Chương 67: B2—Chapter 1: Germany

On Earth's side, it was raining cats and dogs, as my mom used to say, and we got soaked through in seconds. It wasn't cold or anything, just wet. Maybe it was because of my higher stats, but I waved the thought away. It didn't matter. The heaviness caught me off guard for a moment. I had forgotten the difference in gravity I felt when I first crossed into Shimoor. It wasn't much, and back then I adjusted on the first day. Turns out it's easier to get used to feeling lighter than heavier.

The heaviness pressed uncomfortably into the soles of my feet, and I hoped I would get used to it soon. After glamouring myself, I glamoured Rue. Luckily, my mana reserves had increased significantly, because that alone cost me 800 mana. Next, I conjured a new passport for myself and the documents for Rue. Another 400 mana. My passport now showed a young man with brown hair and eyes who resembled me but was different enough to pass muster. The problem was that the name still read John Rue. I turned to Lis.

"I conjured a new ID, but my name didn't change. What am I doing wrong?" I frowned at the passport. Lis looked up from his own passport.

"You need to change your name in your Personal Information; the new name will appear on the documents."

"Oh, makes sense." Rubbing my temples, I opened my Personal Information. I preferred to remain John, avoiding the need to adjust to a new name, but I still wanted a different surname. Smith was the first to pop into my mind, but it felt embarrassingly cliché. Finally, I got an idea: in high school, some bullies cornered me, one grabbed me, and I pushed him with all my strength. He flew a few feet into a dumpster and hit his head. After that, they started calling me The Psycho.

Some cheerleaders thought they were clever and nicknamed me John the Ripper. In defiance and as a private joke, I changed the name on my profile to John Ripper and conjured a new passport under that name. At least it cost only 100 mana. Rue looked the same. That was odd since I paid the mana.

"Why does Rue look the same? I paid the mana for his glamour," I asked Lis. Lis glanced at Rue, then back at me.

"He is part Traveler now, and your familiar. Travelers can always see the true form of another Traveler." He tilted his head slightly.

"Did my eyes look glowing green or dull brown when you met me?"

"Glowing green."

"My eyes are always glamoured to look brown; you simply see through the glamour." I squinted at Rue.

"Huh. How do I see his glamoured form?"

"Unfocus your eyes with the intention of seeing the glamour." It took a few tries. Rue looked like a Saint Bernard.

"How come his size is the same?"

"Glamour changes appearance, not physical dimensions. You still occupy the same space. It is not a physical change but a magical illusion."

"It's great that you know everything," I said with a smile. Lis laughed and patted my shoulder.

"I try." I snorted and glanced at the heavy rain coming down in sheets.

"Hopefully, there's a pawn shop in Baden-Baden. I didn't save any Earth money since I didn't think I was coming back."

"Don't worry," Lis said, waving off my concern.

"I have local money."

"Why?"

"Low mana worlds usually have very few Gates. I wanted a brief, nice vacation after my ordeal, not to be stuck there for months, going from Gate to Gate, looking for an interesting world. I planned to come back here and look for a Gate. There are a lot of them here, and ways to travel fast. It made more sense." I took out my backpack and strapped it on to look more like a hiker. Lis saw it, gave an approving nod, and copied me with a grin.

We walked quietly for a while, our boots squelching with every step, thick mud tugging at the soles, and the leaves so slippery I had to spread my hands a few times to keep my balance. Puddles lined the path, reflecting the gray sky and splashing water onto my already soaked pants whenever I stepped the wrong way. The whole way, Rue kept sending me his lackluster attitude about the rain.

"I thought you only hated snow?" I asked him. He sent me a feeling that snow was the devil incarnate and rain an unpleasant annoyance, which made me laugh. I had a spoiled familiar. I wondered whether returning to Earth had messed with me. So far, it hadn't. I'd healed a lot in Shimoor and let go of plenty of old baggage, but sometimes things have a way of flaring up again. But no, I was fine. It felt nothing like coming home or returning anywhere. It was just another world to travel.

On the outskirts of Baden-Baden, a police cruiser stopped beside us, and a cop approached. The rain continued to come down hard, creating a tense atmosphere.

"Let me handle it," I told Lis quietly. He nodded, stepped back, and gave me space to interact with the officer. The police officer approached us.

"Guten Tag, die Herren." He glanced at Rue, who stood beside me.

