Connor led Liza and Sam through the forested landscape as they made their way toward the Astral Portal. As they made their way, the two Suns he’d seen in Agent Smith’s memories appeared, but he now knew, at best, they were magical constructs or possibly a projection that was coming through a dimensional membrane. Who knew? This magical crap was changing way too quickly for him to keep up with.
“So, when we find the cats, we’re going to try to let me get one to join my Clowder, right?” Liza asked.
“I don’t care unless they attack. Besides, if the cat somehow becomes tied to you and can be summoned to your side from the Astral, like a black panther in one of my favorite series, that could be really useful,” Connor answered.
Sam just smiled, “Whatever. You do you. If it attacks, I’ll help as much as I can.”
The rest of the trip was made in relative silence as they enjoyed the walk through the forest. Connor saw squirrels, rabbits, deer, and an occasional bear, which looked their way and then headed in the opposite direction. Connor wasn’t sure if it was Liza or himself that scared them away.
Connor felt the moment the portal entered his perception range and noted that portal was in the side of the bubble that housed this Pocket Realm. Eyes of Eris picked up the physical barrier that enclosed the area, but the membrane acted like a view screen showing more forest and an open sky beyond everywhere except where the ten-foot-high archway stood. In that location, a flowing cloud of pink mist swirled on the other side of a barrier that he couldn’t see, but it seemed to hold the flowing mists to the other side of the barrier.
“I can see the portal. It’s set against the wall of the barrier,” Connor said to his two companions.
“Can you see on the other side?” Sam asked.
“No. It’s clouded over with a pink hazy mist that blocks any vision.”
“How long until we get to it?” Liza asked.
“At our current walking speed, about five minutes.”
“All right, then, what’s the plan?” Sam asked.
Connor brushed aside a branch that was sticking out from one of the trees as he thought about the different ways they could do this. If he went first, he should be able to handle most things that popped up. If he let them go first and there was a cat on the other side, Liza might have had a better chance at taming the cats or at least convincing them not to attack the three of them.
“Hey, you two, I’m going to go first. Give me about a minute, and then step through. I’ll stay by the entrance if nothing is going on. If there is something, I’ll draw whatever it is away from the portal."
“Are you sure you don’t want to step through together to make sure we don’t get separated?” Sam asked.
“Now that you’ve mentioned it, That’s probably a good idea. The portal is wide enough that if I step through first while each of you has a hand on my shoulder, we should be okay, especially if we all activate Stealth,” Connor said.
As they neared the portal, Connor noticed that no creatures seemed to be within one hundred feet of it. When they crossed the one-hundred-foot threshold, he immediately understood why when he received two new notifications.
Mana Density has increased to 200%.
Mana Regeneration Rates have doubled.
“Nice!” Liza whispered.
“Why would this area have a higher Mana Density? I mean, even the portal off of Earth only increased to 100%. That area didn’t really extend onto Earth,” Sam said.
“I wonder if the Astral Plane has areas like Ley Lines or Mana Nodes?” Connor offered. Regardless, let's take advantage of this and recast any spells we have or might need,” Connor said.
“Sounds Good,” Liza said, followed almost immediately by the Sam when he said, “Sure.”
Connor recast Force Daggers of Throwing and slowed down a bit so he could recover the 1,000 mana he’d just used in just over a minute. Every other spell he had he could activate if he needed to. The three walked up within twenty feet of the portal and waited.
After two minutes, Sam said, “Ready.”
“Me too,” Liza offered.
“All right. I was waiting for you two. Step in behind me, and each of you put a hand on my shoulder. Then we Stealth and step through together. I’ll give us a verbal count and then activate telepathy on the other side so we can communicate privately,” Connor explained.
They moved into position, activated Stealth, and Connor gave them a count. By the time they’d taken three steps, they were moving in sync as they approached and stepped through the portal. Connor stepped through. He felt their hands on his shoulders and could see them Eyes of Eris even though they were stealthed. As they stepped through the portal, the tactile sensation of their fingers holding his shoulders seemed to lessen, and Connor watched as their bodies seemed to turn red and then fade into and through the infrared spectrum until they were gone.
