Nick walked toward the bathhouse with a smile on his face, eager to experience the long-awaited bliss of soaking his muscles in hot water.

The structure was located at the intersection of the inner and residential districts—a convenient spot for people to take a dip at the end of a long day as they made their way home. Once Aurora has more than a single barracks to its name, at any rate.

The bathhouse consisted of a large changing area with lockers along one wall, a row of partitioned showers that drew water from the well outside, and a series of pools out back.

While he was perusing the options in his placement menu, Nick had found a species of bamboo that thrived on both fire and water mana, which the System said would grow well in this environment. It had a reddish sheen he found quite striking, so he had placed it around the perimeter of the bathing area and used it to partition the pools. For the buildings, he had chosen an architectural style that was elegant in its simplicity, and he was immensely satisfied with the results.

Right now, the mages had to infuse the structure with fire mana to heat the water, although they were confident that they would find a way to automate the process soon. While these thoughts passed through his head, he stepped into one of the shower stalls, stored his gear in his pack, and hung it on a hook designed for that purpose. He rinsed himself off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and then made his way over to the pools.

The bathhouse featured a spacious communal area with a hot, warm, and cold pond set side by side, along with four smaller pools ringed by bamboo for people who wanted privacy. Nick had never used a communal bath before, but after everything he'd been through, he no longer felt flustered by trivial matters like public nudity. He kept his pack with him, since it held some incredibly valuable items, then proceeded to the hot pool, from which wisps of steam were rising.

It was already filled with a dozen blissed-out residents, some of whom wore towels and some who didn't bother. He decided to keep his towel on while he got used to the concept and slipped into the water with a sigh of relief. This is amazing. Kenji was right about the importance of recreational buildings.

His stress melted away as he spent the better part of an hour chatting with his neighbors, getting to know some members of Team Earth he had only met in passing. Before he left, he spent a while browsing through his menus. When he reached the city section, he noticed the last bosses generated by the Rebuilding Civilization quest had been defeated and no more official settlements could be founded.

I wonder who claimed the other four capitals. It was a promising sign that his group wasn't the only collection of powerhouses on the planet, and it meant his people wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed by a boss while exploring the badlands and bordering biomes.

Nick stepped out of the pool feeling more relaxed than he had in weeks. Since he still had an hour or so before it was time to meet up with Ella, he decided to check out the communal kitchen and adjoining mess hall and find out what was on the menu for the facility's debut.

When he crossed the threshold, a wondrous aroma broke over his palate, making him drool with anticipation. His people were hard at work developing their new Professions, and he was thrilled to learn that Aurora already had two Chefs and a Baker. Not to mention dozens of people who were skilled at preparing meals the old-fashioned way.

While fighting to survive would always be a part of life in the multiverse, it was nice to see that people were focusing on the pursuits that called to them most—a tangible reminder that while their lives had changed in a thousand ways, humanity still had diverse interests, passions, and drives. He couldn't wait to find out what the cooks would whip up with when they got their hands on more ingredients, especially the mana-infused plants growing everywhere on New Earth.

When he reached the front of the line, Nick was handed a big bowl of vegetable stew and half a loaf of fresh bread. After thanking the cooks and complimenting their efforts, he made his way over to a table that still had some room.

He wound up sitting down beside the team that he'd helped on the third floor of the Tower of Rizzen—when he had drilled a hole through the level's partition to fire off a Piercing Ray at a gigantic swamp monster.

After introducing themselves, the party's leader stuck out her hand—a redheaded warrior who went by Lilliana. "You saved our lives," she said after they shook. "If you ever need help with anything, all you have to do is ask."

They insisted on giving Nick a gift to show their appreciation, which wound up being awesome. It was a shirt and pants with Self-Maintenance and Auto-Sizing modifications. They were just regular clothing, but they were stylish and incredible comfortable. He was thrilled, since it gave him something to wear that wouldn't fall apart under the daily stress his superhuman body subjected the material to.

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He ran back to the bathhouse to try his new outfit on and came back a few minutes later, marveling at how wonderful it felt to enjoy a meal with good company in ordinary attire—something he hadn't experienced in far too long.

His new clothes could be worn under his armor, which was convenient, since it was time for his lesson with Ella, and he had a hunch that her method of instruction was going to be intense.

They had agreed to meet in front of the barracks, and Ella arrived just a few minutes after Nick. We need to come up with some way to tell the time, he mused while raising a hand in greeting. She suggested they relocate to somewhere they wouldn't have to worry about collateral damage if they decided to move beyond the basics and try sparring with their abilities.

