Mining was hard work!
I didn’t have a pick or anything, so I had to improvise with a medical bone chisel and the hammer I received as payment for healing. The bone chisel was small, and I broke two until I figured out how to use them without damaging them. I also broke a few emeralds unti...
2024-05-01 21:12:30 +0000 UTC View PostWe spent the entire day by the river—relaxing, swimming, playing, and eating. My body, still too thin, showed every bone and muscle. The only pants that stayed on me were sweatpants with a string.
Once again, I attempted to teach Stretch the art of fetching. After a considerable amount of...
2024-05-01 21:10:32 +0000 UTC View PostLis fell through the Gate and just lay there, wheezing. He made it out! He got out of that awful, awful place. Thank you, great beings of the cosmos. He will find a temple and light incense in gratitude.
After he got his breathing under control, he looked around. He was in a circle of stand...
2024-05-01 21:08:38 +0000 UTC View PostNeeding a day to recuperate from my “shit storm,” I moved the camp to a nice clearing at the foot of a mountain. I spent the entire day swinging between annoyance at the lack of data and acceptance that I needed to figure out everything myself. I also emptied my garbage barrel.
Walking ...
2024-05-01 21:07:40 +0000 UTC View PostMahya stood and looked out of the space station window. Some people who saw her standing there daily gave her strange looks, but she didn’t care; as a Traveler, she was used to it.
She was the daughter of two Travelers who met on the road, traveled together for some time, and decided to s...
2024-05-01 21:06:34 +0000 UTC View PostToday, I had seven people I moved from yesterday and an additional patient. All of them had minor issues; I took care of them in less than an hour and earned another gold, two silver, and a small basket of apples. They even looked like regular apples. The innkeeper asked me what to do with the po...
2024-05-01 21:05:36 +0000 UTC View PostAlfonsen Holerand Mirbit VII was deeply dissatisfied. It was unbecoming for an Eldaray prince to show emotions stronger than dissatisfaction, so he was merely dissatisfied, but very strongly so.
As tradition dictated, since his family established the Kingdom of Mirbit, every heir to the thr...
2024-05-01 21:03:02 +0000 UTC View PostWhen I came down for breakfast the following day, I had two surprises waiting for me in the common room. The first was Domenica and Aurustine eating breakfast in the inn, with the baby in a basket on a chair beside them. The innkeeper served them breakfast in the glassware I sold, and for some re...
2024-05-01 21:01:52 +0000 UTC View PostWhen we reached the town again, I went straight to the inn. It was the middle of the night, so I wasn’t sure if an inn receptionist would work, but the innkeeper’s son was there, reading something. He was delighted to see me and greeted me like a friend. That was nice. I paid for the room and...
2024-05-01 20:59:26 +0000 UTC View PostI decided to stay for two days to regenerate my mana fully. The first night we spent near the former jurber nest, but the next day, I relocated us to the nearby rest stop. I liked the stump-chairs and the log tables. It resembled the first rest stop we visited with the caravan, but was further of...
2024-05-01 20:58:08 +0000 UTC View PostSonak was sitting in a big, bustling bar, sipping on a delightful fermented fruit juice and charming a local lady; he had never entertained a lady with a tail and was feeling very adventurous. Suddenly, he felt a presence, another Traveler.
Run? Stay?
He listened to his Perce...
2024-05-01 20:54:51 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a long soak in the bath, Sami's words about my apparent age came back to me, so I took out a mirror and stared. By this point, surprises should have lost their edge, but they hadn’t. The face looking back was even younger than it had been when I left Earth—mid-twenties at most. And with...
2024-05-01 20:34:04 +0000 UTC View PostI took out my bike and attached the trailer. Stretch bounced in before I finished locking the frame, his tail wagging so hard it smacked the side. We set off under a pale blue sky streaked with morning clouds. The road stretched ahead in long, dusty curves, flanked by low hills and patches of gol...
2024-05-01 20:30:52 +0000 UTC View PostAfter we left the caravan, we traveled for half an hour and found a nice secluded clearing. I set up camp, and we went to sleep.
In the morning, after breakfast, I opened the Archive to figure out this awakening business.
THE ARCHIVE WAS A MESS!
When I first learned about it, ev...
2024-05-01 20:29:11 +0000 UTC View PostAge 14
"Dad, I can't run anymore!"
"Yes, you can. When I was traveling the demon realm Jehenam, I had to run for …"
Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before—me and every other person who knows about the Gates and would listen to you for more than five minute...
