The next morning, Cassis still couldn't believe it. The holy water he and Arianna had dismissed had actually turned out to be useful. He'd grown too dependent on potions from the patron shop and on Arianna's healing. But ordinary people didn't have access to that. For them, even the weak recovery effect of the holy water was a big deal. How had he forgotten something so basic?

Thankfully, Elena had been there to set them straight. She'd also tried to make a deal with some kind of brewery to scale production, but Cassis left that to her. He was clearly not a businessman. What he was good at was being a warrior, so he focused on that.

The other things like talking to people, doing social media, handling business and taxes, taking care of children, cooking... all of that, he left to the others in the community. It was nice, being able to rely on people.

While practicing with a mace borrowed from Arianna, who was still busy refining the holy water spell, he smiled. It almost felt like his lonely days from the other timeline had been nothing more than a bad dream. Back then, he'd only had Arianna as a companion, and even that had been a shallow relationship. Their sole goal had been to keep him alive. They hadn't talked much. He hadn't even known her father had died during that time.

They'd just been with each other.

That hadn't been bad, exactly, but when he compared it to what they had now, he wouldn't want to go back. Arianna was a true partner now. Someone he could share himself with, and someone who shared herself with him. They worked together toward a goal, side by side. That alone was fulfilling. And now, his family and friends were safe and also contributing to survival. He didn't have to carry everything alone anymore.

There was just the matter of the secret left. He hoped she would forgive him. She'd said she would wait, but he knew she was getting impatient. He'd still wait until they were E-rank. Arianna was already making a life for herself. She had friends, connections and was making a business for herself. And at E-rank, he wouldn't have to be so worried about her getting killed anymore. She wouldn't need to depend on him at all. That meant she didn't have to stay if she wanted to leave. Though he really hoped she would stay. It would leave him heartbroken should she choose to go. But he wanted her to be able to make that decision freely, not stay with him because she had nowhere else to go in this world he had dragged her into.

He stopped training for a moment and opened his status. His Bludgeon skill had ranked up to Expert. Not surprising. He'd trained Arianna in the basics, and in the previous timeline, he'd learned a lot by analysing the movements of human enemies. No monster had ever been as dangerous as another human.

In the afternoon, he worked on his mana pattern again. He managed to push it into his arms, but the splitting headache that followed forced him to stop. Instead, he pulled out his carving knife. He still had some leftover wood, and he'd had a nice idea for the kids.

Yesterday, when Janice had come by, he hadn't known whether he should ask about her situation. Maybe she wanted to talk about it and was waiting for someone to ask. Or maybe she didn't, and had come over precisely to forget it for a bit.

He and Arianna had let it go yesterday, especially since they were both overwhelmed by the holy water matter. But today… today, he wanted to ask how she was doing. And what better way to break the ice than by bribing—er, giving gifts to the children?

Of course, he'd make a figurine for each child. That should help set the tone.

He was actually getting good at this whole conversation thing. And so, he started carving. Apart from being useful, it simply brought him peace. And right now, he had the time. Arianna was still refining her holy water spell. She'd already reached Expert rank, and Cassis didn't think she'd push into Master anytime soon. Expert was good enough, but she didn't believe him yet.

He focused back on the wood.

Felicia was easy. She'd get a fox figurine with a cub. Matteo would get a knight with a sword and shield. From what Cassis had seen, Matteo favoured that style. Cassis would have to ask Arianna for a shield and a real sword for him soon. Right now, he was still training with a wooden stick, which was fine for now, but he'd need to get used to the real thing soon. And picking up the Shield skill would be good for the boy.

Violet... she'd get a butterfly. They didn't call her a social butterfly for nothing. Despite being only eight, she'd made fast friends with Steve and Anne. The group of kids often even included the teens, and Violet, somehow, was the clear leader. She kept everyone organised, made the plans about their games and adventures, and ensured everyone was included. The teens liked taking care of the younger ones, and everything worked out smoothly.

