iLac

For a non-native, Shane had thought that it would be natural for his body when he stepped into Neutral Grounds. He knew that all magic would be restrained upon entering the city known as the center of technology, figuring that it would be normal for him since he hadn’t started out with magic in the first place. He had only wielded magic for two years compared to the other mages in Fiore. And yet, when he first set foot into the place, Shane felt a sudden weakness overcome him. The sudden ebb of his magic caught him by surprise. And for that split second, an instinct to pull back his foot and distance himself from this place clawed and scraped to overwhelm rational thought.

What the…

Shane closed his eyes a second longer than he needed to, a deep breath and walked into Neutral Grounds. He was nothing but a normal civilian again. And it was unpleasant. Kicking that thought to one side of his mind, the blonde superhero-in-training fished a name card from his pants pocket and looked at it. The address of the iLac company was stated on it. Tristar Corporation. The name was foreign, but he recognized the brand logo.

He turned it over and there was a map printed on it. That gave him the second surprise of the day. The map was actually a positioning system that activated the moment the name card was brought into the town. It probably connected to the company’s signal tower.

A map detailed the immediate routes and buildings around Shane, while he was represented by a blue blinking arrow. A grin appeared on his face as he recalled the same technology in his home world. Shane negotiated easily through the streets of technological city, weaving in and out of alleys and routes that only locals would take, all the while alternating between looking around him and the name card in his hand.

It took him ten minutes of walking to arrive at a pair of large gates. Cast entirely out of bronze and topped with spikes. Two security guards were standing on each sides of the gate, each holding a rifle across their chest while standing at attention. Two more were in the security booth, taking care of registration. Shane walked up to them and filled up the requisite forms. He pulled up his shirt sleeve to show his Aurora guild emblem for the last step, and the security personnel nodded as he spoke very lowly to the transmitter.

The gates open quietly, probably well-oiled and maintained every day. The only sounds were the motors operating the gates, a soft hum. The second security guard in the booth exited and stood beside Shane and then motioned for the latter to follow him.

It was a short distance between the gates and the building lobby. A young lady was already waiting for the two of them, and the guard handed him off to the lady without a single word and returned to his post.

“Welcome, Mr. Stern. I’m Leelee. Thank you for participating in our pioneer program for our brand new iLacs. Let me show you our product range and you may choose whichever you prefer,” the young lady spoke as she showed Shane to another room. Shane’s eyebrows twitched upwards when he entered the room. Opposite the door, the wall was fully displayed with iLacs of every color and design.

“All these carry the same specifications?” Shane asked, walking forward to the display wall to get a closer look.

“Yes sir. The iLacs are still in their first generation of production, and we have taken the liberty to produce a variety of designs so that over time, our pioneer users will be able to keep us updated on what they like and dislike about the set they are using. Please pick one and I will guide you on how to use it.”

Shane looked over the entire wall, and finally settled on the area with the rectangular designs. He was looking for something similar to what he had used previously. After looking through for a few more minutes, he finally settled on an ordinary-looking rectangular device. It was pure black, with three lime green streaks running diagonally across the back.

“I will take this,” Shane said as he passed the device to Leelee.

[721 words]