He floated in darkness. There was no sensation. No perception. He only vaguely realized he was a person floating about in the nothingness.

There was no thought or contemplation on his predicament. He was simply a disembodied consciousness within a sea of nothing.

Slowly, awareness returned to him.

Grghh… was his first articulate thought. It mustered every bit of his incredible Mental Stats to flit that concept across his empty mind.

Grghh was soon followed by Aeiuh?

A deep, philosophical question.The lilting at the end of the word was a dead giveaway that it was, in fact, a question. Minds that were barely aware that they were a mind were capable of formulating the real questions.

He mentally shook the cobwebs from his mind. There was no physical act, but it was the intent that mattered.

Awareness continued to expand at an exponential rate until…

Where am I? Reivyn attempted to look left and right. Even though there was no actual physical movement, he could tell that he had actually turned his mental self to glance about his surroundings.

True to his suspicions, there was nothing. It was completely black.

Well… this isn’t good.

Rievyn had been unconscious more often than he would have preferred, but this was the first time he had ever awoken while still in an unconscious state. That was the only conclusion he could come to.

There was nothing for him to do but contemplate. Although he could seemingly turn his head about to look around himself, there was nothing in any direction. He couldn’t feel his body, and there was no sensation of movement if he tried to will himself forward.

How did I get here?

The last thing he remembered was standing outside the Dungeon portal. He couldn’t remember entering the Dungeon or anything, but he obviously had to have done so, right?

This can’t be the Dungeon…

Try as hard as he could, he couldn’t remember beyond the last act of intending to enter the Dungeon portal.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before something finally changed. A pinprick of light appeared in the distance and slowly expanded, revealing the world on the other side…

—

Edric stretched lazily as he yawned in the morning light. The ceiling fan pushed the cool air down on him, causing him to be reluctant to lift the covers off as he awoke from his slumber.

What the…

“Oh, right! Today’s the day!” Edric ignored the cold and sprung up from his bed in excitement.

He dashed to the door where the switch was and turned his ceiling fan off before heading to his attached bathroom to get ready for the day. The water from the sink was lukewarm as his teeth were sensitive to the cold. After brushing his teeth, a quick shave ensured his facial skin was smooth and within acceptable standards.

“I don’t know why we have to have a clean-shaven face, but whatever.”

It was one of those holdovers from long ago that stuck even when nobody remembered the reason behind it.

A clean-shaven face is to make sure a gas mask can be properly secured… Wait! What? What’s a gas mask? Why do I know that?

The face that peered back at Edric from the mirror was one of a youth not yet fully grown into manhood. He didn’t even technically need to shave every single day to have a clean face, but he was required to anyway.

That’s not me, obviously… I seem to be inhabiting the body of some kid named Edric. I share the sensations of his body and some of his surface level thoughts, but he doesn’t seem to be able to hear me. Or if he can, he’s at least not reacting.

Edric dried his face and practically skipped back to his wardrobe. The room that he occupied was pretty small, but it was large enough to contain everything he needed and still be able to move around a bit. All of the rooms by necessity were small. They had to pack a bunch of people into only a couple of buildings.

Edric retrieved a simple school uniform from his wardrobe and quickly wore it. He checked himself in the mirror to make sure everything was in its proper place. The uniform consisted of dark gray slacks, a light gray button-up, collared shirt, a simple brass belt, and fancier than necessary dress shoes. It was imperative that the brass buckled aligned perfectly with the buttons on his shirt.

Something is off here…

Edric briefly glanced at his shoulders with a bit of pride. Attached to his shirt on either side were black bands with three gold stripes at the end denoting his position as a leader among the other students. He understood any leadership role he held among the students wouldn’t translate to future leadership positions or ranks, but it would look good on his record.

He exited his dorm room into the hall, fixing his features to appear more stoic than he actually felt, as others dressed just like him were doing the same. His room was at the very front of his floor. He was the one responsible for the floor, and his second’s room was directly across the hall from his.

Each of the other students exiting their rooms had an array of rank designations on their shoulders, most of them just a blank black band, but there were several with a single golden stripe and a couple with two. There were no other students on his floor with three stripes.

That’s what it is! I couldn’t sense any of them with my Divine Sense before seeing them through Edric’s eyes. My Divine Sense Skill isn’t working. What about the other Skills?

The other students nodded to him as they passed him to head to the stairwell. Edric nodded back with a stoic face hiding his own excitement. He could tell the others were just as excited as he was, but they hid it when they noticed him looking. He didn’t particularly care whether they expressed their emotions or not, personally, but bearing and outward appearances must be kept.

It doesn’t seem like any of my other Skills are working, which makes sense now that I think about it. I’m not in my body right now. Divine Sense seems like it should be attached to my soul or something, but maybe it needs my meridians to act as a conduit to power it.

