《Struggle》 Prologue ¡°Turn to page 157 class¡±, Coach Johnson states to those who are listening. I prop my head up with the palm of my left hand and face towards the front of the room, making eye contact with the teacher. I have to at least act like I¡¯m paying attention so I don¡¯t get singled out and called upon. Sigh. In the meanwhile, I sneak up headphones from my pocket, up my shirt, and around the back of my neck, content with some background music to listen to. My right hand silently mashes a and b on the gameboy sitting in my lap and my first period setup is complete. Happily now, I look out the window and daydream of life after school. Rain clouds sit close to the bottom of the horizon, foretelling of the days weather. The shapeless rain clouds do look a bit different though, they have no density, shaded only in the color of a dark gray. I stare out the window longer than I probably should, my gaze stuck. Am I hallucinating this? Clouds do not move this fast. I hear muted voices directed at me in the background but It does not deter me, my eyes now glued to the scene. This grey mass of color has moved too intelligently, becoming evenly spread throughout half the sky. When looking closer, you can see no light passing through, the light seemingly being absorbed by it¡¯s grayness.. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. A slam on my desk wakes me up from my thoughts as I turn around with a jump and a yelp. The teacher and class now glare at me with smiles of mockery. ¡°Listen Mae, you can¡¯t be dozing off in -¡±. But before another sound is made, the world became plunged in absolute darkness, time now sitting at a standstill. A blue box appeared in front of my vision, approximately two feet away.
[Skill Gained: Foresight]
A scrolling message appeared immediately thereafter. [Welcome to Earth v 2.0.0] [Earth has prestiged to the next level. Well done!] [You have passed our initial intelligence test and are now considered to have intelligent life. Earth will now be integrated into the universe and you¡¯ll be moved to a temporary space for you to adjust to your new reality. ] [Teleport commencing¡­] Chapter 1 What the fu-¡± Dashed blue lines vertically surrounded me, my vision slowly fading to white. A message now appearing in the air in front of me. ¡°Hello and welcome beings of Earth from Galaxy [#836293731337]. You are now in our temporary holding room while we upgrade your world. As a reward for my passing our test, you have been given the chance to take on a challenge. The more difficult the challenge the greater the reward, the greater the risk, however." Here are your options:
Novice Intermediate Advanced Expert Legendary
85% Pass Rate 50% Pass Rate 15% Pass Rate 3% Pass Rate .002% Pass Rate
No Penalty Can''t use the system for a week. Can''t use the system for a month. Can''t use the system for 3 months. Can''t use the system for a year.
Reward: A generic skill Reward: A combat specific skill. Reward: 2 advanced combat specific skills Reward: An expert and advanced combat specific skill Reward: ?????
I sat and stared at the screen for a moment, comprehending what was happening before me. Beyond the absurdity of the system, should I go an easy route and guarantee myself a skill? Or should I challenge myself, and get more skills? Before my heart could skip another beat, I clicked legendary and confirm. My competitive senses were tingling, my hands now becoming too shaky to sit still. It only took but a second longer to notice my hands were not shaking with excitement, but anxiety. Where am I and what am I doing here? Has the world ended or is this all just a dream? Whack! My face tingles with a sting, confirming that I can at least feel pain. A new message popped before me. ¡°Choosing the legendary challenge has given you three personalised tasks. The first one will begin in 15 minutes.¡± At the edge of of my peripheral vision a box appeared, counting down from 15 minutes. It was kind of annoying how I couldn¡¯t stare completely at it in front of me. I turned my head left to right and no matter what it did, it stayed in the bottom right corner of my vision, although I could only make out the first 2 numbers. Moving on up to a mild annoyance, I started twisting my head in a variety of different ways trying to read the last 2 digits. Before I start getting agitated, I realise I¡¯m an absolute idiot. I move my eye instead of my head and the number is now clear to me, [14:23]. I was moving my head instead of my eye. I stand a bit more dejectedly before I decide to sit down, my energy now broken. With about a million thoughts to think and a small determination to succeed, I sit in silence for the next 14 minutes. Expanding my lungs, I take in as much air as I can and resolve my will. I realise I¡¯m not yet ready to take on the hardest difficulty given to mankind. [The first challenge is one of endurance. The longer you last, the better chance you pass the task.] As I lie waiting for something to appear, I felt a small prickle of pain in my toes. Curiously, I interlock my fingers with my toes, feeling no difference on my skin. It was as if someone just got a thousand microscopic splinters and poked me from the inside. It didn¡¯t quite hurt, only feeling like a constant itch I couldn¡¯t get rid of. The prickliness steadily, slowly moved up my toes to my ankle. My entire foot became numb as if it fell asleep, smacking it on the floor felt like nothing.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. The numbness moved slowly up from my ankle to my shins but as soon as it reached my knees, I felt a new sensation. The ends of my toes suddenly felt a even pressing pressure instead, not quite yet a crushing of pain. Am I gonna have to just endure different waves of pain? A panic slowly develops from inside my heart, furthering it¡¯s beating at a rapid pace. As the numbing sensation went up further, the pressure followed it steadily behind. Poking and massaging my leg did not help one bit. This is out of my realm of control. I was in a uncomfortably awkward position, knowing that the pain would soon be worse. The numbing sensation made it to my waist as the force of pressure moved to my knees. Feeling a bit nauseated, my muscles tensed and knees buckled in preparation for the next wave. This time, I could feel my toes bending to the pressure of this oppressive force. They didn¡¯t break, but bent intensely at odd angles. Because I¡¯m an immature teen, I started yelling obscenities that were beholden of my character. ¡°FUCK ME. GOD DAMN. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS HORSESHIT. PLEASE. STOP. PLEASE.¡± Not wanting to put weight my broken toes, I sit on my butt. My upper body now numb and my feet now crushed, the cold chills of pain shoot throughout my body. Grinding my teeth to the point of pain, I tell myself this will be worth it. My arm and leg hair stick up immediately, a sense of dread washed over my body. The pain now numbed me from the waist down and as soon as the prickling sensation reached my head I cringe-tensed in preparation. I intensely moaned, my toes felt like they were breaking, my hands clutching my skull. To be matter of fact, they were breaking, felling me down to the floor on my back. My mind decided it couldn¡¯t process the pain so I immediately threw up on myself. Nice response, body. As time inevitably kept going forward, my bodily systems slowly started to shut down. Muscles spasmed uncontrollably, my body convulsed painfully. Lastly, feeling my conscious fade from me, my mind calmed, a sense of final clarity washing over me. I slowly closed my eyes as I lay in pain, my nervous systems fucked. The person living in the back of my head decided to speak up in my last moments. ¡°Give up already, there¡¯s no use. When have you ever succeeded before? You¡¯re useless. You¡¯re useless. You¡¯re useless.¡± I listened to him endlessly whisper in my ear as I lay dying. I was alone in my last moments I realised, a tear already falling from my small chin. I laid there for a few more moments, giving in to his ideas, making excuses for myself. Alone my whole life, sheltered by my parents with no people to call friends, I¡¯ve always been at the bottom of the barrel. This is my final chance to get back at the world that pulled me under. I flicked my eyes open with a sense of awareness, the pain now overriding all my previous thoughts. A guttural scream voiced from my veining neck, my eyes now filled with a sea of blood instead. I became enraged, my sense of self disappearing. Pure, unadulterated adrenaline now fueled my being. Intermittently, between my thoughts, my screaming pitch wavered. I look for some part of my being that isn¡¯t broken, feeling around till I notice my spine. It was still intact, cracked and bent in odd places, yet movable. A new higher pitched scream pierced my already constant wailing of screams as I attempt to move my body into a sitting position. I struggle by continuously pulling on my nonexistent muscles. Seemingly unimportant veins began bursting, my head strained to the point of popping. My screams don¡¯t make noise, or rather my ear drums have burst as well. Before my head barely moved an inch off the ground, an absolute darkness encompassed me. I was not in control, again. With nothing left to do, I let the darkness take me in, consuming and smothering me. I stay in this state for who knows how long, not particularly wanting to leave. Lying face up, the back of my eyelids turning a mixture of red and white, a colour foreboding light. I anxiously-slow open my eyes, a sense of self returning to me. [Task completed. Second task will start in 15 minutes..] Chapter 2 I couldn¡¯t even register what had just happened, my brain choosing to now vomit again instead. I sit up into a sitting position too fast to process, twisting my body in every way possible, making sure nothing is still broken. I await the next 15 minutes in silence, painfully aware of my current situation. [Welcome to the second of three tasks. You will now be held in an empty room with nothing but yourself for 2 months. You won¡¯t have to eat, sleep, or use bodily functions. The two months you spend here won¡¯t amount to anytime in the real world. Do you accept?] [YES/NO] Surprisingly this does not bother me, my hypersomnia coming in clutch for the first time ever. I hit the yes button and immediately 5 gray, sleek walls surround me. A timer appeared in the top right corner of my vision. [2 months] I sit with my back against the wall, the isolation comforting. The first couple days weren¡¯t that bad. I was stuck just with me and my thoughts, reliving past moments with a painful nostalgia. Annoyed that my brain wouldn''t stop running, I try to think of activities I can still do. From push-ups to monologuing, nothing really fit. Well except whistling. See, I have tinnitus. A constant ringing has always played in the back of my head since before I can remember. My brain to counteract the annoying ringing, constantly runs/has ideas floating around so it never focuses on the noise itself. Most days I don¡¯t even realise I have tinnitus but when your surrounded by silence, silence echoes. So I whistled. And whistled. And whistled. I¡¯ve long since mastered the art of whistling in and out. I don¡¯t have to stop to breathe because on the ¡°in¡± whistle, air fills my lungs. After I whistle in, I whistle out, exhaling the air inside me. Whistling then acts as a form of breathing, a way to never end a song. The tune becomes ever constant and never ending, the next month straight was one long song. I didn¡¯t tire, I didn¡¯t hunger, I just existed. Many people would ask, ¡°How can any sane person do that?¡± I would answer, ¡°No sane man could.¡± Many times my hand hovered over the confirm screen to end the task yet I persevered. I couldn¡¯t fathom these entire two tasks becoming a waste as I begrudgingly waited it out. On the last day of my willing captivity, I watched the digital clock tick every second. After sitting for two weeks, I stand up and stretch as the last hour was counting down. [Congratulations!] [Task completed.] [Only .1% of the human population has made it this far.] 15 more minutes pass as my excitement grows to become the most powerful human on the planet. Fading in this time were different shades of color, a 10x10 room made of wood formed around me. Next along the sides of the room, shelves of books lined the walls from top to bottom, side to side. The room immediately felt dense, not in the sense that it felt heavy but. . . more. A chair forms in the center, directly beneath me as I level myself down to it. I tense as I¡¯m trapped in a room again, although this one felt intensely more comfortable. [This is the third and final task. You have 72 hours to escape this room using any means possible.] [Time will start now] Feeling apprehensive from the last task, I take my time to relax, easing the tension from my shoulders. 