GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter 26.1: Multithreading

She began sketching an intricate magic circle, her strokes quick and sure. "Today we start with something they won't expect you to know."

"Velarian."

Vel's thoughts scattered as his name cut through his planning.

"Would you care to explain the components of this magic circle to the class?" Lyvenna asked, stepping aside to reveal the completed diagram on the board.

He identified each sigil mechanically, his mind still half-focused on tournament strategies. The magic circle was far more complex than anything the class had seen before.

With his interface's help, Vel focused on one sigil after another in isolation. "This pattern here connects to—"

Wait. This circle...

Suddenly Vel realized the pattern as a whole. The magic circle was dense with sigils. Each fit economically within the structure—this wasn't just any advanced spell. He glanced at Lyvenna, who met his gaze with a hint of expectancy. She crossed her arms, watching what he would do.

The spell he'd asked her about.

"Is something wrong, Velarian?" Lyvenna asked, her tone innocent but her eyes sharp with challenge.

"I was just surprised to see this here. Isn't that too advanced for our class?"

Lyvenna raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you can't understand the circle?"

Vel hesitated, considered if he should proceed. Something about Lyvenna's eyes and behavior toward him had changed after the duel with Thornwood—a watchfulness that made him wary.

But if this meant giving the unstable students a fighting chance...

"I think I can understand it," Vel said, uncertainty creeping into his voice. His interface displayed annotations like _negative_charge(), but he struggled to find the right words. "These two sigils seem to elevate energy gap between the caster and the target. Once the spell is complete, the energy snaps from higher point to lower point. Creates lightning."

"What about this cluster?" Lyvenna pointed to complex sigils near the bottom.

Vel studied them, seeing his interface label them with _target_acquisition(). "These sigils help the spell identify what to strike based on the caster's intent, so it doesn't hit allies or random objects around you."

"And this one—" Vel pointed to a swirling, asymmetrical sigil that his interface clearly labeled as randomize() "—this is what makes Stormbringer unique. It introduces true randomization into the targeting sequence. The spell chooses targets unpredictably, making it impossible to anticipate or counter."

Tomas raised his hand. "But why random strikes instead of hitting everything? Wouldn't that be more efficient?"

The question was insightful—exactly the critical thinking they'd need for the tournament.

Vel nodded at Tomas, impressed by his insight. "That's an excellent question. This randomization sigil disperses the mana flow unexpectedly, but the byproduct of that dispersion creates efficient mana bursts."

He traced the chaotic pattern with his finger, feeling the familiar logic behind it. "And makes it unpredictable so enemies can't anticipate the pattern."

The class fell silent as they processed this explanation. Vel felt a small surge of satisfaction seeing his classmates engage with the material—perhaps there was hope for them in the tournament after all.