Let's Play a Game – Chapter 14

A few solid minutes of the strategic use of a box fan later, and the smoke smell from my room was finally eliminated. It is a little embarrassing, but at least now I know not to stick my face into glowing objects coming out of my hands. In hindsight, that should be obvious, but alas, apparently even at my age I can be distracted by small shiny objects. No one must ever know.

With that taken care of, I still had some time before Dad made it home. Given the ridiculously large breakfast I made this morning, it would probably go over better if we just ate leftovers for dinner, but I do have that dinner quest for making him a hot meal and that's just easy experience points. I shift my weight from my left foot to my right, and vice versa as I think. It would just need to be something simple. It's not like I had too many options anyways at this time of night without any prep work done.

Before I started on dinner though, there is one thing I need to focus on: My perk point. A few mental commands later, and the tan box is open in front of me. The Titles box off to the side is still empty, but the Perks box now has Mana Awareness in its list, underneath both Gamer's Body and Mind. That's not the important thing to note. The Trees button at the bottom is no longer gray, and the counter beside it is showing the number one.

I click on it, and another tan box greets me with four separate sections inside of it. Each have their own titles: Level, Skill, Attribute, and Reward. All of them are filled with small black boxes, each showing a white question mark, but underneath Reward, I can see three colorful icons. One is a cartoon version of me either praying or meditating, another is a cartoon arm flexing, and the third is a basic silhouette of a body with a blue glowing orb in the middle of the torso. A poke on each confirms what I'm thinking. These are the perks I currently have.

Curiously, I tap on one of the question mark boxes in the Reward column randomly. Another box full of question marks greets me. Well, that's helpful. A few taps on other mystery boxes prove to show similar messages.

With a roll of my eyes, I pan to the other fields. While Skills and Attributes are both filled with question marks, the Level section has three dimmed icons: One of them has a plus sign with the number one following it, another is a cartoon version of me holding a magnet with a huge smile on her face, and the last is a circle filled with a few symbols I can't make out. They still show color, but they're not as vibrant as the perks I know I currently have.

I poke at the first one.

Lagniappe
Every level-up from now on provides one bonus attribute point.

(Choose Perk) (Cancel)

Oh… I hit cancel and move on to the next one.

Loot Magnet
The Gamer's inventory automatically gathers items dropped by enemies within two meters of the Gamer.

I check the last one.

Quick Menu
A shortcut menu with ten slots that actively slows down time for a short period while in use.

I think only for a few seconds before going back to the first and choosing it. It sounds like grabbing it as soon as possible would help me more than the others in the long run. While the other two do sound nice, having an extra attribute point per level just sounds like the best investment right now. With that taken care of, I went down to make dinner.

Practically hugging the door to my bedroom, I listen for the tell-tale noise of my dad's feet on our wooden floors for several minutes. Even knowing he went to bed an hour ago, I'm worried that the moment I try to make my move he'll catch me in the act.

I already checked my inventory to make sure I had anything I might need: a few flashlights, some medical supplies, and even some more food. I even grabbed a few things I could use as bindings just in case: a few thick shoelaces, some extra belts, and even four short extension cords. They weren't exactly… professional, but needs must. I didn't think about it while I was out of the house earlier, but I definitely will need to make time to go by a hardware store and pick up some thick zip ties later on.

There was some light snow on the ground tonight, but the temperature would only be in the low thirties. Given how long I would be out, I made sure to put some gloves on and wear one of my thicker hoodies. Just like last time, I had a thick scarf obscuring the lower part of my face.

I listen for a few more seconds before shaking my head. If I don't leave now, I might never will. With a near silent creak, I open my door, and slowly slink I reach the back door, I look around the best I can in the dark just to make sure Dad isn't somehow a few steps ahead of me. I sigh in relief when I don't see a hint of him and make my way out of the house as quietly as I can.

A few minutes later, I'm sprinting along toward my destination as my Egyptian self. Rather than practice an attribute tonight, I want to experiment with my mana more. Unfortunately, making energy explosives with my hands isn't something I can do in the house in secret. Which means I'd have to find a place to practice out of the house.

