The Gate Traveler

First, before leaving Vegas, we decided to do as much shopping online as possible, only buying what was absolutely necessary in person. To start, the three of us scoured Vegas, bought every reloadable credit card we could find, and maxed them out until we had a million dollars in credit. Then, we sat down at the computers and started ordering. I had to help Al with some shopping sites; he was okay with phones but still got a bit confused with computers. He got the hang of it, eventually.

Because some orders came from overseas, we had to stay in Vegas for another week until everything arrived, even with express delivery. I didn’t want huge orders piling up at the hotel, so I rented a warehouse for the week, and we scheduled rotations to stay there and receive shipments—with the necessary conjured documents, of course. We ordered most of the tools we needed, books, craft supplies, music, and movies, which we downloaded directly to a crystalline disk, fabrics for the boat and the balloon, spare parts for all our toys, and much more.

We went all out with our metal wire order, ensuring we had every thickness and type. Mahya also insisted on buying ingots of every metal available on Earth in large quantities. So, we ordered aluminum, iron, steel, copper, bronze, titanium, silver, gold, nickel, platinum, tungsten, zinc, magnesium, cobalt, lead, palladium, rhodium, chromium, manganese, tin, vanadium, beryllium, hafnium, iridium, osmium, ruthenium, scandium, tantalum, and niobium.

I didn’t even know what half of them were, but Mahya was adamant we needed them all, and I had long since learned not to argue.

We ordered five million paintballs with extra guns, all the photography supplies I needed, office supplies, parchment from wherever we could find it, and all their inventory. We also bought out-of-circulation coins by weight from Etsy, eBay, and Amazon. The coins alone totaled around one and a half tons in hundreds of separate shipments.

After deleting all the online shopping from our original list, it looked more manageable. The only things left on the list were items we wanted to buy personally, such as clothes and shoes, most heavy equipment, like furniture and work surfaces, weapons, tires, and alcohol.

Next, we raided the stores in Vegas and bought another sizeable chunk of the list, including emptying five liquor stores, and I bought a massive stock of coffee. Before leaving Earth for the first time, I bought a lot of coffee, thinking it would last me for years. But with Lis at the beginning and then as the group grew, everyone discovered that coffee was great, and my stock dropped to less than five percent of the original purchase. This time, I bought coffee online and in person, aiming to stock up on enough coffee to last five people for a hundred years. I also made a mental note to buy more coffee wherever we stopped on the way to Canada.

You can never have too much coffee.

We uncovered two disturbing facts when we dove into all that shopping and research. First, we found some truly exceptional types of armor—stuff that could stop a cannonball for all I knew—but we couldn’t touch them without being part of the military or law enforcement. Conjured documents didn’t even help, so that avenue was closed. Second, the bullet situation was a nightmare. Thanks to the international firearm regulations that kicked in back in 2029, you couldn’t buy anything related to firearms online anymore. That included ammo. Sure, brick-and-mortar gun shops stocked bullets for M4 carbines, but they were few and far between, and even when you found one, the shelves barely had any stock. They also required a mountain of paperwork just to make a purchase.

We had seventy-four guns in our stash, and Mahya insisted we needed at least half a million rounds to feel comfortable. I couldn’t blame her, but after hours of scouring the internet and coming up short, it became clear that assembling that kind of stockpile would be impossible. So, I suggested something that I knew would rattle her: ditch the guns and focus on handguns. They were slightly easier to buy in the U.S. since the laws were a bit more relaxed, and the ammo was more accessible. Plus, we could still use conjured documents to get around some of the red tape.

Mahya’s reaction was immediate. She froze, staring at me like I’d suggested burning her entire collection. Then, without saying a word, she picked up one rifle and started stroking it, whispering softly to it like a mother soothing a distressed child. She was trembling. This went on for a solid two minutes before she finally calmed down, still cradling the gun as if it had feelings. Needless to say, the idea of letting go of her babies wouldn’t fly anytime soon.

She turned puppy-dog eyes on me, her lower lip sticking out just a little, and said, “You’ve got that Luck trait. I’m sure you can find some.” Her voice was soft, pleading, the kind of tone that always hit me in the weak spot. She knew what she was doing, and I hated how well it worked.

I leaned against the hood of the jeep, folding my arms. “Come on, Mahya. You know this is a long shot. We’re talking about half a million rounds—ammo isn’t just sitting around in bulk for anyone to grab. Even if I can find some, there’s a ton of risk. We’re already pushing it.” I tried to sound firm, but even I didn’t fully believe it.

She kept staring at me, eyes wide, brimming with hope. I looked away, trying to steel myself, but damn it, Mahya had a way of making me give in. She didn’t need to say anything else; I could already feel my resolve slipping. The silence stretched between us, and I could almost hear the gears turning in my head, weighing the risk against the inevitable, reluctant ‘yes’ that was coming.

I let out a long, drawn-out sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “Alright, alright... But I’m not happy about this. You owe me big time for this one.”

Mahya’s face lit up instantly, like I’d just told her Christmas came early. “Thank you!” she squealed, and I could hear the relief in her voice. I waved her off before she could make it worse by hugging me or something.

With another resigned sigh, I climbed into the jeep and slammed the door. “Let’s get this over with,” I muttered to myself, already regretting the decision as I activated my Luck. The familiar pull in my gut immediately kicked in, pointing me in a direction, and I followed it, knowing full well that it was leading me somewhere I wouldn’t like.

The drive stretched on for over an hour, with the sun dipping lower as I passed the city limits. As the instinctual pull led me toward the outskirts of Vegas, the roads grew quieter, and the buildings became more spaced out until I eventually reached my destination.

The warehouse stood like a fortress in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by desert and dust. It was large, bigger than any regular storage facility. What really caught my attention, though, were the guards. They were everywhere—dozens of them, maybe more—patrolling the perimeter with military precision. They all carried what looked like top-grade weapons, but it wasn’t just the hardware that made them stand out. Tattoos covered all of them, and they were practically dripping with gold jewelry. Chains, rings, bracelets—each looked more like gangsters than your typical hired security.

I pulled the jeep to a stop a good distance away and cut the engine. From here, I could see the guards enough to know this wasn’t just some casual warehouse operation. These guys were serious, and if Luck had led me here, it probably would not be easy getting out.

“Fantastic,” I muttered, my eyes scanning the scene, knowing I was about to dive headfirst into trouble.

I doubted conjured documents would help, so I sat there thinking of a solution. My first thought was to use Spellbinding, but the only time I used it made me feel so dirty and slimy that I didn’t want to repeat the experience. I wasn’t a saint—after all, I didn’t hesitate to “milk” Caesar’s Casino, nor did I feel bad about robbing my in-laws—but taking away a person’s power of choice and mentally controlling someone felt wrong.

After some hesitation and deliberation, I decided to go inside while invisible. Taking a deep breath, I cast the invisibility spell and slipped out of the jeep. Moving silently, I approached the warehouse, carefully avoiding the guards patrolling the perimeter. Their footsteps echoed in the quiet night, but I glided past them, raising no suspicion.

Reaching the warehouse door, I examined the security system. It was a heavy-duty electronic system, but nothing I couldn’t handle. A channeling of mana into the system, and the door clicked open. I slipped inside, and the door closed softly behind me.

The warehouse was dimly lit and filled with rows of pallets, crates, and shelves stacked high with supplies. The air was thick with dust and the faint scent of oil. I moved cautiously, aware that any noise could give me away. My Luck was still active, guiding me deeper into the building.

As I navigated through the maze, I noticed a staircase leading down. Bingo. The feeling grew stronger, almost tugging me towards it. I descended the steps, careful to keep my footsteps light and inaudible.

The underground part of the warehouse was even more impressive. Shelves lined the walls with weapons, ammunition, and various equipment. My eyes widened at the sight—this was an arsenal. My Luck tugged me to crates marked with the distinctive labeling of M4 carbine ammunition, which was precisely what Mahya wanted.

Still invisible, I moved toward the crates, checking for any signs of an alarm or other security measures. There were none that I could see at first glance, but I couldn’t afford to be careless.

I quickly stored all the boxes. Then, out of habit more than anything, I pulled out a neat stack of ten thousand dollars and placed it on the shelf where the boxes had been.

As I walked toward the exit, my steps slowed, and I stopped in the vast space. Surrounded by crates of ammunition, I glanced back at the place I’d just cleared out. A nagging thought crept in. Mahya. I could picture her face right now, eyebrows raised, lips pressed into that thin line, a look that said, “Really? You were in a massive armory and didn’t bring me anything?” She’d never forgive me for that.

