(Tuesday. Date: 23-04-2463)

I came awake feeling woozy, like I was drunk. The increased attributes forcing my aware body to rack with an almost pleasurably amount of sensation. I checked my watch and realised I was still within the green gateway, as the time hadn’t changed since we entered. And the sensation of pleasure wasn’t just my stats increase alone.

A hand pale white hand was beneath my bottoms, giving my rising erection a light squeeze and a slow caress. The black sleeve and pale skin informed me of whose hand it was, Amara. In a moment of gasping exhilarating, I looked to the Blood Witch and saw that she was still asleep.

Is she jacking me off in her sleep? My inner voice asked in disbelief. As my hard cock slid through the channel formed by the smooth palm of her small hand. My hips thrusting lightly driven by desire, feeling the sensitive head of my cock rubbing against her palm. Her thumb capping and caressing the tip each time I slid through. I gasped at the sensation, every part of my being trembling with want and need. To keep this going. To extend this moment somehow.

Then I once again realised where we were and what needed to be done, as well as the people around us. Most oddly, was that they were all depending on me in some small way; to bring them through this. Hating myself and cursing the Mother for the fool that I was. I lightly grabbed Amaras’ wrist and gently pried it away from my throbbing—now—half-erect cock.

For a brief moment there, her hand had clenched like a vice and I froze. Then slowly withdrawing her hand and placing it within her lap with a slow exhale, I moved as if among sandcastles. Melody hands grabbing my arm and trying to keep her pillow where it belongs. She and Amara made disgusted noises as I freed myself from their clutches. They shuffled towards each other then, as if drawn by magnets and clung to one another sleepily like they were life preservers. I stood adjusting myself and huffed out a breath, blowing the air up into my face and hair. Looking around I spotted Joshua’s team, where they were all huddled together, resting. All of them dead to the world tired.

I didn’t see Matilda anywhere until I shot a glance over to the massive bronze doors, the guardians had been well – guarding. She stood before it fists balled against armoured hips. Her great sword resting against the left side pedestal before the door. I moved over to her cautiously, unsure of how she’d react to me; now that she knew- well, everything. “Hey,” I said deciding a simple normal approach would probably be better.

She didn’t look at me and instead moved away towards her sword. “That’s’ not a good sign, is it?” I asked myself quietly. I sighed heavily, rubbing at my face and feeling mentally exhausted though my fatigue said otherwise. “So, that’s it then. You’re just going to ignore me?” I asked at her back.

She scoffed and grabbing her great sword twirled it in her hand and shaking her head a touch bitterly. “You honestly have no idea, do you?” She asked me vaguely.

“No idea of what?” I said almost snarling the words and catching myself before doing so.

“That you did all of this to us.”

“Did what?” I asked confused.

“You’re the reason why we’re here.” Her voice cold, quiet and impassive. Her sword still in hand. Then I felt the familiar cold thrilling wash of pre-battle.

“Matilda…” I said softly. “I didn’t do this to us. I didn’t bring us to this gateway. Drake … and you did that.” I winced as words left my mouth.

“You mean how I’ve been manipulated. By someone I thought I cared for, may still care for,” she hissed at me and shook her head. “I thought I knew you Rhys. But after reading that – that thing. Everything that you’ve thought about me. Blamed me for. How you thought I pitied you, even when all it was- was care.” Her words growing more heated and louder as she spoke. Then her face scrunched up, nose red and eyes teary.

“I didn’t leave you. I broke up with you, because I couldn’t stand how you looked at me.”

“looked at you,” I repeated incredulously my own voice a snarl now. “For fuck sake Matilda. I damn well Lov- Grh,” I caught myself and shook my head. “You know what. It doesn’t matter. We’re through.”

“Oh, but we aren’t,” she said stepping towards me her sword coming up to her side. “Because even after all this time you’re still pining after me,” she spat venomously. I flinched as my vision briefly swirled red. Then I remembered what Amara and Melody had hinted at. It had told them everything. Including, how I felt about them, having known Matilda the longest meant she would’ve read my constant conflicted thoughts every-time I saw her.

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself, “yes,” I said with a small smile that actually threw her off a bit. “I do still have feelings for you,” I nodded, and breathing out slowly I continued. “But, regardless of my feelings. I stayed away, and you moved on Tilly. To bigger and greater thing’s.”

My smile turning sad and a touch bitter.

“I moved on?” she shouted in disbelief parroting my words in a question. “I didn’t move on Rhys. Every fucking-time I saw you. I saw the disgust you held for me; I saw the envy you had that I was no longer just an Awakened - but also a Gifted.” She shook her head, purple braid shaking loose behind her as she did so.

I started to shake my head with a disbelieving laugh, but I froze and wondered if I had felt as she said. We had been friends for a long while, since school if I remember correctly. Matilda had Awakened the year before we had started to properly hang out. Then a year and half after that she had asked me out.

I did something then and took a mental step back. I objectively looked at my feeling, churning them through my mind in an instant. Every single moment we’d spent together staying with me, like so many regrets. The boiling bubble of conflict. The mess of envy and disgust I felt for her, for being with someone as lowly as me.

The bubble then fragment and fractured into more. My negativity about being with her. Then Matilda had been become gifted as a warrior by Furos’kyrn the celestial of the strengthened will. I felt both proud and small beside her. I was dejected at the sight of my own girlfriends success and achievements as she began to train as a knight. Slowly, by increments, we began to drift apart. A matter of me no longer seeing her as a person but as a Gifted instead. People who were so far removed from humanity that the rules we held within New Eden City were basically trash to them if they so decided.

Then she just broke away completely and pursued others and trained more. All the while I willowed in doubt and dejection, believing she had left me because we were too different. Too far removed from each other to understand what the other wanted.

“When Devon died and your mom in a coma, and you an Awakened. I tried to reach out to you, to help you. But all you saw was me pitying you and Kayla. Maybe I did pity you - you Asshole. But I also cared deeply. I was so stupid to believe that maybe we could actually move past what we had felt for one another. Now I realised that you never did, your fake smiles and words of support. All. Bullshit,” she hissed at me and then swallowed thickly, her sword angling up readying to pierce me with it.

