Magnus looked for a suitable location, summoned his body, and stuffed his Scrolls in his pocket.
But before he could switch back with Javelin for more roaming around fun, Magnus felt Klaris' phone ring.
In fact, he heard almost everyone's MagiTech Phones buzz and ring. The entire city suddenly experienced collective silence as they all had puzzled looks on their faces. They glanced at their phones and read the message they all received.
[[ Hello everyone, MagiTech's Head Inventor here. I'll keep this message short and to the point. ]]
[[ MagiTech is happy to announce the implementation of the Magic Network! Or MagiNet for short. Access the MagiNet through the app uploaded to your phones, and enjoy worldwide coverage under normal circumstances! ]]
Instantly, people started yelling on the streets, as Magnus stood silently in surprise.
"They've done it! They actually did it!"
"How? I don't remember the Interstellar Trinity launching any satellites! How did they connect all our phones?"
"It's magic, don't you remember? Magic and technology mixed together!"
The voices were all joyous, while a few people from more primitive worlds were slightly confused as to why they were so happy. They were aware of the concept behind MagiNet, but such celebrations weren't that necessary, right?
Those were the reactions of the people. As for Magnus, he heard about MagiNet too. He just wasn't expecting to see it already.
"MagiNet... Is this... Their attempt at recreating the internet? They've succeeded?" He muttered to himself as he clicked on a button on Klaris' phone.
A holographic screen appeared, allowing Magnus to see several icons of blue and cyan.
A new icon had appeared on the MagiTech Phone screen. It was labelled "MagiNet Access."
Of course, he had to click on it.
It then opened up into a screen with only two options.
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
- Magus-Technology Forums
- Access a site!
[]=[]=[]=[]=[]=[]
Magnus had no knowledge of any websites, thus the forums were the only thing he could access. With familiarity, he navigated towards it and made an account.
With his new account, he went around the forums, discovering the posts that were just popping up as well as MagiTech's many advertisements and information posts. There was a post about the MagiNet and its launch today.
'Somewhat like R*ddit, but with its own twists,' Magnus looked at the shape of his account's avatar and couldn't help but shake his head.
As Magnus scrolled through the many MagiTech posts, he discovered a certain one that would surely pique the interest of many factions.
[[ Own your own websites now! ]]
It was a simple title, but it meant that a lot of cash was going to be spent soon.
It made Magnus chuckle.
'Should I buy one for myself in the future? I'll definitely set it as a goal.'
Since he was going to be operating alone, with his own faction, then having his own website would definitely be fun. He could accept requests and contact those in need of his services. It could be a good way to do business once he gained enough renown.
"For now, I need to go back to the Trials." Magnus sighed and switched with Javelin. 'A Spirit Technique, huh...'
For Magnus, joining a faction would be the worst idea ever. The moment he did, his Curse would kill him as any faction has a decent size to them.
'That leaves me with no leads other than criminal actions, Mirror World Thief, or inventing my own.'
.
.
.
The days passed.
During the days, Magnus would participate in the tournament, winning all but one of his battles. The one he lost was due to those fast-moving projectiles that had been analyzed as his weakness. It turned out true.
Since he was only floating around, incapable of high-speed flight, the moment his opponent opened up with a volley of cloned arrows, Magnus had a hard time.
'This girl's Blessing is that of cloning,' Magnus was inwardly surprised as he witnessed his opponent multiply.
'It's a much more terrifying opponent for me than compared to Hei-ran's Grand Intuition.'
To win, Magnus would have to throw away being flamboyant and opt for efficiency instead. Which he eventually did, under the pressure of getting shot and injured. He lost the beauty battle because of it though.
Nonetheless, he was part of the top 10 of all the youths in the city. In fact, he was ranked 2 due to his points. Only beaten by a guy whose Blessing gave him wings and a beautiful appearance. Everything he did had traces of the divine.
During the nights, Magnus would roam around Quarteridge as usual, listening to conversations and trying to find something interesting amongst all the noise.
The MagiNet was a booming topic, as even the topics on the Starry-Eyed Bout grew due to its presence.
People who had been starved of the internet for the longest time were going crazy, documenting everything they could.
The archives of the internet boomed as even those from different continents helped with it.
MagiTech was gaining so much more than they already were.
'If not for my Curse, they might have been my faction of choice.' Magnus thought while scrolling through Klaris' phone.
It seemed like Magnus had settled into a routine, but that just made him restless for some action.
And, as if the universe could hear him, something was about to happen.
