Second Chance

Len and Rick walked back from the Coiled Serpent towards the Slumbering Willow.

“Why did you get the rifles?” Rick asked.

“We know how to use them, they let us shoot things at range.”

“Yeah, but coal, gunpowder, anything that can release energy is about to become unstable as fuck,” Rick said.

“While in the apocalypse coal, oil and gunpowder were only useful if they were tempered with mana, otherwise they were good to be a mana fuel source, right now we haven’t reached that point so coal and gunpowder isn’t going to randomly explode when it feels like it.”

“Mana man, stuff is pure chaos. Messes everything up.”

“That’s why I got the spare bullets too, that way we can put them in the barrels, then use spells to fire them,” Len said.

“That’s a pretty good idea.”

“Thanks I have them from time to time, now I want to know is why do you have different coin purses?” Len asked. “Who’d you rob?”

“I was getting the potions as we talked about. Then there were these three kids that were annoying me, they were trying to start a fight or make me look bad. Mopped the floor with them.”

Len grit his teeth, forcing out a breath through his nose. “You’re a hundred and fifty-three and you’re beating up teenagers?”

“They started it, I finished it! I’m getting spry in my old age! Right now I’m only seventeen!”

“Normal kids aren’t going to have that kind of cash.” Len closed his eyes and groaned. “They were nobles weren’t they.”

“One was a Duke’s son.”

“And you’re proud of that? Duke’s are a pain in the ass to deal with, the King doesn’t mess with their stuff too much and right now he’s on death’s door,” Len hissed.

“Duke Crenda.”

“I take back what I said.” Len straightened and kept walking. “Which one?”

“Not Ivan, I think that it was his younger brother.”

Len strained his brain. “The one that died in a cavalry charge?”

“I dunno,” Rick shrugged. “Food?” He pointed to a cart along the street.

“Get double portions, need fuel for tempering,” Len said.

Rick ordered and they put away the food in silence as they returned to the Slumbering Willow. It was some of the best food Len had ever eaten.

When you can sleep, sleep, when you can find water, drink it, when you find food, eat it.

They threw out the newspaper wrapping at the bins at the Slumbering Willow’s entrance. It was quiet.

“Everyone must be at work,” Len said.

They went through the gate, the person at the counter had changed.

Rick stopped at the last step to the third floor, holding his hand back, signaling Len to stop.

Len tilted his head.

“Nearly,” someone said.

Metal fiddled against metal.

“Hurry up.”

He knew the noise of a lock being fiddled open with a blade. Amateurs.

Rick peeked around the corner before quickly pulling his head back. "Two in the hallway. Looks like more are inside.”

“Our room?”

Rick looked back at him. “No the other room that people have been hauling things into all day.”

Len wanted to say something but just let it die in his throat. "Rush them?"

Rick nodded, holding up three fingers, then two, then one. Rick charged around the corner, Len right behind him.

"What the...?" One of the men at the door turned towards Rick.

"Fuck!" The man yelled, raising his fists. Rick was on him in an instant, landing a punch square in his face that sent him sprawling.

Len moved around them, the second man stepping forward as Len, moved around him, focusing on not using too much strength as he punched the man in the ribs.

He curled around his ribs with a grunt of pain. Len swept his leg, hammering his elbow into the side of the man's head on the way down.

He hit the ground in a heap.

"What the fuck's going on?" someone called from inside the room.

There were three men rifling through the bags and crates within their room.

"Shit!" One of them grabbed Len's sword, still in its scabbard. Rick was the first through the door, a whirlwind of fists and kicks.

Len held back, Too tight I’d just get in the way.

One of the would-be looters came flying out of the room, hitting the wall opposite. He groaned and started to move around.

Len punched him in the head, dropping him to the ground. A second man dropped to the floor in front of Rick.

“Get away from me!” the third man yelled, he’d managed to get the shutters halfway open. Rick grabbed him by the belt, turned, and threw him the length of the admittedly short room. He crashed into the wall, landing on top of the other man who'd been tossed.

Len grabbed him by the shirt, delivering two quick, savage blows that left him in much the same state as his companion.

"Well, that's a bit of nightly entertainment," Rick said, looking around. The men on the ground were groaning and writhing in pain as a burly man who manned the counter ran up the stairs.

"What the hell's going on here?" he demanded, staring at the men, then at Len, and finally at the open room.

"This lot tried to break into our room and take our stuff," Len explained, gesturing to the men on the floor.

"Where's your room key?" the man demanded.

Len pulled out the key, holding it out. The man took it, studying the letters and numbers on its face.

