For the first two days in Marita, I stayed by the Gate. All around me were the same “unnatural” colors of everything and the same pointy peaks. Of course, expecting the world to change was a bit odd, but plants usually shift with the seasons. Trees turn from green to the colors of autumn and then lose their leaves. Here, nothing changed, even though I could feel it was a different season. The air was much colder. Before, we wore T-shirts and felt hot. Now I needed a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket, despite my body’s higher tolerance for cold.

The first day I spent by the Gate, I lay on the grass beside the creek, gazing up at the sky, listening to the water, and basking in the quiet. There was a special quality to it. It was the first time I had been alone, completely alone, without even Rue, in the last twelve or maybe fifteen years. It was hard to keep track of time without any need to do it, especially with the time skips. When I canceled the “fake” age, my Personal Information claimed I was fifty-two years old, but I had left Earth for the last time in 2034, after my trip in Lumis. Without the time skips, I should have been fifty-one years old then, and now at least fifty-seven or even fifty-eight. The whole thing was too confusing, so I stopped thinking about it. It gave me a headache.

For the first time in a long while, I examined my Personal Information in detail, rather than just looking at the parts that interested me, and I found many changes, some of which were unexpected.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: John Rue

Age: 20

Familiar: Rue Level 18

Display Class: Healer Level 16

Healer Spells:

Heal Muscle - 24Diagnose: 22Stop Bleeding - 6Heal Bone - 18Control Blood - 15Healing Touch - 25Neutralize Poison - 6Purify - 22Clean - 24Anesthesia - 17Regrow Flesh - 5Fortify Life Force - 16Cleanse - 3Neutralize Curse - 3Regrow Bone - 2Regrow Enamel - 2Ranged Heal - 5Emotional Healing - 1Explosive Diarrhea - 1Hidden Class: Gate Traveler Level 6

Gates to next level: 6/23

Class Abilities:

ConversionTravelers’ ArchiveIdentify - 5Storage - x18 (373,248 m3)Local Adaptation:

-Spoken language

-Written language

-Runes/Magic ScriptMapOne of the CrowdProfession: Merchant Level 10

Merchant Skills:

Bargain - 23Sense Honesty - 18Appraisal - 15A Nose for Business - 23Inventory - 1Sub-Class 2: Wizard Battle Master Level 13

Wizard Abilities:

Mind Split x5Mana Sense [Adept]Mana Saturation [Apprentice]Mana Control [Medior]Mana Regeneration x 5Mana Oneness [Novice]Wind [Medior]Lightning [Medior]MistNatureFire [Novice]Ice [Novice]Water [Master]EarthSpell Weaver [Novice]Spell Creation [Medior]Mana Siphon [Novice]Wizard Spells:

Harvest Mana CrystalTelekinesis - 18Aggressive CleanHarvest Herbivore [Upgraded]Harvest Snake [Upgraded]Protective ShieldHarvest CropsHarvest Predator [Upgraded]Harvest Bugs [Upgraded]Battle Master Skills:

Unarmed Combat [Junior]Ranged Weapons [Medior]Mana Combat [Apprentice]Blunt weapons [Medior]Bladed weapons [Senior]Polearm Mastery [Junior]Hafted Weapons [Junior]Firearms [Apprentice]Battle SageSub-Class 3: Bard Level 7

Bard Spells and Skills:

Arcane Lullaby - 12Harmonic Illusion - 7Rhythmic Resonance - 1Musical Memory - 1Guitar Playing - 17Flute PlayingViolin Playing - 5PianoSaxophone PlayingHarmonica PlayingLute PlayingCello Playing - 5Poetry - 5General Spells:

Mana Dart - 15Mana shield - 16Spellbinding - 3Invisibility - 23Mend - 2Adaptable Light Ball - 10Restore - 23Heat - 5Absorb Mana - 9Exude Mana - 13Copy Magical Text - 20Telepathy - 15Privacy Sphere - 3Copy Text - 9Verdant Grasp - 2Flourish - 6Nature’s Path - 1Wind Blade - 15Blazing Orb - 10Bramble ShieldFuse Stone - 2Lift Block- 2Stone Shard - 7Thornbind BarrierTranslate Text- 1Print Thoughts - 1Final Reinforcement - 4Bind Timber - 2Swift Joinery - 1Rapid Framework - 1Stacking Aid - 3Mass Lift - 1Auto Alignment - 2General Skills:

Mining - 12Develop Negative - 10Print Photograph - 10Photography - 17Sailing - 10Engraving - 12LTA FlightJump - 2Stealth - 3Riding - 1Motorcycle Mechanic - 3Car Mechanic -1Glassblowing - 1Woodworking - 1Leather Crafting - 1Metalworking - 1Bookbinding - 1Health: 9,500/9,500

Mana: 14,000/14,000

Strength: 87

Agility: 86

Constitution: 90

Vitality: 110

Intelligence: 131

Wisdom: 131

Perception: 103

Luck: 80

Creativity: 50

Tenacity: 1

Free Points: 5

Ability points: 213

Huh, Ice got the Novice tag.

I forgot to check it after my practice.

A lot of my skills progressed “on paper,” or more accurately, “on screen,” which was expected. The numbers only represented the actual progress in the skill, which I immediately saw and felt. From one Wind Blade I progressed to three, and the Blazing Orb was almost worthy of the name Fireball, if it would grow a bit more. At least to ten centimeters. Sigh. It started at about two, so the five it had already reached was nice, but still not a worthy fireball. I also noticed the progress in photography. Before, taking a decent shot was hit or miss, but now most of my pictures came out well without me even thinking about the settings. Developing film no longer meant fumbling in the darkroom and wasting half the rolls, and printing photographs had gone from trial and error to producing results that actually looked intentional.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

For the first time, I noticed that the skills Skinning and Butchering had disappeared from my profile. “Hey!” I protested out loud. “Where did the Skinning and Butchering go?”

The connection point in my mind gave a faint twitch, and my gaze locked on the Harvest Herbivore spell.

“That’s not an answer,” I said, frowning. “I bought those skills, paid good ability points for them. The spell I created myself, so even if it swallowed up those skills, give me back the points.”

A wave of mild reprimand rolled through my thoughts.

“Oh, shut up,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m not the problem child here. You are. I paid for skills that disappeared, so either give me something else instead or give me a refund on the points.”

The reprimand grew stronger, pressing heavier in the back of my mind.

“No, I won’t let it go. I paid for those skills. Give them back or give me something else.”

Tenacity ticked up to 2.

“Are you trying to say I’m pigheaded? If yes, I agree, and I still think you owe me the points. You can also leave the added point in Tenacity. I earned it, if only by continuing to communicate with you and putting up with your nonsense.”

A faint ripple of mild hurt came from the system, and I actually felt a little bad about it.

“Fine, not nonsense. But I still want those points back.”

Creating an Astrological Chart and Pole Dancing appeared on my profile. I stared at them, blinking. It took me a moment to realize those were workshops I had attended. I’d gone to so many that it took a minute for the connection to click, and then I started laughing. Of all the workshops the system could have returned to me, I had to admit this was a pretty funny choice for a refund.

Tenacity ticked up to 3.

“Ha!” I said. “Fine, you’re forgiven.”

And of course, I converted the workshops back to points. I had no intention whatsoever of advancing the Pole Dancing skill.

I still had the five free points and, after staring at them for a minute or two, couldn’t decide where to put them, so I left them alone again.

The progress in Ice affinity was nice, leaving only Earth from the main ones still at a beginner level. As far as I was concerned, Mist and Nature were so specific that there was no point in training them. They would progress in the right circumstances.

That night, I didn’t sleep, spending the hours watching the amazing light show in the sky. Beauty-wise, this world was something else. I ate from my Storage and didn’t even open the house. I loved my house. It was the best house in the whole wide universe, but it somehow gave me a feeling of being at home rather than on a glorious vacation.

The next day, I still lay by the stream, but let my awareness slowly seep into the ground. This time, I didn’t send my mana in like I did when destabilizing castles for delivery, but copied what I did with water naturally. Simply let my awareness, not even my mana sense, seep into the ground. It was much slower. With water, I could pervade an area of over a hundred square meters in a second. With Earth, maybe two centimeters in the same time. But that didn’t stop me. With closed eyes, I lay there and let my awareness slowly spread through everything, just feeling it. The packed weight of soil pressing against itself, the loose scatter of pebbles shifting faintly, the faint threads of moisture winding through cracks, and the quiet stillness that came from something that had been unmoving for a long time. There was a steady hum to it, not sound, but a presence that made it feel alive in its own way.

That was how I spent the whole day. I didn’t try to do anything with Earth, simply learned its rhythm and personality, or maybe beingness, while looking at the sky.