“You did pity me Matilda and – and you still do. I can see it in your face,” I said, flicking my wrist in a gesture at her. “You just wanted to help me?” I asked, in a mocking tone. “But all your help ever did, was make me feel lower and more beneath you. It’s why Jim said I couldn’t fuck my way up the ladder. I quit H.I. because I needed to distance myself from you entirely. It’s why I ignored you. It’s why I didn’t tell you about this,” I said, waving at everything around us then at myself.

Her face contorted into anger and betrayal. “You didn’t trust me?” She asked in a growl, it was more a statement than a question.

I shook my head, “I didn’t trust you, to not see it as a problem. Something you could fix and correct. That you would have to see me as an equal, and that – that would betray your image of me. That I was dirt beneath you. Which is why I wasn’t surprised when you and Drake found each other,” I said with a light chuckle.

That pissed her off, which was exactly what I expected. Her eyes bore into mine for a fraction of a second, they twitched erratically left and right. Her expression twisting and firming into white-hot anger.

She screamed incoherently and rushed me with her sword, stabbing out for my face. Thrusting her sword’s end in an attempt to shut me up. I noticed that everything was awake and watching now. I saw Melody raise a hand as if to protest how stupid this was. With the flat of my hand, I slapped aside her great sword with enough force to drive the tip of her sword straight into the ground. Without even breaking stride Matilda lunged at me, fist baring down to beat against me. I blocked a punch and shoved her follow up strike aside. Then I kick in the gut causing her to stumble back. Matilda flicked her hand and her great sword vibrated once, dislodged itself and shot back to her waiting hand.

“You aren’t even fucking trying!” She almost screamed at me, spit flying out from her mouth.

“Neither are you, Tilda. Let’s stop this before someone gets hurt,” I replied calmly and cracked my neck. If we did in fact fight for real, I wasn’t I’d be able to hold back on not wounding her. I needed a nonlethal way of stopping her. I frowned and scanned about, unsure of what exactly I was looking for. Nothing. Matilda’s identifier then did something I hadn’t seen as of yet. The orange of her name and gift phased red. “Oh fuck,” was all I manage to mutter out before her fist slammed into the side of face. Reminisced of Amara striking me earlier. Except where Amara’s has been pitiful, Matilda’s was like being hit by a spaceship. My head fuzzed for an instant as a booming crack twisted me off my feet to barrel into the ground. -225Hp CND: Head: 38/100% Critical condition: Concussion.

Star’s and vague shadows bloomed all around me. I coughed and swayed unsteadily as my hands and feet tried desperately to find purchase on the floor. My and neck, hurt. Fiercely. I wanted to throw up and curl in on myself. I face was cold and numb, and my left kept closing no matter how many times I force it open.

What had hit me? Was my first coherent thought. My second was to wonder if my brains had spilled out at some point. Fumbling my way back onto my feet, I spotted several blurry shapes converging around us. One shape more prominent than the rest, it was silvery and shiny. The reflected glint of light playing across it made me wince at how bright it was. Then a hand closed around the back of my head, its embrace comforting and drawing me towards the silvery figure. The figure knee then smashed into my face and all was lost for a fraction of a second. Fog clouded everything, except for the warning messages I was receiving. -78Hp CND: Head:14/100% Critical condition: Concussion. Brain Haemorrhage. Bleed detected: -10Hp per every 2 seconds.

I latched onto those like they were a lifeline. No longer did I see stars and shadows, now all that stretched before me was a vast endless void. Yet those messages still floated before me. Health: 337/650. 327/650. 317. 307. 297… My mind screamed at me, telling me I knew what needed to be done. 287. “If You want to live. Use an… Instant recovery now!” I heard a voice yelled distantly across the abyss of my conscience. I recognised that voice, it was Matilda. But hadn’t she…

247.

“He’s bad. You almost killed him. Come on Rhys…” Another voice I recognised floated passed. Melody.

“The screen fucking told me to. That I couldn’t hold back against him. That he needed- ”

“Which is why I’ve bound you. Honestly, if you wanted to rape him, couldn’t you at least left his face alone. He has a handsome face.” I begrudgingly admitted that I recognise this voice as well. 207.

“That he needed to stop fucking around and looked at his options-”

“Why didn’t you just tell him that?” Melody questioned her.

“He has to figure it out for himself. I wasn’t allow-” Matilda replied. Look at his options, I thought sagely and with a will of effort I managed to minimise my alarming messages. Switching over to the options command. Everything was as it should be, with the added the additions of Store System and Magical System. I had sparingly glanced through the store but hadn’t spent too much time going through it. The Magical System however-

“The penalty was- death,” Matilda paused then. “I’ve, I’ve been awarded 5Ap for completion.”

“Okay, that is totally messed up,” Amara chirped.

“Yes, it is. If anything Rhys should’ve been notified about it. Ugh, I’ve tried everything, and nothing is working. It’s like he’s an Awakened once again,” Melody sighed, sounding exhausted.

Initiate Magical System:

YES/NO.

Health: 157/650.

Mentally shrugging and seeing no other recourse, I thoughtfully pressed yes.

Initiating… You have got to be kidding me, I whined mentally. 147, Initiating… Cycling through my screens, I skipped to my inventory and mentally slammed the prompt for my Instant recovery cursing myself for not having done so already. Nothing happened. Initiating… Health: 137/650 A new message blocked me then. Magical System is initiating all activities are suspended. That wasn’t good.

“How come he isn’t coming around, or healing?” Amara asked, her voice bouncing around my head like an echo.

“I don’t know. But I suspect that something is wrong,” Melody replied sagely. Yes, something is most definitely motherfucking wrong… I was completely locked out of all system functions other than screen navigation. 117. Pulling up my stat screen I was surprised to find it had changed.

Status Window: [Magical System]

Health: 117/650.

Mana: 760/760.

