The Gate Traveler

I joined Mahya for the motorcycle project, and for the first time, I felt the impact of my stats. I had to study the other book of engineering runes. Before, my limit was six runes before my head felt like it would explode from internal pressure. Now, my limit was nine runes, and the pressure was lighter. It was still not pleasant, but I didn’t feel like my head was about to explode. I metaphorically patted my intelligence trait on the back and continued to study runes.

This book only contained runes representing or relating to relays, nodes, switches, repeaters, transceivers, amplifiers, terminals, gateways, connectors, and signal boosters. And it was smaller than the other book. I didn’t need all the runes for the project, but if I was studying the book, I figured I might as well study all of it.

The more I learned about runes and magic script, the more I realized you could build anything to work on mana. Runes and magic script symbols were just mana pathways for the magic to flow through and create a specific effect. With enough knowledge about those pathways, you could adapt any advanced technological device, not just those from Earth. It was simply a matter of knowing enough runes or magic script and having sufficient engineering knowledge. No wonder Lis received the class he did. He spent two years studying twelve to fifteen hours daily, covering every possible engineering subject and a substantial amount of mathematics. When I combined that with all the magic books he gave me, I fully grasped what Mahya meant when she said that mana worlds are not stupid but follow a different path of development and progress compared to a technological world.

If I added dungeon cores with their ability to absorb and process materials into something else, it didn’t open a new world for me, but an entire galaxy. I was sure we hadn’t discovered all of our core’s capabilities, and I started planning all kinds of exciting experiments to do with it.

After two days of studying and taking breaks to prepare interesting fish dishes, I joined Mahya on the enormous deck where we worked. We arranged the deck, which was cluttered yet organized, with tables strewn about in a manner only we understood.

Mahya handed me a pile of mechanical parts and said, “Use the blueprint to see what to engrave on each part.”

I saluted her and started working.

It took me two days to finish engraving all the parts, while Mahya engraved copper wire. She tried again to get me to work on the copper wire, but I wasn’t interested. Although I was sure the jeweler’s loupe made it much easier to see, the thought of engraving on it didn’t appeal to me.

As we worked, I felt a dirty mana enter my mana field. I immediately took out a crossbow, my fingers tightening around the grip as I waited for the cat to show itself. As soon as I saw it, I shot it. One shot, one kill.

“Yay me!” I muttered under my breath.

I tried to drag the cat towards me with my mana field, but it didn’t work. Sighing, I stored it, took it out again, and cast my new spell. Within thirty seconds, a small mana crystal and a crossbow bolt lay on the deck.

“You have to teach me that spell!” Mahya exclaimed.

“Sure. When we’re done,” I replied, nodding.

She looked puzzled. “Why did you shoot a cat with a crossbow?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, totally confused.

“You have a mana dart, and you complained that it’s still level one, and you can’t advance its level. Here’s the chance. Shoot cats with it instead of a crossbow.”

I scratched my head in embarrassment. “I didn’t think about it,” I admitted.

She laughed, shaking her head. “There was a reason we picked the nickname Clueless,” she said with a playful grin.

I wanted to protest but had to admit defeat after a minute.

After finishing the engravings, I handed her all the parts, and she started assembling the motorcycle. Meanwhile, I went to take care of the cats that the core created while we were busy.

Rue helped me locate the cats, and I shot them—yes, with a mana dart this time. Initially, I needed three darts to down a cat, but after the ninth or tenth cat, I only needed two. I checked, and my Mana Dart had finally gone up to level two. After some more cats, I needed only one. I checked again—level three.

I love progress!

The cats were getting bigger. Before, they reached my knee; now, they reached mid-thigh. When I checked the core size, it was bigger but still smaller than my fist. Mahya’s hand was smaller than mine, but not by much.

Oh, well, it still needs more time.

Mahya found me. “I need you to combine all the crystals you have collected so far from the cats into seven crystals this size,” she said, showing me a circle about the size of an apricot. She handed me a pile of crystals. “Those as well. After you combine them, I need you to engrave on them the magic circle you engraved on the large crystals.”

I shook my head emphatically. “No way. There was plenty of room on the big crystals. I could squeeze the circle on a crystal the size of an apple. But not on something as small as an apricot. There’s no room for all the symbols and runes. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the circle is pretty complex.”

She sighed, rubbing her temples. “Yes, I noticed. What’s the smallest size you can engrave it? The smallest.”

I thought momentarily, my fingers tracing imaginary lines in the air. “An apple, or maybe a little smaller.”

“Okay. So I need five crystals of the smallest size you can engrave the circle on. If you still have crystals left after combining them, engrave more. We have another motorcycle and ATV to convert.”

That’s what I did for the next three days. I merged crystals, engraved magic circles, and occasionally killed a cat with a mana dart. It was very convenient that our core produced monsters for us at a rate of one every fifteen minutes or so.

When I brought her the first batch of crystals, she looked up and said, “I saw the answer Lis wrote to you. I think he’s right. We’re leaving Earth too soon. We must use this opportunity to fill all our missing classes. Leaving now is a mistake.”

I crossed my arms and frowned. “Oh, come on. The reason I’m not going back to Earth is not just because it’s my home planet. I’m sick of that place. I want to see new worlds. You and Al traveled in magical worlds, and you even traveled in an advanced technological world.”

