Chapter 36: Jacking

  Erik:

  Core Ability

  Name: Unexpected Arsenal

  Tier: Iron

  Type: N/A

  Cost: Variable

  Effect - Iron:

  Manifest spiritual power in objects around you. Items used can have varying effects.

  Applicable items limited by mass, volume, density, quality of materials, spiritual bond, spiritual power and more.

  Major Ability

  Name: Authority

  Tier: Iron | Rank: 0 | Willpower

  Type: Aura, Control, Will

  Cost: N/A

  Effect - Iron:

  Improved Aura, Aura sense, and Aura control. Aura effect changed to Authority.

  Major Ability

  Name: Umbralux

  Tier: Iron | Rank: 0 | Wisdom

  Type: Spell, Light, Dark, Affliction

  Cost: Meagre (Flash), Middling (Entropy)

  Effect - Iron:

  Flash (Light): A beam of light scorches the target.

  Entropy (Dark): Expels miasma which decays targets from inside.

  Major Ability

  Name: Unleash

  Tier: Iron | Rank: 0 | Speed

  Type: Altering, Metamorphosis, Enhancement

  Cost: Variable

  Effect - Iron:

  Alters the composition of the body.

  Major Ability

  Name: Earthkeep

  Tier: Iron | Rank: 0 | Strength

  Type: Enhancement, Earth, Defence

  Cost: Moderate

  Effect - Iron:

  Manipulate the earth to protect the body.

  This archive is under the administration of the lovely Sophie Callum xx

  “How’s that?” Sophie asked with a gleaming and proud smile on her face.

  “It’s great, should be understandable for everyone. Angela?” Erik replied, handing the notebook to Angela so she could have a look-over as well.

  “Well, the names of things don’t matter much, do they? Also, the costs listed are all over the place. What’s with the ‘Willpower’ and ‘Wisdom’ next to the rank?” Angela asked her questions as soon as they popped into her head as she read from the book.

  “First of all, names are cool! When you make the ultimate attack against a villain, you have to shout the name of whatever attack you’re doing; otherwise, the villain wins by default.”

  “So, you want to scream ‘Umbralux’ mid-battle and still be taken seriously?” Angela asked with a grin. “Literally dark light?”

  “Okay, so…maybe not that? Besides, that one’s more of a flashy attack or slow burn, which is used at the start of battle and in the middle, right when the tables turn in my favour. Second, the rest should be discussed when Jessie’s done. Everyone has to learn what both she and I can do in order to know when to help, and when to stay far away from us,” Erik answered.

  “Fine. The way it’s written is very readable, at least. Good job, Sophie,” Angela smiled, handing Sophie the book back. Emma snatched it from both their hands and had her own little look-see.

  “Sheesh, you’re out of control, Erik. What role are you even going for here? You have one defensive thing, one offensive…with the two spells…are you jacking?” She gasped the last word in a joking manner.

  “Shut up! I didn’t decide what they would be! Besides, ‘Unleash’ is awesome, and that alone should let me fight the Hellbeasts unarmed with little risk!”

  “So you are jacking!”

  “Nuh-uh!”

  “What’s jacking?” Angela asked, receiving zero replies. The medic in the back with them, Dunham, shrugged.

  “Are they talking about drugs?” Sophie asked.

  “Like steroids?” Dunham asked. Sophie nodded in response.

  “I don’t think so,” Angela replied.

  “It’s from ‘Jack of all trades’. Jacking. It’s about building a character that is good at a lot of things, but great at nothing,” Emma explained a few moments later, after the arguing had died down.

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  Jessie woke from her meditation a few minutes later. She panicked and tossed around, growing pale in an instant. Her screams sounded as if the helicopter was hurtling towards the ground as she grasped for anything to hold on to. She was unresponsive to anyone’s attempts at reaching her.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Angela screamed in panic at Erik, who was as clueless as to what was happening. He’d glanced over a few times in the last while, and the crystal seemed to have been completely absorbed. Whatever trial she had been doing, she seemed to clear it without much fuss.

  It was her final major, and the third during the trip. Had she overdone it? Was two the safe limit in such a short amount of time?

  Jessie vomited, and no one in the back was spared. Still in complete panic, she grabbed hold of her sister’s silky blonde hair with a tight fist. Sophie, already in a state similar to that of Jessie, teared up as her magic-enhanced older sister pulled her hair.

  The air grew heavy, unbreathable. The light inside the helicopter seemed to dim, which wasn’t even a setting. Angela gasped for air, almost choking. She looked around with wide eyes, her heart, already full of adrenaline, almost beating through her chest.

  Erik was the only one sitting still. All sound in the cabin seemed to die out. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was the answer. She hadn’t realised before, or maybe she had, deep down, but refused to believe it. Even the air seemed to agree, as it all gathered around the man, even turning a shade of purple and gold.

