Ronan’s question didn’t really need an answer, but both Elion and Jordan nodded anyway. They were in.

  “Let’s do this, Elion,” Jordan said, excitedly bouncing in place. He was ready for this—unlocking hidden powers and leveling up like a character in a role-playing game.

  Meanwhile, Elion… well, he looked like someone who just realized he’d accidentally signed up for a deathmatch instead of a chess tournament. His face screamed I should’ve gone home when I had the chance.

  Jordan clapped him on the back. “Dude, why are you thinking so hard? This is awesome already.”

  Elion rubbed his temple. “I just—ugh. Do we have to rush into this? Like, maybe we ease into the whole unlocking strange energy within us thing?”

  Jordan grinned. “Nope. Full send.”

  Elion sighed. “I have no choice, do I?”

  Ronan smirked. “No.”

  Elion groaned. “Great. Just making sure.”

  He took a deep breath and stood up straight. “Alright. I’m ready, Ronan.”

  Ronan, clearly amused by their enthusiasm (or, in Elion’s case, lack of enthusiasm), reached into his ‘dimensional storage’—which was still a complete mystery to Jordan.

  Every time Ronan produced something from that storage, Jordan felt more and more confused.

  Ronan took out two small white crystals that were glowing lightly. Without warning, he suddenly threw one crystal at each of them.

  Elion caught his with ease, holding it up to the firelight. “What is this?”

  Jordan almost dropped his crystal because his thought had drifted far away, but he caught it just in time. He looked at it closely as if it might harm him. “And more importantly, why do I feel like it’s going to explode in my hands?”

  Ronan stood against the cave wall with his arms crossed. He looked very relaxed despite the situation that they were in. “Grip it. As hard as you can.”

  Elion frowned. “That’s it?”

  “That’s it,” Ronan confirmed.

  Elion and Jordan exchanged glances. They did not believe that it would be that simple.

  No chants?

  No weird magic circles?

  No life-threatening side effects?

  Jordan shrugged. “Welp. Either this brings out my hidden talent, or I might just blow up. Either way, it's going to be a fun night.”

  He tightly held the crystal in his fist.

  Elion sighed and did the same.

  The moment they did, the crystals reacted.

  A soft humming sound filled the air as the white light grew stronger. It wasn’t very hot, but it made their palms feel strange. They felt a mix of warmth and something deeper, like an unseen energy flowing into them.

  A holographic display suddenly appeared in front of them.

  Elion was surprised. His eyes widened. “What the—”

  Jordan nearly dropped his crystal. "Wait, nobody mentioned we were in a sci-fi movie."

  In front of them was a clear screen floating in the air, filled with text.

  Elion’s name was displayed at the top, followed by details he didn’t quite understand.

  =====

  Name: Elion Hayes

  Race: Human

  Mana Gates Opened: 0

  Beast Ring: None

  Attributes:

  ? Strength: 12

  ? Speed: 16

  ? Stamina: 12

  ? Wisdom: 16

  ? Mana: 0

  =====

  Jordan had his own display with similar stats.

  Jordan whistled. “Well, would you look at that? I got an official power stat sheet. What’s next? Do I get a rank and a cool title?”

  While Elion, still reading his stats, muttered, “Wow. My numbers are depressing.”

  Jordan leaned over to glance at his screen. “Yeah, man. No offense, but your strength stat is tragic. I’m pretty sure my grandma lifts heavier grocery bags.”

  “Yeah. Funny. Says the one who’s slower and dumber,” Elion replied without holding back.

  That was when Jordan realized it. He compared his stats to Ethan’s.

  =====

  Name: Jordan Walker

  Race: Human

  Mana Gates Opened: 0

  Beast Ring: None

  Attributes:

  ? Strength: 20

  ? Speed: 10

  ? Stamina: 16

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  ? Wisdom: 8

  ? Mana: 0

  =====

  Jordan frowned at his hologram stats, mumbling under his breath. “You’re right. Why the hell am I so slow?”

  Elion smirked, not missing the opportunity. “I mean, if you’re gonna ask that, you might as well throw in ‘why am I pretty dumb’ too.”

  Jordan shot him a glare. “Wow. The support here is unreal.”

  Ronan, watching them with mild amusement, let out a long-suffering sigh. “You two. Please. That’s enough.”

