Chapter 92

  The black SUV slowly approached the compound under the careful watch of armed guards. The forest dimmed to shrubs, then to windswept dirt and dust. Two checkpoints barred the way, bright signs and dark bulletproof vests against the barren brown soil.

  Occasional plumes of dust reached into the car through the rolled-down window as the car approached. It wasn’t a problem for either of the two occupants, who could simply brush the dust away with their auras. It was pretty much the extent of what the driver’s aura could do, and a simple exercise for the other occupant instead, despite him appearing much weaker.

  “Halt! State your business and present your identification. This is a restricted area.”

  The man driving the SUV slowly slid his sunglasses down his nose, watching the guard from above the lenses. His face betrayed nothing but a faint sense of annoyance and perhaps a feeling of superiority.

  “Here,” said the man, giving the guard a bundle of documents that the other passenger had taken out of the car’s storage compartment with a slow, lazy motion. “Travis Tyrell, plus one. We should be expected.”

  “Who is the plus one?” asked the guard as he gave the documents and ID to another grunt to perform their checks.

  “Scientist,” Travis said with a shrug, “he’s harmless.”

  “That remains to be seen,” said the man sharply, taking the documents back from the other guard with a nod. Then he seemed to suddenly stumble, his face growing white and wet with perspiration. “P-proceed straight to the other gate. Slowly.”

  “Sure thing, chief,” said Travis lightly, “have a good one.”

  The guard grunted as Travis rolled up the window.

  “Or don’t,” Travis muttered. Michael smiled and the guard stumbled again.

  Then, almost as if the universe was punishing him, a sensation of coldness washed over the two.

  “What’s happening?” asked Travis, immediately alert.

  “We are being actively scanned.”

  He looked around, gaze going first to the guards visible beyond the dome of magic protecting the place, and then to the dome itself. “Interesting. It’s not coming from someone, but from something. It looks like the dome itself is scanning us. I wonder if I can use this to gain a little glimpse…”

  As his eyes unfocused, Travis kept on driving. The distance between the first checkpoint and the shield couldn’t be more than a few hundred yards, and the second gate was right behind it. He wasn’t supposed to be able to see magic, however, but he imagined the chill they felt as the dome scanned them was something the OA knew happened and used to their advantage as an intimidation tactic.

  “Michael,” he called as they were about to cross the threshold. He knew, intellectually, that there was no reason for anything bad to happen just yet. Despite that, he found himself feeling for the power of his Cards, flexing his Aura.

  “Keep doing that,” said Michael.

  “You’re not helping. What the fuck has gotten over you?”

  “I’m studying the dome,” said the young man, “everything inside it is inconsequential.”

  “What do you see?” despite wanting to, Travis did not look around to study the shield. He could see the shimmer in the air, though, like a mirage on a hot road baked by the sun in the distance. Just that this distortion was all around them in a sheet of strangely compressed air that wasn’t really air, but magic.

  “It’s a wall of solid energy, as we thought. I got a glimpse of its workings, nothing too much. It really didn’t like you flaring your Silver-rank aura.”

  Travis grunted.

  “I wonder how it would react if I were to unmask mine.”

  Travis wanted to ask what Michael meant by the dome not liking his aura, but didn’t have the time. He instead took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel. “Here we go. Look alive now.”

  They crossed it. Travis felt a slight tingle, but nothing else. Michael, instead, smirked for a split second before realizing that they were about to be approached by guards once again. He wiped the grin from his face.

  “As I said,” he whispered before the window was rolled down, “the barrier was the only thing of importance here. Everything else is inconsequential. Ancestral Copper-equivalent, nothing more.”

  Travis nodded. There had to be more to the compound, probably shielded from perception.

  After the security checks, they were made to leave their vehicle and were led to a building at the edge of the compound. As they waited in the empty room, they noted that while the dome had not managed to do it, the thick concrete walls did manage to block all sorts of signals, including cell phone signal. It was to be expected.

  What was more, there was a single camera overlooking the room, its red LED light blinking as if to tell them it was active. Travis knew there had to be more surveillance devices, of course, which limited what he and Michael could say while they waited.

