The Nexus Games litRPG [Chapters 11-12]

Hey guys!

Here are some more Nexus Games chapters. I hope you enjoy! A lot of the powers/systems are actually based on the table-top homebrew game I designed with John. I play this game all the time, basically, lol

—Chapter 11—

—Eyes of the Arbiter—

“Thank you,” Xiang said, her expression softening.

With a twirl of her hand, the illusions melted away. The room returned to its original appearance—green plants in every corner. A pleasant aroma of flowers. No one would ever expect that the room was actually a drab empty space devoid of decoration.

Kellan glanced around, still amazed by the detail of Xiang’s illusions. “And once we win, if Mavis and I want to return to our dimension, you’ll take us there, right? We don’t have to accompany you in Zenith?”

She nodded. “But I don’t understand why you would avoid it. Whatever life you had before, you can have a better one in Zenith.”

“Yeah, but maybe I liked my life before.” Kellan felt the depression in his own voice. Had he really been happy? “Mavis needs the choice, too. I don’t want to decide anything for her.”

Xiang lifted a perfect eyebrow. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure who Mavis is. I’ll have to discuss this all with my brother.” She stepped away from him, her long white robes flowing with her movements. “And… I need some time to process everything. Please speak to Sen about acquiring arcana. You should have some abilities before we enter into the games, and we don’t have much time left.”

“Wait,” Kellan said. “I have a couple questions.”

Xiang stopped near the balcony curtain, but she said nothing. In silence, she waited.

“I killed a Pestbyter, and Sen seemed to think that was the wrong move. What’s going to happen?”

“We’ll need to avoid the Justices until we can speak to the Arbiter himself. Destroying one of his creations is a crime that only he can absolve you of. It’ll make our trek to the AVU Palace difficult, but I’ll handle it.”

“Okay. And who is the Arbiter?”

“An ancient and powerful mage who has ruled the Nexus since history has been recorded here. He is, perhaps, part of the dimension itself.”

That didn’t help Kellan as much as he hoped it would.

“What is a mage, exactly?” he asked.

“An individual with a soul who is capable of improving their magic.” Xiang combed her fingers through his inky hair. “You are a mage. I’m a mage. Husker is a mage. But the Pestbyters are not. They are semi-sentient constructs, incapable of improving their magic and completely devoid of a soul.”

“How did I become a mage?”

“Crossing into the Nexus,” Xiang answered matter-of-factly. “There’s a percentage chance every time a soul crosses from one dimension to the other. One perfect, the soul perishes. Eighty percent, the soul is touched by the Sea of Chaos, and is granted with magic. A nineteen percent chance the soul is granted lesser magical powers—they become a half-mage or something weaker.”

Kellan almost laughed. There were hard percentage numbers for when someone was granted magic? Was the Sea of Chaos an ancient algebra teacher who wanted the chance to say, I told you that this would be important! But did you listen? No!

“Wait.” Kellan could barely contain his anger. “There’s a one percent chance someone dies when they jump between dimensions?”

Xiang nodded. Then she glanced over her shoulder. “Does that upset you?”

The reckless disregard for his life bothered him, but Kellan wasn’t sure how angry he could get now. Sen risked his life. It wasn’t a huge risk, but it was still a risk.

“Please,” Xiang said, fatigue in her voice. She looked away from him, her brow furrowed. “I need time.” She held onto the silk curtain. “If you could give me some space… I would appreciate that.”

After a short sigh, Kellan muttered agreement and then left the room. He stepped into the hall, and turned to the right, only to almost trip over Sen. Kellan stopped and stared down at the kid, wondering when Sen had wandered back, and how much of the conversation he had overheard.

Without a word, Sen hurried down the hall, his expression neutral. Kellan followed, but the same feeling of tension returned. Something was wrong between the two siblings, though Kellan wasn’t sure what. And it was obvious to him that the sister hadn’t wanted Kellan around.

For some reason.

