I take a deep breath and start my car. There's no point in staying at that horrible accounting firm any longer; I was about to be fired anyway. The engine makes a very satisfying sound as I leave the underground parking lot for the last time. I don't look back as I feel a weight being lifted from my shoulders. No wonder that nobody wanted to take that job, all of my colleagues warned me not to do it. But I was a fool and didn't listen, I thought I could do it.

Well, at least I got MERTICORE out of this mess. The origin of that magical program is still unknown, and I wonder why there are no mentions of it anywhere else. Could there be more MERTICORE users in the world? I shake my head; I have no way to know and I don't want to expose myself.

A sigh escapes my mouth as I drive through the familiar route back to my home. The sounds of my modified engine attract a few glances, and I can't help but smirk. Nobody would expect such a sound, that should belong to an expensive sports car, coming out of a beat-up cheap car.

But that's just the beginning, what should I do with my new powers? Living a life of leisure and luxury sounds ideal, but I have to be careful with my spending. Suddenly living like a millionaire will attract unwanted attention, and looking into my finances would certainly raise a few eyebrows if people suddenly saw the spike in my bank account.

I shake my head. I can still live well, but I just have to make sure that I don't overdo it.

The MertiPoints also need some serious investigating. I don't know what they are and how to get them, but I know that I want to buy as many apps as possible. The basic functions of MERTICORE and the free Object Editor are already amazing beyond belief, so I can't even imagine what a paid app would do.

Now that I think about it, who is making those apps? There were no names of a maker on the app store, only the name of the app and a short description.

Should I be worried about relying on some mysterious reality-bending power that came out of nowhere? Probably, but I can't ignore MERTICORE. First of all, it's now a part of me. And I would be stupid to ignore such an opportunity to live a better life.

Thinking about living my life, shouldn't I focus on acquiring some form of armor? Not the medieval kind, but a way of not being shot. I made an insane handgun for shits and giggles, but it doesn't matter if I'm sniped from very far away. I sigh, a few edits to myself and my clothes should help in that regard, but that will have to wait until I get back home.

The bright flash of light that accompanies every MERTICORE edits could make me crash. That would be a very stupid way to die.

My attention is then caught by a burned-out building. I recall what I heard on the radio; that's the lab that exploded. The entire insides of the building look like it has been melted and the glass doors have shattered. I wonder what could have caused such a disaster? From what I remember this place researched quantum physics; nothing that should have been able to cause such destruction.

I shrug, I'm not a physicist so it's very likely that I'm wrong. Nevertheless, I-

Something interrupts my train of thought. It feels odd when I look at the inside of the lab locked by yellow police tape. And it looks like there's someone in there!

I blink a few times and a horn blaring behind me takes me out of my thoughts. I shrug and drive away, but a window suddenly appearing in the corner of my vision almost makes me crash.

***MERTICORE ALERT! External edits detected! Threat blocked and edits reversed! ***

For fuck's sake! Someone or something tried to modify me, whatever that means. Does that mean that there's another MERTICORE user nearby? That sounds unlikely, but I should get used to unreasonable things now. My intuition tells me that whatever is responsible for this attempt at modifying me is in that lab. I already had a weird feeling, like a buzzing in my head, when I looked into the entrance of the lab.

Should I ignore it or should I investigate? So far, it's been the first alert of this type. For all I know, it could be caused by a natural phenomenon.

The only thing I know is that it's dangerous. MERTICORE itself said that it was a 'Threat', and I'm more inclined to believe the potentially omnipotent software that installed itself in my head. But I'm also very curious. Was I already found out?

I park nearby instead of going home. Should I leave it alone and face a potential enemy unprepared? Or should I investigate and face a potential enemy while being lightly prepared? I check the window again and look at what parameters were edited.

"I see," I mutter as a massive list appears in my head. From what I can tell, the thing that attacked me tried to mess with my perception. I recall the silhouette I saw in the lab. Something tells me that I was not supposed to see that.

"Fuck it!" I glance at myself and open the Object Editor. I click my tongue as I already reached the editing limits for myself. The Hardware Integration probably upgraded me to my limits, so I focus on my clothes instead. A few minutes later, and I feel like I'm ready to face whatever is lurking in that lab. I made it so each layer of clothing is maxed out in regards to defensive properties. I should barely feel a thing even if I am shot by a high-caliber sniper rifle.

I pull the hood of my sweater on my head and equip my holster before taking a deep breath. What I'm doing is technically trespassing, but this street is far from busy. So nobody should see me. Not to mention that if whatever is hiding inside the lab affected me then it is reasonable to assume that it is also affecting other people.

Others don't have MERTICORE and shouldn't be able to defend against the illusion. I take another deep breath, a futile attempt to calm my rapidly beating heart as I get out of my car. The familiar weight of my gun is reassuring, but I'm still full of doubts. What if it is another MERTICORE user, one with more experience than me?

I thought that my gun was awesome, but that could be nothing compared to what someone who had time to learn and explore what MERTICORE has to offer could create. I gulp and shake my head before heading towards the mysterious lab.

