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The day after I ascended the stairs of adulthood. I was in our backyard garden, preparing a bucket to be used as a pot.

Our home could probably be called big. It didn’t feel it at times, though, since our home was rather average compared to the other houses in the area. This was likely because the area I lived in was fairly more rural than the townscapes I often saw on TV and stuff.

I heard that my father inherited this house from my grandparents who had passed away when I was only in nursery school. Truth be told, I didn’t remember my grandparents all that much. Oh, and apparently, my aunt from my father’s side inherited the fields.

At any rate, what was relevant now was that there was space available for me to do this task, so I might as well do it here. As Leila suggested, I had went to a home improvement store in the morning and bought a couple of things: some soil, a large pot, and some fertilizer called granular.

When I bought those things, it really hit home that I had incredible physical strength now. We played soccer during PE class last week, but I did nothing more than daydream in the corner of the field. For what it was worth, my two friends were in the same boat. Unlike us, Sato from the soccer club played enthusiastically. His physical abilities were good, but I didn’t think they were anything great. Is that because he’s more the mage-type?

Anyway, the pedal of my bike—which I hadn’t rode in a while, come to think of it—felt light. In fact, it felt like I could break it if I kicked down seriously.

But time to get back to the matter at hand. I now had everything ready.

“Are you sure it’s safe to bury this thing?”

“It’ll likely be fine!”

I asked so to Leila who was smiling beside me.

Yup, she’s cute today as well.

What I was about to plant was the silver apple from before. It was currently sliced up—but still had its peel and seeds—and placed inside the plastic bag near me. I was surprised that beneath its unappetizing peel, there was a perfectly normal pulp.

Even so and even after Leila told me it was fine to eat, I still wouldn’t have the courage to take a bite. I just thought it was scary to eat something filled with a mysterious power. I at least wanted some animal test subjects to try it out first. In fact, I wanted to bring it to some research lab first.

But of course, I couldn’t do that. I felt like I couldn’t even consult my family and friends about this thing that could bring everlasting youth. On the other hand, I didn’t want to be held responsible if I disposed of it by feeding it to a random rat or frog and it turned into some strange creature. So, I asked Leila how I should go about it. Her answer was to plant it.

“You think it will grow and bear fruit?”

“I’ve taken that into account too. If things go well, we might obtain something good.”

“Such as?”

“Well…something like a tree with magic power?”

“A tree? Well, a planted apple could turn into a tree, I suppose…”

But will that also be the case for an apple born from a superpower?

“Oh, but trees take years to grow, right? Wait, is that why we’re planting it now?”

“No, that’s only the case for normal trees grown in a normal way. Which, might I add, is quite hard thing to do for an amateur.”

I shot her a glance that asked ‘then, how are we going to grow this’.

“That is obviously not an ordinary apple. I don’t know much about it myself. Still, I am a user of [Nature Magic]. And as such, accelerating the growth of trees is child’s play to me!”

Leila said so while placing her hand on her waist and puffing her chest out. Of course, her chest bounced like boing.

Despite being captivated by such a sight, I recalled the content of her status page, which she shared with me recently.

* * *

Leila

Race: Guardian Spirit (for Okawa Kyotarou)

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Magic: A

Resistance: A

Superpowers:

• Nature Magic

• Magic Tool Creation

• Spirit’s Devotion

* * *

Nature Magic was magic that allowed one to manipulate the nature in their surroundings…apparently. For example, if Leila was in a forest, she could control the trees and the ground. If she was in the meadows, then the flowers, the ground, and the wind. In a lake, the water. Near a volcano, fire. That kind of thing.

Magic Tool Creation, meanwhile, did as its name suggested: it granted the knowledge and skills necessary to process materials and make magic items.

…and the last one, [Spirit’s Devotion], was like cover in game terms. Basically, it allowed her to take on any injury I would have sustained, should she chose to. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about it. I felt disdain toward myself who was relieved to find out about such an ability.

…but oh well, it’s not like there are too many dangers in modern-day Japan. As long as I stay away from dungeons, everything’s fine. Which, what, leaves your random crazy slasher and traffic accidents?

Anyway, even as someone who had no knowledge of magic and whose perception of magic power was pretty much limited to what was within me, I could feel some emanating from the apple.

If it grew to be a tree, perhaps the tree too would have some mysterious powers. As I thought along those lines, I planted several seeds—along with the pulp and the peel—into the soil in the pot and then added some of the granular fertilizer.

“…if an apple farmer were to see this, I’d bet they’d be enraged.”

