Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School

Jumping through a mystery portal without a second’s hesitation, with no idea where it was headed nor any idea how it even worked, was definitely not on the list of things I was expecting to do today when I woke up this morning.

However, I wasn’t the type to have second thoughts when I committed to something. Thinking on my feet and improvising things as I went along was just something that I did. In fact it was one of the few positive things I had to say about myself.

Though my latest gamble was giving me serious doubts on whether or not I should keep praising that one brain cell responsible for my impulsiveness.

[ALERT: GENERALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 2195% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS]

Especially when that was the first thing to pop up when I made it past the portal’s threshold.

That, and the fact I’d found myself in a place that was anything but my main objective. I wasn’t in the room with the crate with Mal’tory’s throat between my hands. Instead, I found myself falling listlessly inside an abyssal void of darkness with no end in sight.

[ALERT: CRITICAL FAILURE DETECTED IN TELEMETRY SYSTEMS. STANDBY, STANDBY.]

A void that clearly began taking a toll on my suit and its systems, along with my sanity.

…

You know that feeling when you miss a step on a flight of stairs? That feeling where you suddenly feel like the world’s been pulled right out from under you? Where that one misplaced foot causes the mundane rhythm of walking to turn into a sudden and unexpected adrenaline-fueled, stomach-twisting, palpitation-inducing panic?

Well, that’s what I felt the moment my foot left solid ground, and I went all in into that portal.

[ALERT: MULTIPLE SYSTEM FAILURES DETECTED… THE FOLLOWING PROCESSES CANNOT BE EXECUTED: VISUAL DATA, AUDIO DATA, RADAR DATA, LIDAR DATA…]

[INITIATING TROUBLESHOOTING RUNTIMES… STANDBY]

[REBOOTING 3(s)… 2(s)… 1(s)…]

[RECALIBRATING 3(s)… 2(s)… 1(s)…]

[REINITIALIZATION PROCESS FAILED. ATTEMPTING TROUBLESHOOTING RUNTIMES… STANDBY.]

Except unlike missing a step on a flight of stairs, where the whole thing lasts about a handful of seconds at most, my experience lasted for minutes.

[ALERT: ERRONEOUS SENSOR READINGS; INVALID VALUE.]

Entire minutes of constant disorientation and a gut-twisting feeling of constant acceleration, as I fell further and further into an impossibly empty void that even the suit’s sensors found impossible to quantify.

There was nothing around me but blackness. It was worse than the vacuum of space, because even then there was some light in the form of stars in the far distance.

There was nothing like that here. Not a single twinkle of starlight, not a pinprick of light of any kind that the suit could discern.

There was nothing for the suit to pick up, no information for it to relay to me.

Except for the constant surges in mana radiation.

[ALERT: UNSTABLE SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED: 2593% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS… WARNING: ANOMALY DETECTED… RECALIBRATING… RECALIBRATING… ERROR! DETECTING 29 + 1 DISTINCT TYPES OF MANA-RADIATION.]

That was, until I heard something. A constant stream of otherworldly sounds that could only be described as a resonant chime. It came and went with every other second, pulsating in intensity from just a barely audible pin drop to as loud as a half-hearted whisper.

It tickled my ears, sending wave after wave of shivers down my spine. Each wave stronger than the next, each whisper relentless in its assault. My whole body began to shudder, as I tried to keep it together, twisting this way and that in the lightless vacuum of the void, before I finally yelled out in frustration.

“TURN IT OFF! EVI! SHUT OFF THE EXTERNAL AUDIO SENSORS!”

“Unable to comply, Cadet Booker. All sensor suites are currently offline.”

“T-then shut off whatever static you’re playing! Turn all internal speakers off!”

“Unable to comply, Cadet Booker: All internal speakers are currently inactive and have been inactive for the past 10 Minutes and 47 Seconds up until my response to your present query.”

My whole world came to a screeching halt at that revelation. My palpitating heart came to a complete stop, just to sink into my gut as my fear and anxieties grew exponentially.

