Son Goku, is that you?
[So, I can access my screen without the orb if I am well practiced? Huh…well, I guess that makes sense.]
Chris sat down on a chair and began to feel within himself. The meditation he did in his life was helping him get into the right mindset, but there was nothing he could compare the feeling of mana too. After a few minutes, Chris decided to give it up for now and head back to the Inn, he would need to practice this in a familiar place.
Chris walked back into the main room, Sarah and Bethany were speaking and taking notes of one another, but Mathias was gone.
"What are you two doing?" Said Chris as he walked on over and looked at the series of numbers they had laid out.
"I am telling you; he should go a Vitality focused build, he CAN'T HEAL! It isn't an IF, but a WHEN he gets hurt." Shouted Sarah to Bethany.
"NO, it is standard and beneficial for him to go a balanced approach. We do not know how useful his Boons are going to be. IF he can even control them in the heat of battle!"
Chris was watching the two, "Beth, you know it is better to play it safe. Remember the Ogre Den? What would be the outcome if Rufus hadn't built more Vit? Hmm?"
"Sarah, I know you are worried, but he can get a dedicated guard, it will be fine. Plus, he will be stronger with the higher Intelligence and more conventional spells until he can get a handle on his ability." Shouted back Beth.
"Guys…umm, mind bringing me in to this conversation?" Asked Chris.
Sarah and Bethany looked at him and shook their head, "Chris, just focus on that orb, once you can activate your screen, you will be able to head to the sewer on your own." Replied Sarah.
Chris nodded and headed back to the Inn, the Sun was still beating down and it caused Chris to sweat.
He walked in and closed the door to his room before smelling his armpit.
[Yikes, I stink.] He thought as he took his shirt off and felt his chest. The stab wound was long gone, then he felt the wound around his arm.
[Everything is happening so fast. I have been in the city for such a short amount of time, but it feels like I have learned so much. This world is so…strange.] Chris was folding his shirt as he thought about the orb in his pocket, and the promise he made to himself, [One brick. How am I going to do that today?] Then he remembered, [Wait, [Blacksmithing] THAT is the skill I got!]
He smiled at the idea of making Sarah a blade that she could rely on, she had done so much to help him, and he was being led along a dangerous path, but she had his best interests at heart.
Chris pulled out the orb and rubbed the surface of it.
[Mana is MY first step…everything has been reactionary up until this point. I want to harness the power or magic for myself. Is that selfish? Probably. But I can't pass this up.]
Chris was laying down in bed with his eyes closed. His breathing was stabilizing, he was falling into a semi-conscious state. He enjoyed doing this when he had a busy day and didn't get enough sleep, but he had gotten shit for accidentally falling asleep more than once.
[Feel the warmth…blood rushing through the intestines to remove nutrients from the GI tract. Muscles relaxing to preserve energy. Glands and organs working in perfect harmony to allow the body to go into autopilot.]
He had always felt a warm feeling radiate from his stomach, it is just blood and heat pooling for digestion after covering with a blanket.
[If mana is everywhere, then it has to be in the blood. Blood magic, light magic, air magic, water magic, life magic, and so on. All of these use a fundamental principle in this world.]
He remembered back to the theory he had, and then he tried to remember how it felt when the mana was rushing into him.
[Huh…the pain might be a clue. What would cause that? And how did my body recover so quickly? It has to be the cells…]
…
…
[What if the cell is being boosted? It is like an afterburner on a jet engine. ATP production would have to be increased!] Chris' eyes shot open.
"Every form of magic can probably be linked to the body in a systematic manner. It would make sense that the body and the inlaid muscle memories impact class selection!"
"Imagine Mike Tyson came here; would he get a BS common class? No! That wouldn't make sense, he has the instincts of a madman. Geniuses of this world are relied upon to make progress, but it is self-actualization!"
Chris felt his hand, [If I am supposed to use light magic, then..]
He stood up and placed his hands together.
"KA-ME, HA ME, HA!" As Chris shoved his hands forward, he felt a warmth radiate from his hands. Light shot out in a beam-like fashion, but it was completely harmless.
"Holy shit…" Chris collapsed onto his bed, his breathing was harsh and sweat was pouring off of him.
[HOLY SHIT, I REALLY DID IT!] Chris was panting and the world was shifting under him, but this was progress.
[Sorry, Master Roshi, it kind of sucked…but THAT was incredible.] The power was null. If it hit someone, it would be the equivalent of a breath of air.
[I did magic, ME. I wonder what else I can make?] Chris was thinking about the mana cost of a spell like that and it would be impossible to really understand.
