Chapter 77 – A Friend for the Journey (Patreon)

I opened my eyes in the morning and immediately shut them again. God, I had the worst hangover. I cast three Healing Touch in succession without opening them until I felt human again, but I was parched. After drinking a gallon of water, I finally felt okay.

I started breakfast when Lis and Mahya came downstairs, and they looked fine.

“How come I woke up like roadkill, and you look as fresh as cucumbers? You drank as much as I did.”

“Higher Constitution.” Said Lis, “What’s for breakfast?”

“This is so unfair. And it’s snake strips and eggs.”

After breakfast, Mahya left for Zurich to get her money from the bank, and I started reading the book The Higher Echelon of Aspects – The Mark of a True Wizard.

It was not what I expected. The first chapter explained that to continue with the book, I needed to develop mana sight, and there was an exercise that involved several steps.

In the first step, I had to sit with my eyes closed, feel all the mana around me, and differentiate between all the aspects.

The second step was to open my eyes and, with my senses, locate different pockets of mana and imagine them as having a visual representation.

The third step involved developing the ability to see the mana through the application of my intention, while relying on the first two steps.

I harrumphed and grumbled, "Why can't magic be simple? If I want something to happen, it happens!"

Lis laughed, saying, "If it worked like that, it would be very boring. The fact that you have to work to achieve something makes the achievement much more interesting and worthwhile, don't you think?"

"Hush, Sensei! I don't want logic; I want to complain."

He laughed and returned to his engraving.

I went outside, sat on the grass, closed my eyes, and began feeling all the mana around me. For some reason, it was always easiest for me to feel the mana in water and fire, in earth and rocks, a little more complicated, and in the air the hardest. I decided to ask Lis about it later, and I returned my attention to the mana around me.

I sat like that for several hours, just feeling the mana, and I must admit that it was a very spiritual experience; I felt one with the world and full of peace.

I felt Mahya approaching, and I opened my eyes. I felt great, like I slept for ten hours and ate well.

She approached me, gave me an envelope, and said, "Thank you so much for everything."

For a moment, I feared it was the same situation as Lyura's letter, but I immediately dismissed the thought. Mahya would never do such a thing. I opened the envelope, and inside was a cashier's check for two hundred thousand euros.

"What is this?"

"That's what I owe you for the past two years."

"You don't owe me anything; besides, you built me a magical house! Why are you also giving me money?"

"Lis and I built the house as a token of our gratitude. He for helping him get his class, and me for saving my life and fixing my mana system. This money is for the jewelry you gave me and everything you spent on me over the last two years.”

"I didn't spend that much money."

"Yes, you did. You pay for all the flights, hotels, and rentals, whether a car or a house. You provided me with a credit card, which you regularly replenish, along with a phone, meals, entertainment, workshops, and various other expenses. All of this adds up to a lot of money. Don't think I haven't seen Lis and Lyura give you gold coins now and then. This check is the gold coins I'm giving you to pay you back for everything you spent on me. Right now, I feel too indebted to you and want to ask you something, but I can't until I feel that we're even."

"Okay. I agree," and took the check.

She hugged me and said, "Thank you."

"So, what did you want to ask me?"

"Originally, I wanted to go to Shimoor because I felt the need to recover from my experience, but I no longer feel that need. I'm already perfectly fine. The plan was also to go with Lyura, but you know... so I want to ask, how about a companion for your journey?"

I hugged her, smiled from ear to ear, and said, "You have no idea how happy you have just made me. For the first few days during the weeks you and Lis worked on the house, I felt completely lost. Even after that, being alone wasn't fun; it's much more fun with friends."

"Excellent."

"But I have one concern: you're stronger and more experienced than me. Won't you feel like you're babysitting me?"

"No. I'm indeed stronger at fighting than you are, but you don't want to fight, and I'm not interested either. I do think that if we find wild dungeons, we should definitely clear them, but besides that, I also want to travel and study, not fight. You’re much more experienced on Earth than the two of us, so you’re our guide. If we go to a world I’ve been in before, I will be your guide. And if we go to a new world, we'll discover it together."

"Would you mind if the next world I want to travel to is in the lower thirties?"

"No. Every world has something to offer. I traveled high-mana worlds with Travelers stronger than me, and every minute was scared to death. Medium mana sounds perfect."

I hugged her again and said, "I have no words to express how happy I am right now. Welcome aboard."

She patted my back and smiled.

"By the way, what did you sell for two million euros?"

"Crystalline Memory Storage."

"How does it work?"

"You can store fifty terabytes of memory on an external drive the size of a matchbox. I didn't know how to explain the additional advantage, but the integration will preserve and not destroy all the stored information. But they'll need a Magitech device to gain access."

"You can build a storage device that the mana won’t destroy?"

She nodded.

"How much will it cost me to build one?"

"I'm way ahead of you. The drive I built as a proof of concept can hold two hundred terabytes, and it's yours, and another two like it. I also know how to upload all of your information there. Lis and I are currently trying to build a Magitech device that can access the information, but it still needs work."

I couldn't help myself and hugged her again.

I asked, "Most of the information is audio and video. Do you have any ideas for seeing and hearing the content with Magitech?"

"No, and Lis thinks he won't be able to make it before we run out of time on Earth. He thinks you'll have to find a solution yourself."

"Boooo!"

She laughed and hugged me.

When we returned inside, I asked Lis, "I was sitting outside feeling the mana, and I noticed that it was easiest for me to feel water. When I learned the aspects of fire and lightning, it was fairly easy, earth was harder, and air was tough. Do you have any idea why?"

"Yes, it is easier to feel aspects the more developed the parallel power centers are. Your mind's power center is probably the least developed."

"Yes, it is the least developed. How can I develop it better?"

"Studies, studies, studies. One day, everything will click together, and your center will progress. And by the way, the E-foils are ready, and Mahya is done with her deal, so let's go on to France and find a sea to try them out."

"One of the Gates is near Marseille, so we can try it out there."

“Excellent. Let’s store the house.”

“You know, after everything, this sentence still sounds strange to me.”

We flew to Lyon and decided to tour the city briefly. We visited Parc de la Tête d'Or, Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica, and the Cinema and Miniature Museum. We didn't want to linger too long, so we gave up on continuing the sightseeing, rented a car, and drove to the Gate. The Gate led to Murinabla, like the Gate in Milan.

From Lyon, we flew to Marseille, and the first thing we did was go to the beach; we didn't even check in at a hotel. Lis laughed at our impatience, but Mahya and I didn't care; we wanted to see how the E-foils turned out.

When we got to the beach, Lis slipped behind the changing rooms and took out the E-foils without anyone seeing. I looked at mine, and the entire top was covered in runes.

Lis said, "It's not a Magitech device; it has no power source. You must feed it with mana through your feet. As long as you have mana, it will work."

The E-foils were terrific. Their speed was much higher than their original speed before Lis changed them, and I quickly learned I could control the speed. If I fed it a little mana, it moved slower; if I fed it more, it moved so fast I felt like I was flying.

Rue also wanted a turn, and we had to explain that the E-foil was too small, and he wouldn't be able to stand on it. He was not happy.

I asked him, "How come you want to ride the E-foil but are afraid of the boat?"

He raised his nose, straightened his tail up like a cat—this time, I felt the telekinesis he cheated with—and walked away with an air of superiority.

This dog was hilarious.