Daniel Thrush frowned briefly at the laptop in front of him. After a harrowing year of life-threatening adventure on Twilight, another planet steeped in magic and monsters, returning home to paperwork wasn’t exactly the hero’s welcome he’d expected.
Sure, the first series of reports made sense. Humanity needed to know more about the force it was up against. The Tellask Empire spanned the galaxy, a sprawling collection of hundreds of worlds bound together with tradition, magic, voidships, and the cold steel of medieval weaponry.
Then he had spent days being debriefed by a never-ending stream of doctors and well-muscled men in suits with steely gazes. Every topic was covered, from Dan’s rambling conversations with Daeson, his erstwhile elven magic instructor, to the tactics and magical weapons used by the elves’ human servants. Then they were covered again. By now, Dan was pretty sure he could give a presentation on his time on Twilight in his sleep.
The weeks stretched into months, and he began to feel out of place. True, the lesson plans he was creating for the new wave of System recipients and future magi were useful in the grand scheme of things.
When he wasn’t tweaking the materials for the foundation’s prospective recruits, Dan spent the rest of his time working with Thoth scientists to decode the runes on the artifacts recovered from the invasion and pass on his own knowledge of runescripting. Intellectually, he recognized that his written work would probably be more important to Earth than anything that Dan could do on his own. Still, Dan was sick of being chained to an office.
The elves landed in Brazil months before he’d arrived on Earth. Every day he woke up restless knowing that the invaders were terrorizing innocent people, setting up their bases uncontested. And here he was, humanity’s best weapon, writing a practical guide on how to properly raise a caster’s affinity.
His breath became slightly ragged and the corners of his vision flashed pink for a second. Dan removed his hands from the keyboard and folded them in his lap. One of the most unfortunate side effects of learning magic was the seductive nature of mana. Every magical creature or sentient killed released a portion of that entity’s mana to be absorbed by their slayer. It was like a drug, and as soon as he had a taste, Dan found himself making excuses and taking risks to recapture the feeling.
Maybe that was why he was so resistant to being cooped up in the office. Even though his hard-earned knowledge and skills could help millions, deep down, some part of him wanted to be chopping off an enemy’s head and basking in the afterglow of their mana.
Dan only discovered the insidious side effect of his meteoric rise to power once he was fully addicted. Still, if he had to do it all over again, he wouldn’t change anything. Now that he was back on Earth, a combination of meditation and therapy, his situation had improved greatly. Now, he was much better at recognizing the violent impulses and anti-social urges associated with the mana addiction. More importantly, his therapist had given him the tools he needed to deal with the addiction.
He closed his eyes and let the room fade away. There was no real purpose getting upset over his circumstances. He knew exactly why his employer, the secretive Thoth Foundation, had him preparing the lesson plans.
As the sole friendly magi on Earth, he was the only person capable of awakening the mana within his fellow humans. Literally, the primary reason that he’d been dispatched to Twilight and forced to make his way in an alien world was to develop his powers to the point that he could return to Earth and help create more spellcasters.
Already, Henry Ibis, the chair of the Thoth Foundation was putting together a team of 200 elite recruits, experts in each of their fields, for him to train. He’d heard rumors that his students would be trained in conjunction with someone from the army. Even if he wanted to be out on the front, risking his life and earning more mana, this was more important in the long run.
Gradually, all thoughts faded from his head as he centered himself, the flashes of anger and the telltale pink light of a mana high one-by-one began to disappear. Time slipped away from him as one breath followed another, the gentle hum of the air circulation system lulling him into a trance-like state.
A knock on the door jolted Dan from his meditation. He looked up to see Samantha Weather, head of Thoth Foundation R&D and one of his few friends in the Foundation, standing there looking at him with some concern.
“You were meditating,” she said, a note of accusation in her voice. “That means that something happened that made you feel the need to meditate. The mana addiction is still troubling you, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon.” Dan shrugged wearily. “I’m getting a lot better at controlling it, but at this point, I’ve just accepted that it’s part of me now.”
“I don’t like it being part of you.” She was frowning. “I pulled the brain scans from your nanites when you absorb mana. It’s like watching a heroin addict take a hit. Your neurotransmitters go haywire, and you start acting erratically almost immediately. It’s not healthy, Dan.”
“I know it isn’t.” He stood up and walked across the room toward Sam. “It doesn’t feel healthy, that’s for sure. I’m not in control when the addiction kicks in. I’ll do almost anything for another hit. Usually, that means killing people. Do you know what it’s like having a voice in the back of your head telling you to hunt and murder your friends and family? I don’t think anyone sane would consider that healthy.”
