"Hmm, does it beco weaker?" Nim answered without hesitation.
"That's right. It seems you've completely understood. This is what we call 'Magic Power Consumption.'"
Cornflower waved the magic wand in her hand, drawing a circle in the air: "To understand the concept of Magic Power Consumption, we must first explain what 'Magic Power Output' ans. For instance, let's assu that all the magic power in your body totals 100. Now let ask you, if you were to exert every bit of effort to release magic power externally, how long would it take to completely exhaust that 100 units of magic power? Could it be used up in an instant?"
"That, definitely not, right?"
Nim, who hailed from the Silver Corridor, undoubtedly had a richer knowledge base than other Species Level magical girls: "I've had similar experiences before. I feel like it takes at least 30 seconds to use up all the magic power in my body."
"Thirty seconds… not bad, but have you ever wondered why it has to take 30 seconds?"
Cornflower tapped the wand on the circle she had drawn earlier, slicing out one-thirtieth of it into a small segnt: "Is it because you're not using your full strength? Or is it that your magic power is partitioned and unable to be fully utilized?"
"I feel like it's neither. I was indeed using my full strength, and I could also sense that the magic power resides within its true form."
Nim thought for a mont, then said, "So, is it because of the 'Magic Power Output' you ntioned, Captain?"
"Excellent deduction! Your learning ability truly impresses ."
Cornflower promptly praised her: "That's right. You can't deplete all your magic power in one go because your body has a kind of limitation, and this limitation is called 'Magic Power Output.' If all the magic power in your body totals 100, and it takes you 30 seconds to exhaust it completely, then with a bit of calculation, we can conclude that your Magic Power Output rate is 3.3."
Pulling out the small segnt from the larger circle into a smaller circle, Cornflower proceeded to slice the smaller circle further: "Now, let's continue. If you can only use 3.3 units of magic power per second, and staying in flight consus 1 unit of magic power, then the magic power available for you to fire a magic bullet would actually be only 2.3 units. In this case, what should we call the 1 unit being consud?"
"…Magic Power Consumption." Nim blinked and answered.
"Correct. That 1 unit is the Magic Power Consumption while you're flying."
Cornflower nodded: "And that's also the reason your magic bullet weakens."
"I see."
Nim seed to understand sothing: "So if I want to attack the enemy with my full strength during actual combat, I should stop flying, and even stop sensing, funneling all my magic power into offense?"
"That's indeed correct logic."
Cornflower replied noncommittally: "But in real combat, we usually do the opposite."
"The opposite?" Nim was a bit confused.
"When attacking an enemy, it's better to only use 2.3 units of magic power, keeping the 1 unit as a reserve."
Cornflower lightly tapped the smaller circle in front of her, once again creating a tiny ring from it: "This way, you'll have enough power left to dodge enemy attacks, otherwise you'll be directly hit."
"Ah, I get it now…" Nim's eyes lit up with understanding: "I've got it!"
"Mm, you understand, but understanding alone isn't enough."
Cornflower shook her wand: "You're still at the Species Level, but as you advance, once you reach the Seed Level, you'll have Magic Armor. By the ti you reach the Leaf Level, you'll gain Magic Techniques, and later, the Miracle Realm… As your abilities increase, the consumption in combat will beco increasingly complex. Many tis, you'll even have to stop using one or two abilities to ensure your safety. Planning how to combine and allocate these abilities is a lifelong skill."
"Let give you a question now: Suppose you've reached the Bud Level, with a Magic Power Output of 5. The Miracle Realm you possess must combine with your Magic Armor abilities, and using these two together results in a Magic Power Consumption of 4. Now you're left with only 1 unit of output, while your enemy is fleeing from you at great speed. Should you use that 1 unit for flying acceleration to chase the enemy, or save it for defending against a sneak attack?" Cornflower looked at Nim.
"Uh… chase them?" Nim hesitated before answering.
"If I were your enemy and had been battling with you for a long ti, learning the range of your Magic Power Consumption, I'd use this mont to launch a sneak attack." Cornflower crossed her arms: "Then you'd be reversed into a disadvantage."
"So I should keep the 1 output and approach the enemy slowly?" Nim seed uncertain about this answer herself.
"If you do that, you'd just let the enemy escape, wouldn't you?"
Cornflower sighed: "The correct answer is to imdiately interrupt the usage of abilities and pursue the enemy first."
"Ah, I see…" Nim bit her lip in slight embarrassnt.
"That brings us to another question: Should you frequently use full power during combat?"
Like a true teacher, Cornflower continued to ask questions: "When fighting Remnant Beasts, you don't need to consider this because they're unintelligent creatures. But when you're on the battlefield, facing experienced interworld soldiers, frequent full power output will allow them to predict your Magic Power Output, putting you at a disadvantage in the fight."
"Ah, ha…" Nim was already starting to feel a bit overwheld.
"Plan your consumption, conceal your output, and preemptively read the enemy's output. Finally, judge their likely actions based on their consumption."
Realizing she might be overloading Nim with information, Cornflower wisely paused her lecture: "This is what a mature soldier should do. Or rather, when your enemies change from Remnant Beasts to living opponents, doing this is the only way you'll survive the battlefield."
"Mm… I'll work hard!" Nim obediently nodded.
"No need to worry too much. The battlefront hasn't reached us here yet, so you have plenty of ti to learn."
Cornflower comforted her: "You have great talent. I believe you'll master these skills soon."
"Yes!" Nim stood up straight and gave a proper salute: "I'll beco a magical girl as strong as you, Captain!"
"You could aim for soone a bit stronger as a goal."
Cornflower sighed helplessly: "I'm just a rookie myself. Many tis, the things I say might not even be right."
"Doesn't matter; in my eyes, the Captain is the strongest!"
Nim broke into a radiant smile: "Even if you're not now, you will be in the future!"
"Stop learning how to flatter people."
Cornflower gave her a sidelong glance: "You're scheduled to clean the second floor of the camp this afternoon. You can't dodge it."
"I know! I wasn't planning to dodge it."
Nim stuck out her tongue: "Besides, I wasn't flattering you; it's the truth."
It had to be said: Nim was a very competent mber.
Though young, lacking in strength and experience, her personality was bright and her thought process mature for her age. Often, when Cornflower conversed with Nim, she'd almost forget the child in front of her was only ten years old.
Unlike her older sister, who always seed timid and nervous, this ten-year-old magical girl embraced optimism toward most matters while showing sufficient humility toward her senior teammates. As a result, although so team mbers were initially dissatisfied when she joined, over ti, they gradually accepted Nim.
Not out of sympathy or pity for a young child, but simply out of pure, equal acknowledgnt.
Of course, Nim still displayed plenty of childlike qualities. For instance, she always showed exaggerated admiration for Cornflower, often treating everything her Captain said as absolute truth.
If that were all, it wouldn't be an issue. But she often repeated those "Cornflower quotes" to other team mbers and even outsiders, earning herself the nickna "Cornflower's Little Guardian."
Reviews
All reviews (0)