Chương 60: [Unlimited Power (Sort Of)]

The training ground was still busy when they arrived, the second session of the morning running on the far side, the sound of wood swishing through the air carrying across the open space. Shai crossed to the nearest trainer, said a few words, and came back.

"We're not going to be in the way," she said.

"But I'm not promising we won't get some attention."

"Fine by us," Leo said.

"Might get a few more people trying their magic if they see something worth copying." Shai looked at him for a moment.

"I'll get you some targets." She headed to the back of the ground where the spare equipment was stored, Torren following without being asked. They came back carrying five stone targets between them, each one roughly the size of a torso, set on a weighted base. The surface of each was covered in faint lines with runic looking symbols running in patterns that caught the light differently to the stone around them.

"Marcus's work," Shai said, setting one down.

"He's our rune scribe. The village found him a basic text when he was young, invested in him. These won't shatter on magical impact, they're built for it." Parmo crouched to look at the nearest one.

"Enchanted stone targets. That's pretty cool."

"Yeah, good for magic practice," Shai said.

"We knew training here would need them eventually. More than the village at least, so Marcus made us some." She straightened up and looked across the ground to where the new guards were waiting at the far edge.

"I need to go speak to them, let them know the plan for later. I'll be back in a moment." She crossed the ground, spoke briefly, and was back before the boys had finished setting up and getting ready. Rika had already settled herself on the grass nearby, knees up, watching. Torren stood beside her, unhurried, arms loose at his sides.

"Right," Leo said.

"Let's see where we're at." They started on their original spells. Not pushing for anything new yet, just warming up, finding the feel of it again after days of only getting bits and pieces in between training sessions. Leo cast Spark and held it between his palms, the arc familiar now, almost comfortable. He let it run for a few seconds then tried directing it, guiding the arc slightly left then right in his palm. It wasn't much but it was consistent.

The spark followed his intent rather than just jumping between the nearest points. Phil's Ember Blast hit the target with a solid thud of heat, the runes in the stone absorbing it cleanly. He pulled it back, made it tighter, a smaller denser burst. Then wider. The shape responded. Luka had Standfast up, the translucent barrier holding in front of his palm. He pushed against the edges of it mentally, feeling where it wanted to give. It held longer than it used to.

He tried angling it, tilting the face of it slightly. It moved. Sam's Concealing Veil sat low across the grass around his feet, thicker than it had been a week ago. He breathed and pushed it deliberately to the left. It went. He pulled it back. Pushed it right. He frowned, focused, and the density shifted in the leading edge, thicker where he wanted it to travel.

"That's different," he said quietly.

"What is?" Rika said immediately.

"The fog. It's not just sitting there anymore. I can push it, change how thick it is in different parts." He watched it move.

"I think the more I use it the more I can do with it. Like the control is unlocking things rather than the spell itself. It's still not where I want it but it's come a long way since I got it." Torren looked at the others.

"Is that the same for all of you?" Leo directed the spark left again.

"Yeah. Mine's been doing this for a few days. Didn't think much of it."

"Mine too," Phil said. Parmo had been quiet through most of this, Enhanced Snow Burst firing at the target in steady even shots through the tab, each one shattering on impact. He'd stopped thinking about how to cast it a long time ago, the tab made it quick and automatic. Mana drained and refilled, drained and refilled. He just kept going. He fired again. The burst left his hand and hit the target.

The sound was different this time, heavier than the crack from the sessions before, a solid thud that hit first and then, half a beat later, scattered. The shard held its shape on impact just long enough before it gave way all at once, fragments spraying outward in a short burst, smaller pieces rattling off the stone like a second hit following the first. Parmo lowered his hand and looked at it. He raised it and fired again. Same sound. Same delayed scatter.

The runes in the stone flared briefly and settled, doing their job. The ground went quiet. The chime sounded. [Enhanced Snow Burst → Ice Shard] Type: Ice Projection Spell Difficulty: Low Skill Level: Apprentice Range: 10-30m [EXPAND] Effect Summary: – Concentrated shard of dense ice launched from the hand – Moderate damage output, impact causes splintering on contact with delayed fragmentation Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

– Medium mana cost – Elemental signature: Ice Activation Trace: → Conceptual focus: Consistent repetition through tab quick-cast, sustained intent toward projection → Emotional state: Persistent focus, steady determination → Intent: Volume of use, continuous casting until spell responded System Analysis: – Mana pathway stable and widening – Elemental attunement confirmed: Ice – Current Power Level: Proficient – Progression method: Repetition through tab, sustained mana cycling Potential Threads: → [Ice Lance] — High damage single projectile, increased mana cost → [Glacial Volley] — Multiple smaller shards, wider coverage, crowd suppression → [Frost Wall] — Stationary ice barrier, area denial → [Ice Coat] — Applies ice layer to surface or object, utility and slow effect Parmo read through it twice without speaking.

Then looked up at the three of them.

"Cool, my spell just leveled up. It's changed from Snow Burst to Ice Shard. It seems to be stronger and has a longer range. Works a little like a shotgun I think. It hits then shatters and does extra damage as an after effect. I can see the names of the new spells coming off Ice Shard as well now."

"New spells?" asked Rika.

"Right, so the tab has always had this kind of diagram thing," he said.

"The spell sits in the middle, like a point on a map. Lines coming off it in different directions, each one leading somewhere else. Before today those end points were all blank, just lines going nowhere. Now four of them have names. I can see what they are." Sam already had the pencil and paper out.

