During lunch, I remembered something else I wao ask. I waited for Lis to stop eating and asked, “What are mana crystals used for?”

  “You found mana crystals on a low mana world? Are you sure your luck is only 20?”

  “It’s 31, but I didn’t find them; I harvested them.”

  “How?”

  “I killed jurbers; those are level 1 annoying bitey monsters. When I diaghem, I felt they were not actual creatures but mostly prised of polluted mana that started to dissipate. So, I ehem in my mana and squeezed them to prevent the dissipation until I had a crystal of polluted mana. Before it pletely solidified, I cast and Purify on it, resulting in a medium-quality earth mana crystal. Want to see one?”

  He nodded and said, “No wonder you got the wizard css. I never would have even thought of it, and even after your description, I have no idea how to do it.”

  I took out a crystal and showed it to him. His eyes lost focus momentarily, and he said, “Not bad, but you should work on raising the quality and learning to harvest crystals without a mana element. To answer your question, mana crystals power small Magitech devices, imbue ons or objects with magical abilities, and are used in rituals. They are also a type of currency between magical csses, especially wizards, enters, magi-smiths, magi-architects, artificers, witches, and alchemists. The most valuable are the ohat do not have an aspect or a. From the elemental ones, fire and ice are the most sought-after.”

  “How much is such a crystal worth?”

  “It depends. If you are selling to a supplier of magical crystals, maybe five to seven gold, but if you find somebody needing ah mana crystal for something, it be much more valuable and not always in money. It depends on who you are selling to and what they have to offer. I tell you that my has fire mana crystals for cooking, baking, aing water, ice mana crystals in the cooler cupboard, and my temperature regution system has both. As I said, fire and ice are the most sought-after.”

  “Thanks. It’s so cool that you know so many things.”

  He smiled and tinued, “One more thing: if yoing to clear dungeons with a group, let them know you harvest crystals. Usually, healers are very popur, but because they need prote and have a specific role, they get fewer bes or are paid less. You egotiate much better terms.”

  “I’m not sure I want to clear dungeons. I like to travel ahings; I don’t feel like fighting.”

  “You should save one css slot for a fighter css, and I strongly reend clearing dungeons until you get a fighter css. Remember, not all worlds are low-mana worlds. You will he skills of a fighting css if you want to visit high-mana or very high-mana worlds. You will not survive without such a css at a high level. They will crush you like ahworm.”

  “Do you have a fighting css?”

  “Yes, I have the css Psionian. I use psionic bsts, mental attacks, mind trol, illusions, and, of course, a sword. My mana attribute is mind, so it was a natural progression.”

  I felt unfortable with all the questions I was b him, so I asked, “Does the number of questions I have bother you? Am I asking too many questions?”

  He shook his head and said, “Not at all. It is also not one-sided; I learned a few iing things from you. Do not feel unfortable; ask what you want to know.”

  “Thanks. So, another question: our abilities list says that we get more abilities after level ten. Do you know which?”

  “Yes. After level te a new ability every ten levels, but I ot tell you what you will get. Not because I do not want to, but because I do not know. The standard css abilities we get at the start or buy with points are the same, but from level ten and up, we usually receive a choice between two to three options, depending on our jourhus far, needs, or desires.”

  “ you give me an example?”

  “Yes, I give you a few. Travelers are usually secretive about their abilities, so I know only my father, my own, and another friend.

  “My father has the Protector css and loves dungeons.” He leaned bafortably in his chair, his posture exuding an air of authority. “He fights with a sword and shield, two swords, or two shields. But since he is a front-fighter, he got hurt and needed healing many times. He got the Regeion ability at level ten, but I do not knotions he had on top of that. I do not know what he got after; I left when he was level 18,” he cluded, his fingers steepled.

  “I am a researcher and a schor,” he tinued, leaning forward slightly with enthusiasm. “Those two things are very dear to me, and I even got both as a profession and a sub-css at some point, representing my path in life. So, at level ten, I had a choice between the Spell Absorb Knowledge, the ability Perfect Memory, or the trait Crity. I chose Crity. At level twenty, I again was offered the Spell Absorb Knowledge and the ability Perfect Memory, and I also was offered the ability Mind Index. I chose the Mind Index,” he expined, his eyes lighting up.

  “The friend I told you about met a woman he fell in love with and stayed with her,” he said, smiling warmly at the memory. “He occasionally still vehrough the Gates for profit. At level te an option to take one person with him through the Gates, and he chose it; I do not know what the other option or options were. She did not bee a Gate Traveler; she could only traverse the Gates with him while holding his hand. At level twenty, one of his options was to give his panion one of the Travelers’ abilities. He chose to give her access to the Spells and Skills list,” he reted, his hands moving animatedly as he spoke.

  “So, I do not know what you will get, but I tell you that I heard about the trait Crity when I was level four or five and wa ever since,” he cluded, resting ba his chair with a satisfied smile. “At level nine, I had a tdown in my head of how many Gates I had left, not until level ten, but until I would have a ce to get Crity. And I did get it. My friend wao take his wife with him, a the option. So, I would say that the options offered would be based on your experiences or desires,” he finished, giving a reassuring nod.