If the sensors weren’t even detecting anything. If everything was already offline… then how the heck was I hearing that noise?!

I thankfully didn’t have much time to ponder that though, because as quickly as that thought hit me, so too did I finally feel the firm tug of gravity pulling at my form. The world quickly shifted from that void-filled nothingness, and snapped back into reality.

With that, came the unfortunate realities of an uncontrolled descent.

[ALERT: SENSORS BACK ONLINE.]

[ALERT: TELEMETRY RESTORED.]

[ALERT: UNCONTROLLED DESCENT DETECTED, 39 FEET ABOVE GROUND-HEIGHT. ACTIVATING EMERGENCY BRACE PROTOCOLS]

CRACK

I hit something.

CRASH

And I hit it hard.

I felt the tell-tale signs of the suit’s controls being taken away from me for those few decisive seconds. My body became nothing more than a passenger riding in the backseat as autopilot took the wheel, overriding my inputs to ensure that A. I didn’t die and B. I didn’t accidentally break something on my fall.

The EVI was right to do this though, as I was literally unable to make out anything on my way down to solid ground.

The best I could make out was a blurry mass of green whizzing by me, before it all came to a head in the span of a handful of seconds.

THUD

That hard landing knocked the wind right out of me, but to its credit, the armor did its best to compensate for the sudden force of impact. A force of impact that would have otherwise resulted in a broken mass of Emma if it wasn’t for it being built to handle this very sort of thing.

The suit began running its emergency diagnostics, as I took those tentative few seconds to just lie there for a bit. My eyes continued to be assaulted by a barrage of notifications as system after system reliant on the telemetry readings were quickly restored.

Speaking of which…

“EVI, quick-status report.” I managed out under an exasperated breath just as I felt slack building up all along the suit; the tell-tale signs of control being handed back to me.

“Parsing QSR Request, standby…” The AI spoke calmly, choosing to activate my night-vision sensors on my behalf, clueing me into my surroundings almost immediately.

There was nothing in my immediate field of view but trees.

“Where the heck are we-”

“Suit Integrity: Nominal, No Suit Breach Detected. Environmental Control Systems: Nominal. Mechanical Functions: Nominal. Suit Systems: Nominal. No Damage Registered. No Field-Maintenance Required. Continuing QSR Query: Current Location. Current location in relation to the established area of operations is unknown… Conclusion: Current Location Unknown.”

The AI paused, as I saw the litany of sensor systems from proximity radar through to active lidar being activated in rapid succession in the form of picture-in-picture screens dotting my field of view.

“Logging current location as: [Undefined Forest Biome 01]. Unknown distance in relation to established area of operations. Continuing QSR… Scanning for potential environmental threats and active hostiles, standby.”

I took my time scanning the area around me, not once moving my head as my field of view was artificially enhanced by the picture-in-picture screens. This, along with the FOV enhancer courtesy of the suit’s situational-awareness programs, was designed explicitly to improve the density of visual information being relayed to my eyeballs.

I couldn’t see anything so far, but I wasn’t taking any chances as my hand preemptively moved towards my holster.

“Alright EVI, after you’re done with the Quick Status Report, I want you to tell me what the hell we just experienced. First, explain to me just how I was able to hear anything through the suit without both external sensors and internal speakers active. And second, just what the heck was up with that 29+1 crap? Was there a bug in the sensor system or something? Or is there something that the lab boys didn’t account for?” I managed out under an exasperated breath, before sighing emphatically as I reached one hand to pinch the bridge of my nose, only to have my hand bonk off the glass and composites. “Actually, I change my mind, just put that under secondary priority. Whether it was a sensor error or an actual unknown type of mana, the fact of the matter is I’m still alive to talk about it. Which means that even if it was the latter, the suit was able to deal with it, so it’s not an immediate threat.” I began going through the paces of sorting out my current priorities, doing everything I could to not get overwhelmed. The worst thing to do right now would be to panic and to start spamming unnecessary orders to the EVI, which would bog down its internal processes for no real actual benefits in the here-and-now.

