The trip was just what I needed, a place where Luke and I could spend some relatively normal time together. During the drive, we fell into an easy conversation. We avoided talking about anything that was related to our new reality. We decided to grab a bite at the Rattle-n-Hum bar on Macrossan St. It was dark when we grabbed a pizza and a few beers. The pizza was so good; fresh prawns and creamy cheese sauce made the wood-fired pizza disappear quickly.

I could tell something was off as we drove up to the Airbnb. All the lights were dark except for the lounge, and an unknown car was parked in the street a couple of doors down. It was weird as no people were staying at that house.

As we walked up the driveway, I nearly crapped myself when Luke vanished. He must have noticed when he whispered, "Invisibility. Just go in normally."

It was scary crap.

I quietly cast "Detect Invisible", feeling the mana drain and a warmth wrap around my eyes. I saw the shimmering form of Luke, semi-transparent, as he walked beside me.

Detect Invisible.

I opened the door as I would typically, walking in, and I left it open for a few seconds as Luke entered after me. It was unnerving. I could see through him.

Rahsaan was sitting on the couch, looking worried. I noticed a large box on the table. "Hey, visitors? Whose car?" I asked, trying to sound casual, "What’s the box?"

He looked behind him and started to say something.

Simultaneously, a figure faded into view from the shadows. It must have been a stealth skill, not invisibility. Nice to find out the limitations of my spell.

"I’ll take it from here, Rahsaan. Where is Luke? Amy tried to send this package to him, so I was tasked with getting it to him." He spoke with a mild American accent.

He was of a slight build and was wearing dark clothing. His features were blurred, and he was holding a small compact rifle.

I just looked at him.

Identify

Jamie Alexa Bisek. (Tier 2) Assassin Level 6. Clan: Flex Tech. (Geas)

Interesting. I had ten levels on him, but we were in the same tier.

He started, "Look. We want to know how much you know, what and where this device came from, and Luke has to open it. I’ll be taking all the stuff you stole, too."

Rahsaan said softly, "I told him we don’t know anything."

Jamie smacked him on the head with the butt of the rifle. "Shut up."

He looked nervous, "We can’t open the box, it is locked, and we need to know what is in it and how much you all know. This can go easy, or we can do it the hard way."

I snorted. Jamie’s voice was annoying, and he was trying to be intimidating. It just did not work. His intimation was hampered by the fact that he was shorter than me. The only concern was that he had a skill that blurred his features.

Jamie frowned, "Well, do you realise who I work for?"

I laughed again. "No, and I don’t care. Get the chronically out of here. Anyone who says that is trombone is totally insecure."

I was scared out of my brain. This was getting real too fast.

Negative Karmic Penalty. Luck penalty for the next 24 hours.

Negative Karmic Penalty. Luck penalty for the next 24 hours.

I’d wear those for the slight shock on his face. Or was it confusion? His reactions were visible through the blur effects. He must be pretty new to his chosen profession, and I expected more from a trained assassin.

Jamie pointed the rifle at Rahsaan. "You know that things are changing. My boss is in on the new order, and we can do what we want. There is nothing that the authorities can do." He looked a little crazed. "We will be the inheritors of the Earth, and we will rule over the sheep. Guess what, you are sheep."

Something was off about him, some slight unnatural cadence to his speech. I put that down to the Geas. Luke had mentioned that Tasar had been under one, too. I had minimal knowledge of DnD, but I did know Geas was a spell that created a compulsion. It could explain why he sounded slightly off-kilter.

I kept looking at him, hopefully giving Luke time to do something. Luke had gone down the hallway to the bedrooms. Not that I was too worried yet. I was sure I could smash him with a couple of spells.

"My boss, Noah Elias-Willingham, the Flex Tech boss, caught Luke’s sister and made her talk. So, we know you know something. We just need him to open the box and hand over whatever is in there and all the stolen items. The box is impervious to damage and keyed to him. Noah wants to know what is in it and how it got delivered to Earth." He looked nervous.

I smiled, "Well, you just kicked over a can of worms. You ain’t getting anything. It was a mistake threatening Luke's sister."

For the first time, Jamie looked unsure, "It doesn’t matter. Soon, we will just take what we want, but you will return the items now, and then we will go for a little drive with me." I was unsure if he was trying to be seductive or threatening to kill me, but it was creepy.

