Jack pondered the universe while Turrel was gone. He quickly shook his head and tried to think a little closer to home. He liked to focus on things within his control, which until recently had not felt like a whole lot. Now that he knew a little more he found himself with more and more questions.

  He needed to ask about how Monty did his healing thing where he attached it to him. It didn’t seem like it was part of the default heal skill, and if the attaching part was something he could learn, he wanted to know.

  Laying down he saw a pulse through the etchings in the ceiling and was once again fascinated by how they worked. There had to be a way he could use something like that to his own benefit right? They seemed to be able to move mana from one place to another but it wasn't running constantly. That meant there had to be some sort of trigger or condition, something that activated it.

  He knew that right now, his biggest benefit to Monty was being able to clear out some of the rifts that were normally beyond him. His role was to generate power for him and in their first rift he had done pretty well. The main issue they had found was when they had to move locations, not everything would just come straight to them.

  So what if Jack could somehow find a way to learn or use something similar to the etchings. That way when they moved, they didn't have to abandon the resources he had generated. He also had ideas on improved versions of the bunker they created, something that was stronger and had more defences.

  He drifted off to sleep as thoughts of different ways he could improve himself, work on skills and live a calm, comfortable life raced through his mind.

  He had been awake for a few hours when Turrel knocked on his door. He called out for Turrel to come in as he propped himself up into a sitting position. He was starting to get the hang of the warp experience. It was still a little shocking and he had almost fallen out of bed twice already but practice makes perfect.

  “Hey man, how are you doing?” Jack asked as Turrel walked in and sat down at the couch.

  “I am doing fine. Much the same as yesterday, Jack,” Turrel replied.

  “Fair, fair, so look I've been thinking.” Jack took a deep breath, making sure he had Turrel’s attention. “I have a few questions and want to get your advice on what I should be trying to learn or focus on.”

  “First, how does this circuitry stuff work? Like, Monty briefly explained some of it, but I mean more in the sense of how? Are there craftsmen? Is it created by skills? Could I learn it?” Rattling off his questions as his hands emphasized each one.

  Turrel squinted slightly.

  “I think you are talking about the mana circuitry here, yes?” He pointed at the etchings on the ceiling. Jack nodded.

  “Well, in that case, yes to all of your questions. I would argue that there are as many if not more skills and uses for mana that have no place in combat as there are ones that do. Your education so far has been slightly rushed and driven by Monty who has a … singular focus. I apologise for that.” Turrel rubbed his forehead and looked at Jack expectantly.

  Jack stared back for a moment and the silence stretched.

  “You said first, so I assumed you had more questions?” Turrel laughed.

  Jack smiled.

  “Ahh. I assumed you would go into more detail with your responses… I guess we can circle back to that later then. Umm, second was: how does Monty do his healing weave thing? It doesn’t seem like attaching it to me is a basic purpose thing?”

  “Ahh good pick up. No, that is a trait, it was his Tier 2 trait actually, before he started down his current path. It’s a non-combat trait that allows him to essentially bundle an activated skill and attach it to a power source to activate it. It helped him tend to more patients at once originally, now well he has found ways to make it work for him.” Turrel said, stroking his beard.

  Jack could see that being useful, especially for some of his daydreams in the future but wasn't sold on it as a trait. It just seemed too… normal.

  “Okay, but is that normally a good type of trait? I feel they are rarer and should… I don’t know, do more? Like I get it probably is amazing for healing, but for other things, how does it differ from”—Jack pointed at the lights and the etchings—“all of that? Also from what you said if he really wanted it he could probably have gotten something like that as a skill upgrade?”

  “This is pretty complex, Jack. There are thousands of ways to achieve any outcome, none are more ‘right’ than another. Some may be more efficient or more practical or more common or straightforward. If they all achieve the same result then does it matter?” Turrel paused for dramatic effect.

  “A skill upgrade would have been possible, yes, but it would have only applied to that specific skill. Whereas the trait allowed him to experiment on different combinations and adds a level of depth to any new skills that would otherwise not be there.”

  “Now mana circuitry is actually a useful thing for you to study and understand. It would add a new dimension to the domain build and Monty did mention you might want to look at an equipment outfit while you are getting used to your skills. Custom equipment is built with circulatory as well so there is crossover.” Turrel pulled out his tablet, making notes.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Nodding, Jack considered, he had never been ‘Handy’ with tools in his old life. He wasn’t useless, he lived remotely and could fix most things after a few attempts. Enough to make it last until a professional could fix it anyway. He knew code though, there was a chance mana circuitry was more like code than engineering right?

  “Okay, if I wanted to stop bothering you while we are traveling and learn more about this, how would I do that?” Jack asked.

  Turrel stared at him for a moment before his eyes closed and his head dropped. He stood up and went to the desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a small tablet, similar to his own.

  “So we didn’t go over the touchpads did we?” Turrel asked, unable to make eye contact with Jack.