Fatigue: 82%

White Strand: Inactive.

Okay. I’m trapped inside my own and everyone outside of myself is completely clueless. Just how the hell do I activate the White Strand? 107Hp. Magical System Initiation complete.

Congratulations [Rhys] First of eight magical strands has been enabled.

97Hp Hurry the fuck up! I mentally yelled at the slow-moving prompts. I hoped this Magical System was worth- suddenly my whole being clamped down and went rigid. A startled gasp escaping me and those around me, as I locked up.

System suspension lifted. Have a nice day.

Ignoring the message, I blinked my eyes open and as quick as thought I scanned through my inventory. I breathed a sigh of relief when I mentally pressed on instant recovery and a rejuvenating warm light enveloped me. Healing and restoring my body to as it was, before I got my ass handed to me by Matilda. I wasn’t ever going to underestimate her again. I sat up from the granite stone floor as everyone backed away a step. “That was certainly educational,” I mumbled as I stared around the place. My eyes locked with Matilda. Then the knight crumbled, falling to her knees and dropping her great sword that reverberated with a loud clang as it hit the stone. Tears fell from her eyes as she hugged herself, sobbing loudly. Melody rushed over to embrace to the crying Knight as Amara’s arms encircled around my neck from behind.

“That gave us all quite a scare,” the blood witch murmured quietly into my ear. I nodded slightly; my gaze still trapped by Matilda balling like a baby. “Go to her.”

“But-” I started to say but Amara voice cut me off.

“She didn’t have a choice, Rhys. Your system, it made her do that. There were consequences if she didn’t.”

Extracting myself from Amara I crawled hesitantly over to Matilda. Melody saw me coming and moved away just as I got there. Matilda looked up at me blinked her watery purple eyes and then hugged me tightly, her body trembling with each racking sob. “Why didn’t fight back?” she asked between tears trembling against me. Her head stuffed into my chest as I held her tightly to me.

“I did. I just didn’t want either of us getting hurt,” I told. “I didn’t expect you to go all out, is all. I would’ve kicked you ass otherwise.”

“More l-like I caught you by surprise,” she replied, and sighed heavily.

“What happened?” I asked her.

“This system… it gave me a quest. Quite simple one really. Beat the ever the loving shit out of you, or…” She trailed off and pushed her face harder into my chest, as if to hide there.

“Or?” I prompted her.

She sighed then, “or you would lose your life.”

“What?” I asked and pushed on her shoulders until she was at arms-length from me. My mind racing. Could the system really do that? Wasn’t the Mana Cube System, largely a part of me. Why would it force someone whose contractually bound to me, to fight me to bloody pulp and kill me if they refused. It just didn’t make any sense. Was Annaleigh involved with this. I cleared my throat when Matilda sniffled and rubbed at her eyes self-consciously. Her usually tight braid of purple hair had partially come loose at some point. It spilled like royal silk down onto her battered and bloodied knight armour. I breathed in deeply as I watched her for several seconds, as Melody tentative hands hovered over the knight looking for injuries.

Even when it was my ass that got kicked. I shook my head a little ruefully. “What was the awards for completion?” I asked her.

Turning to me, she blinked a little owlishly and nodded her head. “I got… 5Ap? And was awarded another 5Ap when you did whatever the system wanted you to do.”

“Whatever the System wanted me to do?” I repeated back to her, but she shrugged.

“I’m not sure really. It wanted you find something, I think.” She frowned then and stared off into space. For the barest fraction of a second, something passed under the surface of her pupil. It looked a lot like computer coding, and it was blue. Was the Mana Cube System fucking with her mind? Or was that how I looked, when I processed System information. Question’s for later I guessed.

~*~*~*~

An hour or so later we all stood around, chatting and discussing our options. “Honestly, at point we can’t go back so we might as well continue on,” I told everyone.

“You don’t reckon Drake and Irma’s group will come back for us,” Steward asked.

“That’s if they can,” Melody supplied. “Even then, who knows what’s going on out there. I agree with Rhys, we should move forward.” As Melody spoke, I watched as everyone became immediately entranced by her. The Cleric had this calm matronly directness, that made everything she said seem trustworthy. I shook my head as even I couldn’t help but help stare at her plump lips. My thoughts running more towards what she had on under her gaudy robes.

“I agree as well. Rhys,” Matilda called to me and I blinked away images of Melody in wearing nothing else than a red bow around her chest.

“Y-yeah,” I answered clearing my throat.

“You should probably spend this prep time figuring out how what exactly this Magical System does for you,” she told me. I nodded my agreement and walked off to the side of the chamber. Amara somehow finding her over to me and clinging to my arm.

“Rhys, honey,” Amara cooed at me and I looked down at her with a scowl.

“Hon-” I started to question.

“What say we go on a date when we’re finished here?” She asked me sweetly. I simply stared at the semi-gothic Blood Witch in confusion. What the ever-loving fuck was getting myself into. Yet I wasn’t compelled to decline her. As much as Amara weirded me out. She was hot and crazy, and I hadn’t had any female attention in quite a while. Constantly worrying over bills, rent, my sister, my job, gateway carrying, and my then comatose mother had really put a damper on my personal life. My last girlfriend being Matilda, and well, I was still in the fallout from that exploding on me. Gifted were known for having multiple partners, something to do with the gender ratio. So maybe…

“Sounds good,” I told the petite Blood Witch. “Where were you thinking?”

“My place or scratching that. My car. Or here, right now on the floor. Me on all fours and you fucking me from behind. The rest can watch, or even join in if you-”

“Wow, you just don’t stop do you?” I cut her off with a laugh.

Amara smiled at me, “I do what I want and when I want. Oh shit!” She exclaimed then, stopping us in our tracks.

“What is it?” I asked her.

“I forgot to ask Matilda about the Mana Core,” Amara pouted. I looked from her, to the Knight that was probably 25 – 30 feet away.

“Why don’t you just go ask her now,” I said with a cocked eyebrow.

“I can?” She asked sweetly, fluttering her green eyes up at me.

