Kyrion was in a makeshift workshop surrounded by failed magical experiments. He had been building a gravity enchantment to reduce the overall weight of their mech prototype. Instead, he discovered that setting gravity to the value of 11.4 made it heavier. Out of bad habit, he had forgotten to account for gravity differentials in his enchanting.

“Well that explains the physics questions you got wrong.”

“Gravity, is 9.8 ish here?”

“Yes.”

“I’m used to 17.6~ How do you not fly off into the void above?”

“How are you not a pile of goo?”

“Because my species adapted to that environment.”

“Exact– You were supposed to say I don’t know.”

“I guess that explains why Cecil stuck to lightweight wands and clothes. Must have been struggling to stand for a while.”

“So, you made an enchantment that increases gravity. What will you use it for?”

“I’ll turn it into training weights. Split the product into our pieces that way the wearer will be able to adjust it.”

“If you can split i–”

“I’ll figure it out. Why did your father take my designs for the Phoblade from me?”

“It’s potentially a powerful weapon, and as far as you know, you want to give it to a student with no combat training.”

“Yes and? He’ll be going into the dungeon tonight with the others.”

“Why aren’t you arming the others then?”

“The Phoblade is a prototype mech weapon. I need an idea of how it works in combat before making a larger one. Also, I doubt there will be much danger in this dungeon.”

“Why would you know that?”

‘Because it will be designed for baseline humans with no abilities. Also, Billy D Goat is finishing his special candies, which will be the prize for today’s event.”

“Special candy?” Kilo raised an eyebrow.

“It gives the consumers access to their mana core as well as new abilities. For now it’s a trial product.”

“And you want to test it on teenages?”

“It’s safe. Won’t kill anyone.”

“Isn’t quick power corrupt?”

“What if…”

“No.”

“An alien entity giving mysterious powers to a group of teenagers seems to be a norm hear. Given what I’ve read and watched.”

“No.”

“Don’t you want that girlfriend of yours to survive the apocalypse?”

“Of course.”

“Then she’ll need to be strong enough to survive.”

“That sound…Wait.”

“Don’tI don’t have that kind of free time.” Kyrion scowled as he adjusted a rune and placed a crystal ball.

The orb began to float, slowly rising until it hit the ceiling.

Kyrion clicked his tongue, hopped up a few feet, and brought the orb back down.

“How is that one a failure?”

“It was supposed to lighten, not float.”

“Well it’s a start.”

“No… It’s an idea.” Kyrion concentrated on the orb, causing it to condense and shrink to the size of a baseball and then a marble.

“What now.”

Kyrion didn’t respond, so he willed a metal casing to surround the orb in a tube-shaped cylinder. From there, Kyrion cut open his palm and willed his mana-enriched blood into the tube to create a rune using his will.

“Mo’pha’shi.”

“That’s gibberish.”

“Input, slider, link.” Kyrion translated. The rune resembled a bee with tiny wings.

“Shi’Co’Ak.” Kyrion created a ring of metal, which he added to another rune.

“Link what?”

“Link, Command Activate. These are runes I created, so the more wide spread it becomes the better it will get over time. Which is why I used my blood as a base.”

“So runes can rewrite the laws of reality.”

“As long as there is someone with power who understands what it means.”

“So I was your witness.”

“Correct, now place this on your wrist.” Kyrion handed Kilo the bracelet.

Kilo took it and put it on. Upon doing so, he felt a connection to his consciousness. With a thought, he could cause the cylinder before him to float and sink. “This isn’t using mana.”

“Correct. I’m thinking of linking quite a few of these to a central command system. Then placing them throughout the mech to control the mech’s overall weight. This will need to be connected with the generator and will be a bit greedy.”

“The way you approach magictech is different from the way I was taught.”

“How so?”

“You keep experimenting with a concept until it works. Making use of what many would call failures.”

“Oh, that. There are no failures, just inventions that are misunderstood. I can do that much due to a friend’s teachings. However, said friend could look at my work and quickly improve it. If he had a weakness, it would be indecision. Impulse and ingenuity can work well together.

“So I should be improving upon this?”

“You, Jin, or your dad. Doest matter who, but this is a group project.”

Kyrion heard a phone ring; using a wave of mana, he felt the waves and intercepted them.

“Hello. It appears that some of our allies are trying to blackmail the white tiger of the east.

“Can you patch me in?” Kyrion asked.

“Who are you?”

“If he’s a tiger, i’m probably a fox.”

“The western dragon.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“He who eats all the burgers. Now then it seems like Ander isn’t getting the hospitality he deserves. Put me in contact with them please.”

