Chương 9: Chapter 8: Destination: Perfect Boredom

The Frankfurt Gate was only thirty minutes from the city. The second I drove past, I felt it. A tingling awareness prickled at the edges of my senses, but it didn't "shout" at me like the last one. I didn't stop. Instead, I drove for two minutes, pulled into a gas station, and walked toward the Gate. The location wasn't much to look at. About seventy yards off the road, five boulders lay scattered in a cluster. Two of those stones were the Gate's anchors.

Dense trees and a thick line of bushes blocked the view from the road. Glancing around, I verified no one could see me and touched the Gate to view its information: Travelers Gate #468217257 Destination: Shimoor Status: Integrated Mana level: 17 Threat level: Minimal No tech level, interesting. Does it mean they're in the Stone Age or something? While still touching the Gate, I opened the Archive to view the world's information. The first entry was from the same guy who wrote the entry I read about Earth.

That should be good—I liked his grumblings. Summer, year 9 of King Lure IV—Traveler Guar Shum I'm leaving through a Gate in the northern part of the major continent. I have no idea what kingdom it belongs to. The Gate was already marked on the Map. This is my second time here, so I have little to add. I found a bright, bright bargain with copper coins and came to convert them to gold. If you want to know what bargain, find a Gate to a place called Dirt, Ground, and something else, and read my entry.

Summer, year 9 of King Lure IV—Traveler Guar Shum The next one down was his previous entry. Winter, year 8 of King Lure IV—Traveler Guar Shum Hello, fellow Traveler. I hope my words will help you on your journey. Came through a Gate from Tulidar. Don't need identifications or glamour. Good. Spent 500 mana to learn the language. Mana levels are relatively low, so regeneration is slow. Something like 100 a day. Tolerable. This world is nice but boring.

Because of low mana levels, there are almost no monsters, and they are relatively weak. The strongest monster I saw from afar was level 2. I didn't bother killing it. I want to get Warrior as a Subclass, but don't think it will happen with such low-level monsters. Sometimes life is unfair. This is my second world, or maybe my first, depending on how you look at it. I'm the son of a Traveler, and my father prepared me for my whole life. Before he let me through a Gate, he made me travel our world to gain experience.

So, my first? Second? Doesn't matter. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. So, this world. The good stuff: My father was right—it's a great starting point. The people are nice and friendly, the wild animals are not especially dangerous, and there are few monsters. The locals are humanoid like us, but their skin is a strange light brown instead of the typical blue. I didn't need glamour, and they had no problem with my color.

They assumed I was from the "unknown kingdoms over the sea" and kept pestering me with questions about how I crossed the sea. I invented a new story in every new town to break the monotony. Blessed Spirits of Old, it's boring here. The money system is straightforward, but in multiples of ten instead of a hundred: copper, silver, and gold. 10 coppers=1 silver, 10 silvers=1 gold. They don't even have platinum or mithril coins here. Boooriiing. Most places have a basic inn, nothing to tell stories about.

A night at an inn costs 3 coppers; a meal or an ale, 2 coppers; tea, 1 copper. The bad stuff: BOOOOORIIIIING There's nothing here except endless wilderness, with some towns in between. The few cities are much like the towns, just larger. No interesting magic, no dungeons, just boring, boring, boring. I'm feeling my mind going numb. I'm leaving through the first Gate I found. Goodbye. May your road be happy and your adventures gentle.

Autumn, year 9 of King Lure IV—Traveler Guar Shum Well, Earth definitely shattered his monotony. His booooring sounded like heaven. A world filled with endless green landscapes, small towns where everyone knew each other by name, and life like something from an old movie. Right then, I made my final decision. Although I had already decided to travel, a small spark of uncertainty remained. Now it was gone.

Time to wrap up everything tying me to Earth, convert my funds into jewelry, merchandise, or anything portable and valuable, and leave for Shimoor. A world with magic and untamed nature was calling my name, and returning to Earth seemed like a distant notion. The first step was simple: a step through the Gate to see my new beginning. On the other side, I stood in the heart of a ruin. The two anchors of the Gate loomed above me.

The sharp, jagged rocks looked like they'd once been a single colossal stone, cleaved clean down the center by an immense fire sword. My hand brushed the inner sides; they were as smooth and flawless as glass. Around me lay the broken remains of a once-mighty structure, swallowed by green. Thick moss clung to every stone block, vines draped over doorways and loose rocks, and towering trees arched overhead, their trunks so wide it would take several people holding hands to surround them.

The building had clearly been massive in its day. They built it from enormous stones, now scattered on the forest floor, half-hidden by moss and wild plants. I stood near one stone, and it reached to my waist. Wandering through, I pieced together its layout. It was circular, with smaller rooms radiating outward. All the rooms eventually led to a vast central chamber where the Gate stood. Every detail spoke of a past civilization.

They had known about the Gate, revered it, and built this sanctuary around it as if it were a temple. Centuries or even millennia buried their work in thick roots and creeping greenery. Even the air smelled ancient, heavy with the scent of damp earth and stone. I explored the ruin for over an hour until I was convinced nothing dangerous lurked there. Only the faint sounds of birds and insects, hidden high above in the towering trees. It was quiet and secluded.

I felt lighter on this side, as if the ground pulled on me less. Lower gravity? Or the mana's influence? The difference wasn't drastic but noticeable, primarily through the soles of my feet. Is there a way to measure gravity? I checked the Gate from this side. Traveler's Gate #468217257 Destination: Earth/Gaia/Terra Status: Unintegrated Mana level: 3 Technology level: Low Threat level: Moderate The information was the same as the other Gate, and the number looked similar. I wrote it down to compare.

Stepping back through the Gate, the familiar weight of Earth's gravity settled over me. Yep, there was definitely a slight difference in gravity. It reminded me I had work to do. My time on Earth was short now. I needed to tie up loose ends, gather supplies, liquidate my funds, and start my new reality. A journey awaited, and a spark of excitement built in my gut.