Chương 72: B2—Chapter 5: Spooky Red Skull in a Black Circle II

After we returned to London, Lis went back to tinkering with his radio, and I headed toward the next Gate. It was near Boleigh, and just as I was about to cross it, a strong warning came from both Perception and Luck. The difference between the two was clear. Stepping back, I left this Gate for later. It was strange. When I first touched the Gate near Land's End, nothing warned me. This one practically shouted at me to stay away. The next Gate was a stone circle called Boscawen-Un.

When my hand touched it, a light warning brushed my senses, more of a quiet reminder to be careful than anything serious. On the other side was an open plain that looked normal at first glance, with grass and flowers and a line of trees in the distance. After a moment, the minor oddities stood out. The grass was an unnatural shade of green. An invisible wind stirred the flowers, releasing a strange scent that was too sharp for the general ambiance.

The air shimmered with heat-haze ripples, even though the temperature felt normal and had a soft hum to it. Farther out, shapes moved between the trees. Tall outlines that paused too suddenly or tilted their heads in a way that didn't look human. One of them glided a few feet before taking an actual step. It was hard to tell if they were people, elves, or something else. Since I had no plans to find out, I crossed right back to Earth and had to shake my head repeatedly to get rid of mild wooziness.

The following day, over breakfast, I asked Lis, "You said you feel a warning whenever you touch a Gate to a very high mana world. But when I touched the first Gate, I didn't feel anything. The second gave me a strong warning, and the third was more of a mild 'be careful.' Why the difference?" Lis paused with his cup halfway to his mouth, then set it down.

"It has to do with intention," he said.

"Do you intend to travel in that world? If you do, you will receive a warning every time, since worlds with very high mana levels are hazardous. If you only intend to pop in and out, you will feel a warning only if danger is close to the Gate." Poking at my toast, I thought it over.

"Makes sense." The next Gate was near St Just. As I got closer to the Gate, a wave of warning and urgency hit me. It was a strange mix of needing to be careful while also needing to do something ASAP. The warning came from my Luck and Perception, while the urgency felt like it came from a different source. Pretty sure it was the same source that scolded me whenever I criticized the system too much. My judgmental text box was urging me to do something. After casting Invisibility and Mana Shield, I crossed the Gate.

The other side opened onto a flat stretch of grass with a small grove off to one side. When I glanced back, the Gate was two massive stones decorated with engravings. The moment I crossed, I sensed a Traveler. The warning from my attributes sharpened, and that other feeling—the one that pushed me to act—pressed harder. It felt like someone shouting, "Hurry, you don't have much time." The Traveler's presence flickered in and out like a radio station losing its signal.

After about 300 feet, I spotted someone lying in the grass. Human shape. Limbs twisted in ways they shouldn't. Blood pooled around them. I approached slowly. Up close, it was a black girl with long hair braided in African braids. Touching her arm, I cast Diagnose. Her insides were a mess. Damaged organs, shattered bones, and something else threaded through her body, something Diagnose couldn't identify but clearly harmful. My mana sense showed foreign mana chewing through her from within.

Two Healing Touch spells kept her alive for the moment, but the warning surged again, sharper than before. Staying there was a bad idea. I lifted her and tried to cast Invisibility on both of us, but the spell didn't affect her. I pulled her against my chest instead, hoping my body could block the view and my Invisibility would still hide her from anyone behind me. With her pressed against me, the Gate became my only goal, while casting Healing Touch on her repeatedly.

My Luck and Perception were screaming at me to get out of there. About 100 feet from the Gate, my Mana Shield shattered. The backlash slammed into my head, and a burning pain tore through my shoulder. I almost went down right there, but forced myself to stay upright. About fifty feet out, something hit my right leg. I collapsed, throwing my hands out so I wouldn't fall on the girl. My leg refused to work.