"Tell me what you see, I'll draw it." Parmo described it, Sam sketching as he went. A circle in the centre with four lines radiating outward, a smaller circle at the end of each with a name written inside. He held it up so Shai, Rika and Torren could see. Rika leaned forward.

"So those are spells you could learn next?"

"Looks like it," Parmo said.

"The lines were there before, they were just blank. Now they have names." He looked at the target.

"Ice Lance is the one I want first."

"I'm glad you want that over Glacial Volley," Leo said.

"That one worries me."

"Why?" Rika said.

"Friendly fire," Leo said.

"If he's behind us firing volleys of ice in our direction. He's going to hit me." Parmo looked at him.

"That's never going to happen. I've got complete control over where these go." The other four looked at him.

"What?" Parmo said.

"You have control over your spell cos you've been doing it constantly for the last week or so. When you unlock Ice Lance, it's going to be like when you got Snow Burst. You'll need to build up control. Now imagine you use that volley spell when you can't control it and we're standing in front of you...

"You're worrying over nothing. I'll get the hang of it in record time."

"Sure. We believe you mate..." Phil said, sarcasm obvious.

"You clearly don't."

"We do," Luka said. Same tone. Parmo looked at Torren for support. Torren looked away.

"Just wait, I'll prove you all wrong." He grinned. They got back to it, the conversation settling as everyone returned to their targets. Leo turned back to his. Enhanced Spark jumped between his palms, the control solid now, directing it left and right without thinking. He'd been trying to push it further for days, get it to leave his hand entirely rather than arcing between them. It hadn't worked yet. He tried again, intent focused on the target, willing the arc to extend, to cross the gap. Nothing.

He reset and tried again. He wasn't frustrated. This was just where it was at. He kept going the same way Parmo had, trusting the repetition. He tried again. The arc ran between his palms, familiar and comfortable. He pushed the intent outward, toward the target, feeling for the moment it might cross over into something different. It didn't. He reset. Tried again. The arc ran, he pushed, and this time something shifted. The drain on his mana was noticeably different.

It drained way more than he was used to for a single cast. He pushed harder, held the intent on the target, on the space between him and the stone. The arc left his hands. It crossed the gap in a fraction of a second and hit the target with a crack that rolled across the open ground like a gunshot. A brief flash lit the stone face, sharp and white, gone before anyone had fully registered it. The runes flared hard and settled, the stone ringing faintly from the impact. Everything stopped.

Leo stood with his hand still raised, staring at the target. Along the training ground heads had turned. Trainees, trainers, everyone within earshot looking over. Aldric had his hand on a student's shoulder mid correction, completely still. Bram was watching with open surprise. Kai looked up. For a split second, his mask slipped, a smile threatening to break his indifferent expression. Then he caught himself. The memory of who he was looking at took hold, and the flat watchfulness returned, colder than before.

Rika was already on her feet. Leo lowered his hand slowly. The target had a faint scorch where the bolt had hit, the runes doing their job but traces left behind all the same.

"Holy fuck. Was that—" Phil started.

"Yeah man, it worked. Unlimited power." Leo said in a stupid voice. The chime sounded.

[Enhanced Spark] Type: Lightning Discharge Spell Difficulty: Low Skill Level: Apprentice Range: Touch [EXPAND] Effect Summary: – Controlled arc of lightning extending from the hand – Low to moderate damage output – Low mana cost – Elemental signature: Lightning System Analysis: – Mana pathway stable and widening – Elemental attunement confirmed: Lightning – Current Power Level: Developing – Progression method: Repetition through tab, intent refinement Potential Threads: → [Lightning Blast] — Projected discharge, extended range, higher damage → [Lightning Coat] — Applies charge to surface or object → [Lightning Field] — Creates charged area, disrupts movement within it → [Lightning Amp] — Channels lightning through body, enhances speed and reflexes [Lightning Blast] Type: Lightning Projection Spell Difficulty: Medium Skill Level: Novice Range: 20m [EXPAND] Effect Summary: – Concentrated bolt of lightning projected from the hand – Moderate to high damage output – Medium mana cost – Elemental signature: Lightning System Analysis: – Mana pathway active, early stage – Elemental attunement confirmed: Lightning – Current Power Level: Foundational – Progression method: First successful cast, intent driven Potential Threads: → [???] → [???] → [???] Leo read through both entries, eyes moving between them.

"Right," he said.

"So I've got two things." The others gathered round. Sam had the pencil and paper ready.

"Enhanced Spark is the same as before but it's got four named lines coming off it now, same as Parmo's Ice Shard." Leo paused.

"But one of those lines, the first one, that's not just a name. That's a new spell. Lightning Blast. I just unlocked it. And it's got its own three lines coming off it but they're all blank." Sam was already drawing. Two circles this time, one larger in the centre, four lines coming off it, one of those lines leading to a second smaller circle, three short lines coming off that with nothing at the end of them. He held it up. Torren looked at it for a long moment.

Then at Parmo's diagram sitting on the grass beside it.

"His has one circle," Torren said.

"Yours has two."

"Yeah," Leo said.

"Parmo's spell got stronger. Mine stayed a level behind in control but I unlocked something new." Rika looked between the two diagrams.

"So the new lines lead to other spells. Maybe stronger ones?"

"Looks like it," Leo said. He glanced at the target, the scorch mark still faintly visible.

"That was the new one. First time it's ever fired."

"It was so loud, like actual thunder," Rika said.

"Yeah," Leo grinned.

"It was like a gunshot. Let's hope its as poweful as one."