Chapter Eight

"You must be Jason's new girlfriend he mentioned." Trusky smiled while glancing away from the half naked girl. "About time this one roped in a girl."

"I don't think he was the one who did the roping." Selena giggled lightly as she went to Jason and put an arm around his waist and winked at the officer.

Trusky's eyes went from Jason to Selena and sighed. "I didn't think you moved this fast, son." He gave a weak smile and went back to the door. "There are things about that book nobody knows about, Jason." He stopped before grabbing the door knob. "Just be on the lookout for anyone else who tries to gain information about it. And contact me later." Before he left, he flipped off the light and looked directly into Jason's eyes. "I mean it Jason, there are things you don't understand."

With that, he shut the door behind him. Jason went to the window and peaked out the curtains. He saw the man climb into his cruiser and drive away. He backed away from the window and sat on his old worn down couch. He thought for a moment, letting the silence fill the room.

Selena stood at the door frame to his room. Her back against it as she waited for him.

"He knows." Jason broke the silence. "How?" He looked Selena in the eye.

"I told you before. Just because you didn't know it existed, doesn't mean that would apply to everyone else." Her words were low, but still loud enough to be heard in the silent house. "Magic has always existed in this world. You are just now beginning to see the real world, that's all."

Jason got out his phone and looked at the mage's academy app. "I guess that just means it's time to start living, right?" He looked thoughtfully at the dungeon menu.

"Maybe not right now." Selena walked over and sat next to him on the couch. "You've been moving non stop since learning about your world. You should rest for now, and we can try again tomorrow when you have a clear head."

Jason sighed as he got up from his couch and moved to his bedroom. He looked back and smiled. "There's a room upstairs that's already made up for you. Let me know if you need anything, the fridge is open if you are hungry."

Before she could object, Jason shut the door behind him. As he did, the daylight sight finally canceled out, allowing his eyesight to return to normal. He made his way to his bed where he chucked off his shoes and kicked them under, then went into the bathroom that was connected and turned on the shower. When he took off his shirt, his eyes widened slightly.

He had never been a very fit man. That didn't mean he was overweight, it just meant he never really worked out. He drank a decent amount of soda which added a bit of weight, but with all the running around, he at least kept the fat from showing. Now though, he was looking at a leaner version of himself. His muscles had definition in a way he would compare with athletes. It was like he had taken a super soldier serum without knowing it!

He tore his gaze from the mirror and got in the shower. Though he knew there was no blood on his body, his mind was telling him he had to be covered in it. He felt something akin to phantom pain, knowing it had to be there, sticking dryly to him, yet no matter how much he scrubbed, nothing came off of him. He soaked until he was convinced.

Taking a towel from a rack, he dried off and put his clothes in the washer after which he put on a fresh set of pajama pants and a white t-shirt before climbing into bed with his phone. "What the hell is going on?" He flipped through the mage's academy app while he thought.

The app looked like any other game you would find online. It had a friend's list, a map, equipment, storage and even a shop. He looked at the last link and paused on it for a moment. Every time he had pressed something in the menu it had transported him to a different location. "If I select a shop, will I be sent to a shop?" His finger hovered hesitantly over the button, yet after a minute he couldn't hold back his curiosity and clicked on it.

Instead of being transported to another reality, he found himself looking at another menu which reminded him of online shopping. There were tabs for just about anything. Food, clothing, then there were homes, weapons, armor, and potions. His finger tapped the weapons tab. "The weapon I've got is laughable. Maybe an upgrade wouldn't be too expensive.

As he sifted through the weapons, he thought of what he really wanted. "Swords aren't all that bad, but I thought I was supposed to be a mage. Shouldn't I have a staff or something?" He hadn't seen Selena pull out a staff or anything yet, but her clothes from when she first arrived reminded him of the stereotypical mage. "With a storage option, who knows what people would have for weapons until they are used.

Jason flipped through the swords that were available. They were the same typical swords you would find in any standard game. 'Steel Sword of the Fiery Serpent' and 'Iron Sword of the Frozen Tundra'. The names went on and on, each one having a stat that increased elemental damage. When he looked at the cost of the weapons, his eyes bulged. Anything with a simple enchantment costs anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000.

He closed the platform and put the phone on his bed. Then he remembered what Selena had told him when teaching him about mana to make the daylight sight. "Reach into the source of mana and grab some, then form it to what you want." He raised his hand outstretched in front of him. He followed the feeling of his mana and directed a small amount to his hand. He closed his eyes and imagined the mana forming as a blade. He could see a slight glow from behind his eyelids and opened them to look at a saber of sorts. It looked a bit thinner than a baseball bat and glowed green. Moving it slightly, he felt no weight.

His phone buzzed and broke him out of his trance. Picking it up, he flipped to the app's main screen and saw he had a notification.

'Congratulations, you have learned the spell: Mana Saber: 0.00% This spell summons a blade of mana. Spell cost: 30MP. Spell Duration: 15 Minutes. Cooldown: 1 Minute.'

"At least now I won't have to use that rusted sword." Jason looked at the saber one more time before allowing it to dissipate. "I'll have to test it later." After the awkward conversation with Officer Trusky, Jason felt he knew frighteningly little about who knew of the real world. It felt like the man knew what the book really was. He thought back to the dark house the man walked into as if it were still daytime. He could feel that Trusky was somehow connected.

Before he closed his phone again, a feeling of not being prepared swept over him. If someone like Officer Trusky was a part of this world, who knew who else was. "If others know about this kind of magic, what happens if I get discovered? How could I defend myself just as a level 3?" He thought about what Selena had told him. What if they really did tie him to his respawn point? They would kill him until he died of old age and probably never tire of it. He wasn't about to accept that reality. His finger hovered over the level 1 dungeon once more. "She told me to rest, but how can I?" He selected the dungeon and allowed the darkness to swallow him.