Lurona city [southern shores of Fuminao Legacy Kingdom], local time [1794.01.27]
Zeph raised his palms up to make him stop for a moment.
The story he started telling surely had more intricacies, but there was one indisputable point that had to be addressed immediately.
“A world war? Pardon, a strata-spamming conflict?” he asked seriously. “As in, people killing others en masse? On Corora?”
The mayhem caused by such an event was hard to imagine. Everyone here was very sensitive in regards to killing sapients. Even if that could be bypassed, the resulting Soul wounds would quickly escalate and accumulate, driving the masses mad. Zeph knew for a fact that no one in their right mind would want to fall this low, risking their own Souls because of nothing more than a call to make justice.
Alex sighed, as if he expected that exact question. “You ask that after requesting a shortened story? I will elaborate on this, but please show more patience.”
Zeph gave him a wonky smile in response, his eye twitching. Then don’t omit the obvious, idiot! he thought to himself, without voicing his irritation.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Alex continued, “most of the enemies at the time weren’t even intelligent, according to the records. The number of sapient leaders was nothing compared to the number of the people who hunted them. And those had a very good reason to seek vengeance.”
He paused, as if considering something.
“Well, not everyone involved had a personal reason for vendetta. You can say, most didn’t have a choice. They were in a tight spot back then. Accumulating Soul wounds isn’t immediately catastrophic, but being mercilessly killed off along with one’s family? Alongside their whole civilization? I am quite certain that if they tried to stay uninvolved, their own feeling would cause even worse Soul wounds…” he reluctantly shared. “That is one of the major weak points of Corora’s civilization as a whole – if you allow someone to control, direct, or simply produce enough unintelligent but aggressive beings, then they can easily cause innumerable deaths without any consequences.”
That simple? It can’t be… he thought to himself, looking down.
“It’s not that different from the hordes,” Alana added, noticing Zeph’s confusion. “Those are the real natural dangers of this world. The only difference is in the causation.”
“Not to mention, nowadays most of such events have something to do with the Netherbeings stirring the pot,” Alex added, using English saying at the end.
Ah, it sounds familiar… he reconsidered. Yes, our speculations about the ‘third party’ involved in the Tournament, and Ghrughah’s warning about the nature of stratum-wide events…
Ignorant of his thoughts, Alex continued. “The Onjis are constantly trying to balance things out - out in the world and between themselves. It’s a natural mechanism. But, as you can imagine, any mistake they make can produce incomprehensible consequences for the bottom feeders like us. Especially on stratum zero. That old war is an example. And even the deities have died back then.”
Alana grumbled. “Died is a strong word for something that can exist independently of physicality, isn’t it?” Her voice was so loaded with sarcasm. It seemed they had this discussion more than once and Alana wasn’t exactly sharing Alex’s beliefs.
The man shook his head. “You know what I mean. They are interacting with this world, so they need energy to do as much. It’s possible to strip them from—”
“Okay, you two, can you stop?” Zeph interjected before they could start a theological dispute. Or rather, wouldn’t it be a theoretical dispute in these circumstances? “I get it. It wasn’t an extinction event. Just a lot of hunting and head hunting while the Onjis tried to help and balance things out. Again.”
He sighed. That theme seemed to be reoccurring way too frequently in history. He had heard about similar situations happening around the time of the System Onji’s induction.
Although, Alex and Alana grimaced a little, not satisfied with his abridged summary.
“Anyway,” Zeph said in a hard tone, trying to go back on topic. “No matter how fascinating this history is, I think I understand where it is leading. So, tell me, how did you two get involved in a ‘holy war’, eh?” He wasn’t pleased with what he have heard. And he had enough of the history lessons.
Alex raised his hand to stop Alana, who looked eager to explain.
After confirming that she wouldn’t talk out of order, he looked at Zeph seriously. “Are you really this ignorant? Literal Gods are living in this realm, yet you are not interested in them at all? Most of the history is shaped by their actions…”
But Zeph couldn't hear his last words.
Deep, deep within him, something stirred. Barely perceivable. A smudge of understanding.
But it was enough for his Will to surge.
He blinked his eyes and immediately, almost involuntarily, tried to catch that fleeting feeling when it lasted.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees and face in his hands.
His old crewmates were saying something but their voices were distant and unintelligible. He wasn’t trying to focus on them, either way.
