Thirty minutes later, a fracture rippled into existence in front of them, right on top of the fragments of the beacon badge that had been crushed and thrown in the grass.

Yelps and gasps of horror sounded from the band of underground dwellers. Eik and Olivia had explained exactly what was going to happen a couple of times before activating the beacon but in the end it was difficult to convince someone that the thing they had directly associated with death and suffering for ten long years would now be their ticket to a better life. It just didn't make sense in their heads.

Mikla peeked his head out and stepped through. "That was fast;" he said, craning his head to see if there were more people around than just the ones here.

"Lucky coincidence," Eik said with a nod. "They kind of found us actually. The bridge we were going to cross has collapsed. A few months ago they had the same idea but since they couldn't get to the other side now, they built a base here and hoped for the land to rise out of the sea, as has become the norm recently, and form a bridge."

"Aha, makes sense," Mikla nodded. "Is this the point with the shortest distance between the two landmasses?"

"No, if you make the trek further north, there's actually a place that's significantly closer, but that's quite far and dangerous, and they had injured."

"I see. What's their power levels like?" Mikla asked, nodding at the group who were all staring at him like he was an alien. Which he was, but they didn't know that yet.

"One C-ranker, a few D-rankers, the rest weaker."

"Yeah, okay, I see the dilemma."

"Anyway," Eik said as Harald tentatively approached, tailed by his son Kasper. "It makes no sense to take them with us, so I was hoping you could bring them back to Forest and get them set up with places to live, and maybe a translation spell if any of them need it. For those of them who don't want to fight, my assistant Robert Barnes can introduce them to Elaine Haness. I know she's ramping up her business so she could probably use some extra hands somewhere or everywhere."

"That's fine, but why don't the two of you come back with us to Forest for a couple of hours?"

"We really need a fracture to take us across the ocean. Don't worry, you can see the opposite shore from here, so it shouldn't be a problem as far as triangulation of the arrival location is concerned."

"I'll do all that, but I think you should come back for just a little bit. There's someone who's hoping to see you."

"Who? Is it Heath?"

"Heath is still not… in a great place. No, it's someone quite different."

***

"Eik!" Bin shouted as she ran head first into his stomach. That collision would have knocked the air out of any normal person, but she kind of just bounced off Eik's stomach and landed on her butt. Barely noticing it, she was instantly back on her feet to give him the tightest hug on his life.

Lifting her into his arms, he returned the embrace, patting her on the back.

"I missed you," she said with her face buried in his neck.

"Missed you too, cutie."

"Can I go sleep at your house now?" she asked.

"Ah," Eik stumbled. "Not quite yet. I'm only back for a little bit before I have to go again. But the moment I'm done with what I have to do, you can come live with me right up until we find your family."

"My family?"

"Yeah…" he hesitated. That was definitely for the best. "Mikla is in the middle of looking for them. Wouldn't it be nice to go and live with someone you know?"

"No!" she howled at full lung. "I don't know anyone else!"

Eik glanced to Mikla who shrugged and explained. "Their social circles are pretty narrow, to tell you the truth. Usually just close family and maybe a few trusted friends. Besides that, most relationships within their society is really rather transactional and very seldom leads to anything resembling friendship or companionship. At her age it wouldn't be particularly strange if she's mostly been with her parents her whole life."

"Are you serious?" Eik said incredulously. "Then who the hell are you even looking for?"

"It's a slim hope, but there could be someone out there, like a close family friend, an older sibling, or a grandparent. I thought I would make the attempt before getting too doom and gloom about it."

"And?"

"So far, I haven't been able to find anybody who qualifies, unfortunately."

Eik hated to admit it, but that revelation didn't exactly sadden him. In truth, it filled him with something like hope. "I see. Well, she can stay with me for as long as necessary."

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Mikla smirked. "I thank you for your sacrifice, Eik. That's very noble of you."

"Can I stay with you then, Eik?" Bin asked, eyes hopeful.

"I would absolutely love it if you did."

"From today."

"From after I get back. But if you ask Mikla real nicely, he might give me a couple of extra beacon stones so I can come back and say hi again."

"Can Eik have more stones?" she asked, turning her big, shiny, puppy dog eyes straight to Mikla, the brightness of them almost blinding him.

"Alright, I suppose it couldn't hurt. They're only kind of expensive, but I happen to know that Eik has recently come into some money that makes him more than capable of paying for them," the fracture specialist grinned. Eik laughed. That wasn't a lie.

"Speaking of money," Eik said, pulling Mikla to the side. "I made something new recently that I want your opinion on." He put Bin back on her feet and began to rummage around in his rucksack of holding.

"My opinion?" the alliance representative asked.

"Yeah, like, what could I sell it for? What's the market saturation like? Where could I get the best prices for it? Stuff like that, you know." Carefully, he cupped the cloth in both hands and gestured for Mikla to unfold it.

"You made this with alchemy? What is it?" he asked and revealed the five glowing little pills.

