Kai walked fast along the dirt path, but something in his mind wouldn't settle. The echo of that beastly cry still lingered in his ears, a chilling reminder of how close he'd come to a second death. Every shadow cast by the setting sun seemed to stretch and twist into the shape of the matted-furred creature. He found himself flinching at every gust of wind that rustled the tall grass, his head snapping around, expecting another shadow to leap out, raw fear flickering in his eyes. He even picked up a jagged, hand-sized rock, its weight a poor but necessary comfort in his palm.
Suddenly, a familiar presence brushed against his consciousness. A voice.
"Not again…" he muttered, his voice tight with paranoia. He stopped and scanned the empty plains around him. "Have you come to laugh at me, watching me jump at shadows?"
Iris's voice returned, calm and steady as always, a breath of reassurance in the tense silence. "No, Kai. Fear is a tool for survival. It keeps you alert. But I haven't come to watch. This time, I've come to tell you something important—about how you can check your own status."
"My status?" Kai asked, frowning.
"There are three things you must always be aware of: Health, Stamina, and Mana," she explained. "Health and stamina, you already know from your old world. They represent your life force and your physical energy. But mana…" Her tone deepened slightly, becoming more serious. "Mana is the source of your power in Veridia. All your magical abilities are fueled by it. The more mana you have, the stronger your magic can be. Now, open your stats."
A translucent panel shimmered into existence before his eyes, displaying three clear bars and corresponding numbers.
[Health: 1000/1000]
[Stamina: 400/500]
[Mana: 150/200]
Kai stared at the numbers. The health and stamina made sense, but the mana… 150. It felt ridiculously low, like a starting character in a video game. He remembered the barrier he had created—it had felt powerful, but the system had said it cost 10% of his energy. He now realized that meant both stamina and mana, as both bars were depleted.
"Your mana level is low for now," Iris continued, as if reading his thoughts. "But it can be trained, just like a muscle. As you grow and upgrade your abilities, you can increase all of these stats. You can change your health and stamina from a thousand to ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand."
Kai's eyes went wide. "A hundred thousand? Are there really people who possess stats like that?"
"Yes," Iris confirmed. "In fact, many students at the academy you're heading to have power levels well beyond ten thousand. They are the gifted, the hardworking, the elite. That's why you've been assigned there. It is the best place for you to grow quickly." She paused for a moment. "One more thing: while you are there, you will have to complete secret tasks for me. I will give you the details later on."
"Secret tasks?" Kai asked, a knot of unease tightening in his stomach. "What kind of tasks? Is this going to be dangerous?"
"All power is dangerous, Kai," she replied, her voice leaving no room for argument. "Now, about your skills. You asked if you unlocked your first power."
"Yeah, the barrier…"
"Yes," Iris said softly. "But if you awaken other powers, you must not tell anyone. The barrier can be the one everyone knows about, your primary, declared skill. Keep anything else a secret. A hidden trump card is a powerful advantage." A final, chilling warning entered her voice. "And remember this above all else—never let anyone drain your mana completely. If your mana pool hits zero, your connection to this world will sever. You will die, and this time, there will be no coming back."
Kai swallowed hard, the rock in his hand suddenly feeling cold and useless. The dizziness he'd felt after the barrier now made terrifying sense. He had been closer to the edge than he realized. "I used to think this kind of stuff only happened in games," he whispered, his voice shaky. "It feels so unreal… yet this is my reality now."
The dirt path stretched on before him, a simple line in a complex, deadly world. But now, for the first time, he walked with a flicker of grim determination instead of just blind fear.
Kai's thoughts still lingered on Iris's warning when her voice softened once more, almost like an echo in his mind. "Mana is more than just for combat, Kai. It is the energy of this world, and it flows through you. You can learn to channel it through your body—to keep yourself warm in the cold, to shield yourself from the rain or the blistering heat. The nights on these plains are colder than you can imagine. Without shelter, the cold will drain your stamina as you sleep. You will need to learn this before you reach the capital city."
"Wait—how do I even do that? You can't just tell me to do it and then disappear!" Kai shouted, spinning around as if he could find her. But her presence faded, leaving him alone with the endless wind and swaying grass. He let out a long, frustrated groan. "Not again… why does she always leave me completely clueless?"
Still, a spark of curiosity lit up inside him. He found the same cluster of mossy stones where he'd rested before and sat down cross-legged, placing the jagged rock beside him. He closed his eyes and tried to follow Iris's vague instructions. Channel it to your body, he thought. He imagined energy flowing from his chest, down his arms, and into his hands. At first, nothing happened—only a faint, pins-and-needles tingling in his fingertips.
"Okay… calm down, focus…" he muttered, forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths. The panic from the beast's cry and the crushing loneliness of this new world pressed down on him, but he pushed them aside, focusing only on the humming energy he'd felt earlier. He tried to remember the sensation of the barrier forming, that sudden surge of power.
Minutes passed, stretching into what felt like an hour. Frustration began to build. Then—something stirred. A faint warmth gathered in his arm, a gentle heat that was completely different from the explosive energy of the barrier. He opened his eyes. A dim, reddish aura shimmered faintly around his fingers. It flickered like a weak candle flame, unstable and fragile, but it was real. His heart leapt. "I… I actually did it!"
The aura sputtered, and his vision wavered. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he had to catch himself with a hand on the stone. His mana was far too low to sustain the flow for more than a few seconds. He checked his status, and sure enough, the mana bar had dropped by another few points.
Still, a wide grin tugged at his lips. "Not the best… but it's something. And if I can do this once, I can do it again."
For the first time since arriving, determination burned brighter than fear. He would walk, he would train whenever he rested, and he would master this control—until he was ready for whatever the capital threw at him.
As the faint glow around his fingers vanished, Kai sat in the growing dark, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. That's when another realization struck him with the force of a physical blow—the barrier that had saved him wasn't free. It had drained both his mana and stamina, leaving him weak and vulnerable. Power came at a cost, and now he was beginning to understand the rules of the game. If he pushed himself too far, he could faint… or worse.
The thought sent a familiar chill through him. Yet strangely, the fear didn't crush him this time—it mingled with a flicker of raw excitement.
His hands curled into fists, his knuckles white. "Then I'll just have to get stronger," he whispered into the evening air. Physical training to raise his stamina, mental focus to control his skills, and a bigger mana pool—he would need all of it if he wanted to stand alongside those students with over 10,000 power. If he showed up weak, if his stats were this pathetic, he would be nothing more than a joke, another outcast to be laughed at.
The idea stung, sharper than he expected. He thought of Iris's real smile back in his old world, of the friends he had tried and failed to protect in that hallway. A heavy, aching weight pressed against his chest.
"No," he muttered, his voice low but firm, cutting through the wind. "Not this time. This journey… I'll see it through. I'll get stronger. I'll become someone who matters. I won't let anyone down again."
The whisper was swallowed by the vast, indifferent plains, but for Kai, it was a promise—his first true vow in the world of Veridia. He stood up, leaving the rock behind, and faced the path ahead with a new light in his eyes.