Anti-Mage

Anton modified his Mindspace by adding a command chair to his interface and took a seat. He quickly set up firewalls as well as bandwidth limiters. Well, they didn't limit his bandwidth, but it would make any monitors report that the bandwidth was normal. With access to the whole internet, he began surfing for information.

Something Anton hadn't considered before he started accessing the information available on the World Wide Web was the explosive growth his intellect had undergone.. If a normal person had an Intelligence, wisdom, and willpower between nine and eleven, and his score was over 3.6 billion, that gave him a lot more to work with.

He wanted to improve his interface while connected, so he started with biology, then neurology, and subsequently began running simulations to determine what would work. He didn't realize that instead of focusing on one subject at a time, he began to branch out into multiple topics simultaneously.

As the information started flooding into his mind, he became less aware of his surroundings until he began downloading the internet into his mind at a phenomenal rate. A side effect that affected the server he was connected to was that the bandwidth increased beyond what it could handle, so he added another server to his control. He found that if he could perceive the server through his electronic connection and it was within range, he could reach out and establish a direct Electronic Bridge to it. He did this repeatedly until all 250 servers in the building were under his control and providing him with information.

Sometime later, because he'd lost track of when he'd started, a portion of his mind was aware of his physical body, although he began paying less and less attention to it as time dilation within his Mindspace increased. What did he research? Everything he wished he'd studied before the events of Antarctica. The thought of Antarctica made him wonder if there was a base down there in this Multiverse; it was a different after all.

For the moment, he'd stay focused on learning as much as he could about the subjects that would help him the most. He started with the common STEM subjects: Biology, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering, Mathematics, Quantum Physics, and Theoretical Physics. Specifically, he was looking for a way to interface his brain directly with the servers. His current setup was fast, but he was sure that a direct neural link would make it even faster.

Before he knew it, another 24 hours passed before his body picked up sirens, and he heard movement drawing closer. He created subject markers so he knew where to pick up and withdraw from his Mindspace. A quick scan with Omnisense informed him that technicians in the server room were trying to determine what was causing the servers to work so hard. Anton also noticed that the police had cordoned off the streets around the building as four military-looking groups in civilian clothes made their way inside. Once inside, the building was locked down, and two groups headed upstairs, while the other two groups moved to the front and back entrances to secure the area.

Anton smiled. It was a good thing he didn't need to use the door then, wasn't it?

There was a parking garage to the west, across the street. Anton activated Steath, set off another scan with Omnisense, and teleported to an empty portion of the garage into a utility closet he found. Anton's next target was the US Social Security Administration, which was just over half a mile east and south. He scanned and then teleported from one hidden location to another as he made his way east across town.

Omnisense was his limiting factor at the moment, with a range of 250 feet. In the near future, he would have to remedy that. Still within 10 seconds, he'd scanned and teleported five times and was over 1,250 feet to the east of the technical college outside the cordoned area. Ten seconds later, he was standing next to a tree in the parking lot of the U.S. Social Security Administration.

Now that he was within direct range, he activated Electronic Bridge and connected to one of the terminals at reception, which was used to register people and print state IDs, driver's licenses, and the like. Since he was keeping his primary perception on the area around him, his control was a bit slower, but it was a simple thing for him to issue the commands he wanted carried out.

First, he searched through the national database to see if he was already in the SYSTEM. He was. Next, he looked through the local entries for the recently deceased with no next of kin. He picked 10 random people, each from a different state. Next, he altered their information and chose random addresses in ten other states. Then, he downloaded the information about the badges and saved it in his Mindspace. He also saved all known Physical Information concerning the ten personas he'd just created.

As he worked, a server-wide message appeared on the terminal's screen.

WARNING!

All personnel are directed to Shelter in Place.

This is NOT a Drill.

Shelter in Place

Anton looked around the empty parking lot. It was almost 8 p.m. The only people in that building were security and cleaning personnel. With Omnisense, he could see that the security personnel had received the message, as evidenced by one of them touching a button on the desk. Red strobe lights and an Alarm started going off, accompanied by the sound of city sirens from the tops of nearby buildings and light poles.

