Kyrion stood in the middle of a smoking crater, his clothes in tatters, but his body showed no signs of damage. Nor the rudimentary signs of his regeneration active. High-caliber weapons did nothing; experimental railguns capable of hitting targets through concrete barely tickled. Leviathan hunting ship cannon? Well, that caused the crater Kyrion to stand in at that very moment. None of the attacks could harm his mana-enhanced body. However, he suspected that they were hiding the magitech goodies as they didn’t want to bother testing on him. Kyrion knew Magictech could harm him and tested himself against everything Cecil had to offer.

“So, are you satisfied now that you know traditional firearms have no effect?”

A bullet from a hollow point sniper hit him directly in the head, only to bend on impact. It did no visible damage, and Kyrion’s enhanced brain wasn’t even shaken.

“Okay. We both knew that wasn’t going to…” Kyrion noticed blood leaking from his right arm and scowled.

“Looks like rounds accelerated with mana deal some damage, although only enough to draw a little blood. It was blocked by your muscle tissue. Which makes no sense to someone like me.”

“Interesting.” The wound closed the second he noticed it as the blood evaporated.

“So you can self-regenerate. Any limits?”

“The amount of nutrients I have stored in my body. It takes a lot to injure me and even more to keep me that way. Self healing is cheaper but the process burns a lot of calories. Adversely, if I exert myself and don’t have food then I’ll probably stop healing and become weaker over time.”

“Makes as much sense as anything else. Now then, we have a family in our organization that can house you. The man is from the same universe, but has carved out a life for himself here. His son is about your age, you will attend classes with him in two days as an exchange student.”

“School? This was supposed to be a vacation.”

“It will be, you will attend for two months.”

“That’s very short.”

“The idea is to see how you adapt to living as a human.”

“I don’t want to adapt. I want to learn about architecture and anatomy. I can do that at any library. Would only take me…Wait… oh I can download information straight to my brain. Great, now I have a migraine and It isn’t the type I can heal.”

“That is a dangerously useful ability.”

“Yeah. It takes alot to bring me pain which means I really taxed my brain muscles.”

“The brain isn’t actually a muscle.”

“It is in theory and function but not in form. At least it works like that when you know how to train it. Mental gymnastics are the easiest way to train up a brain.”

“Mental gymnastics?”

“Write numbers in a linear order while saying the alphabet backward. Spinning daggers on beach hand while solving riddles verbally. Pushing my perception of time forward constantly to get used to people moving slower than they should.”

How high can you boost said perception.”

“Those bullet things can be slowed to a snail’s pace when I concentrate. The more I push it the faster it fades however. Slowing everything while enchanting my body with enough power to withstand the speed of my movements is the issue. I could easily have dodged every projectile at the cost of pushing myself to stupidity. The main reason I can’t keep a spell like that up is because it causes harm to my brain and body which burns calories quite fast.”

“So long as you’re well fed then you’re unstoppable.”

“No, I’m strong so long as I’m well fed. You already know your secret magictech weaponry can cause some harm. Although not much unless you managed to surpass your son’s ability to make weapons. Given that the manacles had a weak mana draining and power negating effect, Cecil has already surpassed what this world has. Or at least what he was aware of at the time of his departure.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny. Regardless, testing has ended. You will be staying with Gram Lysandre, and his son Julien Lysandre. Julien is your cousin and you come from Scotland.”

“That lie won’t hold water. I don’t even know this Scot fellow.”

“We need to explain your features somehow.” Kyrion pointed to a random place on the world map.

“That’s the middle of the pacific ocean.”

“Let’s say that I don’t know where I come from, but it was recently discovered that I have blood kin here, so instead of going to an orphanage, I came here. I’m sure you can doctor up a story about a boy found shipwrecked in a strange land. Looking for a way to get back home. Only to learn that his home was gone. It’s as close to the truth as I can get. If I must I can turn my hair black. Albeit any light that shines bright will reveal a crimson undertone. Black is a tricky color to get right.”