"Shit," he clicked his tongue, handing the key back to Len. "Sorry about this. I'll get some of the lads to help me take this trash out back," he said.

"One more for you," Rick said, dragging the fifth man out of the room and dropping him onto the pile of others.

The man looked at the five well-built men, then at Len and Rick's immature faces.

“Where you learn to fight like that?” the man asked.

"Pick up a few tricks here and there," Rick said, scratching the back of his head.

"Right," the man said, sounding unconvinced.

Three more men ran up the stairs.

"The hell's going on?" one asked.

"These five are leaving our residence today," he pointed at the five on the ground. "Seems they're the looting type. Go call on the guards.” He grabbed one by the ankle and started dragging them towards the stairs.

One of the men ran back downstairs, the other two moving up to help him drag the senseless men.

"Watch your fucking head," the first man said, dragging the first would-be looter down the stairs. The man started cursing, bouncing off the stairs as he went. He cried out as a boot connected with him as he struggled.

Len looked to Rick, who shrugged.

"Might as well pack up for tomorrow," Len said.

"Fair enough, they made a mess of things in here," Rick said, looking back into the room. Food and gear, which had been strictly organized, was now spread throughout.

Len shook his head, following Rick into the room, closing the door behind him. He locked the door and kicked the jamb into place.

“Fists don’t even hurt that much,” Rick snorted examining his knuckles.

“Benefits of not being as old as dust.” Len picked through the gear throughout the room, snatching up blankets and his sewing kit, taking them to the lower bunk.

He heard the managers of the building dragging away the would-be looters through the thin door. When he was younger he’d flinch from seeing the cows getting branded. At some point, with all the death and violence, he’d became numb to violence. It was a tool, something that happened as easily as bartering.

The only way it slowed was when you were strong enough that the threat of violence was enough to terrify others to getting the hell out of your way.

“Mana gates first,” Len said.

“Cause you’re scared for the beating you’re about to get?” Rick smirked.

“No, because the more mana gates we have open, the faster we can regenerate mana, recover and cultivate,” Len said. “And cause you’re a drunk old man wielding a hammer.”

“Seventeen buddy seventeen.”

“And Senile, give me a hand will you, you do remember to open mana gates right?” Len dropped down to sit infront of him on the floor.

“Can open mana gates the normal way, popping one open at level ten, twenty and so on up to fifty.” Rick put down his hammer and held his hand out to Len. “Or yah take some mana, compress it till is squeals like a pig with a slapped ass and punch it right through the gate.”

Len was compressing his mana but instead of drawing it into his core he was storing it in his channels, the pressure ramping up. He took Rick’s hand pressing his thumbs to the base of his palm.

“Each gate increases the amount of mana you can draw in by twenty percent.” Len adjusted his thumbs placement. “When you’re level ten with a gate open you can regen two mana per minute, pop open a second gate, you get four mana per minute. Which means it will be faster for us to recover from the tempering.” Len stopped moving his thumbs. “Is that it?”

“Y’know not many people would trust one another to help open their mana gates, usually something only done between family.”

“We’re all each other’s got,” Len said. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Rick closed his eyes.

Len pushed mana into the gate in the heel of Rick’s Palm as Rick pushed mana out of it. Len lost track of time, falling into a rhythm of compressing and directing mana.

The gate gave way as Rick let out a grunt. Len released control over his mana and wiped his brow as he felt the mana around him shift towards Rick.

It was like stepping into water, feeling it all around his limb and now there was a current drawing it to Rick.

Len compressed and readied his mana.

Rick opened his eyes a few minutes later and waved for Len to give him his hand.

“You next, we’ll ladder it, should make it faster,” Rick said. Len gave him his hand and pointed to where the gate was. Rick adjusted his hands.

“Ready,” Len said.

“Lets do this.”

Len drove his mana through his channels, and into the gate, it resisted as his mana wore away at it, it took several minutes before the gate cracked and gave way, Rick’s mana intruding into his channels. Before he released control, leaving it as ambient mana.

Len drew in mana. “Felt like I was breathing through a straw before.” He opened his eyes to Rick’s bare foot in his face.

“What the fuck dude!”

“Gate three and four ain’t gonna open themselves,” Rick wiggled his toes and dropped his foot into Len’s lap. “Careful now I’m ticklish.”

Len grabbed his foot.

“Up and to the right a bit, riiiight, yeah there.”

They opened up the gates in the heels of their feet then the fifth gate located in their mid-back. The mana in Len’s body was just begging to be compressed into his core.

“Now lets go see if we can’t boost our levels,” Len stood.

