SKILLS:

  —--------------------------------

  Mana Sense (Internal): Tier 0 *

  Shockwave: Tier 0 *

  Jack felt a rush of pride as he confirmed the acquisition of his new skill in his interface. For the first time he felt something extra when he focused, almost as if there was more information he could get about the two skills.

  He focused on his new [Shockwave] skill and felt a rush of information into his brain.

  [Shockwave] : Tier 0. Focuses and compresses mana into a single point within the body before forcibly expelling the mana outwards. As the mana exits the user's body, it is physically manifested, creating a concussive shockwave. The user's mana frequency may affect the physical nature of the shockwave.

  Tier 1 upgrade: Increases the efficiency of the compression aspect.

  Most of that was what he expected, however the bit about the physical nature was interesting. He doubted it would be as interesting but he expanded his [Mana Sense (Internal)] skill as well.

  [Mana Sense (Internal)] : Tier 0. Allows the user to perceive the flow of mana within their own body.

  Tier 1 upgrade: Increases the sensitivity of the user's perception.

  It was about what he expected, the upgrade was a little underwhelming at first glance but he didn’t know enough to gauge that one way or another. Jack pondered the information as he slowly stood up. He turned around to look for Monty not realising the man was standing right beside him. He must have walked over as he was going through his interface.

  “I did it, that's pretty cool. What does having it listed as a skill do for me though? Oh also what's the deal with the whole physical nature thing. If I had a fire frequency would I be like exploding fire from my hand right now? Like a fireball?” Jack asked, making thrusting motions with his hand, getting more and more animated as he thought about it.

  “Haha, cool indeed Jack. Honestly it is much faster than most people are able to do so congratulations.” Monty patted Jack on the back.

  “As far as having it listed as a skill, that means that the Origin has recognised that you have achieved a level of mastery over the skills needed to perform that skill. In practical terms it won't do much at Tier 0. Each Tier afterwards though will add some new capabilities to it for you that the Origin will assist you in learning or implementing.” Monty seemed to think about something for a second and then continued.

  “As for the physical nature thing, yeah that is pretty close. Most of the skills you can or will learn are generic and can be used with any mana frequency. The frequency that is used however can greatly change the outcome of the skill.”

  “It also can make it much more dangerous for users with certain frequencies to learn or practise different skills. Could you imagine just for a second if you had the fire frequency.” Monty held a finger in front of Jack’s face as he was about to start speaking.

  “No, just wait a second Jack. Think back to your first time trying to use shockwave. You had no control, when it triggered the first time the blow back knocked you off your feet. There was no shape and the shockwave exploded in a ring that got you in it along with everything around you. Now imagine instead of force it was flame. At best your slightly above average looks are not marred by terrible burns. Your clothes are on fire and if you are not in this training facility everything around you has caught on flames as well.”

  “There are so many different frequencies, and they can all impact skills differently. The life frequency is one of the best for learning skills, mostly because the offensive effects are not as deadly to the user as some other frequencies can be. Also you know the whole being able to heal thing is pretty handy”

  “Regardless for now Life is all you have so let us not dwell on anything that is beyond our reach and continue our training. You have an hour left before we move on to control, appreciate your achievement but don’t get side tracked here.” Monty said as he turned and walked away before Monty could ask anymore.

  Jack sat back and considered his luck once again, while he still really wanted fireballs he did enjoy not being on fire. He could wait, one day he would have his fireball.

  He shook his head and took Monty’s advice and thought over his new skill, it felt like it would be a little easier to use now. He got back to practice, repeating the motions over and over until he started to settle into a pattern. It was much easier with some of it feeling almost like muscle memory, giving him more capacity to focus on the shape aspect as he practiced.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He got lost in it again, until Monty patted him on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. They left the white training room and once again there was food on a tray for him. He sat down and ate in silence as he went over everything again, letting it settle into place as he thought about what to try next.

  “Monty, Any tips for this control thing? I can kind of slow it down but it doesn't feel like I am controlling it, more just blocking the flow a little.” Jack asked, hoping for the same kind of insight he had with the shockwave training earlier.

  “I don’t think I can help you much with this one Jack. I have some traits that let me see the mana in your system, I can see what is going on in a sense. But it is like looking through muddied water, I can’t make out as much detail as you will be able to.” Monty let out a deep sigh.

  “This is probably a unique you thing. I don’t know what control you have over it or not. My prime frequency manifests in a different way, it is closest to a whirlpool I think to describe it. The fine end sitting above my mana heart and the large end being what absorbs mana. When I try to use it I have to…” He seemed to struggle with the words as he tried to explain.