  “It’s boring,” Michael complained. His role was to play the innocuous nerd/researcher, while Travis was to be believed the head of the whole organization they represented.

  “Shut up and wait. This is too important to mess up,” barked the man, playing to his role.

  Meanwhile, Michael let a little bit of aura escape through his [Aura Masking] skill, which also happened to reach level three in the process. With even better control, but wary of potential observers, Michael extended tendrils of power outwards, searching, probing.

  To be more precise, Michael had already discovered that all auras extended outwards into infinity like electric fields—presumably at such speeds that they were impossible to see. So, when he extended tendrils of his aura, what he really did was channel magic through his aura, pushing the boundaries of his [Magic Sense] and [Magic Manipulation] by using the aura as a springboard for the abilities to work. He scanned the room and the buildings, but most of them were shielded and appeared empty to his senses. Of course, powerful magic would still be visible, but there wasn’t enough of it for him to see. Then he touched the shield surrounding the compound with his mind, and in the hours that followed he began to study its properties.

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  It was only after they were left to stew in the barren room alone for half a day that someone finally was sent to fetch them.

  “Doctor Kavanaugh is ready to see you, follow me.”

  They were led to another building, taking an underground tunnel that soon confused their senses. It wasn’t just the twists and turns, but there was magic at play there, so much that with his aura masked, Michael had trouble counteracting its effects. In the end, he chose to let the magic do the work, rather than blowing his cover. Travis was much less affected because even though he had a weaker silver aura, he was allowed to utilize it in full.

  When they reached their destination, Doctor Kavanaugh was already there. He was a wiry, short man. Rectangular glasses that were too big for his sunken face sat on a long nose and thin mustache. Stubble completed his face, along with bags under his eyes. The only thing of note was how Kavanaugh presented himself with impeccable clothes, lab-wear in pristine white that almost seemed to shine under the harsh light of the ceiling neon lights.

  “Please,” he said after they shook hands, “sit. You represent, what, a company who wishes to work with us?”

  His tone of voice was lazy, almost uninterested. He was only pretending to not know who he was talking to.

  “We do,” Travis said, taking the lead. Even though he couldn’t see it clearly, he instinctively must have noticed that the man was low-Copper, and not the kind of Copper they could achieve with dungeon mana but rather the washed-out, weak Copper that could be achieved by absorbing the natural leftover mana on Earth. “I represent Unity corporation, more specifically the Candle Light division. We have some expertise in dealing with anomalies.”

  “That I can see,” said the man, eyes glinting. “Please, I must ask you to retract your aura. You must be aware of its intimidating effects on anyone weaker than you, I presume?”

  “How indelicate of me,” shrugged Travis, “I lack a sight ability, you see. I thought you could handle the pressure.”

  The man scoffed, but said nothing. The pressure on him lessened, making his complexion look much more alive. That was Michael’s cue to start acting. His aura was still masked, the reason why Kavanaugh had not spared him even a glance so far, but it was far from muted. He extended it outwards, weaving two skills together to amplify its effect. [Presence] made the OA’s doctor feel intimidated, while [Voice of Command] together with subvocalized instructions—while less powerful than normal instructions—made the man susceptible and prone to slip-ups.

  “You must think we are underestimating you,” said Doctor Kavanaugh, “I assure you, we are not. We have all the means to take you, and your project, down if need arises.”

  There it was, the overconfidence. If they really had such means, they either weren’t here, or they were hidden well enough that Michael could sense no traces of them. Most likely, the man was bluffing.

  “Of course,” said Travis, “we have barely just begun dealing with the arcane, after all. My assistant here will tell you more.”

  “As you must know,” Michael said, his tone of voice almost bored, “while it exists, the kind of magic that can be found scattered around the world is rather weak. There are limits to how much power someone can amass.” Suddenly, his eyes burned with confidence and power, “but there are ways to break past those limits.”

  Travis nodded, and the spell was broken. “We are willing to share the mechanism behind the next great leap in power. From human to superhuman is to go from Iron to Copper, but from superhuman to truly god-like, that is what it means to go from Copper to Silver.”

