Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter: 151. I Don’t Want to Do the Mobilization Drill

The state of the training ground outside the Great Barrier was tragic. Dust was swirling from the poorly laid sand, and the uneven ground had not been flattened at all. To put it bluntly, there wasn’t even any grass or decent urethane laid down—talk about budget issues hitting home.

Training in such a place would surely turn you into a dust-covered mess, and if things got rough during hand-to-hand combat and you tried to roll, you’d probably get your skin scraped on the rocks. This might lower the score for today’s heroes, who are like delicate plants in a greenhouse. …Or maybe not?

After all, if they trained hard enough to pass out and ended up covered in wounds, it wouldn’t really matter, right? I’m not really sure. When I heard Abin’s evaluation about the northern line, it felt like there was a big emotional disconnect between me and the younger generation.

Still, there is one good point.

“It’s spacious!”

“Chris! Want to run together?”

“Sure! Unni!”

Da-da-da-da.

The foolish magical girl races off, kicking up a cloud of sand.

In the back, a hero, who had been training in a corner of the training ground, got covered in dust but, familiar with it, glanced back and resumed training.

Apologizing in spirit to the innocent student who got him in this mess, he looked at the two magical girls, now far away, starting to shrink in the distance.

Brown earth, blue sky—a couple of little dots crossing the horizon.

…There’s really nothing here.

“True. Hokkaido at least had abandoned things like water sources or outposts.”

As they said, there was really nothing but an endless expanse of plains. Moments ago, I had been rambling about how uneven it looked, but that was just me commenting on the state of the ground in front of me.

Lifting my head and looking around, a sense of openness enough to make my mind dizzy dominated my field of vision. If I were to be precise, it felt like there was nothing at all, just a few buildings placed here and there, with the Great Barrier built up around it.

Still, there was a reason to assert that this open space was a training ground.

The far-off posts and frayed ropes, and even the sign we just passed that said “Training Ground.” Those were probably markers aimed at distinguishing the training ground from the surrounding plains.

The markers seemed to hold little value, though.

“Where did they source this sand and dirt?”

My self-questioning was interrupted by Abin’s inquiry.

Looking as if she was genuinely curious, she knelt down to touch the soil of the training ground with her hands.

“No, it can’t be that they brought it from Ma.”

I’m not really sure if I’ve been here before, but I’ve seen similar sights before.

“Then this is strange… why is there not a single blade of grass on this ground?”

Just as Abin pointed out, there wasn’t a hint of grass on the training ground.

Like distinguishing the plains, the ground was purely parched earth.

It looked as if someone had meticulously divided the green and brown earth by an intentional line.

Since it didn’t seem like a natural phenomenon, Abin’s deduction that it must be artificial was valid.

But in reality, it was a misconception… because I already knew the answer.

…This is a place where the Otherworld’s Power has settled.

“It means that a strong force so powerful it could warp the world was spread here, leaving all life extinguished…”

It’s possible that some high-tier Otherworld enemy showed up nearby, or that it had once been a battlefield for the concentrated power of the Otherworld.

Just as I was about to finish explaining, Abin let out a startled voice and quickly stood up.

As if she had touched something terrifying, she shook her hands anxiously and enveloped them in mana.

Smirk.

Seeing her in that state was so cute that I involuntarily let out a breath with a laugh.

Did she notice my chuckle? Abin wiped her hands on her clothes once and lowered her blushing face before speaking.

…Then isn’t it dangerous…?

Perhaps trying to hide her embarrassment, she calmly asked the question, though she couldn’t hide the intense emotion in her voice.

Time to call off the teasing. Seeing her so flustered, I should stop here.

“When they built the Great Barrier, they probably purified the area as well. But reviving is costly, so they’re just using it as a training ground.”

“I see…”

Maybe because my explanation eased her fears, Abin quietly nodded and shook her feet to disperse the dirt beneath her. It seemed she was concerned about the contaminated ground.

It’s simply just a contaminated area. Yet, this soil likely holds special substances.

The blood and flesh of those who died protecting the world.

I hadn’t realized it at first, but while explaining to Abin, I instinctively figured it out.

So many must have died here.

A vast plain with no geographical features to defend.

Sure, there’s a Great Barrier now, but at the time, the place had absolutely nothing.

No military base or ground for fortification, no hills or mountains to slow the advance of enemies.

Nothing but a flat plain.

How many must have sacrificed themselves to protect this place?

How many died here just to hold a piece of land?

Who were they?

…Senpai?

…Senpai!

Maybe I was too deep in thought.

I snapped back to reality when Abin placed a hand on my shoulder, looking at me.

…What’s wrong?

“Oh, it’s nothing… just… nothing at all.”

Though Abin said this, her dilated pupils betrayed her anxiety, but she quickly steadied herself and brightly opened her mouth.

“By the way, you said you were going to show me the form, right? Please!”

“Oh, right, the form… Let’s see…”

“Where’s Siyun?”

…There’s no sign of her returning. Should we wait?

At that, I glanced around to look for Siyun but could only faintly see some dust rising from a distance.

“Who knows when she’ll be back… you can just tell her.”

Later.

”Alright then, stay back a bit so you don’t get caught up in it.”

Just like before, I said that again, but Abin flustered and backed away quickly.

I slowly took whatever stance I liked, pondering over which form to show.

Fierce Kick… I already showed that one.

