Someone seems to be taking joy in complaining that Mass is not the same thing as Weight.
Weight is the effect gravity has on it, mass is the density of the object. A sponge with increased mass will be heavier and tougher to squeeze, while a sponge with increased weight would simply collapse under itself. No structural support.
If the mass of a object such as a club isn't increased, and instead the club is made solely heavier. Then the forces that the club undergoes could easily damage it.
This is why the default usage of the gravity spells modifies the gravity pull and mass as a combined effect.
Another minor note is that whenever he experiments with magic, he is in a meditation state. Which is practically just focus and the ability to see magic at his current level of meditation. Meditation also prevents idle thoughts which is also a large reason he doesn't come up with new ideas.
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Two armies stood at the bottom of an extremely steep hill, on the hill were the spectators. Myself, Lily and Kane included. You couldn't see who was who from here, but the mercenary Kane was eager to watch the action. Lily pretended to have disinterest, but you could see the way her eyes were drawn to the scene.
The top of the hill was pretty crowded with people jostling for position, however we had grabbed our seating early in the morning before most of the crowds had hit at Lily's urging. Our chosen position was a large boulder meters high and steep sides that made it unclimbable. However by using Gravity Cloak both Lily and Kane were able to get up just fine.
I didn't need the Gravity Cloak, a single jump was all I needed to get from the bottom. However I didn't care to repeat it too much as it was much too early to attract attention. We wanted to enjoy todays scene without interruptions. A few people dropped by with a ladder, intending to climb up the side of the rock but Kane and I displayed our weapons openly, scaring off the unwanted company with glares. For those who really didn't take a hint, I grew openly hostile and started to get up with weapon in hand after which they left us. So the three of us sat alone on the boulder, unaccosted as the crowds below us jostled for position.
Down at the bottom of the hill the two armies stood a mile apart, Kane was interested in the proceedings, but Lily provided the information as we watched. "Duke Pin and Senior Ban armies are down there" she eagerly told us as she watched raptly with her eyes glued to the scene.
"Duke Pin's men are on the left, they wear the green clothes. Three hundred soldiers in his army, but he isn't in this to win. Instead he wants to win a few fights and come out of this a rich man" then pointing to the other army dressed in muted blue.
"The other army is Senior Ban's army. He owns a large area of land a fair distance away and while he has six hundred in his army, they haven't been trained very well and use poor equipment. He is also in this tournament to gain money"
The relations between Lily, Kane and I had improved recently, Lily growing happier now that I wasn't trying to keep myself aloof and Kane had began to accept me as his comrade. They tried to pry more information about where I had come from, but I deflected their questions back towards the plan. They knew what I was doing, but didn't pressure me about it.
Lily opened up a little in the short breaks we had, small tidbits and details spilling about her past. Her father did know she was here, but didn't dare drag her back as he didn't want to interfere with her relations with Ilan. She grimaced as she recalled him, she didn't seem to be completely over it. It had only been a few days after all.
A horn blew and we turned our attention back towards the battlefield, below we could see two armies. The smaller army in neat rows and the larger army in disorganised lines. It was clear to see who was going to win. Kane sighed as he looked at the scene below him, the armies were beginning to clash and faint sounds of metal striking metal could be heard from our vantage point.
"Not a good first start" he disappointingly spoke, Pin's armies still in neat lines as Ban's army scattered at their own pace as they rushed towards the enemy. The lines shivered, but easily held as screams began to come up to our viewpoint. Didn't take long before Ban's army began to surrender barely twenty minutes after the fight had started. Ban himself surrendered as soon as he realized the battle was lost.
Lily sighed disappointedly. "That was a terrible battle" she complained with dissatisfaction. We sat on the rock as we watched the people below drag the wounded and the dead off the field. Dropped equipment was cleaned up as the run rose in the sky.
Another battle was due to start in two hours, and we didn't dare leave our spot for fear of having to find another location to watch. As we sat there I cast Gravity Cloak on both Lily and Kane, reducing their mass by a third to make the seating more comfortable. None of the other spectators had noticed it, but I didn't dare experiment with other spells for fear of attracting attention. It would diffract from the entertainment.
It felt strange to be watching people fight for entertainment, but it made a sort of sense in this medieval sort of world. The people watching were not a part of the battlefield, instead watching from a distant viewpoint as the armies moved, fought and won without actually seeing the wounds or standing next to the man screaming in pain without any of the smell of blood. The atmosphere of the people about you turning it into entertainment as they roared their approval.
I didn't enjoy it, I knew that we would be down there tomorrow with the crowds about us baying for our blood. It was sobering to consider. Sitting on the rock as we watched two new armies move into position, growing bored I took a book from my inventory and began to read. The first time I had done so since the outpost.
Lily looked at the book curiously, "What's that?" she asked as Kane leaned over with interest.
"This is a product from where I come from, paper binded together with words printed on with ink. The contents of the book doesn't contain magic lore however, its a made up story about 'Dust Warrior'" I explained.
Kane looked interested as he eyed the book "How much is it worth?" he asked.
I shrugged, "I don't know. Where I come from, these are common. In the past few years magic tool production has increased, with even a child possessing a tool that can talk across oceans"
They both hung off my words as I finally told them something about my background in a rare moment of honesty. I doubted they were ready to see my laptop, though the power had long since been drained. "What language is it written in?" Lily inquired"
"English, its the language where I come from. I'll repeat the sentence in English" I said it again in English as Kane's eyebrows rose.
"That's pretty impressive for someone your age" Kane said, lying back on the rock as the clouds covered the sky.
"mmm" Lily agreed as she lay back on the rock, comfortable in the lowered gravity.
I placed the book away and joined them, attempting to relax even as my own heavy Gravity Cloak tried to squash me against the ground.
A horn blew and we quickly sat up, the armies below starting to draw near.
"Ohh, Yan from some kingdom with 30 knights on horses and Dylan from a small manor a kingdom away. Dylan has a hundred swordsmen and fifty archers and spearsmen, but in this battle his real strength is going to be the spearsmen."
She pointed out the men approaching the front of Dylan's rigid blue lines, thin poles lowered to point towards the knights as they thundered closer on horses. The knights all wore full armor, the horses themselves wearing armor to protect them. Dylan's army in position, everyone held their breath as the archers released their arrows, two knights falling as the lines clashed. It was chaos as the armies fought, we couldn't tell who was winning.
Gradually the scene below began to clear as the men stumbled free of the melee. Horses limped away without a rider as the trampled men lay still on the ground. Then Lily grinned "Look, the knights lost 12 but Dylan's lines have been broken"
It was easy to see what she was pointing out as the knights ran amok through the army, slashing down on the men on foot as they desperately attempted to fight back. All too soon, Dylan's army began to surrender with the commander admitting defeat.
Lily grinned, "That was much better than the first battle". She was bloodthirsty.
Getting thirsty myself, I took out three water bottles and handed one each to Lily and Kane as I took a deep drink out of my bottle. They looked puzzled for a second, but I demonstrated with my bottle and they got the hang of it. Draining my bottle, I took out my bag with the two gems and added another bottle to the three sitting in there before putting it back away.
We watched the field being cleared off, then Lily spoke. "I'm bored, Jo you have anything to play with?"
I thought of my magazines and sniggered, but Lily took it the wrong way and thought I was making fun of her. "I'm not a child" she scowled.
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"I wasn't laughing at you" I quickly comforted her, "Have you heard of juggling?" I asked.
Both Kane and Lily were interested, so I took out six half fist sized stones and removed two thirds of their mass. Handing them to both Kane and Lily, I took out three more stones but didn't bother removing their mass. I could easily handle it at this point. Taking a second to instantly recast the Gravity Cloak on my body to lower the restrictions, I demonstrated to Lily and Kane the fine art of juggling. I did drop a few stones until I got the hang of it, but it was all in good fun.
You have learned the skill Throwing
Throwing? Not a juggling skill?
Whatever.
Kane and Lily quickly picked up the idea of juggling and began to practice on their own, laughing as they dropped the stones occasionally. A few of them rolled off the sides of the boulder, but I was semi-sure that no one would be seriously hurt if they were hit by one. I had to replace the stones, but eventually both Kane and Lily started to get the hang of it just in time for the next horn to blow. We hadn't even notice the armies approaching.
A thousand strong army stood on one end of the plain, organised in lines ten wide and three thick. They dressed in gray, metal helmets on their heads as they gazed across the plain towards the other army. The other army contained seven hundred men who stood haphazardly, each man holding his own preferred weapon and standing as he pleased. The disorganised army didn't share a uniform look, wearing whatever clothes and armor they could get their hands on.
"Prince Gan's army is on the right" Lily indicated to the organized army, then she looked disdainfully at the other army "The other army is led by a man no one has heard of, he screams of freedom even as they run to war, unknowing and uncaring of the death he leads them to"
I looked somewhat interested at the ragged army as they charged across the plains to Gan's army. "What are they demanding freedom for?"
Lily shrugged, "From what I can tell, their commander got bored of being a farmer". Then she grinned in delight as the lines clashed.
The organised army had a row of archers behind the first two men in the frontal line, taking down the warriors as they screamed and rushed towards them. The second man in each line extended his spear downwards, ready to impale those running at them as the man in front readied his large shield and small sword. Screams echoed up the hill as the warriors rushed to their death, the organised lines buckling under pressure of the fanatical warcries of the nameless army. Any revealed gaps immediately filled in by more soldiers behind the first line.
"That's what I call a massacre" Lily spoke with satisfaction, her eyes intent on the scene in front of her. She had a silly wide grin on her face, and both Kane and I found the bloodlust she emitted uncomfortable.
The battle ended predictably, Gan's army losing barely 60 people with over 500 casualties and wounded on the other side. Kane stood up and stretched, "You still want to watch the last two fights today?" he asked Lily. She nodded eagerly as he sighed resignedly before sitting back down. The wait between each fight was filled with boredom, so handing over some stones to both Kane and Lily I picked up my book to read.
The last two battles were small affairs, armies of two hundred and the commanders surrendering the second they saw defeat. It was better to be the man who lost the battle than the one who watched his army die. Each commander had spent money to train and equip their men, and it was far better to have them alive.
Most of the armies had been conscripted from lands under the rule of the commanders, trained and instructed in fighting and equipped for a battle to the death. I wasn't sure if they were all willing, but if a commander stood there and watched his men die, not only will he lose the respect of his underlings, he would lose part of his workforce.
The battles of the day were over, and the sun would be setting in a few hours. I could feel my bones cracking as I stretched and yawned. My body felt stiff and sore from my flesh being pressed down by the Gravity Cloak all day, the rare windows informing me of stat gains. I was able to turn my Gravity Cloak pretty high due to not moving around, but I paid the price in HP loss and lack of comfort.
Lily and Kane were fine however, they just stretched on the boulder before I applied a Gravity Cloak to remove most of their mass and some gravity before they climbed down onto the ground. Lily's skirt fluttered in the breeze as she jumped down, but she tried to prevent that by holding it but disappointingly enough, she wore white breeches. Kane glared at me as I looked. Lily didn't seem to notice.
We walked back to the city where Lily had an invitation that night for a party held by Gan to celebrate his victory. She wanted to invite me along, but I refused. Stating that I felt far too tired and stiff and wanted to get some sleep in. She was disappointed, but Kane was eager enough to accompany her. I could feel happy for him; Kinda.
I may be reading too much into it, but even if she wants something to happen between us I'm not staying in this world. She wouldn't last long if she came with me either, its not viable.
I had noticed long ago that I didn't actually need sleep, my body not growing tired and my stamina replenishing itself at a steady pace no matter how long I had been awake for. But I couldn't make noises while they slept, and moving around far enough to make noises could lead into trouble. But even ignoring that, sleeping was far more entertaining than more training. In the city I couldn't move around freely either due to the guards constantly demanding my business with the gates of the city closed. Its simply easier to sleep.
The next morning I woke up, reapplying the Gravity Cloak once I was on solid ground. If I left it on, my bed would be crushed. Moving outside to the courtyard, I went over todays plan. Our battle was at noon which was the second battle of the day, I did think about returning to bed until someone woke me up. But I felt excited for the first piece of real action today. No way can I sleep. I spent the morning weight-lifting small stones with Gravity Cloak applied in the inn's courtyard. A silly sight to be sure.
I rehearsed my speech over and over in my head, trying to work out what to say and how to say it. The plan was set in stone, but I wanted to set the proper tone with my speech. I wanted to indicate cold bloodlust, an aura of madness radiating as I licked my lips. The reason I was in this battle clear to see, lips curling as the screams of the damned rose about me.
I painted quite a nice picture in my head, I could see it already. The armies falling on their faces as the commanders screamed their loss. My dripping weapon held in one hand as I stood on a hill of flesh, no movement around me.
All too soon as I was lost in fantasy, Lily and Kane came downstairs and we began to prepare ourselves for the fight to come. We felt much too tense to watch the first battle, and as it became time for our own battle we moved to the blacksmith where Lily climbed into the iron armor. I had to cast multiple gravity cloaks on each piece of her armor to lower the mass and gravity sufficiently before she could move around.
The armor was far too clumsy for her to move around at a reasonable speed, so Kane and I were forced to drape her arms about us and carry her down to the battlefield. We made a strange sight, two guys carrying an iron knight sitting on clasped arms between us, the knight's arms around our shoulders for balance.
The War Adviser stood there waiting for us, eyeing us three as we arrived before shaking his head. "Madness". After a pause, he wet his lips and spoke "You do not wish to withdraw?"
Lily's muffled voice spoke from the helmet "Nope".
Shaking his head, he moved away to check on the other army opposite us across the field. Our first fight was against an army of 40 and seemed that we had been given the easiest fight.
Lily had briefed us earlier on what to expect, they had 25 swordsmen, 7 archers and 8 spearsmen. Their commander liked to fight alongside the warriors and they looked far too similar to tell apart. She said that it should be a easy fight, unless I can't deliver. She gave me a clear look then, expressing that I needed to deliver in my promises.
Lily settled into a position she felt comfortable, and five minutes before the battle began I started casting Gravity Cloak on her armor. Each Gravity Cloak could last for hours having been leveled up to the 60s and the mass of the armor was almost 600% of the normal, I didn't touch gravity however as I didn't want to encounter problems with a piece slipping. Kane himself received a small mass boost and lowered gravity, having experimented with it before to find a level he found comfortable.
The horn blew, and I turned my attention to the army as they began to move.
Excellent. When they are in earshot, I'll give my glorious speech.