Magic Orb and Explosion

Perhaps sensing that Li Qi really couldn't manage to wear that large disc properly, Dr. Riv slapped his forehead and muttered to himself:

"Almost forgot to prepare the Wearing Garment for you..."

As he spoke, Dr. Riv went back to the wooden table and continued rummaging for something.

Li Qi silently stared at the large oval red disc in his hands, gripping its edges with both hands and shaking it up and down.

Then he looked up at Bolent:

"Sir, this is...?"

Bolent chuckled in response: "Secret. You'll find out soon enough."

What the hell, why all the mystery?

Li Qi held the disc, frowning slightly.

By then, Dr. Riv had already picked out what he called the 'Wearing Garment' and brought it over to Li Qi:

"Your build is a bit small, so it might be a little uncomfortable to wear... Well, that's a minor issue. Place the 'Orb' here."

Orb?

Are you sure this thing is an 'orb' and not a 'disc'?

Li Qi looked at the disc in his hands, bigger than his own head, and remained silent, but he still followed Dr. Riv's orders and placed the 'Orb' into the empty slot on the front of the Wearing Garment.

This Orb had probably been made not long ago—at least it hadn't been worn in with the garment. When Li Qi put it in, he felt the opening in the garment was a bit too large, and the Orb wobbled around inside.

It wasn't until Dr. Riv tightened the Safety Rope on the Orb a little that the red Orb was finally secured in place.

"Alright, put it on." Dr. Riv commanded again.

Li Qi complied, slipping the oversized garment over himself.

The clothes were made for an adult's build, so they were a bit big on Li Qi, the hem nearly reaching his knees.

Still, it didn't hinder his movement.

With the Orb hanging on his chest, almost covering his entire upper body, Li Qi followed the doctor to the side of the Firing Range and watched as Dr. Riv handed him a Bolt-Action Rifle.

At first, Li Qi thought it was just an ordinary rifle, but when he took it in his hands, something felt off.

The feel of this rifle was slightly lighter than a typical one.

As he was sensing it, Li Qi heard Dr. Riv say:

"Warrant Officer Li Qi, your marksmanship should be quite good, right?"

"Decent. I can hit a stationary target at two hundred meters every time."

Li Qi replied.

Limited by the performance of rifles in this world and his own shooting skill, Li Qi could at most hit exactly where he aimed within two hundred meters, and only on stationary targets.

Any farther, he could still hit, but the accuracy would drop a bit.

Dr. Riv nodded:

"Two hundred meters, that's enough. Now, Warrant Officer Li Qi, aim at the target over there and try to inject magic into the rifle."

"Inject magic into the rifle... Alright, I understand."

Li Qi was about to ask something—after all, everyone knew that rifles had poor magic conductivity.

But then he thought again: Bolent and Dr. Riv were both important figures. People like that wouldn't joke around with Li Qi or mess with him.

So Li Qi didn't refuse. He raised the rifle in his hands, aimed at the distant target, and channeled his magic.

Magic flowed from Li Qi's body into his hands, but before he could even try to inject it into the rifle, his attention was caught by a glow.

The glow came from his chest.

More precisely, from the Orb on his chest!

The red Orb emitted a faint shimmer, and at the same time, waves of warmth radiated from the Orb, pushing the magic in Li Qi's hands forward and injecting it into the rifle he gripped tightly.

A faint red magical light also spread across the rifle. Li Qi could feel the magic flowing through every inch of the weapon.

His pupils contracted slightly. He roughly understood the Orb's function and why Dr. Riv had given him that order.

He hesitated no longer. He raised his head, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gunshot rang out, and a bullet wrapped in red magic shot toward the distant target.

When that Magic Bullet struck the far target—

Boom!!!!

A violent explosion and shockwave erupted, scorching flames nearly breaking through the Magic Barrier set up in this square!

Li Qi stared wide-eyed at the pillar of fire shooting into the sky, then dazedly looked down at the rifle in his hands, unable to react for a long moment.

Compared to Li Qi's shock, Dr. Riv and Major Bolent were quite calm.

Bolent clicked his tongue in wonder at the distant flames, while Dr. Riv was jotting down notes with a pen and notebook.

"Not bad, not bad."

He scribbled in his notebook, then asked Li Qi, "Warrant Officer Li Qi, how's your magic consumption?"

"...Magic consumption is at one-tenth!"

"One-tenth... hmm, with one-tenth of your magic, how many... uh... how many standard Light Spells can you cast?"

Dr. Riv asked again.

Li Qi estimated: "Probably... over thirty?"

"Be specific."

"Thirty-seven to thirty-nine, something like that?"

"Base magic input is thirty-seven to thirty-nine Magic Units... not bad."

Dr. Riv continued recording.

Li Qi listened to his muttering and pondered to himself.

Base Magic Unit input?

Was the doctor implying that only with that amount of magic could he use the orb and this gun in his hands?

Li Qi guessed inwardly.

From the doctor's words, it wasn't hard to deduce that he judged the magic needed for a Mage Master to cast one standard Light Spell as one Magic Unit.

Converting based on that value.

A novice Mage Master, a first-rank Mage Master, would have a total Magic Unit count between ten and fifteen.

Someone like Li Qi, a Strategic Rank, had a base total magic of at least four hundred.

At least according to Dr. Riv's conversion method, Li Qi's Magic Units ranged from four hundred ten to four hundred thirty.

Calculating this way, even if Li Qi could use this Magic Orb, he could at most fire a dozen or so shots.

But factoring in his own magic recovery rate, he should be able to fire a few more.

Li Qi thought to himself, then looked up to ask Dr. Riv something, only to hear him say, "Continue. This time, try with maximum magic output."

"Yes!"

Li Qi steadied his mind, gripped the rifle with both hands, and aimed at the target ahead once more.

This time, he tried to pour all his magic into the rifle in his hands, outputting magic at maximum power as Dr. Riv had instructed.

The orb grew brighter and brighter, and the magic on the rifle nearly materialized.

But just as Li Qi was about to pull the trigger, a crisp cracking sound came from his chest.

Crack—

"!"

A sense of foreboding surged in his heart. Li Qi decisively threw away the rifle, then, without a second thought, tore off his clothes and hurled them, along with the orb, forcefully toward the Firing Range ahead.

The clothes and the orb, thrown by Li Qi's reinforced arm, landed dead center in the Firing Range. Then Li Qi quickly tackled Dr. Riv to the ground.

The next second.

Boom!!!!

An explosion several times larger than before erupted within the Firing Range.

This blast couldn't even be stopped by the barrier jointly set up by the Mage Masters.

The flames shooting into the sky and the shockwave from the explosion tore the barrier to shreds!

Li Qi pressed Dr. Riv firmly beneath him, constructing a Magic Shield over himself to block the impact from the blast.

Time passed, he didn't know how long.

Only when the shockwave subsided did Li Qi climb to his feet, turning to look at the empty space behind him.

On that empty ground, a massive crater had appeared. Dust from the explosion rose from the hole, drifting upward into the air.

Li Qi stared at the crater, then glanced at himself, clad only in his undershirt, and let out a sigh of relief at having survived the ordeal.

So close...

Really, just that close!

He, Li Qi, would have been reincarnated again!