“And your eyes?”

“I am not changing my peepers. I’d rather not get my identities mixed up further.”

“So you could.”

“But I won’t.”

“Fine, guess eyes are important to your people.”

“Not exactly. If I’m going to be me, my eyes need to at least be natural.” Kyrion replied.

“I hear you. Now then how shall we handle your compensation?”

“I’m getting paid? Is it from healing people?”

“Yes, partially. It’s also from being illegally detained. We don’t detain those who willingly come down here and seem civilized. Doing so is a way to breed discontent and gain a powerful enemy. It has also been proven that any of the weapons at their disposal would have been mostly useless.”

“Let’s see. The healing required about thirty hamburgers of energy and the escape fifteen hamburgers. The testing required about half a hamburger in healing but three from duration. “I require fifty hamburgers for money.”

“That’s cheap. Does your magic burn calories?”

“Not unless I’m regrowing limbs or organs. Mana regeneration speeds up with food intake.”

“Regardless, the price for such care is too low. We can pay you an allowance if you so wish.”

“How many hamburgers is this allowance?”

“One thousand dollars a month as well as five unpaid heals, then we will employ your services and price your methods at half the going rate for the ailment of your curing.”

“So long as those I heal can afford it. I don’t care how much it costs. Your money has now value outside of burgers and cleaning my nose.”

“Do all nobles act like that?”

“No, I just don’t like this strange paperlike fabric. It’s pretty easy to duplicate and isn’t gold. Is gold important here?”

“It has it’s uses in various electronic and as a precious metal but–”

Kyrion picked up a piece of cracked concrete and drew a circle with his finger. “Transmute.”

The concrete transformed into a piece of solid gold. “That takes more energy than it seems. Gold minters can spend an entire day working and only get a pebble half the size on their own. A certain king from my world can make these at will, but doesn’t as he knows the meaning of inflation. I do suspect that he does this whe trading with foreign entities through mediators. Doesn’t hurt his country’s economy and allows for cheap taxes.”

“How long will it stay like that?”

“Until you melt it down and change its shape? It will still be solid gold with a trace of mana.”

“How much energy did that expend?”

“Ten burgers worth of mana, or a brief meditation. Like I said, inflation is the big issue here. I’ve heard of kingdoms falling due to too much capital without anything to spend it on.”

“I mean.”

“Haven’t you heard of Louisiana Pur’Chase? He bought an entire continent, paid for with a ton of gold. I mean he was a crap ruler that died in his sleep a few years later when he outlawed various businesses that revolved around pleasure. Like gambling halls, theaters, museums, and restricted use of libraries to only higher tier nobles. Then he raised taxes, as he wasn’t making enough money. Then he did the dumb and tried to tax the deeds done in the dark. Pretty sure those are what got him. You don’t tax professional assassins then enforce the tax with executions.”

“...Some people shouldn’t be rulers.”

“I mean, he’s the reason why most rulers pay a tithe to the assassins to get on a do not kill list. The only ones that are exempt are the powerful ones.”

“Assassins or rulers?”

“Yes. Can I go now or do you need to see my destructive potential?”

“I have a recording of you destroying a truck and based on our communication with another branch, you are the boss of the other you brought along?”

“Meh. Only because I can outlast him in a drawn out battle. His destructive potential in a world like this is probably higher than mine. With all the items that run on baby lightning.”

“Electricity, you mean?”

“Semantics.”

“Do you give Cecil headaches?”

“I mean… Usually, I heal him if he shows signs of mental damage. So long as he consents. These are also good for headaches.” Kyrion placed a walnut on the table, and it was swiftly taken.

“Why offer something only to take it back.”

“It’s made from my mana. Not sure you’re allowed to eat it.”

“Oh right that. The only people who have mana circulating through their bodies are Daniel, Kelly, and Osscar. You replaced organ tissue for each of them which is understandable. Based on our readings, they only gained minor regenerative powers and slightly enhanced strength. Nothing too odd, given that they adapted to the mana you put in them.”

