Slightly worried about falling asleep during my next lesson after the wasted night of video gaming, I left Ani to his nap and headed into the bustling streets of Chicago. The bitterly cold air caught in my lungs, and I shivered as the lake breeze ate away at my face and neck as I made my way to the nearest porta.

It was enough to blow away any remaining cobwebs, and I found myself thinking through the guides I’d read and about the strategies and mechanics. I filed them away, suspecting they’d be useful later. However, I was self-aware enough to know that my real problem was my lack of fundamentals.

The air in Ventosus was much warmer than in Chicago, insulated by the earth around it. Compared to the cooler air outside, it felt hotter than usual, and I quickly shed my coat. When I arrived, I hung said coat on the rack inside the training room, flicking on the light and unfolding the cheap plastic chair to continue reading on my phone.

This time, I expanded the video game research to more basic suggestions. They repeated the same ideas over and over, saying things like “practice,” “get good sleep,” or “get better gear.” All were probably good advice for a standard person. I, however, was not the typical individual. There had to be some trick, some aspect to video games people discovered when they started, that hadn’t quite yet clicked for me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be having so much trouble.

I continued scrolling.

One article, in particular, caught my eye, simply titled “How to Play Video Games: Calm Down.” I tapped on the link, opening it curiously.

“....don’t overreact. Correctly timed movements go much further than spamming. Take a round or so to calm down and watch the enemy's movements. Once you know their patterns, you can think through the timing for your counterattack.”

It contained a variation of suggestions I’d read before, and I almost clicked back out.

“...change focus if you need to. When surrounded by a mob, it’s easy to get caught up in attacking one enemy. This can be a mistake if you don’t know what you’re doing. Stay aware of all the enemies around you, and back away from your target to regroup and choose an easier target on the edge if you need to. Timing is key.”

It wasn’t the magical solve-all suggestion I sought, and I returned to the search page.

The light in front of me flickered, and I looked up.

Cove stood above me, leaning curiously forward in an attempt to read the words on my phone screen. In a knee-jerk reaction, I jumped, slamming my head into the stone wall behind me, and my phone clattered to the ground.

My hands fell from my head, and I groaned, dragging my hands across my eyes to drop them limply at my sides.

A breathless laugh escaped Cove. “What’s got you so absorbed?”

I lifted my head from the impact site on the wall, looking down and searching for my phone. Light reflected from the screen near Cove’s feet as he bent over, picking up my phone from where it had fallen. He deposited it in my hands, shooting a glance at the screen as it thankfully turned black.

“I was just reading.”

“Oh? What about?”

I shrugged casually. “Nothing.”

He didn’t look like he believed me but moved on anyway. As always, we started with physical exercise. The adrenaline temporarily kicked me out of the sleepy state I’d fallen into while sitting on the chair.

Once we were done, I collapsed on the ground, warm nearly to the point of wishing I was back outside in that cold winter air. Nearly.

Cove started his lecture, going into the history of physical magic as I recovered my energy.

A hand shook my shoulder, and my eyes flew open as I flung myself back, only for my eyes to meet Cove’s amused face. Apparently, I’d drifted off into a nap to the cadence of his voice while I rested. I was suddenly very aware of the floor beneath my cheek, and I pushed myself up into a sitting position, mimicking Cove, who raised an eyebrow.

“Where should I restart?”

I cast my mind back, attempting to remember what I’d been listening to before I fell asleep. To my horror, I couldn’t recall anything he’d said. My face must have given me away because he laughed and said, “That’s one of the many reasons why it’s bad to stay up late to play games.”

There was no judgment in his voice, only amusement, but I felt judged anyway.

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I deflected. “I stayed up late doing research.”

Cove laughed. “You certainly ‘leveled up’ your research. I saw your search when I handed the phone back to you. Between that and your red eyes, it doesn’t take a genius to deduce why you’ve been acting like a sleeping beauty.” He pointed to his own eyes. “Besides, you aren’t the only one.”

Now that he’d pointed it out, I could tell his eyes were slightly bloodshot.

“I figured I’d better reacclimate myself with the game. It was more difficult than I remembered. What server are you playing on? Maybe we can help each other out?” he suggested.

