If I were to expect the end of the world to occur, I certainly wouldn't have expected it to happen while I was butt-naked. I'm not the type to expect the end of the world, even if I do try to remain prepared for things to go south. The fact that I'm usually in the nude around my house would increase the odds of it happening with me in this state, but I would expect to be in the middle of doing something other than putting my breakfast dishes in the dishwasher when it occurred.
I guess not everyone can be doing something cool when the end of the world comes. This definitely has to be the end of the world, too, because fuck is it hard to breathe.
An intense, bluish-white light has filled the air and coated everything. With it came a deep rumbling as literally everything began to shake, which knocked me off of my feet. The air now feels thick and viscous, both hot and cold as it presses against my body and enters my lungs with every breath I take. As it flows across my skin, it brings with it the sensation of needles prickling against every part of my body, leaving not even the smallest spot untouched.
A scream would probably escape me due to the pain but that would require breathing, which is quite hard to do. Every breath brings that needle-like feeling into me with the thick air… and a strong burning which flows through my body and intensifies with every breath I take.
Focusing on other things helps me remain conscious. Black spots have filled my vision while my head feel as if it's being split in two, pain filling me all the way down to the core of my mind and self.
Why couldn't the end wait until I was at least dressed and maybe doing something cool? Or while I'm with an attractive guy. The end of the world occurring while I'm with another guy would mean that at least I was having fun when it happened.
The bluish-white light came on suddenly and though it lasts for what feels like an eternity, it ends just as suddenly as it appeared. Blue still fills my vision and the feelings the light brought on remain, but breathing becomes easier. As I recover enough to uncurl from the fetal position, I notice a message floating in my vision.
System initiated. Earth's flow of Mana has been restored back to habitable levels. You may access your Status at any time via the thought-based interface.
That's easy enough to understand so I dismiss the notification without issue as I shift into a sitting position. There's still a viscous feeling in the air but it's not as intense as before, nor is the sensation of needles jamming into me or the hot-cold feeling of the viscous air against my skin. Still uncomfortable, but the main problem now is the after-effects of the more intense ones.
Each breath I take still sends a fire through my veins, but I focus on taking slow, deep breaths as I sort my thoughts. The splitting headache reduces down to to just an ache and I adjust to the feeling the air holds now.
Upon reaching a state where things are manageable, I call up my Status to see what it says.
The left-hand side of my Status contains an avatar matching my current position and appearance, complete with my full nudity. Slightly-curly brown hair and ivy-green eyes with a slender build and no body hair whatsoever. Perfectly matching my current state (just scaled-down), the avatar is also how I notice my erection, which is a strange thing to have while suffering so much. I don't particularly enjoy suffering and would prefer to avoid it when possible.
To the right of the avatar is the Status information itself.
Name: Carter Leif Elm Age: 20 years Species: Human Sex: Male Level: 0 Experience: 0/14 Aura: 0/17 Aura Regen: 0.0001/second Mana: 22/22 Mana Regen: 0.001/second Strength: 8 Constitution: 9 Agility: 8 Dexterity: 9 Magic: 10 Mind: 10 Vitality: 10 Soul: 10 Skill Points: 0 Attribute Points: 0
Whatever Aura is, it's completely empty for some reason and it has an abysmal regeneration rate. Some part of me hopes that Aura isn't too important but the rational part of me says that it very likely is. Taking almost three hours just to recover one point of it is going to be annoying, but there's nothing I can do about it right now so I don't focus on that.
Instead, I close my Status and stand. Mana has an abysmal recovery rate as well but it's both full and I have a higher capacity for it than Aura. That fits me as I'm sure it's used for magic since that's what it is in stories and games and stuff and I'm someone who's always dreamed of using spells before.
Another part of me says I might need it soon, too. At least I can recover it significantly faster than I can my Aura. If my mental math is correct, it will take me a little bit more than twice as long to recover to full Mana as it would to recover just 1 Aura.
"Alright," I stretch for a moment. "Oooh, that hurts."
I close the dishwasher and look up at the light in the ceiling. It's off. When I check my phone, I find that it won't turn on, either. That intense amount of Mana that was apparently running loose must have damaged stuff. Is that why it affected me so badly?
Something to focus on another time. There's enough light peeking in around the curtains that I can see so I make my way to my bedroom and grab a pair of cargo shorts from my dresser, then slip on a pair of socks and head to the living room, where I slip on my sneakers from the closet by the front door. From within there, I also grab the backpack that's hanging up in it.