72 hours to escape? Sounds more like a puzzle then anything else. I stand up and walk towards the abundance of books on the shelf behind me. I pull out a plain red book that had no title nor author to speak of. Opening the first handful of pages, it strangely contained no table of contents as well. I start with the first chapter and skimmed my finger through the first 15 pages. This is basically an introduction to herbs and their uses. Herbology? It shows each numerous plants and how to nurture and grow them. Weirdly, there are some odd plants here that I¡¯ve never seen or heard of before. Even further, on each of the plants, it tells you to insert a part of your energy into each plant in a separate, unique way. This red plant called ¡®la sol¡¯ needs sunlight a full 12 hours a day. During sunrise or sunset, inserting long bursts of energy through each petal increases growth and effectiveness. It doesn¡¯t tell me how to perform this act or what it is, only that it needs to be done. Interesting. I neatly set the book down and brought out the next couple of books. Skimming through them, I saw Earth¡¯s history, construction, medicine, religion, random literature, etc¡­ There¡¯s an endless amount of topics here, almost all of them mentioning this invisible energy being manipulated in different ways. I can only assume it¡¯s talking about mana and it¡¯s different properties and uses. Amazingly, this is actually a wizard¡¯s library, the amount of resources here overwhelmed my humble mind. Searching throughout the books for similar phrases or specific words brought no luck. Most of this stuff I couldn¡¯t quite grasp though. I mean who the fuck knows how to peel an aqualvo fruit and what does it have to with grip strength when wielding a bow. This isn¡¯t making sense and I can¡¯t read all day and night, there''s got to be a different answer. I set the books aside from me and move to the center of the room, not sitting on the chairs, but crossing my legs on the floorboard. I figure everyone''s going to use magic, why not give a try myself. The hints in the novels gave me a vague sense of understanding.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Again, I felt the denseness of the room. I then performed my anti-anxiety ritual to calm me. Relaxing my body, letting my limbs feel like noodles, sitting up straight, removing the tightness of my chest. I gently close my eyes, letting my body naturally rock itself. Breathe in¡­ breathe out¡­ My mind slowly emptied, my heart slowly beating, a small, rhythmic beat. I feel...I feel a new energy in my body. Exploring my body, I can feel this energy, as if I¡¯ve been given a 6th sense. The source of this energy is comfortably deep in my chest spreading further but weaker throughout to my limbs and head. Time has been forgotten and I remove myself from this trance, comfortable with breathing again. I feel relaxed but I couldn¡¯t think, my mind only focused on my emotions and this new energy. I open my eyes and glance at the time left. [65 hours left] ¡°What the fuck¡±, I internally scream. ¡°What the fuck!¡±, I externally screamed. It¡¯s been 7 hours already? It felt like 5 minutes, what the hell is wrong? I must¡¯ve lost track of time, I just felt so calm and at peace, for the very first time in my life. How could I comprehend escaping that? What if I lose track of time and go over the time limit? I could feel the strain on my mind, moving to my chest and hands. I can¡¯t focus on losing, that isn¡¯t an option. I¡¯ve made it too far to fail now. I settle my shaking hands, determined to pass this test. Again, I go over my meditation steps. I calmly sit in silence, close my eyes, and exhale my worries away. I again felt this energy in my chest, focusing on it more, I feel it¡¯s constantly moving inside me, shifting in random directions. Can I control this energy? I slowly lose my sense of self as I explore deeper inside my body, lost but sure. I sense the energy, this time however I want to manipulate it. I force my will on the energy, to control it. My chest burns tight, I grip it with my hand. Losing concentration I break into a cold sweat, forgetting who and where I am for a brief moment. Fuck that hurt, what did I do wrong? Don¡¯t give up, I have to try again. I briefly look up at the time. [53 hours left] Fuck. I have to get back to work. I re-meditate, losing my sense of self once more. I need to try something different, imposing my will did absolutely nothing. An idea came to mind. How about I guide it, instead of willing it? I can feel this is my source of energy, yet it feels out of my control. I feel the energy built in my chest. This time however, I guide the energy to my palm instead. Trying to not guide a huge amount at once, I change the flow as to guide it to my hand. Slowly but surely I feel energy working my way up to my arm. My chest now feeling a bit empty, my arm however, dense. I can¡¯t quite describe it, it¡¯s the same kind of denseness that I feel in the room. A light bulb went off in my head. What if I can also control the energy in my surroundings instead of just my body? Stop getting ahead of yourself, you can¡¯t even control the energy inside of you. Pain. Intense pain shoots up my arm and I scream, ¡°FUCK¡±. I realised my mind wandered and I lost control of my energy, it now shooting in various directions in my arm. My arm turning numb, the pain unbearable. I spasm across the floor, my jaw grating my teeth. I can¡¯t lose focus. I need to focus only on the mana, nothing else. Focus. I go back into my trance ignoring the subsiding pain. I search throughout my arm and try to grasp ahold of the wildly flailing energy. It takes me longer than I was hoping but I guide it into a smooth pattern moving in a circular direction in my arm. The pain dwindles away, my worries soothe and I feel the gentle energy moving to and fro. I yet again gather a small ball of energy from the base of my chest and flow it casually to the palm of my hand. It worked! I get excited and slowly open my eyes to see if anything has happened. I look to my left palm and¡­ nothing. Damn. I was hoping to see something cool at least. I immediately go back to my mana, some escapes but I press it back into form. A small plan formed in my sharp state of mind. I now try to exert the energy out of my palm and into the flow of space. As soon as it leaves however, it dissipates. Damnit. I have to somehow control the energy once it leaves my body. I again moved my mana to my hand, swirling it in circular motions. Instead I move the energy towards my index finger to the very tip. I condense the energy into the smallest pressurised form it will create. My finger now under intense pressure, I gently, not forcefully, move the energy barely breaking my skin. I now feel the it escape my body, yet it hasn¡¯t completely left, still having a semblance of control. I peak my eyes from under my eyelids, hoping most of all not to lose control. A faint glowing hue surrounded a small marble of energy poking out from under my skin. I knew the moment it left my body I would lose control but I had to try. Suddenly, relief washed over me and my body became unstrained. I even realize the toll I had put on my body these past few minutes, fatigue taking over. I could still feel the energy yet I had no control. I rapidly opened my eyes and looked at my fingertip. There was a mist of energy, it already being dissipated. I DID IT! I PERFORMED MAGIC!! My head dizzied, my arms and legs spasmed out of control, and I passed out. I had a long fulfilling dream of wizards and dragons. Kingdoms fell and rose and fell again. I was dominant and overbearing, ruling the world, killing on a whim. I was...more. I was intoxicated and ecstatic by this new feeling. Then, of course, my ex boyfriend appeared as a ghost and I jolted awake. The brick-like wooden floor was cold to the touch. I didn¡¯t immediately realise where I was, the past few days¡­ wait. I immediately felt a tang in my stomach, almost not looking at the timer in fear. [1 hour 23 minutes left] I stared at the timer not quite comprehending it. How? Just how was I in this meditative state for so long? Why was I so absorbed in it? Why did I just assume casting magic is the way out? Why am I so stupid? Why am I so stupid? Why am I so stupid? I was angry. Only angry at myself, nothing else. I unhesitatingly launched these dumbass books across the room. I broke into a frenzy and destroyed every little bit of this room to pieces. With shelves strewn about, chair pieces jabbed into books, and nothing more to destroy, I curled into a ball and wept. I cried, not even caring about the timer and the messages that popped up along with it. [Skill learned: Meditate] [0.00] [Task failed] [Unable to use the system for 365 days] [Now teleporting you back to Earth. . .] Chapter 3 I open my eyes, seemingly waking up out of a passing dream. A feeling of being lost overwhelms me as I stare into space in front of me not an exact amount of time. I¡¯m back in the classroom. Before I have the chance to look around, my body convulses unconsciously, fear filling my empty stomach. To my right I hear the sound of glass breaking and feet shuffling. I slowly peak my head towards the door, looking through the obtuse slit of glass. An amalgamation of pasty green bodies appeared, smothered in a sheet of dirt and a dank smelling grime. Their angry bodies were compact and full of tightened muscle, almost to the point of weakness in their bony joints. Tribal tattoos traveled across their backs, their faces carrying two small tusks and beady eyes to match. Necklaces of rotten teeth surrounded their neck and worn knapsacks around the waist. A couple brandished rusty, worn daggers, most of them appearing to be unarmed. A brisk door slam was heard as the goblins barged into the classroom across the hall, screams now emerging from within. It wasn¡¯t quite the kind of scream you¡¯d expect from an AP English class. It was a scream full of whimpers and pleas, many begging not to be killed. You could hear the sharpening and screeching of their pitch inside the pit of your soul. Instinctually my body tensed up, the pure anguish wailed throughout my chalky bones. I realised along with Steve sitting next to me what would happen next. We both stared at each other for a half second before we pushed our desks together against the door. A couple other classmates noticed and within a minute, a pile of desks piled next to the door. All 13 of us gather together with the sickly, old teacher Mr. Henry, in the center of the room. The tension in the air could be cut with a plastic utensil. ¡°Calm down everyone, we need a plan to survive.¡±, Mr. Henry asserted comically. Robert and Sam had their hands under their chin, already seemingly deep in thought. ¡°Everyone think the word status¡±, Amanda blurted out next, rushing to get everyone''s attention. Two seconds later, the same blue box appeared in front of my vision again. [You do not have access to the system for 365 days] Everyone started excitedly going over their skills and stats. John brags about his high dexterity with Joe countering, me scoffing. The both of them now in a contest to show off their big round balls. Feeling left out, I stayed quiet and within a few seconds, I immediately noticed something was off. ¡°Everybody stop and listen for a second. Shut the hell up!¡± All is quiet for six awkward seconds, the eyes of everyone in the room were focused intently on me. On cue Fernando asks, ¡°What is it Mae? I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± ¡°That''s the point Fernando, the screams have stopped.¡± As soon as the silence lifted, the hair on my arms prickled up. Scratches of naily feet could be heard in the hallway, becoming louder and louder by the second. The handle of the door turned, not moving however due to the perched chairs. The door then tries to swing outwards more intently, however it¡¯s still stuck. Louder and with more force, the door slams back and forth, the apprehension of everybody in the room now confirmed. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Steve says ¡°Everyone who has a combat ability or a way of fighting to the front. We don¡¯t have a way to escape so we have to fight this out. They will have to come through that door to fight us. Prepare to kill to live. You heard the people in the next room over. This isn¡¯t a game.