“Are your current concerns going to kill you?”

“No, but-”

“Then they’re not your priority. Prioritize current threats first, everything else can come second. Worrying about your paint job when you’ve lost your brakes going 390 down the interstate doesn’t make much sense now does it?”

My aunt’s voice rang loudly in my head, her words still ringing true an entire reality away, as I quickly began shifting gears towards more relevant concerns.

The tools afforded to the modern military, from the rank and file to the upper brass, was both a boon and a detriment. There was always the tendency to panic-spam unnecessary orders when shit hit the fan, inundating a system that technically could handle it, but would inevitably result in the clogging of the whole logistics of information-dissemination; which was never a good thing in acutely dangerous situations where every second counted.

A good soldier and a good commander knew what to order and when to order it.

Because despite having all the tools in the world, the one thing you can’t create or conjure up is time.

“Okay EVI, once you get those QSR scans done, I want you to deploy the battle-net drones to better get a sense of where we are. As soon as they’re up, I want you to establish FEBNPMS, and put the alert threshold on high sensitivity. The suit’s sensors can only do so much, especially in dense foliage. There’s too many blindspots to count, and I don’t was us getting blindsided before-”

“PROXIMITY ALERT!” I heard the AI blare out with a series of sharp beeps.

The alerts preceded the rustling of foliage, only to be followed up by a blood-curdling, chest-pounding “ROOOAAAAAAAARRR!”

The live feed from my rear helmet-cam was suddenly prioritized on the HUD, highlighting and outlining a figure leaping down from the dense foliage above and rapidly gaining speed; falling towards me with large claws outstretched.

It was at that moment that I had a split second to decide how best to proceed, and a split second more to act on that decision.

I had to once again let that one brain cell I’d allocated to improvisation shine.

My whole body started turning on its own, with the EVI and the suit’s reflex-assist systems making that reaction time almost inhuman. My first instinct was to aim the gun straight between the creature’s eyes, as I felt time slowing down to a complete crawl.

[BURST-FIRE MODE SELECTED]

Everything was lined up, but at that last second when the adrenaline was at its peak and I finally got a better look at the creature with my own two eyes, I hesitated.

It didn’t look like an animal from up-close.

So I made the call to correct my course.

Instead of shooting, I pulled my arm back, and using just about half of the suit’s full strength-assist, I upper-cutted the beast right in the jaw.

The first thing I felt was that impact, as the momentum of my punch was slowed down by the target that was the beast’s face. Next, was that feeling of something solid, something hard, giving way as bones shattered, allowing for the force of the impact to resonate through whatever musculoskeletal system the beast possessed. Accompanying this was a loud unforgiving crack, most likely the aforementioned bones cracking and shattering.

The whole engagement was over before it could even properly start.

Barely a handful of seconds in, and I’d sucker-punched the beast, redirecting its trajectory into the ground in front of me. Any pretenses of fear and terror it might’ve instilled were all but instantly cut short, as the hulking mass of fur and muscle now lay crumpled at my feet.

I took a solid second to assess the damage, the adrenaline high still keeping me on my toes, as I began looking over exactly what this thing was.

Aside from the mangled face, which I could only take half-credit for, its overall form reminded me of a certain someone that I felt guilty drawing comparisons to.

But I had to.

To say that it didn’t remind me of a discount-Thalmin would be a bold-faced lie… because it really did strike me as literally just that. A werewolf, although very much not a wolf. I couldn’t really put my finger on it, but it looked like someone had just cycled through the prefix of were, and went full on RNG on the suffix, spinning the wheel of probability, only for it to land squarely between the spaces rather than on any specific category of animal.

The werebeast possessed a face only a mother could love, combining features of feline, canine, ursine, and literally every other furred mammal you could think of, just slapped atop of a wolf’s facial features.

Its body was much the same, lacking the put-together stature and grace of Thalmin’s bipedal form. The thing looked way more at home on all fours.

Despite that, there was something about it that made me think it wasn’t just a beast. Call it a hunch, or maybe my own foolishness, but that’s just what I felt.