Jamie was so cliché, and I was trying not to get impatient with Luke.

Even though I pretended to be calm, my heart rate was going at a million beats per minute. I felt some sweat trickle down the back of my neck. I was not worried, but I was still crapping myself. I noticed one of the doors open silently and then close silently. The only thing that kept me slightly calm was the fact that I was magical now!

Neither Jamie nor Rahsaan noticed the door. I needed to let Luke know about his sister. "So, you tortured Amy to get some info? You can’t do that here in Australia, maybe…."

The next thing I knew, there was a blur, and Luke had Jamie by the neck and held him up off the ground and against the wall. Luke seemed to be holding him easily in one hand. Faster than I had tracked, he had also disarmed Jamie, tossing the weapon to one side away from him. It had been quick.

Luke spoke quietly, "Tell me about my sister." His tone scared even me.

Jamie struggled, and I could see him fade in and out, and at one stage, he turned partially smokey. Nothing seemed to dislodge him from Luke’s grip. Eventually, he stopped struggling.

Luke spoke again, "Where is Amy?"

The assassin smiled and spat at Luke, "The boss has her." With a laugh, "We don’t need you or your games. There is nothing you can do to stop the boss now, anyway. We have evolved and have powers."

He was struggling, "He just wants all the toys for himself and his loyal followers. He doesn't care about you. Open the box, and we can remain civil. Nothing will happen to your sister. You seem a smart guy. You could join us."

Luke just grinned. "You are the one who has no idea. Look at me. I mean, really look at me."

I am unsure what Luke meant, but I felt his presence increase, increasing the air's density, like the humidity spike before a large tropical storm. There was a sense of a predator looking at prey. I knew what a mouse felt like when a hawk flew overhead.

Rahsaan whimpered and passed out.

Jamie went pale, "What? How? That’s impossible."

I was struggling against whatever skill Luke was pushing out.

Aura Resisted.

You have resisted the suppression aura of a being of a much higher tier.

Skill Gained: Mental Fortitude (Passive) (Tier 1)

Your innate resistance to authority and disdain for showing weakness has been harnessed to grant you the ability to ignore some Aura effects. Expose yourself to Higher Authorities or Enemies to increase levels.

Nice, but, boy, would Luke have to explain some shit later.

I felt the pressure increase, nearly sending me to my knees. A puddle appeared below Jamie, and a wet stain on his pants as he passed out. Luke dropped him without much ceremony, and he lay listlessly on the ground.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

The pressure eased up as Luke looked over at me. He glanced towards Rahsaan and smiled, "Sorry about that."

"You can tell me later what the hell is going on." Rahsann struggled to say in a weakened voice.

"On moment. This fuckin collar should keep the bastard safe for now. ", Luke said.

I swore I heard him mutter as he pulled a silver collar out of his inventory and fixed it around Jamie’s neck. "Sprite, lock that Tier 1, Stats 1, No Skills or inventory, please."

He looked a bit sheepish, "Well, I used invisibility and stealth when I saw you had him pretty much under control, which was amazing, by the way. I checked on the others - nothing has changed. I was coming back in when I heard you talk about Amy."

He looked ashamed now, "Sorry about that, but I lost it, and I sometimes have problems with my Aura. Sprite is helping me to, um, contain it. I’ll fill you in later. For now, collar limits his powers, and I have locked him down.”

Luke's eyes went vacant, and then he said, “Sorry, Sprite has locked him down, and he has no access to his inventory. We really need to get Amy out of Bris-Vagas. I have messaged Jean and Phillip, or Sprite has. It would help if you got an AI so we can send real-time messages.

I slapped my head. "I have comms, the same as you."

Luke laughed, "We really need to sort our shit out. There is so much we could be doing better. Do you know how to use it?"

I glazed my eyes over and muddled through some menus in my HUD.

Eventually, I found the settings. "No idea. I’d need the instructions or a quick YouTube video to set it up."

"Just activate the public channel, and Sprite can help sort it out for you. I have no idea, either. I have Sprite to help me out."

Without swearing, I said, "I need an AI."

Seconds later, we had a secure short-range private communication channel. At the moment, it was just Luke, Sprite, and me. You could mentally talk like typing, but it could come out in their HUD or audio. I chose HUD for now.

