________________________________________________________

!ERROR! REPAIR NEEDED. LV2 DEVICE REQUIRED.

Skill List:

Kanji (lv1): Aspect of Energy: Electricity, Thermal, Sound, Elastic.

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Full destructive power limit: Village]

Skills: [1. Infuse/Absorb] [2. Energy travel] [3. Energy trail] [4. Energy bolt] [5. Energy wave] [6. Energy blade] [7. Energy shield] [8. Energy dual conduit] [9. Energy healing] [10. Umbral Cape]

Inventory: Geographic sphere, mechanical soap, spyware device, tungsten-infused nanotech silver chain, tech tablet (Portal) (Hide, Input, Output, Convert, Compress), night vision goggles.

Claire (lv0): Aspect of Creation

Skills: [1. Create (Slots: 5)]

Inventory: Black cloak, crossbow, crossbow bolt (modified with rotatenium), ammo pouch, Fanfics, mechanical soap, a spyglass.

David (lv0): Aspect of Form

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Range limit: Self]

Skills: [1. Expand (x2)] [2. Spikefacation] [3. Delay (1-10s)] [4. Shieldfacation] [5. Trigger] [6. Transform pattern Wave] [7. Net Transform] [8. Whip transform] [9. Blend around] [10. Uno]

Inventory: Iron bat, AK -47, mechanical soap.

Amelia (lv0): Aspect of Reality

{Skill points: !ERROR!}

[Attack type: illusion] [Attack range: x3 field of view]

Skills: [1. Third-person vision] [2. Blurring Mirage] [3. Double] [4. Connect] [5. Vision Swap] [6. Disguise] [7. Flash Mirage] [8. False movement] [9. False Touch] [Mentaltomisis]

Inventory: Frying Pan, knife, mechanical soap.

Sarah (lv0): Aspect of Fiction

[Skill access: 1 skill for each item] [Conjured item 1]

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Nezha’s leopard bag (Nezha’s ring).

Noah (lv0): Aspect of Emotion

Skills: [Emotion infusion] (Emotional requirement: High)

Inventory: Gilded axe, mechanical soap, a sharpening stone.

Diana (lv0): Aspect of Law

{Laws unlocked: Law of Friction} {Limit: Only manipulate small values}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, a pickaxe.

Adrian (lv0): Aspect of Knowledge.

{Connected Minds} {Info Extraction} [Limit: half of basic info}]

Inventory: Mechanical soap. rope.

Azan (lv0): Aspect of Change.

{Limitation: 1. Follow under the concept “change” only. 2. Changes under other aspects require hand holding.}

Change slot: 1

Inventory: Metal suitcase, mechanical soap, miniature fan.

Mina (lv0): Aspect of Time

{Limitations: 4 skills (Currently).}

Skills (!ERROR!) (Auto Input Activated): |1. Aging| |2. Time Exchange|

Inventory: A machete, mechanical soap.

Gwen (lv0): Aspect of Destruction

{Limitation: Gas only}

Inventory: Mechanical soap, Izzybot, P.T.A.

________________________________________________________

Today, a guardian dies and an underground spring ceases motion.

The lights in the room disappear in an instant... and plunge everything into absolute darkness.

A light?

All eyes turn toward its radiance.

Its blueish aura banishes the darkness.

It then becomes much clearer, they can see a large sphere hovering an inch above a young man's back.

?? "How strange? I feel different... like I'm more attuned with energy itself. Uck! Something else is coming!"

His body curls and he drops to the floor, this... odd feeling. Pain? Power? Confusion? Whatever it is, it's growing beyond his tolerance.

Claire "Kaney! Are you alright?!"

Kanji "Claire! Don't come near me! Neither do the rest of you! I'm fine!"

Hearing his strong request, they take a step back, sweat drenches their eyes as they watch.

The mysterious object pulses and it begins to spin, approaching greater speed.

Amelia is to first to notice. She sees parts of the object splitting off from the main body, changing into recognizable forms.

Amelia "Kanji, you have like... how do I put it. Ummm, like you have 12 thunderbolts on your back lad. You know the cartoonish-looking ones."

