“So uhm Luc, how is that going to work?” Charlotte said as she pointed at the large paperclip Genie was holding.

  “He probably is going to tear a part of his outfit and clip it. It will then suit his active ninja wish but… I have no idea what a ninja paperclip would do…”

  As Luc had predicted, Genie tore a part of his ninja outfit and clipped it.

  The horned men focused their attention on the strange individual while the whips continued strangling people and appeared to drain something out of them.

  Luc took a beeping device out of his pocket and tried to silence it, but the damage had already been done, the sound had broken their invisibility.

  “Shht… stupid mana detector…”

  Luc already knew that the horned men had a lot of mana, he didn't need a device to tell him. The beeping gradually decreased when he pointed it at someone else, however.

  “Huh? It doesn't seem as they are using mana unless…”

  Luc pointed the device to every captured individual, noticing that the beeping rapidly decreased while doing so.

  “Charlotte, I think these horned men are draining their mana. Getting caught by them would most certainly spell the end for us…”

  “What do we do about Genie? We can’t leave him behind?”

  Charlotte pointed at the paperclip shurikens flying through the foyer, Genie deftly evading whips lashing out at him and cutting them down with the giant paperclip in his hands.

  “Well, he chose a ninja and not a warrior or something, so it is unlikely that he will intentionally take hits. He will be fine for now. Let’s try to get as many people out of here, notify the Jeffersons and then find n opportunity to get Genie out of here.”

  “Can the Jeffersons even deal with this? They’re only trained to deal with dealing with strong ability and magic users. This goes a bit beyond that…”

  “They will be fine. It was due to luck, but if I can defeat one, they should be able to deal with the horned men.”

  Luc and Charlotte changed location as the battle was ever shifting, and they needed to stay clear from the green mana blast and whips, making it unsafe to have a casual conversation.

  “I will call their official help line, can you help the people here?”

  “Sure, do you by any chance have a nail gun box to refill for me?”

  “Ehh, no, I do have curling irons. You can power them, right?”

  “It’s better than nothing…”

  Luc pulled 2 boxes out of his backpack, refilled them and handed them to Charlotte, who took them out.

  “This looks so silly… let’s hope they aren’t heat-resistant…” Charlotte said as she powered one curling irons which started to heat up.

  Luc ran to the side and called the group that was responsible for dealing with ability related crimes and incidents. It was the group that would deal with problems the regular police force couldn’t and Luc decided that this applied.

  “Hello? I want to report an incident in the foyer on the east side of the Lambert Gadget headquarters! The description of the perpetrators matches those of the eyecorner men! Many have already been injured or died!”

  A blast flew over Luc’s head, took out a pillar and caused the supported section to collapse and cause a lot of noise.

  The person on the other side of the phone asked Luc to repeat the last part, as the noise of the collapsing rubble had caused the message to be unclear.

  “Many have been injured or already died!”

  The person told Luc that there was already a group coming, as there had been earlier reports of small explosions in the building.

  Luc closed the line and spectated how Genie and his strange stunts were keeping the horned men busy.

  The problem however was that Genie couldn’t keep this up for long. Being a ninja didn’t require mana but using ninja like skills did and his ninja wish would expire the moment he ran out of mana.

  Luc hoped that Genie would reserve at least 1 wish to either get them out of this mess or heal them in case they got hurt, something he couldn't do if he ran out of mana.

  It was the drawback of Genie’s useful wishes. While he did have 3 wishes per day, he couldn’t use all 3 of them if 1 consumed all of his mana and judging by how Genie became less flashy and offensive indicated that he knew that he would run out fast if he continued.

  Luc looked at his hands, wondering what he could do as his ability had never caused him to run out of mana.

  “Maybe I need to refill a gigantic box to get close?”

  An idea popped up, and Luc pulled the golden fridge wrapper out of his bag. He had no idea how much mana it would take but certainly not enough to get him in trouble, it was a one time use however as it was unlikely that the horned men would give him the chance to peel the wrapper off the refilled golden fridge.

  A scream drew his attention. Charlotte had been disarmed of a curling iron as she had used it to burn some whips that were binding people.

  One horned man had now focused his attention on Charlotte, giving Genie some breathing room.