Anton climbed up into the tree and found a comfortable position, remaining stealthed as he dropped into his Mindspace and put caution to the wind, bursting through every security firewall to search for the reason the sirens were going off. Within moments, he'd hacked into the secured communications at the nearby Air Force base and was reading orders that had been sent to the Command Post.

He quickly read the message and viewed the satellite photos of Whitehorse. The name of the location didn't surprise him. He figured the excess mana was going to do something, which it had. From the drone picture he was viewing, he could barely make out where the roads were. Nature had reclaimed the city. Everything, everywhere, had been covered by plants and trees.

That wasn't what the drone was focused on. The one place that was not covered by growth was the field he'd appeared in. While nature covered the entire city, a translucent sphere, at least a mile in diameter, drew his attention. It was hard to tell from the photo, but he didn't believe the barrier was doing nothing. It was like a photo negative of something that was there, yet not there, ethereal, perhaps?

The next photo showed a flash at the center of the sphere, and the third photo showed a comparison of the sizes between the size of the sphere before and after the flash. There was a note at the bottom of that photo.

"Flashes occur randomly. The longest pause has been 5 minutes 12 seconds. Each time a flash occurs, the sphere expands. We believe we are witnessing an explosion of some sort, but the local fauna does not offer any evidence of a blast."

Time to go big. Anton teleported to an altitude of 10,000 feet, activated Flight, surrounded himself in a spherical Force Construct to protect his clothes, and shot off toward Whitehorse. He lowered his altitude to less than 100 feet above the surface, keeping to the valleys and following the roads as much as possible. He also shifted the Force Construct sphere he was in so that it was opaque from the outside and see-through from the inside.

Five minutes later, he was almost within range of Whitehorse. He noticed the multiple drones flying over the area at high altitude, but ignored them. As soon as he came within visual range, he saw two flashes appear and saw the sphere expand visually. When he was ten miles out, his SYSTEM link came back online, and he found out what was going on. Though as soon as it did, the saying that 'ignorance is bliss' began to make a little more sense.

SYSTEM Link Re-established

Ambient Mana has returned to normal

Resource Regeneration rates have returned to normal.

WARNING! Manifold Breach underway.

Entities incompatible with the current environment are trying to cross the Manifold barrier.

Disruption of the Astral Plane is imminent.

Title Fate's Arbiter detected

Quest offered: "Maintain the Balance"

Maintain the Balance.

Interrupt Manifold incursion into incompatible Realm before catastrophic damage is inflicted.

Reward: Additional Ability Slot Unlocked by Manifold SYSTEM directly linked to Class Planeswalker.

Would you like to accept the quest "Maintain the Balance," Yes or No?

Anton chose "Yes"

Now that he knew this was happening on the Astral Plane and he had access to mana again, he activated his skill Transverse Reality and took advantage of his perk Instantaneous Travel to create a portal.

As soon as the portal appeared, a blast of energy exploded through the portal and vaporized all of his clothing. Damn! Note to self, the portal is two-way. Luckily for him, the damage didn't break through his Physical Damage resistance, though it did destroy his force construct as the explosion entered his sphere, popped it, and started expanding.

Anton ignored the torrent of energy exploding through the portal and stepped into the maelstrom before he closed the portal. Hopefully, there was no one near where he'd opened the portal. Luckily, he'd been almost 100 feet above the ground.

As he took in his surroundings, he realized that what was leaking through the barrier between dimensions that everyone could see was not what was actually happening. Instead of seeing only the remnants of an explosion that expanded out as well as being outside of the radius, he was well within the explosion, and they were happening almost continuously.

He quickly checked his Combat Log and then his Event Log.

You have entered the radius of an Antimatter equivalent explosion.

Damage Taken: 1,000,000

Physical Damage Resistance NOT overcome.

The same notifications repeated ten times each turn, so he was taking roughly 10 million points of damage per turn.

That was a lot of energy.

Anton walked right up to the center, modified his eyelids with Malleable Body, and made them into welder's goggles so he could look at the explosions going off. As he watched, the silhouette of a Selechi in full armor appeared and exploded. The explosion didn't happen from any specific point. No, the person seemed to explode from every single point at once.

It only took a moment for Anton to realize those morons were trying to follow him into this Multiverse, which they were not compatible with. What happened when antimatter touched matter, even in the Astral Plane, as it passed into this Universe? Nothing good, obviously.

