I was sitting on the deck, enjoying the su colors refleg off the water in a tranquil mood. Mahya was still pying with the engine, so we were sailing on wind power alone, and today, there was almost no wind. I watched the bank drift by a drowsy from the pead quiet when Mahya approached me with a purposeful stride.

  “Did you make the list Lis advised you to make of everything you o do?” she asked, her voice throwi of the serene moment.

  “No ... why do you ask?” I replied, gng up at her, startled by the suddeion.

  “I need you to add something when you finally make the list.”

  “What?”

  “Some kind of wind magic. I bought the spell Wind Fuo steer the balloon, but you shouldn’t buy one—you’d better develop it yourself.” Mahya’s eyes narrowed when she emphasized the st part.

  “Okay, I’ll add it to the virtual list.”

  “You probably should make it an actual list.” She tilted her head, a slight smirk on her lips, like she could already predict my reluce.

  “Yeah, you’re right.” I sighed, realizing she had a point.

  “Also, it’s your turn to steer the boat.” Mahya poioward the helm, her expression softening into a small smile as she turo leave me to my thoughts.

  I got up, went to the helm, positioned myself, took a pen and paper, and began making the list.

  Practice mind-splitting and increase the number of splits.Practice mana trol.Learn advanced aspects.Create a loot spell instead of just mana manipution—may wo spells, one for monsters and the other for the rest.Build a ranged spell.tinue practig affeg matter through mana.Learn how to el external mana.Learn to el mana through Rue.Wind or air spell.Find a painless way te the sedary els.Selective Profile popping out.Do something with the stone balls—I know they’ll be useful, but o figure out how. Well, I had a lot of work ahead of me. I reviewed the list aed item number seven as the most crucial—I o figure out how to el external mana.

  My time at the helm was always my favorite; I used it to practice my telekinesis. The first three days we sailed, I trolled the sails manually until I was at the helm and had to ge one of the sails, but I couldn’t leave the helm because we were too close to the bank, so I moved the sail with telekinesis. From that moment on, I traio do it only with telekinesis.

  At first, it wasn’t easy because the spell couldn’t reach everywhere I o, but little by little, with training and as I leveled up the spell, especially after it reached level 10, I learned how to trol things on the whole boat.

  Now, a thought occurred to me: while the annoying book referred to it as eliernal mana, Lis sistently referred to it as trolliernal mana. Maybe I shouldn’t el it at all, but trol it instead?

  I started trying to do the same things I did with telekinesis with my mana. I started small by attempting to trol the helm, using my mana instead of my hands. It required total tration, but was quite simple. , I tried to adjust the sail’s angle using my mana but couldn’t reach it. My mana reached a certain distand dissipated.

  I recalled the first book Lis gave me to learn about mana and the exercises I did while studying it. I returo these exercises, but this time with a twist. My goal was not to trol my mana but external mana, so I tried to see if I could move or influeernal mana based on the principles I learned from that book.

  After three hours of failed attempts—the mana refused to cooperate—I tried something new. I flowed my mana arouhen tried to move it—not just my own, but together with the external mana. It sort of worked. I did move the surrounding mana, but y pert of it—or maybe even more—was my mana, ernal mana. But the fact that some of the mana was external proved that I was on the right track.

  I tio practice with the same idea, and when Alfonsen came to repce me at the helm, I told him I would tio steer, and he had the evening off. In the middle of the night, when I had to drop anchor and go to sleep, I reached the point where I trolled about twenty pert of the external mana. I still felt it wasn’t perfect, because I had almost to drain my entire mana pool to fill the surrounding space to get to that stage.

  The day, after thinking a bit about my exercises from yesterday, I had to admit that it was a failure. Maybe I moved some external mana, but it wasn’t the right dire. What helped me was that when I was in the right dire, I always felt that I was in the right dire—not knowledge from the system, but my inner knowledge that told me I was on the right track. This time, I didn’t have it.

  I thought about going back to searg for books, but I didn’t feel like it. The st book was so annoying that I gave up on reading. Oh, and I had to use a whole bunana and learn all these nguages to find something simir.

  I always succeed when I figure things out myself, so I would do the same this time, even if I make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t learn, I told myself. I spent the entire day lost in thought, trying to crack this puzzle. At some point, I asked myself, “How do you trol something outside of you?”

  This stopped me short. I did trol something that was outside of me. All the stone balls I created were not a part of me; instead, I maniputed the mana withioo alter it, affeg external mana. It wasn’t the ambient mana; it had a shape and an aspect, but it was still the external mana I trolled!

