TravelingDreamer

Chapter 80 – To Educate a Future King

Authors Note

Ignoring the Declaration, this is a tiny chapter because I wanted to focus on 1 thing.

you will get another one with "real meat" later. 🙃

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Lis needed Mahya's help with a project he was working on, so I went to the cloth wholesaler without her. She gave me ten thousand euros and told me to buy her stock, preferably in bright colors.

Alfonsen decided to join me. Apparently, he wasn't inter...

Chapter 79 – Lists and More Lists

When we got to the airport, Alfonsen saw the landings and take-offs and said, “I have significant reservations regarding this mode of conveyance.”

“Sorry, Alfonsen, but flying is the only way to reach China, and you already flew once and saw it's not that bad. Besides, flying is the safest way of travel in this world.” I said.

Lis spoke in my mind, “Not with the rising mana levels.”

I kicked his leg and glared at him, and Mahya was making choking sounds again. S...

Chapter 78 – What Did I Get Myself Into?

When I woke up in the morning, as always, I checked the archive to see if Lyura had answered. There was still no answer, but there was something else. I looked at the Map and saw a new Gate in Austria.

I went out into the living room of the suite and said, "Guys, you need to see this. Open the Archive, and look at the second message from the top."

_______________

Tr. AHM

To my fellow Travelers, I require assistance with a pressing matter. A substantial rec...

Chapter 77 – A Friend for the Journey

I opened my eyes in the morning and immediately shut them again. God, I had the worst hangover. I cast three Healing Touch in succession without opening them until I felt human again, but I was parched. After drinking a gallon of water, I finally felt okay.

I started breakfast when Lis and Mahya came downstairs, and they looked fine.

“How come I woke up like roadkill, and you look as fresh as cucumbers? You drank as much as I did.”

“Higher Constitution.” Said Lis, �...

Need your input

I have a conundrum (like Alfonsen), and would like your input.

My family has suggested I self-publish on Amazon, and I'm seriously considering it. I'm not sure about the KU route, since I don't want to Stub.

And now my conundrum: I already wrote over 145k words, and the Earth arc is about 60-70% done, so it will reach a minimum of 160-170k.

Should I publish the Shimoor arc as a separate book and Earth as a separate book, or combine them in one baby-brick?

What do you ...

Side Story 11 – Conundrum

Alfonsen Holerand Mirbit VII was confronted with a severe conundrum that left him unable to devise a solution. The Gate, his dependable conduit to Muslar, had departed from its customary path. This was unprecedented; Gates were perceived as immutable, their destinations unalterable.
His family's archives contained intricate Gate chains that extended to twenty worlds or more, and these Gates have been in use for the past thousand years without ever changing their destination. However, he w...

 Chapter 76 – Mahya is Rich Now

When we landed in Zurich and checked into the hotel, I said to Lis, "Something strange happened. The system offered me the Bard Class."

"Congratulations. Why is it strange?"

"Because I bought all my instrument playing skills from the system, I didn't learn them 'the hard way.'"

"Why did you buy them instead of learning?"

"Because music lessons are a long process, and I had other things to do."

"What is the criterion to get the class?"

"How should I know? It...

Chapter 75 – Italy

When I got up in the morning, I found a note under the door:

"Thank you for everything.

L."

When I met with Lis and Mahya, they had the same note.

Lis said, "That girl needs to learn to deal with her problems instead of running away."

"From the conversation I had with her yesterday, I think she will go and deal with them. I think she left like that because she was embarrassed." I said.

Just in case, after breakfast, I went into the archive and wrote a messa...

Mahya & Lyura

October 2029

Chapter 74 – Deal With Your Issues

That evening, I prepared a big dinner for us in my new kitchen.

It was simply amazing!

I couldn't stop getting excited about every little thing:

The water pressure was great!

I had perfect control over the temperature!

The drinks and the vegetables for the salad came out cold from the fridge!

The toasted bread came out perfect from the pizza oven!

It was just perfect!

Rue was adamant about bringing 'his' beanbag to the living room, refusing to s...

John's New House

John's Living room & Kitchen

Chapter 73 – I Have No Words … Wow, Just Wow!

I followed Lis's instructions and boarded a flight to Toulouse. After I landed, I rented a car and drove to Balma. When I got there, I called Lis and told him where I was.

He sent me a WhatsApp location half an hour's drive from Balma and told me, "When you get to the driveway, stop, but don't get out of the car. I'll come to pick you up."

I arrived at a farm outside Balma with a seemingly abandoned access road, and after reaching the gate, I parked and called Lis.

He arrive...

Side Story 10 – Frozen Tail

Sonak and Rabban, two seasoned Travelers, crossed paths near a dungeon in Num. They sensed each other's presence, but since they were with different diving parties, they merely nodded at each other and continued on their separate paths.

