The next morning, Hiro stood outside the Gai—a massive dome-like structure in the city centre. A combination of modern technology and Manta infusion, the Gai encompasses hundreds of different sections, containing anything from arena's to forests with the help of a spatially distorting Core ability that had been infused with it. He wore his usual clothes—nothing special except from a plain white hoodie.
He patiently waited until his patience started to dissolve, looking at his phone for the time. "It's already 10. She's 30 minutes late." he said, growing irritable as the minutes glided past. After another 30 minutes of silent patience, Hiro heard a voice calling out to him through the enormous crowd surrounding the area. He turned toward the voice, he saw Sora.
She wasn't wearing her super-suit which caught Hiro off guard for some reason, and instead she was wearing slightly edgy streetwear. She wore a black sleeveless fitting crop top and a black bomber jacket worn off her shoulders, athletic inspired black high-waisted joggers and black high-top Converse sneakers. She had a pair of glasses on that suited her and a cross necklace.
"Yo, Hiro." She said as she met him where he stood. "Sorry about being late, i had.. stuff to tend to."
Though Hiro was annoyed he dismissed her poor punctuality, "It's all good." He turned to the Gai which towered over everything in the vicinity. "So. What now?" He asked. Sora didn't respond, but she did move, marching through the entrance expecting Hiro to follow. He was confused for a second but soon caught on. Once they were both inside, they were met with a gorgeous view. You couldn't properly view the entirety of the dome, but at the entrance and across the ceiling was a glowing display of a dragon gliding across a river. The entire section was filled with highly advanced technology from robot assistants, to warping stations.
They walked for a bit through the entrance until they reached Warping Station A. "This'll warp us to a combat arena. There might be people there already so don't do anything stupid and embarrassing." She warned him, giving him a stern look. He nodded. "Good," she said, "Once you press on the device's pad, you'll be warped there so don't worry." As she placed her hand on a black pad on the device, her body began to fade into blue pixels that slowly dissipated. "Oh and, try not to vomit."
"Okay. What did you say?" He called out but she already vanished.
He stepped toward the device anxiously, placing his hand on the pad he would feel a ripple throughout his very being. It was like he was ceasing to exist. As the feeling began to grow more intense, he felt a sudden jolt as though he had been electrocuted, then he felt himself being propelled by a force. The process made him feel like he was being sick, regurgitating his vomit and being sick again, it was awful. But soon it ended as Hiro would feel himself materialising again. As soon as he had re-appeared his knees gave out, he clasped his vomit filled mouth and sweated profusely. "My oh my what do we have here. " Sora laughed softly at him. "At least you're putting up a fight, props to you." Her voice echoed through the endless arena as she sat cross legged in the middle of the pit.
Hiro gathered himself, glaring at her, he stuck up his middle finger in defiance. Sora chuckled, feeling proud after successfully teasing him. Once Hiro found his bearings, he stood up straight in wait of instructions.
"I'm assuming you have some knowledge of Manta and all that yes?" She would say as she rose up to meet him.
"Well. Somewhat, everybody knows about Manta it's used everywhere we go. But i don't fully understand what it is and how to use it."
"That's your current problem," she pointed out, "you've just been going with the flow. But I can open your eyes." She stuck out her hand and in it, a 3d hologram formed, it showcased an orb shaped object glowing bright purple that was attached to another object resembling a heart.
"This is a Trigger," her tone was now more serious, encouraging Hiro to listen carefully, "every sentient being on the planet has a Trigger that is attached to the side of their heart. Your Trigger is a decider. A decider on your strength ceiling. As you increase your efficiency and proficiency with your Manta, you will reach a point where your growth will rapidly slow down and eventually come to a stop. Furthermore, your Trigger stores all of your Manta reserves, so if it were to be damaged, your ability to control and manipulate Manta will be severely hindered."
Hiro focused all his attention on her words, and as she continued to speak, it was as if the entire arena surrounding them vanished into black space. She went on to explain the different applications of Manta and how they work, then after that came core ranks.
"Core ranks are a measuring system to gauge the progression of your Trigger in terms of Manta Refinery and Manta Reserves." She explained.
"What's all that Refinery and Reserves business?" Hiro interjected.
"Refinery can be explained as, how much Manta you can save when using an ability, how much Manta you can output in an instance, the potency of your Manta, and how you can control it whethere it's within or outside your body. Different Core users have different properties to their Manta depending on their Core ability, this could effect all of these factors in Refinery. Reserves are how much Manta you store within your Trigger."
Hiro was starting to get an idea of how everything worked, but he still had some questions, "So. Sora, what is your Core rank then? And what are the requirements for each rank?" He asked her.
'Well. The ranks are ascending, from E to S+. It goes, E, D, C, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+, S-, S and S+. As you progress through the ranks, you'll see significant growth in all applications and control of your Manta. As for my Core rank. I'm a B-. Honestly if I listed the requirements for each rank, I think we'd be here till dawn so let's leave that to a later date."
I remember Tanielu throwing that title around all the time, 'B-'. I wouldn't have guessed his rank was that high.. I really got lucky that day. Hiro recalled and acknowledged.
"B- huh. So.. what would you say mine is?" His curiosity took full throttle.
"Well. Takamura. Your Manta reserves are simply put, ridiculous. In all seriousness it's sky's limit for you. But your Manta control is frankly, terrible, which leads me onto my next lesson. Manta Control." She got more comfortable on the floor with her legs still crossed.
Hiro was slightly disappointed she left out his speculative rank, but he figured there was a reason so he moved on.
"I want you to close your eyes and remove everything on your mind. Shift your focus unto your centre." She instructed, her voice soft and sweet which resonated deeply with Hiro.
Hiro closed his eyes, leaving the world around him and entering a state of focus. From within him came a pulse of Manta. It was like freezing water was slowly flowing from every vein and artery in his body. It felt.. unnatural.. new. Hiro didn't feel as though he was sitting in the pit of an arena, he was in limbo between the real world and whatever this was.
"Hiro. Feel around, find the coldest point in your body, that is your trigger. Grasp it with your mind and pour your being into it. By connecting the mind to your trigger, you are creating a link to your own Spiritual Rift."
Hiro understood it now. In the space around him, little golden dots began to form. They illuminated the space like yellow paint on a black canvas, humming with energy. As for Hiro himself, he felt like he was in a sea of energy, surrounded by raw, untapped power. The coldness that previously encased Hiro was now replaced with a comfortable warm flow throughout him.
"I'm sure you feel that. That energy you feel right now is your Manta, unrefined, raw in nature yet powerful. Right now, your Rift is untrained, but as your Core Rank increases you'll gain access to more abilities. Eventually you'll be able to enter Chirei and absorb more Manta into your trigger. Those dots around you are called Stabilisers, they can only be found in your Rift and they are used to increase Manta control. Think of it as taming a roaring beast. Now, I want you to gather the stabilisers around you, use your trigger as a magnet."
Hiro followed instructions, and after a few failed attempts he eventually got it. He felt the dots gathering in his centre, accumulating slowly and stabilising his Manta. He could feel his control over Manta increasing in real-time, albeit slowly.