  This time, I was sure I was on the right track; there was no doubt in my mind. I sat down and activated my mana awareness. I aimed not to perceive my surroundings, people, or objects, but to sehe ey of the world. As I pushed my awareo its limits, I discovered that my field of mana sensing grew, enablio reach both banks.

  That’s a pleasant surprise.

  After I reached the limit of my mana sensing, I sat a everything arouhe water, the banks, the fish ier, the wind—and then I began to feel the mana. I felt the mana all around me, not in objects or elements. I sank deeper and deeper until I was oh the world and the mana. After losing track of time, I saw it was su and realized we were approag Nanjing; I couldn’t determine how much time had passed.

  I repced Alpho the helm; he still didn’t feel fortable steering the boat into a marina, and we sailed into Nanjing. We had no specifis in Nanjing, so the following day, we bought five more puters just to be safe, made a list of the iing things iy, a expl.

  We visited the fucius Temple plex, which was very peaceful, as well as the Presidential Pad the Linggu Temple plex. Rue and I toured the Nanjing Museum and the Ming Xiaoling Tomb alohey were still not ied in “old things buried underground.”

  I went on another market tour and bought more cooking supplies and a lot of street food; Nanjing had a great sele.

  Following a five-day stay in Nanjing, we set sail for Zhenjiang. We reached Zhenjiang that evening, si was retively close, and the strong wind helped us get there quickly. After m in the marina, I made an eborate stir-fry for dinner, a down to eat.

  I asked Alfonsen, “Do you know if the wizard in your kingdom els external mana or trols it?”

  Alfonsen paused, his brow furrowing in thought. “I am uain. My father mentioned eling it,” he began, his voice tinged with doubt, “but I wonder if he exercises trol over it instead?” He gnced away, his expression pensive. “I do not possess enough uanding of wizard magic to determihe differeweewo.”

  “Okay, thanks.” I nodded, appreciating his hoy, even if it left me with more questions than answers.

  After dinner, I returo my practid focused on immersing myself in the mana again. However, this time, I split my mind into three ses before fully immersing myself in the mana. This portunity to improve my mana trol and practice mind-split. Once I fully immersed myself in the mana, I attempted to manipute it using the other part of my mind. I mao move it and even ruffle the sails, but that was it. heless, it showed that I was making progress in the right dire. After five or six hours of training, I reached a stage where I could adjust the sail angle usiernal mana, simir to telekinesis. It wasn’t fwless; reag this stage required plete immersion in ambient mana, which took siderable time. But it rogress; I knew I was on the right track, and my mana trressed from [Novice] to [Apprentice].

  “What a nid cooperative system,” I thought, giving it a mental thumbs-up. I felt amusement directed at me, and I had to admit that it was o receive amusement than a rebuke.

  The following m, Mahya wasted no time and practically dragged us to a baby wipes factory. Without hesitation, she bought a ton of wipes. No, I’m not exaggerating; she bought oon of baby wipes.

  I stared at the mountain of packages in disbelief. “Why do you need so much?” I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.

  Mahya shrugged. “I verted the Spell to an engineering skill,” she expined, patting one box like it rized possession. “I need something to with, and these wipes are great.” She gave me a fident nod, as if this was the most logical thing in the world.

  After shopping, we went sightseeing. The search I did on the phone revealed that the iing things in Zhenjiang were mountains and hills, so that’s what we saw. We visited Jinshan Moutain, Maoshan Moutain, Jiaoshan Moutain, Mountain Mao, and Jiaoshan Hill aily agreed that we had seen enough mountains and hills for the en years. After a week in Zhenjiang, we sailed to Nantong.

  Three hours after we started sailing, Mahya, Alfonsen, and Rue pined of stomachaches. I diaghem and found out they had a mild case of food poisoning. After healing them, I iigated the cause. I knew my food erfectly fine because I always cast and Purify ohing I cooked and the dishes, so the culprit must have beeer. Using my mana seo explore the water, I found tiny anisms.

  It was a good idea to buy the aluminum sheets.

  The aluminum sheets were too big for the boat, so whearted sailing past nature and not vilges, I dropped the anchor and used the E-foil to get to shore. After cutting three pieces of the mai, I created three “Purifying Aluminum Blobs,” as I was calling them, and dropped them ier tanks.

  When I returo the boat, I found Mahya tinkering again in the engine space. “You think my blobs will purify salt from the seawater in our o crossing?” I asked, looking down at her.