  Then, he pointed at the holograms floating in front of them. “That crystal measures your base stats. Pretty standard stuff.”

  Jordan waved at the panel in front of him. “I don’t know, but it feels like I just stepped into a video game. And what’s with the Mana stat being at zero? That’s kinda rude.”

  Ronan pointed at their holograms again. “Because you haven’t opened any Mana Gates yet. That’s what we’re here to fix.”

  Elion frowned, eyeing the floating numbers. “And these attributes? They’re going to change, right?”

  Ronan smirked. “Oh, they’ll change. The question is how much—it depends on how well you handle opening your first gate. And training.”

  Jordan cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. “Alright then. No time like the present. Hit us with the tutorial, cowboy.”

  Ronan chuckled before his expression turned serious. “Listen up. Unlocking your Mana Gates isn’t as easy as flipping a switch. You need to push past the barriers, keeping them closed.”

  Elion took a deep breath. “And how do we do that?”

  Ronan’s smirk widened. “The same way you saw in that vision. But… you’re going to feel it firsthand, the hard way, since we do not have enough time.”

  Jordan groaned. “Why do I feel like I will regret this decision?”

  Ronan took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, as if he was getting ready to face something frustrating. Then, he stepped closer with a smile and cracked his knuckles. “Because you definitely will.”

  He added, “Take off your shirts.”

  Jordan blinked. Then, his lips curled into a slow smirk. “Whoa, whoa, cowboy. If you wanted us to strip, you could’ve at least bought us dinner first.”

  Elion groaned. “Jordan—”

  But Jordan wasn’t done. He placed a hand dramatically over his chest. “You could’ve just said you were into us instead of making up this whole ‘training’ excuse. It’s okay, man. We’re all friends here.”

  For the first time since meeting them, Ronan actually looked stunned. His mouth opened slightly before closing again. His eye twitched.

  “Wha—? That’s— I—” He shut his mouth, inhaled sharply through his nose, and exhaled slowly like he was restraining himself from chucking Jordan off a cliff.

  Jordan grinned, looking very proud of himself.

  Elion, already exhausted by just existing near this level of stupidity, sighed and pulled off his shirt without another word.

  Jordan smiled and did the same thing quickly.

  Ronan shook his head and quietly said, “This is why I work alone.”

  He reached into his storage space, which Jordan was eager to understand, and took out a small glass bottle filled with a thick, dark green substance.

  Elion squinted at it. “What’s in that?”

  Ronan popped the cork off the bottle. A strong, herbal, almost spicy scent filled the air instantly.

  “Ointment,” he said simply.

  Jordan wrinkled his nose. “Dude. That smells like someone crushed an entire forest and dumped it in a bottle.”

  Both Elion and Ronan chuckled but they seemed not in the mood to entertain Jordan.

  Elion raised an eyebrow before asking Ronan, “What is it for?”

  Ronan poured a bit into his palm. “Opening the first three gates is rough on the body. This will help.”

  Elion eyed it skeptically. “Help? How?”

  Ronan smirked. “By speeding up the process and keeping you from passing out after one gate.”

  Jordan’s grin faded slightly. “Wait. I can pass out?”

  Ronan clapped his hands together, mixing the ointment before reaching forward. “Oh, definitely.”

  And with that, he slapped a handful of the ointment onto Jordan’s bare back.

  Jordan yelled.

  “WHAT THE HELL, COWBOY?!”

  Ronan ignored him and carefully rubbed the ointment into his skin. He moved as if he had done this many times before. “Stop squirming. You’ll thank me later.”

  Jordan absolutely would not, but he didn’t get a choice.

  Elion, watching all of this, sighed before asking, “Do I get the gentle treatment, or is this a one-size-fits-all suffering?”

  Ronan smirked. “You get the same.”

  Then he slapped the ointment onto Elion’s back, and Elion yelled, too.

  “WHY IS IT BURNING?!”

  Ronan kept rubbing the substance into their skin. "You can tell it’s doing its thing."

  Jordan grimaced and shot him a look. “You sure you’re not just having fun with this?”

  Ronan grinned but didn’t say a word.

  After a few minutes, the burning feeling went away. It was replaced by a cool sensation that spread into their muscles.

  It was… weird. Almost like their bodies were getting lighter.

