As I sat and regeed my mana, I was totally bored. I wao cook, but had no more takeaway tainers. Then I almost, almost facepalmed, but stopped myself at the st moment. It was necessary to adopt a mi based on my abilities a go of Earth’s perspective. With pots in hand, I began cooking, and after it was ready, I stored the food as it was i. I cooked aied a whole cooler before I ran out of kindling and wood. I hoped that I’d be able to fill up my supply of branches with all this rain.

  After two days, my mana was full, and I was ready to go. I looked at the map for orientation and saw that we had traveled so far east that there was no point heading to the inal town I had pnned. I looked around and saw that if we headed further east, we would meet a road that went to a capital city, and from there, I could take a road heading in my dire. And there was even a big forest on the way, so I could stock up on kindling and branches.

  It took me a long time to figure out how to break dowent; it was more plicated thaing it up. I decided to use it more and learn to work with it. Initially, it took me twenty mio set up my regur tent, but now I did it in five.

  It was still raining, so I took out my umbrel and began walking. After a few minutes, I felt strange walking through the wilderness with a bck gentleman’s umbrel. It felt ridiculous, so I put on a raincoat and a wide-brimmed hat a more like an adventurer. Yes, now I was ready.

  We walked most of the day in the rain, but by te afternoon, I was so fed up with being rained on that I set up camp early with a regur tent; I didn’t feel like fighting with the big one. We had dinner with a beer—both of us—ao sleep early.

  The day, the rain stopped. Thank you, Jesus, God, Guiding Spirits, or my Luck stat—I didn’t care who, as long as the rain stopped. We set out in a much better mood and walked for three days until we reached the forest.

  In the forest, I didn’t go in a straight lio the road; I roamed the forest for a while to fill my kindling and wood supply. It took me some time to find dry branches under fallen trees. After the third fallen tree, I got aook out my hatchet, and began cutting it into logs. I returo the other two and cut them up as well. I searched for more fallen trees and filled a year’s supply of logs. Cutting trees fs was hard work. The sweat off me, making me look like the rain had never ceased. I also remembered seeing in movies that people split the logs before using them for firewood. My hope was it wouldn’t be too difficult.

  After awo days in the forest, we reached the road. Stretch immediately stopped and looked at me.

  “What?”

  He jumped in pce, did two turns around himself, and sat down with his head turned sideways like he sits in the bike trailer.

  “Wow, buddy, yetting scary smart. I uood that easily.”

  He jumped in pd gave a short bark.

  “Yeah, I’m happy we uand each other too. Bicycle trailer ing up.”

  I identified him again after such a dispy.

  StretchAdult Bushnd Dress to awakening 87%

  After eg the bike, he hopped in, and we tinued on the road. The only road I had traveled on so far was hard-packed dirt, so I was afraid the roads would be muddy. This one was also hard-packed dirt, but it was okay. Some areas looked “softer,” but I avoided them and had no trouble traveling on it.

  After twenty minutes, we saw a big cart full to the brim with something covered with a giant tarp. When we passed the cart, the driver looked at the bike with i, and I waved to him; he waved back, and we tinued. He didn’t look like he needed help or medical assistanaybe “healical assistance”? Despite finding them funny, I told myself to stop making silly jokes. I looked now like I was in my twenties; I should stop with the “dad jokes.”

  Hmm, that got me thinking. The caravan leader could identify me, so other people could as well. My profile said that I was 38 now, but I looked like a tee might be a problem. I remembered there was something about gmour and made a o myself to check it wheopped for lunch. Wheopped, I checked again the One of the Crowd Ability:

  One of the Crowd

  Unique Css Ability

  Everything a Traveler o hide their status as a Traveler.

  In many worlds, abilities or devices exist to view personal information. This ability lets you cloak or modify your details:

  ge your o blend in with loorms.Dispy one of your sub-csses or professions as your primary css, or show a false css based on your Skills or Spells.Hide parts of your information and repce them with question marks (Warning: This draw unwatention).On some teologiana worlds, identification is required, like papers, badges, or ID chips. Use this ability to jure suitable IDs.Mana cost: 100 mana for standard ID creation; 500 mana for advanced IDs, like tral database-linked chips.If the world doesn’t reize your race, apply a gmour to appear local. The gmor drops once you pass through a Gate to a new world.Mana cost: 300 mana per world.To travel successfully, a Traveler may need extra dotation. This ability allows you to jure whatever dots are required.Mana cost: varies based on specific requirements.Cost: 1 Ability Point.

  Turns out I didn’t o gmor myself. I fot about the ability to edit Personal Information. I ged my age to 20 and rexed—now my “age” matched my face.

  We tinued on the road and occasionally passed people on carts, or sometimes walking and dragging a hand cart behind them. I always looked to see if they looked like they needed help, but so far, so good. I didn’t stop to ask, but I looked.

  We reached a rest stop early in the evening, and I was surprised to see that it was bustling with people. It robably because the road led to a capital. We stopped at the rest stop, and I saw somebody there cooking and selling food. A roadside restaurant—they were in every world, but here it was on an open fire, and the supplies came from a cart. It was some kind of meat on wooden skewers, ed in round, ft bread with grilled vegetables.

  I approached the vendor, trying to catch his eye. “How much for a bread with meat?” I asked, a bit of curiosity in my voice.

  The vendnced up, his eyes kling with a friendly smile. “Three coppers. I also have cheap leftovers for the dog,” he offered, nodding towards a small pile of scraps.

