Chapter 8: Half a Tank

Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Half a Tank

Light flooded the yard. It poured out of the cracked gem in a rush, hot and bright, swirling upward into a shape that grew heavier and sharper with every second. Dust lifted off the packed dirt. The old trees along the wall shivered. Jared shielded his eyes with his forearm and squinted through the glare.

Then the light faded, and something very large exhaled.

It was a dragon.

There were no wings, no graceful neck, no elegant silhouette against the clouds. This one was built low and heavy, four thick legs planted in the dirt like pillars. Its skin was dark and rough,ridged along the spine and scarred in a dozen places. A broad head sat on a short neck, crowned with two blunt horns. Its tail curled behind it, thick as a tree trunk.

Jared stared up at it.

It stared down at him.

"Huh," he said. "No wings."

[Wings are for show offs. This one is built for the ground. Hence the name.]

"I just assumed..."

[That all dragons fly? Charming. Very fairy tale of you.]

[Also isn’t that like dragonist or something?]

"It’s a dragon."

[It’s a Ground Dragon. Read the label.]

The beast shifted its weight and the earth trembled beneath his boots.

’She’s looking at me like she’s waiting for something.’

[She is. An order. That’s how this works.]

Jared swallowed. He had never given an order to anything bigger than a vending machine. He lifted one hand and held it out, palm open, the way he’d seen the other Jared do in the memories.

"Okay," he said. "Fire. Straight up. Into the sky."

The dragon tilted her head back.

Her throat glowed. Orange light crawled up the scales of her neck, brighter and brighter, until the whole thing looked like a furnace about to open. She opened her jaws, and a column of flame tore out of her mouth and roared into the afternoon sky.

Heat slammed across the yard. Jared threw up an arm. The fire climbed higher and higher, thick and white at the core.

’Now,’ he thought. ’Change it.’

He didn’t say it out loud.He simply thought it, a sharp, clean wish, and felt something in the bond tug in answer.

The orange bled out of them in an instant. The fire thinned, twisted, and then wasn’t fire at all. It was wind. A towering column of it, whipping and spiraling upward, tearing leaves off the trees and flinging dirt across the yard. The roar dropped into a deep, howling whistle. A gust burst outward and slapped Jared in the chest, tousling his hair and knocking him back half a step.

He laughed. He couldn’t help it.

He kept a grinned even after the laugh.

"Why would anyone want to be a doctor when they can be this. I can be..."

This was real. All of it. The heat on his face, the wind in his ears, the weight of the dragon looming behind him. He had turned fire into air with a thought. He, a hospital aid with a lung full of blood a few weeks ago.

[That’s an impressive trick. Do you want to try making it rain next? Or just keep standing there looking like a child at a fireworks show?]

"Shut up," Jared said happily.

He wasn’t a bystander anymore. That was what struck him. In the hospital, everything had happened to him. The cough, the diagnosis, the bed, the needle. He had been a passenger. Even the void had felt like a conveyor belt. But this was different. This was the first moment since he’d arrived when things didn’t just happen. He had done something. He had a role.

’This world is real. And I’m in it.’

The wind died down. The last of the spiral frayed and vanished, leaving a faint scorched smell in the air. A single leaf drifted down and landed on his shoulder.

"System?" he asked. "Mana."

[Look at you, being proactive. One moment.]

A panel unfolded in the air beside him.

[Mana: 87]

For a second, the number sat there, steady and confident.

Then it blinked.

[Mana: 74]

[Mana: 62]

[Mana: 55]

[Mana: 49]

The number settled and stayed.

Jared’s smile fell right off his face.

"What the," he said.

[There it is.]

"What the... That went from 100 to 49."

[It did.]

"That’s half."

[Roughly half. 51 points, if you want to be precise.]

"I only let out one blast!"

[You summoned a beast, ordered an attack, and transmuted the flames. That’s three actions. But you don’t care about details. It adds up.]

"It was one blast!" He stared at the number. "That was a lot. I expected it to cost something, but I didn’t think it would take half of my total mana."

[You’re welcome for the education.]

Jared pressed a hand against his chest. The adrenaline was draining out of him, and something heavier was creeping in. His knees felt strangely soft. His fingertips tingled. The edges of the yard had gone a little blurry, like a photograph left in the sun.

"What’s this?" he said. His voice came out thin. "I feel... drained."

[Of course you do.]

"Why?"

[Because your mana isn’t just a battery. It’s tied to everything. Stamina. Strength. Durability. Speed. When your mana drops, those drop with it. You’re currently running at about half of everything.]

"Half of everything?"

[Half your stamina. Half your strength. Half your -.]

"It’s ok I get. That’s insane."

[That’s the system. You’re feeling the effects now.]

He swayed slightly. The Ground Dragon turned her head and regarded him with her eyes, and a low, questioning rumble rolled out of her throat. It sounded almost concerned.

’She knows. She can feel it.’

"Okay," he muttered. "That’s enough. Back to gem from. "

He held out his hand, and the Ground Dragon seemed to understand. Her form folded inward, shrinking, her scales dimming as the light drew her in. In a second she was a ball of red fire, then a stone, and the gem shot across the yard and smacked into his open palm with a small, warm click.

He closed his fingers around it and pushed it into the pouch at his belt. His hand trembled slightly.

’That was a lot of work for such a short display. ’

[Don’t be dramatic. You did great.]

"I almost passed out."

[You didn’t. That’s a win.]

The wind had left the air cool and clean. He let it settle on his face, and while it did, a thought poked at the back of his mind.

"Wait," he said.

[Uh oh.]

"Zoey said my brother..." He paused. "Zoey said the original Jared trained every day. All day. Mornings, evenings, whenever. How was that possible?"

[Ah. You’ve noticed.]

"Obviously I noticed. I did one attack and I’m out of breath. How could anyone train all day with that?"

[You pose a good question.]

"Then answer it."

[I would. But I’m enjoying the silence too much.]

"System."

[Fine. You’re no fun.] The panel pulsed.

[He’s a beast master, not just some beast trainer. Training doesn’t only mean working with your beast. Do you understand that?]

"Not really."

[You’re capable of using all your beasts’ abilities for the most part. Not just by summoning them. You can borrow their traits, test them, push them. There are technicalities, of course. Details you’ll learn only after training. Limits. Timing. Quirks.]

"That’s vague."

[I’m a system, not exactly a teacher.]

"But that still doesn’t explain it," Jared said slowly. "Fighting with their abilities has to cost mana. Or does it cost that little? Like, if I’m only borrowing a trait, maybe it’s nothing, and..."

[No.]

"I wasn’t finished."

[You were about to be wrong. The other factor needs to be accounted for.]

"What other factor?"

[The Jared in this body before you came along. He had much higher mana than you currently do.]

Jared blinked.

"Higher than a 100?"

[Considerably higher. It’s no doubt due to his having leveled up as a beast master. He’s probably slain a couple of beasts. They give him growth. You, on the other hand, are level 1. A fresh start. A blank page.]

"So I have a lot less mana than he did."

[Exactly.]

Jared sat very still.

’The original Jared. The one whose body I’m wearing. He was quite strong. Strong enough to train all day and to spar with his dragon and walk away fairly drained yet not completely wasted.’

He rubbed his face with both hands.

"That’s a heavy gap," he said slowly. "Okay. Do you have any idea how much mana he had? Roughly. Like a number..."

[Yes.]

"Don’t cut me off, I was going to ask if..."

[I said yes.]

The panel flickered. A single line of text appeared, glowing steadily, as if it had been waiting for this exact question.

[His mana was at 760.]