After the dive, Sonak waited in the closest bar; he knew the other Traveler would show, and there was no alarming twinge from his Perception. When the other Traveler showed up, he cast Silence Bubble, they exchanged names and origins, and began talking.<...

Chapter 72 – I’m A Real Wizard!

Lyura left first for the airport; Lis and Mahya were busy at the computer looking for a good place to work and left the next day.

For the first two days, I didn't know what to do with myself. After such a long time with good friends, it was suddenly hard to be alone. I toured Lleida a bit, but didn't even feel like buying anything. I wasn't exactly down, but I felt lonely. Rue felt what I was going through and kept clinging to me, licking my face, rubbing his head on me, and reminding m...

Chapter 71 – We Got to Move It Move It

After letting me off the hook regarding training, we took a train from Bucharest to Brasov. We toured Brasov, visited the history museum in Piaţa Sfatului, rented a car, and drove to the Gate.

Lis and Mahya touched the Gate, and Lis said, “Blech! I hate those.”

“You should read the local literature about them, especially the romantic stuff; it’s hilarious,” said Mahya.

I touched the Gate, my eyes got as big as saucers, and I asked, “They’re real?...

Chapter 70 – Me and My Big Mouth

On our way to the Gate, I took out the wooden ring I had gotten from the dungeon and put it on my finger. I looked at my profile and didn't see any change. I asked Lis, "The ring's description says +2% constitution, but I don't see any change in my profile."

"What is your constitution?"

"46."

"Two percent equals 0.9. You won't see it in your personal information until at least one full point."

"That doesn't seem like a very impressive dungeon reward."

"It’s not...

Chapter 69 – An Even Bigger Snake

I was in the middle of a strange dream about snakes turning into trees and then meowing when I felt a tongue on my cheek and heard a childish voice in my head. "Food!"

I was still more asleep than awake, so it didn't register. I felt the "tongue alarm" again and heard, "Food!"

My eyes flew open, and I saw Rue standing by my bed.

"You said it?"

Again, I heard, "Food!"

I jumped out of bed, hugged him, and said, "Buddy, you can talk!"

"Food!"

“Yeah, ye...

Chapter 68 – Dungeoneering 101

In the morning, I went to cook breakfast and decided to experiment with the snake meat. I cut it into small cubes, fried them with paprika, garlic, and oregano, and added them to an omelet. I tasted the first omelet, and it was so good that I cooked over two kilograms of meat with eggs. I knew it would be gone. I seriously considered asking Lis to search for more scary snakes, and I regretted not neutralizing the poison from the "damaged goods" snake. It doesn’t matter that I personally had...

Chapter 67 – I’m a Real Adventurer Like in the Books

I trudged wearily to the Gate, my mind and body drained of all energy. When I crossed, I had even forgotten to cast Invisibility, a sign of my exhaustion. Fortunately, there was nobody on the other side. Lis and Mahya, though tired, still had some spark left in them. Rue, on the other hand, was full of energy; he napped while we worked. I was so worn out that I couldn't even decide if he was a lucky dog or a lucky familiar.

We checked our phones on the other side of the Gate, and five d...

Saint Petersburg

Moscow

A Tuonela Burrower

Chapter 66 – “Loot” Master (Unfortunately, Still “In Progress”)

After I finished checking all my announcements, Mahya asked Lis, “Should we harvest here or on Earth?”

Lis thought momentarily and said, “Let's do another round and then decide.”

They left and came back after a short while.

“Looks peaceful.” Mahya said, “I think we dealt with all the big threats.”

"Excellent! Then we will harvest here." Said Lis.

In a second, a pile of monsters appeared in front of them. Most were snakes, like the green one I kill...

Chapter 65 – Friends Are Awesome

We flew from Paris to Moscow, Russia. I could take Rue on the plane as a service dog, but I had to buy him a seat because of his size. He decided actually to use his seat, demanded that I lift the handrest, and flopped on me. He had too much fur, so I spent the whole flight squished and sweating bullets. Thank God the flight was only four hours long.

We spent a week touring Moscow and visited the Kremlin and the Red Square. At the Red Square, Rue made friends with a class of six or seve...

The Villa on the Riviera

Chapter 64 – Picking Up Another “Stray”

I found a fantastic villa on the Riviera, rented a car, and announced at dinner, “We are going on a vacation to the French Riviera to celebrate your new class. I found and rented a luxurious villa for us."

Lis and Mahya looked hesitant, so I asked, “What’s the problem? Why the face?”

“Thank you, John,” Lis said. “We simply thought that after I get the class, we can start visiting Gates to advance our Gate count.”

“No arguments. I've already paid for it, des...

Stretch - first meeting

This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship

My Dog is a Bard

Stretch