“Yeah…” I trailed off.

“Thank you!” The blood witch exclaimed; jumping she pressed a firm kiss to my lips and bounced away towards the others.

“What the hell have I gotten myself into?” I sighed and shook my head. Now, I needed to figure what exactly had happened. Pulling up all of the Magical System messages and the one about the first of eight strands, I read through them. Thankfully the last message actually provided me some information.

Magical System: White Strand. (1/8)

White Strand: Binding Magic.

Binding magic is the contractual force and framework that repels, attracts and binds all thing’s.

To make use of the White Strand of magic, will the Strand to appear.

Status Alert!

System functionality changed with the activation of the Magical System. All Active Skills are temporarily disabled. Passive Skills are still enabled. Active magic used outside of the Magical System cost’s double. To disable the Magical System, simply will the option to exit the system. Attributes are still active, though no longer displayed when using the Magical System.

“Okay… This is certainly odd,” I said and paused as I tried to activate Haste. Nothing happened. Then I tried Telekinetic Reach and my was surprised when Mana plummeted -60Mp. Leaving me at 700/760, which wasn’t that bad now that I considered how I could regenerate Mana now thanks to my Wisdom Attribute. Seeing no further way of putting this off, I willed the White magical Strand to appear. Which manifested before me wasn’t at all what I expected. A dull white orb buzzed into existence two feet away from me, at chest level. It hummed and buzzed statically, and as I stepped towards to take a closer look to moved away. Keeping two feet of distance between me and it.

Frowning I reached out, “this is so strange.” The nearer my hand came towards to the orbs the more erratic the buzzing got, to the point that it was painful. I tried willing it to quiet or to come closer, but nothing happened. “If this electrocutes me, I’m gonna so pissed at Annaleigh I swear that-” My hand passed through and all I felt was a brief sensation of cold weightlessness, then the orb shrunk around my wrist forming a dull white band that glowed softly.

Calibrating… A message popped in front and I jumped feet, “holy- fuck!” Then electrifying pain shot down my arm till it reach my shoulder and webbed off throughout my body. Calibrating… Error found. Two Bonds necessary. Then another white magical orb, magically manifested and as the pain shrieked through me, it somehow took control of my arm and plugged it through the second orb. Where it too shrunk into another band, to shrink around my wrist.

I may’ve blacked out as two webbing tendrils of pain branch through me to meet at the centre of my being. My Mana heart, there, they sparked and electrified sending currents of pulsating energy. Each one feeling like miniature heart attacks. Then I gasped as all of sudden it ended, and I was left panting and swaying unsteadily on my feet. Steam rose off the bands on my wrists, and even out through my mouth and nostrils.

Calibration complete.

Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of the White Strand of Magic. One of Eight accessible strands. Through further growth other Strands will become accessible. Hope you have a positively ecstatic day.

My eyes twitch as I read through the prompt and breathed a sigh of relief. “Does this mean I’ll have to go through calibration every time I used the Strand. Or when accessing a Strand for the first time?” I asked aloud.

“Accessing what for the first time?” A voice said from behind me, making me jump a little.

“Damn it, Melody!” I said and felt at my chest.

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” she replied apologetically. I waved it off.

“My magic. Or more properly put: my actual magic,” I told and frowned down at my wrists. The band were still softly glowing white. “Hey, do you see these?”

“You mean the eerie grey-white bands on your wrist’s? Yeah, I see those; why?” Melody replied and cocked a fine eyebrow at me.

“No reason, really. Just wondering is all. I really don’t know what to do with these. This,” I said and waved at the bands on my right and left wrist. “Is supposedly White Strand magic.”

“Well, what does White Strand magic do?” She asked. I recalled up the message and read it to her. “So it’s Binding Magic?”

I nodded, “yeah. At least that’s what it says.”

“Can you share the screen with me?” Melody suggested, I was to shake my head but then froze. Could I do that? Pulling my message about with my fingers I pinched the screen till it formed into a small two by four envelope and flicked it at the Cleric.

Do you wish to share this message with: [Melody Quinn]

YES/NO.

Selecting yes, I watched as Melody’s eyes twitch briefly and firmed as she began mumbling through the message. Okay, that is certainly interesting. If I could figure out some way to use this to our advantage, or better yet write actual messages and sent them over greater distances. It would surely benefit us, I thought as I waited for the Cleric to finish.

“Okay- Several of the words within the description of binding magic were highlighted,” she told me. I nodded; I had actually noticed that but had thought nothing of it. “The highlighted words are: Contractual force, framework, repel, attract and bind’s all thing’s. So maybe try attracting something to you. Pull something to you like a magnet.”

“Like a magnet- got it,” I mumbled and searched about for something to fuck with. Several seconds later I found some rock debris that had fallen from the wall of the chamber, when Matilda had rammed the shield Golems into it. Holding my hands out and splaying my fingers wide, I tried to push outwards, to move my Mana through me with a conscious will. Nothing happened. Several more attempts and still nothing. “Maybe you should try make a fist,” Melody suggested and tilted her head in thought. By now Matilda, Amara and the others minus Josh, who was messing around with his breastplate after sharpening his war-axe.

“Fine, a fist it is. If this doesn’t work, I’m quitting,” I grumbled back at her. Forming fists with both hands I was surprised when a display appear hovering over my wrist. It was like a holographic gunsight reticle. “Holy shit,” I said in a gasp.

“Did something happen?” Matilda asked me.

“Uh- not exactly. I now have a holographic reticle above my wrist,” I told her.

“Like you get on guns, or in games?” Jason asked excitedly and then blushed as everyone looked to him.

“Exactly,” I nodded, “I wonder if I can-” I started and aiming my closed fist I felt a whump as Mana rushed through my arm to collect at the band on my wrist. Then a small white bolt of mana shot out of my fist to smack harmlessly into a rock the size of my head. It pulsed a film of white and half a second it levitated a foot off the ground and shot towards me. “What the heck!” I yelled and dodged out of the way as it passed by. Thinking quickly I aim my left fist at the opposite wall of the chamber, a whump of mana followed by another white bolt. This time when the bolt smacked into the wall, the rock that had sailing passed paused in mid-air. Suspended there, like it was caught between two opposing forces.