I hope I get answers, but something tells me that it is far from likely. I look around, the street is always empty and today is not an exception. I go under the police tape and enter the building. The smell of burned plastic was not discernable from outside, but it assaults my nostrils as soon as I take a step inside.

Whatever happened here really did a number on everything in this place.

Great, now I'm worried about the building collapsing on top of me.

I'm quite good at making the situation worse for myself.

I take a deep breath before immediately coughing; the smell of whatever burned down is making me gag. I refrain from painting the floor with the remains of my breakfast and press on. Whatever is lurking in there may have the answers I need, so I put my hand on my gun and step into what once was a lobby.

Looking around is confusing. It doesn't seem like the damage came from somewhere in particular, but more like everything in the building just spontaneously combusted. I put that weirdness on the account that I'm far from being an expert on explosions and keep going. The last time I saw the silhouette was in the vicinity, so it must not be too far. I gulp and peek around the next corner.

Now I'm in a white hallway with multiple rooms. From what I can see, each room, along with their surroundings, is in the same state of disrepair.

Suddenly, I hear the sound of glass breaking. I immediately crouch and pull out my weapon.

"Are you serious?" A female voice echoes, "I told you to watch your steps!"

"Why bother?" Another feminine voice, which sounds slightly higher-pitched, responds. "I'm confident in my abilities."

"The problem is not being discovered by a bunch of Regulars." The first voice says. "The problem is destroying valuable clues about what happened here."

"Yeah, right." The second voice replies. Somehow, I understand that the owner of that voice is pouting. "What are we doing here in the first place? Isn't it just a science experiment gone wrong?"

"Look around," the first voice chides, "This kind of damage is not normal, and can't you feel the presence of Mana on everything around you?"

"Are you sure? It doesn’t feel like Mana. Not at all.” The second voice says.

I can hardly process what I'm hearing. Regulars? Mana? Did I just stumble upon a bunch of delusional high-schoolers?

"The CMA still wants answers about this incident." The first voice says in a grave tone.

"It doesn’t feel like Mana at all, why are we even here?" The second voice says.

"Even you don't believe what you're saying. We all saw the readings and the data. If it isn't Mana then it's almost identical to it. You just want to go home because you’re bored." The first voice says.

Mana? These people are either insane or too wrapped in their delusions. I take a deep breath; I don't want to think about the last possibility.

Maybe this is all real.

MERTICORE messed with what I consider impossible or not, to the point where what is real or not doesn't mean much to me.

"No, I’m not. This isn’t Mana, plain, and simple. I know there’s a ton of similar examples, like in Asia." The second voice says, "Very similar to Mana, but that slight difference changes how it works and is used. And this isn’t like that at all."

"Well Mary, I don't know everything." The first voice says with an annoyed tone. "The Arch-mages tasked us with this critical mission, so we have to see it through."

"I hate those old fucks as much as you do, Nicole. But there’s no way that the Regulars found something like the World Energy in China or the Mari-Maro-whatever they have in Japan."

"Maryoku." Nicole corrects Mary.

"Yeah, whatever," Mary grumbles.

"You do know that the percentage of magic users in the general population keeps growing. We all had to help those clueless guys adapt to their new reality when we were rookies." Nicole adds.

"Are you doing it on purpose? Why do you always feel the need to be a killjoy?" Mary reprimands. "Even mom thinks that."

"No, she doesn't!" Nicole says, "Focus on the mission instead of saying stupid stuff."

I think I've heard enough. What happened here is somehow related to this 'Mana'. And these two are probably wizards.

Fucking hell. That is a lot to process. But I need answers, now more than ever. I jump out of my cover and raise my weapon as I walk towards the two mages. It might not give the best first impression, but I don’t want to risk being erased from reality.

"Excuse me," I say as I approach them. "I might have overheard your conversation, and I have a few-"

The two wizards jump in surprise and stare at me with wide-open eyes. The first one is a pale redhead wearing a white shirt along with deep blue pants. Her doe-like brown eyes stare at me with a mix of surprise and fear. She must be about 160cm tall, which is small compared to my own 180cm.

As a side note, her chest is quite developed and seems to strain her white shirt.

The second woman, who is much smaller in all departments than her sister, glares at me. Her brown eyes and brown hair make her stand out less, but the aluminum staff in her hand makes her the center of my attention. She's wearing a black hooded sweater along with a pair of washed-up jeans. Her shoes are also weird. They are those huge black platform shoes. Meanwhile, her sister wears a pair of more sensible black sneakers.

"Who the fuck are you?" the smaller woman says as she takes a stance with her staff.

"I should be asking the same question." I retort. "Why are you sneaking around in a lab? It could be dangerous."

"You're confident in your abilities, huh?" the redhead snickers, which causes the smaller woman to glare at her sister before focusing back on me.

"Shut up, now is not the time! And it's not like you felt his presence in the first place!" Mary grumbles.

Somehow, I feel left out. I'm the one who you're supposed to pay attention to, you know?