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B2—Chapter 32: To Stop and Enjoy Life

  After dropping anchor he Wu Ge, I let the boat drift somewhat in pce for a short time and just looked around. With a few geugs here and there, the boat remaiable. With their pointy peaks, the tall Wu Ge rocks looked like they were reag for the clouds. The water around the boat was a deep jade-green and looked calm, but I could feel the power beh the surface. The mist on the rocks gave the area an almost ethereal feel, like the ge hid old secrets no one could reach.

  I couldn’t help but notice everything as I stood there. The cliffs weren’t just these huge, intimidating walls of rock; they also had patches of greehat brought some life to the otherwise harsh enviro. I saw something new every time I turned my head. There was a small waterfall in a crack, a narrow path where the rocks almost kissed, and the river reflected the tall stones above. It made me stop, take my time, and enjoy every moment.

  The air smelled like earth and stones, as if it had just raihe pnts growing on the cliffs gave off a slight, woodsy st, and I occasionally smelled something a little stronger. Maybe the moss growing on the rocks or the pnts hiding in the cracks.

  After standing there for a while and taking it all in, I scratched my head, trying to find a solution for st the boat without dumping us all ier. Then I facepalmed.

  I’m an idiot!

  I looked around to verify that Mahya and Alfonsen didn’t see me do it and turo Rue. “Buddy, would you mind watg the boat? We’ll be ba a few hours.” I knew I could rely on him.

  After getting his agreement, I called Mahya and Alfoook out my E-foil, dropped it ier, and jumped over the railing. They joined me, and we surfed to the shore. After an hour of walking, we arrived at the gate.

  Travelers Gate #158495248Destination: LimiraStatus: IedMana level: 30Threat level: High

  “That’s odd,” said Mahya, her brow furrowed in fusion. “Usually, with this mana level, the threat level is moderate or even moderate-low.”

  “Perhaps the answer be found in the world information,” Alfonsen suggested, gng between us.

  I turo Mahya and asked, “Why did we never do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Read the world information.”

  She shrugged. “I see no point in reading information about a world I don’t io travel.”

  “Okay, but we added Nahun to our list of options, so why didn’t we check it out?”

  “If the mana level is not dangerous, I prefer not to read. It feels like a spoiler, and I prefer to be surprised,” she replied, shrugging again. “I thought you did, too.”

  I sheepishly rubbed my ned shook my head.

  She started ughing and asked, “Did you fet?”

  I was really embarrassed and just nodded in response.

  She and Alfoarted ughing harder. At least Rue wasn’t with us. Otherwise, he’d be yelling in my head again, “John! Silly!”

  We checked the World’s Information:

  12 Harvest, 2552 PON—Traveler Pum Moosi

  Shit world. Don’t go there.

  “Not very informative,” Mahya said in a judgmental tone.

  “Lazy Traveler,” Alfonsen added with a disgusted sch of his nose.

  I just shrugged and checked the .

  39 Snow, 2541 PON—Traveler Arber Limi

  This is a gloomy and depressing world. If you have a choice, go somewhere else.

  Three empires of equal size and power divided the major ti and have been at war for a long time. I tried asking people when the war started, and the answers were:

  “Before my grandfather was born.”

  “Even the old-timers don’t remember.”

  “Always.”

  And all kinds of other answers like that.

  They send all the able men to the front to fight, leaving only heavily injured or crippled men iowns and cities. The women do most of the work, but with the en and the demand from the fighting front, they never have enough food. The people are hungry and desperate, looking like they have lost all hope.

  Most of the money goes to the war effort, leading to even worse poverty. Sihe men are fighting in the war, nobody clears the monsters in the wild, resulting in monster surges.

  I traveled for a year hoping to find uncimed dungeons, but because of the low mana level, I found only two, one of which I couldn’t clear. It was an a dungeon with six floors and a se guardian. I didn’t even try to fight it, knowing it would be too powerful.

  There are roving bands of war recruiters that try to capture anyone. One of them even captured me and attempted to coerce me into fighting, but I mao escape.

  They have nothing to buy and don’t have moo pay if you pn to sell.

  Skip this world.

  “That was depressing,” I muttered to no one in particur.

  “I’ve seen simir situations,” Mahya said sadly, shaking her head. “ly the same, but wars and monsters. It’s more on than you think.”

  “On that depressing note, let’s get back to the boat,” I said.

  “Did you io rhyme?” Mahya asked with a teasing smile.

  “No!” I replied, more defehan I intended.

  “You sounded like Rue just now,” Alfonsen informed me unhelpfully.

  I just shook my head a walking, ign the two traitors as they ughed at me. At least I improved their mood.

  “What about the Gate t?” Mahya called after me.

  “Right,” I facepalmed and walked back.

  We popped in and out of the Gate auro the boat. When I checked on my phone, I discovered that instead of sailing to gqing and taking a train or a po Jiangsu, we could turn around, return to Yig, and sail eastward, passing through Hubei and Anhui and finally reag Jiangsu Province.

  I showed them the offered route, and they readily agreed. We sailed for two days, relying solely on the sails while Mahya tinkered with the engines.

  “Please don’t break anything,” I said, watg her work, ed. “We still o use it oh. When we leave, you do whatever you want to it.”

  She looked up from her work and gred at me. “Are you an engineer now?”

  “No...” I admitted sheepishly.

  “Then go away,” she said, waving me off and almost hittih the wrench.

  We were sailing past such breathtaking sery that I felt the o stop and absorb it. The stop at the Wu Ge wasn’t enough. That afternoon, I dropped anchor and took out my fishing pole, just wanting to stop moving for a while and be in the moment.

  Alfonsen approached me and looked curiously at the fishing pole. “What are you doing?”

  “Fishing,” I said, while casting my lio the water.

  “With a stick?” he asked, eyeing the pole with a clear skepticism written all over his face.

  “No, it’s a fishing pole,” I said, and patted the spot beside me. “Sit down, I’ll show you.”

  I took out another fishing pole and showed Alfonsen how to bait and cast it, guiding him through each step. After that, we just sat quietly, letting the silend geer pping fill the space between us as we fished.

  After over an hour, Alfonsen broke the silence, his voice soft but sincere. “I am grateful for the opportunity to join you. I traveled for three years before our enter, and I must say, I never derived such pleasure from my traveling. You demonstrate that the focus is not solely on rapid progress and Trait numbers but also on pausing to appreciate the journey. I want to express my gratitude and will also extend my gratitude to Mahya.”

  I smiled at him. “You are very wele.”

  I was right. There was hope for him.

  I grilled the fish we caught for diook out my guitar, and looked for a new song to learn. I came across the song “War of Man by Neil Young,” and it reminded me of the Gate.

  “The little creatures run in from the coldBack to the , just like the days of old ...”

  Mahya and Alfonsen also wao learn the lyrics, and after they learhem, they sang with me. To my surprise, they both had beautiful singing voices. After we sang, Mahya said, “I uand now what you mean when you say music helps you process emotions. It’s therapeutic.”

  I nodded and pyed another song. That’s how we spent the evening, with me pying the guitar and teag them songs and Rue as our backup singer. Of course, Rue wanted a beer—music always made him want alcohol.

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