The Past Year

7/26/1060

1 year after the fateful encounter with Nanik in Trizen, Tekuno.

I had been working with Nanik since the day he found me in the city park. In the time since then, he taught me about the world of Aruya and its happenings. I basically had Nanik give me lessons every day and when I wasn't taking those, I either tinkered with computers for fun or… Sat in deep contemplation about my memory loss, which eventually caused me to spiral into an abyss of depression and anxiety, but we don't talk about that…

The country I'm staying in, Trizen, is a bustling nation with a port city, rich in innovation, and brimming with life. It is one of the few technologically developed countries in Aruya. These countries are referred to as Entwick countries, while the ones that have favored the use of magic over the development of technology are called the Mittelreich countries. 

Most Entwick countries refuse to engage in trade with Mittelreich countries, but Trizen does not adhere to this formality. Instead, they freely engage in trade with Mittelriech countries and Entwick countries alike. At least that was what Nanik had explained to me about the Entwicks and Mittelreichs.

Notifications flashed on the monitor before Tokei.

["Data flow Anomaly detected. Please review."] 

After a night of slumping over at the desk, Tokei straightened in her chair. Her black hair draped over her face and the keyboard as a stray yawn escaped from her lips. It was clear that she was lethargic from her previous day of work.

After groggily wiping her face, Tokei placed her glasses back on, which were on the side of her desk. It only dawned on her after a few moments that the message she was looking for had been received.

'Woah… I thought he was just messing with me - guess he was right,' she exclaimed, thoroughly surprised. 

I had been vaguely told by Nanik that there would be two Data Anomalies that would show up this month. I hadn't been informed about the appearances of these "Anomalies" nor how they came to be, only that they were human and should be recruited in a relatively short period before other parties could catch onto the fact that they're Anomalies. 

Nanik had mentioned that there hadn't been any other groups who had uncovered these anomalies. 'When he was talking about it he had this creepy grin on his face like he was plotting something… I wonder what he's up to.'

The Anomalies, marked by red beacons, seemed to be blinking at different spots on the digital map produced by the monitor.

'The Anomalies seem to be in Hollia and Clefton.' Tokei mused for a moment. "I'll need to prepare to track both of them down."

The continent of Erbium, where Hollia was located, would be the first to be visited as it directly bordered Tekuno and had counties containing big cities, which were reminiscent of those in Tekuno. Ishunay, on the other hand, was another story.

Apart from the fact that Clefton and Hollia were separated by a vast ocean, the societies of both varied vastly. On one hand, Clefton is Mittelreich, a society that wholeheartedly believes in the tradition of practicing the art of mana control, whilst Hollia is Entwick, and as it is not as well-versed in mana, opted for a path in innovation that would push their civilization to new grounds.

Such a contrast ultimately led to hostility between the masses of both. In the case of the inhabitants of Mittelreich nations, any who pursue the path of technology are met with intense scrutiny and oftentimes blatant discrimination.

'It seems like I'll have to take some precautions before I head there'

I'm not very fond of the idea that I have to go to a Mittelreich Country myself due to my lack of mana manipulation skills which would cause me to be treated with the utmost disrespect in Mittelreich countries.

Emerging from the confines of my room, I made my way to the hangar to prepare the "Airblade", which was originally designed for reconnaissance missions for the Trizen government. The vehicle resembled an enlarged quadcopter, devoid of visible propellers and sized like a car.

I, like usual, meticulously inspected the Airblade, confirming it had enough energy to sustain a ten-day trip. 

"That should be more than enough to finish this task," she noted with satisfaction.

After gathering a few essential items, I opened the hangar door and climbed into the Airblade. Following a series of preliminary checks, I pressed my thumb onto the fingerprint scanner that started the car. The electric motors purred to life, their steady hum vibrating through the Airblade, lifting it gently off the ground. Slowly, it glided out of the hangar, ascending to a comfortable cruising altitude before accelerating, swiftly closing the hangar door behind it.

7/27/1060 6:00 pm - Over the largest city in Erbium, Hollia

During the past year, Nanik has helped me discover my abilities as a Technician. In Aruya, there are four pathways that a person can awaken with. They could be a Sorcera, a person with great control over the creation and usage of their mana, with the ability to cast spells in an instant. They could be a Martial Artist, who builds and strengthens their mana and its purity, imbuing their limbs and weapons with this power to achieve superhuman feats. They could be an Alchemist, who uses their mana to imbue objects around them, giving them special properties. Lastly, they could end up a Technician. Technicians are unable to use their mana even though they are capable of producing it; instead, they gain strange abilities that give them unparalleled prowess when it comes to technology. Technicians remain the most mysterious of the four, with Alchemists a close second.

I awakened as a Technician, and a rare one at that. I'm a Data Engineer. Nanik mentioned that the total number of known Data Engineers in the world could be counted on one hand. As a Data Engineer, I have the ability to peer into the world's data through something called the Developer's Eye. I was stoked to find out how cool I was until I tried to use it for the first time…

I quickly learned that using the Developer's Eye required strong mental fortitude to be used for longer than a second because, as soon as I managed to see through it, I blacked out. Later, when I woke up bedridden, Nanik gave me a lecture about "the way to utilize one's abilities correctly, blah blah blah" in which he basically said I'm an idiot. Then, he proceeded to walk outside my room and broke out into laughter, which I could very clearly hear. That Jerk didn't even warn me against using my abilities!

Later, after a lot of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears (a whole lot of tears), I managed to create special glasses containing an AI program called [Neuro] to help take the burden off my mind when I use the Developer's Eye. Of course, I also practice using the Developer's Eye without the glasses to ensure they don't become a crutch I can't part with in the future, but the progress is slow. So far, I can only keep it up for about a minute straight.

Sliding my finger across the side of my glasses, I hear the operating system come to life, and different projections of information flash across the lenses, showing the relative position of the Anomaly I was tasked to track down.

"Looks like the first one should be somewhere in this city," I muse aloud, my hair fluttering in the wind as I look down at the sprawling city below. A wide grin emerges on my face at the thought of showing Nanik how good I can be at my job. "It's time to start 'Recruiting'."