  Mahya paused her work, looking up at me with a shrug. “I have no idea.”

  “But you made it!” I excimed.

  “I helped build it and was in charge of the wood entment,” she crified, returning to the part in her hands. “The water system is Magitech, and it was Lis’s responsibility.”

  I rubbed my , sidering the implications. “I think we should find this out, and if it doesn’t, we o examihe house and copy the system. We ’t stock up on enough water for an o crossing.”

  “You alark the house on the o, fill the boat from the house, and then fill the house from the o,” she suggested, her voice practical as always.

  “Hmm, yeah, that might work.” I nodded slowly, mulling over the idea.

  That reminded me I had fotten to check what she meant about my ability to trol the house in my Ste. I turned my attention into the Ste and looked at the house. Once I did that, I felt more ected to the dungeon core. When the house was outside, I felt its preserongly. However, when I stored it, I experienced a dim feeling, as if it were in the bay mind. Now, I felt the euch stronger, but not as strong as when I was inside or he house.

  I ahe core to ihe pontoons, and it worked! I couldn’t figure out how it happened, as Ste keeps everything suspended. But it was a fact that the pontoons got infted. It solved the water problem and provided a way to park the house on the o.

  I checked the Archive, and there was still no message from Lis, but there were new messages on the call for help from the Traveler in the US.

  Tr. RVF

  “Frozen-Tail”

  I need your help urgently. Someone captured me after I crossed the Gate to Dirt, and they are currently holding me in captivity. They drugged me and examined me. Don’t gh the same gate as I did; they will capture you, too. They have a force field that nullifies magid cuts off access to mana. I believe they verse in a nguage known as English, and ahquake occurred retly. Maybe it will help you locate me. Try to find the blue–

  Tr. SS

  This is Sonak Susil from Lulum. I am seeking information from the traveler Guar Shum from Tamya. I o know the location of the Gate to Dirt. As you see above, a friend is in need.

  Tr. GS

  The Gate I crossed through is in Shimoor. You said you traveled there. It is in the southeastern part of the ti, close to the ter, with no cities or towns nearby—you ’t mistake it. Good luck with your friend.

  It looks like we’ll have a Travelers’ Party.

  I added to the thread:

  Tr. JR

  Hello, Sonak Susil. My name is John Rue, and I’m currently o Earth with two other Travelers. The world is called Earth, Terra, aia, not Dirt.

  Your friend is being held in a military base called “Nellis Air Force Base” in Nevada, in a try called the “Uates of America,” or USA for short. The army base is located he city of Las Vegas.

  We will head there soon, but still o figure out how to overe the mana-nullifying field. If you arrive before us, please don’t do anything until we arrive. In Las Vegas, we will stay at a hotel named Belgio. Please wait for us.

  There is anate to Earth in Shimoor, southwest of the capital of Talis. Both Shimates lead to a try oh named Germany. I’ll check this thread and wait for your response.

  Putting it out of my mind, I tinued with my mana practice. It took me less time to immerse myself in the mana, but I still he mind split. Otherwise, I lost all awareness of my surroundings. I reached a point where I could trol the helm and the sails while sitting on the back deck—with some tration and moving about—a like a very aplished wizard.

  Mahya approached me, lightly toug my shoulder, and said, “I’ll take over the helm.” I nodded in aowledgment, watg her head towards the wheel. As she left, I noticed Alfonsen sitting near me, reading a book. I turo him and asked, “Do you practice trolling your mana?”

  He looked up from his book, a bit puzzled. “I fail to see any reason for doing so,” he replied, tilting his head slightly as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him.

  “To adva and exercise trol over it!”

  Alfonsen shrugged, seemingly unbothered. “Why? Iime, I will attain the Mage Css, following in the footsteps of my family, and possess the ability to cast spells,” he said, his toter-of-fact, as if this was the obvious course of a.

  “Don’t you want to trol your mana like a tool without relying on a spell?” I asked, my brow furrowing in fusion at his casual attitude.

  “For what reason?” he responded with a nont wave of his hand. “Once I have successfully attaihe css, I will have the option to purchase spells from the Guidance or acquire spell scrolls from the Mage Guild. I possess a suffit amount of funds. Why should I gh the trouble?”

  I found this point of view difficult to uand, and my mind grappled with the idea. I enjoyed disc what to do with my mana and advang my trol. How could someone give up this ce? It was utterly inprehensible to me.

