We spent the entire day by the river—rexing, swimming, pying, aing. My body, still too thin, showed every bone and muscle. The only pants that stayed on me were sants with a string.

  Once again, I attempted to teach Stretch the art of fetg. After a siderable amount of effort, he relutly brought back the stice.

  “You’re supposed to be a dog. Dogs adore pyich.” He shot me a disdainful look and trotted off to relieve himself on a nearby bush. Well, that was the end of that versation.

  That evening, inspired by a recipe I saw in the Archive, I cooked a stew with bison ks and root vegetables. It turned out delicious, and I felt my body absorb the mana. I facepalmed—again. It seemed my face was being the victim of my fetfulness. The bison “mana potions” had pletely slipped my mind. After taking out my biggest pots, I began cooking all the bison ks, st them in the newly ed takeaway boxes. I cooked until the middle of the night, using all the meat ks. Stretch still had fifteen big burgers, and he could eat the stew, but stog up on fresh meat seemed like a good idea.

  The following day, I told Stretch we were going bison hunting, and he ran in circles with excitement. I identified him to see his progress:

  Stretch

  Adult Bushnd Dog

  Progress to awakening 39%

  “Well, buddy, you are progressing nicely.”

  As we packed up the camp a off toward the own, I couldn’t help but hope we’d enter bison along the way. The two types of herd animals I had seen so far were bison and goat, and the goat wasn’t my favorite. By lunchtime, we had reached the foot of the first mountain in the . It was a massive , much rger than it appeared on the Map. Keeping my fingers crossed, I hoped we wouldn’t enter any obstacles in finding a passage between the mountains. After lunch, I decided to climb the mountain and look from its top for a passage and bison. The ine didn’t seem too steep, and the mountain wasn’t that high, so by my estimate we could reach the top in an hour or two.

  I seriously overestimated my climbing ability—we reached the mountain top only by su. When I finally stood oop, it took my breath away. It was one of the most beautiful panoramas I had ever seen. The setting sun bathed the entire ndscape in a warm, golden light, casting long shadows that danced across the valleys below. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, their lush greenery gradually giving way to the dense forests that carpeted the distant horizon. The river we swam in earlier shrough the valley, its waters sparkling like a ribbon of molten gold in the fading sunlight.

  Everywhere I looked, vibrant e, pink, and purple hues paihe sky, blending seamlessly into the azure blue above. Wisps of clouds drifted zily, their edges tinged with the colors of the suhe peaks of the surrounding mountains stood majestically, their rugged silhouettes outlined against the brilliant sky. Each peak was distinct. Some were ft with some vegetation, while others were jagged and bare, standing as sileinels over the valley.

  The ndscape’s sheer vastness and untouched beauty filled me with a profound sense of awe and serenity. It was a sight that seemed to traime, a perfect blend of tranquility and grandeur. I felt a deep e to the world around me, a sense of belonging, and an almost overwhelming peace. It was a moment of pure, unadulterated wohat made all the effort of the climb worthwhile.

  Standing there, gazing out at the breathtaking vista, I couldn’t help but feel deeply grateful for my jourhe uainty, the challenges, and even the mundane moments all led to this—a ce to witness suparalleled beauty. It was a reminder of why I traveled. This was the reward—the ce to see the world in all its raw, magnifit splendor.

  The rest of the mountains in the weren’t much taller than the one I was standing on, and most of them were very wide, with valleys between them. One valley had another river that even curved in the dire we were heading, but I wasn’t sure I could talk Stretto the aybe now that he was more intelligent, it would be easier.

  It was getting dark fast. The mountaintop was small, so there was no pce to set camp. We climbed down again for ten minutes until we reached a ft area big enough to set up one of my smaller tents.

  The following m, I climbed to the mountaintop again and took out my binocurs. Searg the valleys for bison, I found a herd. It was in the opposite dire from where we were heading, but I wasn’t in a hurry to reach the town. Although I waress on my looting, a few days out of my way wouldn’t be a problem. I looked from one end of the mountain to the other a my gaze “snag” on a particur mountain. There was nothing special about it, except maybe it was shorter than its immediate neighbors. Again, I looked from one end of the mountain to the other and agai my gaze snag on that mountain; it felt like it “pinged” me.

  Hmm, iing.

