Two years had passed since finishing the beginner course. Null had undergone some significant changes over this period. He had been spending more time out of the VR pod as the intermediate course required him to train his muscle memory and intuition which could not be accomplished inside VR.
As Null aged and developed he became more aware of the other voice in his head. He even began to experiment with controlling it. One day he asked the voice a simple question. "Who are you?"
** Input Detected**
**Response: The name of this program is The Alterra True Magic System**
"what are you?"
**Response: Training Program For Compatible Alterra Seeds**
"What an Alterra Seeds"
** Response: Information Restricted A Ranking of Advance Mage Required**
"What is my current rank?"
**Response: Current Ranking: Novice Level 0**
**Recommendation: Run Magic Tutorial**
"Run Magic tutorial"
The system uploaded the knowledge of novice spell casting into Null mind. The tutorial covered only the minimal fundamentals. A spell required 3 components. Affinity to the magic school, clear Intent, action and energy to effect the change. The tutorial instructed Null on how to cast the Blink spell.
Spell: Blink
Affinity: Space
Intent: Teleport a distance less than 25m away from current location
Energy Requirement: 3
Null was expected to have an accelerated mental age of a 6-year-old but the nature of the training and the constant stimulation had accelerated their growth further. Null had attempted to recast blink following the tutorial but had been unable to reenter fusion mode since the beginner course final exam. Without fusion mode, he didn't have the energy required to cast spells.
The Watcher was glad that Null didn't display the ability to teleport in the real world, He had feared that he may have been an anomaly that would cause complications.
Null had multiple advantages over other humans but unknown to him his most significant advantage was the ability to hear the voice of the universe. Since birth, He had been hearing a tune playing in the background. The system had named this ability the voice of the universe. This voice had been slightly muted in the VR environment.
In the real world, the tune was different and had many layers of complexity added to it. He found that by listening to this voice he would gain a deeper understanding of the universe. Null was currently meditating and had his attention drawn to a particular melody.
**Space Affinity Increased +5**
** Blink max range increase to 35m**
"What the point if I can't even cast the spell in the first place" Null was lamenting his lack of power. He had wanted to be able to cast spells.
**Mission Granted: Built battlesuit with energy rating > 10**
Null eyes lit up, he didn't know that he could use energy from an external source
The Watcher had supplied him with a technical database and a workshop to use but had forbidden him from using any technology that used alien understanding. This was a precaution as The Watcher wanted Null to be able to re-enter human society one day. Null had a vast technical knowledge to work from when creating the suit.
Null used that knowledge to design a suit that used carbon nanotube and wax hybrid muscles combined with nanogel padding and a powered exoskeleton. He also designed a portable plasma shield using plasma windows and electromagnetism. All of this used energy and he need extra energy to meet the mission requirements.
He had a multitude of options for creating a power supply. The current cream of the crop human power supply was a fusion reactor. He wished he could have used The Watcher vacuum energy reactor but that was alien technology.
Null was stuck, he wanted more power but all the options seemed limited. He wanted to use an antimatter reactor, but the current human ones were extremely cumbersome and not suitable for a suit. Null decided to try and use the voice of the universe again to see if he could make a breakthrough.
** Quantum Affinity increased +3 **
The system message appeared immediately after he made a discovery that would allow him to miniaturise the antimatter reactor. Now that he had all the components designed he had to move to fabrication.
'I wish Zero would let me use the good toys, I want to use the materialiser it would be quicker than this nano printer' Null complained in his mind while he went about building the exosuit. Zero was the nickname he had come up with for The Watcher, due to him looking like a bunch of zero's.
It took him more than a couple of weeks and a considerable amount of testing, but he had finally built his first battle suit. While this was happening The Watcher had been monitoring the situation.
'Antimatter, where did he get the knowledge to build that? It is a technology that humans could develop but it would require years of research but he did it in only a couple of weeks. Should I intervene? What will happen if he takes that suit back into society' He had no idea why Null had decided to build a suit in the first place.
Null had finished testing the latest version of the suit, and it was performing as expected. It had increased both Null speed and strength. The plasma energy shield mimicked an old-time tower shield that could be turned on and off at will. The shield was held in the left arm, while on the right arm he had installed a mini-rail gun as well as a stun glove for hand to hand combat.
Once completed the system gave the suit an evaluation.
**Name: Exosuit Mk1**
** Statistics: Def:+10 , Str +7, Dex +4 , Energy:+11**
**Ability: Blink Energy Requirements -2**
** Mission Complete. Reward: Skill Unlock Instant Blink **
Null couldn't wait to try out this new skill. He put on the suit and picked a location to end his blink. Once the location was locked he realised that each location had a unique sound and that the spell required the input of both sounds. 'The system must have taken care of that, he goes nothing. Blink'
Null inputted the mental command to blink and his body teleported across the room. An alarm in the room started to sound "unauthorised field manipulation detected. Level 1 lockdown initiated".