[The next day at Stalharrow Mall; Layfon's perspective]
"I really wish I had something specific to do…"
I can't help but whine as I do some window-shopping. I've always HATED shopping. Why waste time browsing for stuff I don't even want? I don't go out unless I want something. I go in, get out, done.
So, why am I mindlessly wandering around if I hate shopping so much? Well, after finishing yesterday fairly easily – enjoying my new rich life, making it through family dinner, slept, woke up, and survived breakfast –, I decided to head out. Figured it would be a good thing if I actually knew my way around the city.
I may have Layfon's memories to base off, but just because I've seen the map doesn't mean I know how to navigate it.
Unfortunately, I underestimated how boring and dull things would be for me if I go out without a specific purpose. Turns out mindlessly wandering about is a bigger pain than you would expect.
I left the freaking hotel-slash-mansion the Drogo family apparently lives in and proceeded to walk down the street. The family does have an actual house to live in, but choose to live here since it is closer to their offices.
A butler-type guy offered to 'fetch the car' but I turned him down so I could walk.
Up to that point I was good. Unfortunately, when it comes to looking for landmarks, you can only see so many tall buildings before you realize everything looks the same. The only identifiable landmark I could really name is the oddly distinct, definitely not plot relevant skyscraper seemingly in the middle of the city.
Unlike the other fairly copy-and-paste, towering buildings, it was weirdly shaped with curves and bends – almost looking twisted – with two spiraling points at the top. It looked like a cross between a monument and a building, really. Also, while most buildings were white save for the rows upon rows of tinted windows, this building was very darkly colored.
The only way it could scream 'evil villain lair' would be if there was a perpetual dark cloud raining down lightning over it. Though, funnily enough, it isn't actually a villain lair. Just REALLY looks like one.
Anyway, boredom guided me here. To the Stalharrow mall. The setting of at least fifty-percent of character interactions on Earth. Any time they do anything, they seem to come here. The only time they don't is when there's a specific reason. Otherwise, this place seems to have everything you could possibly want. Restaurants, clothes, games, illegal gambling, and so on. I think there was even mention of a brothel somewhere in here at one point. Maybe not.
Anyway. Now I'm just wandering around with nothing to do.
…
…
…
"Such a waste of time," I can't help but growl before plopping myself down on an available bench.
One thing I can't STAND is wasting my time. It's one thing if I'm watching TV or reading or something. That's at least entertaining. I might gripe about not being more productive, but at least it can be considered something if I'm getting further in a show or book I'm interested in. But right now, I'm doing NOTHING. That's why browsing stores and wandering around piss me off so much…
This isn't good. It'll fuck up my whole mood for the day.
Okay. Deep breath. If getting used to things around here is a bust, I just need to switch gears. What else can I do?
…Planning for the future is a good start.
Kicking back and having fun's all well and good. But if I'm going to commit to this whole 'world domination' gig, I should actually make some plans for it.
Taking things as they come might be fine in the short term, but it can also lead to me getting my ass handed to me. Especially considering my declaration to recruit Vee and maybe their whole squad. I need an actual plan for this stuff.
Now that I have a course of action, I let out a deep sigh and get back to wandering.
Not too much has changed yet. So, the plot should still be in full effect. That means I have one month to prepare for anything that's to come.
Trying to keep track of the whole plot will just make things harder. I should take it one step at a time; starting with the first arc.
The Toxic Reapers already have a small name for themselves by the time the story gets underway. So, that means, they should start operations about this time give or take. If I want to pull Vee away from them…
Hmm…Do I really need to? Let's be honest. If the artworks were anything to go by, that whole group is the epitome of fuck-ability. EVEN COLE! He may be a guy but he's an absolute TRAP. Then, there's Sasha…and even the low-ranking members…
…
…
…
Maybe…I should try taking them over?
Possible SIMPING aside, taking over the organization might be better for me in the long run. Not only does it mean having a chance at the waifus, but it would also serve to help me gather more subordinates. Volatile personalities aside, the whole group comes across as fairly loyal. Plus, having subordinates that can move outside the Dungeon will give me more options and allow me to act without personally getting caught.