At least semi-prepared for what might happen, I go out through the back door and shiver a little. It's only April so there being a chill is expected but it's definitely cooler than predicted. Why I came out here is temporarily forgotten as I take in my back yard.
It's not a massive property by any means but it's a little bit sizable. A very old, very large tree grows to the right of the stairs leading down into the yard from the deck. That tree provides shade for a decent portion of the yard, though there are a few other trees spread out through it as well. Two more large trees toward the back of the yard which also provide shade to the yard, though they aren't massive like the one by the deck is. There's extra shade right now thanks to the trees having grown in their leaves all the way, despite them having not had them when I went to bed
On the left-hand side of the yard is an apple tree that's filled with fruit despite it being early April and so nowhere near apple season. Same with the strawberry vines planted around it, as well as some of the other plants like chives and daffodils. I did some degree of companion planting in the yard both on that side and on the other, though it's probably not professional. All I did was some basic research after deciding I wanted more than just the apple tree the house came with and then planted things.
It's given me a variety of plants on both sides, however, and everything is in full bloom despite the fact that it feels cold enough to snow at night… and despite the fact that basically nothing was near harvest when I went to bed yesterday.
The grass in the yard is about ten inches in height, another big difference from yesterday. I can't even see the grass clippings from when I mowed yesterday, the grass has grown so tall. No signs of the mowing paths remain, either.
A wooden privacy fence makes up the boundaries of my back yard and while there was some ivy growing up it in some parts, it didn't cover them as thoroughly as it does now. The fence isn't completely covered but a few sections of it are, mostly the sections where the ivy had originally been, and it's spread out from there.
More ivy has begun to grow up the posts of my deck, visible on the lower portions of the railing's posts. Some covers the sides of the deck's stairs as well with a little growing onto the stairs. Not enough to make me slip as long as I don't step on the edges.
On my deck is an herb garden in raised beds with wooden sides, separated out and slightly-tiered. Those have all increased in volume and are fully grown, yet I have yet to clean out the soil from last year's crop. I normally bring clippings inside for the winter and fix the soil when it's time to put them back out here, then replant them…
Looking around, it's easy to tell that the flood of Mana might have nearly killed me but boosted plants. It even revitalized dead plants. This is pretty incredible and honestly makes my yard look much more nature-like than ever before. All of my plants don't just look like they're in bloom but also bigger as well.
From gaps between trees, I can see that my yard wasn't the only one affected. A tree visible from a neighbor's yard is definitely bigger now as well.
A sudden and sharp pain explodes in the left side of my forehead as something small, hard, and fast slams into it. I gasp from the pain as I drop my backpack and stumble back a few steps, clutching my head. My palm touches something hot, wet, and slightly sticky. Blood.
As I stumble, I notice the object which hit me clattering onto the deck: a small piece of stone roughly three-quarters of an inch in length and around three-eighths of an inch in thickness, with the quarter-inch of one end conical in shape.
"The fuck?" I ask as I look up.
Just as I do that, another one slams into my chest. If I hadn't lifted my head up when I did, that one would have struck me there instead. Someone or something is attacking me and their attacks hurt. Piercing skin.
I try to look around to see what's attacking me but the only thing I can spot is a squirrel that's dropped out of the massive tree and is currently standing on the deck's railing. Though the Mana Flood probably nearly killed me, the squirrel seems just fine. Was his fur always so… bold in grey and why is there a magic circle forming in front of it?
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The squirrel is holding its paws in front of it, pointing toward each other but not touching, and a glowing, brownish-grey circle of runes and symbols forms between them.
"No you fucking don't," I realize that it's the squirrel that's attacking me as the spell circle continues to take form.
The moment the magic circle finishes forming, a bullet made of stone shoots straight for my head. Aware of the incoming attack, I moved right at what I estimated to be the last moment and got lucky – the attack passes straight by my head.
I was right about needing Mana soon.
Raising a hand, I focus on the energy within me. Based on what the original message said, that feeling in the air is definitely Earth's Mana. All I need to do is find the same thing within me, but much weaker and fainter.
There.
You have learned [Mana Sense].
Just because a squirrel can use magic by what is probably instinct, that doesn't mean I can't figure it out on my own. All it will take is experimentation and if this fails to work in a reasonable amount of time, I have other ways to deal with the damn thing. A squirrel that mutated from the Mana Flood shouldn't be able to learn its own magics too fast unless it's easy casting.