“Xiang seemed upset with my presence,” Kellan said as they reached the staircase. “I think she was crying.”

Sen stutter-stepped to a halt. He waited at the edge of the first step, not moving. Then he inhaled and continued on his way. “You needn’t worry about that. I will speak with my sister. She’s just had a rough time lately. Nothing to dwell on.”

“Okay, well… Xiang said you would teach me about magical abilities.” Kellan followed after Sen. “She mentioned arcana. That is how I develop magic, isn’t it? Arcana?”

Sen huffed as he took the step one at a time, his legs short, and his enthusiasm less than before. “Arcana is the crystalized form of someone’s essence—their soul, if you will.”

The information stopped Kellan in his tracks. “Wait,” he said, desperate to understand. “I found arcana in the Pestbyter. Xiang just said it was a construct. It had no soul.”

Sen chuckled. He stopped on a step, turned around, and smiled. “Oh, you’re so young.” He straightened his robes. “The Pestbyter is capable of moving because of the power of the arcana. Think of it like a battery. The Arbiter made toys—the Pestbyters—and then powered them with the arcana.”

“The souls of… other people?”

“That’s right.”

“And that doesn’t disturb you?” Kellan asked with a single laugh.

Sen shook his head. “Of course not.” Then he turned back around and headed down the stairs. “Reality is harsh, and the strongest rule. The dead don’t need magic power—and once their arcana is gone, they’re done forever.”

Kellan listened, but the cold way Sen spoke rubbed him the wrong way. Kellan had never handled death well—that’s what his therapist had said, anyway.

And apparently, that’s what the magic says as well, Kellan thought with a chuckle. Apparently, he had a “flaw” that showed up any time he “examined” his own magical numbers. What had it said?

Kellan closed his eyes as they went down the last of the stairs, his nose filled with the thick smoke of the hippie den.

His flaw…

[Greater Attachment]—The mage suffers greater from personal loss than normal. Whenever the mage loses someone close, the mage’s wisdom is reduced to 1, and their willpower is temporarily halved.

“What is the number next to my wisdom on my… on my magic stats?” Kellan asked as they entered the entrance room of the building.

The white wolf butler-man at the front counter gave Kellan and Sen a brief glance. “Lucky blessings, mages.”

“Good day,” Kellan awkwardly muttered, unaccustomed to the awkward phrase.

Sen didn’t even bother answering the man. He waved a short arm and said, “Your wisdom score is a representation of how well you make decisions or snap judgments in dire situations. The higher a mage’s wisdom, the more they can resist stress, heat-of-moment violence, and impulsive self-gratification.” Sen clapped his hands together once. “It also represents their long-term planning, and it’s the skill used for long-term magical abilities.”

Again, Kellan wanted to protest, but the more he thought about it, the more that made sense. His wisdom score was a one—likely due to Greer and Jones’s death—and ever since then, Kellan had felt lethargic and prone to self-destructive decisions. Like drinking excessively. Staying away from the rest of his family.

Sen threw open the front curtain and strode out into the gloomy weather of the Nexus. The sky was tinted red, and the fog had migrated upward, like a low hanging cloud, or a patch of smog. Noise from the busy city bounced between buildings, creating a song of civilization.

Husker and Mavis waited out on the sidewalk, deep in conversation. They didn’t stop until Kellan and Sen drew close, and even then, it was reluctantly.

Mavis offered Kellan a smile, and he suspected she was okay.

“What did your sister say?” Husker asked, his voice a growl.

“She was upset,” Sen said matter-of-factly. “But she seems better now. Our warrior has agreed not to fight against us anymore. He’s part of our team.”

“Really?” Mavis turned to Kellan, her purple hair fluttering in the breeze that rushed down the road. “You want to stay here? In this place?”

“I don’t want to stay here.” Kellan sighed. “It’s a little complicated. Apparently, Sen and his sister need help. They want to see their mother and help their nation.”

Husker slowly turned his attention to Sen, his lip curled downward. The little boy said nothing in response.