A lot of antagonists deal with criminal elements. So, having my own criminal empire might not be a bad idea.
I can already picture it. Wait until they get their start, then use the power of money to lure them into a meeting. From there, I can become a financial supporter and offer them resources to worm my way in and take over!...O~Or, I can beat them up and keep bitch slapping people until I make my way to Sasha and use brute force.
Of course, that leads me to another big issue. I have Layfon's memories, and his body's muscle memory can help make things easier, but ultimately, I am not Layfon Drogo. The real clincher in that statement is that while Layfon is a Level Six individual, I'm not.
Alright, we have our first order of business. Acclimating myself to Layfon's body and power to make it my own. My own OFA except I'm entering the body and making its power my own instead of the other way around.
Since Layfon's body is already trained up to a Level Six, it's more an issue of adjusting my consciousness and learning to utilize the power he already possesses.
Magic…It all began with the World of Alber. It consisted of twelve dimensions layered on top of one another like some sort of tower. Flowing with mystical energies, the inhabitants eventually adapted to them and developed a natural ability to use magic.
Once Alber and Earth became connected, humans naturally tried to figure out how they could learn to use these powers. They tried to learn them the same way the natural inhabitants of Alber did but quickly learned that they just didn't have any special powers. No 'hidden magical abilities' to be unlocked.
However, if the inhabitants of Alber could adapt to using magic. That meant they didn't originally. So, it should be possible for humans to do it too. Various methods were tried to no result. But then someone came to an idea.
The people of Alber lived and breathed magic and eventually gained the power to do so. By that logic, a similar process should allow the same for humans. Unfortunately, simply living in Alber or even being born there did not lead to such results. This was already proven. Instead, this person focused on something else.
Scattered throughout Alber are magic stones. Crystalized masses of magical energy. For the inhabitants, these are used as sources of fuel – like oil, electricity, coal, batteries, etc. So, what the madman did was, he ate them. The description of the stones according to the people of Alber was that they were 'magical conduits' that they 'infused' magical energy into other objects designed to accept that energy. So, he thought that by eating them, his body would absorb the magical energy from them and gain magic powers.
Oddly, he was right! It wasn't instant, but after eating enough, he did gain magical powers. People thought he had gone mad and ridiculed him. So, imagine their surprise when he kicks down the door hurling fireballs while raving 'You are what you eat' or something.
In order to maintain a supply, Earth worked out a deal of handling mining operations of magic stones for Alber in exchange for a cut of the resources. Alber agreed to this as magic stones were truly abundant and being more than welcome to not have to worry about mining themselves anymore.
The process was studied further and systemized. Now people eat magic rocks like its normal.
Due to potential risks of having children eating marble-sized rocks, it's typically restricted that children need to wait until the age of ten or so before they can go about trying to gain magic powers.
Gradually, you take in magic stones until you begin to feel the power within you. It was described in the story for the main character as suddenly feeling a warmth in your belly that spread throughout your whole body unlike anything you've felt before. Once you've reached that stage, you spend time training how to sense, nurture, and control this power until your able to have it spread out and fill your entire body.
You begin demonstrating increased physical abilities, increased intelligence, and maybe even some sort of change in your body – like mutant powers!
At that point, you are typically considered a Level Three individual. Or, you could call it being a 'High-Spec' Human.
Then, you keep taking in magic stones to increase your power and as your power grows you learn to utilize it.
That's the absolute basics of how the power system used in the story works. But things get more complicated than that.
For starters, they introduce power levels. These are distinct from a person's recognized level and is a lot more subjective. A person's magical power is just how much power they have and not how they can use it. The rule of thumb goes like this:
Level 1 = 0 – 300
Level 2 = 400 – 700
Level 3 = 800 – 1200
Level 4 = 1,300 – 1,700
Level 5 = 1,800 – 2,300
Level 6 = 2,400 – 2,900
Level 7 = 3,000 – 3,600
Level 8 = 3,700 – 4,400
Level 9 = 4,500 – 5,300
Level 10 = 5,400 – 6,300
Level 11 = 7,400 – 8,400
Level 12 = 8,500 - 10,000 (or more)
Though, honestly, the whole power level thing is more of a side note. Important for early story, but phases out once it becomes less relevant. A person's magical power does not necessarily match their actual level. Level is determined by what is called Magical Aura. No matter how skilled you are at using your magical energy, Magical Aura usually bypasses it.
