[Two Days Later]
Forty-eight hours after his official introduction to the DPA, Cyrus was more than motivated to get his day started, which was certainly out of the ordinary for someone like him.
"You made it!" Ayako smiled as the young man entered the building. "Right on time, too."
"Yeah." Cyrus nodded. "So...what's on the agenda?"
The 'water magic' user motioned for him to follow her as the two made their way to the elevator.
"So, remember how I said it's going to take about three months for you to get up to speed?"
"Yeah."
"Well, pretty much your training is going to be divided up into three parts."
"Which are?"
"The first...." Ayako held up a finger. "Is physical conditioning. Even though sorcerers are stronger than the average human, most people who join the DPA aren't exactly in the best shape when they first start. Or when they awaken. So, we need to spend some time getting you in fighting form. On top of that, how strong you are can affect how well you can use your magic."
"That makes sense." The young man replied. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for him. Cyrus already made the effort on his own to stay in shape. Sure, he wasn't exactly a "gym rat", but his body was in better condition than most people out there.
"We'll also be doing some basic stuff regarding magic. Such as learning what your attribute is, learning how to manifest it, basic exercises, and stuff like that." The woman then held up a second finger. "The second month is pretty much all magic. That's where we'll dive right into learning what techniques you can use. Mainly, how and when to use them. And perfecting your speed and accuracy with your magic."
That was the part that Cyrus was looking forward to the most. Although he didn't like the idea of having to wait an entire month before getting to that part of the training, he assumed it was done this way for a reason. These people were more experienced than him in this kind of stuff after all.
"And the third?" The newly awakened sorcerer then asked.
Ayako couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. "That's where the fun begins. Assuming everything goes well, once we hit month three, you'll be coming along with me out into the field to take down cryptids. We'll basically be partners. Sure, you'll technically be doing most of the work. But I'll be there to help you out."
"Can't wait."
"I'm sure you can't."
In no time, the duo arrived at their desired destination. The second underground level of the station. Which was a space reserved strictly for training, according to Ayako.
To Cyrus, the place looked like something a college or professional sports team would use. Much like the first floor, the second was split up into separate sections. On one side was a gym filled with state-of-the-art exercise equipment along with a full indoor track. On the other, there was a series of large training rooms where Cyrus could see other sorcerers practicing their magic on target mannequins. Next to that was what looked to be some kind of classroom where a couple of teenagers were also practicing their abilities.
There were a few other areas on the floor as well. But none that Cyrus could see. Either because they were too far away or the doors were closed.
"Wow..." Cyrus said as he looked around him. "This building is even bigger than I thought."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ayako then chuckled. "But our station is about average in terms of size. You should see the office we have in Seattle. Now that place is huge!"
"I guess the DPA has a lot of money to work with."
"For sure! About a fifth of the military's official budget actually comes to us. But the public doesn't know about that since we're a secret government agency and all."
Somehow, Cyrus wasn't all that surprised by what he just heard. Technically speaking, the money still being used for national defense purposes. Just not the kind that the public knew about.
"Anyway, you brought some workout clothes like I told you?"
"Sure did!" Cyrus said as he motioned to his backpack.
"Cool!" Ayako grinned. "The locker rooms are down the hall and to your left. Get changed and meet me in training room nine. I hope you came prepared, because from this point on we're hitting the ground running. And I don't plan on going easy on you."
Cyrus simply responded with a grin of his own. "I look forward to it."
-(o)-
[Month 1 (January 2022)]
The first two weeks of training certainly started off on the right foot. Or at least they did in Cyrus' opinion. As it turned out, his physical condition was already at a level necessary for the job. Which wasn't that rare of an occurrence for new recruits. Even so, he still had to take the time to make sure that his body was good to go. He was barely a week removed from being hit by a car after all. But because the young man was at an acceptable level when it came to the physical aspect of the job, it simply meant that Cyrus could move on to the next phase that much quicker.
"Alright, rookie." Ayako said to the young man. At the moment, the duo was inside one of the smaller training rooms on the second level. "Since you're a part of the three percent of Americans that aren't lazy sacks of shit, you and I get to start your magic training a couple of weeks early!"
"Okay." Cyrus kept his face as neutral as possible. However, on the inside, he was about to burst with excitement."
"First things first, what is magic?" The woman answered her own question before Cyrus could try and answer. "It is the thing that makes sorcerers well...sorcerers. Mana is a substance of unknown origins that exists in nature. And only we are able to utilize it. Manipulating it to suit our needs is what we call magic."