  “I suppose I should help out too…”

  Did he use the fridge now or later? It was large enough to more or less act as a partition but it could also be used as a shield. Or to crush or launch the opponent. What would be the best choice? If only he had more fridge boxes…

  “Charlotte! Any chance Lambert Gadgets has boxes of large appliances?”

  “Uhh, not really. There are crates however, but not sure if those will be useful for you…”

  “Well I can refill them, but I won’t be able to fling crates…”

  Charlotte pulled a panicking woman aside to evade green whips lashing at them, and hid behind a pillar.

  “My office does have an empty nail gun box I didn't get to discard yet, and good thing I didn't it's office room 3.14, third floor.

  Charlotte ducked, rolled and ran away.

  “You can break in the door! I don’t think I can hand you the key card in this situation!”

  Charlotte grabbed the power cord of the remaining curling iron she had and powered it before swinging it at the horned man that had started to chase her.

  He blocked it with his arm, which sizzled as the head melted part of his skin.

  Green energy exploded out of the enraged horned man, who tunnel visioned on Charlotte.

  “Please hurry! I don’t think I can evade this thing forever!”

  Luc nodded and ran. “Genie, don’t use up all your mana!”

  “I will try!”

  Genie blocked green whips with his paperclip and got slowly pushed back, when a ‘poof’ and a smoke cloud made him disappear and appear behind the horned man, who got his arm sliced off by a paperclip slash.

  “Ouch, I don’t think paperclips are great for blocking attacks.” was what Luc heard before he got out of earshot and reached the staircase.

  ‘Would a nail gun even make a difference?’ was what Luc thought as he ran up the first set of stairs.

  A tremor caused him to trip but not fall completely. A ‘crack’ made him look up and around, revealing to him that he had been followed.

  “Shit!”

  Green whips lashed at him as he sped up and reached for his bag. It didn’t matter what he pulled out, it just needed to be big.

  A strangely folded box indicated that it must be a box holding wooden boards and other requirements to piece furniture together. Not the best choice, but its weight wouldn’t be disappointing.

  The box got dropped after getting subjected to his ability, and the sound of something heavy falling down the stairs got followed by a scream of pain.

  “Do I use the fridge here?”

  It would block the staircase, but as silly as it might sound, the horned man could just take the elevator.

  Luc’s mana detection device went crazy, and a wave of green energy rushing toward him explained why.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Not good!”

  Another box got dropped but it got obliterated with it’s contents the moment it reached the green energy.

  The turn in the staircase came up and Luc made it to the second floor. He continued on and made a decision; he would use the fridge to block the horned man from following him to the 3rd floor.

  He was unsure how long it would take to break open the door.

  It was just the 3rd floor, but Luc reached it exhausted and panting heavily.

  He flung the wrapper which refilled and turned into an enormous wrapped golden fridge that had its corners dig into the wall, blocking the passage way.

  The blockade wasn’t neat, but it would suffice.

  Luc continued running and it appeared to have worked. He slowed down and stared at the door to room 3.14 when a green portal opened close by.

  “Fuck… how could I forget… I just wasted a golden fridge…”

  “That was a futile, yet interesting performance.” the horned man said as he clapped.

  It again wasn’t English, but Luc could somehow understand it as if it got translated for him.

  “What do you want?” Luc said as he pointed an empty microwave box at the horned man.

  “Hmm, what do I want? How would it benefit for me to tell you…” The horned man sand as he nonchalantly paced around, as if Luc wasn’t a threat. “Oh I see1 I might not benefit but my kind would! Very well, I will tell you. I will even keep you alive so you can spread it between the individuals of your insignificant kin!”

  The horned man said with a malicious smile.

  “You see, we need mana, our world needs mana but it’s running dry. Meanwhile, this world is brimming with mana but… you don’t need it. It’s only fair that we take it since you don’t need it, and we do.”

  Green whips lashed out in random directions, s=destroying walls, windows and doors.

  “The most effective way is to drain it out of you puny humans, so go and spread the word! Gather your strongest members to try and ward us off! It would only make it easier for us to find those with a lot of mana, hahaha!”

  “What do you mean, we don’t need mana?! We do!” Luc said as he glanced at the wall to room 3.14 that had partially been broken down by the horned man.

  “That’s just you humans being greedy. Look at your society! Most can’t even use it and are still alive!” The horned man patted his chest. “We are magical lifeforms, mana for us isn’t an option, it’s obligate!”

