“Colt?” Tyler asks, and I open my eyes. “Thought you were still sleeping. We were up waaaaaaaaay late last night getting those Skills.”

“Yeah, we were,” I grin at him. “But we got them!”

Skinning the Horned Rabbits didn’t freak me out, and Tyler and I turned it into a game to see who could get more of each. He beat me by one Horned Rabbit Meat, we tied on their pelts, and I beat him by four horns. He admitted to me as we returned to town that he forgot to collect the horns in the beginning.

“I got us breakfast,” he hands me a bagel, then bites into his own. “I also registered both of us, since you looked like you were still sleeping. Our first matches should probably be soon. Also – the System changed overnight, without warning. People are talking about it.”

“Changed?” I ask. “How?”

“Everyone went up to the next Level,” he explains. “No warning or anything. Experience is now shown as a percent, and they think, from the people who were killing and in Dungeons last night, that how much you receive is now based on relative difficulty of killing it or completing that stage of the Dungeon. Dungeons now only grant the Experience after you’ve completed a stage, or in ones where it’s one big thing, like the one we’ve been training in, after you complete the whole thing.”

Status.

Name: Colton

Age: 12 years

Sex: Male

Species: Human

Class: Thief, Squire

Title: None

Level: 15

Experience: 0%

Mana: 4/4

Aura: 4/4

STR: 17, AGI: 17, END: 14

INT: 15, VIT: 14, WIL: 16

PER: 15, LUK: 11, LIF: 12

Stat Points: 45

Weapons Skills: Swords Mastery 2, Knife Mastery 2, Martial Arts Mastery 2

Thief Skills: Lockpick 1, Pilfer 1, Looting 1

Restoration Skills: Healing Meditation 2

Hunting Skills: Skinning 1

It did change. Why did Tyr do that? I’ll ask him when I find a way to get back there. I’ll need to increase my Mana, first. But I really should find an Aura teacher first.

Tyler and I do our three matches, and still feel good enough to move on, so we go for more, managing to do all seven today without losing.

Once we finish, we race to the Dungeon, entering at once. When we finish, we both leave with two additional Levels and grin at each other.

“That was awesome,” I say. “I actually gained more Levels.”

“Same here,” he says. “Probably because we’re doing it alone, and I know I struggle against the Bosses, though the first one’s getting easy.”

“Agreed,” I say. “Want to try again?”

He nods, and once we finish, we head back to town.

Over the next few weeks, we gain more Levels and go up more Floors, never once losing as we ascend the Tower. I can’t help but feel that they’re helping us, but I know that some of it is our actual Skill.

It takes us a total of four weeks to reach Floor 50, and our first win nets us five copper each. By the time we reach Floor 100, we’re earning twenty silver a win.

The rooms they give us are huge. A king-sized bed, a couch, a coffee table, a desk, an actual table, a small kitchen, a walk-in closet, and a separate room for going to the bathroom and taking a bath or shower. It’s so comfortable.

Tyler and I keep getting stronger and don’t stop training, moving on to the Level 2 Dungeon, which consists of three chambers, which can only be passed by beating the Boss in that one. The Level 3 Dungeon, once we hit Level 40, is a series of tunnel, each opening up into a chamber with a Boss.

We have higher Levels than most people at this point, but we still don’t bother adding in our stat points. It’s not like we need them, anyway.

It is confirmed that the Rebirth system is no longer in place as well. The new Experience System makes it difficult to hit Level 100 the first time around, even more so than it was before. However, there’s a new reward there, but Tyler and I haven’t learned what it is.

We reach Floor 150, but Tyler and I agree to keep fighting with just martial arts until we reach Level 200. Tyr gave me a new Quest every time I hit the last one to make it through the next 50 Floors, and each one gives me a static 50% Experience. It’s really cool, and lets me know he’s still waiting for me to come back.

“Did you see the look on that guy’s face?” Tyler asks, me referring to his last opponent today, on Floor 150.

“Yeah!” I laugh. “He was so cocky that he’d win, just because you’re a weak little kid, and then when you took him out, and he woke up on the stretcher, ooooooooooh, I thought he was gonna punch the medics!”

“I did, too!” He starts laughing, clutching his stomach. Once he calms down, he grins at me. “Want to go to that new restaurant?”

“Sure!”

We race to the restaurant, a pasta place, and sit down to eat. People hate me, because of my disrespect of the gods, so at first, a lot of places wouldn’t serve me, but then as Tyler and I started rising in Floors quickly, they began to lose that, and begin to wonder who the god I serve is.

We’re looked at in fear, awe, and amazement at a lot of places, now, because we rise so fast in the Tower. We’ve also had people try to sabotage us outside of the Towers, but Tyler and I always manage to deal with them easily.

“Hey,” Tyler drops his voice once we’ve both been served our spaghetti. “You sensed it, too, right?”