He searched passively within himself, listening and observing. His Will was surging in wild waves, shaking his very Soul to its core. And in response to that, his mind was trying, struggling, and failing to interpret the chaotic kaleidoscope of resurfacing Soul memories. Thrown into overdrive, it was no wonder he lost contact with reality. But it felt like he was on the brink of enlightenment—or, possibly, madness—and he couldn’t stop himself even if he wanted to.
Yet, that feeling and all the effects started fading as fast as they had showed up. The understanding he was seeking slipping from his hands faster than details of a dream, leaving behind half-formed sensations and a jumble of vague, misleading memories.
The only lasting impression that he could understand led to one word and one word only – Reality.
Soon after, his mind started returning to the real world. His senses slowly resurfacing again – the first of which was the sense of touch and the hardness of the cold wood pressing against his cheek.
Waking up from this impromptu meditation, he took a slightly panicked breath. It seemed he had forgotten to breathe for a moment. His eyes shot open, confirming that he was now lying on the floor.
Alex and Alana were kneeling beside him, checking his vitals and firing some diagnostic Spells or Skills which he started to register as they passed through his Veil.
They relaxed immediately after he started gulping the air back into his lungs.
“That was random,” Alex said, his voice almost cold but still wavering slightly. “If you are alright, what happened?”
Zeph waved him off, trying to catch his breath and stabilize his mind. Meanwhile, Alana helped him to his chair. Her worried look made him feel better, even if only emotionally.
His old companions were standing closely, ready to intervene in case he had a relapse.
Zeph took a moment to center himself before answering Alex’s question. He decided to be truthful in hopes they had some insights. “Something about what you have said hit home… My Will is kind of sensitive to strange things lately… From after that attack.”
Alex’s eyebrow rose. “Are you trying to tell me you have past experiences written into your Will?”
“Of course not!” Zeph denied immediately, grimacing at the ridiculous notion. “We both know that it’s impossible. It’s more like having a knee reflex. A new conviction or something that is forcing me to react the way I am, although it’s getting weaker and weaker after each occurrence. I can feel it. It’s like a remnant of my past resolve. And this time, it forced me into an instant deep meditation. After the initial surprise, I was actively helping it, though,” he explained while shooing them to their seats. His body, Soul, and mind didn’t feel any worse for wear. Only his Will resources decreased and he could feel, once again, that some irrecoverable part of it just disappeared.
Both of them seemed to relax as he finished explaining. They all knew from experience how the Earthlings’ Will was working, and the idea of compromising someone through it was as outlandish as using the Soul as a physical body.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Although, that idea wasn’t exactly proven impossible yet…
After moving her chair closer and sitting down, Alana asked the most pressuring question. “What was the trigger?”
“The word realm,” he said it in English, just like Alex had. “Something about that word felt familiar… But I don’t know why.”
Alex waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s leave it, Will doesn’t transfer information. Not directly. But that is kind of a strange development.”
Zeph nodded. “Yes, it’s as if I have gained some new purpose after the attack. I know it’s strange… but it’s my thing to worry about and I think we should focus on something even more worrying,” he said, looking between the two of them. “You two are Flesh-Manacasters?”
This time Alana made Alex shut up. She sprung to her feet and put a ‘gentle’ hand on Alex’s shoulder. While Alex looked at her in pain and puzzlement, Alana turned her head to Zeph.
“I will be technical here. You know about the group of body-related Soul contaminations and the so-called Life Energy?”
“Yes, there was…” he paused, trying to remember his talk with the System back when he was in the stasis. The talk about the ‘affinities’ and Soul contamination in general. The memory was patchy – he had his Interface back then, but he still didn’t have the Passive Enhancements implemented, so it would take him time to remember the scene fully and clearly.
Instead of digging into his Soul memories, he decided to do something different. “Actually, give me a minute,” he said to Alana. “I think I’ve never tried to assess my affinities manually after the initiation.”
She smiled at him while releasing Alex from her vice grip. “If you can, that’s how you should do it. And I have some advice for you. We all have highly trained Intuition. If you manage to acquire between 250 to 300 Intuition, you should be able to earn some good money by simply checking the affinities of other people,” she said, smiling earnestly. “This service is quite costly, you see. However, you can only take advantage of it on this stratum.”
Welp, shit. I wasted a very good opportunity, it seems, he complained to himself, making a sour face.
