DMS Chapter 192

Flinx knew he was still near the village of Harpsidol since his leisurely pace made his progress painfully slow. His frequent stops to admire a flower, an animal, a bush, a tree, or anything else that caught his attention only added to the sluggishness of his journey.

The truth was that, at that moment, Flinx felt genuinely free.

Some people would probably argue that the truest expression of freedom was soaring through the sky, and since Flinx could easily do that with his Fly spell, one might wonder why he wasn't using it.

He did plan to fly—just not yet.

For now, he was still enamored with walking.

The physical exercise allowed him to feel the blood coursing through his body, and to him, simply working his muscles and feeling them come alive was an expression of freedom in itself.

The autumn season also played a significant part.

The vibrant colors of the trees painted the landscape with an ethereal beauty that often stole his breath, making him want to continue walking while quietly admiring his surroundings.

He imagined that if it had been the height of summer, with the scorching sun beating relentlessly overhead, he would probably have been driving his vehicle instead, comfortably enjoying its air conditioning.

When he had first set out on his journey, Flinx had imagined his adventure would revolve around visiting different villages, towns, and kingdoms while experiencing their cultures and meeting new people.

Instead, he found that traveling alone through the wilderness brought him a sense of peace and contentment he had never expected.

He knew he would eventually grow tired of solitude and the endless forests.

For now, however, he intended to enjoy every moment of it.

As the sun began to set, Flinx considered testing the effects of casting Galder's Tower using his highest-level spell slot.

However, he was still close enough to Harpsidol that some of the villagers might notice such an impressive display of magic.

Then again, he doubted it truly mattered.

He was merely passing through, and the region's unofficial ruler, Count Menard, was already aware of his presence.

Even so, he decided to postpone the experiment until the following day. It would be easier to observe the spell's effects in broad daylight.

When night fell, Flinx cast Galder's Log Cabin.

After enjoying a long, hot shower, he purchased a lavish dinner from his System Shopping Site.

While eating, he continued reading the third book of the Spellsong Cycle.

By the end of the evening, he had finished the novel and decided he would begin the fourth book during the next day's rest.

Before going to sleep, he contacted Olivia through his seventh-level Wizard spell, Telepathy.

Nothing significant had happened in Ilioven.

Everything was proceeding as usual.

Olivia merely reminded him not to forget to restock the shop's inventory when the time came.

Afterward, Flinx checked the web-based messenger and the forums he shared with his fellow Earthlings.

Most of the discussions revolved around the events unfolding in their daily lives.

Some conversations were particularly interesting, especially those describing how their families had reacted to their sudden return.

As expected, those who had honestly explained where they had truly been were generally met with skepticism and concern for their mental health.

The only people who believed them outright were those with whom they had maintained contact while they were enslaved by the Torbal Wizards.

The greatest problem was the complete lack of evidence.

They had no proof whatsoever of the years they had spent in another world.

The only tangible things they could present were the gold and precious gems they had brought back from Ilioven.

Fortunately, thanks to Paul and Mark's guidance, everyone had handled their newfound wealth with remarkable caution.

Several Earthlings had encountered even greater difficulties because of the time distortions surrounding their kidnappings.

Ferdinand had been taken during the 1960s, while Rico had disappeared in the 1980s.

They also knew of several others who had been abducted even earlier.

Paul and Mark theorized that the Torbal Slavers had not used a conventional teleportation spell.

Instead, they likely employed an artifact similar to the stone gate Flinx had used to escape.

That artifact was probably responsible for the strange temporal distortions.

Once the Earthlings arrived on the Torbal Slavers' world, however, their timelines synchronized.

When they eventually returned to Earth, they all reappeared at the same point in time—the exact year corresponding to Flinx's four-year absence.

Several of his friends had acted quickly and spent considerable amounts of money to minimize the public attention surrounding Ferdinand's and Rico's return.

As everyone often joked, the strongest magic on Earth was money.

With enough of it, almost any problem could disappear within days.

Flinx wondered how Ferdinand and Rico were adapting to modern society.

He suspected they would be among the first to request a return to Ilioven.

The following morning, after completing his morning routine, Flinx dispelled Galder's Log Cabin.

Instead of immediately continuing his journey, he remained where he was.

Today, he intended to test Galder's Tower using his thirteenth-level spell slot.

The moment he assigned the spell to that slot, its description updated automatically.

It stated that the tower could now have as many as ten floors.

Alternatively, he could sacrifice the seventh through tenth floors to greatly increase the size of the remaining ones.

Curious, Flinx cast the spell.

A massive ten-story stone tower rose before him.

Since he had selected the default appearance, the structure was rather plain, and because he had not specified a detailed floor plan, every floor above the third was simply a repetition of the ones below.

Next, he experimented with the spell's expansion feature.

By sacrificing the upper floors, he transformed the tower into a spacious three-story stone manor.

Seeing the result immediately convinced him.

He would definitely replace Galder's Tower at his home in Ilioven with this larger version.

After dismissing the spell, Flinx contacted Paul through their web-based messenger.

He explained everything he had discovered about Galder's Tower when cast using a thirteenth-level spell slot.

Since all of their friends could read the conversation, everyone became excited by the discovery.

Soon, they began asking him about the effects of other spells when cast using his highest-level spell slot.

Flinx admitted that he had not tested any of them.

He had simply been too busy enjoying his travels.

His friends immediately scolded him.

To keep the peace, he laughed and promised to begin studying his spells more thoroughly.

Truthfully, they had a point.

Understanding the full capabilities of his magic was important.

When Paul asked why Flinx had shared the information so quickly, Flinx explained that he wanted Paul to design a new version of Galder's Tower that took advantage of the spell's expanded capabilities at higher spell slots.

Paul asked him to send the complete spell descriptions for every version of Galder's Tower above the third-level spell slot.

Flinx promptly did so.

He also requested that Paul create multiple architectural themes rather than limiting himself to the elegant elven style.

Paul readily agreed.

All he needed to do was hire talented architects and designers to produce the concepts.

Judging by everyone's enthusiasm, the project had quickly become a group effort.

Flinx understood why.

Every one of them intended to return to Ilioven eventually, most likely after settling their affairs on Earth.

He never doubted that they would return.

The advantages granted by their Transmigration System and their classes were simply too valuable to abandon.

Moreover, their continued access to the System Shopping Site meant they would never truly lose their connection to Earth.

Even while living in another world, they could still enjoy the conveniences of modern technology whenever they wished.