Kai strode quickly down the dirt road, but something in his head wouldn't quiet. The sound of that beastly roar still echoed in his ears, a spine-tingling reminder of how near he'd come to a second death. Each silhouette thrown by the waning sun seemed to lengthen and contort itself into the form of the matted-furred beast. He caught himself tensing up at every flick of wind that made the tall grass rustle, his head whirling around, waiting for another shadow to spring out, uncooked fear dancing in his eyes. He even grasped a jagged, fist-sized rock, its weight a poor but sorely needed solace in his hand.
And then, a familiar presence brushed against his mind. A voice.
"Not again…," he grumbled, his voice knotted in paranoia. He broke and looked around him at the open plains. "Come to mock me, watching me jumping at shadows?"
Iris's voice came back, steady and smooth as ever, a sigh of comfort in the strained silence. "No, Kai. Fear is a survival tool. It keeps you on your toes. But I didn't come to observe. This time, I've come to tell you something important—about how to check your own status."
"My status?" Kai frowned.
"There are three things you should always keep tabs on: Health, Stamina, and Mana," she explained. "Stamina and health, you already know in your old life. They're your life force and your body's energy. But mana." Her voice became a little deeper, more serious. "Mana is the source of your Veridia power. All your magical skills are powered by it. The more mana you have, the stronger your magic can be. Now, open your stats."
A glass-like panel glowed into being before him, showing three transparent bars and their corresponding values.
[Health: 1000/1000]
[Stamina: 400/500]
[Mana: 150/200]
Kai glared at the numbers. The stamina and health were understandable, but the mana… 150. It was pathetically low, that of a beginning character in a game. He recalled the barrier he had put up—it had been powerful, but the system told him it had drained 10% of his energy. He realized now that meant stamina and mana, as both were drained.
"Your mana level is low for the moment," Iris went on, as if she could read his mind. "But it can be trained, just like a muscle. As you develop and enhance your skills, you can raise all of these stats. You can alter your health and stamina from a thousand to ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand."
Kai's eyes widened. "A hundred thousand? Are there actually individuals who have stats like that?"
"Yes," Iris affirmed. "Many of the students at the academy you're going to possess power levels of more than ten thousand. They are the talented, the diligent, the crème de la crème. That's why you're being sent there. It is where you'll develop best." She hesitated a moment. "One more thing: while you're away, you'll have to fulfill clandestine assignments for me. I will provide you with the details later on."
"Secret assignments?" Kai questioned, a coil of discomfort twisting in his gut. "What sort of assignments? Am I going to be in danger?"
"All power is dangerous, Kai," she stated, her tone allowing no debate. "Now, let's talk about your abilities. You asked whether you unlocked your first power."
"Yeah, the block."
"Yes," Iris spoke quietly. "But if you stir up other abilities, you shouldn't say anything. The secret can be the one everyone is aware of, your first, announced talent. Keep the rest to yourself. A trump card held in reserve is a strong asset." A final, ominous caution crept into her voice. "And recall this above all else—never allow anyone to drain your mana entirely. When your mana pool reaches zero, your link to this world will be broken. You will die, and this time there will be no resurrection."
Kai swallowed hard, the rock in his hand now cold and useless. The dizziness he'd experienced after the barrier suddenly made ghastly sense. He'd been nearer to the edge than he'd known. "I used to think this sort of thing only occurred in games," he breathed, his voice quivering. "It feels so unreal… yet this is my reality now."
The earth road led on in front of him, a straight line in an intricate, fatal world. But now, for the first time, he strode with a glimmer of stern resolve rather than mere blind terror.
Kai's mind still dwelled on Iris's admonition when her voice gentled again, as if an echo in his head. "Mana is not only for fighting, Kai. It is the power of this world, and it runs through you. You can learn to direct it through your body—keep yourself warm in cold weather, protect yourself from rain or scorching heat. The nights on these plains are colder than you will ever have imagined. If you have no shelter, the cold will sap your energy as you sleep. You'll have to learn this before you see the capital city."
"Wait—how am I even supposed to do that? You can't say it in my face and then just vanish!" Kai yelled, turning around as if he could see her. But she vanished, and he was left with the rolling wind and rustling grass. He let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. "Not again… why does she always leave me totally in the dark?"
But a spark of interest flared within him. He sat down in the same group of moss-covered rocks where he had rested earlier and put the serrated rock to the side of him. He closed his eyes and attempted to heed Iris's cryptic directions. Send it down into your body, he thought. He visualized a flow of energy from his center, out his arms, and into his hands. Nothing at first—only a general, pins-and-needles sensation in his fingertips.
"Alright… relax, concentrate…" he grunted, gritting his teeth and taking slow, deep breaths. The hysteria of the beast's scream and the aching desolation of this new world threatened to overwhelm him, but he suppressed them, concentrating solely on the buzzing power he'd experienced before. He attempted to recall the feel of the barrier building, that jolt of energy.
Minutes ticked by, dragging on to what seemed like an hour. Impatience grew. And then—something moved. A small, soft warmth accumulated in his arm, a gentle warmth that was so unlike the dynamic force of the barrier. He blinked. A shadowy, reddish glow hovered faintly over his fingers. It danced like a dying candle flame, fitful and vulnerable, but it was there. His heart surged. "I… I did it!"
The aura faltered, and his eyesight stumbled. A wave of vertigo rolled over him, and he grasped for support with a hand on the rock. His mana was much too low to continue the flow for more than a couple of seconds. He glanced at his status, and sure enough, the mana bar had fallen by another few points.
Even so, a broad smile pulled at his mouth. "Not the greatest… but it's something. And if I can do this once, I can do it again."
For the first time since he had arrived, determination flared stronger than fear. He would walk, he would train whenever he was resting, and he would learn this control—until he was ready to face whatever the capital had to offer.
When the dim light around his fingers disappeared, Kai was seated in the spreading darkness, his chest expanding and contracting with jerky breaths. That was when another thought hit him like a body blow—the shield that had protected him wasn't free. It had tapped both his mana and stamina, exhausting him and leaving him helpless. Power had its price, and now he was starting to learn the game. If he pushed himself hard enough, he might pass out… or worse.
The mere idea sent a well-known shiver through him. But strangely, fear did not overwhelm him this time—it blended with a spark of unadulterated excitement.
His fists clenched, knuckles going white. "Then I'll just have to become stronger," he breathed into the evening breeze. Physical training to boost his endurance, mental discipline to master his abilities, and a larger mana reserve—he would require all of these if he was to be among those students with more than 10,000 power. If he arrived frail, if his stats were this abysmal, he would be nothing but a joke, another laughingstock to be ridiculed.
The thought hurt, more sharply than he had anticipated. He remembered Iris's genuine smile in his previous world, the friends he had attempted and failed to defend in that corridor. A weighty, thudding pressure pressed against his chest.
"No," he grumbled, his tone low but resolute, piercing the wind. "Not this time. This trip… I'll see it through. I'll get better. I'll be someone who makes a difference. I won't let anyone down again."
The whisper was lost in the huge, uncaring plains, but to Kai, it was a promise—his first serious oath in the land of Veridia. He got up, leaving the boulder behind, and looked at the road before him with a new spark in his eyes.
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