There are only a few places in the Bay that I could think of where I could practice loud and flashy powers. One of them is the local landfill, but it's across the city near the downtown outskirts, which is entirely impractical for me to reach in the middle of the night. The other two were closer: the Trainyard and the Boat Graveyard.

Out of the two, the Boat Graveyard is the better choice. If I tried to go directly from my house to either, I'd go through the heart of the Docks, which is ABB territory. That's not a good idea. Skirting along the edges to either location however… Well if I went northwest towards the Trainyard, I'd be stuck in between the ABB and the Merchants. The Merchants didn't exactly "hold" territory like the other gangs given their small size, but they certainly roamed around selling their product in that area of the city, whenever the ABB didn't frown in their general direction that is.

No, my best bet is to head directly east, make my way past the Boardwalk, and go north on the beach. I'd also want to stay off Lord Street as much as I could. Even this late at night, it would be one of the busier streets. Sure, it would make the trip longer overall, but Sprint needs some love and it would help even things out. Given my attire and the time, I'd have to avoid the late night patrols of the Enforcers as well, but that should be easy. There wouldn't be as many out and about as there are during day-time, and as long as I kept a wide berth of their more precious establishments I'd be fine.

I zoom down empty streets. I'm not sprinting as fast as I could, but once I reach the ocean, I hopefully could cut loose on the beach. No one should be out there in the middle of winter this late at night. The Enforcers themselves would be more focused on the streets near the shops than on the beach as well.

A few times I slow down to a jog whenever I see someone, but beyond a weird look here and there, none of them pay me much attention. None of them are a danger to me either. It's rather calming to be able to look at any stranger and know if they had any gang ties or not with a quick observe.

After making my way through different side streets, I use my map to guide myself towards the southern half of the Boardwalk. The dress shops, jewelers, and tech stores probably had the brunt of the Enforcers' attention this late at night, so the best idea I had was to cut past a few of the closed eateries.

I quickly pass Lord Street and near the boardwalk, making my way between an ice creamery and a bakery. I pop my head around the corner of one of the establishments, my eyes scanning both ways down the boardwalk proper. The way south is empty, and up north the only thing worth seeing is the shrinking back of an Enforcer walking away in the distance. With a short sigh, I slink across the wooden decks quietly, and hop over the wooden railing. My feet land on the rocky outcropping (Ow), and a few steps later they finally hit sand.

Empty and dark, the only light illuminating the beach is the faint and ever present blue glow of the Rig's force field across the water. Still, there's more than enough darkness hiding me, allowing me to go all out. Soon I was past the north-end of the Boardwalk. I didn't have to worry about the Enforcers until I came back this way.

While I was correct in thinking I could sprint all out on the deserted beach, I did hit a hiccup. Within what felt like no time, I ran into the old abandoned north ferry station. It was expected, but still annoying. With a sigh and the beach cut off, I slow down and make my way closer to the streets. At least I got another level in Sprint out of it, and another Unarmed Combat level for shadow-boxing while jogging. It's great to be productive. Once my feet left the sand and hit the concrete of the sidewalk, I made my way around the unused terminal. Once past it, I'd have some more beach to continue on for at least—

A yell of pain brings me to a halt and grabs my attention. Turning my head towards the noise, I see several rundown buildings with their lights on. Focusing, I now barely make out indistinct voices yelling and screaming. My eyes dart between them and towards the north. I wait for a box to appear. A quest to tell me to go save whoever from whatever.

But nothing pops up.

I frown. This is definitely in the middle of ABB territory. I… I could keep going. Things like this happen all the time. It's not like last time. I'm not right in the middle of it, and if there's no quest for it, the rewards won't be as good. I could just leave and forget about it…

Another pain filled cry sounds out, and I can't help but think of when I screamed in the locker, when no one came to help me. A bit of revulsion worms inside of me. What am I doing? I want to be a hero. I don't want to be like them, like her. So, what do heroes do? They help people.

I take a deep breath. This is probably a bad and stupid idea… but…

I dash towards the screaming, this time going full speed. It doesn't take me long to near the disturbance. As I get closer, I can start to hear the voices more clearly. I slow down to a walk so my steps don't catch their attention.

I hear an older man sobbing, barely gasping out words between cries. "Please! Stop!"

