—Chapter 12—

—Magical Abilities—

Kellan didn’t see much of their surroundings as they left out the barricade. The hane-addicted hobos of the fringe society gave him odd looks, but their gazes never lingered long. Kellan wasn’t the type of man most considered mugging.

The TVs weren’t alive this time. The screens remained dead as they walked by.

But there was a pulse to the city that Kellan hadn’t felt before. Like a steady current of electricity was shooting through the cement. That was insane—he knew that wasn’t how conductivity operated—but it was hard to describe.

It was like the city was alive.

Once beyond the barricade, Sen stopped walking. The harsh winds blew by, and above their heads, a giant Zeppelin flew into the city at a slow and steady rate. The giant airship cast a long shadow, and Kellan held a hand over his eyes to get a better look at the ship.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Another last-minute team,” Husker replied with a sigh. “We’re going to have a lot of competition.”

Mavis held her long hair back in one hand. “Damn. How many teams are there going to be?”

“I suspect close to a hundred.”

Which means at least 500 people, if each team has to have a minimum of five members. Kellan found it harder and harder to believe that their team would succeed. If everyone here knows what’s going on, they’ll have the advantage.

The Zeppelin continued overhead, the entire airship nearly 800 feet long. It casually entered the city, the sound of the engines reverberating off the skyscrapers of the twisted Fayetteville.

“So, do we have any equipment?” Kellan asked, acutely aware he didn’t have his sidearm anymore.

Husker tugged at his hood. “Equipment?”

“Gas masks? Weapons? Body armor? Vehicles our own? Boots?” Kellan circled his hand. “Something that will give us an edge?”

“We have Xiang. Her illusions are second to none.”

“That’s not going to save us in every situation, will it?”

Perhaps it would? But Kellan didn’t like being unprepared. His CO would’ve ripped him a new asshole if he thought he could go into enemy territory without having some sort of backup plan or tools to escape a terrible situation.

Sen slowly exhaled. “We can get equipment…”

“Don’t command Kellan anything,” Mavis snapped. “Explain it to us.”

“I could command you.” Sen shot her a sideways glare. “The worms in your body have almost infested you entirely.”

The statement sent silence through the group.

Kellan waved away the comment. “Where do we get equipment? I’m interested. Please tell us.”

“Well, my sister gathered for us several locations of interest.” Sen reached into his oversized robes and withdrew a piece of paper. The tiny print on the page was more Chinese hanzi. Sen read from the page. “There are places in the Nexus where things come over from other dimensions. My sister knows how to find these worm holes, if you will.”

“Okay. And what comes through to the Nexus?”

“People, objects, buildings.” Sen glared at the paper. “What we need to do, is head to the closest location with—” He stopped himself mid-sentence. Then a smile crept onto his face. “No. I found something. We’ll get you Sevriss.”

“No,” Husker growled. He lowered himself down onto his hands and stood like a wolf. Now that his eyes were closer to Sen’s, he glared at the child. “Not that. You’ve already taken too many risks. Let’s find something easy—nothing magical—and get back to Xiang.”

Sen scoffed as he stuffed the paper into his robes. “Your inability to take risks is why you’re hexed, Husker. Let me and my sister do all the decision making.” He waved him aside and then walked off the road and onto the scrublands just outside Nexus-Fayetteville. “Come, warrior, before I have to command you like a dog.”

Kellan crossed his arms. “I’ve only known you for five minutes and already I understand why your mother left you and disappeared into another dimension.”

“Don’t provoke him,” Mavis said as she placed a hand on Kellan’s forearm. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Sen either didn’t hear, or didn’t acknowledge the snide remark, because he said nothing. He hurried out toward a grouping of trees in the far distance, far from the buildings and roads. It looked like abandoned woodland—the kind of place someone would film a horror movie—and Kellan already felt his muscles growing tense.

Once Sen was out of earshot, Husker stood back on two legs. “Be careful,” he whispered. “There are some dimensions so distorted by violence and power, that even one of their simple teacups can lead to downfall and despair.”

Mavis couldn’t stop herself from laughing once. “I guess that’s our new destination, huh? Deadly teacup?” She offered Kellan a smirk. “I can’t wait to see you deal with that.”

***

The “wilderness” around Fayetteville was a mix of an abandoned mobile park home, and haunted forest. Trees were scattered around everywhere, including jutting through mobile homes, right in the middle. Moss, leaves, and mushrooms grew over most surfaces, including the deflated tires of the white trash abodes.