“We can talk about this on the way to our destination,” Sen said. He threw his arms out to the side and dramatically stepped onto the black asphalt of the cracked street. “I will summon transportation.”

Kellan held his breath.

How did someone summon transportation? Would there be a magical circle that appeared on the ground, like when someone summoned a demon in a movie? Would the time space continuum open and reveal a twisted chariot? Kellan’s imagination ran wild, thinking up the craziest possible situations.

Instead, the sound of tire streaks came from a distant road. A limo turned around the corner and headed to their location. The vehicle slowed and then came to a stop in front of Sen. The tinted windows prevented Kellan from seeing inside—but once he got close, he didn’t want to see the inside. The limo was scuffed and rusted at points, like it had just escaped an impound.

That was it? No demon? No carriage pulled by unicorns? It was just a rusty limousine?

Kellan really didn’t understand the Nexus.

Sen smiled. “Ah, this is the way to travel.”

“You can’t be serious,” Husker growled. He turned and tugged at the hood of his cloak. “We can’t take this. The Arbiter won’t allow it.”

“I doubt he’ll prevent us from using his transportation.”

“Heh. Then test it. Have our warrior step inside.”

Sen huffed, threw back his long back hair, and shuffled over to the limo’s back door. He opened it up, threw back the door, and then waited. With a tight turn on his heel, he faced Kellan. “Would you do me the honor of sitting inside?”

“Why?” Kellan asked, glancing between Husker and Sen. “What’s going to happen?”

“The Eyes of the Arbiter are going to get upset,” Husker drawled. “And then the vehicle will attack you.”

Kellan crossed his arms. “That sounds terrible. I’ll just stay out here.”

With a snap of his fingers, Sen said, “Get in the vehicle, warrior.”

Again, the terrible sensation of the worms flooded Kellan’s senses. They writhed under his skin, forcing him into action. This time, Kellan tried to fight against it. He took a step, and then another, but slower than the last.

Mavis frowned. “Stop. Kellan just told you he’d play your stupid game.”

“This is faster,” Sen said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “If our warrior just complies, we needn’t waste time with discussion.”

The feeling of being puppeted…

Kellan hated every moment as he slowly sat down on the back leather seat of the limo. The inside was alive with neon green and pink lights, like the limo had been designed in the 80s. If the driver had huge puffed-up hair that reached the roof, Kellan wouldn’t have been surprised.

But then an eyeball opened on the roof of the limo—straight out of the fabric, and nearly the size of a golf ball.

Kellan tensed, his gaze on the eye and never looking away, never even blinking. The eye was fleshy and clear, but also machine-like. The camera at the center constricted and dilated, focusing on Kellan.

Information rushed to Kellan through his magical senses.

Magical   Item [Semi-Sentient]—Eyes of the Arbiter

An observation tool used by the   Arbiter to keep tabs on the citizens of the Nexus. They appear across   surfaces with electronic components. Can see through moderate levels of   obfuscation. It’s rather creepy.

“The eyes are here,” Kellan muttered, unable to look away. “Now what?”

Husker snorted. “Get out of the vehicle.”

“Stay inside,” Sen said. “And move over. The Eyes of the Arbiter are clearly not doing anything.”

But then the eye on the roof of the limo closed with a wet click. The roof returned to its normal state—fabric and half-ripped. Kellan held his breath, unsure of where the eye had gone to. Could it move? Or was it just under the fabric? He reached his hand up, his fingers trembling as he went to touch it.

Then a clicking sound unnerved him. Click, click, click. He had heard it before.

An igniter.

Kellan’s heart stopped for the split second it took him to leap out of the limo. Despite the protest of the worms—writing, fighting him—he managed to roll out of the limp right before the entire inside was flooded with flames. The seats burned, the floorboards caught fire, and the entire vehicle looked like a crematory for a short six seconds.

Sen held up an arm to shield his eyes.

Mavis just stared, dumbfounded.

