Anti-Mage

Anton looked around the RV. It was cluttered with trash and boxes and had the feel of being used as a storage location, rather than somewhere someone lived. There was a walkway from the door to the bedroom and a small bathroom, allowing someone to enter and sleep here if they wished. The trash can was overflowing with trash, and the sink was filled with dirty dishes. Everywhere else, boxes were stacked.

Through the kitchen window, he could see people walking around outside, but no one came anywhere near the RV he was in. He could work with that. To make sure he could blend in a bit better, he used spells he already had that utilized Psychic Energy as templates and created new uncommon and rare versions of those spells. He paused. The spells might get locked into his mind with Spell Slots, but they utilized Psychic Energy. Instead of referring to them as spells, he was going to start thinking of them as Psionic Powers. Hopefully, the SYSTEM would do so as well when he re-established a link with it.

He activated Mental Assignment and concentrated on flooding the creation process with Psychic Energy until a SYSTEM Link was established. In quick succession, he created upgraded versions of Create Food, Create Pants, Create Shirt, Create Item, and Launder. That way, he could create whatever items, clothes, and food he might need.

It was a simple thing to create the psionic powers; it didn't even require more Psychic Energy than his regeneration rate, even at 1%, its normal rate. Within ten minutes, he was done. The changes he'd made to his Create Food power should now allow him to create either a small, intricate meal with various items, or he could create up to 100 pounds of one type of food. The only stipulation was that the food could not be alive.

His Create Pants, Create Shirt, and Create Item Psionic Powers followed the same theme, though the rules were slightly different. He was reasonably sure he could create a Common set of jeans that would function just like regular jeans. They would have a durability rating of 100. The Uncommon version of the psionic power should be able to create ten pairs of the same set of jeans, or he could create one set of jeans with a durability of 1,000. The rare version of the power should then be able to create 100 pairs of regular jeans or one pair of jeans with a durability of 10,000.

He was fairly certain that Create Shirt and Create Item would work similarly. However, he wasn't sure if he could create something he didn't understand. When he found a computer, he'd see if he could. If he had a SYSTEM Link, he knew he'd be able to because of his Title Fons Genesis Knowledge. Here, though…maybe he could copy something he was touching?

When he was done, he tried to create a hamburger and failed. That's when he remembered that, in their most basic form, each of the Psionic Powers converted one thing into another. He walked over to the sink, grabbed some of the dirty dishes, and tried again. A moment later, he held a Runza-style Swiss Mushroom hamburger in his hand. He took a bite, and damn if it didn't taste just the way he remembered it. He finished the burger in short order.

He activated his Launder psionic power on a kitchen towel on the stove and then wiped his hands on it before reactivating the power and cleaning the towel again. Next, he walked over to the trash can and converted some of the trash into a set of clothes that better fit the people he saw walking around, as well as a backpack to carry his belongings. He'd tried to utilize his Personal Inventory, but he'd been unable to access it. He'd always used the Portable Exchange before because it was harder to steal from. Now that he couldn't access his Personal Storage because of sparse mana. Of course, he could do something about that, couldn't he?

Anton activated Mental Assignment. While he might not have access to the SYSTEM, he did understand how his skill worked and what he should be able to do with it. Creating the Psionic Powers hadn't been hard. He considered the powers he already had, willed the power to improve in rank, and assigned the required Spell Slots. While he couldn't receive Notifications, he felt that he'd been successful. To create a power from scratch that was extremely high rank, he was pretty sure all he had to do was provide enough energy to punch a connection through to the SYSTEM to create a psionic power.

Anton visualized a portal that led into a dimensional space, specifically an Astral Pocket, which was akin to a storage room. Preferably something like his Portable Exchange, but specific to him. He wanted a power that would allow him to access the door from anywhere and would act as an automated storage area. It wouldn't be as helpful as a Personal Inventory which he could store and remove stuff from on the fly. He wanted this new power to give him a place to store equipment and items so he didn't have to carry them all the time.