¡± The facial expressions in the room now tensed along with their bodies, mine having been prepared prematurely. We talked for a few more minutes as a group, organising and constructing a quick plan. Well, they did all the talking but I listened enthusiastically. Susie, Joseph, and Bethany opted out of facing reality and huddled in the corner instead. In but half a minute later, the door swung outward as green bald heads stuck over the top of the piled desks. Three ugly green bodies start to climb over, their shortened height now giving them a disadvantage in a fight. Before the goblins had a chance to regain their footing on the ground, we decided to attack. Amanda points her palm at the first goblin to make it over the top. A bolt of fire slowly leaves her fingertips and scorches the chest of the goblin. Indications of a burn are visible but not much else, the goblins eyes turned from a dark brown to a glowing red instead. Standing against the wall to the side of the door, I wack a goblin down with my table leg. Steven, Dom, and Mr. Henry stood in the center of the classroom, able to take the brunt of the force. The others in our class were either scattered or too frightened to fight back. As soon as the goblin fell back to ground, I slammed the table leg into its head repeatedly. I didn¡¯t stop hitting it until another threat soon took over. Two more goblins now pushed through the rubble, their shoulders aimed towards me. I shuffle backwards along the back of the right wall, feeling uncomfortably sick with blood caked against my shins. I get ahold of my bearings and look at the situation around me, my vision slightly teetering. I see Amanda now, her body now slumped to the floor as well as Mr. Henry''s immediately to the front of hers, with three more goblin bodies lying next to him. An enraged goblin now stands on top of both of them, wielding a brandished dagger and a mocking, ugly smile. I lose my sense of self, as I am no more in control of my body. I watch my body sprint forwards in rage, all of my actions now humanly instinctual. Rearing my chair leg back, I twist my hips and shift my upper body forwards, my weapon now used as a bat. The goblin hit the floor with a crack and a snap, as well as a switch in my head. I watched as the body spasmed and bounce against the floor. I stared at the goblin now lying on top of Amanda, it¡¯s warm blood cascading down her cold body. I now understood the way of this new world, I must kill my enemies before they kill me. A desire and drive bring back the willpower I had during the trial. I take a deep breathe and look back to my right, where the two goblins were following me before. They weren¡¯t there. Before I have a chance to look, I hear a scream further behind me to my right. I turn and take two large strides, leaping towards the esound of Beths screaming. I had forgotten that they were hidden in the corner behind me, they must¡¯ve drawn aggro of the two goblins. The first goblin had already taken a swipe of Joe, the second was on top of Beth, clawing her flesh. I arrive and swipe my chair leg to the left at the goblin instead, hoping to at least shove the monster off of Joe. Using my non-dominant hand, however, made the strike a lot weaker than I was intending. The goblin stumbled but catched my weapon, my momentum now gone. The knob-headed brute started to take a swipe at me as I close my eyes, preparing myself to embrace the pain. Instead, I hear a thud against the wall. I look up to see Joe with a glowing fist and a lifeless goblin with a caved in chest. Bethany now screams louder as the smell of blood is now pungent behind us. Joe and I lock eyes briefly before we lunge at the goblin together. He lands a blow against it¡¯s back as I go for its legs. I get a firm grip and twist at his knee with all my strength as the body¡¯s momentum moves forwards from the impact of Johns punch. A loud snap is heard at the knee and ugly grunts followed. A fist then comes down again on top of its head, its throat now filled with a failed gurgling instead. I look behind me to the rest of the room filled with bodies. Steven and John appear to be fighting the last goblin in the room. Assured the two of them can handle it, I bundle up in my arms and fall to the floor, unaware of what¡¯s going on around me. Chapter 4 I try to avoid the world and its problems but I can¡¯t. Beth and Mary¡¯s screams now become all encompassing, my body now awake. ¡°Please, I don¡¯t want to die! Someone save me, please! God, please!¡± Mary rushes to hold Beths hand. "It''ll be okay! I promise! Can anyone help her? It''ll be okay. It''ll be okay." Steve, the supposed leader watches from afar, a small amount of disgust appearing on his sculpted face. Dom and Joe both look uncomfortable, shuffling their feet, not sure what to do. ¡°I have healing touch!¡± Susie exclaims. Susie tries to be quick but her short and lumpy strides befuddle her movement. The both of them now gang up on Susie, screaming at her to heal quicker. Susie touches the wound, but alast, it¡¯s too large of a cut. The ugly bacteria surrounding the wound cleared up slowly, however the blood gushing out didn¡¯t stop. Beths eyes start fluttering to the back of her head unwillingly. She weakly mutters the same line over and over. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡± Mary instead starts beating Susie up. ¡°Fix her! You can heal her! Why aren¡¯t you doing it?¡± Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry. I don¡¯t know how to do this. I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± Mary escalates the situation to physically punching Susie, screaming anharmonic, unintelligible chords. Dom and John rush to her aide, stopping Mary¡¯s rampage. The blood now rushed to the back of Beths throat as she gargled her last words. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Everyone stands in silence for another minute before Steve gives another statement. ¡°I think everyone should take a few moments to relax. Everyone go over your stats and see if you¡¯ve leveled up. Go over every setting that you have and get familiar with it, this is now your lifeline.¡± Seems like Steve is trying to roleplay leader again. I can¡¯t complain though because now I get to be by myself. I go back to the right wall of the classroom and lay my back against it. Closing my eyes, I try to process everything that has just happened. My head plays over everything once more. From watching the storm to the strange messages. The world is now game-like now, eh? I wonder how the outer world is handling this, I wonder what else is out there in space. It mentioned there were many intelligent species and we¡¯re just now joining them. How many things have we been missing out on since existence? How will society change? Are my parents alive? Is my brother safe? I got too focused on the thoughts in my head that I ignored this strange, familiar feeling surrounding me. I can sense something outside of my body, feeling like mana, reminding me of being back in the wizards library. Except this time, instead of a dense, rushing flow of energy surrounding me, it was as if I was on top of the neighboring Colorado mountains. The mana felt too extremely thin to interact with, not near the same amount. I then immediately looked at the mana inside me as I did before. The same small knot of energy was contained in my chest. But before I reach towards it, a kick to my shin awakes me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Steve asserts. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to wake you up for the last two minutes, we thought you were dead.¡± I look around and strangely, no one really seemed sombered by the fact. ¡°We got some loot from the goblins, your share of the is 3 coins.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± ¡°Put it in your inventory, Mae.¡± Mary says all snobby like. ¡°Okay, I will in a minute.¡± ¡°Now.¡± I look around and realise everyone is staring at me, even Amanda. I immediately overthink the question. Do I lie? Can I get away with it? No. Do I tell the truth? What about half-truth? Will I have to fight with them for long? Half-truth. ¡°I can¡¯t use the system for two weeks.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I knew it! You¡¯re useless!¡± ¡°Now hold on Mary, she still fought just fine a minute ago. She took down more than you. As we level up I¡¯m not sure how useful she¡¯ll be but for now she has contributed more than you.¡± Steve asserted. What an fucking ass. ¡°Yeah well you haven¡¯t seen my skill yet, I¡¯ll start killing these bitches fast, just you see. She¡¯ll be considered useless pretty soon, I mean she can¡¯t even be our pack mule.¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± I think in my head. I¡¯ll just bury my anger down further and further into my seemingly endless pit. Steve and Dom now join John at the doorway as I barely overhear their conversation. Three goblin-things are down the hall, coming out of the mens restroom. At the other end of the hallway I only hear small chitterings. I¡¯m not quite sure what it is. I see all of the group making small amount of eye contact but not saying any words. Mary, Susie, and Joe make their way towards the door without any kind of motion or contact. Joe looked at me and nodded his head so I walk up behind him as they walk towards the door. ¡°We joined a party and talked for a while in party chat. It said we couldn¡¯t invite you and you were out for 15 minutes and didn¡¯t move an inch or wake up. They¡¯re probably gonna avoid you from now on. You should just play it safe and stay here. I think it¡¯s for the best. You need to take care of yourself first.¡± His fake smile points in my direction but before I even get a chance to speak back, he turns away joining Steve. I stand in silence, lost. Rejected from my classmates and alone. Great. Something catches my eye as I look below me to the floor where my previous assigned seat was. A worn, dark green rectangular box lays upside down on the bloody tile. My hands instinctively pick it up and flip it over as huge globs of water form at the corner of my eyes. A long crack is seen across the middle of the screen. I flip the right switch and see the rainbow colored word ¡°Gameboy¡± fly across the screen, the words cut in half. While my class starts moving towards the goblins in the hall, I move to back right corner of the classroom. A goblin lay dead but a couple feet away from me but I don¡¯t care. I pull my gameboy out from my chest and my headphones from my pocket. With the corner to my back and my knees scrunched in a ball, I play Pokemon Crystal and get lost in the game. Long, deep sobs erupt from my chest. I can¡¯t remember the last day I haven¡¯t cried. Which made me cry even more. Sadness begets sadness. I cry softly until my tear ducts become completely dry and my shirt entirely damp. I mildly enter back into that trance-like state, the ball of mana in my chest barely there. I feel the energy and decide to slowly rotate the ball of it in circles, it calming me. I stay in this state for the length of time it takes to get two gym badges. Waking up gently from my stupor/small panick attack, my senses flood back with information. The bodies around me smelled rancid and metallic. as well an acidic taste followed to the back of my throat. Before I got the chance to go back into my trance, I hear someone yelling in the distance. ¡°Anyone still here? Looking for survivors!¡± In one motion, I slide my gameboy in my pocket and take a large stride towards the door. I peak out the door with my head and lock eyes with a man down the hall already staring at me. It looks like a freshman but he looks more intimidating with his blood splattered spear. ¡°Hey! Are you okay? Come on down to the cafeteria with everyone else, we¡¯re gonna move on to the dungeon boss soon.¡± He waves at me. I hesitatingly walk towards him, his slightly plump baby face and goofy grin seem honest and innocent enough. ¡°My names Sam. You?¡± ¡°Mae.¡± He shakes my hand. Before I had the chance to start a conversation, he starts talking about what it was like when he went through his trials. They were very different from mine but I wasn¡¯t paying too close attention. I got by in the conversation, by just nodding and saying ¡°oh really?¡±, ¡°wow that¡¯s awesome¡±, and ¡°that must¡¯ve been hard on you¡±, over and over again. He seemed nice enough though, just an innocent over sharer. We make it to the cafeteria hall and I see a man and a woman stand outside the doors with sunken eyes. They nod at Sam as we walk by, myself not quite sure what to say. The cafeteria doors open and I see around a few hundred people, all in their own cliques. I recognised a couple people from the outcasts group but I feel like I wouldn¡¯t even fit in there now. ¡°I gotta report to the council immediately, sorry! It was nice talking to you!¡± He waves goodbye and turns around before I get a chance to speak. I look around me and notice familiar faces with swords or staves. Weeping and hushed tones filled the crowded tables. A group of people were healing people in and near the nurse''s office, a painful cry heard rather often. A stern bearded senior stood on the stage with a microphone facing the crowd. A female rushed up on stage and whispered something in his ear. ¡°New report from our scouts. We have just scoured the left wing clear of monster spawns and missing people!