71. The First Experimental Weapon

Castus braced against the shield and poured mana into the metal to reinforce it. Taking a deep breath, he summoned the experimental equipment in one hand. He felt the weight of it in his palm. 

'This better work.' Castus thought. 

Castus took a breath, feeling the loss of such a large amount of mana in his head. The shield started to yield as Fulsin pushed him back and broke through. Castus righted the weapon and staked it into the ground at an angle, then pulled back, letting the shield fly off and using the force to propel him away. At the same time Castus let one part of the weapon dissolve into mana, triggering a chain reaction. 

Fulsin kept his eyes on Castus, but the second the weapon started to hiss he looked away, but it was too late. The weapon looked like a standard spear with a large spear head, but the polearm body was simply a long barrel, made to fire a the broadhead at extreme speeds over relatively short distances. While Castus wanted to be able to make more complicated machines and weapons, his limited materials, lack of enchantment knowledge, and still restrictive mana quantities made it difficult. This was currently the cheapest experimental weapon he had made. It took about half of his mana, and only worked once.

With a resounding boom from the overpacked powder in the barrel, the broadhead lurched forward with impressive velocity. The floor creaked from the back blast being forced into it. Fulsin crossed his arms and nine sigils appeared in front of him. The broadhead smashed through the first, then the second, then the third. Fulsin was being forced back from sheer physics alone as he continued to resist the attack. 

The fourth sigil broke and Fulsin managed to exhaust the momentum of the broadhead. Castus got to his feet, picking up the bent and broken shield, repairing some of the damage as he regained drops of mana. 

'The power was good, the penetration is strong, it could use some enchantments on the broadhead to increase piercing, or maybe a different material.' Castus thought after firing what he had called a propulsion spear for the first time. Ever since the change in mindset he had fallen into a mindset of analyzing his equipment and considering changes, even in the heat of battle. 

The remaining five sigils dispersed and Fulsin looked to Castus with surprise. 

'That much power at his level and age, impressive. It looks like he's drained though, I should teach him a lesson about mana management.' Fulsin thought as he raised an arm and a sigil formed in front of him. 

Castus braced with the shield. He was low on mana and couldn't afford to empower the shield with mana. 'Shit, that wasn't enough yet you old bastard?' Castus fully thought that would have been enough for Fulsin to call the match there, but he seemed determined to continue. 

The sigil formed and Castus felt his body begin to weigh down. The shield became too heavy to hold and he let it fall to the ground. Gritting his teeth and straining to stand he realized what was happening. Gravity. He vaguely remembered seeing it on Fulsins status screen, but he had never witnessed it. The force continued to escalate and Castus felt rage take over for the first time consciously. With his anger at the match not being called and the pent-up frustrations of constantly losing fights Castus let it flow through him. The weight of the gravity lessened on his body, but Castus found it harder to plan out his attacks. 

Suddenly Castus rushed forward at Fulsin, no weapons in hand. Fulsin looked surprised and focused on his magic continuing to push the gravity downward on Castus. Castus' rush slowed down to a crawl as he slowly made his way closer to Fulsin. The increasing gravity only fueled Castus' now unleashed rage. He stopped thinking at all, the only thing he processed was the distance to striking Fulsin. 

Castus was now four feet from Fulsin and still pushing forward through the gravity. Castus didn't realize it or rather couldn't currently, but gravity magic required the Caster to remain standing still while casting. Castus let out a bellow as he reached up and formed a crude club out of wood and stone, the last of his mana being depleted in the process and having to overdraw on his body, causing immense pain, and using the gravity as an assist he smashed down, just barely reaching Fuslin's still outstretched arm, breaking the gravity magic. 

Fulsin looked astonished and put his hands up to signal the end of the match, but Castus was no longer responding to his signals. Like a mad dog unleashed and the chains of gravity that once held him broken, he rushed blindly towards Fulsin, swinging the crude club around. Fulsin realizing what had happened and quickly casted another magic, frozen chains erupted from the ground and wrapped up Castus. That was the last thing Castus remembered. 