  The panicking girl next to her had already hit Emma several times in her face, torso, and legs. Emma struggled to defend herself against Jessie’s much greater strength. She leaned forward and hid her head behind her arms facing the screaming Jessie.

  When she grabbed hold of Sophie’s hair, Emma instead tried grabbing hold of Jessie, doing everything she could to force her still. A tightness constricted Emma’s throat, and she stopped breathing. She released Jessie, clawing at her own throat, but found nothing constricting her airways. Emma looked around, finding Angela and the medic gasping for air just like her. One look at Erik and…it was beautiful.

  “Calm…down!”

  His voice, empowered by his activated aura of authority, echoed in the small cabin, vanquishing all traces of the screaming and shouting that had filled it. As Erik shouted and enveloped Jessie with his aura, everyone grew still and breathless. He knew he affected everyone in the cabin, but he didn’t have enough control over it to only target Jessie. He had to stop her, though. Everyone else just had to be all right.

  Jessie had settled—with no say in the matter—but that wasn’t enough. As soon as Erik released his authority over her, she would just revert to panic again. She released her firm hold on Sophie, though, and even let go of the bag she’d held in her hands and hit Emma with a few times.

  “Meditate!” he shouted, his voice just as powerful as before. He saw not just Jessie close her eyes, but everyone else as well. Meditation was healthy, right?

  Once Jessie’s Core glowed red again, Erik started releasing his hold on everyone, bit by bit. He hoped Jessie had been conscious and knew that she had to keep meditating until whatever had caused her panic was fixed or ended. Looking at everyone else’s pale faces, he released the last remaining half of his aura power, reverting it to normal.

  “Amir! Tell me you’re awake,” Erik tried through the radio. No response. At the end, he’d seen Emma and Sophie gasping for air. Along with their pale faces, he realised what he’d done to them. It was like what Sovereign had done when Erik had asked to see his aura. “Amir!” Erik tried again as he checked the pulses of his fellow passengers.

  They were all alive, but their breaths shallow. It seemed they’d be fine, but Dunham would have to check everyone over once they came to. So long as the helicopter didn’t crash first, that is.

  “What…was that?” Amir asked over the radio.

  A few more groans, both male and female, sounded over the radio in the next few seconds. Erik sighed with relief. He had almost killed everyone with his aura power. What would he have done if he had? He couldn’t face Jessie after that, if she’d survived. He couldn’t face himself after that.

  Erik cast a glance over at Jessie, seeing her still in meditation. Perfect. If she woke like that again, he had to resort to other means to save her and everyone else from her. He considered throwing both himself and her out of the helicopter with him. If anyone could survive that, it would be them, and everyone else would be safe. He agreed with himself and responded to the growing number of questions on the radio.

  “I’m sorry, everyone. I’m really, really sorry. I had to stop her, or she’d…” Erik started, but couldn’t finish. It wasn’t Jessie’s fault he’d almost killed them all. “I’m sorry,” he said again, tearing up.

  “Everyone’s fine, just a bit shaken. A minute longer without breathing, that might’ve changed, but we’re not on that boat. We’re on this one, where we weathered the storm without casualties. Just remember that, Erik,” Dunham said after he’d checked on everyone in the back.

  “Ugh, Dun! Stop it with the boating references. You’ve been out on a boat twice!” Peter, the medic up front, complained through the headset.

  “And it was perfect, Peter!” Dunham responded. “Both times!”

  “Relax, Erik. We’re fine. Now you know to be more careful, alright?” said Emma, getting an agreeing nod from Angela.

  “Sophie?” Angela asked, hoping she’d say something to calm Erik. She didn’t respond, only stared back and forth between her sister and Erik. She looked scared. This would complicate matters between Erik and her. Whenever the blonde looked over at Erik, she looked downright terrified, and Erik seemed to have noticed.

  The helicopter landed near Marseille an awkward hour later. Erik had missed the entire refuelling stop in Paris. He’d never visited before, and if he hadn’t almost killed all his friends just moments earlier, he might’ve complained.

  Now, though…he needed to stretch his legs. And change his clothes! The vomit had almost dried on them after attempting to wipe it off with wet wipes. Sophie had retreated into herself by curling up in the corner. Angela and Emma wanted to change and stretch their legs as well, and the pair of medics would try to talk to Sophie while everyone else was out.

  Everyone except Jessie, who was as still as the night beside her sister, her red glow still strong. Erik wished he were better at the bedside manner-thing, but he wasn’t sure it would even help in this case. You couldn’t invite the monster under the bed to a heart-to-heart with the terrified kid, right?

  Erik sighed and jumped out of the helicopter. After helping the other girls with retrieving their bags from the cargo, they all went and changed. The fact that they landed on an airbase looking like tourists did draw some attention, but no one attempted to talk to the group. Amir was the only one who talked to any of the Frenchmen regarding the refuelling. After thirty or so minutes, they were off again.