"I remember you telling me this a little while ago."
"There are many different types of magical attributes, but they are separated into two main categories. Elemental and arcane."
The young woman paused for a moment before continuing with the impromptu lecture.
"There are six elemental attributes, which are fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, and plant. As for the four arcane attributes, there's light, dark, beast, and healing. Nearly every sorcerer has a magical attribute that'll typically fall into one of these categories. However, there are rare occasions when a sorcerer develops a magic type that doesn't fall into any of these groups. We simply called those special cases 'unique' magic types."
For some reason, Cyrus felt like he should be writing this stuff down. Unfortunately, he didn't have a pen or paper on his person.
"Normally, when a sorcerer first awakens, they'll have times where their magic momentarily goes out of control. Which will result in whatever their magical attribute is manifesting itself. It's a pretty common thing. Especially for the people who awaken as teenagers."
"But I've never had that happen to me before." The young man interjected. "I've never actually used mana before. I don't even know how to activate it."
A slight bit of nervousness entered Cyrus' body. If this were such a normal occurrence, then why hadn't it happened to him yet? He's been awakened for three weeks now.
"The reason for that is simple, my young protege!" Ayako pointed at the young man. "The reason why you haven't had it happen to you yet is because you have naturally great mana control."
"I do?"
"Yes." The woman replied. "You obviously have mana, a decent amount of it actually. I can sense it in you right now. But, the reason why it hasn't gotten out of control in the last month has been because you have a talent for controlling it."
"I see. That actually makes a lot of sense."
"And this is what has determined our current training path."
"Which is?"
"Two things. Both good and bad." She then held up two fingers on her right hand. "The first is that we need to teach you how to consciously activate your mana. The second is that we have to find out what your attribute actually is. Since you've never actually experienced it before, you need to experience it to get the feeling down. Along with what it may possibly look like."
"And how do we do that?"
Of course, Ayako was already expecting that question. So the woman held up a small booklet of grey paper. "With this!"
"And that is...?"
"It's a special paper coated with chemicals that are extremely reactive to mana. With this, we'll be able to see what your magical attribute is."
"How does it work?" Cyrus asked.
"All you have to do is touch a sheet of this paper, and it will change color depending on what kind of mana you have."
Although he was expecting something a bit more complicated than that, the young man was relieved that figuring out what kind of magic he had was this simple. "Sounds simple enough." He then said with a shrug.
Without so much as a thought, Cyrus walked over to Ayako and pulled a sheet of paper out of the booklet. The young man then focused all of his attention on the object and eagerly waited for the results. And sure enough, not even five seconds later, the sheet of paper changed from grey to dark green.
"Plant magic, huh?" Ayako said while folding her arms. "Wasn't expecting that."
"Plant magic?" Cyrus repeated as he tilted his head with confusion.
"Like the name suggests, 'plant magic' allows its wielder to manipulate plant life and other forms of vegetation." The 'water magic' user explained. "It's the rarest form of elemental magic. And the majority of people who have it are either in Africa or South America. As for here in America, most of our notable 'plant magic' users belong to the Blair family."
"Interesting..." Cyrus looked back down at the sheet of paper. To be honest, something about this felt kind of ironic. His mother owned a flower shop, and here he was with 'plant magic'. Something was telling him that it was more than just a coincidence. But right now, he was too excited about finally learning what kind of magic he had to really think about it. "So what can you tell me about it?"
"I'm not an expert on it, but I do know that it's a pretty straightforward magical attribute for the most part. Basically, you need to find what kind of plants you're compatible with. When it comes to 'plant magic', its wielders can only manipulate certain types. And once you figure out what it is, you'll be able to do basically whatever you want with it as long as you practice."
"That shouldn't be too hard." The young man replied. "My mother is a florist. So maybe she'll have something in there that I can use. If not, I know a few other places that might be able to help."
Ayako gave the man a droning look. "Seriously...?"
"What?"
"Your parents own a flower shop, and you just so happen to end up with 'plant magic'? That has to be some kind of cosmic joke or something."
"I can't really argue with you there." Cyrus chuckled.
"It makes sense, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I've heard that 'plant magic' users have a special connection with nature. It's supposed to be why they're more common in places near the Amazon and the Congo Rainforest."
"That's fascinating."