Connor stood still. He’d watched them step through the portal. He’d felt them touching him, and they’d vanished. He quickly took in the area on the other side of the portal, and as Elder Vinlan had said, this area of the Astral Plane resembled the forested area he’d just left, even though it felt a bit different. Three large tigers were resting on the branches of a single tree well within his 10,000-foot perception radius, but they seemed to be napping. Otherwise, the forested area was clear of everything save birds, squirrels, and rabbits.
As he turned to look at where Liza and Sam had just been, he noticed that his Notification icon was blinking but hadn’t allowed the information to pop into his vision yet.
SYSTEM Connection Re-established.
Temporal Displacement Noted.
Temporal Displacement is not authorized for individuals with Unfettered Ability
Unfettered Master Class Rank Noted.
Temporal reintegration halted.
Connor looked back through the portal and sighed before he very loudly said, “Well, Shit!”
Before the tigers could react to him, Connor stepped back through the portal and found himself once again in the Pocket Realm that should Contain Elder Vinlan. He quickly activated Flight and then made his way back to the elven village before heading on to the portal and exiting the Pocket Realm through the portal back to Earth.
If what Elder Vinlan had said was accurate, Both Liza and Sam had been flung forward to a moment after their removal from the original timeline or to time after the explosion that accounted for the time they’d spent in the past. It had been what, two days, maybe three. Still, if they appeared in the Astral Plane at that point, he could try to meet them, but he’d be taking the long way to get there. It was one of the reasons he’d left immediately. He didn’t want to alter the past of the area they were about to appear in.
Additionally, he didn’t want to upset the balance with the elves any more than he already had, so back to Earth, he would go. There were a few loose ends he wanted to tie up and a few more things he might try to do to help Earth prepare for the SYSTEM Integration. With that in mind, Conner surrounded himself in a needle-like force barrier projection and headed toward Hoover Dam. He needed to talk to Mr. Pinkerton again.
With his increased Endurance, Constitution, and Agility, as well as his high Perception, Connor remained under five hundred feet and flew just under the speed of sound at about 650 miles per hour. The military had sent an interceptor before; they’d probably do it again, so he stayed low and subsonic. He also did this to give himself time to think about his next course of action.
He headed east just above the trees and mountains until he came out on the east side of the Shata Trinity National Forest by Tennant, California. From there, he stayed away from the mountain ranges and followed the roads to the southeast. He’d follow roads where he could and stay away from airports. That isn’t to say there weren’t a few close calls, but Eyes of Eris ensured that anything that could have possibly collided with him was either dodged or, if their rate of closure was just a bit faster than he liked, he simply used Shadow Sept to appear on the opposite side of the vehicle. That only happened once then when it could have only been a spec ops military vehicle without running lights lit up his perception field on a direct head-on course. Still, he had a full four seconds to react and could have dodged but decided that the head-on wind shear was going to be bad enough.
For 1,000 mana, Connor Shadow Stepped 10,000 feet. His Common Shadow Affinity let him move as if he was one rank higher than the mana he spent. Theoretically, he could spend 10,000 mana to move 100,000 feet or even 100,000 mana to travel one million feet or 189 miles, but there was no need to burn up his Mana Reserve. He only needed to dodge the aircraft, which he did.
Except for that near miss, the flight was rather relaxing. He allowed the information he picked up to flow into his mind without really concentrating on any one thing. At the same time, he looked at road signs, checked maps in rest areas he came across, and continuously updated his internal map, which he suddenly realized wasn’t tied to a skill. He was holding this idea of a map in his mind and adding to it with his mind. Mapping skills would be incredibly useful, especially with Eyes of Eris.
Connor pulled up his Status Screen. He still had eight unused Skill Slots and 233 unused spell slots. A mapping function would be better as a skill, and it would have to be as good as Eyes of Eris, which was currently at Advanced Rank or Tier IV. At least he knew what he was going to create next.