"Take your beating with dignity, you old fuck!" A younger man's voice yells out.

"Yeah! This is what you get for skimping out on us you piece of shit!" A girl this time states.

I reach a corner of a street, the sound of meaty thuds coming from around the bend. I put my back to the brick building and glance around the edge. In front of a store, there's four people. The man crying out in pain was on the ground. I could just barely make out the floating "Jonathan Lee" above his head. The two standing above him, Akari Ito and Kenichi Suzuhara, are currently stomping and kicking him. The fourth person…

(Yakuza Veteran)
LV 10 Takaya Kiryu

...is standing off to the side in the street, watching with an ugly smile.

I feel the need to just rush in there and save him, but… before that I shoot an Observe at each person, and read as quickly as I can. The Chinese shop owner is behind on his protection payments. He only had enough for half this month due to complications with his wife's knee surgery. It cost more than they planned… but at least she's still in the hospital and not here.

The two younger thugs above him are new ABB recruits. Dressed in an assortment of red and green, they've already went through their own initiations. This is just a part of their new duties as grunts. Sadly, they've cut off all connections to their families. The ABB is their only family now, which is apparently how the gang is organized, like a more inclusive Yakuza apparently. In fact…

I stare at the odd one out. He's actually their "older brother" here. Not quite a lieutenant due to not being in Lung's favor, but someone with enough authority to boss around the newer recruits. The main reason he's being this rough is because Jonathan's Chinese. Partial payments don't earn beatings this badly, and Tayaka knows it. Even with Lung forcing a united Asian bloc, it seems he can't enforce it everywhere at once. Sadly, Jonathan's still probably safer here than in E88 territory.

Takaya's dressed in a black suit with an obnoxious red and green dragon tie. His right hand is missing a finger and his body is covered in gang tattoos. With a Smith & Wesson nine-millimeter kept at his hip, he fits his title perfectly. Whatever I do, I'll need to bring him down first.

The suited gangster chuckles to himself. "Enough."

The two younger members immediately stop their assault and step away from their victim into the street. I focus on Mr. Lee. He has several bone fractures in his arms, legs, and ribs, internal bruising, a badly sprained ankle, moderate bleeding, and more. He's in bad shape and will need medical attention asap, but he's not on death's door. I need to do something now, but what? The main thug here doesn't have a knife. He has a gun… What do I do?

The suit tsk-tsks while he walks closer to the still sobbing store owner. He crouches over him, and looks down with a face of fake sympathy. "Jonny, Jonny, Jonny… Why do you make us do this? You've had such a good streak going too! Six months without missing a payment." He whistles, his left hand dancing in the air above Jonathan. "Why you're the model example of how a chankoroshould act!I thought our last chat made it clear what would happen if you…" His finger descends and jabs sharply into one of the nastier bruises. Jonathan screams. "...missed a deadline." He grins like a shark. "Whoops! My hand slipped."

I'm best suited for close combat, but if he can get a clean shot at me, I'm dead. So, I have to take him out immediately.

"I… I…" Jonathan tries to speak his face still on the floor.

Takaya leans down with a hand cupping his ear. "What's that Jonny? You'll have to speak a little louder. For some reason, I can barely hear you!"

I could use my mana now. I could call it to my fingertips in a heartbeat… but now's not the time to experiment. Without trying to come up with a skill on the spot, all I have is Energy Bomb, and it isn't really an option I can use here. Even if I can throw or roll it, he's too close to the victim. If I can make one that will knock him out and somehow not kill him, it'll still exacerbate the victim's already horrible condition.

The old store owner manages to push himself up a little, and looks at the thug with a pleading expression. "I had the money! I had it! But..." He turns away and grits in pain.

"But what, Jonny? As much fun as I'm having, I'm pretty sure you're not getting off on this, so..." He rolls his wrist a few times, motioning for Jonathan to continue.

How far away are they? Over a dozen feet, maybe close to twenty. There's also nothing in between me and the gun-holder.

"The insurance…" He shakes his head. "Last week… My wife's knee replacement… The insurance didn't cover as much as I'd thought… and…"

"Your white bitch's knee? That's where our money went? Where Lung's money went?"

