The sixth day brought people who had spent the first five deciding whether the divine reward was real.
They had their answer.
High-level adventurers entered the distant city from roads, private teleportation portals, and ships that arrived above the towers. National formations filled the square before sunrise. Guilds that had refused Captain Kale's first request for support now sent their strongest parties with letters explaining how much they had always valued cooperation.
The city had changed around the gate.
Warehouses facing the square operated through the night. Healers treated living wounded returning from the dungeon. Smiths repaired equipment. Scribes copied maps containing five days of corrections. Food arrived by the wagon and disappeared through the white fire in measured loads.
The divine opening had become the center of an economy built around conquering Max's dungeon.
Everyone entering on the sixth morning knew what waited beyond the Dread Fort.
