The First Magic
Soo had no idea about Maika's pathetic blunder. She was too busy rummaging through the monster's body for any more magic she could squeeze out. Even so, she'd sensed it and reacted—the trace of new magic. In her excitement, she'd ended up smashing the monster to bits, but that didn't feel half bad.
Magic. She'd felt traces of it in the stake etched with intricate circuit patterns. Or more precisely, something that hadn't quite become magic yet. If Topher hadn't braced himself and held firm when she was about to bolt with him in her arms, things would've gotten messy in all sorts of ways.
"Mm..."
Soo wriggled out of Topher's arms and examined the stake up close. The magical traces were faint, almost gone, but she could sense them clearly. Even in its current state—like ugly, lumpy clay scraps—if she molded it right, something amazing would emerge. What should she call a substance like this?
Mana!
Soo's silver-gray eyes sparkled. Her slender fingers brushed the stake's surface. A thin wisp of pale mist, visible only to her, coiled faintly around her fingertip, following the motion. It was definitely mana. The heat pulsing from her heart felt just like this.
To be more precise, this was mana that had been made visible. You couldn't use what you couldn't see, so they'd visualized it first. White, hazy, blurry—like smoke.
"Ah."
Wasn't this familiar? Soo snapped her head up to the sky. A small gasp escaped her lips. She realized the truth about the fog blanketing the world.
It wasn't a dust storm sweeping the wasteland. Nor the dim smog unique to this cyberpunk world. It was all mana.
Without thinking, Soo reached toward the sky. Mana flowed, wrapping around her pale fingertip. She hadn't done this before. It had just drifted past her. But now, it clung to her.
She didn't know the exact reason. Probably because she'd recognized it and willed it so—mana responding in kind.
"Yeah..."
Unfortunately, she couldn't do much with it yet. Just touch and feel. Still, at this rate, someday... Not just the mana inside her, but the stuff in the air too. Magic manifesting from thin air, not her body.
To get there...
More magic...
She needed more magic. Gather a bunch of complete spells, unravel the principles behind "magic" itself. Then someday... No, the process itself would be fun.
She curled the fingers stroking the mana. The white mist tickled, twining tighter around them.
"...Sis?"
"Topher, that was loyal. Cool."
Soo lowered her hand to the pile bunker's stake. As mana absorbed into it, the faint glow of the circuits sharpened. Satisfied, she handed it straight to Topher. Nothing more to learn here. All that remained were true magic traces—pure mana residue. Dismantling it further would just be risky, with little gain.
"Take it."
"This is...?"
"Zailek Tech's new weapon. Void Spike—sucks in air on impact and explodes."
At this level, it could probably punch through ECPD special forces' outer armor plating. Not that she was giving it to fight the cops. They had T.A.L.O.S.—elite troops even the big three corps feared.
"Sell it, use it, whatever."
Soo shoved it into Topher's arms like take it already. He fumbled awkwardly before grabbing it.
"I'll... gratefully accept it, sis. And sell it for a good price."
"Yeah."
Using it would lead straight to tracking. Soo gave a small smile at Topher's smart call, then headed for the slumped Maika. Mana clung to her skin, tickling. Like breathing through her whole body. But the quality was poor. If her heart's mana was pristine upstream water, this atmospheric stuff was stagnant sludge.
Still, recognizing it as mana made her happy. A lifelong partner, after all.
As Soo approached with a bright smile, Maika couldn't even stand. His whole body had gone limp. He was timid enough already. He'd mustered his courage, unleashed his strongest weapon to kill her—and failed. Not even a scorch mark.
The monster had caught the pile bunker's explosive stake barehanded, neutralized it, and gifted it to Topher. Escape? Impossible. With Zailek's prototype blocked, bullets or blades were pointless.
"Hi, I'm Soo."
"Eek!"
Maika ignored his soaked crotch, scooting back on his butt. Soo followed casually, innocently asking,
"You know where more magic is?"
"Y-yeah! I know!"
"Really?"
"Yes!"
He had no clue. Tell 'em to find it in the movies. But he couldn't say that. Maika didn't want to die yet.
"I'll tell you everyth—"
"Sis, that's obviously a lie. Even if not, doesn't matter. I know every ruin around here."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"I-I..."
Maika gawked at Topher in shock. Topher didn't spare him a glance. He'd ignored Maika's curses before; no reason to react now.
"Yeah... okay then."
Soo blinked, scanning around. Maika Family members everywhere. No one had fled. Corpses lay dead, but the rest groveled in place.
Afraid Soo would catch them? Nah.
They had nowhere else. With their boss like this, no other family would take them.
Scavenger funds are key.