"Anyways!" Ayako then clapped her hands together. "Now that we know what your magic is we can move on to the next step! And since you don't have a type that might accidentally kill one of us, we can proceed without worry."
"I'm assuming that now we're going to move on to learning how to actually manipulate my mana?"
"That's exactly right!"
"So...how do we do that?"
-(o)-
[Month 2 (February 2022)]
As it turns out, the process of learning how to manipulate mana was actually pretty simple. The closest thing that Cyrus could compare it to was learning how to use a new kitchen appliance.
In a nutshell, mana was an energy source, just like electricity. While your body was the appliance itself. In more basic terms, you just need to learn how to run the "electricity" through your body to activate the appliance. Once the appliance was activated, depending on what kind of mana you had or what you were trying to do, you could get any number of results.
After two weeks of extensive training using this method, Cyrus was finally able to manipulate his mana to an acceptable degree.
From then on, the young sorcerer's schedule was pretty straightforward as far as he was concerned. Every morning, when he didn't have classes started off with an hour and a half of moderate exercise. Followed by some basic mana manipulation training. After lunch, the rest of his day would be a mix of everything from sparring with Ayako to learning basic information about the DPA and sorcerer society as a whole.
However, today was different. Since the duo basically had a two-week head start on their second month of training, the 'water magic' user thought that it would be a good idea to accelerate their schedule a bit.
"Alright, rookie!" The brown-eyed woman said with vigor. "Today is the day that I begin training you on the three basic techniques that every sorcerer must know."
Despite keeping a cool exterior, on the inside, Cyrus was doing his best to keep his composure. This was the day that he had been waiting for. After an entire month of what was essentially the "crawl" phase, the young man was finally going to start learning actual magic. He had already been doing some of the more advanced mana manipulation exercises at home on his own time. But none of that had anything on learning real techniques, or "spells" as they were commonly called.
Of course, like any young adult, Cyrus was a bit annoyed at first by the apparent slow pace of his training so far. To him, it felt like his instructor was being overly cautious. However, he understood that there was a reason as to why things had to be done this way.
According to Ayako, he was actually getting the accelerated version, much to his own surprise. Most people who awaken do so when they're barely even teenagers and spend months going through the basics before they're allowed to move on to the "fun stuff". The only exception to this are those born in big sorcerer families like she was.
"I ready for anything!" The young man said with a grin.
"Of course you are!" Ayako replied before continuing. "Now, like I said before, there are three basic techniques. Those being the body reinforcement technique, the magical barrier technique, and the mana burst."
"Yeah, I remember that from one of the booklets that you gave me."
"It's nice to see that you've been doing your homework! Anyway, now that you already know how to manipulate your mana and have good control over it, we can skip the boring parts. Which means that starting today, we're hitting the ground running."
"I look forward to it!"
-(o)-
[One Week Later]
The first skill to be tested was the body reinforcement technique. The technique that allowed a sorcerer to increase their overall physical capabilities for a short amount of time.
Sorcerers were naturally physically stronger than normal human beings. An average adult sorcerer with no real training had the same level of physicality as a professional athlete. However, with magic, one could achieve even greater feats of strength. It was not uncommon for a skilled sorcerer to be able to lift several times their own body weight when using this technique. So it was an essential skill for them to know for whatever threatened them in the future. Whether it be cryptids or another sorcerer.
The way that sorcerers performed this skill was rather simple. All you had to do was force a portion of your mana into your muscles. Which would strengthen them to levels far greater than what a regular human was capable of.
"Alright, newbie, let's see what you got!" Ayako said to Cyrus as she waited to see what he was going to do.
Today was the day that Cyrus was going to be tested on how well he performed the basic magical techniques. And as expected, the body reinforcement was first on the list.
The way that sorcerers assessed this skill was rather simple, albeit a bit juvenile in some aspects. Mainly because of the device used for the test.
Most people would describe it as a fancy-looking version of one of those punching machines that you would find at an arcade. Except instead of a literal punching bag, this one had a red and black target panel that you needed to hit.
How the test was conducted involved a person punching the machine twice. Once without the body reinforcement and once with it. The percentage difference between the two readings would be your overall score.
Cyrus did his best not to appear nervous as he approached the machine. In all honesty, he always hated these kinds of tests. Even when he was still in high school. They were such a pain in the ass for him. Mainly because they just seemed impractical and time-consuming. But he wasn't about to voice those thoughts out loud.