Shifting her onto my back, I crawled toward the Gate using my arms and the one leg that still obeyed me, my breath coming in short bursts. A warning, and I half rolled sideways. Two arrows cut through the air near my head, close enough to ruffle my hair. Both missed. Three feet from the Gate, a warning spiked again. Another half roll. A blob of harmful mana shot past me. It had a foul flavor, thick with corrupted aspects. Dragging us through the Gate, I landed hard on the Earth side. It looked close to sunrise.

We needed to get out of there, but my leg came first. An arrow was lodged in my shoulder. Ripping it out almost made me scream, but I swallowed it down and healed the wound. My leg was in terrible condition. A cold, sick pressure built under my skin, and something seemed to chew its way upward. Noxious mana crawled along the channels, tasting of rot, decay, and putrefaction, with a devouring aspect that felt hungry. Healing didn't work. Blocking it failed, too.

The foul mana simply ate every bit of mana I pushed against it. Desperate, I cast Exude Mana on the corrupted area. It didn't remove the infestation, but it did slow its advance. I kept casting it again and again. Each pulse shaved off a little of the foul mana, but it also drained a ridiculous amount of my mana. Realizing I couldn't win a straight fight like that, I tried something else.

I pushed a thin tendril of mana through my leg and began de-aspecting the corruption the same way I would cleanse a corrupted crystal. This time it worked better. The process was slow and messy, especially while fighting the pain and the rising panic. The devouring aspect kept chewing at my channels and swallowing parts of the mana I used to cleanse it. Still, little by little, the corruption broke apart, and eventually the leg cleared. Pushing myself to my feet, I picked up the girl and cast another Healing Touch.

My vision tilted. Mana: 110/8, 800 Earth's regeneration was awful, and I needed mana to heal her. Running to my car, I cast Clean on her to remove the blood, almost blacked out, tucked her under a blanket as if she were sleeping, and sprinted back to the Gate. Once again, I cast Invisibility, lay down, and crawled through the Gate. I created the Absorb aspect in all my channels and increased the amount until I felt pins and needles, but no more. It was okay to suffer a bit, but not to harm myself.

My mana ticked up by 43 per second. As I lay there, regenerating as fast as possible, an arrow shot above my head; they sensed me. My mana was at 2, 780. Taking a chance, I stayed a few seconds longer. Another arrow whipped past, and a corrupted mana blob slammed into one of the Gate stones. It sparked a memory of the ruined Gate in South America and the dangerous feeling it exuded. Not wanting to risk damaging the Gate, I quickly crawled back to Earth, trying to regenerate until the last possible second.

Mana: 3, 806/8, 800 On Earth, I packed my channels with the Absorb aspect and checked. My mana ticked up by one every six seconds. I stayed by the Gate until my mana was full. Back at the car, I continued to treat the girl. First, I focused on the malevolent mana in her system, since it consumed part of the healing. I sent a tendril of mana into her and tried to de-aspect the mana, but most of my mana was devoured. There was no choice but to cast Exude Mana on her.

Her condition worsened, but the corrupted mana diminished a little. With repeated casting, the noxious mana diminished, but her "reception" began flickering again. I stopped, regrouped, and tried again to de-aspect the mana. It was more manageable this time, and it broke down slowly. Finally, her body was free of it, and I exhaled with relief. I healed her heart and lungs first, and my head swam. She was out of danger, but still needed a lot of work. Mana: 80/8, 800 Take a second chance?

It was mid-morning already, and there were tourists near the Gate. I touched it and received a warning, but not a shouted warning. Taking a risk, I lay on my belly and crawled through. After a couple of minutes, two elves ran out of the grove, and I crawled back out at once. My mana was at 6, 064. The regeneration in Tír na nÓg was amazing; the danger was less so. I stayed by the Gate for over four hours, repeatedly casting Invisibility. When my mana was full, I returned to the girl and continued to heal her.

After finishing with the internal organs, I moved on to the bones. In the middle of healing her, my red light started blinking. Level Up +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +2 Vitality, +3 Free Points Class: Healer Level 11 Free Points: 3 I had three free points from before, and given my earlier injuries, I added the six points to Constitution. I also made a mental note to ask Lis about stat distribution. The red light kept blinking. The spell Healing Touch has reached its maximum level [25].