  Elion flexed his fingers. "Honestly, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm kinda feeling good right now."

  Jordan rolled his shoulders. “Yeah. Like I just had the best deep tissue massage of my life.”

  Ronan cracked his knuckles. “Good. Because now comes the painful part.”

  Jordan groaned. “Oh, come on.”

  But Ronan was already stepping back, eyes sharp as he gestured to the ground. “Now, sit. We’re opening your first Mana Gate.”

  He then added, “Don’t delay. Or else I need to apply the ointment again.”

  Elion and Jordan exchanged a glance. Then, with a deep breath, they sat down again.

  No turning back now.

  Elion and Jordan closed their eyes, steadying their breathing. The image of the glowing figure from before—the one they had seen in the vision—was burned into their minds.

  They remembered how it had done it. How it had taken a deep breath, how it had focused, how it had forced the energy within to move.

  Elion copied the motion, focusing on the bottom of his back—his spine. He had no clue if this would actually do anything, but Ronan didn't strike him as the type to mess around with pointless stuff.

  Next to him, Jordan was making a face, deep in thought. “Alright, let’s see… and… nothing’s happening.”

  “Shut up and focus,” Elion muttered.

  For a little while, it seemed like nothing was going on. They just sat there, breathing in and out, hoping for something—anything—to happen.

  Then—

  The moment Ronan pressed his fingers to their backs, just above the tailbone, Elion knew something was wrong.

  Not wrong in a bad way. More like wrong in a 'what the hell is happening to my body?' kind of way.

  A warm, tingly feeling started at the bottom of his back—the spot where the First Mana Gate is. At first, it felt nice, like getting cozy in a warm bath.

  Then it spread pretty fast, like wildfire licking up his spine.

  His muscles locked. His breath hitched. The burning wasn’t like fire on his skin—it was inside him, deeper than anything he had ever felt. Like his body was trying to remember something ancient, something buried so deep in his bones that it shouldn’t have been awakened.

  Jordan definitely the first that jumped in with his thoughts, verbally.

  “Whoa—what the heck—” He was out of breath, palms flat on the ground like he was getting ready to launch.

  Elion wanted to say something, but his throat felt really tight. His nerves were on high alert; every inch of his body buzzing like static had flooded his veins. His mind wavered between panic and acceptance.

  Did he fight it? Did he let it happen?

  The pressure built.

  Something was pushing from the inside out, like a dam about to burst.

  And then—

  CRACK.

  Not a sound in the cave. Not something physical.

  Something inside them.

  A door, a barrier, a wall—whatever it was, it just got smashed.

  Elion felt it.

  The rush.

  The surge.

  It was like a rush of electricity zipping through his body, but instead of hurting, it felt like waking up to something that had been just sitting there, waiting to be tapped into.

  His vision got a bit fuzzy for a moment. His body felt both impossibly light and impossibly grounded at the same time as if he could run for miles but also sink into the earth and become it.

  Jordan let out a breathless laugh, his eyes wide with shock. “Oh my god. I did it. I actually did it.”

  Elion took in a shaky breath. He couldn’t really put into words what he was feeling. It wasn’t just that he felt stronger; he felt… like he had changed in some way.

  Like every fiber of his being was sharper. More alive.

  Jordan grinned, hands still trembling. “Dude, I feel like I just downed ten energy drinks. This is insane!”

  Elion was about to agree—about to revel in whatever just happened—when—

  “Enough.”

  Ronan’s voice cut through the moment like a whip.

  Both of them snapped their eyes open.

  Ronan was near the cave entrance, and his entire posture was wrong. He wasn’t relaxed. He wasn’t smirking. His fingers twitched toward his gun, his eyes locked on the darkness outside.

  Something was very wrong.

  “Get up,” he ordered, his voice low, tense.

  Elion blinked, his pulse still racing from the rush of energy. “What? But we just—”

  “No time.” Ronan turned to them, his jaw tight. His usual lazy confidence was gone. What replaced it was something sharp. Urgent.

  Jordan’s grin faded. “Oh… that’s not good.”

  Ronan’s fingers twitched again. “The enemy is nearing.”

  Elion felt the back of his neck prickle. He didn’t ask how Ronan knew.

  Suddenly, a huge roar blasted through the woods. It was distant but approaching quickly.