Chapter 24 The Mana Attack

She walked out of her hospital room, confirming there was a scanner outside of the door before closing it. She memorized her room number, M-323, before turning right to wander down the hall. A few seconds later, her steps faltered when her sensitive ears picked up the sound of many people breathing, but no other sounds.

Why is it so quiet out here? I know I heard plenty of activity from inside my room. It is a hospital, so there should be a bunch of activity since it’s almost noon. Evernya thought, as her attention redirected to her surroundings.

Evernya froze when she found out why the whole was so quiet. Why is everyone staring at me? I can’t be the first shifter they’ve seen. Oh well, they can stare if they want. Thought Evernya, flicking her tail as she turned back around. She strutted down the hall with her tail proudly raised, ignoring the whispers and staring.

A minute later, someone stepped out in front of her, blocking her path, causing her to peer up, annoyed at her obstacle.

“What is one of your kind doing in the Mages ward? Shouldn’t you be restrained to a bed in the Shifter’s ward?” Her obstacle inquired rudely.

Evernya glared at her obstacle with glowing eyes. Why do so many humans feel the need to be racist towards me? Humans seem to have diverted all their racist tendencies from other humans to demi-humans. From his uniform, I’m going to assume he is a doctor, hopefully not one that will ever treat me. I really hope I don’t face people like this guy every day.

“Present your ID wristband. I don’t believe it is an authentic mage’s ward ID wristband. If you refuse to allow me to scan your wristband, I will have you thrown out of the hospital for trespassing in a Mage’s only area.” The doctor blocking her path ordered.

Wow, what an asshole! I’ll have to complain to Elizabeth about him later. It is an abuse of power to threaten me like this. Not to mention, it is probably illegal to force someone to reveal their medical information in a non-emergency situation. Though, I don’t know the laws of that in this world. Oh well, I may as well let him scan it to get him out of my way. Besides, I doubt Elizabeth and Meira put anything too revealing about me on my medical file. Evernya thought while noting the doctor’s name on his name tag for future use.

“Well, are you going to comply or not?” Asked the racist doctor, assuming Evernya’s delay meant her refusal.

Evernya said nothing in response, as she raised her wrist to display her hospital ID band to the doctor-shaped obstacle blocking her path. The doctor pulled out a scanning device and scanned her wristband to bring up her information.

As soon as the scan worked, revealing she has a valid Mage’s ward wristband, the doctor paled. He skimmed over Evernya’s medical information just enough to confirm she was a patient in the Mage’s ward. He stopped at her assigned doctor and shook visibly. Terrified to read any further, he closed her medical information.

Taking a 180 in his attitude, the doctor politely apologized. “I am sorry for the misunderstanding, Miss Evernya. I just wanted to confirm you are a patient in this ward. It is rare for a shifter to be a mage. I incorrectly assumed you had a fake ID wristband. We are strict with security in this hospital, especially on this floor, because of our VIP patients. Only people with a valid ID card, ID wristband, or guest pass may venture past the public section on the first floor.”

Wanting to atone for his mistake, more so to soften the incoming blow from her personal doctor and his boss, the doctor inquired, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Evernya jumped to take advantage of the opportunity by asking, “Actually, yes, are there any computers with Internet available to me?”

The now ultra-helpful doctor directed, “The only public computers available to patients are in the Commons area on the first floor. You can get there by taking the elevator three doors down on the left to the first floor, then following the signs to the Commons. The patient-only computer section is to the right as you enter the Commons.”

“Thank you, that is all I need to know.” Replied Evernya before continuing her journey.

Whatever he saw in my medical file seemed to have scared him. Either way, it won’t stop me from mentioning him to Elizabeth. Ah, I bet that scared him. It would terrify me too if I saw my boss listed as the personal doctor of the patient I just harassed. I don’t want to make a habit of sharing my medical information with just anyone, but mentioning my doctor’s name may get them to leave me alone. Still, I hope I don’t get stopped like that again. Just showing my Mage’s ward wristband doesn’t seem to be enough for these people. Is it so unbelievable that a shifter is a mage? Evernya thought while wandering down the hall.

After her interaction with the doctor, the atmosphere returned to normal, to Evernya’s relief.

She arrived at the elevator, finding another scanner. After scanning her wristband, she entered the elevator, running into yet another scanner blocking the controls. Once she scanned her wristband yet again, the buttons for floors one through three light up, but the basement and floor four remained unlit. She pressed the button for floor one, prompting the elevator to descend a moment later.

These wristbands are quite effective at controlling where patients can travel. Apparently, I can’t go to floor four or the basement. I am guessing floor four is for administrative offices, and the basement is for storage. Evernya thought before the elevator music played.