“Where we going?”

“Lower Industrial District, no one will be around there. First we’re going to need to get some bread.”

“What we need bread for?”

“Bait.

***

Len crunched up stale bread he’d bought on their trip down into the lower industrial district and threw it out.

"Looks like people are taking the building materials from them." Rick pointed to collapsed buildings.

"And either no one cares that they're doing it, or they don't come down here to see it," Len said.

"And neither of those is a good thing," Rick added.

"There isn't even a wall between them and the forest. If a beast wave came, it would just tear right through them on the way into the city. Stupid.” Len said, watching pigeons fly over and gather.

"Gotta remember that they have never dealt with a mana beast wave. Haven't dealt with mana, probably, most of them," Rick said.

“Its so hard because its such common sense in the future.” Len said.

“And common sense ain’t that common in any time period,” Rick chuckled.

People living among the buildings, ruined or in disrepair, or in hovels that they had created themselves hurried away.

"What's with them?" Rick asked.

Len followed their eyes to his hip, where his sword lay. He studied them, they were ill equipped to deal with the ravages of the apocalypse, the thought stuck. "None of them have any weapons or armor. Not used to it. It was only when the apocalypse was in full swing that people started wearing them all the time.”

“Strange,” Rick said. “What are we doing out here?”

“Leveling up, couldn’t miss them if you tried,” Len waved at the pigeons.

“If we killed ten of them when we were level one we’d improve, but now we’re a lot stronger,” Rick said.

“Right, we don’t use kills, we use skills.” Len took out the utility knife, weighing it between his fingers he used a throwing technique, the knife cutting through the air and the pigeon.

Len staggered with the loss of mana.

A screen appeared infront of his eyes.

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You have earned 10 EXP

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His face paled at the others.

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Skill: Thrown weapon

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Level: Journeyman (1/60)

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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Skill: Bladed Weapon

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Level: Expert (1/60)

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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You have earned 500 EXP for reaching Expert

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Len gritted his teeth.

“Ah fuck.” clouds stirred in the skies.

The world got brighter, Rick looked up and then bolted.

Len looked up the clouds thick with experience. Fucking skill level up.

Soundless lightning struck Len, mana smashed him into the ground, frying pigeons around him, those further away, flapping for all they were worth.

Information flooded through his mind once again like it had when he’d cast the cleanse spell, though dozens of times stronger. Showing him how he could have planted his foot, twisting his hips and altered his grip to give his throw greater power.

He couldn’t move, enlightenment waterfalling into his mind, filling his head till it cut off suddenly.

Len flopped onto his back.

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You have earned 15 EXP

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“Stat screen.”

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Len

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Level: 3

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Body: 8

Mana: 3/3

Experience: 710

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He cast a series of healing spells on himself, the consecutive level ups had torn him apart and healed him, but the lingering pain was still there.

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Skill: Healing

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Level: Journeyman (140)

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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Skill: Spell Casting

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Level: Apprentice (80)

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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“Oh no.” It came out as a whimper as the heavens contracted, this time the clouds of experience much thicker than they had been. “I didn’t mean to!” Lightning descended again.

His mind was filled with information on how the body worked, various injuries and how to solve them. Experience continued to flood him as he was struck with more enlightenment, developing upon the information he had already gained form the Apprentice version.

Len lay panting on the ground his body ravaged throughout and his clothes burnt and smoking in places.

Reluctantly he used healing spells on himself. He cracked his eyelids opening when no lightning lit up the sky and relaxed some.

===

Len

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Level: 3

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Body: 8

Mana: 3/3

Experience: 920

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“You okay there buddy?” Rick yelled, peeking from behind a broken wall.

“No,” Len groaned and pushed against the ground. He threw himself back, by the sheer power withing his body, he landed on his feet. Still well under how strong I used to be—could’ve made a fool of myself.

“The hell was that?” Rick asked. “You fucked up those pigeons.”

“I skilled up in throwing weapons, bladed, healing and spell casting.”

“Okay,” Rick shrugged. “Its not that powerful.”

Len pressed his lips together and pinched his fingers together. Don’t punch him, he’s just stupid. “Rick, how long has it been since you increased your skill level?”

“Throw a rock then.”

Rick picked up the rock and weighed it.

“Can you still do that curving thing?” Len asked.

“Yeah, takes some mana though, confuses the hell out of people.”

Rick planted his feet and lifted the stone in his hands, preparing. Then he threw the rock, mana pouring through his body to complete the technique.

Len ran.

