Like a meteor crashing to the ground, the Extreme Flame Meteor blasted from Will's hand and struck the marked ice crystal slab with incredible force.
It carved a long channel through the one-meter-thick slab before finally stopping at the edge. Will peered from the side and estimated it had come within about two centimeters of breaking through.
Good!
Roughly eight thousand sieverts!
The scene was dazzling. The onlookers froze, unable to even breathe until the meteor came to a complete stop.
Will was no different.
"Huh… huh… huh…" he gasped, still trying to recover from the shock. He hadn't expected such a tremendous strain. The moment the Extreme Flame Meteor hit, it felt as though half his soul had been ripped away.
It was outrageous. How had the witch in the original work treated this as a normal attack?
—And he had taken it seriously, replicating the witch's standard attack in full. Any player trying to match that strength would have been overwhelmed.
"What was that just now?""How much did it hit?! It seemed just a little short!""That's 8,000 sieverts! How is that even possible?! And from a kid who hasn't even started school yet?!""I wonder… what was the little dragon's breath on the tenth floor of the dungeon?""I read it… only 1,000 sieverts…"
Will thought quietly to himself: forget other buffs; magic only adds the attack multiplier.
If he remembered correctly, in the setting he had written, the multiplier for the Extreme Flame Meteor was 1,600…
His attack power couldn't really be just 5, right?
Impossible… The slime's base attack power was 20. The only explanation was that he was too weak—perhaps the medium hadn't reached the witch-level, so it hadn't activated the full multiplier. It could only be considered a pseudo-Extreme Flame Meteor.
The witch he would face later… would be stronger than this move.
"The boy is extraordinary.""But why is he running this experiment? This should be reserved for actual combat!""Maybe he wants to attract attention!"
Amid the discussion, only Iel worried about him, leaning on the table as he gasped heavily.
"Master! Master! Are you okay?"
"It's fine, it's fine. This is just for data measurement."
Will wiped the sweat from his face. His own strength wasn't the most important thing—what mattered was Iel. In the future, she would face the flames of Fire Dragon Al; she couldn't fall to the ordinary attacks of a mere witch. This was only the first step.
But it was an extremely important step toward turning her into a powerful, unstoppable force—a yandere capable of protecting and punishing in the story's harshest moments.
"Iel, your turn. Stand by the stone slab."
Will took out a second coin and poured the last bit of catalyst from a small bottle.
"Hmm… next is you, Iel?"
"Yes. To test your results. You need to follow the trajectory of the coin. Though it flies straight, it's dazzlingly fast. You'll need experience, skill… and maybe a little courage to stop it. Don't worry—if it measures under 8,000 sieverts, you'll be fine."
Will was slightly fatigued, taking a few deep breaths. He wanted to test the coin on the calibration board first rather than putting Iel directly at risk. If this move exceeded her ability, he would cancel her combat training entirely.
Ah… even he hadn't realized he genuinely wished for Iel to be healthy and strong from the bottom of his heart.
"Okay. Yi Ai'er trusts the young master. If the young master says I can do it, then I can do it."
Iel trotted forward, wagging her tail and ears, wearing low-heeled cross-ribbon leather shoes, and stepped on the chalk line Will had drawn.
"Madman?! Is he really going to try this on his maid?""I swear, everyone in the System family has a few screws loose and a strange sense of taste.""Is… is the young master planning a blazing display?"
Will ignored the murmurs. He focused on the experimental data. Eight thousand sieverts likely did not represent the witch's true power—but Iel wasn't at the original story's level yet. For her, 8,000 sieverts could be blocked with a single finger.
It made him look forward even more to the day when the real witch and the grown-up maid faced each other.
Will applied the medium evenly to the coin and placed it on the crystal lamp again.
"Huh… what we want is the ultimate fireworks…"
Iel watched as Will raised his staff, spreading ice armor over his palms and arms. Her enhanced hearing caught every word from the onlookers.
The previous strike had been powerful, but Iel knew the young master hadn't come here to show off. He had said it was "testing results," but the meaning was clear: he was proving she was strong enough.
Good! Yi'er thought, feeling reassured. She stared at the fireball of the Extreme Flame Meteor and took a deep breath.
Now… let the young master—and everyone else—see her results.
"This is the Extreme Flame Meteor—"
The meteor that had previously penetrated the one-meter calibration plate flew toward her. Even from ten meters away, Iel could only perceive a white light.
Although this was her second time facing the Extreme Flame Meteor, it was just as terrifying as before. It cut through the air with blazing speed, its tail flames scorching the wasteland as it approached.
Iel reached her hand toward the white light. She couldn't see it clearly—it was too dazzling. She could only judge the general direction.
Then…
The 8,000-sievert meteor barreled toward her, shattering the air and piercing the crystal.
The instant it touched her fingertip, it vanished.
Without the trailing flames and sparks scorching the weeds along its path, the ferocious magic would have seemed as if it had never appeared at all. No white light, no fire, no shooting star. Nothing.
There wasn't even a physical collision sensation. The coin inside, used as a medium, had seemingly turned to ash from the heat.
Iel froze in place, staring at her palm.
Huh? That's it?
Was he too strong, or was the magic too weak?
Even the passersby fell silent, overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment.
"Master… I… I succeeded?"
Before Iel could process, Will had rushed in front of her and grabbed her right hand, which had made contact with the meteor.
"Huh… still… still conscious… let me check…"
"Sure enough, it hit the middle finger. Just a tiny burn and a scratch on the armor…" He even measured it with a ruler. "Could it break the ice armor? No… just a surface scratch at most. As expected… Yi'er is strong enough now to block it completely!"
Iel hadn't even felt the ice armor wear, but Will could see it immediately. As a master, he knew his apprentice better than she did herself.
"Very valuable data… Huh… it's a shame we can't repeat it a third time. Yi'er, one last mission."
Will suddenly leaned against her, his head falling heavily on her shoulder as if drained of energy.
"Radius… 2.38 cm… depth… 3 mm…"
"Huh? Young Master… Young Master…"
Iel's ears flushed as Will's deep voice whispered in her ear.
"Remember these numbers… and… you have to carry me back with the calibration board later… please…"
With that, Will completely collapsed, unconscious in Iel's arms.
"Wait, wait?! Master… Eh?!???"