You can choose a new spell to level up: Healing Dart Healing Sphere Neutralize Curse HEALING DART Send a dart of healing. Yeah, the name was pretty self-explanatory. It felt like the system was saying, "What's not to get, dumbass? It's what it says." HEALING SPHERE Create a sphere of healing energy around you. The spell stays active only as long as you channel mana into it, and the sphere collapses the moment you stop. The radius starts at 1 meter and increases by 1 meter at each successive level.

This one sounded good, too, and it could have helped me heal both myself and the girl today. Neutralizing Curse was self-explanatory. I didn't bother reading the description; it was probably something like "neutralize a curse," and there was no point in encouraging the system to think I was an idiot. With my earlier experience and the certainty that the disgusting mana was a curse, I chose Neutralize Curse. It was possible to manage without the others, but I knew I would need this one for the future.

Healing the girl drained me again, almost to the point of emptiness. Back at the Gate, a strong sense of danger slammed into me; the fuckers were waiting on the other side to catch me. To regenerate, staying right next to the Gate was the only option, and it took almost eight hours to refill. I returned to the car and finished healing the girl. A fresh Diagnose showed dehydration, emaciation, and severe blood loss, but the injuries were healed, even though she still hadn't woken up.

It was better to drive home and take care of her there, but the car refused to start. Frustrated, I called Lis.

"Lis, I need your help."

"What happened?" he asked, sounding worried.

"In one of the Gates, I found a girl Traveler. While I managed to rescue and heal her, the car refuses to start, and she's still unconscious. I need you to get here and keep an eye on her while I go get a new car."

"Did you heal her in the car?"

"Yes…" I said, confused.

"How much mana did you use?"

"Maybe twenty thousand?" He let out a low whistle.

"Your car is dead and gone, my friend. May it rest in peace. The magic fried it."

"Shit, I didn't think of it," I said, rubbing my face in frustration.

"Happens. Tell me where you are exactly." Every so often, I checked on the girl, and her condition deteriorated every half hour. Healing Touch and Fortify Life Force pulled her back each time, but her general condition didn't improve. While waiting, I arranged a car rental in Penzance and had it driven to St Just. The minutes dragged, each Diagnose tightening the worry in my chest. It took Lis over eight hours to reach me.

Once he stepped out of the taxi, I left him with the girl and took the same taxi to pick up the new car. Thankfully, there were no tourists when I returned, which made moving her feel less exposed. Lis carefully transferred the girl into the new car, and I drove us home. On the way, I remembered my earlier question.

"I forgot to ask you when we met: What is the best stat distribution? I'm always unsure what to do with the free points."

"Most Travelers save the free points to convert to Ability Points. I'm pleased I no longer have to do it. Anyway, in our case, I'd say everything is important. To learn and advance as a Wizard, you need Intelligence and Wisdom. Strength and Agility are necessary for self-defense, Constitution for survival, Perception to avoid surprises, and Vitality to have a long life. When I level up next, I will increase my lowest Trait and work from there."

"Yeah… makes sense." When we got home, I put the girl in my bedroom and kept checking her.

"I have no idea what's wrong," I told Lis, frustrated.

"She's doing better now that I've healed her, but she's still not responding. I tried everything, but nothing works." Lis walked over to her and lifted one of her eyelids.

"You won't be able to wake her up; she's in a state of complete mana depletion."

"What? How? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You didn't read about it yet?"

"No."

"Look at her eyes," Lis said, pointing.

"They are completely black. She has no mana in her system, so you won't be able to wake her up. Healing spells will help a little, but she needs mana urgently. When a body suffers such severe mana depletion, it eats its own life force and shuts down."

"But I emptied my mana almost to zero a ton of times and never lost consciousness."

"You emptied your power orbs; you didn't deplete your body. If you drain your orbs to zero, you will suffer mana burn and a severe headache. If you keep casting after that, you will empty your body's mana stores and start dipping into your life force. Once those are gone, you will fall into a coma until you regenerate." With a frustrated groan, I rubbed my face.

