As I sat and regenerated my mana, I was totally bored. I wanted to cook, but didn't have any more takeaway containers. Then I almost, almost facepalmed, but stopped myself at the last moment. My poor face didn't deserve the assault. I had to adopt a mindset based on my current situation and abilities and let go of Earth's perspective. With pots in hand, I began cooking, and after it was ready, I stored the food as it was in the pot. I cooked and emptied a whole cooler before I ran out of kindling and wood. Hopefully, I'd be able to fill up my supply with all this rain.

After two days, my mana was full, and I was ready to go. Looking at the Map for orientation, I saw that we had traveled so far east that there was no point in heading to the original town I had planned. If we kept going east, we'd reach a road that led to a capital city, and from there I could take a road heading in my direction. There was even a big forest on the way, so I could stock up on kindling and branches.

It took me a long time to figure out how to break down the tent; it was more complicated than setting it up. I had to use it more and learn to work with it. Initially, it took me twenty minutes to set up my regular tent, but now I did it in five.

It was still raining, so I took out my umbrella and began walking. After a few minutes, I felt strange walking through the wilderness with a black gentleman's umbrella. It felt ridiculous, so I stored the umbrella, put on a raincoat and a wide-brimmed hat, and felt more like an adventurer. Yes, now I was ready. We walked most of the day in the rain, but by late afternoon, I was so fed up with being rained on and sinking in the mud that I set up camp early with a regular tent, not in the mood to fight with the big one. We had dinner with a beer—both of us—and went to sleep early.

The next day, the rain stopped. Thank you, Jesus, God, Guiding Spirits, or my Luck stat. I didn't care who, as long as the rain stopped. We set out in a much better mood and walked for three days until we reached the forest.

In the forest, I didn't go in a straight line to the road. Instead, I roamed the forest for a while to fill my kindling and wood supply. It took me some time to find dry branches under fallen trees. After the third fallen tree, I got an idea, took out my hatchet, and began cutting it into logs. Then, I returned to the other two and cut them up as well. I searched for more fallen trees and filled a year's supply of logs. Cutting trees for logs was hard work. The sweat was pouring off me, making me look like the rain had never ceased. I also remembered seeing in movies that people split the logs before using them for firewood. I just hoped it wouldn't be too difficult. After another two days in the forest, we reached the road.

Stretch immediately stopped and looked at me.

"What?"

He jumped in place, did two turns around himself, and sat down with his head turned sideways like he sat in the bike trailer.

"Wow, buddy, you're getting scary smart. I understood that easily."

He jumped in place and gave a short bark.

"Yeah, I'm happy we understand each other too. Bicycle trailer coming up."

I identified him again after such a display.

Stretch

Adult Bushland Dog

Progress to awakening 87%

After connecting the bike, he hopped in, and we continued on the road. The only road I had traveled on so far was hard-packed dirt, so I feared the roads would be muddy and hard to pedal on. This one was also hard-packed dirt, but it was okay. Some areas looked "softer," but I avoided them and had no trouble traveling on it. After twenty minutes, we saw a large cart filled to the brim with something covered by a tarp. When we passed the cart, the driver looked at the bike with interest, and I waved to him; he waved back, and we continued on our way. He didn't appear to need help or medical assistance. Or maybe "healical assistance"? Despite finding them funny, I told myself to stop making silly jokes. I looked now like I was in my twenties; I should stop with the "dad jokes."

Hmm, that got me thinking. The caravan leader could identify me, so other people probably could as well. My profile said that I was 38 now, but I looked like a teenager. It might be a problem. I remembered there was something about glamour and made a note to myself to check it when we stopped for lunch. When we stopped, I checked again the One of the Crowd Ability:

One of the Crowd

Unique Class Ability

Everything a Traveler needs to hide their status as a Traveler.

In many worlds, abilities or devices exist to view personal information. This ability lets you cloak or modify your details:

Change your name to blend in with local norms. Display one of your sub-classes or professions as your primary class, or show a false class based on your Skills or Spells. Hide parts of your information and replace them with question marks (Warning: This can draw unwanted attention). On some technological or mana worlds, identification is required, like papers, badges, or ID chips. Use this ability to conjure suitable IDs.

 

Mana cost: 100 mana for standard ID creation; 500 mana for advanced IDs, like central database-linked chips.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. If the world doesn't recognize your race, apply a glamour to appear local. The glamor drops once you pass through a Gate to a new world.

 

Mana cost: 300 mana per world.

To travel successfully, a Traveler may need extra documentation. This ability allows you to conjure whatever documents are required.

 

Mana cost: varies based on specific requirements.

Cost: 1 Ability Point.

It turned out I didn't need to glamor myself after all. The ability to edit Personal Information had completely slipped my mind. Once I changed my age to twenty, I could finally relax, glad that now my "age" matched my face.

We continued on the road and occasionally passed people on carts, or sometimes walking while dragging handcarts behind them. I always looked to see if they seemed to need help, but so far, so good. I didn't stop to ask, but I did look.

We reached a rest stop early in the evening, and I was surprised to see that it was bustling with people. Other rest stops I'd passed were either empty or had only a handful of travelers, but this one looked almost like a town in transit. Smoke curled up from a fire, and the air carried the smell of roasted meat. Someone was cooking and selling food, a roadside restaurant of sorts. Apparently, they existed in every world, but here the cooking was done over an open fire, and the supplies came from a cart. The meal was some kind of meat on wooden skewers, wrapped in thin flatbread with grilled vegetables.