First you gain magical energy, then you learn to control it and how to use it, and then you use that to develop your personal Magical Aura. Raw magical power can be used to strengthen your body and casting magic spells. But by taking that energy and infusing it throughout the body until it becomes infused into the very fiber of their being, they begin emitting what is referred to as Magical Aura. The theory is that your magical energy fuses with your physical energy or stamina or whatever and becomes something different.
This comes at the cost of the magical energy you've worked so hard to accumulate, but in exchange, you gain some sort of special power, magic, or other ability. It's described in story as 'manifesting the innate power of your being'. More often than not, whatever power you gain is usually more than enough to make up for whatever power you may have lost in getting it.
For example, the main heroine has a special form of magic that allows her to destroy most anything. Raw magical energy can't defend against it.
That's not to say these special abilities are perfect. They are a manifestation of a person's being both mentally and physically. So, sometimes, there are problematic conditions mixed in born of a person's biases and dislikes. There are also cases of people possessing purely negative special abilities as a consequence of 'magical energy excess'.
It is the case where people develop special abilities unintentionally. This can happen as a result of high-intensity combat where their magic just naturally infuses into their body and manifests as a special ability. Not necessarily a strong one, but still. The other possible reason is that someone accumulated too much power too quickly. If you try to use more magical energy than you know how to control, there will be a rebound and it can manifest in the form of a purely negative ability.
For example…After attacking, you die. That's an extreme example but you can generally expect much of the same. Shortening life-spans, memory loss, their immense power becomes forcibly controlled but at some sort of cost or at the very least something like 'if you use magic, this will happen'. I think the mildest example is that someone's clothes explode when they use magic.
Layfon does not have any sort of special ability, but that's because he and his family usually rely on an alternative form of power. Elemental Magic.
The difference between the regular rich and the 'can't be a real person' rich lies in the form of elemental stones. Similar to magic stones, they carry elemental energy. In Alber, this makes them good for things like appliances and such, but for humans, they have added value.
The people of Alber are naturally adapted to the energies of their world, so they possess elemental affinities hardwired into their DNA. But the rich of the rich among humans use them in addition to magic stones to gain elemental abilities.
Regular magic power is limited to what is called 'neutral magic' which amounts to things like telekinesis, flight, barriers, energy blasts, and stuff of that nature. But for the cool fireballs, ice, and other types of magic, you need elemental ability. Possessing elemental magic comes with a variety of perks that make it superior to neutral magic in principle. The only particular downside is that elemental magic follows the Pokémon way of type advantages.
The elements here are based on Wu Xing – wood, fire, earth, metal, and water with light and dark magic thrown in for good measure. The latter two are really rare and uncommon outside of Alber. For most, it's the basic five.
If I use Vee as an example; she uses Metal Magic. This sort of magic focuses on all things sharp and pointy as well as machines and the like. It can grant strong defenses and an immunity to poison. Though, it can be strengthened by Earth Magic, it's weak to Fire Magic and its effectiveness is dependent on how much magic she has.
In the Drogo family, part of their status and reputation comes from their ability to master two elements which is not something many people can achieve. They're complimentary elements, but still. It's become tradition for the head of the family to specialize in Fire and Earth Magics which emphasize both offensive and defensive abilities. In terms of combat, few are better than us.
Going over all this in my mind, I can't help but let out a slow sigh. I mutter, "So I have to learn…or I guess, re-learn how to control Layfon's magical energy and then get used to elemental energy…"
Sounds simple enough.
"Layfon Drogo," I hear someone say distastefully.
Stopping, I turn around to see someone standing outside a store I just passed. I guess they heard me muttering, recognized my voice, and turned to see me.
And, wouldn't you know it, it's someone I recognize…sorta.
"Zoey Herris," I say slightly questioningly.