We flew from Paris to Moscow, Russia. I could take Rue on the pne as a service dog, but I had to buy him a seat because of his size. He actually used his seat, demahat I lift the armrest, and flopped on me. With all his fur, I spent the entire flight squished and sweating bullets. Thank God the flight was only four hours long.

  We spent a week t Moscow and visited the Kremlin and the Red Square. At the Red Square, Rue made friends with a css of six or seven-year-olds and thhly aheir teacher; instead of listening to her, all the kids were busy petting him. We had to leave quickly so she wouldn’t murder us.

  From Moscow, we flew to Tomsk in Siberia—it was the northernmost gate, so we wao visit it first. We took a quick tour of Tomsk and visited the Tomsk Regional Art Museum. From there, we rented a car and drove towards the Gate. The gate was a two-hour drive from the city and another half hour on foot.

  We all touched the gate.

  Travelers Gate #466214228Destination: PayanStatus: IedMana level: 24Threat level: Moderate-low

  Rue stayed on the Earth side to guard the Gate. We all cast Invisibility, ehe Gate, looked around, auro the other side.

  .

  From Tomsk, we flew to Irkutsk, still in Siberia. We toured the city for a few days and visited the Cathedral of the Kazan I of the Mother of God. In my opinion, it had a ridiculously long name and looked like a giant cake, but nobody else agreed with me. We rented a car and drove to the gate.

  Travelers Gate #466214227Destination: PayanStatus: IedMana level: 24Threat level: Moderate-low

  Once again, the destination and gate number were the same. Invisibility, in and out of the Gate. My red light started blinking.

  Css: Gate Traveler Level 3Gates to the level (8/8)Level up+1 to all stats, +5 free points, +1 ability pointCss: Gate Traveler Level 4Stat points: 5Ability points: 156Gates to the level (0/12).

  My lowest Trait was Strength, so I put the free stats there.

  I raised an eyebrow and asked Lis, “In the UK, all the gates lead to Tír na nóg; the two Gates in Germao Shimoor; in the Americas, the Gates in the north lead to Lumis, and the south to the same two tech worlds; and now in Russia, two Gates lead to the same pce. Doesn’t that seem strao you?”

  Lis tilted his head slightly, p. “I never saw the phenomenon before,” he replied, his voice tinged with curiosity. “Maybe it’s because of the immi iion?”

  I nodded slowly, still unvinced. “Yeah, it could be. It’s still strange.”

  Lis gave a thoughtful nod, his eyes narrowing as he sidered the possibilities. “Yes, it is. I’m learnihings here.”

  .

  From Irkutsk, we flew to Saiersburg; our i research told us it was a beautiful city, and we wao see it. We spent a week t the city, and it romised. Lis had t me from one location to another as I repeatedly stopped to take pictures.

  At some point, he had enough and told Rue, “He’s your human; y him.”

  Rue turned his head away from him, lifted his nose as high as possible, lifted his tail straight up like a cat (I think he cheated with telekinesis), and padded regally away.

  Lis looked perplexed and shouted after him, “Traitor.”

  The girls and I couldn’t stop ughing.

  From there, we took a train to Kirishi, took a taxi to the outskirts of town, and walked to the Gate on foot. Again, the Gate led to Payauro Saiersburg, flew to Tampere in Finnd, and took the train to Rovaniemi in Lapnd. I tried to nap; the train ride was ht hours long.

  In Rovaniemi, we toured the city ao the Gate.

  Travelers Gate #254781364Destination: Tuous: IedMana level: 61Threat level: High

  Lis and Mahya looked at each other, moved away a little, and started talking in whispers. After a few mihey returned. Lis told Lyura and me, “Wait here. Don’t gh the Gate. We’ll check to see if it’s safe and e back.”

  We waited for twenty minutes, and only Lis returned. He walked up to me, his expression serious, and asked, “There are great trees oher side of the Gate that are suitable for a project Mahya and I are w on. Would you be willing to help us cut some down? Of course, we will protect you.”