His Intuition wasn’t yet up to par by the sheer numbers, but he was yet to put any ‘free points’ into that Passive Enhancement. Yet, with the raw score of 228 and the multiplier of 2 for every ‘point’ he would put in it, it was but a foregone conclusion that he could measure the affinities of other people. Moreover, he seemed to be quite talented in that regard – what with his auguring ability surfacing way too early and him achieving the maximal Intuition multiplier before entering the Corora.
According to the System, he had trained his Intuition to its limits, as indicated in his Trait. Not to mention, the Passive Enhancements only improved what was already available. Meaning – his ability to use Intuition actively was probably much higher than for others. Measuring the affinities of other people shouldn’t pose a problem to him. Assuming he could master the method of doing so.
Leaving his musing behind, he focused. For the first time in a long time, he concentrated on his Soul as a whole, trying to differentiate between the data written within.
It took him less than a minute to assess the overall state of his Soul in regards to contaminations… “The bodily contaminations… Chemical, Blood, Tissue, Bone, and Neural?” he asked, opening his eyes.
“If by ‘chemical’ you mean free-floating molecules, then yes, that is the basic five,” Alana confirmed, evidently proud of him. “Something that Mr. Brains here doesn’t seem to understand.” She sent a withering glance in Alex’s direction.
He shrugged, not interested in the discussion. “Not my fault that you are interpreting it all wrong.”
Alana literally growled at him before shaking her head and turning back to Zeph, her smile returning slowly as she did.
“The thing is – Life Energy is compatible with all of them, for some reason. Many people mistake it for a sign that there is only one Flesh type of Mana. That is incorrect. As you have stated yourself, there are separate groups.”
“It’s not a secret for the scientists here, you know?” Zeph said, slightly confused.
“For non-specialists or most of the populace, it’s all and the same. Did you forget the tide and the local’s ritual producing the mentality-influencing Mana? It’s Flesh Magic at its best—plus some Soul-related additions—just steering closer to the Neural side of the spectrum. Yet, most don’t recognize the connection. For them, it has nothing to do with ‘flesh’, after all.”
Zeph shook his head. It was so much like Alana. “Your nomenclature is as bad as always. There are technical terms in Cir language for that ‘mentality-influencing Mana’ and other things you have mentioned. For example, ‘Mental Medium’ for the former and ‘Magicules’ for the types of complex Mana types. But I have a more important question – most people can easily distinguish the Life Energy from pure Flesh-Mana. How can that be if, according to what you have said, both are the same thing?”
She rolled her eyes. “There is a difference between a directed output and a natural emanation. What would happen if you just released your attuned Mana—”
“Magicules,” he interrupted. “You mean Magicules.”
“Whatever. If you released your Magicules,” she said flatly, “in an environment similar but not-so-compatible with them, what would happen?”
Zeph actually considered the question for a moment. “You mean, like releasing Magicules attuned to quartz in a salt mine?” She nodded slightly after a pause. “Well… assuming we are underground, in a tight tunnel, and use a lot of Mana, the whole thing would probably collapse because the tension—”
“Okay, okay, stop!” she exclaimed. “That’s beside the point! Maybe the example was wrong…” she toned down, muttering at the end. She quickly bounced back, though. “Look, the difference is in the environment, connection, and intent. The bodily contaminations you mentioned are a good baseline, but there is much more to those Magicules – the Life Energy isn’t reacting only to your Willpower, isn’t it? That’s the connection part – they are actually responding to your body directly. The naturally forming… umm, Ambient Mana of that type wouldn’t react that way.”
He nodded, finally starting to comprehend what she was trying to say.
“If you release your Magicules in an environment similar to what they should affect, but not exactly right, most of them would decay. The overall effectiveness and your ability to influence the matter would drop drastically. Knowing the basic components of Mana that you are trying to use is a must, but it’s not enough to grand you better control or expand your range of possible applications. You need to study the material first before suffusing it with just the right mix of Mana…Magicules, I mean. Then, if you take into account the different densities and composition for every part of the material, you can force them to recreate more complicated patterns. That’s the intent part of the equation.”
He couldn’t argue with that, he suspected it was a case for a long time. He saw Ghrughah at work enough times. He had his doubts, though. “Well, I can understand how it should work for a rock or water, but we are talking about the body…”
She nodded. “For us—except for the simplest of applications, like the Blood Manipulation—it would be impossible without Skills we were granted. The complexity and accuracy necessary to practice this discipline are rising exponentially with each step. From influencing atoms, to molecules, then macromolecules, then superstructures… it goes on and on.”
