Chapter 29: Successful Casting

Joshua followed Maydee outside, his mind buzzing with everything she had explained. The crisp morning air carried a slight chill, but he barely noticed. His body still felt a little sluggish from his recent recovery, but excitement burned through him. Today, he would test his magic properly—without reckless improvisation.

Maydee stopped at a wide clearing, a training ground surrounded by tall, wind-swept trees. The dirt beneath their feet was packed firm from years of combat practice, and scorch marks littered the edges of the field, evidence of past spellwork.

She turned to Joshua, arms crossed. "We start simple. I want you to cast a basic spell—one that requires minimal energy."

Joshua nodded, flexing his fingers. He already knew that Maydee—and all other mages—relied on chanting to stabilize their spells. But his method was different. He wasn't just molding energy; he was structuring it mathematically, compressing it with precise calculations.

His first mistake during his earlier attempt had been adjusting the spell mid-cast, destabilizing the structure. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Focus.

Joshua closed his eyes and centered himself. He needed a controlled test, something measurable. His mind drifted back to the research he had done on firearms before logging in.

If a bullet fired from a handgun traveled at 400 m/s and a rifle round at 900 m/s, the kinetic energy was calculated by:

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

A 9mm handgun round, weighing 7.5 grams (0.0075 kg), would generate:

KE = \frac{1}{2} (0.0075) (400)^2 = 600 J

A 5.56mm rifle round, weighing 4 grams (0.004 kg), at 900 m/s, would generate:

KE = \frac{1}{2} (0.004) (900)^2 = 1620 J

During his failed attempt, his spell had functioned like a bullet with an unstable flight path. If he refined the form and compression correctly, he could control the force and penetration much like how different types of bullets performed.

Joshua opened his eyes and extended his palm forward, focusing on a single point in front of him.

Instead of drawing from external energy, he pulled directly from his core—refined and stable.

Step One: Gathering Energy

He visualized his core as a reservoir, steadily siphoning energy without overdrawing. This time, he maintained a steady flow, ensuring he didn't make the same mistake of exhausting himself completely.

He refined the energy internally, keeping only pure force—not heat, not wind, just raw, concentrated kinetic power. If Maydee could form fire and wind blades, then he could form something just as lethal, but purely through controlled force.

Step Two: Imagining the Form and Effect

This was where his knowledge of firearms came into play.

A bullet's effectiveness wasn't just about speed—it was about shape, mass, and impact energy. He visualized the ideal projectile:

A streamlined, armor-piercing shape like a rifle round.

A dense core, designed for deep penetration.

An outer force layer, stabilizing its trajectory in the air.

He refined it further in his mind, tweaking its virtual aerodynamics like an engineer crafting a precision weapon.

Step Three: Compression and Stabilization

This was where most mages used chants—but Joshua had his own method.

Instead of words, he used equations. He structured the spell's energy compression mathematically, ensuring that the force remained stable and uniform.

To maximize penetration, he needed a high-velocity output with controlled dispersion.

A standard rifle round had a twist rate to stabilize its trajectory; Joshua applied a similar rotation effect using controlled energy flow.

Recoil was another concern—if a gun fired a bullet with 1620 J of energy, it had an equal and opposite force acting backward. He needed to balance that.

Step Four: Release

Joshua exhaled and let the energy go.

A burst of pure force erupted from his palm—silent, unseen, but devastating.

The air shimmered for a fraction of a second before an explosive impact echoed across the field.

The tree exploded into fragments.

The sheer force of the spell had tunneled through the tree, obliterating the solid wood core. The impact point showed a smooth, almost surgical hole—but the back of the tree was completely shredded.

Joshua staggered slightly, feeling the residual force push against him. He had corrected his previous mistake—no wild recoil, no wasted energy.

Maydee's eyes widened. She strode forward, inspecting the wreckage.

"This… wasn't just force," she muttered. "It was concentrated. Directed."

Joshua wiped sweat from his brow. "It was a controlled kinetic strike."

