The moment I crossed the Gate, my entire body seized, muscles locking in a sudden spasm before releasing, leaving me weak-kneed and gasping for air. A flood of relief followed, along with an unexpected wave of euphoria. The sensation was familiar—similar to all the times my mana level had increased—but sharper, more intense. And the euphoria... that was new. Usually, it was just a clench and then a release, but this time, it hit me like a rush of pure exhilaration. While I was catching my breath, a more forceful wave crashed over me, making my entire body tremble. It felt like energy was drilling into me—entering at the top of my head, surging through every nerve, and exiting through the soles of my feet.

While these waves coursed through me, strange, fragmented impressions surged forward—forceful and vivid. I felt like I was part of a bigger whole, dispersing or getting lost in a sea of something and then emerging again and becoming anew. I felt part of something extensive and all-encompassing, and then I felt a shattering or tearing sensation, and then being alone and lost in a void.

Those feelings were so intense that they drowned out everything else. The world around me disappeared, leaving only the waves and those overwhelming impressions. It lasted a second or two longer, then abruptly stopped. By the time it ended, sweat poured down my face and stung my eyes, much like in the fire dungeon. I was panting hard, my limbs trembling from the aftershocks.

“John!” Mahya’s voice rang out, full of worry. “Are you alright? Talk to me!”

I nodded, holding up a hand, silently asking her to give me a moment. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm the pounding in my chest. Blinking away the sweat, I cast Clean a few times to clear my vision. Finally, I caught my breath and felt more steady.

Immediately, I opened my profile: Mana: 11,100/11,700.

What? Only 600 points?

This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced something like this—Vegas had been similar. But back then, I had gained no mana from it. The impressions felt familiar, yet they were sharper and more vivid this time, like I was seeing the same picture in higher resolution. Even so, I still had no idea what they meant. Something tugged at the edge of my awareness, a faint connection pulsing in the back of my mind—present, but just out of reach. I could sense it there, hovering, but I couldn’t fully grasp or understand it.

I inspected my mana system. At first glance, everything looked the same, but there was something different about my spirit orb. Before, the mana inside had been a faint, almost invisible vapor with hints of gold and occasional purple streaks. Now, it had thickened, becoming more like mist—nearly liquid—with purple streaks running throughout the orb instead of just clinging to the inner walls. It was now similar to my mind orb in consistency and color. The body orb remained smaller, and still holding the “thin” mana.

“John!” Mahya was in my face now, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. “What happened? What was that? Are you OK?! Talk to me!”

I took a deep breath and said, “I’m fine. My mana went up and—” I stopped abruptly, a strong warning flaring in the back of my mind. It was the same scolding presence I’d felt before, but now it felt... closer, clearer, as if a fog had lifted. I froze mid-sentence, too shocked to continue.

“What?!” she half-shouted, her worry morphing into frustration.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the strange feeling. “My mana went up, but the wave was stronger than usual and knocked me around. I don’t know why.”

Mahya still looked worried, her hands twitching as if she wanted to shake me again, but Al stepped in, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Let him be. He needs time to adjust.”

I flashed him a grateful smile. Al nodded, his calm reassurance grounding me. Mahya, though still slightly annoyed, finally relented and stepped back, giving me space.

I shook my head to clear it. Now wasn’t the time to ponder what had happened. “I’m fine,” I said, my voice steadier now. “No need to worry.” I forced a small smile, trying to ignore the faint tug in my mind. That connection was still there, like a whisper I couldn’t quite hear. “Let’s not dwell on it—there’s no point.” I glanced between them. “So, do you want to visit Lumis, or should we head straight to the next Gate?”

“I want to visit the bazaar,” Mahya said, her smile returning.

“I want to visit the Potion Emporium,” Al added.

“Rue say hello to badger friend,” Rue chimed in, his tail wagging enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I need to buy more food,” I said, turning to Rue and pointing at him in accusation. “You and the badger ate a lot!” I gave a quick wave toward the road. “Let’s head out.”

On the road, I took out the Jeep, and everybody got in. I drove for almost six hours until we reached the area with the badger.

Flying is so much faster!

After stopping at the side of the road, I turned back to Rue and told him, “You can go visit your friend, but not more than one day, and then fly to us.” I looked him in the eyes. “Invisible, of course.”

“Yes boss!” he climbed to the back seat, squishing Al in the process, and licked my cheek. Al opened the back door, and Rue disappeared between the trees.

“Your dog is too big,” Al told me.

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed.

Mahya replaced me at the wheel, and we drove for five more hours until we neared Crystalspire. During our drive, all the people we passed, whether on foot or in carts, stared after us with their jaws hanging open. Every time I saw it in the rearview mirror, it made me snicker.

It was getting dark, so Mahya stopped after a bend in the road that hid us from one side. We waited for the carriage in the distance to get out of sight, and she stored the Jeep.