And speaking of power, I don’t sense any Mana. It doesn’t actually require my Skill to do so, either. I gained the Skill by sensing the Mana first, but I don’t sense even a speck of it. I also haven’t seen anyone using any kind of Skills themselves…

He joined the others entering the stairwell to join an even larger stream of students making their way to the first floor. He engaged in small talk with some of his friends and acquaintances, but the conversations were muted and brief.

Everyone filed out of the building and got into formation, Edric finding his spot at the front of one of the lines…

—

“... don’t try to push yourselves,” a serious looking man in a neat uniform intoned.

Gah, that was jarring.

One second Reivyn was riding along with Edric on his way to get in formation, the next they were already at their destination. The students were lined up in two rows facing each other as the older man in a distinctly different uniform walked up and down the aisle in the center as he addressed them. Reivyn could see beyond the students across from him and noted there were little booths for each person with a little stool placed in front of what looked like some sort of closed vent. He assumed there was an identical booth behind Edric.

“You could suffer serious burns or internal injuries if you don’t pay attention,” the older man continued. “This is only your first exposure, and things will get easier over time as you acclimate to the environment. Holding on longer now than others also isn’t an indicator of talent or competency, either. There’s been no evidence that anyone lasting longer than others in their first exposure has resulted in any increased benefits later on.”

“We already know all of this…” a boy whispered next to Edric. They were quite far from the older man, and Edric barely heard him, but it was like the man had radar as his head immediately snapped to the student that had whispered.

“Of course you all already know all of this, but complacency is the number one killer,” the man said, staring straight into the eyes of the offending student.

The boy’s body began to tremble under the scrutiny of the older man’s gaze, but their instructor was merciless. He stalked closer as he spoke, driving each word home with his deliberate steps.

“Arrogance and impatience have no place here. If you can’t stand still for five minutes as we reiterate the dangers and give reasons for not taking chances, then maybe you don’t have what it takes to stand here at all. Is that the case?”

The older man was standing right in front of the other boy as he finished, towering over the boy. They were all fully grown in height if not in maturity, but this particular instructor always made Edric feel like he was a child again. He was head and shoulders above the tallest student of the group, and that student was head and shoulders taller than Edric.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“Do you mind if I continue?” The man asked.

The younger student blanched at the question, but he still dutifully replied.

“Yes, sir!”

“Thank you very much. Your little impatient outburst has caused all of us to waste our time.” He turned back to walking the aisle. “You’ve all heard me say ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast.’ I’ll just have to add that a little patience can also be smooth. Impatience will interfere with your mission.

“Impatience will convince you to take risks. Don’t take risks. Not now. Sit in your little seat, accept the baptism for what it is, and move on. This is only the beginning. There is plenty of time to advance to the next stage.

“We’re all still pretty new at this, but after several years of experimentation and observation, this is the safest, most consistent approach.”

Edric and the others obviously understood what was going on, but Reivyn had no clue. I guess I’m about to find out.

The safety brief was quickly over, and the students turned about to face their booths. Everyone stepped forward and took a seat. The sounds of the room fell away and were muted by the enclosed space. Edric sat on the stool and had to force himself not to bounce in place. Reivyn just glanced around his peripheries to see if he could pick up anything else.

Eventually, loud clanking noises came from the closed vent in front of Edric. Slowly, painfully, the vents cracked open, and a burst of air came through. Edric grinned like a maniac as Reivyn observed the gust of air with interest. He could tell that there were bits of Mana floating about within the air.

The vents continued to expand. The Mana suffusing the air coming from the other side steadily climbed in density. The air made contact with Edric’s skin, and Reivyn could feel a prickly sensation through the other boy’s senses.

It felt like his skin was being pummeled with microscopic shards of ice. The sensation was quite uncomfortable, but there was no visible damage to the skin. The sensation began to permeate throughout Edric’s body as he absorbed the Mana through his skin and breathed it in.

The vents were still only open a fraction once the irritating sensations began, and they continued to open wider and wider at a quicker pace. Once the vent was fully open, Reivyn was dumbstruck. The density of Mana awash in the air filtering through was beyond his wildest imaginings. It was thicker and more pure than even what he had observed of the Tier 8 Region surrounding the island they had been on. Sure, he had never directly experienced the Mana density himself, but he wasn’t blind.

Is this even in the Veridical Realm? Wherever this is, it’s way beyond Tier 8.

“Good, everyone seems to be holding on well,” the instructor’s voice reached Edric through a small speaker located above his head. “The sensation should be a cold sharp irritant, like having frozen sand blown across your skin.

“Eventually, it will heat up and start to burn you. That’s not just a sensation. This is very similar to radiation, and it will literally burn you if you stay in it too long. That’s why we say not to push yourselves.

