Chương 55: Chapter 47: I Did NOT Expect That

The next day, in the late afternoon, we finally reached my destination. Ro dropped anchor, and I dismantled my tent. Jul and Rin quickly joined in. Once I had stored the tent, I turned to them and gave each of them a silver coin.

"Thanks for everything, guys." They stared at the coins, confused.

"Just a small token of my appreciation," I said. They smiled, thanked me, and petted Stretch goodbye. I shook Ro's hand and disembarked. He didn't need a tip; he still owed me change. Standing on the riverbank, I watched the boys skillfully guide the boat with their oars. To my astonishment, it turned in a perfect U-turn. I gave one last wave; they waved back, then I turned away from the river and continued on my way.

After a leisurely two-hour stroll, we arrived at a charming grassy area with wildflowers and a brook nearby. It was ideal for setting up camp. I quickly set up the glamping tent and got a fire going. It was an amazing feeling to have space to move again after the cramped conditions on the boat. Maybe with the tent, it was less cramped, but nothing compared to an open field surrounded by mountains. I took a deep breath and expanded, physically and mentally.

On the Map, it looked like we were right on top of the Gate. Zooming in revealed a few mountains we'd need to cross to reach it. I checked my Luck; the direction still pointed toward the Gate, and the "take your time" feeling was still gone, but there was also no pressing urgency. Since I didn't have to hurry, I decided to camp in the clearing for a few days, cook some meals, and reacquaint myself with solid ground. As it turned out, I jinxed myself by deciding to stay.

That night it started to rain, and it didn't let up for five days. Not a torrential downpour, just a steady, persistent rain that never stopped for even a minute. I was relieved I'd set up the glamping tent with bamboo flooring; otherwise, we would have been wading through mud. We spent most of those days in the tent. Stretch napped or bugged me to pet him and scratch his ears, while I continued my mana exploration. I sensed the mana in the air, the plants, the rain, and the ground.

At one point, I sank my consciousness into the earth and inspected it—both the mana and the very substance of the ground. I practiced using less and less mana while probing until I could send out a tendril of about fifty mana points and use it as a sort of probe. It wasn't like X-ray vision or a detailed examination of the soil layers; it was a more general sensation of varying degrees of mana and hardness. Maybe 'consistency' would be a better word.

I could distinguish between the mud and stones, but not much beyond that. I didn't try to create spells, influence anything, or alter the mana's flavor. Instead, I just learned. Every distinct thing had its own mana "flavor." The ground felt "solid," "sturdy," "enduring," and "strong." The air was "light," "traveling," or "moving." Plants exuded "life," "growth," and "nourishment." Rain was the most surprising. After experimenting with purifying river water, I realized it held more mana than anything else.

As it sank into the ground, it spread and enriched everything. It gave me a fresh and exciting perspective on the water cycle in nature. I was so engrossed that the five days flew by in the blink of an eye. Once the rain stopped, the ground was still too soggy to walk without sinking, so we stayed a couple more days to let it dry out. I lit a fire, cooked various meat dishes, and made three lasagnas. After the third one, I tried my hand at something different: an apple pie.

The first attempt was a disaster—burnt on the outside and raw in the middle. For the next one, I covered the pie in coals and tried to encase it in a mana bubble to manage the heat. In this case, tried was the operative word. It wasn't easy. I threw out six ruined pies, but made solid progress with my mana control and bubble skills, even if I didn't get any pie out of the experiments. I checked my Wizard Class abilities to see if I had actually made any progress.

PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: John Rue Age: 20 Display Class: Healer Level 10 Healer Spells: Heal Muscles (17) Diagnose (12) Stop Bleeding (4) Heal Bone (8) Control Blood (12) Healing Touch (23) Clean (12) Neutralize Poison (1) Purify (11) Anesthesia (7) Regrow Flesh (3) Fortify Life Force (5) Cleanse (1) Class: Gate Traveler Level 3 Gates to the next level: 2/8 Class Abilities: Conversion Travelers' Archive Identify Storage x 4 (512 m 3) Local Adaptation: -Spoken Language -Written Language One of the Crowd Travelers' Map 2nd Subclass: Wizard Level 2 Wizard Abilities: Mind Split x3 Mana Sensing [Junior] Mana Saturation [Apprentice] Mana Manipulation [Apprentice] Wizard Spells: Harvest Mana Crystal [In Progress] This book is hosted on another platform.

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Harvest Game [In Progress] Profession: Merchant Level 6 Merchant Skills: Bargain (5) Sense Honesty (4) Appraisal (8) A Nose for Business (8) General Spells: Mana Dart (1) Mana Shield (1) Spellbinding (2) Invisibility (1) Mend (2) Adaptable Light Ball (6) Restore (4) Heat (2) Absorb Mana (2) Exude Mana (1) General Skills: Pasta Making Beer Brewing Pencil Sketching Staff Fighting (11) Krav Maga (10) Archery (12) Minor Spell Adaptation (1) Mana Meditation (8) Photography (4) Develop Negative (2) Print Photograph (2) Guitar Playing (7) Skinning (1) Butchering (1) Mining (6) Health: 3, 650/3, 650 Mana: 7, 200/7, 200 Strength: 27 Agility: 27 Constitution: 29 Vitality: 44 Intelligence: 49 Wisdom: 59 Perception: 37 Luck: 31 Free Points: 3 Ability Points: 39 My Mana Sensing had advanced from [Apprentice] to [Junior], and my Mana Manipulation from [Novice] to [Apprentice].

