[Location: Camelot – Forest Edge, Dawn]
Fog clung to the trees like pale fabric. The world was still half-asleep — perfect for testing something that shouldn't exist here.
I stood in a clearing outside the city walls, breath clouding in the morning air.
The Quantum Mask hummed quietly under my skin, keeping my signature hidden. For now, the kingdom thought I was still just an assistant in Gaius's workshop.
But today was different.
Today, I needed to move past containment.
Merlin had given me an excuse — gathering herbs that "only grew at sunrise." Gaius probably knew it was a lie, but he didn't stop me. Maybe he understood what I was doing. Maybe he'd just given up trying to.
I knelt and drew a circle in the dirt.
Not a ritual — a schematic.
The equation wasn't meant to invoke; it was meant to direct.
Mana, as I'd learned from Balthazar, had rules.
Here, it had instincts.
If I could align those instincts to structure, I could build force — not chaos.
"Alright," I muttered. "Let's test the kinetic output model."
I took a slow breath and pulled mana inward. It pooled behind my sternum — warm, steady, responsive.
Then I released it down my arm, following the pattern etched in my mind: three points, one focus, linear discharge.
A dull thump split the air.
The dirt two meters ahead exploded in a puff of dust and rock.
Not elegant — but effective.
"Ha," I exhaled, grinning. "It works."
Then came the feedback.
The energy recoil hit my chest like a punch. I stumbled back, clutching my ribs.
Not enough dispersion channels. Too much internal resonance.
"Okay… not perfect."
I reset the circle, adjusted the rune spacing, and tried again. This time, I widened the dispersion field by twelve percent — just enough to redirect the blowback.
The next pulse cracked through the air like a hammer against stone, tearing a hole the size of a shield in the ground.
Better. Controlled. Repeatable.
[Location: Forest Clearing – Later That Morning]
By the fifth test, I'd developed what Balthazar would've called "primitive evocation."
To me, it was Kinetic Discharge Prototype v1.2.
I could feel the mana building more cleanly now, shaped by geometry rather than instinct.
Each cast became smoother, less volatile.
The signature of the spell — a low-frequency hum — blended into ambient mana flow.
Exactly what I needed.
I crouched, marking down observations in a leather notebook I'd borrowed from Gaius's shelf:
Output stable under 80% charge.Feedback risk minimal at linear angles.Thermal distortion negligible — suitable for stealth applications.
A voice cut through the quiet.
"Looks like you're not out here for herbs."
I turned. Merlin stood near the treeline, arms crossed, brow raised.
Of course he'd follow.
"You're early," I said.
He pointed at the smoldering crater. "You call that 'herbal research'?"
"Field testing."
He walked closer, eyes scanning the circle. "You're controlling magic without incantation. Even I can't do that yet."
"It's not incantation-based," I said. "It's… structure-based. Think of it like building a dam. You're not commanding the water to move — you're shaping the path it takes."
Merlin crouched beside the circle, impressed despite himself. "That's… actually brilliant."
"It's physics," I said. "Applied to a system that shouldn't obey it."
He stood, glancing toward Camelot. "You realize if anyone else finds out, they'll think you're a sorcerer."
"I realize," I said. "That's why I'm practicing out here."
He was quiet for a while, then nodded. "Fine. But if you're going to blow yourself up, I want to see it happen."
"Morbid curiosity?"
"Call it mentorship."
[Location: Same – Midday]
Hours passed in quiet repetition. Merlin helped me refine aim and control, offering feedback in his usual half-serious tone.
At one point, I modified the circle to store mana before release — a primitive mana capacitor.
The result was powerful enough to split a tree trunk clean through.
Merlin's eyes widened. "Arthur's going to kill me if he finds out I let you do this."
I smiled faintly. "Then don't tell him."
By the time the sun was high, my arms ached and the air smelled faintly of ozone. The mana in my body pulsed with exhaustion, but also… satisfaction.
For the first time since arriving here, I felt like I had direction again. Not survival. Not hiding. But creation.
[Location: Gaius' Tower – Night]
"Merlin told me you were experimenting," Gaius said, not even looking up from his notes. "Should I be worried?"
"Define worried."
He sighed. "You're aware of the laws, Ren. Magic in Camelot—"
"—is forbidden. I know."
I leaned against the table. "That's why I'm careful."
He met my eyes. "Careful men are often the ones who underestimate how fast control can slip away."
"I won't," I said simply.
And he must've seen something in my face — determination, maybe — because he didn't argue.
When I went to bed that night, the sigils still burned faintly in my vision.
Lines of logic, power, and purpose — finally aligning.
For the first time since leaving my world, I wasn't running.
I was building.
[End of Chapter 17]