by Aaron Oster
He was now glad that he’d passed out, shuddering at the thought of staying awake through the process of having his heart replaced.
He could feel the two masses of power calling out to him and instinctively, he knew what to do next. Concentrating inward, he manipulated a tendril of both chi and mana. They fused together in his body and a light purple screen flickered into view.
Name: Morgan
Super: Rank - 0
Energy to next rank - 0/100
Mage: Rank - 0
Energy to next rank - 0/100
Super ability - Gravity
Mage ability - Air
CP - 90/90 (Regen - 0.8 per second)
MP - 90/90 (Regen - 0.8 per Second)
Strength - 8
Agility - 11
Constitution - 7
Intelligence - 9
Wisdom - 8
Super skills - Fly, Heavy handed
Mage skills - Wind blade, Tailwind
Morgan could hardly contain his excitement.
He’d been so afraid that he’d never awaken at all and now he not only did he have an ability, he had two.
Tamping down on his excitement, he focused back in on his status and began opening each tab to figure out what each stat meant.
Super/Mage: Rank - 0
The world is divided between supers and mages, who each have unique abilities and skills. Supers generally have more direct melee based abilities, while mages tend to have more ranged abilities. There are of course, a wide variety of abilities, and not all are combat oriented.
All supers/mages begin at rank 0 and can increase in rank all the way to 50. By collecting energy from the world around them, supers/mages can increase their rank.
Morgan blinked. He was very interested in ranking up and gaining more power, but how was he supposed to collect energy from the world around him?
He sighed when no further information was forthcoming and focused in on the next tab.
Super ability: Gravity
Harness the power of gravity and bend it to your will.
Mage ability: Air
Harness the wind and bend it to your will.
He groaned in frustration. What was up with these vague explanations?
He took a deep breath to calm himself and moved further down the list.
CP/MP: While mages use mana to power their skills, supers use chi (pronounced KEE) to power theirs. CP, or chi points, determine how many times you can use super skills. MP, or mana points, determine how many times you can use mage skills.
Well, at least that explanation made sense. Morgan moved further down his status page.
Strength: Determines physical strength and power of super based skills. Supers develop this attribute at twice the rate of mages.
Agility: Determines both speed and dexterity. Supers develop this attribute at twice the rate of mages.
Constitution: Determines health, endurance and how much damage can be absorbed. Both supers and mages develop this attribute at the same rate.
Intelligence: Determines intellect, how much chi/mana can be used; as well as power of mage basked skills. Mages develop this attribute at twice the rate of supers.
Wisdom: Determines learning speed, memory retention and how quickly chi/mana regenerates. Mages develop this attribute at twice the rate supers.
This all made sense to Morgan.
Supers, who were more physically inclined, would be quicker to develop strength and agility, as they helped with hand to hand combat. Mages on the other hand, mostly dealt with spells and ranged attacks, so their strength and agility wasn’t as important as intelligence and wisdom.
Finally, Morgan focused on the last tab on his status.
Skills: These determine what aspects of your super/mage ability can be used.
Fly: Manipulate gravity to make yourself lighter and move through the air.
Cost - 1 CP per second
Max. height - 30 Ft
Max. speed - 20 Ft per second
Max. carry weight - 50 pounds (carrying any more weight will decrease speed by 0.1 feet per second for every additional pound)
Heavy handed: Manipulate gravity to make your blows land harder (currently X2)
Cost - 20 CP
Duration - 10 seconds
Wind blade: Manipulate the air around you to create whirling blades sharper than steel
Cost - 40 MP
Duration - Until dismissed
Tailwind: Manipulate the air around you to increase speed (Currently X2)
Cost - 20 MP
Duration - 10 seconds
Morgan closed his status as his thoughts began to race.
Those were some pretty amazing abilities!
Fly would let him, well, fly. Heavy handed would allow him to hit twice as hard, effectively doubling his strength for a full ten seconds.
Tailwind was also pretty straightforward. Just like his heavy handed ability, this would double his agility for a full ten seconds. He wasn’t entirely sure what the wind blade skill could do though.
“Well, only one way to find out,” he muttered to himself.
At the cost of 40 MP, Morgan activated his wind blade skill. There was a sound of rushing air and Morgan’s arm shot out to the side. A two foot cone of wind extended out from his arm, swirling at high speed and forming a wicked point. He swished his arm through the air a few times, but the wind didn’t disperse.
It looked more like a lance than a blade and it seemed to be almost insubstantial.
Taking a step forward, Morgan stabbed the point of the blade towards the alley wall, not expecting much. Instead of dissipating, as he’d been expecting, the tip of the blade easily punched through the wall. The spinning, condensed air tore apart the brick and mortar as the blade sunk further in. Quickly dismissing the blade, he stared in awe at the gaping hole he’d just created.
So, that was what wind blade did, he thought.
He shuddered at the thought of what that would do to a human body.
He would have to experiment more later. For now, he knew that he should probably head home and get some sleep.
