Dear Diary,

  It's been three days and I am starting to get my bearings a little more. You already know this because you are me but it's easier to write if I pretend you are some random person I am explaining things to.

  So yeah, I got isekai’d... or close enough. I'll skip the bright lights and oncoming traffic stuff; no one really cares about the before part of the story anyway do they?

  I'm a pretty average 34 year old dude, well average for someone who would know what getting isekai’d means…

  I am getting off track, and honestly I hate writing but I find it helps to keep track of my state of mind and reflect on my thoughts at a later date, I can be scatterbrained at times.

  There was no goddess in white or big scary dude on a throne, I got an endless white room and a disembodied androgynous voice. I'll be honest, it was a lot and I was kinda in shock so some of it went over my head. They mentioned something about a 1 in a gazzillion chance or something like that, it was a big number.

  Big giant manawave from the centre of creation, constantly expanding and morphing beings it comes in contact with. Some sort of safety waves that they sent out ahead of the giant one, so they can get information about where “Rifts” might occur and any new worlds that might be affected and mutated.

  Well yeah turns out I am super sensitive to the type of “Mana” that the first wave used, along with just like a freak positioning that meant it hit me in just the right spot… I died or got zapped away somewhere? I don’t know. I was relieving myself in nature like I do most mornings and then all of a sudden pants down I was in the white room.

  So yeah nah they weren't ready for me or anyone really, I am getting some sort of custom solo Induction tutorial thing. To be honest it sounds a little janky but when you get zapped somewhere into space with magic and other cool stuff I guess you just gotta roll with the punches.

  Signing off Day 3, Jack.

  Jack woke up, lifting his head off the rough pillow, then rolled out of bed. He pondered how these people could warp him across who knows how far but still couldn't make a bed that was comfortable to sleep on. He tried not to wonder if it was just his decrepit thirty-plus body aching. He was probably just in that 'adjusting to a new bed' phase.

  Standing up, he scanned his room. The aesthetic could only be described as cabin chic with a hint of medieval. No electricity, wood everything and only one door leading to the “Bathroom,” which really just resembled a slightly fancy dunny with a single basin.

  The basin had no tap and was kind of like those public toilet swipe taps; you just waved your hand and water flowed. This one kept flowing until you waved again, so that was a step up from having to restart the tap four times to finish.

  He leaned into the mirror and for the third time since getting here hoped that his new-world-new-life glow up would start soon.

  Jack wasn’t bad looking. He probably put himself as a 6 across the board, and standing at about 169cm – he giggled every time he thought about it – he couldn't be called tall by earth standards. He had a build somewhere between dad bod and used to be athletic. It was the sort of build you get from doing one set of biceps curls, sitting on an exercise bike for twenty minutes and feeling proud of your achievements.

  With short dark brown hair and a slowly forming Vegeta peak, he didn't have to spend too much time on his hair. He splashed some water through it, pushed it to one side and took one last look at himself. The light hazel-coloured eyes staring back were framed by a beard that looked like it had only just remembered it needed to grow in places other than his jawline. It was slowly looking a little more scraggly than he would like, but he had other things to worry about at that moment.

  A loud knock sounded from the door to his small room, and a voice called out.

  “You up yet, Jack? The transporter is now working and the testing equipment has been delivered, so we have everything we need to get you all started.” The voice paused for a second, waiting for a reply, which Jack refused to provide.

  “Look, I know this is all new for you, but you know I can hear you? Enhanced senses, remember?” the voice of Turrel continued.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Ohhh look at this guy. Super senses but can’t even let a man shit in peace. I’ll be out in a second, Turtie.” Jack dried his hands, knowingly using the nickname that Turrel asked him not to. Turrel, Turtle, Turtie. It just made sense.

  “Okay, just get out here so we can get this show started and get you tested. Meet you in the kitchen when you are done.” There was a loud sigh from the other side of the door, followed by footsteps heading away down the hallway.

  Jack shook his head, dried his hands and gathered his thoughts as he headed to the door and stepped outside. As he walked down the empty hall obviously meant to be a dormitory, his footsteps echoed. It wasn't surprising since he was two years early to this 'induction' party.