"She's not regenerating."

"No, she is not," Lis confirmed, his expression serious.

"That's what you have to examine and solve." I sank my awareness into her, searching for her mana system, but found no trace of gold. Eventually, I located a black orb in her head. Following the usual channel path, I found thin black lines. Tracing one down her right arm to the palm, I tried inserting a mana tendril, but the channel was sealed shut. Healing Touch on the channels didn't help. Fortify Life Force didn't work either. Trying a different approach, I forced my way into the channel with mana.

It opened up a bit at the beginning, but not enough. That gave me hope. I created a thin tendril of mana and tried to push it into the channel. The progress was less than half an inch, and the effort left me mentally exhausted. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Shit, this isn't going to work. Back in Shimoor, while training for the ritual, I had to create a ball of mana in my palm and spin it clockwise and counterclockwise.

That gave me an idea: I extended a tendril of mana and spun it like a drill. Inserting the spinning tendril into her channel improved the progress. It was still slow and took an ungodly amount of concentration, but it was progress. There were places in her channels so severely burned that I couldn't open them and had to create a bypass. The problem with the bypass was that it wasn't a channel but a furrow I dug, so the mana dispersed into her body.

Using the method from crystal harvesting, I made a mana wrapper for the channel. I was lightheaded again, had a headache, and was only halfway done. Taking a break was out of the question; her condition kept deteriorating, and only an occasional Healing Touch kept her stable. I split my mind into three. One part packed my channels with Absorb to pull in as much mana as possible. The second part monitored her with Diagnose and cast healing whenever she needed it.

The third part kept the drill working through her damaged channel. Lis brought me food and water, which I ate and drank without stopping. After over twelve hours, the first channel was finally open, and my Mana Sense picked up mana entering her body. She seemed out of danger. I, on the other hand, was utterly done for. A metallic taste coated my mouth, and my vision pulsed at the edges. My head felt like it was about to explode, and when I tried to stand, my legs refused to work.

The attempt made the room swim before my eyes.

"Lis!" I called. He came running.

"What's wrong?"

"Please help me get up and get to bed. I opened one of her channels, and she's taking mana now. I can't do anything else at the moment; I'm too depleted." He helped me up and led me to his bed. I fell on it face-first and was out in under a second. After who knows how long, I woke up and made a beeline for the kitchen. My stomach growled so loudly it almost echoed, and my mouth felt like the desert. I ate standing up, straight from the fridge.

When I finally felt human again, I caught murmurs coming from my room and went to investigate. The girl was still lying in my bed, with Lis sitting beside her as they talked quietly. Rue had his head on her belly, and she scratched him absently. When I entered, she looked up at me and said something to Lis that I couldn't hear. He helped her out of bed with slow, careful movements. Her legs shook the moment her feet touched the floor. She leaned on him as she approached, arms trembling when she reached me.

She hugged me tightly and whispered, "Dara."

"It means thank you," Lis said.

"I understood that," I said, surprised.

"Of course," he said, shaking his head, "the book First Steps in Ritualism and Circle Creation was in Parshan." The girl buried her face in my neck and cried, her shoulders shaking against me. Her breath hit my skin in small, uneven bursts, and the tears soaked through my shirt, but I didn't move until the sobs eased. After she calmed down, I led her to the bed and rechecked her condition. It was much better.

She no longer suffered from dehydration, and her body had begun producing blood and absorbing nutrients, but she still needed more help. She still had food in her stomach, so I sent a healing spell through her and monitored the reaction. Her body broke down and absorbed the food more quickly, and a bit of color returned to her skin.

"You need to eat more," I said.

"Your body needs the nutrients to heal. I'll help it absorb it faster." Lis got up and left.

"Thank you for everything. I have no words to express my gratitude," she said, her voice trembling.

"You're welcome. Let's get you in good shape, and then we'll talk." Lis came back with food. She ate, and I healed her until her body was much better. I sank my awareness into her one open mana channel and examined it. A pleasant surprise awaited me: The furrows I dug and layered as a bypass had stabilized and become a "real" mana channel. That was a relief. There was a spot in her mana channel I hadn't opened wide enough. It was barely a hair's breadth wide and needed some more help.

