Chapter 2 Covering The Basics

His breathing was erratic, coming in raspy and with an urgency as he ran. The relentless assault of the fauna had been unyielding throughout the wild sprint, scratching his skin and entangling his legs with each desperate stride.

His mind solely focused on gaining as much distance as possible from the crash site but his endurance was heavily diminished from the meager rations he had been afforded, and the headache pounding between his eyes was nearly making him blackout from strain.

Slowing down when he couldn't take any more abuse he allowed himself to collapse and laying on his newly acquired backpack he looked towards the sky. When his eyes returned to focus he was met with new colors he had never seen in a sky before. The verdant blue was breathtaking as he began to take in his surroundings.

What met my eyes was a sight unlike any he had witnessed before. Verdant hues of green painted the landscape, an expanse of vibrant plant life that stretched before him. Towering trees reached towards the heavens, their branches adorned with leaves that danced in the gentle breeze.

Jake stood there, mesmerized by the lushness surrounding him, while a sense of awe and humility washed over his mind. This was a place untouched by the hand of man, where the forces of nature flourished without restraint.

It was polar opposite from the hive city he was born and raised from. A sprawling labyrinth of worn structures and faded grandeur. Its towering edifices, a fusion of industrial pragmatism and fading magical might, towered overhead, their once-vibrant colors muted by the passage of time.

The sky was stained with dark hues and the air was toxic outside of the biospheres where everyone stayed. A constant amount of ships flying in and leaving. The city was known for making all sorts of 4th tier and below metals, we fabricated and forged raw materials and used them for all variety of projects.

But like most hive cities it had been built around a gargantuan essence well that converted mana into the lifeblood that was essence. Massive accumulators greedily sucked as much as they possibly could, leaving the planet nearly desolate of life.

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Essence was used for nearly everything, while mana was its base component. His mother had explained the concept years ago in far more detail than he could currently remember.

But through his damaged skull he remembered her explanation was that mana condensed into an essence well, then the planet itself solidified it and through some process unknown to her essence was distilled, then discharged back out of the well.

Using essence one could create enchantments using an archaic language that was powered through the use of mana. All living beings generated mana through their spirit. Even plants and in case of advanced tiers the very soil and rock could produce a very small amount of mana,

This created a balanced ecosystem, a positive feedback loop of advancement. The local governors interrupted this process, only letting the common people advance through the use of their assistance, with an awakening ritual.

Once you advanced you were forced to work until you paid off your debt. Most people were never able to pay it completely. It amounted to slave labor, or as it was so eloquently put; indentured servitude.

The ones that escaped this cycle became cultivators due to their innate talents being too useful to waste or other factors they were shipped offworld. Most never setting foot on the planet again. Getting to explore the cosmos, and advance their cultivation.

My mother was an enchanter, a lower echelon one to be sure but she was allotted enough essence to be useful, sitting around tier 3 for the last 45 years. She had finally worked her way through the contract and had been allowed the extra resources to allow for a legal child.

When she went through her awakening ceremony her tier 1 talent manifested, allowing her an ability to be more efficient with essence to make enchantments, with the caveat to use less mana as well in use. It wasn't much, but it was deemed useful enough to allow her a more comfortable job creating the same enchantments everyday.

My father who worked at the accumulator mines was just allowed an advancement to tier 2. His talent was a force enhancement for blunt weapons. Technically it could be used for combat but he was instead put into the workforce to clear crystalized mana from the accumulators. It was dangerous work but highly necessary for the continued use of the machinery.

Rousing himself from the incessant inner thoughts he once again surveyed the plentiful bounty. There was so much foliage and flora that it was nearly impossible to see anything past 20 feet or so. Jake's emaciated frame began to shiver with anticipation with the realization that he was standing in the middle of the most food he had ever seen.