But none of this seemed to surprise Husker. He laughed for a moment and then sighed.

With shaky limbs, Kellan got to his feet. The Tyranny Worms struggled for a bit, but their power slowly faded. Was it because he had healed so much damage in such a short period of time? Or was he just strong enough to resist? Kellan wasn’t sure.

Sen exhaled. His irritation was comically apparent. “Very well, we won’t take the Arbiter’s transportation.” He waved his arm, and the limo took off down the road, its insides still alight with fire. “We’ll have to hurry then. We’ll head to the outskirts of the city and search for a yami.”

“What’s a yami?” Mavis asked, rubbing at her arms. “Is it as bad as random eyes trying to kill us?”

“Yami are monsters born of corrupted magic,” Husker replied. “If you kill the big ones, you can harvest their insides for small amounts of arcana.” He shifted a bit, his chains rattling. “Since our warrior already has some arcana, we’ll only need to strike down one or two in order to get him enough to develop some magical abilities.”

“What about me?” Mavis turned to the werewolf creature. “You said I was talented enough to develop magic, and that I should.”

“Hm. You are, but if we manage to arrive at the AVU Palace without much difficulty, we can get easier—and more plentiful—arcana. It would be the safer route to ensure you’re not harmed further.”

Mavis nodded along with his words. “All right. That sounds good.”

“Since when did you two become friends?” Kellan quipped.

She shrugged. “He’s reasonable. I like him.”

“He suggested that Sen order me to kill you. You remember that? When we first all met?”

“It was a precaution,” Husker said before Mavis could respond. “If you weren’t under our control, it could spell disaster for us all.”

That wasn’t the best explanation.

But apparently Husker was on their team—and if Kellan was going to help them win, he’d have to get along with the werewolf-man.

Sen hurried down the road, toward the edge of the city, and back to the barricade. “Come. I know a place where yami dwell. Those odd panthers who stalk the darkness. They will provide us with the necessary arcana to give our warrior an advantage in battle.”

—Chapter 12—

—Magical Abilities—

Kellan didn’t see much of their surroundings as they left out the barricade. The hane-addicted hobos of the fringe society gave him odd looks, but their gazes never lingered long. Kellan wasn’t the type of man most considered mugging.

The TVs weren’t alive this time. The screens remained dead as they walked by.

But there was a pulse to the city that Kellan hadn’t felt before. Like a steady current of electricity was shooting through the cement. That was insane—he knew that wasn’t how conductivity operated—but it was hard to describe.

It was like the city was alive.

Once beyond the barricade, Sen stopped walking. The harsh winds blew by, and above their heads, a giant Zeppelin flew into the city at a slow and steady rate. The giant airship cast a long shadow, and Kellan held a hand over his eyes to get a better look at the ship.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Another last-minute team,” Husker replied with a sigh. “We’re going to have a lot of competition.”

Mavis held her long hair back in one hand. “Damn. How many teams are there going to be?”

“I suspect close to a hundred.”

Which means at least 500 people, if each team has to have a minimum of five members. Kellan found it harder and harder to believe that their team would succeed. If everyone here knows what’s going on, they’ll have the advantage.

The Zeppelin continued overhead, the entire airship nearly 800 feet long. It casually entered the city, the sound of the engines reverberating off the skyscrapers of the twisted Fayetteville.

“So, do we have any equipment?” Kellan asked, acutely aware he didn’t have his sidearm anymore.

Husker tugged at his hood. “Equipment?”

“Gas masks? Weapons? Body armor? Vehicles our own? Boots?” Kellan circled his hand. “Something that will give us an edge?”

“We have Xiang. Her illusions are second to none.”

“That’s not going to save us in every situation, will it?”

Perhaps it would? But Kellan didn’t like being prepared. His CO would’ve ripped him a new asshole if he thought he could go into enemy territory without having some sort of backup plan or tools to escape a terrible situation.

