The bully, a giant of a boy named Silas, stepped into the infirmary with a sneer. Two other lackeys followed, their electronic 'Link-Watches' glowing on their wrists—a symbol of their status in Science City.
"Did you hear me, trash?" Silas barked, cracking his knuckles. "The hospital bill for your 'accident' cost me my weekly allowance. You're going to pay me back, one way or another."
Ray stayed silent, sitting on the edge of the bed. He was measuring the distance, calculating the oxygen levels, and most importantly, feeling the faint hum of electricity running through the walls. In this world, mana was scarce, but energy was everywhere.
"Still acting like a mute?" Silas swung a heavy, powered-up fist.
Ray didn't flinch. Instead of dodging, he reached out and grabbed Silas's wrist. To everyone's shock, the thin, pale boy held the brute in place with unnatural strength.
"Mana Circuit: Ignition," Ray whispered.
He didn't use a spell. He used his body as a conductor, pulling a tiny fraction of the electricity from the infirmary's lighting grid through his hand and directly into Silas's arm.
ZZZZZT!
A spark of violet lightning erupted. Silas screamed as a high-voltage shock threw him across the room, his Link-Watch short-circuiting in a puff of black smoke.
"What... what did you do?" the other two gasped, stumbling back in terror. "You don't have an implant! How did you use electricity?"
Ray stood up, his thin frame suddenly casting a long, intimidating shadow. His violet eyes glowed with a predatory light. "This isn't electricity from a machine, you fools. This is the spark of the beginning."
Before they could react, the infirmary's lights began to flicker and shatter, one by one. The air grew heavy with the smell of ozone. Ray realized that while his mana was low, he could 'eat' the technology of this city to fuel his Forbidden Magic.
"Who's next?" Ray asked, his voice calm but cold as ice.
The bullies scrambled out of the room, leaving Silas unconscious on the floor. Ray looked at his hand, a thin trail of violet smoke rising from his fingertips. A world of science? No. To him, this was just a world filled with batteries waiting to be drained.