Chapter 100: Chichi-Jima & Guam (Patreon)

Steering was boooriiing!

I tried to keep reading while steering the helm, but it was impossible. Although I could split my mind, I couldn't split my eyes. Trying to come up with something else to occupy myself with, I remembered my Storage. In Shimoor, I used to sort through it occasionally to organize my stored items, but I haven't done so in recent years. With all the shopping I did in London and Paris, in various cities during our European trip, and the extensive shopping in China, my Storage was a chaotic jumble of items. It was as if a whirlwind had swept through, scattering items without a thought to their location. The sheer chaos of it all was overwhelming.

Splitting my mind, I kept looking at the sea and looked into the Storage, and this time, it did work, but it was weird. I looked at the sea with my physical eyes, while simultaneously using my mental eyes to "look" into the Storage. Even though these were mental eyes, I saw through them, which caused a great deal of confusion. Having two viewpoints simultaneously was a completely new experience for me, and it felt extremely disorienting. The world seemed to spin around me, and I struggled to find my balance. I continued to sit there and get used to this split perspective. After about two hours, the confusion gradually lessened, allowing me to focus on observing both my surroundings and the Storage. The experience was a mix of fascination and disorientation, presenting a level of confusion entirely unfamiliar to me.

With a renewed focus, I began sorting through my belongings, reorganizing them into specific categories. I set aside a distinct area for items I intended to sell and a separate space solely for food. I also moved the house and other large equipment, such as boats, to a different part of the Storage. Once these tasks were complete, I focused on the items that didn't fit into any specific category. During this process, I stumbled upon the wooden ring I had gained in the dungeon in Tuonela, sparking a thought.

Sending a telepathic message to Alfonsen, I asked him, "I have a ring that gives 2% extra constitution; are you interested?"

"Not a very high percentage."

"Yeah, I got it from a baby dungeon."

"I would appreciate having it until I find a superior option."

"It's yours."

After placing the ring in my pocket, I continued sorting through my belongings. I stumbled upon the box Lis built for me, and I couldn't help but facepalm. I still haven't used it! I retrieved the box, the file-access device, and the music-filled hard disk Mahya built for me.

I turned the three devices this way and that, scratching my head.

Hmm, how do I use them?

I looked closer and saw something sticking out from the device that should access files with a matching entry on the external drive. I inserted the tip into the drive, heard a click, and now it looked like one device—half transparent and looking crystalline, the other half metal, with runes covering its entire surface.

That was simple...

I examined the strange speaker, going over all the rods and antennas sticking out of it and searching for a connection point, and checked the file access device and looked for a mount point, but found nothing.

Hmm, I'm sure Lis made something useful. I only need to figure out how to use it.

I approached it from a different angle. When I examined the device that accesses the files, I identified a charge rune. This rune was in the book I studied for the boat project. By touching the rune with my finger, I could channel mana into the device. The device continued to charge until I felt it was no longer receiving any more mana. Even with the device fully charged, I didn't see any change.

What now?

When I examined all the runes on the device, I saw they were part of the containment field. 

I asked out loud, "What the hell, Lis? How do I use this thing? Couldn't you leave an instruction manual or something?"

Mahya heard me and approached. "Who are you talking to?"

"Lis."

"He's not here, if you haven't noticed," she laughed.

"I know that, but complaints in my mind don't carry the same weight as complaining out loud."

"What are you complaining about?"

"How do I use this thing? I figured out how to connect the drive to the access device, and I charged it, but I can't figure out the rest."

"Did you charge the speaker?"

"No."

"Charge it."

After I charged the speaker, she turned the device over and showed me a circle in the middle with the rune Connection and an identical circle at the bottom of the speaker. "Place the two identical runes on top of each other." She pointed to a chain of runes and asked, "Recognize these?"

I looked at them, and they were familiar; they were the runes 'Access', 'Activation', 'Information', and 'Control'.

I nodded, and she said, "Put your finger on Access and flow mana into the rune."

On the crystal drive, a list appeared. It looks just like a list on a phone or tablet screen.

"Cool!" I exclaimed.

"With the other hand, scroll up or down—it works like a touch screen. When you decide which song you want to hear, double tap on it."

I chose the song Dust in the Wind by Kansas. The song started playing through the speaker, and I started singing along with a huge smile.

I HAD MUSIC!

I continued to steer and sing for hours with a massive smile until Alfonsen replaced me at the helm.

"Did you reach a decision?"

"Not yet."

I squeezed his shoulder and told him, "Take your time. Make sure it's what you want, so you won't have any regrets later."

He nodded. I gave him the ring and went to the back deck to continue reading the book about mana control.

______

Mahya was correct in her estimate of our speed, if a little conservative. We left Yakushima at dawn and docked at the Tobiuo Pier in Chichi-Jima two hours before sunrise. If my calculations were correct, our speed was 29 knots! Since the sea was still very calm with almost no wind, the speed was 100% our engine.

I patted the deck and said, "Good girl. Mahya is right; you are perfect."

