Chapter 46: Mana Meter

Chapter 46: Chapter 46: Mana Meter

"Excuse me?" Jared said.

"You heard me," he said. "That beast of yours. The green one. What rank is it?"

Jared stared at the back of his head.

He had no intention of answering. For obvious reasons, each one more dangerous than the last. His mouth had gone dry. His fingers tightened on the owl’s plumage until the knuckles whitened.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Curiosity."

"That’s not a reason."

"It’s the only one I need." Karl’s smile widened. "Tell you what. If you tell me what rank it is, I’ll answer your question. You did ask about my owl’s primary ability, remember? A fair trade."

[Interesting offer,]

’It’s a trap.’

[It’s a trade. Traps and trades look very similar.]

Jared said nothing.

They reached the jet a few minutes later. The owl glided alongside it, matched speed, and the pilot lowered the ramp. One by one, Karl and Jared stepped across the gap, boots clanging on the metal floor.

Karl dropped into a seat near the middle of the cabin. Jared hesitated, glanced at the empty row at the back, then took the window seat beside him.

It wasn’t by choice. Every other seat was taken. Ten rookies were crammed into the cabin, slumped, dazed, picking soot from their hair. Zoey sat near the front, her back to him, head resting against the window. She didn’t turn around.

The engines roared. The jet lifted off.

They sat side by side, close enough that their elbows brushed, so they could still talk. Karl crossed one ankle over his knee and gazed out the window, humming.

"So?" he said.

"The thing is," Jared began.

He stammered. He stopped. He swallowed.

"Do I..."

He didn’t finish.

His mind was racing.

’This could help me confirm it.’

Karl wanted to know the rank. He was asking about the gorilla, and he was offering to answer questions about his owl. If Jared told him, if he said SSS, and watched Karl’s face, he might see something. A flicker. A tell. A tiny, telling reaction.

’If he’s the one who stole my beast, he’d know what another SSS means in this case . He’d know what a second one would be worth. He’d react.’

Or he wouldn’t. Julius might be the thief. Karl might be innocent. The whole thing could be a coincidence.

’But that’s stupid.’

He turned the idea over, again and again.

’I’d be risking one beast for the other.’

If he told the truth, he’d lose the secret. The gorilla would be known. They’d start asking questions. Where had he found it? How had he gotten two SSS gems? What else was he hiding? He would be trading his hidden advantage for a single glimpse of a stranger’s face.

He needed time. He needed to think.

[Don’t,]

’I’m thinking.’

[Don’t even think about it. Don’t bother.]

’It’s a good idea.’

[It’s an awful idea.]

[The Ground Dragon is gone for the foreseeable future. You can’t get her back by guessing. Don’t bother with it for now.]

Jared’s jaw tightened.

He wasn’t listening. He couldn’t. In his mind, there was a way. He could keep both, the secret and the truth. He could reveal just enough to bait the thief, and hide just enough to protect himself. He could do this.

’I can manage it.’

"I know," he said, out loud.

Karl glanced at him. "You know what?"

"Nothing. Sorry. Talking to myself."

"Hm."

Karl turned back to the window, content to wait.

Inside Jared’s head, the conversation continued.

[You’d be exposing the fact that you possess another SSS rank beast,]

[Not just any beast. An SSS. A second one. In a world where most masters never see a single SSS in their entire lives.]

’I know.’

[How do you explain that?]

’I’ll think of something.’

[Oh, wonderful.] The system gave a long, weary sigh.

[You’ll think of something. Something before we land. We arrive in 10 minutes. When we do, they’re going to test you. Karl is going to put that gorilla in front of a meter and watch the needle. And he’ll know instantly if you’re lying.]

’So I tell the truth.’

[Then it’s SSS.]

’Then I lie.’

[And then the needle will say SSS anyway.]

Jared’s stomach dropped.

[Let’s say you lie now,] the system went on.

[Let’s say you get away with it. You bluff your way through. You claim it’s an A rank, a B, a sleepy little C. Fine. But sooner or later, you’ll start using the gorilla at max potential. You’ll be in a fight. You’ll push it. And it’ll start doing things no C rank has any business doing. People will notice. They’ll talk. And then what?]