Once he had a firm concept in mind, he began to pour psychic energy into the process. As the process started, he knew he was devoting energy to it, but he couldn't tell how much. At a certain point, Notifications began appearing in his vision again. A quick check of his log indicated that the SYSTEM Link had activated when he reached 1,000 Psychic Energy.

SYSTEM Link Established

…

1,000,000,000 Psychic Energy Allocated

Sixteen (16) Spell Slots Allocated.

Psionic Power: "Create Astral Storage Location" created

Create Astral Storage Location.

Rank: Mythical

Spell Slots: 16 (Base (8) plus one Augment (8))

Required Materials: None

Range: N/A

Psychic Energy to Create: 1,000,000,000

Area of Effect: 464.16-foot cube

Duration: Permanent

Description: This Psionic Power creates a Dimensional Storage Location.

A Dimensional Storage Location is a pocket of the Astral Plane that has been claimed by the Psionicist, sealed, and attached to the Psionicist. It is only accessible by the Psionic Power "Access Storage." Or teleporting directly into it.

The Dimensional Storage Location can hold any item that fits within it, provided it can also fit through the access point created by the Power "Access Storage."

Augment: When accessed by the Psionicist, they automatically know every item in the Storage Area and can manipulate those items at will.

Warning! An Astral Storage Location is still connected to the Astral Plane. It can be disconnected from the Psionicist or even destroyed.

While he still had a link to the SYSTEM, he quickly created the second power required to make his idea a reality.

SYSTEM Link Established

1,000 Psychic Energy Allocated

One (1) Spell Slots Allocated.

Psionic Power: "Access Astral Storage."

Access Astral Storage

Rank: Common

Spell Slots: 1

Required Materials: None

Range: 10 Feet

Psychic Energy to Create: 1,000 Psychic Energy to Create Portal

Activation, 1,000 Psychic Energy (PE) to activate / 10 PE per Turn to maintain.

Duration: Varies

Access Astral Storage allows the Psionicist to create a 10x10-foot portal that opens into the Associated Astral Storage. Note: If the Astral Storage Location is ever destroyed, a new Astral Storage Location will need to be created before this power may be utilized again.

Once the portal has been created, the Psionicist can either summon any item within to the portal and withdraw it, or they may enter the Astral Pocket.

Warning! This spell cannot be recast from within the Astral Storage Location. To exit the Astral Storage Location will require.

Ambient Mana is dropping below recommended Levels

SYSTEM Link will terminate…now.

Well, that was a good thing at least, the energy which had fueled the SYSTEM Link must have dissipated into the Astral Plane, and whatever excess Mana or Psychic Energy he'd leaked into the surroundings must have been absorbed as his personal regeneration tried to draw that energy in and replace it. He had spent over one billion Psychic Energy after all.

That raised the question of whether utilizing his Access Astral Storage power was going to increase the ambient Mana and cause issues, which made him decide that he would use the psionic power sparingly, at least until he was sure one way or the other.

With a burger in his belly, psionic powers created to make life a bit easier, and a new world to explore, Anton looked out the window, found a group of adults sitting on their porch across the street, and reached out with Telepathy. As he came into contact with a woman's mind, she tensed up and tried to bring up her mental defenses. A moment later, she relaxed as he easily bypassed her defenses and listened to the conversation she was having with Jack, the man sitting beside her.

***

"So, are we going to move south then?" Sally asked.

"That was the plan, but now we have to change those plans."

"Why?"

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you see the news out of Whitehorse? There's been an industrial accident, and they've been evacuating the area for the last hour."

"I did not," Sally said.

Jack pulled up his phone and pulled up the story on YouTube and turned the screen toward her.

"Canadian officials have announced that Whitehorse is currently being evacuated and that a 100-mile cordoned area around the city is in effect until the extent of the industrial leak can be determined…"

As Jack turned off the screen on the phone, Sally looked thoughtful before she offered a thought, "We should be able to head south. We need to head west at Camacks and take Highway 4 towards Edmonton instead of trying to go down into Washington."