“I doubt that’s all, it works like a seed, more than likely. The power I imparted will likely grow in time. Which is fine as your world probably needs magical healers and people that can get back up after taking a hit.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Did you do that on purpose?”

“No. But I suspect as much.” Kyrion combed his hands through his hair and scowled as bullets fell out.

“Thanks for the heads up. Why bother coming here?”

“Billy said that I shouldn’t lord my power over your organization just because I can, but I didn’t want to go back to that first place as they betrayed my trust.”

“You already made contact with Billy?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t make a deal with him did you?”

“Why?”

“Shouldn’t matter. He is just a political figure around here with some sway on the laws in the underground. He accidently consumed a Jersey Devil centuries ago, which led to him transforming into one partially. He had to work hard to keep its corruption in check, now it seems as though he conquered it and returned to his original occupation as a candy maker.”

Kyrion was now slipping into boredom, so he decided to see what he could do with the cash while listening to Cecil’s dad drone on and on about laws and common sense.

----------------------------------------

Chiyo looked around for Ander, who was currently missing, as her cousin was taken to receive medical attention. He wasn’t in any danger. It was just a situation where he needed to be taken away so he wouldn’t cause trouble.

Suddenly, a T.V. Came on, and the channels switched to a man in a suite.

“It appears–”

The channel changed again to a woman mid-sentence crying over a corpse. “–as though–,”

The channels continued to cycle, and a clipped message was finished.

“You were–.”

“Trying to–”

“Brain–”

“–control”

“–me!”

Chiyo looked around, only to see her grandfather looking at the screen.

“Curious. Maybe he wasn’t mad that he was being called a kid. The idiot tried to use Qi to influence him and got zapped.”

“Chiyoshin, why don’t you agree to spar with him?”

“Ander…Sama, why don’t you come out. The bad man has been taken away. If you come out, I’ll spar with you. Isn’t that what you wanted before we were rudely interrupted?”

“It’s Fulwind. Also, I’m supposed to fight Chiyoshin,” Ander said as he stood upside down from the ceiling. Claw-like appendages made from mana had dug into the ceiling, anchoring him. It helped that the ceiling in that room was twenty-five feet high and had dark corners.

“That is not my name.

“I know, I’m not dumb. Your Chiyo and I need Chiyoshin.”

“There is no Chiyoshin, just Chiyo.”

“Wait…is that one of those honor things? Like Mr. and Ms. Back home?”

“Are you just realizing that?”

“More or less, it doesn’t change how I feel about being referred to as Ander–Chan.” Ander fell from the ceiling, landing on his feet. In the brief time he’d gone missing, he’d grown until he was 5” 4 as his body adjusted to the Qi in a place next to his core.

“Ander-ch–san! It looks like you grew up in just a few minutes.” The old man stated.

“My body didn’t have the durability to keep up with my power mana so it condensed itself to make me more durable. I’m happy I had this breakthrough, but feeling all your bones grow rapidly hurts every time.” Ander sighed.

Chiyo was now about the same height as the current Ander, which was jarring to her as he had been quite a bit shorter minutes ago. “Guess you weren’t lying about your age.”

‘

“Are you still on that? Do I look like a kid to you?”

“I mean, you look five years older now. I was looking forward to having a cute little brother.”

Ander squinted as he hadn’t actually felt bothered by the jab. It must have been the height restoration.

“I must inform you that I am above such jabs for now. At least until I see my captain again.” Ander sighed.

“How tall is he?”

“You know that door frame over there? If he doesn’t duck, it’s likely that he’d walk through it in a literal sense. Possibly a floor above as well.”

“Quit trying to distract me.”

“Chiyo catch,” the old man said softly, as he didn’t need to be loud for instincts to kick in.

Chiyo caught a katana handle out of the air and held it by her side as if she were about to unsheath something.

