The chamber within the Nexus was silent. This was a significant discovery, but not in the same head-spinning way as when Valdrik had informed Justin that he was also from Earth.

The English words above each gate were another undeniable connection to his home reality, but how they had gotten here in the first place was impossible to say.

In fact, not every gate was even legible. As he went around with his cane, there might be a letter here and there, or a number. But Gate 22—the one that led to Azhdaria—was one of the few that was fully decipherable.

Backtracking to Gate 7, the one they had originally come from, led to one that was mostly missing words, but from the beginning "Z" and ending "a," it was easy to guess it meant Zanthera. That name had been mentioned by the Vault and had been the gnomish city that existed at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

"Zanthera," Justin said.

Eldrin's eyes widened. "You weren't kidding. You seriously speak the Ancient Tongue."

Justin chuckled. "I'm starting to think you didn't believe me about being from Earth."

"I did," Eldrin said. "This just makes it more...real, I suppose."

"Well, anyone from Earth can understand—"

Justin frowned as a thought occurred. No, not just anyone from Earth could understand English. It was the lingua franca of his world, but presumably, other Earthers were pulled from other non-English speaking countries, and likely in even greater numbers.

Valdrik possessed The Wizard of Oz book, but he gave no indication that he knew how to read it. All of their conversations had been in Aranthian, but certainly "Dragomir" wasn't an English name. It definitely sounded Slavic.

So, it was quite possible that even Valdrik couldn't speak English, at least fluently. Given how few Earthers there were on the planet, he might actually be the only one who could read the language. Or perhaps one of only a few.

But that just begged the question. If English words existed here, where else could they be found? Zanthera? Salinuk? Or perhaps in scattered artifacts scrounged over the millennia?

"This is a huge discovery," Eldrin said. "From what I understand, very little of the Ancient Tongue—this 'English,' as you call it—has been decoded. There just aren't enough samples." He looked at Justin appraisingly. "I understand objects from your world finding their way here through portals. But this suggests an even stronger, more direct connection."

Justin nodded. "Yeah. Definitely. Though I can't make heads or tails of it."

There were two options that he could think of off the top of his head. As Valdrik had said, this was a hyper-realistic game, and if that was true, the presence of English letters, even as a past relic, should come as no surprise.

There was another option, though. Maybe this world wasn’t a different reality at all, but the same one—just in the distant future. Perhaps the Ethereal Era was ancient history here, but perhaps it was his own world's future.

That theory seemed less likely, though, because it would have to explain how a System could emerge from nothing.

Then again, if a reality like this existed at all, maybe anything was possible. Unless he was willing to accept this actually was a game.

He didn't want to think about that. Not now.

Lila's voice snapped him back to reality. “How old is this place? I mean, the gates are said to be from the Ethereal Era, but there’s no telling how far back that is."

Eldrin swallowed. “There’s no consensus. Most historians think it was about ten thousand years ago. Scholars will argue all day about that.” Eldrin looked at Justin again. "If one of these researchers could get their hands on you, though...all the knowledge of the past would be open to us. It would settle a lot of questions."

Justin wasn't entirely comfortable with that idea. It was a lot to think about. "Maybe we can circle back to this later. I want answers, too, but we can't get them just by talking about it. Maybe I can get my hands on some artifacts with English writing on them. It could certainly help a lot. But for now, I say we explore the next gate. The fact that we can read what some of these places are will help."

"Definitely," Eldrin said. "Unfortunately, most look like they may have been scratched off."

Indeed, Justin could see that. Someone had been here, perhaps as far back as the Ethereal Era, to scrub some names above the gates. Someone had likely been trying to hide where the gates led at some point in history.

But since no one from this time period understood English, the action must have come a long time ago, perhaps shortly after the Ethereal Era, when people could still understand English and there would be a reason to scrub them.

They deciphered the gates that had enough information to form complete words. There were 7 and 22, of course, along with the locations of Azhdaria and Zanthera.

But there were also four others. Gate 3 said "Kaspideal," which didn't ring any bells for either Lila or Eldrin. Gate 11 said "Loraevia," also unfamiliar, while Gate 17 said "Duphael."