Sen slowly exhaled. “We can get equipment…”

“Don’t command Kellan anything,” Mavis snapped. “Explain it to us.”

“I could command you.” Sen shot her a sideways glare. “The worms in your body have almost infested you entirely.”

The statement sent silence through the group.

Kellan waved away the comment. “Where do we get equipment? I’m interested. Please tell us.”

“Well, my sister gathered for us several locations of interest.” Sen reached into his oversized robes and withdrew a piece of paper. The tiny print on the page was more Chinese hanzi. Sen read from the page. “There are places in the Nexus where things come overfrom other dimensions. My sister knows how to find these worm holes, if you will.”

“Okay. And what comes through to the Nexus?”

“People, objects, buildings.” Sen glared at the paper. “What we need to do, if head to the closest location with—” He stopped himself mid-sentence. Then a smile crept onto his face. “No. I found something. We’ll get you Sevriss.”

“No,” Husker growled. He lowered himself down onto his hands and stood like a wolf. Now that his eyes were closer to Sen’s, he glared at the child. “Not that. You’ve already taken too many risks. Let’s find something easy—nothing magical—and get back to Xiang.”

Sen scoffed as he stuffed the paper into his robes. “Your inability to take risks is why you’re hexed, Husker. Let me and my sister do all the decision making.” He waved him aside and then walked off the road and onto the scrublands just outside Nexus-Fayetteville. “Come, warrior, before I have to command you like a dog.”

Kellan crossed his arms. “I’ve only known you for five minutes and already I understand why your mother left you and disappeared into another dimension.”

“Don’t provoke him,” Mavis said as she placed a hand on Kellan’s forearm. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Sen either didn’t hear, or didn’t acknowledge the snide remark, because he said nothing. He hurried out toward a grouping of trees in the far distance, far from the buildings and roads. It looked like abandoned woodland—the kind of place someone would film a horror movie—and Kellan already felt his muscles growing tense.

Once Sen was out of earshot, Husker stood back on two legs. “Be careful,” he whispered. “There are some dimensions so distorted by violence and power, that even one of their simple teacups can lead to downfall and despair.”

Mavis couldn’t stop herself from laughing once. “I guess that’s our new destination, huh? Deadly teacup?” She offered Kellan a smirk. “I can’t wait to see you deal with that.”

***

The “wilderness” around Fayetteville was a mix of an abandoned mobile park home, and haunted forest. Trees were scattered around everywhere, including jutting through mobile homes, right in the middle. Moss, leaves, and mushrooms grew over most surfaces, including the deflated tires of the white trash abodes.

A smell of gasoline and rot irritated Kellan’s nose, but he didn’t let that distract him. He kept his eyes opened, hoping they were trigger on something. Unfortunately, he only got notifications on some of the plants.

Magical   Item [Plant]—Deathweed

A potent leafy vine filled with remnants   of arcana. When consumed, it enhances magical capability. Once the bonus   fades, the mage loses 1 to all stats. If any stats are brought to 0, the mage   passes out for the remainder of the scene.

The deathweed didn’t look appetizing. The black vine, and half-wilted leaves, made it seem… dead. Kellan frowned at the few he came across, wondering how many people ate the plant out of desperation.

Sen pushed through the mobile home park, walking around the rusted vehicles and even pushing over a lawn chair in his attempt to get from point A to point B. He wouldn’t tell anyone the destination, however. Kellan, Mavis, and Husker followed behind, but at a slow pace, due to the fact Sen had short legs.

It was quiet.

Kellan stayed alert. Mavis seemed to do the same.

“Sevriss is a semi-sentient magical weapon,” Sen said without warning, causing Kellan to tense. Sen continued with, “My sister found it just over this way.”

“It’s cursed,” Husker growled.

“Our warrior said he wanted equipment, didn’t he? It’ll be perfect for him.”

“He doesn’t even know what it means. You can’t expect him to make an informed decision.”

