“That isn’t nearly enough detail for us to work out what might have happened to you,” says the Mana Interface specialist.

She resembles a cross between an octopus and an elephant with another four arms ending in three-fingered hands. Six eyes that would look natural on a fly except for their grapefruit size contemplate me and it’s impossible for me to interpret the body language of her bulky form, even with the assistance I get from my SMI. However, by all accounts she is one of the top experts in my kinds of problems in this Galaxy so I am nothing but grateful.

“Let me run some tests,” she says after a few moments.

Mental influence resisted.

Memory duplication resisted.

Surgical mind alteration resisted.

SMI parameter diagnostics resisted.

I don’t have the slightest idea how my SMI works or got merged with me at the Influx, really, and that’s always been a bit of a concern. Is it somehow implanted in my mind? Is it even a physical thing?

It’s clear the specialist is some kind of Telepath or has mental based Skills in her line of work. They don’t work on me, which I’m on the fence about. On one hand I want to know what’s wrong with me and how to fix it. On the other hand… aliens rummaging around in my head feels uncomfortable as a concept, and from what I understand from Taiwo and others that have been around a while, I’ve got plenty to hide.

“Can’t you… you know, scan me or something?” I ask her. I’m unfortunately pretty light on details of the event that caused my problems or any real, structured information on what’s currently affecting me.

“Hmm… yes, we will get to that. Any notifications you received about this event or the impact on you that might help us to understand the situation?” she asks.

I look around the room full of what looks to me to be experimental scientific or medical equipment combined with torture devices and all kinds of technology. Then I glance back at her and consider the notifications I’ve just received about resisting her mind fuckery, and the notifications that tell me about a unique series of events and their impact on me.

“Unfortunately, no. Everything seems to have been on the fritz for a while. I’m only just now getting back to a place where it’s more normal than it was,” I tell her.

In my imagination she reaches for some of the threatening implements and somehow binds me to a chair while cutting off my access to all my Skills. She tortures me for centuries before exhausting all the knowledge she can from me and finally lets me die, far beyond a broken shell.

Maybe I’m a bit paranoid, since what actually happens is she looks up at the ceiling.

“Engage full scan.”

I expect lights moving, sounds buzzing. Beeping. Something. But there’s nothing.

Instead she opens a notification window that displays my body, shares it with me, and expands it to life size with a large border around my form that leaves plenty of space. I don’t spend a lot of time looking at myself but it’s clear my latest boost in Strength and Agility has also made me even stronger and faster. Nothing crazy, fortunately, that makes my head look like a pea sitting on top of a steak. Just… more.

Around me are powerful currents of smoke or air that wrap around me and seem like they pulse in and out of my body.

“Fascinating,” she says. Since we’re getting pretty personal, I pull her name with my SMI. The translation comes through as Isyldewenna.

“What are we looking at?” I ask.

“Before I tell you and potentially bias what we see, can I ask you to trigger a Skill?”

I shrug and trigger Accelerate, since a lot of my active Skills are offensive in nature. I can feel it waver as I try to ramp it up and I clamp down with my will, forcing it to activate. It escapes me though and the Skill flies away from me, releasing the effect and leaving me frustrated. I do note that as I triggered the Skill and tried to hold it the smokey currents around me burst into a raging, chaotic torrent which then exploded in a way that left the smoky remnants similar to before.

“Fascinating,” Isyldewenna comments. I agree, but have no idea what I’m looking at. Rather than press it, I decide to wait it out as she considers, or is lost in thought. Or flicking through notifications. Certainly her attention is no longer directly on me.

“I may need to call on my colleagues,” she remarks absently. The last thing I want is a whole room full of people performing experiments on me.

“No,” I say firmly. “First, your best guess. What is it?”

“Well, I’m not sure. But I’ve been doing this for a very, very long time. Did you perhaps recently develop or strengthen an Affinity for Mana?”

I consider and then nod, feeling as though it’s an important piece of information that I shouldn’t hold back since she’s guessed it.

“I have a theory that your Mana Affinity is totally incompatible with your Class, which is a very rare condition. You have a lot of Titles and a reputation for one so new; no doubt you and your world have been through hell since the Influx. Normally people with Mana Affinities take Classes that focus on magic and Mana manipulation rather than physical combat Classes, and… whatever you have ended up with.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

I acknowledge her comment briefly but don’t say anything more.

“Gaining a Mana Affinity is an amazing development, but I think in your case it is causing a negative interaction with your Skills. Perhaps you are trying unconsciously to learn from how they work or influence them, or control them with your Affinity. Perhaps your Affinity is trying to grab and manipulate the Mana that flows through and around you to manifest what you will it to. Whatever it is, I believe you need to become consciously aware of what you are doing with your Affinity and then train yourself to suppress it.”

This is actually a lot more helpful than I thought it might be, assuming Isyldewenna is correct. Definitely sounds like it’s worth trying.

“What would you suggest, Isyldewenna?” I ask cautiously. In the back of my mind I know it’s a bit irrational to distrust her, but I still have a negative view of the medical profession because of the betrayals I experienced during my hockey career, putting my availability to play games in the short term above my long term health. Sometimes even giving me advice that turned out to be dangerous and left me broken before the Influx came.

“First, I suggest a period of time where you meditate and try to feel and connect with your Affinity while triggering your Skills. The goal is to find a deep connection with your Affinity and then learn to dampen it down so it does not affect your existing Skills and Class. Once you have some control you can look to integrate it in a positive way, but that may take years.”