“Someone followed us here,” I nod. “It’s the guy who was seated on the far side of the room, by himself. Late-twenties, brown hair, blue eyes. Skinnier, wears glasses. Grey slacks, light green button-up, dress shoes.”

“Yeah,” he says. “I’m not sensing a threat from him, though.”

“Threat Sense didn’t trigger at all,” I say. “Not from him, at any rate. He was good at following us, though – I barely noticed him.”

“Same,” he nods.

We discuss how we should handle this. He might be the first dangerous person to try to stop us from advancing, if we can’t sense him that well, nor sense any threat from him.

Tyler and I leave the restaurant and keep track of him as best we can, but we both lose him at the same point. We turn around and scan the streets.

“You boys looking for something?” Someone asks from behind us, and his presence appears there. “Perhaps I can help you?”

We both turn around, taking several steps back and drawing knives and stares.

“Relax,” our tail smiles. “I’m not here to fight you.”

“Then why are you following us?”

“You two,” he says. “Are advancing quickly through the Tower of Aura. Soon, you’ll be at Floor 200. Neither of you, however, are trained in Aura. You have sharp senses, to have noticed me following you. I was looking to see if the hype around you two was real, though I did miss your battles today. From what I’ve seen so far, you two boys are… interesting. I’d be willing to train you in Aura, if you wished it.”

That sounds too convenient.

“And why should we trust you?” Tyler asks. “Some random stranger, offering kids lessons in something they need? Sounds highly suspicious to me.”

“Just as suspicious as a Kielvarn walking around Loritar?”

The moment the guy says that word, Tyler freezes beside me. Then… bloodlust fills the air.

“Come back to my place with me,” the man turns and begins walking.

“What’s-”

“Don’t say it!” Tyler puts his hand over my mouth, looking around. Everyone seems to have forgotten about the encounter. It’s odd. As the man spoke, they all started to walk away, and resume what they were doing before. He was clearly a magician, but he’s claiming to know Aura. “Sorry. It’s… personal.”

I noticed.

We follow the suspicious man to a small brick home, then inside. Wood floors, simple couch, screen, tables. Beige walls. He sits down on the couch, then gestures for us to sit on the floor opposite him. We do.

“My name,” he says. “Is Kyle Jart, and I am a master of various combat forms. I mastered the art of Aura three decades ago,” he doesn’t even look that old. “The look on your faces! I don’t look it, do I?”

We shake our heads.

“Aura,” he says. “When wielded properly, can slow your aging. Magic also has that effect on people. It’s why masters of one have massive lifespans and look younger than they are, though Aura also affects vitality more, so masters of Aura often look younger than an equivalent master of magic.”

“How do you know what I am?” Tyler interrupts him.

“Your hair and eyes gave it away,” Kyle answers. “If you were albino, your skin would be paler, and your eyes would be red in harsh lights, not blue. Instead, your eyes are blue in all lights, and while your skin is paler, it’s not quite albino-pale. So what does bring a Kielvarn out of their mountain?”

“How do you know about my people?” Tyler ignores the question.

“I’m over one hundred years old,” Kyle answers. “I’ve been around the world quite a few times. I’m a member of a powerful organization with powerful resources and connections. The knowledge of the Kielvarn is something all upper members of it knows. So what brings one out of their mountain?”

“I ran away,” Tyler still looks and sounds bothered by Kyle’s knowledge.

“What’s a Kielvarn?” I ask.

“A citizen of Kielv,” Tyler answers. “A small, secret,” he glares at Kyle. “Nation on a mountain, and it doesn’t appear on any map.”

“The mountain?” I ask. “Wouldn’t people notice a mountain that’s not on a map?”

“The nation,” Kyle shakes his head. “We’re not supposed to interact with outsiders, but I wanted to explore the world and face challenges instead of learning the kingdom’s way, so I ran away.”

“Oh,” I say. “Okay.”

“Not going to ask what those ways are?” Kyle asks.

“Do they matter?” I ask Tyler, and he shakes his head. I look back to Kyle. “Nope! So back to Aura. And stop upsetting Tyler, or I won’t forgive you.”

Kyle stares at me for several long moments, then nods. He stands up and leaves the room, returning after a few minutes with a dry erase board on wheels and parking it. He leaves, returning again with an eraser and some markers.

“Aura,” he begins writing on the board. “Has several basic principles and techniques. These basic principles work for both Aura and magic, and in fact, to master one, you need to understand both.

“These principles,” he continues, writing the first one on the board. “Is Visualize. You must know how the entire flows throughout you. What it looks and feels like are important to knowing how to manipulate it.

“The second principle,” he writes another word on the board. “Is Focus. Aura and Mana are both energies – one your life energy, the other, magical. In order to use either, you must first learn to focus, to sense the energies and how they flow through you.

“The third,” he writes it on the board. “Is Refine. Your Aura and Mana flows in a pure state, and you must refine it from that into the state you wish it to be in. For different people, there are different ways that work better, and different techniques. Each person must find their own way of refining their Aura and Mana.