Since it’s the one I use the most, I could show a clean flow of mana, but I didn’t really feel like showcasing it.

It’s a technique I’ve already shown once, and I don’t think Abin, being an archer, would utilize it well…

I didn’t want to dirty this ground.

In fact, it could be a misconception.

It could have just gotten larger while creating the training ground.

Or maybe the budget ran out during purification.

Regardless of the truth, given how my mental scales tilted, I didn’t want to use Fierce Kick.

…Now that I think about it, didn’t Abin struggle with close combat?

Then this should be good.

“I’ll go slowly, so pay attention. Focus on the flow of the mana.”

Now then, let’s give it a go.

I spread my legs and slowly extended my right hand forward.

As if I had already thrown a punch, it was natural.

And I maintained that position for Abin to see my mana flow.

This is quite challenging considering I’m aware of it.

Back in the day, I could throw punches all day just to finish this form.

But now, it comes out naturally. It’s difficult to divide it into steps.

Alright, let’s go back to the beginning.

Start with the relaxing.

All of the mana left my body.

To be exact, into the magic cavity inside me.

Next comes the foundation.

The mana that had disappeared for a moment began to rise from my lower body.

Bending my knees slightly, I pushed myself up and shot the mana upward.

Next comes acceleration.

Twisting my waist, I swung my opposite arm.

Even though it doesn’t really mean anything physically to shift my center of gravity, since I’m using mana,

The most familiar way to control the mana’s flow is by using unconscious concentration.

Thus, this is also a necessary action.

Finally, I explode all the power generated from my knees and upper body,

And the mana that rose according to my consciousness,

With my extended fist forward.

To finish it off, I pushed even further.

BANG!

With an immense explosion sound, everything around me was blown away.

To be exact, I didn’t cause damage to anything nearby.

I only struck the air.

So the shockwave cascaded outward, creating noise.

That’s it. About a minute and a half.

Hmm, not bad.

I was a bit worried since I was conscious while doing it, but it seemed to have worked out somehow.

“Alright, now I’ll take questions.”

I said this as I turned around, but only found Abin staring at me with her mouth agape in a daze.

“Abin? Don’t you have any questions?”

“…Y-Yes… I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

…What was that just now?”

“Fierce Kick.”

In a magical girl style.

“Not that… the words you used were all muddled.”

“What’s the problem? Just get to the point.”

…You emptied all your mana at the beginning, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

In truth, there’s no need to empty it completely, but it’s stronger that way.

“How do you make the flow of mana so natural?”

“Honestly… I want to say it just takes effort, but that’s probably tough, isn’t it?”

I know.

As I told Abin earlier, if everyone could control mana like me, they would have entered the curriculum long ago.

“Well, it’s natural for it to be tough. It took me several years to get to this level.”

So, I decided to show her something else.

I bent over, picked up a rock that was lying around.

“I’ll do it a lot faster than before, so watch closely.”

I vertically threw the rock and stretched out my arms beneath my waist.

A natural position.

As the rock passed in front of my eyes and was about to hit the ground,

without assuming any position, I just swung my right fist.

WHAM!

Once again, the air roared, and a piece of rock that turned into dust soared into the sky.

“Are you familiar with this?”

I mean, you must have encountered it a lot during sparring.

…Is this the same form?

Oh, keen observation! She caught on so quickly. Abin is really impressive.

“Yup, it’s the same Fierce Kick. Just much faster and with less power.”

“Even though the flow and posture are completely different?”

“That’s the fun part of the form. The crucial points of this Magical Girl style Fierce Kick are just two.”

As I said that, I grabbed my stance again, stretching my arms, looking straight ahead.

I thrust my right hand out sharply.

The air split apart.

I thrust my left hand out sharply.

The air split apart.

“First, the direction in which you extend your hand.”

And then,

“…The flow of mana.”

While suppressing all other mana,

The mana extending with your arms must be directed in the same way.

That is the identity of the form.

The prior actions were merely setups to enhance the power.

“If both directions are the same, it establishes one form. Simple, right?”

Yet, it has become entirely unrelated to the name Fierce Kick. If one were to label it, it might as well be no-motion fist or be akin to a quick-draw technique.

…It’s still quite difficult, though.

“You’d be surprised by the forms of other martial artists, right? This one is genuinely simple.”

Well, the only benefit is an increase in impact.

Yet in comparison to martial artists, this one is more than sufficient for magical girls with special abilities or magic.

It doesn’t matter how complex it gets.

“…You mean stop the flow of mana… and release your punch for just a moment in that direction…?”

Maybe she was flustered by my words.

Abin quickly took her stance and started swinging her fist around.

She’s really sharp.

Just showing her once and explaining it, and already she’s grasping the essential points.

But there’s a catch…

“Are you struggling?”

…I can’t visualize how it would work.”

The flow of mana doesn’t comply at all.

Naturally.

A magical girl is a being of mana. Just like a human would control blood flow.

However, since they possess the trait of controlling mana, they can manage it to some extent, but controlling the entire flow throughout the body in a single moment?

I’ve mentioned this countless times. It’s crazy.

That’s why I learned to wield it without any previous experience.

“Do you see why I didn’t teach you the form?”

Did she realize the difficulty? Abin’s expression slightly drooped.

“Well, knowing the theory isn’t a bad thing, so I showed you now. But don’t get too wrapped up in this; focus on honing what you’re originally good at. We’re magical girls, not martial artists.”

I’m weird like that.

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