“Uh…are you going to fight me with a broken blade?” Ander was more confused than cocky. He’d seen all kinds of powers at the academy to stay in the top three. Mostly because everyone is more willing to fight the number three than risk the number one. A fact of the matter was that everyone on team Drisil was mainly close in terms of power, except for Max and the two kids. However, that had more to do with the headmaster hiding the fact that he hadn’t been able to progress in spirit mastery. The only other exception was the captain. To him, Kyrion was always one stage further than most others, and by the time he caught up, the captain would have already progressed. Now, he had an inkling that there were powers he was yet to harness; he would push himself to the limit.

“How long are you going to stand there staring? Do you always let girls make the first move?” Chiyo asked.

“Yes? I thought you were going to create a blade of mana before we began.”

Chiyo, with a force Ander hadn’t expected, crossed the distance between them in an instant, his sword-holding hand slashing outwards. An invisible clash occurred, and her sword flew from her hands.

“That was wind! I thought you focused on lightning!”

“I do both, lightning is more effective at killing. I wasn’t expecting a wind blade made from qi. It took a surprising amount of power to counter.”

“Qi isn’t something we can use so freely.”

“You can; you just don’t know how to alter your bodies to better hold it. It’s quite intuitive.” Ander held two fingers out and watched as the wind swirled around his fingers, albeit the power was hard to direct. A small tornado appeared in the room.

“If your goal was to swirl dirt around the place then yes, intuitive.”

“Yeah, no it’s harder to control but intuitive to create. It’s more wild than mana.”

“Many would be dead after doing what you just did.” Chiyo stated.

“Is that so? After this, do you mind if I help you form your pathways?”

“Is that a pickup line?” Chiyo jokes.

The question went over Ander’s head. “I mean If you need me to pick you up, I’ve proven that it is easy. You only weigh abou—”

“Shush!” Now, Chiyo was flustered.

“Rion makes the conversations seem so easy.”

“Who is this Rion?”

“Doesn’t matter. Listen, I teach you, you get buff. Lift monsters and use more qi.”

“What is this Rion doing that you struggle at?”

“I want you to be my first—” Ander started before feeling killing intent from somewhere.

A blade of wind slipped through Ander’s defenses and nearly slit his throat. But the attack hadn’t come from Chiyo.

The old man slid a wooden stick into his sleeves. He had a devious smirk on his face.

Chiyo to Ander’s vision had snapped. Her attacks came faster and more varied. Many of them were wild, and on occasions, they lacked Qi. She had gotten deadlier, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was stronger.

Ander demonstrated this by increasing the speed at which electromagnetic signals traveled through his brain, allowing him to move, dodge, and react at a speed most human bodies couldn’t handle. In doing so, all of Chiyo’s attacks were dodged, and he casually walked behind her and tapped her right temple, sending her to sleep with a soothing bolt.

He then slowly eased out of his accelerated state and scowled. The drawback to using that power was that it could fry him if used too long. It was his secret weapon the next time he got to fight his captain.

“Oi! I was enjoying that fight. Why’d you butt in?”

“I noticed, but you were saying something interesting. To think you’d try to court my daughter.”

“Eh?” Two responses went through Ander’s head as things became fuzzy and full of static.

“I will accept you as a potential son in law.”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s only right that you take responsibility. You did kiss her.”

“I didn’t-”

“I mean, one does not place one’s mouth close to others for no reason, and she didn’t need CPR.”

“I needed to learn the language.”

“So you used her and intend to discard her, huh” The old man cleaned out his ear with a pinky.

“No! Wait no yes. No. No.” Ander’s addled brain had been pushed to a point where he was mumbling incoherently in an unknown language. Said language is referred to as babbling by some in certain circles.

Ander got up a minute later and looked at the old man with a resolute expression. “Fine, I’ll take responsibility.”

“Good now–”

“By teaching her how to form pathways of qi.”