  I chuckled, shaking my head. “It’s okay. He has his own food.”

  I took a bite of the bread, sav the fvors. It was delicious—so good that I decided to stock up. “Give me aen,” I said, grinning.

  He raised an eyebrow, giving me a funny look. “Three silvers and it will take a few minutes.”

  I waved a hand dismissively. “No problem. What animal does the meat e from?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “Mukar,” he replied. The ickled a memory, but I couldn’t quite pce it.

  “What does a mukar look like?”

  He leaned festuring with his hands. “It’s about your height, with wide shoulders and a narrower backside. It has brown fur and two big horns on the sides of its head, curving upwards. It’s very on in the wilderness; hunters bring them all the time.”

  Huh, that sounded like “my” bison. I rummaged through my bag and pulled out o. “Is this from a mukar?” I asked, holding it up.

  His eyes widened slightly. “Yes… why did you ask what it looks like?”

  I chuckled, scratg my head. “We call them differently from where I e from. Only after your description did I make the e.”

  His curiosity piqued, he asked, “What do you call them, and where are you from?”

  “We call them bison, and I e from the isnds in the south,” I expined.

  He shook his head, a look of amazement on his face. “Never heard of them.”

  He handed me the meat I ordered, and I took out a square baking dish, pg the meat inside carefully.

  “You a mert?” he asked, watg me closely.

  I nodded, a small smile on my lips. “Yes. I have the Iory Blessing,” I added, using the local jargon fidently.

  His i deepened. “What are you selling?”

  I spread my hands. “A wide variety of things. Tell me what is you, and I’ll show you.”

  He thought for a moment, then said, “Things to prepare and cook food and something t home to the missus.”

  I set up my operating table and arranged an assortment of items: knives, a modern 3-stage knife sharpewo wooden cutting boards, pots, bowls, square metal baking pans, a big square barbeque with a grate and a griddle, and a big package of metal skewers.

  His eyes widened, practically drooling over everything. He poi the sharpener. “What is that?”

  “Give me your knife,” I instructed.

  He ha over, and I showed him how to sharpen it in stages. His eyes lit up as he tested the bde’s sharpness. “This is amazing! Where did you get it?”

  “From my family’s store. We sell them,” I replied.

  “How much?” he asked eagerly.

  I hesitated, then remembered my Appraisal Skill and checked the sharpener. “Five gold,” I said fidently.

  He poio the grill . “What is that?”

  I expined how to use the grill, describing the process iail. “How much?” he asked again.

  “Twenty gold,” I stated.

  He tinued asking about the prices of everything. The cheapest item was the cutting boards, which cost 3 silver each. Finally, he decided, and I poi each item, repeating the price.

  “Sharpener – 5 gold. Two smaller knives – 2 gold each, 4 gold in total. Big knife – 3 gold, five silver. Big bowl – 2 gold. Three pots – 8 gold in total. Two square pans – 3 gold in total. Grill with equipment – 20 gold. Your total so far is 45 gold and 5 silver. You also wanted something for your wife?”

  He paused, thinking for a sed. “Yes, but not expensive. You almost took all my money,” he said with a ugh.

  I pulled out some silver jewelry with semi-precious stones and showed him. He was impressed and finally chose a with a pis zuli pendant.

  “It’s worth 6 gold, but since you are such a good er, I’ll give it to you fold, 5 silver,” I offered.

  He thanked me, handing over 50 gold. I looked around, notig a crowd had gathered. “I’ll move my table so I won’t hurt your business,” I suggested.

  He chuckled, shaking his head. “I don’t think they are waiting for me, d. I am sure they are waiting for you.”

  I shifted my table a few meters to the left. He was wrong; a few people waited for him, but most waited for me. Before serving anybody, I gave Stretch food and water and told him to explore when he was do looked like I had a long evening.

  I did a brisk business, and my greed was having a minor tantrum. Based on the prices I got when I appraised things, the people in town got it for a steal. I didn’t mind the price I told Domenid Aurustine. I ected with them through Sophia, and the innkeeper was really nid took good care of me. But the annoying mert in town definitely should have paid the full price, and their royal guard also should have paid more.

  “John, remember to use your Skills—they are magical and awesome!” I told myself and hoped it would stick this time.

  A dy approached my stall, examining the ptes on dispy. She selected four ptes, but as she reached for her pouch, I noticed a cut on her arm.

  “I’m also a healer. Would you like me to heal it for you?” I asked, pointily at the cut.

  She g her arm, then back at me, a hint of skepticism in her eyes. “How much?” she asked, her voice cautious.

  I remembered the usual rate for such treatments in town. “Three copper,” I said with a reassuring smile.

  Her expression softened, and she nodded. “Yes, please.”

  Five minutes after I healed her, I had a sed line for healing. Nothing looked urgent—cuts, burns, and oten tooth.

  As a mert, I would finish with one er, collect the money, ask the one what is them, arrange a small dispy, and, while they deliberated, heal one or two people. Rinse a until I served both lines. I was gd people stopped ing because it was the middle of the night. Still, it was worth it; I made 187 gold, 8 silver, and 3 copper as a mert and 3 gold, 2 silver, and 2 copper as a healer. Not bad for a few hours of work. The only problem was that most of them paid me in copper, and now I had a lot of copper.

  I didn’t want to fight with the local tent I bought, so I id Stretch’s b for him, took out a yoga mattress, pillow, and duvet for myself, called Stretch over, ao sleep.