  “Sure,” I replied with a nod.

  Lis smiled, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you, my friend.” He then turo Lyura, his tone firm as he instructed, “Cast invisibility, in and out of the Gate. Don’t linger inside.”

  Turning to Rue, Lis added, “e with us; stay close to John.”

  Rue nodded.

  Finally, Lis turned back to Lyura, his voice taking on a note of finality. “After you leave the Gate, book a hotel room a us which hotel. We might be deyed, so we’ll check our phones wheurn.”

  As soon as we crossed the gate, I could sehe thick mana in the air, like it was buzzing everywhere. We were in the middle of a dense, a forest—one of those pces that feels like it’s been around forever. The air was heavy with the st of earth and moss, like the ground was alive.

  Like always, there were these two enormous stones as the Gate’s anchors, but they had a faint glow, like they were buzzing with energy. The surrounding forest was dark and overwhelming, with massive trees t up so high it felt like they could touch the sky. The bark of the trees was something else—they glowed faintly, with a polished, almost metallic look, as if someone had crafted them rather than them growing naturally.

  The branches were above, f a thick opy that barely let any light through. What little light made it down was faint, casting eerie shadows that seemed to move on their own. The pce had a certain ambiahat gave you the uling feeling of being under watch.

  The sound of deep, earth-shaking roars reached my ears from a distance, evoking images of a creatures. It was a humbling reminder we were mere visitors in a pce that had experiehe ebb and flow of many ages.

  Mahia was waiting for us oher side of the gate, standing alert, her eyes sing the surroundings like she was ready for anything. The air felt thick with tension, the kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. When Lyura crossed back through the Gate auro Earth, I felt her presence disappear and a subtle shift in the surrounding mana.

  Lis stepped clripping my upper arm firmly, his voice low and calm as he said, “Cast invisibility and stay close to the Gate. Mahya and I are going to do another round to make sure everything’s clear. If it is, I’ll e back for you. When you see me, just cel your invisibility.”

  I frowned, realizing I’d never actually celed a spell before. “How do I cel a spell? I have no idea.”

  Lis smiled faintly, reassuringly. “You just io cel it and pour some mana into that iion.”

  With a nod, I focused and cast Invisibility, feeling the familiar cloak of magic settle over me, making me blend into the surroundings like a ghost. I stood there, tense and waiting, the sounds of the forest creeping into my awareness. A few minutes passed, and I heard the distant sounds of fighting—sharp, quick, and then silence.

  Lis reappeared beside me, blood spttered across his clothes. “e. Stay close to me,” he said, his tone brisk but calm.

  My eyes wide the sight of the blood. “Are you hurt? You need healing?”

  He shook his head, already moving. “It’s not mine.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and followed him through the thick forest. We moved about two hundred meters, the trees gradually thinning out, allowing more light to filter through. The atmosphere shifted slightly, less oppressive but still heavy with the sense of a power.

  “What’s your Intelligenumber?” Lis asked, gng around at the trees.

  “Fifty-six,” I replied, w where this was going.

  He studied the trees for a moment, then o himself. “Should work.”

  After a beat, he turned bae. “How many times did you enrge your ste?”

  “Three. On my status, it shows as times four.”

  Lis sidered this and then gave me a look of approval. “E once more. We’ll find you a workshop to pensate,” he said. “Now, use your mana seo examine all the trees around you and pick ten with the most mana. You o cut them down, but a regur axe won’t do it—too much mana in the wood. You’ll o coat the axe edge with mana ure out how to cut it with magic. you hahat?”

  “Not yet, but I’ll figure it out,” I said, determination in my voice.

  He nodded, satisfied. “Don’t feel pressured, but don’t dey either. Mahya and I will be making rounds to keep any monsters or beasts from getting too close to you but stay alert. Keep an eye on your surroundings and listen to your Perception and Luck. When you cut down a tree, store it immediately and move on to the .”

