Planet Earth, Year 1 A.I. (May 2023 C.E., 9 Weeks After System Integration)

  I stand outside the guildhall for the Red Pack Adventurers at dawn, trying to tap into the power of 「The Anomaly」. The power to make my wildest dreams into reality. It’s truly a remarkable power, one without limitation in scope, at least in theory.

  I have reason to believe that I have this power, although I do not expect to be able to tap into it today. I saw the stats the old me had. Even without gaining levels or Skills, she— or I— had over two hundred points in every physical stat. Even her [Mind] stat, her lowest and by far my highest, is still a full twenty-three points higher than mine!

  Part of me wants to be frustrated about how I have done so much and have so little to show for it, when the old me had it so easy, at least in that respect. But I will not give into despair, nor to despondency. I have to move forward and get stronger, for Chloe’s sake.

  Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. I am that Seraphina’s reincarnation. I possess her power, and bit by bit, I am recovering her memories. The System itself acknowledged the so-called ‘anomalous data’ within me at the moment of Integration. It tried to suppress them all, giving me a powerful-looking but fairly weak [Unique Trait] to hide my true abilities. But it failed in doing so, proving that I still have the power to influence and manipulate the System, at least to some small extent.

  Concentrate on my will. Feel [Ether] pulsing through my body. Push it to the surface like tiny hairs. Then pull it back in. Synchronize the ebb and flow of my [Ether] with the rise and fall of my breathing. Let one flow into the other, the two becoming one as I clasp my hands together in front of me.

  [Your [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank IV) has upgraded to [Intermediate Ether Manipulation (Rank V)]

  My [Ether] is moving that little bit more smoothly with the rank increase of the Skill. Or is it the opposite? My Skill’s rank has increased because I’ve gotten more adept at it.

  In either case, it’s time to use [Ether] to manifest that will into reality. That’s what Madison said in my dream last night. There are probably limits to how much I can alter reality to my will. But the fact that I can do so at all remains. Now to find those limits, and from there, grow them by applying them in combat just as I was instructed.

  I start simple. I manifest an [Ether Bullet] in the palm of my right hand. Next, envision the glyph of [Impulse] in my mind. And with another exertion of mental effort, I apply the glyph to the bullet and send it flying.

  It careens off a few hundred feet into the air before exploding with a pop akin to that of a small firecracker. I repeat the process, this time combining [Lightning] and [Impulse] together, just as my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] does. And again, it works, this time exploding with the crackle of a thunderspark.

  The next idea is considerably more outlandish. I use my [Mass Production] Skill to envision the glyph array I used when crafting those [Rings of Regeneration] earlier. It takes a bit more effort, but I’m able to adjust the shape as I unfold my mental image out from a torus and reconfigure it into a sphere. It’s not flawless— the transformation is discontinuous, and the array as it now exists will fail, likely in spectacular fashion. But it gives me an idea to work with.

  I run back inside for my sketchbook, tiptoeing into the back room to avoid waking Chloe and the others, all of whom are still asleep here in the early hours just before dawn. Immediately as I make it back outside, I begin drawing the proper configuration. I rush through the various strokes and linking runes as I focus on getting the main runes drawn the way they ought to be. And indeed, the linking runes need to be ever so slightly different to account for the fact that I’m drawing on a Euclidean surface rather than a toroidal one. Because nothing ever works as simply or straightforwardly as it ought to.

  This segues into another idea, and a test of the [Mass Production] Skill I acquired yesterday. Rather than creating every individual spell ad hoc in the midst of battle, it seems far safer to construct a slate of pre-prepared spells, ready to be conjured at a moment’s notice. That doesn’t mean there won’t be a time and a place for these custom-built spells for specialized situations. Only that I should be focusing on doing the prep work ahead of time. After all, a mechanist without her mechanical marvels to assist her on the field of battle is a mechanist not worth the food she eats.

  I… I need to make sure I am continuing to earn my keep. And fulfilling my bargain with Nicholas, who will be most upset with me should I renege on our deal.

  The first light of the sun crests above the trees to the east as I finish drawing the spell circle, its warmth matched in equal measure by the cool breeze heralding dawn’s arrival. I stand up and feel my [Ether] flowing through my channels, crashing upon my skin like crescendoing waves, building in power and intensity as I mentally envision the spell circle. Now, to use the power of Manifestation to bring those glyphs to the forefront and…

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  I fall to the ground with a splitting headache. Four of the six glyphs were successfully summoned, their faint outlines in the air slowly dispelled by the early morning light. But it seems I got hit with a ton of mental backlash when I manifested the fifth.

  Four glyphs. For now, that seems to be the limit of what my mind can handle. But this power will only grow as I push myself forward. As the last vestiges of the glyph array subside, my headache fades. It’s time to go again. And again, and again, each time pushing myself forward, honing my will and exerting it upon the world.