She flattened her ears, then covered them with her hands. What is with this crappy elevator music? Elevator music was never this bad in my old body. Please tell me they make earplugs for my poor cat ears. Otherwise, I am going to take the stairs for the rest of my life. Dammit! Even covering my ears with my hands doesn’t work. These ears are handy, but for situations like this, it’s torture. If anyone wanted to torture information out of me, elevator music would be the way to go.

Mercifully, the elevator ride was brief, only a couple of minutes long. Unfortunately for Evernya, it felt like an eternity. The second the elevator doors opened, she dove out to escape the horrible music.

Just like the previous floor, stares and whispers greeted her as she recovered from her traumatizing elevator trip. She even heard a few chuckles from her enthusiastic exit of the elevator. Evernya ignored all the attention, instead focusing on her search for the sign to the Commons.

A moment later, she spotted a sign hanging from the ceiling labeled Commons with an arrow pointing to the left. At least the hallways are nicer than the lab if you ignore all the annoying staring people. A lot better than the bare white walls of the lab. I need to stop thinking about that horrible place it’s in my past, and hopefully it stays there. Evernya thought while wandering down the hall, following the signs.

Evernya scanned the light blue walls with pictures of nature hung up, seemingly at random. Every ten meters, she came upon a rest area with a small table and chairs of varying colors, usually matching the nearby pictures.

Five minutes later, she arrived at a big double door labeled Commons and yet another ID scanner. Does everyone have to scan at every single door, or is this just limited to patients? This type of security system would be a detriment to medical staff trying to rush an injured patient somewhere. Evernya thought while watching patients and guests alike scan their IDs to enter.

Her question answered itself a few seconds later as a guy who appeared to be a nurse walked right up to the doors, opening them without scanning. So unfair! Staff don’t need to jump through all the hoops patients have to. I guess it makes sense though. The staff don’t need as many limitations as patients. They must have some other security system for them, maybe mana signature? Meira mentioned it is a way to verify the identity of a person, similar to biometrics from Earth. Though it’s probably easier to put a wristband on each patient with general permissions and limit it from there. I guess even in my new body, I still think like a system administrator. Evernya thought as she scanned her wristband to enter.

Evernya stopped just inside the Commons area to survey her surroundings. This place looks like a nice high school or college cafeteria and lounge area. If you ignore the fact that many patients are wandering around with obvious injuries or an IV pole connected to them. At least every patient has some form of clothes beyond a hospital gown. Those gowns are a bit too revealing to for public exposure. Strangely, I would rather walk around naked than in a hospital gown, but that’s probably my inner exhibitionist talking.

She turned right, walking toward an area labeled ‘patient only computer section’ with two dozen computers. With the grace of a cat, she silently glided through the rows of computers, trying to avoid drawing attention to herself as she searched for an available computer. After a few seconds of searching, she spotted an open computer tucked into the far left corner, hidden from the main area of the Commons. She sat on the provided chair, turning her attention to the login screen. Now how do I login? No one gave me a password. Nor are there any obvious scanners.

A skinny brunette teen girl glanced at her new neighbor to her left before explaining, “Wave your wristband to the computer screen to unlock the computer.”

Evernya sent a thankful smile to her neighbor before waving her wristbanded wrist in front of the screen. “Thank you. It’s crazy how much they control us with these wristbands. They force us to scan it to get anywhere in the hospital. I had to scan at least half a dozen times just to get here.” Evernya complained as the login screen disappeared, revealing a desktop with similarities to the Windows operating system of Earth.

With a scowl, the girl added, “Yeah, if that’s not bad enough, they use the scans track of everywhere you go, allowing your doctor or nurses can track you down.”

“I’m not sure I like the tracking feature, but it’s not like I am hard to find.” Commented Evernya, gesturing to her ears and tail wrapped around her waist.

With a curious glint in her eyes, the girl stated, “You’re right, I’ve never seen a catkin patient in a Mage’s ward before. How did that happen? If you don’t mind me asking. I thought catkin couldn’t be mages, yet here you are with a Mage’s ward ID band.”

Evernya let her guard down in front of the seemingly harmless girl, replying, “To be honest, I have no idea. According to the scans, I’m not even a catkin. I was originally in the shifter ward, but an incident had me transferred to the third floor of the Mage’s ward.”

“What are you then?” The girl inquired, leaning forward, eagerly awaiting the answer.

“No idea, feline-shifter is all that comes up,” Evernya replied, amused by the girl’s curiosity.

“Odd, I know several feline shifter races, but the only one you appear to be is a catkin.” Questioned the confused girl.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Evernya replied with a shrug.

