Chapitre 3 - part 1 : prey

As I caught my breath, Tessa handed me one of her bottles. The bottle was transparent, the liquid inside a honey-colored amber, but lighter, and with little things floating in it, it tastes like honey.“You run fast, that’s good,” she said. “If that mana hound had caught you, it would’ve shredded you like a piece of meat.”“Seriously!” I screamed in my head.The little lady sighed before explaining, “These beasts are attracted to mana crystals. But usually, they don’t come this close to the city limits. It’s… concerning.”I stared at the horizon, gripping the bottle. I’d almost died today… a second time.A tall tower rises in the near distance, its spire disappearing into the clouds. Strange runes glow along its walls, pulsing like veins of light. The guide beside me points at it.“The Scientific Tower,” she says casually, as if mentioning the weather.---The guards made us pass through a magical gate. That’s when I saw my statistics: speed, intelligence, attraction, communication… Strangely, the “magical power” section just said “in development.” What does that even mean?We were then directed to the mail reception office. On the way, I overheard two men in white coats talking about a mana hound attack. The moment I heard it, a flash of memories struck me, and a shiver of horror ran down my spine. The air inside the mail reception office smells faintly of ink, metal, and roasted coffee beans. “Hey!” a cheerful elf with silver-green hair and glasses too big for his nose comes hugging me after pushing the door wide open. He looks nothing like the brooding, mysterious researchers we met in when we entered this place.“Ah, you must be the delivery runner Tessa spoke of!” he exclaims, adjusting his glasses. “Perfect timing!”I hand him the package containing the crystals; he signs the paper above with his finger, the paper disintegrates, and my map materializes in front of me. The place where the tower is shines with a bluish glow before a seal appears on it.My statistics have appeared on my right. Attraction has stayed the same, 0, ouch that hurts. Speed and intelligence are still at level 1. I need 10 more points to reach level 2 in communication. Magical power is still in development, at least my money is up.I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself; I'm Ashton, one of the scientists in the tower. I'm also in charge of receiving the packages when they arrive. This is your first real mission, right? What's your name?"Before I can even answer, he thrusts a small package into my hands. It’s soft, wrapped in cloth.“What is it?” I ask cautiously.“A teddy bear,” Ashton replies proudly. His tone is so serious that it takes me a second to realize he isn’t joking. “For my daughter. She can’t sleep without it, and the old one got shredded in… well, a lab accident.” He clears his throat. “I’ll spare you the details.”I blink at him, then at the package. There’s a name and an address, this is by far the most… normal delivery. I look at my mentor for the day, and she gives me a ‘what?’ kind of look.I didn’t know I could deliver anything other than mana,” I murmur.“Of course, you can,” she replies. “when it’s a private delivery, they have to pay you part when you accept, and part upon delivery. Isn’t that right, Ashton?” she adds seriously while he’s tinkering with something on the satchel.“Naturally!” he answers. “I appreciate you explaining the rules of this world to the newbie. The money’s on the table,” he adds, while leaving the room.---I am now at the foot of the tower, observing the water flowing from the fountain in front of the entrance. I sigh. Mr. Ashton wanted to talk to Tessa, so they asked me to wait downstairs. I see a young girl with black hair approaching; she is wearing a uniform similar to mine but hers is blue and black while mine is brown and white. Her bag is bigger than mine, and she exudes a disconcerting confidence. When she walks, people look at her. She is accompanied by a boy in a full black uniform, which strongly contrasts with his white hair and golden eyes, he is holding a staff that looked like a wizard staff. Maybe he is a wizard.When they pass by me, the boy turns and looks at me. “Have you been touched by a mana hound?” he asked, his voice calm but serious.I froze 'Touched?!' The girl turns around and looks at me; “I can feel it too”.There’s a weird tension in the air.“It’s okay, it didn’t touch me! I ran until I reached the checkpoint and-”Something feels off…A loud boom echoed from the tower, and the guards rushed inside. My bad feeling only grew stronger. The guy with the white hair aimed his staff at me, and a beam of light shot out through a golden magical circle. I close my eyes and protect my face ready for the impact, but it didn’t hit me. I move my arms and opened my eyes, to my great shock, I realized that the monster was right in front of me. Tessa rushed toward me; her eyes panicked. “Damn,” she murmured before the monster charged at her. She drew her weapons, and everything went dark.
Earlier, before the attack“It's impossible...” Tessa murmured. “I would have seen it. How could he have been infected right in front of me?!”Ashton's expression was dark as he activated a machine in front of her. “And yet,” he added coldly, the machine showed Tessa what had happened. Indeed, part of a mana hound had infiltrated the apprentice delivery boy's bag.“I’m going to activate this stabilizer. The connector is in the package I gave him. If nothing happens, then there’s nothing to worry about. Otherwise, you still know how to fight, right?”Tessa clenched her fists. “You need to be more attentive now.”The scientist pressed the button; nothing happened for a few seconds. Suddenly, the delivered crystals began to glow, and the mana hound emerged, its dark mass swirling before charging out of the room.