Raymond slowly woke up from his dream to find himself lying on a bed in a strange room. The room was slightly dark. It took him a few seconds to reorient his thoughts and make sense of what happened. There was a lamp next to the bed, and Ray switched it on.
This was the first time he had ever experienced a dream so vivid. Not to mention, he dreamt about being someone else. And of all people, it had to be Hera. Never would he have imagined his first meeting with her would be in his dreams…or was it her dream. Whatever it meant, Ray had no clue. He decided to the matter file away. He would ask Athena when they meet again.
Slowly, Ray sat upright. Afraid he was going to get another migraine. But what he experienced surprised him. His mind was clear. His brain was relaxed, and his thoughts were fluid. It didn't take long before he realized it wasn't just his brain, but his senses also felt different.
There was something that Ray sensed flowing inside the walls and not just the room he was in, but the whole building. He also felt an intimate connection to it. Focusing on this newfound feeling, he traced this flow, and his trail ended at a socket that the lamp was connected to.
A light bulb went on in his head, and as a hunch, Ray extended his hand towards the lamp before releasing his will. The light from the lamp flickered for a second before it dimmed. With a snap of his fingers, the lamp turned off. Raymond grinned. Releasing his will, the lamp lit up again.
Raymond was instantly delighted. His control range had increased. It was a lot better than having to physically connect to the current in order to manipulate it. He then opened his palm and pointed it to a wall about five meters away.
A small bolt shot out but immediately went to the floor after covering two meters. Ray sighed; while his control range had increased, his projection still sucked. The only solution still remained at finding a bigger power source.
Raymond then got out of the bed, but the moment he stood; he knew it was a bad idea. His balance was off, and he almost found himself back on the bed. As he worked on his equilibrium, he also felt his clothes tighten.
'Another growth spurt.' Raymond groaned; the last time he had a growth spurt, he had to make drastic changes in his life, and none of it was pleasant. But he had to make sure.
While dreading the inevitable, Ray found himself in the bathroom and looking at himself in the mirror. His short-sleeved shirt barely reached his waistline. The sleeves had also grown shorter, and the buttons looked like they were about to pop. Ray didn't need to check his pants to know they were also a size too short and snug. He had grown taller.
When he came out of the bathroom, his phone chimed. Opening it, he found a text from Charles checking in on him. He sent a quick reply; he was on his way back. When he checked the time, Ray found out it was almost nightfall. This meant he had been sleeping for hours.
Right that moment, he heard swish-like sounds coming from outside, when another familiar feeling hit his senses. Although this one was different from the power flow which he could feel it throughout the building.
The impression he got from this new source was stronger, pulsating, and almost beckoning him to control it. Like a moth to a flame, Ray followed the source and found himself in Bob's backyard again.
There were only two people left; Emma and Bob. The former was lounging in one of the backyard chairs, while the latter was wielding glowing swords and swinging them around.
Ray had never seen an enchanted weapon before, and everything he knew came from reading way ahead. Which was better than waiting for his teachers. While he was still a novice when it came to using magic, his learning ability was far too advanced for his current level.
Enchantments, as far as Ray knew, were categorized into two. There was the Live Enchantment, which is the equivalent of an Active or Live Spell. These spells draw magic directly from a Source and are essentially the most powerful, but they also unravel the moment their connection to a Source is cut off.
There was a clear difference between a Live Enchantment and a Live Spell. A typical Live Spell like the Sleeping Spell Ray was familiar with, will keep drawing from the Source until it accomplishes its objective, which in this case, is inducing sleep. A Live Enchantment, on the other hand, only draws from the Source when its potency weakens past a certain threshold to power itself and will keep drawing until unless the spell broken.
The other enchantment was the Loop Enchantment. This type of enchantment has the magic placed in a loop-like state that ensures a spell doesn't naturally unravel. This loop is only made possible through an Anchor or a Pseudo Source.
Typically, when any magic is cast, it acts according to the spell, and once it's done, it dissipates. This is where Anchors come in.
The big difference between normal spells and enchantments is that enchantments are virtually permanent and do not require continuous casting, which drains the caster both physically and mentally.
The only downside was that enchantments were complex and always need an Anchor or a Pseudo Source to take effect. But instead of the spell unraveling like a normal spell, the magic is absorbed back into the Anchor and released again, creating a loop.