“Dan…” she grimaced as she tried to find a response. “You know I give you shit and play pranks on you from time to time, but I care about you. Ibis means well, but his head is in the clouds. He’s not going to notice if you’re struggling. I might not be the best at talking about feelings and stuff, but I will always be here for you. I know that the mana and your time off-world has you a bit messed up, but if you just say the word, I’ll be there to talk things through.”
“Thanks Sam.” He smiled thinly back at her. “I mean it. I’ve got a therapist now, and talking to him has really helped. Killing my only companion in a drug-induced haze has been a lot to unpack, even if he probably deserved it. Still, I think this is something I need to work through on my own. I’ve been too passive for too long, and the more I’ve been meditating and working through my feelings, the more I’ve realized that it’s been slowly killing me.”
“Good.” The tension left Sam’s face. “I would have been awful at comforting you anyway. Are you ready to meet up with the System recruits?”
“I’ve had the lesson plan done for at least two months,” Dan replied, happy for the change in subject. “There are only so many times you can check and recheck it before you start going a little crazy. I’m as ready as I’m going to be.”
“So,” Sam pursed her lips, drawing a sigh from Dan.
“Out with it.” He closed his eyes again. “I don’t think I’ve ever had you say something I was going to enjoy after the word ‘so’ with that look on your face.”
“I found out where Ibis has been sourcing his ‘best and brightest’ for the System,” Sam ran a hand through her short hair. “And you’re right, there’s no way you’re going to like this.”
“It’s not prisons, is it?” Dan asked uncertainly. “I could see him pulling stone cold murderers off of death row for something as risky as this. It just seems like his style.”
“Not quite that bad.” Sam smiled weakly. “So. I don’t suppose you noticed that Ibis released a new VRMMO called World of Magic Online. It’s set on a planet called Twilight.”
“No.” Dan began pacing back and forth, “No, no, no.”
“Ibis just finished his first major all-game event.” Sam forced the words out. “A tournament offering a slot in his ‘next big project.’ He’s dropped a bunch of misinformation about what the new project might be, but I just got the list of his selections. Every one of them scored well in the tournament.”
“What the hell,” Dan whispered. “Are they at least in shape? Do any of them know how to fight with melee weapons in the real world? I know the Director is eccentric, but…”
“I tried to talk to him about it.” She rolled her eyes. “He kept rambling about how it would be a mashup of ‘The Last Starfighter’ and a light novel.
“I pushed him, tried to talk him out of it.” Sam shrugged, helpless. “He claimed that lifelong gamers would understand the System easier. Honestly? I don’t really know what there is to get. You practice something and the nanites running through your body help you quantify your skills.”
“I don’t know if it’s enough.” Dan frowned. “But the Director might be onto something there. It’s not just numbers; you have to learn to trust the System. Right now, when I swing a sword, it’s half me, and half muscle memory that barely even seems real. It’s almost like there’s someone holding onto my arm and guiding it. As for spells? You have to learn to abandon yourself to the nanites entirely. Your entire body locks up and the System does what it needs to in order to finish the spell. I tried to fight it the first couple of times, and let me tell you, that’s a great way to burn off your eyebrows.”
“Ibis claimed that his gamers would have the necessary creativity and adaptability to craft new spells, unlike professionals,” Sam complained.
“I don’t know.” Dan cracked a partial smile, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve seen some of your grant applications, Sam. Maybe us science types are a bit out of shape, but I wouldn’t accuse us of lacking of creativity anytime soon.”
“Ha ha, Dan,” Sam rolled her eyes. “I didn’t see you complaining when that grant got us first class flights and access to an atom smasher.”
“I also didn’t complain when you got us into that gala with the fundraisers,” he chuckled. “I’m not exactly sure what foie gras with billionaires has to do with unlocking the secrets of magic swords, but I’m not going to pretend that it wasn’t a great time.”
She smiled at him, a mischievous light dancing in her eyes even as stress stamped crows feet on their corners. Then Sam shook her head, as present frustrations overcame nostalgia.
“If you ask me,” she continued, “it all sounds like something he made up after the fact to justify another one of the ideas from those foreign graphic novels the Director reads. At the end of the day, it’s still his money, though. I’ve looked over the profiles of a couple of the gamers and he’s right, they’re all in pretty good shape. Maybe ten years ago that wouldn’t be the case, but modern VR technology is exhausting to use. I don’t think that any of them are worse off than you were when you started working here.”
“Thanks for using me as the low water mark for physical fitness,” Dan chuckled. “I was a little paunchy, but it wasn’t that bad. As I recall, you were mostly looking for excuses to use the System to shock me.”
