He was dumbfounded to say the least. He felt like till now he had a problem with his eyes but he hadn't realized it since everyone else had the same problem. After staring at a wall for what felt like hours while the mugger fled from the scene in a panic while screaming incoherent things he removed the lock from his bicycle and started to bike towards his apartment. There was too much to process at that moment and he couldn't exactly deal with it at the moment so he numbed himself by just concentrating on pedalling till he reached home. When he did a part of him expected what he had been conditioned to expect his whole life. Someone in trouble or someone breaking into his apartment and searching for some sort of item that had a power required for world conquest but nothing of sort happened. He heard no screams while climbing the stairs and when he unlocked his door the only thing that greeted him was his room that hadn't changed a single bit since he left it. He entered his apartment and locked the door and he immediately dropped himself on the bed and within seconds he was asleep.

He woke up to the alarm clock while feeling a small ache coming from his body due to the fact that he had slept in his work clothes. He looked around his room as if he didn't recognize where he was before slowly remembering what had occured. It was a weird feeling as for his whole life he had known that a wall was made of cement and bricks while a kitchen counter was made of wood but now he also understood the fact that they were actually made from the same material as everything else in the universe. Not knowing what to do he stuck to his old schedule. First he took off his clothes and threw them on the bed before picking up a second set of work clothes followed by going to the bathroom and combing his hair and finally getting his coffee and leaving his apartment through along the way he did something different. When he stopped to get a bagel he gathered his courage and said:"Hello. Nice to meet you. I am Mark." to the cashier while seeming rather timid.

The tall cashier looked over Mark as if he was measuring him and Mark immediately regretted it. He had decided to do something different since he had almost died last night like an extremely small rebellion to his daily schedule. As he thought about fleeing like his life depended on it the cashiers voice interrupted his thoughts:"My name is Haris. Nice to meet you." As expected of a man his size he had a rather deep voice and when the cashier offered his hand Mark felt like shaking hands with this guy could cause his hand to break but due to how awkward it would be to flee at this moment he shook Haris's hand and as he expected his hand felt like it was being crushed. After the handshake Haris went into the back and after half a minute he came with a large bagel that seemed to have just come out of oven. Mark took the bagel with his left hand and said:"Thanks Haris." while constantly opening his right hand to get rid of it's numbness. Haris gave him a small nod before going to deal with another customer while Mark got on his bike.

It hadn't gone as badly as he had expected. His hand was still a bit numb from the handshake but at the very least he had gotten a hot large bagel which could be considered a win and he probably didn't have to shake Haris's hand once more.unless they shook hands each time they met at wherever he was from. Otherwise he either needed to put some muscle or find a different bakery. Probably the latter considering he already had enough to deal with in his life. As he looked at the landscape he wondered if his current situation was temporary or it was who he was now. For a second he thought a visit to a psychiatrist would help him but it was followed by the reminder that he could neither afford nor make time for such a visit.

As he reached his workplace things seemed a bit duller than usual despite his newfound perception. He could perceive what was the material of reality but he was about to do what he did every day but he couldn't think of something he could do with his newfound ability. Well he had a few thoughts but all of them were childish stuff he couldn't do like becoming a hero by repelling bullets like he did last night or becoming famous. First of all he wasn't sure if he could repeat that incident again and if there weren't famous people doing actual magic or being a superhero there had to be a reason.

As he got on the elevator he took a bite from his bagel and noticed it had a bit of cheese in it which was a nice surprise. After reaching his workplace he went to the kitchen and picked up a donut opting out of getting a second one before going to his cubicle. The guy from yesterday hadn't arrived yet so he didn't have the risk of getting caught but he would have had felt like a hypocrite if he had taken a second donut right after signing a petition about it. Starting the download of PDF he started eating his breakfast . The download felt like it was slower than usual through it gave him more than enough time to finish his coffee. Once the computer finished the download he looked at the data and he felt like he could actually see which program was connected to which. This made his job much easier as he understood exactly which part needed proofreading and by the time the lunch break was given around seventy percent of the work was finished.

As he went into cafeteria things felt much different than it normally did yet at the same time it was the same. The soup was the same as always. His silent coworkers were the same yet something felt off but considering the fact that just a few hours ago he was considering visiting a psychiatrist he wasn't about to go chasing after bad feelings. After finishing his soup he returned to his cubicle and by 5 pm he was done. He was free to go home. If things were to stay like this maybe he could consider going to a fitness center. Well he would probably need a raise as well as a bonus in order to get some clothes that were appropriate for a fitness center but the thought in itself was nice. Despite finishing his work he stayed for 3 more hours working overtime in order to gain a few extra dollars before finally leaving the office and getting on the elevator.

After the elevator emptied out he walked to for about a hundred meters in order to pick his bike from the nearby park. He had learnt not to park in an alley in order to avoid walking an extra hundred meters through after looking at the park he decided to sit at one of the benches and watch the ducks swim around for a few minutes. He wasn't in an hurry and he had a near death experience. Getting a hotdog from a travelling shop that was about to close up he sat down and started to watch the lake. It was rather serene and with the moonlight falling on the pool it felt otherworldly.

After finishing his hotdog and starting to throw the remaining bread at the ducks a guy with greying black hair and 5'4 height sat next to him. He assumed this guy finished his work recently like him through he looked like he had a far higher position. First of all he was actually wearing an expensive looking suit and he had a rolex that seemed to be real. The belief that this guy had a higher position was the main reason he didn't just get up and leave. He wasn't particularly willing to network but he also didn't want to offend someone who outranked him greatly even if he was working for a different company.

After a minute of silence the man finally spoke:"I used to be like you. I worked hard everyday thinking that once i got promoted things would get better but the only difference is the fact that they give you a bigger paycheck. My house is bigger but it wouldn't matter if it was a studio apartment considering i drop by there only to sleep."

As the man's monologue continued Mark got more and more disinterested and by the time the man was finished he had started to think about the dreams of ducks. The man finally said:"Thanks for listening to me. I guess it was rather boring for you." and Mark didn't even have the energy or the willingness to make the man feel better. After an awkward silence the man left his side and Mark got on his bike and rode home before changing into his pajamas and laying on the bed and after a few minutes of rolling around he fell asleep.

That night he had rather weird dreams and by the morning he felt like he hadn't slept for the entire night while wondering what kind of nightmare he must have had in order to feel so tired. While he got up and prepared to change his clothes he heard a feminine voice that reminded him to iron his clothes in a language he didn't know but he understood the message. The normal response would probably be to panic in this case but for reasons he didn't understand he felt like this voice was here to help him get through life and act as his guide and helper.

Name

Mark Hilson

Race

Human

Mage

Attributes

Magical Statistics

Physical

Arete

3

Strength

2

Spheres

Dextery

2

Correspondence

3

Stamina

2

Entrophy

0

Social

Time

0

Presence

2

Life

0

Charisma

2

Matter

Matter

Manipulation

2

Mind

0

Mental

Prime

0

Wits

3

Forces

0

Intellegence

4

Spirit

0

Resolve

3

Time

0

Paradox

0

Quintessence

0