Co on, just a little more.
The edges of the mana blob wavered. Alex pushed past the slight throb behind his eyes, doing his best to maintain total concentration on his attempt at a cube. It would be easier if he could actually see the mana he was moving over his hand, but instead, he was left to just “feel around” and direct it as best he could with his own ntal images.
I wonder if there is a mana sight skill or sothing.
He finished ssing with the shape and let it go. He had made great progress and could now make so vague shapes with his mana. He would extend a tendril of the mana and do his best to ntally mold it into a shape by twisting, changing, and expanding the end of the tendril. He was surprised at the difficulty of the task.
After gaining the skill the night before, he’d noticed an interesting change in his ability to grasp and manipulate the mana. If he didn’t consciously keep it active and instead used his own will and focus to try and direct it like he’d been doing before he gained the skill, things were significantly harder. On the other hand, if he did activate the skill and then used his concentration to shape the mana, it was a lot easier as if he’d been training for many more hours.
Even with the System’s aid, though, the task was difficult. It was comparable to grabbing sothing semisolid that moved and wriggled from his grasp like an eel. What made it even more difficult was that rather than his actual hands and physical coordination, he was forced to use his ntal focus and his intent. He had to will the mana to move and actively focus on what he was doing, and if he lost focus, the small structure would crumble, and the mana would be wasted.
This reminds of like so mages in stories. I could totally see how this would require tons of practice. Is there a Hogwarts for Awakened?
He closed his hand into a fist and used his knuckles to massage his forehead. The headache was terrible, sothing he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to.
Three days of constant practice will do that. I guess I don’t have to push my mana so low every ti I practice, but then it just feels like I’m being inefficient.
Eh, who needs sleep when you can make magical shapes with your mind? Yer a wizard, Alex!
Alex did his best to hold in a chuckle, realizing it might seem out of place in the office.
Seriously, though, this is insane.
He snuck a glance at the ti on his computer screen. 11:47 am. Almost lunchti, which ant Mr. Henderson would likely be doing his rounds through the office.
I swear, that man has a sixth sense for when I’m even remotely slacking off.
Well, not that I’m actually working right now. So, I guess he’s in the right.
Uhm, let’s ignore that and check out the Status Window.
Status
Na: Alex Moore - Level 1
Class: None
HP: 50/50
MP: 18/60
Traits: (1/3)
{Primordial Will}
Physical Stats:
Strength: 4
Agility: 5
Constitution: 5
Vitality: 6
Magical Stats:
Intellect: 6
Willpower: 3
Mana: 6
Wisdom: 6
Active Skills:
[Mana Shaping] (Novice - Level 3)
Passive Skills:
(None)
Just looking at the jump in levels to [Mana Shaping] made Alex beam with pride.
Why is it so satisfying to see the number go up? Is it going to feel this way from now on?
His eyes traveled up to his current mana level. It was about where he’d expected it to be. The headache had set in, and he’d pushed just a bit past that. If he had stopped just a few points sooner, he could have avoided this dreadful migraine.
Over the last few days, he had repeatedly dropped his mana to around 20 before letting it regenerate. The regeneration rate seed consistent, taking about 30 minutes to get back 40 points of mana. That ant he was getting a bit more than one point of mana back every minute.
It had been hard to keep up with at tis. At the apartnt, Alex had started setting a tir to go off after 35 minutes. That way, he could practice until he got down to the last 30% of his mana, start the tir, and then go about doing whatever else he needed to do while it regenerated.
It’s almost like working out a muscle—except that muscle is my brain instead of my body. Where my arms or legs might get sore and need a rest, I feel ntally drained and kind of spacey if I push too far.
On Saturday, he had pushed pretty hard, getting down to his last five mana before passing out.
Won’t be doing that again. Once is enough to learn my lesson, thank you very much.
"Hey, you in there?" Jenny from accounting waved her hand in front of Alex's face. "You've been staring at the computer screen for like five minutes now."
Alex jerked back, hastily dismissing the Status Window. "Sorry, just lost in thought."
"Must be so pretty deep thoughts." Jenny took a sip of her afternoon coffee. "Did you hear about the new software rollout? Total disaster and I hear Henderson is on the chopping block for the mistake."
