GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter 18.2: Processing

"Your spell formed, but couldn't maintain—like it was fighting to stay materialized," Vel observed.

Vel thought for a moment as understanding dawned on him. The spirits weren't machines—they responded to intent and connection. Drawing on his creator's knowledge, he realized what might be happening with the "unstable" students.

The unstable affinity could possibly interfere with the communication somehow, Vel thought to himself.

With no time to explore the complexities of unstable affinities, Vel opted for a more direct approach suited to the urgency of the moment. He hefted his practice sword, testing its balance with a few controlled swings.

"I'll take the front line," he stated decisively, analyzing the situation. The training dummies remained motionless for now, but would activate once the assessment began. "What I need you to do is get closer with me."

Tomas looked confused. "Closer? But I'm a caster..."

"I need you to cast the spell right next to them, like a touch spell," Vel explained, keeping his voice low enough that the other teams couldn't overhear his strategy.

"But how?" Tomas protested. "I don't have close combat ability."

"That's where I come in," Vel assured him confidently. "Anything that comes near, I'll stop them. You get the spell ready as soon as they get near."

Tomas appeared uncertain but nodded, sensing Vel's confidence. "I'll try."

"Don't 'try'—'commit'," Vel corrected him. "Intent matters with magic."

Vel gestured to the dummies, formulating a plan. If Tomas's issue stemmed from dual affinities causing interference, proximity might help. The closer the caster was to the target, the less chance for the spell to destabilize between casting and impact.

He could easily clear the zone alone—his combat experience and knowledge of magic far exceeded what was required for this basic assessment. But then what? Tomas would walk away having contributed nothing, forever marked as dead weight by every instructor and student who witnessed his failure. The boy needed to succeed on his own merit, not just to the instructors but to himself.

Even deeper than that, something nagged at his programmer instincts. "Unstable attunement" felt wrong, like a critical logical bug in the system. These students cast perfect spell circles, spoke correct incantations, yet their magic failed consistently. The pattern was too uniform to be random incompetence.

There's something else going on here. A fundamental flaw in how they're approaching the problem.

The Academy's solution was to write these students off, relegating them to support roles. But that wasn't fixing the bug—that was just working around it. And Vel had never been one to accept workarounds when the root cause remained unsolved.

If I can figure out what's really happening...

Vel sized up the training area as the dummies suddenly animated, their wooden limbs creaking to life. Four of them began approaching with slow, mechanical movements—simple opponents compared to the sophisticated constructs in the elite zone, but still a substantial challenge for students with unstable magic.

Without hesitation, Vel lunged forward, intercepting the nearest dummy before it could fully orient itself. He struck with precision, his blade catching the construct's wooden arm and pinning it against its torso.

"Now!" he called out, stabilizing his stance to hold the dummy in place.

Tomas stepped forward, hands trembling as he traced the spell pattern. The familiar fire circle materialized, glowing faintly upon completing the incantation.