Chapter 33: Shielding and Optimization

Joshua sipped his coffee, staring at his laptop screen, his mind racing. A good offense was essential, but he couldn't ignore defense. His Needle Shot was lethal, but what if he missed? What if the enemy fired first?

A deep exhale. He needed shields.

He cracked his knuckles and opened a new research tab.

Forcefields.

They weren't just the cool sci-fi fantasy kind—they had to be practical. A shield wasn't just a wall; it was a system designed to absorb, deflect, or disperse incoming force.

He needed to design something efficient, durable, and sustainable with his limited energy reserves.

Joshua dived into research. Real-world armor followed three main concepts:

Kevlar (Soft Armor): Woven fibers that spread out impact energy. Good against low-speed projectiles but ineffective against high-caliber rounds.

Ballistic Steel & Ceramic (Hard Armor): Heavy, durable, but transfers shock to the wearer. Ceramic dissipates energy by shattering, reducing penetration.

Graphene (Advanced Material): Ultra-light and absurdly strong. Perfect for absorbing and redistributing energy efficiently.

If he wanted a forcefield, it had to integrate these concepts.

He needed a system with three layers, each designed to handle different types of attacks.

1. Outer Layer – Repulsive Barrier: A high-frequency oscillating field to deflect small projectiles and reduce impact energy. This should deflect about 20% of the damage.

2. Middle Layer – Kinetic Absorption Grid: Converts raw kinetic force into harmless thermal energy. This layer should absorb 50% of the damage but, will be the most energy consuming due to the energy conversion.

3. Inner Layer – Core Stabilization Field: A final, dense barrier to slow down anything that breaks through. This should stop the remaining inertia by approximately 10%.

All three layers should theoretically absorb 80% of the damage more or less.

Joshua estimated his body mass at around 110 kg and his height at 190 cm. Given a cylindrical approximation of his body, the surface area requiring shielding would be substantial.

Using an approximation:

Surface Area ≈ 2πrh + 2πr²

Assuming an average radius of 25 cm (0.25m) (considering torso bulk),

Height = 1.9m

A \approx 2\pi(0.25)(1.9) + 2\pi(0.25)^2

A \approx 3.0 + 0.4 = 3.4 \text{ m}^2

Since all three shield layers stack, each layer must cover this full surface.

Based on a rough estimate of how much energy real materials dissipate per area per second when subjected to high-speed impacts.

Each layer consumes:

Outer Layer (Repulsion) = 5 Joules per m² per second

Middle Layer (Absorption) = 12 Joules per m² per second

Inner Layer (Core Barrier) = 8 Joules per m² per second

Total Energy Consumption per second:

(5 + 12 + 8) \times 3.4 = 85 \text{ Joules per second}

Max duration at 36,000 Joules safe limit:

\frac{36,000}{85} \approx 424 \text{ seconds} \quad \text{(7 minutes)}

Max duration at 40,000 Joules (pushing the limit):

\frac{40,000}{85} \approx 471 \text{ seconds} \quad \text{(7 minutes and 50 seconds)}

Joshua frowned at the estimated values. At the most, during combat, he can only utilize 2 maybe 5 minutes of shield time as he is also dishing out damage. This is too inefficient.

He will be pushing the limits of his mental capacity when firing shots and at the same time, maintaining a shield around his entire body.

Joshua realized that a purely energy-based shield was inefficient.

If he had a sturdy physical shield, he could envelop it with his forcefield instead of generating a floating energy barrier.

Advantages:

Lower Energy Consumption – The shield's solid structure absorbs some of the impact, reducing energy needed for the forcefield.

Increased Durability – The physical shield takes the brunt of attacks, while the energy shield enhances its resistance.

Smaller Surface Area – Instead of covering a large area, he only needs to coat the shield itself.

Assuming a metal round shield (100 cm diameter, ~0.785 m² surface area):

Instead of three full layers of forcefield, he could modify the layers:

Outer Layer – Repulsion Field: Still needed to deflect weaker projectiles (5 Joules/m²/sec).

