Rabban strode up to me. “Where I exge gold s or jewelry for local money?” he asked, his voice rough.

  “I exge it for you.”

  He nodded and handed over ten gold s. The s weighed heavy in my hand. I took out the scales I had bought in a and carefully measured them. Each weighed 36 grams, totaling 360 grams. Pulling out my phone, I checked the current price of gold online. “It’s sixty dolrs per gram,” I said, looking up at him. “So, that’s 21,600 total.”

  “Is it a lot of money?” Rabban wondered, his brows knitting together slightly.

  “Depends what for. For transportation and hotels, it’s suffit. But it won’t stretch far if you pn to buy goods for trading.”

  “How much do I o buy goods?” Rabban pressed further, his eyes narrowing with curiosity.

  “Depends on how much you want to purchase.”

  “I want to fill my Ste.”

  “Then you’ll least fifty thousand dolrs to stock up on merdise,” I said. “I have a proposition for you. We’re in Vegas, and there are a lot of os—”

  “What is a o?” Rabban interrupted, his expression puzzled.

  “A o is a pce where you bet money,” I crified, gesturing to emphasize the cept. “You either lose it or win a lot more. Do you have the Luck Trait or telekinesis?”

  “Telekinesis,” Rabban responded fidently, a faint grin tugging at the er of his mouth.

  “Al used telekinesis to cheat and win big,” I pointed out, gesturing toward Al. “You do the same. Or, if you want, I exge another fifty s.”

  “I will ge fifty s, and I’ll ask Al about the o,” Rabban decided, nodding thoughtfully.

  He handed me fifty s, and I gave him 108,000.

  “When are you pnning to leave?” I asked, curiosity spiking.

  He sighed, gng over his shoulder. “Sonak is stressed. He wants to leave as soon as possible,” Rabban expined, his voice tinged with . “But we still have to figure out which Gate to leave through and how to get there.”

  “You should know that Earth is heading towards iion,” I said. “What that means is that it’s easy to pick up new ability points or csses to fill in the gaps. Sonak knows about it. I think he’s in a hurry to leave—h, but my pany. He acted very ively, and now that he’s seen my power, he fears me.”

  Rabban’s eyes widened in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline.

  “You should sult with him,” I advised, my tone serious. “Stay here a few months, attend workshops, and build up skill points. Use the o to earn a substantial amount, stock up on merdise for resale, and then move on—preferably by sea, not by air.”

  Rabban hroughout my expnation, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

  “I have a list of all the Gates we’ve visited. I give it to you.”

  Rabban’s tense features softened, and he gave a grateful nod. “Yes, please,” he said early.

  I pulled out my updated list, cast Copy Text, and handed him the fresh copy. Suddenly, Mahya started g, grabbing our attention. Rabban and I turo her, puzzled.

  “It didn’t even cross your mind to use your prio make a copy. You just used magic. You’re learning,” she said, smiling as she patted my shoulder.

  Her words hit me, and I realized she was right. In the past, I would have immediately reached for the prihis time, magic had been my first instinct. A grin spread ay face. Ha! I’m learning, I thought, feeling a sense of aplishment.

  “Let me see the list,” Mahya requested, her eyes bright with curiosity, extending her hand toward the dot.

  “I thought we had decided oes in ada or Aska for Lumis, right?”

  “Yes, I’m just curious,” Mahya replied with a smile, reag out to take the list from me.