“Wow,” Steward murmured, and I had to agree. I had never seen magic like this before. The rock hummed as it jittered in place. I activated my Magical Sight and saw two cords of Mana, trailing taut at either end of the rock. One cord—or Strand—was connected to me, the other was connected to the wall at the other side of the chamber. “Huh,” I huffed and sighed. This would definitely take some getting used to.

“I wonder,” Melody started, her face taking on a thoughtful look. “If the Holographic sight—as you described it—is more like training wheel’s. It’ll be interesting to find out.” My eyebrows shut up at her words and I nodded my partial agreement.

Looking back to the rock, I frowned. Why had the strand for attract attached itself to me? I wondered thoughtfully. Raising my right arm I shot the rock again, this time though I willed the rock to attract towards the bronze doors. The rock fell briefly, and I watched as it suddenly caught itself and swung widely left towards the doors. Now balancing between them and the walls. I opened my hands and the bindings vanished.

“Is it alright with everyone, if I keep messing with this as we move forward? If we get into serious trouble, I’ll switch back to damage dealer.”

“It would be best if you could try and figure this all out early,” Matilda nodded and smiled slightly at me. “Never know. Your White Strand magic could be just the thing we need.” Then she gestured at the doors and I caught her meaning. Raising my right hand, I closed my fist sending a shot of attraction to the left door. It swung on creaking hinges as it ground slightly against the granite floor, then I did the same with the right side. I could attract two things at once, which was good to know.

Half a minute later the doors were fully open, and everyone was ready. I looked to my Mana and winced, 690/760. It wasn’t too bad, but I didn’t know the full capabilities of binding magic yet. Such as: Did heavier objects cost more Mana? I understood the basics of repel and attract, but what about this contractual force or framework? Could I say… Bind someone legs together with an attract spell? Or even repel my own body off the ground and use attract as a way to levitate myself. Then could I bind elements. Use an attract spell on the air element and form a shield, then attach repel?

There were so many possibilities. Right now though, I was hampered by the fact that I had aim my fist and target something. I just hoped Melody was right, and that right now I was just wearing the kiddie gloves. Once those were off, I was definitely going to experiment.

~*~*~*~

“So how does your gift work exactly?” Maggie asked me. She, Melody, Amara and I were bringing up the rear as the other’s ranged ahead with Matilda leading the front. With the Magical System enabled, it meant I was better suited to support functions within the group. I had spent the last few minute since we’d entered through the bronze doorway, practicing my binding magic. I used attract and repel to float small stones that we passed off the ground.

I found that as much as I liked the prospects of the White Strand’s magic, the need to aim and target everything was becoming a pain in my ass. It stopped me from being truly versatile with the magic.

Something I had figured out though was the cost of Mana for each shot. Thirty-five points of Mana. Luckily only the initial shot’s counted and not the length of which the bindings held. Also it seemed- at least as far as I could tell but the weight of the object my spells hit wasn’t factored into the cost. Something small cost the same points of mana to move as those massive bronze doors has.

“What’d you mean?” I asked the mage. Up ahead I could Matilda gesturing further in front of her as she spoke to Josh. Giving the newly minted leader some advice, I guessed.

“Like the system,” Maggie replied and shrugged.

“Well, I’m not really sure myself. Don’t you have any System windows?” I asked her in return, remembering how Matilda had mentioned being awarded Five-Attribute-points.

Maggie shook her head slightly, “We, the others and I have a Lesser Contract. So we can only see our Health, Mana, Fatigue and a few base stats.”

My eyebrows drew together as I thought over her words. Then I caught Melody glancing at me from my left and I leaned her way when she gave me a subtle nod. “Only Amara, Matilda and I have Greater Contract. I summarised after speaking to the others, but it seems that only us few have greater System functionalities. Like quests and inventory, though they’re locked until we reach level: 30,” the Cleric informed me.

“Wait,” I whispered back. “What level are you now then?”

“Level: 23, so are Amara and Matilda as well.”

“Interesting,” I trailed off. The others in front of us stopped as we reached the end of the corridor we’d been travelling. Beyond, the path widen out and stretched in height. The stone and granite brick all around us now, no longer we were travelling through dank earthy caverns. This made all of us cautious, it seemed we had entered into a dungeon, yet I received no prompt warning me of such. Maybe a crypt them?

Activating Magical Sight I gasped at what I saw. “This isn’t going to be easy,” I informed the others as I scanned everything before us.

“What is it?” Matilda asked from beside me. We were crouched low to the ground as we looked into the chamber, beyond this was another dark corridor. We had decided it was best to scan the rooms for traps or enemy’s before entering, in case doing so triggered we found.

“Four Golem Knights and a good thirty - forty Pawns,” I answered with a wince

“Fuck! That isn’t good,” Matilda agreed, and I could hear the other cursing’s as well.

“I would say that we could use the same tactics as last time, but I’m worried about us being swarmed by those Pawns.” The Pawns were more fashioned like earth and mud foot soldiers and were of an average human height. Sconces embedded into the pillars that lined the walls of the chamber held no torches but a collection of softly glowing oranges crystals. The light cast unease shadows, made worse by the towering sentinels’ at the back whose own shadows swallowed the army of Pawns, leaving only the vaguest of outlines of what we truly faced.

I rubbed at my chin as I looked at the unmoving force. “No one move,” I hissed to the group and everyone froze.

“Rhys, what’re you thinking?” Matilda asked and I could hear the quiver of concern in her voice. This situation was awfully shitty, more importantly. The E-ranks would most likely become overwhelmed quickly. “We got to draw the Pawns to us first, without drawing the Golems as well,” I replied.

“But that’s fucking crazy,” I heard Steward all but hiss in obvious terror.

