The next thing I did was check out where Emil’s portal signature was coming from. I considered going to his house first, but didn’t know if he had family there. The media stories called him a loner, but I couldn’t rely upon that. He’d already been in prison for over six months now, although from the little that Anika had told me about him, he’d been acting erratically for months before that.

  I packed up food and any supplies that I could think of. I decided not to take a gun, because my base stats should be sufficient to get me out of trouble. I didn’t expect that I was bullet proof, or at least not entirely. That led to more research. Apparently, with a twenty to twenty-five times increase in durability, my skin would be mostly bullet proof to handgun fire. It would have to increase radically beyond that to withstand something like a 50 caliber.

  Then I thought about my abilities and spells. My mana regen would drop to almost nothing once I left the area around my portal. That meant, I’d only have the mana stored within my items to trigger them as well as my 4,800 mana. I’d have to cast Rapid Flight once. Regen my mana and then still need to cast it twice more to be able to fly to Oslo. That would eat up 300 of my mana and I’d need to save 450 mana to be able to fly home. That wasn’t factoring the need to generate shields while I was flying. I wasn’t sure my eyes were up to flying at over 1800 mph without something to protect them.

  Then I began working through the best approach. I was going to be lying to the guards no matter what. I considered aiming to play, the visiting family member, but that had two flaws. They almost certainly required a pre-set appointment and they would, of course, expect to see some type of identification. I cursed as I thought that Anika’s powers likely would have helped with that, but she was sticking me with this.

  The same sort of problems would appear if I posed as a doctor or lawyer for Emil. With the prison being so small, I didn’t think I’d be able to take out a guard and put his uniform on as a disguise. That worked so well in movies, but since there were only a handful of guards on duty at any given time, I had to believe they all knew each other. Maybe I could pose as a police officer, by taking one’s uniform, but I didn’t know what circumstances an officer would go to the prison for.

  The more I thought about it, the more outlandish my ideas grew. The only bright spot was that auto-translate worked for other Earth languages. Ultimately, I was left with two ways to approach this. I could try to stealth in and take out anyone who got in my way, or I could just go up to the front door and try to overwhelm them with Charisma. I knew it was far beyond any normal human and it certainly garnered me a lot of attention, but guards on duty were not nearly so likely to be taken in.

  In the end, I decided to try the stealth approach. The good news was that the base form of my abilities didn’t require mana, so I should be able to use Stealth. The skill had moved up from basic to a common grade ability after my raid on the warehouse, but it hadn’t produced any significant changes in the abilities description.

  Once I was sure I’d thought of everything I could—I cast my spell and a minute later—I was streaking over Illinois. I didn’t even bother hiding the sonic boom this time. I landed on Newfoundland at its eastern tip in a place called St. John, before recasting my flight spell. About the time I hit the Atlantic Ocean, I wondered why I hadn’t considered asking the Crembori to help with this. They were supposedly experts at abducting and studying humans. But the more I thought about that, the more I decided it was better I hadn’t included them.

  The news reports were still full of stories about UFO sightings and experts were weighing in everyday along with hearings in Congress and at the UN to discuss it all. I shook my head as I flew with a shield in a conical arrow shape, cutting the air in front of me. Earth was in for a very rude awakening and I needed to figure out a way to soften the blow, to somehow get people prepared for it, even though I couldn’t tell them what they were preparing for.

  The human mind is a strange thing. One of the first solutions that popped into my head was the idea of starting a cult. I could claim some land out west and probably find all types who would be blown away by demonstrations of my “power”. The idea made me sick to my stomach even as I considered the practicalities of it.

  Using Emils energy portal as a compass point, I was flying past Ireland, landed somewhere in Scotland to recast flight and flew over the North sea. Soon, I saw land ahead of me and not long after that I could make out Oslo. I slowed and then started taking in the sight of the city. Oslo unfolded beneath me like a meticulously laid out map, its features distinct even from my elevated vantage point. One of the benefits of my enhanced Mind stat was an ability to break everything down systematically. That was at least when emotions didn’t get in the way.

  The city sprawled along the Oslofjord, its waters glimmering in the sunlight, acting as a mirror to the sky above. I noticed the green spaces first—parks and forests dotted throughout, offering a stark contrast to the urban environments of my own home. It looked different than most of the other cities I’d flown over in the US. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but I thought it might grow on me.

  It was early morning, and the low sun cast long shadows across buildings and streets, adding depth and dimension to the landscape. People were already out and moving around, but traffic was still fairly light, especially for the capital. Then again, the entire population of Norway was only like half that of the greater Chicago area.

  Directly below me, the city's architecture was a mix of old and new. Historical buildings with intricate facades neighbored modern structures of glass and steel, showcasing Oslo's blend of tradition and innovation. The streets were neatly organized, with cars moving along the roads and pedestrians starting their day, tiny from my aerial perspective. Given a different situation, I could have imagined how nice it would have been to tour places like this. In fact, I marked that down as something for future me to do. If the Earth was going to be mostly destroyed as a dungeon world, then I might as well see it while I had the chance.

