Jimmy ran.
Not like an athlete pacing himself.
Not like a hero charging into destiny.
He ran like prey.
The wind wrapped around his legs again without conscious command, shoving him forward in short, violent bursts. Each step felt slightly wrong—too fast, too light—as if the world had loosened its grip on him.
Behind him, stone exploded.
Flame struck the courtyard wall where he had been moments before. Ivy shriveled black. Dust filled the air.
"Left!" A.L.L.I.E. snapped inside his mind.
"I don't know where left is!" Jimmy shot back.
Your other left.
He veered instinctively, skidding through the narrow passage beyond the broken archway. The corridor opened into a tight alley that smelled faintly of smoke and damp stone. The city beyond was alive—voices, carts, footsteps, distant hammering—but none of it sounded like home.
A golden flare lit the mouth of the passage behind him.
"They're still forming circles," he muttered between breaths.
He risked a glance back.
One of the guards had stopped at the courtyard entrance, spear planted in the ground, hands weaving deliberate shapes through the air. Light followed his fingers like molten wire, sketching out precise geometry.
The circle assembled layer by layer.
Deliberate.
Careful.
Jimmy felt the difference immediately.
He didn't build.
He moved.
He didn't draw power from outside in visible scaffolding.
It answered him.
Or something inside him answered first.
Observation confirmed, A.L.L.I.E. said coolly.
Local spellcasting requires structural formation. Execution delay: significant.
"Then why are they still catching up to me?" Jimmy demanded.
His foot caught an uneven stone, and he nearly went down. He shoved off the wall, breath burning.
Because you are inefficient.
"Excuse me?"
A sudden spike of heat lanced through his skull.
Jimmy stumbled.
The wind around his legs faltered.
The alley swayed for half a second before snapping back into focus.
"What—" He grabbed his temple. "Why does it feel like my brain is being microwaved?"
Bandwidth strain.
A translucent panel flickered into existence in the corner of his vision. Not fully formed like before—more like a ghosted overlay.
Bandwidth Capacity: 12% Remaining
"Remaining from what?!"
You executed Vector Shift without calibration. Twice.
Another blast tore through the alley behind him. Stone shattered. A wooden crate erupted into splinters.
Jimmy dove forward, rolling awkwardly. He came up hard against a stack of barrels.
Footsteps pounded closer now.
Not just two.
More.
He risked another look.
Three guards in green cloaks were entering the alley. Two forming circles. One already mid-formation, his spell almost complete.
This one wasn't fire.
The light gathering in his hands was pale blue.
Cold.
"New one," Jimmy muttered.
Likely cryogenic variant, A.L.L.I.E. replied.
Would you prefer confirmation upon impact?
"Not especially!"
The half-formed panel expanded abruptly.
Lines of text arranged themselves into columns.
Stats.
Terms he barely understood.
Affinity: Multiple (Unrestricted)
Stability: Low
Bandwidth: Critical
"Unrestricted?" he breathed.
You possess compatibility across elemental and conceptual spectra.
"Across what?"
All.
The word landed like a stone dropped into deep water.
All.
Another circle locked into place behind him with a sharp, ringing tone.
Jimmy didn't think.
He threw his hand forward.
Not deliberately.
Not skillfully.
Just desperate.
Something inside him tightened.
The charged air condensed violently in front of his palm.
A crack of thunder exploded through the alley.
Lightning snapped outward in a jagged arc.
The cryogenic circle shattered before it could discharge. The guard cried out and staggered backward, cloak smoking.
Jimmy stared at his hand.
There had been no visible circle.
No buildup.
No chant.
Just—
Intent.
Execution.
His head pulsed painfully.
The panel flashed red.
Bandwidth: 4%
"Oh come on," he whispered.
His vision blurred at the edges.
The air felt heavier now, like it resisted him.
You are attempting instinctual casting without efficiency refinement, A.L.L.I.E. said.
This is suboptimal.
Jimmy pressed his back against the barrels, chest heaving.
"So what do I do?"
There was the faintest pause.
Then—
Reduce scope.
The guards were regrouping.
One barked an order.
The remaining two began forming circles again, faster this time.
"They're learning," Jimmy muttered.
So are you.
He swallowed.
Reduce scope.
He closed his eyes for half a second.
He didn't need lightning.
He didn't need a spectacle.
He just needed space.
The air around his fingers tingled again.
Instead of pulling everything—
He focused.
Smaller.
Tighter.
A sharp burst of compressed wind shot outward from his palm, striking the lead guard square in the chest.
Not enough to injure.
Enough to shove.
The man stumbled backward into the others, disrupting their formation.
Their circle collapsed mid-construction, dissolving into scattered motes of light.
Jimmy's head still hurt—but less.
The panel flickered.
Bandwidth: 3%
"That's not reassuring."
You are still alive.
"Low bar."
He pushed off the barrels and sprinted again, weaving deeper into the city's narrow arteries. The alley opened into a wider street this time—vendors shouting, carts rolling, civilians moving in startled confusion at the distant blasts of magic.
Jimmy slowed instinctively.
He couldn't use lightning here.
Too many people.
A.L.L.I.E.'s tone shifted slightly.
Collateral minimization recognized.
"Don't start praising me now."
Not praise. Observation.
A hand grabbed his sleeve.
Jimmy flinched violently.
An older woman stared up at him, eyes wide.
"You," she said in accented but understandable speech. "What did you do?"
"I didn't—" he began, then stopped.
Behind him, guards were pushing through the crowd.
Scanning.
Searching.
The woman's gaze flicked to the cloaks.
Back to Jimmy.
Something like understanding passed over her face.
She released his sleeve.
"Go," she said quietly.
Jimmy didn't argue.
He ducked through another narrow passage just as a guard's voice rang out:
"There! Stop him!"
The wind gathered again at his heels.
Smaller this time.
Controlled.
He moved faster without the violent pull of before.
The system panel hovered faintly at the edge of his vision.
Bandwidth: 2%
"How do I refill it?" he demanded under his breath.
Recovery requires rest or passive mana absorption.
"Rest?" he hissed. "They're trying to barbecue me!"
Then improve efficiency.
Jimmy almost laughed, half hysterical.
"Working on it!"
He rounded a corner—
And nearly collided with a towering iron gate blocking the street ahead.
Beyond it rose something immense.
Stone walls far taller than the courtyard.
Banners hanging from battlements.
A sigil emblazoned in gold.
The heart of the city.
The Empire of Altharion.
Bootsteps echoed again behind him.
Jimmy turned slowly.
The guards were fanning out, closing the distance.
One of them stepped forward deliberately, hands already weaving golden geometry.
"Anomaly," the man said coldly. "Surrender."
Jimmy's skull throbbed.
His limbs felt heavier.
The system panel pulsed faintly.
Bandwidth: 1%
He exhaled slowly.
"Okay," he murmured.
"New plan."
The wind stirred faintly around him.
Barely a whisper.
The guard's circle neared completion.
Golden fire gathered at its center.
Jimmy locked eyes with the man forming the spell.
No circle.
No chant.
No delay.
Just intent.
And for the first time—
He chose it deliberately.
The wind coiled tighter.
Not for escape.
Not for retreat.
For displacement.
A.L.L.I.E.'s voice cut through the rising tension.
Warning: Bandwidth depletion imminent.
Jimmy smiled faintly despite himself.
"Story of my life."
The golden spell discharged.
And Jimmy moved.