'Alright, let's get this over with.' The young man thought to himself before having his first go at the machine. Making sure to take up a proper fighting stance before striking the panel. He gave this attempt a good amount of effort in his opinion, scoring a decent 677. Which wasn't bad at all.
'He definitely could've hit that panel a bit harder. Then again, he's still not used to fighting and stuff like that.' Ayako silently told herself as she watched the rookie. 'We'll have to work on that before I take him out to go hunting.'
Before the 'water magic' user could give her next command, Cyrus activated his body reinforcement technique. Immediately, his eyes turned orange. A universal sign among sorcerers that they had activated their power. Allowing a small portion of his mana to flood throughout his body and charge his muscles with a fresh wave of power.
To Cyrus, it felt like someone injected some kind of thick fluid directly into his veins. The young man then let out a quick breath before throwing his second punch. The sound of his fist impacting with the panel was enough to slightly echo across the room.
"880." Ayako nodded. Admittedly impressed by what she just saw. "That's a roughly thirty percent increase. Not bad."
"Thank you." Cyrus simply nodded his head before moving off to the side.
"Alright, let's move on to the next one."
-(o)-
The second test was the magical barrier, or mana barrier. A basic defensive technique where a sorcerer created a physical shield from their own mana.
It was something that most newly awakened sorcerers learned how to do soon after getting access to their powers. The first step when it came to learning how to physically manifest one's own mana. And no matter who you were, you wouldn't be able to deny its usefulness both in terms of battle and everyday life. Numerous people have had their lives saved by this basic technique.
When it came to evaluating this skill, it came down to two essential elements. The speed at which you cast the barrier, along with the overall size and shape of it.
"Alright, on my mark." Ayako looked at Cyrus as she held up her stopwatch. Her hand raised high up in the air before coming down. "Cast!"
The moment the word came out of the woman's mouth, Cyrus created his barrier. Using the information that he had learned, the young man pictured the barrier that he wanted to create inside of his mind. Barely taking even a fraction of a second to commit to what he wanted to make before extending his mana out in front of him.
The woman watched as mana particles escaped from Cyrus' body, only to quickly condense and shape themselves right before her very eyes. And before she knew it, the technique was complete.
"Three seconds flat. Good job, rookie." Ayako gave Cyrus an impressed nod as she looked up and down at the young man's attempt.
Unlike the kind she usually creates, Cyrus didn't create a barrier that encompassed his entire body. Instead, the young man opted for a dark green, hexagonal shield directly in front of him. One large enough to cover the entirety of his form. Which wasn't all that surprising considering the guy didn't have an extremely high amount of mana. Normally, sorcerers could get by with just creating a simple circular-shaped one. But being able to create a complex shape like this so quickly was a testament to his level of magical control.
'I feel like I can still get better at this.' Cyrus thought to himself. After all, he had seen Ayako perform this very skill in less than a second when she demonstrated it to him. On top of that, hers was large enough to form a half-sphere around her entire body. The young sorcerer knew that he couldn't really do anything about how much mana he had. Every sorcerer had only a limited amount that they could use. But the time he needed to cast the technique was definitely in his control.
"One more and we'll be done for the day." Ayako then said before the two moved on to the final test.
-(o)-
The mana burst, also known as the magic bullet, was next on the list.
In simple terms, this technique was done by concentrating a small portion of mana into either the finger or the palm and releasing it in a single direction in the form of a blast. The level of damage that could be done with this technique completely depended on how much mana was put into it.
In many cases, sorcerers would elevate this skill to the point where it could be focused into beams, enlarged into explosive shells, or condensed into sniper shots. Many sorcerers who specialize in the use of firearms even added this technique's destructive powers to regular bullets. Apparently, Chief Agent Chandler was one of the best at this specific technique.
This test for this specific skill was just as simple as the previous one. Do your best to hit the middle of the target with a mana burst. With a person getting three attempts to get a bullseye in fifteen seconds. In Cyrus's opinion, this felt more like some kind of military drill than anything else.
"Ready, fire!" Ayako shouted as she started her stopwatch.
Without too much effort, Cyrus fired off three quick shots in rapid succession. He didn't really care what score he got, so long as he at least hit the target. And his magical control was good enough to the point where he was certain that he couldn't miss. The green-eyed teen watched as all three of his shots hit just above the bullseye. With a grouping of no more than a couple of inches apart.
"Great job once again, kid." Ayako said as she wrote down in her notebook. "The Chief's going to be impressed when I tell her the results."