Next, he reviewed all of his current Titles, Perks, Skills, and Spells. He could visit the Department of Motor Vehicles or Social Security Office and use the computers there to create a fake identity with all appropriate paperwork. He was going to need that to move the funds from Juan Perez’s Cartel accounts to himself. Of course, if he somehow were forced back to the future, this would all be moot, but if he were stuck in the past for the next 22 years, having more money than Elon Musk almost 20 years before he was named the wealthiest man in the world officially would make it a whole lot easier to live off the grid while he tried to prepare humanity for what was coming.
Connor brought his attention back to his flight path and continued southeast toward Las Vegas. He passed to the east of Reno, Silver Springs, and Walker Lake. After that, it was mostly bluffs and desert landscapes with the mountains west and south of him. From that point, it was relatively easy to follow I95 south into Las Vegas and over the Sam’s Club and Walmart they’d visited before leaving town. He slowed down considerably and dismissed his Force Barrier construct while keeping Stealth active. Twenty minutes later, he was over the Hover Damn Casino and watching as Mr. Pinkerton saw to the management of the Casino.
A quick use of Shadow Step put him into an empty male bathroom on the Casino floor. He dropped Stealth and stepped out. Agent Smith was still asleep, even if it was after 1 p.m. locally. That had nothing to do with the Memory Download he’d performed; at least it shouldn’t have. It was at least twelve hours later; he should have been back up within 10 minutes. That was fine, though; it gave him more time to get out and check on things.
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Connor walked onto the Casino floor and headed directly for Mr. Pinkerton. To Connor, the look of veiled surprise that showed on Mr. Pinkerton's face was easily discernable, though he had to admit he did a very good job of hiding it.
“Mr. Baker! Back so soon,” Mr. Pinkerton said.
Connor smiled like the cat who was about to eat his cream, “Yes, I believe we need to go somewhere and talk,”
“I would be happy to bring you to my office so we can talk,” Mr. Pinkerton said as he pushed one of three buttons on a remote in his hand. With Eyes of Eris, Connor watched as four men in security uniforms moved into Mr. Pinkerton's office to set up an ambush. Connor smiled; Mr. Pinkerton was making this too easy.
As they walked to the office, Connor waited until they were within one hundred feet of it and cast Control Technological Device. With Eyes of Eris, he located and targeted the Security System in Mr. Pinkerton’s office and turned it off. As they stepped up to the door, Connor gestured to Mr. Pinkerton, “Please, after you, I insist.”
As Mr. Pinkerton turned to the door, opened it, and stepped through, Connor activated Stealth. Shadow Stepped into the room behind his desk and cast the Sleep Spell four times, once on each security guard, which knocked them out. Before they could even react, the guards fell to the ground unconscious. Next, he cast Wizard Hands and had his right hand close the door while his left hand grabbed Mr. Pinkerton by the back of the neck and squeezed.
One of the ironies of having a disembodied hand grab you by the back of the neck was that any counter moves to break out of the neck lock would not work; Mr. Pinkerton moved quite fluidly and with training as he made a counter move that would have worked on most regular humans if there had been a body attached to the disembodied hand. Instead, it looked pretty comical as Mr. Pinkerton turned to grab his opponent and found nothing while the hand was still grabbing him by the back of the neck and the other hand was pressed against the door, holding it closed., just in case Mr. Pinkerton tried to open it to leave.
“What?” Mr. Pinkerton asked confusedly as he saw his four security men slumped against the wall and the hand floating in the air pressed up against the door.
Connor dropped Stealth and whispered, “Over here,” in his best Predator imitation.
Mr. Pinkerton pivoted and saw Connor standing behind his desk. His eyes went wide. “What…How…What?”
“You’ve said that; sit down before you fall down,” Connor said.
“You should be dead?” Mr. Pinkerton said as he sat in a seat usually reserved for hotel guests in front of his desk.
“On which subject, Juan Perez or Diego will not be saying hello to you ever again.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about?” Mr. Pinkerton stated flatly.
“So, if I were to tell you that I had all of his bank accounts and information and that all I needed to transfer all of Mr. Perez’s illegal wealth was an account to transfer that wealth into…”
“I’d call you a liar,” Mr. Pinkerton said smugly.