I approached the vendor and cleared my throat to catch his attention. "How much for a bread with meat?"

The vendor glanced up, his eyes crinkling with a friendly smile. "Three coppers. I also have cheap leftovers for the dog." He nodded toward a small pile of scraps.

I shook my head. "It's okay. He has his own food."

Taking the bread in hand, I bit into it and chewed slowly. The taste was rich, and the juices soaked into the flatbread. I nodded in approval and turned back. "Give me another ten."

The vendor gave me a funny look, raising his eyebrows. "Three silvers and it will take a few minutes."

I waved a hand to show I didn't mind. "No problem. What animal does the meat come from?"

"Mukar."

The name tickled my memory, though it refused to settle. "What does a mukar look like?"

He leaned forward, gesturing with his hands. "It's about your height, with wide shoulders and a narrower backside. It has brown fur and two big horns on the sides of its head, curving upwards. It's very common in the wilderness; hunters bring them all the time."

I took out a bison pelt, and held it up. "Is this from a mukar?"

His eyes widened slightly as he looked at it. "Yes… why did you ask what it looks like?"

I chuckled and rubbed my neck. "We call them differently from where I come from. Only after your description did I make the connection."

"What do you call them, and where are you from?"

"We call them bison, and I come from the islands in the south."

He shook his head. "Never heard of them."

When the skewers were ready, he handed them over. I took out a square baking dish and placed the meat inside carefully.

"You a merchant?" He asked, eyes locked on the dish.

I nodded with a small smile. "Yes. I have the Inventory Blessing."

"What are you selling?"

I spread my hands. "A wide variety of things. Tell me what interests you, and I'll show you."

He rubbed his chin, thinking. "Things to prepare and cook food, and something to bring home to the missus."

I set up my operating table and laid out an assortment of items: knives, a modern three-stage knife sharpener, two wooden cutting boards, pots, bowls, square metal baking pans, a large square barbecue with a grate and a griddle, and a bundle of metal skewers.

The vendor's eyes widened, and he leaned closer, practically drooling over everything. He pointed at the sharpener. "What is that?"

I held out my hand. "Give me your knife."

He passed it over, watching closely as I demonstrated how to sharpen the blade in stages. When he tested the edge, his eyes lit up. "This is amazing! Where did you get it?"

"From my family's store. We sell them."

"How much?"

I hesitated for a moment, then let my Appraisal Skill confirm the price. "Three and a half gold."

He pointed to the grill next, his hand hovering as if he wanted to touch it. "What is that?"

I explained how to use it, describing how the grate and griddle worked.

"How much?"

"Fourteen gold."

One by one, he asked about everything. The cheapest were the cutting boards, three silver each. Finally, I repeated the prices so he could keep track.

"Sharpener – three and a half gold. Two smaller knives – one gold and four silver each, two gold and eight silver in total. Big knife – two gold, five silver. Big bowl – one and a half gold. Three pots – five and a half gold in total. Two square pans – just over two gold in total. Grill with equipment – fourteen gold. Your total so far is thirty-one gold and a few silver. You also wanted something for your wife?"

He rubbed his chin. "Yes, but not expensive. You almost took all my money," he said with a laugh.

I took out a tray of silver jewelry set with semi-precious stones and let him look them over. He finally pointed at a chain with a lapis lazuli pendant.

"It's worth four gold, but since you are such a good customer, I'll give it to you for three gold."

He thanked me and handed over thirty-four gold. When I looked up, I noticed a crowd had gathered, watching the whole exchange. I lowered my voice. "I'll move my table so I won't hurt your business."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I don't think they are waiting for me, lad. I'm sure they are waiting for you."

I moved my table a few meters to the left. He was wrong; a few people waited for him, but most waited for me. Before serving anybody, I gave Stretch food and water and told him to explore when he was done. It looked like I had a long evening.

I did a brisk business, and my greedy squirrel had a minor tantrum. Based on the prices I got when I appraised things, the people in town got it for a steal. I didn't mind the price I told Domenica and Aurustine, since I connected with them through Sophia. And the innkeeper was really nice and took good care of me. But the annoying merchant in town definitely should have paid the full price, and their royal guard also should have paid more.

John, remember to use your Skills. They are magical and awesome! I told myself and hoped it would stick this time.

A lady approached my stall, examining the plates on display. She selected four plates, but as she reached for her coin pouch, I noticed a cut on her arm.

"I'm also a healer. Would you like me to heal it for you?" I asked, pointing at the cut.

She glanced at her arm, then back at me. "How much?" she asked, her voice cautious.

I remembered the usual rate people gave me for such treatments in town. "Three copper."

Her eyes got wide, and she nodded fast. "Yes, please."

Five minutes after I healed her, I had a second line for healing. Nothing looked urgent. Mainly cuts, burns, and one rotten tooth.

As a merchant, I would finish with one customer, collect the money, ask the next one what type of items interested them, use my Nose For Business to arrange a small display, and, while they deliberated, heal one or two people. I repeated the cycle until I served both lines. I was glad people stopped coming because it was the middle of the night. Still, it was worth it; I made 187 gold, 8 silver, and 3 copper as a merchant and 3 gold, 2 silver, and 2 copper as a healer. Not bad for a few hours of work. The only problem was that most of them paid me in copper, and now I had far too much of it.

I didn't want to fight with the local tent I bought, so I laid Stretch's blanket for him, took out a yoga mattress, pillow, and duvet for myself, called Stretch over, and went to sleep.

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