¡± The crowd murmerings increased before he had a chance to continue. ¡°We have a suspicion that the boss monster is at the principal''s office in the center of the school. The right wing is currently being cleared and the center of the school will be last. And I will say this again for all the new people gathered here. If you are a combat class, please move to the leftmost three tables. If you can heal or are injured, make your way to the back-right. If you¡¯re useless, we don¡¯t need you.¡± Chapter 5 Alone. Again. Useless. I don¡¯t have access to levels and I can¡¯t gain access to bonus health. I don¡¯t feel comfortable fighting on the front lines now against the stronger monsters. It¡¯s comparable to only being able to fight the the level one rats and goblins in rpg games besides the fact that I can¡¯t even level up from them. Ohmygosh. I¡¯m an NPC. I sneak looks over the crowd of people to see if I can find anyone familiar enough that doesn¡¯t look hostile but I don¡¯t. Dejected with nothing to do, I find a depressed spot on the back wall with no body to fill it and pull out my gameboy. Content. I flick the power button, the mechanical switch sounds to a nostalgic click. Instead of a happy facade, my eyes strained and a knot I couldn¡¯t unfurl appeared on my forehead. An ugly scowl attacked my face. I couldn¡¯t focus or even enjoy the game in front of me, my emotions overwhelm me as I shed a small tear, ashamed. My happy place had no place for me. My fingers move deftly tense as my mind soon became stuck on images of my classmates. In the reflection of the Gameboy, Steves image sticks out the most, then flashes Beth, then Amandas. All their lifeless eyes stare back into mine yet I couldn''t choose to look away, I had to face this new reality. Uncomfortable with these thoughts, I look back inside my body, where the ball of mana rotates, my only escape. I gawk in wonder that I have mana in my body now. There are so many things I wish to experiment with, I¡¯m just too slow to use it. I knew from the start that I need to build a foundation and learn to control it. I didn¡¯t want to feel that jarring pain I did last time my mana went out of control. Mana feels like nothing I¡¯ve felt before, it¡¯s like a 6th sense that I¡¯ve had my entire life just never used. I tense and compact the mana to a tightness in my chest and slowly release my hold on it, letting it disperse throughout my body. My ever-tense shoulder muscles relax and rest naturally, a burden I have not known taken away. A wave of feeling filled with exhaustion and peace washes over me and calms me down. My frown turns into a slightly smaller frown. I open my eyes delicately and slowly, my environment not exactly stable. Worried about monsters around me, I dart my eyes left and right gaining stock of the situation. To my left, fresh bloody bodies filled the tables with people like Susie attending to them. I watch as a small cut disappeared entirely off a man''s bloody forehead, a wash rag finishing the job. She seems a little too awkward around the men and¡­ she¡¯s not wearing a bra. Kind of a bad day to go braless eh? I understand her plight as a woman that struggles with bras but I don¡¯t help her. The thought of going out of my way to interacting socially with people sends a cold shiver down my spine to my toes. Never again. To my right warriors, mages, and bow users filled most the seats. Many had actual weapons, though some still had tabletops as makeshift shields. A lot of them were athletes but surprisingly the nerds seemed the focus of the group. At least twenty odd ¡°mages¡± sat and cast reality-defying spells. Being extremely interested, I watch as a senior conjures ugly small birds from thin air. The birds seemed deformed and not perfectly functional but they did fly. A devious smile appears on the boys face next to her, as mana started forming in the palm of his hand. Multiple arrows of mana shot out towards the sky, spiraling and honing in on the birds. One by one, each bird was struck down, with one bird left remaining. The girls face lit into a determined scowl as she bit her lip. The last bird had but one last spurt of energy and dived into the crowd, aimed at the mischievous boy. Inches before the bird made contact with his head, it disappeared from space, fluttering out of existence. The boy sat in shock as his own spell crashed immediately down onto his own face short after. ¡°That¡¯s not fair! I don¡¯t know how to cancel my homing missiles that fast! You made them run into me, you ass. That fucking hurt! The table erupted in laughter and glee. Colourful beams of light were shot at each other, their childlike wonder not now a dream. Seeing them all excited to learn new things, a motivation built up inside of me again. I get these motivations but I can never make them stick, my depression always seeping back into my mood. I made a mistake but I won¡¯t fall behind these nerds this time. I may not have access to the system but I still can control mana. I mean, who even wants to do this the easy way? I enjoy the challenge. I will show these fucks how I can be useful and powerful. This isn¡¯t the same world anymore, this is where I can finally become something meaningful!If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. My confidence boost shows in my eyes as I now scour the room for new ideas to cling onto. I see on the outskirts of the warriors, Joe, as he makes eye contact with me as well. I see him shuffle and make his way towards me out of the corner of my eye, my hands immediately move to my hair. As he was walking towards me, I tried to think up conversational topics but they all avoided me. I scoot over a bit and he plops down next to me, a plastic wrapper outstretched in his hand. ¡°Hey, you want some of this? I got one and a half poptarts left.¡± I snatch and pull the poptarts out of his grip in one fell swoop. Brown sugar cinnamon. It¡¯ll have to do. While glaring at the magic happening at the nerd table, I chomp down down, happy with some accompanied silence. ¡°Thank you. I thought y''all didn¡¯t like me. Why?¡± He turned his head to his feet and took a soft sigh. ¡°Well I think Mandy is having issues with Amanda¡¯s death. It¡¯s screwing with her head and she¡¯s blaming everybody right now but she¡¯s human. I try not to judge too hard. Steve thinks he¡¯s got to be the hero to save the world for some reason. He¡¯s taken every loss personally and fights harder than anyone else I¡¯ve seen.¡± ¡°But he was a complete ass to me.¡± ¡°He said that mean shit, but you knew you of all people you were barely hanging on. I mean you passed out immediately after the third attack. There were still goblins alive.¡± ¡°There was one goblin alive, Steve and John were beating it up.¡± I assert confidently. ¡°No. There were two on top of Robert in the back left behind the teachers desk. Steve, John, and I all had to protect you and I got this nasty bruise from one of them. He pulled up his sleeve as his entire forearm was a deep purple, you couldn¡¯t even see his actually skin tone. Then you came back in a complete daze and didn¡¯t say anything and passed out almost dead. We seriously pushed you and yelled at you many times before Steven woke you up. We know you tried, but you weren¡¯t made for this. I¡¯m sorry but take care of yourself. I need to get back with the others.¡± He left with a ¡°I¡¯m right and I pity you¡± kind of smile. I sit in silence, choosing to listen to the ringing in my head instead. Am I really that weak? Am I wrong? The answer to both was yes. I passed out during the middle of a fight, didn¡¯t communicate or help with the plan. When things went rough, I backed down and went to my happy place, with my gameboy. I need to grow up. I can¡¯t play games anymore. I need to become strong or I¡¯ll fall behind the others. I see everyone else with their basic abilities and strong spells. The thing is, I¡¯m gonna become the more powerful one. They don¡¯t focus on mana, or focus on how their power works. They just use skills that do everything for them. I¡¯m gonna be the one to reinvent the wheel. I¡¯ll be able to use all their skills with time, I mean I can control the energy of the universe, mana itself! I immediately scrunch into a ball and meditate with my thoughts, a smile appears on my grim face. Controlling my mana is slowly becoming easier. I can feel and move it on the inside of my body, my insides conveniently don¡¯t impede it¡¯s flow. I¡¯m not quite satisfied with my control and speed but it¡¯s getting to the point that I can actually use it. I consider a couple interesting possibilities. Can I enhance parts of my body without harming it? If I get distracted or something wakes me up when I¡¯m moving it will it seize and cause me pain? I test to see if I can still control my mana with my eyes open. Opening my eyes, I see not much has changed, although it looks like people are preparing for battle. The air tasting more and more like anticipation and excitement. I feel inside my body and can feel my mana. I also can move it but it moves significantly slower comparatively to when I close my eyes. I look back to my left as I see Susie exhausted and sleeping on the floor in the middle of the cafeteria. She must have mana exhaustion, there''s no way someone could do that otherwise. Can I transfer mana to her? Maybe like healing except with mana? That could help right? I focus inward and hold my mana back into my chest, thinking through the last time I did this. I could just shoot it out my palm extremely fast but I think that would be just like an explosion of energy instead of a transfer. Also, I would have to not use all my own mana because then I¡¯ll go through mana exhaustion too. I split my mana in half, not quite a 50/50. A strain forms on my forehead and I break in sweat as my chest tightens. I release my hold on one of them and merge it back into the other, my breath deepening. I can¡¯t do that, it¡¯s damn too difficult. A muffled sound is heard in the back of my head as I open my eyes. Fireworks and rays of light shoot out as students come walking out of the principal''s office with their head held high. Steve leads the way, flaunting his new gleaming steel scythe that was twice his size, with a metallic sheen coating his skin, splotched in various, distinct colors of red. Cheers sound out from the students, screams of pure joy and excitement fill the school again. [Congratulations! You have cleared the Willows Bend High School Dungeon! A completion bonus of flat 20% experience will be added to all participants. The dungeon will now close and all participants will be removed from the dungeon.] [Time till respawn: 48 hours] [Teleport commencing] Chapter 6 [Teleport failed] Blue lines disappeared around me as well as well as all of the students, except one. He stared back at me from across the cafeteria with an awkward smile. ¡°Hey! How the fuck do we get out of here?¡± I yell out after a few silent pauses. We both get up, he seems to be my age, dressed in muddied boots, worn jeans, and a generic tee. He combs his long hair off his forehead to the back of his skull. ¡°Maybe we shoold try the front door?¡± He smiles with a lump of tobacco in his lower lip. ¡°It was locked before the dungeon ended.¡± ¡°Do ya have a better idear?¡± He asks sarcastically. ¡°I¡¯m Mae.¡± ¡°Howdy, I¡¯m Alex. Did ya fuck up the challenge like me?¡± ¡°Yeah I did.¡± Embarrassed, I flush my cheeks and look to my blood encrusted vans. ¡°What difficulty did you challenge?¡± I ask. ¡°Advanced. Had to wrestle a goddamn talkin gator to submission. Flipped him on his stomach but the fucker had some tail muscles forsure. Wrangled me to the ground and choked me to death. Now here I am as a laughingstock because everyone else was too mucha pansy to challenge themselves. What about you?¡± ¡°Oh me?¡± I cough to buy myself a second to think. ¡°Advanced. Mine was me just being stuck in a room. Couldn¡¯t even find the escape in time even though I had 72 hours. Kinda sad to be honest.¡± I intentionally downplay my experience, hoping he doesn¡¯t care enough to ask more questions. I, myself, am not sure why I don¡¯t want to share, the question lingering indefinitely in my head. ¡°Well ya know I ain¡¯t hear of that kinda test from nobody else. You must be special, I do dare say.¡± He winks back at me but flattery hasn¡¯t gotten anyone, anywhere with me. Silence descends as he realised his mistake while I couldn¡¯t think of a goading reply. ¡°Ya know I heard Steven and Kaylee from theatre completed the expert challenge! Can ya believe that?¡± ¡°No wonder they already have strong like abilities.¡± I mutter softly. ¡°Did you see Steven? It looked like he had metallic skin of some sort.¡± ¡°Yeeahh, I¡¯ve been bored this entire time and asked around quite a bit. Apparently he got an ability ¡°Iron Skin¡± that turns his skin into actual iron. I envy him, I really can¡¯t wait to get my hands dirtied again. Just another month until it¡¯s our turn.