Ash looked around the hall, searching for a way to test the other spell; Bind. His options were sparse, the empty room offering little in the way of targets.

“I might need a live demonstration for Bind” Ash said, his voice light.

The idea didn’t make him as nervous as he expected.

He could still feel the lingering hum of energy between his fingers, electric and tingling. The flow of mana. He waved his hand in front of him, feeling the energy currents move. He could feel mana around him, it was as if he had discovered another layer to the air itself. It felt natural to call to him, to manipulate it and use it like an extension of himself. Maybe this was what awakening felt like?

Ash had one other ability to try though.

He squatted down slightly, ducking down into a bracing posture.

Battle Mantle was described as infusing your body with mana, strengthening it.

Let’s see how this works, he thought.

He breathed in slowly, imagining the mana streams flowing in and through him. He pictured particles of the energy weaving into him, through his arms and legs, folding and layering around him like a protective aura.

Ash felt his muscles pull taut, strong like they were flexing.

Was this it?

Ash stood up tall as he exhaled, stretching his neck and swinging his arms in front of him. He looked down at his hands. They looked the same. Ash had half expected a visible aura. He hoped for a torrent of energy, like going Super Saiyan.

How could he test it? He couldn’t try punching one of the pillars. That risked the building caving in on him… or breaking his hand. Ash didn’t know how strong this mantle made him. He remembered the brass cup he had picked out of the rubble in the corner of the Hall.

That’ll do, he thought.

Ash broke forward into a jog to find it, reaching the far end of the building as fast as if he were sprinting. He caught himself against the wall on the other end, the speed almost carrying him to a hard collision.

“Woah…” Ash uttered.

Dust upheaved around him, sprayed up into the air.

“Woah…” he heard Proxi repeat from the other side.

Ash turned, looking back. He had cleared the gap fast. Too fast. He hadn’t even tried.

So that’s how it works, he thought.

Ash grinned as he bent down to pick up the brass cup. He wedged it between his hands and squeezed. The cup crumpled like a tin can.

“Damn!” Ash said.

He was ecstatic. He was never that strong… not even at his peak. Ash lifted the ruined cup in front of him proudly.

“So that’s what mantle does.”

“I told you you were chosen” called Proxi with glee, “you’re a natural!”.

“I guess this isn’t all bad…”

--

Ash walked back to the open doorway, Proxi hovering beside the baroque wooden door. He took a step forward and looked both ways. He couldn’t see any of the stone golems, though he could hear them nearby. The loud thump from each loping step told him they weren’t very far.

Ash didn’t know the layout of the town. Proxi’s map had only provided a marker that it existed. He knew the mage tower was far, but it was their best option. If Ash was right, he would be rewarded… with something. Hopefully a weapon.

“We’re going to have to be stealthy” Ash said, “we have to keep out of sight. “

“Rooftops maybe?” Proxi offered.

Ash looked up, studying the building across the street. The bright sunlight cast a shadow from the broken chimney adorning the roof.

“Good idea” Ash replied, giving Proxi a thumbs up.

The shadows at his feet quivered as Ash felt the surge of mana run through him. Now or never, he thought to himself.

“Meet you on the other si- “

Woosh

Ash appeared next to the chimney, steadying himself by holding on to it. He had shadow stepped across to the building.

--

Faded red tiles clattered underfoot as Ash balanced his way across the roof; carefully avoiding gaps in the structure. He looked down below to see only a few support beams that once held the now non-existent second floor of the building. A single misstep would see him plummet to the ground below. Sure, he was more durable now, but to be safe than sorry.

The full extent of the township lay clearly before him. Ash was awestruck, what he expected to be a small town was instead a vast city. An expansive grid of ruined buildings knit together by overgrown roads and alleys that repeated patchwork.

Multiple routes, Ash recalled.

Ash could see how easy it would be to get lost in the streets below. Each was identical in length intersected by another road, which was itself intersected by yet another road. Every path was identically spaced. Between each section lay an identical number of buildings too. 10 in total with 3 facing forward, 3 backwards followed by 2 on each side facing left and right. Identical.

How strange, Ash thought, puzzled.

Ash was grateful that his shadow step gave him a better vantage point, even if it did reveal how strange the city was.

The city went on identically for about 20 blocks ahead, and about 10 blocks to each side at least. Turning around Ash counted another 20 blocks behind him. Ash was amused that he seemed to have awoken in the middle. Chosen or not, this didn’t seem a coincidence. Whoever had made this place did not have a flair for creativity… or were obsessed with straight lines.

