ManaTech: A System of Magic And Technology

The Beginning

As I ate the AI that had taken residence in my head explained the positives and the negatives of my situation, and there definitely were both at play. 

The biggest, and worst, thing was that the AI units that everyone in the GDC were equipped with had never been designed to deal with the sheer amount of energy that the creatures from the Space Between had granted me with. 

That meant that, for a long while, I wouldn’t be able to access the greater portion of my power. 

If we were to take off all the limiters and go full force without a care in the world it’d be like taking the pin out of a grenade… literally. I’d physically explode in a shower of magical energy that would probably be big enough to wipe out a large star system with some power left over to wipe out an entire galactic sector. 

In other words, it would be pretty bad. 

The second thing was that using mana and magic was, believe it or not, a fine and delicate art. 

Sure having boundless power was all well and good if all you wanted to do was smack people around with magic, but to actually use it properly you needed to know what you were doing. 

The universe I had been transported into used magic in all of its technology, from the doors of my cupboard and the food stall right up to the biggest star ships that did battle across the galaxy. 

You didn’t just pour mana into those systems to make the more complicated ones work, you had to delicately weave it through the machinery to get it working properly. 

Raw power would still serve me well for the times I needed to blast my way out of a situation, but compared to the skill that other entrants into the GDC would have from years of practice? Well, it was safe to say that I was slightly out of my depth. 

Fortunately, my AI companion seemed to already have a solution to at least some of those issues. 

Using whatever interface the AI had been using to generate the GPS directions in my vision, it had granted me a readout in the bottom right of my vision that was permanently visible unless I chose to dismiss it. 

The readout claimed that I was currently at level one of my power, with the ability to access an energy beam projectile and increased strength. 

When I’d started to feel pleased about that the AI made sure to shoot me back down again. 

[Yeah, I’m sure when you’re getting your teeth caved in by some work of high magic and you’re there firing off your little lasers the judges are going to be all over you,] The AI said snarkily. 

“God you’re an asshole,” I sighed as I stood back up to be on my way, “Did they program you like that for fun or something?” 

[Please, they didn’t program me like this,] The AI said, [After we merged I took on personality traits from your personality engram, so all of this assholery is coming straight from you.]

That about checked out. 

I’d always been a bit of a cocky asshole back on my home world. I didn’t want to be that guy anymore, though. Not in my new life, not now I’d been reborn with a fresh start. 

[Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts chief,] The AI snorted. 

I did my best to ignore the AI as I followed the GPS lines out of the plaza and into another part of the complex. 

I strode through a pair of tall, ornate doors and into a hall that had been lined with chairs in various different configurations for any life form of any body shape. 

Most of the chairs were already filled, so I made a beeline for one of the seats in the back that looked like it would at least be halfway comfortable for me to sit on. 

As I sat a pink blur sped past me leaving a rush of wind in its wake and sped up onto the stage at the front of the room. 

The blur stopped moving at the centre of the stage, and when it did I was able to see that it wasn’t just any kind of alien it was in fact a woman. 

She had two arms, two legs and a head just like any other human. In fact, with her brunette hair and white form-fitting armour I probably would have thought she was a human if I’d seen her from behind. Her lightly green skin and pointed ears, as well as her glowing pink eyes stood as a testament to that. 

“So then,” The woman said, her hands were clasped behind her back and there was a cocky smirk on her face. “This is what I have to work with this cycle, is it? You’re all the great hope of the Galactic Core, the ones who are meant to protect everyone else from the never-ending threat of the Devourers?” 

She chuckled a disappointed laugh, as if the mere sight of our group was enough to disgust her. 

[Chill out, this is pretty much Alaya’s entire deal,] The AI said, [Getting the new recruits antsy before the trials helps to weed out some of the weaklings straight away.]

“Honestly, the level of power at these events just keeps getting weaker and weaker,” She sighed, “I keep saying we should hold things back for a cycle or two, really build up our reserves of high-quality fighters… but oh well, here we are. Guess the GDC could always use some more canon fodder.”

From the looks of the way the various aliens in the meeting room were shifting and moving in their chairs Alaya’s plan to get people on edge was working in spades. 

It was working on me, too. 

While I’d been told I had boundless power locked away inside of me it wasn’t like I could actually use most of it yet. 

I was just as in danger as anyone else.