Jack nodded, "We could do that, that road isn't much further than 100 miles from Whitehorse. If the winds shift or the area extends, we'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"So, what do you want to do instead?" Sally asked.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"We could head down to Anchorage," Jack offered. When Sally gave him a look that meant she didn't like that idea, he continued, "Just hear me out. We could head down there for the winter and then head south in the spring. They get snow, but you know it doesn't get as cold down there as it does here."

"Do we have enough money to survive until the passes clear in late February or March?"

Jack smiled, "We do."

***

Anton ended the telepathic link. While he'd been listening to their conversation, he explored Sally's memories and determined that it was the middle of September. The snow would usually close the passes in early October, so Whitehorse's decision to close the roads heading south was unlikely to go over well with many people.

As he continued to search through her memories, Anton realized that Sally didn't know much. Sally and Jack were a married couple who drove around the states in an RV they'd purchased after Jack won a small amount of money from the lottery. Not a lot, but enough to make seeing the country a possibility. It seemed Anton needed to find someone else to listen in on, or someone of his size that he could mimic, and then head into the city and interact with the locals normally. The second choice sounded a lot more fun to him.

Five minutes later, he had a target. A young man in jeans, a t-shirt that had "Gnomes Rule!" on it. There was only one series he'd seen that phrase in. If it existed here, this place couldn't be that bad.

Anton teleported out of the RV into a shadow closer to his target. Stealth was active, but he wasn't going to assume anything. His target walked down the road and around the bend to the south. After a bit, Anton was sure he was making his way to the water. With no one else around, he dropped Stealth and stepped onto the road behind the kid.

He projected his voice toward the kid and called out, "Gnomes Rule!"

The teenager turned around, caught sight of Anton, and responded, "They do. Have you read all the books yet?"

"Haven't checked on them in years? What book is out now?" Anton asked as he walked up and held out his hand, "The name's Richt….

The kid laughed and shook his hand, "The last book I read was number six, and of course, that's your name. My name is Alma."

Anton laughed. "Seriously though, I'm new here, my name is Anthony, I just thought I'd say hi. I haven't run into many people who have read 'The Land.'".

The kid sighed, "Don't I know it. My name's Matt, short for Matthew. It's nice to meet you, Anthony."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Matt. I just wanted to say hello. I have to get back now, you know how family life is."

Matt nodded, "I do. I was walking out here to get away from mine for a few minutes."

"Well, don't be too long, they might get on your nerves, but they're family."

Sensing that Anton was going to leave, Matt waved and turned away as he continued walking toward the shore. It was an awkward exit, but Anton needed to be on his way. Anton turned and walked back toward the RV park. When he was sure no one was watching, he stepped into an area that blocked people's vision and activated Stealth. Then he teleported from shadow to shadow until he was back inside the RV he'd found earlier.

Once inside, he allowed Malleable Body to assume Matt's form. He'd shaken his hand to get the DNA sample so he could fully assume the kid's body. He wouldn't hold the kids' likeness for long. He actually liked the kid and didn't want to ruin his day. Next, he created a plain black T-shirt. Then he made another T-shirt to wear over it. The one on top was one of his favorite t-shirts. Granted, it wasn't from the same author, but it seemed appropriate. A moment later, he had another black T-shirt with white lettering that read, "I Went to a Magical Alternate Universe, and all I got was vast Cosmic Power." Shirlatoon was in another universe; he shouldn't mind. Also, was it ironic if the shirt was correct?

He also created a hoodie before he headed out. Once he was far enough away from the RV park that anyone seeing him wouldn't see both at the same time, he made sure his hoodie covered his head, found a doorway to step out of, and dropped Stealth as he began walking north on Easy Street.

