Chapter 2

Walking toward the crowd, Frank noted that while some passengers still sat alone, seemingly lost as they stared into space, most of the people had gathered together. In front of this group stood three men dressed in a pilot's uniforms, as well as a middle-aged man with a haircut and mannerism of a police officer. As Frank got closer, he could hear what was being said.

"Let's just remain calm and figure out what's going on," the officer said.

"I'll tell you what's going on! All our phones are dead, we have no food or water. God only knows where we are, and if that fucking message is to be believed, then no one will be looking for us. Oh, and 'monsters' will begin to spawn in less than two hours," a large man in his fifties huffed angrily, his face as red as a tomato.

"Yea, you are an Air Marshal, shouldn't you have a contingency plan or something?" A woman addressed the officer-looking guy.

"This is not the sort of situation we had ever imagined. But, I am sure we'll figure something out. Just give us time," the Marshall replied.

By now Frank had walked up to the group from the side. It was mostly as he expected: people wanted an authority figure to assure them that everything will be alright, while the authority figures were desperately trying to come up with something.

"Hey!" Frank shouted as loudly as he could, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "This system seems to work like a video game. We can learn skills by doing things – I've got a skill called Punching, after shadow boxing for about five minutes."

"Seriously? Dude must've gone senile from the shock," a man said.

"Oh? Does this look like an ocean to you? Can you see your attributes by saying 'profile?' Yet you think I am the crazy one?" Frank scoffed at the man. "Anyway, skill levels reward Grid Points which can be used to increase your attributes and stuff. I suggest we all try to gain some skills and raise our attributes."

"That... we would have to confirm it," one of the pilots mumbled after exchanging looks with the Marshall.

"Then, we just train like normal and we get skills for it?" Asked a well-built man in his late twenties. Short dark hair, dark eyes. Smashed nose and cauliflower ears, an MMA fighter or something, Frank noted absentmindedly as he nodded.

"Yea, that's how it seems to work. Not sure how magic works, maybe you just imagine the spell you want to cast and then focus on that," he added.

"Cool," the man replied, turning around and walking away from the crowd.

For his part, Frank shrugged his shoulders at the others and began to make his way back to his previous spot.

***

Roger Davis stared at the retreating old man for a moment before he snapped back to reality. He had served in the military prior to becoming an Air Marshall, so he was familiar with techniques to get people to follow orders. It's just their unusual circumstances left him unsure of what to do. However, that had changed. If we can really learn skills like he said, then that's a clear way forward, for now at least, Roger thought.

"Everyone, listen up! The situation is unknown but extremely dangerous, as such our main priority is to stay alive. I'll send someone to scout the forests on both sides of us, if they can find a defensive position, we'll move there, otherwise we'll remain here, in the plain, where we can see enemies coming," he began. "In the meantime, I am going to teach you some basic self-defense. Hopefully, that old-man told the truth, and we can really gain skills and attributes from it, but even if that's not the case, knowing some basic self-defense will help you stay alive. Those of you who wish to learn skills on your own, or want to do something else, are free to do so. Those who want me to teach them, please form a circle around me."

After addressing the crowd, he leaned toward the three pilots: "Can the three of you scout around? The message said that monsters will begin to spawn in two hours, so it should be safe for now."

"You want us to scout the forests on both sides of us?" One of the pilots asked.

"Yes, see if you can find a cave or maybe a hill, something that would give us a defensive advantage. Also, look for sources of water and food," Roger nodded.

"Alright, you can count on us," the pilot said after exchanging looks with the others.

"What do you want me to do?" Asked the third pilot, after the other two left.

"Help me organize those people," Roger motioned at the surrounding crowd. "They should stay three yards away from the nearest person, we'll need to place them into several rows as well."

He was surprised to see that over a hundred people chose to take his training. It took a while to get everyone in position. Finally, Roger took his place in the middle of the circle and began to demonstrate the basics of combat, starting with the stance. A good five minutes later, the basic stance was conquered, allowing him to move on to blocks and punches.

Over an hour later, he was still teaching blocks and basic punches, when a panel suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.

