Chapter 49 - More Answers Than I Bargained For II (Patreon)

During lunch, I remembered something else I wanted to ask. I waited for Lis to stop eating and asked, “What are mana crystals used for?”

“You found mana crystals on a low mana world? You sure your luck is only 20?”

“It’s actually 31, but I didn’t find them; I harvested them.”

“How?”

“I killed jurbers; those are level 1 annoying bitey monsters. When I diagnosed them, I felt that they were not real creatures but mostly comprised of polluted mana that started to dissipate. So, I encased them in my mana and squeezed them to prevent the dissipation until I had a crystal of polluted mana. Before it completely solidified, I cast Clean and Purify on it, resulting in a medium-quality earth mana crystal. Want to see one?”

He nodded and said, “No wonder you got the wizard class. I never would have thought of it, and even after your description, I have no idea how to do it.”

I took out a crystal and showed it to him. His eyes lost focus momentarily, and he said, “Not bad, but you should work on raising the quality and learning to harvest crystals without a mana element. To answer your question, mana crystals power small Magitech devices, imbue weapons or objects with magical abilities, and are used in rituals. They are also a type of currency between magical classes, especially wizards, enchanters, magi-smiths, magi-architects, artificers, witches, and alchemists. The most valuable are the ones that don’t have an aspect or an element. From the elemental ones, fire and ice are the most sought-after.”

“How much such a crystal is worth?”

“It depends. If you're selling to a supplier of magical crystals, maybe five to seven gold, but if you find somebody that specifically needs earth mana crystal for something, it can be much more valuable and not always in money. It depends on who you are selling to and what they have to offer. I can tell you that my cabin has fire mana crystals for cooking, baking, and heating water, ice mana crystals in the cooler cupboard, and my temperature regulation system has both. As I said, fire and ice are the most sought-after.”

“Thanks. It’s so cool that you know so many things.”

He smiled and continued, “One more thing: if you’re going to clear dungeons with a group, let them know you can harvest crystals. Usually, healers are very popular, but because they need protection and have a specific role, they get fewer benefits or are paid less. You can negotiate much better terms.”

“I’m not sure I want to clear dungeons. I like to travel and see things; I don’t feel like fighting.”

“You should save one class slot for a fighter class, and I strongly recommend clearing dungeons until you get a fighter class. Remember, not all worlds are low-mana worlds. You will need the skills of a fighting class if you want to visit high-mana or very high-mana worlds. You won't survive without such a class at a high level. They will squish like an earthworm.”

“Do you have a fighting class?”

“Yes, I have the class Psionic Swordsman. I use psionic blasts, mental attacks, mind control, illusions, and, of course, a sword. My mana attribute is mind, so it was a natural progression.”

I started to feel uncomfortable with all the questions I was bombarding him, so I asked, “Does the number of questions I have bother you? Am I asking too many questions?”

He shook his head no and said, “Not at all. It’s also not one-sided; I learned a few interesting things from you. Don’t feel uncomfortable; ask what you want to know.”

“Thanks. So, another question: our abilities list says that after level ten, we get more abilities. Do you know which?”

“Yes. After level ten, we get a new ability every ten levels, but I can’t tell you what you will get. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t know. The standard class abilities we get at the start or can buy with points are the same, but from level ten and up, we usually get a choice between two to three things, depending on our journey that far, needs or desires.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Yes, I can give you a few. Usually, Travelers are secretive about their abilities, so I know only my fathers, my own, and another friend.

“My father has the Protector class and loves dungeons. He fights with a sword and shield, two swords or two shields. But since he is a front-fighter, he got hurt a lot and needed healing. He got the Regeneration ability at level ten, but I don’t know what options he had on top of that. I don’t know what he got after; I left when he was level 18.

“I am a researcher and a scholar. Those two things are very dear to me, and I even got both as my sub-classes at some point, representing my path in life. So, at level ten, I had a choice between the Spell Absorb Knowledge, the ability Perfect Memory, or the trait Clarity. I chose Clarity. At level twenty, I still had the Spell Absorb Knowledge and the ability Perfect Memory, and I also got offered the ability Mind Index, I chose Mind Index.

“The friend I told you about met a woman he fell in love with and stayed with her. He occasionally still ventured through the Gates for profit. At level ten, he got an option to take one person with him through the Gates, and he chose it; I don’t know what the other option or options were. She didn’t become a Gate Traveler; she could only traverse the Gates with him while holding his hand. At level twenty, one of his options was to give his companion one of the Travelers’ abilities. He chose to give her access to the Spells and Skills list.