Kanji "Really. Damn, I can't see. Tell me... what are these instances doing right now?"

Amelia "They are spinning ungodly fast. It's mad really. Also, they keep going up and down. Wait, what the bloody hell is that?!"

She catches something within the mist of blue light.

Amelia "Is that a battery or am I going bonkers?"

Azan "No, you're not alone. I can see it too."

Kanji "A battery... you say. Hmmm, what is it doing no-AARGH!!!"

The battery jabs through his flesh and into the middle of his thoracic vertebrae.

The array of bolts hover down and begin to spiral around the battery.

Mina "Oh. My. God. That... is... soooo awesome! It's like a vortex or a whirlpool!"

AN "Yeah like a beautiful galaxy. Wait! Let me check his skill window!"

AN's hands move the relic, navigating toward the skill panel in record time.

AN "Yep! That confirms it! You have reached level 1! Congrats! Kanji, you can now integrate sound and elastic energy into your skills!"

Kanji "Nice, that's excellent news. However, was that it? Is this thing on my back just a cosmetic? Wait... don't need to check. I'll do it myself."

Kanji waves his hand in the air, summoning the intangible blue square. With a flick of his finger. He scrolls through the window, something catches his attention.

Kanji "There's a bar underneath my skill list and there are letters written on top of it. "Vortex Battery"? There seems to be no other descriptions or details regarding this feature. So I can safely assume that whatever on my back is a Vortex battery"."

Mina "Maybe it's a way to store energy. I mean that's what batteries do, right?"

Kanji "A plausible theory indeed! Let's test it! The problem is that I need a large quantity of energy."

Azan "Hey, Kanji. Since you can use sound now, can't we just scream really loud to build up that energy?"

Kanji "That's...ridicul-Wait, that can actually work! The echoes generated within this confined space will not only speed up the process and can allow an easier collection of sonic energy. Everyone in the count to 3, yell as hard as you can. 1... 2.... 3!!!"

A swarm of deafening noises fills the room.

Exhausted from all the yelling, the wielders sit down. They look up... Kanji is the only one standing.

Kanji "O...Okay, nice job guys! Let's see here... what?! Only 40%!"

Mina "H..Hey.. w..why... are you not exhausted. Kanji."

Kanji "Huh, You're right! That's quite odd. Let me... test something."

Kanji goes up to a nearby wall and keeps punching it for a minute straight. His blows reach a blinding speed. As it reaches the one-minute mark, his punches exceed the sound barrier.

Kanji "... and that's one minute. Wow, I didn't feel tired at all and it only dropped by five percent. I think that the energy that I gather from now on only gets sent into the battery. This is good! It makes it easier to measure the amount of energy available. I can also conclude that I won't tire out unless the battery is empty. And perhaps the most important thing I learned is that the energy I absorbed seems to be universal and can use for other different types of energy or..."

He turns back, they stare at his hands. The bruises on his fist slowly disappear.

Kanji "... it could also be used for healing."

Azan "Doesn't that mean you're immortal since you can absorb sound energy."

Kanji "Not really. It took all of us to scream as hard as we could until we reached absolute exhaustion just to reach 40 percent. To make things worse, my voice doesn't count."

Azan "That's a bummer. Seeing that everything is in the clear now. What should do, Kanji?"

Kanji "First of all, let's get everyone out of this hell hole and go everywhere more secure-

Sarah "Shit! Where's Noah?!"

Azan "Sarah, calm down. I managed to stop his bleeding earlier, but it will be a long while before he recovers completely."

Sarah "Oh, I'm glad. Wait... you can heal?!"

Azan "Yes, did you seriously forget that my suitcase has six modes? The "Healing" function causes my suitcase to transform into a form that looks like a glue gun. In this mode, my device can spew a strange substance that forces human skin to weld together. Leaving, the body to heal itself."

Sarah "Then you probably shouldn't call it a "Healing" mode. More like "Stitching" mode."

Azan "Hey, I didn't name it that. The person you should say that to is Gwen."

Sarah "Okay. Okay. Goooosh."