  This time I go with a five glyph array: [Impulse], [Lightning], [Straightness], [Extension], and [Sharpness]. The end result should be something akin to a giant beam of lightning, the [Straightness] and [Sharpness] glyphs making it needle-fine while also hopefully addressing [Lightning]’s natural tendency to arc and bend in search of optimal pathing. Always a challenge to defy pre-System physics, but only a challenge, not an impossibility. Not for me. Not for the power of 「The Anomaly」.

  After drawing out the respective pattern, then tinkering it further in my mind with the power of [Tinkerer] and [Mass Production] working together, I feel confident in my success. As before, the first four glyphs slot in perfectly, though I feel the strain on my mind as the fourth is inserted.

  It hurts like hell as I start manifesting the fifth. My vision doubles and sweat pools down my forehead. The cool breeze feels distant, utterly useless at comforting me from the torrent of heat trying to burst forth from within my very soul. It’s as though the world itself is fighting against me, refusing my call.

  I push back against it. I demand the world submit. The world refuses me, trying to collapse my glyphs back upon me and punish me for the insolence of manifesting the power that is my birthright. The power bestowed upon me, all for the sake of challenging the System itself.

  It’s as though… I scream. I cry out, my body demanding mercy against the unending torment. But my mind refuses to give in. I am above this. I will overcome it. For the sake of the world. For the sake of my friends, and those who have come to rely on me. For Chloe’s sake most of all. For even if I am not yet ready to admit it out loud, I truly do love that woman.

  Seeing her smiling face, feeling her warm, gentle embrace wrapping around me, I summon forth my will once more, ready to clash against the System’s might. And this time around, I’m able to resist it, if only barely. But that’s enough. I’m able to keep the pressure on my mind at bay just long enough to push the fifth and final glyph to the forefront and lock it into place.

  A beam of purple lightning slices the sky, puncturing clean through a cloud to the south as it darts off toward infinity, or wherever the cosmos might end. Most likely it will dissipate at some point in the upper atmosphere or distend somewhere in low-Earth orbit, breaking apart before it can cause someone on another planet a very bad day.

  My eyes snap shut as I fall to the ground, but before I thud upon the dirt-filled surface, I’m caught and gently lowered down. A hand I know to be Chloe’s caresses my cheek. So soft, so gentle, so warm. And her hair, always smelling so damn amazing. And I thought for so long that I was the unlucky one. But now I realize that Fortuna was simply balancing the scales in advance, letting me slowly pay off the amazing fortune I’ve been given these past couple of days.

  “You’re being reckless again, Sera,” she says. “What have I told you about experimenting with dangerous things like that?”

  “That I should take every step to do so safely.”

  “And?” I can feel The Look bearing down upon me, even though my eyes are still closed. It’s so nice, enjoying the morning light on my face and the comfort of Chloe’s thighs underneath my head.

  “I didn’t want to wake you,” I say meekly. “And I don’t know if this can be done safely.”

  I continue rambling about my dream, about Madison, about the ability the old me was given, and how I was trying to manifest a portion of that power. I wax on about the challenges I had to face, and how I need to hone my will through trial, training, and combat in order to draw forth the power of Manifestation.

  She listens with full attentiveness, asking questions that I answer as best I can. I open my mouth to ask for water and she obliges before I can get the words out, pouring it into my mouth and down my throat before sealing it shut with a kiss that leaves me feeling tingly and contented.

  I sit up, and the two of us make our way to a small hill a few hundred feet away. We sit together, hand in hand, watching as the sun lights up the sky high above. The two of us talk, both about everything and about nothing as well. Her fingers interlace with my own, both mechanical and biological, communicating volumes without needing to say a word. And if everything could be so simple, so peaceful, and so fulfilling as these brief moments by Chloe’s side, I wouldn’t have a complaint in all the cosmos.

  It’s for the times like these, both present and future, that I put myself through such grueling trials, such all-encompassing pain. To make these moments last just a little bit longer, and come just a little bit more often.

  “I want you to promise me one thing, Sera.” She pauses, waiting for me to nod. “Promise me that the next time you decide to experiment with Manifestation, you’ll let me know ahead of time.”

  “I will, as long as it’s not an emergency situation.”

  “Seraphina Mortensen, I–” She trails off for a few seconds. “You really exasperate me, sometimes, you know.”

  “Yeah, I suppose I do. Sorry about that.”

  “No, you’re not.” She glares down upon me. “But, I suppose that’s just one of the many things I like about you.”

  I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re amazing, Chloe. I don’t know if I’ve told you that enough times, but I think I should say it again.”

  “So are you, Sera.”

  “Thanks.” We share one last kiss before heading inside. Breakfast awaits, and afterwards, the challenges of the day ahead.