ALL NOVEL B2—Chapter11: Friends Are Awesome
We flew from Paris to Moscow, Russia. I could take Rue on the plane as a service dog, but I had to buy him a seat because of his size. He actually used his seat, demanded that I lift the armrest, and flopped on me. With all his fur, I spent the entire flight squished and sweating bullets. Thank God the flight was only four hours long.
We spent a week touring Moscow and visited the Kremlin and the Red Square. At the Red Square, Rue made friends with a class of six or seven-year-olds and thoroughly annoyed their teacher; instead of listening to her, all the kids were busy petting him. We had to leave quickly so she wouldn’t murder us.
From Moscow, we flew to Tomsk in Siberia—it was the northernmost gate, so we wanted to visit it first. We took a quick tour of Tomsk and visited the Tomsk Regional Art Museum. From there, we rented a car and drove towards the Gate. The gate was a two-hour drive from the city and another half hour on foot.
We all touched the gate.
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Travelers Gate #466214228 |
Rue stayed on the Earth side to guard the Gate. We all cast Invisibility, entered the Gate, looked around, and returned to the other side.
Next.
From Tomsk, we flew to Irkutsk, still in Siberia. We toured the city for a few days and visited the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. In my opinion, it had a ridiculously long name and looked like a giant cake, but nobody else agreed with me. We rented a car and drove to the gate.
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Travelers Gate #466214227 |
Once again, the destination and gate number were the same. Invisibility, in and out of the Gate. My red light started blinking.
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Class: Gate Traveler Level 3 |
My lowest Trait was Strength, so I put the free stats there.
I raised an eyebrow and asked Lis, “In the UK, all the gates lead to Tír na nÓg; the two Gates in Germany lead to Shimoor; in the Americas, the Gates in the north lead to Lumis, and the south to the same two tech worlds; and now in Russia, two Gates lead to the same place. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
Lis tilted his head slightly, pondering. “I never saw the phenomenon before,” he replied, his voice tinged with curiosity. “Maybe it’s because of the imminent integration?”
I nodded slowly, still unconvinced. “Yeah, it could be. It’s still strange.”
Lis gave a thoughtful nod, his eyes narrowing as he considered the possibilities. “Yes, it is. I’m learning new things here.”
Next.
From Irkutsk, we flew to Saint Petersburg; our internet research told us it was a beautiful city, and we wanted to see it. We spent a week touring the city, and it was as promised. Lis had to drag me from one location to another as I repeatedly stopped to take pictures.
At some point, he had enough and told Rue, “He’s your human; you drag him.”
Rue turned his head away from him, lifted his nose as high as possible, lifted his tail straight up like a cat (I think he cheated with telekinesis), and padded regally away.
Lis looked perplexed and shouted after him, “Traitor.”
The girls and I couldn’t stop laughing.
From there, we took a train to Kirishi, took a taxi to the outskirts of town, and walked to the Gate on foot. Again, the Gate led to Payan. We returned to Saint Petersburg, flew to Tampere in Finland, and took the train to Rovaniemi in Lapland. I tried to nap; the train ride was over eight hours long.
In Rovaniemi, we toured the city and went to the Gate.
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Travelers Gate #254781364 |
Lis and Mahya looked at each other, moved away a little, and started talking in whispers. After a few minutes, they returned. Lis told Lyura and me, “Wait here. Don’t go through the Gate. We’ll check to see if it’s safe and come back.”
We waited for twenty minutes, and only Lis returned. He walked up to me, his expression serious, and asked, “There are great trees on the other side of the Gate that are suitable for a project Mahya and I are working on. Would you be willing to help us cut some down? Of course, we will protect you.”
“Sure,” I replied with a nod.
Lis smiled, a hint of gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you, my friend.” He then turned to Lyura, his tone firm as he instructed, “Cast invisibility, in and out of the Gate. Don’t linger inside.”
Turning to Rue, Lis added, “Come with us; stay close to John.”
Rue nodded.
Finally, Lis turned back to Lyura, his voice taking on a note of finality. “After you leave the Gate, book a hotel room and text us which hotel. We might be delayed, so we’ll check our phones when we return.”
As soon as we crossed the gate, I could sense the thick mana in the air, like it was buzzing everywhere. We were in the middle of a dense, ancient forest—one of those places that feels like it’s been around forever. The air was heavy with the scent of earth and moss, like the ground was alive.