Tonight, as supposedly with any night, Magnus was floating relaxedly on the rooftop of a building after using Javelin to stealthily get up.
He had split his time between eavesdropping and browsing the newly made MagiNet. He read through the many analytical posts on the internet as a way to broaden his mind when it came to the Starry-Eyed Bout and went down random rabbit holes of "facts" about the different places in the world.
He learned about how the different continents used to be worlds, just assimilated into Thare. The continent he was on right now used to be a planet that was named Haaven. Influencing a certain school into adopting a bit of its name.
"Does that mean Earth can become an actual place in the future?" Magnus thought as he 'rolled over' in boredom.
He was about to swap places with Javelin before falling asleep.
When suddenly,
A Scroll appeared in front of his face.
[[ Your Scribe is in danger. ]]
[[ Tear this Scroll to come to their aid. ]]
"Hm?" Magnus instantly straightened up.
"Finally, something to do,"
Magnus instantly tore the Scroll with a feral smile on his face. No second thoughts, no deliberations. He just went and did it.
Thus, he vanished from his place on the rooftop in a flash of light.
.
.
.
The Monster Continent. In the depths of a canyon. Nighttime.
A white-haired girl was fleeing from something in the darkness. Cuts oozed blood from different places on her body, tinged with a pale-green colour that clearly meant something bad.
Grrrraaaaaaaaah!
The bellow of a monster.
"Please," Roh So-Young whispered in desperation, "There must be someone among the millions of you brave enough to come here without explanation."
Flash!
So-Young suddenly found a teenager standing in her way after a flash of light.
"Watch out!" She tried her best to avoid crashing into him, but it was a fruitless endeavour. So-Young was on a collision course with the boy before her, and they would soon hit the ground.
And crash into him she did.
But the subsequent pain of hitting the stony ground never came. The moment she got into contact with the boy, she heard a hum of energy.
Whooooom!
The next thing she knew, gravity had been neutralized and she was floating in the air.
"So?" She heard an eerily excited voice ask, "Where's the danger you're facing— Nevermind I see it."
So-Young watched as the boy's eyes dilated in surprise.
"Run!" He tugged on her arm, "No— I mean, float! Let's go!"
.
.
.
Magnus was at first very happy to be thrown into the maws of danger until he saw the shape of the abomination that chased after his Scribe.
When he did, all his heart told him to do was run.
And flee he did, into the skies using his gravitational powers.
Broken limbs kept trying to grab at his and his Scribe's heels as they rose into the air. They grew out of the darkness and rolled around like a caterpillar ball.
It was twitching and grabbing at anything it could to help move forward.
It was a bone-chilling sight.
Luckily, Magnus could fly.
The moment he and his Scribe arrived beneath the moonlight, the monster howled and did not pursue them. It writhed in pain at the silver and gold light rays from Thare's two moons.
"Yikes," Magnus wiped the sweat off of his brow. His heart was beating heavily.
"Let's find a place for us to land," His Scribe hurriedly spoke, "Once I am relieved of the danger chasing me, you will be sent back."
Magnus nodded, commanding gravity to place his Scribe down onto a safe location in the canyon. One under the moonlight.
"My name's Magnus by the way, Miss Scribe. May I have yours?" He asked as they descended gently.
"Right, I'm So-Young. Korean, although with the coming of different worlds, I feel like Korea isn't the only place with this naming system."
"Indeed. I just met someone named Hei-ran in a tournament I joined." Magnus answered with another nod. "That's a Korean name too, is it not?"
"It is," So-Young answered with a chuckle, "A tournament, huh. Are you the one who completed the sub-Trial perchance?"
Magnus raised a brow, "You have sharp senses. I am that one you speak of. I got my Blessing and Curse from it."
Magnus gently placed So-Young onto the ground as he made a few gestures.
"See?"
"I see it. Gravity, right? Meanwhile, I got my Blessing and Curse through becoming a Scribe." So-Young answered, "It has no visual effects though. I just have these dice inside my head that roll numbers to show how likely something is to happen."
"Some kind of foresight ability?" Magnus narrowed his eyes. A few ideas surfaced in his head, "That's pretty cool."
"Yes... it kind of... is..." So-Young's words suddenly slurred.
Magnus then watched as the young lady nearly collapsed onto the ground. He quickly reversed her gravity and her wounds caught his eyes.
"No wonder I wasn't being sent back just yet..."
Magnus pursed his lips,
"She's still dying."