The fact that they were following him was worrisome, but the release of energy was a pressing issue in the present moment. While the explosion didn't even tickle him with his more than 72 million points of physical resistance, if the energy level rose to a point that allowed the Astral Plane to rupture and then leak that energy into the world. Well, the two million mana he'd left in the area that had caused the rapid plant mutations and growth would not be a temporary problem any longer.

He had a few ideas on how to deal with this, but the one that would probably do the least harm was allowing his void core to absorb the energy that was being released with each explosion. Anton held out his hand and activated his Void Core.

The change in his Cores manifested for the first time. That's when he realized that his body had formed new channels that the void was already in. With a thought, the energy around him began to flow into his hands, through his body, and into his core. This didn't dent the amount of energy that had been released. Anton willed more and more of his void channels to open until the energy that flooded the Astral Plane began flowing into him at an incredible rate.

As the energy flowed into him, Anton tried to extend the range that his void could reach. After a moment, he realized that it was a function of his Aura, which was incredibly strong. He reached out and felt his Aura affect the energy, directing it back toward him. Like a magnetic field, the draw was much stronger near him, but through his aura, he sensed the changes in energy and encouraged that energy to move toward him. When that energy came within 256 feet of him, it flooded into his void channel and through them into his core at an incredible speed.

While he worked on drawing in the energy that had expanded outward through the Astral Plane, explosions kept going off in front of him. That energy was immediately sucked up by his void channels. He could sense the energy being drawn to him and noticed that it seemed to be thinning out. This was not a quick process. He checked his SYSTEM clock and watched as seconds turned into turns, then minutes, until an hour had passed. After three hours, he began to feel less and less energy outside the 256-foot radius where his control seemed absolute. During that time, the explosions continued to occur, seemingly once every turn.

This series of events reminded him of that time on SG1 when Anubis kept sending his Jaffa to Earth, only for them to slam into the Stargate Iris. Except in this case, they were being annihilated as their atoms came into contact with other atoms that were completely anathema to them.

Anton considered what was going on for a moment and then had a thought. Did souls also have a charge? He had his cores, and his soul was in there somewhere, he was sure, but did it have a charge? If it had a charge what was happening to it when in came into contact with this place?

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Anton adjusted his aura a bit and began looking for evidence of other souls. If they were dying here in this Astral Plane, their souls should be visible before they moved on. If his aura was able to suppress and even kill others, could he utilize it to detect them and their souls?

One thing he noticed as he focused his will was that if his goal was possible, it was achieved within moments, not minutes, but seconds or less than a second. His senses reached out through his aura to the spot where they were appearing and focused on it. Then it was as if his Aura was the mask the Predator used in the movie of the same name, and he felt and saw the world begin shifting through frequencies rapidly. As there was only one explosion every ten seconds, it was a few minutes before his aura zeroed in on an energy pattern that didn't match anything else he was detecting.

With his aura, he watched as the physical body annihilated itself, followed a microsecond by a form that was released and then vaporized, before all that was left was a pearlescent dispersed energy that was drawn into himself. He was drawing that energy into himself? No, he was drawing that energy into his Void core.

He quickly opened his Status. A quick check indicated that Chaos and Order attributes were increasing by 5,000 each time there was an explosion. Currently, both attributes were sitting at 5,401,810. Did those two attributes have any effect, since he didn't feel any different? Of course, they were balanced, so did that mean that they were canceling each other out?

He really had no idea.

One thing was for sure: the Selechi were appearing, exploding, and their souls were getting shredded. As he began to consider how to prevent this breach from destroying the Manifold Multiverse, he was in, a few Notifications appeared.

Congratulations! You have discovered how to utilize your Aura to maintain awareness of your surroundings.

The Psionic Power, Ominsense is automatically upgraded to include all ranks through Mythical and Augmented so that all Ranks may be utilized for one (1) Psychic Energy per second or ten (10) Psychic Energy per turn. 240 Spell Slots have been allocated to this Psionic Power automatically.

Congratulations! You have discovered the skill Aura Sense. This skill is highly synergistic with the Psionic Power Omnisense. They will be combined.

NOTE: Spell Slots are NOT Refunded.

