I said.

I snorted. Couldn’t help it.

I started down the road, then stopped in place.

Ezzie said.

Something tugged on the back of my tunic. The little girl was standing behind me, her arm out I knelt and held out a hand, palm up. The little girl gave me a blood-red key, then curled my fingers around it with both of her hands.

She looked up at me and broke into a smile, her teeth bright against the dirt that caked her face. She ran back to her parents, glancing back at me over her shoulder as she went. I examined the key:

{Unidentified Key}

“Thank you,” I called after her, then I jammed it into one of my pockets.

Ezzie said. The Constructor bobbed over my shoulder.

I said, and crammed it into a pocket.

Ezzie said.

I started down the road, following the river’s serpentine path. It was beautiful, the exact hue of cerulean that I’d come to associate with the pools that surrounded old, abandoned power plants, with the kind of water that would burn up your insides if you were stupid enough to drink it.

I said.

Ezzie laughed through the link, obviously at my expense, though I had no idea why. she said,

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I said,

Ezzie said.

I said.

There wasn’t much to see on the way to the next town—more hills, more grass, more flowers—but the river stayed entrancing, its waters streaming over smooth rocks, pristine and shining. I spotted a strange monument atop one of the nearby hills; it almost looked like an altar.

Ezzie said.

At the base of the hill, I came across a strange, shimmering wall. It was similar to the one I’d seen back at the Nosebreak Cliffs but much darker, a deep shade of violet that was translucent, but still visible.

Ezzie said.

I stepped through the wall, and though it made me itch all over, it didn’t actually hurt. I looked back over my shoulder to find that from this side the wall was a much deeper shade of purple. I reached a hand out to touch it, and met solid resistance.

Ezzie said.

I climbed the hill, unsure of what exactly I was expecting when I reached the top, but the altar wasn’t much to look at, just a couple of standing stones positioned in a circle with a wide hollow in the middle. There was a strange stone in the very center, a black teardrop that was almost as tall as I was.

Ezzie said.

I did, and the stone burst alight, a blue, fractal pattern rippling up its length.

Congratulations, you unlocked a fast travel waypoint!

Unlock a connected waypoint to create a fast travel network!

You gained 50 Experience!

Ding!

Congratulations, you reached level 5!

Your Strength and Constitution have increased by 1!

You have (8) stat points to allocate.

You have (1) Class Modifier* to allocate.

Reach level 7 to select a second Class Modifier!*

*Class Modifiers will heavily influence the class change quest that you are given at level 10. Class Modifiers cannot be changed.

The bliss from hitting level five struck me like a hammer blow, even harder than before, and I had to just stand there with my hands on my knees until the feeling passed. It was a solid minute or two before I recovered enough to speak. I said.

Ezzie said.

I said.

Something shifted way up in the sky. The clouds were racing along to the west, except for one that…wasn’t. And that one seemed to be growing. No, it was coming closer.

I said.

The cloud zipped down until it was hovering maybe six feet above my head. A hole opened up just above me, not unlike the door that Ezzie had opened in the floor hours earlier. Then the cloud dropped the remaining six feet.

And swallowed me completely. I was pressed flat to the floor as the cloud lifted into the air with unbelievable speed, then zipped forward—if you could call whatever direction we were going forward—sending me sliding across the floor and thumping into the back wall. The cloud leveled out from there, seeming to have hit its top speed.

Ezzie said.