At least 10 blocks away was the enormous tower. It was almost comically large, standing alone in the centre of the city. Ash could see the grey stone stained green, as if covered by moss and vines. It wasn’t like the city was being tended to apart from the golems. Ash assumed didn’t think the golems would make very good gardeners though.

At the very top of the tower, Ash watched faint blue glow. It was akin to the glowing crystal he had seen embedded in the ‘head’ of the golem.

Mana crystals? Ash pondered.

It was rare but not unheard of for constructs in his RPG monster manuals to be powered by mana.

“Maybe they’re controlled from up there” he mused, pointing up to the top of the tower.

“I don’t know what else could be controlling them” Proxi returned, “But how are you going to get up there?”

“Let me try something”

Ash had noticed that the tower cast a shadow 3 blocks length over the city. maybe shadow step would work, it didn’t mention a range. Ash picked a point below the tower, atop one of the identical buildings. Ash closed his, hoping it would work.

“What are you doing” Proxi asked, hovering in front of Ash’s face.

“Do you need to…do human…stuff?” They asked again with a hushed tone.

Ash opened his eyes, his cheeks flushing hot from embarrassment. He stood there awkwardly; half squatted ready to teleport, but instead looking as if he were about to p-

“Nope. I’m fine. Totally fine” He sputtered through rosy cheeks, “was trying to shadow step over there… it uh. It didn’t work”

“maybe it’s because you’re only Amethyst rank III?” Proxi commented.

Ash tilted his head. Were there other levels? Did that mean he would get better abilities? He would ask later.

“I guess we have to do it the old-fashioned way. Slow and steady.”

“Why is slow and steady old fashioned?” Proxi asked innocently.

Ash paused. He didn’t actually know.

“Just… just follow me…” he said.

His words trailed off as disappeared into his own shadow like a whisper on the wind.

Ash reappeared across the roadway, landing gently atop the next building. The tiles were a mouldy blue; the paint work a mess of flakes and crust. There was some variation to the identical buildings at least. Ash stamped his foot down causing roof to rattle. This one was sturdier than the last.

Ash broke into a light jog, running towards the other end of the building. There, he counted 5 of the golems trudging up and down roads to his left and right. Their heavy steps echoed through the quiet streets. They did seem to be following pre-determined patrol patterns. Two golems would march in opposite directions down a single road, each step mirrored with perfect timing towards either. At the end of the road, they would turn on their heels and repeat in the opposite direction. This was repeated identically across the intersection by a separate pair of golems.

Ash watched them march back and forth, noting a split-second period when both Golems turned that could act as a blind spot. In the left, Ash noticed there was only a single golem patrolling the street. It looked damaged too, missing an arm. Maybe it had begun breaking down. A wry smile crept across Ash’s face, he had an idea.

“Proxi, does bind work on any target…like say…inorganic targets?” Ash queried, there was an intensity behind the words.

“Yep, any target I think” Proxi replied, the words lingering as Proxi realised what he had in mind, “…wait. Ash, you don’t have a weapon remember!”

Ash waved a hand at Proxi, dismissing the backlash.

“We got to test it somehow. I don’t see any other targets, do you?” Ash answered, gesturing out at the city before them.

“I don’t know Ash. The quest is to escape… not fight”.

Proxi’s coloured outline turned a sombre blue. Was Proxi… worried?

Ash paused.

“If it doesn’t work, we dip, okay?” Ash said, flashed a reassuring smile, “I can teleport out of there remember?”

“You better. You can’t get hurt!” Proxi responded curtly.

Ash tried to shadowstep diagonally across to a green tiled block of buildings where the lone golem patrolled. Nothing.

“That block is too far” he commented, pointing.

He tried the orange tiled block to his immediate left. Nothing. His nose wrinkling with frustration.

“Or there” Ash said, changing the direction of finger to point at the orange block.

Perhaps shadowstep wasn’t as game breaking as he first thought.

The horizontal roadways were double the width of the front ones. He guessed they were about 15 to 20 meters. At least he was discovering his limits now he thought.

“Guess you’ll have to forget it then” Proxi injected smugly, satisfied that Ash would have to abandon his stupid plan.

“I don’t know about that” Ash retorted with a snort.

He turned to face the orange block. He took three steps back, rolling his shoulders back a couple of times as he paced back and forth.

“Ash…Ash don’t you dare!” Proxi demanded.

Ash broke into a quick sprint, pulling mana unto himself to don his battle mantle. It took him three empowered strides to hit the edge of the building. He plopped down into a squat and pushed off from the ledge. He heard tiles come loose, falling to the ground in a series of clunks. Ash flew across the gap in long arc, his hair billowing from the wind. He was going to make it.