I sent a mana tendril into it and started "drilling." She yelled in pain and jerked her hand away. I winced.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would hurt." She hugged her arm to her chest.

"What are you doing?"

"There's a spot in your mana channel that I didn't expand enough, resulting in a blockage," I explained.

"If I can open it wider, your regeneration will improve. Also, I need to open the rest of your channels." She pressed her lips together and looked scared.

"It hurts like a stab with a hot needle."

"I'll put you to sleep so you don't feel anything. Apologies for not doing it right away. I didn't know it would hurt." She eyed me, then her arm, and tightened her grip on the blanket before nodding and lying down. After casting Anesthesia, I worked on the thin spot. It doubled in width, then tripled, and her mana flowed much better. I moved to her left hand and worked on the mana channel. Knowing what to do made it easier and faster.

Whenever I came across a burned-shut section, I built a bypass in layers to reconnect the channel. After about six hours of working on her hand, I stopped the Anesthesia and checked her general condition. She was fine. The process didn't drain as many resources as normal healing. Mana: 1, 310/8, 800 I turned to Lis, stretching my neck until it cracked.

"How long did I sleep? After all this work, my mana seems too full."

"Two days."

"I slept for two days?" I exclaimed, shocked.

"Yes. I knew you were exhausted, so I didn't bother you. Mahya woke up about three hours after you went to bed, and I did my best to care for her. Mostly, I made sure she drank, ate, and rested. I also occasionally cast a Minor Heal on her; that's the only healing spell I have."

"You did an amazing job; thank you. I should also introduce myself; I forgot to ask her name," I said, rubbing the back of my neck, embarrassed.

"I believe she understands you were focused on her health." She was still sleeping, her breathing steady, so we left the room quietly and closed the door behind us.

"Did she tell you what happened to her?" I asked as we stepped into the hall.

"She didn't want to talk about it. She just said that she wants to forget that 'terrible, terrible place.' I agree with her; Tír na nÓg is a nightmare," Lis said, shuddering.

"I'm going to let her rest and check two Gates near London. If they're safe, I'll go in; I need the mana. I won't stay to train, only to fill my mana." He gave me a serious look.

"Be careful." I nodded.

"I will; don't worry." Lis folded his arms and gave me a pointed look.

"I don't believe you. I saw the blood; you forgot to change your shirt before I arrived." I gave a dismissive wave.

"Don't worry about it; it was just an arrow. Besides, I stayed because I sensed her. Without that, I'd have been out in a second." He gripped my upper arms and gave me a shake.

"Don't take unnecessary risks. If a Traveler is in Tír na nÓg, it was their choice and mistake; you don't have to pay for it. It's amazing that you saved her, but you could have just as easily died. Please remember that. For eight days, I was in that world, and I still have nightmares." I patted his shoulder.

"I promise to be more careful." He searched my face for a moment, then his shoulders relaxed, and he nodded. Two injuries were more than enough for me, and the pain had been awful. I had no intention of repeating the experience. Before leaving, I checked the blinking red light. Level Up +3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, +1 to all other Traits Class: Wizard Level 3 Finally! I worked hard to learn for this class, and it annoyed me it didn't progress as expected.

I checked my profile to see if anything else had progressed.