“What?” Rick asked and looked upwards. “Ah shiii-t” Whatever he was about to say ended as the lightning struck him.

Len peeked over the wall, the ground around Rick was steaming.

I didn’t tell him about the healing skill.

The clouds contracted again and Len ducked.

He peered over the wall as the bolts of enlightenment faded, the clouds of experience having all poured into Rick. “What you get?”

“Journeyman,” Rick groaned. “Blunt and throwing. Then got some more skill levels in healing and spellcasting.”

“You get it now?” Len asked as he walked out from behind the wall and Rick pushed himself back up to his feet.

“All the information the system gives you when you increase a skill level getting crammed into your brain in one shot. Damn that sucked.”

“Remember how people did skill-ups when the system spread?” Len asked.

“Yeah, three ways to level up a skill, grind it out, so do hundreds of throws at the novice level, use general experience to push it up to Expert or throw it once at a higher level. The system recognizes the higher skill and rewards for it,” Rick said. “No one had skills yet so by doing all the activities they got a huge boost to their skills and experience.”

“All our skills are at zero right now and we have access to the system,” Len said. “Two problems, components and mana. We know the recipes to create things, and we have the expertise, but we don’t have the amount of mana or the higher grade materials—yet. If we can get those then we’re back up at our skill levels again.”

“There’s the other problem, we can do some skills once with our mana and then we’re drained,” Rick said.

“We work on all the skills that don’t need much in the way of materials.” Len turned around, scanning frantically.

There you are. He ran over to his blade that had gone through the first pigeon, sliding it away he spotted the second item.

Len picked up a boulder and headed back to Rick.

“What are you doing?” Rick asked.

“Hey you know masonry, split this into two smooth surfaces,” Len took out his knife and held it out to Rick.

Rick grunted, taking the knife. Len stepped backwards, ten meters. Better be safe. He stepped back another ten meters.

Rick gave him stink eye, tapped on the stone and listened, then he put the blade against the stone and hit it once.

He tensed and looked around.

“Hah guess there’s more to—”

Len ran for his safe wall again as the clouds started condensing again.

“Mother fuck—”

Rick was drowned out under lightning once more.

Len hurried over, checking on the stone. “Little charred but alright.”

Rick groaned.

“You’re fine,” Len found the knife, casting a cooling spell on it and returned to pat Rick on the shoulder. “There there buddy.”

“Sometimes I hate you.”

Len chuckled and checked the smoothly split boulder.

“What you doing?” Rick asked.

“Making a contract, selling you this blade for one copper.”

“A contract?”

“The stone is uncommon grade so I can carve a journeyman level contract into it selling you my blade for one copper and then you make another contract on the other stone selling it back to me.”

“Change the price to one gold. That should bump the trading into apprentice level too,” Rick said.

“Good point.” Len cast a reinforcing spell on the blade as he carved out words, using it as if it was a pencil.

The clouds started to ball together.

“What happened?”

===

Skill: Masonry

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Level: Journeyman (1/30)

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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“Hah engraving is also masonry!” Rick yelled as he jumped behind another wall.

Why the fuck are we like this?

Len picked himself up from the lightning blasts, Rick walking over to claim his stone.

Len righted his stone. “Looks alright at least.”

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Len

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Level: 3

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Body: 8

Mana: 3/3

Experience: 1080

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“Should make carving up the stone easier,” Rick said.

Len grunted and kept carving, it was easier at the very least. Strength was everything, without it they would just be conscripted and sent into the dungeons and then the frontlines as fodder for someone else’s bullshit.

I’ll take a few lightning strikes to never have anyone ruling my life ever again.

“Think this one’s good,” Len said.

“Just about,” Rick carved out the last few parts and turned his stone to Len.

They checked one another’s, amending some commas.

“Same time then jump away?” Rick asked.

“Could you smooth out the back of the stone? I want to try something.” Len held out his rock.

Rick took it and took out his hammer, tapping it a few times before he struck it with force, the bottom of the stone coming away and leaving it mostly smooth.

“Thank you,” Len accepted the stone back and looked at the smooth stone face, dusting it with his hand.

“What are you thinking?”

“There are two kind of contracts, simple ones that lay out the terms and everyone agrees to. Then there are binding contracts that use mana to hold both parties to the terms or there will be repercussions.”

“That’s why you had those complicated clauses. Though you can’t do enchantments anymore.” Rick said.

“Well I was forced to make that contract when I was expelled for the guild.”

“Fucking pricks.”

“Yes, but they don’t exist right now so that contract shouldn’t affect me I hope.”

Rick’s eyes widened. “So you could make enchantments again?”