Morgan took a single step towards the mouth of the alley, when two figures moved in front of it; silhouetted from behind by the moonlight streaming in.
Morgan cursed silently as he recognized two of the city guards, Gimple and Sqwee. They were recent additions to the guard. They made an extremely nasty pair and were the absolute last people he’d wanted to run into in a dark alley.
3
“Well, well, well. Would you look what we’ve got here?” Gimple asked rhetorically, as he took a step into the alley, while sneering down at Morgan.
Gimple was a very heavy man. So heavy, in fact, that Morgan was surprised he was even allowed in the guard.
The only reason he’d be allowed in, was if he had an ability- which he was pretty sure he did.
“We’ve been looking all over for you, isn’t that right Sqwee?” The guard asked, turning to his companion.
Sqwee was the exact opposite of Gimple. He was tall and lanky, with shallow cheeks that gave him an almost skeletal appearance.
“Well, you found me. What can I help you with?” Morgan asked,while taking a step back.
There was only one reason they were here. They were here to punish him for being seen near the manor today.
“Well you see,” Sqwee began. “Lord Simon has had enough of you hanging around his daughter.”
“We’re here to make sure that you don’t ever do that again.” Gimple said, pulling a knife from his belt.
Morgan felt his blood run cold, as he saw the moonlight reflect off the blade.
“Wait, you can’t kill me! It’s against the law for a city guard to kill someone for no reason!”
It was only then that he realized they were both out of uniform.
This was planned!
Lord Simon had been trying to have him killed for some time and finally two men were willing to do so.
Morgan
clenched his teeth as they continued to move towards him.
He knew he had an advantage. They were expecting to kill an unarmed and defenseless teenager. They had no idea that he had an ability and were approaching carelessly.
He took a moment to size up their threat level.
Judging by his appearance, Sqwee was a mage, while Gimple was most likely a super. That meant that Sqwee was the biggest threat at the moment as he would have range.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, Morgan,” Gimple said as his expression hardened. “Just stand there, and don’t move. It’ll be over before you know it!”
He launched toward Morgan, knife poised to strike, but Morgan had already begun to move.
Activating tailwind, he deftly dodged the knife strike and ran toward Sqwee. He felt light as a feather as the air swirled around him and massively increased his speed. He didn’t have time to activate another ability, so he used his forward momentum and threw a heavy punch into the man’s stomach.
There was a sound of crunching bones and Sqwee howled in pain as his ribs were shattered. Morgan followed up his attack by grabbing the back of Sqwee’s head and bringing his knee up. With a loud crunching sound, his skull caved in and the guard went silent.
Morgan felt a rush of power enter him as Sqwee’s lifeless body hit the ground with an audible squelch. Then he turned to face Gimple, who was staring at Sqwee’s body in dumbfounded shock.
“How did you…?”
Gimple was cut off as Morgan’s fist crashed into his face, but the devastating attack that had just killed Sqwee didn’t have nearly the same effect on Gimple.
He stumbled back a few steps, rubbing his cheek as an angry bruise began spreading from the point of impact.
“So, you went ahead and got yourself an ability,” Gimple said, taking a step forward and flexing his fingers. “It’s too bad for you that you’re so weak!”
His voice picked up in volume as the air around his fists began to glow red.
“What are you? Rank 0? 1 at most,” he laughed maniacally, as he took a step towards the stunned Morgan. “Well, guess what you little bastard? I’m at rank 4, and my constitution is much higher than your pitiful strength can hope to match!”
He lunged forward, throwing a wild punch, which Morgan barely managed to avoid. Gimple’s fist connected with the alley wall and Morgan gulped as the solid stone shattered under the blow.
Morgan cursed silently as Gimple turned to face him.
This was not good. Supers relied on strength to damage their opponents and if he couldn’t hurt Gimple, then it was only a matter of time until he was caught.
He debated using his wind blade, but ultimately decided that he didn’t yet have the stomach to use it on a human being.
“You can’t keep this up forever Morgan,” Gimple said, this time approaching slowly.
Morgan took a step backward and felt his back hit the alley wall. He hadn’t noticed before, but Gimple had been backing him into a corner. It looked like the fat slob had more brains than he’d given him credit for.
He could always use fly to escape, but then there would be a witness to go back and tell Lord Simon; and when he sent men after him the next time, he wouldn’t stand a chance.
A nasty smile curled Gimple’s lips, as he pulled his fist back to deliver the finishing blow.
It was then that Morgan made his move. Activating his heavy handed skill, Morgan felt strength flood his body in a rush. The air around him warped slightly as gravity distorted and a countdown began in his head.
Morgan snapped his left arm up, wincing in pain as he deflected the incoming blow. Then his right arm snapped forward, catching the overconfident Gimple with a stiff punch to the ribs. This time however, Gimple couldn’t simply shrug it off. There was a loud crack as Morgan’s fist connected and the pudgy guard stumbled back with a gasp of pain, clutching at his side.
