Chapter 11: Fireball debugging

I press the Analyze option, and sure enough, the same programming window appears like before, but this time it isn’t blank. There is something written and it really does look like a programming language, just one that I don’t recognize:

click the spoiler to open the code if you’re interested, I based it on Java, feel free to point out any errors 😊

[Yellow] Fireball:

import Magic_Class.Projectile;

import Magic_Class.Effect;

import User;

public class Fireball extends ManaActivity {

@Override

protected void onActivation() {

boolean active = true;

while(active) {

if (User.Brain.Thought_detection == "Shoot") {

Projectile fireball = new Projectile;

// fireball initiation

fireball.shape = "SPHERE";

fireball.volume = 0.06; // in m³

fireball.velocity = 100; // in m/s = Kinetic energy

fireball.acceleration = 0; // in m/s²

fireball.power = 600; // in KiloJoule = Potential energy

fireball.element = "FIRE";

fireball.starting_point = User.limbs.hand.palm;

fireball.trajectory = "Y = V0y*t - 1/2*g*t²";

// shoot the actual fireball

fireball.launch();

private boolean fired = true;

long start = System.currentTimeMillis();

long end = start + 5*1000;

while(fired && System.currentTimeMillis()

if(CollisionDetected(fireball)){

fired = false;

ApplyBurnEffect(fireball);

}

}

fireball.detonate; //unleashes explosive force of the fireball

}

if (User.Brain.Thought_detection == "Deactivate") {

active = false;

}

}

};

// Modifier 1: Collision detection

public boolean CollisionDetected(Projectile fireball){

if(fireball.velocity = 0){ // fireball stops when it hits anything

return true;

}

else{

return false;

}

};

// Modifier 2: Burn effect

public void ApplyBurnEffect(projectile fireball){

Effect burn = new Effect;

// Effect initiation

burn.shape = "SPHERE";

burn.effective_radius = 0.065; // in m³

burn.target = "ORGANISMS" && "SURFACES";

burn.center_point = fireball.center_point;

burn.duration = 6; // in seconds

// Start the effect

burn.apply();

};

};

Okay, this is a lot to take in at once… I can’t quite make sense of it yet, but it doesn’t look overly complicated either. For now, I’ll just write it all down on a piece of paper.

This confirms it, I’m the one with a special power… Why though?

Is it because I woke up in the middle of the abduction? Wait… did I talk to the aliens before I fell back asleep? What did I say to them… “Aaawh, fuck!”

Goddam! It feels like my head is about to explode… It seems like every time I try to think about the abduction, I get a severe headache…

Maybe I’ll get some answers from the government after I become a high ranking Machia…

I put the code I copied in my backpack and head back to Lance and Fudo after ejecting his fireball-cartridge.

“Okay Lance I’m finished.”

I sit down next to him and secretly hand him the cartridge behind our backs.

“Did you really make his assignment for him Reo? Not fair!”

“Y-Yeah Fudo, he didn’t understand any of it, it was just a lot faster this way. Looks like you’re not the only muscle-brain here Ha-Ha- AUWTCH”

I feel Lance pinching me in the back. Fudo looks confused, well, not like that’s unusual or anything.

“Don’t worry Fudo, I think a mosquito just stung me or something…”

After some more joking around and playing with Sakura, I finally head back to my dorm.

…

“Honey I’m home~ !”

“Shut up! I’m trying to concentrate!”

Alas, such beaty is truly wasted on a rude girl like her.

I study the code some more in my bedroom before going to sleep. I discovered that the main code uses 2 different modifiers, one modifier to burn the target on contact with the fireball and another modifier to detect that contact…

I need to quickly come up with a magic I could program on my yellow cartridge based on the fireball-code, I only have 2 days left until the dual… Let’s just go to sleep for now though.

…

I wake up late for my first couple of classes, looks like Sara already left. I thought about it some more in my sleep and decided I needed a cheap yet powerful magic that’s faster than a regular fireball, since my opponent will likely also use a fireball cartridge… It’s a very common cartridge after all…

Let’s go to Mr. Ito’s class, maybe he’ll give me some ideas?

…

“Alright class now that even our wood [I] student ‘Van Dijk’ graces us with his presence, can anyone tell me the number one factor that determines a Machia’s strength?”

Lance raises his hand:

“It’s mana sir, without mana a Machia is nothing…”

“Great answer Lance, without mana a Machia can’t execute any top-level magic. However, a lot of people also overlook the magics themselves. The cartridges in the market today are mostly of the common and uncommon rarity- *SIGH* Yes Reo?“

I raised my hand after hearing ‘common and uncommon rarity’.

“What is this rarity you speak off? Aren’t cartridges divided based on color?”

*SIGH* “You don’t even know something as simple as this? Fuck my job man… Right, very good question Reo. Cartridges of the same color are further categorized based on rarity, an arbitrary measure of the amount of revealed cartridges with a particular magic, it goes from common – uncommon – rare – legendary to unique. Unique basically being the only one of its kind.”

Fuck, I guess all my programmed cartridges are going to be unique then, hope that doesn’t attract too much attention…

“Eeuurr thanks, Mister Ito…”

“No problem. Now, like I was saying, you won’t become a powerful Machia with just uncommon and common cartridges, these are predictable and usually less powerful then rare or legendary ones. That’s why I think money is also vital for becoming a powerful Machia, whether it’s buying unrevealed cartridges directly from the market-place or buying access to a guild-owned dungeon, you’ll need money on your way to the top, a lot of it.”

After his speech, Mister Ito rambled on about what factors determine the kinds of magic you can discover from unrevealed cartridges. It basically boiled down to your affinity, your talent and your luck. He didn’t really explain what talent meant though and I was too late to ask him about it.

In the end he didn’t really give me any ideas for a magic I could program.

I should at least be able to fire my magic twice, even if I only have a mana-pool of 100. It should be powerful enough to rival fireball, and it should be a lot faster…

I got it!