Kyrion felt the shift, immediately creating a barrier around the waves to prevent those in charge from eavesdropping.

When the phone was answered, Kyrion curiously sent his consciousness through. Looking about, he saw the tall woman with black hair that Ander had fallen for and examined her. She was unusually well-built and solid for a native. Kyrion then observed the old man holding the phone and noticed he had no heart.

Kyrion then sent the weights and basic instructions based on her build type. It is a quick and effective regime. Right after doing so, he wondered how he had managed to pull it off. His mind had been split up and scattered all over the place.

Kyrion awoke thirty minutes later with a gap in his memories and a nosebleed. “Why do I feel like I just escaped death?”

“Kyrion…that was dangerous.”

“Yeah. So who are you anyways?”

“Come again?”

“Are you a Slayer, Janitor or Cerberus?”

“Oh, neither. We just make their gear. GIven our nature is outside.”

“Odd…Then why would I be tasked with helping out?”

“Dragons are calamity level threats akin to a series of natural disasters. While we could use a device to wipe out the island. It would be akin to cutting off a leg to heal a snake bite and it isn’t a guarantee that we’ll succeed.”

“And the other agents?”

“There will be quite a few of our world’s pillars there to help.”

“But you want to see if my powers are just boasting.”

“Hmmm? No I’m well aware of the difference in power between the two planes.” Kilo sighed,

“Then why aren’t you participating?”

“I’m coming as well, but not as a combatant. Apparently the Slayers have someone who can utilize the Phoblade.”

“That’s my baby. Why is some stranger testing it?”

“We didn’t inform them of it. I suspect that the information was taken from Jin, hence the development of such a weapon entering my father’s purview.”

“But it was my idea.”

“Do you want to go home?” Kilo asked coldly.

“Was that a threat?”

“No, but you should know, if they learn about your prowess with magitech they won’t let you leave.”

“My prowess? I’m pretty bad at it all things considered.”

“Yes. Not as good as me or my father yet, but you’re still centuries ahead of what this world is capable of in some respects.”

“That has more to do with Cecil’s influence than my own studies. My focus is on large scale buildings or giant item’s. I can design the small stuff but making it isn’t easy.”

“Yes, you’re a macro control type. The bigger something is, the easier you can manipulate it. Mechs are going to be big therefore the engine and such are in your area of expertise. But the small Phoblade–”

“Would have been a pain for me to get working due to my overwhelming mana.” Kyrion interrupted.

“So that’s the reason you didn’t resist as much as you should.” Kilo squinted.

Kyrion stood and looked about, scowling as he noticed something amiss. Withdrawing a screwdriver from his domain, he didn’t bother to look where he was aiming. He used his trained senses to track the untrained assassin. They were quiet enough to get this far into the workshop but not past his traps. He had just been out of it for a bit.

Like a blade, the screwdriver flew towards the wall and impaled a streak of blood trickling from the interloper’s cheek. His hair was odd. Half was a pale white, the other a very dark brown. A set of unnaturally dark brown eyes looked at him, familiar yet strange, as though they didn’t belong to him.

“What are you doing?” Kilo’s eyes followed the screwdriver and found the intruder.

“Is his hair dyed or do humans here naturally have hair like this on occasion? Something feels wrong about him. All of him feels wrong to me.” Kyrion asked as he took various sharp implements from the workbench.

“Easy, easy. I’m not here for a fight.” The intruder stated.

“I wasn’t going to fight you, so there’s no worry about that. Now ple,ase take your leave.” Kyrion was going to incapacitate the intruder before they could mount an assault, which wouldn’t have been a fight.

“You’re just planning to take me out before I can react.” The intruder had slid a dagger into each hand while hiding them from sight. Sadly, it wasn’t stealthy enough to get past Kyrion’s perception. It dawned on him that he’d been able to know what happens in a fifteen-foot sphere despite it being hidden from his ocular sight.

The intruder smirked before vanishing from natural perception. Moving at a speed that most eyes couldn’t observe.

Kyrion watched as a blade was thrust at his neck, although it was pretty clear that the person was trying to prove a point. The dagger would stop shy of his throat to draw blood.

It was also a regular blade, so when it was thrust, the metal was found wanting. It bent like foil on impact.

“What are you made of?” The man quickly withdrew, his smirk replaced with concern.

“Skin, bones, cells, and all that junk.” Kyrion responded flippantly as he simultaneously rolled four daggers through his fingers as though they were coins before making them disappear into his domain.”

“What is the Houdini are you?”

“A liar, and a cheat. Can’t you tell?” Kyrion held out his opponent’s wallet.

“Did you move faster than me?”