“Moore!”
Alex tensed as he imdiately recognized the voice.
Speak of the devil…
“Mr. Henderson,” he said, forcing a smile as he turned to face his boss, who was walking toward his work station. Jenny made herself look a bit busy by riffling through the folders in her harms, but didn’t leave.
Henderson walked up a bit too close for comfort, standing over Alex while he sat at the desk. Hands on his hips, Henderson looked down at Alex with a red face.
“Care to explain why you left in the middle of the day on Friday without informing anyone? Even more importantly, you missed your deadline on Friday. It was a big one for the contract.”
Even though Alex knew this was coming when he decided to ignore the deadline, he was still caught off guard by Henderson’s direct approach.
“I, uh… I apologize, Mr. Henderson. I was feeling really under the weather. I’ll make sure the proposal is sent in before the end of the day today.”
Henderson stared at Alex for a few long heartbeats before glancing the others sitting nearby. “See that you do. If you pull another stunt like this, you’ll be out a job.”
Such an asshole.
“Yes, sir,” Alex said, maintaining the forced smile as Henderson turned and walked toward the breakroom.
Jenny stood up, gathering the folders to her chest and raising the coffee cup up along with her eyebrows and and wide eyes. "Yeah... I'm just gonna..." She gestured vaguely toward her own desk and backed away. "Good luck with that proposal."
Alex slumped back in his chair and rubbed his temples.
Just gotta make it through the rest of the day. Damn, I wish Mark was here this week.
The rest of the afternoon crawled by and Alex did his best to keep his head down. He focused on finishing the proposal, which was nearly completed anyway. By the ti five rolled around, his shoulders ached and he gave them a stretch still feeling so lingering muscle soreness from his Rift adventure.
I guess I should just be thankful that my leg is almost completely healed.
He reached down and idly itched the healing skin on his leg.
Hitting submit on the proposal, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the elevator while thinking about grabbing dinner on his way ho. The lobby was nearly empty as he pushed through the rotating doors and into the cool evening air.
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“Alex Moore?”
A tall man in an expensive charcoal colored suit stepped away from one of the building’s columns. He had the build of soone who spent hours in the gym, but his smile was warm and friendly.
“That’s ,” Alex said while shifting his weight uncertainly.
“Andrew Matthews.” He extended his hand. “I appreciate you taking a mont to chat. I’m a recruiter for The Guild, and we’ve had our eye on you.”
Alex shook his hand and looked at the man in a new light.
The Guild? This is the group of Awakened that John belongs to and that was ntioned in the advice from my Nexus Hub post.
“Ah, I can see the look on your face. You know who we are, eh? I see you’ve done your research.” Andrew’s smile widened. “Mind if we step over here?” He gestured to a near by bench against the office building that would get them a bit away from the steady stream of people leaving the building.
Alex followed him over to the bench, allowing his curiosity to win out. “How exactly did you find ?”
“Straight to the point. I like that.” Andrew leaned against he wall. “Your post on Nexus Hub caught our attention. You had a few pretty detailed questions about spells and magic. Those kind of questions co from firsthand experience.”
The post, that makes sense.
“So you monitor the site for… what? People to recruit who are newly awakened? Like ?”
“The Nexus Hub is our site, actually.” Andrew’s casual admission made Alex blink. “We created it as a resource for the public to keep track of news, but the forums aspect of it is sothing that’s hard for us to manage. And yes, we keep an eye out for those who might benefit from joining the Adventurers Guild.”
“The Adventurers Guild?”
“That’s our full na. Most just call us The Guild. We’re the first and largest of the many guilds popping up.” Andrew straightened in his seat. “We offer a lot more than just information, too. First notifications on Rifts, ntorship programs, trading networks for materials… basically everything we can do to help you grow.”
“And what’s the catch?”
“You’re a smart man,” Andrew chuckled while nudging Alex’s shoulder. “Being a Recruit is free, but you only get limited access to materials and an FAQ. There’s a mbership fee for full access. That’s where you’ll get our real-ti Rift notifications, ability to reserve slots, and our complete knowledge database.”
I really distrust people when they’re this overtly friendly and trying to give complents.