You have learned a skill: Leadership, level 1: This skill imbues your orders with conviction, making people much more likely to accept them. The stronger the order, the greater the effect.

A Leader I grid has become available.

***

As Frank walked away from the crowd, he could hear the Marshall giving out orders. Good, if they can become stronger it will be much easier to face whatever monsters the system will begin to spawn soon, Frank thought as he glanced at the timer in the top-right of his vision. 1:44:38, still enough time to...

"Excuse me," someone said, pulling on his sleeve. Turning around, Frank stared at the young woman who sat near him on the plane. "Do you really think we can learn magic... by simply imagining it?"

"Maybe. I mean, if skills are learned by doing, then that's how it should work. What are your magic attributes like?" He asked.

"They are, a sec, 1 for affinities, Focus 4, Control 5, Willpower 4," she replied after a moment.

"Hmm, better than mine. Well, give it a try and let me know if it works. My name is Frank, by the way," he introduced himself.

"I am Amy," she replied and smiled at him.

Seemingly satisfied with his answers, she walked away, allowing Frank to continue to his spot. Sitting on the grass-covered ground, Frank regarded his profile as he thought of what to do next. Stamina has regenerated 2 points, but that's not nearly enough to do anything. Then, magic it is. He thought about what kind of spell he wanted to try, it would have to be something simple, just to test if it worked.

"Use the force, you must," he said, a silly smile on his face. While there were more useful spells to try, like fireball or some such, the idea of having the iconic power was too much to resist.

He plucked a blade of grass and laid it a bit away from where he sat. Then he tried to focus his mind on making the blade of grass move. He felt pretty stupid, as he tried to imagine the piece of grass moving towards him. Minutes rolled one after another, as he bombarded the blade of grass with images of it moving towards him.

After ten minutes, his eyes began to twitch, as he stared at the stubborn piece of grass with hatred. Suddenly, his focus was interrupted by Amy waving her hands in front of his eyes. Frank lifted his gaze and looked at her questioningly.

"I did it!" She exclaimed, her smile filled with excitement. "I managed to summon an icicle and got a skill called Icicle."

"Congratulations. And now, we know that it works, nice job," he praised her. "Was there anything special you did? I've been trying all this time and nothing."

"Yes! After trying for a while, I started to think about wizards from books and movies and such. They usually have wands or staff that they point when casting a spell, so I tried pointing with my hand while focusing on what I wanted to happen, and it did! Only took a few minutes once I started using my hand," she explained enthusiastically.

"Point with your hand, huh? I haven't thought about that," he mumbled, "I'll give it a try then. You should go tell the others about your discovery. The more of them learn some spells, the better.," he told her.

Watching Amy depart with a spring in her step, Frank once more focused on the blade of grass he was trying to move. He extended his hand towards it and focused, an image of the blade moving towards him in his mind. A minute passed, then another, and another. He was grinding his teeth as he stared with bloodshot eyes at the little blade of grass that simply refused to move. The outstretched fingers of the hand he was pointing with were now flexed, the hand looking like a claw.

Still nothing!

"Aaaahhhhh!" He screamed as he flexed his fingers further, his entire being willing the grass to move, and it did! The blade of grass moved a few inches toward him and a panel appeared before his eyes.

Immediately, he felt light-headed and his vision swam, so much so he actually lost his balance and fell on the ground. He spent some time laying on his back and staring into the blue sky. Once he felt better, he focused his sight on the new panel.

You have learned a skill: Telekinesis level 1: The power that everyone wants but few people have... because it's worthless and no one wants it. This skill gives you the power to move objects with your mind.

After going over the rather detailed description, Frank closed the panel, only to stare at Amy looking down at him. Quickly he sat up and opened his mouth to say something, when Amy squatted down next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Frank? I heard you scream and then you fell on the ground," she asked in a worried voice.

"Yes, I am fine. It was just a side effect of using magic, I guess."

"Oh, you got it? That's great! What skill did you get?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Mm, telekinesis... though it seems useless for now," he replied, a frown appearing on his face.

