At the end of his speech, Gordon had a manic glint in his eyes.
The silence in the room hung heavily in the air.
Looking into his eyes, Rephan was more than a little unnerved.
'I never took Gordon for a fanatic,' he thought to himself.
Shifting his feet, Rephan spoke in a tentative voice.
"I'm already part of the Blackjack syndicate."
Gordon scoffed.
"Blackjacks bah, their power does not even compare to that of the Order."
"Besides considering the fact that you have awakened your ability, other factions will be pining after you."
"You know, to see what makes you tick."
With that statement, he made a slashing gesture in the air.
"The only safe place for you is under the umbrella of the Order."
After saying that, Gordon stood in front of the map, studying some of its details.
Rephan's eyes glazed over as he assimilated all the information that had just been shoved down his throat.
They say knowledge is power, and Rephan understood that more than most. Throughout his life and particularly in his line of work, the right knowledge could make or unmake a person.
'Order of Rebirth huh, now where have I heard that name before?'
Searching deep into his memories, Rephan couldn't quite pin the name to any organization.
Burying his face in his hands, he submerged himself in deep thought.
'Apparently, we are not alone in this cursed place.'
'There are others, and they seem to be in competition with this Order of Rebirth.'
'If I don't join one of these factions for protection, everyone will be gunning for my head.'
'If I manage to join one of these factions, they will send me here to risk my life investigating this perilous magical world.'
'…And I can't do a damn thing about it.'
'Strength, strength, strength, this all boils down to strength.'
'Do I have the strength to control my life? Will I ever?'
'Well, I can damn well try; I may not have much to live for.'
'But I refuse to die without building something meaningful with my own two hands.'
With that thought, he hardened his resolve to survive.
Getting up from his seat, he joined Gordon in studying the map.
"So, what's your next destination?"
Gordon's finger hovered over the map before landing over what seemed like a range of mountains, north of their current location.
"We are heading towards a mountain range my team had previously scouted."
"Some strange phenomena were observed in that area."
"The mana concentration in that area is pretty dense."
"Hence, the strength and weirdness of the surrounding daemons take a giant leap."
"We will rendezvous with another team member on our way there."
Rephan had mixed feeling about joining up with one of Gordon's team members.
On one hand, having more strength within the group increases his life expectancy in this hell.
On the other hand, he wasn't fond of dealing with more fanatics coming from the Order of Rebirth.
Ultimately, he decided it was a good thing.
'More bodies, to throw at the daemons if need be.'
Gordon manifested a pen and began updating the map with his latest findings; he drew the cliff face they had come from just south of the great tree with great precision.
Moving away from the map, Rephan plopped down on the table.
His curiosity flared up again.
"Hey Gordon, is that your ability, manifesting things from thin air."
Drawing the last label, Gordon replied.
"Negative, manifesting things is just an enchantment of an item of mine."
"My actual ability is placing certain properties on objects, like explosive for example."
"The more devastating the effect, the more mana consumed."
Rephan's eyes widened in realization.
"During the fight with the serpentine daemon, your bullet exploded on contact with the tree."
Gordon nodded in response.
"Yeah, I can also bestow properties like harder, sharper, heavier… Over the years I have adapted my ability to bullets."
"Allowing me to do far more with a single shot."
Rephan frowned.
'That's one cool ability.'
'And all I get is healing, well it did save my life, but still…'
"Can you teach me how to use my magic?"
Gordon finished the drawing and leaned against the map.
"Every magic ability is different, so is the path to mastering it."
"So, no, I can't; you are going to have to find your own path."
"But I'm afraid you are going to have to do it fast; the place we are headed to is very perilous."
"Your life and mine could very well rely on your ability to master your magic."
Rephan's frown deepened.
'No pressure.'
Moving away from the map, Gordon summoned a beanbag and plopped down on it.
"Now if you will excuse me, tomorrow is going to be a stimulating day. I will need all the rest I can get."
Rephan was stumped.
Looking out the window, it wasn't even dusk yet!
'Well, he sure values his sleep.'
Rephan shook his head, This suits me fine; I need some alone time.
Heading to the door, he opened it and stepped out into a welcoming breeze.
The ever present mist danced in the air.
He crossed the wooden planks and stepped onto the platform.
Sitting at the edge of the platform, he realized that between being chased by gigantic snakes and wolves with humanoid faces; he hadn't really had much time to appreciate the beauty of Mirror Earth.
Back on Earth, he had never had the privilege of seeing the sun; humanity lived in enormous domes that encompassed cities, protecting them from the harsh conditions that existed beyond its barriers.
With less privileged people forced to go underground, a result of shrinking space and thinning resources.
The sun shone luminously onto the canopy of trees below him, and stretching in all directions was deep jungle, bordered at the north by a mountain range that streaked across the horizon.
The jungle was interspersed periodically by clearing, the mist dancing through the air like it had a life of its own.
The haunting sound of daemons roaring grated against his ears and causing his stomach to do a little dance.
But strangely, it was peaceful out here.
He stayed in that position until the sun set, giving way to the moon.
Getting off the platform, he decided to get some rest.
Like Gordon said.
'Tomorrow is going to be a stimulating day.'