“So, Nora.” Dan’s voice shook a little more than he would like. “Did you know that I recently gained the ability to resist mind magic and mental interference?”
Immediately, her trademark mischievous expression flashed to guilt followed by practiced feigned innocence. If Dan hadn’t been watching for it, he likely wouldn’t have noticed anything, but now that his paranoia was aroused, it was as plain as day. Really, he should have noticed it days ago. Nora was friendly and helpful, but his mission was much too important to risk it for a pretty smile and some kind words.
Worse, she was clearly trying to mine him for information. A cold tingle ran down his spine. Dan had no idea who she was working for, but anyone who tried to compile information on strangers without any reason or prompting was probably some brand of nefarious.
“That’s an interesting ability,” she replied, her expression betraying nothing. “Mind magic isn’t terribly common outside of translation magic, but an extra layer of defense is always useful.”
“Even more useful is the ability to detect when it’s being used against you,” Dan agreed, his eyes fixed on her. “Mind magic usually doesn’t give itself away the way that fireballs and lightning bolts do. Sometimes practitioners can get a little cocky. They use it in public and just assume no one will notice.”
The smile froze on Nora’s face. Andrea slowly set down her mug of water and glanced back and forth between them.
“Nora.” a hint of pain was in Dan’s voice. “I thought we were friends. Then again, you already knew that, didn’t you? You’ve been using some sort of skill to lower my guard, to make me trust you. How long have you been using it?”
“My class has a charm ability,” she whispered, unable to meet his gaze. “It makes the target friendlier, more agreeable to the user’s suggestions, less likely to second guess the user.”
“I asked how long you were using it.” Dan repeated himself, his voice dangerously calm.
“From the moment we met.” her lower lip quivered, attempting a more mundane version of her skill. “When we were out on the swamp, I wasn’t sure that you would help me with the gliders. I started using the skill to ensure that I would survive being abandoned by my party, and I never really found a good time to stop using it. Every time I would think about just trying to be normal friends with you, I would get so worried about how you would react. That maybe you only liked me because of the magic, and not because of me.”
Subconscious interference detected. Analyzing.
Mind magic detected. <USER> is suffering from a compulsion type <Pity>. Purging now.
“Can you at least cut it out for long enough that we can talk like adults?” Dan slammed a hand on the table, causing Emily to groan and shift. “Even now, you’re trying to influence me magically rather than actually explaining yourself. How do you expect me to believe anything you have to say?”
“Dan,” she began, her eyes tearing up.
“Look,” he cut her off. “You’ve been using magic to soften me up, and you’ve been prying into how I can do the things I do. I’m not going to let you guilt me into feeling bad about being upset about this. I just need to know why, and then I’m going to need some time to think. I’m going to have to sort out what I think is real and what’s a rosy picture painted by your mana. I hope you can understand how much of an invasion of trust this all is.”
Dan paused and cocked his head. “Let me amend that. ‘I hope you can understand’ is way too light. You need to understand. Maybe everyone around here uses mind magic on each other, but where I’m from, that’s not something friends do. Right now, I need to know that you’re not some sort of con woman, and that I’m not some sort of mark, and I need you to explain it to me without using your magic to smooth over the rough edges.”
“You’ve been using magic on Daniel?” Andrea spoke softly, barely above the din of the guildhall. “Have you been using that skill on Emily and me as well? Now that I’m thinking back, we normally wouldn’t have agreed to go on such a risky mission as the silver mine without more information. I remember being upset, but normally it would go much further than that. I don’t risk myself like that unless there is no other choice.”
“I’m sorry to all of you.” Nora was openly crying now. “I was just afraid that you wouldn’t like me or help me if I didn’t use the skill. I keep the skill on at most times. It doesn’t really make you do anything you wouldn’t do anyway, but it just makes you see me in a better light. I would never use an actual mind control skill on you, but that isn’t what I did. The charm skill… it just helps.”
Dan struggled to stay strong in front of her guilt trip. “Nora, you didn’t tell me why you were asking all of those questions about me. Are you working for someone? Why do you need to know about my skill growth and development?”
“I can’t answer that, Dan.” She gazed at him plaintively, tears streaming down her face. “There are important people in the area who need to know if the Empire is making a move on Twilight. You clearly aren’t just another person. You fight like an elf, but you’re a human. We all know the struggle with the Orakh isn’t going well, but no one wants the Tellask to annex Twilight and force us into their Empire. We’d just be cannon fodder. I need to let people know if you’re the first step toward the Empire trying to force us to the front of that war. I may not look like it, but I’m a patriot. I’m not going to let my people get slaughtered in a war where we don’t have any real chance.”
“I’m not with the Empire, Nora,” he replied, running a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes. “I have some secrets, but I’m not Imperial. Of course, I don’t like it when my ‘friends’ use magic to weaken my will so they can spy on me. I’m going for a walk. I might be back. I might not. I have a lot to think about.”