“No, it’s fucking logical. Look just hope and pray those giants aren’t drawn in as well, if you like,” I replied and rubbed the palms of my hands into my eyes and let out an explosive sigh. No arguments there. “If shit goes wrong Just remember your teamwork. Always back each other up and keep each other in your peripherals.”

“How’re you going to draw them to us?” Amara asked me. The Blood Witch had stepped really close at some point and was practically hanging off of me now. I drew forth my old Halberd from my time in Fellbait dungeon, thankful that even though I was using the Magical System everything else seem to be in working order.

The bronze weapon was useless to me now that I had Heava’liku But I’d kept the weapon as a memento of my first jaunt as a gifted and my first solo Blue Gateway. Now that all seemed pointless and million miles away from what we were facing now. Outnumbered and outmatched, our hope was to stagger the fights, draw and the Pawns first. Then the Golem Knights, one by one. If my gambit didn’t pay off, we would be facing something that not all of us could walk away from. Not without loses.

Heck it’ll be better if I can only pull a few Pawns to us and let the E-Ranks figure out a plan on how to combat them. The difference between a Golem Knight and a Pawn, was that the Knights were giant and made of clay and stone. The Pawns were an amalgamation of mushed up mud and harden dirt. The only problem was that they could morph the limbs of their bodies, changing their arms to scythes and the like.

Weak in small numbers but, say if thirty odd Pawns rushed you, you were going to get hurt. No doubt about it.

I hefted to bronze halberd, “where’d you get that?” Jason asked me. “Fellbait. The dungeon with all the ratlings or ratkin - whatever you want to call them. Took it off a lieutenant.” Then I waved a hand, gesturing everyone to move away from me. I shot the rear of the halberd with a repel spell and will myself as the anchoring point. I felt the intense pressure and force of the spell in my hand as I grunted, juts trying to angle the weapon correctly in front of me. I even felt my feet skid across the stone as the repulsing force tried to tear the halberd from my hand.

Then with another grunt as I let my hand go and watched as the halberd streaked in a straight line across the distance to smack into the chest of a Pawn. It buried and blasted through to hit several others to devastating effects. Muddy limbs and torso parted with enough force that they slammed into other Pawns knocking fifteen or so of them onto the ground like domino’s.

I’d been trailing the halberd with my right fist raised, ready to blast an attract spell before the weapon could end up anywhere near Golems in the back. Shooting the spell off, I felt the whump of magic as the white bolt just caught the halberds pommel as it reached the backline of Pawns. The old and worn weapon hovered there, buzzing and jittering with supressed energy. I released my repel spell and the bronze halberd sailed back toward me, striking and impaling several Pawns through the chest as one of them got caught on the down curve of the axe blade. Then with an almost eerie alertness, all of the Pawns turned and twisted to watch as their lone brother was dragged away by a Halberd.

Then, in mass they all rushed forward in an odd loping run. “Get ready!” I yelled to the others, and then cringed as an enormous shape at the back of the Pawn force shifted in the shadows. Matilda and Joshua’s team pushed forward as I joined the support in the back. From my right I caught a flash of red glyph-like tattoos blooming across Amaras’ skin to bubble into a ruby blood ball in her left hand. She swung her arm back and tossed the object to fly above the group of advancing Pawns.

Once it fell within their ranks the Blood Witch closed her hand viciously and a sound like breaking glass shattering echoed in a boom that exploded among the Pawns. Two-foot-long blood spike exploded in all directions with a shrieking scream as they whistled amongst their numbers, impaling tens of them through their cores and hampering more.

“What the heck was that?” I asked Amara in disbelief. She wore a smug smile as she turned and winked at me, but I noticed the slight drooping in her shoulders. She’d used quite a bit of Health and Mana doing that.

“A blood grenade!” She chirped and thrust out her right hand with another bloom of bloody red glyphs crossing her skin to form into a long wicked looking knife. Its crimson obsidian glass reflected, but only shallowly, the knife seemed empty somehow. “And this!” She chirruped triumphantly, “is a Drinkers Blade.” Amara caressed the weapon with a strange amount of dreamy gentleness, I wouldn’t feel for such an ominous looking knife. Heava’liku fit me just fine.

Maggie, Joshua’s groups mage. Launched one her massive Mana bolts, scoring the right flank of the approaching Pawn force. She’d aimed low, so as to fell them. Pawns, unlike Golems, could regenerate their limbs but it took time. Her Mana bolt hit and decimated a score of them, leaving a fair number writhing with the lower halves of their bodies missing. Unfortunately though, the Mana Bolt boomed loudly, more so than Amara’s Blood Grenade. More movement from the Golem’s in the back. Then Matilda and the rest were there, fighting and hacking away at their numbers.

One of the Pawns, a dark muddy brown coloured one, morphed its arm into a spike and drove it towards Jason’s side as he parried and kicked another. I shot out a repel spell and blasted the spike. The force of it diving towards Jason pushed the man to his left as I shot another repel at the ground beneath the Pawn. It flew and crashed with a solid smack into the chambers ceiling. I dismissed the spell and it crashed down atop a few other Pawns, piling them into a heap.

A scythe arm swung into the side of steward, gracing the ranger but only slightly. I shot an attract spell at its face and the force was of the spell was strong enough to completely tear the head off and sail it towards the ceiling. The Pawns now seemed blinded and stumbled about, until Matildas’ massive great sword swept through it and several others.

“Argh! This isn’t going to work,” I fumed summoning Heava’liku. “Stay here and support,” I told the others and charged to join the fight proper. I leaped through a gap, between Jason and Joshua. Steward scuttled backwards loaded another bolt and then leaned out to the right of Joshua’s shield to fire. I shot an attract spell at it and watched it screw through two of the Pawns necks to lodge in the core of another, killing it. I swept out my knife parting the probing the spear arm of a Pawn as I shot a repel spell beneath its feet. It jumped ten feet into the air and using Telekinetic Reach -60Mp I pulled the Pawn toward and skewered its core with my blade. I shot a glance at Matilda and saw that the Knight was facing several Pawns at once. I shot an attract spell at its arm and neck, the fork point of its arm lodged itself there and Matilda bisected the thing in two.