I still couldn’t deny that it was still a threat however.

So I still had to dispatch that threat appropriately.

I began palming through a few of my pouches, before settling on a high-tensile cable made up of the same stuff those grappling tethers were made of.

It was intended for multipurpose use, mainly for keeping equipment together… but I guess it could be repurposed as a bind. So without much fanfare, I picked the largest, sturdiest looking tree I could find, and began tying it up to it.

With that out of the way, I now turned to the EVI, and the drones currently marked as [READY] on my HUD. “Alright, do the thing, EVI. Deploy the drones.”

A series of sharp buzzing noises soon followed, as three drones were deployed in rapid succession, leaving the confines of my suit’s ‘backpack’ with a series of dull thumps. Part of me was worried they’d be caught up in the dense foliage of the forest’s canopy, but that concern soon subsided as the battlefield management system booted up.

Live readings started trickling in after about a minute of the drone’s departure and rapid ascent. Soon enough, I was treated to a bird’s-eye view of the patch of forest I was currently stuck in. My eyes remained transfixed on both that, and the threat monitoring system that started logging creature after creature that dotted the forest.

COUGH!

I was pulled out of my hyperfixated state as I heard the tell-tale noises of life emerging from the bruised and battered body of the werebeast.

The thing’s face had… actually healed in the ten minutes between that fight and my current info-gathering efforts.

It still wasn’t pretty, the bruises were still apparent, but the misshapen jawline and facial structure was distinctly more aligned than when I last left it.

Its eyes locked onto me, staring at me with the feral gaze of a wild animal. It tried to let out another loud bellow, but only managed to yield a small bout of pathetic coughs and whimpers. A few seconds passed with it thrashing in its place, before finally, all of its motions abruptly ceased.

But with a burst of mana radiation…

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

Its eyes began glowing a bright, sickly, fluorescent yellow. “Untie this one. Release this one from its binds.” It began without once moving its own lips. It was as if some ethereal force was speaking through it in an airy, otherworldly voice.

“I was about to release you from this mortal coil, so you should count yourself lucky, punk.” I responded with an annoyed grunt as I tried my best to ignore it and focus on the data being fed to me via the drones.

“If you release this one, you will be granted egress from this forest.” The disembodied voice spoke calmly.

To which I only had silence to respond to it with.

“You’re lost, aren’t you? You won’t be able to leave this forest without aid, at least not without your wits or your original form intact.”

Again, I ignored it, as the drones above me flew higher, collecting more and more readings on the local geography with each passing second.

“But it will not be easy. This quest will require many a day, perhaps even weeks of dangerous trekking through these woods, and other connected woods to accomplish. It will take you from lakeside to lakeside, hopping from forest to forest, seeking that which cannot be sought by normal means. This will be a difficult quest, traveler. However, considering you were able to subdue this one, perhaps you will be one of the few chosen by the forest to do our bidding after all. For only when you have accomplished all of these quests, will you be allowed to leave the iron grip of these woods-”

“Huh.” I interrupted the werebeast’s otherworldly voice in the middle of its long tirade, as a map of the local area was finally compiled for me on my HUD.

We were smack dab in the middle of the forest I saw earlier from the dining hall’s large windows. In fact, the drones could make out both the Academy and the town from here given the excellent visibility.

“Alert. Distance in relation to area of operations established. Current distance from AO: 22.3 Miles.” The EVI reported, confirming my suspicions as a path out of the forest was quickly calculated and plotted out.

“Alrighty then.” I spoke out loud, finally turning to face the werebeast. “I found my own way out soooo… I’m gonna have to skip all that sidequesting if that’s alright with you.” I shrugged.

“Do not be absurd. No mortal can break free of the confines of this forest without our permission!” It exclaimed, the werebeast suddenly snagging violently against the polyalloy binds, which prompted me to sigh as I pointed directly upwards.

“You guys have golems and stuff don’t you? Magic too? Surely someone could just… shoot up a magical spy camera or something.” I shot back.

