[WATCH YOUR LEFT, DR. MAYHEW.]

  Kyle grunted acknowledgement as he ducked underneath the heavy fist, the air from the blow rustling his hair as it passed overhead. Synaptic Barbs warned him of another chopping punch following behind, and he sidestepped the follow-up attack, jumping into the air and using a quick burst of Repel to vault over the monstrosity as it swiped its arm sideways, trying to grab him.

  His focus was on Parasitic Resonance, trying to find any sign of the creature’s mana flowing in the patterns described in the notes. Despite the drone’s confidence that the inscriptions would be present within the beast, Kyle was skeptical. This was the second of the monstrosities that they’d hunted down in the last couple of weeks, with no success so far.

  Neither C.H.A.D.D.’s scans nor Kyle’s Identify gave them any hints as to where the sigils would be located. The last one they fought had to be put down hard, and the rate things were going, this would be no different. Their attacks were dangerous, and close-range evasion required near-perfection on Kyle’s part to keep his focus on searching for the magic circles.

  The abomination let out a scream that shook the air as it released a wave of bone shards from its back. Kyle was already flat on the ground, Identify hard at work as he scanned the warped flesh of the former dissidents. He could see massive waves of vital energy rushing through the creature’s pathways, which only increased in intensity as the beast healed its injuries from the attack.

  This was a large part of the problem. Their bodies were in a constant state of motion and regeneration, each one of their strikes causing damage in backlash, which was subsequently healed. There was nothing intentional or precise about the flow of mana, no easily discernible pattern that Kyle could latch onto. If they had the magic circles inscribed at all, it was just too difficult to track down their location.

  He met the oncoming straight punch with Storm Shelter, suppressing his grimace as the fist exploded into a shower of blood and bone. With a sigh, he prepared to turn Parasitic Resonance to attack the body of the creature. Even if the end would be painful, Kyle still believed it would be a mercy.

  [DR. MAYHEW, DO IT AGAIN.]

  C.H.A.D.D.’s words startled him, nearly causing him to lose focus on Parasitic Resonance.

  “Do what again, C.H.A.D.D.?”

  [RIGHT AS YOU ACTIVATED YOUR SKILL, I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE DETECTED SOMETHING IN THE ABOMINATION’S BODY. IT WAS FLEETING, THOUGH IF MY SCANS ARE CORRECT, I MAY HAVE SEEN ONE OF THE SIGILS OUTLINED IN THE NOTES.]

  “Where?” Kyle demanded, not having felt anything through the connection.

  [JUST BELOW ITS HEART. THE CENTRAL HEART. OF THE ONES IN ITS TORSO, NOT THE AUXILIARY ORGANS.]

  Kyle frowned, moving the tendrils of Parasitic Resonance through the creature’s chest as it pounded against his barrier. There’s nothing here, he concluded. The mana pathways in its body felt normal, with no sign of an inscribed circle.

  “I don’t see it, C.H.A.D.D.,” Kyle said, dropping Storm Shelter and creating a bit more distance as the beast overcommitted to a downward slam.

  [USE STORM SHELTER AGAIN, DR. MAYHEW.]

  “Give me a minute for the barrier to recharge,” Kyle replied, focusing Identify on the monster’s torso. He intentionally left Parasitic Resonance dormant, trying not to influence the flow of energy. It swirled as normal, though as the creature turned toward him to attack, he felt a barely perceptible flash of… something. At first, he thought it was just the wild flow of regenerative energy, but coupled with C.H.A.D.D.’s words, he was interested.

  Sidestepping a few more attacks, Kyle didn’t feel anything else until he activated Storm Shelter again, this time intercepting a full-body tackle. “Did you see anything?” Kyle asked, voice barely audible over the ear-splitting bellow of the abomination.

  [NO, DR. MAYHEW. SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT YOUR APPLICATION OF THE SKILL, PERHAPS IT WAS LESS INTRUSIVE?]