¡± ¡°Yep¡± I lie. ¡°Another month indeed.¡± We both make it to the door and push it open. Surprisingly the door swings outward as our senses combust with emotion. Screams and lights, laughter and mourning, filled the front school steps following a salty copper scent numbing my tongue. The dark foreboding sky now a spring-midday sky with not a cloud in apocalyptic sight. ¡°I need to find my family.¡± He states slowly word by word, not looking at me but staring at the mass of bodies. A clusterfuck of people have swarmed the school. People seem to be floating mid-air waving and flying down below. Lights and images appeared above the students, even a comically giant red arrow appearing in front of a group of healers. What caught my attention the most was the basketball sized human eyeball levitating 20 feet above the center of the crowd, it¡¯s eye a strange sea deep blue. The eye moved constantly in circles, its eye dilating and expanding in terse bursts, searching intensely. I saw a movement in the corner of the eye and a brief glimpse in my direction. It immediately stopped, mechanically reversed it¡¯s momentum and analysed me. I curiously hopped to my left and right, the eye moving with me. Uncomfortable, I look to Alex but realise he has already left, already on the search for his family. Not wanting to enter the still clusterfuck of people, I sit on the top step and listen for my parents. The eyeball nodded it¡¯s head before it went back to searching. I look across the street and see the Starbucks still running, yet the Subway next to it had its power out and windows smashed. A line formed in the street for coffee during the apocalypse, fuckin crazy, entitled people. I chuckle but at the same time but consider walking there myself, a warm coffee would totally cheer me up right now. I see some cars still driving the road, but not but a couple every few minutes. Trash and litter filled the road as well as a red lumpy paint coating the sidewalks. An eternal green fire is seen on top of an abandoned pickup truck further down the road. Giant pits filled the street, one I couldn¡¯t yet see the bottom of. Footprints bore into the cement, some even human-sized. Lost in thought, I daydream of these superpowers and new monster filling the world. A smile leaks across my face as I juggle the mana in my chest. ¡°Hey! Are you Mae?¡± I wake out my stupor and notice a cop approaching me from the dwindling crowd. I nod my head quietly as he approaches closer and takes a seat next to me. ¡°I¡¯m Uriah¡± He extends his hand. ¡°You¡¯re Mae Zenn, right?¡± I nod again. He relaxes his shoulders and waves at the eyeball, giving it a thumbs up. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± I ask curiously. ¡°It¡¯s my partner, William. Look, you probably have a lot of questions right now but let''s get to the meat of the problem. We were looking for you. Your parents are at the hospital right now with your brother. You¡¯re dads an old friend of mine and I¡¯m here to take you to them. Will¡¯s gonna keep an eye out here for others. I look up to see him grinning a stupid looking grin and almost don¡¯t roll my eye out of pure shock. ¡°Are my parents and brother okay? What happened? Which hospital? The one on Medical Center or 617?¡± ¡°The one on MC Boulevard is the only one running. I¡¯ll explain everything else on the way there.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I tap all my pockets once and realise theres something I¡¯m missing. ¡°Forget something?¡± He asks. I hesitate for a brief moment, weighing my options. ¡°No, I got my phone, keys, and wallet. Don¡¯t need anything else.¡± Before I walk down the steps, I look one more time into the school. ¡°I don¡¯t need any more games.¡± We make it passed the group of people. A lot of kids and parents still stand there alone but I figure that¡¯s why there''s a lot of police officers still hanging out, helping them. I follow him, hoping he knows his way around the now carnage. ¡°So you lost the challenge, eh?¡± He asks me. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t let me friend request you. Also I have an analyse skill and it doesn¡¯t work on you.¡± ¡°What does that skill do?¡± ¡°Ah, well it¡¯s only level two, but it tells me the name of the person and their highest stat. Not real useful right now, but I plan on leveling it up as much as I can.¡± ¡°Does the information just appear in your brain or do you see it somewhere?¡± ¡°It appears next to the person, floating mid-air.¡± ¡°Jeez, you ask a lot of questions but I understand where your curiosity is coming from. If I didn¡¯t have these screens constantly popping in front of me, I¡¯d think I was insane too. How long till you gain access to the system?¡± ¡°A week.¡± I shrug my shoulders and casually say. As we were walking across the parking lot, I notice something sticking out of a open sewer drain. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± I point and ask. Uriah looks and holds out his palm towards the drain. Before I know it, three giant cockroaches shoot out and leap towards us. Before I even get a chance to respond, five balls of energy shoot out of his palm, disintegrating the two closest. The third one leaps towards me as I flinch, covering my face with my hands helplessly. A loud crunch sounds as I open my eyes to see a fist stick through the ugly body of an cockroach. He uses his other hand to hold the body and wrenches his gut filled hand free of the carcass. My emotions process the event before my brain has time to analyse it, as I get down on my knees and throw up on his boot. Before I even wipe the acidic taste from my lips, I ask. ¡°What spell was that?¡± ¡°Mana bolt.¡± My eyes widen and my stomach grunges hungrily. ¡°Did you say mana bolt?¡± I ask with nervous excitement. I cover my mouth and gasp in my head as the volume I spoke at was something I¡¯ve never done before. I look to my mana and I perceptively notice that a fourth of it is now gone. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asks shocked at my voice as well. ¡°Ye..Yea..¡± Coughing like a smoker, I try to gain my bearing. ¡°Yeah, sorry I just got a little carried away.¡± My voice became noticeably hoarse and my throat, sore. If only I could move mana at that speed out of my body. Maybe I can give it some momentum so that it exits at a high speed? If I shoot it out fast enough will it even come out like a mana bolt? Do I have to condense it before I shoot it? How do I keep the mana condensed? I decided to keep quiet and leave myself to my thoughts, the previous embarassing incident wiped from memory. Rounding the block, in an alley between buildings, a cop car hid in plain sight. A average looking man sat in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. ¡°That¡¯s our ride.¡± Opening the door, I enter the safety of the car. Uriah taps WIlliam on the shoulder, the man waking out of his reverie. He glances towards me in the back and gently sticks his hand forwards. ¡°Hi, the names William, glad for you to join us.¡± His eyes shoot towards me with the same perceptive blueness. ¡°Mae. Were you the one who found me?¡± ¡°Sure was. Uriah, we better finish this up and head to the meeting happening soon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, lets go.¡± The two jabber on as old friends do, meanwhile I stay quiet in the back of the car. Driving down suburban neighborhoods gave me the fucking scare. Nothing is the same anymore, my previous memories useless. Where buildings used to stand, giant footprints and torn houses stood. There used to be a Safeway to the right, but it seems to have been zapped out of existence, a now empty parking lot lead to nowhere. New paths were paved in dirt off the main roads and streets were covered with random concrete pieces flung from who-knows-where. The smell had to be the worst though. There was a scent I¡¯ve never smelled before but I immediately knew what it was. Death. The scent of death is something that all life forms can recognise, a scent of uncomfortable instinctual familiarity. A couple corpses littered the lawns of houses that also were covered in the same lumpy paint. My stomach decided to not forgive me as acidic buildup came to the back of my throat. It didn¡¯t leave till we made it to the main road, Main Street. There, thousands of people were being treated, camps were set up, and the fire station was the center of activity. The hospital resided a mile further down the road as I participated in my favorite activity, people watching. I saw some people healing with their palm like Suzie. Others had beams of light or static shocks escape from their fingertips. A lot of people appeared to be interacting with an invisible interface in front of them. I became jealous but reminded myself by bouncing my mana again, spreading it my tense shoulders. We drove slowly by the the mass of people making it hard to navigate at a decent speed. I perceptively didn¡¯t see any kids around my age, most of them being under the age of 13. ¡°Was my school the only one that turned into a dungeon?¡± ¡°No. Middle schools and above turned into dungeons.¡± He said grimly. I don¡¯t acknowledge his statement as I stare into the throng of people. Too many things stood out and grasped my attention. My comic book analytical brain took over as I saw new abilities be used. Someone had a couple dogs cuddling up to him, but when I looked closer, I saw shark like teeth sticking out of their cute little mouths. People levitated seamlessly and laser beams were not abnormal. Grief seemed the most common trope however, as many were torn from their homes, lying on the street with no sense of direction. All attention broke out as a loud announcement rang out from a woman that was being held in the sky by a man with a tacky, dull-red cape. Uriah slowed the car to a stop. ¡°In one hour, we¡¯ll all gather at the sewer entrance across from the Target. All people that can cast or create light come meet up right below me immediately to prepare. We will finally eradicate the beasts below our streets! No longer will we be afraid of sleeping in our homes or afraid to walk alone! Today is the day we strike back and what''s rightfully ours! Fight with me to help bring peace back to our community! Fight for your loved ones safety! We will need all the help we can get! Fight back with me!¡± The motor starts back up before I get a chance to see what happens next. ¡°Sorry kid, gotta hurry and take you to the hospital to make it back in time to mess those sewer rats up¡± Williams says, his visible excitement noticeable. ¡°What level are you?¡± I ask curiously. ¡°Well kid, there¡¯s a hidden rule to not ask personal details now so be careful, but I¡¯m proud to be level 14. Been fighting the last two days straight to get there and I¡¯m starting to get pretty strong. Although you should be really careful about going out by yourself now. There¡¯s a lot of stronger men out there besides us and they ain¡¯t as nice.¡± We drive on the sidewalk up to the hospital as the place is packed to the absolute brim. ¡°Well here you are. Ask the lady at the front desk where your family is, and take care of yourself. If you need any help, don¡¯t be a stranger.¡± As soon as he drives off, a realisation dawns on me. He forgot to talk about my parents and I forgot to ask. That deserves a good ol'' forehead palm slap. Whap! Chapter 7 The hospital seemed more worse for wear than the buildings surrounding it yet it was the center of attention. The parking lot out front was chaotic enough, I couldn¡¯t imagine how crowded it was inside. Preachers stood in the parking lot on rickety stages proclaiming acts of miracles. ¡°God¡¯s now alive more than ever! Praise him and you will gain abilities you never thought possible. In Isaiah 41:10 he says, ''So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'' Follow the Lord and he will strengthen you. Join our congregation on Jackberry Avenue and may God bless you.¡± Many cheered these people on, myself not that afflicted. People flew in and out of the hospital, not from just the front door. There were no lines or organisation from the outside, you''re just supposed to just push yourself through to the front. My anxiety welled but I quelled it again, I had to find my family. I sent a small pulse of mana from my core, outward to untense some of my rigid muscles. Building up some inner courage, I started shoving my way through the prong of people. Bumping and apologising into everyone I saw made me uncomfortable, my mind hyperaware. I ended up making it through the front double doors, past a 500 lb bodyguard with a heavy-set pitbull, and saw a singular woman manning the front desk. She was talking faster than humanly possible, her mouth turning into an actual visible blur. In fact she sounded clearer and more focused than my own jumbled thoughts. She answered at least 15 people in the twenty seconds I was standing there as questions were constantly being thrown at her. I got close up enough so she could hear me, gulping to clear my throat. I tried to bring back that same feeling I had when my voice rose with Uriah. Splitting my mana became difficult with this many people surrounding me, my mana unstable and my anxiety showing. I felt my mana move up to back of my throat again and hurriedly spoke up while I had a semblance of control. ¡°Excuse me, where are Sydney and Barry Zenn?