  “And you are one such Silver, are you not?” Kavanaugh said, in awe, the effect of Michael’s magic beginning to show. “That’s why your aura is so abnormally strong. You mean to say that you can teach us how to break past our limits? That…” he stopped himself, shaking his head. “That is surely interesting, but it’s hardly my place to decide such things. I was sent here to vet you. That you have found out about us, and that you claim to be able to push past boundaries not even we have managed to conquer speaks either of arrogance or of skill.”

  Travis smiled. Michael too, albeit only inwardly. He had made Kavanaugh slip, and now they knew that the entire OA did not have people beyond the Copper tier, at least that the Doctor knew of.

  “Please,” said Travis in a tone that was all smiles, “I care for this country. My country. I have seen what horrors magic gives birth to. They should not be allowed to exist, to threaten the good citizens of America. The good, industrious people of America. If I can help, no harm will befall this country, and rest assured that I will.”

  There was iron in his voice. Conviction strong enough to almost fool even Michael, who knew just how fake those words had been. If he could have his way, Travis would gladly sacrifice half of humanity for his own personal gains, leaving the other half alive just because ruling over uninhabited ruins is not part of his goals.

  “Ah, right,” Kavanaugh said, “I was wondering why Unity corporation was wasting so many resources on humanitarian efforts. Your CEO is a hopeless idealist, isn’t he?”

  “That he is,” Travis nodded, “he is the real heart of the company. I simply strive to do what’s best for us.”

  “What is your offer, then? To teach us to grow powerful?”

  “Of course,” Travis dangled the carrot, “but that would need training, and time.”

  “Our sources tell us you were but a normal CEO of a normal company until barely weeks ago. The process must be fast. We can afford to wait, for the moment.”

  “Can you? And, more importantly, was I? What do your sources tell you about Unity?”

  Michael amped up the dosage of his skills and aura. They slammed onto the defenseless man like a tidal wave.

  “I see,” said Kavanaugh, “at this point I should reconvene with my superiors, but I believe I know better than them what I should do. Offer us something I can use, immediately. For the good of the nation, you know? Something that gets us funded through the next administration. The Program is not cheap to run.”

  “Oh, you need not worry. Let us handle the anomalies for you, while you focus on more important matters. Dealing with the pests must be quite expensive, no?”

  Kavanaugh scoffed. “I can’t do that. We need them.”

  “If you can secure them, go for it. I don’t think you can, can you? Let us handle the more dangerous of the anomalies, the ones that make you waste so much money and cause so many headaches that they are hardly worth it. Like that chest that keeps eating your agents. It doesn’t look good in your quarterly report when there’s so many ‘Missing in Action’ printed on the spreadsheet, does it?”

  Kavanaugh recoiled. “You knew about the existence of the chest already?”

  “What do you think?” Travis pressured him, aura flaring to life. Someone knocked on the door, but it was like they were underwater, the sound distant. A thin film of ice appeared on the door, while the handle burned white-hot as Michael acted.

  “How did you know?” Kavanaugh was sweating.

  “We have a way to detect magic at a distance,” Travis said. It wasn’t a lie per se. They had a way to detect magic. It was Michael’s vision. But Michael, of course, couldn’t be all over the state at once.

  “Is that the case? We must—”

  “We aren’t ready to share such capabilities with you. We can offer you help in other ways, though.”

  “You can help us with anomalies we can’t contain ourselves, yes. Using your special means. And yet you refuse to share your secrets.”

  “That’s right,” said Travis.

  Calm returned to the room as the mental manipulation worked its effects.

  “And we can power your people up,” pressed Travis, “how about you send us someone, someone you trust but who’s also expendable. That’ll show you what we can do with proper procedures and time, that we can get anyone to Silver. The chest first, though. Wouldn’t want to look like we can’t deliver on our promises, isn’t that right?”

  Kavanaugh nodded, the pressure on him lessening. “It would be a start.”

  “We get to keep it, of course,” said Michael.

  “That—”

  “Destroyed during retrieval,” said Travis calmly as the pressure on Kavanaugh returned. “That’s the official statement.”

  “Very well. If you can secure it, we don’t care what you do with it as long as you keep its existence a secret.”

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