Vivian and the Awakening of Thousand Changes

Silver hair dulled and disheveled.

Her limbs flopped limply, as if drained of all strength.

Half-lidded eyes stared blankly, unfocused and shaking.

"Ah... uh..."

Even without any restraints, she lay utterly still in that spot.

Something about her pitiful state held my gaze captive.

"Does subject 583 catch your eye? She suffered a mana overload during the experiment, but the traces are still on her body—plenty of research value there. What do you say? Take her and study her yourself?"

The instructor patrolling the slave market spoke up.

But his words didn't register with me.

As if drawn by fate, I walked toward the girl.

It felt like staring at my own past failure.

This time... just this once...

I scooped her up, entranced.

Her skin was ice-cold, and she weighed next to nothing.

I stripped off her filthy clothes and brought her to the bathroom.

The water came out a bit too hot from a temperature mishap, but she didn't react at all.

She stayed motionless as I washed her dirty body, shampooed her hair, and carried her out.

She felt just like a marionette with its strings cut.

Once clean, I realized I had nothing for her to wear.

Her old clothes were beyond salvage, and her underwear was in tatters.

I dressed her in a dorm T-shirt for now, which only made me feel like a total criminal.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"..."

I sat her on my lap and stroked her hair.

Soft strands wrapped around my fingers, like petting a kitten.

The difference? Even less reaction than a pet.

No matter how I racked my brain, she was no character I'd ever encountered.

I remembered applying a full heroine pack at the game's start—must've come bundled with that.

At least I'd never routed her myself.

As I kept stroking, the mark on the back of my hand seemed to glow a little brighter.

What the...?

I touched the mark, and its glow definitely intensified.

What if I touched her with it active? Would she react differently...?

Captured by that dark impulse, I placed my right hand on her head.

"Ah...!"

Her first reaction.

But nothing after that.

What the hell am I doing to a kid like this...?

Self-loathing hit me hard. I turned off the glow.

For some reason, it felt like she was staring at my chest area.

Taking her to the cafeteria seemed dicey.

Lee Ji-ah and I had promised to eat together always, but after repeated apologies, she relented.

I bought simple food, but the girl showed no interest.

Forcing myself to eat alone, I noticed her gaze fixed on my chest again.

"What?"

"..."

No answer, as usual.

But her body twitched faintly.

The dorm had only one bed, so we ended up sharing.

She was basically a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doll anyway, and as a slave market pickup, I had no reason to hesitate.

As I held her close to sleep, she burrowed into my arms.

Her biggest movement yet.

After that, she started perking up bit by bit.

Still awkward, but the fact she was moving on her own mattered.

She spent most of her time just sitting...

...usually on my lap.

The longer she stayed there, the livelier she seemed to get.

I felt like a human charger.

It cut into my time with Lee Ji-ah, but the kid was cute, so no big deal.

"Ah..."

On the third day, she finally spoke.

"Can you talk?"

Come to think of it, I didn't even know her name.

The instructor called her subject 583, but no one's named that.

Now that she'd opened her mouth, time to get a proper name.

Her lips trembled as she struggled for words.

After a long pause, her mouth opened again.

"Ugh... he... here... where...?"

"You're safe here. Relax."

"Ah..."

Tension drained from her body at my words.

She slumped onto my lap, light as ever.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"...Vi... vian."

Her name was Vivian.

For some reason, it stirred a nostalgic warmth.

"Got it, Vivian. Nice to meet you."

"..."

Vivian didn't reply.

The morning after learning her name, something weird appeared on my right hand.

A slime-like, ectoplasm-ish blob shimmered with colorless, transparent light from my palm.

What the hell was this?

Peering into it summoned a translucent window.

A familiar window I'd seen somewhere before.

Looking down, the mark on my hand was gone.

Pressing the slime against my skin, it seeped right in.

The mark reappeared.

Willing it out brought it back.

Mesmerized, I toyed with it— in and out—for a while, until I felt Vivian's stare.

"What?"

Vivian stared silently, laser-focused on the thing in my hand.

First time she'd shown that much intent.

Handing the solid-liquid whatever to her, she started playing with it.

In her hands, it shifted shapes endlessly.

Shifting shapes...

A hunch hit me.

"Vivian, lemme borrow that for a sec?"

"..."

She pretended not to hear.

I know you heard me just fine...

Snatching the slime, it stretched toward my arm from her hand.

Finally acting her age.

Her body naturally leaned in, her frail frame barely human.

"Just a sec, promise."

I focused my mind.

Felt right somehow.

The slime warped into various forms at my will.

Then it flowed back into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my hand with a sharp sting.

"Ow!"

Unlike last time, barely any pain—I didn't get what happened at first.

The mark glowed faintly.

I eyed the now-more-refined pattern.

One of the question marks—number 10—was gone.

The new text was cryptic at first glance.

Tapping expand flooded my vision with info.

No clue what it meant, no matter how I read it.

Opposites like (Disappears.) and (Appears.) listed together?

Shaking my head cleared the text.

Expand grayed out—no response on retry.

One-time deal?

From what I gathered, Thousand Changes was a weapon sub.

Willing a shape change worked smoothly.

But not super useful.

Combat prep could wait for the Great Labyrinth.

Totally pointless for now.

I dismissed the window and handed the slime back to Vivian.

Or rather, Thousand Changes to Vivian.

Best part of getting Thousand Changes? No need to babysit anymore.

Vivian played with it solo just fine, freeing me up for Lee Ji-ah.

Guiltily leaving it with her, I took Ji-ah's hand—nothing happened.

Ji-ah just blushed shyly, making things awkward instead.

Couldn't test if Touch of Pleasure worked on Thousand Changes, but no effect on Vivian suggested it was fine.

Yeah, no issues.

Problems? Our "friends" limbo, and Ji-ah's face clouding at occasional phone buzzes.

Stuck like that, we headed to our first class.

Intro to Basic Magic's instructor: an elf guy.

Regret hit instantly at "guy," but the female-led section was full.

"Cadets, welcome. I'm Nephrian, your instructor for Basic Magic this semester. Pleased to meet you."

Lackluster applause from the cadets.

Everyone bummed it's a dude.

I faked a clap out of courtesy.

Only Lee Ji-ah sparkled with enthusiasm.

"First class today, so we'll lightly cover magic theory and try sensing mana."

Nephrian turned to the blackboard.

Text auto-filled... a ton of it.

"Magic theory varies, but the most popular is the dualism-based: 'Magic is mana infused with will.' It defines magic as injecting will into conceptual ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana to manifest it in reality, then manipulating it to alter the world..."

First class, total slog.

Explains the weak claps.

Proof you can know stuff without teaching it well.

Lee Ji-ah, though, was hooked, eyes shining.

"...Thus, magic isn't powered by the mage's mana alone but resonates with ambient mana. Mages accumulate mana in their 'origin' to influence nature's mana—but only after refining nature's mana into their own. Nature's mana is bound to a vast will. Mages call this the 'Lord of Mana.' Today's goal: distinguish ambient from personal mana, gather it in your origin, and infuse will. For our first session, start by sensing nature's mana."

Theory dump ended; time for mana sensing practice.

"Short break, then practice in the lab. Follow me."

Nephrian left after that.

"Ji-ah, get any of that?"

"Some. Sensing mana myself should clarify it."

She actually followed?

I was lost.

Chatting with her killed time until Nephrian returned.

"Mana sensing in the practice room. Follow me."