Road Block and Preparation

Magnus was in the streets of Midseer, clutching a backpack filled with what he called, "The [Gatemaker]'s Essentials."

Inside it were a few [Gatemaker]'s Scrolls and One-Time Transport Scrolls. In his palm was a card from the Two-Faced Deck, and on his other palm was a temporary tattoo.

The Ace of Diamonds.

Thus, his face currently donned a look that was different from his usual sharp features. The card, Ace of Diamonds, gave him a rough and deadly look. His new black eyes gleamed with underlying threats.

A few familiar faces brushed past him as he feigned walking. It was the trio of combatants who had persistently chased after him.

It seemed like they hadn't participated in the attack on the Zone of Undead. They still lived to this day and were very much unlike the combatants who braved the dangers for alluring rewards.

Their goal was the [Gatemaker] and only the [Gatemaker]. And Magnus could spot irritation and helplessness on their faces.

They seemed tired.

Exhausted.

As if all the recent occurrences were wearing down on their mental fortitude.

Magnus could not be locked down, nor could he be found.

Even the great Protectors of the three cities to which he gifted chaos, had no way to truly track his trails.

His appearances were always random. And there was no way to intercept him in his travels.

And this time, like many times before, Alpha, Delta, and Zeta could feel that they were so close. As if the [Gatemaker] was just within their grasp.

But all around them was a bustling crowd.

Magnus' typical tricks were at play once more.

These little tricks allowed him to waltz his way past any of his pursuers to arrive at his destination:

A famous restaurant in the middle of the city.

"To think that a Pocket World is hidden in this place…" Magnus sighed with admiration.

"I wonder if they knew?"

He asked the air as he opened his backpack and secretly tore at a Scroll.

Rip!

Swift and easy.

A new Gate would be created just like that.

Screams and shouts soon echoed out from the restaurant as Magnus turned around and left.

He turned a few corners before ducking into an alleyway and disappearing with a One-Time Transport Scroll.

[ …And that's it, ] Magnus spoke from within the Hivemind after a quick unsummoning.

Rie then appeared beside him.

[ Did you check off all the Pocket Worlds? Already? ] She asked.

Magnus nodded, [ Next, we'd have to figure out how to make them Overflow… How tedious. I don't think I have enough time to explore all those Gates before the start of the entrance exams for Archaeon University. ]

[ Indeed, ] Rie nodded, [ And we can't have you going to the school as the [Gatemaker] either. It would be too obvious and you would have to be present for every class, unable to hide in the Hivemind. ]

Rie pondered for a second.

[ Should we use your body before you gained the [Gatemaker] title? It would be weaker, but it should be fine given the slower growth rates of Thare's natives. ]

[ Hm, ] Magnus somewhat liked the idea, [ That's possible... ]

Inevitably, however, he shook his head, [ But our current body lineup is composed of me, you, Restiel, two of Klaris, and Blaze. If we get my body from the past, then our combat abilities will fall. That, and it will delay our next Hivemind ritual. We won't be able to make it to 3-stars right away. ]

[ Then our only other option is to look for an artefact that shrouds us from those spying eyes. ] Rie pursed her lips. [ But finding one is difficult. Those types of artefacts are special. They're like the Two-Faced Deck we found. Attribute-less, and serving only a single conceptual purpose. ]

[ Should we ask that lady, Elodia, if she can find any? ] Magnus threw an idea out.

[ We could. Klaris? ] Rie nodded.

[ I heard you. ] Klaris spoke without appearing in the Hivemind. [ Elodia might know a few things... but there's a small problem with her right now. ]

[ Do tell, ] Rie was curious.

[ Well, some famous bigshot from Midseer is after her. Her recent sales for us have riled up a lion. We would need to help her out if we need more of her help in return. From what I analyze, she's barely keeping them off her trail. At least, her location isn't being locked on by a seer or diviner. She's not as wanted as the great [Gatemaker] that is you, Magnus. ] Klaris spoke as he sent a few memories through the Hivemind.

Included in it was a handwritten letter from Elodia herself.

The handwritten letter warned Klaris against trying to find her for the time being. It spoke briefly about who was chasing after her.

[ It isn't the Interstellar Trinity, ] Magnus commented in relief.

[ Right. Well, if it was, she would be gone by now. ] Rie closed her eyes as she turned the information in her hands, [ Faction Name: Hallway Nimbus. Analysed Strength: 5-stars. Strongest Individual: 4-stars. In control of at least four Pocket Worlds… oh these Pocket Worlds have been given Gates by us already. Haha. ]

Rie laughed a bit. As her personality fermented and grew further away from the original it was copied from, she had begun to find pleasure in her information-gathering abilities.

