“ Good point Calder. The biggest things we learned here today are that the world is going to get dangerous soon, and that we have the potential to be very dangerous. If our cat can call down the wrath of god then I can’t wait to see what we are capable of. Speaking of, I think it's a priority I meditate and and see if I can't figure out how Mr. White did that.”

I lever myself to a standing position and dust paprika from my shirt.

“You just want an excuse to sit around and ‘meditate’ brother while we do all the work.”

Amelia sticks her tongue out at me. Childish but adorable on her. She appears to be recovering from the fight just fine. I notice a few scratches down the back of one forearm and what looks like a bite mark on her shoulder just as Tactus walks in with the big red first aid kit. Thank god for Costco, the thing is the size of my torso and stock well enough to put a 3rd world hospital to shame.

“Anat first, I notice that bite on you thigh is bleeding much more than it should and doesn't seem to be slowing any.”

[https://i.imgur.com/pabZsHd.jpg]

Calder strides across the room to reach into the now empty first aid kit and grab some Neosporin and gauze. I leave them too it. I’ve come out of the fight will nothing worse than a few scratches and the one bite on my calf. Unlike I had feared the wound doesn't look too bad, though the pink spit did eat through a large patch of my pants, acid not rabies. Yay.

I take a moment and look at the carnage of small bodies and broken furniture in the room. The bastards certainly did a number on the wood work. I crouch down on one beast that has reflective back fur that looks sharp even in death. I nudge it over with my toe, while most of the squirrels had some physical changes from their mutations, I would say that on average they are about 50% larger than a normal squirrel. This one is a little above average and it seems it gained an extra claw on each paw, wicked sharp looking too. As I examine it I feel my Observe skill active. It feels like a small pulse of energy slips right up my brain stem and suddenly I just know more about this creature. Or not more really. It seems to simply bring to the forefront of my thoughts everything I know about squirrels, patterns I’ve observed of these mutated ones, and apparently sometimes some more information is just pulled from the universe's ass or something. Don’t know, will figure out one day I'm sure. All I known is that it didn’t happen this time. As I look at this squirrel I know that it was male, a little above average in size, and that the fur would probably make a decent crafting material.

I don't know shit about ‘crafting’ but I guess it is just basic logic that a metallic hide would make pretty great armor. Flexibility, durability, and maybe even a little offense. I guess crafting is a thing now. Going on the list of things I need to spend essentia on to figure the fuck out. I stand for now and run through priorities in my head.

“For now I think I'm just going to sit in the corner and meditate till I have as many answers as my essentia will allow. Try and wake me up if I’m still meditating after 6 hours. Or as close to 6 hours as you can guess since clocks are kaput now anyways. You guys should probably take turns trying to meditate too. Also fortifying the house for tonight and maybe skinning and declawing some squirrels? It seems like we could make some equipment out of them. It seems like they retain some of their supernatural qualities after death. I mean my Harvesting skill does say something about ‘preserving concepts’ after harvesting. Just some food for thought. I'm taking a mystical nap now. Have fun.”

I wave at the rest of the family and walk down the hallway back to my room. It is still fairly clean and untouched from the day's excitement. I take a deep breath and let my body decompress. My hands shake slightly as the adrenaline high finally wears off. I don’t think I feel slightly strained by the battle and sudden changes of the day. Strained but nowhere near breaking. Honestly we all seem to be taking things a little too well. System interference? Essentia increasing mental fortitude? We’re all crazy nut jobs who might actually enjoy a magical apocalypse? Let's go with all three. I decide that I might as well be comfortable for my extended dive into the inner realm. I crash onto my bad and roll, splaying myself starfish style on the queen mattress. Oh modern industrial comforts, I sincerely hope I won’t lose you in this coming apocalypse.

I lay in the semi-darkness of my room and breathe, evenly in and out. I try to find balance. It takes time but I feel myself relaxing and letting my stiff muscles release their unconscious tension. I felt slightly rushed last time so I try to really focus on what is happening to my mind as I find my breath drawing me in.

I jolt slightly and breathe deep. I was borderline unconscious there. It didn’t feel quite the same. I am 78% sure I was just going to fall asleep there. Maybe laying in bed isn’t the best way to reach enlightenment. Well of the spiritual variety at least. I slide my body to the floor and take up the classic cross legged meditation pose. It actually feels a bit easier on my hips and knees to hold the position than I remember. Dexterity at work? Or maybe vitality? Possibly placebo, but I really hope my body is already improving. God that sounds amazing. The idea of having a superhuman level of strength or a mind better than any human before me sends a tingle of excitement through me.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Back on track here. Even, square breathing. Deep inhale. Follow the breath inwards. I try and clear my mind as best I can. Just being my balanced self. I follow the breath further and further in. At some point I can feel the essentia flowing with me, inward.