Alex had to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. “Okay, how much is the fee?”
“Just a single Mana Stone. Quality information cos at a price. But, I notice you’re not asking about The System, Rifts, or skills.” Andrew gave a quick thumbs up. “Those answers are all in our knowledge database. Along with training guides and everything else you’ll need to understand what it ans to be an awakened.”
“And if I’m interested?”
“Then I’ll send you the registration details.” Andrew pulled out a business card and handed it to Alex. “Take so ti to think it over. If I were you, I wouldn’t take too long, though. The governnt’s getting better at tracking new Awakened, and trust - you don’t want them finding you first.”
“That sounds ominous. I’ll think about it.” Alex took the card in his hand and turned it over. He let out a sigh and leaned his head back against the stone building behind his bench. “What’s this?” Alex asked, pointing at the QR code on the back of the business card.
“That’s all I ask.” Andrew pushed himself up from the bench and gave a short wave. “That’s how you can download the Guild’s app and register. Great talking with you, Alex. Hope to hear from you soon.”
“Well, that’s one way to end a Monday at the office,” He mumbled to himself as he stood to make his way ho.
“… the people are calling for justice. This cos after the events that transpired here last night when a Rift opened on the top of a parking deck. The fight that ensued, between two people who are now being referred to as ‘Awakened,’ caused the death of a family of three in the adjoining apartnt building.”
The reporter on the TV spoke animatedly, gesturing behind her toward the large screen in the studio, which showed a picture of the parking deck with obvious damage and scorch marks on the cent. “Now, passing it off to Cynthia Walters, who is on location, for more details. What do you have for us, Cynthia?”
The cara cut to a slightly more chaotic scene, with ergency vehicles and a close-up shot of the neighboring apartnt building, where a large hole was visible in the side.
Man, I’m so glad that the one I went to wasn’t like this.
He sighed and rubbed his temples.
Maybe Andrew was right.
Idly, Alex opened his System Status Window to check his mana. Even though he knew it wasn’t filled back up yet—otherwise, his phone’s tir would have gone off—he still found it hard not to check.
Not for the first ti, he noticed how easy it was to just flick the screen up, check his status, and let it disappear again. His mind wandered to the scary thought of social dia networks getting their hands on this sort of technology. The ease with which he could pull up videos and swipe would be terrifying. Not to ntion the absolute horror that ads would be with sothing like this.
The screen is even visible when I close my eyes. We’d never be able to escape the ads. God, I’d probably have to help with ad campaigns that no one could escape…
What, System? No notification about unlocking a new nightmare?
The screen changed away from the reporter, bringing Alex’s attention back to the TV and away from his one-sided conversation with The System.
“Join us! You can be part of the solution, not the problem. The Hunter’s Association: your partner in safety and security in uncertain tis.”
The cheesy slogan blasted from the TV with bright colors with soone dressed in sothing that looked uncomfortably close to superhero tights.
Alex chuckled.
Subtle.
They were definitely laying it on a bit thick. He didn’t doubt that their ad was intentionally placed after such a horrific story was reported, either. They swooped in, promised order, and insinuated that anyone not a part of their group was untrained or a threat to the public.
A short montage of training even played as the music continued. It looked similar to so of the Navy or Army comrcials Alex had seen in the past, promising leadership and strength. As soone who did ad-work for a living, the ssage they were pushing was clear: The governnt can protect you. The governnt has this under control. Any chaos is not due to them, but it is their goal to stop it.
Damn, am I starting to sound like my dad?
He switched channels, wanting to avoid letting his thoughts slip to work and propaganda. The temptation to start practicing his mana shaping again grew, as he sought to avoid thinking about opening the most recently downloaded app on his phone.
His phone vibrated, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Sarah: Hey stranger! We need to hang out soon, it’s been ages. Let’s catch up, maybe grab dinner?
The text had a few emojis at the end, which made Alex smile. Sarah was the kind of person who used at least one emoji with almost every text she sent. She once told him it was to make sure people knew the tone she was sending the text in and that there were fewer misunderstandings because of it.
Alex: Hey! Yea, definitely down for that. Mark and I are hanging out at his place on Friday when he gets back from his trip. You should join us!