We walked into the trees for half an hour from the road, and I opened the house in the small configuration. I cooked dinner, and we had a great evening. We talked and joked, and Mahya told us about her plans for the cores we would collect. I mostly sat back and enjoyed being with my friends again in a traveling mood. On Earth, when we were busy with projects, it always felt different. Here, in my portable home, in a different world, I truly relaxed and enjoyed that our group was together again—minus one hungry dog.

When I lay in bed before going to sleep, I tried to do something with the connection I felt in my mind—to disconnect, to communicate, to inspect it. Nothing that I tried produced any result. It was there, I could feel it, but that was it. Well, the extra mana was nice. And since Mahya was so worried about me, she forgot to complain that my mana went up again.

The following morning, Mahya stretched and said, “Let’s run to the city. I don’t think arriving on the bikes will be a good idea.”

“Definitely not,” I agreed, shaking my head. “They’ll bombard you with questions and won’t let you pass.”

Al looked less than thrilled about the idea, his lips pressing into a thin line, but he nodded reluctantly.

“Do you have any plans besides the bazaar and the Emporium?” I asked, glancing between them.

“Maybe a quick tour of the city?” Mahya suggested with a casual shrug.

“I will join you,” Al said, his voice a little more relaxed now.

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“I’ll stock up on food and return to the same spot,” I said. “You can come back in the evening or spend the night in the city. Rue will probably show up tomorrow evening or night.”

We returned to the road and ran the rest of the way to the city. As we got close, both of them stopped, eyes widening as they admired the skyline. It was impressive with all those tall spires—no doubt about it.

After they veered off to their respective shopping, I began my search for the food plazas. The city felt different, though. Fewer people roamed the streets, and there were noticeably more guards and adventurers patrolling. It was apparent the adventurers were on some kind of patrol.

I wondered what had happened, but shrugged it off—it didn’t really matter to me. We were leaving in a day or two, anyway. Moving from plaza to plaza, I stocked up on a large variety of food.

In the afternoon, I heard the distinct sounds of fighting, just a street or two over from where I was. Curious, I moved to investigate in case somebody needed healing. But before I’d gone more than a hundred meters, two adventurers stepped in front of me, blocking my way.

“Please stay in the plaza,” one said firmly, holding up a hand.

“I’m a healer,” I explained, trying to peer around them. “I was going to see if somebody needed help.”

“Please stay in the plaza until the fighting stops,” the other adventurer repeated, his tone polite but firm. “If we need a healer, we’ll call you afterward.”

The fighting died down after two or three minutes, and about five minutes later, one adventurer waved at me, signaling that I wasn’t needed and could leave.

I frowned. I wonder what that was about.

In the early evening, I returned to the same area, set up my house, and took a long bath, trying to figure out what to do with the strange connection I felt in my mind. It seemed weaker now, more distant. I tried talking to the system, complaining about it, and even berating it again, but nothing happened. It probably knew I didn’t mean it—or at least, that I meant it with less intensity than usual.

The next day, I spent the entire day cooking, stocking up on ready-made meals since Rue was supposed to return soon. Everybody, including Rue, returned in the evening of the second day. We had dinner together and went to sleep early to prepare for an early departure.

We continued to drive for the following four days. I took the wheel most of the time, though Mahya occasionally replaced me. The drive became more enjoyable after I set up the music device with the speaker in the car. I sang for most of the journey, while Rue had his head hanging out of the window, his tongue flapping in the wind. Mahya and Al were busy scribbling in their notebooks while I drove. We talked little, but we didn’t need to. There was a comfortable, friendly silence between us, one I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed until now.

We reached the Gate late in the evening on the fourth day of driving. I stretched my arms and turned to the others. “Should I set up the house so we can rest and cross tomorrow, or do you want to cross tonight?”

Mahya glanced at the Gate, then shrugged, her face calm. “It doesn’t really matter. Whatever you want to do is fine.”

I looked at Al, who mirrored her nonchalance with a casual shrug.

“Alright,” I said, nodding. “Tonight it is.”

We cast Invisibility and crossed the Gate. My body tensed, bracing for another wave of energy to hit me, but nothing happened this time. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

On the other side, it was midday. The sun hung high in the sky, glinting off the massive junk piles surrounding us. I could see heaps of metal, broken machines, and unidentifiable objects cluttering the landscape as far as the eye could see.

“Before you turn visible, let me check we’re alone,” I said, pushing off the ground to fly up. I scanned the area, making two slow rotations in the air. No movement. No monsters. No people. Satisfied, I landed back beside them. “All clear.”

We turned visible again, and Mahya’s eyes widened as she took in the towering piles. “You weren’t joking when you said they’re massive,” she said, tilting her head up to get a better view of the junk heaps.

“Yep! Our cores can feast here and stock up on materials,” I grinned, pulling out my core from storage. “Do you want to start with your cores and the ritual board, or should I feed mine first?”

Al turned around, his eyes scanning the piles. “There’s enough here for both,” he said, with an approving nod.

Mahya pulled out the ritual board, placed the core in its center, and began piling junk on top of it. The sound of shifting metal echoed around us, but I shook my head, dismissing it as the noise of Mahya’s actions reverberating off the piles of scrap. I bent down to help her, pushing more debris onto the board, when something sharp pierced my leg from behind. It wasn’t too painful—more like a needle prick than anything serious—but I spun around immediately, searching the pile behind me.