After all, that was how Magnus had been able to go around, constantly heading towards places where Pocket Worlds were at. A little omniscience here, a little omniscience there, and the coordinates were easy to uncover.

It had always seemed like State of Higher Existence was more adept at locating places. Even the original Rie had been using her Blessing to look for a certain place when Magnus was with her.

[ All of these Pocket Worlds could be found in the northern area of Midseer. ]

After referencing the Hivemind's database of Pocket Worlds, Rie continued,

[ We can assume that that is where they have their HQ. It's weird how Elodia doesn't know that… or maybe she deemed it an unneeded piece of information to mention. ]

[ I think it is the latter, ] Klaris spoke, [ On that note, Elodia once mentioned something about the [Gatemaker] being an existence that could help her. ]

[ Well, if all of their Pocket Worlds suddenly have Gates pop up, it would make sense that they would be busied by it. How much more if those Gates begin to Overflow? ] Magnus rubbed his chin, [ Their forces would be spread thin... Perhaps thin enough that Elodia would no longer be cornered. ]

[ [ Perhaps, ] ]

Both Klaris and Rie replied. The three all seemed to come to an agreement.

It was then,

Silence fell upon the empty white void of the Hivemind. Its constituents turned to thought. They communicated a variety of things in silence, sending packets of information between each other at a speed of more than 80 metres per second.

When the exchange ended,

[ Difficult... ] Magnus pursed his lips.

Bringing aid to Elodia to fulfil her hopes was going to require the mobilisation of an army.

It took a faction to disrupt another faction.

Such was a rule of Thare.

[ There are too many unknowns, too many variables, too many possibilities, ] Rie put a dainty hand on Magnus' shoulder. [ We need to find another way to hide you. Worst case scenario, we take this loss and slow down our growth. ]

There were way too many Blessings to take account of on top of the overall threat level of the Hallway Nimbus. It would be a very risky and tedious endeavour to disrupt a faction more than they already have.

The easiest way to cause them trouble was to target the four Gates in their territory, but even then, Magnus lacked the power to take control of all of their respective stone tablets.

Knowing this, Magnus nodded.

[ Then, let us wait for an opportunity to open up. Perhaps a surprise will come to us when we least expect it. ]

Magnus would prepare for his entrance exams while keeping an eye out for anything that could help him.

.

.

.

Time passed like this without anything major occurring.

The citizens and ruling faction of the Heaven-Touching Mountains dealt with the creations of the Gatemaker with maddening efficiency.

They turned a bane into a boon faster than Magnus initially thought.

"Tsk," Magnus clicked his tongue in awe, "These guys really know what they're doing."

It would take a Gate Overflow like the Zone of Undead to truly pose a problem that they could not transform.

Lines of adventurous souls could be found queueing for the different Gates of different cities. Giant bags filled with goodies were being dragged out of the Gates at regular intervals, and a market had swiftly been formed.

Craftsmen were beginning to make full use of the items brought out of the multitudes of Gates. A few business-oriented factions were experimenting with certain techniques for mass production.

Chefs were beginning to use the new species of beasts and monsters found in the Gates to make scrumptious meals. Alchemists never stopped concocting their bizarre potions. And warriors honed their skills against many a foe.

Gate culture was growing swiftly in this region of the world. Especially since the Interstellar Trinity had moved to take ownership of all the Gates that had popped up. The smaller factions still got to keep their Pocket Worlds for their resources and bases, of course.

Only the Gates were being devoured by the Interstellar Trinity. It was so that they could keep them open to the public. It was a step to prevent Gate Overflows as well as draw out the resources from them as fast as possible.

The date for the Archaeon University's entrance exams was growing closer as well, and Magnus was visiting the libraries of Midseer quite often.

He was studying for the written test and mastering a particular set of theories that dealt with the manipulation of Spirit Energy and Blessings. A few sword techniques and sword arts were thrown into the blender too.

He was busy refining his abilities.

What was once instinctual was now being given a stable foundation using the experiences of many of those who lived with Blessings and Curses before him.

Blaze's hearty, pre-existing knowledge was being supplemented, thus furthering Magnus' technique by leaps and bounds.

It sounded amazing, but it reminded Magnus of his time studying in school. A lot of work, a lot of research, and a lot of sifting through text.

The only solace he had was that he could feel himself truly becoming a part of Thare the more he brought knowledge of its world and culture into himself.

That small sense of alienation he felt was slowly leaving him as he adapted to this new world.

This was something he could not do with all the Trials being thrown at him. He did not have much time to just sit down and be a simple citizen of Thare.

'This... is weirdly relaxing,' Magnus thought.