¡± Immediately as I spoke up, I knew I fucked up, as the building became quiet and my body collapsed forward. But before I lost conscious, a voice echoed in my head as clear as a bell chime. ¡°Room 614, Sixth floor, left wing, seventh room on your right.¡± -------------------------------------------------------------------- ¡°Hey honey, how are you?¡± I open my eyes to the sound of my mother''s voice. ¡°You had us scared for a minute when I saw someone carrying you towards us.¡± ¡°... What?¡± My voice had become hoarse and grainy, as if I¡¯ve been screaming at a punk-rock concert for hours. They said you collapsed due to mana exhaustion even though they said you shouldn¡¯t have mana. You¡¯re lucky you weren¡¯t hurt.¡± My mother embraced me and coddled my fears away. I almost decided to move my head but my moms lap was too comforting. I looked up at her staring at me and frowned. A deep carmine red bruise covered her forehead, combined with ugly purple bags under her eyes. She looked absolutely horrific, an immediate reply not coming to me due to shock. Looking to my dad, he appeared to have a cast around his right arm, his clothes still torn and bloody. ¡°What happened to you guys?¡± A hint of worry and exhaustion escaped my lips. They both look at each other before my dad deflects the question. ¡°We¡¯re okay darling, it¡¯s your brother we¡¯re worried about.¡± ¡°Lucas?¡± My father nodded to a corner behind me as I flipped up from my mother''s lap. In a bed was my brother, laying face up. His face anything but his usual crazy self, a softness appeared that I¡¯ve never seen before. ¡°Is he alive?¡± I ask with more than a tang of worry. ¡°He¡¯s in a coma, the house collapsed on top of us. His head got hit by the roof and he¡¯s been passed out since.¡± My dad retold unemotionally, not looking into my eyes. ¡°Is he gonna live?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°We don¡¯t know. There''s nothing we can do.¡± I sit and stare at my older brother, too uncomfortable with holding his hand like my mom. I only stare at him. Why am I not crying? He is my only brother, yet I cannot mourn for him? I feel disgusted with myself and sit on the floor next to him, scooching out of my mother''s embrace, not wanting to be touched. Three other families filled the small room of 614, the curtains not really providing much privacy. A gruff, 60+ year old man, sat a few feet away in a wheelchair reading a newspaper, of all things. I couldn¡¯t see the other people but could hear hushed tones quite often. I learn from my mistakes by not going full meditate mode, easing in and out if it, moving my mana. I know my parents wouldn¡¯t react well to me appearing dead either, like my classmates. I act like I¡¯m asleep, faking a small snore, not wanting to be bothered by anyone at the moment. Distracting myself with my ugly thoughts, a new idea forms in my head. I try to break off a lot smaller chunk of mana and I manage to successfully move it freely. I move it up my neck, through my head and towards my right ear. At this point I don¡¯t know what to do with it though. Confused, I move the mana around my ear yet my hearing does not change in the slightest. Finally, I imbue the mana into my ear drum, in the spot where my doctor usually points to, past my ear canal. A pain assaults me before I hear my parents whispering. ¡°All praise to the mother up high. Bless my children and heal them, they are but innocent to the world. Heal them lord and use them in your mystical ways. We are but worker bees before you Lord. Amen.¡± ¡°I raised my prayer level and leveled up, Sydney! Should I put my skill point in my faith stat or save it?¡± ¡°Use it.¡± My dads words whisper. ¡°It might be able to make them heal faster, specially Lucas.¡± ¡°Fuckkkkkkk ow ow ow ow¡± I clutch my ear in pain as it fills with a red liquid. ¡°What''s wrong Mae? Are you okay?¡± Her words echo and bounce around in my head before I can respond, a headache already formed annoyingly. I tense up and move the rest of my mana out of my ear before it hurts more. My head¡¯s strain slowly dissipates and I relax my lower jaw before I answered my mom. ¡°I¡¯m okay Mom, my ear just hurts a bit. I hit it on my desk in school and it flares in pain every now and then.¡± I see her eyes dart to the exit and a movement in her hips. Before she has the chance to go find the head nurse to fix my small problem, I assure her. ¡°Mom please.¡± I look at her, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt that much. There are so many more people that need real help. Don¡¯t. Please. If you go bug a nurse, I¡¯m gonna just leave and be pissed¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me ever take care of you? What if it¡¯s actually something serious? You could be really hurt. Why is it that I¡¯m always too much for you?¡± I don¡¯t dignify her with a response. If I did it would just start the same argument I¡¯ve had with her a gazillion times already. While she is quiet and I have some more time to think, I try to summarise how I can get stronger efficiently. I should first work on my mana foundations before I move onto imbuing them into my body parts, it obviously keeps failing me. I should be able to separate my mana into different parts of my body and move it faster and subconsciously. I first take a deep breath and see if my mana can expand throughout my body evenly. It doesn¡¯t quite make it past my knees and elbows, my mana pool not large enough. How do I go about increasing my mana pool? I can minutely tell that it¡¯s increased since I first used it. There''s probably isn¡¯t anyone I can ask because everyone is just casting spells and leveling up, gaining stats through skill points. There¡¯s only one theory I can make up. The more I use my mana up, the denser the pool would become. Mana exhaustion happens because you don¡¯t have any mana in your body, making it harder to function. What if I use almost all of my mana except a tiny sliver and let my mana fill back up. The more it fills back up, the denser the mana becomes. The more my body regenerates mana, the fresher the mana, the faster the process becomes. I know I¡¯ve read that in a novel before but I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s actually applicable. Sitting in silence for a bit longer, I think of every possible way that I can use my mana and it¡¯s starting to drive me stir crazy. It''s like sitting in a car ride and not stretching your legs for hours. My itch and desire to practice is becoming more and more of a problem. How am I gonna be able to get out of here and actually practice using mana where there¡¯s not someone constantly watching me? I look to my softly breathing brother and gently hold his hand, feeling a small pulse inside of him. Holding his hand close and closing my eyes, I notice a secondary pulse. Focusing deeply inward, I notice that it¡¯s actually mana pulsing as well through him. Although worryingly, it¡¯s a very weak and fragile pulse, skipping a beat or two rather frequently. I break off my mana into a very small portion, my concentration furled in my eyebrows. Sending the mana through my fingers, I gently push it into his, hoping to hit his mana stream. But before the mana makes it to his fingertips, it disappears into space. A new determined plan forms. Project ¡°Save Lucas¡±. I¡¯ll strengthen his mana pool and hopefully make him strong enough to wake himself up. I¡¯ll help you Lucas. But only because I feel it¡¯s not fair that I¡¯m the only one that has to deal with mom. I¡¯ll save you so you can save me. Chapter 8 ¡°Mom I can¡¯t sit in the hospital anymore. It¡¯s driving me crazy. I need to get out.¡± ¡°Honey, we can¡¯t just leave your brother here.¡± ¡°Well what is he gonna do mom, run off somewhere?¡± She glares angrily at me, her happy appearance now gone. ¡°Fine. You can go to the house only if your father goes with you.¡± Before I even get a chance to look at my dad with puppy dog eyes, he says. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll go. We need to grab some medicine and blankets anyways.¡± Giving me a small, knowing wink , my insides gush warmly at the thought of leaving. ¡°I¡¯m also going to be going to that church down the street tomorrow morning. Will you come with me, Mae?¡± ¡°Do I have to?¡± ¡°Yes. You do if-¡± ¡°If what, if want to live in this house? Was that what you were going to say?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t make me go, you can¡¯t control me anymore. You¡¯re not paying any bills or putting a roof over my head.¡± ¡°Do you want to see your brother?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Now honey,¡± Dad interjected. ¡°You don¡¯t need to push her that far.¡± ¡°Oh so you¡¯re on her side now?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t sides, we¡¯re family.¡± ¡°Yes there are and you-¡± Skipping another pointless argument, I wrangle my way out of my moms hands towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll be outside when you wanna go dad.¡± Not looking back, I skip down the hallway and stairs, not looking forward to coming back. Pushing open the emergency exit, a group of neckbearded 20 year olds stood outside the exit vaping, smelling like axe, and being obnoxiously loud. Waiting around for my dad, I overhear their conversations. ¡°Yeah man, I was fighting a goblin with my katana and chopped his head off clean in one stroke. Yeah bro? Well can you do this?¡± Not lifting his vape to his lips, the neckbeard expanded his stomach further than what already seemed possible, and pushed a verifiable cloud out. Although it wasn¡¯t a thick cloud of smoke, it still veiled it¡¯s surroundings and covered me entirely from 10 feet away. ¡°Asshole.¡± I mutter softly. "Bro that''s so awesome! Can you do O''s though?" A ugly smirk and a tip of the fedora followed by a lot of "bros" and "woahs". My dad soon came out the emergency exit with a half-hearted smile, brushing away the smoke, and saving the day. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± He apologises for my mom yet again. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well honey, it¡¯s a ten mile walk so prepare yourself. It¡¯ll take a while.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. As long as I¡¯m away from the mass throng of dying people and of course, mom.¡± He smiles back. ¡°She just cares about you. Maybe it¡¯s not the best way of showing it but she does. She worries about you a lot.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want her to worry about me, I can handle myself, I don¡¯t need someone always breathing down my neck.¡± He gives me a hug. ¡°You¡¯ll always be our kid and we will always worry about you, sorry.¡± He smiles. ¡°Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.¡± We decide the best course of action is to walk on the street or at least near it. The more people around us the safer, my dads broken arm not gonna get us far in battle. On the side of the main street, businesses are trying to rebuild. Jayce¡¯s Lumber and hardware store, now turning into a small fort. A small army of people lumber lumbar back and forth from the building. I notice one worker sliding his hand across two pieces of wood, nails being implanted in it after. Another uses some sort of magical glue on the stores sign to meld it back in place. Many people were clearing the forest behind the shop, the sound of chopping wood heard from a mile away. The town seemed now busier and more lively than I''ve ever seen. Kids run from street to street shooting balls of snow at each other, people are actually interacting with their neighbors. A friendly hello assaults us as we walk by every person we see.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Walking next to my dad, I couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Sooo¡­...do you have any skills?¡± A small grin and a raised eyebrow follows. ¡°Back away and get behind me.¡± He points his finger in front of him on the sidewalk and a line of electricity grounds into the cement. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± I rush to hug him, trying to gode more out of him. ¡°What skill is that? How much mana does it cost and what¡¯s your base mana pool?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the basic skill zap. It costs 15 mana and my mana increased to 120.