Giving up on the fancy looking manager’s chair, Ethan sat down on the white marble floor. It felt cold, but it gave him a sense of grounding.

  ‘Am I so messed up as to punish myself over a chair?’ he laid down on his back reflecting over Dana’s word.

  Their conversation took him back to the shoot out against the 14 people he had single handedly, almost dying.

  A better plan came to mind in which Rob adding some fire power with one more person throwing two knives as throwing weapons and adding melee support would have caused more confusion in the gang’s minds, utilizing the other group members, many more options came to mind.

  On second thought, taking actual experience in life and death battle was taken from the cohort because of his overcautious plan, lessening the effectiveness of this whole traveling cohort thing he tried to establish.

  More thoughts flooded his mind causing him to recount his current situation.

  The council was at the end of the day a group of capable adults that managed to reach great results when he was out for just a few hours, and he had to give them their credit where and when it’s due.

  Sitting straight, opening his eyes, his fist clenched, the errors of his way turned crystal clear, he was out there increasing his body count and risking his life as people he referred to as warriors being treated with silk gloves, her anger on him became somewhat understandable by the second.

  The more he pondered about the meaning of Dana’s words and recalculating his past actions, he found the appeal in her suggestion to become the shadow leader of this place.

  ‘Had I die against these gang members, My family and Dana would have been the one to pay with remorse and would have to survive this new world without me for the sake of 10 people I know in less than a week…’ anger and regret settled in his heart.

  ‘Also, when did she become second only to my family’ his train of thoughts caught by this intrusive thought that made him sadly smile for showing her such incompetence.

  The sad smile turned to a tight closed line of his lips when he realized that romance and random people are factors in his mindset, future planning and emotions, he is suppose to think of path of power, what weapon to wield, how to utilize mana and unraveling the truths of this new worlds not playing mayor.

  weapons, materials, time and even people, from now on everything is a tool for a cause, drawing the line he painted his family as sacred not to be touched or be messed with, and with further self monologues he includes Dana in that category.

  The council, the people, their materials, food, wood metal, they are all tools and resources for the sake of his goals. Getting strong and keeping his dear ones - It was not complex thinking, but what more could he need or ask for.

  With a new resolution, he took a pen and paper writing and reading out loud his last solo brainstorming conclusions, fixing and rewriting until a sheet of paper depicting his near future goals and rules came to be.

  Burning the new resolution in his soul, he took the page, tore it and burned it in a metal garbage can.

  ‘So training, 2 days scavenging hunt and a closed door session’ he concludes.

  He decided to leave the room after some time cleaning up his head, maybe do a little bit of a walk.

  As he wanted and hoped, Dana was about to leave to train with the warriors and Rob.

  “Out already?” She asked, her annoyed accountant broke and she took a heavy sigh, “was I too much? I don't want to be an ass about it, but I want you to do things for yourself not for us, losing you will be this place great lost”

  Coming closer to her he turn 360 around her checking her out exaggeratedly, “What a rare sight, a woman apologizing, it just required the world to get wrecked, what a solid bargain”, about to laugh at his own joke his quick reflexes helped Dodge a smack to the back of his head.

  “I take it back, losing you will do us good” she acted all offended but something in her eyes told Ethan he is still in the clear.

  “OK, I give up, you were right, I was miscalculating a lot of things, outcomes could end up more advantageous to us if I will use the people and resources wiser” He shared with her.

  The Room’s atmosphere hasn’t changed yet, she looked at him as if there is something missing.

  Her gaze turned a bit more serious, the short silence was broken with her inquiry, “so what will you do next?”

  Ready to defused the situation, a reply came, “I will join the two days scavenger hunt as planned, we shall find food, and resources that will let us have two weeks of quite, afterwards, I will close doors for three days doing only meditation and training in my room”

  His tone and sense of clarity was as solid as it could get.

  “I wish you the best of luck” she said and took leave to the training room with the still cold and unassured look in her eyes.

  ‘Seems like she insists on physical workouts although her forte is the field of mana, but I have a good feeling towards her confidence, she must have a plan’ he spoke with himself staring down at the lower floors of working people.

  Still slightly bothered by the feeling that he had missed something with Dana and his planning, he managed to sit down and cultivate.

  training for some time gave him a small boost in progress, but doubts and intrusive thoughts kept on breaking his focus more often than not.

  Hints from Dana made him understand that moving his inner sense around the physical layer required rationalism and understanding of the physical body while the barrier to the mana layer and the layer itself required a switch in his mentality, it required more mental control and command over the energy.

  ‘So that’s what she meant to do as they are named’ Ethan face palmed himself for missing such a glaring detail.

  The difficulty was having both awareness of the physical body and mental focus to control the process, it was like eating with chopsticks in both hands, but mentally.

  Targeting solely on the mana barrier and cracking through it, made him lose his focus to the physical layer, so it was the other way around.