"Hello, officer. I'm sorry, but we don't speak German," I said, trying to sound as polite as possible. For a second, I considered spending the mana for the language, but dismissed the idea right away. Earth's mana level was awful, and I might need it for something more important. The officer pointed at Rue.

"Hello, gentlemen. You must put your dog on a leash. You cannot walk with a free dog in the town."

"I'm sorry. We were camping, and the rain started, so we packed quickly and left, but somehow, in our haste, we lost the leash. I promise we'll buy one in town, but we must get out of the rain; we're freezing," I said, shivering for emphasis. He looked at us as if we were complete idiots.

"October is not a good time for camping." I chuckled.

"Yeah, we learned that the hard way." He gave a curt nod, turned back to the cruiser, and drove off. That was nice of him, despite the scornful look. I remembered the shock of first crossing into Shimoor and experiencing the time skip, and tried to estimate how long I had been there during this trip. Not that easy. The seasons there seemed longer than on Earth, but I wasn't sure.

When you're not in a hurry and have no specific place to be at a specific time, days and weeks blur together until they stop meaning much. I'd spent over a year in Shimoor; that much was certain. Before crossing back, it was still spring, but getting hotter by the day and raining less. So thirteen? Fourteen months by Earth's time? That made me wonder how much time had passed on Earth. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

In town, we headed to the Belle Époque Hotel, where I'd stayed before, and booked a double room. They were fine with Rue for an extra charge, and I gave them a mental thumbs-up. A damp newspaper lay on a lobby table, and I checked the date: October 7, 2029. Four years had passed on Earth. I knew it would happen, but it still felt jarring. The news was depressing. There was another COVID scare, worse than the one in 2020, with more extended quarantines and armed riots in the streets of almost every country.

I was so glad I'd missed that part and kept my fingers crossed it was already over, and I wouldn't have to deal with it again. The first time around had been more than enough for me. I'd worked thirty-six-hour ER shifts in full PPE with alarms screaming nonstop, and patients lined up in the hallways because we'd run out of rooms. No way I was living through that again. In our room, after towel-drying Rue's fur and showering, I asked Lis, "Did you learn any other Earth language?"

I tossed the towel aside and took out a shirt. Lis sat on his bed, flipping through a guidebook.

"No, only English. There was no need."

"I think we should go to the UK." I tugged the shirt over my head and ran a hand through my damp hair.

"Not America? It is bigger, and they speak English too, correct?"

"Yes, it's also my home country," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed to put on my shoes, "but they know about the Gates." He looked up from the book.

"Yes, I read about it in your account, and you mentioned it. Any idea how they found out?"

"No idea." I tied my laces.

"But out of eleven Gates, eight were on army bases, so I don't want to take a chance." He nodded slowly.

"That makes sense. Still, we can learn another language if needed."

"True," I said, straightening up.

"But most of the internet is in English, and all the books I bought are too. It just makes more sense to stay somewhere English-speaking." He shrugged one shoulder.

"I am fine with whatever you decide."

"I'll get you the engineering books." A warm smile spread across his face.

"Thank you." I shoved one bed aside to make room, summoned bookcases one after another, pulled every relevant book I could find—engineering, mathematics, computer science, materials, physics, even nuclear topics—and tossed them onto the nearest bed. Drafting manuals joined the growing pile until it looked more like a barricade than a collection. By the time I finished the third bookcase, the pile had reached a precarious height, and I crossed my fingers that the bed would survive. The creaking sounded ominous.

Lis stood frozen, his eyes traveling up and down the pile, then darting from the titles to me. He looked both fascinated and horrified. I eyed the mountain of books before glancing at him.

"That should be enough for now," I said, giving his shoulder a friendly pat.

"Have fun." He blinked at the pile, wide-eyed, then let out a gulp before shaking his head and storing all the books. Poor guy had no idea what awaited him. I still had a lot more books. Mwahahaha. All this time, I thought Lis was a nice, friendly guy, but I discovered his mean streak the next morning. When I got up, a pile of over forty books sat on the table. Lis pointed at it, patted me on the shoulder with a smug grin, and said, "Have fun." I scowled and crossed my arms.

"It's not fair! All the books I gave you are in English, but each of these is in a different language." Lis shrugged, looking way too amused.

"You are looking at it wrong. What you see in front of you is knowledge of magic from thirty-two different worlds. You should be happy it is in different languages." His feeble attempt at justification didn't fool me; I knew it was revenge. But backing down wasn't an option. Oh no, I had a plan. A plan involving many, many more books. At some point, I got used to the gravity and stopped feeling like the world was trying to squish me. After taking some money from Lis, Rue got a collar and leash.