You have joined Secure Channel "EarthInc 1."

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Neato. We can chat without being overheard. Julie is also on this channel when she comes in range.

(EarthInc 1): Dork, who says Neato. What is going on?

As we conversed, I helped Luke move Jamie to a couch, and we moved Rahsaan to one of the beds. He was pretty wiped out.

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Looks like they got to Amy. The generator is in a system-locked box. Only I can open it, so they sent it here to get it opened and find out what we knew.

(EarthInc 1)Do we know how they are going in Brisbane?

(EarthInc 1) Luke: They have arrived and are happy to bust Amy out. Amy is sending mixed messages and may or may not need help anymore, but Jean is glad she can take off her kid gloves, and with Phillip there, they should have no problems infiltrating to get her. Worst case, we can help. In the best case, they come home.

(EarthInc 1)What do you mean we can help?

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Wake up, kido. We have powers now. You were fantastic and would have kicked his ass.

Fuck. He was right. I am Magical! I needed to keep reminding myself. Get used to this. I needed to get a handle on this. I needed to start reacting rather than being passive or weak. I had powers. I was a fucking Mage!

(EarthInc 1): I’m in.

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Although, we do have to be careful. Using power will drain our energy. I am getting low and not regenerating much. That is what we needed the generator for. Let's set that up, and then we can see how Jean and Phillip are doing.

Now that he mentioned it, my energy and mana were not regenerating.

"What happens if we run out?" I asked out loud.

"Best case, stasis, worst case, see you later, fade away, remember. Let's see what this is and get it going."

He was so casual in the face of potential death looming over our heads. Something had started changing with him. He seemed harder

Luke secured Jamie on the couch using a selection of zip ties and tape from his inventory. I used my magic rope.

Ultra-Rope

This 113m ultra-thin rope is hand-made from spiderling and giant silk moth silk combinations. Each beast was caught, harvested, and released following the most careful beast-handling practices. Minimal injuries and stresses on the creatures are part of the care package that goes into creating this rope. It cannot be broken, cut, or abraded** Please read complete testing reports before relying on this rope. Incorrect or inappropriate use may result in death or injury. A Thrytose of Nanamis Sponsored product.

It could restrain people and was essentially unbreakable for most people. Once he was secured, we grabbed the box and took it outside.

The box contained the energy generator and a note from Julie.

So, we left Jamie unconscious and tied up on the couch, and for the next half hour, we set up the energy generator. It was a straightforward device, a Besser block-sized box. It had a recessed panel on one side that needed, of all things, to be plugged into a standard Australian power point. That was weird because Aussie power points were not standard anywhere.

We set it outside to the outside patio by the pool area, where Luke stripped the end of an extension cord, placed that in the recessed area and then plugged it in.

We saw a power bar on the top showing 1 out of 10 bars full, with the smaller bar blinking. Slightly disappointed, we sat and watched it until we heard noise from inside.

Jamie was conscious. He could not talk through the duct tape gag, but he was glaring at us and had noticed the missing box. Luke ripped the tap off his mouth. Not gently, either.

"Here is what is going to happen. You will message your boss and tell him that you have the box open, which is the truth, and that you have dealt with us and need to report in person. That you will be on the first flight out tomorrow morning."

"Fuck you".

"How can you swear? This is so tanker unfair."

I ignored the HUD message. My karma could kiss my ass. "I should kill him for swearing."

Luke smiled. "Jamie Alexa Bisek. (Tier 2) Assassin, only Level 6. Member of the originally named Flex Tech Clan.” He sighed, “Noah is such a dick, no imagination. You are a Karass agent, enemy of Earth, and guess what, I am Kill on Sight with the Karass. Under a Geas. You will do this, or as you reminded us earlier, there is nothing you can do to stop us."

Jamie looked like a deer caught in headlights, big-eyed. "You have no idea. The boss is only one of …" his eyes bulged slightly as he struggled to speak. "Ha, I can’t even tell you." He spat some blood.

Luke sighed. "The difference between what your boss wants and what I want is simple. He is greedy and will only share with those who can give him more. How much use are you right now? If I called him and told him I had you hostage, maybe to negotiate for Amy’s release, he would cut you free in a heartbeat. Or if I told him you were a turncoat? He would not care if you lived or die, other than the fact you failed your job he would probably kill you for that anyway. You are nothing to him."