  “Extend it? I had to learn to shrink it before I could more comfortably grow it. I had to almost surround it and … squeeze I guess. I am sorry I’m not great at explaining these things. I like to show and do. Words are hard for me.”

  “Don’t stress it. That’s actually kind of helpful. I haven't tried doing anything to the actual vortex donut thing. I was trying to just stop the mana from going into it. Thanks” Jack said, he had stopped looking at Monty halfway through the sentence as his mind had started to ponder how he could achieve that.

  He walked back into the training facility in a half daze and sat down as he poked and prodded and tried to interact with his vortex. He eventually managed to ‘pinch’ on opposite sides of the donut-like shape and tried to compress it by pushing in. This made the shape longer and seemed to take the mana slightly longer to flow through.

  Jack thought this would reduce the amplification but instead it increased it, a lot. Jack hadn't been gentle at all and the influx of mana that came through the other side shocked him. He let go of the pinched shape, but instead of reverting to its original size it remained as it was.

  “Mooonnttyy!!” Jack shouted as he thrust a hand into the air. The mana in his system did a full cycle and was pulled through once again, being amplified even more. He guessed in two more cycles he would be at his capacity, his body started to heat up.

  He tried to take a breath and think, he would have to try to change the shape of the vortex again. He was too panicked to get a hold of the vortex, it kept slipping as he tried to pinch it. Another cycle completed, he felt fire in his veins.

  He tried again to get a hold of his vortex. It slipped away as suddenly the raging torrent in his veins was pulled away. Jack tried to get a hold of it again, this time he managed to get a grip on it. Instead of pushing in, he pulled out, stretching the vortex as much as he could to reduce the time it spent passing through.

  Another cycle started, this time however as the mana passed through it was barely even amplified. Jack took a deep breath as he collapsed to the ground breathing heavily.

  Monty looked at Jack for a moment, his eyes focused. He then turned and vented the excess mana in a shockwave at the wall.

  “See like you had a bit of a breakthrough… I can barely even sense any amplification at the moment.” Monty said his boring a hole in Jack’s chest.

  Jack caught his breath and nodded. “Yeah... It seems I did. Guess I turned the tap the wrong way to start with.” He tilted his head thinking.

  “I kind of expected it to be like a thing I had to maintain, you know? Once I readjusted it though. It just stayed there”

  Monty looked at Jack for a second and sat down with him.

  “Your body reacted strangely when I attached a weave to you in the past. I want to see what happens now, do you mind?”

  Jack shook his head motioning for Monty to go ahead. He felt Monty pull in a little mana and then a moment later he felt the cooling sensation he had started to associate with healing flash through his body. There was a slight tug on his mana heart and then his vortex started to warp a little. It wanted to compress a little to increase the mana flow, but it wasn't able to warp as far as it wanted, the tug on his mana ended.

  “Hmm interesting, the weave faded. That's what it should do. Describe what happened for me, it looked like your amplification kicked up a little but then stopped.” Monty asked.

  “Umm, I don’t know… It felt like it tried to change shape to increase the flow but it couldn’t. Like an elastic band, it tried to warp but eventually it just snapped back to the shape it was. Wait a second.” Jack with a flash of anticipation pinched the edges of his vortex again, changing its shape to increase the amplification slightly.

  “Try again, if I am right there will be a sweet spot where it should be able to warp enough to sustain it.” Jack replied excitedly.

  Monty smiled and again he felt mana flow towards him, he then felt a rush of healing. He focused on his vortex and watched as it compressed itself. It seemed to reach its desired size and locked in.

  “Ohh”

  “Hmm”

  Both men exclaimed at the same time. Jack looked at Monty waving at him to continue.

  “Well I think we have solved your test issue. This also presents some very interesting possibilities for the future… It is obviously reacting to the draw of the weave. Enough we can do some more experimentation at a later date. I think we should head back. Turrel will be happy if we go back early and you can have a longer sleep at the facility to recover.” Monty said as he stood up and they left together.

  “That all sounds great, but could I ask one thing?” Jack said as he stopped walking.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “What do I have to do to get one of these mattresses down to that facility? I’ll charge the whole ship and all the gems you want… That is the most uncomfortable bed I have ever slept on. I would honestly rather sleep on the floor. Please Monty, let me bring the mattress” Jack pleaded.

  An hour later they appeared in the transporter room back in the induction facility, a large mattress held between the two men.