Jonathan winces. "I thought I…" He wheezes. "I had enough... left over to…"

I don't have a ranged option, but I do have Sprint. As long as I can pounce on him before he has his gun ready, I can win this.

"Well, you thought wrong Jonny." He pretends to ponder for a moment. "Since that money belonged to us in the first place, I guess technically her new knee is ABB property. That's fair, right?" He glances at the second story of the shop, then turns and smiles down at Jonathan. "But she's at the hospital isn't she?"

Jonathan slowly but firmly nods.

At level eight of Sprint, I can run at thirty-eight and a half miles per hour. After a little rough math I nod to myself, then I tighten up my hood's laces and make sure my scarf's secure. Generally, I get up to a jog first before using the skill. Hopefully just using it out of the gate from standing still will let me get to him fast enough.

Takaya fakes disappointment. "Oh well." He stands up. "You know what… I'll let you off easy this time." He grins. "Instead of her knee, I think we'll take yours. It's only fair." He reaches for his gun.

I step out completely from the corner, and with the intent to go as fast as I can in the shortest amount of time possible, I shout "Sprint!" in my mind. Then my eyes widen as I feel myself move.

Before he can even touch his pistol, I slam into him! Unable to stop myself, we both go flying down the sidewalk! My arms and chest feel like they're on fire, but before I can even scream, the pain vanishes. A red-colored and blinking negative sixty floats in front of my vision.

No longer distracted with my own body I barely hear the man under me screaming and the two younger thugs shouting in shock as the air rushes past us! Finally, he hits the ground with a sickening thud with me landing on top of him. Then both of us slide across the sidewalk. Again, I feel the painful impact, this time less intense, before a second passes and the pain is gone entirely. Another number appears, this time a negative twenty.

As soon as we stop, with me still above him, I push myself up, pull back a fist, and… stop as I realize he's already unconscious. I hear the rushing of feet at my back! I quickly grab the gun, stand up, turn around, and point it at the closest thug!

"Freeze!"

The girl, Akari, immediately obeys with her face pale. Kenichi behind her stops, his eyes wide.

A red symbol appears over Akari's chest. It's a small circle with four smaller lines intersecting it. I move the gun slightly, and so does the symbol. I glance over the pistol in my hand and also notice the floating script by it, similar to the way names appear over people's heads.

17/17

Ammo counter? I guess the circle is some sort of target reticle. That's… one thing at a time. I focus back on the, currently freaking out, thugs. I can't help myself. "It's…" I stop. I just noticed the voice coming out of my Egyptian lips doesn't sound like me. That's interesting. "It's not so fun when it's you, isn't it? On the ground face down, hands behind your back." The two share a look, before slowly complying.

Alright, how do I keep them down while I tie—

A flash of blue light on the ground in front of me interrupts me. I glance down. A pile of money and a few magazines of ammo sit there. I glance back up at the thugs, the two staring at the pile of loot that's now at their eye level.

"What the fuck?" Akari mutters. She then looks up at me and whispers. "Oh shit… Cape…"

Kenichi near her scoffs. "The super flying tackle didn't light that bulb for you?"

"Oh fuck off Kenichi." She snarls.

He rolls his eyes. "Bakayarou."

"Kuso Kurae!"

"Excuse me!" Both look back to me, and then almost recoil from my glare. "Cape here with a gun. Both of you, shut up." With the two cowed, I let out a soft sigh. I lean down and grab the money and magazines with one hand, while the other still points the gun at them. Instead of putting it into my inventory, I just shove it into my hoodie's big front pocket for now. It's best if I don't reveal everything I can do.

I step back a bit over the slumped body of the original gun holder, so he's in my line of sight. With the gun still pointed at the crooks, I give the knocked out gangster an Observe. I barely manage to hold back a cringe. I not only knocked him out, I broke a few of his ribs and gave him a nasty friction burn on his back and left arm. Nearly half of his HP is just gone. Thank god he was wearing a full suit, otherwise I'm sure I'd have accidentally left a smear of his skin on the sidewalk. He'll only be out for another seven minutes though, so I'll need to work fast.