Mahya and Al must have noticed my reaction because Al called out, “What is it?” His eyes flicked to my leg.

Looking down, I saw a thin metal rod embedded in my calf. I yanked it out, the wound barely a scratch, and cast a quick healing spell. Then I looked back at the pile, scanning for movement.

“There!” Mahya pointed, her eyes narrowing at the pile of junk.

I turned my gaze in the direction she was pointing, and sure enough, I saw something shifting. At first, I thought it was just the junk settling, but then a tiny green creature emerged, part flesh, part junk. It reminded me of the goblins I’d read about, except... different, as if it had been cobbled together from the scraps around it.

Just as I was processing this, another thin metal rod shot toward me from another angle. I caught it mid-flight before it could strike. My eyes locked on the source—another of those strange creatures. Behind me, Rue growled low, his hackles raised.

I quickly scanned the area. Now that I knew what to look for, I saw them—more of those creatures, their tiny forms hidden among the junk piles. I slapped myself mentally. I forgot to use Identify.

Scraglin

Level 3

“That’s not a scraglin. That’s a miniature goblin!” I blurted out in disbelief.

Mahya and Al turned sharply toward me, both wearing identical expressions of confusion. “What?” they asked in unison.

“Identify says it’s a scraglin, but it looks like a goblin,” I explained, shrugging as if this whole situation were just a minor inconvenience.

Mahya stared at me incredulously. “That’s what you care about right now?”

I shrugged again. “It’s level three—basically insignificant. But the system gave it the wrong name. That is significant. I mean, if you’re adventuring, you need the correct creatures’ names, no?”

Mahya just shook her head, muttering under her breath. “Wizards...” She threw her hands up in dismay.

Al clapped me on the back with a chuckle. “You can call them whatever you want, but I suggest doing that after we deal with them.”

“I want to try something,” I said, a grin spreading across my face. “Retreat to the Gate and don’t interfere. Rue, you too.”

“What?” they asked again, in perfect unison. They were oddly coordinated today.

“You’ll see,” I said, giving them a playful wink.

They exchanged a glance, clearly skeptical, but didn’t argue. Mahya gestured for Rue to follow, and they all made their way back toward the Gate. Once they were at a safe distance, I flew up into the air, my mind already racing with what I was about to do.

First things first, I pulled out my camera and snapped a few quick photos. I mean, goblins—or scraglins or whatever—they had to be documented, right?

Satisfied with the shots, I put the camera away and took out one of my Blade Storm single-use scrolls. My mana began flowing into it, the hum of power building as I channeled energy into the scroll. Below me, the creatures continued to fire their thin metal rods, but it was futile—Al’s enormous shield protecting him, Mahya, and Rue from the projectiles. The rods didn’t even come close to reaching me.

Once I felt the scroll was fully charged—a distinct, almost electric sensation that thrummed through my fingers—I tore it open above the scraglins. The air around me crackled as the spell unleashed, and a shimmering wave of energy rippled outward from the torn scroll, cascading down toward the creatures like a descending storm.

From the center of the spell’s vortex, blades materialized—hundreds of them, gleaming and translucent, like shards of glass caught in a whirlwind. The blades swirled violently, picking up speed as they descended, cutting through the air with an eerie whistle. The scraglins scattered, their tiny forms scrambling to avoid the onslaught, but there was no escape.

As the first blade struck, it sliced cleanly through one creature, leaving behind a spray of sparks and shredded metal. With each blade, the storm mercilessly tore into the creatures’ junk-laden bodies. The blades tore apart bodies and scraps, ripped off metal limbs, and filled the air with screeching metal and muffled cries as they shredded the scraglins.

Unrelenting, the blades mercilessly swept through the piles of junk, reducing everything in their path to rubble. The magic exerted such sheer force it left deep gouges in the ground, as if invisible hands had clawed at the earth. After the storm ended, the entire area was a mess of metal scraps and scraglins.

I hovered above the wreckage, watching in awe as the last of the glowing blades flickered and vanished, leaving only silence in their wake. The devastation below was total. “Those scrolls are awesome!” I exclaimed, clapping my hands together in glee, a grin spreading across my face. The thrill of the spell’s power still buzzed through me.

Mahya and Al stared up at me, their expressions a mix of amusement and mild disbelief. Rue barked excitedly, clearly sharing in my enthusiasm, even if he didn’t quite understand the full extent of what had just happened.

I floated back down to the ground, unable to wipe the grin off my face. “We should get more of those,” I said, practically bouncing on my heels. “The other ones, too. They’re awesome!”

Mahya and Al exchanged a glance, both shaking their heads. Mahya muttered under her breath again, “Wizards...” while Al let out a hearty laugh, clapping me on the back with a wide smile.

I was elated. I had faced goblins—no matter what the system called them—and unleashed a devastating rain of blades. It felt like the kind of adventure that deserved to be described in a book, full of awe and excitement.