“No, I can’t hit your speed while matching your control. But I could get close enough to trick your perception. You weren’t watching for snap movements as I appeared to be moving at a slow pace aside from the snap movements I used to borrow your blades. Moving past one’s own perception is dangerous. It’s how you accidently run through walls.” Kyrion squinted.

“Are you saying you can move fast enough that your cells can pass through objects?”

No. I can run through most walls if I move past my perception. I’m just that durable.”

“I see that I won’t be able to damage you using usual means. But I don’t want to kill you either…”

“Why are you here?”

“I was told that if I’m to lead the strikeforce then I need to prove that I can subdue at least you. But I can’t fight at my best in a place I don’t want to wreck.”

“Uh huh… I don’t sense any mana from you. So would you be one of those Espers?”

“Ye–”

Kyrion’s hand shot out slowly enough for his opponent to react but fast enough to limit his options to dodge. The assailant was teleported to a particular room in Karl’s new dungeon.

Kilo stood there nonplussed. “Anyone with mana sensory abilities would have sensed that portal right behind them. That was a gamble.”

“No, I have confirmed that most Espers can’t sense mana. When I teleported the last group and I sure wasn’t being subtle.”

“So you moved in a way that would limit their reactions.”

“Of course. Now my only goal is to see if he can actually hurt me. He isn’t weak like the first group I encountered and he’s a tier higher than Jin.”

“Jin’s an Esper?”

“A natural Esper, he doesn’t have those alterations I sensed in the others. Can’t you tell by his limited precognitive abilities?”

“Natural, Esper. I thought there was only one way to become an Esper.”

“Some people have a bunch of energy in their brain, leading to supernatural talents. Those with excess energy in their bodies tend to prove exceptional warriors or athletes. Although it is possible that humans here are meant to wield both before they can master their abilities.”

“How do you even see the world?”

“Hmmm? Learn to sense one energy you can learn to sense all of them. Like radio waves, with some adjustment I can tell what type of energy someone has, or see all of them at once. People with Esper powers have a diagram of their brian where power gathers. Natural espers have a naturally whole brain, people like the intruder have parts of another entity implanted in pieces of the brain that had been removed. Memory, emotion, and cognitive portions are heavily altered.”

“You can tell that just by looking at someone…”

“Correct. Now then… Be back soon.” Kyrion said as he fell backward through a portal.

Kilo stood there and watched his expression blank. “Is he a jack of all trades or is does his focus require him to do a bit of everything?”

Gram, who had been busily working on the Phoblade, looked up after leaving his focus. “Back home, those who follow the path of dragonslaying, pass on a curse to their youngest. If the child survives long enough, they are capable of monstrous abilities. My alternative has killed quite a few dragons, if it was just that though it would explain his natural abilities and ability to process information, but his mana, that speaks of mana poisoning. A core that burns its body with mana and a body that can break itself due to lack of control.”

“Sounds like a gamble.”

“It is, and what you see is someone with enough will to survive. Monsters are also attracted to humans like that, as consuming them would grant them great power. Based on what I know of Imala’s children bind themselves to monsters or ambient souls, which work kind of like sponsors.”

“So he’s endorsed by monsters from his world and they get a portion of his power?”

“More that they grow from it spending time in his core and growing. They will leave eventually, after reaching maturity. Upon doing so both will be imparted with abilities, and go their separate ways in most scenarios.” Gram slammed the cylinder against the table and scowled as the blade of a longsword grew from the hilt. He then brought the blade through the table with a bit of resistance, although nowhere near as much as he’d expect from a regular weapon.

“It works?”

“I think this is a key to success. Just how does someone from a world so far behind the curve know how to create things like this?”

“It isn’t exactly high tech as much as it’s high magic. Mass production will be difficult without the materials.”

“And the enchantment that reduces the mechs weight. Just imagine how useful those would have been for space travel. It really is a shame that he came here so late.” Gram switched off the blade and watched as it was absorbed into the hilt.

“So, were you the one who let that intruder in?” Kilo asked his father.

“I doubted our guest would be hurt and was proven right. Given he survived falling from orbit.”

“Why aren’t we that durable?” Kilo asked in frustration.

“Our power system is limited to magictech and a special device that I have not yet given to you to draw it out. I just didn’t want to reveal it before you graduated. I hoped you wouldn’t need it, but we are running out of time.”

“Wouldn’t you want me to be best prepared?”

“You’re better off with an understanding of your own abilities before gaining a toybox. They are power amplifiers made for those of us with gifts and magitech weapons. It’s how we compete with others from our homeworld.”

Kilo squinted at his father but said nothing. After all, a tool like that during a time of peace would be suspicious.