“So, I don’t know what you will get, but I can tell you that I heard about the trait Clarity when I was level four or five and wanted it ever since. At level nine, I had a countdown in my head of how many Gates I had left, not until level ten, but until I’d have a chance to get Clarity. And I did get it. My friend wanted to take his wife with him, and he got the option. So, I would say that the options offered would be based on your experiences or desires.”

“How many Gates do you need to reach level ten?”

“I’m unsure about the total number from activation to level ten. It was a long time ago, and I don’t remember all the numbers for each level, but from nine to ten, I needed forty-seven. That I remember.”

“That’s a lot!”

“Yes, and it gets worse. I’m level 23. For my next level, I need 268 Gates.”

I whistled. That was a lot of Gates.

I suddenly remembered something I read and asked, “Did you visit the Dragon realm?”

“No, but I’m actively searching for it.”

“How can you search for it? Or, more precisely, how can you know that a very high mana gate you touch is to the dragon realm and not somewhere else?”

“All their worlds have a long and complicated name that ends with -ixious, so it will be something like Berknomstimixious or some other long and absurd name that ends with -ixious.”

I laughed, “Seriously?”

He nodded and said, “Yes, you can find it in the Archive.”

“I read in the archive about other human races with tails, wings, horns, and the like. Did you see such races?”

“Yes, quite a few. And no, I won’t tell you about them. Remember, knowing all in advance ruins the sense of discovery and exploration.”

“Yeah … okay … I had to try.”

He laughed and shook his head in amusement.

We sat there for a few minutes. I was trying to remember what else I wanted to know, and he was chuckling to himself quietly.

After a few minutes, he looked at me and asked, “You ran out of questions?”

“Yep, pretty much.”

“So now let me tell you two things you should know. The first is simple: look in the spell list and buy either Silence Bubble or Privacy Sphere. They are both good and cost the same, but I prefer Privacy Sphere because it doesn’t create a total noticeable silence around you; it just makes it impossible to eavesdrop.”

“Why?”

“Imagine if we met in a tavern or some other public place. How could we have this conversation? Most travelers have one of those spells, and I believe you can manage without, but it’s better to have one just in case.”

“Yeah, makes sense.” I opened the Spells list, read both descriptions and agreed that Privacy Sphere sounded better.

______________________

Silence Bubble

Create a bubble of complete silence around you.
Size and mana cost depends on the number of people you want to include in the bubble.
You will not hear the outside noise, and the people outside the bubble will not hear anything from inside the bubble.

______________________

______________________

Privacy Sphere

Create a sphere of privacy around you.
Size and mana cost depends on the number of people you want to include in the sphere.
You will hear a murmur of the noise around you, and the people outside the sphere will hear a gentle murmur but will not understand what is said inside the sphere.

______________________

Both cost one ability point, so I bought the Privacy Sphere.

“Thanks, I bought Privacy Sphere. You said two things?”

“Yes, I did. The other one is a warning. You felt me when I came through the Gate, right?”

I nodded.

“All Travelers can sense each other. When you sense a Traveler, please don’t get excited about it immediately and rush to meet them. Stop and listen to what your Luck and Perception are telling you. If you feel the slightest warning, get out of there, fast.”

“Why?!”

“You traveled only one world, so I don’t know if this happened to you, but sometimes we must kill to protect ourselves or others…”

“Yes, unfortunately. I killed two people already; I did it in self-defense, and in one case, I didn’t have a choice, but I still feel bad about it.”

“Nurture this feeling, even if it makes it hard for you. Some Travelers lose this appreciation for human life and become dangerous predators. Now, this dangerous predator senses another Traveler and knows they have a big Storage of interesting and valuable things. I think you can imagine the rest?”

“They kill other Travelers for their stuff?!”

“Yes. Always listen to your traits for warning signs.”

I shuddered and nodded; I would do that.

“Did you think of more questions?”

“No, I think the well is dry.”

“Then let me explain why you should make Stretch you familiar, and I have an offer for you.”

He looked around and asked, “Where is Stretch?”

“He went outside; I think he got bored of our conversation. I’ll call him.”

I got up and looked outside; Stretch was napping on a patio sofa on the porch. I scratched his ear and said, “Come inside, buddy; Lis will tell us about the familiar bond.”

He got up, stretched, yawned, and followed me inside.

“Get comfortable; it will take a while,” Lis said, and continued, “The most important part of the familiar bond will enable you to take Stretch through the Gates…”

“I carried him through the Gate.”

“You were able to carry him through?”

“Yes.”

“Impressive. It means you have a strong bond and are very compatible. Still, the bond will allow him to walk through the Gates with you without the need to carry him. Also, it will speed up his progression and give him a new progression track on top. I’ll explain.