“Acclimating a little bit at a time will remold the very cells in your body without causing any lasting harm, but the burns are very real, and very permanent. Once the sensation changes from cold to lukewarm, simply stand up to close the vent and make your way down the hall without stopping. You’ll continue to absorb a bit more ambient energy as you make your way out, but as long as you don’t wait until the sensation heats up, it won’t matter.”

So they’re acclimating to Mana? Does that mean none of these people have any Mana in their bodies? That would also mean they must come from a place that doesn’t have any Mana. Even the so-called wastelands outside of Tier 1 Regions have remnant Mana, so where are they from?

Reivyn contemplated the significance of what he was seeing as the instructor continued to speak to the students through the speakers. He heard the words, but he didn’t pay them any attention as he tried to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly, a simple sentence brought Reivyn’s mind back to the forefront.

“... these vents are designed to allow you to experience 5% of the environment on the outside…”

Reivyn’s mind went blank as he gasped.

Everything went wrong as soon as he did.

Somehow, with the momentary loss of concentration, Reivyn’s mind connected more fully with Edric’s, and his gasp echoed through Edric’s body. It didn’t cause Edric to gasp out loud, but it did cause a storm with the Mana-infused air.

A powerful suction force dragged in a huge amount of Mana all at once. Up until this point, the Mana had been scouring Edric’s body and assisting in rebuilding his cells on a microscopic level. Most of the Mana was expelled, though. The sudden increase in Mana-intake plus the deeper connection between Reivyn’s mind and Edric acted like an electrical circuit.

All of Reivyn’s Skills activated. He got a brief glance of the entire surrounding environment with his Divine Sense before everything went black and pain exploded through his mind. It wasn’t the most painful thing he had ever experienced, though, and he was able to keep his wits about him.

I’m not the one in pain, Reivyn realized. Edric is the one in pain. My Skills activated using his body as a conduit, and this is his first introduction to Mana…

The realization allowed Reivyn to lessen the connection between himself and Edric once more, and the pain mostly stopped. The darkness didn’t go away, though, and there was still lingering pain all throughout Edric’s body.

He felt hands grab him and the motion of being dragged. He also finally noticed the screaming coming from Edric. Edric’s body twitched like he had an electric current running through him, and the screams died down to allow Reivyn to pick up other sounds.

“...went wrong? He was perfectly fine just a second ago.”

“No idea. One moment everything was normal, then I saw him collapse and start screaming.”

“Careful with your grip. His skin is sloughing off.”

“Ughh, there’s blood everywhere.”

“Get him up on the gurney and get him strapped in.”

Edric’s body was lifted and dropped as those trying to help him lost their grip. Blood was pouring out of his orifices and his skin, and his skin was peeling away. Reivyn couldn’t see it as his Skills had almost immediately shut off, and he could only perceive through Edric’s senses again, but he could feel it.

Disturbing…

He isolated the sensation of pain, but he could still feel the other things happening to Edric’s body. It was strange to say the least.

Edric’s body was eventually lifted, shifted over, and gently placed on what Reivyn assumed was the gurney…

—

Light practically blinded Reivyn as full sight came back suddenly. Edric was staring at the fluorescent lights above him while laying in an infirmary cot. He was alone in a partitioned off room, but he could hear clear as day a conversation taking place on the other side of the wall.

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” a new voice to Reivyn said. “In fact, his body has already fully acclimated to the radiation.”

“Mysterious Energy,” another, deeper voice with an undertone of command laced through his words corrected. “It’s not radiation.”

“You don’t have to get into a semantic argument with me,” the first voice said. “We both know what I meant. The word radiation fits, so I’m going to use it.”

The other voice just grunted.

“Fully acclimated?” Edric whispered to himself. “I barely spent a minute in the 5% chamber.”

“What about his grievous wounds? My men told me his body was practically a puddle by the time they got him strapped to the gurney.”

Oof, the mental image…

“He’s fully recovered. Whatever it was that incited the incident also triggered accelerated regeneration. His body was mostly healed by the time he was wheeled into the infirmary.”

Sounds like my Regeneration Skill was still active. It kind of makes sense. Divine Sense inherently takes more energy to fuel. It’s technically a Divine Skill. Regeneration is a high-Tier Skill, but it’s not a Divine Skill. It could also have absorbed the Mana fueling any lesser Skills lingering in Edric’s body, too.

“That doesn’t make any sense, doc.”

It makes perfect sense.

“I don’t know what to tell you. He was fully healed before you got here, and he’s probably awake by now.”

Edric cleared his throat.

“I’m awake!” He called out loudly.

There was a pregnant pause.

“And apparently able to hear our conversation.”

