the tangle of fate becomes.

  Finally, after forming a team to take on Janek’s Tower, the adventurers set off with high hopes.

  But before even reaching their destination, the team finds they are no longer chasing adventure.

  They are living it.