Mina "Come on, you two! Fighting ain't gonna help! We're just glad that Noah isn't going to die."

Sarah "... yeah. I guess you're right. Sorry, Azan."

Azan "Apology accepted. By the way, Mina, you should practice more on spotting sarcasm?"

Claire "Wait... she was being sarcastic?! Were you two being sarcastic?"

Kanji "Everyone, enough chit-chat. Carry those three. I'll try to find a way out."

Walking toward the wall, his hand slides across its rough surface, he is looking if any soft spots that appeared after his victory.

Kanji "Come on! There has to be one! I have seen a hundred tomb raiding films. Then again, basic logic around that is honestly silly. Maybe I'll look elsewhere. "

Across the room, there seems to be an odd formation of pebbles on the foot of the wall. Going closer and it reads out...

Kanji " "May the hero be awakened from slumber. Plunge his newfound power down under." Is it talking about the spring?"

He follows the poem and dipped his sound-infused hands into the water.

A spot on the wall begins to crack open.

Kanji "Yes, there's our way out! Guys! Follow me!"

Finally, for the first time in many hours, they can breathe the refreshing winds of the outside world. The smell of the sea is ever so welcoming.

Looking around, they are back on the shore of the mainland.

Wait... why is the sun rising?!"

Claire "What the?! We fought that monster for that long!"

Kanji " It appears that way. Either that or the cave itself has some kind of time-bending effect."

?? "The latter is such an awful take. Did spending time in there disfigure your mind, dear Kanji?"

The group smiles, they're glad to see a familiar face.

Claire "Omg! You're okay! Well, of course, you are. You weren't part of the battle lol."

Gwen "So I have heard. You guys must have had a hard time. I truly wish I could've helped more."

Kanji "But, you couldn't. It's not your fault that you are stuck with that power. So don't beat yourself up."

Mina "Yeah! We can't just blame you!"

Gwen " Well, the least I could do is help with patching everyone up. Let's start with Noah."

She examines what's left of his "left arm" which isn't much.

Gwen "Tsk! What did you use on him?!"

Azan "Ahem... Err... your invention."

Gwen "That module was supposed to only be used to close minor cuts! Didn't you read the instruction manual?!"

Azan "Ooooh, my bad... Can this be fixed?"

Gwen ~sighs~

Gwen "Yes, but it will be very complicated and can take a while before Noah can get back into working order. Izzybot, if you please."

|Yes Nya. One Blood Extraction Coming Right Up Nya|

Gwen puts the blood sample into a test tube and sticks it onto Izzybot's back. The tube's opening fuses with her flesh and a gush of green liquid pour into the solution.

Mina "Ew! What is that?! It's good... r-right?"

Gwen "Don't worry. I just need to test whether or not Izzy's cells can be fused with Noah's. It's necessary otherwise he will turn into a hellish abominatio-

Sarah "What?! YES! That's awesome!"

Gwen "-and die."

Sarah "Oh... never mind."

Gwen "While we wait for the result, might as well keep ourselves entertained. So..."

Her face leans close to Kanji. Their lips are within touching distance.

Claire/Kanji "Wow, she made a move! Shit! What do I do?!"

Gwen "... anything "you" want to do? We can talk, you and I."

Kanji "Errr... maybe we should-

Claire "Relax! We relax! The three of us!"

Gwen "It appears you noticed my scheme, Claire. Well played."

Kanji "I don't think we should relax. Right now, what's important is getting a better understanding of my new powers."

Sarah "Before that. Kanji, what do we do with these two?"

Kanji "Oh... let me just open up my subspace...... There we go. Go ahead and put them in."

Sarah drags them by the arms into the portal like pulling a pair of corpses. Heavy corpses.

She comes back out.

Amelia "What do you have there, lad?"

Sarah [Sssshhh. Be quiet. Don't tell Kanji. I took this weird amber thing.]

Amelia [Why would you want that?!]

Sarah [You seriously asking that to a girl who likes to collect animal corpses as a hobby. Besides, this thing is awesome. Look at the mosquito.]

Amelia [I don't know, Sarah. He's going to be quite mad once he finds out you swindled one of his possession.]