I focus back on the two younger crooks. They do know I'm a brute or mover of some kind. Why not abuse that? Even with my lips covered by a scarf, I do my best to give them the sweetest fake smile I can muster. "Alright, I'm about to tie both of you up, and then…" I lightly poke the crumpled form in front of me with my foot. "...your boss here. I can't possibly point the gun at both of you while I'm doing that. So, the way I see it, you both have three options when I'm no longer pointing this at you. One and two, you could try to fight or run away from me, which will end the same exact way. I will knock you out in a split second just like I did with your boss. This will involve breaking some bones at a minimum." I let that sink in for a moment. "Or three,you two could save yourself the hospital trip, and stay still, letting me tie you up. Either way, you're going to jail. That's non-negotiable. It's just one way is going to be a lot more...uncomfortable. So, which will it be? One, two, or three?"

Nearing the Boat Graveyard, I barely make out the sounds of sirens behind me in the distance. I left the three goons tied up with what I had on me, checked on Mr. Lee, and called for an ambulance and the cops using his landline.

Any chance for there being any ambiguity about a cape being involved was gone the moment I jumped the older thug, but I don't regret it. He was about to shoot a guy's knee off. I'm glad I stopped him. The fact I'm not using my own face under my pathetic disguise helps a bit too. As an added precaution, I also swapped to a different set of clothing.

On that note, Sprinting. It acted differently than I'm used to. Sprinting apparently doesn't care about pesky things like inertia. If I want to go as fast as I possibly can in any direction, apparently I just need to scream Sprint in my head with that intent and my body will just launch itself much faster than my legs have any right to propel me from a stand still. I may have not went to my full speed instantly, but it was close. I mean, it's really cool, but I kind of wish I knew it worked like that before I became a human missile tonight. I'm not sure how fast I was going when I hit that guy, but when I get faster from Sprint leveling up, I could kill someone if I'm not careful…

Far enough away from the incident, I take time to focus on the several reward screens that had popped up after I finished tying up the baddies.

For unconventional tactics, your intelligence has increased by 1!

Ha.

A skill has been created through a special action!

Through enduring pain and physical injury, a skill to increase the body's durability, "Physical Endurance," has been created!

Quickly, I check in my menu the details of that skill.

[Physical Endurance (Passive) Lv 1 EXP 00.00%]
A skill using the body's tolerance to pain and injury
to increase the Gamer's durability.
1 % decrease in damage from all physical attacks.

Wow. Wait, does this mean if I level this to one hundred I'll be completely invulnerable? And, what exactly constitutes a physical attack? Aren't all attacks physical? What even is a "non-physical" attack? I.. Ugh. Today's mana training, I'll worry about this skill when I do more vitality training later.

A skill has been created through a special action!

Through enforcing your will by a threat of pain and suffering, a skill to convince others to do what you say, "Intimidation," has been created!

I wince. It sounds like Taunt, but just a little more brutal. I'll look at the specifics later...

A skin has been unlocked through a special action!

For stopping a racially motivated hate crime, you've unlocked the "Han Chinese Taylor" skin!

Oh! Immediately, I open up my menu and check out the new skin. Chinese me has paler skin than even normal me, has slightly larger eyes of a more hazel color, and has dark brown hair. Oddly enough, the hair is cut shorter. It's only neck-length, compared to the longer locks of my normal and Egyptian self. I frown. I swear, both Egyptian and Chinese me are prettier than how I normally look. Then again, it's not that hard to look prettier than a human frog, abs or no…

I swallow my annoyance, and I swap over to it. In a disorienting flash, the world around me seems taller. Huh. I'm shorter. Just a few inches, but that's… that's new. It's probably best if I carry on like this. Now that I have two skins that aren't me physically, I can swap around with them for an extra layer of security.

Achievement Progress: The Great Taylor Melting Pot. 2/10

Achievement Progress: They wanted trouble. 3/100

Your "Knot-Tying" skill has increased by 1!

Your "First Aid" skill has increased by 1!

Your level has increased by 1!

Sweet! What's my Status like now?

Name: Taylor Hebert
Class: The Gamer
Title: N/A

Level: 4 EXP: 86.96%

HP: 760/760
MP: 960/960

Strength: 19
Vitality: 14
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 12
Luck: 2

Attribute Points: 21
Money: $299.30

Wow, my numbers got quite a bit bigger. I'm almost tempted to spend at least eight points into Luck, but… I've already got plans to raise it during game night this weekend, so I'll wait.

