Chapter 019: The School of Mutants (8).
Jean nodded softly. "Yes… actually, it's the other way around."
"The other way around?"
The others echoed her words, their voices filled with confusion.
Jean continued, "I feel the energy has… calmed," she whispered. "Same strength — but less chaotic. I can breathe inside it a little."
Charles regarded her with sharp eyes that mixed concern and analysis. "Is it a temporary sensation, or has the nature of the energy itself changed? Do you feel it responding to you, or to that blue energy?"
Jean closed her eyes for a moment and shifted slightly in her seat before opening them slowly. "I don't know… it was like absorption. When I approached, it felt as if my energy accepted the other energy as nourishment. There was an instinctive initial rush to consume, and after that my energy changed — I think its nature shifted."
Scott cut in, fiddling nervously with his glasses: "What if that balance is only temporary? What if it turns aggressive again? We need to know why this damping happened."
Beast put his hand to his chin, thinking quickly. "It makes sense to analyze the energy's frequency spectrum. If Jean's energy frequency partially matches the mana pattern emitting from Daniel's gloves, resonance could explain the apparent 'calm' — when different frequencies align properly, dissonance drops and harmony increases.
That's only a preliminary hypothesis — I'll need measurements."
Charles nodded slowly, trying to assemble a bigger picture. "Very well. We'll run precise analyses and compare the spectra. But we must proceed with caution. Any new resonance could prove helpful… or destructive."
Jean turned to Daniel, her eyes bright with curiosity and gratitude. "Daniel, do you know anything about this energy? Why does this mana feel… different?"
But Daniel was elsewhere. He spoke inwardly to Luna:
(Is this because of you, Luna, or because of the mana itself?)
Luna replied:
[I don't know all the specifics — these are two forces from different worlds — but I can say this: I remove any will from the energy that I take. Even later, when a template with mind-affecting power like an Aatrox template is acquired, I will neutralize that influence so you can use Aatrox's power freely.]
[My interpretation is that the effect I exerted on the mana passed into Jean's energy and became part of it without intent.]
Daniel thought, (That's great then.)
Luna answered, [Yes, certainly — even I didn't expect this.]
Daniel asked, curious:
(Luna, can I extract items from the Inventory — the slots where purchased game items are stored (there are six main slots) — into the real world?)
Luna replied immediately in a clear tone, [Yes, you can. But their effects on your body or abilities won't activate unless they're used properly in the real world.]
She added a brief clarification anticipating follow-up questions:
[In short: if you pull a shield from the Inventory into the real world, the template itself won't automatically grant its effect. But if you wear it in reality, the effect will reactivate.]
Daniel returned to the present thanks to Jean's raised voice as she repeated for the third time, "Daniel, why won't you answer? Do you know anything about this energy? Why does this mana feel different?"
He inhaled deeply, then said with plain honesty, "To be truthful… I don't know much about it. This system — this kind of mana — isn't from my original world. I came with only a superficial understanding of its mechanics; the real details still need confirmation.
Right now I can't say with confidence. All I can do is make educated guesses."
"But I think the change in your power may be permanent."
Everyone's reaction was a mix of surprise and hope. Charles was the first to break the silence, his tone edged with a blend of excitement and caution:
"Do you have a substantial amount of this mana? Could you give Jean some of it?"
It was a small, private joy for everyone — the idea that they might finally have a way to help Jean stabilize her power.
Daniel smiled slowly and extended his hand. A small, gleaming blue stone filled with mana appeared — a Sapphire Crystal, the very gem he'd bought earlier during his encounter with Matt.
They all paused for a moment to stare.
It fit roughly in the palm of a hand: a carefully faceted crystal the deep blue of a midnight sea, its polished surface catching the light with cool flashes.
Within it, faint circular glows moved slowly, as if an inner current swam through its core; the gem gave a chill to the touch.
Daniel held the Sapphire Crystal gently and placed it in Jean's palm, then murmured, "It's a mana-filled stone — it stores and releases organized energies.
If you can connect with it gently, it will help you."
At that moment, Daniel was low on gold coins and couldn't afford anything else from the shop.
Jean's face softened with gratitude and her heart quickened with happiness. She thanked Daniel, "Thank you for all of this."
They descended deeper into the school's structure, as if sinking from the city's streets into the heart of a vast machine.
The stairs and corridors here were not mere passageways — they were tunnels leading to places rarely seen: training halls that simulated battlefields, laboratories where devices gleamed like robotic eyes, and surveillance rooms whose screens glittered like a city sky stitched with artificial lights.
The light here was different: layers of neon and LEDs cut through a complex semi-darkness, accentuating lines of metal and glass and eroding any sense of intimacy.
Their footsteps and whispered conversation echoed.
Charles's voice carried through the corridor with calm authority:
"This is the tactical training room — systems that simulate enemies and reaction scenarios that leave nothing to chance."
He gestured toward a row of open doors revealing shadowed halls, each filled with rolling equipment and hanging training masks.
On one wall, a holographic display showed a moving tableau of combat tactics, like a scene being edited on a film board.
Daniel thought he'd seen this room in the third X-Men movie.
They passed the research lab: long tables crowded with microscopes, numbered specimen boxes arranged like a scientific museum.
"Here we analyze energy structures and test compatibilities," Charles said, and Beast reached for a nearby instrument with academic eagerness before disappearing into a wave of data.
On the shelves were several small boxes stamped with archaic symbols — attachments, crystals, circuit modules — items borrowed straight from science-fiction.
Ahead lay an advanced infirmary: life-support arrays, small robots administering precise injections, and screens that displayed scans and biological maps.
Charles slid a finger across one display and a series of students' health maps lit up — moments of their histories recorded in light.
They also passed the lab's armory — not conventional weapons, but safety gear: energy vests, test shields, specialized gloves, power packs.
Everything bore the X emblem. Every item was organized with meticulous care.
Charles then led them to what looked like a central archive room: digital stacks stretching into the distance, three-dimensional displays reconstituting historical moments of mutants.
"Here memory is kept — not just documents, but stories, faces, and mental images," Charles whispered, as though standing before a small shrine.
Each room carried a layer of technical and theatrical security, as though they were no longer in a school.
With each stop, Charles offered a brief explanation, hinting at practical details and leaving Daniel with a growing sense of wonder.
As they approached the building's heart, the noise faded to an almost constant electrical hum — the rhythm that signals something larger nearby.
The final door opened before them like a curtain unveiling the last act: a
high, circular chamber ringed with panoramic screens, and in its center, on a raised platform, sat the device.