I was having trouble answering any of the brothers' questions, between the fight, the mana loss, and the thing that had dug into my mind, the concept of focusing on the world around me didn't work. I was grateful that they had saved me, and hopefully, soon, I'd be able to communicate as much, but at that moment, language didn't process very well. I felt something being shoved in my mouth, and forced myself to chew. As the slightly sour taste of what I was now pretty sure was a leaf hit my tongue, a small bolt of electricity shot through me.

A sliver of mana returned to my core. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get me to sit up and let my soul-core reaction flare back to life. "Thank you," I said, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my head.

"It's a good thing Gamma was back here with us, or we wouldn't have realized what you were doing," Cecile replied.

"Please do not try something like that again, especially with your mana so low, Dave. I do not know what Corey would have done to me had I let you die. Plus, we have so many experiments to run when we get back," Gamma replied, as their manifested form walked up the aisle.

"I'll try not to. Any idea how much longer 'til we are back?" I asked, wanting to be free of these highways.

"I doubt it's much longer. You were out of it for about twenty minutes as I got the mana-sprig ready for you. Luckily, I had a few in my storage, kind of forgot they were there, not very powerful yet, Cecile replied.

"Glad you did either way. Probably something we should actually discuss in the future. A standard first aid kit could be very useful." The idea had somehow just hit me, which, considering what my life had been the last few months, was surprising, to say the least.

"Looks like we are almost there. The transports in front of us are slowing, and I think some at the front are vanishing. At least I hope it's because we are there," Glunderlin said. As I started to pull a chat window to check, I realized I had a few missing messages.

Maud: Gamma, make sure the brothers know to grab Dave. Don't let him get left behind!

Gamma: I am already informing them.

Beta: Is the Empire in danger? I knew I should not have stayed in storage!

Gamma: The Empire is safe. We have him.

Maud: Good. I'll tell the others. :)

Beta: In the future, I will not let the emperor fight alone!

Dave: Maud, are we at the end of the highway, or is there a new problem?

Maud: Oh hey, you're alive. I was worried about that. But nope, no new problem, in fact, the bus is safely back on Earth. :)

Dave: That's great news. Also, Beta, while I appreciate the enthusiasm, I do not want you risking yourself solely to protect me, especially in an environment where there is little you can do to help.

Beta: I dislike that order. But I will follow it.

Dave: Thank you, but how about we meet somewhere in the middle and work on finding you better ways to fight in the future? See if we can't upgrade your tool a bit.

Beta: For the Empire!

Maud: For the Empire! :)

Corey: Dave, the moment the last transport is through, Traveler is ordering the gate sealed for the time being.

Dave: Good, do what they say. We cannot risk letting the thing out here through back to Earth.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Corey: Understood.

Maud: Understood. :)

"We're safe. It's the end of the highway. We're home," I said as I closed the chat window, to the relieved faces of the brothers and the former mayor. I could feel a sense of relief wash through me, too. I hadn't even realized how big the weight had been there this time until it was gone. Was I just getting used to people relying on me to save them?

"Oh, I can see the other transports passing through the gates now!" Cecile said with excitement in his voice.

"So what comes next? I know I'm supposed to be the mayor and all, or at least I used to be, but this is a lot more than I ever expected," Glunderlin asked, looking at me meekly. Did he expect me to take away all his authority? That wasn't something I was willing to do. If his people wanted him to lead them, that was their choice, not mine.

"That's for you and your people to decide. My recommendation, though, is that first we get you some housing set up. It's going to be cold soon, and I'm not sure how well your people handle that," I replied. The planet the Archives had been on had been relatively warm compared to Earth, at least everywhere I had been, so I wasn't entirely sure what the seasons were like there.

"Yes, my people prefer a warmer environment, but most of the adults should be able to handle the cold fine, barring your planet has something more extreme than humans normally have from my experience," Glunderlin replied as the last transport ahead of us vanished into the gate. His voice had lost much of the worry in his previous questions.

"We will be in a colder spot, but don't worry too much, I think we can get some housing up before it gets bad. It won't be anything like Smithtown for a while, and it might be cramped, but we will do it," I said. I was thinking something like a series of longhouses for now, but I'd leave the details up to Trolke for what would be feasible in the time given.