He nodded his agreement, and they made their way past the city limits, heading toward a strip of brightly colored soil a mile or so out where there weren't any people nearby.

When they came to a stop, Nick and Ella took off their packs and began warming up. Every movement she made was lithe and purposeful—controlled and at the same time, only a hair's breadth away from unleashing the immense destructive potential contained within her athletic frame.

A few minutes later, she turned to him and said, "Before I teach you anything, why don't we start by showing me what you already know? Most instructors would begin with a wooden blade, but that would be a waste of our time. Draw that beauty hanging from your hip, then come at me and don't hold anything back."

By this point, his heart was thumping, and a river of adrenaline was flowing through his veins. Ella was one of the best fighters Team Earth had to offer, a centenarian with a lifetime of martial arts experience. Nick didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of beating her, but that only made this opportunity more exciting. He just hoped the training in the School of the Ever-Surging Blade Rita had beaten into him would be enough to keep him from embarrassing himself.

He took a few deep breaths while calling on Arctic Clarity to calm his nerves, then drew Blightbane, bowed deep, and offered a salute. She grinned and returned the gesture—content to let him make the first move. Since he was here to get some pointers on his swordplay, he didn't use any abilities, honing his concentration before committing to his attack.

Ella wore a serene expression while waiting for him to begin, though the gleam in her eyes was frighteningly feral. She had assumed a neutral stance with her staff at the ready—not even remotely worried about engaging Blightbane with her clockwork weapon. Nick wasn't nearly as copesetic. He had crossed blades with other people before, but he was hesitant to swing his sword at an ally.

However, he trusted the woman's judgement and doubted he could hurt her even if he wanted to. So, he swallowed his doubts, darted into range, and executed a rising slash that had been good enough to defeat Kiki every now and again.

The redheaded warrior frowned before batting his blade away like she was shooing a fly. "Again." He spun, redirecting his momentum into a horizontal swipe that was followed by a stop thrust and a dozen attacks after that—each movement transitioning into the next in a seamless procession of violence.

Ella didn't bother to parry.

She stepped around Nick's blade like it was moving in slow motion. She looked bored—disappointment clear on her face as his strikes failed to connect time and time again. By this point, his hesitation had vanished and he was in top form, but it didn't matter at all. Eventually, she flicked her wrist and Blightbane went flying from his hand like it was the easiest thing in the world.

His cheeks were burning as he retrieved his weapon. He had known there was a vast chasm between them, but this was far worse than he'd imagined. He picked up the sword and got ready to attack again—determined to force the warrior to defend herself seriously at least once before today's lesson was over.

She stopped him with a raised hand. "I've seen enough. Before we move on, do you mind if I try something that should make the rest of our session a great deal more productive? I haven't used it on another person before, but something tells me it's just what you need to get into the right frame of mind."

"By all means." Nick sighed. "I'm willing to try anything if it can fix… whatever the hell is wrong with me."

There was no warning at all.

The instant he gave his consent, intense pressure broke over him, like he was standing on the bottom of the sea and the crushing embrace of the ocean was pressing in from all sides. His body shook as he began to hyperventilate, fighting to remain upright as primal terror invaded every fiber of his being.

It took everything he had to hold his ground. Whatever was happening, it wasn't magic. If anything, it reminded him of the sensation Size Up provided when he was facing an enemy that could slay him in a single strike, only a hundred times worse.

He planted his blade into the dirt, legs wobbling like gelatin in an earthquake. As he struggled to endure the onslaught, he realized Arctic Clarity was still there, creating a tiny bubble of frigid focus amidst this raging tsunami of… killing intent.

When Nick put a name to what he was feeling, the dynamics of the situation snapped into focus. He was being driven to the ragged edge of panic by his opponent's bloodlust, straddling the precipice of being completely overwhelmed by Ella's murderous aura.

He forced himself meet her gaze, which only increased the pressure assailing his senses. The warrior was standing still, but his instincts were screaming that she was only a fraction of an instant away from claiming his life. That his only hope of surviving was to run and never look back.

Her sheer force of presence was burning away his resistance like a solar flare. He had the impression that he was staring into the jaws of a dragon, half a heartbeat away from experiencing annihilation by incineration. That he was standing beneath the foot of a titan, a bare instant before it ground his bones to paste.

And yet, at the same time, Nick felt something stir within him. A part of himself that he had buried deep was surging toward the surface like Leviathan rising from the abyss.

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