Her response was almost instant.
Sarah: Yes, can’t wait! Mark’s the worst at responding to my texts. I’ll call him and see if I can’t bring so food. I have so crazy stuff to tell you guys about.
Yea, I’ve got so crazy stuff to tell you guys too, Alex thought, his gut twisting a bit as he knew that he likely wouldn’t tell them yet. There was still so much to figure out and he wasn’t sure he wanted them both trying to talk him out of it.
Fuck.
Thinking about everything that happened last Friday, an unexpected person popped into his head. He got up from the couch and walked through his bedroom to his closet.
Maybe he could give so advice.
As he was searching, he heard the tir going off on his phone from the other room.
It took him a few minutes of rummaging around, but he finally found what he was looking for.
‘John Riley | (201)-555-9820’
Alex had tossed the card out of his pocket when he was in a rush to remove his clothes after the Rift and hadn’t thought of it since. Returning to the living room, he turned off his tir and sent a text to John, introducing himself again and letting him know it was his number. He then asked if John and his group enjoyed be apart of the Guild and if they thought it was worth it.
After sending the text, Alex was happy to kill so ti practicing with his [Mana Shaping] skill. He was surprised when his phone buzzed after only a few minutes, breaking his concentration.
Glancing at the screen, he saw that John had responded.
John R: Hey Alex! Glad you reached out.”
The next ssage popped up before he even finished the first one.
John R: YES! My group and I are all AG mbers. Best decision we’ve made so far, man. You should definitely join! The app is incredible and the forums have a ton of information. We’re already full mbers, too. We actually got the last two Mana Stones that we needed for our mberships from the Rift that we t you in. It’s expensive, but totally worth the cost.
Alex’s eyebrows shot up.
Alex: Expensive? I thought the price was just a Mana Stone?
John R: Well yea, but a single Mana Stone if sowhere between $500 - $1000… I wouldn’t give them out to just anyone that asks, but the benefits for the mbership to The Guild has already been worth it for our group.
That’s quite the endorsent.
A cynical part of him wondered if John got any sort of kickback for pushing him toward the Adventurers Guild.
You reached out to him, dumbass. He didn’t try to push you anywhere; he’s just being nice and answering your question.
He sent a response, thanking John for the information and letting him know that he would be signing up tonight.
Excited at the possibility of really finding so more information, Alex swiped up from his ssages and navigated to the most recently downloaded apps.
There, he saw the icon labeled as The Adventurers Guild. A simple golden sword pointing down in front of a brown shield. Behind them both was a blue vertical oval, which clearly represented a Rift. It all fit together well, and the simplistic icons were easy to make out.
Cool.
It was the first ti he opened the app, and it took him to a simple login page, with a userna and password input and a register button under those. No slogan or pitch.
I guess the people downloading the app are already interested if they scanned the code from the recruiter. No need for them to oversell.
Alex spent the next few minutes filling out the registration form and was slightly surprised to find that they wanted a good bit more information than just his na and email address.
Though maybe I shouldn’t be. They’re trying to put together a group of people who have recently obtained superpowers and were only able to do so after killing sothing. It might be smart to have so additional information on people.
They wanted him to put things like his birthday, class, subclass, level, and even skills and traits, though they didn’t ask for their levels.
He hesitated a bit, not really wanting to give them information on his skills—
Skill. You’re a noob. You’ve only got one skill.
In the end, that was the driving force for him to just give them the information. They weren’t asking for a description of the skill or traits, just the nas. Even then, Alex was woefully uninford, and that was the main driving force for him to join The Guild.
I need information. Who cares if they know about my crappy trait’s na and the fact that I don’t even have a class yet. Hell, I didn’t even know you could have a subclass! That’s not on my Status Window.
I want so magical spells, damn it. I’d probably give them access to my bank account for that information at this point. I can’t see any amount of money compared to being able to actually cast magical spells.
Thank you for registering! A local recruiter will be in touch soon to verify your information and grant you full access. Welco to The Adventurers Guild!
Alex tossed his phone back onto the coffee table.
Yay, more waiting.
He closed his eyes and began to pull on his mana.
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