Aura Sense

Rank: Mythical

Skill Slots: 204 (36 (Base) + 204 ( 36 Augments))

Sphere/Domain: Space, Soul, Spirit, Mental

Range: up to 100,000,000 Feet (18,939 Miles).

Area of effect: A 2,000-foot-diameter sphere within range.

Upkeep: 1 PE per second (10 PE per turn) while active.

Duration: As Desired.

While active, you can sense everything within range in any area you focus on.

WARNING! If you wish to scan everything within a spherical area, your Intelligence, Perception, and Willpower attributes must be greater than the radius of the spherical area you want to scan. If you wish to scan a 10-foot diameter sphere, your attributes must be greater than 3,140; a 100-foot diameter sphere requires attributes equal to or greater than 3,140,000, and so on. Extending your maximum area of effect may be possible. Doing so will force your body to become catatonic as your mind processes the information.

Your range is up to 100,000,000 feet, but you may only scan a 2,000-foot-diameter sphere at any given moment as you focus your attention on that area within your range limit. It is recommended that you do not can an area greater than 2,000 feet in diameter. You can try, but doing so will overload your mind until it has processed all the information gathered. The Area of Effect has been set at a 1,000-foot radius around the target location to prevent this. Example: With your current attributes, if you scan everything within a 10,000-foot radius of yourself, your body will shut down for just under 15 minutes. If you tried to do the same and increase the area of effect to the standard area for Mythical Spells and Psionic Powers, a 100,000,000-foot radius, you would remain catatonic for 300,436.2 centuries.

You may easily scan everything with 1,000 feet of yourself. If you override the limitations of this skill, your body will shut down. You have been warned.

Aura Sense allows you to scan everything within your area of effect while active. If centered on yourself, you become aware of everything within a 1,000-foot radius. This improves your ability to detect and counter any attacks, as well as prevents anyone from sneaking up on you.

It should be noted that individuals with strong auras can be detected across dimensional boundaries. Normally, any creatures of Uncommon rank or higher.

Additionally, creatures created primarily of Chaos and Order are also easily detected across dimensional boundaries within the area of effect. Through the Dimensional barriers they will shine, as you now do. If you encounter order and chaos-based creatures in the realm you are currently in, they will not stand out as much, though you may still be able to discern their origin if your Aura Sense is strong enough

Anything perceived by Aura Sense is considered perceived for other skills, spells, and powers.

Perceived areas will automatically update your Skill, Basic Map.

Skills, Spells, and Powers of equal or higher rank that create stealth effects that thwart magic and/or technology may thwart this skill.

Note: The density of barriers and the environment does not reduce the range of this skill. Skills, Spells, and Powers that block Spirit and Soul magic may reduce the ability of this skill to perceive those protected by such skills, spells, and psionic powers.

Anton read the Notifications and smiled as he activated Aura Sense and began testing it. He set the Area of Effect to a 2,000-foot diameter and ensured it was at the maximum setting; going catatonic was not something he wanted to do. Then he began moving the 2,000-foot sphere in a horizontal spiral around himself, followed by a vertical one, and then moved it to cover the areas that the two spirals missed until he had covered every foot within the 200,000,000-foot diameter sphere surrounding him.

Twenty-eight minutes later, he was done while he continued to absorb the energy from the explosions happening in front of him. As he thought about how he looked, a laugh escaped him. He was butt-assed naked, standing in front of an explosion that was sucked into himself while he just stood there. He had to admit, being able to utilize the void, while still having access to technically magical effects, even if they were powered by his mind, was nice.

Now, though, he'd put off this Selechi problem long enough. This new skill opened up a possibility he hadn't had before, now to see if his ideas would work. Anton brought the area of effect back over the point in front of him and focused on the point where each Selechi was appearing before they exploded. As he suspected, right at the point where a Selechi's cores should be, there was a thread of space, time, and gravity mana that dropped out of the Astral Plane. It didn't go into the material plane here, and it didn't appear to drop into any of the demi-planes or ethereal plane, so he was sure it was what he was looking for.

With his access to the SYSTEM re-established, his Title Fons Genesis Knowledge was in full effect, and information flooded his mind concerning the fundamental theories that governed the various magical elements, realms, and dimensions. There wasn't any available information concerning the idea of a Manifold Multiverse, but for his purposes, the information he was going to base his attempt on was accessible.