[I should show Sarah!] Chris thought as he tried to stand, but he quickly moved past that idea, walking was a bit of a chore when the dizziness set it…
[Nope, maybe later? This dizziness, maybe it is like I spent all of the mana available and I am hypomagicemia? Haha…hopefully I can get used to the shifts, it might be something mages have to deal with.] Chris was thinking back to the blue-mana potions that mages used to down, maybe it is really like glucose?
[But wait a minute! My healing spells are supposed to be free, right?] Chris was coming to a realization, "OH SHIT!"
[If I can make attack spells, then I can get away with being a healer, right? I need to test this ASAP.]
Chris stood up and thought about activating his orb when text suddenly popped into his vision.
…
[Name: Christian Boyd
Race: Dwarf
Level: 5 (0/1000 Experience)
Class: Lightbringer-[Healer]
HP: 25/25
MP: 0/40
Vitality: 5+
Strength: 5+
Intelligence: 4+
Spirit: 3+
Agility: 2+
Dexterity: 5+
Attribute Points: 15, Racial Points :5 [Please allocate your attribute points.]
Skills: [Blacksmithing Lvl: 10], [Light Magic, Lvl: 1].
Racial: Dwarven: Bonus; (+1) Vitality, Strength, or Dexterity per level.
Blessings: Blessing of the Goddess of Life, Zosoi: All Healing spells cost 0 mana and experience will be earned from amount healed instead of mana used.
Curse: Curse of the God of Death, Razotz: All healing spells will now damage allies instead of healing. Only healing classes may be equipped by the barer. The mana cost for healing spells is increased by 500% of the base-mana cost.
Trait: Wildcard: You belong nowhere. Control your fate by choosing your friends and enemies.]
[What the hell? I didn't use the orb-] Chris cut out as he got lightheaded and collapsed onto his bed. His head was pounding, and his body was beginning to feel cold.
[Just..a..little…nap.]
…
…
…
Chris slowly woke up and noticed that Sarah was standing over him, "AH! Why do people keep doing that?" Said Chris as he sat up and wiped his eyes.
Sarah was upset with Bethany and they were STILL trying to figure out which path to take, it would be up to Chris' talent and will to determine the path he took.
"Come on, we are heading outside to train." Said Sarah as she threw a wooden sword on the bed next to Chris.
Chris got up and felt around, he didn't feel much different, but there was a permanent warmth settling into his stomach. After heading outside and getting ready for practice, he tried to think about last night.
[Did I sleep the whole day? Ah fuck…I didn't get to help anyone, what am I going to do tod-] Chris noticed the wooden sword that was flying at his face and quickly dodged backwards and to the side.
"SARAH? Can you chill for a minute, I was thinking.." Said Chris as he felt the handle of his sword.
She shook her head and smiled at Chris before once again swinging at him. Block after block, Chris was pushed back, but he quickly ran from her and gained some distance.
She was slowly walking forward, giving him time to recover.
"Alright Sarah, if you want to train PROPERLY, then I'll show you how we did in on Earth, KA ME! HA ME! HA!" As Chris once again performed this attack, it shot forward with its yellow brightness. Sarah didn't even register that it was Chris and instantly dodged the harmless beam before dashing forward and "cutting" Chris' throat.
"Arg..ARG…ARgg…Sar…SarAH~" Chris was doubled over and holding his throat. The wood did not actually pierce the skin, but it sure did hurt like a bitch. Chris was spitting and trying to clear his throat while Sarah was standing there thinking, [He just, he..]
She collapsed on her knees out of shock, this was the most impressive thing she had ever seen. It made her think back to all of the mages that she had killed, they spent decades training and learning new spells. It took generations of members in a family to get a spell nearly 100% mana efficient.
She was muttering, "In a day…he made a spell..from scratch?" This is something that has never been heard of. Even the previous Heroes took many weeks to perfect their powerful spells and that is with the help of master-level teachers. Then her motherly instincts kicked in, "OH MY GOD, I am so sorry Chris. Come here!"
She rushed over to him and took a look at the bruise that was forming along his neck...it looked painful.
(AN: The spell making process is something that I hope to go into detail in, but it is pretty much what you would imagine. Words, imagery, and some feelings. The magic is partially tied to emotion and magic is an extension of the human's state of being. This lines up with how classes are actually just revealing and accepting yourself, or your dreams. I decided to tie the "light-based" attack to something that we could make sense of, but do not expect the MC to use this attack. Sarah didn't even have to dodge because most of the spell was running off of imagery and emotion, that which is abundant in anime and film.
I think the MC will stand out because he comes from a time where the Marvel Cinematic Universe exists, and the digital effects are DAMN near life-like. The last Heroes are from WW1. While they would have a lot of developed ideas and imaginations, I think this isn't close to what we have today.
P.S. My sleep schedule is FUCKED, 4am BTW…]