"That sounds like Duphal," Eldrin said. "It was an ancient elven kingdom. Sort of a predecessor to the Shadow Empire. But it hasn't been around for at least two thousand years. It was in eastern Calidon, which was nowhere even close to where they were trying to go."

"Okay, scratch that one, then," Justin said. "But at least we have an idea of where it goes."

There was one final gate that could be somewhat read: Gate 21. It took about five minutes to puzzle out the imperfectly scrubbed letters, but Justin was pretty certain he had it.

"I'm pretty sure that says Mount Eleanor," he said.

Eldrin frowned. "Sounds awfully similar to Mont Elea."

"Elea can be short for Eleanor in my world, I think," Justin said. "Maybe the gateway goes straight there. Convenient, huh?"

Lila's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Justin nodded. "Well, it's a good guess. But not one hundred percent certain."

"They say Mont Elea has been a beacon of power for millennia, long before the Six Gods rose to prominence and the Templars made their home there," Eldrin mused. "It was likely a site of great importance even in the Ethereal Era."

"So we can just go there straight away?" Lila asked.

All three started at the gate. Within seconds, they could be reporting the Baron to the High Priest of Arion. It was mind-blowing to think about.

"As tempting as it may be," Eldrin said, "it may not be the wisest course. For one, we know Mont Elea is populated, and it's quite possible we'll be seen coming out of this gate. That will lead to questions I'd rather not answer. And two, it's also possible that the Templars know about the gate and even use it. And they might not like the fact that we know about it."

Justin swallowed. "Both are good points."

"Just guesses," Eldrin said. "For all we know, given the time spans involved, this gate is lost somewhere on the island. It's up to us if we want to take the risk."

"The compass isn't pointing toward it," Lila said. "Then again, by now we're pretty sure it's just giving us the fastest and most efficient way to find treasure and secrets."

"That's what I think, too," Eldrin said. "As for the rest of these gates, they are most likely to lead to ancient cities. They can either be lost cities or even modern-day cities that once went by a different name."

"And we know at least one of them leads to Drakendir," Lila pointed out.

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"True," Eldrin said.

"If these gates are really ten thousand years old," Justin said, "the other side of some might even be buried underground. In geologic terms, it doesn't take long for ruins to get covered by debris and dirt. A few thousand years will more than do the trick."

Justin imagined what would happen if he met a wall of dirt as he tried to pass through the gate. Would Sapphire Aegis protect him from that?

"Well, we have to try something," Lila said. "So, here's my idea. We have enough water for six more days, right? Well, let's keep trying these gates, and if we ever run out of options, we can take the Mount Eleanor Gate as a last resort."

"Makes sense," Justin said. "So the question is, which should we try next?"

"Well, the only one the compass is pointing to is the Kaspideal Gate," Eldrin said. "Let's give that one a go."

"Sounds good to me," Justin said, heading for Gate 3.

Sapphire Aegis was ready to go.

"Here goes nothing."

Justin activated his aegis and stepped through the gate.

Warm, humid air, thick with salt, hit him like a wall. He blinked, but here it was evening, and it took a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust.

He stood on the edge of a cliff. Below him stood a hilly forest, some of those hills more like tall, green monoliths overtaken by nature. Ancient skyscrapers, perhaps?

And beyond all that, there was another cliff and the wide ocean.

Then he saw them.

Dragons.

There were at least a hundred of them, their red-scaled bodies catching the fading light of evening. Some perched atop the hills and monoliths, wings half-spread as they surveyed their domain, while others slithered within the massive trees. High above, a few circled lazily. High screeches sounded on the wind.

None had noticed him yet—but it was only a matter of time.

"Nope," he said.

Just as his aegis winked out, he dove back through the gate.

He caught Eldrin and Lila just in time before they passed through. Eldrin addressed him. "No good?"

Justin shook his head. "There be dragons."

"Dragons?" Lila asked. "Seriously?"

Justin reported his findings.

"Wyverns, going by their size and numbers," Eldrin said. "Dragons and drakes are more solitary. Red wyverns tend to make their home in eastern Atelinar and southern Calidon, and the fact that it's evening there tells me that much."