Kanji "Hey! Why are you two talking over there?! Come back here and join the group!"

Adrian "Kanji, come on, they are probably just talking."

Kanji "Yeah, sure. Those two walked away from the portal and didn't even bat an eye toward us. That's fucking sketchy!"

Claire "Kaney. Why are you so mad?"

Kanji "I... I... I don't know. Shit. I feel like shit after getting these new powers. There's something wrong with my head."

Gwen "Oh, a side effect. Please feel free to share your pain with us, if you want to."

Kanji "Well, how do I describe it? It's like someone is whispering soft voices in the back of my mind. However, the sounds are too low to comprehend that it's frustrating!"

AN "Maybe it is a sign that you are not one with your new powers. That's my guess."

Kanji "If that's the case, then I should start testing them right now. Maybe that will give me a better grip."

Everyone gives Kanji some space. Amelia and Sarah stop their track and follow the flow. The wielders are now seated on the hot sand.

Amelia "Umm.. what is everyone doing?"

Azan "Backing off. He's beginning to test his skills."

Sarah "Okay, cool."

Kanji takes out his chain, and his mind focuses... He imagines the sounds of waves crashing against the shore, the distant noises of seagulls, and absolute silence.

An outburst of sound flows into the weapon.

A weak vibration surges through his weapon. Kanji hits the ground at full force. It hits, but the impact was devoid of noise.

He focuses harder... and tries again.

A MASSIVE BOOM is heard as it hits the ground, erupting a wall of sand. Luckily, everyone managed to cover their ears in time.

When the sand falls back down, they can see the vibration as clear as day, it distorts the air around it.

Azan "Kanji, my friend, please warn us next time!"

Kanji "Sorry, that was bad on my part. Now, I know that this doesn't affect me and only harms others. Good to use either alone or if everyone has earplugs."

Gwen "We would prefer the first option. However, giving an object the ability to produce zero noise is a fascinating and useful concept."

Kanji "Yes, it'll be harder to perceive my attacks but lower my power. Unless I choose to infuse multiple energies which seems more plausible now with the vortex battery. However, I should keep going. I think it's getting worse."

Claire "What's getting worse? The voices?"

Kanji "Yeah, they are a bit louder. I should test my other energy to see if it helps."

The second round begins... He imagines an archer pulling on his bow, a simple stretch of a rubber band, and the mechanism of a spring.

A torrent of elastic power enters his chain.

Feeling the item in his hands. Is it still metallic but also stretchy? An extremely weird texture, but he can recall the overall vibe being similar to holding a long rubber hand toy.

Kanji "What if I do this?..."

He tosses it over his shoulder.

Its length increases and travels past the others, reaching all the way to the waves of the sea.

It's coming back and flies by his face, aiming for a nearby tree.

The chain obliterates the entire bottom half of the poor plant before retreating to its normal length.

Kanji "So it solidifies every time it hits something huh. Is there a way to make it rubbery all the time? Or tha- AaaaarghK!"

Claire/Gwen "Kaney!" / "Kanji"

The two girls rush in and check on him. They can see that his forehead is beating like something is trying to get out.

Claire "What do we do?!"

Gwen "Calm down! We need to think rationally. What can he do to ease up the pain?... I got it! Kanji! Infuse your head with elastic energy!"

Kanji "What?!"

Gwen "Just do it trust me!"

Kanji "O-OK! Here I go!"

He feels that his head becomes loose and whatever inside is now bouncing around instead of trying to break out.

Kanji "That worked! I just feel funny and a bit annoyed with them bouncing around in my head. But you have my thanks, Gwen."

Mina "Wait, a second. Them?!-

She tries her best not to hurl.

Sarah "Nah. I have heard and seen worse. Mina, stand up. It's not that bad. Don't tell me you have another phobia."

Mina "No, I do not. It's just disturbing to think about... having like things moving around in your head. Sorry, did I make things worse?"

Kanji "No, that's a reasonable reaction. What we should be worrying about is how to extract these entities."

Gwen "I can perform surgery. However, we don't know if they are tangible objects."