If the Anchor is destroyed, then the spell unravels. But on the flip side, enchantments can remain active over a long period of time unless they are destroyed.
The swords that Ray was currently drawn to, had the Loop Enchantment, with the two aquamarine gemstones serving as the Anchor. This was the first time Ray experienced what an enchantment felt like. He could feel his magic calling to him, and subconsciously wanted to connect to it.
Ray shook his head to get rid the feeling. The swords weren't his, regardless of the fact that he was responsible for the enchantment. Besides, there was one other aspect about enchantments—especially weapons—that Ray knew.
The owner could imprint on the weapon even if they couldn't cast magic. This created a sort of master-and-slave bond between the user and the enchantment.
This bond would create a conflict of interest. So, unless Ray took back his magic; he would have no other way of overriding Bob's command over the swords.
"What do you think?" Bob asked without turning.
"I don't know. I passed out before I got to see the results of the enchantment." Ray replied.
"Sorry about that. I should have intervened sooner," Emma said apologetically.
"No problem. I'm all better now." Ray didn't blame her. Part of the blame laid with him, as he ignored his limits trying to see if he could fill up the aquamarine gemstones.
"You feel strange," Bob had a funny look when he turned to face Raymond.
Ray just shrugged. "I hit another growth spurt."
Emma shook her head. "No, you're different. Your aura is more…distinct. I couldn't tell what you were when we first met, but now…now you have a faint trace of Olympian blood that is more common among Demigods."
"He's taller too," Bob added.
Raymond didn't know what to do because he had no way of knowing. He had long attempted to tell the difference between species before, but he came up with nothing. He couldn't even tell if someone was Supernatural or not and had long since given up. That was until his new changes.
Looking at Bob again, Raymond tried to find anything that was out of the ordinary, but all he got was a six-foot two, well-buff guy wielding two swords. But right then something clicked in his mind.
He had once seen a ghost while inside a bathroom back at his former University. It was the same feeling he had when he was about to trade blows with Adrastea.
But since that bathroom incident, he had found it impossible to recreate it. The more he tried, the weaker the grasp he had of that sensation. Closing his eyes, his mind went back to that fateful morning and tried to recall every detail and sensation he had.
Emma looked at Raymond and wondered what he was thinking before she felt a change around Raymond's body. Unlike Bob, whose senses were of physical nature, she could use magic, which gave her mystic senses too. What she sensed was Raymond's aura becoming stronger.
The backyard was suddenly saturated with ozone. There were audible crackling sounds and sparks of electricity all around his body. The lights coming from the building began to dim, and when Raymond opened his eyes, they were glowing blue.
Emma immediately stood, while Bob pointed his swords at Raymond.
"Relax, I won't attack you guys." Ray chuckled, but when he heard his voice, even he himself was peeved. It was an inhuman mix of cracking thunder and whip crack. But Ray didn't care. He had achieved his goal.
Not only could he replicate the sensation, but when he looked at Bob and Emma, what he saw made him delighted. Bob's true form was visible, and Raymond saw him as a Centaur rather than a human buff guy. Although it was all in shades of blue.
Emma, on the other, had looked like a Mermaid, but Mermaids were a separate race while Emma was an Oceanid, which was a sub-race of Nymphs. While the two races had striking resemblance, Mermaids were strictly marine and could not live outside the oceans, but Oceanids could shapeshift into their human forms and walk on land.
Raymond held on for almost ten seconds before letting go and returning back to normal. The only problem he had was that his clothes were semi burned, and smoke could be seen rising from his body.
It didn't matter anyway. He had two days to get a new wardrobe before he registered for the Contest.
"Our deal is settled. I'll be leaving," Raymond said before brown mist enveloped his body, and he disappeared from sight.
He teleported back to the mansion, where he took the portal back to Olympus. The first thing he did was hit the gym. After a quick measurement, he found out he had added two more inches, which now placed him squarely at six-foot-five.
However, the biggest shock came from his strength. He hadn't felt any change in his muscles, but found out he could bench five times what he used to without breaking a sweat. He was also lighter and quicker than before.
Ray secretly smiled and anticipated his next training with Charles. The next two days went by in a blur, and finally, the day of the Contest had arrived.