  Lis then turo Rue, who had been watg silently. “Make yourself invisible and patrol in a tight circle around John. If something approaches, don’t engage; you’re not ready for that. Howl, and I’ll e running.”

  Rue nodded, his massive form shimmering as he activated his invisibility, fading from sight but leaving a faint sense of his presence lingering nearby. I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the task ahead, but knowing I wasn’t alone in it.

  Rue disappeared, and I pulled out the biggest axe I had, feeling its weight in my hands. I tried to coat the edge with mana, but the sed I cut the e, it fizzled out. I kept at it, getting more frustrated by the mihe pressure was getting to me, especially with the sounds of fighting eg in the distance. I couldn’t help but worry about Lis and Mahya.

  Switg gears, I tried something different. I created a thin line of mana and aimed to cut the tree with it, but it was like trying to slice through solid steel with a butter khe tree was so packed with mana it almost felt like it was mog me. I could almost hear it ughing at my weak attempts.

  I shook off the frustration a back to the axe, thinking, if the ma dissipating when I let go, maybe I just shouldn’t let go. So I coated the whole axe in mana, and finally, it stayed put. I started thinning out the mana on the edge until it was as fine as a hair, then added the “sharpness” aspect to it.

  Taking a deep breath, I swung the axe with everything I had. Despite my swing hitting the tree, all I did was create a minuscule scratch that was only visible if I looked very close. I gritted my teeth a swinging, each time making the scratch just a bit deeper. But holy, it wasn’t much progress. I felt stuck, like the tree was winning this battle.

  Then a new idea popped into my head. I cast Exude Mana directly onto the scratch, and when I swung the axe again, it finally bit into the wood—almost a full timeter. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Progress, finally.

  I tried a different approach: instead of casting the spell, I “colored” my mana with the Exude Mana asped pushed it into the tree as deep as possible. It felt like my mana was trying to fight through a thick gel or mosses, but slowly, I could push in a few timeters. Now, I split my mind and, with the sed half, coated the axe once more before swinging it. This time, it sank to the point my mana reached.

  I pumped my fist in the air. Success!

  It took me over forty mio cut the first tree, but it finally started falling in my dire! I jumped and rolled out of the way, but shouldn’t have bothered. The other trees caught the opy, causing it to halt mid-fall.

  Phew!!

  After I tried and failed to store it, I examihe cut area and noticed that some small parts were still attached. Finally, after two more swings, the cut was plete. I tried st it again and had to really flex my mental muscles. It felt like I lifted a car with my mind, and my mind spasmed for a sed, but the tree vanished into my Ste.

  One down, o go.

  Lis kept cheg on me and was thrilled when I resolved the edge problem.

  As I cut down the fourth tree, I saw Mahya stumble into my area. There were two nasty, long cuts on her arm extending from her shoulder to her hand. My heart skipped a beat, and I raht away to heal her cuts. But as I got closer, I saw that something was wrong—the cuts were oozing more than just blood. Something else, something darker, was there.

  I quickly diagnosed her, and sure enough, I could feel the poison c through her system. Even though it was scary, I stayed calm and got to work. To stop the poison from spreading, I had to cast ralize Poison over and over. The poison wouldn’t give up and fought back every step of the way, but I wouldn’t let it win. It felt like ay, but I stopped it in the end.

  Once I firmed she wasn’t poisoned anymore, I could finally give my full attention to treating the cut. When I saw the cut healing, I felt so much better that it was almost too much to handle. Mahya would be fine, but man, that was way too close for fort.

  She thanked me and rushed off, and I tio cut trees.

  After chopping down six trees, I suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger. My instincts kicked in, and I sed the area, but there was nothing in sight. Just to be safe, I whispered, “Rue, e here.”

  Almost immediately, I felt the f weight of Rue pressing against my leg. I looked around again, trying to pinpoint the source of the threat, but the forest was eerily quiet. The feeling of danger persisted, though, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I focused, trying to sense any disturban the mana, but there was nothing—just the usual hum of the forest.