More came, rushing in to fill the ranks. I scanned the force arrayed before and saw that there were more than forty now. We were cutting it close to being over-run. Bit by bit, we were forced to loose ground. Matilda or I, could easily stay amongst them and fight but that would leave the others undefended. “Any ideas,” Matilda growled over to me as we fought. I kicked the knee of a Pawn and darted in to stab it cores but was quickly pushed back as more came at me. I hadn’t taken wounds yet, in fact, as far as I knew none of us had. Odd that.

“None, you?” I called back to her. We were sweating, a quick glance at my stats made me wince slightly. Health: 650/650. Mana: 490/760. Fatigue: 68% White Strand: Active. If we ended up in a protracted fight against the golems after this, we’d be fucked. I glanced over at Josh’s team as I sliced the barbed leg off a Pawn and shot an attract spell at the falling limb, throwing it to smack into the face of another trying to slam its hammer morphed hand into Matilda’s shoulder. Josh blocked, chopping fruitlessly the array of Pawns trying to get past him as Maggie and steward shot projectiles out from behind. Jason weaved in and out protecting the shield warriors flanks as Amara darted in to stab her knife viciously into a Pawns core, knowing almost as if by instinct where to attack.

I blocked and parried, thrust my knife through the neck of a Pawn and twisted my arm about. Jumping into the pawn I shot a repel into the centre of its chest as I twisted about it and threw the body with an explosive amount of repulsion. The body blasted into the ranks knocking more and more over as I pushed deeper, throwing more Mana into the force. Releasing the spell, I stabbed a Pawn lying prone at my feet through the back of its shoulder where its core was embedded.

“Charge!” Matilda called.

“What?” I answered back, confused.

“You asked me if I had any ideas, well… charge them.”

“Oh… honestly I’d forgotten,” I told her, stumbling into her back as we rotated, switching. The side I now faced had larger weapons. Punching a Pawn in the head send it flying, to battered into the Pawn next to it where I entangled them both with an attract spell and then sent them flying together with a quick repel spell after.

“I agree then. On three, we charge,” I told the Knight and parried a halberd thrust to the side and split the weapon in half summoning my knife. Yet, as I looked out beyond the force more seemed to emerge from the shadows running this time and without the weird limping run. “Hadn’t the last few waves moved like that?” I murmured to myself. At the back more movement from one of the Golem’s shadow. For a fraction of a second, I thought I saw a miniscule flash of orange magic. The framework so small I barely paid it any attention. On a hunch I switched to Magical Sight and groaned. Only two or three Pawns had actual Mana cores within them, the rest were illusions.

“Fall back and take cover!” A voice called out from behind.

“What?” Matilda and I shouted in unison. Then, a bloody red ball flew overhead to fall into the illusionary ranks of the Pawns.

“Wait!” I shouted but was too late. Spears of blood run out everywhere sipping straight towards us, I raised both of my arms to try something when a colourless curving barrier manifested before us. The spears of blood hit the barrier, pelting it and recoiling liquidly in on themselves to bounce off and hit the Pawns. Again, I saw a flash of magic at the back and caught sight of the magical framework. The system, as if recognising what I’d noticed gave me an identifier. Golem. Illusionist. An orange warning hue filling its name.

“They’re not real,” I called out, and scanning the rows of mud and clay men bodies I noted that all actual Pawns were now dead.

“What do you mean?” Matilda asked from beside me.

“They’re illusions. We’ve been fighting illusions,” I told her and heard her groan as she then informed the others. Turning I caught Melodys eye and gave her a grateful nod. She’d used the Runic Stone finally, the Spell Ward. “Thank you,” I mouthed to her and was rewarded with a blushing smile, her cheeks going almost as red as her hair. Amara was staring at her knife and frowning in disappointment. I guessed her Drinkers Blade, drank the red stuff coursing through our veins. How she’d thought she could get blood from a Pawn is beyond me. Might as well try and squeeze water from a rock, I thought and tried to hide my amusement.

As if knowing it had been outed the Golem Illusionist stepped out from the shadows. Like the first two Golem Knights we’d faced, the Illusionist was also made of stone and clay. It stood as a fifteen-foot-tall faceless man with a hood over its head. A stone staff in one hand bled through with Mana infused cracks. The Mana winked in and out, pulsating continuously. The rest of the group finally took notice, with Melody being the last after healing a bruise on Stewards hip.

The first of four Golems, we’d have to face. “Be careful of everything,” Melody said speaking up. “Illusionists, if pressed hard enough can and have infused life into their illusions.”

Wiping at the sweat on my brow, I dismissed Heava’liku. “Maybe magic, would be the better option for this fight,” I mumbled to the others. Amara, Maggie and Melody nodded along. Wizards for wizards, warriors for warriors. Shooting out a binding of attraction I flung a Pawn’s rotting body across the chambers expanse at the Illusionist.

The Golems image wavered as the body past through to smack into the wall behind. I scanned about and cursed, “there!” Amara shouted, pointing off to the right side of the room. The wall rippled and vanished, Maggie shot her huge Mana bolt out and hit the wall, the image distorted further and then collapsed.

A menacing growled snarled through the chamber, practically stealing the air from my lungs with the potency of it’s malevolence. Large orange orbs the size of my head opened in the darkness, green scales and a long serpentine body with fours legs crashed out through the darkness to swing about and slammed its tail into the women on my right.

They cried out as the dragon-like monster, whipped about, its long sinuous body smashing into Melody’s Spell Ward once, and then twice. The shield shattered. Blasted both spells at once, I hit the dragon eel-like head with an attract spell and is flailing tail with a repel. Instantly the dragon was seized and strung up into air above the women. “Get back!” I barked at them and they scurried away.

Re-summoning Heava’liku from my inventory I ran at the beast, about to leap on and stab it when It vanished as my bindings were dismissed. In a haze of imagery the dragon distorted and was replaced with a giant black carapace sphere, that split apart as eight long legs divided out and touched the ground with a dull chink. An enormous spider reared up in what seemed like a silent stretch and I felt my blood go cold as its three rows of eyes settled on me.