"Eik's Legendary Mystery Medicine," Eik deadpanned.

"Might have to work on the name for that one, friend," Mikla suggested with a raised eye brow. "This is… What is this? It feels powerful."

"I want to see too!" Bin said, hopping in place to get a better look. Eik bent down to let her see. "So pretty!" she exclaimed.

"It's a pill. The original recipe is just a Potion of Mighty Strength class 3 but I altered the infusion technique and made this. Not sure how others do it but I figured I'd get your thoughts on it before I went to market. Don't want to oversell this thing after all."

Mikla took one and held it up to the light of a nearby fire. A diverse array of colors bounced off the orb and danced across any surface nearby. "What does it do?"

"What do you mean 'what does it do?'" Eik said. "It raises your strength, obviously. Not by nearly as much as the regular potion, but you know… We can't have it all, can we?"

"And why do you think a customer would pay money for this if it's so much worse than the original?" Mikla was one big question mark.

"Well, because it's permanent, or course."

Mikla nearly dropped the little sphere as his whole body seemed to go limp. Jaw hanging half open, he stared at Eik, any trace of coherent thought gone from his eyes. Then he looked down at the little ball in his hand, fingers shaking. "Sa— Can you say that again, please? I think I probably heard you wrong."

"It raises your stats."

"Not that part!"

"It's permanent."

"Yeah, that. 'Permanent' as in, the boost doesn't go away?"

Eik nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"You're saying it lasts a long time or… it never goes away?"

"As far as I can tell, it never goes away."

Mikla's lips quivered soundlessly as his brain tried to come up with the words to respond. "Bu-But… But that's not… possible," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Eik asked, heart beginning to beat faster.

"Power can be boosted temporarily through various means, of course, as you know, but to boost it permanently. It—… It goes against the system. It's not supposed to be possible."

"It's clearly possible," Eik tried. "I mean, I've just done it, and I'm only a C-ranker."

Mikla stepped in closer, speaking in a lowered voice that was barely audible to his C-ranked ears with all the commotion around them as everybody from Harald's group was assisted by the residents of Forest. People seemed happy to see new faces, if nothing else to take their minds off current affairs. "I would recommend keeping a low profile on this discovery you've made. There are people in this world who would do anything to get their hands on what they want. And they're often also very powerful."

"Great, so I can't even sell it?" Eik grumbled.

"I'm honestly surprised that you don't want it all to yourself," Mikla jabbed with a half smile.

"Of course I'll take my share but I figured I'd earn a few coins by selling it off as well, but I guess I can't even do that…"

"I wouldn't be so sure. I only mean that you shouldn't go and show this to just any merchant down in Gimleh. Word will most definitely get around if you do something like that."

"So what then?"

"You go to the largest auction house in Gimleh's inner district and sell it anonymously."

***

Eik talked to Robert who promised to do everything he could to help the group of Danish newcomers settle in and find their places as quickly as possible. His impeccable organizational capabilities were the perfect match for a task like that and he clearly reveled in the opportunity to prove himself. Not that there was anything much to prove.

Despite the fact that their relationship was still new, Eik had quickly realized just how skilled the young man was, not to mention how insanely undervalued and underutilized he must have been when he worked under Darius Kerman.

While clumsy, the man's mind was like a steel trap. That was not something Eik would fail to take advantage of, because he knew that those areas were exactly where his own competence fell short.

Eik also liked to think that he was a better boss than Derius Kerman. He had every intention of letting Robert as well as anyone else he worked with have a share of the cake that fairly reflected their efforts and contributions. And Robert was contributing plenty. Whether he stayed at his current rank or not, Eik would make sure the young man lived a luxurious life with nary a want.

Now that he was back for a little bit anyway, Eik also took the opportunity to visit Michael and update him on the development of their hitherto short adventure. The young healer had his hands full with tending to the countless wounded, even then in the middle of the night. He could tell Eik that his painkillers and medicines had helped many people already.

Eik woke up a befuddled Andrew Brooks at the home he shared with his father Ben Brooks and entrusted them with the care of Bin for the time being. Before, Andrew had been caught between his friendship with Eik and his loyalty to the old guard of Forest, which had caused some tension between them, but he was a good man. And one of the most reliable people Eik knew.

Ben had been the blacksmith who created Viper Fang, the blade Eik had loved and lost in the Championships. He had a foul mouth but his heart was full of more than enough love for little Bin. So much so that Eik could only hope she would be willing to come home with him when he returned.

Now that Eik was a C-ranker like Andrew, their relationship felt more balanced and harmonious and he didn't feel quite as bad about asking for a favor as he might have back at F-rank or E-rank.

He felt safe leaving Bin with them, although he more or less thrust the responsibility on them in the middle of the night.

Having taken care of that, he met back up with Olivia and Mikla. The fracture specialist opened a portal to the same location they had been picked up from and stepped through with them.

It was finally time to start the quest for real.

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