"Am I smelling cookies?"

Nathan looked over to see Michael poking his head into the culinary classroom, the jock suddenly seeming nervous and as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

"Yes," Samantha answered. "Nathan and I are competing against each other. We were going to have just Keith and William judge, but if you want to join, feel free to come on in."

"Are you sure?" Michael asked.

"Two isn't a proper judging panel," Nathan stated. "They could be biased or tie."

Michael nodded and entered, then walked over to the table, where the other four were playing poker, using strips of paper as their betting tool. Judging by the massive mound of them in front of Nathan, the silent martial artist was winning, and the tiny piles in front of the others indicated they were nearly broke.

"How could we be biased?" William asked. "We weren't even in the room when you mixed the cookies and put them in, and we're pulling them out."

"Keith could use his psychic abilities."

"And I swore I wouldn't," Keith said as the two ovens in-use pinged almost simultaneously. "And that's our cue, you win."

Keith and William stood and made their way to the two kitchens in the back of the room, Kitchens 3 and 4, and pulled the two trays in each oven out, setting them on the cooling racks. After about a minute, they scooped the cookies off and let them sit directly on the racks, under which parchment paper had been spread to catch any dropping crumbs.

Then, they selected three cookies from each batch and put them onto a smaller plate and made their way back to Kitchen 5, the one by the teacher's desk and the only one beside Kitchen 4, where the other three students were sitting.

They set the two plates on the table as Nathan got up and went into the two kitchens, piling another plate with half a dozen cookies from each batch, eating a few more as he did. By the time he returned to Kitchen 5, the three cookies from each batch there to be judged had already been consumed.

"Which won?" He asked as he sat back down and started eating.

"Kitchen 3's," Keith answered. "Who made those?"

"He did," Samantha pointed at Nathan. "I told you two that he was better."

"Do I smell cookies?" Someone asked, poking their head into the room.

It was Kendra, along with her two new boyfriends, since her two old ones died in the previous Main Challenge. She moved fast, Nathan noted, though he guessed it was likely the case for most of them there.

They knew they could die at any time, and so could anyone they were with, and so they were prepared to move on. It was still unusually fast, unless something else had interfered and made them more willing to accept things and move on.

It was a theory he was still entertaining, even though there wasn't much of a way he could prove it.

"Chocolate chip," Nathan held up the plate in front of him, then set it back down and resumed eating.

"Come on in," Samantha rolled her eyes. "We made two and a half dozen each."

Kendra's eyes widened, and she looked around the classroom, frowning.

"Nathan and me, I mean," Samantha amended. "Keith and William didn't believe that he really did make better cookies than me."

"Your cookies are good," William told her. "But Nathan really did beat you out on that. Where did you learn how to make those?"

"A goddess of baking bestowed upon me the gift of baking," Nathan answered, then took a bite into another cookie.

Samantha rolled her eyes in response, and Keith frowned at him.

"Isn't your mom a professional chef?"

"She contributed to probably a tenth of a percent of my cooking ability."

Kendra and her men joined them at the table, and the girl herself looked at Keith.

"Your eyes really are violet?" She asked, and he nodded. "Wouldn't your contacts have-"

"The System gave me more," Keith clarified. "It was one of the things I could restock on. I don't need them to hide my eyes' natural color anymore, so I'm not wearing them. Using my psychic powers cause my eyes to glow, and it's visible through the coloration, anyway. People were already noticing."

Nathan nudged Samantha as Kendra and a couple of the others looked confused, since colored contacts weren't necessary, yet the System supplied them for him.

"Nathan has a theory," Samantha said, and the others looked at her, then at him. "He's not saying it, though, so I'm going to. The System is just that – a System. It's running on a series of rules, ifs, conditions, whatever. Male Challenge 1 occurring was what confirmed it to me.

"The reason it supplied Keith with the contacts," she told them. "Was probably because, when we were launched into this, he was wearing them. The System registered them, registered their prescription – which was none – and the coloration. It was likely just set to register and supply contacts if worn or held on a person when the game started, not to determine if they were needed or not."

Samantha explained the rest of Nathan's theory to them as well, and by the time she finished – and finished answering their questions on it – Nathan had finished his plate of cookies. Then, he looked at Michael.

"Not hanging with Madeline?"