PERSONAL INFORMATION Name: John Ripper Age: 20 Familiar: Rue Level 0 Display Class: Healer Level 11 Healer Spells: Heal Muscles (17) Diagnose (13) Stop Bleeding (5) Heal Bone (9) Control Blood (13) Healing Touch (25) Clean (12) Neutralize Poison (1) Purify (11) Anesthesia (7) Regrow Flesh (4) Fortify Life Force (7) Cleanse (1) Neutralize Curse Class: Gate Traveler Level 3 Gates to the next level: 5/8 Class Abilities: Conversion Traveler's Archive Identify Storage x 4 (512 m 3) Local Adaptation: -Spoken Language -Written Language One of the Crowd Traveler's Map Subclass 2 Wizard Level 3 Wizard Abilities: Mind Split x3 Mana Sensing [Medior] Mana Saturation [Junior] Mana Manipulation [Medior] Mana Regeneration x 2 Wizard Spells: Harvest Mana Crystal [In Progress] Harvest Game [In Progress] Profession: Merchant Level 6 Merchant Skills: Bargain (6) Sense Honesty (5) Appraisal (9) A Nose for Business (10) General Spells: Mana Dart (1) Mana Shield (2) Spellbinding (2) Invisibility (3) Mend (2) Adaptable Light Ball (6) Restore (12) Heat (2) Absorb Mana (2) Exude Mana (3) Privacy Sphere (2) Copy Magical Text (2) 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) Multi-Discipline Swordsmanship (3) Dagger Mastery (3) Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) (3) Battodo (3) Kenjutsu (3) Spear And Poleaxe Combat (3) Sword And Shield Combat (3) Grappling (3) Knife throwing (3) Axe Throwing (3) Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) (3) Muay Thai (3) Eskrima (3) Karate (3) Judo (3) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (3) Boxing (3) Kickboxing (3) Taekwondo (3) Mace Combat (3) Warhammer Combat (3) Flail Combat (3) Halberd combat (3) Glaive Combat (3) Naginata Combat (3) Tonfa combat (3) Sai combat (3) Flute Playing Violin Playing Piano Saxophone Playing Harmonica Playing Lute Playing Health: 4, 150/4, 150 Mana: 1, 312/8, 800 Strength: 28 Agility: 28 Constitution: 36 Vitality: 47 Intelligence: 55 Wisdom: 65 Perception: 40 Luck: 32 Free Points: 0 Ability Points: 82 Nice.

My Mana Sensing, Mana Saturation, and Mana Manipulation progressed. It was already evening, so I drove to Stonehenge first, touched the Gate, and felt mortal danger. The message was clear: if I crossed the Gate, I would die. I forgot about it and drove to the next Gate. The location was near a town called Loxhill. I found an out-of-the-way spot under the trees and headed to the Gate. When I touched it, I felt a mild "tread carefully" suggestion.

The other side was in the middle of a forest with the biggest trees I'd ever seen, which were pink. More specifically, the trees' trunks were brown, while the rest was pink. Everything was pink—the leaves, the plants under the trees, and the moving, blinking lights between the trees. Remembering something Lis said about blinking creatures, I didn't look at them but listened to my Perception. There was still a slight warning, but no tangible danger.

To be safe, I didn't add mana absorption to my channels so that the magic wouldn't give away my location. Settling for a regeneration rate of 20 points per second. It was still over 1, 000 points per minute. The regeneration here was simply a dream; it was too bad that it was so dangerous. It took me less than ten minutes to fill up, so I snapped a picture and left.

It was the most magical place I had ever seen, but I wouldn't use this Gate for my regeneration training; no need to take chances with the blinking creatures. When I returned to my car, pine needles and sap covered it. Annoyed, I looked at the tree and asked, "What, you couldn't wait until I left?" When I got back home, Lis looked frantic.

"You said you're going to close Gates, in and out, not regeneration training. What happened to that promise?" He asked in an angry tone.

"That's what I did. One Gate was too dangerous, so I went to the next, regenerated, and left."

"So, where have you been all this time?" I just looked at him, uncomprehending. I left in the evening, and it was still night. But he looked frantic when I got home.

"How long was I gone?"

"Three weeks! The only reason I knew you were still alive was that Rue was. But I thought those monsters captured you," Lis said, his voice shaking.

"Shit! As soon as I arrived at the first Gate, I touched it, sensed it was dangerous, and decided to leave. I drove to the second one, felt the danger was tolerable, and went in. I saw the blinking things you mentioned and didn't look at them. It took me less than ten minutes to regenerate, and I left immediately after and drove straight home," I said, my mind racing.

"Are you sure you didn't follow them?"