A smell of gasoline and rot irritated Kellan’s nose, but he didn’t let that distract him. He kept his eyes opened, hoping they would trigger on something. Unfortunately, he only got notifications on some of the plants.

Magical Item [Plant]—Deathweed

A potent leafy vine filled with remnants of arcana. When consumed, it enhances magical capability. Once the bonus fades, the mage loses 1 to all stats. If any stats are brought to 0, the mage passes out for the remainder of the scene.

The deathweed didn’t look appetizing. The black vine, and half-wilted leaves, made it seem… dead. Kellan frowned at the few he came across, wondering how many people ate the plant out of desperation.

Sen pushed through the mobile home park, walking around the rusted vehicles and even pushing over a lawn chair in his attempt to get from point A to point B. He wouldn’t tell anyone the destination, however. Kellan, Mavis, and Husker followed behind, but at a slow pace, due to the fact Sen had short legs.

It was quiet.

Kellan stayed alert. Mavis seemed to do the same.

“Sevriss is a semi-sentient magical weapon,” Sen said without warning, causing Kellan to tense. Sen continued with, “My sister found it just over this way.”

“It’s cursed,” Husker growled.

“Our warrior said he wanted equipment, didn’t he? It’ll be perfect for him.”

“He doesn’t even know what it means. You can’t expect him to make an informed decision.”

“I don’t care. All I need to worry about is—”

Something leapt out of a nearby mobile home. A beast. The monster lunged for Sen so fast and furious, you’d think it was Vin Diesel, but Kellan had been prepared. The moment the monster had emerged, he ran for a lawn chair and snapped off one of the aluminum legs, ready to bash the creature if needed.

The monster was some sort of black bobcat.

“Some sort” was the best descriptor Kellan could think of. It wasn’t really a cat—it had the body of one, complete with a short tail, common on bobcats—but its head looked to be stitched to its body.

And not professionally stitched, but awkwardly and gruesomely so. Like a blind person who had never held a needle and thread had looped the flesh of the cat together.

And the head wasn’t right—it was a wolverine or bear. Something with a long snout and too many teeth. Its slimy saliva poured from its gums like a waterfall of mastication, and it snapped with powerful jaws at Sen’s face.

Sen hit the ground, startled. The bobcat monstrosity dug claws deep into his flesh, staining his giant robes with scarlet.

More information darted across Kellan’s sight.

Name: Fanix

Race: Lesser Yami

Magics: Wyld, Entropy

Rank: Impossible

Armor Rating: --

Health: 7

Stats:

Strength—3

Dexterity—3

Fortitude—2

Intelligence—1

Perception—4 [Vigilant]

Willpower—1 [Animal]

Abilities:

Pounce—The yami doubles its dexterity whenever attacking a target that hasn’t yet detected it.

With as much force as Kellan could muster, he golf-swung at the monster’s messed up head. The aluminum of the lawn chair bent upon impact, but it was enough to smash half the creature’s face and send a bloody fang twirling into the dirt.

[Alex Kellan] struck [Fanix] once for 3 damage.

The notification didn’t help anything.

Yeah, I got it. I saw the blood. Get out of here.

Husker backed away from the violence, his clawed hand trembling as he tugged at his hood, shielding his face and eyes.

Mavis didn’t bother ripping off the leg of a chair—she brought the whole damn chair to the fight like a WWE wrestler. When the bobcat turned its disgusting head to face Kellan, she was already there, ready to join the fray. She swung from the side and battered the cat’s body.

The monster hissed with all the deep tone of an actual bear. It startled Kellan a bit, but not as much as the beast projectile-vomiting.

In one quick motion, Kellan leaned away, dodging the sludge. It hit one of the mobile homes, and the same rotting power that Nasir had used to destroy the truck was now at work on the decayed vehicle.

Sen scrambled away, holding at the injury on his body. “It’s a yami,” he said in a cold, calm, and matter-of-fact way. “Destroy it before it summons more.”

The bobcat rushed for Kellan, its black fur on end. The eyes of the beast were bulging and giggling, like a dead fish, but it somehow could “see” Kellan. When the monster came, Kellan readied his bent aluminum chair leg.

“Come on,” he taunted. “I’m ready for another round.”

Bobcats were typically small—they weighed an average of twenty pounds—but this beast was at least sixty. Its claws were long enough to be knives, and it hissed again as it swung.

Kellan swung at the creature’s wolverine head. He struck one of the eyes, and it exploded like a ripe zit.

[Alex Kellan] struck [Fanix] for 2 damage.

