Chapter 37: Testing
Joshua took a deep breath, tightening his grip on the shield. His core pulsed steadily, refining energy in real time as he sustained the layered defense. With proper meditation and controlled energy gathering, he was confident he could maintain this technique indefinitely.
He opened his eyes to see Maydee staring at him, her expression frozen in shock.
"What did you do?" she finally asked, her voice a mix of disbelief and curiosity.
Joshua grinned. "It's a shield on a shield, Master."
Maydee opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. She frowned, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Joshua could see it in her eyes—this was new, something unheard of even for her.
"Let's test it, Master," he said eagerly.
Maydee nodded and led him to the clearing outside the village, the same place where they had trained before. Joshua scanned the surroundings—the dirt-packed training ground, the broken wooden dummies in the distance, and the deep cuts on the surrounding trees from past sessions.
"Give me a moment, Master."
Joshua closed his eyes and repeated the process—
Gathering energy from the environment
Refining it within his core
Projecting it onto his shield
Thin energy layers formed once more, stacking on top of the sturdy round shield. Joshua glanced down, watching the faint shimmer as his defense solidified. His goal was to reach a point where he could deploy this instantly, without the need to pause.
After one final breath, he locked his stance.
"Okay, Master. I'm ready."
Maydee took a step back, studying him. Then, without hesitation, she raised her hand and began chanting.
"Fior i'ma fe'shal, kera no'mun dra'hal—Ignis Hastam!"
A sphere of liquid fire the size of a baseball materialized in her palm, swirling violently with heat and unstable power. The air around it shimmered from the intense heat.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Joshua swallowed but kept his composure.
"Yes, Master."
Maydee flicked her wrist, and the fireball rocketed toward him.
Joshua barely had time to react before—
BANG!
The explosion reverberated through his arm, sending a shockwave down his body. He felt a jarring impact, like a baseball bat slamming into his shield at full force. Heat washed over him, intense but brief. His arms strained for a moment, but his feet remained firmly planted—he did not step back.
A second later, the force dissipated. The shield was still intact. He was still standing.
"It worked!" Joshua exhaled, feeling a rush of excitement.
Quickly doing the math in his head:
Outer Repulsion Field (20%) → 1,000 Joules deflected.
Middle Absorption Grid (50%) → 2,500 Joules absorbed.
Inner Structural Layer (10%) → 500 Joules negated.
Remaining 20% (1,000 Joules) transferred to the shield itself.
More or less 5,000 joules!!!
Joshua was shocked. Moreover, the shield, made of an unknown but incredibly durable metal, absorbed the final estimated 1,000 Joules, leaving the 500 joule impact on Joshua's body.
He still felt like being hit by a baseball at 300 kph but his body just shrugged it off.
Joshua exhaled as the energy dispersed, realizing something incredible—his shield had completely nullified a 5,000 Joule attack.
His arms were steady, his stance unchanged, and his body unharmed. The experiment was a success.
As the smoke cleared,
"Still alive, my disciple?" Maydee asked sarcastically.
Joshua grinned. "Yes, Master! That hurt! But as you can see, I remain unharmed. Was that the limit of the fireball? Do you have stronger spells?"
Maydee narrowed her eyes. That fireball should have been enough to kill a medium-sized monster in the wilderness upon impact, yet her disciple withstood it.
"Very well. Try not to die."
She chanted once more, her voice sharper, the wind around her shifting.
"Fior i'ma fe'shal, cera no'mun ve'hal—Ventus Falx!"
A crescent-shaped blade of compressed wind formed in her palm before shooting forward. Unlike the fireball, this attack was nearly invisible, slicing through the air with an ear-piercing shriek.
Joshua's instincts screamed at him—this was different.
He tripled the energy output of the shield, reinforcing all three layers. Instantly, he felt his core depleting much faster than his absorption rate. This wouldn't last long.
SCHLUKKKK BOOOONG!
A deafening sound reverberated across the clearing. Joshua felt the impact shudder through his arm, his bones vibrating from the sheer force, but—
Nothing. No pain. No wounds.
His shielding had held while the actual shield was still ringing in his arm.
Joshua quickly calculated the force that hit him.
With the outer shielding working at 60%, the middle layer working at 150% (capped at 100% efficiency) and the inner layer absorbing the remaining 30% percent of the damage, plus the approximate 1,000 joule absorption rate of the round shield, Joshua estimated he withstood more that 20,000 joules of energy.
20,000 joules!!!!
Fuck! Now, this is awesome! Joshua felt invinsible at the moment. The shock he felt must be from the sonic boom generated by his master's attack.
Joshua's mind raced. It worked, but this rate of energy consumption wasn't sustainable. He had to refine the process further.
As the dust settled, Maydee's expression turned unreadable. "Joshua."
He looked up. "Yes, Master?"
"You just negated a spell that could split an ogre in half."
Joshua swallowed, realizing the full extent of what he had just accomplished.
"Not bad for a test run, huh?" He forced a grin, but inside, his mind was already racing with ways to improve efficiency.
Maydee exhaled. "We have much to discuss."
Joshua nodded. This was only the beginning.
"Can you hold that thought master? I promise to wholeheartedly explain everything later. But first I need to test out my offensive capabilities while there is still enough light." Joshua pleaded.
Maydee trying to control her impatience. "Very well." Her tone dripping with hidden anger.
Joshua gulped. He hurriedly out down his shield and concentrated on gathering energy to replenish his core.
He turned around and found his targets. Three thick trunked trees in the distance.
Joshua composed himself.
He recalled his three theoretical offensive attacks.
First, Needle Shot.
Joshua concentrated and formulated the attack in his mind. Still gathering energy, he quickly estimated 400 joules and the exact force to propel it more than Mach 1.4
Joshua pointed his finger and fired.
SWOOSH!
The projectile quickly found its target easily piercing the trunk. A round hole barely 10 cm in diameter can be seen dead center.
The attack easily pierced the meter thick tree and then some.
Joshua smiled. Not bad for a basic shot.
He then eyed the third tree while gathering energy.
Next up, the Penetrator.
As he felt he already accumulated 2,000 joules of energy, he quickly calculated and compressed the energy into a ball. On his right hand appeared a transparent ball of energy about 5 cm in diameter. He shaped the ball into a form of a tiny spear.
Joshua pointed his hand at the tree and fired.
SWOOOOOOSH!
The tiny spear travelled much slower than his first attack. It pierced the trunk silently then barely a millisecond after, a huge explosion occured
Silence then, BANG!
The tree's front barely had any damage but the entire back part exploded outward shocking Joshua.
Wow! That was even more fucking awesome!!!
Joshua's smile widened. A sliver of madness present within his eyes.
Now, for the grand finale.
Joshua held both his hands in front of him as he began to push the limits of his energy lines gathering energy.
At 15,000 joules, a ball more than 20 cm in diameter began to coalesce. It formed in the shape of an artillery shell.
Joshua began to laugh as he lightly panted. He then fired the energy shell at the middle tree.
As the slowest of his three attacks, he gazed upon the shimmering shell made of energy make its way to the target.
Joshua whispered, "Boom."
Then it hit.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Joshua was swept away by the explosion. He was thrown by the blast by more than 10 meters.
Joshua lying on the ground was laughing madly.
"SUCCESS! MASTER I DID IT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He shouted while panting heavily before he fainted.