Easy Street, Really? Who named this street? Someone, somewhere, was probably offended. He didn't care, and Matt was probably too young to care, so he put the name of the street out of his mind and headed north. As he walked north along Easy Street, he came up to the Old Richardson Highway and followed it west. A couple of minutes later, he came up on a pawn shop.

His luck must be holding because a pawn shop was exactly what he needed. He looked around, found a decent-sized rock, and picked it up. He closed his hand over it, concentrated for a moment, and used Create Item to convert the rock into a pebble made out of pure gold. Then he headed up to the pawn shop.

As he walked in the front door, a man behind the counter called out, "Is that you, Matt?"

"Yep. I found something you might want to look at," Anton said as he held up the small piece of gold he'd created. His perks said his metamorphosis would make him a true doppelganger, but he was still surprised when Matt's voice came from his mouth.

The owner's eyes locked on the nugget as he said, "Let me see that."

"Sure," Anton said as he handed it over and watched as the owner took it to the back counter, weighed it, and checked it.

After a few moments, he turned back to Anton, "Well, Matt, you found a nugget of gold, 28 grams to be exact. Now, I wouldn't want your mom accusing me of trying to cheat you, so I'll tell you that the going price of gold is $67 per gram, so that little nugget is worth $1,876." The owner paused for a moment as he looked thoughtful before he continued. "You know I need to make a profit, so I'll give you $1,100 for that nugget, no questions asked, and to sweeten the pot, the next thing you buy, I'll give you an extra 10% discount on."

Anton looked like he was going to think about it for a minute, but this was a chance for him to do something nice for Matt, and he didn't really need the money from this guy; he'd get more later. "How about $1,000 now and your word that I'll get a 25% discount on the following item I buy?

The owner looked like he was considering it, but Anton could tell he liked the deal. He opened the cash drawer, counted out ten one-hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to Anton. "Deal," he said, and held out his hand.

Anton shook his hand, being careful not to show his strength, "Thank you. I need to get going for now, but I'll be back."

"Have fun, and if you find any more nuggets, bring them here first."

Anton waved as he left the pawn shop and continued west along the Old Richardson Highway. On his left was a gas station. He walked inside and bought a map for $8. Once he was back outside, he opened the map and looked it over. All he had to do was head north at this intersection, and he'd be walking into a major part of town. That was good because the sun was beginning to set.

He closed his hoodie and pulled it down over his face, focusing his intent so that the void would reach out and destroy his top T-shirt as he altered his features to resemble someone else. He felt his features shift and checked himself in a shop window he was walking by to make sure he didn't leave part of his face deformed. He left his hair alone but adjusted the length slightly. His ability to alter his form, even without magic, must be directly tied to his evolutionary core and was fueled by his cores or his mind. He considered creating new pants and a different sweater, but he was out in the open. With his perception as high as it was, he knew there were cameras everywhere around him. He may or may not be in their visual field, so better not to chance it.

Eventually, he'd have to pick up some IDs and other necessary items. First, though, he needed to find a TV showing what was going on in Whitehorse. He walked north looking for a place to hang out and either surf the net or watch the news. After a bit, he was coming up on 2nd Ave and could see a bridge in front of him when he noticed a sign for the River City Café. He walked over and through the window. He could see that there was a TV on the wall as well as a couple of computer terminals. Anton walked in, and took a seat at one of the terminals.

"Hey, Hon, it's ten dollars for 15 minutes or thirty dollars for the hour," the barista called over.

Anton turned to the woman who'd called out to him and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, showing it to her. "Can I get a cup of coffee as well?"

"Sure, just make sure to put your cup on the shelf beside you, not near the computer. How would you like it?" she asked.

"Black is fine," Anton said.

The barista poured him a cup of coffee and brought it over.

Anton handed her the hundred-dollar bill, "I might be a little bit longer than an hour, but not longer than two, so just keep the $100 and maybe hook me up with a refill once in a while."

