Episode 44: A new adventure awaits

A new day had dawned. Despite The Team not getting much sleep, they were energized and thrilled for the day to come. They did their holy tasks and finished early, then they prepared all their equipment for their newest adventure, and headed to the spot they usually hanged out together at; the good old rock, which was still there, a little changed by the seasons, but still the same old rock, the pond, the tree, and the entrance to the forest, lush and colorful thanks to the pasar season

Nagye: It's still here!, this brings me so m-many memories

Ari: the good old rock to think dirty thoughts on

Taro: to train mana enhancement, not dirty, haha!

Shizuka: You know what's missing? the stick we left here, the one we used to hit the stick with… wanna play? hehehe

Sidra: Perhaps a little bit? we’d be wise to arrive to the river early

Ari: I’m much stronger now, this time I’ll hit it

Shizuka: but mana techniques are forbidden, this is a game of skill, oh and Taro has to shoot with his eyes closed! hehehe

They poked a stick into the ground, and started their match. At first, Sidra was taking the lead, then Ari tied with her

Taro: (this is impossible, unless I could see the stick without looking, hmm, like a radar, I think I can finally do that)

he let out a bubble of mana expand from his body until it touched the stick, then the bubble collapsed back into Taro, revealing to him the surroundings, enabling him to finally hit the stick

Taro: it work!

Nagye: n-no fair, I felt the mana burst just now

despite their agreement, they all ended using mana techniques and they all consistently hit the stick until it broke

Ari: we’re too good at this game now

Shizuka: it was fun while it lasted, but I guess it broke just in time for us to start the real fun

Nagye: right, I’ve b-been waiting for this moment

Nagye held Shizuka’s hand, they focused, and created a massive bird made of mana. Its towering presence was familiar, but instead of its dark brooding presence, it was ethereal and solemn

Nagye: it worked!

Ari: But why did it have to be a bruo?

Shizuka: It's the only big bird we know hehehe

they loaded and secured their equipment to the construct, hopped on it, and it started its flight above the colorful Naro forest

Taro: Amazing, we go very fast!

Sidra: At this pace, we may find the river before the sun sets!

Nagye: I-I know we said we were gonna replace bad memories with good ones, b-but I just really wanted to try out the idea of traveling flying like a bird!

Shizuka: That's how we do it in my world, well, I've never been in a -plane- before, but I'm sure it doesn’t come close to this!

Ari: we would need a pasar season map if we didn’t wanna get lost in the forest anyway, maybe someday we’ll go through it by foot!

Not only was the flight above the forest a delight, but they also located the river faster than they expected. After landing, the girls didn’t hesitate and took their clothes off

Taro: ahh sorry, eyes closed!

Nagye: y-you can look if you want…

Ari: open your eyes you brute

Taro’s heart raced while he slowly opened his eyes, and what he saw was the girls wearing swimsuits

Shizuka: ta-da! we managed to finish them last night thanks to teacher Sidra; how do we look? hehehe

Sidra: I must say it’s a most blessed sight, but I do wonder what’s the difference between this and underwear

Ari: Now that you mention it…

Shizuka: don't worry about the little details, we’ve been here completely naked before, let’s just enjoy

Sidra: that is true but, perhaps some clothes are even lewder than being naked, ah, I was not supposed to say that out loud

Taro: (Sidra you understand it!, one day I’ll have the courage to say it out loud too)

Taro also had his swim shorts under his clothes

Shizuka: shorts? I expected to see you with a -speedo- hehehe

Taro: no way! hahaha

they all got into the water, and enjoyed the gentle river, warmed by the afternoon sun

Shizuka: Sidra m’lady, allow me to wash your back

Sidra: my my how considerate, well then

Ari: then! come here you brute, I’m going to wash you

Taro: huh? wash me?

Nagye: I-I’ll wash Ari’s back then, S-Sidra, can you umm, help me?

Sidra: with pleasure

Shizuka: may it be done ohohoho

Sidra: I will spank you

Shizuka: bold words for someone showing me her back hehehe

The team spent a pleasant time at the river, they prepared lunch, and enjoyed the evening. After knowing the speed in which they could travel, they decided against camping and rode their bruo construct back to town. The sun was still visible in the horizon, painting the sky of myriad colors, a sight worthy of traveling in its own right. They landed near their rock to not scare the townspeople, and walked back to the church

sister Sunny: I was wondering where you were, blessed be the sight you have returned safe and sound. I found the information we talked about yesterday

Taro: about travel to other world?!

sister Sunny: correct. what we have is mostly legends, not just relating to the Transported and the Horde, but to something else

Shizuka: We know that people are transported during earthquakes, and that the Horde also appears that way, but how is it connected? Are the Horde Transported like us?

sister Sunny: I see you have done your own research; however, the truth is different. The Horde are not Transported, they choose to travel between worlds, and they do so deliberately through gates are located across the land

that truth alone was enough to shake the whole team, it felt as if they were listening to something forbidden

Ari: So you mean… those monsters can just come and go as they please?

sister Sunny: not quite, the portals require specific conditions to allow travel. According to the legends, there once existed a powerful civilization of mages coming from another world, they created a way to travel between worlds by calculating when they would converge. These convergences usually cause earthquakes, which does something to the worlds. I couldn’t understand exactly what the book said, but I think they fuse for a moment, this explains the phenomenon of the Transported, they “fall” into rifts created by the convergence, sending them to other worlds

Taro: (so this is the truth, the reason why I was transported to this world, why it happened during an earthquake, the dimensions collided and I ended here… I don’t know if that’s unlucky or lucky)

Shizuka…so if we want to return, we must wait for an earthquake and find the rifts?

sister Sunny: that is an option, but the mages created something more sophisticated, they made gates and installed them on all the worlds, that way they could just wait for the worlds to collide so the portal could open and simply walk through

Nagye: but what happened to the mages? Why does no-nobody know or use those portals?

sister Sunny: because of the Horde. The mages are long gone, the portals are too dangerous, nobody knows what could come from the other side, there are tales of legendary heroes that made it their life journey to close those portals. The church has kept these secrets to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands... Even if we only have information from legends, the portals do exist, in fact, there is one closer than you think, which is the reason this church exists here.

Taro: so, if we find… we can return to other world….

Shizuka: but that would mean giving the Horde a chance to come in… I don’t know if it’s worth letting those monsters back in

Taro: yes, I miss family, but if open portal makes Horde come in, maybe not good

sister Sunny: whoever is waiting on the other side may use the portal, you’d have to be unlucky to have the Horde or other evil waiting on the other side of the gate on your world. If you really want to travel, I could help you, but only under certain strict conditions

The team stood in silence, shocked, excited, unnerved. the journey to the other world was a real possibility, not just a secret lost to time