“The fourth and final main principle,” he writes it on the board. “Is Release. This is when you enact upon what you want to do, turning it from an imaginary state to a real thing.

“Once you know these four things,” he taps the board, looking at the two of us. “You’re able to begin to properly train in both. Typically, it takes approximately one to two years of studying and meditation to begin to increase your Mana or Aura, as well as to learn how to wield it, even when reflecting upon these four things and strengthening your will.

“However,” he looks at us. “There are factors that affect this. The first is your Pool Size, and the second is your Talent. Aura Talent and Mana Talent are hidden attributes that have a cap of five. Your Pool Size, before you ever increase it, determines how quickly you can increase it, while your Talent affects how quickly you can unlock and learn techniques.

“To begin gaining control over your Aura or Mana,” he continues. “To begin to increase it and use the techniques of it, you factor in both your starting Aura or Mana, and your Talent for it. The only exception to this is if your Talent is five.

“If the sum of your Pool and Talent is two,” he says. “The bare minimum, it will take you approximately two years. If the sum is three, it will take you approximately one year. Four, eight months. Five, six months. Six, four months. Seven, one month. Eight – the highest you can go without having both at five, and you can probably unlock and start increasing after only a week.

“However,” he says. “If your count is six, seven, eight, or nine as a result of your Talent being five, the time needed is much, much different. A Talent of five overrides nearly all things, save for how quickly you increase the size of your Pools. A Talent of five means you can unlock it as quickly as an hour.

“The odds,” he begins writing on the board each number for a Talent, then another number. “Of having a Talent are vastly smaller each one you go up. Ninety-nine out of one hundred for 1 Talent, One out of one hundred for 2 Talent, one out of ten thousand for 3 Talent. These are the three most common. Those who have 1 Talent are considered normal, those with 2 Talent are considered skilled, those with 3 Talent are considered greatly gifted.

“The odds of 4 Talent,” he says. “Are one in one hundred thousand, and are considered geniuses of their respective pool. The odds of 5 Talent are one in one trillion, and there is no term for them. They are beyond geniuses, and will surpass all others.”

“Is there a way to find out your Talent?” Tyler asks. “Other than training until you can start reinforcing your Aura or Mana?”

“No,” Kyle shakes his head. “There is no known method to determine this. It is a matter of-”

“Want to race?” Tyler looks at me. “See who can unlock theirs first? Loser has to buy the winner all of their meals until the next day ends.”

“Deal!” I put my fist out, and he bumps it.

I take a deep breath, then begin to visualize an energy moving within me. Not Mana, but a life energy that keeps my body running, healing, reviving. Tyler is probably doing the same thing.

After around half an hour, some sort of steam begins to rise off of Tyler, and he looks at me with a grin.

“You’re steaming!” He says.

“I am?” I look at my hands, where a steam is rising. “I am! You are, too!”

“Ha!” He laughs. “We did it at the same time! We have to buy each other’s meals tomorrow!”

“Yup!” I grin at him, then we look at Kyle, who’s staring at us in astonishment.

I focus on the life energy flowing through me, and reduce it down, holding it around me, then pulling it within me.

Skill Gained!

Aura Shroud 1

Skill Gained!

Aura Suppress 1

Suddenly, I feel as if a presence beside me is gone, and look at Tyler. He’s suppressing his Aura, too. We grin at each other.

“Want to see who can unlock Mana first?” I ask.

“Yeah!” He grins at me.

“That’s not a good idea,” Kyle says. “Learning one is difficult, and while it’s good to learn the basics of both, it’s better to start off with just-”

I tune him out as I visualize a mystical energy flowing within me, an energy that can be shaped to one’s will, but isn’t a part of it. It takes me about the same amount of time as Aura to feel it awaken within me, and sense a mystical power flowing out of Tyler.

It’s a violet mist, and it feels different from Aura. Aura felt viscous, like a thick liquid running across my skin, while Mana feels like a fog, moist, and light. I do the same thing with it I did for Aura, and receive its respective Skills.

Skill Gained!

Mana Shroud 1

Skill Gained!

Mana Suppress 1

“Hey, hey!” Tyler says as we look at Kyle, who’s staring at us in pure shock, and I think he’s frozen, too. “We both apparently have 5 Talent for both Aura and Mana. How rare does that make us?”

“Monsters,” Kyle says, then shakes his head. “The rarity multiplies between the two. One trillion times one trillion… that’s one to the twenty-fourth power in rarity. How are there even two of you alive right now?”

How many worlds exist? I’m not actually from this world, so it’s plausible that if there’s a bunch of worlds, and enough people, it’s possible for two or more of us to exist. Tyr brought me here…

And he sent me to Loritar. He told me I’d be making a friend soon.

I look at Tyler, and wonder if Tyr knew I’d meet him, if maybe, just maybe, that little god arranged so we’d meet and become friends.