Most of that money is from tonight. Two hundred from the Yakuza dude, and twenty-five bucks each after I tied up the other two goons. I frown. I also got several magazines for a gun. A gun that I technically stole. I'll figure out what to do with that later. The same with the Nazi's knife. Maybe after I actually can go public with a cape identity proper, I can turn it into the PRT?

As I enter the graveyard proper, I realize it's really dark. There aren't any lights out here. Of course, why would the city waste electricity on a portion of the old docks no one uses anymore? Rather than use one of my flashlights for paranoia's sake, I just wait for my eyes to adjust to the dark. When I can see a bit better, I note I'm surrounded by gigantic abandoned cargo cranes, the rusted metal of old containers, packs of snow, and icy fog. I scan amongst the old hulks of what used to be ships for the best place to train. I'll need an enclosed space that can hide away the light I'll be creating from my mana, but someplace that's roomy enough to actually let me practice without blowing myself up. Luckily there are dozens of vessels here: tankers and other assorted cargo vessels. Any one of those would be perfect.

Picking one that was amazingly both in its dock and intact, I made my way to where a boarding platform connected to the cargo ship's deck. Compared to most of the other rusted skeletal wrecks, it was in rather remarkable good condition. Even seaworthy going by my Observe, despite the sheets of metal stripped off its hull by scavengers over the years.

Curious, I walk towards the end of the dock to see why this boat was left. Before I even reach the end, I can see another rusted hulk, a much larger cargo container ship, that was partially sunk right outside of my choice's docking. Yeah, figures.

As I turned around, I couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. The only noises near me were the lazy waves of the ocean, and the unsettling creaking and groaning of the shifting ships. The sirens in the distance were at most whispers, for the mere moments I could hear them at all. It was the perfect setting for a horror novel all in all. Kind of surreal considering how close it is to Dad's job.

Before long, I was on the deck of the ship I picked, my shoes crunching atop the few inches of snow above the metal flooring. The door to the innards of the vessel was already open. Given the amount of snow inside, it's been like this for a while so I shouldn't have to worry about anyone actually being here. Maybe during the spring or fall it would be a larger concern, but it's too cold as it is. It may be in the thirties tonight, but it could easily get worse depending upon the cold fronts moving in. The different shipping companies' abandoned warehouses likely are better picks for the homeless in this part of the city anyways.

I made my way down into the pitch black depths of the ship. Once I was a good distance in, I grab a flashlight from my inventory and use it to look around. At least here, I didn't have to worry about someone seeing it. It took some time exploring the vessel, but I soon found what I was looking for: an empty cargo hold. The hatch door acting as a roof is closed, and likely covered in snow. This is the perfect place for me to practice.

The first thing I need to do is work out how Energy Bomb works. If I can figure out what the difference between stable and unstable mana is, I'm sure I'll be able to find different ways I can use it… hopefully without blowing myself up again. I put my flashlight away, the room is instantly blanketed in darkness. I open up my menu, its light the only thing I can see. I bring up a hand… and notice it as only a dark blob… despite how bright my boxes are, nothing but they are illuminated. That's… that's really weird. I shake my head and take a look at the specifics of the skill.

[Energy Bomb (active) Lv 1 EXP 00.00%]
A skill using unstable mana to create a magical explosive.
With more mastery, more powerful and diverse types of
bombs can be created. Intelligence increases Damage and
Max Charge.

Damage: 11 per 1 MP
Maximum Charge: 63 MP
Charge Rate: 1 MP per sec

Okay. I'm not sure how I can customize it right now, but that's interesting. So, a minute of charging gives me a bomb that can cause six-hundred and ninety three damage. That's definitely lethal. If I throw it after just charging for a few seconds, that's… a blip. In order to really use it, I would just need to get to the sweet spot of knocking someone out rather than outright killing them… but that charge time. I don't think I can just stand in the middle of a fight and charge an attack like that without getting killed. I could just use a small bomb as a close-ranged distraction. A small bomb going off near someone's face would still be somewhat effective.