  Luc was unsure if what this man said was true, but he didn’t really care. The horned man was correct however as having the word spread about the horned men wouldn’t be a detriment for them but only would backfire for the humans as the horned men would have an easier time targeting the strong individuals.

  “And why should I care?” Luc said while moving slowly and closely toward room 3.14.

  “Haha! It doesn't concern me whether you care or not. I was planning to drain your mana, but in doing, so I would have to explain this to another human… We got quite unlucky as there are a lot of weak humans here…”

  The horned man sighed, but despite his words sent green whips at Luc.

  The microwave box got refilled, and he used it as a makeshift shield. “Wait, ‘this world’ what do you mean? Are you from a different world?”

  “Oh my how ignorant, surely you didn’t think your world wasn’t the only one?!”

  A green blob got met by the microwave Luc had thrown. “Then find a different world and leave us alone!”

  “Haha ignorant human. There is a reason we chose this world. It appears this world doesn’t have any protectors. Makes it easy for us!”

  Luc dove into the room and rolled between the rubble, earning him some scratches.

  The room was dark, but he could still see a box on the desk with the light that came from the corridor.

  “I don’t know what you mean with protectors!”

  Luc realized his mistake as the horned man was now standing in the opening. Luc had effectively boxed himself in.

  “Not sure what you did with them, but since humans seem to be the dominant race, you must have done something to them. Not that I can complain, hahaha! Anyways. Playtime is over. You can still talk while injured, right?” The man said as his arm stretched toward’s Luc as it gathered green energy.

  The scream of a man that hadn’t evacuated yet drew the attention of the horned man which Luc used as his chance.

  His last microwave box got flung, scoring a direct hit on the horned man, allowing him to escape.

  The stairs were blocked by the fridge, serving as a reminder how poorly thought his plan had been, as he was forced to take the elevator with the panicking man that ran after him.

  It would take a while before the elevator would arrive, and Luc decided to tear part of the plastic wrap off the fridge.

  Charlotte had told him something about how the trash that he refills returns to it’s original state, so he just hoped that he could still refill the handful of plastic he had ripped off.

  A ‘ting’ notified him that the elevator had arrived, and he stepped inside with the panicking man, who started asking Luc all sorts of questions. Questions he didn’t need the answer to, so he just ignored the man and hoped that the elevator would speed up.

  The doors closed and the elevator descended.

  Luc tapped his foot impatiently, hoping that the horned man would be knocked out for long enough.

  The door opened, and the other man rushed out to meet the messy foyer.

  Genie was slumped against a wall, presumably knocked out, and Charlotte was still running and flinging objects at the horned man assaulting her.

  The remaining one was binding people and collecting their mana.

  Luc crouched, grabbed a piece of rubble, wrapped the plastic around it and threw it at the horned man assaulting Charlotte.

  Nothing happened, and the rock fell next to the horned man, who didn’t even notice that he had been targeted by an attack.

  “Shit…”

  Charlotte noticed Luc and made her way toward him while making strange gestures.

  “What? I have no idea what that means…”

  Luc stayed low and found a hiding spot a there were hardly any people that hadn't been caught yet.

  The entrance had been blocked with a net of green whips, preventing anyone from leaving.

  A deafening blast went off nearby and Charlotte made it to him. “Did you manage?”

  Luc refilled the box of the nail gun and gave it to Charlotte who took the device out, loaded it, used her ability on the battery and removed the safety cap. “Now let’s hope it won’t jam, refill it so I can charge the battery of yours.”

  “Uhh okay.”

  Luc refilled the box again, and Charlotte prepared the pneumatic nail gun in a way it shouldn't be used.

  “I’m counting on you to refill the nails.”

  Charlotte leaned to the side and shot her nail gun. Said something to herself and adjusted the pressure before shooting again.

  He horned man screamed, indicating Charlotte’s success.

  Luc was about to give it a shot when an explosion went off far behind them, originated from the corridor that had the staircases and elevators.

  “Shit. The other one work up. What happened to Genie, by the way?”

  “He was running low on mana, so couldn’t do much and got knocked out due to it.”

  Charlotte kept shooting, but the horned man used green energy to block the nails.

  “I suppose I should overload this.”

  Charlotte use her ability again, causing her nail gun to heat up, and she started shooting again.

