Casual Heroing

Chapter 37: Fastball

Whatever magic is, Im a sucker for it.

Theres no denying it.

Theres no Lucinda, no baking, nothing in the world, while I look at this problem. Its like everything else ceased existing the moment I started practicing.

As I was saying, birds and cars make up for an interesting problem, but I have to figure out how the polarity works. The fact that vectors can go off at different times already solved the problem of spinning in a circle, maybe, but I still dont understand how the movement is generated.

Im thinking of electromagnetic fields and such, but something tells me the answer lies elsewhere.

At first, I expected the [Light] to move in the opposite direction it had actually moved. I imagined it would have gone where fewer starting points had been generated. Why? Sort of like an osmosis process, moving to fill in the energy void. Instead, it went in the direction I had started tracing from.

Was the first mana I had laid down doing something while I traced the rest? Did it generate some sort of a pull that attracted the rest?

What was it?

The question claws at my curiosity, but I decide to put it away and get back to the practical problem.

Time, quantity and energy.

What else is there?

How thick or thin I paint those ethereal lines?

No, thats just following the matrix. Maybe a more experienced [Mage] can touch that thickness to harness different effects, but its not something Im concerned with. Its just a byproduct of those using magic, not an intrinsic property.

You can go faster or slower, you can

Synchronize them?

Its still about time, but I realize Ive been tracing the matrix at different speeds while not maintaining a constant acceleration for the individual paths. Its good if its not moving, because you still end up with a spell, but otherwise, it becomes a problem!

But this means that I have to look at an end-point, where every single line is converging, and I cannot make adjustments on the go. Well, that sounds like a massive pain since the matrixes are a bit different

Are they actually different?

I mean, they obviously are. But its like dealing with minute differences that can probably be homologated into one fixed matrix if I dont care about 100% efficiency.

Book, do [Mages] craft each matrix differently every time?

No.

And thats that.

It makes much more sense, doesnt it?

You wouldnt expect someone to cast the best version of a stupid spell like [Light] every single time?

I quit the [Deep Focus] because I feel my mind is getting taxed. Also, I dont need it for the next few steps. I prefer letting my mind wander a bit to get the best out of me.

I still keep the [Advanced Mana Sense] on and I look at a matrix that I put a few meters from me. I can still see it clearly, thanks to the shenanigans of my skill; distance doesnt seem to affect me when working with the spell.

I look at all the squiggly moving lines and I start picking out starting points. I dont bother with any difficult movements right now, I just want the [Light] to go straight.

And by the way, as a side note. The Mulligan fellow, who invented this book, is a madman. Or was a madman. I dont know if hes dead or alive. But the problem Im solving is something insane. Theres no way anyone can do all 529 cantrips in 333 days; its plain impossible. Just making a [Light] go in a straight line is a goddamn Herculean Labor.

This is hard work.

I dont like it.

But, oh, boy, am I curious about whats going to happen.

As soon as Im done picking up the starting points, I look at the lines.

Its time to experiment.

Even though the lines are slightly different every time, the time to get from the starting point to the end seems to stay almost the same. A realization suddenly hits me.

I can probably pre-track the lines in my mind and then try to re-do the in the matrix itself. Since I started doing magic, Ive had the distinct impression that my thinking abilities have been somewhat enhanced. Its hard to figure out the distance in a way that would make every line go at pretty much the same speed. But I need to figure it out if I want to give the [Light] spell a good and smooth acceleration.

Now, I know I should be careful and not rush into things. But its like being a kid with a lot of dry wood and an entire box of matches. Sometimes, we just want to see the world burn.

Therefore, even though Im aware its a terrible idea, I look at the matrix and I sketch out the spell in half-a-second.

Before I explain what happened right after that, let me remind you that last time it took me around a minute and a half to cast the spell. So, half a second is what, something like 150 times faster? Yeah, something like that. And do not forget that the spell had actually hit the wall with a soft thud, right? That means the spell has a substance, a manner of physicality.

What would happen if the casting speed and the movement speed were correlated? And what if they were correlated by an exponential relationship? Lets say, theres a curve that goes VROOOM when you get under ten seconds or so I dont have the numbers, sadly, so Im eyeballing here. So, what if said curve meant that the spell would accelerate at insane speed? How fast was it before? Lets say a mile per hour. Maybe less. For the sake of the argument, lets put it at 0.3 mph.

You multiply that by 150 and you get 45 mph.

I know, I didnt want to do math, but my brain is refusing to accept whats just happened. So, please, bear with me.

Fastballs in baseball can reach up to 100 mph. What happens if such a projectile hits you in the face? Well, bottom line is that its not pleasant.

So, our dear spell has gone off like a very fast ball and it hit the wooden wall. How fast is beyond me. I have no idea for two reasons. First, I was still using my magic skill that distorted the world in favor of seeing its pure energy. Second, Im not a huge baseball fan.

What I know is that I just put a hole in a thick, wooden wall.

Another thing I know is that I can already feel someone stomping to my room.