That night, I pitched a tent to sleep in. Opening the house still didn’t feel right. Not the right vacation vibe.

In the morning, I followed the stream in the opposite direction from where we had gone last time. Downstream, I already knew, so it was time to see what lay upstream. The water curved lazily at first, weaving between scattered rocks, but before long, it began to zigzag sharply, winding around the strange pointy peaks ahead. They weren’t mountains, not even hills, but jagged spikes of rock jutting straight out of the ground at all sorts of heights, some no taller than a tree and others towering like watchtowers over the valley.

The ground between them shifted in color, covered in uneven patches of orange, pink, purple, and blue grass that swayed faintly in the breeze. As I walked, the colors changed in slow gradients, a broad band of violet giving way to a slope of rust-orange, then a sudden splash of bright magenta around the base of one spire. Occasionally, a bird glided high above, wings barely moving against the pale blue sky, but there was no other movement. No grazing animals, no predators—nothing but the wind and the steady sound of the stream.

Hours passed like that, the spires growing closer and the stream narrowing, its water tumbling over shallow steps of stone and breaking into foamy ribbons. By evening, I found a small flat space in the shadow of one of the tallest peaks. The rock rose like a spear into the darkening sky, its base wrapped in a halo of violet grass. I pitched my tent there, lit a fire, and took out my guitar.

The music filled the empty valley, bouncing off the stone walls. I didn’t write anything new, just played old favorites from Earth and a few of the songs I’d written over the years. The firelight flickered against the jagged rock, and the stream kept its quiet rhythm in the background. In the middle of the night, with the most beautiful light show nature could offer spilling across the sky in shimmering waves, I finally went to sleep.

Like this, I continued for three days. There were scattered towns and cities marked on the Map, but I chose to bypass them. The stream I followed led toward one town, so before reaching it, I switched to a smaller stream that connected to it. At night, I either slept in the tent or stayed up, watching the sky and playing. I mostly ate from my Storage, but on the evening of the third day, I made my campfire lasagna and smiled with nostalgia, remembering my trip to Shimoore. Back then, I understood nothing, only that I wanted to leave Earth and the pain I carried. In a way, I was running. From my past, from grief, from memories. But it was also a magical time.

Having books was great, even though I decided to pave my own way. They still gave me hints about which trail to follow. But that time, when I was utterly confused, freaked out by the system communicating with me, discovering magic for the first time, not only as a healer, and meeting people whose worlds were so far from my own, was magic. Not mana magic, but magic nonetheless.

As I remembered, my fingers began to pluck the guitar strings on their own, and a melody slowly rose, followed by lyrics filled with memories. I shook my head at my waterfall jump and laughed out loud at the goat incidents. I remembered the princess named Sophie in honor of my help. When the song ended, I looked up at the sky and, meaning every syllable, said, “Thank you.”

The Beginning

The Gate called me with unseen threads,

Locked my mind on target.

Pulled my feet from the well-worn trail,

Unlocked the hidden secret in my blood.

An open universe, unknown,

Full of magic and wonder.

But also a confusing time,

Without understanding.

Chorus

My blood hid a secret,

So big and bold,

It overshadowed everything.

But it also opened a door,

A door to achieve anything.

From a junk-filled Archive,

To mana’s rise,

From healing to making money.

The journey was strange and wild,

Yet always an adventure.

I learned to breathe again, to feel,

And not only sorrow.

I found my path, my strength, my voice,

And a thousand tomorrows.

Chorus

My blood hid a secret,

So big and bold,

It overshadowed everything.

But it also opened a door,

A door to achieve anything.

I met a friend,

A friend for life and always,

A bound soul who loves lunch,

To be dangerous and a protector.

Learning, growing, and expanding,

Freeing the spirit and the self.

My beginning was strange,

But always, always an adventure.

Chorus

My blood hid a secret,

So big and bold,

It overshadowed everything.

But it also opened a door,

A door to achieve everything.

Confusion and being mesmerized,

Dangerous waterfall jumps,

Exploding goats and bison hunts,

Meeting people on the road.

Teaching sailors to sing of rivers,

Giving a princess a luck reserve,

Catching my first glimpse of real magic,

And learning to think with the unknown.

Final Chorus

My blood hid a secret,

So big and bold,

It once overshadowed everything.

But it also opened a door,

A door I now use to achieve anything.