New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

They brought Alexander to a location that wasn't far from the hospital he left from. But the building looked a lot more like a lab facility than a healthcare center.

The inside was filled with rooms that were filled with tools he couldn't recognize. The only solace he had was that where he thought they would put him in a cell, they instead gave him a comfortable room.

Mr. Boudreau promised Alex he wouldn't be kept here long. They just wanted to run a few tests.

"You said at the hospital that you might know what is happening to me. What makes you think that?"

"Because, Mr. Leduc, you aren't the only one to whom it's happening. And if our suspicions are correct, a certain woman in high places will have some explaining to do."

Alexander could infer what woman the man was talking about through his own suspicions and the information David had given him. But to think someone else was already finding out about it, made him think the woman in question wasn't being very careful.

A guard then walked in to explain which zones Alexander could go, and which to stay away from. He was also given times at which meals would be served, and the palace to go get them.

It was almost lunchtime, so after the guard left, Alex started heading in the cafeteria's direction. The signs on the walls made it easy for him to navigate, so he easily found the place.

Many people were present in the cafeteria, most of them in lab coats or other doctor and nurse attire. But one person stood out from the lot.

A young boy, around the same age as Violette. He was also dressed in the same clothes as Alex, ergo a green outfit, matching pants and white shoes.

He was sitting at a table alone, eating his food with rapt hunger. Almost like he hadn't been fed in days.

If these facts alone weren't enough to separate him from the masses, another thing grabbed Alex's attention.

The boy was eating with his spoon, while spinning his other hand in the air beside him. And right under that hand, a fork was dancing over the table.

Alexander's eyes immediately focused, seeing the light green particles floating around the fork.

'Wind magic! This kid is a player!"

This explained how the old man knew about the condition. But how was this kid already so adept at controlling something so foreign as mana?

He then thought back to another person who had rapidly grasped the basics. Violette!

'Are kids more receptive to the changes? Wouldn't that mean that they have a better chance of surviving?'

Alexander thought about what David had told him previously. But every time they talked, David never mentioned kids in the future.

Almost like the subject held no meaning. This was either a terrible thing, or David didn't want to tell him just yet how important a part they played.

Alexander stopped staring and grabbed a tray of food. He then walked directly to the table the kid was sitting at.

When he sat down, the kid lost concentration, his fork dropping to the table.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

The child nodded cautiously before resuming his trick, ignoring the man at his table.

Alexander understood why the kid was shy, since they didn't know each other. But he still tried getting his attention again.

For lack of a better idea, Alex tried doing some magic of his own to elicit a reaction. But after trying for two minutes straight, nothing was happening.

He remembered he was more skilled at sensing it than using it, even in the game. He wasn't a dedicated mage, after all.

Magic was just a tool for him. But another idea flashed in his mind.

Something specific to him.

Alex concentrated again, looking deep within himself, trying to feel the part of his soul where White would usually be inside New Eden. After a few seconds, he finally felt a brief flicker of power light up.

'Ahh, there you are.'

Alexander visualized himself reaching out to that little white flame and touching it. As soon as he did, all the surrounding sounds started getting increasingly louder, and he knew he had succeeded.

When he opened his eyes, claws were already growing on his hands, and by the reflection on his stainless utensils, he could see his hair changing colour.

The child sitting next to him had acute mana senses, because he felt his aura change and pivoted his head to look at him. His eyes went wide as he stopped spinning his hand.

His fork dropped to the table once more.

"It's you! You're player Astaroth!"

Alex smiled at him.

"I'm surprised you know me. Do you play New Eden?"

"Of course I do! I wasn't lucky enough to get into the tournament, but I watched every second. I had to lock my screen on your cameras, since what you were doing was the most interesting."

"Oh? So I take it I have a fan," Alex responded, smiling wider.

"I'm a HUGE fan! I loved your idea about using wind to speed up your movement speed, and I already adapted it into my fighting style!"

The kid started blabbering about what parts of the tournament were his favourite, and which fights had given him the most inspiration.

He even discussed all kinds of tricks he had come up with to make his magic fit more styles of combat. By the details he gave, Alex could tell this kid would grow to be a monster in the game.

Alexander listened to him talk, not interrupting him once. The kid told him about his class, the skills and spells he developed, and what combat style he preferred.

Surprisingly, for Alex, this kid was obviously a mage, but he preferred using his magic at close range. He wasn't using anything as powerful as Phoenix's flame avatar, yet, but what he was describing was ingenious at a bare minimum.

Everything the kid was describing was applied magic he wouldn't be able to use with little practice, but was still a very smart way of using magic.

He even insisted on showing him one spell that he could already use in this body. Alex was about to tell him he didn't need to, but the words escaped him.

The kid had raised his hand high, and Alex's eyes immediately detected the high concentration of wind mana gathering on his hand. When the kid brought the hand down, a whistling sound accompanied it.

*Shweeeee* *Shing*

The boy's hand went right through the table, barely finding any resistance. The metal table now had a straight cut through that spanned half the table's width.

"What the...?"