Did I Just See What I Think I Saw?

Ayaka was the first in the conference room to react to Joon-ho’s sudden collapse. “Proxima, dispatch RES-QR response to my location immediately!”

Her words shook the rest of the attendees out of their stupor and a low hum of activity picked up in the background. Dr. Standing Bear muscled her way through the gawking civilians around her and rushed to the fallen awakener’s side. She pulled an instrument from the pocket of her traditional white coat and ran it over Joon-ho from head to toe.

“I... what... how!?” she stuttered.

“How what?” Ayaka practically snarled.

“He’s suffering from mana deprivation. I don’t understand how that could be! We simply aren’t made to store mana—it flows through and enhances us, it isn’t something we require to function...” the petite Native American woman muttered, shock still clear on her features.