Before Glunderlin could reply, the bus passed through the gate back onto Earth. The door opened, and Glorp ran inside, looking frazzled. "I need you to drive this vehicle, follow the others, and park it lined up with them. Then, and only then, get your people unloaded, but nothing else yet. We will explain more once you are there," Glorp ordered the driver.

"Sorry, Glorp, can't wait!" Cecile yelled suddenly, flinging open the back door as he did so. "Everyone move!" Cecile's screamed as the brothers leaped from the bus, Elicec looking confused. The yell did what Cecile had intended as the few people in the room scattered out of his way.

What the hell was going on? No, wait, I knew what was happening. It had to be the livestock. I hopped out of the rear and shouted back to the driver. "Do what Glorp said!"

All around the room, first goat like animals started to appear, shortly after that, something that best resembled a mammoth joined them. Thankfully, there were only a few of the mammoths, as the room was quickly filling with the goats. The goat's main difference, at least in appearance, from Earth's was their bright yellow coats. The mammoths looked near identical to anything I had ever seen in a book.

"Cecile, are you okay?" I called to him as I pushed my way through the herd. I was given several bleats and a few angry kicks while moving the animals out of my way.

"Yeah, he's fine, he's just busy trying to control releasing a ton of animals without getting us overrun. I guess we keep them in here for now." Elicec answered.

"Probably for the best, though we should be able to get a pen put up pretty fast. I am a little surprised at the mammoth-like ones. Seems like those would be more suited for cold environments," I replied.

"Thought the same thing, but apparently they have some sort of natural ice mana in their milk," Elicec replied.

"Huh, wonder if Rabyn is going to want any for cooking. But anyway, once your brother has the animals out, meet us outside. I'm going to go check with Traveler and then follow the traffic," I said, and saw Cecile nod in return.

Once again, I forced my way through the growing crowd of goats, this time with many more kicks as they got more annoyed at the lack of space combined with my pushing them about. Hopefully, these animals were a bit more pleasant in less cramped conditions.

"Dave, I am glad to see you returned," Corey said as I approached where the cores were socketed.

"Glad to be back, honestly. I'm sure Gamma will be happy when we switch back as well. I suspect this trip was pretty stressful for them," I replied.

"Yes, I would like a break. There will also soon be experiments to run!" Gamma replied as their form manifested next to me.

"Yeah, there will, buddy. Traveler, is the gate secure? Can we close it entirely from this side?" I asked. It was the only question I really needed an answer to before I left the building. We could not risk those monsters coming here.

"I have already sealed it. Sadly, it will not be possible to unseal it from this side now without the work of an engineer, and that presents another problem we will need to discuss later. I am sorry, Dave, but it appears my promise for your help has turned sour," Traveler replied.

"Shit happens. We will figure it out and work past it. Corey, I'm going to go deal with the newly arrived Reltleons, then I'll be back to swap you out with Gamma. I want everyone present for the meeting later today. We have some very important matters to discuss," I said. I wasn't at all upset with Traveler. Sure, the situation wasn't great, but that wasn't their fault. This would have happened the first time we used the gate period, it seemed like, so at least this had functioned long enough to allow us to steal the archive and save the residents of Smithtown.

"I will join as well if that is okay. We need to discuss the ramifications of the highways," Traveler replied.

"Of course, but gotta go. I'll see you both soon," I said as I raced from the building, following the line of former archives transports. Where the hell were we going to store a hundred of these anyway? And just how long would their storage last? I didn't want the books to suddenly start exploding out of each of them.

The Frost Mammoths are the descendants of one of the few animals the Reltleons were able to save from their home world. Over their long wanderings, the beasts were slowly infused with mana, giving them some of the more magical qualities they now contain. Their fur can be used to produce incredibly heat-resistant materials in the right crafters' hands, and their milk, while on the weaker side for mana beasts, is produced at such a quantity that the weaker healing and cooling properties of it have greatly helped the Reltleons through their struggles.

Mana Bestiary Volume 1 by Elody Lylin Rels, Paladin of Knowledge

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