“That or stupefied.”

I mean, I didn’t even try to look up how to plant apples before this.

Even if I had, the ones available would be for planting and growing normal apples, not silver ones.

“Well then, I’ll be using my magic now.”

“Yeah, alright.”

I stepped a little bit to the side as Leila hovered her right hand over the pot.

“Tree. Earth.”

Faint light enveloped her hand, and a moment later, the soil in the pot shined too.

“Ohh!”

I kept on staring at it, wondering what would happen next. And then—

“That should do it!”

“Huh?”

That’s it? You’re done?

“Shouldn’t it, I don’t know, do more?”

“All we needed to do was lightly stimulate its growth. The pulp and seed already contain dense magic power, after all. Remember, master, giving too much water and fertilizer to a plant can be like giving poison.”

“Is that, is that so?”

“Yes!”

An indescribable feeling came over me. I heard the word magic and thought something from a work of fantasy would happen. But then again, having her hand and the soil light up without the aid of any device was enough to be called fantastical, right?

…if a tree ended up growing from this though, that would definitely be the most fantastical thing.

All that was left now was to tell my parents not to approach the pot. Not like it would sprout anytime soon though.

* * *

“You’ve gotta be…”

On Monday, one night after I planted the apple.

I came to our backyard, thinking I should water the pot before I headed off for school. When I saw it, I almost dropped the watering can. It was one thing for what I planted to sprout, but it was already a few centimeters tall by the time I saw it.

“Magic’s amazing.”

It would seem I was still not fully comprehending just how much the world has changed.

* * *

The next Monday, a week after I planted the apple. It has now grown to about 1.5 meters tall. In terms of girth, it probably had a diameter of 5 centimeters. It had verdant leaves on it, and more importantly, it already bore one apple. The fruit was as silver as the one from before.

“I…I guess I should harvest it now.”

“Probably, yes. To be honest, I’m surprised to see it bear fruit already, so I’m quite unsure what to say.”

Leila’s smile had transformed into a troubled one.

Even an amateur like me knew a normal apple tree would take years to grow. And who knows how many years more before it could bear its first fruit. Yet, there it was. Magic and superpowers sure were frightening. I was just glad I didn’t eat the apple from before.

At any rate, I proceeded with picking the fruit. As soon as I did though, a change happened. The tree that was so lush just a moment ago withered as though somebody hit fast forward on it. A moment later and all the leaves had fallen to the ground, leaving nothing but a bare tree.

“…can we make a staff from this?”

“Yes! If possible, I’d like to make use of that fruit as well. I think I can make a great staff with them!”

It would seem I was the only who was still in shock. Leila was already back to smiling. Then again, she was always smiling. While I was escaping from the reality before me with such thoughts, I handed the apple to her. Still, I couldn’t help but worry that I might not be able to keep up with this new world.

* * *

Another week passed after that. At this point, people around the world had began calling the day the world changed as [the day of the world’s return to the age of the gods], much like how the old man from before had put it.

Soon enough, the calendar would turn to show May. Which meant that the Golden Week beloved by students was here.

“Alright, let’s begin our training!”

““Right!!””

“R-right…”

What was going on and how did it become like this?

It began when Kumai-kun said something.

<<Let’s do some special training to get ready for dungeons!!>>

<<No thanks>>

I had happened to be playing a game on my phone when I got that message, so I replied right away.

Coverage about dungeons have already died down around this time all over the world.

The government still didn’t know much about dungeons and thus maintained their stance that the people should not be approaching them. It was a place of genuine danger that they wouldn’t let even TV people enter them. Some online content creators entered anyway though…majority of them had been reported missing, and those that somehow managed to return had their videos immediately get taken down.

That all led to a lack of new information, which then led to the population losing interest. Naturally, news programs still mentioned dungeons in PSAs and in their criticism of the government’s handling of the situation. I didn’t really watch those shows though.

What has been more featured on TV and on the internet up to this date were the criminals who misuse their magic and superpowers. Which, of course, led to me finding it more and more difficult to confirm that I myself was an Awakened One.

With the way things were, only an idiot would agree to polishing their powers as an Awakened One.

<<I’m in! All for the joy of tentacles!>>

I’ve found the idiot!

<<Calm down. Where and how do you think we should train?>>

<<I reckon that park would do.>>

<<Aye.>>

<<I reckon? Aye? Don’t suddenly start talking like that, you idiots.>>

<<Oh come on, we need to put in a lot of effort to be able to save a muscle girl in a dungeon and have her fall for you, you know?>>

<<Have you never heard of the proverb the journey of a thousand tentacles begin with the first?>>

<<Show me a book of sayings that has that!>>

I had the urge to scratch my head at them.