“Right.” Len nodded.

They fell quiet. He’d worked so hard to increase his enchanting skill. Even though he hadn’t been able to use it because of the contract, it didn’t stop him from being able to learn it, or being able to use the information.

Len picked up his knife and started carving runes and lines into the stone before he could overthink it.

Quickly an enchantment started to take shape on the stone. He checked and double checked his work.

“Is it complete? Its not filling with mana,” Rick said.

“Just one last line,” Len fiddled with his knife, then dug it into the stone. He opened his eyes, there was no resistance, nothing in his body trying to fight back. His core wasn’t trying to implode.

He cut the last line into the stone.

Mana started to fill the enchantment, preparing for what was to come.

I wasn’t able to do that before.

“How about now, you good?” Rick asked.

“The enchantment is done but I haven’t activated it yet.” Len said, hope rising in his chest.

“So, we sign them, give one another the goods and we jump away right?” Rick asked, holding out his contract.

“Yeah, that sounds right,” Len traded him stones and checked where the utility knife was. Rick pulled out a gold coin and dropped it back into his pocket.

“This is gonna suck for you a lot more than it is for me,” Rick started signing the stone contract.

Len did the same on the contract Rick had made.

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Skill: Scribe

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Level: Journeyman

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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The enchantment under Len’s contract activated, breaking the stone even as it took hold. There was no resistance, no pain.

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Skill: Enchanter

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Level: Journeyman

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You have earned 10 EXP for reaching Novice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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You have earned 100 EXP for reaching Journeyman

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“Quick, the knife!” Rick yelled, pulling out the gold coin. Len traded the gold for the knife and jumped away.

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Skill: Trading

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Level: Apprentice

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You have earned 50 EXP for reaching Apprentice

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Len

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Level: 3

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Body: 8

Mana: 3/3

Experience: 1400

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Len cast cleanse on himself, scouring his skin clean as he looked at his smoking clothes. He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fuck you Greenwood Enchanting Guild!” He gave both fingers to the sky casting healing spells upon himself.

“It worked?” Rick asked.

“Journeyman Enchanter,” Len grinned at his friend. Rick’s trepidation turned into a smile as he half-tackled Len, laughing and hugging him. “Fuck yeah!” He picked Len up as if he had got the winning point as Len laughed.

“Alright, well we should figure out what we’re going to do with this general experience before we get the hell out of here, the locals have to be confused as hell as to what’s going on,” Rick said.

“I don’t think that its worth using it to upgrade our skill levels. Increasing our body and Mana is the most useful,” Len said.

“Yeah, that makes sense to me,” Rick said. “Though we know how to temper and we know how to cultivate.”

“Yes, but we don’t have the time to do it right now,” Len said.

“Fair,” Rick said.

Always body over mana.

Len took the general experience adding it to this body’s experience pool. He dropped to a knee as his body started to evolve, his muscles rippling as his bones became denser, his blood thicker his tendons stronger.

The pain passed as he breathed out of his mouth, strength flowed through him, his vision clearer than before, a steadiness settling over him.

His muscles had expanded, filling out his frame and leaving him starving.

I’ll eat later.

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Len

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Level: 3

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Body: 15

Mana: 3/3

Experience: 560

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Rick was going through his own stat increase as Len took the remaining experience and shoved it into mana.

His channels started to increase in size as mana latched onto him, attempting to spread through his body, to convert to change, to demonize him.

Len hissed through his teeth, it felt like acid being poured through his body.

It wasn’t able to get a hold as it was pulled through his channels, compressed and held within his core, becoming a part of him.

His core became stronger, a clear container at the center of his being. The call radiated through him, the power that was under his command now. The desire to draw upon more.

Len banished such thoughts.

Mana was power, but it was also corruption. Body over mana, always.

“Command mana, do not become controlled by it,” Len said as he stood back up. He was unsteady with his newfound strength.

He’d gone up forty percent in as many seconds.

Rick let out a sigh of relief and rose from where he crouched.

There was a weight to their presence now.

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Len

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Level: 9

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Body: 15

Mana: 9/9

Experience: 20

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He reached out to his mana creating a blueprint of an enchantment infront of himself. “Well it ain’t much but it’s a start.”

“Well I don’t know about you but I’m starving and there’s only a few hours to go before we have to be back up and on the train. I’m no spring chicken anymore,” Rick said.

Len gave him a look.

“Well I kind of am, but I’m still ancient up here,” Rick pointed at his head.

“Don’t worry grandpa we’ll get you to bed at a reasonable time,” Len said.