I could see that Jamie knew the truth of that. I would give him loyalty credit, though, "Fuck you, you’re too chicken shit to hurt me."

Luke might have been, but the fucker swore again, so I punched him. A strength of 65 broke his jaw. It was a sickening crack. "Oops, sorry, not sorry. I’m not too chicken-intense to hit you. I’d rather not kill you, but …" I was angry and scared, "Don’t swear."

Kiss my ass, karmic message. I ignored the HUD again.

Fuck fuck. I didn’t particularly appreciate hurting defenceless people, even if they were scumbags. I removed a healing canister from my inventory and shoved it in his mouth, not too worried about the pain. It never got old watching the potion heal someone up. In seconds, Jamie’s jaw was back together.

"Sorry. I don’t know my strength."

He looked at me angrily, "How can you be so strong? We have been training for weeks and are the top-ranked." He stopped and struggled, "Can I cut a deal?" His eyes were bloodshot shot, and he was trembling.

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Wtf, what do you think?

(EarthInc 1): Let's play it out. It could be helpful for us. How do we enforce it? I read about system contracts and all that in the history tablet. Can we do that?

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Yes, although it will have to be tight and not too bad for either party, or we won't be able to pay the energy costs.

(EarthInc 1): OK. Something like, um, do we have a clan or anything yet?

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Something better. Julie set up Earth Inc. as a System Corporation, and we can use that. Hang on a sec.

I got a message in my HUD that seemed more critical and official than most others.

Do you accept the position of Director of Magical Affairs for Earth Inc? Please scroll through the standard contract before taking this position.

I glared at Luke and scrolled through the contract, which looked long, tedious, and full of terms I had no idea about and accepted.

(EarthInc 1) Luke: You are now on the Board.

(EarthInc 1): What the hell, Luke? We need to have a big talk.

(EarthInc 1) Luke: Later, after we get this sorted.

Luckily, the mental conversations took fractions of a second, so Jamie had little idea about the conversation besides a slightly unnatural pause.

"You swear a system oath, break your existing contract, and then we can talk. But we won’t do that till morning."

(EarthInc 1) Luke: I bet his boss will be notified if he defects or dies. That’s what I would do, and he seems to be an intelligent, yet psychotic, businessman.

"You can show your intentions by doing what I asked before. No funny business. I’ll show you the contract so you know what you are getting into, and we can talk in the morning."

Jamie sighed. "Fair, I guess. I may struggle with the Geas. Some weird wizard creature cast it on us. "

I smiled, " I am magical!"

Luke smiled, "Yes, you are."

I cast "Dispel."

Dispel

The Dispel Magic spell is a reactive force against enchantments and magical effects, serving as a countermeasure to the unseen threads of magical influence. When cast, a radiant aura emanates from the caster's outstretched hands, shimmering with the ethereal glow of dissipating magic. The aura pulses with a rhythmic energy, resonating with the strength of the dispelling force. It can be specialised as Spellbreaker Surge, Ward Weakening, Counterspell Mastery or Nullification Wave.

Dispel: Spellbreaker Surge

A glowing rune appeared in my hand and flew towards his forehead. It glowed as it sank inside his head.

Jamie went cross-eyed, his eyes bulged. Seconds later, he was breathing heavily. "Whatever you did, I can now think clearly. Thank you. It wasn't enjoyable. I’ll help however I can now."

We watched him like a hawk as he sent two messages and responded. Taking his phone back off him, we apologised for keeping him tied up. We relocked his inventory and trussed him off to sleep on a spare mattress in one of the offices. He nodded and said he understood.

Once we ensured Rahsaan was OK, Luke gave him a Liquorice healing canister, and asleep, we sat outside beside the pool, talking.

Well, that and some other stuff, the cuddling and kissing, were lovely - magical even. He told me about his experience in the tutorial, there were moments when I am sure he was holding things back, but Luke assured me he was telling me everything he could.

I sighed. We all had some secrets.

At times, we just sat looking at the stars, thinking or staring at the stupid power box thing as the bar blinked. Three bars were full now.

Later, I smiled and fell asleep alone but happy on my bed.

I was magical, and I could cast spells.