TravelingDreamer

B4—Chapter 58: … And Worse

The city walls shrank behind us as the open fields stretched before us, rows of crops shimmering under the sun. Dust rose beneath our boots, the crunch of gravel and dry earth breaking the silence. Rue trotted ahead, his tail swaying like a metronome, his nose occasionally dipping toward the ground. Mahya kept pace with me while Al trailed slightly behind.

We cut between two fields, heading northwest toward the Gate on the Map. The distant murmur of workers tending the crops reached us,...

Zarad

B4—Chapter 57: From Bad to Worse

I spent three days on the river bank or even in the river—submerged up to my neck—trying to achieve Unity with water. A couple of times, I achieved oneness for a short time. I no longer sat there but flowed downstream with the current, passing over rocks and sand and the fish darted around inside me. That was a strange feeling. Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Every time, it slipped away, like I hit a barrier. I couldn’t figure out what was stopping me. Water was all about flow. I’d a...

B4—Chapter 56: Water is a Bitch

We landed, and I opened the house about ten kilometers from the city, right at the mouth of the canyon, hidden just beyond a bend. We were completely invisible from the city, so we didn’t even need Mahya’s concealment poles. She put them up anyway. After dinner, we went to bed.

I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot, but my mind wouldn’t settle. During the flight over the mountains, my hands were busy with the camera, snapping shots of the peaks...

B4—Chapter 55: The Journey in Photos and Prose

It took us the entire day to reach the mountains, and by the time the sun dipped low, streaking the sky with gold and pink, Mahya looked over at me and asked, “Can you find us a place to land?”

The foothills below weren’t exactly inviting. The forest stretched endlessly before me, a thick blanket of trees with their canopies forming a continuous sea of green. After fifteen minutes of flying in a zigzag pattern, I found the perfect landing spot—a flat patch of grass large enough ...

B4—Chapter 54: Affinities

Mahya sat at the dinner table, poking at her food with her fork, with an expression that was a mix of defeat and anger. The air around her felt heavier than usual. “What’s wrong?” I asked, setting my glass down and leaning toward her.

She let out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t figure out the engine,” she admitted, in a low voice. “After disassembling this one, I couldn’t discover anything new beyond what I told you. I’m sure they run on magnetic fields from the poles—no...

B4—Chapter 53: Two More in the Bag

The smell of toast lingered over the breakfast table, mingling with the rich aroma of the elixir of life—coffee. Mahya sat across from me, furiously scribbling on a scrap of paper. She let out an irritated huff every few minutes that made Rue’s ears flick.

“Mahya,” I ventured between bites of eggs, “Al and I are heading to clear out the caterpillar area before we look for dungeons. Want to join?”

She didn’t look up, just waved a hand dismissively. “Good idea. You t...

B4—Chapter 52: A Rocky Adventure

I was flipping pancakes, the scent of batter and butter filling the air, when Al strolled into the kitchen. He stood beside me, his hands casually clasped behind his back, before suggesting, “Considering the simplicity of the spider dungeon, what do you think about tackling some more?”

I shot him a sidelong glance, flipping a pancake with a satisfying sizzle. “I thought you were busy in your lab?”

“Yes,” he admitted, adjusting his posture slightly, “but it can wait. ...

B4—Chapter 51: Too Easy

It was the middle of summer, and the temperatures were brutal. On hotter days, it hit 40 degrees Celsius or more. On the so-called "comfortable" days, it only dropped to 35 or 37. Not much of an improvement. As we ascended in the balloon, I had hoped the wind would make the heat up there more bearable, but no such luck. I still felt like I was melting, sweat pouring down my body.

The view—or what passed for one—was as bleak as ever. Destruction stretched endlessly, broken only by em...

B4—Chapter 50: Ready to Move On

The occurrence was rewarding in more ways than one. Beyond the haul of food and materials, there were other notable gains. I only managed to progress a single level in Wizard Battle Master, but the rest of the group made far more progress. As for my Healer class, I hadn’t anticipated much growth there—most of the injuries we dealt with were straightforward, nothing particularly taxing or new. Besides, we relied heavily on Al’s potions to help him advance, further limiting my opportuniti...