  “How many Gates do you o reach level ten?”

  “I am unsure about the total number from activation to level ten. It was a long time ago, and I do not remember all the numbers for each level, but from o ten, I needed forty-seven. That I remember.”

  “That’s a lot!” I excimed, my eyes widening in surprise.

  “Yes, and it gets worse. I am level 23. For my level, I need 278 Gates.” Lis shook his head, a slight grima his face.

  I whistled, impressed by the sheer hat was a lot of Gates.

  I suddenly remembered something I read and asked, “Did you visit the Dragon realm?”

  “No, but I am actively searg for it,” Lis replied, his eyes gleaming with determination.

  “How you search for it? Or, more precisely, how you know that a very-high mana gate you touch is to the dragon realm and not somewhere else?”

  “All their worlds have a long and plicated hat ends with -ixious, so it will be something like Berknomstimixious or some other long and absurd hat ends with -ixious.” Lis gestured with his hands, emphasizing the plexity.

  I ughed, shaking my head in disbelief. “Seriously?”

  He nodded and said, “Yes, you find it in the Archive.”

  “I read in the Archive about other human races with tails, wings, horns, and the like. Did you see such races?” I asked, leaning in again, eager for details.

  “Yes, quite a few. And no, I will not tell you about them. Remember, knowing all in advance ruins the sense of discovery and exploration,” Lis said, raising a finger in a mock-scolding manner.

  “Yeah … okay … I had to try.” I shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

  He ughed and shook his head in amusement.

  We sat there for a few minutes. I was trying to remember what else I wao know, and he was quietly chug to himself.

  After a few minutes, he looked at me and asked, “You ran out of questions?”

  “Yep, pretty much.”

  “So now let me tell you two things you should know. The first is simple: look in the spell list and buy either Silence Bubble or Privacy Sphere. They are both good and cost the same, but I prefer Privacy Sphere because it does not create a total noticeable silence around you; it just makes it impossible to eavesdrop.”

  “Why?”

  “Imagine if we met in a tavern or some other public pce. How could we have this versation? Most Travelers have one of those spells, and I believe you mahout it, but it is better to have one just in case.”

  “Yeah, makes sense.” I opehe spells list, read both descriptions and agreed that Privacy Sphere sounded better.

  Silence Bubble

  Create a bubble of plete silence around you. Size and mana cost depends on the number of people you want to include in the bubble. You will not hear the outside noise, and the people outside the bubble will hear nothing from ihe bubble.

  Privacy Sphere

  Create a sphere of privacy around you. Size and mana cost depends on the number of people you want to include in the sphere. You will hear some of the surrounding noise, but people outside the sphere ot hear what is being said inside.

  Both cost one ability point, so I bought the Privacy Sphere.

  “Thanks, I bought Privacy Sphere. You said two things?” I asked, tilting my head in curiosity.

  “Yes, I did. The other one is a warning. You felt me when I came through the Gate, correct?” Lis leaned forward slightly, his expression serious.

  I nodded, furrowing my brows.

  “All Travelers sense each other. When you seraveler, please do not get excited about it immediately and rush to meet them. Stop and listen to what your Lud Perceptioelling you. If you feel the slightest warning, get out of there, fast,” he cautioned, holding up a finger for emphasis.

  “Why?!” I asked, my eyes widening in arm.

  “You traveled only one world, so I do not know if this happeo you, but sometimes we must kill to protect ourselves or others-” Lis began, his voice dropping to a grave tone.

  “Yes, unfortunately. I killed three people already. I did it in self-defense, and in one case, I didn’t have a choice, but I still feel bad about it,” I admitted, looking down and g my fists.

  “Nurture this feeling, even if it makes it hard for you. Some Travelers lose this appreciation for human life and bee dangerous predators. Now, this dangerous predator senses araveler and knows they have a big Ste of iing and valuable things. I think you imagihe rest?” Lis expined, his eyes darkening.

  “They kill other Travelers for their stuff?!” It shocked me. I sat back, stunned.

  “Yes. Always listen to your traits for warning signs.” Lis’s voice was firm and insistent.

  I shuddered and nodded; I would do that, feeling a chill run down my spine.

  “Did you think of more questions?”

  “No, I think the well is dry.”

  “The me expin why you should make Stretch your familiar, and I have an offer for you.” He looked around and asked, “Where is Stretch?”

  “He went outside; I thi bored of our versation. I’ll call him,” I said, standing up.

  I looked outside; Stretch was napping on a patio sofa on the porch. I scratched his ear and said, “e inside, buddy; Lis will tell us about the familiar bond.”

  He got up, stretched, yawned, and followed me inside, his tail wagging zily.

  “Get fortable; it will take a while,” Lis said, and tinued, “The most important part of the familiar bond will enable you to take Stretch through the Gates-”

  “I carried him through the Gate,” I interrupted, sitting back down with Stretch at my feet.

  “You were able to carry him through?” Lis asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes,” I firmed, nodding.

  “Impressive. It means you have a strong bond and are very patible. Still, the bond will allow him to walk through the Gates with you without the o carry him,” Lis expined, his fingers steepling as he leaned forward. “Also, it will speed up his progression and give him a new progression tra top. I will expin.”