If there was a Manifold Multiverse and he was able to travel between two Multiverses that were polar opposites of each other and annihilated each other on contact, the only forces that might be able to exist simultaneously would be Chaos and Null, or the Void. Chaos, because it quite literally consisted of everything, and Void, because it consisted of nothing. Of course, every other magical sphere would exist, but they would all contain a charge compatible with the multiverse they were in. They might behave precisely the same, but they would be different.

While he had chaos, it wasn't something he fully understood. Void, though, he had void, and his body adapted to the Multiverse when he appeared within it. Another property of the void was that in a true void, there was nothing. You couldn't measure distance because there was nothing to measure against. You couldn't travel through the void because there was nothing to push against physically. Everything he'd witnessed indicated that will was the driving force when interacting with the void, and his will was strong.

Anton reached out to the point where the conduit appeared and pushed the void into the tether through the Manifold barrier. Next, he reached with his Aura, through the void to the other side of the link, which had a distance of zero, while the void was superimposed over it. It worked, and he was soon viewing the other side of the tether with Aura Sense.

The Selechi had created another portal device. There was a line of soldiers, one by one, making their way forward and stepping onto the platform to chase after him. There was a long line of soldiers. The next in line paused and jumped back as the void energy Anton had released filled the place he needed to step into. While the soldiers watched the void energy warily, Anton chose a device nearby that looked to be controlling the platform his void energy was currently filling, and reached through it to connect.

Once connected, he dropped into his Mindspace, entered his Technological Center, and went to work. In quick order, he'd figured out who was in charge, where they were in the chamber with the portal device that was allowing them to track him, and how they were doing so. Unfortunately, the how led to a device, but not to the individuals who figured out how or where the information came from that allowed them to figure it out. He then looked to see if copies of that information had been created. The answer to that question was, of course, yes. It was stored on a backup terminal outside the current building they were in, but well within his 1,000-foot range.

Anton reached out with his Aura Sense until he found that secondary computer. Created an Electronic Bridge to it and downloaded the information into his memory. Once he was done, he made an Advanced-Ranked Void Bolt and vaporized the terminal, the table it sat on, the monitor, and a good five feet around it.

As an alarm sounded, Anton targeted the primary scientist who had created the portal device with his Legendary version of Void Bolt. The scientist and the other ten individuals around him were immediately annihilated. A quick records check verified that everyone who could know how to send people after him had just died. Unfortunately, he only received 450 XP for their deaths. That experience penalty was high.

As the alarm continued to go off in a Multiverse that was both incredibly far and within his range, he cast his Mythically ranked Void Bolt at the platform the Selechi had been stepping onto before they arrived and exploded. The Void Bolt appeared and slammed into the platform, and the destructive energy of the Void reached out and destroyed 464 cubic feet around the platform, as well as anyone who happened to be standing in that area. The void absorbed it all before winking out of existence.

With Aura Sense, Anton verified that there was now a sphere of nothing where the portal machine had been, which the void energy he'd extended floated at the center of. Alarms were screaming in the distance as various soldiers ran toward the crater that the void energy had made. If he wanted to, Anton could teleport through this void conduit that he'd created normally. He wasn't going to, but he could. So, he memorized the area around the crater, became familiar with it, and discovered a small cave five hundred feet underground that he could fit into. If and when he wanted to return to his original Multiverse, he should now be able to, once he had a teleport spell that didn't require Line-of-Sight. He really needed to find a place to hunker down and create Spells and Psionic Powers while linked with The SYSTEM, whichever SYSTEM was available.

Anton withdrew Aura Sense and then withdrew the void from the conduit he'd created. There hadn't been an explosion in the last minute, so he was pretty sure their idiotic attempt to follow him was over.

A quick check let him know that the cooldown on that last Void Bolt would be almost four months. The Legendary Ranked Void Bolt's cooldown would be nearly twelve days, and the Advanced Void Bolt would be just three hours.

Next, he checked his Notifications and was thoroughly disappointed. He had gained no experience from the idiots committing suicide, nor did he gain any experience from stopping the explosion. He had killed 115 Selechi on the other side of the dimensional barrier, which had awarded him a total of 5,175 experience, which was divided among his eight classes, or 647 XP per class. Treasure-wise, he was only awarded what the SYSTEM granted, which was 5,175 silver.