Like always, there were these two enormous stones as the Gate’s anchors, but they had a faint glow, like they were buzzing with energy. The surrounding forest was dark and overwhelming, with massive trees towering up so high it felt like they could touch the sky. The bark of the trees was something else—they glowed faintly, with a polished, almost metallic look, as if someone had crafted them rather than them growing naturally.
The branches were way up above, forming a thick canopy that barely let any light through. What little light made it down was faint, casting eerie shadows that seemed to move on their own. The place had a certain ambiance that gave you the unsettling feeling of being under watch.
The sound of deep, earth-shaking roars reached my ears from a distance, evoking images of ancient creatures. It was a humbling reminder we were mere visitors in a place that had experienced the ebb and flow of many ages.
Mahia was waiting for us on the other side of the gate, standing alert, her eyes scanning the surroundings like she was ready for anything. The air felt thick with tension, the kind that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. When Lyura crossed back through the Gate and returned to Earth, I felt her presence disappear and a subtle shift in the surrounding mana.
Lis stepped closer, gripping my upper arm firmly, his voice low and calm as he said, “Cast invisibility and stay close to the Gate. Mahya and I are going to do another round to make sure everything’s clear. If it is, I’ll come back for you. When you see me, just cancel your invisibility.”
I frowned, realizing I’d never actually canceled a spell before. “How do I cancel a spell? I have no idea.”
Lis smiled faintly, reassuringly. “You just intend to cancel it and pour some mana into that intention.”
With a nod, I focused and cast Invisibility, feeling the familiar cloak of magic settle over me, making me blend into the surroundings like a ghost. I stood there, tense and waiting, the sounds of the forest creeping into my awareness. A few minutes passed, and I heard the distant sounds of fighting—sharp, quick, and then silence.
Lis reappeared beside me, blood splattered across his clothes. “Come. Stay close to me,” he said, his tone brisk but calm.
My eyes widened at the sight of the blood. “Are you hurt? You need healing?”
He shook his head, already moving. “It’s not mine.”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and followed him through the thick forest. We moved about two hundred meters, the trees gradually thinning out, allowing more light to filter through. The atmosphere shifted slightly, less oppressive but still heavy with the sense of ancient power.
“What’s your Intelligence number?” Lis asked, glancing around at the trees.
“Fifty-six,” I replied, wondering where this was going.
He studied the trees for a moment, then nodded to himself. “Should work.”
After a beat, he turned back to me. “How many times did you enlarge your storage?”
“Three. On my status, it shows as times four.”
Lis considered this and then gave me a look of approval. “Enlarge it once more. We’ll find you a workshop to compensate,” he said. “Now, use your mana sense to examine all the trees around you and pick ten with the most mana. You need to cut them down, but a regular axe won’t do it—too much mana in the wood. You’ll need to coat the axe edge with mana or figure out how to cut it with magic. Can you handle that?”
“Not yet, but I’ll figure it out,” I said, determination in my voice.
He nodded, satisfied. “Don’t feel pressured, but don’t delay either. Mahya and I will be making rounds to keep any monsters or beasts from getting too close to you but stay alert. Keep an eye on your surroundings and listen to your Perception and Luck. When you cut down a tree, store it immediately and move on to the next.”
Lis then turned to Rue, who had been watching silently. “Make yourself invisible and patrol in a tight circle around John. If something approaches, don’t engage; you’re not ready for that. Howl, and I’ll come running.”
Rue nodded, his massive form shimmering as he activated his invisibility, fading from sight but leaving a faint sense of his presence lingering nearby. I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the task ahead, but knowing I wasn’t alone in it.
Rue disappeared, and I pulled out the biggest axe I had, feeling its weight in my hands. I tried to coat the edge with mana, but the second I cut the connection, it fizzled out. I kept at it, getting more frustrated by the minute. The pressure was getting to me, especially with the sounds of fighting echoing in the distance. I couldn’t help but worry about Lis and Mahya.
Switching gears, I tried something different. I created a thin line of mana and aimed to cut the tree with it, but it was like trying to slice through solid steel with a butter knife. The tree was so packed with mana it almost felt like it was mocking me. I could almost hear it laughing at my weak attempts.
I shook off the frustration and went back to the axe, thinking, if the mana kept dissipating when I let go, maybe I just shouldn’t let go. So I coated the whole axe in mana, and finally, it stayed put. I started thinning out the mana on the edge until it was as fine as a hair, then added the “sharpness” aspect to it.
