14. Explosions

Location: Outside Axel City

Four people stood in the middle of a plain, a short girl and a tall man was arguing with each other, while a blue-haired woman and a teen man followed behind.

"You're not even an Arch-wizard anyway! Why bereft my path of magic if you are not even an expert in it." Megumin, the short girl spoke angrily.

"I am more than just a typical arch-wizard. And I viewed your very misaligned path of magic as something I must mend." Seth, the tall man replied with a stern tone.

"You say that I must follow the old-school traditional route deemed necessary by society!? Well, forgive my defiance because that choice limits my pursuit of magic's true beauty!" Megumin tippy-toed while Seth bent downwards, their faces inches apart, and imaginary sparks flew by.

"Guys, sorry to stop your bickering but why did you drag us to the middle of nowhere?" Kazuma finally shouted, intervening before this went on longer.

"Oh yes, sorry kazuma." Seth snapped back, and Megumin followed suit. They distanced each other a bit and Megumin declared, "Let's get this over with!" And Seth nodded in agreement.

"SETH! What are you gonna do?" Aqua finally asked.

 "We gonna do a magic face-off to see whose path in magic is the right one," Seth replied. Aqua lowered her hand after hearing that.

Seth did a gentleman bow towards Megumin, "As a senior, I'll allow you to go first."

Megumin replied with smugness, "Then I'll thank thee for allowing me to show you my full crimson might."

She spun her staff and took a pose, "Hear yee heathen who disgrace the essence off explosions, etches your soul of this moment cause ill grace you with splendor!"

A giant magic circle appeared a distance away from them, With it she chanted, "Darkness blacker than black, and darker than dark, I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson."

The magic circle started to glow iridescent, " The time of awakening cometh. Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary, appear now as an intangible distortion!" 

malevolent vortexes swirled and gathered, the sky above the circle twinkled in fervor," Desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal! Return all creation to cinders, and come from the abyss! EXPLOSION!!!"

*BOOM!!!* An explosion as high as the castles erupted. Producing shockwaves that extend over a vast area. The explosion engulfed the surroundings, causing awe-inspiring destruction. As it settled it left behind a scorched landscape. Its sheer force and intensity resonated across the terrain, making it a spectacle that dwarfs any typical magic could achieve.

Kazuma and Aqua stood in awe at the explosions while Seth showed no reaction.

Kazuma nudged Seth, "No matter how I see it, this is impressive."

Seth replied, "This is worse than I thought."

Seth instantly pointed toward Megumin. Who lo and behold, laid flat on the ground. Kazuma was stunned for a moment before he propped her up.

Kazuma asked, "What's going on?"

"She overdid it and used too much mana to cast it. Draining her completely and straining her body to the point she can't even move. I thought she would adjust her output but sadly, I overestimated."

"Hey! At least my explosion is a death sentence to any who dares to face its gloriest might!"

Seth answered, "If you brushed up your basics, your explosion could have been bigger." 

Megumin still puffing in anger issued her challenge, "Since my spellcasting was so flawed, then enlighten me right here right now, show me the way!"

"Firstly, I'll cast your explosion spell on your level." He declared, lifting his hand and aiming toward the same spot Megumin cast her spell.

Taking a deep breath, he bellowed, "EXPLOSION!" *BOOM!!!* an explosion of identical magnitude as Megumin's erupted from the same location, with the same blast radius and such.

F*ck! he cast the same big explosion without even flinching! Kazuma stood in shock.

"He didn't even chant or strike a pose," Megumin grumbled beside him.

Girl, he cast the same spell you did before to the tee without breaking a sweat! he showed off his impeccable control and huge amount of mana! Yet the thing you took notice of is the fact that he didn't strike a dramatic pose and spout one paragraph worth of chuuni nonsense! That's what he wanted to say but Kazuma kept it in.

"Now pay attention, what will happen if I used wind magic right now." He asked as a gigantic light-green magic circle glowed beneath them.

A blizzard engulfed them, and clouds gathered as a windstorm brewed at where they stood. Massive winds swirled around the area as the temperature around them plummeted.

Kazuma gawked at the miraculous weather manipulation. Megumin unfazed by such a spectacle asked, "What's the point of this over-the-top magic?"

"Pop quiz: if I cast your same advanced spell within those ferocious winds, what would happen? Will it get bigger or not?" Seth spoke out those questions like a lecturer.

"That's easy. The explosions will be smaller because the winds will disturb it. Wait, they should barely change at all, how could such pure, unbridled power be affected by the measly wind!"

"Welp, let's find out." a familiar magic circle materialized once more, "EXPLOSION!" *BOOOOM!!!* Seth shouted, triggering an explosion much larger than before.

The explosion produced an air pressure mighty enough to knock Kazuma and Megumin off their feet momentarily.

"GAHHH!!! UECK! PTUI!!!" Kazuma accidentally swallowed a bug from the gust of air.

Megumin face became shocked as an unfamiliar, heightened level of air pressure rammed into her body.

"Ahh! My hat!" the gust also sent her hat flying.

"Got it," Kazuma caught it quickly mid-flight because of his decent reflex. Megumin's face showed gratitude and she thanked him.

With that Megumin became serious, looked towards Seth, and questioned, "How did adding wind make that explosion bigger, I must know."

"Oh, I thought you would accuse me of faking that result," Seth answered teasingly.

Megumin with a 'you got me' face asked, "I can tell you cast that explosion with the same strength from start to finish. But the size, and shockwave, how did it…"

"I'll show you," Seth answered.

Seth mysteriously pulled out a small candle and placed it on the ground. "I'll demonstrate an experiment to explain it." He instructed.

Seth snapped his finger, a lick of flame to light the candle up. Because Megumin still couldn't move, Kazuma held her up and brought her closer to Seth's candle.

