Chapter 64 – Picking Up Another “Stray” (Patreon)

I found a fantastic villa on the Riviera, rented a car, and announced at dinner, “We are going on a vacation to the French Riviera to celebrate your new class. I found and rented a luxurious villa for us."

Lis and Mahya looked hesitant, so I asked, “What’s the problem? Why the face?”

“Thank you, John,” Lis said. “We simply thought that after I get the class, we can start visiting Gates to advance our Gate count.”

“No arguments. I've already paid for it, despite its high cost. You can do your blueprint thing anywhere, and I really want to celebrate your new class, Lis. You deserve it, my friend. And we can Gate-hop after the vacation; two weeks won't change anything," I insisted.

They both nodded, so I said, “I think we should leave tonight to escape the worst traffic.”

They agreed, so we stored everything and drove to the Riviera.

The villa I rented looked good in pictures, but it looked even better in reality. It was two stories, with a large living room, a fully equipped kitchen, four bedrooms with balconies, a wooden deck around a pool, and a sea view.

When we arrived, I took out my purifying aluminum lump and threw it into the pool. Lis and Mahya looked at me strangely, and Lis asked, "What are you doing?"

"This is the purifying blob I created in Shimoor. I hate chlorine, and I think purified water is much better than chlorinated water."

The lump rose from the water and flew to Lis's hand.

I was surprised and asked, "You have the Telekinesis spell?"

"Of course, it's too useful to pass up."

He looked at it and asked me, "How did you make it?"

"I read in the Archive that in low-mana worlds, they don't use runes but instead melt the metal and cast spells on it while it's in liquid form to embed the spell inside. I tried it, and it worked."

"I think the spell will wear off with time," Lis said.

"Yes, I read that, but I can always melt the metal and cast the spells again."

"True."

After choosing rooms, we went down to the beach and were shocked. The beach was teeming with people, making it difficult to walk down the street. We quickly returned to the villa and decided that our pool was a much better place to enjoy the sun. That’s how we spent the first week, mainly by the pool in the sun or in the pool, with Lis's magical Mini Radio playing music. I was still in awe that he had made it.

I didn't feel like cooking, and the villa had an extensive collection of takeaway menus, so we just ordered in. Rue spent the days in the pool or on one of the lounge chairs. It kept surprising me that, despite all that fur, he loved the sun.

After a week of inactivity, Lis and I started getting bored, so we took out books and continued studying. I continued to learn about mana constructs for spells, and Lis studied a phone book-thick textbook on schematics. Mahya decided to brave the beach.

At dinner, Mahia told us, "I met a new friend. She’s also a Traveler; I will introduce you in a few days."

“Be careful," said Lis.

"Don't worry, I know how to be careful; I've been traveling for over a hundred years. Lyura isn't dangerous; this is the first world she’s really traveled."

After three days, in the evening, we felt two Travelers approaching. I immediately recognized Mahya and felt another Traveler with her. She came with another girl who looked young. She didn't have a youthful appearance like Lis or Mahya, but you could sense that they were significantly older; this girl, on the other hand, was young. She was a blonde beauty with glowing orange eyes who looked shy.

"Hello, my name is Lyura," she said. "I come from an archaic, unintegrated world three Gates from here."

We introduced ourselves and invited her for dinner.

Mahia said, "We plan to travel between gates to increase our gate count. What do you think of Lyura's joining us? She plans to find a low-mana world to go and sell things in because she's starting to run out of money."

“You can go to Shimoor.” I said, "The mana level is 17, and I made a lot of money there. Just say you're from the southern islands. I know two Gates that lead there.”

“Is it the place you told me about where you healed and met Lis?” Mahya asked.

“Yes.”

Lyura looked interested, and Mahya said, “I might join you. I need some mental healing after Tír na nÓg, and I need to make some money.”

“Buy linen, towels, fabric, metal cookware, soaps, and shampoos. Those are the bestsellers in the area. Also, order a big batch of gaming copper coins online and exchange them for gold.” I said.

They both seemed very enthusiastic about the idea and started talking among themselves about planning their trip to Shimoor. Lis looked at me questioningly, but I could understand what he wanted. I motioned toward the pool with my eyes, and he nodded.

After dinner, Lis and I went out by the pool, and I asked him, "What?"

"What do you think of her joining us on the trip between Gates?"

"I don't have a problem with that. She seems nice, and my Luck and Perception are quiet, so I don't think she's dangerous. I also feel like she's the weakest of the four of us."

"I don't mean in terms of danger, but there will be five of us now. We'll need a much bigger vehicle."

"I don't intend to drive all over Europe.” I said, “It would make the most sense to fly or take the train and rent a van only if necessary."

"You know," said Lis, "it would be much simpler if you bought Telepathy; that way, we could talk without having to relocate every time."

"Hmm," I said, "I hadn't thought of that."

He laughed and said, "My mistake. As your sensei, I should have said something. Anyway, I recommend you buy the spell; it's useful in many situations. Just keep in mind that if the person you want to talk to doesn't have the spell, you can't talk with them. But enough mages and other classes in medium or high mana have the ability, so it's worth it."

I bought the Telepathy spell and Telekinesis. If Lis found them helpful, I was sure I would, too.

We invited Lyura to stay with us—we had a spare bedroom—and she accepted graciously.

We sat down with a printed map of Europe and our Traveler's Map open to plan our route between the Gates.

The distribution of Gates across Europe was peculiar.

• One Gate in Portugal

• Two Gates in Spain

• Two In France

• Two in Italy

• Two in Germany (Shimoor)

• Two in Romania

• Three in Russia

• One in Finland

• And two in Sweden

I asked Lis, "Doesn't this Gate distribution seem odd to you? There are a lot of empty areas."

"There might be Gates there; there might be fifty Gates in Europe or even a hundred. But if a traveler doesn't put a marker on the Gate, it doesn't appear on the map."

"I thought Gates automatically appeared on the map."

"No, only land masses. Travelers have to add everything else, including Gates."

Huh.

After some deliberation, we decided to start with the Gates in Russia because those were the northernmost Gates, and we didn't want to reach them in the height of winter. From there, fly to Finland and take a train to Sweden. From Sweden, fly to Romania, and from Romania, fly to Portugal and proceed north through the Gates by train, with Germany being the last stop to drop off the girls.

On our last three days on the Riviera, we decided to brave the crowds and walk around a bit to see the place. I can't say it was fun, but at least we saw the place a bit, not just the pool. Maybe August is not the best time to visit a seaside vacation site.