As we rose in the hot-air balloon in the morning, I asked Mahya, “Do you need a boost from the wind?”

“No, I prefer to fly slowly to find a place to put the house.”

We flew leisurely over the cliffs, scouting for a good spot. A few options looked decent, but nothing stood out. The rocks changed as we approached the other end of the gorge. They used to be covered in moss and plants, but now they stood tall and looked like old guardians, with layers of rich, reddish-brown rock shaped by the weather over thousands of years.

There were pyramid-shaped formations with clear horizontal lines showing the geological history embedded in their rough surface. In the background, many similar but unique rock structures stretched into the distance, creating an impressive scene. The clear blue sky had a few fluffy white clouds casting gentle shadows on the cliffs, enhancing their texture and depth. The scene completely contrasted the green and yellow landscape we saw earlier.

I took out my camera and snapped a few pictures; it was too beautiful to resist.

We flew between two cliffs and approached the rim of the gorge. No matter how hard we looked, it was too dark to see beyond a few meters. We kept flying on the other side of the gorge, but the terrain was the same. The sandy cliffs gradually turned into cliffs covered with vegetation and moss. Again, we saw some depressions that looked spacious enough to place the house, but getting from there to the gorge’s rim seemed complicated.

Mahya turned us around with her fantastic gadget, and we returned to the gorge’s edge. When we reached the edge, she steered us away from the gorge, and after a couple of minutes, we flew between two extremely high cliffs and arrived in what felt like heaven.

It was a breathtaking view. There was a medium-sized lake, surrounded by tall cliffs from the direction we came from, and green mountains on the other side. The lake was calm and clear, mirroring the tall mountains around it. The rocky beach contrasted with the deep blue water. I could see patches of grass and trees all around. Everything was pristine, like a paradise ready to be discovered. It was gorgeous and calming, making me want to kick back and take it all in.

When I took a deep breath, I felt the area was full of mana. It was more than the other side of the cliffs, but not as much as the gorge, somewhere in between. Concentrating, I “tasted” the mana and figured it was nature mana with some hints of water and life. With every deep breath I took, I felt more and more rejuvenated.

“This looks perfect,” I said.

Mahya and Al nodded, but Al added, “We arrived here in two minutes using the balloon. However, how long will it take us to reach the gorge by walking?”

“Are you in a hurry?” Mahya asked him.

He looked surprised by the question, thought momentarily, and then said, “You are right. There is no rush. We have an unlimited amount of time. The swamp will remain in its place.”

After we landed with the balloon, we walked along the lake, looking for a suitable spot for the house. After a few hundred meters, we found a perfect place. It was a grassy area that sloped towards the lake but was elevated enough that the house wouldn’t flood if it rained.

I took out the house and remembered Al and Lis’s advice that the house could create pocket dimensions. I instructed the house, “Open a small house, but create all the usual spaces inside.”

The house opened as usual: The roof emerged from the core like a flower, opening its petals, and then the floors unfolded, but this time, there was only one floor.

The final result was a log house, one story tall, with a sloped roof. It had a large front porch supported by wooden posts. Nicely stacked logs made up the exterior, giving the house a classic, rustic look. The front had big windows that let in plenty of natural light. It was right on the edge of the lake, with a small stone path leading from the door to the water. Wooden shingles covered the roof, complementing the cabin’s natural appearance.

We went inside to check, and everything was as usual. Even the rooms’ shapes remained the same. I patted the breakfast bar and said, “Good house.”

I looked at Rue to ensure he didn’t protest me calling the house good, but he seemed fine—probably because I didn’t use the words “good boy.”

The place was so peaceful and picturesque that for the next week, we did nothing but enjoy ourselves. We zoomed around the lake on the e-foils and swam. Mahya took the boat out in the middle of the lake, and we fished with rods. I baked cakes and pies and cooked delicious dishes with the crabs from the island and the fish we caught. We barbecued on the porch twice, and I even used the smoker for the first time. I smoked some fish and crabmeat, and the results were delicious.

Rue announced, “John must smoke Rue lots yummy crabs.”

Al asked me to tell the house to boost his mushrooms. The mushrooms doubled in size within three days, so he had to move them to bigger pots. After some consultation, we tried another experiment. Instead of manually moving the mushrooms, we asked the house to enlarge the planters. It worked like a charm, and Al was over the moon.

On the night of the seventh day, it started to rain and didn’t stop for ten days. It wasn’t a torrential downpour, but it was strong enough that we didn’t want to go to the gorge in those weather conditions. Most of the time, we stayed home or took short walks outside. It wasn’t cold, just wet.