A Google search revealed that there wasn't much to do in Chichi-Jima. The place's charm was mainly because of the beautiful beaches, but we weren't interested in swimming. We visited the Ogasawara Marine Product Center and saw small sharks, rays, sea turtles, and various local fish; ate a Japanese dinner at Fuku-Chan, slept on the boat, and sailed with the sunrise. We should reach Guam in 28 hours if my calculations were correct regarding our speed.

______

From the very beginning, it was clear that the weather conditions had changed. The ocean was choppy, and there was wind. At least it was in the right direction. The wind got stronger and stronger until Alfonsen asked me to replace him at the helm. His sailing skill was still level three, while Mahya's and mine were level six, so he didn't feel comfortable steering the boat in these conditions. I quickly understood the problem: the boat flew too fast between the engine at almost maximum speed, and the sails receiving a strong wind. To avoid hitting a boat or ship, I slowed down the motor more and more, until we were sailing almost only on wind power.

Rue felt terrible and threw up several times. Luckily, Alfonsen had the Clean spell.

I called Rue, "Come here, buddy, put your head on my lap."

He whined softly but mentally shouted, "Bad boat! Rue no like!"

I patted him and cast Healing Touch. That's how I continued to steer for fifteen hours, one hand on the wheel and one hand on Rue, as I cast a Healing Touch every few minutes to help him. He looked miserable, and I felt sorry for him. If he develops such severe motion sickness, I've decided never to tease him again about his hatred of small boats. If they made me feel that way, I would hate them too.

When Mahya came to replace me at the helm, she said, "If the Gate in Guam leads to a world with a manageable mana level, we should take Rue in and have him kill monsters or mana beasts."

"Why?"

"He needs two more levels. At level ten, his Constitution should be high enough to prevent motion sickness."

"Good idea. We will definitely check this option."

It took us another ten hours to reach Guam, and I spent this whole time casting Healing Touch on Rue. My boy felt so miserable and kept whining softly. The spell helped, but the motion sickness returned fast every time. He was so miserable that he even stopped shouting mentally.

We finally docked at Sumay Cove Marina, got off the boat, and looked for a nearby hotel. Rue needed to feel dry land. When we heard on the news that a storm was approaching, we felt relieved that it missed us mid-sail. I metaphorically patted my Luck stat on the back and went to sleep—I was done after taking care of Rue for twenty-five hours.

The storm hit the island of Guam and raged for two days. During that period, we stayed at the hotel, and Rue was ecstatic to watch TV finally. I made progress on the mana control book and realized that, for the time being, I should give up the idea of drawing mana through Rue.

It turns out that first, you need to achieve total control of the internal mana while progressing on to controlling the external mana. Only when you completely control internal mana, can you train in complete control of external mana. Only after achieving proficiency in controlling external mana at advanced levels, can you begin to channel it. I haven't even looked up how to draw mana through Rue. I wasn't there yet.

Two days later, after the storm had passed, we checked the Gate. Of course, the Gate was a surprise. What else is new? The Gates surprised us so many times that I stopped feeling surprised. This time, it was Alfonsen's turn to be speechless.

_________________

Travelers Gate #561117230

Destination: Leylos

Status: Integrated

Mana level: 50

Threat level: Moderate-high

________________

Alfonsen turned to me and Mahya, looking at us wide-eyed. "I can confidently state that a Gate linking Leylos to a technological world has never existed."

"Well, the original Gate you came from also changed," I said.

"This is correct, but Lis informed me it was a newly introduced Gate to your world."

"The Gate might have been there before, but nobody went through it, so it didn't appear on the Map."

"Hmm, I concur."

"Are you planning to take this Gate home?" Mahya asked.

"No. I am presently deliberating whether to accept the role of the heir apparent. Nevertheless, even if I opt to proceed, my travel time began less than a year ago. There is still some time left for me before I have to go back to that terrible ordeal."

"Think this place is good for leveling up Rue, and getting rid of his seasickness?"

"I will know our location once we cross the Gate."

As we crossed the Gate, Alfonsen opened the Map and said, "No, this is not a good place."

"Why?"

"In our world, we consider the areas located deep within the mountains to pose a certain danger. Considering the mana level, seeking a more suitable option would be more advisable."

"It's your world; you know best," I said.

I checked the Gate from the other side. The mana was still holding at seven, which was good.

______________

Travelers Gate #561117230

Destination: Earth/Gaia/Terra

Status: Unintegrated

Mana level: 7

Technology level: Low

Threat level: Humans–moderate. Other species–very high.

_____________

Once we got back to the hotel, we had a meeting and decided against going to Rota Island. We lost two days because of the storm, and we agreed we would rather spend those two days in Guam.

We went on a Valley of the Latte Jungle Riverboat Cruise, which lasted a whole day. Fortunately, Rue had no issues with the riverboat's stability, and many children added to his enjoyment. We visited Underwater World, ate good food, swam in the calm sea again, and raced on the E-foils. After three days of rest and fun, we sailed at dawn, heading to the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia.