It was quiet in the SUV for the first few minutes of our journey. My teammates were too busy staring at me to say anything. Well, except for Alysha. As both the fastest and safest driver among us, she was often our designated driver. She focused on the road ahead of us. However, this didn't stop her from glancing at me through the rear view mirror every now and again.
I sat in the back seat, near the left window, pretending to ignore my teammates' stares. It was gorgeous out. The Pacific Northwest was famous for its rainy weather, but right now it was sunny out without a cloud in the sky.
We drove through the forested hills that surrounded Hunter's Rest. Tall trees lined the road, like sentinels clad in green. A thick underbrush covered the forest floor. Every now and again, the plants moved as animals darted through. Birds stood atop the tree branches, letting out mating calls. I couldn't hear them, since all the windows were closed, but I could imagine them.
It was a beautiful view, one that I would've enjoyed more if it weren't for Logan looming over me. The SUV had more than enough room to seat all five of us comfortably. However, Logan decided to sit next to me and stare. Francis, who sat in the front passenger seat, turned around to stare at me as well. Himiko, who sat on the other side of Logan, leaned over to get a better look at my face.
"Take a picture, why don't you?" I said in a sarcastic tone. "It'll last longer."
Despite my words, I enjoyed the attention. It wasn't until I ended up back here on Earth, after Ash ripped out my soul, that I realized how much I enjoyed looking like Gabriel Sturm. I never considered myself vain before, but… Well, if the shoe fits.
"Good idea," Francis said, before I heard a click.
I looked over to find him pointing his smartphone at me. Moments later I heard two more clicks as Himiko and Logan followed suit.
"Don't forget to send one to me," Alysha called out.
"Already done," Himiko said, staring at her phone.
I stared at my teammates in disbelief.
"I was joking!" I said.
Francis nodded.
"We know," he said. "But it was good advice. I mean, you look rather beautiful."
Logan nodded with a troubled expression on his face.
"Honestly, you've got me questioning my sexuality," he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Lay a finger on me and I'll castrate you."
Logan held his hands up in mock surrender.
"Easy," he said. "I know where to draw the line. I'll indulge my newfound curiosity on my own time."
That was more than I needed to know.
"Okay, spill it," Himiko said, putting her phone away. "What's the deal with…" She gestured to all of me. "…all this."
I shrugged.
"I don't know how it happened or why," I said. "So I can't answer that." I pointed to my face. "However, to clarify things, this is how I look back on Lumina."
Logan let out a whistle.
"Damn," he said. "Transmigrating here must've been a serious downgrade for you."
"Eh, not really. Rather, I was too wrapped up in my own issues to notice or care about my appearance. At least the first time around."
Francis pinched his chin as he studied me.
"Still, it is rather interesting," he said. "Why now? This didn't happen after your first transmigration. Why did your appearance change after your second one?" He paused. "Or third, I should say."
"Good question," I said. "I wish I knew the answer myself."
"Do you think it's because his other body is still alive?" Himiko asked.
Everyone turned to look at Alysha. Holy magic dealt with souls more than regular magic.
"It's possible," Alysha said after a while. "However, I don't know for sure. Transmigration is a mysterious phenomenon. Few understand it." She glanced at me through the rear view mirror. "However, even among transmigrators, Brandon is a unique case. Transmigration takes place when a person is reborn into another world after they die. In Brandon's case, both of his bodies are still alive. Not only that, but they're both connected to his soul thanks to these mysterious silver threads. I think that's the reason behind his recent change." She shrugged. "At the very least, I think it plays a part."
Francis tilted his head.
"I wonder if any other changes will take place," he said.
I frowned at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Francis gestured to me.
"Take your cultivation, for example. Does your current situation affect your cultivation? If so, how?"
I blinked at him in surprise. That was another good question. What if I could use Brandon Norwood's cultivation to benefit Gabriel Sturm's? If I could become a Sixth Star martial artist as the latter, or even just boost my cultivation speed, then that would be a great boon. That was something else I needed to explore.
I sighed. So much to do, so little time. I already had a full plate, and it felt like things kept getting piled on top of it. Honestly, I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed. I hoped to get some answers from Teacher and clear my plate a little.
"You know," Himiko said after a while. "I think it's a good thing that Brandon didn't look like this at first."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Himiko smirked.
"Women were already throwing themselves at you before," she said. "Imagine how much worse it would've been if you had looked like this."
I stared at her, horrified. She was right. During my second life, I attracted a lot of women, and men, due to my fame, wealth, and strength. If I had good looks on top of that… I shuddered. I would've never known a moment of peace.
"We can never let anyone know that Brandon Norwood now looks like this," I said, pointing to my face. "Otherwise they'll never leave me alone."
A ping sounded. Himiko took out her smartphone and checked it out.
"It's a bit too late for that," she said.
She showed me her smartphone. It depicted a social media post with a picture of me and the rest of my team. It looked like it had been taken from the lobby of Hunter's Rest. In the comments below the post, speculation ran rampant as people tried to figure out my identity.
"What the hell?" I said. "I thought people weren't allowed to take pictures or videos."
Himiko snorted.
"You think that's going to stop people?" she asked.
I sighed. This was one of the reasons why I preferred Lumina over Earth. It didn't have social media.
"Heh," Logan said, scrolling through his own phone. "Some people believe you may be a boy toy for one of us."
"Boy toy?!"
Francis gave me a pitying look.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I mean, what did you expect when you look like that?"
Himiko leered at me. Her expression reminded me of Anna, even though the two of them looked almost nothing alike.
"I wouldn't mind having you as my boy toy," she said. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not. "Why don't you retire and let me be your sugar mama?"
Logan held out his phone to Himiko.
"Some people speculate that Brandon and I might be dating," he said. "So maybe I should be his sugar daddy."
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Do not kill your teammates, Gabriel. They're your friends. You love them.
"What?! Let me see that." Himiko took Logan's phone. "Huh. You're right. People really like the big burly man/effeminate pretty boy dynamic."
"Brandon is a big fan of muscles," Francis pointed out. "It's not beyond the realm of possibility."
I opened my eyes and glared at all three of them.
"I hate you all so much right now," I said through gritted teeth.
Alysha chuckled.
"Okay, that's enough teasing," she said. "Leave Brandon alone."
Himiko pouted.
"But if we keep going, we might get to see him cry." She glanced at me. "I think he would look even prettier while crying."
I made an "X" with my hands.
"Nope," I said. "Not going to happen. I already have one woman in my life who likes to tease me like this. I don't need another."
Himiko's expression faltered at that, though she recovered right away. It happened so fast that if I hadn't been looking at her, I wouldn't have noticed.
"Oh?" Himiko asked, an edge to her voice. "You mean the woman you're in a relationship with? You know, you never told us much about her. We have a long drive ahead of us. Why not share some details now? It's not like we have anything better to do."
There was an odd gleam in Himiko's eyes. My intuition warned me that if I didn't handle this situation right, I'd be in grave danger.
"She's right," Francis said. "Tell us more about this mysterious woman of yours, and how she managed to capture your heart. Whenever we ask you about her, you always clam up."
True. Whenever my teammates asked about my life on Earth, I never hesitated to tell them. However, I kept quiet when it came to Anna. Part of it was out of consideration for Himiko. I didn't want to hurt her. Part of it was because my teammates kept teasing me, and keeping quiet about Anna was my way of getting back at them.
"Is it really that important?" I asked. "Don't you guys have your own lives? Why are you so interested in mine?"
Francis shrugged.
"I'm bored," he said. "And as Himiko said, we have a long trip ahead of us."
Okay, that was enough of that.
"Leave it," I said in a cold voice. "Don't cross the line. I'll tell you about Anna in my own time. Not a moment before. Stop trying to pressure me."
Himiko smiled in triumph.
"So, her name is Anna," she said.
I rolled my eyes at her and looked out towards the window again. Thankfully, the conversation ended there and we moved on to other topics. However, I felt a thread of tension between me and Himiko. It appeared that the two of us needed to clear the air sooner rather than later.
Several hours later, a little before noon, my teammates and I found ourselves at Dash's Diner. It was a small place located along I-5, north of the Portland Wasteland. We discovered it years ago, back when we first joined the Vanguard Guild, to celebrate the formation of our team. Ever since then, it had been our go-to place.
After we became famous, we started wearing disguise rings to avoid attracting unwanted attention to Dash's Diner whenever we ate here. The only one who knew our true identities was Dash, the owner, who was a former hunter himself. In fact, I think he knew Guildmaster Walker. However, Dash neither confirmed nor denied my suspicions.
Things were no different this time around. We disguised ourselves before entering, sat at our usual booth, and ordered our usual meal. It was almost a ritual at this point. Logan ordered a small mountain of burgers, while the rest of us ate more modest meals. Dash would swing by from time to time and chat with us.
It brought back a lot of memories. This, combined with the delicious food, made me tear up a bit. My teammates teased me a bit for it, but they kept it light.
After we ate, we continued on our journey and headed towards the Portland Wasteland.
During the Calamity, after everyone started learning how to use magic and martial arts to fend off the monsters, everyone was too busy clearing the Gates to deal with the monsters that infested Portland and other ruined cities. This allowed the monsters to run rampant.
By the time they got the Gates under control and could turn their attention to other issues, the monsters were already thoroughly entrenched. Rather than deal with them right away, the US government and the newly formed hunter guilds decided to wall off Portland and the other ruined cities. In time, they became known as Wastelands. There were quite a few, including the island of Manhattan in New York City.
At first, the government and the guilds kept everyone out of the Portland Wasteland. However, since the monster population kept increasing, they decided to send in teams of numbers to thin out the numbers every now and again.
The hunters liked this deal, since it allowed them to make a decent profit by selling the monsters' body parts. The government and the guilds liked it because it kept the monster population under control. All in all, it was a win for everyone. Well, except for the monsters.
Over time, this practice evolved. None of the monsters within the Portland Wasteland were that powerful, so the guilds started using it as a training ground for new recruits.
In fact, it was during one of these training excursions that I met Francis and Logan. The three of us teamed up to fight a tough monster and ended up becoming friends. After Himiko and Alysha joined us, the five of us formed a team.
After driving across the bridge over the Columbia River and Hayden Island, we entered the Outskirts. The Portland Wasteland was divided into three zones: the Outskirts, the Safe Zone, and the Danger Zone.
The Outskirts, the outermost zone, contained no monsters. However, this did not mean it was the safest. In fact, in terms of danger, it was on par with the Danger Zone. Only a few places were safe to travel through, such as the roads leading to the Safe Zone.
This was because the Outskirts was a lawless place occupied by criminals, Awakened criminals in particular. These criminals carved up the Outskirts into various territories and ruled over them like warlords ruling over their fiefs.
However, the Outskirts brought opportunity as well as danger. It also served as a trading hub, in the form of an underground market. As long as you were willing to take the risks, you could acquire all kinds of goods here, both legal and illegal. I visited the place a few times, always disguised of course.
The government and the guilds tolerated the Outskirt's existence because they found it too troublesome to deal with. As long the people in the Outskirts kept to themselves, everyone else was willing to leave them alone.
I also heard rumors that a major power backed the Outskirts, keeping both the governments and the guilds at bay. Whether or not this was true, I didn't know.
Deeper within the Portland Wasteland, behind a tall wall made of stone, steel, and magic, was the Safe Zone. This was where the weakest monsters resided, Tier One and Tier Two at most. Aside from the guilds using it as a training area, some independent Awakened made a living by hunting in the Safe Zone and selling monster body parts.
At the heart of the Safe Zone was the Danger Zone, which contained the Portland Wasteland's most dangerous monsters, the ones at Tier Three and Four. The government and the guilds like to use the Danger Zone as a testing area.
Like the Adventurers Guild back on Lumina, advancement as a hunter required reaching a certain level of power and experience. To reach C-rank, one needed to be a Third Ranked Awakened and either kill several Tier Three monsters or one Tier Four monster. Many chose to hunt in the Danger Zone rather than go through a Gate.
Alysha drove the SUV towards the Safe Zone. Teacher lived right in the center of the Danger Zone, the most treacherous part of the entire Portland Wasteland. Otherwise, we wouldn't have bothered coming here.
When I first met Teacher, she lived in the Outskirts. However, the locals kept harassing her so she decided to move. It was either that, or keep slaughtering people until they left her alone.
At my current level, traveling to the Danger Zone was more of an annoyance than a threat. There wasn't anything in the Portland Wasteland that could threaten me anymore. However, this didn't stop my teammates from worrying, which was why they decided to accompany me.
Soon, the five of us arrived at Little Portland, a small town that had formed at the entrance to the Safe Zone. In addition to the government soldiers that oversaw the place, there were also hunters from guilds as well as independent Awakened who made a living hunting monsters. True to human nature, wherever a group of people gathered, there were those who sought to separate them from their money.
Little Portland had everything a beginning hunter could ever want. In addition to the usual buildings, such as inns and bars, there was a store selling weapons, armor, potions, etc. It also had a trading post where hunters could sell monster body parts for cash. I believed there was also a brothel around here somewhere, though I never visited it myself.
"Man, this brings back memories," Logan said as we drove through Little Portland, a nostalgic expression on his face. "I haven't been here in forever."
I nodded. The five of us used to spend a lot of time here, either for training or just to hang out. Back then, everything was new and exciting. However, we stopped visiting Little Portland as a group after we became Fifth Ranked Awakened. By that point, we were too powerful for any of the monsters to threaten us. I kept returning, but only to see Teacher.
Alysha parked the SUV at one of the public parking lots and we all got out. Little Portland looked like a post-apocalyptic settlement built within the ruins of the old world. Well, considering the circumstances, that wasn't an inaccurate comparison. Most of the buildings were rebuilt from ruins, or constructed from scavenged rubble. This included the government buildings.
We still wore our disguise rings, so no one recognized us as we walked through Little Portland. The residents were a mixed bunch. Hunters wearing the sleek uniforms of their guilds, independent Awakened who were an eclectic and varied bunch, and soldiers both on and off leave. And then there were the civilians who catered to all three groups.
I took a look around at all the fresh-faced young hunters and thought about my early days, when I just joined the Vanguard Guild. Only a few years had passed since then, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Two lifetimes, if I wanted to be technical about it.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Alysha asked as we headed towards the entrance to the Safe Zone. "We could wait until you're fully healed before seeing your teacher."
I nodded.
"I'm sure," I said. "I'm feeling a little stir crazy." I grinned at her. "Besides, I've recovered enough that nothing in the Danger Zone will pose a threat to me." I paused. "Except for Teacher."
Despite my words, Alysha still looked worried.
"I understand your concern, but it'll be fine," I told her. "My doctors said that as long as I don't push myself too hard, I'll be alright." I snorted. "Besides, with you guys around, I have nothing to worry about."
My teammates all shared a look.
"Fair enough," Alysha said. "However, if you do something reckless and stupid, you're not allowed to leave Hunter's Rest until you've fully recovered. Deal?"
"Deal."
With that, the five of us passed through the government checkpoint and entered the Safe Zone.