"I hope so." The young man replied.
"You're progressing through this stuff way faster than I expected. But that's a good thing. The two of us might be able to start hunting down cryptids way sooner than I had originally thought."
It was hard for Cyrus not to feel a bit good about himself after hearing that. This was the first time in a while that he was truly motivated to do something other than sleep all day. And it was nice to know that all of his effort so far was actually paying off. Now that he was done with all of the basic stuff, he could finally move on to the next stage of his training.
"Anyway, I'll see you back here tomorrow. We'll start training with your magical attribute. Make sure you bring food and stuff with you, this kind of thing is rough on the body and we'll be at it for a while."
"I try and remember to bring some extra sandwiches." The young man replied.
"Good idea!" Ayako gave him a thumbs-up before allowing him to leave the training room. As soon as the Cyrus was gone, the woman looked down at the notes she had spent the day taking and couldn't help but let out a low whistle.
'His mana control is absolutely crazy. We've only been at this for a few weeks, and he's already this good at basic techniques. Even though he's only a high C-rank right now, if he had a larger mana pool he'd easily be A-rank like me. And he's only a first-generation. What a strange kid.'
-(o)-
The following morning, Cyrus decided to deviate from his normal routine. Immediately after his morning workout, the young man made his way down to the station's library. Actually, calling it a library was a bit of a stretch. In reality, it was more like a series of adjacent record rooms connected via a centralized area. One filled with a bunch of "how-to" manuals and other books filled with information relevant to sorcerers.
Apparently, places like these were commonly used by DPA agents to research cryptids. Or people like him who were still learning about their abilities.
Cyrus was still amazed at just how big the entire building was. If he didn't know any better, the young man would say that they managed to fit an entire football stadium underground. What's even crazier is that the station in Charlotte was apparently "average size". He couldn't even imagine what the ones in bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles looked like.
"Good morning, Mr. Moore." The DPA employee assigned to look after the "library" greeted the young man as soon as he entered the area via the swinging double doors connected to a small staircase. "Haven't seen you around here in a couple of weeks."
"I thought we already went over this, you can just call me Cyrus." The young man replied.
The person sitting behind the desk was an individual by the name of Fredrick "Freddy" Price. A young man, only about a year older than Cyrus, who has been working for the DPA ever since he graduated from high school. He was a bit on the taller side, with pale skin, slicked-back black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. And according to him, he was a wielder of 'dark magic'.
From what he told Cyrus, Freddy's main job was to assist agents with researching, identifying, and tracking cryptids whenever possible. On top of classifying whatever kind they might be to make sure that the appropriately skilled people went out to take them down. Although most of his time was spent in the compound, he did go out into the field every now and then whenever it was necessary.
"My bad, my bad." The 'dark magic' user apologized. "I'm just so used to calling everyone around here sir or ma'am that it's basically a habit at this point."
"It's no big deal." Cyrus responded.
"So..." Freddy continued. "What are you down here for? Aren't you still training with Ms. Watanabe again today?"
"I start training with my magical attribute this afternoon. Since I have the time, I thought I'd come down here and see if you guys have anything on 'plant magic'."
"Makes sense. Unfortunately, we don't have that much material on it outside of some basic "how-to" guides. At least not here."
"Really?" Cyrus frowned. He was hoping that he could at least borrow a few books that would help him out for his upcoming training. But it looked like he was going to have to find somewhere else.
"Sorry, man. If you had 'fire' or 'earth magic' I'd be able to give you a bunch of stuff on those since they're the most common. But your magical attribute is pretty rare in this part of the world."
"That's what I've been told."
"Have you looked for anything online?"
"No, not yet." Cyrus shook his head.
Surprisingly, there were actually a ton of magic-related websites that sorcerers like him could access through specific search engines. Cyrus had spent a bit of his free time scouring through these websites while he was home. But hadn't gotten around to doing any in-depth research into his magic yet.
"Hey, don't look so down, dude. I pretty much had the same problem when I first awakened." Freddy then said. "'Dark magic' is pretty rare all across the board, so finding some useful information on it when I first awakened was a hassle. But once you get the hang of using your magic, you won't really need any of that stuff anyway."
"You think so?" The 'plant magic' user raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, definitely! Everyone's magic is different. Even people with similar elements can use them in wildly different ways. Hell, some people don't even use them at all. There's this girl named Valerie who joined up around the same time as me that only uses the body reinforcement to take down cryptids."