Azan "I think that is too risky! I suggest my knocking your head around. My dad used to do that every time he had a headache."

Mina "Lol, was that humor I heard. Great job!"

Azan "Thanks, I'm trying to be funnier. My father said sometimes humor can be used when it comes to business."

Sarah "Blah blah blah. We can talk about office politics later."

Adrian "That's a bit rude. Don't you think?"

Sarah "Yeah, but I'm not sorry because I know he can take it."

Azan "Yes, unlike "some" people. I don't react thoughtlessly to meager insults."

Sarah "Yeah exactly t- Wait... were you talking about me?!"

Azan "Oops, I talked too much."

Mina falls to the ground laughing.

Kanji " There they go off bantering. Let's just ignore them and focus on the problem."

Amelia "I think the idea of hitting your head is silly. But in some cases, I heard it does work. Well, at least that was what my Irish uncle told me."

Kanji "Ok, that's two people suggesting that I should hit myself. Might as well try it."

He lands a clean punch to the side of his face.

Kanji "Ouch! Why the fuck did I think that was... a... good... Hold on a minute. That's it!"

He infuses hands with sound.

One punch after another, the others can see his face begin to swell. However, he's smiling.

He can feel that they have stopped bouncing around.

Finally, one last hit. With a slam to the top of his head. They're gone.

Kanji "Finally, it's ove- Uargaiwohoaohdhdshohwo!

He fell to his knees and began vomiting.

Looking at the sand, he sees a couple of... letters?

Claire "Are you serious? They were just letters!"

Kanji "Ho-hold... w-wait! Look!"

They levitate and a blank green screen pops up in front of Kanji. One by one, the letters enter and spell out:

|Congratutions! You passed the Navigator test! Access to the crystal map is now available!|

Kanji "Are you guys seeing this?"

All "See what?"

Kanji "Wait, really? Is this window exclusive? AN, can you see this?"

AN "Nope. I have no idea what you are talking about."

Kanji "Ok, basically I got a map. Looking at it, it tells me where all the other crystals are. Oh... wait. There's another page. This is a different planet, it's completely blue!"

AN "That must be Wal'Tera, a world completely covered with ocean."

Kanji "Wait, so the people there live underwater... you know what, don't tell me. I like to discover that place myself when we reach there. I won't look at the other planets."

AN "Oh, not even mine."

Kanji "Yeah, no spoilers. Got it! Unless I let my guard down and forget"

AN "Sure, whatever you say. What should we do now?"

Kanji "We will immediately set course to the nearest crystal. It's located at the dead-end of Torne river."

Gwen "Isn't that the river near the border of Finland. You know, the one furthermost north from here."

Kanji "Yep, It is going to be a long trip so how does everyone want to do this? By foot or some other methods?"

Gwen "I believe going by boat is the easiest way to get there. You don't happen to have a spare one, do you?"

Kanji "No, only a raft. I guess we have no choice but to find another way."

Azan "Have you guys ever ordered something on Amazon using the "Teleshopping" option?"

Kanji "What's that? Sorry, I never used any delivery services."

Gwen "Let me guess, the government gave you all the materials you needed directly to you."

Kanji "Damn, right."

The two geniuses give each other a high five. Azan is amazed that there are people out there who don't use Amazon.

Azan "Ahem. So do you want to order a boat?"

Kanji "Yes. I'll pay it."

Azan "Great, let me just look over the options... Oh. This is good! Take a look."

Mina " "The Land Chaser Mk30", 30 million are in stock! Aren't those the military vehicles that were used to search for islands? Why is that on the market?..."

She then looks at Kanji.

Mina "Ooooooh... I see now."

Kanji "Yeah, I guess they became desperate and started to find a way to sell their product through any means necessary. I would feel sorry for them, but that is just how the world works."

Azan "That also explains the price, it's only 300 dollars. Wait a minute, what if my dad just buys them all and we scrap the materials."

Kanji "I know right, such a waste of resources. They could've recycled them into new technology. Then again, they wouldn't have enough income to support the process nor will they know if doing so will be profitable."