"This... this wasn't just an impact," she murmured. "This was... sharp."

Joshua wiped sweat from his brow. "I shaped it that way."

She turned to him, eyes narrowing. "Shaped? Magic doesn't work like that."

He hesitated, then gestured toward the tree. "Mages form fire into spheres, wind into blades. Why should force be different?"

Maydee's lips pressed into a thin line. "Because force isn't supposed to be controlled like this. It should spread out, scatter—yet you made it move as if it had a body."

Joshua frowned. "Is that strange?"

She sighed. "Yes. Very."

Her gaze shifted back to the tree, troubled. "Try again."

Joshua faced another tree a few paces away and focused. He adjusted his approach—this time, he imagined something different.

A heavier strike. Slower, but with more weight.

He gathered energy, compressed it, and released it.

The tree did not explode—it was pushed back slightly, its thick trunk groaning under the force before a deep fracture appeared along the bark.

Maydee stepped back, her expression darkening.

Joshua clenched his fists. He was getting a better feel for it now.

Testing Variations

Joshua wiped the sweat from his forehead. His magic wasn't limited to just simple blasts. If he could control its form, he could modify its effects.

He experimented.

Piercing Strike

A narrow, focused force.

Designed for deep penetration.

Test: It punched through the thick trunk of a larger tree, leaving a clean hole.

Shattering Impact

A wide, forceful burst instead of a single point.

Like a battering ram, meant to break instead of pierce.

Test: The bark of a tree split apart, sending cracks running down the trunk.

Spread Shot

Multiple small bursts instead of one big one.

Test: A group of thinner trees was all struck at once, their leaves shaking violently.

Each variation required adjusting the way he compressed and released the energy. The sharper the shape, the more energy it needed to stay stable. The wider the force, the harder it was to maintain control.

By the time he finished, his breathing was ragged, and his legs trembled from exhaustion.

Maydee stood in silence, her gaze unreadable.

"You shouldn't be able to do this," she finally said.

Joshua sighed. "Well, I can."

She looked at the trees—now damaged, split, and riddled with holes. Then back at him.

"You just created something completely new," she muttered. "Do you realize that?"

Joshua crossed his arms. "Isn't magic about pushing limits?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "But this... this isn't normal. You are about to re-write the very concept of combat magic!"

She turned fully toward him, her expression serious. "Joshua, your magic isn't like anything I've seen before. It's not fire, not wind, not earth or water. It's..." She struggled for words.

"Something else," he finished.

She exhaled sharply. "Yes. Something else."

She gestured at the ruined trees. "You refined the way your magic moves. You shaped it without a chant. You stabilized it without an element. You even changed its effect at will."

Joshua simply nodded. "And?"

Maydee's eyes locked onto his, intense and unwavering. "And that makes you dangerous."

Joshua blinked.

"Magic has rules, Joshua," she continued. "Chanting is supposed to be necessary. Elements are supposed to define what a mage can do. Even the greatest mages in history never ignored these limits."

She pointed at him. "But you're breaking all of them."

Joshua didn't know how to respond to that.

He wasn't trying to break rules—he was just doing what made sense to him.

Maydee let out a deep breath. "We need to train this properly. If you don't control it, others will fear it."

Joshua hesitated. "Fear?"

"Yes," she said grimly. "Because power like this—power that doesn't follow the known laws of magic—has always been seen as unnatural."

Joshua swallowed hard. He hadn't considered that.

Maydee shook her head. "But there's no turning back now. You need to refine this even further. If you don't master it, someone else will try to master you."

Joshua clenched his fists. He understood what she meant.

This wasn't just about becoming stronger anymore. It was about making sure no one else controlled his power before he could.

Maydee studied him for a moment, then finally sighed. "We'll continue training tomorrow. Rest for now."

Joshua nodded slowly.

As Maydee walked away, he looked back at the ruined trees.

His magic wasn't an element. It wasn't fire, wind, or water.

It was something else entirely.

And that meant he had to figure out how to wield it before anyone else did.