I’ve never seen Spider Boss look shocked before. I guess none of them were expecting me to start slinging fireballs around... It’s not like I could have explained it first, though—“Everything’s fine. I’m just trialling out a bit of magic, okay?” Like they’d understand that— Oh, wait! “Everything’s fine”— I think they’ve started to get what I mean whenever I say that. So...
“Everything’s fine, Spider Boss. Okay? Everything’s fine.”
Wait, now Shuri’s coming over... Maybe experimenting with magic here wasn’t a good idea?
However, after a quick encounter between the two huge insects—possibly a conversation, although not one I could understand—both Shuri and Spider Boss returned to the edge of the clearing.
So... Can I keep going? Yep, it’s fine... I think.
Working under the assumption that Shuri and Spider Boss didn’t have a problem with what I was doing, I went back to experimenting. Next, I needed to figure out how to make the wall even stronger and adjust the image of it being formed in the first place. The first wall had been made up of the dirt surrounding it, but if I was throwing up a wall to block a sudden attack, it would mean having the ground swept out from beneath my feet—literally.
There’s gotta be a safer way to gather enough dirt. What if instead of pulling it in from around the wall, I picture it pulling up from underneath? That way we’d be fine, no matter how close we were to the wall! Oh, hang on. Then I’d just be making a hole directly below the wall—that wouldn’t be a particularly stable foundation, would it? Wait... I’ll just conjure the dirt with magic. Duh.
“No random pits and no massive holes—just a massive dirt wall. Perfect.”
I decided to try for a five-meter wall this time, spanning the entire width of the clearing. Now it just needed to be stronger. I pictured the hypothetical wall in my mind. Dirt clung to dirt like glue, refusing to yield. Fire was absorbed, water was repelled, lightning was reflected, and tornadoes were about as effective as a spring breeze. The final image in my mind was of a wall so sturdy even a four-ton truck crashing into it wouldn’t leave a dent.
I reckon this’ll be enough to block most attacks... I feel kinda bad for any monsters or animals that might run into it, though. I mean, it would seriously hurt. If they hit it with enough force, they’d probably die. They’d definitely wake up with a headache. Yeah, I’ll make it so they don’t get hurt, add something to absorb the impact... Oh, like a car airbag! I can’t make an airbag out of dirt, though. Airbag... Air. I can probably make it out of air. But compressed air can be pretty painful too, I think—I dunno if it’ll actually help. I’m sure as hell not gonna be the one to test it. Oh well. An airbag is better than nothing. It’ll make me feel better about it at least.
“Something like this, then...” I focused on the improved wall in my mind, and shouted, “Wall!”
A massive sheet of earth rose out of the ground about three steps in front of me. It was around five meters tall, just as I’d planned, and when I looked around, I could see that it stretched from one side of the clearing to the other.
Perfect.
“Why does it feel like everything just got quiet, though?” I looked behind me to where Shuri and Spider Boss had retreated. They were frozen in shock.
At least, I think it’s shock. Why do their expressions have to be so hard to read?! It’s probably shock—kinda expected, really, when a giant wall pops out of the ground in front of you. Sorry for the lack of warning, guys.
“Spider Boss, Shuri—everything’s fine, okay?”
Their expressions changed. I still couldn’t quite understand what they meant, but they definitely weren’t happy with me.
I’m gonna ignore that for now because I want to keep experimenting, but I’ll make it up to you later—promise.
The wall was certainly bigger, but the real question was whether it was stronger. I picked up a fist-sized rock and visualized it shooting toward the wall like a bullet.
“Rock Attack!”
The rock smashed into the wall and shattered—not into pieces, but into dust, quickly carried away by a passing breeze.
Okay, physical attacks are no problem. Lemme hit it with a bit of fire now. I’ll make it even more intense than my last attempt.
“Fireball Attack.”
There was a sudden whoosh as the fireball soared toward the wall...and vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. The sound—and the fireball itself— were absorbed by the wall, just as I’d pictured.