“I don’t care. All I need to worry about is—”

Something leapt out of a nearby mobile home. A beast. The monster lunged for Sen so fast and furious, you’d think it was Vin Diesel, but Kellan had been prepared. The moment the monster had emerged, he ran for a lawn chair and snapped off one of the aluminum legs, ready to bash the creature if needed.

The monster was some sort of black bobcat.

“Some sort” was the best descriptor Kellan could think of. It wasn’t really a cat—it had the body of one, complete with a short tail, common on bobcats—but its head looked to be stitched to its body.

And not professionally stitched, but awkwardly and gruesomely. Like a blind person who had never held a needle and thread had looped the flesh of the cat together.

And the head wasn’t right—it was a wolverine or bear. Something with a long snout and too many teeth. Its slimy saliva poured from its gums like a waterfall of mastication, and it snapped with powerful jaws at Sen’s face.

Sen hit the ground, startled. The bobcat monstrosity dug claws deep into his flesh, staining his giant robes with scarlet.

More information darted across Kellan’s sight.

Name: Fanix

Race: Lesser Yami

Magics: Wyld, Entropy

Rank: Impossible

Armor Rating: --

Health: 7

Stats:

Strength—3

Dexterity—3

Fortitude—2

Intelligence—1

Perception—4 [Vigilant]

Willpower—1 [Animal]

Abilities:

Pounce—The yami doubles its dexterity whenever attacking a target that hasn’t yet detected it.

With as much force as Kellan could muster, he golf-swung at the monster’s messed up head. The aluminum of the lawn chair bent upon impact, but it was enough to smash half the creature’s face and send a bloody fang twirling into the dirt.

[Alex   Kellan] struck [Fanix] once for 3 damage.

The notification didn’t help anything.

Yeah, I got it. I saw the blood. Get out of here.

Husker backed away from the violence, his clawed hand trembling as he tugged at his hood, shielding his face and eyes.

Mavis didn’t bother ripping off the leg of a chair—she brought the whole damn chair to the fight like a WWE wrestler. When the bobcat turned its disgusting head to face Kellan, she was already there, ready to join the fray. She swung from the side and battered the cat’s body.

The monster hissed with all the deep tone of an actual bear. It startled Kellan a bit, but not as much as the beast projectile-vomiting.

In one quick motion, Kellan leaned away, dodging the sludge. It hit one of the mobile homes, and the same rotting power that Nasir had used to destroy the truck was now at work on the decayed vehicle.

Sen scrambled away, holding at the injury on his body. “It’s a yami,” he said in a cold, calm, and matter-of-fact way. “Destroy it before it summons more.”

The bobcat rushed for Kellan, its black fur on end. The eyes of the beast were bulging and giggling, like a dead fish, but it somehow could “see” Kellan. When the monster came, Kellan readied his bent aluminum chair leg.

“Come on,” he taunted. “I’m ready for another round.”

Bobcats were typically small—they weighed an average of twenty pounds—but this beast was at least sixty. Its claws were long enough to be knives, and it hissed again as it swung.

Kellan swung at the creature’s wolverine head. He struck one of the eyes, and it exploded like a ripe zit.

[Alex   Kellan] struck [Fanix] for 2 damage.

What? No special modifier for its eye?

With a shudder, Kellan stepped back.

While the beast thrashed its head and screamed, Mavis moved up behind it and bashed with the chair. The yami growled and then hit the ground, its body gushing blood at a fierce rate. With a whine and a screech, its twitched its legs, but couldn’t stand.

It had run out of health.

Kellan took a deep breath, both his hands gripped tight around his impromptu weapon. When the monster didn’t move, he shuffled closer to it and glared.

A red shining crystal floated out of the monster’s body on a river of blood. It spun into the gory mud and glittered like a star on earth. The red of the crystal seemed eerily similar to the carnage all around them.

Sen struggled to his feet. “Husker! How dare you.” He grabbed at his robes and stumbled a few steps. “You incompetent rennic… You didn’t even help!”