What? No special modifier for its eye?

With a shudder, Kellan stepped back.

While the beast thrashed its head and screamed, Mavis moved up behind it and bashed with the chair. The yami growled and then hit the ground, its body gushing blood at a fierce rate. With a whine and a screech, its twitched its legs, but couldn’t stand.

It had run out of health.

Kellan took a deep breath, both his hands gripped tight around his impromptu weapon. When the monster didn’t move, he shuffled closer to it and glared.

A red shining crystal floated out of the monster’s body on a river of blood. It spun into the gory mud and glittered like a star on earth. The red of the crystal seemed eerily similar to the carnage all around them.

Sen struggled to his feet. “Husker! How dare you.” He grabbed at his robes and stumbled a few steps. “You incompetent rennic… You didn’t even help!”

“You know I’m not about to get involved for something like this,” Husker snapped. He waved a clawed hand around, his fur on end. “This isn’t worth my abilities. Our new warriors clearly had it handled.”

“Hmpf!” Sen held his injury—a solid bite to his side—his body trembling. “If I die, we won’t be able to enter. Don’t you understand?”

“You seem alive to me.”

The statement ended the conversation between them.

A part of Kellan knew their lack of camaraderie would be a problem. If they were a team, how were they going to get through anything if they were bickering constantly? Then again, Kellan understood Husker’s frustration. No one wanted to deal with the kid.

Kellan knelt down and picked up the red crystal—the arcana. It soaked into his skin a second later, filling him with a sense of power and wonder.

Then he saw the information again, only this time truncated.

Alex Kellan

Magics: Eclipse, Body, Metal

Rank: E, E, E

Mana: 5

Health: 7

Unspent Arcana: 4

What was he going to do with four arcana?

As if asking the question provided an answer, a flood of information filled his mind and sight, causing him to stumble to the side. He grabbed at his head, trying to come to terms with everything he was seeing.

In his mind, he knew he had a "limited selection" of skills based on his actions...

Eclipse—E Rank Powers

Illuminate [1 arcana]

An extremely early light-based power, this allows the mage to make an object give off illumination; it leads to far more powerful things later…

The mage spends a mana, and an object is made to glow with light equal to a torch for thirty minutes.

Shadowed Edge [2 arcana]

The mage causes solid shadows to briefly manifest along an attacking edge, widening it and rendering it sharper, for greater damage.

The mage spends a mana, reactive to a successful brawl or melee attack, and adds +4 damage to the attack.

Flash [1 arcana]

Rather than a steady glow, a low rank mage can release a powerful pulse of light.

As an attack or a reactive action, the mage can spend a mana and release a flash of light into an opponent’s eyes. The mage spends a mana and uses their perception vs. the target’s perception or manipulation, whichever is higher. If the mage succeeds, they blind the target for the round.

Pierce the Darkness [3 arcana]

Mastery over light and dark includes the ability to pierce the shadows…

The mage can always see in the dark.

The eclipse magic... He somehow knew this was the magic of light and darkness. Kellan couldn't explain it, but the information filtered into this thought at a slow rate.

Body—E Rank Powers

Adrenaline [1 arcana]

One of the simplest processes of the body is the obvious way the adrenaline floods the body, producing the fight or flight reflex. The mage with this ability learns to hyper-accelerate this process, including flushing it back outside of his system.

As a reactive action, the mage spends one mana and immediately boosts all physical stats by one for six seconds as magically-charged adrenalin floods the body.

Ignore Pain [1 arcana]

Body mages learn to control the autonomous functions of their body, one of the simplest of which is pain.

The mage spends a mana to ignore agony for thirty minutes. This power ceases if the wound itself disappears.

Skin of the Dead [1 arcana]

A few mages learn to control their autonomous functions to the point that they can shut themselves down, appearing dead.

A mage spends a mana point and a temporary willpower and enters an extremely reduced state of body activity, similar to suspended animation. During this time, they appear dead to all but the most advanced medical checks. They can set this time for any amount of time they wish, from a few minutes to a hundred years. At the end of that time, they will wake up having needed neither food nor water nor air. [Note: not immune to things like maggots eating them and do not sense tactile stimulation].

Improved Body, rank I [3 arcana]

Body mages learn to enhance their physique in many ways.

The mage gains an additional point of health.

Body magic... It had domain over flesh and healing. And strength. Kellan could almost hear the promises of speed and power, but he couldn't quite grasp everything.

Metal—E Rank Powers

Mold Metal [1 arcana]

The most basic metal mage power, and one that is quite useful. This power represents control over metal in its most limited form; the mage can shape it.