"Seriously? She sounds tough." Cyrus couldn't even imagine what someone like that must be like.
"She is. Make sure that you never get into a fight with her if you can help it. Anyway...let me go and grab you some of the books we have on your magic. It'll only take me a few minutes. You can just relax until I get back."
"Thanks, man. I really appreciate it."
"No problem!"
And with that, Freddy quickly went to retrieve the books that Cyrus was looking for. The young man then spent the next few hours reading over the basics regarding his magic. Making sure to absorb as much knowledge as he could before it was finally time for him to leave and get ready for his session with Ayako.
-(o)-
Later that afternoon, Cyrus and Ayako were standing in the middle of the training room. Between them was a small plastic table with a box containing an assortment of different types of seeds. Everything from fruits, flowers, and even herbs were laid out in an organized fashion right in front of the recently awakened sorcerer.
"Alright, so 'plant magic'..." Ayako began as she looked at Cyrus. "...is a pretty unique one when it comes to the different types of magical attributes out there. Obviously, I'm no expert on it since my attribute is water. However, I have come across enough of you guys to know the basics."
Cyrus had a pretty good idea as to where the woman was going with it. He had been doing his own research into the subject after all. But for now, he was just going to let her speak.
"Unlike most other attributes, 'plant magic' requires some sort of medium for you to use it. An object for you to imbue your mana into. The most common medium, as you might've already guessed, is seeds."
"I know that much already." Cyrus interjected. "Based on the reading that I've done, 'plant magic' users have to directly imbue their mana into the seeds of whatever type of plants that they're most compatible with in order to manipulate them. The same goes for whatever plants that have already grown."
"That's right." The woman then added.
"On top of that, we can forcibly accelerate or control the growth of said plants at whatever rates we see fit. So long as the conditions are appropriate for it."
"Correct again." Ayako gave Cyrus an impressed smile. "I've heard plenty of stories about 'plant magic' users not being able to use their magic the way they want to in places like the desert or the tundra. But as long as you have good control over your creations and enough mana, you should be alright."
"Interesting."
After a couple of more minutes of talking, Cyrus was finally ready to give it a try. The young man had been looking forward to this for the better part of two months. Not jumping right into this from the beginning was a bit discouraging at first. But the 'plant magic' user's patience and diligence were finally paying off.
The first step in the process was to figure out exactly what kind of plants that Cyrus was compatible with. And the way to do this was with a pretty simple test. In short, all Cyrus had to do was imbue a single seed with a tiny fraction of his mana and see if there was any sort of reaction.
The first attempt for the young man was a failure. As it turned out, Cyrus had no affinity with roses. Neither of the several different kinds that the two had on hand reacted to his mana in the slightest. Although the young man was a bit disheartened by this, he quickly accepted it and moved on.
The second attempt was also a dud. This time coming by way of some Venus flytrap seeds. Apparently, carnivorous plants were pretty popular among 'plant magic' users since they were good for trapping cryptids. But it looked like Cyrus wasn't meant to be one of those lucky individuals.
The green-eyed teen spent the next couple of minutes making his way through the menagerie of seeds available to him. Only to keep getting failure after failure. Everything that he touched with his mana gave him no reaction at all.
However, on his fifteenth try, Cyrus finally got what he wanted.
Halfway through the pile, Cyrus picked up an acorn. A regular-looking one from what he could tell. The young man performed the same action as he had done with the previous seeds by pouring a small fraction of his mana into the seedling. However, the 'plant magic' user wasn't exactly prepared for what happened next.
The moment Cyrus' mana flowed into the acorn, a plethora of small branches steadily began to grow out of it. Not just one, more like four or five.
"Wow..." Was all that Cyrus could say as he watched the branches slowly grow bigger and bigger with each passing second. There were so many feelings going through his mind at the moment that he wasn't exactly sure what he should be thinking. All that the young man could do was stare in awe as he watched life be manipulated by his very own hand.
"Looks like we have a winner!" Ayako clapped her hands, bringing Cyrus out of his thoughts.
"I guess we do."
"And 'tree magic' too. That's a pretty rare one."
Cyrus turned his head to look at the woman. "It is?"
"From what I know, yeah. Most of you guys can manipulate things like flowers, fruits, and vines. However, being able to manipulate actual trees is not that common. I've never actually seen that type of 'plant magic' before with my own eyes."