He didn't mind the collar, but every time I clipped the leash on, he unclipped it. Who said giving a familiar Telekinesis was a good idea? Eventually, I gave up and told him, "Have it your way." At a pawnshop, I sold some jewelry and bought two burner phones and two computers. Back at the hotel, I began teaching Lis how to use the computer and look things up online.

At first, the computer, especially the concept of the internet, intimidated him; his fingers hovered over the mouse, and he kept asking if he was doing it right. But the smile didn't leave his face once he got the hang of it. Like a kid in a candy store, he kept clicking links and browsing websites with almost naive curiosity.

"There is knowledge on everything here!" he said, eyes wide as he scrolled through search results.

"Recipes, maps, machinery. This world hides libraries inside glass boxes." Every time he found something new, he lit up like a kid. It was a side of Lis I hadn't seen before, and it was refreshing. It felt good finally being able to teach him something back. A very wordy book on spell construction swallowed the next two weeks. Despite my efforts, I still had trouble understanding the writer's convoluted explanations.

It was as if he believed that if a book was less than 500 pages long, it didn't have a right to exist. The problem was that he didn't have enough useful information to fill 500 pages. His solution was flowery, complicated language stuffed with similes, analogies, hyperbole, and redundant metaphors. The paragraphs kept circling around itself without actually saying anything. It had concepts like: "A wizard crafting a spell is akin to a performer composing an enchanted tale about the beauty of the world.

The notes represent the elements, while the lyrics represent the aspects. They all work in tandem with the wizard's will to mold the world." And this quote is a paraphrase of a 21-line paragraph. I counted. Meanwhile, Lis was up to his ears in books about engineering and mathematics. He often muttered to himself and sometimes cursed at the texts. His cursing was in languages I didn't know or understand, but it was clear those were curses. At least after the rain stopped, Rue agreed to walk on a leash outside.

Every evening after we finished our studies, Lis and I explored Baden-Baden and found lovely cafes or restaurants to share our meals. We talked about our studies over plates of schnitzel and glasses of local beer. Lis's complaints about advanced mathematics sounded familiar, and I couldn't help but laugh. Lis roared with laughter when I went on rants about the writer. I wasn't even trying to be funny; I meant every word. Other people in the restaurant often shot us disapproving glances for the noise.

The Privacy Sphere made it impossible to eavesdrop, but it didn't block the laughter. I didn't care. It felt great to laugh so much. The employees in those places gave me startled, bewildered, or even judgmental looks when I walked in carrying a big metal bowl, and even more so when I ordered five servings of the same dish—one for me and four for Rue. But then they would shrug, and I almost heard them think, "Crazy American."

Rue sent me feelings of discontent and grumbling about the food not being mana-rich, but that didn't stop him from eating like three dogs his size. Still, he felt compelled to let me know exactly what he thought of my food choices. Spoiled familiar. We walked back to the hotel after dinner if it didn't rain, and kept chatting in the lobby, curled up on plush couches with hot cocoa, Rue lying at my feet.

With warm drinks and comfortable surroundings, talking about my past was easier, and I especially enjoyed hearing Lis tell stories about his travels. He never told me the names of the worlds and kept some details general to avoid spoilers, but despite that, he had many fun stories. Somewhere during all those dinners and conversations, we became friends. That still amazed me, but also scared me. I had never had a friend before, so I didn't know how to be one. Somewhere along the way, my focus shifted.

At first, the plan was simple: use Lis's library as much as possible to advance my magical knowledge, collect some more Ability Points, help him get the class, and leave Earth for worlds unknown, preferably medium mana. But the more time I spent with Lis, the more that plan changed, and I lost the rushed feeling. I wanted to linger, to give this whole friendship thing room to grow. It seemed like something I shouldn't rush through or treat like another task on a list.

Books always talked about friendship as if it were something precious people protected. Maybe they were right. For the first time in my life, I wanted to know what having a real friend felt like. Not from books or imagination. For real. So, I decided not to rush or go anywhere yet. Not until I had a chance to enjoy this new experience and treasure the gift. After two weeks, I told Lis, "I think we should relocate to England as planned. We should start looking for workshops." He shrugged.

"You know this world better, my friend. You decide, and I will follow you."