  My Perception or Lue something was off, so I told Rue, “Howl. We need help.”

  Rue’s howl echoed through the trees, and I kept my eyes peeled, sing every shadow. Then, out of nowhere, something “pinged” in my perception. I zeroed in on it—it was moving underground, heading straight for us. My heart pounded as I quickly summoned my operating table, leaping onto it and urging Rue, “Jump up.”

  Rue joined me oable just as Lis came sprinting into view. I didn’t waste any time. “Something is moving underground,” I blurted out.

  Lis cursed under his breath, “Fug burrowers,” and started stomping his foot on the ground, his face teh tration. “Tell me when it’s near, a your axe ready with a mana edge,” he ordered.

  I tracked the burrower’s movement, feeling its approach. When it was close enough, I shouted, “Now!”

  Lis jumped back just as the groued. A massive green snake, half a meter wide, burst out of the earth, its four eyes gring, two giant fangs dripping with venom, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. The creature froze mid-strike, and Lis, straining with effort, shouted, “Chop its head off with the axe. Quickly, I ’t hold it for long; it’s to!”

  Without hesitation, I jumped off the table and ran to the snake. My hands tightened around the axe as I swung with all my might. The first hit barely made a dent, but I didn’t stop. I swung again and again, my muscles burning with the effort. On the fifth swing, the axe finally cleaved through, and the snake’s head thudded to the ground. Lis, drenched i and visibly shaking, let out a breath.

  “Store it; we harvest it ter,” he said, his voice strained. “If a css is offered, don’t take it. I o help Mahya,” he added before rushing off.

  Wasting no time, I stored the snake’s body a back to the tree I had been w on. I started swinging faster, urgency driving me. My muscles screamed in protest, but I kept going, casting Heal Muscle every few mio keep from colpsing. I didn’t want to dey, especially if those burrowers were still around, and Lis and Mahya were fighting those scary snakes. Just the thought made me shudder in horror.

  After cutting down awo trees, Lis came running back, extending his hand. His palm was a mess, shredded and bloody. “Poison,” he muttered.

  I didn’t waste a sed, castiralize Poisoedly until I was sure he was , then healed the wound. Without another word, Lis rushed off again.

  With just two trees left, I pushed myself harder, determio finish quickly. My arms felt like lead, but I refused to slow down. Finally, after what felt like hours, the tenth tree crashed to the ground. I’d been chopping for at least five hours straight, and the sounds of fighting had opped.

  I shouted into the forest, “Lis, Mahya, I’m done!”

  Mahya was the first to return, appearing out of the shadows like a ghost. “I heard you killed a burrower. What did you use?” she asked, her voice curious.

  “An axe,” I replied, still catg my breath.

  “Take out a sword, create a mana edge, a ready,” she instructed, her tone serious.

  A mier, Lis came back, a monster hot on his heels. He looked focused, his expression tight with strain.

  Mahya g me and said, “Kill the monster with the sword.”

  I didn’t hesitate, drawing the sword and eling mana into the bde. Two swift swings, and the creature colpsed, lifeless.

  Lis nodded approvingly. “Don’t harvest it for a crystal; we’re after a different be. Prepare all the types of swords you trained with. I’ll lead moo you, and you’ll kill them. Always use mana with the on.”

  I nodded, uanding the pn, and he disappeared again.

  As I prepared the swords, Mahya kept cirg the area, her senses on high alert. “Extend your mana sense as far as you , above and below ground,” she advised.

  I did as she said, surprised to discover my mana seended about four meters in all dires. It hit me how useful this was—I should have been doing it all along. It made perfect seo monitor with mana.

  Lis soourned, leading monster after moo me. I killed them systematically, first with swords, then moving on to polearms, war axes, and even daggers. Each time, I coated the on with mana, slig through the beasts with a growing sense of fidence.

  After a while, Lis told Mahya, “Patrol a little wider. We need a few minutes.” Theuro me. “I know you trained with a staff, bow, war hammers, and screaming sticks.”

  “Eskrima sticks,” I corrected him.

  He smiled faintly. “Sorry, Eskrima sticks. Any other blunt ed ons?”

  “Bamboo Kendo sword and crossbow,” I answered.

  “Gun?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t like them, and it never crossed my mind,” I admitted, not really sure why.

  Lis raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you like them? They seem pretty useful.”

  “As a doctor, I treated too many gunshot wounds,” I expined.

  “So you should know how effective they are if you treated wounds, no?” he asked, a bit of teasing in his tone.

  “When you put it that way...” I trailed off, realizing he had a point.

  “Never mind,” he said, waving it off. “Now, I need you to figure out how to apply mana to the other ons you know and kill monsters.”

  “Why?”

  “Because a magical fighting css is better than a mundane one,” he replied simply.

  “Oh,” I muttered, uanding dawning.

  I started experimenting with my staff, and after about fifteen minutes, I remembered the electric arc I created in Paris. It took a bit of trial and error to get the aspect just right, figuring out how to aspect my mana instantly but not stantly—lightning is ly fun to hold onto. Eventually, I coated my staff in mana that would initiate the aspect immediately.

  “Lis, I’m ready,” I called out.

  He led a few more monsters my way, and I took them down, bashing arog them at the same time.

  After the st one fell, I asked, “Those monsters didn’t look too scary, but I heard you fighting; it sounded intense, and you both got hurt. How e?”

  Lis wiped some sweat from his brow and shrugged. “Those are the small fry we didn’t bother with. We cleared out the actual threats. At least, I think we did.”

  , Lis wanted me to figure out how to y arrows with mana and shoot them, but no matter what I tried, the mana e broke and dissipated the moment they left the bow.

  Finally, he said, “I’ll lead moo you, and you shoot them but don’t kill them—just paralyze them—and then finish them with magic. I think it will work.”

  We went through the process again, and I kept killing monster after monster. I must fess, this wasn’t quite my idea of a good time. Despite uanding why I he css, I simply wasn’t into fighting with such calcuted brutality. I didn’t mind training, hunting for food, or defending myself from an attack, but this systematic age felt wrong.

  Eventually, we cycled through all the ons I was familiar with, and I felt pretty fident we’d pleted the task. The red light had been blinkiedly for the st three hours, but I was wrong.

  Lis turo me and said, “Now, unarmed bat.”

  I bli him in disbelief. “Seriously? You wao punch a moo death?”

  He nodded, pletely serious. “Yes, and add magic to the mix.”

  I sighed i. “Fine.”

  I braced myself and took on ahree defenseless monsters, this time coating my hands with the “stone” aspect to protect them. I still outlined my feet with lightning because, holy, the thought of toug anything directly with electricity made my skin crawl. It took a few solid punches and kicks, but I finally took them down. My hands a were buzzing with leftover energy, but at least it was over.

  Lis and Mahya did o round to check for any remaining monsters, leaving Rue ao wait. I slumped to the ground, exhausted, and Rue curled up beside me. After twenty minutes, Mahya returned, looking worse for wear but still focused. Lis followed five mier, looking equally tired.

  “My side looks clear; how’s yours?” Lis asked, his voice hoarse.

  “I didn’t see anything,” Mahya replied.

  “Good,” he said

  I poked at the red light.

  You have demonstrated advanced ability with many ons and bined bat with mana.New Css unlocked: [Magi Battle Master].Would you like the Magi Battle Master Css to be your sub-css?Cost: 5 Ability PointsY/N

  Of course, I clicked yes. I nning to go to my profile ahe css description but saw that the red light was still blinking, so I poked it first.

  Synergy DetectedWould you like to bine your Wizard Css and yi Battle Master ote: You must advance all parts of the bined css to advan levels.Y/N

  pletely stumped and unsure of what to do , I turo Lis for help. I pushed mana, intending to show the s, and just like that, it popped ience. “Lis, take a look at the message I got,” I said, gesturing toward the s. “Should I go for it?”

  Lis leaned in, sing the message quickly. “Definitely,” he said without hesitation.

  I frowned, uain. “But what about the part where I have to advance all the pos? It sounds like I’d o do wizard stuff and fight to level up. Wouldn’t it be better to level them separately?”

  Lis straightened up, giving me a questioning look. “Are you in a hurry to level up?”

  I shrugged. “No, not really. But I don’t see what the be is.”

  He smiled, a little amused. “Ay Sub-Css slot.”

  Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh, I didn’t think of that.”

  I chose yes. This time, the red light didn’t blink again, so I went to my profile and had a new line: Wizard Battle Master. When I pocked it, a big block of text appeared.

  WIZARDThis is a rare and very sought-after css.Wizards are schors of magid mana.They develop new spells, bihem, and expand them. They study mana and its plexities, learning to wield it like a tool. When a Wizard advaheir uanding of magid mana, they develop the ability to wield external mana.This Css does not have Spells, Skills, or Abilities—the Wizard develops their own.+3 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +3 Perception, +1 to all other stats.This css does not receive free stat points.

  ?━━━━???━━━━?

  MAGI BATTLE MASTERThis is an advanced fighting css.Battle Masters wield any on and are adept in various fighting disciplines.A Battle Master learn any fighting discipline more effitly and, after level ten, teach others with signifit bes to the students.+3 Strength, +3 Agility, +3 stitution, +2 Vitality, +3 Free Stats

  ?━━━━???━━━━?

  bined Css

  WIZARD BATTLE MASTERThis css blends both aspects of its stituent parts.To advan levels, you must progress in magid bat.+3 to all stats.This css does not receive free stat points.

  It annoyed me I “lost” the free stat points at every level, but besides that, it sounded great. When I checked, the Wizard se in the profile looked different.

  Sub-Css 2: Wizard Battle Master Level 3Wizard Abilities:

  Mind Split x3Mana Sensing [Medior]Mana Saturation [Apprentice]Mana Manipution [Adept]Mana Regeion x 1Wizard Spells:

  Harvest Mana Crystal [In Progress]Harvest Game [In Progress]Battle Master Skills:

  Unarmed bat [Apprentice]Ranged ons [Apprentice]Blunt ons [Apprentice]Mana bat [Apprentice]Bded ons [Novice]Polearm Mastery [Novice]Hafted ons [Novibsp;

  I g my status s and noticed that Krav Maga, Staff Fighting, and Archery had disappeared from my General Skills list. I guessed the [Appreag now attached to them was because they had leveled up to a higher skill level. But what really threw me off was the css level.

  fused, I turo Lis, who was nearby. “Hey, Lis,” I called, waving him over. “When I got all my other csses, I always got those ‘level up’ messages. But this new css is already at level three, and I didn’t get any notifications this time. What’s going on?”

  Lis tilted his head, thinking for a sed. “What level was your wizard css?”

  “Three,” I replied, still puzzled.

  He nodded like it all made sense. “You told me you killed in Shimoor, hunted and took down some monsters, and you’ve killed quite a few today. All that experiend adva you banked from those as got applied to the new css. I’d bet with everything you’ve done, you won’t have to fight for at least awo or three Wizard levels.”

  I blirying to my head around that. “But this css is supposed to give more stats, right? I didn’t get any messages about those either.”

  Lis raised an eyebrow and said, “Check your traits; you might have gotten them without realizing it.”

  I quickly looked at my traits list, and sure enough, there they were: +9 Strength, +9 Agility, +9 stitution, and +6 Vitality. They matched the stats of the Magi Battle Master css. But the thing that irked me was that I didn’t get any of the free stats I expected.

  The system cheated me!

  I waited for a rebuke, but it didn’t e.

  After a moment, I let it go. This was still an amazing css, and I was more than grateful to Lis and Mahya for helpi it. I couldn’t help but grin as I thought about it.

  Friends are really awesome!