“You know I’m not about to get involved for something like this,” Husker snapped. He waved a clawed hand around, his fur on end. “This isn’t worth my abilities. Our new warriors clearly had it handled.”

“Hmpf!” Sen held his injury—a solid bite to his side—his body trembling. “If I die, we won’t be able to enter. Don’t you understand?”

“You seem alive to me.”

The statement ended the conversation between them.

A part of Kellan knew their lack of camaraderie would be a problem. If they were a team, how were they going to get through anything if they were bickering constantly? Then again, Kellan understood Husker’s frustration. No one wanted to deal with the kid.

Kellan knelt down and picked up the red crystal—the arcana. It soaked into his skin a second later, filling him with a sense of power and wonder.

Then he saw the information again, only this time truncated.

Alex Kellan

Magics: Eclipse, Body, Metal

Rank:E, E, E

Mana:5

Health:7

Unspent Arcana: 4

What was he going to do with four arcana?

As if asking the question provided an answer, a flood of information filled his mind and sight, causing him to stumble to the side. He grabbed at his head, trying to come to terms with everything he was seeing.

Eclipse—E Rank Powers

Illuminate   [1 arcana]

An extremely early light-based   power, this allows the mage to make an object give off illumination; it leads   to far more powerful things later…

The mage spends a mana, and an   object is made to glow with light equal to a torch for a scene.

Shadowed   Edge [2 arcana]

The mage causes solid shadows to   briefly manifest along an attacking edge, widening it and rendering it   sharper, for greater damage.

The mage spends a mana, reactive   to a successful brawl or melee attack, and adds +4 damage to the attack.

Flash   [1 arcana]

Rather than a steady glow, and low   rank mage can release a powerful pulse of light.

As an attack or a reactive action,   the mage can spend a mana and release a flash of light into an opponent’s   eyes. The mage spends a mana and uses their perception vs. the target’s   perception or manipulation, whichever is higher. If the mage succeeds, they   blind the target for the round.

Pierce   the Darkness [3 arcana]

Mastery over light and dark   includes the ability to pierce the shadows…

The mage can always see in the   dark.

Body—E Rank Powers

Adrenaline   [1 arcana]

One of the simplest processes of   the body is the obvious way the adrenaline floods the body, producing the   fight or flight reflex. The mage with this ability learns to hyper-accelerate   this process, including flushing it back outside of his system.

As a reactive action, the mage spends   one mana and immediately boosts all physical stats by one for six seconds as   magically-charged adrenalin floods the body.

Ignore   Pain [1 arcana]

Body mages learn to control the   autonomous functions of their body, one of the simplest of which is pain.

The mage spends a mana to ignore agony   for thirty minutes. This power ceases if the wound itself disappears.

Skin   of the Dead [1 arcana]

A few mages learn to control their   autonomous functions to the point that they can shut themselves down,   appearing dead.

A mage spends a mana point and a   temporary willpower and enters an extremely reduced state of body activity,   similar to suspended animation. During this time, they appear dead to all but   the most advanced medical checks. They can set this time for any amount of   time they wish, from a few minutes to a hundred years. At the end of that   time, they will wake up having needed neither food nor water nor air. [Note:   not immune to things like maggots eating them and not sense tactile   stimulation].

Improved   Body, rank I [3 arcana]

Body mages learn to enhance their physique   in many ways.

The mage gains an additional point   of health.

Metal—E Rank Powers

Mold   Metal [1 arcana]

The most basic metal mage power,   and one that is quite useful. This power represents control over metal in its   most limited form; the mage can shape it.

The mage spends a mana, and for thirty   minutes, they can mold metal as though it were clay.

Repel   Metal [1 arcana]

Metal mages can also repel metal,   with some rudimentary but powerful form of magnetism, forcing it away from   them.

The mage spends a mana as a   reactive action to being attacked, and gains an advantage when dodging anything   made of metal.

Laser,   rank I [3 arcana]

Metal mages rely on light, or   “laser,” energy in their attack. This power is, weirdly, shared by eclipse   mages.