  Trying to shift the versation, I asked, “What are you reading?”

  Alfonsen g the cover, then back at me with a small, amused smile. “A romah vampires and werewolves,” he replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

  Okay? I shook my head. Well ... to each their own.

  We arrived in Nantong and explored the g District. I also discovered a safari park in the area, and after ving Mahya that she wouldn’t attempt to abduct a panda, we visited it. She found a bear she liked and spent time with it until we had to leave. She set with me for making her swear and gave me the evil eye for the rest of the day. No matter how often I reminded her of the size issue, she still gave me the evil eye.

  After spending just three days in Nantong, we sailed to Shanghai. We were approag a cluster of three Gates and wao get on with it. After dog at the Shanghai marina, I sulted with Mahya at dinner. I leaned forward, resting my elbows oable. “I have a dilemma.”

  Mahya looked up from her pte. “What?”

  “During the boat’s restoration, I took precautions to store all electrical devices to prevent mana damage, yet I still damaged the lights, as you know,” I said, frustration creeping into my voice. “When I worked on the boat’s hull, I trated on small areas and used minimal mana to avoid damaging the engine. If we pn to sail the boat in the o, I want to perform a full restoration. But this will undoubtedly burn the engine, and we ’t remove it and store it for safety. Do you have an idea for a solution?”

  Mahya paused, tapping her fainst the edge of her pte thoughtfully. “We remove and store the engine, but I prefer not to. I have a plete pn to turn the boat into a Magitec, but there is one minor problem.”

  “Need a dungeon core?”

  “Yep, that’s the root of the problem,” she firmed, nodding slightly. “But right now, the problem is that if there’s a storm, we’ll have to close the sails and sail with the engine, but a day’s sailing requires at least fifteen hundred mana, or even more.”

  “I supply fifteen hundred mana a day, with a little help from you, while I’m regeing.”

  Mahya’s eyes widened slightly. “What’s your mana level?”

  “9,300.”

  “Wow! I uand why Lis was jealous. Mine is 2,500. What’s your mana level, Alfonsen?” she asked, turning to him.

  Alfonsen looked up from his meal, replying casually, “4,200.”

  Mahya nodded. “Yes, we mahat without a problem. So, let’s stop in Shanghai for a while and take care of the engine.”

  Alfonsen shrugged, clearly ued. “I prehensiarding Magited have no i in it,” he said before turning to me. “John, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me find more workshops. I am aware that both you and Mahya have accumuted over one hundred points. With only twenty-three at my disposal, I aim to fill the pool.”

  “Yeah, no problem. I’ll sign you up tomorrow,” I replied, making a mental note.

  After dinner, we moved to an unused . Mahya quickly cleared the space, putting away all the furniture before spreading out the most enormous blueprint I’d ever seen on the floor. I crouched down, iing it. The blueprint tained detailed information about each part of the engine, including runes marked by name and specified locations for pg mana crystals until we could find a dungeon core. The blueprint shoould no longer he crystals once we put the dungeon core in the ter.

  “Do we have enough crystals?” I asked, gng at her.

  Mahya ted on her fingers, calg. “I have twelve, and at your house, the charging station has at least ten more. Do you have more?”

  I checked my Ste, mentally s through my iory, but only had the crystals from Shimoor. After taking them out and removing their earth aspect, I hahem to Mahya.

  “Get all the crystals out of the house,” she instructed.

  I hesitated for a moment, sidering how to proceed. “I ’t park the house at the marina. We’ll have to go somewhere discreet.”

  Mahya gave me a knowing look, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “Just remove the crystals without taking out the house. Haven’t you yet mastered the art of extrag items from their respective tainers?”

  Right! I’d do before. Fog, I retrieved only the crystals, getting an additional fourteen.

  Mahya studied the pns critically, her brow furrowing as she traced the lines with her finger. She paused, then did a so-so motion with her hand, her lips quirking in a slight grimace. “We mah that,” she said, but the hesitation in her voice made it clear she wasn’t thrilled.

  “Okay, what now?”

  “Now you sit and learn,” she said, handing me a book of runes. It was a rune nguage I hadn’t learned yet.

  I sighed, already feeling the weight of more studies. “Why does everything somehow involve studies?” I muttered.

  Mahya pyfully kicked my leg, a teasing smile on her lips. “Don’t talk like Alfonsen.”

  Alfonsen’s voice rang out from the saloon. “I heard that!”

  We chuckled, and I sighed before opening the Rune book. I guessed I was going back to school.