God was real and alive. That was the first revelation. That was, some variance of what could be called ‘the Creator’ was alive. Some called it ‘Living Providence’, others ‘Natural Law Sapient’, ‘Principle’ or ‘the Origin’. Moira and her Order called it ‘the Lady’. The name most people used and the one John found most pleasing was Gaia. Supposedly, Gaia was the source of all powers that people were capable of, natural and supernatural.

The place where people exercised their magical power, their superhuman strength, and their fantastic feats, was called the Abyss. A hidden society, in the loosest sense, underneath all of human history. Disconnected and yet right next to everyone else.

Dragons, gods, ghosts, mages, and so much more, all of them were real within the Abyss. Entire parallel countries existed, ruled by ‘guilds’ that were nations by another name. They hid from the eyes of the mundane people through dimensional pockets. So called Protected Spaces and Illusion Barriers. Moira spoke like there was a difference between them. She was also too much in the flow of things for John to get a question in.

The Illusion Barriers were created to differentiate the real world from the Abyss. In her infinite wisdom, Gaia had declared magic and mundane separate, protecting the innocent from the overreach of warlocks and demiurges. That was Moira’s framing of it anyway.

The way this manifested was terrible luck. For example, if John were to use his powers to make people’s wallets disappear in front of their eyes the world would see it fit to make a car crash come his way. However, if he was subtle about it and no one noticed that something was off Gaia would not intervene. It was a matter of violating common understanding of reality.

Moira went on about how there were generally two types of supernaturally capable people in the Abyss. One was the Innate Ability holder. These were the people who were granted powers by Gaia herself. These powers were given at birth and shaped by what a person had experienced in their life. Only when they awakened did they take their certain form.

As most of John’s life consisted of playing video games, and watching porn didn’t make for a particularly effective power, Gaia had made him ‘the Gamer’ in real life. That part, he followed easily.

The second type were those that trained to master any generally available ability. These people had to learn martial arts, magic or other techniques on their own. They were almost universally weaker than those with Innate Abilities. Nothing stopped someone with an Innate Ability from also learning martial arts. For every rule, there was an exception, however, and one would be advised not to underestimate those born without powers.

Over the generations people had gathered into clans, guilds, orders, and other organizations to protect each other and work towards common goals. These goals ranged from simple safety to more specialized activities, such as magic research, information broking or gathering slaves.

The name Abyss wasn’t for show. Mundane people were safe from the wicked and terrible that had been born with immense power. Same could not be said for everyone else. Where there wasn’t some kind of strong, central guild to impose some kind of order, opportunistic raiders and narcissistic researchers had every freedom to act in accordance with their desires. Just having mana meant one was useful as a living battery. A bad day and one could be killed inside an Illusion Barrier, the body forever lost after the pocket dimension was closed. Kidnapping and mercenary work were standard business in the Abyss, especially in the USA. The new world was low on powerful guilds, unlike Europe and Asia, where aeons had led to the establishment of major powers.

“You can return to a safe life. Currently your mana is so faint that I can’t feel it and you should have it stay that way.” Moira finished her explanations. “Even if you are a Latebloomer, you should be capable of avoiding detection if you do not grow any stronger.”

John pondered about what he just heard. “You keep saying Latebloomer… what exactly is the difference there?”

“The longer an Innate Ability lies dormant, the more expansive and powerful its capabilities,” Moira informed him. “If your ability awakened when you reached the age of 18, it must be truly powerful.”

“…and you’re telling me to just go back to live a normal life, knowing that?” John asked.

“Yes,” Moira stemmed a hand on her hips. “Even if you have the potential to be powerful, you are not right now. It would be best to head back. My Order is one of the few mercies you will find in this life. Only the powerful get to dictate what happens to them.”

“Uh-huh,” John mumbled absent-mindedly. Then he shook his head. “I’ll stay in the Abyss.”

Moira was taken aback. “Didn’t you hear me, it’s dangerous!”

John shrugged, “All I have to do is become strong, right?” He exclaimed and smiled. Something about his expression caused Moira to stare at him with wary eyes. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to do anything terrible!” he was quick to assure her. “I-I just… well, I just feel like this is an opportunity to turn my life around.”