  Then I had to focus again. My attention was drawn to the prison, its location now clear. Oslo Prison, with its formidable structure as far as normal humans would have been concerned, stood apart from the surrounding buildings. It was not the largest structure, but its presence was unmistakable, an island of solemnity amidst the city's bustling life. The irony, if the internet was to be believed, was that one of the buildings in the compound used to be a brewery. After seeing Proximus, the prison walls seemed laughably low. The movements of the guards were sluggish. It was far too easy to slip into thinking, or treating normal humans with contempt. It was going to be important that I not do that, not if I wanted to help as many of them survive what was to come as possible. I could see the main entrance, guarded and secure, with few people visible at this early hour.

  Surrounding the prison were residential areas, the homes and apartments of Oslo's citizens. These neighborhoods were a patchwork of rooftops, gardens, and occasional playgrounds, signs of everyday life unfolding around the stark reality of the prison's existence.

  As I prepared to descend, I focused on the details of the prison's layout, memorizing the positions of entry points and considering my approach. The objective was clear and there was no indication that either of the two guards I’d seen so far had noticed me, nor that any of the citizens in the streets witnessed the man hovering over their city. I reminded myself not to get too cocky, though.

  I decided to burn the extra 150 mana and I recast Stealth Flight again. The extra mobility it gave me might be invaluable, and I didn’t want it to run out while I was sneaking around the prison. This started an hour long clock running for me to find Emil. I made sure that my Stealth ability was activated and then I flew down landing inside the courtyard.

  Landing softly inside the courtyard, barely a whisper above the ground, my feet never made contact with the concrete below. The early morning light cast elongated shadows, creating pockets of darkness that further concealed my presence. The effect of my boots drew more of those shadows to me further obscuring me. I hovered, scanning the area for the nearest entry that would lead me toward the psyche ward where Emil was being held.

  The prison's layout was straightforward, with the main building directly ahead, smaller outbuildings scattered around, and high walls enclosing the space. Security cameras dotted the exterior, their lenses sweeping back and forth in a predictable pattern. I timed my movements to coincide with their rotations, ensuring I remained unseen. Stealth had evolved to common tier, which might not mean much against those I had to face out in the multiverse, but it made me practically invisible to the eyes of normal humans.

  I also quickly discovered another interesting aspect. The mana I was putting off played havoc with the video surveillance. Soon, most of the guards seemed fixated on trying to figure out what was going on with the cameras, which provided more opportunities for me to move about freely.

  I approached the main building, noting its heavy, steel-reinforced doors and the keypad lock securing access. A part of me would have liked to try my strength against those doors, but I figured, I’d save that for a last resort. I also considered simply activating Spirit Walk, but found that the sneaking was sorta thrilling.

  A guard was stationed beside the door, his attention fixed, trying to reboot the screen in front of him. Utilizing my enhanced speed, I slipped past him in the blink of an eye, pressing myself against the wall next to the door. My hands moved over the keypad, my enhanced senses picking up the residual heat from the numbers most frequently pressed. With a few quick attempts, the door clicked open. Super human perception was nothing to sneeze at. I made a mental note to dump the next set of free stats I had into Perception.

  Inside, the corridor was dimly lit. The overhead lights were flickering as mana messed with more systems. I hadn’t experienced this at home or school, but perhaps it was because I was actively using abilities and had a spell surrounding me. The little light they did put off cast a sterile glow on the linoleum floor.

  I hovered down the hallway, my eyes scanning for signs directing me to the psyche ward. The prison was eerily quiet at this hour, the only sounds being the distant murmurs of inmates and the occasional clinking of keys as guards made their rounds. I encountered a janitor, his back turned to me as he mopped the floor. Carefully, I maneuvered around him, ensuring that I didn’t disturb the air too much and alert him to my presence.

  About this time, I began to feel another presence. It was a very weak mana signature, but it was definitely an inducted person. I wouldn’t have even known what I was looking for, but it just felt so different from everyone else around me.

  Finding the entrance to the psyche ward required navigating through a series of locked doors and checkpoints. Each barrier presented a challenge, but none were insurmountable. At one checkpoint, a guard nearly spotted me as I attempted to slip through the door he was exiting. Reacting swiftly, I applied a gentle push with Force Projection, nudging him forward and through the door without him noticing the anomaly. He seemed to think he had just stumbled as he looked around and didn’t see anything.

  Once inside, it was easy to seal the door. I broke the handle off and bent the frame of the doorway enough so that it would take significant force to push the door open. Hopefully, that would buy me some time without interruption.

  The psyche ward was a contrast to the rest of the facility, with softer lighting and a more calming color scheme. I saw one guard and a pair of orderlies sitting at a table playing cards and scrolling on their phones. There were no patient in the general sitting area and I didn’t see any doctors. I had to assume that rounds at the prison were not the top priority for most doctors.

  As I focused, I could sense that there were a total of six patients each in their own small rooms. Picking out Emil from the others was easy due to the mana signature he gave off.