  The positive thing about it all, was that it felt the learning progress was like riding a bicycle, every new step or knowledge he managed to breakthrough was easily recreated, easily conquered in the following chances, small pangs of pain and weakness made him doubt if it was really the case of his bloodline talent pulling this, but it was undeniable.

  Every new sense and every new trick just burned itself into Ethan’s brain.

  It was weird but it made sense, once riding a bicycle you won’t just forget how to do it, same with eating with chopsticks, or mastering new movements or drill in the gym - he just needed to keep at it and avoid making this talent rust away.

  At this point reaching the mana barrier and poking a hole in it, without leaving it open became manageable.

  Exploring and more deeply looking at the process he soon noticed that a weak almost unnoticeable stream of mana particles flowed through to the mana barrier when enhancing area close by to it, but focusing on further layers was difficult to follow both mana and physical and it caused him a backlash.

  At the end of the day his theory was established, Mana was what helped when using physical enhancement but more solid research is needed.

  With a minor sense of completion he moves to the next level.

  For the next step, before calling it a day, he tried to take control over the mana before it spread and absorbed in the Physical layer.

  It was surprisingly difficult, the weird warm Energy felt like a stray dog, crude and aimless enough to be controlled but this was contradicted by weird sentients like intelligent and disobedient.

  Concentrating it around a specific area, with the almost non-existing control Ethan had on the leaking stream of mana, spreading it in a more more willful manner the effect grew many times fold, if he wasn’t sure his hand would break he would try to punch a wall with the certain of effect of cracking concrete.

  Trying to put this up to actual movements and actions, he tried stacking some force using physical enhancement on his legs, when released after almost two minutes of charging up, he springed upwards in a manner that caught him off guard.

  Putting aside the ceiling narrowly brushing his hair at 2.7 height, the landing was also a disaster, he crushed on his butt with a loud thump.

  He needed half an hour just to recover from the not-so-majestic landing.

  Nonetheless he marveled at his own ability, thinking of more practical uses he figured he could simulate “charged attack” if an enemy was distracted enough, he could launch a super fast and powerful swipe of his blade, or charge a hurl of weapon or even a simple stone.

  Many ways of utilising charged up movement came to mind, but he needed to test things out first - self harm was still a risk, just by jumping he almost hurt his legs, crashed his head and awfully landed in a way that incapacitated him for a few minutes - such mistakes are not allowed in battle.

  Loading up some mana in his arm and shoulder while wielding his long kitchen blade he tried to cut a piece of wood he picked for this test.

  Incredibly fast, his arm sprung forward, creating a whistle sound of the shrieking wind getting cut.

  The result was a wooden stick the diameter of a bone cut almost smoothly, the final points of contact showing uneven chips that showed that the cut was not going all the way through, but the destructiveness was undeniable, not on the wood and not on Ethan’s arm.

  There was a follow up pain in Ethan’s shoulder - making him very decisive to use this attack as finisher move only.

  Taking this pain as a sign to take a break, a few minutes of recovery is needed.

  The door of the store next door, knocked by the recovering Ethan, opened by lily.

  “Ethan, how are you?” She greets warmly and jumps him with a friendly hug.

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  “Not bad, just wandering around, I have been so busy lately, I really wanted to sit down with You all To grab some dinner” He returned the hug.

  “Oh…that would have to be delayed then, we are heading to the evening meet Up with everyone, you are coming too right?”

  “I don't think I will be joining you today, It's actually something I wanted to speak up with you all about let's head inside, it will be short”

  His reply made her eyebrows raise in surprise.

  “Come in” he gestured with a nod of his head as he went past her.

  A few moments later and some familial greetings they all sat around the table.

  He spoke truthfully with his folks and sisters of his plans to take a step backwards and be more focused on his training.

  “Dana shall be my second in command and take decisions when I am not attending. she is the most influential among the real power holders and her decisiveness and brain is very impressive. I want you to let the Council know that I will not take part in today's meeting” Ethan informed His family.

  A weird silence settled in the room.

  At first there were the knowing looks of him speaking about Dana, then, those of wonder.

  It didn't take a genius to understand what they Asked with their eyes, so he continued speaking.

  “I decided to take a step back and act less publicly as a leader In command, have more time to train and figure things out, then with Dana and your help, you would let that knowledge through in a controlled manner” he explained.

  “Does Dana know of your decision?” John Let out the words everyone In the room had in their minds.

  “Was I consulted about Becoming the leader of a fortress in the middle of my hometown out of the blue?” He shrugged, barely managing to hide a tinge of feeling he himself didn’t know how to put in action.

  “Are you that petty?” Zoe asked With a deadpan expression.

  “You Will be the one to enjoy her Surprise the most, don't act like a Saint”

  “She will” Lily seconds Ethan's words, Sarah and John nodding as well.

