Chapter 88: Tongling (Patreon)

I was channeling Restore into the boat's body when Mahya came to me and asked, "Did you check the archive today?"

"No, not yet."

"You should."

"A message from Lis?"

"No."

I opened the Archive and saw the message she was referring to.

_________________

Tr. RVF

"Frozen-Tail"

I need your help urgently. Someone captured me after I crossed the Gate to Dirt, and they are currently holding me in captivity. They drugged me and examined me. Don't go through the same gate as I did; they will capture you, too. They have a force field that nullifies magic and cuts off access to mana. I believe they converse in a language known as English, and an earthquake occurred recently. Maybe it will help you locate me. Try to find the blue

_________________

Not good.

I looked at news sites on my phone and saw that an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude happened yesterday in Nevada.

"I know what army base is holding that person," I said.

"You want to go save them?"

"We should, but it's going to be problematic."

"Why?"

"If they can nullify magic, I have no idea how we can get them out."

"Go in, fight our way through, and get them out."

"No!"

"Why not?" She asked, looking confused.

"Those are good people who joined the army to protect their country. If I see soldiers, I thank them for their service, not fight them. I won't punish them for doing their job and trying to protect their home from aliens. I don't know that person; I don't owe them anything, and I won't hurt my countrymen over them."

Mahya looked like she wanted to argue but sighed, nodded, and said, "Yeah, I can see your point."

Alfonsen came over and asked, "Why do you look so unhappy?"

"Check the Archive," Mahya answered.

"Are we going there?" he asked.

"John is not sure how we can get that person out if they can nullify mana, and he doesn't want to hurt the soldiers," she said.

"Use Rue," said Alfonsen.

"No way! They'll shoot him!" I exclaimed.

"Not to rescue, but to channel mana. If Rue stays outside while you enter, their field cannot nullify his mana. You can channel mana through him into yourself."

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I have a book about familiars, but there was no mention of channeling mana through one. How do you even know this?"

"The master of the wizard tower in Mirbit has a bird as a familiar. My father told me he has relatively low mana, but because he channels external mana through his familiar, he is formidable, and I should be wary of him."

"Do you know how he does it?"

"No. Wizard magic is strange and works differently."

"I'll look through my books and maybe find something," I said.

"I can also make you a sleeping potion."

"You have the plants for it?"

"Yes. A lot. I was in the world I came from to gather plants, and I have many that are good for making sleeping potions. I will require additional resources, but I believe we can find them on Earth. Furthermore, I looked through the plant encyclopedia you gave me, and some look promising."

"Well, China is known for its herbal remedies; we should check some herb shops."

I turned to Mahya and asked her, "You're an engineer. If I manage to channel mana through Rue, do you think their nullification field will nullify it?"

"I don't know. We'll have to experiment."

"How?"

"I don't know yet. Let me think about it."

"Do you want to change our plans and go there immediately?" Alfonsen asked.

I thought about it and searched for the feeling of urgency or direction that nudged me to help Mahya and Lyura, but all was quiet, with no sense of urgency or anything else. Mahya was looking at me intently.

I said, "No. If they captured the Traveler and holding them captive, I don't think they'll kill them out of the blue. Besides, I still need to find a book to figure out how to channel through Rue and verify it won't hurt him."

Rue sent me a strong feeling of trust.

"Thanks, buddy," I said, scratching his ears.

"Are you sure?" Asked Alfonsen.

"Yes," said Mahya. "You can trust John on this. I asked him once why he looked for me in Tír na nÓg, and he told me he knew somebody needed help. Also, when Lyura got hurt, he knew about it and knew it was urgent. Until we got to her, he was nervous and jumpy."

Alfonsen stared at me and said, "Wizard magic is strange."

__________________

We lifted the anchor and continued sailing.

We were approaching Tongling City in Anhui province, and I searched my feelings again to see if it was okay to stop and go sightseeing for a bit or if we should hurry, but everything was quiet.