The barista smiled, "My name's Jen. I can do that. There is no password, so you should be able to do what you need to do."

As she turned and walked back to the bar, Anton said, "Thanks, Jen."

The first thing he did was try to pull up news on Whitehorse. There had been a systematic blackout of all information coming out of Whitehorse. The first thing he needed to do was learn the computer systems here, just in case there were any differences in coding. Anton did a simple search and started with the history of computers and programming.

"Sir," Jen said as she came over and grabbed his empty cup of coffee. It's almost 11 p.m. I closed an hour ago."

Anton looked up, "Really?"

"Really."

"Damn, I'm sorry," Anton said as he pulled out another $100 bill as he closed the windows he'd been reading on the computer.

Jen smiled as she accepted the $100, "Thank you. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"I did, and thank you again. I may be back tomorrow," Anton said as he stood and walked toward the exit.

"Feel free to stop by, the doors open at 7 a.m.," Jen said as Anton stepped onto the street and looked around.

Anton headed southwest toward a building that belonged to the University. It would be a short walk. If this version of Alaska were like his, Anchorage and Fairbanks were both cities that never slept. It should be pretty easy for him to blend in.

Anton considered what he'd learned over the last four hours. The first thing he did was conduct a quick search for maps of the local area and the world. Ironically, as he viewed the maps, he found that his exceptional attributes allowed him to recall them in his mind's eye. It wasn't the same as his skill Basic Map, but with a thought, he could pull up the map in his head to get a general idea of what was in the area. He'd made sure to pull up the basic maps and the terrain maps so that he could recognize locations by environmental cues.

He'd started with Alaska, Canada, the United States, and even Mexico. He'd also viewed a general map of the globe to get an idea of where the various countries were. Once he had a general understanding of the area, he researched the history of programming, then focused on computer programming, and finally conducted a brief review of electronics. He hadn't been a computer coding expert in the past, but he had a basic understanding and wanted to ensure that there were no changes in the various commands used. When he'd completed his review, he'd been pleasantly surprised to learn that function followed form. What he remembered from his childhood was the same here. All he needed to do was go to this building, find a quiet place without cameras, and create a Psionic Power to allow him to gain even more access to the computers there.

The one thing about the University of Alaska Fairbanks was that it was spread out. In fact, one of the leading computer labs was just six blocks southwest of the coffee shop he'd been in for the last four hours. Who would have thought the place he needed had been so close? In fact, as he'd walked north from the pawn shop, he'd come within three blocks of it.

Anton walked down the sidewalk until he was right beside the University's four-story Technical College building. With a thought, he activated Omnisense and scanned the building. It was almost like X-ray vision, except he could view anywhere within range with a thought. He didn't even have to be looking at it. Everywhere within 250 feet of him was visible.

Anton quickly found what he was looking for; there was a small room that was used for storage. Off the back of the room was a utility closet. The only people who would normally use something like that were janitors, and except for a few people on the upper floors and the security personnel at the entrance, there was no one in the building.

Just west and a bit north of the Technical College, there was the First Baptist Church. Anton walked up the street to it, entered the building where people were in the pews praying, and walked to the bathroom. A quick check revealed that there were no cameras in the building, although a camera had been positioned on the corner that monitored his approach to the church.

He walked into the bathroom and made sure no one was inside. Stepped into a stall, out of line of sight of the door, just in case someone walked in, and teleported from the church, into the utility closet, where he sat down and made himself comfortable. He used Omnisense one more time to make sure he hadn't set off any alarms with the guards. Nope, they were still sitting upstairs at the desk, watching the front door.

For the next 30 hours Anton worked on one Psionic Power. Granted, he was making the power for each rank, but it was a single Power. While he was researching computers and electronics, he'd come up with the idea of creating an Electronic Bridge between his mind and computers. Kind of like the Matrix, but without the large spike.