Noah had been the youngest before Anne arrived. She often had to be carried by the older kids, but it was heartwarming to see how naturally she'd been included. Jessica was still too young to join the group; her parents cared for her directly.

For Noah, Cassis decided on a bear. He liked teddy bears.

For Jessica, it would be a dragon. Cassis still remembered her mighty screams from back then during the first wave. He hoped she'd grow up just as strong.

Janice would get a horse. Cassis remembered that back when she started high school, her pencil case and exercise books had been full of horses. It stood to reason she liked them.

The twins, Michael and Thomas, were a bit trickier. Michael reminded him of a dog, loyal and energetic, so that's what he'd carve. Thomas, on the other hand, had something about him that screamed freedom. So, an eagle.

Steve liked bunnies. Cassis knew because Helen had sent him a picture of Steve grabbing his plush bunny before anything else when they had gone to the children's house. Anne had a hedgehog plushy, so she'd get that.

Now that he was at it, he decided to make something for Ben and his little sister, whose name he didn't even know. Ben was a bit of a nerd, and he liked lizards. Cassis also remembered him complaining that his sister got a cat, but his parents wouldn't let him have a pet lizard. So, for the sister a cat, of course.

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When he and Arianna went to the Ranislavs to deliver the gifts, they could also ask them to move to the neighbourhood. It would be good to have their crew together. And when the other waves came their neighbourhood would be one of the safest as he and Arianna were planning to strengthen everyone who lived here. It would be their skills and spells that made them strong, not their levels. This would keep the next wave a bit further away, but it would come.

Cassis sighed, eyeing the pile of wood. It was a lot of work, especially since he planned to imbue each figurine with fire mana. They'd be small, like pendants for a keychain, but still, it would take some time. But it would be worth it. He picked up a piece of wood and started with Janice's horse.

Cassis managed to finish the small figurines for Janice and her siblings just before she arrived for the online lessons. He'd told Arianna about his plan earlier, and judging from her reaction, it was a good one. She'd hugged him and kissed him a few times. He grinned. Yes… that was definitely a good reaction.

The lessons went smoothly. Nothing special, no tricky questions. Afterwards, he and Arianna lingered a little to chat with Janice. Now was the moment to give her the gifts. But suddenly, Cassis felt nervous. Wouldn't it be strange to give them something? Would they even like it? Or would they think he was just some creepy old man handing out presents?

Arianna, of course, solved the problem in one sentence. "Hey, so we have a little move-in present for you and your siblings. Cassis?"

And just like that, it wasn't weird anymore. It wasn't that he was bad at social situations, just out of practice. He hadn't been social for over ten years, after all. He took out the figurines. "I carved them myself. Just a little welcome gift."

Janice looked at them, and for a second, he saw tears glint at the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away. "Thank you. That means a lot."

Cassis and Arianna both smiled.

Arianna spoke gently. "Are you getting along well here? We don't want to pry, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to. We just… worry about you."

Janice's smile warmed. "Yeah, it's great here. Everyone has their own room. Helen is amazing. Samuel's a bit quiet, but he's nice enough. We'll get along fine."

Cassis nodded. "And what about your house?"

"I've talked about it with Samuel. He said we should wait until I'm eighteen and can claim guardianship over my siblings. Then my uncle won't be able to do anything."

Her expression grew more serious. "I also talked with my brothers…" She hesitated, then blurted it out. "We need to level. Our uncle could do what he did because he and his friends were strong. If we'd been stronger, he wouldn't have dared."

Cassis understood. But this was dangerous thinking. He'd have to temper their rage. After all, he knew about rage and its consequences all too well. "You're right. He wouldn't have dared. But before I agree to help you level, I need you to think very hard about this question: If you had been stronger… would you have killed him? Or just beaten him? And I'm not talking about defending yourself when he attacked you and your brothers. I mean over how he treated you. Would you kill him for that?"