“The forest’s canopies are protected under a thick layer of magic, no typical artifice can simply pierce the layer of preventative measures that is-”

“Right. More mana-fueled shenanigans.” I interjected with a heavy sigh. “Anyways, I’ve managed to do so pretty easily, so I’ll have to decline the sidequests. I have a bigger quest of my own to deal with.” I muttered out under my breath just as another surge of mana radiation hit, prompting me to raise my pistol up again for good measure.

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 775% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

Turning around, I was faced with… well, a lot which wasn’t there before. Namely: an entire carriage, along with what could only be described as a series of wagons tied behind it. The carriage put me in mind of one of those horse-drawn buggies from the turn of the industrial revolution, but of course in typical Nexian fashion it was decked out in a dazzling display of colors that left my eyes watering and the minimalist in me crying. Unlike a horse-drawn buggy though, this thing actually lacked a horse, what’s more the cab was elongated, almost like someone took one of those buggies and decided to make a stretch-limo out of it. Though the height was probably the most ridiculous aspect of it, as it looked to be a double-decker, complete with windows at both the top and bottom levels.

Soon enough I heard a sharp click, as one of the carriage’s doors opened up revealing two figures flanked by guards armed with the same sorts of spears Sorecar had shown me earlier in his workshop.

“And what’s all this then?” The primary figure, a tall, well-dressed, middle-aged elf spoke in an authoritative voice I’d come to associate with elves at this point.

“Erm…” I turned around, towards the werebeast who seemed to have suddenly lost consciousness the moment that carriage arrived, then towards the elf and what looked to be his aide standing by him. “Would you believe me if I said I’m honestly as confused as you are right now?”

A small stare off soon commenced before finally, it was broken up by the younger elf standing just behind the man, as she beckoned the taller elf to lean in to her whispers.

The man’s eyes grew wide at whatever the smaller elf said, as his attention was soon taken up by the werebeast, before shooting straight back towards me. “Oh heavens, don’t tell me, are you out here on your lonesome with the intent of dispatching these loathsome creatures?” He pointed a cane towards the werebeast.

“I-”

“Because in that case, I must apologize for my presumptive hostilities, adventurer!”

“Oh, I’m not an adventurer.” I quickly corrected the man, waving both of my hands in front of me for good measure.

“Oh?” He spoke, as he began looking me up and down as if to reassert his point. “But you are in a suit of armor, befitting an adventurer of your class. What else would you be if not an adventurer?”

“I… well…” I paused, as a part of me wanted to come up with a cover story… but then realized I lacked the cultural, social, and any degree of context needed for it. Heck, I didn’t even know why I would need a cover story for this anyways. “I’m a student of the Transgracian Academy for the Magical Arts.” I stated outright. “There was a… mishap with a portal. Long story short I fell into one unintentionally and well, here I am.” I shrugged.

This seemed to give the elf pause for concern, as he eyed his aide, before turning towards me again… then… he broke out in a wide smile. “Figures.”

“Excuse me-?”

“You students always end up in the most bizarre of circumstances. Would you believe I’ve encountered my fair share of you lot out here in this very spot, amongst several others in the forest? It’s usually the same story too. Students fooling about with portal magic, getting themselves caught up in the currents of the transportium, then being spat out unceremoniously at points of high-traffic convergences.”

I blanked out for a moment there as a lot was being regurgitated at me all at once.

“You must be a second year, correct?”

“First.”

“Ah, in that case this is all the more understandable. You are quite the daring one I must say, not many first-years have the gall to toy with portals. It is easy for the inexperienced to lose control, to lose focus of your intended destination. In such an eventuality, this places you at the whims of the ebbs and currents of the transportium. This tends to lead to the ejection of oneself at certain hotspot areas without much in the way of input or choice, namely areas of high traffic such as this.”

I nodded along, as the man continued offering me that warm smile that he hadn’t started out with to begin with. His features had clearly evolved from downright antagonistic, to appreciative, to now warm and accepting at the revelation of my identity and ‘position’.

