Alex settled down for a few hours dozing on and off before he felt that he was at peak energy. After that he started to practice Gravity Control. It was strange. Alex felt like he was using invisible rubber bands to slowly pull and bounce an object around. He tried first his shoe and it didn't even lift an inch off the floor before he started to feel dizzy. After he realized he had overestimated the ability he settled on a piece of paper.
The paper moved much better than the larger items but the thing that really was off about the whole thing is that it was very unstable. It was like every time he applied the skill it would pull the object up with the rubber band but if he didn't maintain it it would return back to normal. So exerting force moved it in a direction but getting it to go back down and to normal was very jarring. It looked like the object was bouncing up and down in the air randomly. It was no way elegant and no way powerful. After using the ability for a little more he set it to the side as he prepared to test out his newly found Shadow Manipulation level up.
He focused on the simple shadow orb that he was able to create before. It seemed that with the upgrade of the skill it formed much quicker and cost much less then the previous version of the skill. The ball formed in a little over 20 seconds. After that he practiced moving it around and found that it was much easier to do so then before and he could move it much quicker. He slowly brought it to his bed and gently grabbed it but found that it wasn't physical. 'What the hell? Didn't it say I could make the shadow physical' Alex thought in a confused manner.
He focused on the orb and tried to understand what exactly he was doing wrong. Before he knew it he felt like he could condense it. It was a strange feeling almost like it was an empty husk that when injected with his.... mental force would become more. After a few minutes the orb seemed to change color. Instead of a pitch black orb it became a black orb surrounded by white wisps. He focused for a few minutes before gently grasping the ball once more. The orb felt almost like rubber, but more squishy. He grasped it and molded it in his hands, he felt that his mental control of it seemed to dim the more he interacted with it.
He gently began practicing his control and his ability to touch his own shadows. It took a few days for him to make a break through. He was simply trying to change the ball in his hands instead of with his mind and before he knew it he almost subconsciously began to influence the ball with his mind and body. He used his hands to guide his mind and began using the ball like puddy, achieving a control over it in which he hadn't been able to before. He practiced for a few more hours before falling asleep in a quick manner.
---
A man in a small town in north west Europe was looking at his smart watch in anguish. The old man with white hair and very noticeable age lines cried out " Who is this Number 1 Guy!! How the hell did he defeat the millions of dollars I spent on locating the Ancient Magnet."
The man was in a wretched appearance as he felt his fine clothes begin to tear and age. It turned from fine clothes to ones that looked half rotten. His eyes began to turn milky as his skin grew more and more wrinkled. He quickly grasped a small pocket watch tied to his belt and quickly clicked a simple looking button. He began to reverse the progress that just took over him. He began to regain a little bit of vigor as he became a few days younger. He looked at himself in a nearby mirror before looking at the watch in his hands.
"I don't know if I can last for long if I can't get rid of a few more Wielders and gain there power. I need to live!" he said with anger.
---
Alex awoke to the feeling of being watched. He stuttered awake to the sight of a tired John entering the room with a doctor. After entering and seeing that Alex was awake he let out a beaming smile and proceeded to say "Alex. I have great news. After asking a lot of friends for favors I finally managed to get all the information required and processes completed quickly and managed to get it to where you can live with us. We can adopt you officially Alex!"
Alex heard the words echo through his head before he felt himself letting out a stupid grin. "I can't wait." He said simply. After around thirty minutes he and John were out of the hospital and on there way home. Alex was incredibly happy about the situation he was in but felt.... guilty. He felt guilty that he was hiding everything about the race he was in to John and Sarah. He felt that if he could Just reach out then maybe he wouldn't feel so bad about this whole scenario. He felt like he was taking advantage of them.
The thoughts ran through his head for awhile before a noise interrupted him. It was his watch. The new quest had finally been released. John didn't even flinch at the sudden intrusive sound that came from the watch. Alex looked at the message quickly.
Hello Wielders, the council would like to announce to you your second quest and your first warning. This quest will have to deal with combat. Each week you will have to fight a creature sent by us and if you manage to kill it you will be rewarded. If they kill you then you will not suffer any penalties and instead will be resurrected back to your death point. Now for the warning and a tip. The creatures you see will be mechanical and might seem fake like. We promise you that these are perfect replicas of there actual counter parts. If you don't learn and grasp this quick you will regret it. In the future you will not be fighting these machines but the real thing. And there will not be a second chance.
P.S. Who ever gets the quickest average kills will gain an additional power point. :D
Alex read the letter and frowned in worry. Combat. It wasn't something he had overlooked but it was the sinister tone that really worried him. We will be fighting the real thing in the future? Why not fight the real things now if they are perfect replicas. And there won't be a second chance. 'If that is what I think it is then that would mean death.' Alex thought with a serious look on his face.
The reward was useful but... it felt like he was walking down a path that would become dangerous, real dangerous. After a few minutes he looked at a small timer that said the first combat would be in 24 hours. He was worried. Though he thought that he should just shake off the fear. I mean there is no way he can go back now right?
They pulled up to the house and Sarah came out quickly. She wrapped Alex and John in a hug viciously before saying "I was worried about you Alex." Alex looked at her and John and said "I won't go anywhere. I promise"
He said that but.... He didn't know if it would be a promise that he would be able to keep.