"She's mad at me," Michael shrugged. "Said that if I wanted to betray her, I can find someone else to fuck. It's not like we had an agreement I'd lie for her, and Keith did save me. You, too."

"Speaking of fucking-" Nathan turned his gaze to Keith and William, who were sitting to his left.

"No!" They exclaimed in unison, sending Samantha into a fit of laughter.

"You actually said it to them!"

"Anyway," Keith shook his head. "Nathan, I never did give you an answer."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

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"An answer?" Samantha asked.

"Training," Nathan answered.

"Speaking of training," Michael said. "I know I've been an ass, but would any of you three warriors be willing to help me a bit?"

"No," Nathan answered.

"Yes," Samantha responded.

"Yes," William responded. "We need to work together as much as possible."

"Don't think for a moment, though," Nathan told Michael. "That just because we're training you that we're going to let you live, if it comes down to saving you or someone else."

"What if it's Madeline?"

"I'll abandon you both."

"I thought you said you weren't willing?"

"They agreed," Nathan shrugged, then stood. "I'll let you guys sort things out. Keith, come with me. First session is now."

"Alright," Keith said.

"We'll be back later," Nathan gave Samantha a kiss on the cheek. "Don't hurt him too much."

Nathan left the room, Keith following, and made his way to the dome, pushing open the door at the back of the dome leading to the stairs up and letting Keith through. Then, they made their way upstairs and across the short path to the other side of the track and through the doors. After walking through the short room and the second set of doors, they found themselves on the wide set of stairs that formed almost a pillar on the corner of the dome, leading down to the parking lot below.

Nathan fiddled with the doors at the stairs leading up, then beckoned for Keith to follow once they opened, and they made their way to the roof.

"You can pick locks?" Keith asked.

"Learned how years ago," Nathan shrugged as he strode to the center of the roof. "How do you start using and learning magic?"

"Alright," Keith stripped off his robe, shirt, and tie, then stepped out of his shoes and shucked off his socks, tossing them into the shoes. "Get down to your pants?"

"Magic, not ogling," Nathan glared at him.

"Magic, not ogling," Keith told Nathan as he sat and crossed his legs. "When first learning how to use magic, it's best to be wearing as little as possible. You'll understand once you 'awaken' your magic. Sit and relax."

Skeptically, Nathan did as he was instructed, mirroring Keith's attire and position, facing the mage.

"Take a few deep breaths," Keith instructed. "Breathing slowly. Meditate lightly. Clear your mind, while at the same time, focusing on the way your body feels. For the part after that, listen to what I say before you do any of it.

"As you meditate on how your body feels," Keith continued. "Visualize a sort of blue energy, similar to your blood, flowing through you. As you sense it, it should feel off to you, as if needing 'stretching'. Tap into it as if it's a muscle that you can use. As soon as you succeed, you'll know it – you'll start venting your mana. Both your Mana and your Magic values will probably increase – there's always a jump when someone's awakened. It's always two times to ten times as much."

"What was your jump?"

"Ten times," Keith answered. "My Mana stat – not my mana itself, is over two hundred naturally. Madeline's is roughly eighty, and she had the ten times boost, too. I'm referring to what they were when we started this game. When I awoke, I probably had around a hundred or so, but I've focused heavily on increasing it and have a decent rate of growth. What was your starting?"

"Ten, I believe."

"Decent," Keith told him. "Keep in mind, though, that starting doesn't necessarily relate to your boost. There are people who start with fifty who only have it doubled."

"So you had it at ten and multiplied by ten?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Keith leaned back, using his hands to prop himself up as he looked up at the sky. "It's said that, about fifteen centuries or so ago, there was a magician whose magic increased beyond the ten-times maximum that's known."

"Merlin?"

"He was pretty famous," Keith grinned, righting himself and looking at Nathan again. "Though most of the tales were false, according to what I've researched."

"Hacked?"

"Some," Keith nodded. "Supposedly, his mana multiplied by at least a hundred when he awoke, though no one really knew the exact amount. If there was ever a monster when it came to magic, it was him, the most powerful magician in recorded history.

"Anyway," Keith took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. "Once your magic awakens, focus on controlling that flow within you. Until you have a handle on it, you'll continue to vent mana until you run out."