With little point in continuing her line of questioning, the girl changed the subject. “So, you have a private VIP room?”

Evernya narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Yeah, how did you know?”

Unaffected by her neighbor’s gaze, the girl replied, “I guessed, over half the rooms on the third floor are VIP.”

“You seem to know a lot about this hospital.” Commented Evernya, her previous suspicion gone.

“It’s hard not to know when I’ve been in and out of hospitals for as long as I can remember.” Responded the girl casually, as if it’s not a big deal, but Evernya spotted the hurt in her eyes.

“I’m sorry if this is insensitive, but why are you in the hospital? You seem fine to me.” Inquired Evernya, trying but failing to resist her curious nature.

The girl smiled as she explained in a rehearsed fashion. “Thank you. I try to keep myself in shape. I have Sudden Mana Circulation Syndrome and Premature Partial Awakening Syndrome. My mana system partially awakened some time when I was four, and because a body so young can’t handle mana, I suffer from mana attacks. Without warning, my mana can circulate rapidly through my mana veins, causing painful mana vein overload and even seizures. Since I’m only partially awakened, my mana veins haven’t hardened enough to handle the strain. Luckily, once I fully awaken, my disease cures itself, so I just have to tolerate it until then and hope I don’t get permanent damage to my mana system before then. Unfortunately, I’m a little late for my awakening because I am 18. My current stay in the hospital is because I had to have a mana vein reconstructive surgery on a few of my mana veins from my last mana attack. Anyway, enough about me what got you stuck in the hospital, it’s only fair since I told you my issues.”

Instead of answering right away, Evernya’s thoughts wandered. Wow, what a poor girl. I don’t think I could handle having a disease like hers. You never know when the next mana attack will happen or how bad it will be. I thought my last few months were bad, but it’s nothing compared to what this girl has been through most of her life. At least she has an end in sight.

It’s weird to think that three months ago, I was in a different body in a different world. It feels so long ago that I am over it. Besides, I can do magic now! If only people would stop hurting me and let me live my own life!

The girl added, assuming her neighbor’s silence was because she didn’t want to answer. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I understand. Not everyone is as open about their health issues as I am. I have had a lot of time to come to terms with my disease.”

Shaken from her thoughts, Evernya gave her neighbor an apologetic look as she replied, “Oh sorry, I zoned out for a minute there I get lost in my thoughts sometimes. I have similar issues to you, except the damage to my mana veins is either inflicted by someone else or accidentally by me. My current stay is because a racist asshole sabotaged my Mage’s test, basically frying my mana system. I was in a coma for the last two weeks, only waking late last night.”

The girl’s eyes widened in astonishment, prompting a ramble. “Wait, you’re that shifter!? My older twin brother attended the Druth Mage’s test! He still has nightmares! Even I had a few nightmares hearing about it secondhand! He said you were smoking after you passed out! That takes a crazy amount of mana! I hope you’re okay!”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, Evernya froze momentarily before assuring, “My doctor says I made a full recovery. They said they will discharge me tomorrow or the next day. I thought for sure I would die as my mana burned through me as if it was acid. An experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone besides the asshole who caused it.”

After calming down, the girl asked, “Did they at least let you pass the Mage’s test?” Asked the girl.

Evernya winced, grumbling, “No, the backlash fried the wristband, so I failed. However, I have an offer to take a private Mage’s test with DIOM in exchange for a year of enrollment.”

The girl bounced in excitement, gushing, “Sweet! My big bro wants to get into DIOM in the fall. As soon as I awaken, I hope to attend too. I already have a high school diploma from online school.”

Taken back by the girl’s friendliness and willingness to share information, Evernya questioned, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you so friendly with me? You’re only the second human my age who’s talked to me without insults.”

The girl’s mood popped like a balloon. With a friendly but serious expression, the girl stated, “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Not all humans are racist, even though sometimes it seems like they are. My parents raised my brother and me to treat everyone, no matter their race, with respect until they prove they don’t deserve it. By the way, my name is Emily Bradford, and my older brother’s name is Ryan Bradford.”

Evernya smiled, introducing herself. “Hello, Emily, my name is Evernya. As for the racism, I hope you’re right. Otherwise, my college days will be hell. Speaking of colleges, do I need a high school diploma to enroll? It will be an issue if I do because I don’t have one.”

“You haven’t graduated from high school yet? You already awakened.” Commented Emily before slamming her mouth shut after Evernya pointed to the black band around her neck.

In a whispered shout, Emily rambled, “I should have realized sooner! I’m so sorry! I’m so glad you got free! It’s disgusting that the government allows demi-humans enslavement!”