"Positive. I leaned against the Gate the whole time, looking at the ground and monitoring the area with my Perception."

"I think you should stop going to the Gates here; that place is too dangerous." I nodded.

"Yeah, I think you're right. I'm sorry I made you worry." He hugged me.

"Never do that again."

"I won't, I promise," I said, hugging him back. Mahya hugged me from behind and said in English, "Lis wanted to go in after you to rescue you. The only reason he did not do it was that Rue looked unconcerned. You are lucky you have a familiar, or you might have lost a friend." I sighed and nodded.

"I won't go there anymore. It was time to give up the UK Gates. They were too dangerous, and the danger was not always obvious. After Lis and Mahya calmed down and realized I was okay, I turned to her.

"I need to finish opening your channels. Want to do it now?"

"Are you sure? You're not tired?"

"I'm fine and want to get it done." We headed to my former room. Mahya lay on the bed, and I got to work on the channels in her legs. They were in much better condition than her arms. Some spots had burned shut, but most were damaged by that awful curse that devoured her mana. It took me less than two hours to open both legs. Mana: 2, 070/8, 800 She woke up and hugged me tightly.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome," I said, patting her back. We joined Lis in the living room. Large sheets of paper covered the dining table, covered in diagrams.

"What's that? Are you building a spaceship?" I asked.

"No. Mahya is an advanced engineer from a high-tech world, so she's teaching me," Lis said. Impressed, I turned to Mahya.

"Cool. What kind of engineering?"

"Energy conversion power plants, antimatter spaceship drives, crystalline structures for spaceship AIs, and the supporting engineering disciplines." I whistled.

"That sounds impressive as hell." Her shoulders slumped as she twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers.

"Not really. I did not learn any of it. I converted skills to get them from the Guidance."

"Oh? So how did you end up in Faerie?" I asked.

"Where?"

"Sorry. That's the popular Earth name for Tír na nÓg." Her eyebrows shot up.

"They know about it here? How?"

"Just legends, nothing concrete," I said with a shrug.

"With the mana levels there, those bastards can probably portal," Lis said.

"Maybe," Mahya said, frowning.

"But how will they get back? The mana level on this side is abysmal."

"The legends are old," I said.

"Maybe they could in the past, but can't now?" Both of them paused, thinking it over. They nodded at the same time, and for a second, I felt like the dumbest person in the room.

"How did you end up in Tír na nÓg?" I asked again.

"As part of an exploration initiative, I joined a mission to colonize a world. I did not care about colonization; I only wanted to see space," she said. Her eyes shone with tears.

"After we found a promising planet, I monitored the conversion rings in the power plant. When a Gate appeared, I walked through it because I was bored." Lis's eyebrows climbed.

"It was a very high-mana world, level ninety-five," Mahya continued.

"I survived, but it was terrible. When I reached the Gate to Tír na nÓg, I was in awful shape and had no choice. I hoped it would be better." She wiped her eyes and sniffled.

"I was wrong. That place is a nightmare and a horror show rolled together." I rubbed her back gently and glanced at Lis.

"You wanted to move to Paris for the food, right?"

"Yes, and there will probably be new workshops," he said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. I turned back to Mahya.

"Want to come to Paris with us or continue on your own?" She looked down.

"I must find work. I do not have any money or sellable objects." I looked at Lis. His expression tightened for a heartbeat. Right—I should've asked him first. We locked eyes, and I gave him an apologetic look. He exhaled through his nose, gave a tiny shake of his head, then nodded once to show it was fine.

"What happened to your Storage?" he asked.

"One of those monsters cast something on me, and I lost consciousness. All my Storage was around me when I woke up, and they laughed." Her voice cracked. I moved closer and wrapped my arms around her. She buried her face in my neck and cried. When she calmed down, I said, "It's the middle of the night. Let's get some sleep and talk in the morning." She nodded, gave us both another hug, and went to her room.

The second her door clicked shut, I blurted, "I'm really sorry I didn't ask you first about inviting her to Paris. It wasn't fair of me. Since she's teaching you engineering, I figured you'd want her to come, but I should've checked with you." Lis squeezed my shoulder and leaned back slightly, studying my face.