¡± "Did you start out at 100?" "Yep." "What¡¯s your mana regen at?" "Well it¡¯s pretty low at 45 an hour. You''re mom however is stronger than me. She''s got a few spells and she''s level 9 believe it or not." "I wouldn''t have guessed." I walk in silence trying to come up with more questions. ¡°Do you think you got that skill because you¡¯re an electrician?¡± I ask. ¡°Probably more or less. I used it to jumpstart a car to make it to the hospital ya know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s so cool! You¡¯re like a superdad now! You can fight evil!¡± His smile turns into a small frown. ¡°I don¡¯t want any of that. I just want to keep my family safe right now. You, your mom, and Lucas need me right now. I won¡¯t be off fighting evil.¡± My mood now more uplifted, I whistle down the broken streets and monster corpses. Now that I¡¯ve practiced pulsing my mana, releasing my tension. I¡¯ve decided to do it constantly and wash my anxiety ridden body. Syncing it with my heart, I¡¯ll pulse my mana throughout my body and then retract it back into its compact ball form. Although I can¡¯t quite get it to be compact yet, or even turn the mana into an exact ball, with practice I¡¯m getting better. My reach of mana is also reaching further down my limbs, my mana slowly expanding and getting used to flowing throughout my body. As we walk through the streets to get to our neighborhood, I take a big gulp and keep my eyes open. A giant monster of magnitude unimaginable decided to walk directly through our neighborhood, destroying many houses. I wonder exactly where it is now, happy that it decided to move on. Nextdoor, Steve and Mary¡¯s house somehow ceased to exist in our space-time.Their lot of land now covered in dead grass, completely empty, void of all life and history. I look to my Dad and his face turns into one of no emotion again. Passing along the next street, my dad waves to the Billings. Their house luckily wasn¡¯t damaged but now boarded up many times over. The house adjacent to theirs, ransacked with windows broken and no door to be seen. I mean honestly where did that door go? Who would steal a door? We walk down to our familiar street, Cutter Drive. My heart palpitates, preparing for the worst. The stop sign now blown away, sticking halfway into the corner houses garage. I look to see our two story house further down the road. The back left portion of the house, where my brothers room is, fell through to the bottom. My parents bedroom and kitchen were almost directly under it, as I try to imagine what had happened. They were probably still eating breakfast and getting ready, when a house fell, full force around them. I¡¯m assuming my brother became knocked out immediately, as my dad rushed him to the hospital. My eyes could barely retain water as I sniffled it back up, the experience seeming more real. I tighten my grip on my father''s hand, pulsing my mana in a shorter, more rushed, compact way. Walking through the oddly dead grass up to the front door, I slam it open and peak my head inside. Looking in, our living room was a mess. A broken beam slid down in the middle of it. The TV felled face forward with glass littering the floor. The stairs seemed intact but coated with ugly bloodstains. ¡°Do you want me to go upstairs with you?¡± ¡°No, I can take care of myself.¡± "Are you sure, sure?" "I''m sure, sure." ¡°Well I¡¯m gonna find some medicine, blankets, and some food. Find a bag that we can fill up.¡± I walk to the right of the stairs avoiding the trail of blood that has been sitting in the sun for the past week. Part of our christmas tree in our attic hung slightly off the now giant hole. To the right of the second floor, a small hallway led to my room, the door remaining slightly open. With mixed feelings, not entirely sure if I closed the door the morning of, I push open the door slowly. The window was busted, the glass shattered on my bed. My PC was entirely fine, sitting below my desk but my crt monitor did not make it. An urge from deep within my soul told me to sit and just play a game or two, or three, or four. Stop. No more games, Mae. The closet however was ajar and I know that I never open up that closet of mess. I¡¯ve found that the best method to organise dirty clothes and clean my bedroom at the same time is to throw them in the closet and close my eyes. Unfortunately, the one thing I wanted to come home for is locked in a box under those piles of clothes. A plan concocted in my head beforehand, preparing for the worst. I kicked open the closet but the door didn¡¯t open all the way, jammed on the mess. I give it one more hard kick and as it opens, I notice a tail sticking out of the clothes. Balancing the mana in my body, I push half of it into my fist, mimicking Joe''s punch. Lunging my right hand forward, I send my fist straight at it¡¯s butt. I hear a crack but I know it''s not out for the count. The rat turned around and stuck it''s head out, rearing its giant front teeth. Slamming my fist down onto it''s head, I close my eyes, hoping that I killed it. As soon as I made contact on my second punch, the mana in my hand depleted immediately. My pulse heightens, the adrenaline shooting through my blood. Taking a deep breathe with a wave of mana, I calm down and assess the situation. Blood covered my jeans completely, not entirely sure if it was mine or the rats. It also cascaded down my knuckles, the blood thicker than I thought it should be. Intrusive thoughts inevitably arise afterwards. Would drinking a mana empowered beings blood make me stronger? Would anything from the rat be useful? Am I going to die soon from something stronger than me? Is someone just gonna punch me twice and end my existence? Did that rat have a life and a family? I need to become stronger, I''m falling behind the curve. Digging into my dirtied, now bloodied, clothes and pushing past a corpse, I find what I was looking for. A small tin box bent open, it¡¯s contents spilled almost completely out. The fucker ate my weed. Chapter 9 ¡°NoOooooOooOooOoOOOOO. How could this happen to me? My precious weed.¡± ¡°Honey? Are you okay?¡± My dad yells from below. ¡°Yeah, I am. Just give me a minute, okay?¡± I flip through my clothes many times over, looking for a specific jacket. Yes! No! Flipping it over, rat guts covered the back of it. It¡¯s my favorite jacket, I really don¡¯t care enough about the rat guts even though I should. It¡¯s got the an inside pocket where I can hide my leftover weed and it¡¯s just long enough to cover my bruised knuckles. It¡¯s almost perfect. Grabbing a spare elementary school backpack I left in my closet (I knew it would be useful one day), I first filled it with a few of my favorite comics and mangas. Looking around, I tried to find what I would need next. A comb, lighter, pillow, blanket, and spare shoes seemed good enough. Running down the stairs, I see my dad already packed in his hiking gear and walking stick. He turned his head and looked at me. ¡°You okay? You ready to go? You look kinda disheveled.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± I quickly say. ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ve got everything I needed.¡± ¡°Well okay darling. If you say so.¡± As I start walking down the sidewalk, a feeling in my gut hits me. ¡°Hold on, Dad. I forgot one more thing sorry, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Running up the stairs and back to my room, I open the back of my desk drawer and pulled out my baby pipe, hidden behind a bunch of drawer junk. Almost closing the desk drawer, I find my grandpa¡¯s mahogany knife lying on top. I¡¯ve never even thought or used this thing in the past few years, I¡¯ll gladly use it as an excuse. Whipping it in my pocket as well, I head outside. ¡°What did you forget?¡± ¡°Grandpa¡¯s knife, the one he gave to me before he passed.¡± I showed it to him, flashing the blade in the sunlight. He gave me a slight, serious nod. ¡°He¡¯d be happy that you were using it.¡± The walk back to the hospital soon became boring. During walks, I would practice splitting my mana in half, then half again. Pulsing the mana in waves along with my heart would leave a calmness in me that I treasured. Not sure what else to do, I would follow those repetitions wherever I would go. Arriving at the hospital was nothing special. I asked my dad if we could go back up the emergency exit at the stairwell instead of the front entrance, reminding myself I¡¯m carrying contraband. Opening the door to the hospital, my mom acted like everything was okay again. ¡°Give me a hug, honey. I missed you.¡± ¡°I missed you too mom. I¡¯m sorry I yelled at you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re just stressed from all these changes and your brother. It¡¯ll be okay.¡± Again, she never fully apologised but I get over it like I usually do, wanting to keep the peace between us. I approach my brother and throw another blanket on top of him, squishing it into his sides. Touching his cold hand, a pulse was still felt, hope still lingering in my thoughts. Splitting my mana into a fourth of my total mana, I guide it to my fingertips. Guiding my hand around his wrist, I wrap my fingers around firmly. Feeling his mana pulse alongside his veins, I try to imagine his mana flowing throughout his body. Closing my eyes, I slowly seep my mana into his stream, reaching for that flow of mana. I hit it! Opening my eyes, I see a light twitch in his right eye. Not sure if it was just my delusions or that I actually helped him, I excitedly looked forward to the future. A schedule soon followed as life usually makes it happen. Everyday, I would wake up, and practice strengthening my brothers mana for 15 minutes. Next, I would go to my mom¡¯s new church, volunteering to help feed people and myself. I wouldn¡¯t go to the sermons, sneaking out away from my mom.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Behind the church and hospital, a forest of rocky pines filled acres and acres of land. More than 50 for sure. I would sneak out, follow a somewhat path till I hit a small creek of slow moving water. Following the creek to the left for a good ways, a small open clearing came into view. Behind the clearing, a small rocky cavern jutted out of the mountain. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was my home. My backpack, pipe, and comics sprawled out in the corner, a content smile filling my face. In the clearing, I dug a small pit and filled it with firewood, building fires on cold days. I would come here as often as I could to practice my abilities in peace, to get everyone from the busyness of the town. Following a ritual, I would take a hit of my pipe and sit in the lotus position on the cold cavern floor, meditating my mana inside me. I would do this until I felt completely relaxed and comfortable with practicing my mana. My foundations were still weak, it still took a lot of concentration to move my mana in my body. I knew it needed to be instinctual and concrete, so I can adapt to situations quickly and surely. Taking off my shoes, I could feel the pulse of the mana in the earth beneath me. While meditating, I would ever slowly try to pull some mana from the earth. I could feel the deep, rich mana fill me up, an earthy wholesomeness, grounding me to this planet. I try to picture gently pulling from the earth and it¡¯s never ending well of mana. Every now and then I can feel it¡¯s ancient pulse slowly rocking me back and forth. Fuck, I¡¯m kinda high. Pushing myself up, I stretch and practice my few abilities. For now, I realised that I need an offensive, defensive, movement, and utility ability. I feel like that would round me off so I can at least defend myself in a variety of situations. I¡¯ve also never had this thing called ¡°talent¡± and now don¡¯t even have a crutch like skills or abilities. The only thing I¡¯ve ever been proud of is my autistic determination to do the same thing over and over again a million times. I¡¯ve always enjoyed fighting games and would consistently play well, as I¡¯d go into practice mode and practice the same move, over and over again until it became muscle memory. I hope to do the same for my mana empowered abilities. My first inspiration for an offensive move came from Joe¡¯s punch. I also happen to love Gon from Hunter X Hunter, to which I brought and read the manga over thoroughly. Walking up to the nearest tree, I split my mana in half, guiding the rest of it to my palm. The first few tests practicing punches didn¡¯t go so well. Punching the tree with just my mana-enforced my skin protected me but didn¡¯t do any more damage. Enforcing just the bones created more ¡°umph¡± behind the punch but my hand started bleeding immediately after. Apparently you also have a bit of muscles in the palm as well that had strained so I mana enhanced it as well. Wrist pain became an issue as well after a while. Basically, everything