Connor turned the computer monitor on the desk to him. Next, he cast Control Technological Device. Connor bypassed all security protocols, pulled up Juan Perez’s account, and succinctly transferred all of the money into his Conrad Baker account with the Casino. His funds available went from one million dollars to 237 million dollars within seconds.
Mr. Pinkerton’s eyes went wide, “We’re dead men.”
“No, Juan Perez and Diego, as well as everyone at their house in Boulder and the team that tried to take me out of my room, are dead. You, for now, and I are very much alive, and I would like to keep things that way if we can come to an accommodation.”
“What kind of accommodation.”
“I need the best fake IDs on the market. Something tells me you know who to talk to,” Connor said.
“And why would I do this for you?” Mr. Pinkerton asked.
“Aside from self-preservation,” Connor said as he pulled out one of Juan Perez’s suitcases with one million dollars in it and set it on the desk between them, “This is one million dollars. It is for you to use to get me a fake Birth Certificate and driver’s license and to set up a bank account with 1,000 dollars in it. Whatever is left over is yours. Also, while you’re setting up my documentation, I would suggest that you also set up a bank account for yourself in Switzerland, specifically UBS AG or, as they’re also known, UBS Global. Once I have my papers in hand, I will transfer half of the money that was in the account here into your account in Switzerland.”
Mr. Pinkerton looked at Connor disbelievingly. “You’re going to give me 118.5 million dollars for a Birth Certificate, Driver's license, and a bank account set up for Conrad Baker, for which you’re giving me this one million dollars and an additional 118.5 million dollars from the money you just stole from Juan Perez? That sounds almost too good to be true.”
“You're right; it does sound too good to be true, and yes, I can do this without you; it’s just going to take longer. I would prefer to have contact in the game. Additionally, no one, and I mean no one, is to know of our deal. I can understand how you couldn’t say no to the Cartels; I don’t even begrudge you that, but make no mistake. Very soon, you're going to realize that everyone who attacked me and my friends today is dead and gone. Everyone. No one will ever find their bodies. Their families will never know where they went, and after discovering what Diego and Perez have done throughout their miserable lives, no one should.
“Why are you telling me this?” Mr. Pinkerton asked.
Connor smiled, “Because, while you never personally attacked me, you were part of it. That was one. If you ever reach two, no one will find you either.” Connor let the silence fill the room for a moment before he continued, “So, which will it be: stay on my good side, get rich, and maybe come out ahead of the mess you were involved with, or remain loyal to a dead man?”
“That’s just it,” I don’t know that he’s dead?”
“Very well,” Connor said as he transferred the briefcase full of money to his inventory, activated Stealth, and Shadow Stepped to the roof. He could have killed Mr. Pinkerton; in fact, he really wanted to. Instead, he added his name to a list he was putting together. When he returned to the future, everyone who survived the Integration would die. But right now, he did not want to create a paradox that would force him forward in time. Nope, right now, it was all about making as few ripples in time as possible. So, the hard way, it was.
Connor activated Flight and moved over to the hills just south of Callville Bay Park and the marina just north of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. Behind the hills was a nice little spot that was out of sight of the houses and the water. People on the other side of the river, almost due east of his position that was up high, might be able to see him, but they were at least four miles away if the map he was using was accurate. Connor landed, cast Astral Pocket, and stepped inside.
He could worry about Liza and Sam, but they were on the other side of a barrier that he would eventually reach, and there was nothing he could do about it right this second. Maybe later, but not right now. No, now he was going to do two things. The first was to activate a skill that acted as a Personal Map or Mapped everything around him. The second was to create another skill that would allow him to morph and change his physical features so he could change Identities whenever he wanted. He didn’t want it to be an illusion; his body actually needed to change, so it would probably have to be a skill.
Connor moved into the dining room and sat down as he mediated, focused on the skill he wanted to create, and activated Malleable Skills.
Unfettered Status Noted
SYSTEM Link established.
Searching General Database
Skill: “Basic Map” meets the criteria for the requested skill.
Requirements to learn Skill:
100 Mana
One free Skill Slot per level of Core, Five Skill Slots required.
Congratulations! You have learned the Skill “Basic Map.”