A bullet of stone, a cylinder one inch in length with a quarter-inch of it toward the end shaped like a cone, the thicker part of it roughly three-eighths of an inch in thickness. That is the image I hold in my mind as I attempt to force my Mana to take on the shape.
I can feel something start to happen, but an attack into my left shoulder interrupts that. I'd tried to dodge the attack but it seems I was too slow, and the squirrel was aiming lower this time. Maybe it was trying to hit my neck?
Bringing the image back to mind, I try once again. The squirrel's taking around three seconds between casts so I don't have much time but I'm confident I can manage this. When the next attack comes, I manage to evade it. The squirrel's aiming at my heart, I think. It must have realized that my head is too small of a target and is easier to avoid an attack for.
As the attack passes by me, I feel my own spell begin to form. I've figured it out a little. The magic circle that forms when the squirrel casts a spell is more important than I thought. I was just visualizing that with the bullet but it seems I need to weave my Mana into the shape of the spell circle.
Just as with the squirrel, it takes me three seconds to cast the spell. As the spell circle forms in front of my hand, a notification pops up. When the spell completes, two lines are added to the first notification and a second one appears.
You have learned [Mana Manipulation]. You have learned [Earth Mastery]. You have learned [Stone Bullet].
You are now a Level 1/50 [Elemental Mage]. +10 Mana +0.003 Mana Regen +1 Magic +1 Mind +1 Skill Point +1 Attribute Point You have gained 1 EXP.
My [Stone Bullet] shoots forward immediately after appearing and as a result, completely misses the squirrel. As if taunting me, the squirrel chatters at me while swishing its tail around a bit and casting another [Stone Bullet].
Undeterred, I immediately begin casting again. I don't allow dodging the squirrel's attack to stop me at all and my second [Stone Bullet] slams straight into the squirrel's side. There's enough force behind the attack that the squirrel is thrown off of the railing as blood sprays out.
It lands on the ground and I carefully walk to the edge of the deck to look at it. The squirrel flattened some of the grass there and I can see no movement from it, which means it's probably dead. There's no notification for killing it but I don't think that's how EXP works with the System since I gained a point of it for unlocking [Elemental Mage].
I'll deal with the squirrel later. First, I need to treat my wounds.
Walking over to the backpack, I pick it up and move it onto the table up here. There are several of these bags throughout the house and each one is stocked with emergency run supplies. My original plan had been to go through this one and remove anything that won't work anymore but that needs to be put on hold for now.
In pain from my injuries, I enter my house and grab the kitchen first aid kit, then return to the deck and open up the kit. Pulling out a few supplies, I clean the blood from my forehead and apply some ointment to it while using the small mirror in the kit to let me see what I'm doing. The chest and shoulder injuries are cleaned and treated next, though I refrain from putting on bandages. Though the attacks hurt, it seems that was more from the impact than anything and the flow of blood is starting to slow now that I'm not pumped up on adrenaline and darting around anymore.
Once all of my injuries are treated, I close the first aid kit andcall up the information on my new Class as I go to throw the trash away. Just as I suspect, it's as easy as wanting it to pull up. Dismissing notifications and opening and closing my Status worked that way, so it wasn't hard to make the assumption about the Class information.
[Elemental Mage] Level 1/50 One who harnesses and wields the elements. [Per Class Level]: +10 Mana; +0.003 Mana Regen; +1 Magic; +1 Mind [Every Fifth]: +10 Aura; Mana; +0.0001 Aura Regen; +0.001 Mana Regen [Every Tenth]: +10 Aura; +20 Mana; +0.0001 Aura Regen; +0.004 Mana Regen; +1 Magic; +1 Mind to Status Level bonus
"Oh?"
I wasn't expecting extra bonuses beyond what I received for gaining Levels in the Class but it seems that there's another bonus for every fifth Level that improves just my Aura, Mana, and their recovery rates as well as another bonus that is added every tenth Level as one I gain any time I gain a Level in my Status. If my assumption on this is correct, then that means that it applies even if other Classes are the reason I gain a Level in my Status.
That would be huge if true and if I'm right about gaining EXP for that whenever Class Levels go up, then it's better to avoid gaining more than 4 Levels in Classes outside of the one I want that bonus from first. At least, until I reach Level 1. That way, I can acquire the every-ten bonus. Since I want to learn and use magic, I'm definitely going to focus on [Elemental Mage].
