Episode 6: The Price of Being Seen
I felt it before the System said anything.
A tightness in my chest. Not pain—anticipation. Like standing on the edge of a high place, knowing the next step would change everything whether I wanted it to or not.
I lay still, breathing slowly, listening to the village wake. The forge rang earlier than usual. Voices carried sharper tones. Oakhaven sounded… alert.
They're watching something today, I thought. Or someone.
The blue icon pulsed once, brighter than it ever had.
I opened the interface.
< Health: 91/100 >
< Stamina: 63/100 >
So close.
The numbers stirred a strange mix of relief and dread. For weeks, survival had been my only horizon. Eat. Rest. Work. Endure. Now the edge of that horizon was dissolving, revealing something deeper—and far more dangerous.
Mana.
Unknown.
Uncontrolled.
I sat up and swung my legs off the bed. My body moved smoothly now, like it finally understood itself. Strength had settled into my limbs—not impressive, not heroic—but reliable.
Outside, Borin was already working. When he saw me step out on my own, he paused mid-swing.
"You look… sturdier," he said.
That was high praise coming from him.
"I feel better," I replied.
He grunted. "Good. You'll help at the forge today."
My stomach tightened.
The forge wasn't just labor.
It was visibility.
Men gathered there. News traveled there. Decisions happened there.
A node, my mind supplied automatically.
I nodded anyway. "Tell me what to do."
The morning passed in heat and noise. I worked the bellows, hauled charcoal, and kept tools organized. Simple tasks, but the forge demanded attention. Timing. Rhythm.
Mistakes were loud.
My stamina dipped and rose in careful cycles. The System monitored silently, approving restraint over recklessness.
Around midday, voices changed.
Lowered.
Guarded.
A group approached from the main road—four men on horseback, cloaks dusted with travel grime, leather armor worn but maintained. Not soldiers.
Retainers, my mind supplied. Household men.
One dismounted smoothly and approached Borin.
"Blacksmith," he said. "We seek lodging and ironwork."
Borin wiped his hands and nodded. "Coin first."
The man smiled thinly. "Of course."
As they spoke, I felt it again.
That pressure.
Eyes sliding over the forge. Over the villagers.
Over me.
The System chimed softly.
[Environmental Threat Assessment: Minor]
Minor, I thought grimly. That's not comforting.
The man's gaze lingered a second too long.
"You," he said suddenly. "Boy."
I froze.
"Yes?" I replied carefully.
"You work well," he said. "Not common in one so young."
Borin stiffened. "He's recovering from sickness."
"So I hear," the man said mildly. "Yet he stands straight."
I said nothing.
The man smiled again, but there was no warmth in it. "What's your name?"
"Elric."
"From where?"
"Oakhaven," I answered truthfully.
He studied me as if expecting more.
Finally, he nodded. "Good."
Just that.
They left coins for Borin and moved on toward the village center.
Only after they were gone did I realize my hands were shaking.
Borin leaned close. "You didn't speak more than needed," he muttered. "Good."
"What was that?" I asked.
"Lord Hestrel's men," he replied. "They pass through sometimes. They notice things."
That word again.
Notice.
The afternoon dragged on. Whispers followed the riders' path through the village. Children were pulled indoors. Doors closed softly.
That night, the System waited until I lay alone in the dark.
Then it struck.
[Condition Met: Recovery Complete.]
[Health Restored: 100/100]
My breath caught.
The air around me seemed to tighten, like invisible hands closing.
[Unlocking Core Resource…]
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
Not physical. Not exactly.
It was like pressure flooding into my skull, pouring down my spine, igniting nerves I didn't know I had. I bit down on the blanket to keep from screaming.
The room blurred.
The blue interface expanded, lines of text scrolling faster than I could read.
[Mana Pool Unlocked.]
[Mana: 5/100]
The pain receded as suddenly as it had come, leaving me gasping, drenched in sweat.
I lay there shaking, staring at the ceiling.
Five.
So little.
But it was there.
I focused—not on the System, but inward. On that new presence.
Mana felt… cold.
Not like fire. Not like energy.
Like potential held in check. Like water behind a dam.
I reached for it instinctively.
The System flared red.
[Warning: Untrained Manipulation Detected]
[Risk: Internal Disruption]
I pulled back immediately, heart racing.
"Okay," I whispered hoarsely. "Okay. Not like that."
The System stabilized.
[New Status Effect: Mana Sensitivity (Untrained)]
You can sense mana flow. Control is unstable.
I closed my eyes.
This wasn't a weapon.
Not yet.
It was another system to learn.
Another thing that could kill me if mishandled.
Sleep came in fragments.
Dreams bled into awareness—lines of light under the skin of the world, pulsing softly through stone, wood, and flesh. I woke before dawn with a headache and a certainty that unsettled me.
Mana wasn't rare.
Control was.
The next day, Aldric was waiting.
This time, not on the hill.
In the village.
That alone raised every alarm I had.
He stood near the well, staff planted, eyes distant. When he saw me, he inclined his head slightly.
"You crossed a threshold," he said without preamble.
I said nothing.
"You felt it," he continued. "The pressure. The burn."
"Yes."
"Good," he said. "That means you lived."
He turned and began walking.
Not uphill.
Toward the forest.
My instincts screamed no.
But my curiosity whispered louder.
I followed.
The trees swallowed sound as we entered the woods. Light fractured through leaves. The air felt heavier here, dense with something my new senses brushed against constantly.
Mana.
Flowing. Pooling. Moving.
Aldric stopped beside a stream.
"This world has rules," he said. "Older than kings. Older than gods, some say. Most people live their whole lives without touching them."
He looked at me. "You won't."
"What happens now?" I asked.
"Now," he said, "you choose what kind of danger you become."
The System chimed.
[New Quest Available: First Control]
[Objective: Stabilize Mana Flow without External Guidance]
[Failure Consequence: Unknown]
My chest tightened.
"Why no guidance?" I asked.
Aldric smiled sadly. "Because those who guide you leave fingerprints. And fingerprints lead hunters."
The forest went quiet.
Too quiet.
Aldric's head snapped up.
I felt it then—sharp, focused intent brushing against my senses like a blade.
Not human.
Not an animal.
The System screamed.
[Threat Detected: Hostile Mana Entity]
[Assessment: Uncertain]
A shadow shifted between the trees.
Something watched us.
And it was already aware of me.
Aldric tightened his grip on his staff.
"So," he said softly, eyes never leaving the darkness, "it seems being noticed has a cost."
My mana stirred, unstable, cold and waiting.
And whatever was out there took one step closer.