Sweet! It’s holding up pretty well! Okay, what’s next? Right, lightning. That’s easy enough to picture—I’ve seen plenty of lightning bolts before. One bolt’s probably not enough for a proper trial, so I’ll picture about five bolts striking the wall, and...go.
“Lightning Strike!”
It sounded like a bomb going off.
“Jeez, that was loud...” I shook my head, trying to stop the ringing in my ears. “I probably shouldn’t have conjured it while I was standing so close.”
I carefully shuffled over to the wall. It looked exactly the same as it had before. I wasn’t sure where the lightning bolts had struck it, but wherever it was, they hadn’t left any evidence. I couldn’t check the top of the wall, though—it was too tall now.
Well, I’ll assume it’s fine too.
Last on my list was a wind attack. I’d seen plenty of tornadoes on TV, so visualizing one was easy enough.
“Torn— Wait, no. If I conjure a tornado here, we’ll all get caught up in it.”
Not a tornado, then. What else could work? Hmm... Oh, what were those folktale creatures who attacked with gusts of wind? Weasels... That’s right! Sickle weasels! I don’t want to conjure a weasel, though... Hang on, I can just plagiarize their attack. A gust of wind as sharp as a sickle, something that can cut through a dozen trees in a flash... Sounds good.
“Wind Attack.”
There was another whoosh, but this time, the attack did leave a mark on the wall: a long, thin gash now ran along its side.
Crap, it’s still not strong enough? Oh man...
I ran my fingers along the mark.
It’s pretty shallow. I can consider this acceptable wear and tear, right? I don’t know how strong the monsters in the forest can get, but maybe this’ll be good enough to protect me. It’s good enough for today, at least. My head hurts from all the thinking.
“Well, that’s our defensive wall all figured out! Just ‘Wall’ is a better name for the spell too. Shorter spells are easier to remember under pressure.”
But man, that wind attack was really cool. Throw up a wall to protect my friends and bam—hit ’em with a counterattack. Maybe I’ll use wind as my main form of offensive magic... Water’s too splashy—I might accidentally hit my friends. Fire and lightning are both pretty powerful, but I’d just end up turning the monsters to ash. Plus, if I can kill one with a neat wind blade instead, the meat will taste a lot better than if it’s half burnt or soaking wet.
“All right, I’m calling it a day. Spider Boss, Shuri, thanks for wait— Wait, what’s wrong?”
Why are they all huddled up and shaking in fear? Did I miss something? Hmm... Nope, nothing here but the wall. Hang on, what do I do with the wall anyway? It feels like a waste to just get rid of it, especially when I can use it for target practice. I’ll just leave it here.
“Did something scare you? I’m sorry for not realizing sooner.”
Must have been something pretty scary for them to be shaking so much.
I scanned the forest around us, but it looked the same as always: full of trees.
Is there something hiding in there? But if it’s scary enough to make Spider Boss and Shuri react like this...
I shuddered.
Nope. Too scary for me. I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I nervously cast a rudimentary detection spell to scan the trees, but it didn’t pick anything up.
Maybe it already left? If it was even there in the first place... Well, I reckon we’re safe for now.
“Everything’s fine, guys. There’s nothing out there.” I slowly moved toward Spider Boss and stuck out my hand for a reassuring pat, but to my surprise, the spider—and everyone else—shrank away at the motion.
Wait, am I what you’re all so scared of? Why? Oh, I guess I probably look like I’ve gone crazy—making a wall just to attack it over and over again.
“Everything’s fine, okay? Don’t worry. I was making it to protect us, that’s all. I haven’t gone mad or anything.”
I reached out again and stroked Spider Boss softly on the head, hoping that either the words or the gesture would get my message across. I snuck a peek at the spider after a minute or two, repeated the words, and gave it another gentle pat.
Spider Boss still seems a little sad... I guess thinking I’d gone crazy was probably a little distressing for it. Crap! Speaking of stress, I completely forgot about coming up with a fail-safe for my water spell! Oh, man... Wait, can’t I just use a different spell for each? Like “Cup of Water” and “Bath Water”? Yeah... That’ll work. Problem solved.