After the interview the rest of the day went by without any real excitement. Nurses changed bandages, and doctors checked vitals. All while Jack sat and worked his muscles to get his body back fully under his control, as well as trying to figure out just where he could be. Whoever ran this facility had probably been working on dealing with Great System and what it did to people for a large amount of time.
Jack assumed this based on the fact that this building would have had to be specially made to have such an extensive area that caused mana to be unable to be absorbed by people but still utilized by items. There were a couple ways that Jack could think of that it could be accomplished but, in the end, it didn’t matter too much if there was a ward scheme that differentiated between living and nonliving things drawing in mana or if there was something like a massive power draining ward that was linked to a either a set of mana crystals or one massive one as a battery that could then be linked to, to power other enchantments and artifacts. Either way, no matter which it was or even if it was some other method the end result was the same. Jack wouldn’t be able to restore any mana that he used.
It seemed likely to Jack that while he would be safe so long as he continued to cooperate. He would need some type of plan to escape or be released. Out of the options two Jack felt that the second was not very likely. No matter what, Jack was never going to be in a good position just to be let free out into the world. Either Jack was still infected, under the influence of the entity that called itself the Great System or, if he truly was free of it, then he represented a massive leap in and opportunity for these people’s research. That was not even considering the likelihood that this was an off the book’s operation. Even if it wasn’t, they had Jack by the balls in terms of blackmail. What with the items that he had had on him when he’d been brought here.
Hopefully after healing up and the next battery of tests Jack would have a chance to look around the compound. It was clear from the other people being held here that he saw out in that central meeting room that others were given some level of freedom. If he could find out what allowed them that he should be able to get to that point himself. Hopefully. With everything that happened to him in the short time that he had been there so far they would likely be paying far more attention to him then they would have been otherwise. Though before getting to any thoughts of escape, he wanted to make sure that he was fully free of mental interference or control first.
Taking a break from working his body, Jack took a moment to start going through the steps of spellcasting. There was a niggling fear in the back of his mind that perhaps the Great System had not truly been driven from him but was simply just biding its time waiting until he was no longer wary only to begin to alter and play with his mind again. That thought playing in his head Jack vowed that after this case was finished he would set up several contingencies to check on if his mind was truly his own or if someone or something had played with it going forward. He never again wanted to feel this lack of control and violation of the one thing that he had always believed safe. His sense of self.
While he could make those once he got out of here, right now, all he could do was meditate and take a look inside and see what exactly was going on with his mana. Jack closed his eyes and habitually repeated his mantra of “Absorption, purification, utilization.” as he began his mediation. Even though he knew that he couldn’t absorb mana at the moment and wouldn’t be using what little he did have.
Bit by bit Jack sank deeper and deeper into himself. Letting the world around him fall away as he envisioned what lay inside. As his mind began to see the form of his mana, something struck him as different. Frowning Jack stopped and sat there trying to figure out just what had changed. The size was slightly different then normal, but size had fluctuated before depending on his mindset. So, while that could have been the difference Jack was fairly certain it was something else instead.
He sat and contemplated, seconds turning into minutes and minutes into hours. As time slipped on by his concentration never wavered, not even for a moment. After an indeterminable amount of time went past Jack snapped out of his fugue state. It had taken a while but he finally understood. What he had been starting at for the longest time, his signature, or core, or any other name that it was given, he now had deeper understanding of just what it was. What it really was, was a representation of one’s self reflected in their mana. Their self-belief and ideals. The very way that they interpreted the world and in turn presented themselves to it. For Jack, just like anyone else, this was multifaceted with different situations and people bringing out different aspects that made him up.
The thing that had changed was that when Jack had been suffering horrifically during his escape from the entity that controlled him, he had reaffirmed his sense of self. The idea of who he was truly beneath all the facets that the world sees. What he was and where he wanted to go. This fundamental change was reflected in what lay before him now.
Whereas before, what he saw was a simple white almost that of a dull paint with colors trapped inside seeking to break out and constantly struggling for dominance. Now, now it was different. The white of his mana glowed with a beautiful soft luminescence. It was still white but no longer a dull drab thing that sought and struggled to resist being forever changed by the world around it. Now instead it was a white like that of light containing the possibility of all colors. With them being mere aspects of the whole rather than something that would change and overwhelm it.
With that thought, Jack now knew instinctively that when he absorbed mana it would need less purification from its natural state. His mana should be able to contain anything within without being altered. At least that is what it felt like. By that same token, it was possible that there would be some way for him to change the outward appearance without actually affecting its true nature. Thus allowing him to disguise his mana signature without the need of an outside enchantment or artifact. In theory it would be like putting a piece of stained glass over a light. To the world the color seen would be that of the stained glass but the true color would not change.