Zeph blinked in surprise. She actually knows what she is talking about? That lazy bastard child of a barbarian and a rabid dog has learned about molecular biology? The world is going to end soon…
“But with the knowledge perfected by generations of the true Flesh Manipulators, our Onjis created a set of Skills that simplify and unify the whole affair,” she declared proudly. “I am specializing in strengthening the cells in my body and constructing their imitations. Thus, my new friends.” She made a pose and flexed her arm, grinning widely. Her muscles bulging. “I am slowly learning how to do all that manually, but it will probably take longer than I will live…”
A pre-programmed Magicules superstructures imitating cells? he summarized internally, eyes widening.
His first thought was, it was a ridiculous, impossible endeavor. But he already saw something more improbable in regards to this type of Mana. Well, if it’s from the Mana-L, then maybe? The thing has a natural tendency to imitate how living organisms behave. It can even animate the dead if the correct instructions are given by the Soul… he mused, slightly confounded by what he was learning.
In the end, all he could do was accept the reality before him. There was no point in doubting the unknown.
“What is your specialization then?” he asked, leaning back. “You said something about Soul being involved?”
Alana grinned even wider at that. She straightened up and put her hands on her hips. “In your language, Soul, Tissue, Blood, and Bone. In my terms – Flesh, Soul, and the connection between the two. The Soul part is about modifying the links our body naturally forms with our Soul, for the most part.”
“And about that… wild Flesh ‘magic’?” he asked, just to be clear.
“It’s quantity against quality,” Alex spoke up. “The improper way of using Flesh Manipulation is to enforce rapid cell division, providing necessary nutrients, and replacing parts of the cells with ‘more efficient’ mechanisms,” he made quotation marks with his fingers when saying that. “All in all, it’s more about uncontrollable tissue growth, leaving the stabilization to the organism itself and to the natural properties of the Life Energy, while leaning heavily on the fact that Soul can suppress most harmful effects.”
Zeph tilted his head. “How does that work with Alana’s… muscle growth?”
She scratched her head in embarrassment. “That is actually my relaxed form. Parts of my physical body are replaced by Mana constructs. I have to suppress them to regain my normal sizes…”
He turned his head to Alex, gesturing for him to speak. The man seemed disgruntled, but cooperated nonetheless.
“I am working more with the Soul aspect of things. Ere is a Goddess that tries to uncover the truth of sapience, sentience, and the like. Neural networks are the first field of study, then comes the hormones and other chemicals supplemented by the body. But most of her knowledge concentrates on the interaction between the body and the Soul because that’s where the true nature of higher thinking manifests,” he explained. “I started with the Soul, because of our… unique Traits.”
Zeph nodded, finally starting to connect the dots. Despite their claims, Flesh Manipulation looked like a harmful and risky endeavor. If not for the Onjis that directed them, the usefulness of this discipline would be questionable at best.
However, it definitely didn’t sound like the evil incarnation that most of the locals, Makani and Aisha included, believed it to be. More like a field that only very gifted people could pursue safely.
But maybe that was the issue. Gifted individuals who couldn’t share their knowledge, only the results. Them versus the hungry society that could replicate their success by forming appropriate institutions… Only, the latter was almost destined to fall to corruption and cause mayhem. Even one individual selling the knowledge, one executive crossing the line, could produce a truly catastrophic avalanche of consequences.
That thought made him realize something.
“You need to gather more people who would donate their Mana to your Onjis, don’t you? And that’s why you agreed to work for them – it’s an easy task. On the other hand, you would lose your Skills if they go dormant again.” he surmised.
The duo tensed slightly, answering his question without a word.
Zeph smiled. Despite all the issues, this was probably his best bet at gathering the knowledge necessary to develop a new discipline of Manacasting. One he had planned to pursue long before arriving in the city. The one he promised to work on with Pavail.
“Say, would be able to teach some?” he asked, sporting a scary grin on his face while moving closer to Alana. “Maybe the Blood Manipulation you have mentioned? Oh, no, no. I am going ahead of myself. Maybe the basics?”
She glanced at Alex, confused and a little bit scared. Zeph followed, looking at the man.
Alex asked cautiously. “You want us to teach you without the Skills necessary? Even after you yourself were doubtful about the legitimacy of our methods?”
Zeph shrugged, his smile widening even more. “Well, what can I say? Healing magic won’t develop itself, you know?”