“Not good enough. You made a pretty out of their statement. And well, let’s say she tends to scare away most suitors. She can be a bit too affectionate due to her upbringing, it doesn’t help that she’s stronger than most. Most men tend to avoid a woman that can knock them through a wall or send them packing with a shy slap. You are everything I wanted in a son in law. Which is why I cut you off there.”

Ander was too busy fighting to remember what he’d said. “What is that?”

“You’re durable and potentially stronger than anyone else she’s liked.”

“Those are rather…old fashioned requirements. What makes you think she’s durable enough to survive? It’s a serious issue even back home, if she can’t catch up then it’s likely things won’t work out as you intend. She’ll only be a student.”

“Can’t you make an old man happy in his last moments?”

“No. You aren’t even dying.”

“Killjoy.” The old man said in English.

The word went right over Ander’s head. “Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

“If, so, how can you be her father and her grandfather. Did you–”

“No, no, the Qthat was keeping me young has mostly been transferred to my descendants. Due to that, I am losing my immortality and aging more and more each year. The longevity given to me by that mermaid was not limitless.”

“That or you haven’t formed proper channels, so your Qi doesn’t have a way to return.”

“Eh?”

“It’s a similar case for those with a disease called, Goliogripholc, or mana starvation. Some people are born with the inability to naturally regain mana, despite being born with access to magic. Many of these people die young from malnutrition and dehydration. The treatment is easy, but expensive as not many know how to perform the procedure of drawing lines of mana through one’s body. I imagine Qi is similar, but different, in that sense. What happens when all your Qi is used?”

“Our bodies turn into dust and we return to the cycle.”

“Instant cremation?”

“Yes, and no. There are signs of degradation. Like limbs falling off and crumbling while we’re still alive. I don’t want that fate for my little Chiyo.”

“This is annoying. I can train you as well. I doubt Qi is the only magic you humans have access to.”

“The last two sources of power would be Ninjutsu, which is an application of assassination techniques paired with a fusion of magic from the east and west. The last magic we have access to on this island is that of the onmyoji. Power over spirits and the metaphysical. They use items blessed by deities and powerful priests to combat our enemies.”

“I see.” Ander popped his neck and sighed.

“You see what?”

“This world is varied in the types of power present but the knowledge of how things work is being kept secret. Makes sense considering how big this world is compared to back home. Information doesn’t add up, things are misunderstood and people have a small understanding of how things work when they aren’t actually working together.”

“What are you going on about?”

“Your groups don’t get along with each other as much as you say. It wouldn’t surprise me if each region had their own ways of doing things.”

“Even more reason to have you become my son in law! Why won’t you just give in!” The old man put up mock anger.

“I’m technically seeing someone and I plan on going back to my world sooner rather than later. So we wouldn’t be able to be together regardless.”

“I mean, I’m sure she’d be happy to go to another world.”

“What’s wrong with humans from this world? Willingly coming to ours?”

“Many can sense the turmoil and wish to escape the end or great change.”

“So your people can sense a change?”

“It is quite obvious given the escalation in creatures entering this world. It’s a matter of time before something big finally breaks in.”

“I understand, fine, if she agrees to go out with me, after I break up with my girlfriend. But I’d have to give it my all protecting her.”

“Oh, so you’re seeing someone. My son in law is popular.”

“Moreover, I’m the guy who’s used to make another jealous. Only I’m ninety nine percent sure that the guy in question has no intention of entertaining such a thing due to his own infatuation with someone else. So it was never going to work out. Therefore I need to break up with her first and foremost.”

“I’m sure we have nothing to worry about, polygamy may be allowed in your world.”

“Allowed does not mean encouraged, for example, as the third rank in my class and a practitioner I would be allowed to requisition a few hundred fledglings and lead them into battle. That doesn’t mean I’m encouraged to go a conquering all on my own.”

“I think I get it. So you’re serious about marrying my daughter. You have my blessing.” The old man eyed Ander with acceptance.

Ander blinked slowly, not realizing what had just happened. Then horror slowly began to dawn as he retraced the words that had just been said.