Al was the first to gh the Gate, and I followed right behind him. I ran straight into his back as soon as I stepped through, boung bad almost falling.

  “Why’d you stop?” I asked, annoyed.

  He moved aside, revealing what had stopped him. My jaw dropped. The st time I went through this Gate, it was daytime, and all I saw were kes, ponds, and big mushrooms. But now, with darkness settling in, those same mushrooms were glowing with vibrant colors, creating a strange, almost psychedelic se. It was the most stunningly beautiful sight I’d ever seen. The air smelled sweet ahy, with a hint of something floral and fn. The soft hum of night is and the distant croaking s added a symphony to the visual effects.

  I stood there, frozen in awe, until Mahya bumped into me, jolting me forward. “Why are you blog the Gate?” she grumbled.

  As I stepped aside, her eyes widened, and she gasped in wonder. “Oh, pretty!” Her soft voice cut through the quiet night, and I could see her breath catch as she took in the view.

  Al had a huge smile, rubbing his hands together like he was about to make a million-dolr deal. The way the colors reflected in his eyes made him look almost as magical as the mushrooms.

  “Why do you look so pleased?” I asked.

  His eyes sparkled with excitement as he answered, “The luminesce emitted by these mushrooms indicates a high tration of mana.” He looked like a kid who had just found a stash of dy.

  “You’re pnning to pick these beautiful mushrooms?” Mahya asked, her face sg up in fusion.

  “Of course,” Al replied without missing a beat, his voice serious.

  Mahya and I exged shocked gnces, both clearly w the same thing: Was he serious?

  “What?” Al shrugged. “Those are merely mushrooms. They will grow back.”

  “But they’re so pretty!” Mahya protested, her voice rising with a touch of desperation.

  “Exactly,” Al replied. “I io utilize these materials to craft aesthetically pleasing potions.”

  I sighed, realizing that some people didn’t know how to appreciate beauty. “Fine,” I muttered, shaking my head.

  The three of us opehe Traveler’s Map and exami. Lumis sisted of e ti, two smaller tis, and several rge isnds. We were on one of the southern isnds.

  “Looks like we’ll have to sail to get to the main ti,” I remarked, trag the route with my finger.

  “Check the Map closely,” Mahya interjected. “I think we’ll he balloon to get out of here.”

  Her meaning became clear when I zoomed in on the Map. We were in a vast valley, surrounded by numers of tall, dense mountains. I rotated the map, searg for a pass, but there wasn’t ohe mountains were so high and thick that flying seemed the only way out. Even from a distahe tall mountains looked imposing, their long shadows stretg out even in the moonlight.

  “How likely are there to be monsters in the air or sea?” I asked, feeling uneasy.

  “At 32 mana?” Mahya replied. “Not much of a ce.”

  Al nodded in agreement.

  “Alright. You two know best. This is my first world with medium mana, so I’ll trust you ohing enviroal.”

  As we discussed our pn, Rue, always curious, wandered off to explore the valley. Suddenly, his howl pierced the air, and I ran toward him, my chest tightening with fear. By the time I reached him, Rue was locked in a struggle with a small green monster, its teeth sunk deep into his leg.

  I kicked the monster off Rue, sending it flying a few meters. It stopped moving when it hit the ground. I whispered, “Good boy,” healing Rue’s leg. Anreeure charged at me before I could catch my breath. I pu mid-air, sending it flying, too. My hand throbbed from the impact, but the rush of adrenaline dulled the pain.

  Sensing more of them approag, I pulled out my staff. Mahya and Al readied their swords, their faces grim, the tension around us thiing.

  The creatures swarmed us. Each was about the size of a cat, with rge, bright yellow eyes, sharp cws, an enormous mouth full of teeth, four horns, and green fur. They were the most bizarre things I’d ever seen. Their hisses and growls filled the air, creating a chaoti. We fought, taking dowhirty of them. My staff swung in smooth arcs, each hit vibrating through my arms. Mahya and Al’s swords cut and stabbed with precise efficy. Rue tore through the horde, tearing them to pieces.

  Whe monster fell, I was breathless, sweat dripping down my face. The metallic st of blood mixed with the earthy smell of mushrooms, creating a strange, uling aroma.

  Al grinned, his eyes gleaming with happiness.

  “What’s got you so cheerful now?” I asked, fused. “These were monsters.”

  “Exactly,” he said, his eyes glinting with greed aement. “The presence of a signifit number of monsters in this area implies that the mushrooms are of even higher purity.”

  I shook my head, realizing everyone sees what’s most important to them. After gathering all the monsters in one pce, I turhem into crystals. Looking up from my work, I noticed the red dot blinking, signaling a system message.

  Pim Level 3 defeatedPim Level 3 defeatedPim Level 3 defeatedPim Level 4 defeatedPim Level 4 defeated...

  Pim sounded cute and fluffy, but these monsters were anything but. They were just strange.

  After a brief discussion, we agreed to stay in the valley for a few days. Al wao collect mushrooms, and I needed a mental break. My st days oh were stressful, with the writing, sending out, and wanting to leave as fast as possible.