from the wrist up had to be coated. It¡¯s harder than you think, imbuing mana into muscles you didn¡¯t know existed before. If you missed enhancing something, you could immediately tell after. Either from pain or a soreness that nothing else has. You couldn¡¯t just blanket wash everything with mana, it¡¯d be too big of a waste of mana to keep up. After punching with a fully enhanced fist, bark pulled off and a small indent appeared in the tree. Happy with success but not the power, my inspiration from HxH gave fruit. After enhancing my hand completely, I gathered another fourth of my mana into my hand, making my hand dense with mana. Another punch at a tree exploded with energy and cracked it visibly. A happiness I didn¡¯t know existed. I was improving. For the past week, I¡¯ve been practicing moving my mana into my hand faster and faster. Now it only takes me 6 seconds for me to be ready to punch full force, although I use most of my mana. I call it a win. I know that there are muscles in my arm that I need to enhance to swing my arm stronger but I need an anatomy book to learn more about that. Defensively, I can enhance my skin or bone at moment of impact to protect myself. The longer I hold it, the more my mana drains and I can¡¯t hold up defensively in one spot for more than a few seconds before my mana drains out. That¡¯s why I need to be able to just flare it up at the moment of impact then stop it immediately to not waste mana. It¡¯s not as easy as it looks and I don¡¯t have a way to test it so I usually don¡¯t practice it enough. Movement, I imbue mana into the skin on my feet to walk quietly. It¡¯s not much, but again I have to time it so I only imbue it at the moment of impact with my feet against the ground, it¡¯s not as easy as it looks. I practice this whenever I have the chance to, walking around silently. Lastly I have my mana empowered shout. I¡¯ve been focusing on strengthening my vocal chords but I feel like I¡¯m doing something wrong as my throat is always sore after. I need to do some research before I could potentially lose my voice or hurt myself. Practicing for a couple hours. I meditate and take one last hit off the pipe before heading out. Making my way through the woods and arriving at the hospital, I walk in on my dad and mom praying over my brother. ¡°Oh Lord, please give our child your blessing. We love him and want him to come back to us. Please, Lord. Please. Please. Please. Please.¡± My dad finished saying with a few too many ¡°please¡¯s¡± at the end. My mom held his hand, silently weeping next to him. A small light appeared over my brother and entered his body. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Where have you been all day?¡± She wipes away her tears. ¡°Mr. Jones came up and asked me to help him to bring some spare clothes to the church. I also helped him clean out his neighbors house so someone can live there.¡± ¡°Oh. Well let¡¯s go grab some dinner at the church then. Do you know Steven from down the street? ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Well he killed this giant ugly pig with 6 tusks. You have to try it, it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°Okay, mom.¡± I fake my smile. Chapter 10 Volunteering at my mom¡¯s church every morning, I feel a sense of goody goodness inside me. Seeing the smiling faces of the people around me made me inexplicably happy. I just wish it wasn¡¯t solely through the church. Churches have too soon became mega-powers of the city. The U.S. government hasn¡¯t done anything to help us so we had to help ourselves. No other organisation had the manpower to serve this many people and had the backing of the townspeople. Many of the frontline fighters gave their supplies through to them. Steven was currently being heralded as the number one up and coming fighter. He comes back every day with some sort of new delectable beast and brings it to the church. Monsters have started gathering outside the town and attacking in small groups. We¡¯ve had to create a fighting force to counteract these beasts rather recently. Many of these monsters came in similar forms of animals already found on Earth. Large boars and mutated deer roamed and killed freely on the outskirts of town. All animals also went through some sort of transformation as the mana has enhanced themselves as well. Bears soon became the biggest threat as they grew to the 1000 - 2000 pound range. Only few people have the guts to fight a monster of that size. New monsters have starting appearing as well that nobody knows from where they have come from. Some speculate they¡¯ve been coming from the gigantic mountains to the east. Every now and then you can look towards those mountains and see a giant winged beast flying midair. A slight earthquake-like rumble would shake you and you would go on with your day like nothing happened. Giant beasts roamed not too far away, a fear in everyone to grow stronger pervaded in our minds. Winged beasts we call ¡®Wylaks¡¯ come at dawn every morning and attack the storage houses we store the food in. Mages now stand guard starting at 4 am to protect them from being taken. A small wall has been erected outside the small town on the roads to block off any wild animals. Bull like beasts, ¡®Ukuis¡¯, have started trampling the forest surrounding us to the south. Their hide is extremely thick, some people have been making them into comfortable blankets. Their red tail has become a sign of power, as most fighters will hang them from their belt proudly. Anyone who carries one of those is deeply respected and welcomed anywhere. Internet and communication is starting to be developed again, our mana-enhanced engineers taking on the task, wanting to communicate with the outside world. The power plant in the town over has been fixed, but power lines have all been stripped away. Certain parts of the town seem to be getting power in some way. I¡¯m not exactly sure how but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s someone with an ability of sorts. Catching glimpses of this gossip day in and day out, is a nice to change for me. I¡¯ve been coming out of my shell more, talking to more people. Although I don¡¯t have a true ¡®friend¡¯, talking with the townspeople has been comforting. Greater defensive measures have been enacted slowly and surely over the course of the past two weeks. staving off the small hordes of monsters. Everything seems to be fine for now, although a bad feeling of something stronger coming through soon does create a little bit of fear in me. ¡°Here¡¯s your meat and corn. Enjoy¡± I smile and pass the food along to the people lining up. Suddenly, a feeling in my gut overwhelms me. It wasn¡¯t a hunger or a pain, it was more like an instinctual feeling. It was telling me I needed to get back to my campsite. I needed to get back their immediately, something was happening. Seeing my Mom already distracted talking to a young couple beside me at the welcoming booth, I scurry away silently. Rushing through the forest with frantic thoughts, I let the scratchy brush graze my thighs. What could this feeling be? Why am I so worried about it? Making my way up the stream and following the bend, a scent I distinctly remember wafts through my nose. A scent distinctly different than any other. The scent of death and blood. Before I make it to the campsite, I push my way through the forest, away from the river. I decide I want to scout out the area before coming across the obvious path alongside the stream. I try to mask my footsteps but the dense foliage on the forest floor makes it impossible to be quiet. Nearing towards the clearing in front of me, I peer through the brush. An unimaginable scene played out before me. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A group of at least 15 insect-like, scaly monsters lay dead in front of me. Their bodies resembled praying mantises, with large translucent wings on their celery-like backs. Most however, had their wings torn completely off, a green substance covering their bodies. The campsite was now filled with a noticeable silence. No birds sang, no crickets chirped, the grass dared to sway in the wind. In the caverne I called home, a silhouette of a human-like being appeared, sitting. It¡¯s dull, golden eyes had a clear contrast to the darkness surrounding it. Lost in it¡¯s eyes, a soft voice called out to me, overwhelming my weak soul. ¡°Come here, child.¡± Entranced by the warm, inviting pitch, I unwaveringly move from my hiding spot and carefully across the mutilated insects. I don¡¯t notice that my usual anxiety and fears have completely disappeared. The closer I get, the more I can see her features. An autumn-brown colored monk robe covered their body almost entirely. Odd splotches of a tired, azure blue, cover parts of her body, dripping wet from the bottom part of the robe. She sounded perfectly fine but it looked like the blue liquid was her blood or at least something similar. ¡°I don¡¯t mean any harm.¡± I stutter harshly. ¡°Please, don¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t hurt you, please sit.¡± She asserted back. An awkward silence lasted for a few minutes before she abruptly interrupted it. Something like a sigh escaped her lips. ¡°I need some help and in return I can help you. I notice you and your surroundings are currently very weak, I¡¯m assuming this world just evolved?¡± ¡°Yeah, if ¡®evolved¡¯ is the right word. The system integrated with us around a couple weeks ago.¡± ¡°I see. On my planet, we¡¯ve have what you called ¡®the system¡¯ for 10,000 years. I can feel the new energies of this planet. It feels wonderful.¡± She takes a deep breath in through her slotted nose. Her eyes deeply pierce my soul, feeling very vulnerable at the moment. This person could probably kill me at anytime, it¡¯d be a good idea if I just went along with everything. ¡°What level are you?¡± I curiously ask, more than a million other important questions. ¡°Too high for this planet, bad things will start happening if I stay here too long. I just need to heal up back to full power before I can leave.¡± ¡°Are you injured?¡± A silent piercing gaze drills into my pained eyes. Not deciding to look away from her eyes for fear of seeming weaker than I already am, I grit my teeth as tears fall down my cheek. ¡°Do you want great power?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I state, not anxiously moving, but standing perfectly still. My breathing now slowed down, my heartbeat almost coming to a complete stop. ¡°I am what you call a Byzcrainck but the closest thing in the english language is called a Mana-leecher. I can only manipulate mana through other beings. I can also read your mana and I know you¡¯re a practical human and that you¡¯ll say yes to my offer. You¡¯re mana pool is also the smallest I¡¯ve ever observed but I can make it do. Babies on my home planet are born with more mana in their toes. Ahahahaha¡± ¡°Why me? Why not use someone stronger than me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. You¡¯re not a part of the system and aren¡¯t being observed at all. I need to stay under the radar as much as possible and gain strength as fast as possible. Currently, at this moment in time, it would take me about 10 years for me to cycle all my mana through you.. That¡¯s why I need to strengthen your mana pool and speed of regeneration first. ¡°Why do you need to cycle your mana through me?¡± ¡°I am poisoned by the Kleithjar, those disgusting insectoids outside, and I can¡¯t use my mana at all. They poisoned my mana well, my abilities are very limited at the moment. Don''t be naive though, I defeated the Kleithjar with only my left fist. I need to purify and cleanse my mana through another being, you, before I can go back to my home planet. ¡°I can¡¯t be here all day though, I sneak out as often as I can but I can¡¯t stay, my parents would be angry.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a choice in the matter. You don¡¯t get to leave.¡± I stammer my words and inch my body reflexively away. ¡°People will start looking for me, my mother will get the whole town to search for me.¡± ¡°I have methods to hide you from them, it is inconsequential. I need you or I will perish soon enough¡± Do I want this? I can finally get away from my parents and become stronger, it''s exactly what I wanted. Why do I feel so anxious about this? It just seems too good to be true. It also will bring a big a change to my life and I¡¯ve never been good at changes. Pausing for a bit too long, I decide to respond. ¡°Can I talk to my family and tell them I¡¯ll be gone for a while? I need to at least tell them goodbye, I don¡¯t want them to worry about me.¡± ¡°. . . You can. If you don¡¯t come back in 12 hours, I will find you and your family, kill them, and find someone else.¡± ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll come back, I promise.¡±