"Oh, OK. Then, I'll go train some more. Oh, by the way, I've got a skill called Meditation, which doubles all regeneration. You can get it by meditating," she told him, then she got up and turned to the other people, shouting "He's fine."

Frank thanked her for the info about Meditation, then he brought up his profile. He placed the new Grid Point he got into the Beginner grid, and the attribute point he received went into Vitality again. He focused on his resources and after bombarding the system with images of what he wanted to happen, the four resources appeared in the top-left of his vision.

HP: 24/24 (16/hour)

Stamina: 8/10 (25/hour)

D Mana: 6/10 (16/hour)

R Mana: 10/10 (21/hour)

Stamina is now back to 8, and It looks like telekinesis used up 4 D mana, damn it, this spell might really be useless, Frank mused, then he looked at the timer in top-right and cringed. 1:27:22. And I spent like fifteen minutes learning it. Shaking his head, he considered what he should do next. I need to spend all my D mana and stamina, then get a skill that uses R mana and spend it all, that way I can get the most out of meditation, once I have it.

He ripped another blade of grass and held it in his hand. Then he tried to lift it above his palm. The process went much easier now that he had the skill. After ten seconds, the blade began to float upwards, he tried to make it hover in place but failed to do so, the grass stuck either rising or falling. I guess my control of the mana flow is no good, he thought. Still, it was rather effective for his purposes – a point of D mana draining every thirty seconds.

Three minutes later he was out of D mana and had increased his Telekinesis skill to level 2. He used the GP to bring the Beginner grid to 3/10, investing the attribute point into Vitality once more, bringing it up to 4. The resources in his top left changed to:

HP: 27/27 (21/hour)

Stamina: 10/10 (30/hour)

D Mana: 0/10 (16/hour)

R Mana: 10/10 (21/hour)

Feeling the energy from increased Vitality course through his veins, Frank got up and looked around. A group of over a hundred people was being trained to fight by the Air Marshall, looking quite similar to the training montage from kung fu movies. The rest of the people were either alone or in small groups, trying to learn magic, meditating, or fighting. Several people had, apparently, run into the forest and found some sticks, which they fashioned into weapons and were swinging those around.

No longer feeling as silly as he did the first time, Frank began to shadowbox again. The increased Vitality clearly made a difference, his body no longer wobbled as he punched, and his posture and technique showed a marked improvement. Several minutes later he got a small surprise when a panel informed him of receiving a skill he didn't expect.

You have learned a skill: Fitness level 1: The skill that allows you to get the six-pack, attract hot babes, and last all night! This skill reduces the stamina consumption of all physical activities, except for the cost of active skills.

Scratching his head at the increasingly snarky description Frank quickly added the GP to Beginner grid and used the attribute point on Vitality. He continued to punch the air, his remaining 5 stamina lasting a little longer now. When he was about to run out, he finally got the notification that Punching has increased to level 2. He did the same thing with the GP and the awarded attribute point as previously.

The timer in the upper right showed 1:15:10, while his D mana crept up to 2/10. Frank sat on the ground and wiped the sweat off his brow. Now, what sort of spell should I try to use R mana? Would a healing spell actually go off if the target isn't hurt? I am once again in uncharted territory, he sighed and brought up his profile, looking at his health stat.

HP: 33/33 (31/hour)

However, as his focus lingered and a panel with expanded description popped up, Frank's eyes widened. He had assumed that HP stood for health points, but he was wrong. Shocked, he read over the expanded description one more time.

HP 33/33 (31/hour): Healing Points will be used to counteract the damage and restore your body should you sustain any injuries.

Healing Points? Curious. So, rather than being some abstract number that somehow represents one's health, HP acts as a healing spell on its own... This also means that a restorative spell wouldn't result in healing an actual injury, but rather in adding points to one's HP. That... complicates things, Frank thought as he caressed his chin. At the very least I should test how HP works.

Having come to this conclusion, he looked for something to injure himself. Ideally a sharp stone that he could use to make a small cut, just to test how HP worked. Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable around. He could perhaps find a sharp stick in the forest, but it would take time, plus he'd have to use a good amount of force to injure himself, and could easily overdo it. After some consideration, he decided against it.

