Jules created a practice range, though it was somewhat imprecise. It was really more like a pile of loose dirt into which he threw rocks… with his mind, of course. There was a limit to how hard he could throw things with telekinesis. This was because he was only capable of outputting a certain amount of energy at a time. His new ability, Manipulate Data, allowed him to slightly circumvent this problem. He could make a less massive rock (about .9kg out of 1) move faster, and then change its mass to greater (about 1.1 kg), and its total kinetic energy went up significantly, based on how far he could get it to penetrate into the dirt. However, it wasn’t breaking the laws of physics. Jules wasn’t sure what the actual values were… until he realized that it fwas also a form of data. Realizing that, he managed to view the velocity (relative to the ground as a stationary object) and that let him get better calculations.
Kinetic energy (E)= ½*m(mass)*V(velocity)^2. If he made a 1 kg rock move at 10 m/s, it had an energy of 50 joules. If it was a .9 kg rock, it moved only about 10.5 m/s. However, upon increasing the mass to 1.1 kg, the energy was about 61 joules. It was about a 20% increase in energy. Of course, the energy still came from somewhere. Namely, himself. However, he wasn’t limited to the same output as he used for his telekinesis, so the total energy he could impart went up. However, that also meant he drained his mental energy much faster. Jules had been mentally tired before, but upon using telekinesis and Manipulate Data, he knew what it was like to be mentally exhausted regularly. It was kind of like exercising a muscle… and felt about the same. His brain hurt, even though there weren’t any actual pain receptors there. Everything he felt became sort of fuzzy, and if he pushed it too hard, he passed out. Even when he regained consciousness, he was still drained. The good news was, he’d found a way to improve his mental attributes.
| Physical | Mental | Fortune | |
| Power | Strength: 81 (↑2) | Intelligence: 140 (↑7) + 10 | Luck: 99 |
| Finesse | Dexterity: 88 (↑1) | Wisdom: 143 (↑6) + 10 | – |
| Durability | Toughness: 95 (↑1) | Willpower: 136 (↑2) + 10 | – |
| Quantity | Constitution: 92 (↑2) | Focus: 135 (↑14) + 10 | Quantum Flux: 126 (↑2) |
His Focus had grown the most, probably since he had been completely exhausting his mental resources. However, everything else had grown some too. His physical attributes improved slightly just from being more active than normal. On the subject of Quantum Flux… Jules wasn’t sure if he liked the fact that it somehow increased. It wasn’t necessarily a good thing. However, Jules now thought that he might be able to fight. Though, a gun would probably be better than telekinesis at this point. He might be able to speed up the bullet if he had a projectile weapon, but he found it was harder to act on a moving object, especially ones that were distant.
—–
After a couple days, Jules got a call from Mary. He decided to start up the conversation abruptly. “So, did you figure it out?”
“I… think so… maybe.” Mary’s voice certainly sounded uncertain. “I feel… different now. I’m not sure if I’m convinced enough about what’s happening to actually say it.”
Jules thought about that for a moment. He’d been lucky to have the easily testable and supernatural ability of telekinesis, which had left little room for doubt about what had changed. Meanwhile, she probably just got her enhanced physical abilities, among other skills. “I suggest you think carefully about what I’ve said so far in this conversation, and it will probably convince you.”
Although Jules couldn’t see her, he could tell Mary was concentrating. Then… “Wait… you were speaking Uesmethi? I haven’t been able to speak it outside of the game… so it’s really… our game abilities have transferred to real life?”
Jules nodded, then realized the gesture was stupid over the phone. “That’s right. Haven’t you felt stronger? Well, I imagine you haven’t had a reason to swing a sword at anything, or you probably would get it sooner. My abilities were more conveniently obvious.”
“But then…” she didn’t seem to be able to form the right words. Jules had been like that. However, he hadn’t had anybody to talk to about it.
“Maybe we should meet up in person.”
“…Okay.”
—–
They met up at a restaurant, since it was a convenient place to talk. It was also convenient in that it had somewhat private booths. This would allow their conversation to not be overheard much. It also allowed Jules to demonstrate his telekinesis. Although Mary had seen it before, it was different to see it in the real world. She started off the conversation, “So, this is what you were going through. I don’t really know what to think, exactly.”
Jules nodded. “The conclusion I came to… is that everything is real.”
Mary tilted her head, confused. “But… telekinesis? Does that mean some of those things on shows are real? No, otherwise someone would have actually verified it by now. But if it’s not…”
“Well, I think probably everything you’ve seen is fake. Telekinesis is real, but I doubt anybody really learned it, except maybe a small few who hid it. I think I could learn it because of this.” He tapped his wristband, which he still wore everywhere. “I’m pretty sure it enhances bodily development and learning. Otherwise, there was no way we could learn a language that fast, or grow stronger… or learn telekinesis in any small amount of time, even from someone who actually knew how.”
Mary nodded. “That makes sense. So… are you ever going to stop rotating that napkin in the air?”
Jules frowned. “Only if it bothers you. I’ve only had telekinesis for like, a week. I still want to use it for everything.”
Mary smiled. “I probably would too. Actually, can you teach me?”
Jules shrugged. “I can try, but it probably won’t be as fast as from the official trainer.” Jules paused for a moment. “It doesn’t seem to work like the language, probably because that’s an important thing for surviving in the world.”
Jules also shared his thought about the “npcs” in Many Worlds, and how they were probably just real people… on a different planet. Nothing explained why they looked mostly like humans, though. Except, maybe that was the reason Fesmoilia was picked as the first planet. It also wasn’t too dangerous. Perhaps later planets would be more “alien” and dangerous.