2024-05-01 20:24:27 +0000 UTC View PostThe caravan creaked back into motion, wheels crunching over the packed dirt road as I fell into step behind the last cart. Still a bit woozy and unsteady, with most of my mana depleted, I focused on drawing it in with each breath. It wasn’t as efficient as meditating while sitting or lying down...
2024-05-01 20:15:51 +0000 UTC View PostWe returned to the wilderness and, after an hour of walking, found a quiet clearing to set up camp. As I erected the tent, my hands began to shake while tying one of the poles.
I killed somebody today.
All my life, I’d worked to save people—not end their lives. And now…...
2024-05-01 19:58:31 +0000 UTC View PostWe traveled for another two days and passed the other herd of mini-bison, but I didn’t conduct any new experiments. It didn’t feel right to kill just for practice, not when I already had more bison meat than I knew what to do with.
I tried giving Stretch some raw minced beef. He sniffed...
2024-05-01 19:38:05 +0000 UTC View PostIn the morning, I breathed in deep through my nose, letting the air fill my lungs. It smelled of nature—not a single specific scent, but that clean, crisp aroma you only find in the wild. Fresh air, damp earth, morning dew on the grass, and open skies. I sat with my coffee, savoring the aromas ...
2024-05-01 19:34:43 +0000 UTC View PostA loud boom in the middle of the night startled me awake. A couple of seconds later, there was a flash, and then the rain started pouring down in earnest. Stretch lifted his head, looked around, and let out a contented sigh before going right back to sleep.
It took me longer. The rain was l...
2024-05-01 19:33:12 +0000 UTC View PostI dreamed of Sophie. Then, all of a sudden, she licked my face. It took a few seconds for my sleep-fogged brain to register that the sensation wasn’t part of the dream. I jolted awake to find a wolf’s head hovering inches from mine, breath hot and damp on my skin.
Reality clicked back i...
2024-05-01 19:31:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, I took my time packing up my camp. My gaze kept drifting to the surrounding view, trying to drink it all in. The lake shimmered in the early light like someone had scattered crushed diamonds over its surface. A waterfall tumbled down the distant cliffside, mist curling at its ba...
2024-05-01 19:27:20 +0000 UTC View PostIt was twilight in Shimoor. Purples and deep blues painted the sky, stretching long shadows across the ground. It was still late morning for me—my body on the clock of a different world—so sleep was out of the question. But traveling in the dark didn’t appeal either. A chill in the air hint...
2024-05-01 19:25:25 +0000 UTC View PostNew York had no shortage of places to find hidden or not-so-hidden treasures. A quick online search netted me an unbelievable number of pawnshops, over thirty flea markets, and endless thrift stores packed with everything from antique furniture to last season’s designer castoffs. My Storage was...
2024-05-01 19:23:41 +0000 UTC View PostI was still pissed at my in-laws. Not the all-consuming, white-hot rage like before, but a steady, simmering resentment that refused to die down. The need to make them pay still burned inside me, something I couldn’t shake even if I wanted to. I didn’t. I’d made a promise, a vow, and I had ...
2024-05-01 19:17:19 +0000 UTC View PostThe silence in the courtroom shattered the moment my father-in-law saw me. His face, already flushed with anger, darkened further when his eyes landed on me. He surged to his feet, his chair screeching against the polished floor.
“You gold-digging bastard!” he spat, jabbing a finger at ...
2024-05-01 19:05:52 +0000 UTC View PostA quick call to the photography store revealed that they held a three-day workshop on film development and photo printing—both black-and-white and color. Excited, I signed up for the earliest available session and continued my preparations.
A quick online search yielded five pawnshops, tw...
2024-05-01 19:02:28 +0000 UTC View PostAfter my breakdown, though it brought a sense of calm and release, my emotions remained tumultuous. I needed to step back, breathe, and find my footing. Frankfurt turned out to be the ideal place to regain my balance. As I roamed the city and took in its sights, the blend of the new and the old s...
2024-05-01 18:03:37 +0000 UTC View PostFrankfurt’s skyline drew closer as I drove. I checked into a hotel, then slumped into a soft armchair, my notebook open, ready to organize the chaos in my head—time for a plan.
&n...
2024-05-01 17:45:46 +0000 UTC View PostThe Frankfurt Gate was only thirty minutes from the city. The second I drove past, a tingling awareness prickled at the edges of my senses. I didn’t stop. Instead, I drove for two minutes, pulled into a gas station, and walked toward the Gate.
The location wasn’t much to look at. Fifty ...
2024-05-01 17:28:45 +0000 UTC View Post