Of course, the extent of that motivation went further than escaping his crappy school life. If the Abyss was as loose as she said in government and moral affairs then maybe he could chase the most unlikely dream of all? For him to gather a harem. A polygynous group of gorgeous women who loved him as much as he loved them. It had been a fantasy he had harboured since puberty. Now he could push his Charisma to a point where he was capable of holding a proper conversation and his power to the point where he could protect such a harem.

It would be dangerous, yes, but why not try? Why not exploit this opportunity he had been given? What life was this, even?

Moira was shaking her head in disbelief. “Either you are a simpleton or just very naïve. Be that as it may, I think we have to return to cla-“ She looked at her watch. “Bloody hell!” She exclaimed in a very unladylike moment.

John looked at his own and understood. The lesson was already half over. “The explanation did take a while.” John mumbled.

Moira grumbled, a dusting of red tinging her cheeks, “My perfect record….”

“Already ruined, sorry,” He said flippantly and earned a very pissed off look for that. He didn’t even need Observe to succeed to tell that that comment had just cost him a few Relationship Points.

Moira closed her eyes for a moment and forcefully calmed down. “Anything else you want to know then?” she asked. Even if she did not like him, she did seem to stick to the whole ‘helping the innocent’ creed.

“How do I create these ‘Protected Spaces’?” John asked, he felt that was important.

“Protected Spaces? Not at all, you’re no Fateweaver.” Moira rolled her shoulders, then raised a hand up. “For Illusion Barriers, it is rather simple. The Lady provides the energy for the space, we just have to request her aid. Hold your hand up like this and let loose a short pulse of energy.”

New Skill: Mana Power Attack Lvl 1;

Crude attack with mana. Scales with INT. 10 MP per usage.

John just barely managed to have the attack explode in his hand instead of blasting the roof of the outdoor corridor. It stung for a moment, like pouring disinfectant over a wound. Before he had the chance to inspect the damage. It had already healed. “A minor misfire, I suppose that happens with the uninitiated?” Moira commented.

“Sorry, let me try again,” John raised his hand again and this time put more pleading intent behind it.

New Skill: Create Instant Dungeon Lvl 1:

That’s the proper way to ask for help. Create an Illusion Barrier. May or may not be filled with monsters, depending on the creator’s wishes. 5 MP on creation.

New Skill: Escape Instant Dungeon Lvl 1:

Leave or undo an Illusion Barrier you control. It may be impossible or very difficult to leave an Illusion Barrier you do not control. 5 MP on usage.

The world felt different. ‘No wind,’ he realized after a few moments. There had been constant mild breezes accompanying this summer day. Now that they were in a limited space, there was no airflow. Moira wasn’t there either. It seemed she was patiently waiting for his return. He had no reason to leave her waiting.

Once he used the Escape Instant Dungeon Skill, this copy of the world shattered into pieces. An odd display, to have his entire world of view burst like a pane of glass under too much pressure. Moira was back and so was the wind. “Hey, it says I can have them be filled with monsters. What does that mean?” 

Moira crossed her arms. “Exactly what it says. Humans create an energy we call Faith, in life and in death. Some of that Faith takes the form of monsters. If you give them a place to vent their frustrations at, like a Protected Space, they will. Granted, in non-Natural Barriers, they are little more than phantoms.” She checked her watch again. “You’ll be… fine on your own, right?”

“I think so,” John said with a nod. “If I’m… if I’m not, can I come to you for help?”

“You may,” Moira said with a nod. “It may be wise of you to consider joining the Order. We would show you hospitality and protection… as much as we can do that with everyone else crawling around this town. In any case, I need to make my case for being late to the teacher. Remain just, John Newman.”

“I’ll try to?” John responded and watched the redhead leave. The skirt didn’t allow him to catch too much of a view of her butt. ‘You’ve been creepy enough for today. Come on, start acting like a guy that deserves a harem,’ he told himself and started to turn… where? ‘Do I really head back to class after all of that?’