Mahya finished disassembling all the jet skis and preparing the main blueprint with the names of the runes on all the parts. She hadn’t started building the jet skis yet, but everything was ready. The biggest issue was preventing the intake from clogging with swamp debris. It took her a day and a lot of cussing engineering books, but finally, she designed a modified filter system that would keep most of the junk out of the turbines. Using a combination of fine mesh and rune-powered self-cleaning mechanisms, the intake now had a way to push debris out before it could clog the system. The enchantments on the new parts would allow the jet skis to glide smoothly through the murky waters without worrying about aquatic grass, mud, or other obstacles.

After combining all the crystals I collected from the house feeding operation, we had forty-one crystals of suitable size for engraving. Mahya gave me twenty-four, saying, “That’ll be enough for three jet skis,” and took the rest.

Rue chimed in, “Rue also want jet ski. Rue adventurer too.”

She looked at him for two seconds, her shoulders slumping, and sighed deeply. Her entire posture radiated a sense of defeat as she rubbed her forehead. “Of course you do,” she said, then gave me eight more crystals.

I chuckled quietly to myself, but not out loud. I didn’t want a slap on the back of my head.

I found out that Al had collected all the hallucinogenic mushrooms from the gorge and was planning to take over the kitchen to make something with them.

“You are not cooking drugs in my house,” I told him firmly, crossing my arms and standing my ground.

“As we mentioned before, your core is incapable of getting high,” Al said, looking slightly exasperated.

“I don’t care,” I replied, shaking my head. “I don’t want to take any chances. Besides, even if the core can’t get high, we can. I’ll arrange something for you.”

“You can use my boat if you want,” Mahya interjected, glancing at Al and then back at me with a shrug.

“Oh, that’s the perfect solution,” I said, rolling my eyes. “That way, her boat will be drugged, and not my house.”

They shook their heads, and Mahya called me an idiot, but I didn’t care. The thought of my house being drugged and creating all kinds of psychedelic illusions inside made me shudder.

Mahya took the boat out again, Al relocated there, and I helped her work on the jet skis. It took me two days to engrave the crystals while Mahya worked on the copper wires. She had already learned not to ask for help with that part of the engraving. After finishing the crystals, I joined her, and we worked on the other parts. It took us another three days, and the rain finally stopped.

Al came back, and after a consultation, we decided we didn’t have the energy to return to the gorge for the time being. The idyllic atmosphere in the valley put us all in a relaxed and lazy mood.

Mahya took another day to assemble the jet ski and ensure everything worked properly.

When the jet ski was ready, Rue announced, “Rue take first jet ski. Rue need check jet ski not dangerous,” and raised his nose in the air in a very proud pose.

The three of us looked at each other and laughed. It was so obvious that it was an excuse he made up to get the first ride.

This forced Mahya and me to work on the jet ski for another two days. Rue didn’t have opposable thumbs, so we needed a solution for his paws. After much trial and error, and copying some of the runes Lis used for the e-foils, we found a solution. We reinforced the front part to remain rigid, added four straps on the floor to hold his paws in place, and adjusted some runes so he could control the speed with mana and steer by tilting his body.

After two days, the jet ski was ready. I explained how to control it to Rue, and he went frolicking on the lake. It was amazing to see. He quickly learned how to speed up and slow down, zoomed from one end of the lake to another, and made figure eights on the water.

During all this time, he kept exclaiming loudly, “Rue is amazing! Rue is expert jet ski rider! Rue flies like bird on water! Rue is bestest Adventurer!”

After three hours, he apparently drained all the crystals and didn’t have enough mana to continue driving the jet ski. After storing the jet ski, he swam and then ran to the shore. He shook himself when he got to shore, pelting us with water. He put his paws on Mahya’s shoulders and licked her face as he called out, “Mahya best in the world! Mahya great friend! Mahya bestest ever! Mahya Genius! Rue love Mahya!”

His enthusiasm caused his mental volume to return to the levels it was before he gained levels, and we both got a telepathic headache again. Al, the lucky one, was back on the boat, so he didn’t have to suffer.

After Rue’s excitement calmed down and he stopped yelling, I dried him off, and we returned to the house for dinner. During the meal, we agreed we would make some progress on clearing the gorge tomorrow. This time, we didn’t intend to fight all day but to work on a particular part until we were tired and returned home. We felt no reason to rush. We had a perfect place to stay, a beautiful view, a fun lake, delicious food, and a happy dog.

What else does a person need to enjoy life?

Dogs Just Want to Have Fun