by Riker Kane
Endurance 50
Strength 7
Speed 8
Durability 9
Control 8
“Your hit points determine your consciousness. The more injuries you sustain, the more your hit points will drop until you lose consciousness completely.”
I gave her a nod. “Janice mentioned that.”
“Your endurance is what it suggests. Your body can function at a certain level before you have to rest. Take note of your endurance.”
“That makes sense.”
“Your strength determines your ability to wield your weapons. Greater strength means you can swing harder and faster. Some weapons will be useless without the strength to properly carry them. For certain classes, your strength is your most important stat.”
“And I’m guessing speed is how fast I move.”
She nodded. “Greater speed means you’ll be able to travel across the battlefield with less effort and greater agility. But it’s not only moving distances. Speed allows you to draw your weapons, turn on a dime, and react quicker than normal. Increasing your speed will increase your reflexes.
“Durability speaks for itself. You’ll be able to take more damage before your hit points drop. But it’s more than simply taking a punch. With greater durability, you’ll be able to stand your ground. What would once knock you over can become a mere glancing blow.”
“That makes sense. Control though… I can’t begin to imagine what that means.”
Dr. Marchal hesitated for a moment. She looked at the numbers on the screen, twisting her lips like she was trying to figure out what to say.
“It’s never a simple task to explain to a recruit what Mana is,” she said. “The best explanation is always heading to Pandora for yourself. But your control is related to the Mana you’ll find in Pandora. Dealing with the Shadows in the other dimension isn’t simply a matter of swinging a sword or firing a gun. They are ethereal creatures. Your control indicates your ability to use the Mana in the other world.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re right. That doesn’t make any sense.”
She smiled softly then put a hand delicately on my shoulder. “You’ll understand soon enough.”
The digital numbers pulsed softly on the screen, burning into my thoughts so I wouldn’t forget them. Dr. Marchal raised my left forearm up and pointed at the screen on my communicator.
“Your device has synced with all of the readings I’ve taken. If you’re ever curious as to what your statistics are, you can bring them up here.”
My stats appeared underneath my name. “All right. I got another question, doc. You kept talking about increasing my stats. How exactly would I do that?”
She swiped the screen on the wall and more numbers appeared.
Red Mana 0
Blue Mana 0
Green Mana 0
“When you defeat Shadows in Pandora, you’ll acquire Mana. Red, Blue, Green. Your communicator is designed to absorb it as long as you’re within the vicinity. You can use Red Mana to increase your levels. Strength, Durability, Speed, Control. You can distribute your Red Mana to your statistics and improve your physical characteristics.”
I leaned back in my seat as I stared at my communicator. “Let me see if I got this straight. Go to Pandora and collect Mana. Red Mana is used to increase my levels. Increase my levels and I’ll increase my stats, making me more efficient in combat.”
“The world’s greatest minds have been studying the other dimension since it first appeared. They’ve discovered a way to use the Mana for ourselves. Without it, the fight would most certainly be dire.”
“That explains why we haven’t heard much since the First Event… If Red Mana is for my stats, what do Green and Blue Mana do?”
The doctor pursed her lips into a smile. Despite how accommodating she’d been the entire time, I still wasn’t sure whether or not to be worried.
~ ~ ~
Every recruit finished their initial examinations and followed Janice through the first floor halls of the Nerve Center. I looked through the glass doors of the next room we were heading into and saw several men and women standing over metal workbenches. When the doors opened up, the sound was nothing like I expected.
Machines whirred. Electronics buzzed. Tools and devices hissed with sparks that warmed the room. The smell of smoldering metal filled my nostrils like something was burning.
“Is it hot in here or is it just me?” Quentin wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Welcome to the Crafting Bay,” Janice said. “Here, your weapons and armor will be forged. This friendly man here is Engineer Henrik Gage.” She walked behind the counter to a man hunched over a workbench and put an arm around him. He jerked his head up and looked at her.
“Goodness, Janice! What’d I tell you about coming behind the counter?”
“I remember. Today is different. New recruits.”
The man stared at us from a pair of black electronic goggles that looked like a VR headset then raised them up over his bald head. “New recruits…”
I wasn’t sure what to make of him. He was a short, stocky man, his frame covered by a black apron. His shirt sleeves were short, so I could see the black-ink tribal tattoos running all along his skin and up toward his neck. A short white beard hid either a sneer or a frown. Whatever it was, he didn’t look too happy.
He rubbed the drop of sweat from his flat nose and furrowed his brow.
“They get younger every wave,” he said to himself. “My name’s Gage. Me and my team will be responsible for all of the weapons and armor in the Vegas District. Everything you need to kick ass in Pandora is right here in this room. All you’ve gotta do is bring me some Blue Mana. A Core will help, too.”
Elliot raised his injured hand up. “What’s a Core—”
“I was getting to that,” Gage grumbled. “The enemies you’ll be fighting in Pandora from time to time will drop a Core. It looks like this.” Gage picked up what looked like a blue jewel the size of a golf ball. He twirled it around between his fingertips and let it shimmer underneath the bright lights of the Crafting Bay. Every recruit stared at it curiously.