“Guilty.” Sam smiled and walked forward to the metal security door separating the two of them from the auditorium. “The military recruits will show up with their attaché in about a week, but the Director wants you to get his candidates up to speed first. I think he’s a bit territorial about them.”
“He’s the boss,” Dan agreed. “If we managed to turn me into a magi, I don’t see why we can’t do the same with a bunch of high-end gamers. Do you have any idea when they’re going to arrive?”
“So,” Sam pursed her lips once again, drawing a scowl from Dan. “Remember how I asked if you were ready to get started?”
“How long do I have?” Dan asked, massaging his forehead.
“Sorry, Dan,” Sam replied. “I have an intern stalling them right now in Auditorium A. Apparently the Director wanted it to be a big surprise for both of us.”
“Great,” he threw his hands up helplessly. “I don’t have any of the materials printed out, and none of the demonstrations are prepared. As far as I can tell, the gym is completely booked, so we won’t even be able to get to any sort of practical magic displays, and…”
“Calm down.”
Dan looked up as he felt the warmth of Sam’s hand on his shoulder.
“They’re as disoriented as you are. Today is just an introduction. You can start with the lessons in earnest on Monday. Look.” She flashed a half smile at him. “Just think it over while we walk to the auditorium. No one is expecting anything crazy from you to get started, but I’m worried about what Ibis has told these kids. Let’s just get the ball rolling today and worry about their actual training next week.”
She led the way through the sterile and metallic hallways of the Thoth Foundation’s main building until the two of them reached the entryway to the waiting auditorium. Sam moved to the side, letting Dan step past her and push open the door. Beyond was a large room filled with milling people. He felt a slight tremble in his hand as he stepped through the doorway. Public speaking had never been his forte, but if he could survive Twilight and put himself on the long path of recovering from a mana addiction, talking to a bunch of confused professional gamers shouldn’t be too hard.
The talking in the room ground to a halt. Dan felt profoundly uncomfortable as a hundred pairs of eyes focused on him. Nothing for it but to get started.
“Good afternoon, candidates.” Dan tried to project as he spoke. “Now that you’ve all signed nondisclosure agreements–”
He stopped, suddenly realizing that he knew next to nothing about what the recruits had actually done or not done. A panicked glance at Sam punctured his bravado. Thankfully, she nodded imperceptibly.
“–and arrived on site.” He did his best to ignore the momentary stutter in his speech. “I’m sure you’re eager to get started. My name is Daniel Thrush, and I will be your project lead and magic instructor. Behind me is Doctor Samantha Weathers, she’s in charge of R&D here at the Thoth Foundation. She will be the one to talk to about any of the technical aspects. Over the next couple weeks, more instructors and support staff will be arriving on site, but for now, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and answer any questions that you might have.”
A man with spiky blue hair in the second row raised his hand. Dan pointed to him, and he stood up, nervously glancing back and forth in the crowded auditorium.
“My name is DarkStryke69xX.”
Dan immediately rolled his eyes at the man’s introduction and nasal voice. Still, he was a bit impressed that the man was able to enunciate both of the xs in his tag without spelling it out. “By magic, do you mean the deep dive VR technology that Henry Ibis has been working on in secret? How is it going to work? Will we need surgical implants, or is it something we just have to place on our heads?”
“Deep dive VR?” Dan asked incredulously, looking over his shoulder to Sam who shrugged back at him. “No, by magic I meant magic. Shooting lightning and fireballs, jumping over buildings, that sort of thing. Like the stuff the elves do. What’s deep dive VR?”
His mind whirred. What in the hell was Ibis playing at? It was looking more and more like the eccentric billionaire had decided to keep both sides in the dark. The bastard was probably cackling at him through CCTV right now as Dan squirmed.
“Deep dive VR is a piece of gaming technology that Henry Ibis is rumored to be working on,” a woman with short brown hair in her late twenties responded. “It’s supposed to render the user unconscious and project the contents of the video game into their mind. All senses rather than just sight, the next generation in gaming technology. It’s what we all thought we were coming here to test.”
Dan stepped back and hurriedly grabbed Sam by the shoulder.
“Did Henry not tell them what they’re here for?” He hissed at her. “They do realize that they’re about to join the war effort, right?”
She shrugged uncomfortably, confusion on her face. The auditorium erupted into concerned whispering as the candidates realized that something was wrong. Seconds later someone tried the visitor’s door to the auditorium only to realize that it was locked. Dan and Sam shared a hasty look and exited just as someone started shouting that their cell phone had no reception and demanded to speak to their lawyer.