"The continuous existence of this tiny flame represents the fundamental laws, physics, and magic of your beloved explosion magic. Explosions and flames may differ, but they share similarities in how they work, here's the hint: all that's left are ashes" Seth explained.

Megumin racked her brain a bit, then had a light bulb moment before answering, "Both explosions and flames produce heat and disintegrate matter. The explosions do so instantly while the flame takes it slow. I can view fire magic as the shabby, slow version of explosions!"

Seth nodded in approval, "You're on the right track, Now watch closely, this one will be crucial." Seth conjured a wind magic circle and a glass dome.

Firstly, Seth used wind magic to blow the flame and extinguish it. "As you can see, the wind magic blew out the flame." Megumin nodded a little.

"Now, what if I use magic not to blow air onto the flame, but just to increase the air around it?" Seth asked rhetorically. As he did so, a gasp from Megumin was heard as the flame on the candle intensified. Sensing her curiosity, Seth gestured for her to wait.

"This is the most vital aspect for you to grasp." Seth put the glass dome above the candle-lit flame, slowly lowering it to cover it.

Megumin observed with fascination as the flame grew weaker with each inch the glass dome covered it. Finally, when the glass dome completely sealed the candle, the flame put itself out.

"I SEE! AIR FUELS THE EXISTENCE OF EXPLOSIONS! EXPLOSIONS (and flames) CAN ONLY EXIST BY, uhh… ABSORBING THE AIR AROUND IT! YOUR WIND MAGIC SUPPLIED MORE AIR THAN NECESSARY TO IT AND CREATED A BIGGER EXPLOSION, RIGHT?!"

"Correct," Seth confirmed, he knew that the correct answer was the increase of oxygens and other flammable gas molecules in the air. But he knows that the inhabitants of this world's understanding of science haven't reached that level.

Seth with a wave of his hand made the candle and glass dome disappear. Seth proclaimed, "Now what do you think, from this, you could tell that wind magic can make bigger explosions. If this is not enough, I'll prove it again with earth magic…"

"You have already proved enough! Thank you for opening the eyes of this arch-wizard! WAIT! DID YOU SAY! EARTH MAGIC CAN HELP!? NO! Back to the topic! Master Seth! I admit that you are a true master of explosions, but…"

"I understand, you're hesitant about using other magic. Focusing on one spell is still a valid path. I'm simply offering you a different perspective."

"Since you're joining our party anyway, I can help you with your magic and spells," Seth assured her, he sensed her uncertainty but was still glad she was open about exploring new spells. His clairvoyance also assured him that she was a valuable addition to their team.

Megumin became conflicted, "Thank you, but I still don't want to learn…"

Seth cut her off, "Don't worry, my offer is different this time. Since you won't budge, why don't I teach you about modifying the explosion spell? Look." With that, he raised his hand, and a familiar magic circle materialized once more.

Kazuma and Megumin watched intently, trying to anticipate his next move, and what came after shocked them.

The magic circle suddenly shrunk, "EXPLOSION!" *Boom!* A small explosion erupted, with a reduced radius but potentially greater lethality.

"This is the explosion spell modified to consume less mana, the price is that it has a smaller radius, but in certain situations, it could become a benefit. Here's another variation." Another explosion magic circle manifested in front of them.

This time, a different magic circle hovered above the circle, overlaying it. The new magic circle gradually spun around the old one like a propeller. Once it reached a certain speed, "Explosion!" *BHWOOOOM!!!* The explosion surged sideways and branched off.

"IT'S GOING HORIZONTAL! LIKE A HYDRA OF PURE DESTRUCTION STRIKING IN MULTIPLE DIRECTIONS SIMULTANIOUSLY!" Megumin exclaimed.

Seeing their expressions, Seth knew he got her hook, line, and sinker. He added, "Do you still remember what I whispered before? That straining your body by casting explosions could have stunted your growth."

"WAH!!! WHY SPOKE IT OUT LOUD!" Megumin blushed from embarrassment.

"Well… I may have a way to fix that."

"REALLY!" Megumin jumped out of excitement, but because she still couldn't move, she landed face-first to the ground.

Without care she continued, "PLEASE HELP ME MASTER SETH! ALSO DON'T FORGET TO TEACH ME THOSE COOL EXPLOSIONS!" Megumin replied in excitement as Kazuma lifted her from the ground.

"Sure, but it won't be easy, are you still up for the challenge?" Seth reached his hand out.

Megumin, looking at the hand, instantly sniggered, "Remember this moment, and cherish it. For I will accept thy invitation and tempering. I will survive and rise like a phoenix. Becoming the Arch-wizard of explosions feared across the lands." She weakly shook Seth's hands.

Although feeling sidelined from the debacle, Kazuma knew, that even if Seth left, he would be in safe hands. After all, they now have a party member who was personally trained by what he considers a very overpowered war 'god'… WAIT! Speaking of god…

WHERE'S THAT GODDESS!? Kazuma shouted, "Seth! Aqua's missing!"

Hearing that Seth showed a flash of worry. He looked around with focus, "There!" Seth proclaimed and pointed in a direction.

Kazuma squinted and saw a giant frog basking in the sun, its stomach shaking violently as if someone was struggling inside.

"Seth! We need to—" Kazuma forgot his words as he noticed a menacing javelin in Seth's arm.

"D*mn it!" Seth complained loudly as he coated his javelin with ominous energy. 

"Seth! You trying to kill her!?" Kazuma shouted in alarm.

"No." Seth launched his Javelin, producing shockwaves and a trail of destruction in its wake.

The frog who was basking in the sun heard an ominous whistling sound. It lifted its head and at that moment, its life flashed before its eyes.