Novels2Search
Man from the machine
Chapter 1.5 : Mana Crystals

Chapter 1.5 : Mana Crystals

Spring, age 2.

I think I figured this thing out.

It seems to be a some kind crystal that emits light when powered. And I think it might be magic. It slowed down time for me when I touched it, and I could somehow put energy into it by imagining the light speeding up. Only the energy wasn't transferred until i severed the connection. I didn't notice immediately the first time I did it, because I was so shocked by the intensity of the light, but it really took a toll on me. My mother was ecstatic though, never seen her like that, kept going on about how she couldn't believe I could ``imbue'' at such an early age. Geez.

Well at least it meant she got me new ``toys''. She gave me several different ones, all with a single crystal embedded into wood.

They looked different from the one she got me first though. One looked like some kind of model airplane, and three looked like wands. These are probably not made just to glow. I tried touching them all one at a time, and they all slowed down time just like the first. It was a truly weird sensation. They all had the same rotating glow.

Hopefully, this means I can power them up. Finally something interesting happens in this world.

I should start with the plane, it looks the most interesting. I power it up a little, and once I let go of the crystal, it pulls forwards.

But it was only a little tug, and it lasted for about a second..

Disappointing..

This time I try giving it some more power.. I don't want to break anything, and I can't really go outside with it, so I have to be careful. I try giving it about half the power I gave the light rod.

This time it actually flew, though only about half a meter. I already feel a little tired, this is surprisingly exhausting, considering I could have just thrown it further. It flew really well though, hopefully I can find a field somewhere to play with it when I get older. Maybe even make one myself, I did have a few remote controlled vehicles in my former life after all.

Now for the wands. They seem to be somewhat cheap, but their design are also elegant. The crystals were encased in a spiral casing at one end, and a simple handle was shaped at the other end.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

But how am I supposed to use this if I have to touch the crystal?.. Am I supposed to charge it, and then find some way to release the energy afterwards?

I try holding the red one by the handle. Several curved veins between the handle and the crystal start glowing. Are they connecting the handle and the crystal? Can I control the crystal like this? I try to extend my conscience through my hand and into the handle, and immediately, time slows down.

But not nearly as much as when I touch a crystal. This feels more like slow-mo, as opposed to bullet-time. I can still feel myself breathe, and when I try to look around my face actually responds. This is much, much better.

I can't really see the light like this. Should I try to power it up without looking at the light? Can I?

Worth a shot at least.

Time to try concentrating. This is harder than I thought, whenever I sneak a peak at the light, it doesn't seem to have speed up much. I close my eyes and try to focus. I control my breathing, and try to visualize the energy going from my heart, down my arm, through my hand into the handle, along the glow lines and into the crystal, creating a vortex. I see it slowly speeding up, going from a complete standstill to a continuous motion, like a slowly revolving leaf on the surface of a pond. I speed it up. I add motion. It moves faster now, but I add more. More. More.

I open my eyes and release it.

Red sand is shooting out of the end of the wand in a steady stream. It does this for a few seconds before it stops, and the sand shoots several meters forwards.

And ends up everywhere.

I feel the exhaustion from the energy transfer. Damn, I was so into it that I put in way too much energy, if I wasn't sitting down I would have fallen on my ass, this is way too exhausting, how is this a toy for a kid? And the result..

If what they wanted me to do with this is to make a mess, they succeed splendidly. The bloody sand is everywhere, I hope they don't expect me to clean this up becau-

The sand starts to glow and glimmer profoundly. It then slowly starts evaporating, turning into a colorful steam that dissipates immediately, leaving behind no sand at all. That was quite a spectacle, was this supposed to be like a fireworks toy?

And what about the others? Are they different kinds of fireworks? There doesn't seem to be any scorch marks at all, so it's probably safe enough, though I should probably use less energy the next time.. Let's see.. I should try the green one this time.

As i pick up the green wand, it glows and activates exactly like the red one. After giving it quite a lot less energy than the other wand, it shoots a small amount of emerald green liquid. As the liquid spreads across the floor, it starts evaporating into a myriad of colors like the sand before it. Repeating with the blue wand, the result is a deep blue cloud of gas, again dispersing into colors.

Using them at night should be breathtaking.