Azan "Talking about this subject is fun, but we can do it later. Let's start the transaction."

Kanji "Already ahead of you. I sent 600 dollars your way. We'll buy one extra in case of an emergency."

Azan "Good idea. Okay, I'm going press it now."

Manifesting in front of Az are two large size boats. Kanji absorbs one of them into his subspace and then they board the transport.

Kanji "I'll handle the navigation....... or maybe not. This craft is already modified with a self-driving AI which isn't surprising for modern military devices."

Kanj tabs through the screen and reaches a map. For now, he selects the area where the baltic sea connects with the river.

The ship begins to move.

Kanji "Ok, all set! With this kind of speed, we'll get there in no time. So in the meantime, what do you all want to do?"

Gwen "I'm rather interested in how your new powers interact with your other abilities."

Sarah "Same, I think it will be sick!"

Claire "I stay here too in case something happens to you, Kaney."

Adrian "I'll observe as well"

Azan "I'm gonna sit elsewhere and watch from there. I have... a bit of mild seasickness"

Mina "Oh, no! Don't worry Azzy! I'll accompany you!"

The two walk away from the others and sit down. They share a moment of peace, the serene and cold winds of the sea breeze over them.

Azan "Isn't this a beautiful sight, Mina?"

Mina "It kinda is... I... I don't know. I have been through too many trips just like this. So it doesn't really get me going as it used to."

Azan "You have been to lots of places. Tell me, did you enjoy them?"

Mina "O-Of course, I do! They were fun.... heh, who am I kidding?"

He sees that she's hugging her legs.

Azan "What's wrong? You can tell me."

Mina "It's just that... it's just... never mind. Forget what I said. To be real with you, not all those trips were good."

Azan "They were frustrating weren't they? I can relate... well not in the same traveling sense but in what we do."

Mina "What do you mean?"

Azan "My whole life, I've only stayed in my city. It was my world, where people of different kinds meet, bringing new exciting things every day. And every day, there was always a task assigned to me by my father. And at times, these tasks can become... you can say "overbearing"."

Mina "Were you angry or done with it too?"

Azan "Initially, but I come to accept it. Because one day he said to me that everything and anything is neither good nor bad. It's how you interpret them that matters. He showed me the result of my work and the people that I helped. They were smiling because of me. He then too smiled at me and asked "How do you see your work now?". He later said that those people too may do something to help others because you helped them and kept their spirit. Eventually, they will all cycle back and help you. My father called it "The Cycle of Giving"."

Mina "That's... that's a very positive way to see it. I'm lost for words! Thank you, Azzy!"

The two hug it out. Meanwhile, Kanji begins his experiments.

Kanji "Ok, my next ability is |2. Energy Travel|. However, I don't think I can do it in these conditions."

Sarah "Like why tho?"

Kanji "Well for sound, if I try to use it here, I'll be swept by the waves. And for elastic energy, do you see anything with those properties around the ship."

Sarah "Yes, because I have a rubber band!"

Kanji "Wait, where did you get that?! Did you take that from my subspace."

Sarah looks away for a moment, she dares not to look him in the eye.

Kanji "Refusing to answer, huh. Fine then. I'm going to move on. The next ability is |3. Energy trail|. I already found a way to demonstrate it. So watch carefully."

Kanji walks on deck. His footsteps left no sound, the group wasn't surprised.

He walks again. This time it was LOUD, but the group expected this as well.

Kanji smiles and walks again. His footsteps shock them.

Sarah "What the fuck?! Huh?! Eh?! How?!"

Every time he took a step, Sarah's voice was played saying the words "I have a rubber band!".

Sarah "Oh come on! You didn't have to do that!"

Kanji "Hahaha. Sorry, that was a bit too far. Should I also test the elastic version?"

Claire "Wouldn't that only make the path bouncy?"

Gwen "Yeah, that would be the most logical conclusion. I say we don't need to test it."

Kanji "I mean we should test it anyway to see if that will happen."

Gwen "No I meant, I'm trying to say that we're here."

Kanji "We're here? Oh, we're here! Wait... this isn't a river. This is a pond!"

(To be continued).