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Jack opened his eyes into darkness. He didn’t know how long he had been sitting still but it was long enough that they had shut down the lights of the facility. Not only that, but his body was screaming at him trying to get his attention. Groping around Jack tried to find the controls for a nearby lamp. He hoped that food from dinner had been left in the room for him and hadn’t been taken out by one of the nurses when they were checking on him.
After a bit of painful struggling his hand finally found the base of the lamp and Jack switched it on. Eyes immediately slamming shut as the light seared his vision. Swearing to himself under his breath Jack worked to slowly open his eyes and adjust. Blinking he checked the room to see if they had left dinner. Spotting a tray of food sitting on the small table Jack couldn’t help but wonder if they already knew that he could walk. As he got up so that he could dig in, his body let him know of other more pressing concerns.
Jack sat back, feeling much better now that his body was taken care of. His eyes caught on the lamp and nearby embedded crystal. What for most would be an insane thought, that should be dismissed immediately, popped into his head. While the ambient mana was restricted, there was obviously mana flowing into the various enchanted objects that were used. Perhaps there was a way that he could absorb the mana from them.
Normally, such a choice would have devastating consequences on someone. Similar to choosing to absorb someone else’s mana. In either case it was extremely difficult bordering on impossible to truly purify the mana and not have it start to drive the person absorbing it mad.
Jack had a feeling that he could possibly manage to deal with the purification issues with how his mana seemed to be now. If he could, then it gave him a potential route to achieve his freedom. He would need to test the possibility. Though he wanted to wait before doing so in order to see what, if anything, had changed about his mana passages.
With that thought running through his head Jack silently grumbled at having to remember everything that he saw or needed to check here without being able to write anything down. While he did have access to paper and writing utensils, he did not trust the employees here. As well as not wanting to have any evidence of his plans that could be picked up to expose him. All he could do was make a mental list and do his best to keep it all in mind. So far it was; 1. Find out where exactly he was, 2. Find out if Dilacy was being held here, 3. Map out the facility and figure out possible escape routes, 4. Test mana passages and the possibility of absorbing mana from objects. Jack was certain he was forgetting something but at least in terms of immediate plans that all seemed about right.
Jack settled back on the bed to try to get some sleep. Trying to ignore his worries and fears by concentrating on his list and what he should do. No matter what he tried though, the thoughts kept popping back up. Until hours later he finally drifted off into a restless sleep filled with nightmares.
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Madam Blue sat in her office working though a stack of paperwork. Reading and signing off on what needed to be done. As she finished up the last bit she pressed a button to let her assistant know to come and collect it. With that done and out of the way she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead.
She hated this place. It was where those that were an inconvenience politically but still to valuable to let go were sent. The research that was done here had been a dead end for the last couple decades. The company was simply keeping the facility up and running in the hopes of some breakthrough. She had been put as the director here five years ago because she had gotten into an argument with one of the direct descendants of the founder. While she knew that the position wasn’t permanent, she would be here long enough that it would take years to recover any hope of promotion.
With a sigh she sat back forward. Well, it wasn’t like there was no hope at all. Their newest acquisition showed signs of being an anomaly. Pulling the reports out of one of the side drawers she looked over the information again.
Everything from species to age all fell within the standard deviations that they delt with before. And while the magical power was on the low side several specimens that had been brought in over the years had started out without any active magic whatsoever. The first note about the possible anomalous status was in communication with the specimen. Not only had it been done trough an unusual format but it seemed that the specimen had been hiding secondary messages within their attempts. That was strange enough on its own but it was followed up only hours later with abnormal body readings and an extremely adverse reaction to the introduction of mana.
She had ordered the bare minimum of care to be taken to stabilize the specimen following that. As well as for numerous checks on their vitals and any changes in behavior or anything else to be documented that they could find out just what caused such a reaction. Was there something about the specimen’s physiology that they missed? Was the specimen somehow allergic to the connective material?
Her own examinations of the specimen felt inconclusive and she had the suspicion that the specimen was doing its best to hide things from them. Clever on its part if so, but futile in the end. She would get something out of it no matter what, and hopefully, whatever she could find out would be enough to revitalize the lab and her career. What had been learned so far certainly opened up new potential avenues for research that they could experiment with in the upcoming days.
Checking on the notes of employee interactions with the specimen she saw that it seemed to be able to be ambulatory to some extent. Was it hiding it or simply not well enough to do that much movement? Either way, that and more would be exposed during the testing tomorrow. She already had a number of fresh ideas that could be tested on other subjects and the specimen’s test results should hopefully show her which ones would be the most promising.
Setting the reports down she felt a slight grin make its way onto her face. She couldn’t help but appreciate the irony that, provided what she had learned earlier was true, finally the world could be getting something good use out of its worthless dregs.