His basic idea was to allow his mind to link directly with computers, enabling him to control them without physical interaction. To do that, he needed to connect with the computers mentally. The one thing about all computers and devices is that they have input and output ports. He just needed to be able to access them directly. So, he worked on creating a power that would create an interface between his mind and the various electronic connection points.

Anton started with the Common rank power and then continued to the next rank. Each rank allowed him to extend the range and number of devices, a capability that continued until he reached the Mythic version. When he reached that version, he knew he didn't have the 100 million psychic energy it would cost to initialize the power every time he wanted to use it. So he augmented it to reduce the Psychic Energy cost.

When he was done, he quickly read the Notification he received before the ambient energy levels dropped to a point that he couldn't check his Notifications.

Congratulations! You have created the Psionic Power Electronic Bridge.

Electronic Bridge

Rank: Mythic

Spell Slots: 48 (Base (8) + Five Energy Reduction Augments (40))

Required Materials: None

Psychic Energy to initiate: 1,000

Psychic Energy to Maintain:

100 PE per device accessed per turn

Range: 464.16-foot sphere around them.

Area of effect: up to 100 million devices within range.

Duration: While maintained.

With the Electronic Bridge, the psionicist can connect their mind to an electronic device they can perceive within range. You do not need to be able to see the access ports, just the device that the access ports are contained within

Each networked device accessed increases the Maintenance cost. This includes devices connected through transmitted electronic data, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

Clarification. While other devices outside the area of effect may be accessed normally, devices outside of the area of effect may not be affected by this power.

While connected to a computer or device, you may utilize it in any way that it would normally be utilized.

The seven lower-ranked versions of the psionic power did the same thing, though the number of devices and the area of effect were reduced while the psychic energy cost was typical for the rank of the power. Also, the common, uncommon, and rare versions of power could only affect a single target, but they did have a greater range. When he had more time, he might need to create a mythical version that could reach farther as well. The single target disadvantage sucked, though.

Now it was time to put his new power to the test.

Anton activated Omnisense, chose one of the servers in the central computer lab, and activated his Electronic Bridge. He established a direct connection to the server. He allowed Omnisense to deactivate to see if the Electronic Bridge remained active once he could no longer perceive it directly, and was pleasantly surprised when it did.

Now he had to create an interface through which to communicate with the computer. He could probably try to brute force it with his mind, but figured he needed something a bit more nuanced. Anton tried to drop into his Mindspace and found that with a thought, he was standing on a flat desert plain which he could adjust and mutate as he saw fit. Could he perceive the SYSTEM here?

Anton said, "SYSTEM Status"

Nothing happened. The link to the SYSTEM must truly be unavailable unless the ambient mana or Psychic Energy levels rose enough to allow a link to be established. That was fine. He called up terminals to interface and display his connection to the server, which immediately appeared. It was his Mindspace after all. Anything he desired, he could visualize here.

He started with an interface he was familiar with and then began tweaking and modifying it to keep track of every bit of data that entered and exited the server he was connected to. In moments, he'd bypassed the operating system and firewalls and was directly connected to the server, utilizing direct machine code.

A quick tweak of his will and the interface he'd created within his mind's eye was housed within a building and made a resident of his Mindspace. If and when he connected to other electronic devices, he'd be able to perceive and control them from there. Of course, the goal was to be able to access and view that information when interacting with the world normally, but he was pretty sure he'd need a SYSTEM Link or an electronic interface inserted into his body, like a bionic eye or something. For now, this would work.

Anton surfaced from his Mindspace, activated Omnisense, and quickly made sure no one was in his area. He adjusted himself to look like he'd come into the closet to hide and sleep, just in case he was discovered and dropped back into his Mindspace. A quick check of the clock showed it was almost 7 a.m. the next morning.

As he felt out his connection to the server and the wider internet, he realized that the server was connected to one of the best internet connections in the state. Before he moved on, he intended to capitalize on that connection by conducting more research. There was a lot to do. Within his Mindspace, Anton stepped into his technology center and went to work.