At this rate, these two were going to go through with this training. And they wanted to do it in a place where a dungeon was likely to spawn of all places.

“Leila. Do you know anything that could help stop these idiots? They’re planning to practice using their superpowers in that park.”

I summoned Leila and asked her for advice. Unfortunately for me, I had no magic-related knowledge, which would have included things like dungeons. I haven’t given up on using magic though, especially when the thought of having a big-breasted beauty like her teach me crosses my mind.

“Huh? I think training there to use your superpowers is a good idea though.”

Leila tilted her head at me, and I tilted my head right back at her.

“Isn’t it dangerous to do it there? Like, won’t there be dungeon forming there sooner or later?”

“The shrine there isn’t originally from ancient times, and ley lines don’t really pass through that area. The chances of a dungeon forming there are low.”

“Is that so?”

I had no idea.

“Moreover, there are Awakened Ones everywhere now. Understanding your powers and gaining mastery over it should be beneficial for protecting yourself. I think you should join them, master!”

“Eh—I mean, yeah.”

To put it plainly, I found the thought of training tiresome. I liked the sound of swords, magic, and the like, but not so much that I wanted to train seriously. I was tired from just studying, and now that I had done my homework, I just wanted to take it easy.

I understood the logic on training, I really did. And if a dungeon wouldn’t form in that park, then that place would indeed be a good place to train without attracting attention. However, I was already in the mood to do nothing but laze around and play games.

“…master, if you work hard here, I’ll also put more effort into it than last time.”

“You know what, I think it’s a fantastic idea to train when the world’s like this!!”

Leila had taken my hand and placed it on her bosoms. It was bigger than even my palm, and it was so soft I could feel it through her clothes.

Since that time, I had always been on the look out for when both of my parents were out, but I hadn’t found that many of a chance to do it with her. I was even considering going to a hotel. Hopefully, they wouldn’t mind having a middle school student.

At any rate, that was how I was beguiled to train. Only people who could withstand the offensive of someone like Leila had the right to criticize me. As they say, let those without sin cast the first stone.

“First, let us prepare a pell. [Earth]”

Leila said so as she tapped the ground with a staff. After she did so, a stone pillar about 2 meters tall was made.

“Uoyama-san, if you will.”

“Understood. [Water Armor]”

Uoyama-kun, who had changed into his magical attire, recited so. That made water from nowhere cover the stone pillar like it was the pillar’s armor. The water was about 20 centimeters thick.

Pells were things used by knights and sellswords back in the medieval era for training. Originally though, pells were just logs stuck into the ground. People who used swords like the [Zweihander]—swords with ricassos, which had a part of the blade that could serve as a grip—on my back apparently trained with pells.

…of course, I only knew about these because of surfing on the internet, so I didn’t really have confidence on the authenticity of the information. I mean, I was fairly certain the pell before us didn’t look anything like those I saw on the internet!

“I and Uoyama-san will practice maintaining and repairing our magic. Meanwhile, master and Kumai-san, please strike the Pell as much as you could!”

“’kay!”

“For tentacles…for tentacles…!”

“Okay.”

After coming this far, there was obviously no way I could say ‘on second thought’. And if I was going to do this, I thought I should do this seriously. With that thought, I changed into my magic attire. Before I could do anything though, Leila called out to me.

“Master, a moment please. It would be troublesome if someone passing by sees us training with blades. As such, please dismiss your sword and dagger.”

“Huh? I can select which ones to materialize? …oh, I did it.”

I wished for my sword and dagger to go away and then it did.

Doesn’t this mean I can perform a split-second guard or counter by materializing only my gauntlets or my sword? Just thinking about it is making me tremble a bit…but no, I’d much rather not be in a situation where I need to do that. I’m fine to have scenes like that happening on the other side of the screen, thank you very much.

“Please use this instead. I’ve shaped it like your sword, but I’m unsure if the balance is the same.”

Leila made the ground before her swell. From that ground, a sword that made one think of the Arthurian legends was formed.

On her urging, I pulled out the stone sword and found it to be almost like the one I had.

“Ah, ok. Thanks, Leila.”

“Please don’t hold back in fear of breaking it! I can just make another if it breaks, after all!”

As soon as she said so, another stone sword formed beside me.

