B2 | Chapter 37 - Future Plans

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B2 | Chapter 37 - Future Plans

Theodore stared at the boulder with the kind of focused irritation that usually preceded him doing something he'd probably regret later. The thing just sat there like it knew exactly how much trouble it was going to cause him. Which, knowing his luck and the fact that Varyndros had apparently decided to take a personal interest in his life, it probably did.

Well, if Varyndros wanted him to sever this thing with a single strike, Theodore was going to give it his absolute best shot. Starting with the obvious approaches and working his way up to the stupid ones.

He began with [Elemental Mastery], because why not start with what he knew worked on most things that needed breaking? Theodore pulled mana from his center and shaped it into compressed air, packing it tighter and tighter until it hummed with barely contained pressure. The compressed air slammed into the dome with a sound like thunder, and Theodore watched with growing annoyance as absolutely nothing happened. The surface didn't even vibrate. It was like trying to break a mountain with a harsh word.

Theodore pulled more mana, this time compressing air into what he'd started calling his ball of doom. Air mana compressed again and again until it was barely the size of a shirt button but contained enough force to trash a small room. The process took careful control and a not-insignificant amount of his mana reserves, but if anything was going to crack this oversized paperweight, it would be this.

The ball of doom had served him well in the past, turning simple air into something that could punch through armor or shatter stone, so he wondered how it'd fare against this.

He launched the compressed sphere at the dome, and the resulting explosion made his ears ring and sent a shockwave through the frozen ground that he felt in his bones. When the dust settled, the dome sat there looking exactly as it had been before, and just as unmarked as it had moments before.

Maybe elemental attacks would work better than pure force. He formed javelins of ice that gleamed like crystal spears in the weak winter sunlight. The ice javelins shattered against the dome's surface like they were made of glass hitting a brick wall.

Water came next, then air, then fire—each element shaped into the most destructive form Theodore could manage: which, naturally, was a javelin or a spear, given that he'd perfected that shape in his head. The fire javelins burned hot enough to melt steel, the water ones moved with enough force to cut through tree trunks, and the air constructs carried enough kinetic energy to punch holes in castle walls. None of them left so much as a scuff mark on the dome's impossibly smooth surface.

Theodore was starting to understand why Jack had looked so defeated when he'd arrived. This thing wasn't just resistant to magic, it was actively mocking their attempts to affect it in any meaningful way.

But he wasn't done yet. Theodore pulled thermal energy from the environment around him as well as his reserves, feeling the temperature drop as he siphoned heat into his newest attempt at a solution. If raw elemental force wasn't going to work, maybe he could try something with his newer affinities. Thermal energy was tricky to work with, harder to control than the classical elements, but it packed a punch when properly applied.

He compressed the thermal mana the same way he'd compressed the air, packing more and more heat energy into a space smaller than his fist. The process made his teeth ache and his vision blur slightly from the effort, but Theodore kept pushing until he had what felt like a miniature sun hovering above his palm.

The thermal ball of doom hit the dome and exploded outward in a wave of superheated air that charred the field for ten feet in every direction and left a small crater in the frozen ground. Theodore felt the heat wash over him as well as the force, but all of it easily got absorbed. He just had to squint through the brief but intense show of light.

When his vision cleared, the dome sat in the middle of the blackened, smoking field looking as untouched as ever.

Theodore stared at the destruction he'd caused to Farmer Jed's property and felt a pang of guilt that cut through his frustration. He was going to have to pay the man extra compensation for this mess, and probably help restore the field to something resembling its original condition. The farmer had been patient with their magical experiments, but there were limits to how much damage a reasonable person could be expected to tolerate.

Still, the thermal energy had failed just like everything else. Theodore didn't have enough kinetic energy stored to try anything substantial in that direction, and his other affinities were still too new for him to have developed proper combat applications. Maybe it was time to admit that a frontal assault wasn't going to work and try a different approach entirely.

Or maybe it was time to go home and think about this problem from a different angle. Theodore sighed and turned away from the dome, leaving it to squat in the middle of the damaged field like a monument to his failure.

The walk back to the manor gave him time to think, and Theodore found himself pulling mana from his center almost absently as he considered his options. The familiar weight of shaped mana in his mental grasp was comforting, like a worry stone he could manipulate while his conscious mind worked on other problems.

He started simple, forming the mana into basic geometric shapes that hovered above his hand: a sphere, a cube, a pyramid. Each one held its form easily, requiring only a fraction of his attention to maintain. Theodore had been practicing mana manipulation for long enough that these basic exercises felt as natural as breathing.

The simplicity was almost boring, so he started creating multiple smaller spheres instead, juggling them in his mental grip like invisible balls. Still no real challenge there, just a matter of dividing his attention between several simple constructs instead of focusing on one.

Theodore clicked his tongue in mild annoyance at how easy it all was.

He needed something that would actually push his limits if he wanted to improve his control. So he shifted the approach, transforming one of his spheres into a cube and setting it spinning in place. That was harder, requiring him to actively maintain the rotational force while keeping the cube's shape stable.