  Germany, Bck Forest, Shimoor, mana 17Germany, Frankfurt, Shimoor, mana 17Aska, Anche, Chugach State Park, Lumis, mana 32ada, Great Bear Lake, Lumis, mana 32, only floatpneada, Mount Rundle, Lumis, mana 32French Guiana, Guiana Amazonian Park, his, mana 0, Tech mediumSuriname, Kabalebo, his, mana 0, Tech mediumGuyana, Kaieteur National Park, his, mana 0, Tech mediumUruguay, La Paloma, Astrion, mana 0, Tech medium-lentina, Córdoba, Astrion, mana 0, Tech medium-lentina, General Pico, Astrion, mana 0, Tech medium-lowAll the UK, Tír na nóg, mana 89, lethal, crazy time skipRussia, Siberia, Tomsk, Payan, mana 24Russia, Siberia, Irkutsk, Payan, mana 24Russia, Kirishi, Payan, mana 24Finnd, Lapnd, Rovaniemi, Tuone, mana 61Sweden, G?llivare, Asgard, mana 76Sweden, Sto, Asgard, mana 76Romania, Brasov, Království Krve, mana 52, vampsRomania, Cluj-Napoca, Království Krve, mana 52, vampsPal, Lisbon, Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly, mana 46, Genomey. God, this name is ridiculous!!Spain, Toledo, Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly, mana 46, GenomeySpain, gost de Mont-rebel Nature Preserve, Stinojopheleshawizhnzarnoshwitly, mana 46, Gealy, Naples, Zelphia, mana 0, Tech MediumItaly, Min, Murinab, mana 59, Magitech mediumFrance, Lyon, Murinab, mana 59, Magitech mediumFrance, Marseille, Nahun, mana 33, another option for us?Austria, Johnsbach, Musr, mana 22, Gate ged destination. Might disappear?a, Beijing, parallel Earth, mana 27a, Xi’an, Thaloria, mana 69a, Si, Thaloria, mana 69a, Hunan, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Soruno, mana 42a, Guilihara, mana 63a, Yangshuo, Buramnaofliaixious, mana 87, Dragons, oh my! I hope Lis is having fun.a, Wu Ge, Limira, mana 30, shit pce—war and faminea, Shanghai, Dayu Vilge, Trastom, mana 43a, Suzhou, Trastom, mana 43a, Hangzhou, Trastom, mana 43, rat isndGuam, Leylos, mana 50, anate that ged destination, also might ge baething else

  She sed the list, her brow furrowing in tration. “I’m still curious about the parallel Earth. I’ve never heard of parallel worlds from my parents or other Travelers, so I want to see oh is perfect for this because I traveled it extensively, so the differences will be obvious. I uand you want to travel to a different world, and I’m all for it. But maybe after Lumis, we cross back to Earth and go to the Gate that leads to the parallel Earth?”

  “By then,” I said, “they’ll already be in the middle of iion. I’m not sure I want to be here when that happens. Besides, the Gate is in a. We’ll have to cross the sea again. I don’t know what will happen at sea during iion. There are many scary legends oh about sea monsters. I’m not sure I’d want to sail in those ditions.”

  She paused, thoughtful, then nodded slowly. “Yes, I see what you’re saying. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. Keep the list; after Lumis, we’ll decide what’s . Perhaps we’ll discover an iing Gate there, so this versation will be moot.”

  Rabban and Sonak left ter that day. They might have decided to visit the Genomey world, but I wasn’t sure. They spoke a fn nguage, and I only caught that one word. Rabban hugged the three of us, thanked us repeatedly, and promised that we only had to ask, and he would e to our aid from the other end of the os. Sonak was more subdued. He shook all three of our hands, even mine, said goodbye, and they left.

  Since we no longer needed all five bedrooms, we moved to a three-room suite at the Belgio. Al still wao gamble because, in his opinion, he hadn’t earned enough money yet. We told him about the lounge fh rollers, a enthusiastic.

  Mahya and I didn’t feel like gambling, so instead, we went to a paintball shootout in the desert. By the end of the fight, Rue, our referee, had more paint on him thaher of us. We couldn’t figure out how this happened, and when I asked him, his only answer was, “Paint fun!”

  My mana was still retively low. Although my regeion had improved to one unit per minute, instead of a minute and a half, I was still at 3000 mana, which I nearly draio the three of us from the paint. This paint seeped into pces where paint shouldn’t be.

  We made another round of pawnshops and snatched up the new jewelry people had pawned. In one shop, Mahya spotted an eborate microscope. She bought it immediately and told me to add microscopes, telescopes, binocurs, magnifying gsses, and loupes to our shopping list. Unfortunately, fantasy worlds cked signifit advas in optics.

  This sparked the idea that we should sit down and list things we wao buy from Earth for our own use. urchased a lot of stuff to sell, but I thought it would be a good idea to list all the things we might need personally, which would be hard to find in fantasy worlds.