B4—Chapter 49: Harvested Victories

First thing first, I checked my blinking light.

 Level up
+3 to all stats
Wizard Battle Master level 11

 It was a pleasant surprise, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. My aerial battle had been a seamless blend of magic and actual battle from start to finish, tapping into both aspects of my class—battle and magic. That realization was satisfying, a rare moment when everything clicked into place....

A joke inspired by a comment

B4—Chapter 48: From Prey to Predator

After three days’ rest, we were ready to tackle the boss on the central island. It looked like a lush paradise, floating like a dream amidst the endless sea of clouds. Waterfalls cascaded from its cliffs in every direction, the sound of rushing water blending with the occasional cry of distant birds. It looked like something straight out of a storybook.

“This has to be it,” Mahya said, shielding her eyes as she stared up at the dense greenery crowning the island. “If there’s a...

B4—Chapter 47: Tactics Over Chaos

It took us nearly six months to work our way through the occurrence, systematically clearing each section. Starting near the outer edge, we methodically cleared the initial areas and moved inward in a tightening spiral. We stuck to the method that was effective with Al and Rue in the bear zone: one of us would go in to gather information, and then we’d devise a plan. In each zone, one of us played the role of bait while the others went in for the kill.

Predators weren’t our only cha...

B4—Chapter 46: Rue’s culinary retreat

We spent an entire week camped on the now-cleared lake’s shore before tackling the rest of the occurrence. That week was something else. Rue, in particular, had a field day with all the snakes and eels he devoured. I swear, he grew larger—his already massive frame looking just a little bulkier, his fur shinier, and his tail wagging faster.

Al hadn’t been exaggerating; the creatures in the occurrence were indeed extra delicious. Rue, of course, treated the whole thing like the ulti...

B4—Chapter 45: Tasty Occurrence

In the morning, I stepped outside and stopped dead in my tracks. Three stunned snakes lay sprawled in front of my house, their bodies twitching. I was so glad I activated all the protections at night. Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Really?” I muttered to no one in particular.

Resigned to the task, I readied myself, already feeling the strain on my mana reserves even before I started. The siphon helped, sure, but it still took a solid third of my mana pool to finish the job....

Mana Occurrence

B4—Chapter 44: Rue’s Culinary Paradise

When we crossed the portal of the mana occurrence, we stepped onto a mountaintop, and my jaw practically hit the ground. “This is... huge,” I muttered, struggling to find words that did justice to the sight before me. Mahya had warned me it would be bigger, but I’d assumed she meant “dungeon bigger”—not this. She’d estimated a few square kilometers, but this stretched out for tens of kilometers, and it wasn’t just vast—it was breathtaking.

Below me, the world seemed to...

A short Note

Hi everyone,

With the five chapters I published since Sunday, I've cleared last week's backlog.

Starting tomorrow, I'll begin working on this week's chapters. Hopefully, I'll manage to complete ten chapters this week.

If not, I'll finish up the backlog the following week.

Cheers,

Traveling Dreamer

B4—Chapter 43: Personal Progress

I gave the crystal lamp from Lumis one last stink eye, sighed, crossed the task off my list, and set the lamp near one of the seating areas in the mezzanine above the living room. With that done, I reviewed my list and moved on to the next task. Mind splitting.

My four usual splits came easier than ever, taking less than a second without the slightest strain. Good. The fifth, though, was a different story. The moment I pushed for it, my mind trembled, groaned, and rebelled, fee...

B4—Chapter 42: Weird-Ass Dungeons

The following month was “interesting.” The hailstorms came more often, forcing us to stay inside more and more. Al lamented the lack of snow, which would have frozen the lake where I filled up water and allowed for a few hockey games. At least he seemed satisfied with the plant specimens he collected in the ape dungeon, which kept him busy experimenting. He even forgave me for forgetting the herbs he had asked for from Lumis.

Mahya kept herself occupied with the wood she’d collect...