I groaned and turned back, scanning the area. Maybe I could grab her a couple of extra toys—just to avoid that wrath.

But curiosity got the better of me as I moved closer to one of the larger crates. I cracked open a box, my hands working fast but carefully. Inside, I found what looked like standard packing—stacks of ammunition, neatly lined up. But something felt off. I sifted through the top layer, pulling aside the bullets, and that’s when I saw it: packages. Not just any packages—wrapped tight, with no labels. I tore one open with a pocketknife. Sure enough, I discovered it was filled with white powder. Drugs.

A sinking feeling settled in my gut, quickly replaced by a kind of bitter amusement. Of course, it wasn’t just a warehouse full of bullets. This was a full-blown criminal operation. A smuggling ring, maybe worse. The guards, the tattoos, the gold chains. It all clicked into place. No wonder the security was so tight. They weren’t just protecting ammo; they were running drugs too.

I couldn’t help but smirk. Suddenly, I felt a lot better about what I was doing here. Sure, I might’ve been sneaking around, grabbing things that didn’t technically belong to me, but robbing a bunch of criminals? That was different. That didn’t sting the conscience nearly as much. If anything, I was doing the world a favor, right?

Sighing again, I deployed my mana sense, walking up and down the rows and storing all the inventory in the warehouse, including my ten thousand. The process was nerve-wracking, each second stretching as I listened for any sound of approaching guards. After the underground part was empty, I went back up to the ground floor and repeated the operation. I didn’t know what was in all the boxes and crates, but I was sure Mahya would approve.

The tension was almost unbearable. Every creak of the floor, every distant shout or clang from outside made my heart race. My Luck was holding steady, but even I knew it could only stretch so far before it snapped. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the warehouse looked like an empty space for rent, completely cleared out. I’d even taken the shelves—after all, I needed something to store all the boxes on once I got back. In fact, I had to enlarge my Storage twice just to fit everything.

To leave some semblance of honor, I placed five hundred thousand dollars in cash in a big backpack, placed the backpack in the center of the space, and crept out. Maybe they were criminals, but I needed to feel okay with myself.

The guards outside were still patrolling, oblivious to the heist happening right under their noses. I held my breath, moving silently, my invisibility spell still in place. Reaching the door, I slipped through and made my way back to the jeep. The adrenaline coursed through my veins, making every step feel like I was walking on air.

Back in the jeep, I deactivated my invisibility and allowed myself a slight grin. Mission accomplished. It was time to return and show Mahya what I’d found.

I called Al and Mahya and told them to come to the warehouse. When I told them about my “heist,” They laughed and called me a Looter Extraordinaire.

Yay me!

It took us two days to go through the whole content, and oh boy, it was a doozy:

After we finished going through all the loot, we just sat there, stunned.

I glanced at Mahya, who had a wide grin, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Look at all these guns and ammunition!” she exclaimed, practically bouncing in her seat. “And the electronics! This is incredible! Half of it can be broken down and used as parts for Magitech.” She reached out to touch a Barrett M82 sniper rifle, her fingers caressing the cold metal with a kind of reverence.

Meanwhile, Al’s reaction was something else entirely. He lifted a bag of cocaine and scrutinized it. “This can be a fantastic ingredient for potions.” He looked at me with an excited glint in his eyes.

I shifted uncomfortably, my stomach twisting in knots. The money I’d left behind didn’t even cover a tenth of what I took, and now the full weight of what I’d stumbled upon sank in. I had suspected it earlier, but the realization hit me like a punch to the gut. “I think I robbed a criminal organization,” I muttered, my voice thick with unease.

Mahya, still giddy with excitement, barely noticed my tension. “This is the score of a lifetime,” she said, her eyes gleaming. “We’re set for a long time, guys.”

I forced a smile, trying to shake off the lingering unease. “Yeah,” I mumbled, though my mind was still racing. “Set for a long time.”

It was time to move on from Vegas, and fortunately, there were only two last deliveries left to handle. Once those arrived, we changed our glamour, visited the casinos for which we had the chips, gambled a bit, and cashed everything out.

I returned the rented Jeep, purchased our own, and we hit the road. Vegas had been an adventure, but it was time to move on. On the drive out of the city, I thought about how much I loved my Luck and trusted it not to have a backlash. But just in case, we all changed glamours and documents.

It’s better to be on the safe side.