Basic Map
Rank: Master
Required Materials: None
Range 100,000 feet (18.9 miles)
Mana Cost: None. It requires 100% mana density of the environment within range. A low mana density will have an adverse effect on his skill.
In the areas of Low Mana Density, this skill will not update your internal map.
This skill creates an interactive map that may be accessed and reviewed at any location you have previously visited after the skill is acquired. The map is updated whenever your perception sweeps over the area.
Areas outside of your perception range or that are blocked by your perception have not been updated.
Typically, the map can be viewed as an overlay that does not block your vision. However, you can move your point of view onto the map and view anywhere you have visited as if you are in the area. In this mode, odors and sounds that were present during the last update will be present if you witnessed them originally.
Connor reviewed the new skill and then opened it, which contained information concerning the entirety of his Astral Pocket. Activating the interactive aspect of the skill was as simple as making it happen. Suddenly, he was within the map and able to move to every position and take a look at it. That function could come in really handy when Eyes of Eris was involved. In the heat of the moment, he might shunt critical information to deal with combat, but later, he could review the area and look for anything he missed.
Connor returned to his senses and fell into Meditation again before focusing on a skill that would allow him to alter his physical form as he activated Malleable Skills.
Unfettered Status Noted
SYSTEM Link established.
Searching General Database
Searching Common Skill Database.
The skill available does not meet the criteria sought.
Searching Uncommon Skill Database
The skill available does not meet the criteria sought.
Searching Rare Skill Database
The skill available meets 75% of the criteria sought.
Note: Current Skill Points available: 3. Higher Database Searches are not available at this time.
Rare Skill: Transfiguration
Requirements to learn Skill:
10,000 Mana
Three free Skill Slots. This is NOT a Growth-based skill.
This skill allows you to make superficial changes to your appearance. These changes are physical in nature and will hold up to all physical examinations:
You may adjust your appearance by spending 1,000
Adjustments that this skill allows you to make:
Hair may be lengthened or shortened as you desire.
Height may be adjusted by three inches.
Facial and body features may be adjusted as desired and may even mimic other races, though you do not take on the genetic aspects of the race. Tracking based on sent will still identify you as human. You still require Oxygen to breathe; You are predominately a land-based entity, etc.…
You may also Molt, which will remove any foreign DNA or materials from your body.
The changes will last until this skill is activated again.
Would you like to learn the skill Transfiguration for three Skill Points, Yes or No?
Connor chose yes and activated the skill. His point of view shifted to a room where a copy of his body stood before him, and a disembodied feminine voice spoke.
Welcome to the Modification Chamber. You may enter this area as you wish to set up the preset configuration for your Transfiguration Skill. Here, you can detail the modifications and changes you would like to make and then store up three different preset configurations in addition to what you usually look like, which will be referred to as your default from this point forward. Think about the changes you would like to see, and they will be added to your simulacrum. When you are ready to accept the changes, save the configuration and implement it, and you will change to the new form within one turn, provided you have enough mana to activate the skill.
When Connor was finished, he’d created three different presets; one was black, one was Asian, and the third was a man who looked nothing like him but was the same height. He chose that form to activate. He felt a moment of haziness in his senses as his hair grew to shoulder-length hair, blue eyes turned blue, and what some women would call a Brad Pitt-like look; no one should recognize him when he stepped out of the Astral Pocket. First, though, he was going to rest for an hour or so and recover the mana he’d spent flying to Las Vegas.
Of course, while he waited, he might as well try his Create Food spell out. He created a T-Bone Steak and then the sides to go with it. Sure, it required him to cast the spell multiple times, but inside the Astral Pocket, that wasn’t a problem. As he sat down to tuck in and eat his meal, he modified the wall in the dining area so that it resembled a whiteboard with “Naughty List” at the top. Directly underneath the title, “Agent Smith” and then “Mr. Pinkerton” appeared.
Connor was going to make a list, and he would check it twice when he didn’t have to worry about creating a paradox. While he ate, he combed through Diego and Perez’s memories and added a plethora of names to his “Naughty List. None of those monsters deserved to live in a world with magic and superhuman strength. He’d make sure of it if they ever crossed his path.