The door opened followed by a man in a white lab coat walking through. He was trailed by a large, muscular man in uniform with all the bells and whistles. Edric’s eyes widened at the sight. Not just because of the gleam reflecting off all the accoutrements on the man’s uniform. His eyes widened in recognition.

It was the base commander. The general in charge.

“How are you feeling, cadet?” The doctor asked with a warm smile.

Edric broke his gaze away from the commanding officer, barely noticing other high-ranked officers following on his heels, and focused on the doctor.

“I feel great!” Edric answered. “Better than I ever have before, in fact. I feel like I could run a marathon and not break a sweat.”

“That’s a common feeling among those who’ve completed their acclimation,” the doctor nodded his head. “It’s not true. Not yet, anyway. You still have a long way to go before you’re that strong, but now that your body has changed on a fundamental level, it’s only a matter of time if you work hard to achieve that level of fitness.”

The doctor took readings from the instruments while also taking Edric’s pulse manually as he spoke. He made some annotations before looking up at Edric and the officers now crowding the room.

“He’s in perfect health and can be released at any time.”

The doctor nodded to Edric and the officers before exiting the room. The commanding general waved the others to the door.

“All of you wait outside for a moment.”

He waited patiently for the others to acknowledge and follow the orders. Once they were alone, the muscular man turned back to Edric and gave him a bright smile.

“You gave me quite the scare there, son,” he said.

“Sorry, dad,” Edric said.

“Heh, nothing to apologize for. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just glad you’re safe.

“We’ll put you on ‘bed rest’ for a couple days. It’ll give you a short vacation and me time to confer with the other officers. You did just suffer a traumatic experience. With you coming out fully acclimated, too, you’re now technically eligible for graduation.”

“I see. That’s why you need to confer with the other officers.”

“I’m sure they’ll all agree. We’ll see about getting you assigned to an actual squad for duty…”

—

“Reload!” A frantic call came from the front, barely cutting through the cacophony of loud explosions ringing out all around.

The staccato sounds were familiar to Reivyn, and he immediately recognized them from his Dreams. Machine gun fire was clearly recognizable to him, and he also occasionally heard the sounds of artillery and mortars.

From Reivyn’s Dreams, he remembered that protective ear equipment was necessary to prevent permanent damage, but the restructuring of these people’s bodies with Mana allowed them to bare the decibels without fear of damaging their hearing.

Edric ceased instilling Mana into the rounds of ammunition and grabbed an ammo can filled with Mana-infused rounds. He ran to the gunner that had called out and handed the can to the man’s partner.

Edric was in a covered trench behind a row of men using machine guns. Others were using regular rifles, but almost everyone was firing a weapon down range. There were others like Edric who were sitting behind the firing line infusing Mana into their ammunition. When a gunner called out for a reload, they would temporarily cease infusing Mana to run an ammo can to the gunners.

Each station was manned by two men as one rained fire down range as the other supported him. Reivyn sensed the presence of Mana in Edric and the individuals manning the firing line as well as the ambient Mana.

He was no longer sitting in front of a vent letting 5% trickle through. The ambient Mana made Reivyn feel like they were swimming through Mana, though it didn’t actually physically impede them at all.

Edric briefly glanced across the firing line to what they were all shooting at. A sea of monsters that he had only seen recordings of were rushing toward their position. While it was the first time Edric was seeing them in person, they were familiar to Reivyn.

Goblins, Orcs, Lizard Men, Ogres, Kobolds, and a myriad of other monster races were mingled together as they ran through the open fields. The quick glance revealed an endless tide. There had to be tens of thousands of monsters out there.

Edric received the belt of ammunition from the gunner before returning to his station. He hadn’t been out of ammo, but the Mana had run dry. Regular ammo without a Mana infusion could still injure and hurt the monsters, but Mana-infused ammo killed.

When there were more than ten thousand enemies rushing your position, you had to make sure each round killed.

Edric and the others like him infusing the rounds with Ammo weren’t skilled enough yet with their Mana manipulation to fully utilize the capabilities of Mana-infused ammo and weapons, but force feeding Mana was a quick way to build up experience.

The gunners and their support weren’t just sending the rounds filled with Mana down range. They were using their abilities with the Mana rounds to reap maximum efficiency.

This wasn’t the first battle Edric had participated in, and it was far from the last. This world was crawling with monsters, and they did not appreciate the intrusion. A mass of monsters hurtling themselves at their base was a weekly occurrence for as long as Edric had been there, and it never seemed to dwindle their numbers.

Edric returned to infusing Mana into the ammo belts confident in his fellow soldiers to beat the monster tide back.

All of a sudden, Reivyn felt a pulling force drag him from Edric’s mind, and the sights and sounds blurred together in a kaleidoscope as he was forcefully dragged away.

Everything went black once again…