“Years I don’t have,” I comment.

“Indeed,” she agrees. I’m not sure what she’s been told of the situation but I do know she’s had a briefing even before I arrived. “The goal would be to ensure your Affinity remains in the background, latent, to whatever extent you can make that happen.

“Any ideas of who could help me through that process?” I ask. At my question, Isyldewenna’s octopus-like tentacles vibrate a bit.

“This is a Galactically respected Academy full of instructors, Bronwic. I think we can manage that.”

Fair enough.

A couple of hours later I’m watching Logan’s combat class with Torrdok from a viewing platform above the training ground while being instructed myself by a small, fairy-like creature called Sylvaeryn who looks like Tinkerbell, only a thousand times more dangerous. The wooden platform is sparse, without even any furniture. Perhaps everyone brings their own.

“Can you see the flows of Mana around them?” she asks me.

Two of the Dragonkin are battling using only elemental forces within a shielded circle. In a way it’s like rock, paper, scissors on steroids because the different elements counteract each other. The fire, earth, air, electricity, and water are flashy and distract my attention. It takes a lot of concentration to focus on what I think she means - the flow I can sense around each of the students as they trigger Skills and spells against each other. It’s a faint wisp of smoke that I’m not even sure I can really see.

Whenever I start paying attention to who’s winning or anything else, it disappears. Ironically that’s what makes me think I’m onto something since there does actually seem to be a difference I might not be imagining. With a relaxed mind, I move my gaze slowly across to Logan. The Mana swirling around him is much brighter and more vibrant, almost like he’s surrounded by the glowing trail of dozens of glow sticks at a concert. He’s not even doing anything, just sitting and watching with the rest of his class.

“I think I can sense it, Sylvaeryn. It’s just new and different so I have to pay attention.”

She flits around and then gives me an encouraging look.

“Now, when we turn our attention to what’s going on with you it’s going to be a lot harder. A similar or different thing will be happening inside and around you when you trigger your Skills. That’s hard to know because the Mana signatures are different for each Skill, Class and person. It’s as unique as your DNA. Perhaps that is a good way to think of it because of course some combinations have shared portions that look very similar or borrow from each other.”

At a certain level that makes sense, I think I’m following along with what she’s saying.

“I have a Skill that will help you, if I have permission to touch you?” she asks.

I give my permission with a confident nod. She doesn’t reach for me, just continues her lesson. Below us, one of the Dragonkin has won and I’m surprised to see it’s the bulky orange one that looks like he could rip apart a tank. You’d think by now I’d have learned my lesson about stereotypes and how they can get you into trouble in a post-Influx world… but apparently it’s still a ‘work on’ for me.

“First thing to do is to trigger a Skill and observe what is going on. In particular you need to be paying attention to what your Affinity is doing as the Skill is triggered. My Skill will assist you with this. Do you understand the task? Ready to begin?”

I nod even though Logan’s stepping into the combat ring with one of his classmates. I’m interested in what he’s doing and his progress but this is more important. I don’t know how long Sylvaeryn will be available to help me and this has got to get sorted.

Sylvaeryn flits over and hovers near my right shoulder without touching me.

“I am going to put my hand on your shoulder,” she instructs. “When I do, trigger a Skill and release it as much as you can manage for a couple of minutes. Not too fast, perhaps once every three seconds or so.”

I nod, understanding what she wants me to do.

“Pay attention to your Affinity, not the Skill itself,” she reminds me. A grumpier me would have been bothered that she thought maybe I wasn’t listening but the Bronwic of today can admit I had already forgotten that I need to focus specifically on what my Affinity is doing rather than how my Skill works.

She touches my shoulder gently and I can feel her Skill interact with my Class and Resistances. Apparently it’s not classified as a buff or a mental attack, or a physical one. Somehow something in between and it’s allowed to be there without a rejection from my crazy Mana-based immune system.

I trigger Acceleration and Sylvaeryn’s Skill definitely helps me to feel what’s going on, but there’s no discernable pattern or rhyme or reason. I can feel my Affinity reacting, but not why. I release Acceleration and then trigger it again. And again. And again. It’s a bit like training myself not to flinch. At the start, I just flinch. But over time and repetition I start to get a feeling for why I do it and it’s easier to control.

Logan’s class is long gone by the time I get to the point I think I know what’s happening. Sylvaeryn has been hovering beside me, hand on my shoulder and Skill activated, the entire time with her eyes closed.

“I think my Affinity… or rather, I think I am unconsciously engaging my Affinity to help me understand what’s happening and how my Skills are working. And because it’s part of me, it’s interfering with the flow of my Skills. The fact my SMI might not be fully recovered or integrated from whatever they did to me is probably also making the problem worse by making it easier to interfere. What do you think, Sylvaeryn?”

She opens her eyes and contemplates me, then speaks for the first time since we started this exercise.

“I think your Affinity is strong and that’s a problem, but you’re right. I agree.”

The tiny woman takes her hand off my shoulder and flits over to a railing to sit on. Her dragonfly-like wings finally rest.

“I will give you some exercises and meet you every few days to see how you’re going. Your main focus must be getting to the place you can consciously control the activation so that your Skills can activate unhindered. For other people with other Classes, your Mana Affinity activating would be a tremendous boost and benefit, but not for you.”

“I’m ready to put the effort in, Sylvaeryn. Thank you for your help,” I say sincerely. I don’t know how long it will be until the KCT and while I’m here, I’m not doing any of what I usually do.

No rest for the wicked.