Hmm, isn't junior lower than apprentice? I shrugged and let it go. Who knew who set the gradation? Maybe they thought junior was better. After two days of pie failures, the ground finally looked dry enough to walk on without sinking, and we set out. Walking was a joy. I never thought I would miss walking for hours, but months spent on boats or in cities made me appreciate it on a whole new level. In the evening, I tried a new pie recipe, this time with peaches instead of apples.

The second attempt was barely edible, but that was the best I could say about it. The crust came out soggy in the middle yet oddly tough around the edges, and the filling was a strange mix of too tart and too sweet, with a faint burned aftertaste that clung to the tongue. Stretch clearly disagreed. He sniffed the slice for a good thirty seconds before daring a bite, then spat it right back onto the ground.

"Hey, it's not that bad," I protested. He gave a low growl, ears flattening.

"Fine, you don't have to eat it if you don't want to, but there's no reason to growl," I said, wagging a finger at him. He licked my cheek, tail thumping.

"Better." The following day, we kept walking, and around midday, I felt the Gate's presence. Scanning the area, I spotted a mountaintop about half an hour away that seemed to be the source. On Earth, I'd noticed that the distance I could sense the Gate increased when my Gate Traveler Class gained levels. But since I hadn't advanced it in Shimoor, the greater range surprised me. Maybe because it's open country, and the Gate is on top of the mountain? We reached the mountain and began the climb.

It was pretty steep, but with all the experience I gained while mining for emeralds, it was manageable. When we reached the top, the scene looked too familiar: a wide, flat mountaintop, with two flat boulders that looked like stone tree stumps. I turned around to look at the view. It was the same spot I'd visited before. I even compared it to the photos I'd taken earlier in Shimoor. It was unmistakably the same place.

Travelers Gate #468217258 Destination: Earth/Gaia/Terra Status: Unintegrated Mana level: 4 Technology level: Low Threat level: Moderate Yep, the mana level had increased, but this was my first Gate. No doubt about it.

"Wait here for me, buddy. I want to check something. I'll be back in a minute." I cast Invisibility to avoid startling any hikers and stepped through the Gate. On Earth, it was either the beginning or the end of winter, with a light dusting of snow covering everything. I activated my Luck with the same question in mind and sensed a direction to the west, but it felt off, as if I wasn't supposed to be here. Back in Shimoor, Stretch pawed anxiously at the ground and let out a pitiful whine.

I hugged him and scratched his ears.

"Don't worry, buddy. I won't leave you. I'll always come back for you." The wave of relief he sent me nearly knocked me off my feet. I wanted to test something else that worried me, so I told Stretch, "This time, follow me through the Gate," and stepped through again. I waited a few minutes, but Stretch never appeared. When I went back, I found him still anxious but calmer. That was a problem. I didn't want to leave without him, but I had no intention of settling in Shimoor. After some thought, I stood up.

"Let's try something else, buddy. Stay close to me and walk with me through the Gate. Don't stray, and don't worry about the mana; it won't hurt you." It took me a few minutes to cover him with a mana bubble. It kept collapsing because he wasn't round, but finally, after I extended it far enough from his muzzle, it held.

"Walk as close as you can to me," I said, and crossed over again. As I passed between the stones, I felt my mana bubble vanish. It didn't collapse or dissipate; it simply disappeared. I rushed back to check on Stretch. He was fine, and I let out a sigh of relief. I sat there, turning over potential solutions, but nothing came to mind. When I activated my Luck again, it pointed straight at the Gate with no sense of wrongness. Stretch lay beside me with his head on his paws. I looked down at him.

"I think a Traveler might come through soon who could have answers. Maybe they'll know how to bring you with me." It was getting late, so we climbed back down, had dinner, and I played my guitar for a while. The following day, I woke up with a new idea. Maybe "sleeping on it" wasn't just an expression. My clothes and backpack crossed over with me when I moved through the Gate, so maybe the solution was to have Stretch be part of what I carry. We climbed up again.

I lifted Stretch onto my shoulder in a fireman's carry and walked through the Gate. YES! Thank you, Jesus, God, Guiding Spirits, or whatever force is listening! I wanted to dance right there in the snow, but Stretch was whining. He wasn't a fan of snow, and I never understood why. With fur so thick and fluffy, he should have been fine, but he hated it. Crossing back to Shimoor with Stretch over my shoulder worked as before. I was thrilled and couldn't contain my excitement. I yelled, "YEAH!"

at the top of my lungs, pumped my fists, and did a shimmy. Stretch gave me a judgmental side-eye.

"Don't look at me like that; I'm not crazy, just ecstatic I can take you with me. I'm celebrating," I said, pointing a finger at him. Stretch seemed to catch on to the celebrating idea, howling loudly and wagging his tail with enthusiasm.

"Yes, buddy. That's the spirit," I laughed, reaching down to ruffle his fur as his tail thumped against my leg. We stayed near the Gate, waiting. Each morning, I climbed up to continue my mana practice by the Gate. Stretch either joined me or explored nearby, returning in the evening. Despite my ongoing struggle with baking, my pies showed slight improvement, and my mastery over the mana bubble improved even further. Still, it was nothing compared to having a proper oven.

Every morning when I climbed up, I crossed my fingers for a few minutes, hoping a Traveler would show up soon. Waiting for months on end didn't sound appealing.