Taking a deep breath, I swung the axe with everything I had. Despite my swing hitting the tree, all I did was create a minuscule scratch that was only visible if I looked very close. I gritted my teeth and kept swinging, each time making the scratch just a bit deeper. But honestly, it wasn’t much progress. I felt stuck, like the tree was winning this battle.
Then a new idea popped into my head. I cast Exude Mana directly onto the scratch, and when I swung the axe again, it finally bit into the wood—almost a full centimeter. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Progress, finally.
I tried a different approach: instead of casting the spell, I “colored” my mana with the Exude Mana aspect and pushed it into the tree as deep as possible. It felt like my mana was trying to fight through a thick gel or molasses, but slowly, I could push in a few centimeters. Now, I split my mind and, with the second half, coated the axe once more before swinging it. This time, it sank to the point my mana reached.
I pumped my fist in the air. Success!
It took me over forty minutes to cut the first tree, but it finally started falling in my direction! I jumped and rolled out of the way, but shouldn’t have bothered. The other trees caught the canopy, causing it to halt mid-fall.
Phew!!
After I tried and failed to store it, I examined the cut area and noticed that some small parts were still attached. Finally, after two more swings, the cut was complete. I tried storing it again and had to really flex my mental muscles. It felt like I lifted a car with my mind, and my mind spasmed for a second, but the tree vanished into my Storage.
One down, nine to go.
Lis kept checking on me and was thrilled when I resolved the edge problem.
As I cut down the fourth tree, I saw Mahya stumble into my area. There were two nasty, long cuts on her arm extending from her shoulder to her hand. My heart skipped a beat, and I ran over to her right away to heal her cuts. But as I got closer, I saw that something was wrong—the cuts were oozing more than just blood. Something else, something darker, was there.
I quickly diagnosed her, and sure enough, I could feel the poison coursing through her system. Even though it was scary, I stayed calm and got to work. To stop the poison from spreading, I had to cast Neutralize Poison over and over. The poison wouldn’t give up and fought back every step of the way, but I wouldn’t let it win. It felt like an eternity, but I stopped it in the end.
Once I confirmed she wasn’t poisoned anymore, I could finally give my full attention to treating the cut. When I saw the cut healing, I felt so much better that it was almost too much to handle. Mahya would be fine, but man, that was way too close for comfort.
She thanked me and rushed off, and I continued to cut trees.
After chopping down six trees, I suddenly felt a sharp sense of danger. My instincts kicked in, and I scanned the area, but there was nothing in sight. Just to be safe, I whispered, “Rue, come here.”
Almost immediately, I felt the comforting weight of Rue pressing against my leg. I looked around again, trying to pinpoint the source of the threat, but the forest was eerily quiet. The feeling of danger persisted, though, like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I focused, trying to sense any disturbance in the mana, but there was nothing—just the usual hum of the forest.
My Perception or Luck told me something was off, so I told Rue, “Howl. We need help.”
Rue’s howl echoed through the trees, and I kept my eyes peeled, scanning every shadow. Then, out of nowhere, something “pinged” in my perception. I zeroed in on it—it was moving underground, heading straight for us. My heart pounded as I quickly summoned my operating table, leaping onto it and urging Rue, “Jump up.”
Rue joined me on the table just as Lis came sprinting into view. I didn’t waste any time. “Something is moving underground,” I blurted out.
Lis cursed under his breath, “Fucking burrowers,” and started stomping his foot on the ground, his face tense with concentration. “Tell me when it’s near, and get your axe ready with a mana edge,” he ordered.
I tracked the burrower’s movement, feeling its approach. When it was close enough, I shouted, “Now!”
Lis jumped back just as the ground erupted. A massive green snake, half a meter wide, burst out of the earth, its four eyes glaring, two giant fangs dripping with venom, and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. The creature froze mid-strike, and Lis, straining with effort, shouted, “Chop its head off with the axe. Quickly, I can’t hold it for long; it’s too strong!”
Without hesitation, I jumped off the table and ran to the snake. My hands tightened around the axe as I swung with all my might. The first hit barely made a dent, but I didn’t stop. I swung again and again, my muscles burning with the effort. On the fifth swing, the axe finally cleaved through, and the snake’s head thudded to the ground. Lis, drenched in sweat and visibly shaking, let out a breath.
“Store it; we can harvest it later,” he said, his voice strained. “If a class is offered, don’t take it. I need to help Mahya,” he added before rushing off.
