Kris:

  School was simple enough. Kris didn’t mind the more difficult theoretical aspects of her advanced classes. They allowed her to approach problems from a more thoughtful perspective.

  Not so much since she’d seen Mari’s new driving passion. Not since she’d held that weapon, felt that power in her own hands. It had become a distraction unlike any other.

  Which is why… she had no notes for the day. In their place was a sketched outline of an idea drawn from the experience of firing that handgun. Only, much quieter, if she could help it.

  Her design was sleek and covered in notes with what appeared to be nonsensical symbols drawn on the surfaces of several geometric constructions. Each one was becoming further and further annotated with equations and variables to identify factors within the complete construction. She was no expert at magic yet, but she had isolated enough of the concepts to start fitting them together on her own.

  A similar handle and trigger design, but with a very different ammunition system. Instead of firing physical projectiles, it would need to draw upon the energy of a spherical Mana Battery and then propel gravitational pulses of force. Something like that, at least.

  The barrel of the weapon sported three slender rhomboids that almost looked like needles when extruded to fit the dimensions she had defined. The triangular pattern allowed them to suspend a single complex polyhedron between them, near the firing mechanism. The trio of rhomboids was then encased in a metallic, non-magical cage, preventing outside elements from tampering with the etched two-dimensional symbols within. The shape of a rhomboid would affect gravity around it, allowing them to hover. The characters she had theorized would then apply a harmony between the three, allowing the polyhedron to—

  “Miss Krissanine?” Kris jumped. Her teacher was giving her a concerned look. “Are you well?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt class.”

  The frown grew more intense. “Class is over. Are you certain you’re feeling alright?”

  Kris glanced left and right, realizing the room was empty.

  “Yes, sorry. Just going over something for Councilor Alynne.”

  “Ah, that explains it. What puzzle does she have you solving now?” The instructor had a shallow smile on her lips as she shook her head ruefully.

  “She’d be upset if I shared and the project amounted to nothing.”

  The teacher huffed, then left, still smiling and shaking her head.

  Kris turned back to her design. It would probably work, if she tested it. Maybe. The problem was fabricating the device, though. Her materials were limited. And if it failed, it might do something silly like explode. Even Mari had mentioned briefly that the weapons of her world could do so if poorly maintained.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  She closed the digital page she had been using for notes, then turned off the tablet. If she remained there, pondering her blueprint too long, she would miss her match.

  Kris immediately made her way to the changing rooms, stopping only briefly to grab her outdoor uniform. It consisted of a form-fitting sleeveless top, a very short pair of shorts, and then separate sleeves and leggings that had been copied over from the combat uniforms of the resistance fighters. They were designed to be easy to remove if an injury occurred in one part of the body or another, without needing to cut or rip any specific garments. Back during the war, the resistance hadn’t had the capacity to make so much clothing or armor for every person. It wasn’t odd for a new fighter to be wearing at least a few pieces of armored clothing that had belonged to someone who had died. Eventually, it had become a piece of their culture that kept their history alive.

  It also had led to some of the bullying Mari had received. A lot of people saw it as offensive for a human girl to wear something that honored the lives lost in the rebellion.

  It didn’t matter anymore. Kris was very aware of how stupid the argument was after finding out that Mari had nothing to do with their oppressors. And that was being uncharitable to begin with. After all, her generation didn’t truly know the oppression their parents had gone through. If anything was disrespectful, it was probably kids her age acting like they had any idea of how bad it must’ve been. She could wrap her head around the sort of pain many youths had over the deaths of their parents, but she shied away from trying to claim she understood such emotions.

  Stewing in her own thoughts was always dangerous. Kris finished strapping on her pads and finally slid the glove over her right hand. She winced at the twinge of pain from her slightly swollen thumb. The device built into the palm of the glove chirped as the straps tightened into place, and she curled her fingers experimentally. The padded sphere on the counter next to her lifted in an arc and began to orbit the glove slowly, then steadily sped up.

  With a practiced snatching motion, she caught the orb in her palm. Then she headed for the exit towards the fields.

  Magball vs. Magfield (A Basic Primer):

  Functionally, the difference is that Magball is 1v1 while Magfield is either 2v2 or 4v4. The game of Magball is played within a shielded, translucent corridor with a goal at each of the ends of the tunnel. A specialized glove that creates a magnetic field to simulate a gravitational pattern, and then a padded sphere is sped up and launched between the players in a back and forth.

  It is not a hostile sport. Every player wears an inertial dampener to prevent injury.

  The goal is to score points into the opposing player’s goal.

  Magfield is a team sport. It occurs within a larger field, and the sport itself is a hostile competition. The goal is to break through the inertial dampener worn by your opponents, and each success in favor of your team is a point in your favor.

  The Elitheen Council did away with the widespread use of Magfield as entertainment after coming to power. The sport was dangerous, as the inertial dampeners used were so weak that injuries were common. Magball is the safer option they created, and it became so popular that even practice matches have been streamed across cities just for some entertainment.

  However, that doesn’t mean Magfield isn’t still played in other cities. Elitheen, as a city, is not a monolithic governing body like the Empire was. Digital communications were never repaired between Elitheen and the rest of the world, leading to some policy differences across Sylpharia as a whole. In many such regions, Magfield is still the pastime most commonly enjoyed by the populace.

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