Chapter 10: Explosions Are an Art

After breakfast, Archmage Joseph strolled into the manor’s backyard, stretching lazily. His mood was exceptionally bright.

“Grandpa, you’re so slow! You missed the first wave,” Monluna greeted between bites of bread.

“I washed up properly, had breakfast, and finished my morning exercises. Unlike some people who rush over in pajamas without even changing, making Helle deliver their meals.”

“Master, please come this way. I’ve prepared a spot for you.”

“Ah, Helle knows how to treat her elders.” Joseph settled onto the lounge chair she’d brought, then turned to Monluna. “How many waves so far?”

“Ugh—*cough cough*—I’m choking! Helle, milk, quick!” Monluna snatched the glass Helle offered and gulped down two large swallows. “Phew! Fourth wave.”

***BOOM!!!***

Before her words faded, a familiar explosion shook the magic barrier opposite them.

“Ah, fifth wave. Much slower today~ Klath must be improving fast!” The Old Mage stroked his beard with satisfaction.

I poked my head out of the smoke, spotting the trio outside the barrier. My heart sank. Wiping soot from my face, I yelled, “Are you serious? Treating this like a nine-to-five job?”

*Sigh.* After that fateful discussion, my status as the world’s top undocumented resident had slammed every career path shut—except magic. But my mana gathering speed was pitifully slow. The chaotic mix of elements made casting even harder. No matter how strong my mental focus, I couldn’t simultaneously gather elements fast enough, keep them stable, *and* sort them for complex spells.

Yet hope flickered. *An Introduction to Magic Inscriptions* offered another path. Before diving in, understand this world’s magic: Elements imprinted with a mage’s soul resonate under mental guidance, forming ordered arrays. Fixed incantations then activate specific parts of these arrays.

Take Fireball: it splits into “Gathering,” “Motion,” and “Detonation.” The mage chants to activate each segment sequentially while mentally shaping the effect.

Magic Inscriptions crystallize this process into scrolls or crystals. But they’re rigid. A Fireball scroll releases fixed power at a preset distance and time—deadly in combat. Any veteran mage reads its mana fluctuations to predict activation timing, trajectory, and blast radius. Expose those early, and you’re dead.

Thus, inscriptions only powered mundane things: carriage accelerators, lanterns, kitchen stoves… Honestly, last time I snuck into the kitchen, I saw Helle cooking. When she flicked on the wind-magic range hood? My worldview shattered—and my dropped jaw pulverized the pieces. This world’s magic-tech tree was *wildly* off-track.

My breakthrough came from Monluna’s rapier, *Wingside Breeze*. Crafted by the Old Mage for his granddaughter, its guard held three detachable wind-crystals. She only needed a spark of wind mana to trigger its inscriptions.

Frankly, the Old Mage spoiled her rotten. “Lightness” and “Skydance” granted insane mobility; “Chaotic Cut” boosted destructive power to another tier. During our “practical test” days ago, if she hadn’t been limited to magic-only attacks? I wouldn’t just have given her a bloody nose—I’d be dumpling filling.

“Klath, breakfast?” Helle waved a steaming plate at me.

“Not hungry! I’m working!” I snapped.

“How can you skip breakfast?!” Her voice shot up eight octaves. “Even self-detonation needs fuel!”

I nearly spat blood. The Old Mage and Monluna collapsed laughing.

“Helle, I’m not *playing*. And I’m not self-detonating.” I took the plate, glaring at the giggling duo. “Must you enjoy this so much? Master, you’ve got a snot bubble. Monluna, you’re wheezing from oxygen deprivation—breathe!”

“Klath, how’s progress?” The Old Mage wiped tears, still chuckling.

“I’m tempted to set your beard on fire. Almost done. The code runs, but it’s glitchy. Needs debugging.”

“…Right. Carry on. I believe in you.”

“Master, just say you don’t understand. I won’t judge. Also—I made a side product. I call it *Monluna’s Roar*.” I activated one and hurled it across the barrier. ***KRAKOOM!!!!*** The blast shook the Magic Array itself—twice the power of my accidental explosions. The ground even cracked. I tossed another crystal to Joseph outside.

“I nicknamed it ‘Blast Crystal’!”

“Backwards! The names are backwards! And don’t use *my* name for this junk invention! What if people link ‘Monluna’s Roar’ to *this*? My reputation!”

“It actually fits perfectly now,” Helle said earnestly.

“Waaah~ Even Helle’s bullying me! Grandpa~!” Monluna pouted, shaking his arm. But his attention was locked on the crystal’s inscription-array fusion.

Magic Arrays, unlike household Inscriptions, still had battlefield uses—seals, energy focus, amplification. Yet their long casting time, rapid decay without mana upkeep, and single-use nature made them impractical compared to reusable Inscriptions. They were strictly for sieges and defense.

I was likely the first to etch an Array’s casting sequence *as* an Inscription onto a crystal. My past life’s expertise clicked: Inscribed tools were like circuit boards—hardware. Array clusters were like code—software.

Once that clicked, crafting my tools and “Blast Crystals” became second nature. As I mastered rune-carving and Array-to-Inscription conversion, bugs vanished. It was just learning a new programming language.

“Exquisite craftsmanship! An unimaginable design—utterly brilliant! You’ve pioneered a new school of magic! This could elevate the world’s combat strength by an entire tier!”

“Grandpa, calm down. It’s just an unstable explosive. A defective product~ Besides, if *everyone’s* strength rises equally, nothing really changes. Why get excited?”

“…Your intellect makes explanation futile,” I shot back. Truth was, the Old Mage was right. Those below his tier couldn’t grasp the looming crisis he’d hinted at—but never detailed.

“At least my IQ’s higher than someone who plays self-detonation for two and a half days straight. You’ve got a death wish! Everyone, look—a self-destructing pervert!”

“Nana, stop!” The Old Mage silenced her flailing. He turned to me, eyes sharp. “This design is revolutionary. Explain its core principle.”

“So you *didn’t* get it? Sigh…” I held up a crystal. “Detonation splits into blast and attribute layers. The blast comes from clashing elements—requiring two Arrays with ‘Gathering’ and ‘Motion,’ triggered simultaneously. The attribute layer needs six ‘Gathering-Detonation’ Arrays embedding offensive elements around the blast core. An activation Array on top triggers the sequence with any mana input. Then—inscribe it all into the crystal.”

“Remarkable!” He marveled. “Such simplicity in concept, yet the Inscriptions are profoundly complex! And you mentioned different attributes?”

“Naturally!” I pulled out more crystals. “That red one was fire-type *Monluna’s Roar*. This blue is ice-type *Monluna’s Spit*. Green is wind-type *Monluna’s Taunt*. Yellow is earth-type *Monluna’s Scorn*. Purple is lightning-type *Monluna’s Threat*! Remember: **Explosions are an art!!!**”

Monluna had already drawn *Wingside Breeze* from her Spatial Ring.

“Step outside. I’ll show you what *real* art looks like—minced meat art.”

“Miss, shall I prepare dumplings for lunch?” Helle asked deadpan.

*Heh. Don’t encourage her, Helle. Lunch is definitely minced meat in brown sauce today.*