On the stage, the holographic projector began running a video. A beautiful woman appeared on screen. The council must have picked the woman for her looks. Blond haired, blue-eyed with a striking face, the woman looks like a model. The woman opened both her palms and two different forms of magic appeared. On her left palm was a small fireball, while a twirl of lights appeared above her right.

Okay; so maybe I was mistaken. She wasn’t picked solely for her looks.

The video then began showing several other people who performed various types of magic before presenting a 3D image of the human body. There was commentary on what the researchers had ‘discovered’, and the video tried to give a scientific spin how these volunteers are managing to perform the magic. I didn’t think the video did that good of a good job of explaining things, but that was to be expected. There were few fools at this conference, and there was only so much bullshit you can feed them before they get suspicious. Better to let the audience believe the researching was still ongoing. The next part of the video came across better.

The video began to give some examples of how this was not a new phenomenon. There had been records of the human body producing strange energy for centuries. As far back as the Age of Steam, there had been records of ‘spontaneous human combustion’. These were cases where the human body produced enough energy to burst into flames without any apparent source of ignition. These records of spontaneous human combustion had never been properly explained, but there is one aspect that had been proven. The human body could produce electricity.

It is a scientific fact that the human body could produce electricity. In fact, there had already been medical research papers on how controlling the electric signals in the human body could help it heal. So, it is not impossible that the human body could produce other forms of energy that is currently unknown to science. A faint smile appeared on my face. Mixing hints of the unknown alongside scientific facts was just what I wanted, and I had to admit, the councils were good.

The video continued and the commentator begun explaining to the audience that although Mana Energy was produced by the human body, the researchers at Molde Research Institute had been trying to mechanize it. The video openly admit that they had limited success thus far, but some products had been made that could contain the mana. I had to stop myself from laughing when a card appeared on the holographic screen.

It was similar to the cards I got from my father and the video began explaining the use of the cards. A person who could control Mana Energy could gather Mana Energy and then inscribed the energy onto the card. The video began showing what the cards could do. A card that could create a protective shield, an explosion card, and a card that could take images like a camera. After the cards came the coup de grace.

The holographic image changed once more. Gone were the magicians, the cards, and the 3D image of the human body. An image of the ‘Raging Steam’ appeared. It was time for my battlesuit.

When I finally realized how much the attack in Thailand had affected me, it was an eureka moment. I had to re-evaluate everything and admit that the battle in Thailand had affected me far worse than my first near-death experience. Maybe it was because I was older and more aware of my mortality, but I had changed after that incident.

I had a bodyguard, gained a whole host of cybernetic upgrades, and got a group of secretive magicians to ally with me by putting into plan a conspiracy to fool the world. None of that was me.

In the past, I would have laughed at the need of a bodyguard. I had Grade 0 cybernetics for years and thought nothing of it. Now, I had a bodyguard trained from the famed Tiger Force Academy and most Singaporeans would be envious of my cybernetic parts. I had been gathering protection like no tomorrow since I got back to Singapore and this mentality had seeped into my work.

I now realized I didn’t choose the Fuming Minotaur because I wanted to mess around with Fossil Fuel Technology. What caught my eye was it’s strong defense. The Fuming Minotaur could charge at the enemy without worrying about incoming fire. Subconsciously, I wanted that.

When I realized this, I knew I had to step away. Unfortunately, the deadline by Tanner and the council made that impossible. I had to give them a battlesuit in time for the conference. The Fuming Minotaur was a bust, so I did the smart thing. I went back to battlesuit I was most familiar with; the Steambot.