’Then...’

[Then what, Rex?]

He closed his eyes.

’I can do this.’

[Can you?]

’If and when I reach that point,’ he said slowly, ’if I’m using the gorilla at max potential, then that means I’ll have the ability to take them on. Doesn’t that make sense? If I’m that strong, I won’t be afraid of anyone.’

The system was silent.

[That is the most optimistic nonsense I’ve ever heard.]

’It’s logic.’

[It’s hope in a trench coat.]

He didn’t answer.

The jet shuddered and began to descend. Through the window, the city rose up to meet them. A voice crackled through the speakers, announcing the landing.

Karl uncrossed his ankle and stretched.

"So," he said. "That answer?"

Jared opened his eyes.

The system was still grumbling, still disapproving. He ignored it. He took a breath, and, as casually as he could, he told the lie that Zoey had conceived for him in the Golden Bear’s waiting room, the same lie she’d handed the manager, neat and smooth and well worn.

"I lost my Ground Dragon in a fight," he said. "And I gained this beast in the fight. I don’t know the rank."

It sounded rehearsed. Too rehearsed. He heard it in his own voice.

Karl said nothing for a moment.

He gazed at Jared, head tilted slightly. A faint glint of interest lit his eyes.

"Interesting," he said at last.

"Is it?"

"Fascinating, even." He leaned back and stretched his legs into the aisle. "You lost an SSS ranked beast, and walked away with a new one. In a single fight. That’s quite a trade."

"It was a bad night."

"I’m sure. For you at least. " Karl scratched his chin. "Have you ever used a mana meter to check your readings?"

The question came out of nowhere. Jared blinked.

"Yeah," he said.

"What was it?"

"What was what?"

"The reading. What did it say?"

Jared hesitated.

[Tell the truth about this one,]

[It’s already on your license.]

"It read 100," he said.

"100?" Karl whistled, long and low. "Oh. That’s not good."

"It’s..."

"That’s really not good." He winced theatrically. "If it was higher, I’d have said that gorilla of yours was truly remarkable. It took a hit from an SSS ranked beast and walked away. That’s incredible. It stalemated a Ground Dragon, practically. That’s the kind of thing that makes a guild captain sit up and take notice."

He leaned closer.

"But with a mana count like that?" He shook his head slowly. "It doesn’t add up."

"Why not?"

"Because your beast might have been SSS ranked, but you personally weren’t up to par." Karl’s tone was almost gentle. "Not even close."

Jared felt the words land.

They didn’t hurt, exactly. They were just true, and accurate, and cold. He was a boy with 100 mana in base. He was a rookie.Anyone looking at him would see it.

’He’s right.’

That was the worst part.

The jet touched down with a soft thud.

Karl stood.

"Well," he said, brushing off his jacket. "I’m guessing you don’t have much of an idea of its rank."

"No."

"So let’s find out." He gave a small, crooked smile. "We’ll use a mana meter on it. We do that, and you get your answer."

Jared’s heart stopped.

"A mana meter."

"On the gorilla. It’s quick. Painless. Takes about 5 seconds." Karl shrugged. "You’ll know exactly what you’ve got."

Jared looked at him.

He looked at Karl’s calm, easy face. The faint, expectant light in his eyes. The way he held his hands in his pockets, relaxed, patient, as if he already knew exactly how this would end.

He didn’t have a way out.

He couldn’t refuse. A refusal would be a confession. He couldn’t run. He couldn’t lie any more than he already had. He could only stand there, in the cabin, with a wall of rookies around him and a mana meter waiting at the end of the ramp.

Slowly, he nodded.

"Okay," he said.

Karl grinned. "Good man."

He turned and strolled down the aisle, whistling, and disappeared down the ramp into the afternoon light.

Jared sat very still.

[Well,]

’Don’t.’

[That went splendidly.]

’Please.’

[You’ve walked straight into it. You’ve signed your own confession. I’d applaud, but I’m too disappointed.]

He put his face in his hands.

’I know.’

[I told you.]

’I know.’

[I told you not to bother.]

He didn’t answer. He sat there, in the empty seat. And somewhere in the back of his head, the system sighed, long and low and deeply, profoundly unimpressed.