Money made everything possible. Her old world too, but this cyberpunk hell? Doubly so. Human rights were bought. No cash, no dignity.
"Anyone hate this guy? Hands up."
Soo's voice echoed. No hands rose. Hadn't he tried killing his own men moments ago? Used them as bait, yet no haters?
"None?"
As Soo blinked in surprise, Maika's driver crept forward cautiously.
"I-I hate this bastard! Uh, my name is—gah!"
He tumbled away, kicked by Topher before finishing.
"Sis, this fuck—er, scum's the one who brought the Void Spike."
Topher growled, positioning behind Soo protectively.
"I'll handle him."
"Gotta sell the implants too."
"I'll dispose of those. These two's gear? At least 800k credits."
"Need scavenger funds too."
Topher hesitated, then brightened.
"...We'll install a new boss."
New leader for Maika Family as a sub-family. They'd tithe to Soo regularly—perfect for fund collection.
"You handle that too, Topher."
"Got it."
Maika opened his mouth to protest, but Topher's kick knocked him out cold.
"Now for the rest..."
No mercy for those who'd tried to kill her. No reason to. Especially not in this world.
Soo turned away without regret, slowly surveying the battle traces where she'd smashed the monster. Its brutish design screamed Zailek Tech. Goal: kill witnesses during ruin scouting.
But witnesses survived; monsters got obliterated. They were prototypes, not combat-ready, but leaving traces like this? Sloppy.
Soo gathered the shattered monster bits in one spot.
"...Sis, selling these too?"
"Nope. They'll trace it."
"Yeah... So why pile 'em up?"
"Gotta alter the traces."
"Uh..."
Topher eyed the gruesome scene Soo had left. Erase it? Only a bomb could manage that.
"How do you alter... Wait, not erase—alter?"
"Yeah."
Soo nodded, nudging Topher.
"Get behind me."
Erasing traces? Easy. Controlling power? Questionable. She had an idea for reshaping them... Probably hit a bit harder than blocking the Void Spike.
With that, Soo wrapped magic around her soles and hopped lightly—boing.
"Oh, Elise. Was just about to call you. Perfect timing."
Thompson, arms around women, belched blue smoke while chugging booze.
"This'll hit Southpeak soon—insane high. Wanna suck one?"
"Still work hours. Can't."
"Right, work hours are sacred. Can't have our diligent Elise hooked."
He'd forced the women, but not her. No complaints possible—they were already wasted, judgment gone.
"So what brings our Elise here late night? Not drugs, not drinks... Finally warming to me?"
"Have a report, sir."
"This late?"
"Confirmed at 18:32. Took time to investigate personally."
Thompson's brow twitched at her fieldwork. He seemed serious for a sec—then grinned lazily.
"Spill it."
Elise considered the data shard, but drugged Thompson wouldn't parse it.
"Report on Proof Ruins witness elimination. At 18:31:28, connections to five test subjects severed 57 seconds later, at 18:32:25. On-site at 19:05—found Lüchen Biotech traces."
"Lüchen involved?"
"Yes. Photo from 80m altitude."
She nodded, handing over the drone shot. No close-ups needed. One image sufficed: bunker-buster crater, savage claw marks matching Lüchen's secret Chimera.
"Heh, chinks lost their minds?"
Blue smoke out, Thompson shuddered in ecstasy.
"Hngh... Thought Lüchen had branches in Southpeak."
"Yes, two known."
"Right..."
Proof Ruins were originally Lüchen's, but Zailek bought exclusive rights with big money. Deploying weapons there—boldly, leaving traces. Official protest? No—both sides hid their toys. Escalation meant corp war. Neonic would cheer. Investors hate that.
Let it slide? Pride said no. Minimal loss—test subjects gone—but precedent mattered. Ignore now, repeat later.
"Take a batch, strip stabilizers, amp side effects. 20 tabs each to ~8,000 Southpeakers—32kg should do."
"Understood."
"Name it..."
Blue smoke, senses maxed—colors as sound, air caressing skin. No stabilizers? DNA glitches trigger Lüchen-specific reactions. Overdosers' implants overload into Chrome Psycho. Dozens of dead researchers confirmed it.
"Veritas."
"Timeline?"
"Faster the better. Original schedule: week out. Sooner."
"Three days."
"Good, good."
Veritas wouldn't cripple them, but plenty annoying.
"Can't wait for Southpeak news in three days."
Thompson cackled through blue haze.
"Broker?"
"Yeah. This cash buys one."
"Tch... True, but which district? East war's got checks tight—fakes won't cut it."
"Southpeak."
"Ah... Yeah, that works with minimal effort."
"Yeah."
Soo nodded, beaming. Southpeak. Home of Cyberpunk: Eden's protagonist.
Enoch.