We moored in the Tongling marina, and finally, my sailboat didn't look out of place. It was as pretty and whole as the other yachts and boats. It cost me over 40,000 mana, but she was perfect. This thought stopped me short. The last time I checked, my regeneration was six mana units per second, or 360 units per hour. It took me almost 26 hours to regenerate to full. But in four days, I spent over 40,000 mana. The math didn't add up.

I told them, "We must check the mana level at the next Gate. I think it went up."

"Not good," said Mahya. "I know Lis said it's safe to fly until the mana reaches level 8, but I'm not sure if I want to risk it with mana level 7."

Alfonsen nodded emphatically and said, "Can't we just continue sailing everywhere?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"From China, we need to go to Tibet, but it's landlocked, and no rivers go there."

"What about a train?" asked Mahya.

I checked on my phone and said, "There is a train, but it takes about 50 hours."

"Are we in a rush?" She asked.

I re-checked my feelings and said, "No. But we also need to get to the US. I'm not sure that we can sail the Pacific Ocean on such a small boat."

"Why not?"

"It's the largest ocean in the world, with various sea conditions." I looked at my phone again and said, "Freight shipping from China to the US takes forty days. We'll sail slower, so it might take us two months. Are we sure we're experienced enough for such a voyage?"

"What's your sailing level now?"

"Three."

"Mine too," she said. "I think it will reach level five at least before we head to Tibet. It's perfectly fine for an ocean crossing. Besides, we have magic, access to the Spells and Skills list, and a ton of Ability Points. We'll be fine."

Alfonsen looked hopeful, and he gave me puppy eyes that were even better than Rue's.

"Can we stay two months on the boat without going to shore?"

"You can always park your house on the ocean for a day or two so we can have more space. Maybe we can even leave it out and connect it to the boat with a chain. You have the pontoons, after all."

"Yeah, but if I 'park' it on the ocean before the pontoons finish inflating, the house will sink, or at least take in water," I said.

She looked puzzled and said, "Inflate them before you take it out. You're the dungeon master."

Huh?!

I was thoroughly confused. "How?! The storage keeps everything in suspension."

"Since it's your Storage and core, you can influence them."

"I think I'm missing some data," I said.

"Only some?" Mahya said, laughing.

"What do you mean by dungeon master?" asked Alfonsen.

"Oh, you don't know. Don't tell anyone, but John's house has a core, and we performed the Ritual of Connection. We are trusting you with a big secret. Don't disappoint us," said Mahya.

"I swear I won't."

"Let's talk about it later," I said. "Right now, we need to go buy some herbs—I even found a place that sells them—do some sightseeing, and then continue. We'll have plenty of time to talk on the way."

First, we went to buy herbs, and Alfonsen got excited about some herb called Valerian, saying, "With this, I can create a potion that doesn't have to be ingested. You can throw it at somebody, and they will fall asleep."

"I just got a great idea," said Mahya.

"Are you sure it's great?" I asked her. I had to repay her for her comment about "only some."

She stuck her tongue at me and said, "It's super great. I came across small paint guns while we were shopping for paint arrows. Let's buy a few guns and a big supply of paintballs. Make a hole in the paintballs, empty the paint, and cast clean. We'll fill them with the potion, and you'll cast mend on them. This way, you'll have a sleeping potion gun to put people to sleep."

That was a fantastic idea. I sighed deeply and said, "Yeah, okay, it's a good idea."

From there, we went to a prominent aluminum manufacturer. I was confused, but Mahya informed me that aluminum would be precious in mana worlds. She knew better, so I just shut up and bought a substantial supply of aluminum sheets.

We found a place to buy the aforementioned guns and bought twenty, just in case, as well as ten thousand paintballs. The seller looked a bit dazed when we left.

From there, we went to visit the Tongling Grand Canyon. It was beautiful, but with the name, I was expecting something bigger. There was an impressive underground river, stunning waterfalls, and lots of greenery. While the visit was enjoyable for a few hours, the size was disappointing compared to the Grand Canyon in the US. Mahya and Alfonsen weren't too keen either, but Rue fell in love with the waterfall. He stood under it, enjoying a shower, and we had to drag him away.

After two days in Tongling, we returned to the boat and continued sailing.

Next stop, Ma'anshan.