  I took out my house and activated the protes to ensure our safety. The following day, everyone did their own thing. Rue resumed his patrolling. Mahya went into the spell room and got back to work on her motorcycle. Al mercilessly picked five beautiful mushrooms and then took over the kit. I settled on the porch, split my mind, and tried to ect with the wind.

  I was in for another surprise—I looked forward to the day I would stop getting surprised every other day. The wind here felt different from the wind oh. She was less pyful, maybe not meaner, but less friendly and more unkind. Standoffish. I spent most of the day trying to achieve Unity, but it wasn’t happening. Something was missing.

  I thought about my experien Earth and remembered that I initially achieved Unity, but the wind and I only became friends after pying with the hot-air balloon. Scratg my head, I thought, “Maybe y together?”

  I didn’t want to go up in the balloon with an unfriendly wind, so I brainstormed aname. Eventually, I made paper airpnes. Sitting on the porch, I folded twenty paper airpnes, stepped outside the house’s defenses, ected with the wind as much as I could, and flew the airpnes one by one, invitio py. I sehe feeling of, “Let’s throw them as high as possible ahem from toug the ground.”

  At first, she wasn’t ied, but she warmed up over time. I kept pig up and flying eae bato the air after it fell. She took the pnes and flew them all over the valley. Gradually, I felt her pyful side emerge, and our bond grew stronger. After a few hours of pying together, I knew we’d achieved Unity. She wasn’t mean or rude; she just had an aggressive mood that day. ame brought out her pyful side. We pyed with the paper airpnes all day, and both had a bst.

  At some point, I floated again, but I had enough self-trol to ask the wind to pce me ba the grouly. I got a wave of surprise from her, and it took me a sed or two to realize she wasn’t the one lifting me. When I fully ected with her, I took on the characteristics of the wind, and so I floated.

  Steering bad forth or sideways to improve my flight skills didn’t get me anywhere. In truth, it was an attempt to steer me, but I just hovered in the air, about two meters off the ground. Even when I sent the wind a nudge, urgio give me a push, she wasn’t ied—she preferred pying with the pnes. Nothing I did made a difference. I couldn’t get myself to budge, and she wasn’t pying along.

  Bad wind.

  As soon as I thought that, I fell.

  Ouch!

  That was enough for one day—time to cook dinner. As I stirred the fragrant stew, Mahya came up behind me, her eyes narrowing in pyful suspi. The rich aroma of simmeriables and herbs filled the air, making my mouth water. “Are you done filling the valley with litter?” she asked, a teasing lilt in her voice.

  I gnced over my shoulder with a grin. “I didn’t litter. The wind and I pyed together.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Spirits! You and all wizards are just weird.”

  “I’m not weird. I’m different,” I said, giving her a mischievous wink.

  Mahya shook her head, her smile softening. She said nothing else, but there was a mix of exasperation and affe in her eyes when she looked at me.

  After her ent about litter, I felt unfortable, so I went to collect all the paper airphe wind blew them away quite a distance from the house. Along the way, I got ambushed by pims now and then.

  Spirits, they were annoying!

  When I returned, I told Mahya and Al, “We o clear out all the pims around the house. Otherwise, they’ll keep attag us every few minutes as we move through the valley.”

  They agreed, and we po ha in the m.

  We set out in the m to hahe extermination mission. Al, Mahya, Rue, and I walked together, ons drawn. Al hummed a tune, his fiapping on the handle of his sword. Rue’s ears twitched, alert to every sound, and Mahya kept sing the distance for any sign of movement.

  The first attack came quickly. Pims ambushed us from behind a cluster of mushrooms, the pierg sound of their screeches resonating through the air as they charged. I swung my staff in a wide arc, catg two mid-air and knog them to the ground.

  “Watch out!” Mahya shouted as a pim lu me. I barely had time to duck before she fired her MK47, hitting the monster dead on. “Thanks!” I called out, turning to swat another one away.

  Rue growled, tearing through a pim that tried to sneak up on Al. “Good boy, Rue!” Al praised, ruffling his fur before sshing at another monster.

  After the first wave, we paused to catch our breath. I k and turhe pims into crystals. The process was quicker now, but I knew we’d do this all day.

  Mahya tapped her MK47 and said, “We o keep moving. More will e.”

  As we tihe sery became more breathtaking. Ponds and enormous mushrooms dotted the valley, which were strange aiful even during the day when they didn’t glow. But we were on a mission, and there wasn’t time to fully appreciate the view.

  We moved slowly, clearing each area as we went. The pims kept attag in waves. Al was in his element, swinging his sword with precision, his eyes lighting up with joy. Mahya simply shot them, praising or even kissing the rifle occasionally—she was developing an uhy retionship with guns. Rue did a great job watg our backs and warning us before every attack.

  At one point, a massive group of pims charged at us. I focused, gathering my energy, a a wave of mana out of me that knocked a few pims off their feet. “That’s it!” I yelled, feeling a rush of power course through me.