I paused, my voice growing more intense. “I’ve been a Traveler for seven or eight years, and the only world I’ve seen is Shimoor. It was nice and calm, and I needed it in the state of mind I was in. But the only magical things I saw were some people with the Identify ability, a mage that could discern if I told the truth, some level 1 monsters, and one magical barrel that purified water. That’s it.”

I uncrossed my arms, gesturing passionately. “I want to see interesting worlds, magical things, what mana does to the environment, mana beasts, and even monsters. As difficult and dangerous as the dungeon was, it was also exhilarating because it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I want to experience more things like this. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed traveling Earth with you, but it’s where I grew up and I already know the place. Maybe in the future, after the integration, it will be interesting and exciting to me. Right now, it’s not. I want to see wonders.”

She shook her head, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Yes, but we’re wasting the opportunity.”

I sighed in defeat. On the one hand, I didn’t want to return to Earth, but on the other hand, I felt I was being unfair to them by forcing them to give up this opportunity. I tried to think of a solution, my fingers drumming on the table.

Finally, I said, “I can continue to travel alone without you and give you a chance to make the most of Earth. Lumis has fourteen gates, I counted. Two more lead to Earth—one more in Canada and one in Alaska. You can leave me your or Al’s phone, and when I reach one of these Gates, I’ll cross it and call you to see if you’re ready to meet or want to continue exploiting Earth.”

She shook her head and said in a sharp tone. “No, no way! We’re not leaving you or splitting up. We need to think of another solution.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I had no more ideas.

Rue wagged his tail and spoke up. “Time on Earth fast. Time on Lumis slow. Long time on Lumis. Short time on Earth.”

Did I mention that I have the smartest dog in all the worlds?

I knelt, petting and scratching his ears. “You are the smartest, most genius, and coolest dog in all the worlds.”

He rewarded me with lots of tail wags and face licks.

Mahya looked puzzled. “I don’t see how that helps.”

I stood up, thinking aloud. “By my estimate, the mana took five to seven months to go from seven to eight. We don’t know exactly when it went from six to seven or up to eight, so that’s as accurate as I can estimate. Three weeks to a month here is a day on Earth. You think we would travel in Lumis for fifteen years?”

“Not a chance,” she replied firmly.

“Exactly.”

“So let’s travel this world,” I suggested, “and when we’re ready to continue to the next one, we’ll decide whether to return to Earth for a certain period or continue to a new world. Maybe we’ll find a fascinating Gate along the way, and this question will be moot. If not, then Earth currently has a lot of Gates. We can always use it to travel to a better Gate—we have the list—and on the way, collect whatever you want.”

Mahya nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. “That sounds like a plan.”

I was relieved.

After I finished merging all the crystals and engraving them, we had seventeen crystals.

Mahya looked at the crystals, frowning. “It is not enough.”

I was puzzled. “I thought you wanted five for the motorcycle. If I’m not mistaken, you said seven and then went down to five. There are seventeen here. What’s the problem?”

“I need five per motorcycle, at least eight or maybe even ten for your ATV, and only the spirits know how many per Jeep. And don’t forget the jet skis.”

I shrugged. “Do we need everything now? Are you planning to convert all the vehicles while we wait for Al?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Right now, we need two motorcycles and an ATV.”

I did a quick mental calculation. “So you need between one and three more crystals, right?”

“Yes.”

“The core can make enough monsters for one crystal in about two days. Maybe two and a half days. Maybe we can also put the second core on the vent and get bigger monsters?”

Her eyes widened in alarm. “Not a good idea. You never know what kind of monster we’ll get. I don’t feel like fighting the giant snake or that weird thing with the tentacles and dozens of eyes. I still have nightmares.”

I shuddered. “Fair point. We’ll stick with the current core then.”

She facepalmed. Ha-ha—ladies and gentlemen—she facepalmed! I’m not the only clueless one here. “I’m going to put the core in the boat. We no longer need the crystals in the boat or the charging station. Order the house to open the pillar, and I’ll be right back. In the meantime, take out the boat on the lake.”

On the way to the lake, Rue joined me, speaking louder than usual, “TV at home working!”

“Yes, I know. Why? Do you want to go watch TV?”

“No! Rue do cat patrol.”

“Good boy. Cat patrol is important.”

His tail wagged so intensely that it almost created a localized hurricane.

Mahya collected all the crystals from everywhere and gave them to me for merging and engraving. This project took three more days; we now had thirty-one engraved crystals. She seemed much calmer, probably because the number of crystals was enough to convert one jeep or something.

She assigned me the task of disassembling Al’s motorcycle. Meanwhile, she finished assembling her motorcycle and ensured everything was working correctly. I barely had time to disassemble a third of the bike when I heard her exclaim, “Yes!”

“What happened?” I called out.

“You’ll see,” she replied with a grin.

She sat on the motorcycle and started driving. The engine came to life completely silently, and the runes on its body glowed with a soft, almost imperceptible blue light. I stood up, staring in amazement. The wheels spun effortlessly, and though mana was invisible, the glowing runes hinted at the powerful energy running through the machine.

I knew we were working on converting a motorcycle into Magitech, and I had experience with the boat, but this was still incredible to see. A motorcycle from Earth running on mana instead of fuel. The silent engine made it feel almost unreal, like it glided on air.

Mahya’s face lit up with excitement as she drove it around. She practically glowed with joy. And I couldn’t help myself; I started clapping and jumping in exhilaration. “You did it!” I called to her.

She threw her fist in the air and shouted, “Yippee!”