"What happens then?"

"Your magic continues to try venting itself out and you die, your body ripped to shreds."

Nathan stared at Keith in disbelief for a few moments.

"You're joking, right?"

"No," Keith admitted. "This is the fast way of doing it. The 'proper' way is to just focus and meditate, and spend months doing that, sensing your magic before ever tapping it. The more familiar you are with it when you awaken it, the easier it is for you to get a handle on it. It can actually be hard to do that, too, since once you're aware of it, you can always sort of sense it, and it really, really feels like you need to scratch that itch to stretch your magic."

"Alright," Nathan said, then closed his eyes.

"One last thing," Keith said.

"There's more?"

"Yes," Keith nodded. "When you awaken your magic… be prepared for your senses to as well."

"My senses?"

"Yes," Keith answered. "Consider your current sensory limitations to be your sleeping version of your senses. When you awaken your magic, the venting 'awakens' your full senses."

Nathan immediately understood why Keith wanted him to strip down. If his senses heightened with the awakening of his magic, then even the slightest touch would be enhanced to him. If it was bad enough that stripping was needed to help 'handle' it, then he might as well go all the way, right?

"What are you doing?" Keith asked as Nathan stood up.

"You said it's best done naked," Nathan answered.

"What about ogling?"

"Why are you even partly-stripped in the first place?" Nathan asked. "You've already undergone this."

"You'll understand once you've awoken," Keith gave him a sly smile, then averted his gaze as Nathan dropped his pants and boxers. "You have a nice body."

"Samantha agrees," Nathan stepped out of his clothes, then sat back down on the roof, grateful it was smooth and clean.

Mostly because he'd swept it up previously, preferring to nap on a clean surface than one that had leaves and dust and such.

"Anything else?" Nathan asked.

"No."

"Alright," Nathan said, then closed his eyes.

As he meditated, he visualized an energy flowing through him. At first, he imagined it like blood flowing through his veins and arteries, but as he did, that felt off to him, and the visualization adjusted. The energy changed from bluish in his mind to white, with no central point, nor any real 'pattern' to it. It was simply there, flowing throughout him.

Nathan spent a little while simply feeling the flow, sensing how it moved within him, before eventually 'dipping' into it, mentally. As soon as he did, his body felt as if aflame and he could feel his mana venting out of him at a rapid pace. He wasn't sure how much he actually had, nor how much it increased by when he awakened it.

All he knew was that at the rate it was draining, he had probably three or four minutes before he was completely out. And so, he got to work attempting to harness his mana and stop it from venting out.

Keith stared at Nathan in horror. The other senior's body had begun venting mana like crazy. Normally, they had up to half an hour of venting before they'd die, but at the rate Nathan was venting, he'd be out in two minutes. Maybe.

Not only that, Nathan was screaming, his face contorted in pain, his body clenched up tightly. A sign of a massive boost was intense pain as one's body not only awoke to its magic but to its full senses, all six senses overwhelming at once.

To make it worse, Nathan was venting as much mana every second as Keith had in his stat. The air had grown so thick with it that Keith knew any mundie, any person without magic, would be able to sense it. He could see the white mana filling the air and distortions in the alternate as a result of it.

The coloration was unlike any mana Keith had ever seen before, too. Normally, raw mana took on a blue appearance. Psychics, like Keith, had a violet mana. Necromancers had gray mana.

But he had never seen nor heard of white mana before.

Once someone started venting, it was impossible to stop it, and Keith hadn't expected Nathan to have so much mana once awoken, else he'd have told the warrior it was a bad idea. His mana had to have multiplied by at least a hundred.

Keith could sense Nathan's mana getting low and felt helpless. There was nothing he could do to save the warrior. As time passed, Keith realized that Nathan didn't even have close to two minutes. He had a minute and a half, roughly, before he'd be completely out of mana.

Just a few seconds before Nathan ran out, his mana stabilized and the warrior passed out. Keith let out a heavy sigh of relief. He'd managed, just in time. And he felt powerful. Nearly as much mana as Keith currently held.

Before he could consider the implications of Nathan's mana increasing three hundred times upon awakening, a blue message appeared in his vision.

Challenge 5 will be starting soon! All students must assemble in the MPR in the next 15 minutes.

"Fuck!"