Wasting no time, I stored the snake’s body and went back to the tree I had been working on. I started swinging faster, urgency driving me. My muscles screamed in protest, but I kept going, casting Heal Muscle every few minutes to keep from collapsing. I didn’t want to delay, especially if those burrowers were still around, and Lis and Mahya were fighting those scary snakes. Just the thought made me shudder in horror.
After cutting down another two trees, Lis came running back, extending his hand. His palm was a mess, shredded and bloody. “Poison,” he muttered.
I didn’t waste a second, casting Neutralize Poison repeatedly until I was sure he was clean, then healed the wound. Without another word, Lis rushed off again.
With just two trees left, I pushed myself harder, determined to finish quickly. My arms felt like lead, but I refused to slow down. Finally, after what felt like hours, the tenth tree crashed to the ground. I’d been chopping for at least five hours straight, and the sounds of fighting had never stopped.
I shouted into the forest, “Lis, Mahya, I’m done!”
Mahya was the first to return, appearing out of the shadows like a ghost. “I heard you killed a burrower. What did you use?” she asked, her voice curious.
“An axe,” I replied, still catching my breath.
“Take out a sword, create a mana edge, and get ready,” she instructed, her tone serious.
A minute later, Lis came back, a monster hot on his heels. He looked focused, his expression tight with strain.
Mahya glanced at me and said, “Kill the monster with the sword.”
I didn’t hesitate, drawing the sword and channeling mana into the blade. Two swift swings, and the creature collapsed, lifeless.
Lis nodded approvingly. “Don’t harvest it for a crystal; we’re after a different benefit. Prepare all the types of swords you trained with. I’ll lead monsters to you, and you’ll kill them. Always use mana with the weapon.”
I nodded, understanding the plan, and he disappeared again.
As I prepared the swords, Mahya kept circling the area, her senses on high alert. “Extend your mana sense as far as you can, above and below ground,” she advised.
I did as she said, surprised to discover my mana sense extended about four meters in all directions. It hit me how useful this was—I should have been doing it all along. It made perfect sense to monitor with mana.
Lis soon returned, leading monster after monster to me. I killed them systematically, first with swords, then moving on to polearms, war axes, and even daggers. Each time, I coated the weapon with mana, slicing through the beasts with a growing sense of confidence.
After a while, Lis told Mahya, “Patrol a little wider. We need a few minutes.” Then he turned to me. “I know you trained with a staff, bow, war hammers, and screaming sticks.”
“Eskrima sticks,” I corrected him.
He smiled faintly. “Sorry, Eskrima sticks. Any other blunt or ranged weapons?”
“Bamboo Kendo sword and crossbow,” I answered.
“Gun?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t like them, and it never crossed my mind,” I admitted, not really sure why.
Lis raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t you like them? They seem pretty useful.”
“As a doctor, I treated too many gunshot wounds,” I explained.
“So you should know how effective they are if you treated wounds, no?” he asked, a bit of teasing in his tone.
“When you put it that way...” I trailed off, realizing he had a point.
“Never mind,” he said, waving it off. “Now, I need you to figure out how to apply mana to the other weapons you know and kill monsters.”
“Why?”
“Because a magical fighting class is better than a mundane one,” he replied simply.
“Oh,” I muttered, understanding dawning.
I started experimenting with my staff, and after about fifteen minutes, I remembered the electric arc I created in Paris. It took a bit of trial and error to get the aspect just right, figuring out how to aspect my mana instantly but not constantly—lightning is not exactly fun to hold onto. Eventually, I coated my staff in mana that would initiate the aspect immediately.
“Lis, I’m ready,” I called out.
He led a few more monsters my way, and I took them down, bashing and electrocuting them at the same time.
After the last one fell, I asked, “Those monsters didn’t look too scary, but I heard you fighting; it sounded intense, and you both got hurt. How come?”
Lis wiped some sweat from his brow and shrugged. “Those are the small fry we didn’t bother with. We cleared out the actual threats. At least, I think we did.”
Next, Lis wanted me to figure out how to coat my arrows with mana and shoot them, but no matter what I tried, the mana connection broke and dissipated the moment they left the bow.
Finally, he said, “I’ll lead monsters to you, and you shoot them but don’t kill them—just paralyze them—and then finish them with magic. I think it will work.”