  The three of us worked on it for hours, and our list looked like this:

  SpoilerMahya:

  Tools and Equipment fitech:

  Toolkit: Specialized tools for w with and maintaining Magitech devices.Metal Wires: A variety of metal wires of different thiesses, including cold, steel, and various alloys.Portable Fes: Gas-powered portable fes fss blowing aalwork—various sizes with many spares.Insution Materials: Heat-resistant materials for handling and w with high temperatures.ductive Materials: Various ductive metals for creating and modifying circuits.Gems and semi-precious stones—apparently, sometimes, they are more patible than mana crystals.A lot more engraving pens.Wo Tools and Supplies:

  Carving Knives and Chisels: A few sets of high-quality carving tools for detailed work.Sanes: For cutting and shaping wood.Sandpaper and Files: For smoothing and finishing wood pieces.Wood Glue and Cmps: For assembling projects.Finishing Supplies: Stains, varnishes, and brushes for final touches.Portable Workbenches: Colpsible workbenches in various sizes for flexibility in the workspace.Mosaic Tools and Supplies:

  Tile Cutters and Nippers: For shaping mosaic pieces.Adhesives and Grout: For assembling mosaics.Gss and Tile Pieces: Various colored aured pieces for creating designs.Desiges and Patterns: For pnning and exeg mosaic artwork.Protective Gear: Safety gsses and gloves for handling sharp pieces.Personal Items:

  Sketchbooks and Art Supplies: For designing new projects and rec ideas.Books: Including teical manuals and novels for rexation.fortable Clothing: Modern clothes for personal fort and practicality.Armor.Bullets, bullets, bullets. She decided to keep ALL the guns from the base. We had over 50 M4 carbines.Aeock of spare parts for the motorcycles and the ATV.We po buy a Jeep instead of renting. So, more spare parts for the Jeep.Spare parts, furniture, and equipment for the boat.A lot of fabric for the balloon and thin gold wires to embroider runes on the balloon.Al:

  Tools and Equipment:

  Heavy-Duty Tools: For maintaining armor and ons.Specialized Alchemy Tools: Including advanced scales and precise measuring instruments.Beakers: Various sizes for mixing and measuring liquids.Fsks: Including Erlenmeyer fsks, volumetric fsks, and round-bottom fsks.Test Tubes: Different sizes for dug experiments.Graduated ders: For precise measurement of liquid volumes.Pipettes and Pipette Tips: For transferring small volumes of liquids accurately.Burettes and Burette Stands: For titration experiments.Measuring Spoons and spatus: For handling powders and small quantities of chemicals.Funnels: Various sizes for p liquids without spilling.Mortar ale: Frinding and mixing solids.Bances and Scales: For measuring mass accurately.Stirring Rods: Gss and pstic rods for stirring solutions.Dropper Bottles: For dispensing small amounts of liquids.Bunsen Burners: For heating substances.Gas cooktop + an enormous supply of gas.Thermometers: For measuring temperature.PH Meters and pH Strips: For measuring the acidity or alkalinity of solutions.Microscopes.Gss Slides and Cover Slips: For microscope sample preparatiori Dishes: For culturing micranisms.Alcohol: For sterilizing b equipment.A signifit supply of herbs, especially valerian.Gss potion bottles of all sizes.Safety Equipment:

  Safety Goggles: To protect eyes from chemical spshes.Gloves: Nitrile or tex gloves for handling chemicals.Fume Hood: For dug experiments that release hazardous fumes.Fire Extinguisher: For emergency fire situations. I’ll buy more of those—just in case.Ste and anization:

  Lab Shelving and ets: For st chemicals and equipment.Labeling Supplies: Labels, markers, and tape fanizing samples.Chemical Ste tainers: For safe ste of hazardous substances.Sample Vials and tainers: For st and transp samples.Personal Items:

  Training Equipment: Portable weights aance bands for maintaining strength.Books on Alchemy and bat: For tinued learning and strategy development.fortable Clothing: Practical, durable clothing for everyday use.A rge stock of s. He was enthusiastic about the idea, not for health reasons, but for liness.John:

  Tools and Equipment:

  Portable Trading Stands: For setting up shop quickly in various locations.Specialized Medical Supplies: Advaools for perf plex healing.Treatment tables, partitions, and some wheelchairs.Learn how to make photography paper and development chemicals and buy an enormous supply.Old meical cameras to st me a hundred years.Buy as much film, development paper, and chemicals as possible.Some more furniture for the day I could expand the house and spare sets of everything.A big metal taio store all the sand from the rat isnd. I hated how it sat in a big mound in the middle of my Ste. It annoys me.Personal Items:

  Musical Instruments: Personal favorites for rexation and practice.Books and Journals: Including a personal journal and favorite novels.Cooking books and aensive sele of cooking equipment for my use, not for selling.fortable Clothing: Modern attire for fort aility.Movies and musieed another disahya.Armor.More melee ons and an enormous stock of arrows and bolts of all sizes.General for the Group:

  Diving equipment with a lot of spare air tanks.Mas—for cooking, various crafts, and the balloon.A lot of spare sail fabric for the boat.Spare tires for all the drivable equipment—enough for a hundred years. I didn’t know if there were limits to how many times I could use my Restore spell on an item. It’s better to stock up just in case.Climbing and rappelling equipment. And a lot of ropes in various thiesses. out a few DIY, hardware, building supplies, and home improvement stores. We never know what we might need.More aluminum. A lot more aluminum.Iron, steel, copper, and bronze.Mahya and Al said to buy any avaible old s sold by weight. Even if they aren’t copper, they would be handy and have worth. Most business owners in mana worlds have either Identify, Appraise, or Analyze, so it won’t be a problem.A lot more part. It turns out that the part oh is much better than what’s avaible elsewhere.A4 paper for the pri least a ton. Yes, an actual ton of paper.Boxes and boxes of pens, pencils, and markers for our use.A signifit supply of all types of leather footwear. Turns out it’s much better oh.A lot of umbrels. Few pces have rainy solutions.A few more trampolihey are handy. out the supply of every paintball shop on the way. We need millions, or better, even billions, of them and another hundred paintball guns of various sizes for potions and fun.Alcohol of every kind ience. Bottles and barrels.Optics.[colpse]I wao visit my mother’s and Sophie’s graves o time. My mrave was in Birmingham, Abama, and Sophie’s in Chicago, Illinois. Our eventual stop would be Calgary, ada, before heading to the Gate near Mount Rundle.

  We wao stop in major cities on the way to buy the list and stock up on food supplies and whatever else would catch our eyes. So, our route looked like this:

  USA

  Las Vegas, NVPhoenix, AZAlbuquerque, NMDals, TXBirmingham, AL - My mraveNashville, TNLouisville, KYIndianapolis, INChicago, IL - Sophie’s graveDetroit, MIada

  Toronto, ONSudbury, ONSault Ste. Marie, ONThunder Bay, ONWinnipeg, MBRegina, SKCalgary, AB

  It was time to check our financial situation. I sat oel room floor, spreading out stacks of cash and a few reloadable Visa credit cards. Mahya joined me, cross-legged, with her colle of bills and cards.

  “All right, let’s t this out,” I said, s the bills into piles.

  Mahya nodded, her fingers deftly flig through the cash. “This feels surreal,” she murmured, shaking her head slightly.

  We spent the hour meticulously ting and double-cheg our math. Finally, I looked up at Mahya, a bit stunned.

  “So, between us, we’ve got exactly 3,189,268,” I said, still processing the number.

  Mahya’s eyes widened. “That’s... a lot more than I expected,” she admitted, a small ugh esg her.

  Al stared at the se of cash spread across the floor.

  “Whoa,” he said, eyes widening. “You have achieved success. Is it acceptable if I take part in the ting party?”

  I gestured to ay spot on the floor. “Be uest. We just fiallying ours.”

  Al settled down and began ting his stash. After about twenty minutes, he looked up, a mix of pride and slight disappoi on his face.

  “I have 632,890,” he announced.

  I g Mahya, and she nodded. I turned back to Al. “You know,” I began, “Mahya and I have been thinking. Since we pn to travel as a perma group, why don’t we pool all our moogether? We could buy everything as a team and manage expeogether.”

  Mahya nodded enthusiastically. “It would make things a lot simpler,” she added.

  Al’s brow furrowed slightly as he sidered the proposal. “Are you certain?” he asked, lookiween us. “This decision demonstrates a substantial leap forward.”

  I shrugged and smiled. “We’re in this together, right? Keeping separate funds doesn’t make sense if we’re sharing everything else. The items in our individual Stes will stay personal property, and anything we earn on our own will also stay ours. But we’ll use the cash we have to cover supplies—both for ourselves and as a group. We’ll split the general items three ways. Once we’re done shopping, we’ll buy jewelry with the rest of the money and split that too.”

  Al was quiet for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Yes, you are correct,” he said, a grin spreading. “Let us do it.”

  “Great!” Mahya excimed, already gathering the cash into e pile. “That brings our total to... 3,822,159. All in cash and reloadable cards.”

  I grinned, feeling a surge of excitement for our uping adventure. “Let’s get to work on that shopping list.”