  Turrel had already tried to bore him to death with lectures on 'Origin Waves' and 'Mana Frequencies’. Jack used all of his experiences surviving university, activating the bare minimum required brain capacity he needed to highlight the important bits of information. He filed it all away... Turrel seemed to love a pop quiz.

  Jack was more of a hands-on type learner. Memorising words spoken or written was never his strong suit but let him try and experiment with something and things would stick pretty quickly. That was why the test excited him a fair bit more than the lectures of the previous days.

  He was excited to finally be getting the chance to find out what his body's compatibility would be like. This was going to be the part where he found out what his magic affinities were. He wandered the halls until he finally made it to the ‘Kitchen,’ though Jack thought of it more like a cafeteria. He stepped in to find Turrel seated there with an expectant look on his face.

  “Ahh finally, did you want to get some food or go straight into the testing? I know you were looking forward to the more practical side of things.” Turrel turned his head towards Jack and stroked his strange blue beard.

  Jack started to speak but once again found himself admiring the similarities and stark differences between himself and Turrel. Turrel resembled what you might picture if you tried to combine a stereotypical old man tower wizard with long grey hair and a slightly unkempt beard with a massively ripped viking warrior.

  His long hair was braided together and flowed down to his hips. His beard was tied in a ponytail in the middle but the sides flared out and hung down to his chest. All of his hair was a deep sea blue; his head, beard and chest. The man looked like he spent half his life in the gym and stood at least six feet tall.

  His most interesting feature, however, was his eyes. His iris was an almost solid blue, and where the white would normally be it was an almost pearlescent silver that caught the light in strange ways.

  Snapping out of his man-crush jealous daze, he glanced down at his own body and tried to think of a witty retort but gave up, deciding against eating.

  “Nah, I’m good on food. Let's get this done.” He watched Turrel stand up and motion to follow.

  “So, Young Jack, the translators don’t always get things right but you mentioned having stories similar to your current predicament?” Turrel led the way out of the kitchen and into the outdoor section of the facility.

  Thoughts of hundreds of different stories and anime flashed through Jack's mind, and he simply nodded.

  “Yeah, there were a few. Normally the test part is some sort of stone or orb people place their hands on that flashes a colour to tell them what kind of magic they will get. Is it going to be like that?”

  “Hmm well, not exactly. Maybe a little similar. Less magical mystical and more scientific.” Turrel offered a slight grin.

  “Now, as I have said before, you don’t ‘get’ magic.” Turrel used air quotes for emphasis. “We are about to test to see what mana frequencies your body will resonate with. The Origin wave leaves an… essence once it passes. That essence modifies a person and allows them to ‘use’ mana.”

  “Even if your body resonates with a certain frequency, that doesn't mean you will be able to manipulate it. You might be able to absorb or sense it and not use it. Which would be unlucky but it does happen.” Continuing, Turrel put on his slightly condescending lecturing voice as he tried to temper Jack's expectations.

  “Wait, why would it be unfortunate if you could only absorb mana and not use it? Would you like, explode or something?” Jack laughed awkwardly.

  Making eye contact with Jack, Turrel grinned. “Something like that, ahh but there are so many possibilities to consider, so many frequencies and different combinations. If you are lucky, your body might resonate with a prime frequency.”

  “Did you mention those already? Sounds like something I would remember, is that like some sort of special affinity? Like void mana or something? Doesn't really matter anyway I’m not a lucky person at all. Unlucky Jack, that was my nickname, or one of them at least.” Jack shook his head.

  “Well, just you being here already is either an immensely lucky or unlucky thing, I guess only time will tell. Similarly the Prime frequencies are something unique. They do not affect your ‘affinities’ so to speak but they generally have an impact on how your body utilises them. Depending on any number of factors or what affinities you might have, a Prime frequency could be either a curse or a blessing.” Turning to smile at Jack, for a second Jack thought he saw an actual sparkle in the corner of Turrel's eye.

  “Of course the odds for that would be one in a quintillion, and with chances like that, it’s not even worth considering. Oh, look at that, here we are. Jack, this is the testing device. Are you ready?”

  Jack followed Turrel's gaze towards what can only be described as a medieval torture device with a screen attached. He turned and looked back at Turrel.

  “Maybe we don't have to do this today, I think I might be hungry all of a sudden.”

  Thanks again for giving me your time and I hope you enjoy the story!