He saw her instinctive resistance to the question. Most people didn't like looking too closely at their darker side. But Janice surprised him by the way she really thought about it and took her time answering.

"If he'd hit one of my siblings… I'm not sure," she admitted at last. "I don't think I would've killed him. But I'd have beaten him up. Badly. But let me tell you something, Mr. Walker. I don't want to be strong so I can fight. I want to be strong, so people won't even want to start a fight with me."

Cassis nodded, pride flickering in his chest. "That's a good answer."

Arianna grinned. "Well said."

"Then," Cassis continued, "it seems like we need to plan for levelling up quite a few people." He inwardly counted. The Morrisons needed to level, Liam and Camden had to come too, and now three teens. He also shouldn't forget their prospective alchemist. He'd set up a meeting with her tomorrow. If he could get his parents to help and the fox, that would be doable. They should do another trip to Belaney National Park. A dungeon was too dangerous right now.

And it wasn't necessary since they still had weeks until F-rank dungeon breaks occurred and months for the E-rank dungeons. However, there were instances when it was more profitable to bring under-levelled people into a dungeon. If their objective wasn't to reset the timer and just to train, and to complete one of the other two objectives, it could work. Though beating the boss could also work as their own dungeon run in the Rezon dungeon had shown. Sure, he and Arianna were the reason they had survived, but if they went with weak people, levelled them up and then beat the boss together, that had merit. It was just so much more dangerous than going into a wild place. He wouldn't do that if he had a choice. That choice would slow his and Arianna's own progress, but the trade-off was worth it. Their community would be far stronger, and people wouldn't die unnecessarily.

"Our first goal should be to get everyone to level 10," he explained. "Then those unsuited for fighting can take professions and grow in that path."

It would mean slower growth, but it would be safer. And a community didn't survive on fighters alone. They needed crafters, healers that cared for the injured and ill behind the front lines, builders, farmers and other professions. That had been humanity's mistake in the other timeline. They'd only put importance on fighters. By the time they had become aware that other people were needed as well, only the fighters had been left. Cassis wouldn't repeat that mistake.

With level 10 and fighters to protect them, most civilians would survive the Second Wave. The fighters, though, needed to hit at least level 20, some of them would have to evolve to E-rank. But there couldn't be too many high-level awakeners, or they risked triggering the Second Wave too soon. Balancing development was going to be tricky.

Still, they had time. The numbers Luke and Nadine had shared with them showed that most people didn't want to level, just like in the other timeline. Instead, they were working on their skills and spells, or, for those under level 5, learning to see mana and training their features.

It had surprised Cassis at first how many people were following his and Arianna's suggestions. But it made sense. Fighting monsters was terrifying. Everyone carried the weight of loss; everyone had scars from the day the monsters appeared. Now, people had found ways to grow stronger while staying relatively safe and comfortable. And he and Arianna… they had been a part of showing people this way to strength.

Later that night Cassis carved the rest of the figurines. With only those few figurines, he grew his profession level again. He was now a level 24 woodcarver. It was so fast because of his experience. But he'd really missed the feeling of carving. He'd have to set aside some time for this. He felt more grounded than he had in years.

Tomorrow, he'd give the figurines out before Irene came over to talk about the details of her becoming an alchemist. Camden would be there, too. And of course, Arianna. Though she also had a meeting coming up right after. Elena had made a deal with someone who could market their holy water. Nobody liked that name, so they had rebranded it as Sapphire's recovery potion. It was exactly that, after all. Arianna had even managed to make the recovery duration longer. The effect would now last for one hour. And the potion would also make recovery 40% faster, instead of just twenty. Arianna had been frustrated that she couldn't do more, but he and Elena were plenty impressed with these stats. Now they just had to wait for tomorrow to make the deal. His father would be there, too. He was taking care of the business side of their NGO and would also take care of any private business they did. Arianna and Cassis were grateful for that.

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