“O-oh damn,” I murmured and took a step back. Affliction Debuff detected: Fear. Passive Skill: Incite has activated: Fear. Affliction Rebuffed. Like an unveiling, my thoughts became clearer and I scanned the insect, Golem. Illusionist. This was the Golem, using Magical Sight I saw, yep, it had a Mana Core. Maybe this was a skill or a spell it was using, polymorph or something along those lines. Illusionists from what little I knew, could not only conjure illusions but also manipulate inanimate objects giving them life. The push more Mana into a spell and have their creations solidify. Only the rare few could actually polymorph, change themselves into other beings or objects but are usually stomped by the set limit of things they can turn into.

So far, I’d seen a dragon and now a spider. Their larger size meant more Mana was being consumed for growth. I darted forward, no longer under the subtle effects of its fear Debuff and dove between its legs to crash into a roll beneath it. I stabbed out with my knife but was surprised when my blade only scored along the surface of its carapace. A leg swept inwards clawing and knocking me backwards, I hit the ground but received no damage. I guessed my chest piece of armour working, which reminded me of my gauntlet and it’s phase ability.

There was shout as the others charged into the fray, to fight the spider. Maggie shot customary Mana bolt, but the blast simply slid oily across the surface of the spiders carapace. The blast boomed as it hit the wall behind. I jumped up from underneath the spider and punched its sternum with a repulsion spell. The spiders carapace crumpled inwards with a splattering crack and hiss, and suddenly the spider was launched twenty-five feet up into the air. It reacted quickly though and flipped around to brace its momentum against the dark ceiling above.

Dismissing the spell jarred the spider but it clung like a spider would. This time I shot a binding of attraction and affixed the spider in place there. Trapped it couldn’t move. “I really hope this works,” I muttered to myself. Keeping the spell active, I tossed my knife back into my inventory and shot a repulsion spell at my own feet, pushing and willing the spell to unbind me from the ground. I too launched off the chambers ground soaring straight for the immobilised spider.

With a stupid grin plastering my face I crashed into the ceiling hard, completely missing the spider, as it polymorphed into a giant eagle, far too large for the chamber to stretch its wings. It fell and hit the ground loudly and just as hard as I’d hit the ceiling. -78Hp. CND. Head: 83/100% Groaning I stood up and swayed, everything was upside down, no not everything, only me. My perspective had change is all, the ceiling was now the floor. I could jump and the repulsion spell would push me subtly back down to the ceiling. It was as if gravity had reversed, it was now pushing upwards instead of down. Was this what the highlighted words meant in the descriptions for Binding Magic, the contractual force and framework? I didn’t for one second imagine I was smart enough to actually figure it out proper.

I looked up and watched disconcertingly as my friends fought against a giant spotted tabby cat, its fourth and hopefully last form. Steading myself I lowered into a crouch. It was odd after all to switch view points and see your friends fighting on the ceiling, yet I felt no nausea.

With a second blast of repel I dismissed my first and rocketed upwards for the ground, shooting so fast that everything blurred and then I there my knife stabbing through and penetrating the spine of the giant spotted tabby. It yowled and thrashed, collapsing to the ground. Its giant paws splaying outwards futilely as it cried. My arm phased through its body to scare the Mana core enough to leak light that instantly tried to burn my entire arm to crisp.

I hissed and drew back jumping off the beast to land in a roll and dismissed my spell. This time everything lurched as the sensation of being pulled back and forth caught up to me. Wobbling, I stumbled and was caught by Matilda and Melody, the latter immediately going to work on casting her healing over me. Tiny translucent yellow-gold wisps danced in the air before, so carefree and child-like. Their hidden song ended, and the wisps drew into my body healing, and then going further. I felt an odd pull in my chest, a lightening of some unfelt pressure I hadn’t known.

The giant spotted tabby cat morphed back into a Golem with a strange twisting of imagery. The Golem instantly crumpled to dust as it formed, the pile falling into a neat pyramid. “That was definitely exciting,” Amara nodded her head jerkily, grin plastering her face. She turned to me then, “Were you flying?”

“Yeah, that looked a lot like flying to me,” Joshua agreed.

“No, its more like changing the force which binds us to the ground. Reversing gravity, maybe.” I shrugged. Mana: 220/760. Grimacing I scanned the shadows for the other three Golems and found their vague identifiers still inactive. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I need to rest for a few minutes. I’m almost out of Mana.”

“Yes,” Matilda agreed following my glance towards the darker tall shapes within the shadowy darkness of the other side of the chamber. “A few of us should stand guard just in case-”

I ignored them and found a place a to lie down on the ground. I pulled up my Status window and saw that my level still remained the same, where as the percentage had risen up fourteen percent. Was the Magical System in some way halting my growth or was it simply the fact that I’d caught up. It could even be that now I’d formed contracts with everyone, the experience was now split amongst us. “Uhhh… I don’t even want to consider EXP levels. What the…?”

[Amara. Blood Witch. Has accessed: Golem Illusionist Item drops. Stake Claim: YES/NO.]

Pushing yes, I leaned up onto my elbows frown at the Blood Witch. I watched as her brows furrowed and then she glance my way sheepish. Cocking an eyebrow at Amara, I read through the prompts.

Gold: 350. Mana Crystals: 15.

[Item: Runic Stone. Type: Polymorph. Cost: 500Mp. Cool-down: 10 minutes.] Through the will of Polymorph the caster can change into and up-to four different forms. Form can be enlarged by the distribution of more Mana. Minimum cost of Mana to enlarge form: 300Mp. [Forms available: Spider. Cat. Eagle. Wyrm.] This, I realised with the biggest shit eating grin I’d ever had in my life was going to make my day even more interesting.

This novel is the work of Rhys Thomas. If you are reading this and it has not been published by Rhys Thomas, then this work has been stolen. Please report this to Amazon and me at email: [email protected]