Chapter 24: Chantless Casting

Joshua took a deep breath and turned his back to Maydee, facing the towering tree in front of him. His heartbeat steadied as he began his breathing exercises, just as he had practiced countless times before.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale.

Warm energy swirled through his body, flowing like a steady current. This time, he did not just gather it—he held onto it.

Closing his eyes, he focused on what needed to be done.

A projectile. A bullet, but made purely of energy.

He visualized the size and mass, drawing upon his knowledge from the real world.

A standard 9mm round weighs approximately 7.45 grams (115 grains) and has a muzzle velocity of about 375 m/s. That meant its kinetic energy was:

KE = \frac{1}{2} m v^2

KE = \frac{1}{2} (0.00745 \, \text{kg}) (375^2 \, \text{m}^2/\text{s}^2)

KE = 524.6 \, \text{Joules}

But he wanted to push it further.

Joshua adjusted the parameters, refining his spell. If he increased the mass slightly to 10 grams and boosted the velocity to 500 m/s, the kinetic energy would be:

KE = \frac{1}{2} (0.01) (500^2)

KE = 1250 \, \text{Joules}

Enough to rival a high-powered rifle round.

He could feel the energy coalescing at the tip of his finger, forming an invisible sphere so dense it felt solid.

But something was wrong.

Unbeknownst to him, he was pulling far more energy than necessary. The air around him crackled, rippling like heatwaves over asphalt.

Maydee's eyes widened in alarm. She could feel it—the sheer force of raw energy condensing.

"STOP!" she shouted.

But Joshua didn't hear her.

His mind was too focused, his calculations running like a finely tuned machine.

If I convert all this energy into kinetic force… then the acceleration needs to be—

A blinding light flashed at his fingertip.

"JOSHUA, STOP!"

But it was too late.

BANG!!!

A thunderous explosion tore through the clearing.

Joshua felt himself flying backward, his body weightless for a brief moment before everything went black.

Maydee rushed forward, catching him in her arms before he hit the ground. She gasped.

His finger—bleeding. The flesh around it was slightly burned from the excessive force. What the hell was he trying to do?!

Her head snapped toward the tree.

Her breath caught.

A massive hole had been blasted clean through the trunk, large enough for a person to step through. The edges were seared black, still smoking from the sheer heat of the impact.

"Impossible…"

She looked down at her unconscious disciple, his body limp in her grasp. His breathing was steady but weak, his entire energy pool completely drained.

Maydee let out a heavy sigh. "Stupid disciple…"

She flicked her wrist, summoning a gentle current of wind to lift Joshua's body. The air carried him effortlessly as she turned back toward the village.

Her disciple was reckless. He lacked control. But…

If he could do this without chanting, just by focusing his mind—what would happen if he actually mastered it?

Back in the Village

Maydee entered the house, walking straight to Joshua's temporary room. She carefully laid him down onto the soft mattress. He groaned slightly in his sleep, his face scrunching in pain.

She sighed and knelt beside him, her hands hovering over his injured finger. Soft golden light enveloped her palms as she began chanting.

"Niva, esha, thol. Restore what was lost, mend what was broken."

Spirit energy gathered around Maydee and settled in her hand.

The glow intensified, sinking into Joshua's wounded hand. His torn skin knitted back together, the burns fading until only smooth, unblemished flesh remained.

She observed his sleeping face, her expression unreadable.

"How…?" she whispered.

Her fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of his healed wound.

She had given him the book yesterday. That book contained ten years' worth of knowledge, equations, theories, and calculations on energy manipulation. Even prodigies required years to grasp the fundamentals.

But Joshua…

He had read it once. And now he was doing things that took others a lifetime to achieve.

She sighed, pressing a damp cloth to his forehead. He was still feverish from the energy overload.

Was he truly just some lost traveler?

Something about him didn't add up.

Shaking off her thoughts, she reached into a nearby cabinet, pulling out a small vial of herbal medicine.

She pinched his nose, forcing his mouth open. "You better not spit this out."

She poured the bitter liquid down his throat. Joshua groaned and instinctively swallowed.

She smirked. "That's what I thought."

As she stood, she gave one last glance at her unconscious disciple.

"You're an interesting one, Joshua."

Outside in front of the tree with the huge hole, two large men was standing.

"Did you see it?" Amador asked.

"Yes chief. I never saw anything like it." Bran replied.

"Reckless but bold. Maydee was not able to do that type of magic after a day. It took her almost 10 years to even summon her flames. This outsider is very special." Amador stated.

"Now, we wait, I will go back and watch over the outsider. As soon as he loses his mind, I will send him back to the embrace of our Mother." Bran said.

Amador nodded.

Bran vanished and the chief was left alone admiring the hole in the tree.

Amador touched the wood. It was smooth. It looked burnt but cool to the touch.

"I just hope I made the right decision to welcome you outsider." Amador whispered then he vanished as well.

Joshua opened his eyes, his hand throbbing like a firecracker exploded in his palms.

Sigh.

Another forced logout.

Joshua feeling exhausted decided to sleep and he'll figure out what went wrong in the morning.