  Less intrusive… Kyle thought, getting an idea. “Watch again, I’m going to try something.” If Storm Shelter was fundamentally a mana projection skill, did some of that intent leak out during his last use of the skill? With a mental push, Kyle forcefully introduced some of his mana into the monstrosity’s mana network. Normally, this was something he wouldn’t do. It was far more efficient to rely on his enemies’ energy than expending his own, with creatures too weak to cultivate any mana not typically requiring him to use Parasitic Resonance in the first place.

  As he pushed mana into the abomination, Kyle felt something odd. There was resistance initially, followed by the expected domination through the raw difference in their Willpower attribute. And then, he felt like his mana ran into a wall. No, not a wall, Kyle thought, as his mana pushed in from all angles, facing opposition at a singular point. A small spherical area was resisting his efforts, and realization dawned. It wasn’t a magic circle at all! They created a blueprint for a core!

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Before he could explore it further, he was forced to disengage, Storm Shelter cracking under the creature’s steady assault. It was looking truly wretched, its regeneration having been largely suppressed during Kyle’s intrusion. Kyle maintained the pressure as best he could, and marveled at the efficacy of this application of Parasitic Resonance.

  Though he was losing mana at an alarming rate, he’d been able to near-fully suppress the abomination’s regenerative power by sealing away its mana flow. While it may not be suitable in many circumstances, Kyle felt his mind drifting to other possibilities. Focus, he admonished, turning his attention back to the creature before him. Ignition was helping resupply his energy, though he was still down to a little below half of his total mana potential.

  Looking at the monster’s wounds, Kyle made a decision. Pushing even more mana into the creature, Kyle twisted. He used his own energy to rip into the creature from the inside in one brutal surge of power. It collapsed a moment later, though Kyle kept pouring energy in to suppress the core. He wanted to ensure the monster was well and truly dead before allowing the energy within to diffuse, potentially allowing the beast to recover.

  He held for a minute, then 2, only stopping when he felt his mana reserves dip below a quarter of maximum. Leaving Ignition active to aid in his recovery, he focused on the core as he released his pressure, watching it dissipate throughout the body first, then into the atmosphere.

  “What can you make of it, C.H.A.D.D.?” Kyle asked.

  [IT IS FASCINATING, DR. MAYHEW. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CIRCULAR STRUCTURE WAS LIMITED, AND I ALLOWED THAT BIAS TO LIMIT MY PREDICTION OF THE POSSIBILITIES. THAT THE STRUCTURE ONLY APPEARED UNDER PRESSURE WAS OF PARTICULAR INTEREST.]

  “What do you think our chances are of destabilizing it?” Kyle asked.

  [UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE ARE SOMEWHAT LOW, DR. MAYHEW. UNLESS YOU WERE SIGNIFICANTLY HOLDING BACK YOUR WILLPOWER?]

  Kyle shook his head. “I could definitely go a little harder, but it’s safe to say that pressuring its mana to the point the core formed took somewhere close to 70% of what I could do. At least, without being significantly more damaged.”

  Unbroken Willpower was part of his Adaptive Anatomy he didn’t use often, though it came with a meaningful spike in his power. In a pinch, he might have been able to push past the core’s resistance altogether, albeit with a price.

  [WITH THAT BEING THE CASE, IT IS LIKELY THAT YOU HAVE DISCOVERED THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEANS OF HANDLING THEM, AT LEAST FOR NOW. INCIDENTALLY, DR. MAYHEW, HOW REPLICABLE IS THAT DEGREE OF ISOLATION AND SUPPRESSION, IN YOUR OPINION?]

  Kyle frowned at the question. “I’m sure I could replicate the feat against anything with much lower Willpower, though I doubt it would be as effective against D Grade Mages or Healers. Their Willpower stats should be high enough to at least prevent full suppression. Why do you ask, C.H.A.D.D.?”

  [AS YOU KNOW, DR. MAYHEW, THE CREATION OF THE MAGIC CIRCLES TO BUILD THESE ABOMINATIONS REQUIRED ITERATION. AFTER SEEING YOU FORM THE CORE, I BELIEVE ANOTHER EXPERIMENT MAY HAVE BEEN CONNECTED; PERHAPS EVEN AN EARLY ITERATION OF SOME OF THE WORK THAT WENT INTO CREATING THESE MONSTERS.]

  “Do you think there are other mutated beasts out there like these?” Kyle asked.