  “Fair enough, do you have any magic trick to teach us Or something To pass on, O leader of ours?” Zoe tried to change the conversation.

  “Not just that, also…” Ethan stood up about to leave.

  Zoe’s words made him remember the weird colorful irises phenomena and he tried to put it to the test.

  Walking one by one he strangely looked them in the eyes, but no one showed the weird color changing phenomena.

  Stepping away from Lily's face the final person he inspected, just for the shortest of moments, a blue glow colored her irises pale blue, ice pale gray shine turned dim to their dark black color - a family trait.

  “I Am still better looking, with you as an exception, mother dearest” he disguised his weird inspection with a poor joke, mentally taking note to follow up on changes with Lily.

  “Let them know that the 2 days expedition starts in 36 hours” H? made his folks The carrier of a news they didn't practically like.

  Thanking them he returned to his room, seeing Dana in the distance making her way to the meeting room he grinned to himself about a bit of the payback about giving him the new role like she did.

  Using the time he had left until the end of the day, He did some physical workout with inner sense actively moving around his physical layer and some cultivation to heal his shoulder faster. Just like an acquired knowledge, by the end of the workout, he could faintly feel the familiar sense of mana Spreading around his activated relevant muscle groups healing and strengthening.

  The odd thing about it was that it is temporary, the mana, the power buff it gave eventually dissipated, whether inside or outside he couldn’t tell.

  Slowly and surely more nuances made this process easier and familiar.

  New senses he never felt became less and less alienated to him as a result of Ethan finding physical and visual demonstrations to every breakthrough he had, he managed to create practical and visible presentations using less mental, conceptual and metaphorical images To work by.

  Bulging enhanced muscles, carrying more weight, jumping higher and attacking more robustly in sync with the mana he sensed made it easier to actively recreate an action.

  He kept on training this for the whole next day in order to decrease the reload time for a charged attack or needing less concentration to activate his physical enhancement both when in meditative state or when awake.

  With a proper battle formation, it was more than doable to pull a massively destructive swipe on an enemy.

  Leaving the room for the first time around late noon of the next day it is now the evening before the scavenger hunt.

  Ethan takes his family, Dana, the council and a select few warriors that will take part in tomorrow’s expedition to the training room.

  He explained about the meditation and his tips for faster training, “I will not hold back from giving you strength and knowledge, I am not scared of you, and I won't be scared for you, you are men and women of your own, you are my comrades and my strength. Trust me and help train more efficiently and I will not hold back with help you as well”

  Without further ado, he walks towards a thick wooden plank, taking around 2 and a half minutes, he releases a fast and destructive swipe with his knife that demolished the plank.

  His audience burst in cheers and applause, but before he reacts to them he focuses once more making them to be instantly quieted down and observe carefully.

  When it feels doable, he walks with a casual walk toward a boxing doll they took from a sports shop and when in close range he leaps forward above the boxing doll, 2 meters height jump, landing behind it, turning 360 turn with a slash to the doll’s back with a wooden short sword making it almost fall on its face.

  Had he charged the attack as well, the doll would have flown forward, but he has yet to master more than one group of muscles.

  Jumping 2 meters in the air was not yet a humanly feat, thus, they did not clap, they looked at him awestruck and amazed.

  Soon, shouts and requests for explanation of how and what he just did were coming from his crowd.

  Hoping for them to become his first and strongest vanguard he taught them enough to pick up some wind but not enough to make them get over flooded with knowledge.

  He also left some gaps in his explanations for them to figure things individually, that could also get him a wider set of results and information to work with.

  Far from doing what Ethan performed, warriors were able to conduct about twenty percent of the moves Ethan pulled.

  Suspiciously enough, Dana chose to not try it out; a small and foreboding smile colored her innocent face causing Ethan to feel confusion.

  His family, the council and a few non combative were taken to the communal area to train the basics of fighting by those who couldn’t continue training.

  Leaving the base with no fighting capabilities was dumb and by teaching them all even the basics would increase his fighting force by 1.5 times.

  Warriors trained, backpacks and empty containers were packed, base defenses briefed and increased, overall combat capabilities increased all round in inner and outer forces of the fortress.

  Slowly and surely more and more preparations were checked leaving one final mission before the departure tomorrow, a good sleep.

  Before that though, a good family meal was promised.

  Taking Dana along, a table of six was arranged, filled with the best foods that could be made using end of the world technologies, canned stews and barbecued meats were laying on the table waiting to be consumed.

  “Any final words before we dig in?” Ethan asked, stabbing a piece of steak with his fork.

  “Why didn’t you let me know about me becoming a second in command when I am a door next to your room?” Dana asked

  “A good laugh” he shrugged with a sheepish Smile on his face.