On top of the spinning cube, Theodore carefully balanced an upside-down pyramid, setting it spinning like a spinner on the pyramid's point. The difficulty jumped significantly, so much so that he had to maintain the cube's rotation, the pyramid's spin, and the delicate balance point where the two constructs met. It was manageable, but it required genuine concentration.

The real challenge came when he added several smaller spheres around the central construct, positioning them like planets in fixed orbits around a star. Each sphere had to maintain its position relative to the spinning central mass. They were essentially "stuck" in the orbit circle, without moving. Theodore found himself having to devote most of his focus to the exercise, his mental attention stretched thin across everything.

But he wasn't done yet. Theodore tried to set the orbital spheres into motion, spinning them around their axis without moving them on the orbit because that wasn't possible for him yet. They were around central construct like a proper planetary system. The moment he attempted to add that final layer of complexity in the form of rotating the spheres on their axis, the entire construct collapsed, the carefully balanced mana shapes dissolving back into mana.

Theodore sighed and started over, rebuilding the construct from scratch while his mind wandered to other concerns. The kilns were built and waiting for the new fervidite and rune inscription work to be completed. Once those were operational, he could finally move forward with the public bath project he'd been planning. But that would take time to implement properly, which would leave him open looking for other projects to pursue while he trained for the tournament in the capital.

There were several issues that needed his attention, and Theodore found himself cataloging them as he worked on rebuilding his mana construct.

The corrupted land from the incursion was probably the most pressing long-term concern. He had an idea that his life and death affinities might be able to address the contamination, but he'd need to spend considerably more time experimenting with those particular affinities of his before he could even begin to develop a proper solution.

Then there was the heating problem. Winter was hard on his people, and while they managed well enough with traditional methods, Theodore couldn't help but think there had to be a better way. Fervidite could provide heat, and with his new rune inscription skills, he might be able to create some kind of affordable heating solution for individual homes. Maybe something that could keep food warm as well, and if he was feeling ambitious, perhaps even a cooling system for the summer months.

A magical refrigerator wasn't outside the realm of possibility given [Rune Inscription], and the applications for food preservation alone would be significant. The product would probably be his next big splash in the kingdom after soap.

Winter also meant beast migrations, which was another concern entirely. Theodore's people were reasonably well-defended, but the local soldiers could always use better equipment. Maybe it was time to seriously consider developing firearms, assuming he could work out the technical challenges involved. After all, he wasn't really that knowledgeable about them. He knew some basics, but that was all. He would need to improvise. Magical enhancement of projectile weapons had potential, though he'd need to be careful about making anything too advanced too quickly.

And then there was the tournament itself. Theodore still needed to figure out the clone spell or skill that would let him remain in Holden while also traveling to the capital. The political implications of the tournament were significant enough that he couldn't afford to skip it, but he also couldn't afford to be away from his territory for an extended period.

The refrigerator idea kept coming back to him as he worked through the possibilities. With his [Rune Inscription] skill, he should be able to create something that could store and use mana as a power source. The "battery" inscriptions would need regular recharging, but that wasn't necessarily a problem. In fact, it could be turned into a feature: a monthly service that brought in steady revenue while providing a genuine benefit to his people.

The main technical hurdle would be dealing with affinity contamination. Everyone's mana was influenced by their personal affinities, which meant that someone with fire affinity couldn't necessarily power a device designed for neutral mana—or ice affinity mana in this case—without causing problems. Theodore would need to develop some kind of filtering or conversion system that could neutralize incoming mana and convert it into a form that the device could safely use.

It was an interesting challenge, and Theodore found himself genuinely excited about the possibilities. He had solid, concrete goals to work toward before he needed to leave for the capital, and each one would provide genuine benefits to his people while also advancing his own magical knowledge.

[Mana Control] has leveled up! - Lvl 7 > Lvl 8!

[Meditation] has leveled up! - Lvl 23 > Lvl 24!

Theodore blinked in mild surprise as the notifications appeared in his peripheral vision. He'd been so focused on his planning that he hadn't realized he'd been maintaining the mana construct for the entire walk back to the manor. The complex arrangement of spinning shapes had become second nature, requiring only a small portion of his attention to keep stable. And not to mention that somewhere along the way he had started rotating the spheres on their axis too! He recalled failing multiple times and restarting, but he had been so lost in thought he hadn't entertained the possibility of level ups.

With the level increases, the construct felt noticeably easier to maintain. Theodore could sense the improved efficiency in his mana control, the enhanced focus that let him handle the multiple moving parts with less mental strain. It was a good feeling. Not the mention [Meditation] only needed one more level to evolve!

Time to push the limits again. Theodore carefully began setting one of the orbital spheres into motion. Just one. And as he watched, it started to trace a slow circle around the central spinning construct while rotating on its axis. The moment he added that extra layer of complexity, the entire arrangement collapsed once more, dissolving into scattered mana that dissipated harmlessly into the surrounding air.

Theodore smiled despite the failure. He had a new exercise to work on, and judging by how quickly the construct had fallen apart, it was going to provide plenty of challenge. The fact that he could even attempt something this complex was progress in itself, and with his improved skills, he might actually manage to pull it off eventually. So, with a smile, he began the mana exercise again.

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