...I should know.

Energy Bomb.

Mana surges from my battery to my left hand, a blue glowing orb coming to life there, the only light within the room now. This time I don't cut the connection from my battery, and just hold it. The orb doesn't pulse nor change in size, which means that the connection keeps it from exploding. I push more mana into it, and the ball grows a bit larger. I pull mana from it, and the ball shrinks. I pull all of the mana from it, and the ball simply winks out of existence.

So, I don't have to commit if I don't want to, but… I practice pushing mana into a ball for a few seconds, and then pull it back into my battery. The charge rate works both ways. The larger the bomb I make, the more time I'd have to spend disarming it if I don't want it going off. I could even use them as an improvised torch…

Hmm. I make another, and only charge it for a couple seconds. When it's golf-ball sized, I cut its connection. The glowing ball of azure energy again starts to distort, shifting in size. This time, instead of looking on with my eyes gobsmacked, I focus on feeling it. Even without it connected to my battery, I can still feel it as a part of me. Like the energy inside me, the mana in the ball swirls and swishes, but it's violent. It's less like a stream and more like a maelstrom, and it's getting worse. That's only the energy in the very center of the sphere. The outside portions are more calm, but as the ball shifts and bulges, those parts start to act like the center.

Not wanting to repeat what happened last time, I grip down on the orb and chuck it at the far side of the cargo bay. The ball leaves my hand… but doesn't arc or fall. It simply flies straight forward the moment it left my hand, ignoring gravity completely. It bounces off the far wall, then starts to slow, and then finally stops in mid-air. A few seconds later, when the chaotic swirls reach the outermost layer, it explodes in a burst of light and smoke. I wince at the noise the explosion makes echoing through the hulk. Can't do too much about that, but as long as I don't let loose a fully charged bomb, I should be fine about not attracting unwanted attention from outside of the graveyard.

Okay, now why did it ignore gravity? Is it just a natural thing about my mana or…? I throw another one, and this time I try to control it, trying to move it so the bomb falls to the ground. But it doesn't work. The mana inside me is easy to move, but now that the ball's not connected to me, it feels… sluggish. Every time I try to force it down, up, left, or right I feel a tingling sensation, the same I get from a sleeping limb. Eventually, it explodes and the feeling disappears with it.

Hmm, I throw out another one, and once it's a good distance I try to change it. Instead of trying to make it move, I try to make the mana inside the ball act like a maelstrom rather than a stream. It takes a few seconds to force the mana into that chaotic swirl, but once I'm done, almost immediately the ball blows up. With a smile, I shoot out another and try the opposite. Again, after a few seconds of focus, the ball simply stops it's warping and remains calm like when they're in my hand. I stop controlling the mana and it starts to distort again. Eventually it explodes like normal.

So, I can control when my bombs detonate and can even keep them from going off by messing with how the mana moves in each bomb. Alright. Can I do that with multiple bombs at once? If I throw out a few at a time and had control over all of them… that'd give me quite a few options.

I place my hands palm up in front of me and focus as I try to move mana to both of my hands at the same time. It's… not easy. Not at all. Moving two streams of Mana inside me is… it's like trying to pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time when you've only just learned how to move your arms. In the process, I lose focus on one stream and the mana I'm no longer controlling surges immediately from one arm to the other. I try again, but this time both streams of energy just slam back into my battery when my concentration slips entirely.

I take a deep breath, roll up my sleeves, and close my eyes. I ignore my body and focus entirely on moving my mana. Instead of the normal rush of willing my Mana as a single entity here and there, I slowly just push two streams of mana to both of my hands. What normally happens in a near instant, I painfully extend into two minutes of slow and agonizing progress.

Eventually I manage to get a good bit of mana in both arms, and I can almost get them to my hands. My head feels like its in a vice from how hard I'm focusing, but luckily there's no pain. However right when I get the mana into my hands, I'm stuck.

I can feel the gathered mana in my hands, but there's this resistance when I try to gather it outside of my body into a bomb. If I lose my concentration on keeping the mana where it is, I'll have to start all over again, but for some reason, the mana itself won't manifest into my hands from the slow pushing I'm exerting on it.

