When Jack opened his eyes this time he looked around and saw Turrel. He shook his head to clear it and waved.

  “Sup” Jack said with a groggy voice as he sat up slowly.

  He felt the last session went much better than the previous ones. He stayed awake almost double the amount of time. The burn in his arms was almost at his shoulders, so he thought probably one, maybe two more times and he should be done.

  “Hi, Jack, I see Montarg has introduced you to his more… experimental side. I hear your progress so far has been quite impressive. How are you feeling now?” Turrel responded as he stood next to Monty. The two had obviously been speaking while Jack was out but he honestly had no idea how long he had even been in this room.

  “Am I at risk of getting some sort of CTE from passing out this many times in a row? Does your healing fix my brain? Obviously not. I mean I can feel I am still a little strange but… I have felt a little more focused than normal, is that the new body or the healing? Sorry I don’t know what it is, maybe your presence just brings out the questions Turtie” Jack rambled on as he slowly got to his feet.

  “Haha, No, you are fine Jack. The translator didn’t really get that CTE thing but you have a major healing weave on you at the moment. It wouldn’t grow new limbs if you had lost them but it could heal pretty much anything else.” Monty replied slightly amused. Turrel jumped in before Jack could ask more questions.

  “As I mentioned, undergoing the modification process changes people, as you have seen. The mental side is part of that and the impact can vary. Life mana is generally associated with a calming or stoic mentality. How that interacts with your existing personality means the end results vary, not everyone that accesses life mana is calm. Case in point” Turrel said as he pointed at Monty.

  Jack thought on that. He would generally call himself a fairly introspective person. He knew his mind tended to work a little faster than other people’s at times. He often just let his mind run and took time to sort through information and thoughts when he either needed to or had time to. It was possible that if he was being influenced by a calming sensation it might be having an effect to slow down his mind making him feel as if he was more focused. He laughed to himself as he realised the rabbit hole he was about to fall into.

  “Cool cool, makes sense. Monty, I think I am like one maybe two more sessions away from being done. Is the big heal thing still turned on?” Jack asked.

  The two men shared a look and Turrel motioned for Monty to continue as he shifted his stance to get comfortable.

  “Yeah, the big heal thing is still there and working. Can you really not feel a significant drain?”

  “Well Monty, I have exactly zero reference for what is a big drain vs a little drain. I can feel something pulling on my mana but that's it. It’s not uncomfortable or distracting at all if that matters. More like if a shirt was just a bit too tight. Speaking of, do I get like a new wardrobe? It's a bit tight at the moment.” Jack mentioned as he looked down at himself, as a side effect of his enhanced physique was obviously that well… The clothes he was wearing now were a little shorter and much tighter than before. He doubted he could do much more than walking without a tear occurring.

  “Yeah that is to be expected and we will have a spare..” Turrel started, but then was interrupted by Monty.

  “Let’s worry about the clothes later, Jack, it won't affect what we are doing and to be honest I wanna make sure this record is something that won't be broken. Let’s get to it. I think it is important for Turrel to see you undergo the whole thing as well, we will all need to have a very serious conversation very soon but we should finish here while we have the momentum.”

  Jack understood, he hated being interrupted before he could finish something as well. He took a deep breath, looked over at Turrel and smiled as he took a step closer to Monty, he knew the process by now. He closed his eyes and focused, finding that sensation on his skin and locking it into his mind. He reached inward and tuned his mana heart until they matched, getting the right frequency much quicker than when he started. He braced himself and drew the mana in once more, he wanted to try to get the saying out twice this time.

  “No Pain. No Gain. No Pain. No Ga…” He felt the pain building and realised that he wouldn't get it finished this time just as he passed out again.

  Jack sighed, finally being finished with the mana etching process, his last attempt happened almost as soon as he woke up. After he felt how close he was didn't want to wait and stood straight up, collected his bearings and jumped straight in. Fully expecting to pass out one last time, he was pleasantly surprised when he endured the first wave of pain and then it disappeared healed by the cold wave of healing magic. What happened next however was a different sensation.

  The mana raced through his etched pathways, moving towards his heart, hitting his vortex and amplifying instantly. Jack had been pulling with everything he had, treating the mana like a blocked slushy straw. Suddenly, the resistance disappeared. It felt like a stuck chunk of ice shooting straight down his windpipe.

  He choked as his body was flooded with mana, he instinctively tried to purge the excess mana, only partially succeeding, part of the mana left his system, the rest hit his vortex and was amplified again. When he tried to expel it, the vortex sucked it back in, amplified it again, and forced the massive, expanding charge right back into his core.

  His etched pathways were allowing the mana to flow much quicker than before and while he did his vortex seemed to change slightly, It wasn't enough. Once again he felt the heat of the sun flash across the exterior of his mana sense growing in heat as the mana in his body surged, building. He looked over at Monty with a look of panic on his face, he couldn't speak. His body was flushed with heat and he found he couldn't open his mouth or move his body at all, everything felt heavy.

  For a split second Jack thought he saw hesitation in Monty’s face, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Monty reached his arm out and Jack felt a pull on his mana sense, he felt for a second like he could try to resist but he let it pass. The pressure lessened immediately but Jack could still feel his vortex cycling the mana in his system, replacing part of what was being pulled away by Monty.

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  Monty had been relaxed and calm when he started, but there was a look of concentration on his face as the draw continued. The mana in Jack’s system was lowering quickly but part of it was still being recycled and amplified almost as if he was adjusting to the draw from Monty. Comprehension dawned on Monty's face and he reached out his other hand towards Jack.

  Jack felt a tug as if something was untied, the pull on his heart reduced.

