TravelingDreamer

B4—Chapter 33: The Council of Mothers

Me and Mahya moved things between our Storages, working to clear enough space for her to store the boat. Leaving it out wasn’t an option—the masts would stick out too much. She handed me a small crate, which I stored.

“What did you want to talk to me about regarding Cloud?” I asked,...

B4—Chapter 32: Sticky Fingers

Mahya took Cloud upstairs for a girl's talk, Al muttered something about energy absorption potions and disappeared into his lab, Rue sprawled out on his beanbag for a nap, and I got started on cooking. The amount of food we went through was staggering—I was always restocking our supplies. Lucki...

B4—Chapter 31: Intro to Mana

I woke up with a start in the middle of the night and lay in bed, trying to figure out what woke me. Two seconds later, I felt an urgent tug from Rue. When I rushed to the hall, I heard a piercing scream from the guest room. Inside, Cloud was half-crouched at the head of the bed, her back pressed...

B4—Chapter 30: Awakening into Possibility

At home, Mahya was still fiddling with the rifle, inspecting every part with an intense focus.

I leaned against the breakfast bar. “So, how did your murder spree go?”

She shot me a murderous glare, and four bodies of enforcers appeared on the floor.

Al crossed his arms, his ...

B4—Chapter 29: The Cost of Compassion

I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d put the time to good use. I divided all the food I’d prepped into takeaway boxes, peeled and chopped fruits and vegetables, and sorted through my stash of vitamins and minerals. I even went through my Storage, pulling out every piece of clothing and footwe...

B4—Chapter 28: Sometimes, People are the Worst Monsters

After two relentless days of torrential rain, the sky finally cleared, giving the slums a break from the unending downpour. I’d hoped—maybe a bit too optimistically—that all this water might improve the state of things, maybe even rinse away some of the muck that clung to every corner. But,...

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Rich Pricks Area

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B4—Chapter 27: Sneaky Sneaks that Sneak

As we rose in the balloon, I turned to Mahya. "I'm going to ask the wind for a speed boost. We've seen everything we wanted to see, so there's no point in flying slow again. I don't want another hailstorm catching us off guard."

She glanced up at the sky, scanning the horizon. "I doubt ther...

B4—Chapter 26: The Flour Power Struggle

At night, the hailstorm started up again, lasting until midday before turning into a torrential downpour with strong winds. The rain pounded down for two full days. During that time, we each stuck to our own routines. Rue mostly napped on his beanbag, occasionally watching TV. Al split his time b...

Rue eat yummy food, Rue get big

B4—Chapter 25: Farmers’ Life

In the morning, I’d planned to explore the fields and orchards, but the world had other plans. Heavy rain began overnight, with winds that lasted all day. Oddly, the temperature stayed steady at around 25 to 28 degrees Celsius. According to the map, we were near this world’s equator, yet the ...

B4—Chapter 24: Fallen World

We floated quietly in the balloon, heading northwest, leaving the city behind. Below us, the land stretched out like a broken memory—familiar, yet completely off. The paved road we’d seen earlier appeared again, cutting through the wilderness like a scar from a time long gone. It was massive�...

B4—Chapter 23: Farewell to the Ghost-City

Author’s Note

Hey everyone!

We've been deep in dungeon-grinding mode with some long chapters lately, and today’s chapter is no different—they’ve all been between 3.5k and over 5k words. The only short break we had was yesterday's chapter. Honestly, I’ve cran...

B4—Chapter 22: Confusing Books and Comfort Food

After two days of rest, we checked the dungeons where they planned to collect materials. The ones with the plants and the spider-wolves still wouldn’t let us in, but the dungeon with the black creatures was ready for another round.

“Enjoy,” I told them.

“Aren’t you coming wi...

B4—Chapter 21: Creaturology: Dungeon Field Guide, Part IV

The last section left in the southeast part of the city was the cassowary’s territory. I could’ve flown to another area to gather bait, but after a moment’s thought, I scrapped the idea. These birds zoomed around their entire territory, so there was no need to lure them out into the open. I...

B4—Chapter 20: Creaturology: Dungeon Field Guide, Part III

The next zone loomed ahead, and there they were—hornless rhinos, stomping around and shaking the ground. I took care of the visible ones and went looking for bait. I flew around, sighing when I saw no more slimes. Damn, I really should’ve cleared that area last. Slimes made the perfect bait. ...

B4—Chapter 19: Creaturology: Dungeon Field Guide, Part II

The second dungeon in the bug territory was a desert—a vast expanse of dunes stretching endlessly. As soon as we stepped in, the heat struck me like a hammer. The sun was brutal, with no breeze or shade, only an endless horizon of shimmering sand no matter where I looked. Mahya wrapped a cloth ...

B4—Chapter 18: Creaturology: Dungeon Field Guide, Part I

Al was the king of bug extermination—no other title would do. He marched ahead, gripping two blue spray bottles like guns, with my light ball floating above him. He squeezed the triggers at each intersection, releasing a liquid mist into the air. The spray's sharp, herbal scent mixed with the t...

B4—Chapter 17: Crafting Magic, One Step at a Time

Ten meters from the dungeon with the murderous balls, a battle raged. Three insects, each the size of a Mini Cooper, attacked a hornless rhino. The insects looked like grasshoppers, but with four arms instead of two, each tipped with sharp protrusions that caught the light. They darted in and out...

B4—Chapter 16: Party Member No. 5

We were still sitting three meters from the portal, buck naked, recuperating mentally, if not physically, when one of the toothy balls flew out of it. Al cast Wind Blade, and we all sprang to our feet, backing away.

“Shit!” Mahya said. “We need to prevent those murder balls from sprea...

B4—Chapter 15: A Minor Setback

The next dungeon we tackled was the buried one. As usual, when we arrived at the city’s outskirts, everyone waited for me to check the area. The place was eerily empty this time—no cats slinking through the shadows like before. Instead, two hairy, hornless rhinos lumbered through the territor...

B4—Chapter 14: Chasing Cats and Cutting Trees

It took Al two days to complete the potion. In the meantime, Mahya was playing with the various auto parts we had from Vegas. She had some of them to begin with, and when she asked me for the rest, I was ecstatic. I loved clearing my Storage. Although, when it was full, it looked less threatening...

B4–Chapter 13: Sorta Loot

After breakfast, we were drinking coffee on the porch when Mahya said, “It’s time to put on armor and go.”

Al lifted his hand in a halting gesture. “I would prefer if we waited a few days before tackling the next dungeon.”

“Why?” I asked.

“What you did yesterday ...

B4–Chapter 12: My Kind of Dungeon

We didn’t use the balloon this time but walked to the city while invisible. Half a kilometer from the city, Rue suddenly tensed up, growled quietly, and shot forward. We ran after him and had to halt abruptly. He was in a fight with a creeping cat. It was strange to see because Rue was invisibl...

B4–Chapter 11: Bait, Hook, Annihilate—A Guide to Monster Fishing

I flew at top speed to the junkyard, heading for the Gate to Lumis. Flying over the junkyard, I saw two more scraglin behemoths or brutes, but didn’t use Identify to figure out which. An Aggressive Clean took care of them, and I flew on.

It’s always good to make the world a safer pl...