Instead, he wrapped the fingers of his right hand around the pinky of his left, took a deep breath, then twisted his right hand, yelping in pain as the finger was dislocated. Teeth ground together, he brought his left hand toward his face, looking at the unnaturally aligned finger, which throbbed with dull pain. After about five seconds, the pinky twitched and snapped back into place, while Frank's HP slid down by 2 points.

That's pretty cool. At the very least it makes light injuries a non-issue. It should also increase our chances of surviving once the monsters spawn. Now, back to the spell that uses R mana. A healing spell seems too iffy, then what else can I use? The answer didn't take long, and he began to focus his mind trying to cast one of the more iconic spells – mana shield.

There was a bit of an issue with the "pointing your hand" technique. Since the spell would be cast on himself, pointing at himself looked rather weird, so much so that he doubted that it would have the same effect as it did for offensive spells. After some contemplation, he decided to point his palm upwards, as he imagined the mana shield springing up from his palm and encircling him.

Quickly, ten minutes passed as he continued his efforts. Still, Frank didn't despair, he knew it was possible, and that knowledge was all he would need. Five more minutes went by, before he succeeded, as a translucent bubble with a light-blue hue surrounded him. He collapsed the notification panel resulting from a new skill, and instead stood up, wanting to test the new spell.

The elongated bubble clung pretty close to his body, about a foot away, allowing him to push his hands or feet through it. Which made sense, since such a design would let him fight with the bubble active. Satisfied with this bit of testing, he sat down and looked at the notification for the spell.

You have learned a skill: Mana Shield level 1: With this iconic spell you now feel and look like a real magic caster. Which isn't nearly as good of news as you think, since magic casters are the primary target in any engagement. This skill creates a protective bubble around you, which will absorb a set amount of damage.

Pretty useful skill. It essentially expands my HP, plus I can use it preemptively, to avoid taking damage, Frank mused a satisfied expression on his face. Then he looked at the stats in his upper-left, and the timer in his upper-right, and frowned. His stamina was back to full at 10/10, D mana was at 7/10, and R mana at 4/10. Meanwhile, the timer showed 55:47.

Crap, less than one hour left, and I still need to learn Meditation, not to mention an offensive spell that's actually worth using. Still, I should have enough time for everything, he thought as he tried to estimate how long each activity would take.

Over the next fifty minutes, he proceeded to increase the level of Punching by 2, Fitness by 1, and Mana Shield by 1. He also gained Meditation skill. For a damage spell, Frank decided to go with a lightning bolt, and after fifteen minutes a ball of condensed lightning the size of a tennis ball shot out of his fingers, flying into the sky.

Laying down on his back, he felt quite satisfied with the skills he was able to gain. He now had offensive and defensive spells, and Punching was at level 4. More importantly, the skill increases along with learning Lightning Bolt and Meditation netted him a total of 7 Grid Points, which would allow him to finish the Beginner grid and even get started on another one. A content smile on his face, he looked at the notifications for the two new skills.

You have learned a skill: Lightning Bolt level 1: This nifty spell might make you feel like Zeus, but worry not, such delusions will disappear as soon as you realize that lightning follows the path of least resistance. Which means people can avoid your spell by planting a sword into the ground in front of it. This skill sends a small lightning ball at your target.

You have learned a skill: Meditation level 1: Let go of the world around you and focus inwards, contemplating about what's truly important. It's also a great time to reflect on the poor choices you've made regarding what skills you've elected to learn. This skill greatly boosts all regeneration. All regeneration increases by (100 + 2*level) percent.

God damn it, Frank couldn't help but curse as he read the description for Lightning Bolt. Hopefully, the monsters we fight aren't smart enough to ground my lightning spell. Then again, I can only cast it once. The descriptions are getting increasingly snarky though, I wonder if it's the same for others, I should ask Amy, Frank thought as he looked at the young woman meditating. He noted the timer: 8:14 before the monsters would begin to spawn.

Alright, time to spend the Grid Points and get ready!