He stood up and turned to leave the guild hall, only to find his way blocked by two large men. Both of them were just shy of seven feet tall and built like bulls. Something inside of him could sense that they weren’t first rank, and immediately began clamoring for him to take their mana. The din in the hall quieted down. All eyes were on Dan and the two giant bruisers blocking his way. He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath as he tried to calm the boiling anger and homicidal urges.
“Dan,” Nora beseeched him from the table. “I really don’t want to do this, but there are important people who need to know about you. It would really be better for everyone if you could do all of this voluntarily. If you’re not from some sort of destabilizing force, no one is going to care. Everyone out here has a couple secrets. Half of the people here have committed something that would be considered a crime in another kingdom. We don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“What if I don’t come voluntarily?” Dan didn’t take his eyes off of the two large men. One of them smiled, and the other reached for a rather large sword at his side.
“Stop acting like an idiot!” Nora was getting close to shouting. “You’re coming one way or another, but this doesn’t have to be a bad thing! The people I work for aren’t that bad. If you take a simple oath of fealty, everything should be fine, so long as you agree to do jobs for them. Please Dan, this really doesn’t have to be a bad thing! You get used to it after a while.”
“She’s right, Dan,” Andrea put her hand on his shoulder. “No one makes it that far in this world without a master. My sister and I needed advanced classes. Nora’s employers gave us an offer that we couldn’t really turn down. They aren’t bad people, Dan. You have a lot of potential, but right now you aren’t nearly strong enough to defend yourself. If you can convince them that you have value, they’ll protect you and train you. If you strike out on your own, someone else with money and power will see you as a threat, and they will have retainers powerful enough to rip you in half with their bare hands. Don’t charge off on your own; this is all for the best.”
“So the entire time in the mine…” Dan spoke slowly, his eyes still on the individuals standing in front of him. “That entire time when you were ‘afraid’ of me, what was all of that?”
“Acting,” Andrea replied evenly. “I might not have Nora’s skill, but as a girl, I always wanted to be in the theater. Life got in the way, and I ended up fighting monsters. Nora needed a team to evaluate how much of a threat you might be, and I have to say she’s right. You have the potential to be an archmage. Given enough mana and a decade, you could be the most powerful human on Twilight. That’s commendable, but it’s never going to happen unless you have someone working with you. There are plenty of other claimants to the same title who’d be happy to smother you in the cradle.”
“We’re trying to help, Dan,” Nora was practically begging him.
Dan closed his eyes. He didn’t need enemies, but he couldn’t answer the kind of questions that Nora’s unnamed employers would want to ask. Even if they didn’t chain him down, the Tellask couldn’t find out about Earth. He wasn’t a hero by nature, but at this point, he really didn’t have much of an option. Even if he died in this shitty bar, it would be better than being manipulated into giving up information on Earth. Fuck it. He’d made it through most of his life with few friends other than his mother constantly telling him what to do. Time to just carry that over into a new world.
“Fine,” he said smiling, putting a hand on the shoulder of each of the bruisers. He fought to keep the smile on his face as he saw a flash of smug satisfaction in each of their eyes. Then he activated Shocking Fist.
Even with two spheres, activating it from each hand and the shoulder that Andrea was touching strained his focus. With a brief crackle and a hiss of moisture flash evaporating, both of the men in front of him collapsed, muscles spasming as their eyes rolled up into their skulls. Dan only had a second before the bar erupted into chaos, so he spent it well, throwing a handful of filaments into the air with his left hand and activating Spark Field while he launched a Flame Jet with his right.
Bar patrons screamed and shielded their eyes from the sudden light as the line of fire hit the ceiling and partially blew back. The temperature in the room immediately jumped a notch. Then people began screaming, due to the Spark Field. Dan rarely used the skill due to it being decidedly non-lethal, but shocked and distracted everyone it touched, giving him a window to sprint toward the exit.
His predictions held true, and the bar erupted into absolute chaos. At least a couple of the patrons lunged for him, but they were largely drunk or distracted by his spells. Seconds later, he was in the street, smelling vaguely of smoke and stale beer. Bidding a silent goodbye to Morganville, he sprinted for the nearest city wall.
Luckily, he had brought his travel pack with him, not entirely trusting Jeffrey at the Inn. He had a couple days worth of food, a firestarter, his bedroll, some pocket change, and the sanctuary runes.
Nora had the rest. She’d always insisted on holding the valuables. He’d never thought anything of it or the rest of her behavior in the moment. From the way she’d led him around by his nose, to making decisions on his behalf and forcing him to either confront her or accept them… As much as he’d like to blame it entirely on her ability, it was a pattern for Dan.
He’d lived his life as a doormat, but the System was a chance to change that. He chuckled. Two simple goals. Save Earth and break the toxic habits that had held him back. Becoming powerful enough that no one could easily ignore him was an added side benefit.
As for the money and gear he had left in his headlong flight? It made his chest ache, but he would just have to consider it Nora’s severance package. He doubted that the offer of “meeting her employers peacefully” was still on the table.