I stowed away my sword because we don’t want to get reported for using a bladed weapon, but won’t this get us reported anyway?

In case we did get reported though, we could always just erase them the moment the police arrives since they were just magic. Hopefully.

At any rate, I grasped the stone sword with both my hands and took a pause.

I had never before practiced western swordsmanship before. Heck, our junior high didn’t even offer kendo classes. The bulk of my knowledge about it were from videos I had watched on the internet. It was asking for the impossible to have an amateur reproduce those proper forms in their first try. Under normal circumstances, an amateur was even likely to injure themselves.

Yet, with my body as it was, I thought maybe I could somehow do a decent job.

Having become an Awakened One, I had begun considering how much force I was using.

In my mind, it felt like I was stepping on an accelerator. I only knew how to drive go-carts and arcade game machines though. But I digress. When I wasn’t pressing on this accelerator in my imagination, I moved like normal. When I press down on the it though, I felt like I could do whatever I wanted.

“Ha…!”

I had summoned unbelievable power from within me. I took a step and my foot got buried up to my ankles; I took a swing and made the wind roar. Before long, I drove the stone sword in my hands into the pell. I managed to blast through the water armor and then—

“Gah!?”

The kickback was absolutely terrible. It reminded me of when I was in elementary and I imitated an anime scene by swinging wooden stick with all my might at a tree trunk. The base of my thumb hurt like hell!

“What do you think, master? I’ve hardened the sword and the pell as much as I could!”

“Yeah…I could see that…”

You might not see it, but the man you call your master is crying under this helmet. My hand and voice are shaking. Ahh, it hurts so much!

“I…I can’t even reach the deeper end of the water armor…!”

“What monstrous strength…!”

Kumai-kun and Uoyama-kun seemed to be struggling over there about something, but I couldn’t be bothered with them at the moment.

Maybe it was because of my distinctive superpower, but the pain soon vanished. My bones were still tingling though.

I glanced at Leila and the staff she was holding. It was about 1 meter long; made of wood; had a [Silver Cloth] at its tip; and was decorated by [Amber], which glistened as it reflected the sunlight.

To be frank, the staff was made from the silver apple tree. Its body was made from the tree’s shaved trunk. The silver cloth was made from dying a regular cloth with the peel of the fruit. And the amber was a mixture of the fruit juice and the sap.

From an outsider’s perspective, it was impressive she made such a thing with only the tools made with Nature Magic and by controlling the wind. More impressive yet was its output. At the risk of sounding conceited, the strike I did just now was not something I should direct at a person. It could probably turn helmets and bulletproof vests into minced meat. And yet, the stone pillar made using the staff still withstood that strike. My strike might have been dampened by the water armor, sure, but my point still stands.

“How do I put it? This thing’s awfully tough, isn’t it?”

“I’m pleased to hear it’s to your satisfaction! I’m currently focusing my magic power into the pell and the stone sword, so I doubt I’ll be able to make things this tough in a real fight though.”

I mean, did you really have to go all out making it durable? Wait…am I supposed to continue hitting this ultra-tough thing!? For real?

I glanced at Leila again. She smiled sweetly at me, pressed her hands together, and said ‘fight on, master!’. The gesture also pressed her breast together, changing its shape and drawing even more attention to it.

“Muscle, muscle, muscle girl! Melons-for-arms muscle girl!”

“TENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLESTENTACLES”

We continued the training. Unlike the two perverts though, I trained silently.

Leila was doing this solely out of concern for my safety. It would be pretty messed up of me to have impure thoughts about someone who cared so much for me. Let’s concentrate on training with the sword!

“Master, please don’t look only at me; focus on the pell please. Looking away’s dangerous.”

“Wait, no, you got the wrong idea. I just happened to glance your way; I’m taking this seriously, I swear.”

I absolutely wasn’t staring at your chest while I repeatedly slashed at the pell!!! Believe me, please!!!

“Also, your form’s getting worse! Keep your arms closer to your body and spread your legs more!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

* * *

Just like that, we kept training. I might not have been enthusiastic about it at the start, but I took it seriously soon enough.

We kept on doing it every weekend and after school too. Not once did I think there was much point for us to train, but I played along because my friends wanted to do it. I played along because a beautiful girl enticed me with her charms to train. And before long, I trained almost out of habit. All while thinking I would never get a use for it.

I thought like that until half a year later. Until some dungeons all over the world overflowed. Until I saw not through a screen but through my own eyes just how frightening dungeons and monsters could be.

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