Because of our origin from a mana-starved planet, the arcane was, and still is, a strange thing to us humans. Not to say that we don’t have talent with magic, as we absolutely do (some more so than others), but our lack of experience with it definitely put us as a disadvantage at first.

Wilfrid Pember - Historian - The Start of the Apocalypse

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“Yeah, I did,” he answered, trying, and failing, to find the link between the attribute and sensation he was experiencing.

“I knew it,” she said, although it was unclear whether her response was directed at him or herself. “My entire life I felt as if I had another sense to everyone else. Sometimes I could tell whether a surface was hot or cold without touching it, and sometimes I could even move things with my mind.” She tilted her head to the sky and closed her eyes, staying like this for a heartbeat before opening them again. “But I could never prove it to anyone else - the power seemed to come and go as it pleased.”

Silas frowned gently: he had no idea what she was on about or how it related to his question, but he couldn’t exactly stop her now, nor did he think she would listen. She wasn’t talking to him anymore; she was simply talking at him.

“When I first checked my status, guess what I saw?” Apparently it was a rhetorical question as she carried on before he had a chance to respond. “I had 6 points in arcana,” she said with barely contained excitement.

His brow lifted in surprise. He had assumed 0 points in arcana was the norm as he hadn’t seen any mages during his years on Earth, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. Or maybe he was right, and Mia was just an extraordinary case - it certainly fit her narrative.

She seemed to outwardly calm now, although he had no doubt she was grinning from ear to ear inside. His thoughts must have shown on his face as she blushed strawberry red, coughing in an attempt to cover her embarrassment. “Anyway, I think what you’re experiencing is sudden exposure to the mana around us. I’ve felt it my entire life so I barely notice it now, although it’s definitely stronger here than on Earth. I’m sure you’ll build up a tolerance for it soon though.”

The thought struck him at once, and his face lit up. “Can you use magic then? Like right now?”

She grinned. “Yep, I upgraded my arcana to 13, so I can reliably use telekinesis now. Before, when the boar ran at you, I managed to nudge it away, but I reckon I can now stop it in its tracks.” As if to swat away any last remnants of his doubt, her bronzy hair began to swirl and twirl despite the lack of wind. He openly gaped, and her flush deepened.

He had thought it was strange how the boar had run past him and rammed into a tree instead of circling around; now he could make sense of its strange actions as she had been controlling it. He then remembered Robert’s mangled body and his enthusiasm dipped.

In truth, Robert’s death itself hadn’t affected him overly much as he had seen several deaths on the streets. Besides, Silas hadn’t known the man, nor had he had a good impression of him as he had run away when Mia had come to his aid. What had affected Silas, however, was the horrific violence of the death.

She appeared to mull over her last words as well as her forehead creased with worry. “Do you think we should?” she asked haltingly, “Hunt another boar, that is.”

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He winced slightly. While he now acknowledged the extreme tutorial would force him to kill several animals, he wasn’t so keen on it either. More so, the danger prevented him from jumping back in. He clenched his fists in frustration, only to surprise himself at his grip strength.

He recalled the points he had just added to his attributes: he was stronger and healthier than ever before. Besides, if she could anchor down a boar as she claimed, it would be near risk-free. These points built up his confidence, and he reconsidered her proposal. Finally, he sucked in a breath and gave her a crisp nod. “Yeah, we should, but let’s rest up first.”

She agreed with him on this. They healed up surprisingly quickly, and they left for the boars’ territory again an hour later. Silas led in front, anxiously scanning their surroundings every few seconds, while Mia followed, her gait easier than his. It wasn’t long until he spotted a boar sniffing at the ground as it meandered through the undergrowth.

They waited in cover, crouching behind a dense bush, as the boar got closer and closer. Just as they were about to strike, the boar suddenly stopped, snorting loudly as it began digging with its hooves. Silas turned to Mia with a questioning look, and she mouthed wait at him with an open, raised palm.

As time passed and the monster showed no sign of stopping, she leaned into him and whispered in his ear. “I think it’s digging up food, maybe a delicacy like a truffle.”

Figuring she was right, he chose to patiently wait on, gripping his spear in anticipation as the boar gave one final joyous snort and used its tusks to pull out a dark object from the hole. As it opened its mouth and bent in towards its find, Mia shouted, “Go!”

He threw aside his reservations and sprinted forward, flinging mud and decaying leaves with each step. His sudden appearance and noise must have spooked the beast as it sprung back in panic, before narrowing its beady eyes on him. Its fear crumbled away to reveal anger, and it dashed at him.

However, it froze and tumbled down before it could get two steps in, its face betraying its confusion. This was enough time for him to close the distance and thrust. The spearhead pierced through its brow, and it groaned gratingly before crumpling onto its side.

Heart hammering, an odd combination of nausea and exhilaration settled over him. It had all gone well, in fact better than well, yet he felt jarred from the blood flowing from the gory wound. At the same time, he hadn’t felt this alive in years as he shivered blissfully.

The object it had dug out reminded him of a truffle, although he wasn’t keen to collect it as it was doused with boar blood. He checked his status and saw he hadn’t levelled up. Disappointed, he picked up his spear and jogged back to Mia, rushing as he noticed she had her head cast down and arms propped against a tree, using it to support herself as she panted.

“Are you okay?” he asked, moving closer.

She didn’t seem to notice as she ignored him for a few seconds, eventually turning around to reveal the sweat dripping down her face and flushed cheeks. “I think so,” she said with a quivering voice, “I stopped it, but it quickly overpowered me. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to my mind.”

“Should we go back?” he asked, to which she nodded. They promptly began their trek back.

As they were midway to the safe zone, Silas broke from his thoughts as he glimpsed a figure in the distance. Squinting, the figure looked human, although he wasn’t certain as it moved in an oddly zombie-like manner, hobbling with slack arms.

Passing this information onto Mia, they decided the best option was to simply wait as the figure was moving in their direction. In the case it was a human, they could help the person out and grow their numbers, enhancing the group’s strength and survivability. In the case it wasn’t a human, it became complicated. His confidence had been bolstered by the smooth kill, but at the same time he was worried about Mia’s condition as she still appeared light-headed.

Luckily, it didn’t come to that as he quickly realised it was a woman limping towards them. Soon after, she spotted them and teared up on the spot. “Thank goodness,” she called out in relief.

Rushing to her aid, they introduced themselves (her name was Angela) and inspected her grisly injuries. Angela’s calf was badly bruised, and her right arm was limp from a deep cut ranging from her shoulder to her bicep. However, what caught their attention the most was the fact she was liberally splattered with blood, clumping her long hair and covering her armour. It didn’t appear to be all hers either.