  Mahya took advantage of the opening, cutting down the monsters with her MK47 fshing. “Yes! Got them!” she cheered, kissing the gun. “Love this thing!”

  Rue barked and s a pim that tried to surprise us while Al ughed, clearly enjoying the fight.

  Whe pim in that group fell, I got down on my knees again and turhem into crystals. We’d cleared a lot, but there was still much to do. “How’s everyone holding up?” I asked, looking at my friends.

  Al wiped the sweat from his brow. “I am in excellent dition.”

  “I’m good. Let’s keep going,” Mahya said.

  “Rue?” I scratched behind his ears.

  He wagged his tail in response and said, “Rue fight.” He didn’t shout it but said it in normal volume!

  I identified him:

  Rue Bonded Familiar Level 10

  “gratutions, buddy!” I excimed.

  As the sun rose higher in the sky, we kept moving. Even though the heat was building, we didn’t let it slow us dowook breaks to rest and drink, but were always ready for atack.

  Around noon, we reached a point where the valley walls narrowed, closing in on us from both sides. It felt like the pce was trying to squeeze us into a trap. “This appears to be an ideal location for an ambush,” Al said, sing the area.

  Mahya tightened her grip on her MK47. “Stay sharp.”

  We moved cautiously, and sure enough, an enormous group of pims sprang from behind rocks and mushrooms, ing at us from every dire, their yellow eyes gleaming with malice.

  “Alright, let us begin!” Al yelled, charging into the fray.

  I twirled my staff, feeling the satisfying thud as it ected with a few pims. Mahya moved like a whirlwind of steel and bullets, while Rue leaped and snapped, his growls eg through the valley.

  A rge pim lu me, its teeth bared. I ducked and rolled, ing up with my staff ready. I thrust it forward, catg the monster in the chest and sending it sprawling. “Not today,” I muttered, finishing it.

  The pims kept ing in waves, and for a few minutes, it looked like they would op and overwhelm us. Finally, the st pim dropped, aood there, panting. Mahya wiped her face. “That...was intense.”

  “You’re telling me,” I said, kneeling to turn the monsters into crystals.

  This time, we took a longer break, sitting under a giant mushroom for shade. We ate, drank, a our muscles rex. I cast Fortify Life For everybody to pick us up physically. Rue y down, still alert but worn out.

  “Think there are any more?” I asked, looking at the Map.

  “Maybe a few more s,” Mahya said. “But we’re doing well.”

  As we moved deeper into the valley, the ndscape seemed to stretdlessly. We entered mroups of pims, and each battle was chaotic but getting easier with familiarity. Despite the relentless bat, we kept our spirits up with jokes and encement.

  “Remember the rats?” I asked them.

  Al shook his head. “It would be best if I did not remember.”

  We paused in another clearing, and I checked the Map. “Looks like we’re getting close to the st area we haven’t cleared.”

  “Let’s finish this,” Mahya said, soundiermined.

  The st group was the biggest we’d faced so far. pims just kept ing, their screeches pierg the air. We fought hard, every move sharp and in sync—magic, steel, and bullets all w together. Al’s sword fshed, Mahya’s MK47 fired nonstop, and Rue tore through them with his teeth. My staff ected every time.

  We didn’t back down, even though there were so many of them. I sent out another bst of magiog a bunch of pims back. I got a little light-headed, but it went away. Mahya was relentless, eyes locked on the fight. Al kept grinning, and Rue was unstoppable.

  The st pim hit the ground, aood there, panting. I turhe remaining monsters into crystals. “We did it,” I said as a wave of dizziness hit me. I checked my mana: 70 out of 10,200.

  Thinking ba that mana wave I’d unleashed, I realized it was a first for me, even though it felt natural in the moment. I g my character sheet, but no new skills or spells appeared.

  Mahya sat down heavily, kissing her MK47 again. “That was...something.” She said to the gun, “Love you.”

  Al grinned, wiping his sword . “Yeas, but enjoyable as well.”

  Rue barked and wagged his tail, looking pleased with himself. “Rue very dangerous.”

  We took some time to let the adrenaline fade. With the pims no longer a threat, the valley was quiet. I looked around, appreciating the beauty of the rocks, mountains, and mushrooms. The only sounds were the distant rustling of leaves and the occasional bird singing.

  We were all tired but satisfied as we began the long trek back to the house. The valley was safe now, and we could explore without stant attacks. We walked in fortable silence, enjoying the view. The sun was setting when we reached the house, casting a golden glow over the ndscape. The sky was a vas es and purples—the perfect backdrop of beauty to a challenging day.

  “That was quite a day,” I said, my voice a mix of exhaustion and satisfa.

  Mahya leaned baodding as she closed her eyes. “Yeah. We did good.”

  Al smiled, his eyes twinkling. “We are a good team.”

  Rue was already asleep at my feet. I smiled, feeling a deep te, even after all the fighting. Sometimes, it was worth it. We ughed and talked over dinner, sharing stories and memories. The valley was quiet now, a wele ge from the day’s chaos. Everythi just right—the colors of the suhe taste of the stew, and the camaraderie.