Just as he was about to go down into a negative spiral about how no good deed goes unpunished, Notifications appeared.

Quest Complete

You have gone above and beyond in your pursuit to complete the quest "Maintain the Balance."

You have stabilized the Astral Plane

You have destroyed the mechanism utilized to destabilize the Astral Plane

You have killed the scientist responsible for creating the technology utilized to destabilize the Astral Plane of Manifold Multiverse.

You have killed every other scientist aware of the research with the ability to create a portal device capable of destabilizing the Astral Plane.

Primary Reward: An Additional Ability Slot has been unlocked.

Primary Reward: Class Ability Transverse Manifold Unlocked.

Transverse Manifold

This Ability enhances and builds upon what is already known from the Skill Transverse Reality and allows the Planeswalker to cross any Dimensional, Realm, Plane, Reality, or Manifold barrier.

Please note that you do NOT change the world around you; instead, YOU cross through dimensional and planar barriers until you come to a place that matches the environment you desire. Minor changes require less focus and energy. Larger changes in the environment and travel through the greater dimensional barriers that separate the Basic, Intrinsic, Higher, Supernatural, and Fundamental planes will cost more. Crossing a Manifold Barrier requires the most energy.

Focusing on moving through physical planes that match the world you're in with relatively minor changes requires 10e ("e" represents either mana or psychic energy, as this Class Skill can utilize both) per dimensional crossing. Crossing from worlds within the physical universes into the higher and alternate dimensions costs more. Energy requirements are as follows:

Minor changes to Prime Material Plane: 10e per Dimensional Crossing

Crossing into one of the Eight (8) Basic Elemental Planes and Demi-Elemental Planes and Dimensions: 100e

Intrinsic: 1,000e per dimensional crossing

Higher: 10,000e per dimensional crossing

Supernatural: 100,000e per dimensional crossing.

Fundamental: 1,000,000e to enter either plane, of which there is only one.

Manifold: 1,000,000,000e per Manifold crossing.

Note: All costs must be paid immediately. This ability cannot be channeled. If the Planeswalker runs out of energy, the ability deactivates, and the Planeswalker is left in the dimension or plane they are currently in.

Traveling to locations you have visited will be easier. Your ability to do so is entirely dependent on your ability to hold an image of your destination in your mind while utilizing this ability. Therefore, those with higher Perception, Intelligence, Willpower, and in some cases Luck will have a higher degree of success using this ability.

WARNING! This ability is only available to those who have incorporated the class Planeswalker into their Primary Core.

UPDATE: The Planeswalker Mythical Core-based Perk "Instant Travel" modifies this ability as so

Instead of walking, the Ability Transverse Manifold can create a doorway directly to your destination for a cost in mana and/or Psychic Energy equal to ten times the normal travel cost. Allocate the mana and/or Psychic Energy to create a portal to your destination, and regardless of distance, it will appear.

Warning: Such portals are unstable. It is strongly recommended that you do not allow anyone else to access the portal you created.

Bonus Reward: For preventing the deaths of countless entities due to a Manifold Breach, all negative Karmic Luck is absolved, and one million positive Karmic Luck is awarded.

Bonus Reward: Quest reward for Seal the Breach. Common, Uncommon, and Rare Crafting Materials for Enchanting and Alchemy. All items have been added to your Personal Storage.

Bonus Reward: Quest reward for Seal the Breach. Maximum Class Level Adjustment. The maximum limit of Level 100 has been rescinded. You may continue to level beyond class level 100 for each Rank.

Bonus Reward: You have earned eight billion Experience.

Bonus Reward: You have earned eight billion credits.

Anton finished reading his notifications as a feeling came over him. He suddenly felt exhausted. He quickly checked his Status and noticed that he had undergone significant changes. Every one of his class levels was wrong. He considered that he should try to get somewhere safe, as he saw that his common-ranked class had increased from level 96 all the way to level 418. Before he could check the rest of his classes, he felt the Astral Plane shift around him as his body fell onto the grass of an overgrown field. He was asleep before his head hit the ground.