"So, what?" Lila asked. "Do we have to wait a full day to try again?"

"Yes," Eldrin said. "And those wyverns are proof that we're going about this the right way. Imagine if they had been close and Justin didn't have his aegis."

Justin shuddered to think about it. "So, how are we going to spend the rest of the day? Grinding?"

"Well, we have two spots to choose from," Lila said. "Mummies or wyverns?"

"You want to attack the wyverns?" Justin asked. "That's crazy!"

"Is it, though? We could exit the gate, do a lot of damage, and retreat if they get too close. I'm sure they give more experience than mummies."

"And here I was thinking you were the responsible one."

"It's a dangerous ploy," Eldrin said. "Wyverns normally can't breathe fire, but some red wyverns can. And they fight in groups and are very intelligent. Aside from some gambit where Justin uses Sapphire Aegis, we'd be lucky to bring down even one. Plus, there's no reason to bother creatures that aren't bothering us."

"True," Lila said. "I'm just tired of mummies. And it's for sure going to be infernally hot in the desert."

"It's the safer option," Eldrin said. "While we can fight some more in the temple, there's nothing wrong with taking a well-earned break, too. We've been pushing ourselves hard, and our new clothing can keep us plenty cool in the shade of our campsite."

"I vote for that," Justin said. "A catnap would be in order."

"Sounds good to me," Lila agreed.

They headed back for the Azhdaria Gate, and within minutes, were setting up in the outcrop. The sun was incredibly hot, but Eldrin was right. In the shade, and with their new clothing, which Eldrin had already changed into, it was more than manageable.

They took turns resting, and in the late afternoon headed for the temple for a few more hours of grinding. As Eldrin had said earlier that day, the gods didn't seem to be pleased with them playing it safe. Despite wiping out at least fifty mummies, they only earned a hundred experience points for their troubles, bringing Justin's total up to 4,800/13,000.

They figured out a solid strategy where Lila would get in close, since they were slow, and use her Melody of the Blazing Sun to blind them, and then they could easily mop up.

As they explored the temple's western wing, they came across a Level 12 Vault called the Azhdari Labyrinth. It was a maze filled with mummies, minor traps, and the occasional red scorpion, none of which posed even the slightest threat. Most were classified as "hostiles," while a few were slightly stronger and classified as "elites," but given the level, they still didn't pose much of a challenge.

The true danger of the labyrinth lay in the traps, anything from closing walls to magical wards that would stun or blind. But Justin’s Adventurer’s Guile let him see every trap coming, and the way to get around them was usually pretty obvious. Lila’s Melody of the Blazing Sun blinded enemies that ventured too close, while Eldrin picked off stragglers before they even knew what hit them.

The final guardian was some lizard priest who barely lasted thirty seconds. Eldrin and Lila softened him up with ranged attacks, while Justin set up a Poison Barb/Add Injury to Insult combo, proccing double damage, then finished him off with A Proper Sendoff, sending his undead remains splattering against the sandstone wall in a single, glorious hit.

In the end, the Vault was finished in under an hour—their first true curbstomp.

"I'm actually starting to have fun now," Justin said.

A silver chest appeared, and each of them got another Silver Ascension Crystal and a single purple Priest core as a bonus. Justin only gained 500 experience from the Vault, which was about in line with what he expected, bringing his total to 5,300/13,000.

Justin actually didn't have much to use the Silver Ascension Crystal on. There were his Ilvari boots and Squire's Armlet, so he picked the boots. They upgraded by adding a Dust Repel enchantment while giving him a +2 to Endurance rather than a +1. Lame.

Lila used her crystal on her Minstrel's Leather Ensemble. She kicked herself for not thinking of it earlier that day with the scorpion guardian. She had just assumed that because it was a full armor set, it wouldn't let her. But apparently, the enchantment that linked the armor pieces together made it possible for the full set to be upgraded. It was a nice surprise.

So now, her Minstrel's Leather Ensemble conferred +2 to all attributes rather than +1, along with a new enchantment that conferred a +1 Charisma boost to the party while she sang. Still, her new Juggler's Silken Set was more useful because of the blinding song enchantment, and it gave her attribute buffs where they mattered most.