“Concentrated Mana. That’s what a Core is. You install it into your weapons, your armor, anything you wanna power-up. Ordinary equipment will work but it’s better with Mana. Blue Mana is what you’re looking for. Find it and bring it to me. It’s that simple. Any questions?”
The stocky craftsman crossed his arms as he eyeballed each and every one of us.
“No questions. Good. Come back when you have some Mana. I’ll be working on your initial weapons now.”
Gage put his goggles on and went back to tempering a blade.
“All right, recruits. Just one more stop.” Janice motioned for us to follow. I started to leave when I noticed Quentin was still standing there, watching Gage work.
“You okay?” I asked.
“…You know, nobody has any footage of what it’s like in the other dimension. It’s kinda crazy to think we need special weapons to deal with ‘em.”
“I think that’s the least crazy thing I’ve seen today.”
“Good point. I wonder what Green Mana is for…”
~ ~ ~
In the center of the main hall in the Nerve Center, Janice stood next to a universal tablet resting on a podium. The display was as large as a big-screen television, so everybody was able to see it. Our chaperon pointed at the display and pressed her finger on it.
“By now, you know you can use these displays as a map,” the brunette said. “But you can also use them for information as well. Everything you’ve learned so far as well as other details about the Vegas District are right here. What we’re looking for right now is this.”
She moved her finger toward the button that said ‘Ability Shop’ on it. As soon as she pressed it, a list appeared.
“Green Mana is for the abilities you’ll use in Pandora.” She scrolled through the list. “Active abilities that
will allow you to do things that aren’t normally physically possible. Your Green Mana will be concentrated into you through your communicator from any tablet you see on the campus. Use the Green Mana your communicator absorbs to apply these abilities to yourself. For most abilities, you’ll need to be at a certain rank and a certain class to access them. Our scientists are always concocting new abilities, so make sure you check back often when you’ve got Green Mana to spare.”
I read some of the names of the abilities Janice scrolled through. “Saber Spin… Hyper Charge… Fire Slash… Sounds… effective.”
“I don’t know what I should be more worried about,” Quentin said. “The fact that these abilities sound really powerful. Or that we might need some of these with what we’re dealing with.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. Despite the worry in his eyes, Quentin managed to work a half-hearted smirk onto his lips. I chuckled as I put a hand on his shoulder.
“And here I thought being an Omega would be simple,” he sighed.
“Thank you all for being so patient with me,” Janice said. “I know orientation can be a little tedious. There’s a lot of information to go over. But your initial training is just around the corner. Before your inaugural dinner tonight, there’s one more bit of information you need to learn. Follow me.”
5: The Captains
Janice led us to the second floor of the Nerve Center. The halls were more spacious than the previous floor, though the silver sheen on the walls was the same. Announcements came over the speakers as officials were called to different rooms throughout the building. Men and women in lab coats made their way in both directions, looking over tablets as they went over what was probably some project they were working on.
A couple of men in uniform walked by us and took notice of Janice. They were the same age as everybody else in our group, so I assumed they weren’t recruits not too long ago.
Janice gave them a nod as she continued to lead us down the hall. “Those men were just like you. I know it may be a lot to take in. The Nerve Center can be quite daunting when you first arrive. But most of this building is taken up by the same facilities. Where we’re heading is one of the larger rooms.”
“You know, I’m starting to suspect Janice is being so cheery because she’s trying to hide something,” Quentin whispered to me.
“Or maybe she’s just a nice person,” I replied.
“I hope so. Not a fan of getting my blood taken from me when I’m not expecting it…” Quentin scratched his head and messed his brown hair. He somehow looked more bewildered than before.
He didn’t have to wait long to find out what Janice was up to. A pair of glass doors slid open and we all stepped into the next room.
I immediately noticed how large it was. The ceiling stretched three stories up with bright lights shining down. The walls were made of silver steel tiles while the floor was the same polished black granite as the rest of the Nerve Center. There were no windows. There were no decorations. It was completely empty except for the seven people standing at the center of the room. From this distance, the only one I recognized was Adviser Campbell.
Near the entrance, Janice stood next to the digital display hanging on the wall, which had the name of the room.
“Welcome to the Drill Room. There are four Drill Rooms in the Nerve Center. Eastern, Northern, Western, Southern. In this room, you’re free to hone your skills, test yourself, and learn what it takes to be an Omega. Compared to the smaller training labs, here you can replicate nearly everything in Pandora on the virtual training ground.”
Janice stepped forward and put her hands behind her back. Despite the friendly smile on her face, there was no denying the seriousness in her brown eyes. “You’ve learned a lot but this is perhaps the most important decision you’ll have to make. I suggest you pay close attention.” She held her hand out, pointing us toward Campbell and the others in the center of the Drill Room.