  The powered up nail gun became comparable to a magic gun but would have its life expectancy reduced greatly, something that wasn’t a problem for Charlotte as long as Luc could refill the nail guns.

  “How many refills do you have left?”

  “Uhh, 7 more. Today was a bit wild. I would have been a bit more careful with refills if I knew..”

  “That’s fine. Mind if I overload your nail gun, as you might need it to deal with that…” Charlotte said, as she pointed at an enraged horned man that came from behind, head bloodied.

  “Yeah, might need that…”

  Luc’s nail gun got overloaded as well, and he started shooting.

  The horned men were closing in and their ‘safe spot’ which was behind a collapsed pillar and next to a half destroyed counter was becoming a death trap as they couldn’t leave without exposing themselves to one of the horned men.

  All they could do was continue shooting nail guns, which decreased in effectiveness.

  Charlotte’s nail gun jammed, and she cursed and flung the nail gun away.

  It didn’t take long for Luc’s nail gun to jam too, and he tried to solve the issue but he had never worked with a nail gun before so he flung it too.

  The horned men were talking to each other in a language neither Luc nor Charlotte could understand, but it was clear that they were angry, as both had been hit by several nails.

  “I’ll refill more nail guns.”

  Charlotte put her hand on Luc’s hand as he reached for the box and shook her head. “It’s no use, it’s unlikely that it will make a difference. We better find something to help us in retreating. The Jeffersons should arrive soon.

  The collapsed pillar next to them got flung to the side as a horned man had arrived.

  “Pesky humans!” Luc got grabbed by the throat and lifted. “Squirming around, clinging to life. All you amount to are batteries to charge us with mana!”

  Luc felt energy drain from his body and tried to wrestle free and fight back.

  Charlotte screamed as the other horned man lifted her by her long brown hair. The horned man’s arm moved toward’s her neck when a paperclip hit his arm.

  Both the horned men got hit by a small smokescreen and Luc and Charlotte found themselves suddenly next to Genie who was leaning against the wall, trying to keep standing.

  “Heh, you guys are nothing without me!”

  Luc coughed and rubbed his throat. “Thank you Genie. Any chance you can get us out of here?”

  Genie stretched out his head and shook his head. “I think I’m almost out of mana. I can only make a small wish or fling more paperclip shurikens.”

  “I have 7 refills left, any chance you can wish for 7 folded fridge boxes?”

  Genie went back to his normal attire, sat down and had 7 folded cardboard boxes appear next to him. “I’m pooped… go crush them!”

  Luc held the first box and threw it like a frisbee after using his ability.

  The horned men were still disoriented as their targets had disappeared from their hands, and noticed late how a box came at them.

  Luc threw the next one and the next one until all 7 boxes had been flung.

  The first fridge missed as it crashed between the 2 horned men, but the next one landed a direct hit as did the 3rd.

  An unpleasant snap came from one horned man after a fridge hit his side.

  “Aaagh! My arm!”

  Green energy blasted the fridges away as the horned man with the shattered left humerus had green energy well up as he walked slowly toward Charlotte, Genie and Luc who were now defenseless.

  Luc’s fridge assault had knocked one of their attackers out, which was a small victory; a victory that didn’t matter if they would die here.

  And that’s when people in black uniforms broke the blockade on the entrance and streamed in.

  They yelled at each other and shouted orders, all while unleashing their magic and abilities to subdue the horned man with the broken arm and the other one who had been busy draining humans of mana instead of joining the battle.

  These men in black uniforms were the Jeffersons. A group led by the Jefferson family. Not all members were from the Jefferson family, as they acted as an advanced police force. Anyone could join if they were competent enough, but it didn’t stop the public from calling them the Jeffersons.

  The 3 horned men had underestimated humanity in thinking that they could get away with their attack with just the 3 of them, as 3 young humans had crippled them to the point that the Jeffersons could subdue them easily.

  Everything went so fast after the Jeffersons arrived and everything got taken care of. They got the medical help they needed, as the other people that were unconscious or injured throughout the foyer.

  This might have been the first time the horned men tried to collect mana, but it wouldn’t be the last.

  None of them had injuries that couldn’t be recovered. Luc and Genie however did get some exciting news. According to the ability expert of the Jeffersons, they had leveled up as indicated by the soft blue glow on their hands and forearms.