  Jack was a little frustrated for a moment, but then it dawned on him. He had hoped he could skate past this but now realised his fragile little white lie was about to be exposed, made all the worse by his pretending. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

  “Hey, so... It’s cool, man. Umm look you know I … umm … I can’t read anything you have been showing me?” Jack asked with an awkward upwards inflection at the end.

  With the tablet halfway between Jack, Turrel stopped handing it to him and stared at him. His head tilted slightly and his lips pursed.

  “Sooo... when I was going over the build options, with my carefully prepared presentation, you didn’t say anything? Or during the briefing before the rift? Jac-” Turrel abruptly stopped talking as a pulse of space mana flashed again.

  Both men froze awkwardly staring at each other as the moment seemed to stretch much longer than it needed. The moment the wave passed they both started talking at the same moment.

  “Sorry, man, it just felt like—”

  “Jack, that was dangerous!” Turrel snapped half-heartedly. “Those were important situations.”

  Turrel handed Jack the tablet and let out a deep sigh.

  “It’s my fault, this whole thing has been rushed and I am assuming things because of what you are already learning. We can go over Centre Script over the next few days and then hopefully some of these questions you can work out from the tablet.”

  Nodding, Jack took the device and shuffled to the edge of the bed as Turrel dragged the desk chair over. Their previous conversation was lost in the background as Turrel entered lecture mode. As he explained the structure and design of ‘Centre Script’ Jack couldn't help but think of a web language that pretended to be something it wasn’t.

  The evening faded away into practical learning, drawing and writing on the tablet. Jack paid attention and picked things up fairly quickly. It was a gateway to being able to learn without other people being involved. That was a skill worth putting attention into.

  The morning of the third day of their warp Monty paid him a visit bringing him a suspicious satchel that clinked slightly as he set it down.

  “How are you finding the warp experience?” Monty asked as he stretched out on the couch.

  “Not too bad now. That being said I have sat my ass in a bed for most of two full days so far. At least I can read like a toddler now though!” Jack replied as he put the tablet he had been reading from to the side.

  “What's in the bag?”

  “Master Turrel asked me to drop these off,” Monty replied as he pulled a smaller bag out of the satchel, it seemed to contain about five of the smaller mana crystals. They were dim and Jack couldn't feel anything from them, empty.

  “These, however, were from our initial visit here” Monty pulled out a fairly intricate decorated wooden box. He lifted a metal latch and inside were two rows of lightly glowing green crystals. Each row had ten gems, which at twenty gems was almost a month's wage for some people. “I felt as we were closing in on our destination it was probably a good time to get these to you. I also have discussed a wage with Rummi and she will ensure you are back-paid when we dock.” He reached out and gripped Jack on the shoulder.

  “I wanted to say thank you again, with your help we were able to push a little more and should arrive by this afternoon. I appreciate it, Jack. If you want to stay on board the vessel you are welcome, this has nothing to do with you and I don’t want to put you at any more risk than necessary.”

  Jack awkwardly patted Monty's hand on his shoulder.

  “It’s no problem, man. I don’t know, I kind of do want to see what another planet looks like and expand my horizons. If I am not safe with you I doubt I will be safe on a vessel without you. Let’s play it by ear though, I might chicken out and hide back here in my room if I get scared.” Jack laughed.

  He pulled out one of the smaller crystals and turned it over in his hand a few times.

  “What am I supposed to be doing with these?” Jack asked.

  “Oh, yeah, I was meant to show you how to fill these. Turrel mentioned you had Imbue down now right? Good job, that was pretty quick.” Monty reached over and grabbed one of the empty gems, then grabbed one of the full ones from the fancy box.

  He drew in and Jack saw the glow dim and fade on the charged crystal.

  “Okay, to charge one of these it is pretty easy once you have imbue as a skill. You just need to try to ‘store’ or ‘charge’ or whatever other word makes sense to you.”

  Monty held up the crystal he just drained.

  “Mana from here”

  He held up the other crystal.

  “Into here”

  The crystal started to glow green.

  “Easy right?” Monty asked with a smile on his face.

  Looking between the two crystals and then up at Monty’s face, Jack shook his head. The difference between the two teaching styles was much more apparent after his recent time with Turrel. He appreciated the simplicity and faith Monty had in him but a little direction would have been great.

  “Sooo, easy. What happens if I overcharge these? Will it just like leak out?” Jack asked, cautious based on the panic they had about him overcharging his body.

  “Oh, no, it would probably explode. It is only a small crystal but still don’t do that. Just don’t overcharge it and you will be fine, you have some charged ones in there to work out the right amount from.” Monty smiled as he placed the now charged crystal back in the box and put the other on the bed.

  He even had the audacity to wink at Jack before he turned and started to leave the room.

  “Good luck!” He called out.

  Unfortunately for him as he was about to make his dramatic exit another wave washed over the vessel and they both froze. The door he had just opened shut automatically. The wave passed.

  “HA - HA!” Jack laughed.