Middle Layer – Energy Absorption Grid: Reduced in intensity, since the shield itself absorbs some impact (12 Joules/m²/sec).

Inner Layer – Structural Stabilization: Moderate energy usage (8 Joules/m²/sec).

Total per second:

(5 + 12 + 8) \times 0.785 = 19.63 \text{ Joules per second}

Max Duration (36,000 Joules safe limit):

\frac{36,000}{19.63} \approx 30.6 \text{ minutes}

Max Duration (40,000 Joules pushing the limit):

\frac{40,000}{19.63} \approx 34.0 \text{ minutes}

Joshua smirked. This was the best solution.

Instead of wasting energy on maintaining a floating shield, he could merge his forcefield with a sturdy round shield, reducing energy waste while still gaining powerful defense.

He just needs to request a custom shield forged from his master.

Now, that offense and defense is taken cared of, he needs to estimate how much is his energy absorption rate.

He recalled that he needs about 5 hours to replenish his depleted core.

Joshua's core has a safe limit of 40,000 Joules and an absolute limit of 45,000 Joules before risking implosion. His natural recovery rate is 2 to 2.22 Joules per second, requiring 5 hours (18,000 seconds) to fully recharge from zero.

By meditating, he can accelerate absorption by 3× to 5×, increasing his recovery rate to:

6 to 6.66 Joules per second at 3× boost (~1.5 to 1.85 hours to recover).

10 to 11.1 Joules per second at 5× boost (~1 to 1.25 hours to recover).

However, maintaining 5× absorption for long periods causes severe mental fatigue.

Offensively:

Fast Attack – Needle Shot (400 Joules per shot)

Passive absorption: 1 shot per 3 to 3.3 minutes.

3× meditation: 1 shot per 1 to 1.1 minutes.

5× meditation: 1 shot per 36 to 40 seconds.

Sustainable with meditation but inefficient if spammed rapidly.

Balanced Attack – Penetrating Shot (2,000 Joules per shot)

Passive absorption: 1 shot every 15 to 16.6 minutes.

3× meditation: 1 shot every 5 to 5.5 minutes.

5× meditation: 1 shot every 3 to 3.3 minutes.

Requires careful resource management in long battles.

Heavy Attack – Devastator Shot (15,000 Joules per shot)

Passive absorption: 1 shot every 2 to 2.08 hours.

3× meditation: 1 shot every 40 to 50 minutes.

5× meditation: 1 shot every 27 to 30 minutes.

Too costly to be used frequently, reserved for critical moments.

Defensively:

Full-Body Shield (3.4m², 85 Joules per second)

Passive absorption: Drains 83 more Joules per second than he recovers.

3× meditation: Lasts ~6 to 6.6 minutes.

5× meditation: Lasts ~4 to 4.5 minutes.

Conclusion: Completely unsustainable unless used briefly.

Enhanced Round Shield (100cm, 0.79m², 19.75 Joules per second)

Passive absorption: Lasts ~30 to 35 minutes.

3× meditation: Lasts ~3 to 3.5 hours.

5× meditation: Can be maintained indefinitely as long as his mind holds out.

Conclusion: The best option for sustainable defense.

For sustained combat, he focuses on Fast Attacks while maintaining an enhanced round shield, ensuring he doesn't drain his reserves too quickly.

For tougher enemies, he can use Balanced Attacks sparingly while absorbing energy at a 3× rate to recover in between.

For finishing moves, he saves Heavy Attacks for critical moments but only when he has enough reserves, as even 5× meditation would take at least 30 minutes to recover from one shot.

Full-body shielding is only for emergencies, as it consumes too much energy to be viable long-term.

By balancing offense and defense, Joshua ensures he can fight efficiently without exhausting his core energy too quickly.

Now he just needs to test these estimations in the game without blowing himself up.

Joshua chuckled while pinching the bridge of his nose. He spent the entire day calculating and formulating. He needed a break.

Carelessly putting on clothes, he walked outside in search for somewhere cheap to pig out.