"'Tree magic', huh." The young man turned his focus back to the now sapling growing out of his palm. Maybe it was because this was the first time he got a chance to use his magical attribute. Or some weird childish part of him that he didn't know existed. But for some reason, Cyrus thought that it was a good idea to see what he could do with this.
Without so much as a thought, the 'tree magic' user grabbed another acorn off the table and poured a significant portion of his mana into it. Way more than what he had done with the previous acorn. Immediately, the seedling began glowing green, and the young man tossed it across the training room. Not even a second later, he and Ayako watched as numerous branches began growing out of the seedling before merging together into one giant oak tree. One large enough to begin planting its roots into the concrete beneath it.
"Man..." Ayako let out a low whistle as she approached the new creation. "That's some pretty impressive stuff. The guys in the Blair family would kill to have this kind of thing at their disposal."
"You think so?" Cyrus arched an eyebrow. If he remembered correctly, the Blair family was one of the biggest sorcerer families in the country.
"Hell yeah!" Ayako then placed her arm on the tree as she started to lean up against it. "Those guys are 'plant magic' users who used their powers to farm and-"
The last thing Ayako felt before everything went dark was her mana quickly evacuating her body. All she could hear as everything faded to black was Cyrus frantically screaming her name with a hint of fear in his voice.
-(o)-
[Half an hour later]
"Ugh...what the hell?" Ayako groaned the moment she regained consciousness.
The woman immediately looked around to try and get a sense of where she was, only to see that she was inside the station's infirmary.
"Oh thank God! You're awake!" The familiar voice of Cyrus said as the woman turned her head. She quickly locked eyes with the young man who was standing in front of Chief Chandler. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah...I'm fine." The woman replied in a pretty nonchalant tone of voice. Well, that was only partly true. She could tell that most of her mana was gone for some reason. "Just a little tired is all."
All of the tension seemed to leave Cyrus' body the moment those words came out of Ayako's mouth. In truth, the young man was pretty worried about her after what happened a little while ago. Especially since it was sort of his fault.
"That's good to hear."
"Indeed." Chief Chandler finally spoke up. "I was a bit nervous when I heard you passed out while training the rookie. It's not like you to worry me like that."
"Sorry about that, Boss." The woman apologized before moving on to more pressing matters. "So what happened anyway?"
"Well..." Cyrus looked away and started scratching the back of his head. Which only confused Ayako even more than what she already was. "I guess you could say that the reason you passed out was because of me."
"What?"
"What the rookie is trying to say is that his magic did this." Chief Chandler began to explain. "Apparently, his 'tree magic' is pretty damn special. As it turns out, he can absorb mana through his creations."
...
...
...
It took Ayako a good five seconds to process that information. "He can what?!"
"You heard me."
"The Chief tested it out herself after we brought you in here." The 'tree magic' user interjected. "Right after you passed out, she asked me about what happened. Once I was done explaining, we went back down to the training room. The tree I created was way bigger than it was when you touched it. So she assumed that it had something to do with why you suddenly fainted."
"As soon as I touched the thing, I immediately felt it begin to drain the mana out of my body. At first, I thought it was just some strange coincidence. But then I had Moore here make another tree and got the exact same result."
Suddenly, Ayako leaned over and placed her hands on Cyrus' shoulders. The woman looked the newly awakened sorcerer dead in the eyes with an almost grim expression on her face. "Cyrus, do you have any idea what this means?!"
"N-No..." Cyrus was taken aback by the woman's sudden change in demeanor. "Is it that big of a deal?"
"Is it that big of a deal?!" She echoed his words. "If what you guys are telling me is true, then you're the only person I've ever heard of who has the ability to absorb mana. Something like that is unheard of!"
Genuinely surprised after hearing that, Cyrus looked back at the Chief Agent. "Is it really?"
The older woman let out a sigh. This was not something she felt like dealing with right now. "Unfortunately, it is. You're the first human I've ever heard of with a skill like that. There are a couple of known cryptids that have the ability, but they are exceedingly rare and dangerous."
"Is it bad that I can do that?"
"It's the exact opposite!" Ayako almost screamed.
For a split second, she was mad that the guy wasn't fully grasping what was going on. But she quickly remembered that Cyrus was still new to all of this. He couldn't really comprehend the larger aspects of sorcerer society since he'd only been a part of it for barely a couple of months. Thankfully, the woman was able to calm herself down enough to elaborate.
"Look, Cyrus...sorcerers born with unique or unheard-of abilities have to tread very carefully in sorcerer society."