[https://i.imgur.com/d9nsYSn.jpg]

I open my eyes and I am back. My spiritual self is here in my web of knowledge again. The calming abyss and the nearly translucent web of golden line. The one node I lit up last time is still shining bright in front of me. I take a moment to feel centered. It’s pleasant, calming, almost like a light massage of the soul.

I move to a standing position. First let's experiment a little on what's possible in this space. I first imagine that I am standing on a floor. Nothing at first. I feel the floor under my feet. The resistance it exerts on me. Holding me up, a solid surface. After what feels like several minutes, something clicks. I look down and I am standing on a 20x20 foot square of perfectly smooth blackness, just a shade lighter than the surrounding darkness.

“Very interesting.”

This could be convenient. What else could I conjure? The worlds best eggroll. Crispy, full of succulent cabbage. The MSG, the oil, the smell of health code violations. I nearly pop a blood vessel willing it into existence.

Nothing. Crushing defeat. Dreams strangled in the crib, never a chance to fly.

[https://i.imgur.com/KkJnx5D.jpg]

Well, I’ll just have to move on with my life, somehow.

Next on the list is a chair I guess. I focus on the structure of a chair. The mechanical principles that make the four legged structure stable. I try to emphasize the materials of the chair. I spend long seconds focusing on wood, its properties and appearance. After I feel the faint click, a tiny precision gear ticking over once, I turn around and behold my creation. A four legged, no back, black stool, with what looks like a wood grain pattern drawn on, poorly drawn. When I reach out and place my hand on it, it's solid at least. It feels perfectly smooth, almost glass like.

“Looks uncomfortable, but you will do for now buddy.”

Placing my princely rear end on the chair I decide that vaguely god-like powers of mental creation can wait while I decide what questions are most urgent. I don't know who, or what decides how expensive a question is in essentia but that is something that will need to be researched soon. I cross one leg over the other and concentrate on a final conjuration. A blank black slate I can write on turns out to be more complicated than I imagined. The ability to write on it with my finger may not have been necessary, but it became a pride thing after the fourth resummon of that blasted slate. Eventually I got a system working similar to those sequence pillows that change color as you flip the tiles. Embarrassing and not a true representation of my intellectual prowess but it works and my pride is satisfied for now.

[https://i.imgur.com/bhqhOBl.jpg]

I spend a while just brainstorming every question I could ask and then examining the distance to and the subjective size of the shown node. I get the feeling size is not necessarily an exact indicator of how much essentia a node will take to fill, but I am using it as a rough guide for now till I get a better measure. As I am going through these thought experiments I notice something. I feel a gentle warmth pressing on me from all directions. I have a niggling feeling I know what it is. When I absorb essentia from defeated beasts it is a diffuse cloud that is absorbed mostly through my head. A portion of that essentia is also absorbed by the rest of my body in an even distribution. When that happens I feel a cool tingling sensation, accompanied by a light pressure. In contrast this feels like the world's thinnest heated blanket hugging my entire body. In my best inception impression I focus a layer deeper and try and visualize the essentia in my body.

The network of essentia comes into view, lines of essentia flowing along my body and the circular core at my center.

[https://i.imgur.com/U1XVgIK.jpg]

The density of essentia in my core looks slightly markedly greater than the last time I visualized it. Even as I am exploring my insides once again I watch as a thin stream of essentia seems to flow in from all directions. I notice it is not nearly as much as killing a squirrel, that stream was as thick as my pinky while this could barely be called a thread. Time is still an issue in here but the essentia I am absorbing now looks like it could take quite a while to equal the amount I received from kicking all that squirrel ass. Even as I watch, I can see the essentia coming in mix with what is already inside me. The both clouds of energy are made up of multicolored flecks, but the essentia already inside me seems even more disparately colored than the motes coming in now. The new essentia seems to have a leaning towards, black, gold and white motes. As the two mix the energy in my core seems to slow down and condense ever so slightly. Very interesting. Warrants further investigation.

I pull myself back to the web space. That is what I just now decided to call it. Very cool, very fun. I am still sitting on my stool staring at my sequence writing slate. I strike the classic thinkers pose and finish brainstorming every question that feels important right now before writing them in order from most expensive and time intensive to least, based on my very, very, very rough estimations.

What is the best question to ask right now?

What is the system?

What is essentia?

Why am I the primus of my bloodline?

Should we stay in our home or move somewhere else?

What is the best way to help my family reach a similar meditative state?

How dangerous will earth be by the time all of the wildlife has finished mutating?

Will the wildlife ever stop mutating?

What skills should I try to acquire at this time?

What are the criteria for how much essentia a question costs?

How do I use powers like Mr. White demonstrated?

When next are we going to be attacked by something we can’t handle?

Are there other ways to get essentia besides mediating and killing?

What is a bloodline?

What are these concepts that some skills keep mentioning?

What is the exact time dilation between this space and the waking world?

Is our extended family still alive?

Are the squirrels we killed edible?

If yes, what is the best way to cook them?