While ignoring a few sneers from nearby patients listening in, Evernya assured, “it’s fine. I’m mostly over it now. All that remains is this band as a permanent reminder. I didn’t officially go to high school, but if I need to, I could probably take some tests to get an equivalent of a high school diploma.”

After calming down, Emily answered Evernya’s question. “The requirement for a high school diploma depends on what major and section of the college you enroll in. If you want to get into the medical field, you need at least a school diploma or a field such as engineering. For the combat section, you don’t need a high school diploma if you’re awakened. Instead, you need to pass various tests to for acceptance. Usually, DIOM only accepts mages awakened grade four and above into the combat section unless they have a rare magic class or talent.”

Evernya breathed a sigh of relief, stating, “Well, I’m nineteen, but I don’t know my mana grade. But, since they offered me this deal, I am sure I qualify. As for the section, I will probably have to enroll in the combat section as my magic doesn’t translate too much else.”

“What magic class, if you don’t mind me asking?” Emily inquired, her curious glint returned.

“T3 Psion and warrior,” Evernya replied with a smile

Emily froze as her eyes widened in astonishment before exclaiming, “Oh wow! Even a T1 Psion would get you in. If I were you, I would try to squeeze a few benefits out of them. I’m sure you know this, but T3 Psion would get you enrolled at even Sespina University at the capital.”

Evernya glanced at several eavesdroppers seated at nearby computers before stating, “At least, for now, I would prefer to stay near Druth.”

I really need to find a map or a visitor’s guide to Sespina, so I don’t look like a sheltered idiot when someone named drops an important place or person.

“You seem to know a lot about everything.” Commented Evernya.

“When you’re alone as much as I am, you spend a lot of time researching random things on the Internet. I wanted to prepare myself for when I awaken, since I will try to enroll in college as soon as possible. I want to make money to help my parents pay off my medical bills.” Emily announced with conviction.

“That’s a wonderful goal to have. It’s amazing how driven you are. My goal isn’t as special as yours, but I feel like I have to strive for it. I want to become strong enough so I can wander freely.” Revealed Evernya.

“Everyone needs a goal to strive for,” Emily stated.

“I agree.” Replied Evernya.

After a few minutes of random chatting, forgetting about their computers, a beeping sounded from Emily’s chest, causing her to panic. “No, not another one!” Emily cried.

A few seconds after the beeping starts, Emily’s face distorted into a pained expression as her body convulsed from the mana rapidly coursing through her ill-formed mana veins.

Instinctively, Evernya knew a way she could help. “I may be able to help you. Do you mind if I try?” Inquired Evernya, grasping the convulsing girl’s hands, receiving a jerky nod in response.

Taking the nod as a yes, Evernya allowed her fangs to descend. Unbeknownst to Evernya, her eyes change to their slitted pupils, frightening the convulsing girl. Unable to resist, all Emily could do was watch as Evernya grasped onto her arm.

As gently as possible, Evernya sunk her fangs into Emily’s wrist, then sucked. At first, nothing happened, but after a few seconds, she felt a rush of mana, causing a moan of pleasure to escape her suckling lips. Evernya clamped her lips down on Emily’s wrist, trying to use it as a gag.

As the seconds passed by, Emily’s convulsions diminished as her mana drained away. Evernya, on the other hand, had a harder time keeping control of herself as mana continued to flow into her. Emily’s wrist soon became inadequate to muffle her moans, drawing the attention of nearby people.

After about two minutes, Emily’s convulsions finally ceased as she ran out of mana.

“Thank you…” Whispered Emily as she passed out from mana loss.

Overwhelmed by the pleasure of absorbing so much mana, Evernya became deaf to the world, missing Emily’s thank you. A second after Emily passed out, Evernya unlatched from Emily’s wrist, arching her back as she moaned loudly from her now free mouth. Mirroring Emily’s body, she convulsed as the newly absorbed mana pumped through her body, forcing a blackout-inducing climax.

Unaware of her surroundings, Evernya let out several loud moans as she rode the waves for what felt like hours when, in reality, only thirty seconds passed.

After Evernya’s convulsive orgasm ceased, her body collapsed limply on her chair, spent.

Several minutes later, Evernya finally returned to awareness. When she did, she scanned her surroundings with confusion. During her mana-sucking session, a sizable crowd formed around them. Evernya’s face reddened with embarrassment, realizing she orgasmed in front of so many people. Her expression immediately shifted to panic upon finding Emily passed out on the chair next to her, assuming she hurt her.

The crowd parted to allow a man and woman with DIOM police printed on the front of their dark blue uniform free passage to Evernya with shackles in their hands.