It's listed in my Fledgling Classes list so I'm going to assume that either there are more advanced magical Classes than this or once it reaches Level 50, it can become an Adept Class with better bonuses (that's another category in my Class list).
After dumping my trash in the can, I put away the first aid kit and go into one of the spare rooms as I call up my Status.
Name: Carter Leif Elm Age: 20 years Species: Human Sex: Male Level: 0 Experience: 0/14 Aura: 0/17 Aura Regen: 0.0001/second Mana: 18/32 Mana Regen: 0.004/second Strength: 8 Constitution: 9 Agility: 8 Dexterity: 9 Magic: 11 Mind: 11 Vitality: 10 Soul: 10 Skill Points: 1 Attribute Points: 1
"Well, damn," I say as I try to flip on the light. "Oh, right. No power."
The "well, damn" was because I noticed that my current Mana didn't increase by how much capacity for it I gained upon earning the Class. I kind of already knew that since I can sense it passively now – obtaining a Skill for something seems to make it easier – but seeing it in my Status is just confirmation.
The Skill Point is useless at the moment since Skills apparently require an amount of SP equal to their next Level to Level them so I try to figure out what to put my Attribute Point into. I quickly find that I can't put it into Aura, Mana, their regeneration rates, Vitality, or Soul. It only gives me an option to apply it to Strength, Constitution, Agility, Dexterity, Magic, and Mind.
As someone who wants to use magic, the better choice there seems to be to put it into Magic so I do just that. There's no hesitation on my part for it, I just apply the point and confirm the moment I see the choices.
Then I get to work on looking for what I came in the room for. With just the dim light peeking in through the shades and blinds over the sole window in here, it's not as easy to see as it used to be. I could probably summon an orb of light or make my hand glow or something, but I don't know the spell circle for it and I want to save my Mana in case I'm attacked again.
I live by myself so I don't need three rooms, but I try to stay prepared for emergencies, including power outages and stuff. This is the bigger of the two spare rooms and I use it as a storage room.
The carpeting was ripped out and replaced with wood and there are shelves lining most of the walls, each one filled with items. This isn't an unhealthy hoarding obsession, though, but me being prepared in case of extended power outages, severe weather that limits leaving, and so on. Technology breaking because the world was flooded with magical energy wasn't on my list of things to be prepared for but something that I'm at least a little ready for because of the other preparations.
Packages of first aid supplies, hard-sided water bottles, spare water filters, spare water purification tablets, bottles of sunscreen, pocket knives, matches, lighters, and more are set up on the shelves along the wall with the window. Most of the shelves in this room actually have boxes, jars, bags, sacks, and cans of food but this wall was devoted to other supplies. One set of shelves on the wall to the right has spare devices and batteries on it, but those are probably just as useless as my phone now.
Looking through the items on the shelves, I locate the rolls of twine and pull one off, then I grab one of the knives in here and take both outside.
It's the Thursday before Easter so my ten-year-old neighbor and his grandma are currently visiting his uncles. Logan texted me a picture of him being thrown into a pond by his uncles last night so I know they've already arrived. It makes me feel safer knowing that Logan is with his uncles. He's become like a little brother to me ever since I moved in here a year and a half ago and his grandma is pretty fragile and her health was starting to fail. The Mana Flood may have killed her, but I know that Logan is strong. He'd have definitely survived it.
I'm not just talking mentally strong, either. Logan is a martial artist and proud of the fact that he's lean, he's toned, and he's got a set of six-pack abs. I didn't know that was possible for a kid his age but it apparently is if one has the right routine.
I've met his uncles before and they are complete rednecks. They're probably taking this whole thing in stride and will ensure that Logan is taken care of… and they've taught me the basics of field dressing an animal and tanning a hide. Among other things, but doing that is why I located twine and a good knife.
I'll skin and gut the squirrel then hang it to bleed out (I'm not sure if an animal that small needs it or not but I will just in case) and hope that my skill is good enough to do a decent job. With how cold it is right now, there probably won't be any issue from me waiting so long to do this so that I could get my wounds taken care of.
"If any other squirrels out there want to attack me," I say as I step back out onto the deck. "Just know that what happened to your buddy will happen to you as well. More meat for lunch for me, too."