  I opened my Map, zoomed in until I located that specific mountain, and marked its location. I took out my camera and took some pictures; even without the suhe panorama was breathtaking. I decided I wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere, so I sat down and looked at the view. Stretch put his head on my p, and I scratched his ears. The breathtakiy around me made me feel both amazed and at peace. As I took a deep breath, I sensed myself expanding as though I was both a part of the world and enveloped it. I stayed there all day and enjoyed another su. For me, those days, those moments, no matter how long or short, were my reason for traveling. This was the reason for my journey. Healing people gave me a feeling of aplishment, and I still had the challenge of the loot spell I was determio crack. But those things were the “doing” part of my jourhis day, and the time I spent in the grotto, were the “being” part of my jouro be in the moment and take it in.

  The day, we climbed down and headed toward the iing mountain. I didn’t know if it was my Perception or Luck doing the “pinging,” but something was there; I was sure of it.

  It took us two days to reach it, and it was getting dark. So, after setting up the camp, we had dinner ao sleep early. We walked almost nonstop, faster than usual, and I was tired.

  When I examined my body again in the m, it looked much better. Over the past few days, I had beeing more than usual and it seems like I had gained most of my body weight back. After I packed up the camp, we began climbing the mountain. Stretch must have had mountain goats in his ary; he climbed like walking on a ft road. After about three hours, we reached the mountain top. The view was amazing but not much different from the view from the other mountain.

  Now what?

  I sat oop, waiting for something to happen. Nothing.

  Hmm, maybe it’s something I’ll see from here?

  With my binocurs in hand, I looked from side to side. I could see further north from here. After the mountain , there was a forest, and I saw some smoke. It robably the town I was heading to. Looking for the bison herd, I couldn’t see it. I had no idea what to do , so I just sat there for a while, and Stretch used the opportunity to nap.

  After about an hour of sitting there, I had an idea. My Luck description said something about using it actively. I checked, just in case.

  Milestone Reached

  Luck 20 or Above

  Reag a Luck stat of 20 or above marks a signifit milestone in your journey. At this level, you ow actively engage your Luck to determihe best dire to travel for a fortue. This means more than just avoiding danger; it means seeking fortuitous enters, disc hidden treasures, and arriving at pces where success and prosperity await...

  It took me a couple of seds to figure out how to “actively e, but the minute I did, I felt a pull in a specific dire, like a pass needle pointing a certain way. It was on the opposite side of the mountain from where we climbed, and I followed the “Lupass.”

  Halfway down, we reached a narrow cave entraween two rocks. Without the guidance from my Luck, I would have never found it. It was situated in such a way that it was invisible from any angle. Only when you walked up to the rock stig out of the mountain, could you see the entrance behind it. I took out one of my oil mps, lit it, and we went in.

  Initially, the entrance was very narrow, so I had to walk sideways a custrophobic, but after a few meters, it became wider, and I could walk normally. The walls had a type of moss ohat reflected the light from the mp, so it became much brighter, and I could see well. Stretch ran ahead and disappeared from view, which made me feel much better. I was getting worried about the “mummy chamber” vibe, but I trusted his senses.

  After a few meters, the passage opened into a vast cavern. I walked into the cavern’s ter and lifted the light to see better. The light reflected off the walls, but not like off the moss. The walls of the cavern were full of crystals. I tried to dislodge one of them, but couldn’t. With a medical chisel and a hammer, I dislodged it from the wall in just a few minutes. It looked beautiful, with a deep green color.

  So, I was supposed to see the crystals?

  It made little sense. I facepalmed again—I o stop doing that, or I’d hurt myself.

  I identified the crystal.

  Emerald

  High Quality

  Yes, please, and thank you, Lord!

  I didn’t feel like setting camp at the foot of the mountain and climbing up and down every day, so I walked around all the caverns looking for openings and couldn’t find any. However, the air smelled fresh and not musty or damp, so there must be ventitioing an idea, I shut off the mp, let my eyes get used to the darkness and looked. There were thin shafts of light in three locations. Good, air won’t be a problem. I shuffled slowly to one location with light, took out a small amount of kindling, and lit a small fire. The smoke went up like through a ey. After lighting the mp again, I examihe ground and walls, looking for openings through whiakes or other nasties could pass, but found nothing.

  Excellent.

  I set up a mini-camp he fire. There was no need for the tent inside, but chairs and a table were necessary. Rubbing my hands together with a smug look on my face, I got to work.