"Why is that?" Okay, now Cyrus was starting to get freaked out. The young man had a feeling that he was not going to like where this was going. So what if he could absorb mana with his 'tree magic'? It didn't seem like all that spectacular of an ability in his opinion. Especially since there were sorcerers out there who could blow up entire buildings at the drop of a hat.
"Because..." Ayako paused as she tried to find the right words. "Those that do have them are usually targeted because of them. Especially if they're males."
"I d-don't understand."
Chief Chandler decided that now would be a good time for her to step in. "I'm not sure if you already knew this, but the ability to become a sorcerer is passed down genetically. More specifically, through the father. If an awakened male sorcerer has kids, it's pretty much guaranteed that his children will also become sorcerers. At least that's what current knowledge tells us. On top of that, there's a ninety-eight percent chance that his children will inherit his specific magical attribute."
"Okay, that makes sense." Cyrus nodded as he gave the woman his undivided attention.
Now, it was Ayako's turn to throw in her two cents. "Which means there's a very good chance that someone could kidnap you because of your magic."
That sentence alone was enough for Cyrus to put the rest of the pieces together himself. Everything immediately started to make sense. And his mind came to a terrifying conclusion that he didn't want to accept.
"So...on top of having to deal with cryptids...because of my magic, I might also run the risk of encountering...."
"Human traffickers." Ayako finished his thoughts. "Yes, that's exactly right."
"Holy shit..."
"When it comes to sorcerers, human traffickers are one of the biggest problems that we have to deal with. The DPA does whatever it can to track these guys down and take them out; that's why we have special anti-personnel squads. But even then, groups like that are still a clear and present danger."
"And with your abilities, you'd be a perfect target for them. If any unsavory parties were to learn that you could absorb mana with your 'tree magic', they'd definitely come after you. Believe me when I say that I'm not trying to scare you, but there are plenty of sorcerers out there who would love to introduce your magic into their bloodlines."
"Oh God...." Cyrus was too busy having an internal crisis to actually respond to the Chief's words. All of this was so hard for him to wrap his head around. All the 'tree magic' user wanted to do was practice and learn more about magic. A pretty simple goal in the grand scheme of things. But now he had to realize that he was going to be a prime target for people who would want to kidnap him. This was almost unfair to think about. "S-so...what do I do?"
"Luckily for you, the only three people who know about what you can do are now currently in this room. No one else in the station knows what your magic can do since I locked the training room up right before we got here. So, for the time being, we're going to keep this a secret between us."
"Do you think that would work?" Cyrus questioned the older woman. Even he knew that keeping information like this under wraps was a tall order.
"We're sorcerers, keeping secrets is literally part of our lives. Trust me, I have no intention of letting anyone else find out about this. A close friend of mine dealt with this exact same issue and it almost got him killed. And I will not have my newest rookie on the run from thugs who like to abuse people for profit."
"Same goes for me." Ayako agreed. "People finding out about this will be too problematic for all of us. Especially you. Plus, there's no way I'd sell out my favorite protégé like that!"
Cyrus still wasn't too sure about this, but it wasn't like he had any other choice in the matter. After all, the situation that he was now in was too scary to think about. For now, he'll put his trust in the two people standing next to him. But he was going to make sure that he did everything in his power to keep his mana absorption ability a secret.
"Alright, I'll trust you two."
"Good."
With that, the trio of sorcerers went on to discuss how they would proceed from this moment on with Cyrus' training. After roughly thirty minutes of deliberation and bouncing ideas off of each other, the three of them were able to come to an agreement. One that Cyrus actually felt pretty good about. Once they were done, Ayako felt good enough to leave the infirmary. Only having to deal with a mild case of mana exhaustion for the rest of the day.
Needless to say, things were about to take an interesting turn in the life of Cyrus Moore.
-(o)-
Character Profile: Cyrus
Name: Cyrus Adrian Moore
Alias: N/A
Gender: Male
Age: 18
Birthday: October 31st
Birthplace: Charlotte, NC, USA
Height: 71in
Weight: 170lbs
Hair: Black
Eyes: Green
Race: Black/White
Magic: Plant (Tree)
Occupation: College Student/DPA Agent
Stat Chart: C(+)
-Physical Strength - 3.5
-Intelligence - 4
-Magic Amount - 3
-Magical Control - 4
-Magic Sensing - 3
-Special - N/A
Fun Fact:
-Favorite food is breakfast burritos.