Gimple whimpered as Morgan walked slowly towards him, a hard expression on his face. That was when the begging began.
“Morgan, buddy, we never really meant to kill you, we were just joking,” Gimple tried, as Morgan continued moving toward him.
Morgan stopped just three feet before the man and raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” He asked in a flat voice. “You weren’t just trying to kill me?”
“No, not at all!” Gimple said, straightening to his full height. “We were just gonna rough you up a little, but we were gonna let you go. Honest.”
Morgan could see the guard subtly shifting his stance, likely in preparation of some sort of attack.
It was then that the timer on Morgan’s heavy handed skill ran out and the distorted air around him vanished. Gimple’s arms shot out and grabbed Morgan by his shoulders, a nasty smile on his face.
“You stupid boy. Of course we meant to kill you! It looks like your little skill has run out. You should have run when you had the chance!”
Morgan’s expression didn’t change at all as he activated heavy handed once more. Then he twisted smoothly in Gimple’s grip and punched a hole straight through the man’s chest.
The guard stared down in horror as Morgan ripped his arm free, leaving a gaping hole where his chi-heart used to be. He took a step forward, reaching a hand out toward Morgan, then he collapsed face-first in a pool of spreading blood.
A rush of power entered Morgan as the guard died. He felt a tingling sensation run through his entire body, washing away his fatigue.
He felt stronger and healthier than before, and he was sure he’d just ranked up.
Opening his status, he couldn’t help but grin.
Name: Morgan
Super: Rank - 1
Energy to next rank - 149/300
Mage: Rank - 1
Energy to next rank - 77/300
Super ability - Gravity
Mage ability - Air
CP - 110/110 (Regen - 1.1 per second)
MP - 110/110 (Regen - 1.1 per Second)
Strength - 10
Agility - 13
Constitution - 9
Intelligence - 11
Wisdom - 10
Super skills - Fly, Heavy handed
Mage skills - Wind blade, Tailwind
Well, at least he now knew one way to rank up.
He did notice that more energy had gone towards his super ability than his mage ability.
This could be for one of three reasons: either Gimple was higher ranked than Sqwee, he’d used one ability more than the other, or destroying the chi-heart had somehow given him more.
He closed his status and looked around at the now blood drenched alley.
He’d just killed two men, but strangely enough, he didn’t feel anything. Even when he’d shoved his arm through Gimple’s chest, he’d been more fascinated with his strength, than the man dying before him. Maybe he would use his wind blade ability next time.
Morgan shook himself out of his musings.
This was no time to be standing around. Even if no one had heard the fight, he was clearly no longer safe in the city if Lord Simon had sent these men to kill him. He had to leave.
He quickly bent down near Gimple’s body. After a moment of searching, he came away with a slightly bloody coin pouch. Moving on to Sqwee, he found a similar pouch. Taking a quick peek inside, he was delighted to see the glittering of gold, and not the dull copper or bronze.
Morgan couldn’t help but notice that they were both uncommonly heavy for mere guards.
Likely a bribe from that bastard Simon, he thought.
A grim smile touched his lips as he thought about the smug city lord, sitting in his fancy manor and waiting for news of his death. He stood, dusted off his pants, and wrinkled his nose at the putrid stench the two bodies were already giving off.
He would need to find a change of clothes. His were covered in blood and gore.
Taking one last look at the two guards, he turned and ran from the alley.
4
Morgan tore through the darkened stre
ets of City Four, the wind whistling around him as he ran.
He’d tried activating fly together with tailwind, but nothing happened.
He assumed that he couldn’t use mana and chi at the same time. He was sure he’d be able to in the future, as he used both when opening his status. It also didn’t escape his notice that his status page was purple, a mix of red chi and blue mana.
For now, it would probably be safer to move on foot. It was a clear night and he didn’t want any guards to spot a flying boy.
He did have to slow down whenever his timer ran out, though, as his regen wasn’t high enough to keep up with the CP cost.
Just a few more ranks and he’d be able to keep his skills going indefinitely.
At first, Morgan wanted to leave the city right away, not even taking the time to stop by his hovel to collect his few belongings. After a few minutes of running, he decided to say goodbye to Sarah. After all, she was his only friend and deserved a proper farewell.
As he approached the square where the Lord’s manor was located, Morgan slowed down, allowing his skill to run out.
He then waited five seconds, the minimum amount of time he’d found was required when switching between mana and chi, then activated fly.
A feeling of weightlessness overtook him as Morgan rose slowly into the air. He felt the drain on his chi immediately after activating the skill, but his regen kicked in just a second later and refilled his chi bar.
He floated up to the maximum height that his skill would allow, then moved slowly forward. He could see the city sprawled out before him, illuminated by moonlight. He felt giddy as he glided smoothly over the empty courtyard. His clothes flapped lightly in the wind and he took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of freedom the skill gave him.
He was tempted to increase his speed- to fly as quickly as he could and feel the rush of wind on his face; but he held himself back.