Spell Weaver

Come on, just a little more.

The edges of the mana blob wavered. Alex pushed past the slight throb behind his eyes, doing his best to maintain total concentration on his attempt at a cube. It would be easier if he could actually see the mana he was moving over his hand, but instead, he was left to just “feel around” and direct it as best he could with his own mental images.

I wonder if there is a mana sight skill or something.

He finished messing with the shape and let it go. He had made great progress and could now make some vague shapes with his mana. He would extend a tendril of the mana and do his best to mentally mold the mana at the end of the extended mana. He was surprised at the difficulty of the task.

After gaining the skill the night before, he’d noticed an interesting change in his ability to grasp and manipulate the mana. If he didn’t consciously keep it active and instead used his own will and focus to try and direct it like he’d been doing before he gained the skill, things were significantly harder. On the other hand, if he did activate the skill and then used his concentration to shape the mana, it was a lot easier as if he’d been training for many more hours.

Even with the System’s aid, though, the task was difficult. It was comparable to grabbing something semisolid that moved and wriggled from his grasp like an eel. What made it even more difficult was that rather than his actual hands and physical coordination, he was forced to use his mental focus and his intent. He had to will the mana to move and actively focus on what he was doing, and if he lost focus, the small structure would crumble, and the mana would be wasted.

This reminds me of like some mages in stories. I could totally see how this would require tons of practice. Is there a Hogwarts for Awakened?

He closed his hand into a fist and used his knuckles to massage his forehead. The headache was terrible, something he wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to.

Three days of constant practice will do that. I guess I don’t have to push my mana so low every time I practice, but then it just feels like I’m being inefficient.

Eh, who needs sleep when you can make magical shapes with your mind? Yer a wizard, Alex!

Alex did his best to hold in a chuckle, realizing it might seem out of place in the office.

Seriously, though, this is insane.

He snuck a glance at the time on his computer screen. 11:47 am. Almost lunchtime, which meant Mr. Henderson would likely be doing his rounds through the office.

I swear, that man has a sixth sense for when I’m even remotely slacking off.

Well, not that I’m actually working right now. So, I guess he’s in the right.

Uhm, let’s ignore that and check out the Status Window.

Status

Name: Alex Moore - Level 1

Class: None

HP: 50/50

MP: 18/60

Traits: (1/3)

{Primordial Will}

Physical Stats:

Strength: 4

Agility: 5

Constitution: 5

Vitality: 6

Magical Stats:

Intellect: 6

Willpower: 3

Mana: 6

Wisdom: 6

Active Skills:

[Mana Shaping] (Novice - Level 3)

Passive Skills:

(None)

Just looking at the jump in levels to [Mana Shaping] made Alex beam with pride.

Why is it so satisfying to see the number go up? Is it going to feel this way from now on?

His eyes traveled up to his current mana level. It was about where he’d expected it to be. The headache had set in, and he’d pushed just a bit past that. If he had stopped just a few points sooner, he could have avoided this dreadful migraine.

Over the last few days, he had repeatedly dropped his mana to around 20 before letting it regenerate. The regeneration rate seemed consistent, taking about 30 minutes to get back 40 points of mana. That meant he was getting a bit more than one point of mana back every minute.

It had been hard to keep up with at times. At the apartment, Alex had started setting a timer to go off after 35 minutes. That way, he could practice until he got down to the last 30% of his mana, start the timer, and then go about doing whatever else he needed to do while it regenerated.

It’s almost like working out a muscle—except that muscle is my brain instead of my body. Where my arms or legs might get sore and need a rest, I feel mentally drained and kind of spacey if I push too far.

On Saturday, he had pushed pretty hard, getting down to his last five mana before passing out.

Won’t be doing that again. Once is enough to learn my lesson, thank you very much.

“Earth to Alex! You alive in there, buddy?” Mark waved his hand in front of Alex’s face, passing right through the Status Window floating in Alex’s vision. “You look a little constipated, dude. What’re you thinking about so hard?”

Alex jerked back and jumped slightly. Embarrassed, he hastily dismissed the Status Window, still worried that others might somehow see it.

“I, uh—just daydreaming. You know how it is.”

“Right, because ‘daydreaming’ about spreadsheets is your idea of a good time.” Mark elbowed Alex’s shoulder before continuing. “Come on, let’s go to the break room and grab our lunches before all the good seats are taken.”

Nodding, Alex hopped up and followed Mark. Mark made easy, idle conversation as they weaved through the open workspace. At the back of the office, they reached the shared space, retrieved their lunches from the refrigerator, and found some of the only comfortable chairs in the break room.

Eating usually helped with Alex’s mental fatigue. As soon as they sat down, he bit into his chicken salad sandwich with fervor.

“You alright, man?” Mark asked, eyebrows coming together as he unwrapped his sandwich and looked at Alex.

“Yeah, why?” Alex’s knee stopped bouncing, and he paused mid-chew to look at Mark.

Fuck.

Don’t just stare at him like a deer in headlights, idiot. Act normal.

“I don’t know, you just seem a little on edge.”

