Chapter 3: First Taste of Power
Brian set the glass down and leaned back in his chair, staring at the dim computer screen. It finally unlocked Genesis Quest. He was close to the truth he had been looking for. … the cost was more than he expected, however…
He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. "This is nothing," he muttered.
Past life memories creeping back, rifle biting into his shoulder, faces he couldn't save, marches under a blistering sun. It was nothing compared to that.
"It's just another mission," his voice steadied, "You've been through worse. One more hurdle to overcome".
His legs wobbled, but he would not sit back down. His eyes were hard, his hands were fists.
---
The Genesis Tower was worlds apart from the plaza that Brian had begun his journey in, the first floor of it. Gasped the air was thick, heavy with magic that seeped into his bones. The faint light from glowing runes carved across the walls of smooth black stone were sucked up and absorbed, casting eerie shadows across the stillness.
The echoes of the strikes rang against the cold stone, leaving me with no more company than myself. The Tower was alive, hastily, watching, waiting for Brian to falter.
Something shifted slightly under his boot, and he stopped abruptly. His instincts screamed at him to move, and a soft click echoed through the corridor.
He dove forward, hitting the ground just as arrows shot out of the walls. One of the projectiles grazed his shoulder, and the sharp hiss of the projectiles filled the air. He gritted his teeth, pressed himself flat against the cold floor until the barrage stopped.
His voice was tight, "Traps," he muttered. He leaned against a pillar by, catching his breath, and scanning the corridor ahead.
His eyes were sharp enough to pick out the faint outlines of more traps. He crouched low, studying the rhythm of the arrows fired at him from the walls.
He murmured, his mind running through three second intervals, the safest path forward.
Every muscle in his body coiled and he crouched low.
"Three… two… one… Go!"
Weaving through the barrage of the deadly, he sprinted. Dodging the final volley he had only a shallow cut on his arm and his breaths were short gasps.
The next trial was to be even more treacherous. The shadows seemed to part and stone statues with the same eerie blue glow as their eyes came forward. The movements were precise and deliberate, and they were huge with their massive swords being worn down the air with lethal force.
Swing aimed at Brian's head was ducked by Brian narrowly. His mind ran quickly over the patterns of the statues. His eyes stuck on the glowing cores at the center of their chests.
Brian dropped, ducked another swing and moved with purpose, swift strike after swift strike. He shattered the glowing cores of his blade, pulverizing the statues.
Sweat dripped from his body by the time he reached the heart of the floor. His breathing was labored, his hands were trembling from the exertion.
He looked around in the golden light and saw at the center of the room a pedestal. Above it a pulsing, intricate MANA circle glowed, the symbol of these names once otherworldly, now mundane.
In a cautious approach Brian looked around the room for traps hidden. He knew as soon as it was safe for him to reach out, his hand hovering over the MANA circle.
Brian felt the surge of power like a tidal wave hit his body jerk back, and he stumbled clutching his chest. His ears rang with his heartbeat, loud and persistent.
The area filled him with golden light which blinded him for a moment. It coursed through him, all the energy in him was overwhelming—his muscles tensed, as if molten fire flowed through his veins.
His ragged and desperate breaths gasped. He could sense that MANA now. It wasn't just in the Tower. It was everywhere. Even in the real world.
Brian closed his eyes, focused on that sensation. Underneath his skin is moved, it was steady, it was strong, like a river flowing within him. He reached out with his thoughts tentatively. The surrounding air shifted.
His mind raced. So what else could you do with MANA, if it could be used outside the game? How far could this power go?
Unease flickered at the edges of his thoughts but. Now the surrounding air was charged with a foreign energy. A warning.
Brian's hands went dark, and he clenched his fists. The MANA was still there, steady and unrelenting. There were no answers yet, but there were plenty of possibilities.
He looked back to the fading glow of the MANA circle. He turned without hesitation toward the staircase of the second floor of the Genesis Tower.
---
Brian still reeled from the surge of energy experienced in the Genesis Tower, but he sat motionless in his chair. His muscles tingled faintly, as if the MANA coursing through him had woken something up, something he didn't know.
Brian leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, the quiet hum of the VR system falling to background. He stared at his hands, his hands trembled slightly.
He murmured, "they seem different."
His fingers flexed easily, and at his astonishment. His reflexes were sharp, he had a sense of control he hadn't had before. Brian joints were still stiff, but stiff differently, almost liquid.
Brian stood up from the chair. His legs, sturdy and strong, bore him into the room, as graceful as recruiting caught him off, easily. He crouched, then one smooth motion, brought himself to his feet.
He muttered, 'Stamina's better too.'
It was sharper, clearer air. The trees outside rustled slightly, each leaf brushing against the other in a cacophony he would have otherwise missed. His desk lamp, dim light, felt brighter, its warm glow illuminating every crease in the books and papers strewn across his desk.
Brian's grin spread unbidden, but impossible to suppress.
This… this was real, he breathed.
---
The palm of Brian turned, it stared at it with excitement and apprehension. He remembered conjuring MANA in the Tower. Could he do it now, outside the game?
Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He pulled inward, searching for the steady flow of energy that he now flowed through…ever since he'd completed the Genesis Quest.
At first, there was nothing. A bead of sweat appeared on his temple.
Frustration was creeping in, he whispered.
That's when, just like a spark catching fire, he felt it: a warmth starting from his chest, radiating down his arm to his palm.
He opened his eyes.
In the center of his hand a small flame flickered to life. The golden light danced and swayed around the walls and around it.
Brian's breath hitched. The flame felt real, warm but not burning, listening to any twitch of his fingers. His hand tilted and the flame with it grew as he gained confidence.
He breathed, and couldn't look away from the mesmerizing glow.
But his joy was short-lived.