  I worked my way down the hallway till I reached his room. Peering through the small window on the door, I saw him sitting on the bed, his gaze fixed on the wall ahead, completely oblivious to my presence. The door was locked, but that was a minor obstacle. Using a combination of my enhanced strength and delicate manipulation, I silently twisted the lock mechanism from the inside, avoiding any unnecessary damage.

  He immediately sat up and looked directly at me, but didn’t see me. “Anika, if that’s you, I’m not leaving. I won’t agree to your plan.”

  I dropped Stealth while I was in the doorway. It must have seemed like I appeared from thin air and I laughed internally, thinking about all the times that Samvek had done that to me.

  He stared at me for a moment. “Oh, you’re not Anika.” Then a second later he grinned. “You’re related to Dan aren’t you? No, don’t answer. I’ve got something of a knack for recognizing DNA.”

  Chapter 59- Mentally Unstable

  “Recognized my DNA?”

  He grinned. It made him look more like the Mad Hatter than a friendly figure. No, scratch that. I took in his slight form. He couldn’t be more than 5’6” and 100 lbs. He seemed older than I’d expected, probably sixty at least. It made me wonder what he was doing with his stats. If anything, he looked like Dr. Bosconovitch from that old video game. That parallel made me even more uncomfortable.

  “Yeah, it's one of my abilities and ties into my occupation. You’re at least uncommon from what I can feel.” He paused for a second before adding, “Although, your aura is super dense, it's almost like you’re a half-step between uncommon and rare. Anyway, just another mystery that I’ll never understand.”

  “You’re talking nonsense.”

  “No, I already proved I know you’re related to Dan. Not the brother-in-law that he spoke about because then there wouldn’t be any shared DNA, so nephew. Correct?”

  I nodded.

  “It seems like I’m not the only one whose plans don’t go off without a hitch.”

  I was growing tense. Something about him put me on edge and I knew there was only so much time before the guards smashed their way in here. “I’m here to get you out.”

  He shook his head. “You’re here because Anika and Nuri sent you.”

  “We did discuss it, but the main point is that if we’re going to help Earth survive, then we need to have all five Forerunners earning world points. You being in here is putting us all at risk.”

  “I’ve seen the updates. You seem to be doing pretty good on your own. Besides, I can’t do this any longer. I got stymied at every attempt. None of the others were willing to help me get the word out. It doesn’t matter how many points we get, if the people aren’t ready for this, then second place is going to be just as bad as fifth. Do you understand what a ninety percent mortality rate will look like?”

  His eyes were wide, and his hands were moving erratically. “This is going to be catastrophic.”

  “Well, that’s why we call it the apocalypse, but what are we supposed to do, just give up? Not participate?”

  “No, you have to stop playing by the systems rules. I tried to, but they stopped me. Then, when I tried to make a public display that no one could deny, they convinced the authorities to lock me up. Think about it. Why wouldn’t a man punching through concrete pillars cause a larger stir? This should have been on the front of every newspaper in the world.”

  I shook my head. “My uncle tried to tell our family, but the system prevented him. I’ve been punished for accidentally saying something. It isn’t like I can just go on the news.”

  “Actions will be required, not words.” He tilted his head, and peered at me. It was disconcerting how intense his gaze was and for a second, it was like he stripped my soul bare. I forced myself not to shudder. “Maybe you just can’t understand without seeing.” He sighed deeply before nodding his head, as if coming to his own conclusions. “You’re kinda naïve if I had to guess. You don’t understand how dark some people are. You have to do better.”

  “I’m trying.”

  His lips tightened. “Trying isn’t cutting it. You broke in here and trashed the doors. Yet, there aren’t any sirens going off. Have you considered why that might be?”

  “Are you saying that Anika is behind this?”

  “Telling you won’t matter; you have to figure things out for yourself. Better if you leave while you can. And no, I’m not coming with you. Don’t you think I could escape if I wanted to? If humanity is too stupid to save itself, then so be it.” He paused and looked off into space, further augmenting his crazy motif. Then he added, “My only regret is that no one’s been feeding my pets. They had quite a bit, but eventually they’re gonna run out.”

  I was growing exasperated with him. I didn’t know what was happening and nothing he said made any sense. Just then, the building was rocked by an explosion. It came from outside but was massive. I raced out of his room back to the common sitting area and looked out the window. The entire outer wall had a huge hole in it. A burning truck was in the rubble and another was driving over the debris and then racing for this wing of the building.

  I rushed back to Emil. “We’re out of time. If you can’t portal for some reason, then I’ll still get you out of here. You can explain to me what’s going on.”

  A second explosion rocked the building. Glass exploded everywhere, and I felt like I had water in my ears. My clothes were shredded by the glass but I only had a couple of small cuts, most of the glass having failed to penetrate my skin.

  “If you help my pets, I’ll leave here.” Pointing out the window he continued, “now, can you see the efforts they’re willing to go to in order to silence me?” He shook his head. “You don’t know enough yet, so you’d only be collateral damage.”

  I growled in frustration. Emil was infuriating, and I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just speak plainly to me.

  “Fine,” I said, trying to think of anything to get him out of there. “I’ll help your pets! Tell me how and then I’ll come back for you. But will you leave with me then?”