“Yeah, just a lot on my mind.” Alex picked at the celery sticks and peanut butter in his plastic container, then abandoned it and returned to his sandwich.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Eh, I don’t think it would really help.”

Mark smiled. “Work stuff? Henderson can be a drag sometimes, huh? Or is the family dinner inquisition still on your mind from last week?”

Alex gulped, his delicious lunch sandwich suddenly tasting like a lie.

“Both, I guess? Just trying to figure stuff out.”

“No worries, man. I’m here for you if you want to chat about it.”

Alex nodded, staying focused on his food.

The rest of lunch passed in a blur of forced conversation, with Mark doing a great job of ignoring the fact that Alex dodged his questions. Mark kept steering the conversation to safe topics, keeping things light, which Alex appreciated. The entire time, Alex’s mind replayed the epic events of the last few days—fighting a slime, blue screens, and controlling actual magic in his body.

What good is any of this cool stuff if I can’t even tell my best friend?

He shoved the thought down, telling himself that it wasn’t even worth mentioning. It’s not like he could do anything impressive anyway. No fireballs, no telekinesis, no superhuman strength.

Just… mana manipulation. A trick that I wouldn’t even be able to show him if I wanted to since there’s no visual sign I’m using it.

Ugh.

“Moore!”

Alex tensed as he immediately recognized the voice.

Speak of the devil…

“Mr. Henderson,” he said, forcing a smile as he turned to face his boss, who was walking toward their table.

Henderson walked up a bit too close for comfort, standing over Alex while he sat at the table with his food. Hands on his hips, Henderson looked down at Alex with a red face.

“Care to explain why you left in the middle of the day on Friday without informing anyone? Even more importantly, you missed your deadline on Friday. It was a big one for the contract.”

Even though Alex knew this was coming when he decided to ignore the deadline, he was still caught off guard by Henderson’s direct approach.

“I, uh… I apologize, Mr. Henderson. I was feeling really under the weather. I’ll make sure the proposal is sent in before the end of the day today.”

Henderson stared at Alex for a few long heartbeats before glancing at Mark and the others sitting nearby. “See that you do. If you pull another stunt like this, you’ll be out a job.”

Fuck you.

“Yes, sir,” Alex said, maintaining the forced smile as Henderson turned and walked out of the breakroom.

“Dude,” Mark said with a flat face. “What was that about? You missed a deadline? You never miss deadlines. He even said that was an important deadline. Was that the deadline for the Pearson contract?”

“Stop saying ‘deadline.’”

Mark just continued to stare.

“I just wasn’t feeling well on Friday. I went to lunch and had to bail.”

“What was wrong? You seemed fine when we were talking over VC on Thursday night.”

“I don’t know, just a stomach thing. It came on out of nowhere.”

Mark raised an eyebrow.

He’s not buying it.

Sighing, Mark leaned back in his chair.

“Look, man, I get it. You’ve been stressed lately. Between work and your parents, it’s not surprising if you get hit with something out of the blue. I don’t want to sound like your minder here, but have you been sleeping lately? I know it’s your M.O. to start ditching your sleep when you’re stressed.”

“I really haven’t been sleeping well, but most of it’s not a choice.” Alex forced a smile and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll try to get some more rest tonight.”

“You better. You’re no good to anyone, especially yourself, when you’re running on fumes.”

Alex nodded, picking at the rest of his lunch.

He’s right. I know he’s right.

But how can I tell him the truth? That I’ve been up all night practicing magic?

He’d think I was crazy.

Maybe I am crazy.

The bell above the door jingled as Alex entered. The smell of fried chicken and cleaning supplies hit him all at once. He wrinkled his nose. Despite loving both scents, they didn’t go well together. The place was mostly empty, with most people opting to stay in their cars and wait out the drive-thru line. A group of teens occupied one booth, all of them looking down at their phones. Otherwise, the place was empty.

Alex approached the counter and greeted the woman behind the register.

“What can I get you?”

“Uh, can I get a number 1 combo, please? With a Diet Coke to drink.”

She nodded and punched the order into the computer. “Anything else?”

“Just a pack of Chick sauce with the order, thanks.”

“My pleasure. Your total is 12.48. Cash or card?”

She took his money and gave him a small stand to mark his order number, letting him know it would be a few minutes.

Alex walked over to a nearby booth and sat down, idly scrolling through his phone to kill the time.

Seeing nothing of interest on Nexus Hub, he set his phone down and focused on his hand, beginning to use [Mana Shaping] to practice while he waited.

It felt like no time had passed before someone called his name.

“Alex?”

Startled, Alex looked up to see a large man in a nice suit standing next to the seat across from him.

When did he get there?

“Do you mind if I sit?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m Alex.” He stared at the man’s face for a moment, trying to see if he recognized him from somewhere.

Work, school?

The man smiled, continuing to stand as if waiting for permission to sit with Alex.

“Sorry, do I know you?”

“We haven’t met before, no,” the man said, taking a step closer and extending his hand. “My name is Andrew, and I work as a recruiter for The Guild.”