Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"Are you still practicing spells every night?" the major asked.

"Yes," Winters replied. At military academy, nightly spell practice was mandatory for all spellcaster cadets. Apart from the days on the ship when phantom limb pain made spell practice impossible, Winters hadn't missed a night of spell practice even after returning home.

"Switch all your training to this one, and stop practicing other spells. Use the blunt ones for practice, and the pointed ones for actual combat," Major Moritz explained while drinking his liquor: "Think of the Arrow Flying Spell as throwing darts with an invisible third hand, the explosive force of the magic determines the dart's power, and the feel of the magic determines its accuracy. Both can be improved with persistent practice. Once you get home, focus on this. Continue using the Arrow Flying Spell without stopping as long as possible, until the phantom limb pain makes it impossible to enter the spellcasting state. At night, if you can't sleep because of the phantom limb pain, steep this in water and drink it."

Major Moritz then tossed Winters a paper package, which Winters recognized as something the major had bought on the black market on Submerged Citizen Street. He opened the package and saw it appeared to contain some kind of herb.

"Steeping this in water can help you enter a sleep state—just a small amount each time, don't steep too much. Sleep enables self-repair; after a good sleep, the phantom limb pain will be gone."

"But it took us several days of rest on the ship before the phantom limb pain went away," Winters cautiously asked.

"I've never seen phantom limb pain as severe as you had on the ship. It won't be that bad with the training I'm prescribing, don't worry," the major curled back into the lounge chair and murmured with confusion: "I am also quite puzzled about how the United Provincials managed to get you in that state."

"Understood."

The major had gone from sipping his drink bit by bit to gulping it down: "In the end, it all comes down to long-term training. Your spellcaster courses ended when you left the military academy, but the training of a spellcaster never ends. When I first graduated, my skill with the Arrow Flying Spell was just a bit better than yours. Don't rush; you'll gradually get there with practice."

Winters carefully memorized the major's words, but he still had an unanswered question: "Then, sir, if you have these specially made steel spikes, why still use silver coins?"

"Too much money is uncomfortable, what else?" Field, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.

The major laughed heartily: "What do you think?"

"Umm... easier to carry?" This was the only reason Winters could think of, yet using silver coins still seemed too extravagant, something he himself would hate to do.

"Exactly," Moritz nodded in approval: "Think about it, carrying a hundred silver coins when you go out is commonplace, but carrying a hundred steel spikes is cumbersome. Moreover, these spikes are specially made, and once you run out, hastily switching to a new 'arrow' can dramatically change the feel, leading to inaccuracy. Later, I found that silver coins are more practical. Even if you're at the ends of the earth, you never worry about running out of ammunition."

"Bullshit! Silver coins have different weights. Do you think the coins minted by Oathbreakers weigh the same as those minted by Sea Blue? I know plenty of crooks who shave flakes off silver coins, taking a little off every coin they handle," Colonel Field clearly had little regard for Major Moritz's reasoning.

[Oathbreakers, referring to Henry III of the Holy Moro Empire] Stay updated through empire

Still, the major replied lazily: "It's not much of a difference, and besides, with enough practice, even a slight difference in weight doesn't matter."

While the colonel and major were still debating, Winters had already decided to have someone make him several hundred steel spikes all at once when he had time; he didn't think carrying a hundred spikes was cumbersome at all.

After all, turning the Arrow Flying Spell into a "coin scattering" spell seemed a bit too profligate for Winters.