I couldn’t help a nervous anxiety beginning to twist my stomach as the six strangers slowly came into view. Each one of them stood with the same rigid posture as Adviser Campbell except there was one obvious difference. Intricate, mechanical armor covered them from the neck down. I’d seen photos of the combat gear Omegas went into battle with but seeing it in person for the first time was something else. The closer I got, the more I could see how sturdy their armor appeared to be. Sheets of metal had been tempered into plates that looked thick enough to stop a bullet and then some. It was a cross between some type of medieval armor and something I’d only seen in sci-fi movies.
The other recruits had the same amazement as me, murmuring quietly in awe at the way the men and women were dressed.
“Check that out,” Quentin whispered. “These guys really look like they can kick some ass.”
“They’re Omegas for a reason.”
Adviser Campbell stepped forward. “Line up!”
The recruits moved into the same formation we did in the auditorium. Campbell took his place in front of us, tilting his head up slightly to look down his nose at all of us. “I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. To be an Omega and do your part to defend humanity, you will need to push yourself beyond your physical limits. A threat like nothing Earth has ever seen before requires a response Earth has never given before.”
He stepped to the side and looked at the six people standing in battle armor. “The six people standing here are the men and women who will be training you. Six classes. Six functions. You will choose your function. Do not take this decision lightly. To help you make the correct decision, a demonstration. Captain Hamilton.”
The first man stepped up. He was a lanky man, about a decade older than the recruits. Compared to the Captains, his arms and legs were long and his frame was wiry. But the light blue metal he wore gave him a sturdy frame. From his shoulders, over his arms and hands, and all the way down to his feet, the metal plating draped him like an armored bodysuit. On his hip, a meter-long sword stuck to his belt. The steel blade was polished like everything else on him. A blue jewel shimmered softly at the top of a black hilt and resonated with a smoke-like aura.
The man observed us, a confident smile beneath his thin mustache. His brown hair was parted neatly on his head like he got a fresh cut from a barber. With how chiseled his cheeks and jaw were, he could’ve passed for a model like my brother.
“What do you know of Pandora?” the man asked, his voice calm and smooth. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re all old enough that the First Event is only spoken of. Beasts running through the streets before they were eventually dispatched. Now it’s just a story. You hear rumors of Omegas. You read the brochure. Choose your class, level up and do your part. I can assure you the threat is real. But… no one is better equipped to deal with Pandora than a Cavalier.”
He pulled his sword up and held it to his face. “Forty-five inches of tempered carbon steel. Hefty enough to slice through the toughest opponents yet sturdy enough to last. Powered by a Mana Core, no one will be able to stand against you. But it takes more than a weapon to be a Cavalier. You have to be a leader. You have to take charge. You have to get up close and look a Shadow in the eye to beat it. It’s the Cavaliers who are on the frontlines.”
“Ha! Stop lyin’ to ‘em, Hamilton!”
The big man standing behind Captain Hamilton crossed his arms and bellowed with a laugh. Hamilton rolled his eyes in response and took a step back. “Go ahead, Bell…”
The bald man chuckled as he took Hamilton’s place. Compared to Hamilton, he was covered in armor that looked twice as thick. The dark-blue steel plates were so large, it made his head look tiny between his giant shoulder pads. From his arms and legs, to his chest and shoulders, the man looked like some sort of futuristic football linebacker. He had a black patch over one eye. Beneath it, a thick red scar ran from his forehead down to his cheek. Probably got it from running headfirst into the thick of things.
Bell slicked his hand over his head then stroked h
is bushy, red beard as he examined all of us. “Cavaliers have their place. But the most important man on the battlefield is a Vanguard.” He held his arm out and a compartment opened up near his wrist. Everybody watched in amazement as layers of steel suddenly appeared. They continued forming on top of each other until they formed a large rectangular shield big enough to block his entire body.
“You’re useless if you’re unconscious.” He slammed the shield onto the granite and—CLANG—it echoed through the room. “Vanguards don’t fall. And they make sure nobody else falls. I, Xavier Bell, Captain of the Vanguards, will make sure you know what it means to carry this shield and lead the charge into battle. You learn from me, you’ll never fall.”
“What good is never falling if your opponents don’t fall either?” Another man chimed in.
“Captain Richard Magnus.” Campbell held his hand out. “Go ahead.”
Magnus was dressed in a similar suit of armor to Bell’s. They were both nearly seven-feet tall, so they could actually look each other in the eye. Bell gave him a smirk as he took his place with the other captains.
Magnus’s head was shaved down to the skin. He had no beard or mustache but black ink lined one of his eyes in the form of a tribal tattoo. He was already intimidating enough with the dark red armor covering him but there was a slightly maniacal look in his eyes.
I turned to some of the other recruits and saw how uneasy they looked as they stood their ground.
Captain Magnus reached behind his back and pulled a massive war hammer from it. The steel block was the size of five car batteries welded together. He let the hammer thunk against the floor. It was surprising there wasn’t a crack or divot in the ground.
“Strength,” Magnus’s voice was deep. “Wield a maul like this and nothing in Pandora will be able to stand in your path. The Shadows will tremble before you. The ground will quake. The sky itself will part. It doesn’t matter how strong or fast they are. Choose to be a Zealot and they will know your presence.”