B4—Chapter 41: Monkey Business and Boring Plants

The hailstorm lasted five days straight. On the first day, the hailstones were massive, about the size of tennis balls, but by the second day, they had shrunk to something closer to large marbles. Once we saw the manageable size, I closed up my house, and we made a run for the building we’d picked out earlier. During our first flyover, while cleaning the city, it seemed like the most intact and the best fit for what we needed.

Al, Rue, and I cast Mana Shield to protect from the hail. ...

B4—Chapter 40: Back to Grinding

After dinner, we played Rummy Cube when Mahya glanced up. “Do you think you can clear the dungeon with the Crystalline Reflectrix alone, or should we just leave it?”

I paused, setting my tiles down. “If I load up my Storage with stone slabs, I probably could. But honestly, I’m not sure it’s worth the risk—especially if the dungeon has caves or tunnels. I might not be able to fly high enough in those spaces.”

“That would mean the balls could escape the dungeon,” A...

B4—Chapter 39: Northern Clearing

Author's None

Hi everyone,

I'm back.
Thank you for your understanding, patience, and kind words—they truly helped me navigate this difficult time.

≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

From our perch in the hot-air balloon, the ruined city spread out beneath us like a desolate, broken maze, every corner filled with crumbling stones and twisted metal. Mahya adjusted her grip on the rifle we’d picked up in Tolarib, bracing herself against the b...

Announcement

Hello everyone,

With a heavy heart, I need to share that my brother was tragically killed on the night between Thursday and Friday. I received the news shortly after posting Friday’s chapter.

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be the funeral, and following Jewish tradition, I’ll be observing Shiva with my family—a week-long period where immediate family members come together to mourn.

I’ll have my laptop with me, and while I may be able to write and publish somethi...

B4—Chapter 38: A Plan for Winter

The morning sun filtered through the windows as we settled around the table for breakfast. Maya glanced over her cup and asked, “So, did you wrap up everything you needed in the city?”

I leaned back, tapping the rim of my mug. “Yeah, I think so.”

Al raised an eyebrow. “You neglected to bring me my herbs.”

I froze, feeling a prickle of embarrassment, and rubbed the back of my neck. “Uh… oops?”

Al gave me a long look, his lips twitching. “Did you perh...

B4—Chapter 37: The Gift of Magic

It took three days for the storm to pass. Once I confirmed the sky was completely clear, I flew at top speed toward the gate to Lumis. It took half a day to reach the Gate. Fortunately, time in Lumis passed slowly compared to Zindor, so I hoped that by the time I finished everything, the sky would still be clear.

Crossing over, I nearly fainted—the heat was at least 40 degrees, with humidity thick in the air. Breathing felt almost impossible, and I was melting. I’d experienced hot d...

B4—Chapter 36: Mitigating Some Damage—Hopefully

Another hailstorm started and kept us indoors. This time, the hail was smaller—only marble-sized, not like the ping-pong balls from before. But it was so dense that its smaller size made no actual difference. I had no intention of going out and getting pelted.

I used the opportunity to prepare the medical knowledge for Cloud. I went to my spell room and activated the dead zone. The experience was awful. Every cell in my body screamed that it was wrong, wrong, wrong, with the loudest p...

B4—Chapter 35: The Best Looter in All the Worlds

I sat there, still looking at the palace, when Rue flew over. Invisible or not, he dropped his head unerringly onto my lap and nudged my hand. I laughed, scratching his ear. We stayed like that for hours—him snoozing while I scratched his ears, nudging my hand each time I stopped, and me watching the palace, noticing the groups of people who went in and, after a while, came out looking disappointed or angry.

Something was bugging me, but I couldn’t pin down what it was. It lingered ...

B4—Chapter 34: A Chasm of Joy and Sorrow

When night fell, we turned invisible and made our way to the residential area to distribute the food. Before setting out, we’d sketched a rough map of the slums, dividing the areas among us to cover. Each of us took a section to make sure we missed nothing. But as soon as I reached my assigned area, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do my part. The residents were celebrating—not in the usual way, no food or drink passed around, no music filled the air—but it was unmistakably a celebration....