Ashley

After I open the forums, I find it set up with various different tabs, just like the hub’s screen. And of those tabs, I immediately select the one focusing on magic. Then I look into the pinned tutorial threads at the top. Which I find rather convenient.

Probably set up that way for people like me.

The first one I select is about the basics of magery. Which is the art of practicing spellcraft. Using mana to create spells.

To start off, it explains what mana is. That it’s a unit of energy condensed within your body that can be altered to become any other type of mana. But unlike with neutral mana, mana of other affinities needs channels within the user’s body to be able to create that mana from the neutral mana. And having a skill such as Basic Gravity Mana Manipulation is the source of those channels.

So I got the channel for gravity mana when I got that skill.

The next thing it explains is how neutral mana cannot be used in anything other than skills. It is unrefined, unlike affinity-attuned mana, and therefore cannot power a spell circle.

Gravity mana, on the other hand, can be used in spell circles. Same with any other affinity mana. But it cannot be used to power skills. Because it is too refined.

Meanwhile secondary energy is something someone is born with, and it is fundamentally different from mana of that affinity.

Secondary energy, like my Chaos Energy, can be used in both skills and in spell circles. It’s like the perfected form of that energy, and it’s rare for someone to be born with a secondary energy.

Which I guess means I should be able to use chaos magic spells as well. Maybe.

In the future, at least. Because it also says that making spells with secondary energy is far more difficult and generally requires a tutor. And while I can ask Chaos, I don’t really feel comfortable doing that. Not now at least.

So gravity magic it is.

Okay. To start off, the tutorial says to focus on my mana inside of me and imagine it turning into the color of the affinity of mana I want it to become. Then the process will start all on its own.

I stare at the screen for several seconds before frowning.

Right. So, how do I do that?

I have no idea where my mana is inside of me.

This is awkward.

“Close your eyes and focus on your chest, where your heart is,” I hear Chaos’s voice echoing in my head, making me blink for a second before I close my eyes and do as he says. “Take a deep breath and let it out. Repeat that a few times until your heartbeat is steady and calm. Then use your Enhanced Perception skill instead of your own physical senses.”

I take a few deep breaths, slowly letting them out each time until I finally focus entirely with my Enhanced Perception rather than my own senses. And as soon as I do that, I somehow feel some sort of colorless substance flowing around inside of my heart.

“Focus on that substance and imagine it turning purple,” Chaos continues, his voice sounding rather serious for the Primordial of Chaos.

I do as he says and imagine the substance turning purple. And it does just that. Turns from the colorless substance to a purple one instead.

“Open your status and see the difference,” he finishes up his rather simple walkthrough. So I do so, and what I find is that the color of my mana bar has changed to purple.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I return my attention to the tutorial again and move to the part about creating spells. Only to find that it’s rather complicated.

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So not something I can figure out in the…

I glance at the countdown in the corner of my vision.

In the five minutes I have left here.

That realization makes me blink.

Five minutes.

Huh.

Just how long was I sitting there staring at my heart?

Hmm. Well, whatever.

I need to focus on gathering some intel about Val’s other users and any other Successors while I’m still here.

So I do just that. I spend the next five minutes researching things on the forums, searching for anything I can find about Val. Things like the other two Successors on Val’s names, the Primordials they are connected to, and the strongest people on the planet.

But when my gaze finds the Successor of Magic’s face, I freeze up.

That face… why does it make me feel calm?

I frown at it.

Why… does it make me relax?

I stare at the face that looks incredibly similar to mine, albeit more masculine, for several seconds. Then I manage to snap out of it as a thought comes to mind.

They have the same last name as me, and they look incredibly similar to me.

And there’s that relaxing feeling I get from looking at them…

Could they be related to me or something?

I frown for a few seconds more before shaking my head.

Whatever. Doesn’t matter.

I continue looking for the strongest people in Val, but when I see the top two people with the most potential skills, I can’t help but freeze up again.

And this time not in a good way.

A deep sense of sadness fills me at the sight of their faces.

Why…

I stare for a bit longer before shaking my head again and moving on.

No. I won’t let these feelings overwhelm me.

And mere seconds after having that thought, I find a notification appearing in my vision. One that startles me despite the countdown in the corner of my vision.

One hour has passed, proceeding to return all users of Val to Val from the System Event Hub…

Then a bright flash of light shines in my vision, following which I find myself falling through the air before I land on something comfortable. With some sort of cloth tangling up with me a little bit after bouncing off of the comfortable thing and then landing on it a few times.

All users have been returned to Val.

May the luck of the Primordials be with you on your new journey.

For monsters are waiting.

The light fades and I find myself lying on my back on a hospital bed, with a blanket tangled up around my wings and limbs. But I quickly untangle it and get up, looking around at my surroundings. Only to find the rather luxurious and expensive hospital room empty other than me.

In the room is a bunch of medical equipment, along with some luxurious chairs on one side of the bed. Four of them to be exact. And all of them look like people have sat in them quite a bit.

Maybe a nurse or someone used the chairs to relax in or something?

Regardless, my being from a rich family is pretty much obvious at this point. Considering how expensive everything in this hospital room is. Almost as if it’s a combination of a hospital room and a top of the line hotel room.

Kinda weird, if I’m being honest.

I begin to move my feet over the side of the bed to stand up, only to hear screaming coming from both outside and inside of the building. So I stand up and move over to the large windows of the room.

And what I find outside has the corners of my lips turning ever so slightly downwards.

Yeah, I expected as much.

It doesn’t matter how much training people get to prepare for this. Doesn’t matter if there’s a tutorial. If people are given an explanation on what’s happening.

When you teleport a bunch of people back to Val after it’s filled with monsters, there are some people who will be attacked upon being teleported into the world.

And that’s what I’m seeing down below.

Of course, after the initial attack, people are starting to fight back. Having gotten used to this at least a little bit from the tutorial. Assuming they didn’t die right away in it.

But even with that, just looking down from this incredibly high window, I see different types of monsters all across the city. All of whom are attacking people on the streets, in the buildings, and everywhere. In the middle of heavy rain.

That said, there are security functions to some of these buildings, and those seem to be working still despite a week having passed without any humans on Val. And they’re killing some of the monsters themselves.

A lot of people are still dying, though.

Nothing changes that.

I even see a couple Gates.

After about a minute or so passes, I begin to see some of the stronger enforcers arriving to kill the monsters. At which point I turn to look at the door to my hospital room.

Right. The enforcers are professionals and should likely take care of the majority of the monsters soon enough.

I need to leave this building before anyone finds me.

A few seconds pass as I stare at the door. Then I glance at the window.

Then at my wings.

Huh.

That could work.