Chapter 3 - Mana

Laying down about 10 meters away from the rift, Eric was absorbing the ambient mana. There was no concern of being sucked into the black hole looking rift, as recent attempts to enter from the army have come up short. A force field stops entry into the rift that stops beings from entering but not exiting. The latter is the key dilemma, as it needs continuous supervision to repel the creatures that try to leave their world for this one. Eric is lying down between two turrets that hummed with power, ready to discharge at the slightest notice of something trying to break through. He has sat here the full day with various equipment scattered around him to monitor the rifts activities. What Eric was actually doing was absorbing the mana from the rift with help from AMI. With a thought, he looked through the results of his 10hours of monitoring the rift.

*Current Mutation of Neurons at 0.05%*

“0.05% and it’s been 10hours since they left me to study the rift. I can sense mana here, it feels like water but not obstructive. I need to increase the amount of mana I can absorb to mutate faster because at these small rates, it will take forever to reach full integration with the mana. And maybe after I figure out how to use the mana I can close the rift and save humanity yay!!!. Also, being a badass flying magician would be cool.” Thought Eric as he lifted himself onto his legs, stood up and stretched while looking at the rift with inquisitive eyes.

“AMI Run simulations on increasing mana input from data gathered,”

*Running.....*

*Data suggests getting closer to the rift...*

“Fuck” This is as close as I can get until blocked by the force field or Mana field or whatever it is…. Anyway, maybe I can somehow build something to draw the mana and bring it to me like AMI does... Fuck.... That won’t work. I only draw the mana to me because my brain is affecting the mana with the help of the chip. Breaking his thoughts, his radio sounded off.

“-kzz- Eric come to my office -kzz-” Langton’s voice sounded out from the radio.

“-kzz- On my way boss -kzz-” responded Eric, his voice oozing sarcasm.

Eric stood and packed away his gear into his pack and mindlessly walked past the turrets and soldiers that are constantly keeping watch on the rift. “I am sick of these guys telling me what to do. All I did was steal some docs on the latest tech in AI integration… it’s not even like it was helpful, it was years behind my own efforts.” Sighing deeply, he continued on to the elevator leading to the 2nd floor of the base where Longtons office is situated.

*Mana Density is now at 5%.....*

“So 10m away the Density is at 20%, and it is still only 0.004% change per hour. How can I concentrate the mana more?” Contemplated Eric walking to the office. Bringing his hand up, he knocked twice. Hearing the old man’s voice order him to enter with authority.

Eric glanced at Langton with a nonchalant expression. “So what’s up.....” Langton’s eye twitched at the disrespect shown to him. “I’m a commander of a base with hundreds that do what I say without question, and I have to listen to this little shit with his attitude...” While taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and calmed himself before he hurt someone.

Langton looked at Eric with a serious expression, his eyes as sharp as an eagle “There is a major issue with the rift. According to reports earlier in the day by sensors, stability is decreasing. We think it’s expanding to let something big through. I require you to cease exploring the rift and start thinking of a plan to wipe out whatever shows up. The sensors are sufficient now to alert us to change, so we don’t need you to monitor the rift anymore. I will give you access to the Beam turret configs, do your computer stuff and strengthen them because whatever is coming will be big.”

Eric mentally slapped himself. “Shit.... I require to be near the rift. Now this guy wants me working on stupid guns.”

“I’m on to something, Langton. I can close the rift, I just require some further time,”

Seeing the out of character look of anxiety on Eric’s face gave Langton pause. “You Serious....”

“Seriously serious, the energy around the rift is the answer, I call it Mana because... you know games and the dragons plus all the magical shit we have seen come through.. Anyway, the mana, the closer I am, the faster I will understand. Then.....” Eric paused “I should be able to close the rift,” he concluded without giving too much information on how.

Longton filled with excitement now, after 5 years of continuous battle against the invaders from a distant world, this was a chance to finally close the rift for good.

“How long do you need?..”

Eric paused, a blank expression on him.

“Calculate time needed to reach 100% Mutation to Mana,”

*Time needed to reach complete integration with mana*

*With current mana exposure 416.6666666666667 days....*

Eric just stood dazed by the answer, eyes searching the ceiling while evading the query.

Longton was visibly losing his patience. “Soooo..... How long do you need.”

fuuuuck “416 Days...” Eric said under his breath.

“What was that???”

“416 Days” said Eric loud enough for Langton to hear now. Langton’s face dropped, his eyes showing a defeated look.

“Fuck.. It’s awfully long.. can you increase the speed?”

“Hm. No, not a chance. One viable option is to create something to gather mana, but that will take time and I would need to analyse the mana further still”

Langton groaned, leaning back in his chair rubbing his temples. “The other experts monitoring the data say we have 2 weeks at the current growth before a disaster is likely to happen. I don’t know about all this Mana stuff you’re talking about. What I know is we need weapons capable of killing dragons or stronger and not just injuring them. So I’m assigning you to the turret team, go report Eleen”

“Oh cmon man!! Don’t you want the rift to just be like gone, like forever…. I can do it, I just need more time.”

Langton wanted an end to the rift, but right now the fear of something stronger than a dragon coming made him uneasy. When the first dragon showed up, half the city destroyed within the first hour. Something bigger and stronger than that made him shudder.

“NO!! Now go report and be on your best behaviour or I’ll send you back to lockup”