  Monty stopped absorbing mana from Jack’s body. Reaching over with his right hand he formed a fist, and then green light surrounded it like a large boxing glove.

  Jack trusted Monty and was distracted by what he was doing, he did notice however that the mana inside his body was still there and was still circulating and growing.

  The glove on Monty’s hand grew, and grew, until it was the size of one of those comical hulk fists. He made a quick punching motion towards the padded wall. The result was anything but comical. A shockwave rushed out from Monty and then a moment later the whole room shook as the air hit the wall.

  Jack started to feel heat on his skin again. It was amping up slower than last time but it was still growing.

  Monty reached back over towards Jack and with a much more serious demeanor than Jack had seen started to draw the mana from Jack’s body. The draw this time was less gentle, in a second all the mana in his body was gone. He felt a rush of weakness overcome him and he fell to a knee, looking up at Monty and nodding his thanks.

  Monty turned back to the wall and this time his right foot was covered with a green glow. He stomped outward towards the wall and another shockwave vibrated the air. The wave rushed to the wall and once again the building shook.

  Monty turned around and looked at Jack as he brushed his shoulders free of dust from the shockwaves as if he was an action hero in a movie.

  “Well that was a little shocking wouldn't you say?” As a smile replaced the concern on his face.

  “I think you are right, Turrel. We should probably work on control next, but I doubt there will be much of a problem with the first part of your plan.” Monty laughed but it didn’t feel genuine.

  A couple of hours later they were back in the training room, the Trio having left to eat and reset a little bit while going over Turrel's plan. Jack knew that it was mostly a chance for him to rest and recover but he wouldn't deny it was needed after the strain he had put on himself. Turrel's plan was pretty simple in essence and he spent a fair while going over the other options and why this was the only one that would work. Jack accepted it and in his mind he had already filtered out the details and locked in the important bits he needed to know.

  First he needed to get better at controlling mana in his system and if possible learn how to control his amplification. If he couldn't learn to control it in the next day and a bit that was fine, they just needed to understand how to recreate what happened earlier today. The rest of the plan would need him to have much more control over everything. None of that mattered if they couldn't get the first part completed though and so Jack zoned it out.

  Luckily he had remembered to ask Turrel about some new clothes before they went back to the training facility. He was now dressed in what he was referring to as his space high gym uniform consisting of, Green three-quarter pants made from a strangely smooth cotton-like material, they looked and felt like basketball shorts. He had been given a choice of three tops to go with his shorts, for some reason he was drawn to the green short sleeve shirt that was closer in style to a singlet than a shirt. It was made from the same material the shorts were and was very comfortable. He looked for a seam or stitch line but couldn't find anything which did interest him a little but not enough to ask about with everything else going on. After he admired his reflection for a moment wondering about the hours he would have spent in the gym to get shoulders like he currently had, he had pulled himself away to the laughter of both Turrel and Monty. The reaction was supposedly a common one for people after completing the full Tier 1 modification process.

  Turrel sat him down and started to explain the basics of mana control and some techniques he wanted Jack to learn. Jack stared at him for a second as Turrel finished describing an hour long meditation technique to improve his breathing so it would be easier to absorb ambient mana.

  “Turrel, I really do appreciate your dedication to the standard curriculum and a process that obviously works. But I think with the time frame we have it might be time to go off book a little bit right?” He mentioned as he looked over Turrel’s shoulder at Monty.

  “If this all works I will have time to learn this and practise in any order you want me to. But right now, I need to be able to absorb a tiny amount of mana and circulate and amplify. Then contain enough of it inside my system to destroy a machine that was built with specific safeguards in place to avoid being destroyed by the exact thing we are attempting to do?”

  Turrel’s eyes closed and his mouth scrunched up slightly but he nodded as he too looked over his shoulder at Monty.

  “So our main issue here is probably if my body can contain enough mana to destroy the machine before the mana starts to destroy my body right?” Turrel thought for a moment as his head bobbed from side to side.

  “I guess, there is a lot more to consider but that is likely the biggest risk factor”

  “Ok, if the other concerns are if I can amplify enough mana, we have likely proven that I can. If the issue is about if I can amplify it quickly enough from such a small amount. Well we could probably stack the deck a little if what Monty described earlier works. We could have him set a few weaves connected to my pathways prior to the test, that would circulate mana in my system and probably up the amplification.”

  “If the machine records something as an anomaly or not doesn't matter if we succeed right? So if we can supercharge the amplification a little beforehand that leaves just one potential issue.” Jack pursed his lips.

  “The one where I go bang if I can't hold it in. Look, I don't want to go bang. That issue is really just about how much mana I can comfortably hold until it gets drained” Looking back up to Monty who had been surprisingly quiet the whole time, he noticed a smirk on his face as he looked at Turrel.

  “We have the human syphon over there and you obviously trust he can keep me safe before I go bang. So let's use him, and make sure that we are confident the first part of the plan will work. Control only matters for part two so let's get the first bit done.”

  Turrel looked like he seemed to be struggling with something internally.

  “Look at the end of the day Jack it is up to you. We can probably do something like what you are thinking and yes I think it would help. The problem is it will be difficult and will likely hurt, healing is great but it is a remedy not a prevention. Are you sure you don't want to try an easier way?” He asked Jack very seriously.

  “Turrel If you haven't worked it out yet, I very much like to take the direct approach, I am risk averse of course but the biggest risk according to everything the two of you have said is if the plan doesn't work. If the best way to ensure we succeed at the main plan is to endure a little bit of discomfort and pain, well so be it. No Pain, No Gain am I right?”