We went through the process again, and I kept killing monster after monster. I must confess, this wasn’t quite my idea of a good time. Despite understanding why I needed the class, I simply wasn’t into fighting with such calculated brutality. I didn’t mind training, hunting for food, or defending myself from an attack, but this systematic carnage felt wrong.
Eventually, we cycled through all the weapons I was familiar with, and I felt pretty confident we’d completed the task. The red light had been blinking repeatedly for the last three hours, but I was wrong.
Lis turned to me and said, “Now, unarmed combat.”
I blinked at him in disbelief. “Seriously? You want me to punch a monster to death?”
He nodded, completely serious. “Yes, and add magic to the mix.”
I sighed in defeat. “Fine.”
I braced myself and took on another three defenseless monsters, this time coating my hands with the “stone” aspect to protect them. I still outlined my feet with lightning because, honestly, the thought of touching anything directly with electricity made my skin crawl. It took a few solid punches and kicks, but I finally took them down. My hands and feet were buzzing with leftover energy, but at least it was over.
Lis and Mahya did one last round to check for any remaining monsters, leaving Rue and me to wait. I slumped to the ground, exhausted, and Rue curled up beside me. After twenty minutes, Mahya returned, looking worse for wear but still focused. Lis followed five minutes later, looking equally tired.
“My side looks clear; how’s yours?” Lis asked, his voice hoarse.
“I didn’t see anything,” Mahya replied.
“Good,” he said
I poked at the red light.
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You have demonstrated advanced ability with many weapons and combined combat with mana. |
Of course, I clicked yes. I was planning to go to my profile and read the class description but saw that the red light was still blinking, so I poked it first.
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Synergy Detected |
Completely stumped and unsure of what to do next, I turned to Lis for help. I pushed mana, intending to show the screen, and just like that, it popped into existence. “Lis, take a look at the message I got,” I said, gesturing toward the screen. “Should I go for it?”
Lis leaned in, scanning the message quickly. “Definitely,” he said without hesitation.
I frowned, uncertain. “But what about the part where I have to advance all the components? It sounds like I’d need to do wizard stuff and fight to level up. Wouldn’t it be better to level them separately?”
Lis straightened up, giving me a questioning look. “Are you in a hurry to level up?”
I shrugged. “No, not really. But I don’t see what the benefit is.”
He smiled, a little amused. “An empty Sub-Class slot.”
Realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh, I didn’t think of that.”
I chose yes. This time, the red light didn’t blink again, so I went to my profile and had a new line: Wizard Battle Master. When I pocked it, a big block of text appeared.
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WIZARD ≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾ MAGI BATTLE MASTER ≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾ Combined Class WIZARD BATTLE MASTER |
It annoyed me I “lost” the free stat points at every level, but besides that, it sounded great. When I checked, the Wizard section in the profile looked different.
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Sub-Class 2: Wizard Battle Master Level 3
Wizard Spells:
Battle Master Skills:
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I glanced at my status screen and noticed that Krav Maga, Staff Fighting, and Archery had disappeared from my General Skills list. I guessed the [Apprentice] tag now attached to them was because they had leveled up to a higher skill level. But what really threw me off was the class level.
Confused, I turned to Lis, who was nearby. “Hey, Lis,” I called, waving him over. “When I got all my other classes, I always got those ‘level up’ messages. But this new class is already at level three, and I didn’t get any notifications this time. What’s going on?”
Lis tilted his head, thinking for a second. “What level was your wizard class?”
“Three,” I replied, still puzzled.
He nodded like it all made sense. “You told me you killed in Shimoor, hunted and took down some monsters, and you’ve killed quite a few today. All that experience and advancement you banked from those actions got applied to the new class. I’d bet with everything you’ve done, you won’t have to fight for at least another two or three Wizard levels.”
I blinked, trying to wrap my head around that. “But this class is supposed to give more stats, right? I didn’t get any messages about those either.”
Lis raised an eyebrow and said, “Check your traits; you might have gotten them without realizing it.”
I quickly looked at my traits list, and sure enough, there they were: +9 Strength, +9 Agility, +9 Constitution, and +6 Vitality. They matched the stats of the Magi Battle Master class. But the thing that irked me was that I didn’t get any of the free stats I expected.
The system cheated me!
I waited for a rebuke, but it didn’t come.
After a moment, I let it go. This was still an amazing class, and I was more than grateful to Lis and Mahya for helping me get it. I couldn’t help but grin as I thought about it.
Friends are really awesome!