Supercharged Shot, but Turbocharged

“The most important thing is imagination. You have to visualize the process of compression and acceleration.”

The day after dinner with Chen Xi, Tidal took a full day off. By dawn, she was already at the training field with Rosetta.

If yesterday had been theory and light practice, today marked the official start of intensive training.

“If it feels too hard to do all steps together at first, break them down. Do each one separately.”

With that, Rosetta raised her magic wand and once again demonstrated [Boost Shot].

“First, the standard steps—gathering magic and filling the colorless crystal. Something even you can do easily.”

Tidal watched as a crimson hue spread within the crystal atop Rosetta’s wand.

Her unique magic particles flowed like ink into water, gradually staining the entire gem in her signature red.

“Now comes the key part: imagine how to reuse the escaping heat. For me, for example…”

In Rosetta’s mind, a swirling vortex of rose petals encircled the colorless crystal.

Using centrifugal force, the petals trapped the heat radiating from the crystal, forming a high-temperature gas spiral.

Then, the petals began to close in, compressing the vortex tighter and tighter.

At the moment they fully enveloped the crystal, the gas became a high-pressure, high-density jet—and was forced back into the crystal.

Instantly, the burning magic inside reacted like it had been catalyzed—its activity spiking so intensely that the deep red glow flared into molten orange-yellow, like steel in a forge.

This was Rosetta’s mental image—a constructed scenario to guide her magic and achieve [Boost Shot].

Tidal couldn’t see it with her eyes.

But she could feel it. And through that sensation, she grasped something vital.

“So you’re saying… I need to imagine this process myself?” she asked.

“Yes,” Rosetta replied. “We may be magical girls, but we were born human.”

“Humans live in a world of cause and effect. So we can only use magic through causal thinking.”

“I gather magic, fill the crystal, therefore I fire a beam and kill the enemy. That’s a logical sequence. You can’t imagine a world where effects come before causes—that’s beyond human comprehension. This is our limitation.”

“Therefore, if we want to recycle that massive amount of wasted energy, we must design a system for it. It can be a precise, physics-based mechanism… or just a vague fantasy, as long as you believe it works. But a process is mandatory. Without it, the human brain simply cannot manipulate magic freely.”

“Some seniors who reached [Great Full Bloom] must’ve realized this. That’s why they abandoned their human forms and minds, ascending as pure magical constructs into higher dimensions.”

“Alright. I think I’ve explained enough. You’re not completely clueless, are you? That’d be pathetic.”

Rosetta, clearly tired of talking, picked up her thermos from the nearby rock and sipped her goji berry tea.

“I think I get it,” Tidal nodded.

“Good,” Rosetta said. “Today’s task: create your own [Boost Shot] method and make it work.”

“Actually… I already have one in mind.”

Tidal stared at her wand, expression calm—yet beneath it, a quiet confidence flickered.

From the moment she’d heard the term [Boost Shot], her engineering-trained mind had latched onto a familiar mechanical concept: the turbocharger.

She raised her wand and began.

Having done it countless times, she effortlessly gathered magic and filled the colorless crystal.

Then came combustion.

But in Tidal’s imagination, this wasn’t just energy release.

She visualized the sealed crystal as an engine cylinder.

The magic she poured in? Fuel-air mixture.

Ignition. Expansion. Pistons driven by explosive force—this transformation of energy was now the essence of her imagined [Magic Release].

So—how could she make this process stronger, generate more power?

Answer: Turbocharging.

In her mind’s eye, a complete turbo system materialized around her wand.

Intake and exhaust manifolds connected to the crystal. The turbine housing. The intercooler.

Imagine… think… don’t stop.

Gradually, sweat beaded on Tidal’s forehead.

This dual effort—manipulating magic while constructing vivid imagery—was draining her physically and mentally.

As expected, the “engine” produced exhaust—hot gases that would normally dissipate into the air, wasted.

She hadn’t seen how Rosetta recycled it. But for Tidal, the turbo system made it simple.

The exhaust flowed through the manifold into the turbine, spinning its blades.

That rotation powered the compressor, forcing fresh, cool air into the system. After passing through the intercooler, the dense, oxygen-rich air was injected back into the crystal—boosting combustion efficiency, increasing output…

Theory complete. Now, she had to simulate the entire process in her mind.

Exhaust surged into the turbine, spinning the blades.

But at just tens of rotations per second, there wasn’t enough power to drive the compressor.

To increase speed, Tidal plunged deeper into visualization—pushing her focus to the limit.

Dozens… hundreds…

Each rise in RPM consumed more of her spirit and strength.

When she finally pushed the turbine past thousands of revolutions per second, it felt like smoke was rising from her scalp. Her limbs turned to jelly, muscles and bones gone—she could barely hold herself upright.

Then—success.

The compressor activated. Cold, oxygen-rich air flooded into the “cylinder.” Magic combustion intensified. The deep blue crystal blazed gold—radiant, overwhelming.

But only for a split second.

CLANG.

Her magic wand clattered to the ground.

The flow of magic cut off. The gathered energy dispersed instantly.

The golden glow faded back to deep blue, then cooled into transparent emptiness.

Tidal collapsed onto the earth, gasping for breath. Her clothes clung to her small frame, soaked in sweat.

Did it work?

That question could wait.

Right now, only one thought echoed in her exhausted mind:

“…So… damn… tired.”