I grit my teeth in frustration, and simply start piling more and more mana into the blockages in my hands. Unfortunately, instead of this forcing the mana out of me like squeezing the back of a full toothpaste tube like I hoped, the mana just starts to compress on itself getting denser and heavier. Eventually once I reach my limit, I lose all patience and simply fucking push the bastards with all my mind. My concentration on both hands suddenly slips in the effort. Immediately the resistance vanishes and the vice on my head is lifted. The mana in my left hand disperses back into my battery near instantly while a bolt of blue energy blasts out of my right hand slamming into the ceiling! The projectile explodes into a flash of light and smoke, the noise reverberating throughout the cargo hold, while the recoil makes me fall on my butt.

A blue box pops in front of me. I read it as I stand back up.

A skill has been created through a special action!

Through practicing the use of pressurized mana, a skill to create magic projectiles, "Energy Bolt", has been created!

[Energy Bolt (active) Lv 1 EXP 00.00%]
A skill using pressurized mana to create a magical
projectile. With more mastery, more powerful
and diverse types of projectiles can be created.
Intelligence increases damage.

Damage: 69
Cost: 50 MP

Huh. Okay… Not what I was going for, but I'll take it! The excitement wears off and my exuberant smile slips into a pout. Why can't I do two things with my Mana at the same time? Is there something I'm not doing right? I sigh. Maybe I can work on it while meditating? For now, I'll table that. For now…

I grin and point my hand at the far wall. Energy Bolt! I brace my firing hand's wrist as another blast of blue energy leaves my body and slams into the far wall.

"I've got a Blaster power. I've got a Blaster power!" I laugh. Okay, maybe the Energy Bomb counts as a Blaster power as well, but… it's like the difference between Flashbang and Laserdream. When you think Blaster, you think laser beams not energy grenades…

Wait, wait, wait... my Energy Bombs are really similar to Flashbang's orbs on a glance, aren't they? I look at my hand. Could I make my Energy Bombs act more like actual flash bangs rather than a normal explosive? It said I could customize it eventually, right? If I could modify that… where does it end? Could I also turn my Energy Bolt into an Energy Beam? Why not use my Mana as a shield? Or even try to make an Energy Weapons skill to emulate Brandish?

An old dream suddenly came to mind. One so fantastic that I almost dismiss it. If my mana could emulate most of the powers of New Wave… maybe I could even use it to fly?

Quest Alert:
The Mirror of your Dreams
Learn how to fly and make your fantasy reality.

Time limit: N/A
Reward: +10,000 EXP, +10 Dexterity, +10 Luck
Failure Penalty: Never realizing your dream.

...I can learn how to fly?

…

I can learn how to fly.

...

I can learn how to fly!

I close out the window with a smile on my face… and frown as I notice the room being illuminated by an orange glow. I'm not alone anymore.

I quickly turn around and see a girl staring at me near the entrance of the cargo bay, dressed in rags and her hand on fire.

(Homeless Cape)
LV 8 Emily Dawson/Spitfire

She takes a stuttering step back, her eyes wide and fearful through the faded ribbon she's using as an impromptu mask. Then she turns and runs.

AN: "I aim to release a chapter every two weeks!" - Me, exactly a year ago.

Yeah… sorry for the delay. Life just… well Life. First it was the holidays, then it was Kingdom Hearts 3 (of course), then my first D&D 5th edition campaign, and… then the sucker punch. My Grandmother's health declined.

So, we flew out to Texas last spring, and got to visit her. Her condition worsened while we were there. I got to say goodbye to her, and was in the room when she stopped breathing on the second day of our visit.

Dealing with that… I wasn't really in the mood to write. At all. She was my last living grandparent, and it just hit hard. Well, hopefully I can get back into the saddle now that I'm mostly recovered from that, but I will be writing a Chapter in her memory in the future. I've already started on it, but it's chronologically going to be later on.

So, again, I'm sorry for the wait.

Also, if anyone would like to assist as a beta, please PM me. My previous crew are really busy with schooling and whatnot, so having more people available to preview and edit the chapters with me on the discord will help me a lot. As such, this chapter did not go through the normal process that few previous chapters did, so if there are any mistakes or things that you think should be fixed let me know.