A sudden surge of red light flashed below, A mechanical whirring spinning up as the turning heads of the 2 patrolling golems switched from the neutral blue glow.

Aggro, Ash thought at the apex of his jump. He closed his eyes, imagining himself atop the next building.

Blip

Ash vanished.

Ash reappeared above the orange roof, hurtling down atop it and spilling up dust and debris as he rolled across the surface. He made it! He didn’t fall! When his body came to a stop, Ash paused, catching his breath. He coughed once, then twice. Specks of dust erupting from his open mouth. He reached over, touching his right arm and tracing the length of his scarless forearm. No pain. No damage.

“Ash! Ash are you okay!” Called Proxi, hovering beside him.

“I’m- “ Ash coughed a third time, “fine” he answered.

The realisation of the risk dawned on him. He had gotten ahead of himself. If he had fallen…the thought lingered as he held his once injured arm.

“You did say I was a natural” He teased, brushing away the intruding thought.

“What if it didn’t work?” Proxi interrogated.

“Don’t worry… it did.” He replied, not wanting to imagine if he had failed.

Ash dusted the dirt and soot off his body. Small mounds of red welled up on his uncovered knees. He had crashed hard on the roof surface. He rubbed them, feeling no pain.

“Just because you can use magic now, doesn’t mean you’re invincible” Proxi retorted.

They were right, Ash hadn’t really thought it through. He was running on the high of his new abilities. Even so, this place were monsters, he had to test himself before he ran into them. And, it had worked. He didn’t fall.

“Alright, our next stop” Ash said, walking backwards and waving at Proxi.

He was teasing them, and reassuring himself with false bravado. As he turned, Ash blinked from existence. Appearing across the narrow horizontal divide, still waving.

--

Ash followed the damaged golems patrol route. He stepped, jumped and tiptoed his, mimicking the golem as it plodded back and forth. Save for the right arm, which was some 3 rocks too short, the creature was identical to its kin. Ash watched sparks of mana fizzling from the broken appendage, wondering how it had been damaged. Ash felt a twang in his stomach, a hope that the damage was a sign of his friends’ presence. Ash shook his head, brushing away the thought.

The creature hadn’t noticed him, despite Ash being no more than 10 meters away. Maybe their aggro range was isolated to the streets. Ash felt relived, hoping he could test Bind without alerting the golem at all. Ash reached out, focusing mana into his hands, picturing the golem immobile. Stuck. Mana surge up into his fingertips and then… fizzle away.

Ash grumbled, placing his right hand over his left wrist. He tried focusing harder, picturing black tendrils seep out from the golems shadow and wrap around it. He felt the mana surge again and… nothing. Again. He felt silly for thinking creative imagery would help. Instead, Ash was learning that limits of his new abilities.

Ash squatted down, prying a tile free from the roof. He felt the rough, pitted paintwork scrape against grip. He had an idea; hopefully better than the last. Ash had to get closer for bind to work; at least he assumed. If he could distract the golem and shadow step down before it noticed, he would be close enough to use bind. At least, that was his theory. With tile in hand, Ash crept to the edge of the roof.

“Ash… if you’re doing what I think you’re doing, I urge you to please reconsider” Proxi protested.

Ash ignored them. Hefting the tile with both hands and throwing it overhead. The tile flew high before hurtled downwards. It crashed with a loud, echoing bang. Ceramics exploded in a shower of debris that littered the street. The crystal embedded in the Golems head warped a violent red.

“Oh no” blurted Ash, watching the golems head craned upwards.

This was not good. Its eyeless gaze bored into him. The crystal glowing hot like molten lava. Its left arm crackled with to life. Pulses of mana spitting from the end. In the blink of an eye, it shot long strands of jagged energy towards him, cracking out like whips.

Ash leapt aside as the burst slammed against the building, upturning tiles and debris from the impact. Ash looked back at where he stood, now a blackened hole, engraved with sparking mana. Ash’ head snapped down; eyes growing wide as the golem let loose a second, unrelenting volley.

A long, sinewy strange of blue energy snaked and coiled towards him, spasming like a crack of lightning. It was too fast to dodge. Ash braced himself, steeling his body by instinct as his battle mantle took form. The tendril wrapped around his leg, searing him. It burned like hot fire as if a thousand needles pierced his skin at once. Ash screamed as the Golem pull at him. The electrical whip tightening as it dragged him from the rooftop.

“Ash!” Proxi called desperately.

This time he was falling.