Eldrin, for his part, chose to upgrade some ring he'd found in the Vault with the drake. It increased a mage's ether regeneration, but he had nothing else to use it on. He figured he could at least sell it down the line for a greater profit.

Justin took a look at his Priest core, its purple hue telling him it was a Perception-based class. Once again, he wondered if his Prismatic Core would allow him to take an advanced class now. He had the opportunity to try earlier with the Alchemist Core he'd gotten from Drakendir, but in the end, he had decided that selling it was the better move.

The truth was, he didn't want to do anything that was irreversible, and he didn't want to miss out on his final Gentleman abilities. He stood to get an upgraded boon at 18, a new skill at 19, and to cap it off with an upgrade to his Essence of a Gentleman Focus Boon at Level 20, which would presumably help him dodge even better.

Would he lose out on those abilities, assuming he could take an advanced class early?

He didn't want to risk it. Besides, both the Scholar core and the Priest core were group rewards, so if they did anything with them, it had to be a group decision.

They exited the temple, returning to their campsite for a well-earned dinner. There was still some daylight; while it was winter in the north, it was still summer in the south, with longer days. That told Justin that this world, like Earth, had an axial tilt.

As they ate, Justin wondered what Kargan and Ryak were up to, if they had managed to make it out of the caverns and were on their way to Draegor's Keep even now.

And, of course, he wondered about Valdrik.

And that was when a dark thought occurred to him. They had overlooked something very important.

"Is something wrong?" Lila asked.

Justin nodded. "Maybe. There's something we haven't even considered. If Valdrik catches up to Kargan and Ryak, and they tell him where we went for some reason...he has a way of potentially following us."

"How?" Lila asked, her eyes going wide.

"The Vault," Eldrin said in realization.

Justin thought it over. If Valdrik made contact with the Fyrspawn, and he offered to clear that Vault for them, he would have a gate key.

Even if he was supposed to give that key back to the Fyrspawn, Valdrik certainly would choose to keep it for himself.

And a Level 26 Vault was likely more than doable for his party.

"Assuming the worst," Justin said quietly, "how much time do we have?"

Eldrin shrugged. "Well, it's been a little over two days since we parted ways with them. If they're on track, they should be leaving the caverns anytime. And of course, it's possible the Baron ran into them since they were backtracking." Eldrin went quiet. "Worst case...the Baron could already be down in that gnomish city or even in the Vault right now. I don't think that's likely, but it's possible. If we're unlucky."

There was silence as they considered this. That gate key needed to be taken out of play. It was hard to say if they should have tried to clear the Vault, but given the danger, it was probably too late now.

Of course, none of it mattered if Kargan and Ryak kept ahead of the Baron, or if the Baron failed to get the information he was after. But it was still a consideration.

"We could go back, I guess," Lila said. "I'll get one last level-up tonight. That'll put me at 17, just like you two. With some of Emberlyn's troops, we might stand a chance."

"Maybe," Justin said, though he wasn't convinced.

"No reason to risk ourselves just yet," Eldrin said. "All this is conjecture. A Level 26 Vault is sure to be long and involved, and even if we were to succeed, we might find an unwelcome visitor waiting for us on the outside. We have other, safer options."

"What are you thinking?" Justin asked.

"Tomorrow, we'll train a bit more while we wait for Sapphire Aegis," Eldrin said. "No guardian rooms or Vaults, since there's an element of chance there we can't play around with. Then, we use Sapphire Aegis on a new gate. Assuming it's not good, it might not be wise to keep waiting, given Valdrik. So, assuming tomorrow's new gate doesn't work out, I say we go straight through the Mount Eleanor Gate and hope for the best."

It was risky, but there were risks no matter what they chose to do. Assuming the gate they tried tomorrow was a bust, it meant risking the Mount Eleanor Gate without Sapphire Aegis.

Justin wasn't sure how he felt about that. Definitely not good.

"Maybe," Justin said. "We can sleep on it."

With that, they set the watch and hunkered down for another night. As Justin thought it over, he already knew his answer.

They couldn't wait around forever. At some point, they had to take a risk.

He just had to hope the next gate would be a winner.