I quickly backtracked out of the conversation, wary he’d discover how inefficient I was with the game. “Have you figured out what might be causing my issue with physical magic?”

Cove tilted his head slightly in surprise. “Your ‘issue’ with…Oh. Don’t worry about it. It took me days to get my first use of physical magic down. My dad hasn’t been exaggerating, your progress so far has been magical.”

He considered for a second, then added, “I guess it’s similar to magic sharing, in a way? The feeling of magic flowing through your veins like blood–that’s what physical magic feels like.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on the flame inside my chest. I knew how to get it to flow outside my body, but did one shift it inside themselves?

Cove mediated silently next to me as I searched myself, looking for the answer. I prodded at the flame and felt a sudden heat beneath my hand. Opening my eyes, I looked down at my hand to see black growing underneath it. I ceased my experiment immediately, jolting my hand away in a flash. A black handprint remained where it had been, a sign I hadn’t succeeded.

My eyes drifted over to Cove’s arm, where hand-shaped burns had lingered against his skin after my magic transference to him.

A new resolve steeled itself in my heart, and I shut my eyes firmly, thinking through the problem.

My mind drifted during the process, and I caught myself thinking of the web pages I’d read in my quest to gain experience in video games.

‘Stay calm.’

‘...determination and timing are key…’

I breathed in, and the flame flared slightly. I breathed out, and it dimmed. With another breath, I noticed the slight thrumming in my veins as my heart pumped blood to my extremities.

Akin to blood flowing through my veins, huh?

I took a third breath. The next time, I paid close attention to the feeling of the magic as I pushed it through my veins, noting the physical sensations as it flowed through my body.

There was still one component I was missing.

When I realized it, I almost laughed at myself.

I hadn’t decided how to use the magic to accomplish my desires. I breathed in. While I breathed out, I took a small piece of magic, pumping it through to my pointer finger, thinking only of the desired results. Fire sang through my veins, stopping at the proper destination.

Hesitantly, I opened one eye, then the other, looking closely. My grin stretched from ear to ear as I noticed the deep red color it had changed to.

“You got it!”

That evening, once I’d eaten dinner, I attempted Zenith Online once again, opening up the profile for Blaze Worldwalker.

I let him out of town, running in straight lines, the camera carefully posed behind him. I lifted my hands from the “a” key as I got close to the destination, practicing moving and attacking in all directions while keeping the camera behind him, giving myself a wide field of vision. Once I was ready, I took the final couple of steps forward and challenged the Bad Apples.

Instead of rushing forward, mindlessly pressing buttons, or darting backward from fear, I stayed where I was, waiting patiently for the first Bad Apple to approach. As soon as it was within range I struck, then retreated out of the others’ reach.

Moving the camera carefully in time with the keys, I ran around the edge of the mob, darting in to attack before backing out. The Bad Apples fell quickly beneath by blade, leaving behind their rotten cores.

Following the prompts, I moved Blaze forward, collecting the cores, then sending him running back through the village to Snow White.

He arrived back at the ship to find Snow White once again hovering over the computer. She looked up as he entered, a cheerful smile cracking across her face.

[Snow White: Thank you! These cores are poisonous right now, but with the proper ingredients can be used to make the most nutritious food! Follow me!]

She waved for Blaze to follow her, leading him through twisted metallic hallways into the ship’s kitchens. She pulled a pot and some ingredients through the cabinets–not from, through–setting them on top of a stove that instantly burst into flame.

Blaze was stuck in the room, unable to leave as she worked.

Shortly after she started, she cried [Snow White: Oh no! It seems I forgot the most important ingredient!]

She turned back to him, her eyes glittering with apologetic tears.

[Snow White: Pumpkin seeds! Would you be a dear and collect them for me? I can’t leave the stove like this…]

Blaze nodded, his mouth and hands moving silently as he ‘responded.’

[Snow White: Oh, thank you! In return for your help, I’ll allow you to take some home with you!]

[Mission: Collect 20 Giant Pummpkin Seeds and return to Snow White]

[Rewards: 5 Health Recovery Potions]

I cracked my fingers and started the next mission.