The mage spends a mana, and for thirty minutes, they can mold metal as though it were clay.

Repel Metal [1 arcana]

Metal mages can also repel metal, with some rudimentary but powerful form of magnetism, forcing it away from them.

The mage spends a mana as a reactive action to being attacked, and gains an advantage when dodging anything made of metal.

Laser, rank I [3 arcana]

Metal mages rely on light, or “laser,” energy in their attack. This power is, weirdly, shared by eclipse mages.

The mage gains “laser” as an energy type, and may spend a mana to shoot a destructive beam from their hand. The damage dealt is equal to metal magic rank + half the mage’s dexterity store.

Metal Skin, rank I [4 arcana]

Metal mages can gain a slight covering to their own skin; while not as easy or as efficient as magma mages, they can still protect themselves quite well…

The mage gains +1 armor rating.

Metal magic... It was the magic over civilization and technology. Bending metal, controlling electronics, and military strategy and leadership. It was the magic of growth for all, if Kellan was understanding the whispered words inside his head.

It was too much. Kellan pinched the bridge of his nose and forced the information to disappear. What was that? Powers? Abilities? Spending mana? He tried to take everything in, but it all seemed to slip from his thoughts and swirl together like leftovers down a sink drain.

“Kellan? Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes to see Mavis standing close enough to touch his shoulder. He replied with a slow nod, but it obviously wasn’t enough for her.

“What happened?” Mavis asked.

“I was… bombarded with a bunch of information. Something about spending this arcana.”

“That’s how you develop magical abilities,” Husker said as he turned away from the bloody scene. “You use the arcana to infuse the magic into your body. Right now, you’re the lowest rank of mage—E rank. You’ll only have access to a limited amount of magic. You’ll see the options. Maybe you have the choice to see in the dark. Maybe you can pick to breathe underwater. Either way, you have to determine what’s best for you—and then use your arcana to gain that power.”

Kellan nodded along with the werewolf’s words. That made some amount of sense. It was like ordering from a menu. He had cash—the arcana—and now he was going to determine what sandwich he had with him, just in case he got hungry.

“Why didn’t I get any arcana?” Mavis asked, glaring at the freakish bobcat.

Sen finally finished patting down his soiled robes. “Because there’s only a limited amount of arcana to go around. That’s why it’s valuable and sought after. Everyone wants more magical abilities. Wait until you see the higher ranks of magic—some of those powers cost twenty, thirty, or even fifty arcana, and they’re worth it.”

“Wait,” Kellan said, holding up his hands. “And people bet with arcana in the Nexus Games?”

Sen nodded. “Correct. You learn quickly.”

“So they become powerful mages without fighting?”

“Again, you’re a quick student.”

“That’s bullshit,” Mavis said, crossing her arms. “We could just gamble our way to Merlin-level magic? What’re we even doing out here in the swamp? Let’s go back and play some blackjack.”

Sen huffed and turned away, his black hair clumped with blood. “Fools. The gambling dens see more death than an average battlefield. If you ever lose more arcana than you can pay, you’re harvested on the spot. The Arbiter doesn’t like to hand out loans. Which means only the lucky—and sadistic—become powerful through gambling.”

While Kellan wasn’t opposed to gambling, per se, he did agree with Sen’s statement. Risking life and limb to get some arcana, when it was found in the bodies of the nearby monsters seemed a little extreme.

“But I bet they get a lot of arcana quickly,” Kellan muttered.

Husker snorted. “You either level A rank, or in a body bag. But some people like the rush of gambling their life away.”

“What’s the highest rank?”

“M rank. It goes E, C, B, A, then S for specialist, and then M for master.” Husker shrugged. “Some say there are ranks beyond that, but only in Zenith.”

Sen clapped his small child-hands once. “Yes! In Zenith, you can achieve higher ranks than M. In Zenith, arcana rains from the sky. In Zenith, all magical abilities are obtained at once.” He hardened his expression to something sardonic. “Don’t you fools know anything?”

Mavis sighed. “I feel like I know less and less the longer we travel through this twisted landscape.”

“I’m right there with you,” Kellan muttered as he rubbed at his chin.

But now I have to decide what magical abilities I’m going to acquire. It seems I should choose wisely. I might have a hard time coming across more arcana.

Sen removed his hand from his injury and stared down at his body. “Ah. Fixed. Perfect.” Then he turned on his heel and resumed his walk. “Come along. Our new weapon is waiting.”