Looking down as the now blacked out Castus, Fulsin and Shi looked to each other. 

"Sir Fulsin what was that?" Shi asked concerningly.

"The rage skill, though it seems he hasn't used it much and leaned too far into it. He lost his rational. Let that be a lesson to you as well, not all skills are free to use, everything has some form of cost. Abusing skills without understanding what you pay will cost you dearly if you're not careful." 

Two hours later Castus finally came too. He had a splitting headache and pain in his chest. Looking around he saw Fulsin reading while Shi ate some food. 

"So did I pass?" Castus asked jokingly while rising to his feet. 

Fulsin snapped the book he was reading and strode in front of Castus. Using the broad side of his hand he backhanded Castus across the cheek. "You ask that after your whilly nilly use of skills like that? What if that had been a real fight with your life on the line? What if you lose your rationality in a fight with teammates or loved ones and your can't distinguish friend from foe?" Fulsin began to rant. 

Castus shrank back in fear. This was the first he had seen of Fulsin's rage. Fulsin looked down on him before sighing. "Castus, rage is not a skill you can let take over. While it is useful and can bolster your physicality, it is not something you can lose yourself to. Now besides that, your performance exceeded my expectations. That device you used on me was quite powerful for your level. Both you and Shi should be prepared enough to enter with your siblings. Of course, after we train you in manners." Fulsin looked back to Shi who currently had soup leaking from the sides of her lips and cheeks so full she looked like a chipmunk. 

Shi gulped down the soup in her mouth and retorted. "Well sorry I didn't exactly have a civil upbringing." 

Fulsin snickered at his own remarks. "Alright fair enough, we will fix that though. Now hurry upstairs and meet with Aria and Erin, I need to speak with Castus alone if you don't mind." Shi nodded her head and in the most uncivil way chugged the rest of the soup, slamming the bowl down and heading on up the stairs for the first time in a year. 

Once she was out of earshot Fulsin turned to Castus. "I have to say I'm impressed with the devices you used in the arena. The enchantments on the shield are impressively dense, even if they are only basic ones. As for that weapon you used to attack me with, would you be willing to sell me the design?" Fulsin looked at Castus with an expectant gaze, his eyes narrowing, but his smile widening. 

Castus stopped and thought for a second. While the money did sounds appealing Castus still remembered the stories about people like him from the past and the bloody wars. Castus looked to Fulsin with a resolute expression. 

"No Sir Fulsin, I will not, for two reasons. Firstly, I don't plan on spreading any kind of technology from my world here with others. From what I know about the past it sounds like they tried in the past and it led to a bloody war. Secondly, only I can safely use this design as it stands. Anyone else wouldn't be able to use it without being too close to the initial launch explosive." Castus responded.

Fulsin took a moment rubbing his chin. "I'm glad you passed my little test there. While I do want your technology, I was far more concerned about you passing it out. While it could get you some quick cash, it's more likely to inevitably be pointed at you. But now that you passed that I can give you this advice. Your skill with enchantment has far more potential than you know. Once I discovered your blessing, I did some research while you two trained. Enchantment is limited by the tools those use to make them. Considering you have complete control over what you make, you should study enchantment more. I think it could benefit you more than you know." 

With that Fulsin turned away and Castus nodded and followed. After that year of training he and Shi would be better prepared for this dangerous world. 

At the top of the stairs Castus' two sisters embraced him in a warm hug. Erin began speaking at a million miles an hour trying to catch him and Shi up to speed about what is happening in the school, the various clicks, drama, and anything else she could think of while they walked. 

Entering into a small room a rather sharply dressed man in glasses waited for them. 

"Erin, silence. How many times must I tell you that a proper lady does not blather on like that!" The man reprimanded Erin. 

"Sorry teacher Han." Erin pouted, but ultimately obeyed Han. 

Castus took one look at the man named Han and quickly realized that the arena was the easy part of his training. Even back when he lived with his family, he hated these mannerism lessons.