“Right then! It’s quite late, and we’re likewise going to run late with your courier service if we don’t get a move on. So, Lady-”

“Emma Booker. Cadet Emma Booker.”

The man paused, narrowing his eyes somewhat before nodding once more. “Cadet Emma Booker, why don’t I offer you a place on this carriage? It is much faster than going on foot, and our destination should be the same.”

“You’re going to the Academy?”

“Ah, not quite. We’re headed to the town at the foot of Lake Telliad. From there, we can get a direct line of communication with the Academy so that they may come to reclaim you.”

I paused, considering my options and the inherent stranger danger that came with getting into a random elf’s brightly decorated carriage.

“I should also warn you that Elaseer being a Crownlands-herald town, there exists a blanket no-visitors policy. Should you arrive at the gates, it might take till morning to request an audience with an Academy member to verify your identity. However, I can circumvent that given I am due for an urgent courier mission within Elaseer.” The man explained.

I looked at the top right hand corner of my HUD, at the timer that continued marching towards the inevitable, and decided to just take the plunge.

“Alright.” I agreed, before gesturing to the werebeast still bound to the tree. “Erm, what about that guy?”

“Ah, the beast. I will inform the adventurer’s guild to dispatch with it in the morning. This particular beast is known to us, and has been actively harassing many travelers over the past few months. The adventurer’s guild has found that beast particularly difficult to deal with, so they will be happy to learn of your valiant actions.” The man reassured me as I nodded once and quickly entered the carriage alongside his aide.

The inside of the carriage was… quite a bit more spacious than the outside.

ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 870% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS

It was again, some mana-fueled shenanigans, however it clearly wasn’t as impressive as the impossible geometries of Mal’tory’s office.

The carriage was quick to pick up speed, and much to my surprise it raced through the forest at a relatively reasonable pace, as the trees that should have blocked its path instead ended up bending at their bases for the carriage to pass through.

“Even the trees bend to the will of the Crown.” The elf spoke cryptically, prompting me to ask what he meant by that, but not before a notification came through via the battlenet system stopped that thought right in its tracks.

[PRIORITY ALERT! SIGNAL RESTORED WITH CRATE NO. 7. REPEAT! SIGNAL RESTORED WITH CRATE NO.7!]

[ERROR! ERROR! CHRONOMETER SYNC FAILURE! ATTEMPTING TO CORRECT FOR TIME AND DATE DISCREPANCY.]

[ERROR CORRECTED! TIME AND DATE CORRECTED TO PRESENT TIME. TIME REMAINING UNTIL ACTIVATION OF DSAUP PROTOCOLS: 1 HOUR(S) 02 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS.]

“EVI, what the heck is going on?”

“Signal has been reestablished with Crate No. 7. Internal chronometer reads as 70 hours 57 minutes and 38 seconds having elapsed since point-of-entry into the Nexus.”

“That’s not possible. We still had a whole day left when we were talking to Mal’tory, what gives? There has to be an error on the crate’s chronometer-” I paused, as another idea hit me… and it hit me hard.

“Erm, excuse me, Mr.-”

“Ah, I am Lord Lartia, Cadet Emma Booker.”

“Lord Lartia… I have to ask… the portal, I erm… I could’ve sworn I’d entered it a little bit after midnight. I know this is going to sound insane but is it possible for-”

“For you to have arrived a small while after you entered?”

I felt my gut twisting within me.

“To answer that question reductively: yes. When you lose control over your ability to dictate your destination, you likewise relinquish your control over the time it takes to reach said destination. Portal travel is near instantaneous, however, it is possible to be lost in the space between spaces. This can cause delays, ranging from anywhere from a few hours, to weeks. Why? Is there an important assignment you must tend to?”

I stared blankly at the countdown timer, at the signal quickly being triangulated by the drones, and at the place where all of this was set to end…

“Yeah… something like that.” I spoke with a nervous chuckle, as I continued watching with bated breath as the signal was narrowed down further and further, eventually landing somewhere within the town itself.