“Mana beasts progress by eating other mana beasts and absorbing their mana, or in your case, Stretch, by being fed mana-rich meat by your human. You really lucked there, my friend. Anyway, as I said, they progress with the help of the mana but don’t get benefits from actually killing mana beasts, only the mana. They also kill monsters because monsters are aggressive towards everybody and everything, so they protect themselves and their territories but don’t benefit from the act. When they eat the mane-rich meat, their bodies get saturated, and at some point, when their bodies reach maximum saturation, they begin to form a power orb. In mana beasts, it’s called a beast core, whose location depends on their inclination. Clever mana beasts, like foxes, snakes, some birds, and the like, form it in their head, instinct predators near their heart, and strong mammals like bovines and others like them behind their stomachs.

“The familiar bond hastens this process. The ritual is performed with full mana, you will be completely empty afterward, and Stretch will get more mana from the cosmos. He will get fully saturated and form the core, or in your case, three cores. The familiar always matched their human regarding core location, so he will also have a tri-mana system. He will also receive the ability to gain levels like you. He won’t have a Class or Profession but will gain advancement from killing monsters. He will receive the same traits as you, and at every level, one point will be added to each trait. When his intelligence rises, his communication will be more precise, not just feelings, and at some point, you will be able to speak telepathically.

“Another significant benefit is that you can buy him Skills and Spells from the list with ability points. They will cost more, but it’s worth it. There is a standard familiar kit among Travelers with familiars that they work very hard to purchase. Invisibility so you can cross the Gates together while invisible; Stealth so you can send him scouting; Storage so he can have his food and water and bring you things he finds; Telekinesis so he can have more freedom to act; One of the Crowd so you can hide his appearance as needed and conjure identification if the need arises, and Mana Shield for protection. Initially, you will have to pay the mana cost of the One of the Crowd abilities until his mana rises, but he should have enough mana for the rest of the abilities.

“And there is another major benefit. When you create a familiar bond, he becomes part of you, your soul, you might say. This manifests in three ways. One, you will always be able to feel each other, no matter how far apart; Two, if he gets killed, his spirit remains tethered to you, and you can perform a ritual to re-create his body. It’s a complicated and costly ritual in materials and mana, but I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s worth it.”

I nodded, and he continued, “Three, his life span will match yours. There is a small downside to a familiar in this third point. If you get killed, he dies as well. But I think you will agree, Stretch, that the benefits outweigh the downside.”

Stretch nodded and wagged his tail.

“And now I have an offer for you, John. I will give you access to all the books you need to perform the ritual. I won’t be able to help; you must do everything yourself or the ritual will fail, but I’ll give you all the knowledge you need to perform it. It’s no small thing; magical knowledge is guarded jealously in every world I traveled. I will also give you full access to my whole library – I have an extensive collection of magical knowledge – to study or copy; it’s your choice. I will train you in sword fighting and even work with you to figure out how to teach spells so I can teach you all the spells I know.

“In exchange, I want you to return to your world with me, help me find work-stores …”

“Workshops.”

“Sorry, workshops and help me collect ability points. Also, for over two hundred years, I’ve been saving a sub-class slot for the class Magicaneer. I know I have enough magical knowledge, but the Magical Engineers are even more secretive than regular magic users, and since I dislike tech words, I had a problem getting the knowledge, so I’m lacking in that aspect. Please help me find engineering knowledge, and with your wizard class, help me apply it to magical engineering and teach me some interesting healing spells. I have only the generic Minor Heal and would love something better.”

I thought a while and said, “Your offer sounds amazing, but I’m not sure I want to return. I had a terrible life there, and you might say that I ran away the first moment I could. Also, with the time skip, they might think I’m dead, and if I resurrect suddenly, it will be suspicious. My country of origin knows about the Gates, and I don’t want to be apprehended.”

He hummed and said, “About your identity, simply glamour yourself to look differently and conjure identifications with a different name. I have a suggestion about going back: Don’t go back as if you are returning to your home world. You have traveled to one world already and seen a different way of life. Use this perspective to go to your home world as a Traveler. I’m sure your world has interesting things to offer that you have never explored. Be a Traveler, not a resident. Also, there are a lot of Gates in your world; use them to raise your level and get more ability points; you will need them for you and Stretch. I will do the same; it’s an amazing opportunity that you can’t let yourself squander.”

“Can I answer you tomorrow? It’s getting late, and I want to sleep on it.”

“No rush, you can even answer me in a week. Would you like to sleep in my home or your tent?”

“I think my tent, I need space to think, and staying in your home, I’ll feel obligated.”

“I understand. So, let’s meet for breakfast and continue our conversation. It doesn’t have to be about my offer. I’m sure you will wake up with more questions.”

I laughed and nodded my head; he was probably right.