"Relax. It is fine," he said.

"I was only surprised. And she should come with us until she gets on her feet."

"I've got a solution for that."

"What?" I blushed, rubbed my neck, and looked away.

"Remember what I told you about my late wife and her parents?" He nodded, so I kept going.

"Before I left Earth, I robbed them as a punishment. I still think it was the right punishment, but the jewelry I took always made me ashamed. I'm not a thief, and the fact that I stooped that low made me feel like a criminal. But I'm not giving it back—they deserved it and more. They tortured Sophie in her last days and made her cry nonstop. So I figured… maybe give the jewelry to Mahya. It'll help her get on her feet."

"You sure about it?"

"Yes. I shoved the jewelry into the farthest corner of my Storage so I wouldn't have to look at it. The only times I touched it were giving one piece to a coachman to save his life and one piece to a nice princess I met in Shimoor."

"I prefer to stay away from nobles. Most of them are shitheads, as you so eloquently describe it here." Lis laughed.

"I must say that Earth has the most colorful descriptions of things."

"You should go to sleep. It's the middle of the night for you," I said, nudging him toward his room. He glanced toward the closed door and back at me.

"Where are you going to sleep? She took your bed."

"I woke up a few hours ago after sleeping for two days. I'll go cook. I'm sure we're out of food if three weeks have passed. And since you wanted to relocate and she's coming with us, now's the perfect time to think about getting a bigger place in Paris."

"Yes, we should, and Mahya should join us," Lis said, nodding.

"I was simply surprised. You met her for less than a day, so I didn't expect the offer. I spent three weeks with her, and we became friends. I would have consulted you and asked her."

"Yeah, rub it in that I didn't consult you. Why don't you?" I said, rolling my eyes. He laughed and shoved me toward the kitchen.

"Go cook already." I cooked all night, and in the morning, I called Rue and headed to return the rental car. First, it needed a trip to the car wash. Those minutes in Faerie were expensive. After returning the car, Rue and I spent hours playing and roughhousing at the park. Having been gone so long, I was sure he missed me. When I got home, Mahya and Lis were reviewing some sketches. Mahya looked at me; her eyes glowed bright blue, and blue streaks ran through her hair.

"Wow! What happened to your eyes?" I asked, startled. She touched her face, her fingertips brushing her eyelids.

"What do you mean?"

"Those are Traveler's eyes. It means that her mana system is finally functioning properly," said Lis, glancing at her eyes.

"Didn't you notice our eyes?" I pointed at her head.

"And the blue streaks in her hair?"

"Developed mana system. At some point, you will have purple streaks," Lis said. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You don't have green ones. How come?"

"I don't want to, and developed enough control to prevent it."

"Huh!" I said, scratching my head.

"You learn something new every day." Lis laughed.

"Yeah, we talked about it." I looked between them.

"Want to help me search for Paris rentals?" Mahya shook her head. Lis shrugged.

"You know this world better; you should decide." I spent the rest of the day on the computer, making calls. It took some time, but I found a four-bedroom apartment in the Boulogne-Billancourt suburb. It wasn't cheap, but I could afford it. And I decided on the fourth bedroom, just in case. At dinner, I gave Mahya a bag with my mother-in-law's jewelry.

"Take this; it will help you get back on your feet. Sell the small items first, each in a different place. Leave the big items to sell in another world; they're too recognizable." Mahya looked inside the bag, then up at me with enormous eyes.

"I can't take this! There is a fortune in jewelry in here! You saved my life and fixed my mana; I cannot take any more from you. I must find a way to repay you for everything you have done for me." It took some effort, but Lis and I convinced her to take the jewelry. I slept on the couch that night, and the next day, we went to say goodbye to our neighbor friends. I had to say goodbye to several people.

Lis mainly said goodbye to the neighbors on our floor and the girl from across the hall, with whom he had connected. Rue needed a whole day to do his farewell tour and say goodbye to everyone. This dog was too damn popular.