The mage gains “laser” as an   energy type, and may spend a mana to shoot a destructive beam from their hand.   The damage dealt is equal to metal magic rank + half the mage’s dexterity   store.

Metal   Skin, rank I [4 arcana]

Metal mages can gain a slight   covering to their own skin; while not as easy or as efficient as magma mages,   they can still protect themselves quite well…

The mage gains +1 armor rating.

It was too much. Kellan pinched the bridge of his nose and forced the information to disappear. What was that? Powers? Abilities? Spending mana? He tried to take everything in, but it all seemed to slip from his thoughts and swirl together like leftovers down a sink drain.

“Kellan? Are you okay?”

He opened his eyes to see Mavis standing close enough to touch his shoulder. He replied with a slow nod, but it obviously wasn’t enough for her.

“What happened?” Mavis asked.

“I was… bombarded with a bunch of information. Something about spending this arcana.”

“That’s how you develop magical abilities,” Husker said as he turned away from the bloody scene. “You use the arcana to infuse the magic into your body. Right now, you’re the lowest rank of mage—E rank. You’ll only have access to a limited amount of magic. You’ll see the options. Maybe you have the choice to see in the dark. Maybe you can pick to breathe underwater. Either way, you have to determine what’s best for you—and then use your arcana to gain that power.”

Kellan nodded along with the werewolf’s words. That made some amount of sense. It was like ordering from a menu. He had cash—the arcana—and now he was going to determine what sandwich he had with him, just in case he got hungry.

“Why didn’t I get any arcana?” Mavis asked, glaring at the freakish bobcat.

Sen finally finished patting down his soiled robes. “Because there’s only a limited amount of arcana to go around. That’s why it’s valuable and sought after. Everyone wants more magical abilities. Wait until you see the higher ranks of magic—some of those powers cost twenty, thirty, or even fifty arcana, and they’re worth it.”

“Wait,” Kellan said, holding up his hands. “And people bet with arcana in the Nexus Games?”

Sen nodded. “Correct. You learn quickly.”

“So they become powerful mages without fighting?”

“Again, you’re a quick student.”

“That’s bullshit,” Mavis said, crossing her arms. “We could just gamble our way to Merlin-level magic? What’re we even doing out here in the swamp? Let’s go back and play some blackjack.”

Sen huffed and turned away, his black hair clumped with blood. “Fools. The gambling dens see more death than an average battlefield. If you ever lose more arcana than you can pay, you’re harvested on the spot. The Arbiter doesn’t like to hand out loans. Which means only the lucky—and sadist—become powerful through gambling.”

While Kellan wasn’t opposed to gambling, per se, he did agree with Sen’s statement. Risking life and limb to get some arcana, when it was found in the bodies of the nearby monsters seemed a little extreme.

“But I bet they get a lot of arcana quickly,” Kellan muttered.

Husker snorted. “You either level A rank, or in a body bag. But some people like the rush of gambling their life away.”

“What’s the highest rank?”

“M rank. It goes E, C, B, A, then S for specialist, and then M for master.” Husker shrugged. “Some say there are ranks beyond that, but only in Zenith.”

Sen clapped his small child-hands once. “Yes! In Zenith, you can achieve higher ranks than M. In Zenith, arcana rains from the sky. In Zenith, all magical abilities are obtained at once.” He hardened his expression to something sardonic. “Don’t you fools know anything?”

Mavis sighed. “I fell like I know less and less the longer we travel through this twisted landscape.”

“I’m right there with you,” Kellan muttered as he rubbed at his chin.

But now I have to decide what magical abilities I’m going to acquire. It seems I should choose wisely. I might have a hard time coming across more arcana.

Sen removed his hand from his injury and stared down at his body. “Ah. Fix. Perfect.” Then he turned on his heel and resumed his walk. “Come along. Our new weapon is waiting.”

------

Now for the real question? Is anyone still enjoying it?