  [NO, DR. MAYHEW. AT LEAST, I AM UNCERTAIN ABOUT THAT. WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE THE CASE, HOWEVER, IS THAT THE IDEA OF A MANA CORE THAT DISPERSES UNLESS SUPPRESSED MAY BE A FURTHER APPLICATION OF THE MANA PLAGUE THAT APPEARS IN THE NOTES.]

  Kyle stopped, momentarily stunned. “Mana plague?”

  [YES, DR. MAYHEW. THE DISEASE WE RESEARCHED APPEARS TO BE FOCUSED HEAVILY ON THE CONCEPTS OF CONCENTRATION AND DISPERSION.]

  “Explain,” Kyle said, biting back the concern he felt rising in his chest.

  [THE THEORY SEEMED TO BE BASED AROUND CONCENTRATING LARGE AMOUNTS OF DETRIMENTALLY-ATTUNED MANA, PUSHING IT THROUGH A FORMATION TO CONDENSE IT, AND THEN LETTING IT DISPERSE.]

  “Then why is it only now becoming an issue? If the mana has been dispersed in the air for years, they should have identified any issues much sooner.”

  [I WOULD TEND TO AGREE. WHILE I DO NOT HAVE A FIRM ANSWER AS TO THE TIMING, I DO HAVE THEORIES. FURTHERMORE, I AM CONFIDENT THAT VARIATIONS ON THE ABILITY YOU DISPLAYED WILL BE VALUABLE IN THE PLAGUE’S TREATMENT.]

  Kyle considered, remembering his application of condensing poisons to force them out of his patients’ bodies. While there were likely major differences between treating a toxin and treating a full-blown plague, the concept of isolating and destroying the trouble could carry over.

  The bigger issue would come down to what the desired outcome of the pathogen was. From Vel’Norn’s report, it sounded like standard healing skills were effective at combatting the symptoms. If nothing else, Kyle was confident in being able to help prevent further deterioration while he and C.H.A.D.D. worked on a longer-term solution.

  “What is the function of the plague?” Kyle asked, turning his attention to the challenge at hand.

  [FROM WHAT I CAN UNDERSTAND, THE DISEASE WAS MEANT TO BE ABSORBED FROM DISPERSED ENERGY, AND THEN SLOWLY COALESCE AND GAIN FUNCTION AS THE TAINTED ENERGY IS CIRCULATED WITHIN A HOST’S MANA NETWORK. THOUGH I DID NOT THINK THE PROCESS WOULD REQUIRE YEARS, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE VILLAGERS ARE ONLY NOW SEEING THE IMPACT FROM THEIR ABSORPTION. GIVEN VEL’NORN’S LOW LEVEL, THE SLOWER RATE OF MANA ABSORPTION BY HIS VILLAGE MAY BE DUE TO RELATIVE WEAKNESS.]

  Kyle sighed, still more than a little lost. Why did the king go through the trouble to create a magic pathogen like the one in the notes? His goals seemed to be far more immediate in nature, and nothing about it made sense. Even if he was willing to accept that there was a potential proof of concept to create the abominations, pushing beyond the academic into application made little sense.

  “Is there anything else in the notes that you think would be relevant?” Kyle asked.

  [WITH FURTHER STUDY I MAY GAIN MORE INSIGHTS. THE ONLY OTHER ITEM WORTH MENTIONING IS THAT THIS EXPERIMENT, MUCH LIKE THE ONE TO CREATE THE MONSTROSITIES, HAD A HEAVY DEGREE OF GUIDANCE FROM THE ‘TEACHER.’]

  Kyle’s teeth clenched at the mention of the enigmatic figure who dotted the notes. There was nothing at all of substance they could find, but whoever it was had their hand in the worst atrocities the former king committed. Kyle only hoped that this person had died in the revolution. If not, he would make sure that they answered for what they’d done.

  [DR. MAYHEW, YOUR HEART RATE IS INCREASING STEADILY. ARE YOU WELL?]

  “I will be, C.H.A.D.D.,” Kyle replied. “Come on. Let’s see if we can track down this village.”

  [A WISE DECISION, DR. MAYHEW.]