  “Mas progress by eating other mas and abs their mana.” He turo Stretch. “Or in your case, Stretch, by being fed mana-rich meat by your human. You lucked there, my friend.”

  He turned bae. “Anyway, they progress with the help of the mana but do not get bes from actually killing mas; they only get the mana. They also kill monsters because monsters are aggressive towards everybody and everything, so they protect themselves and their territories but do not be from the act. When they eat mana-rich meat, their bodies get saturated, and at some point, when their bodies reach maximum saturation, they begin to form a power orb. In mas, it is called a beast core, whose location depends on their ination. Clever mas, like foxes, snakes, some birds, and the like, form it in their head, instinct predators heir heart, and strong mammals like bovines and others like them behind their stomachs,” Lis tinued, his hands moving animatedly to illustrate his points.

  “The familiar bond hastens this process,” Lis added, pausing to make sure I was following. “The ritual is performed with full mana; you will be empty afterward, and Stretch will get more mana from the os. He will get fully saturated and form the core, or in your case, three cores. The familiar always matched their human regarding core location, so he will also have a tri-mana system. Like you, he will also gain the ability to level up. Instead of having a css or profession, he will gain adva from killing monsters. He will receive the same traits as you. And at every level, he will gain one point to each trait. When his intelligence rises, his unication will be more precise, not just feelings, and at some point, you will speak telepathically,” Lis expined, his voice filled with a mix of enthusiasm and seriousness.

  “Annifit be is that you buy him skills and spells from the list with ability points. They will ore, but it is worth it. There is a standard familiar kit among Travelers with familiars that they work very hard to purchase. Invisibility so you cross the Gates together while invisible. Stealth so you send him scouting. Ste so he have his food and water and bring you things he finds. Telekinesis so he have more freedom to act. One of the Crowd so you hide his appearance as needed and jure identification if the need arises, and Mana Shield for prote. Initially, you will have to pay the mana cost of the One of the Crowd abilities until his mana rises, but he should have enough mana for the rest of the abilities.”

  “And there is another major be. You might say that when you create a familiar bond, he bees part of you, your soul. This mas in three ways. One, you will always be able to feel each other, no matter hoart, but not oher side of a Gate. Two, if he gets killed, his spirit remaihered to you, and you perform a ritual to re-create his body. It is a plicated and costly ritual in materials and mana, but I am sure you will agree it is worth it,” Lis waited for my rea.

  I nodded, and he tinued, “Three, his lifespan will match yours. There is a small dowo a familiar in this third point. If you get killed, he dies as well.”

  He turo Stretch again, “I think you will agree, Stretch, that the bes outweigh the downside.”

  Stretodded and wagged his tail.

  “And now I have an offer for you, John. I will give you access to all the books you o perform the ritual. I ot help; you must do everything yourself or the ritual will fail, but I will give you all the knowledge you o perform it. It is no small thing—magical knowledge is guarded jealously in every world I traveled. I will also give you access to my plete library—I have aensive colle of magical knowledge—to study or copy; it is your choice. I will train you in sword fighting and even work with you to figure out how to teach spells so I teach you all the spells I know.

  “In exge, I want you to return to your world with me, help me find work-stores-”

  “Workshops.”

  “Sorry, workshops, and help me collect ability points. Also, for over two hundred years, I have been saving a sub-css slot for the css Magieer. I know I have enough magical knowledge, but the Magical Engineers are even more secretive than regur magic guilds. Since I dislike tech words, I had a problem getting the knowledge, so I that aspect. Please help me find engineering knowledge, and with your wizard css, help me apply it to magical engineering. Also, teach me some iing healing spells. I have only the generior Heal and would love somethier.”

  After thinking for a while, I said, “Your offer sounds amazing, but I’m not sure I want to return. I had a terrible life there, and you might say that I ran away the first ce I got. Also, with the time skip, they might think I’m dead, and if I resurrect suddenly, it will be suspicious. My try in knows about the Gates, and I don’t want to be arrested.”

  He hummed and said, “About your identity, simply gmour yourself to look different and jure identifications with a different name. I have a suggestion: Do not return as if you are returning to your home world. You have traveled to one world already and seen a different way of life. Use this perspective to go to your home world as a Traveler. I am sure your world has iing things to offer that you have never explored, all the worlds do. Be a Traveler, not a resident. Also, there are a lot of Gates in your world; use them to raise your level. I also reeing more ability points; you will hem for you and Stretch. I will do the same. It is an amazing opportunity that you ot let yourself squander.”

  “ I answer you tomorrow? It’s getting te, and I want to sleep on it,” I asked, gng at the darkening sky.

  “No rush,” he replied with a reassuring smile, leaning ba his chair. “You even answer me in a week. Would you like to sleep in my home or your tent?”

  “I think my tent,” I said, rubbing the bay neck. “I need space to think. If I’ll stay in your home, I’ll feel obligated.”

  “I uand,” he nodded, standing up and stretg. “So, let us meet for breakfast and tinue our versation. It does not have to be about my offer. I am sure you will wake up with more questions.”

  I ughed and nodded; he robably right.