  “Welcome to the family, New Blood” John let out a laugh

  One by one they all joined him In his laughter leaving Dana Stupefied, “I now understand why you are so shameless, It's a family trait” she retorted, trying her luck with a family joke.

  With the Laughter increasing in intensity, the stiffness in her eyes softened a bit.

  familial formalities and bantering carried out for the rest of the dinner creating for Ethan, a warm and loving family scene that completely contradicted what is happening outside of the room’s walls.

  At some point Dana got engrossed In the scene and feelings that felt so alien to her, a tear rolled Down her cheek, making Lily jump on her, hugging her tightly as she disguised it with a joke.

  Things sailed away smoothly from there, Sarah and John got to Hear some of Ethan's future plans, feelings, and doubts.

  They shared theirs As well, they were weirdly accepting of this but at this point, almost a week in, everyone must have some sense of acceptance to the new world order Ethan assumed.

  The sisters, happy with the new family recruitment, enjoyed a calming and warm moment they needed so badly, although doubt and worry was very much noticeable from them whenever a difficult subject became the topic of the conversation.

  Before They packed dinner, the more difficult question popped up.

  “So what are your future plans?” Sarah addressed Ethan and Dana.

  Looking at each other, Dana's eyes squinted, not hiding her expectancy in Ethan to answer.

  Getting in on that clue he takes initiative in answering.

  “survive, get stronger, get this whole place more self-sustaining, not dying basically…”

  This answer caused Dana to take out an exasperated sigh, pulling everyone's attention.

  “A problem?” John asks, his eyebrows raised up creating upside down Crescents shape.

  “Yes, but I'd rather do it in another setting” Dana Admitted.

  A moment of silence broke by a word, “speak”, pulling the attention to her, Sarah's eyes demanded her take on the matter, “we asked, therefore we want to know, had we been too scared to speak of it, we wouldn't ask, now would we?”

  Sarah's presence in the room was almost palpable As she locked eyes with Dana, a red glow emanating from Sarah's irises causing Ethan and Dana to give each other a knowing look.

  Sitting to her sides, focused on Dana, the rest of the family missed this moment of fiery shine in the mother’s eyes.

  Dana sighed and spoke, her cheeks blushed, her eyes giving off both respect towards the kind woman who took her as part of the family while a glint of defiance and stubbornness was present as well.

  At the end of the day they are all members of the council that run this place as well and they need to learn to speak on both sweet and bitter stuff at the same time and now as a family, this interaction requires an even deeper layer of mastery.

  “Ethan’s plans are too general, his mind is all over the place, his last enlightenments about individuality is a nice and positive change but, staying off path, as he loves to put it…are you a general and a leader? Do your plans end in ‘being stronger’? You speak of dragons, gods and myths as what we are about to face or come under their wings yet…your mindset is…feeble. That's what I think…”

  “So how would you like me to answer Ms. figured it all? Entertain me” Ethan crossed his finger, leaning on his forearms in a thinking pose, every trace of calm melted away by the second.

  “Crave bigger, dream endlessly, greed stronger” stretching her hand forward she closes her eyes, after 20 seconds of Dana posing weirdly, her palm starts to shine with blue light from her skin.

  “When did you break through to such an extent?!” Ethan's facade broke, his eyes gleaming with excitement, “How did you do it?”

  The rest of his family just speechlessly stared at Dana doing magic for the first time.

  With a few drops of sweat and deep breath the blue shine from her hand receded leaving a faint mist that blended in the air.

  “I gave you more than enough clues by now, Have you taught them the mana cultivation method?” Dana asks Ethan, the family’s eyes darting between them, not following any more with the new terms popping up right and left.

  “The meditation? That’s what we call it now? Not yet” Ethan answered, earning some dirty looks from his family, red shine in his mother's eyes, and ice blue shine of his sister’s bore holes into him.

  The realization of what he missed in his answer to her the other day, his general approach and it was also made clearer why she held back and not took part in today’s training.

  The competition is getting fiercer, and that’s just Dana. The thoughts of other professionals of the genre that are not sharing resources or time with 100 other people threw him into a shock.

  “That does sound cooler and more precise, do you want To ask me what's my plan?“ she asked with a smile recovering from the magic trick she just performed.

  Understanding she won't answer, he looks around, their crowd of four, keeping quiet and Glaring at them like the conversing duo are the best show in town.

  “Okay, I will take the bait, what are your future plans?” Ethan asks defeated.

  “being an empress alongside a worthy emperor, a good man, rivaling the gods and the world together, challenging fate, karma and the deepest Laws of this universe and whatever lies beyond” she answers with a grin, “you seem To have enough knowledge and ability To go Far, what holds you back is your narrow mind sat, getting stronger? Being a leader of a base? Have You ever thought of aiming to become the king of spears, just for starters? You seem to love this weapon”

  “This…” Everyone went dead silent, her words, are words of otherworldly grandeur.