Rebirth From Ordinary Person To The Strongest

Back to magic: physical changes really can do anything.

For instance, clothes. I wrapped Hina in "Silveit" and infused it with magic, creating a dress that delighted her.

Or food. I shaped Silveit into a house and infused it with magic, creating a gingerbread house. It was actually delicious when we tried it.

Through these experiments, I realized something significant: fairy tales like Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel might actually be true in this world.

The glass slipper and pumpkin carriage could be recreated with my magic through physical changes. Though the first time I made them, they reverted back to magic within an hour.

But every detail matched the stories exactly, making them seem like factual accounts.

Of course, there's no free use of physical changes. They consume significantly more magic than attribute changes.

To put it into perspective, if a normal attribute change is 1, creating clothes took 30. Making food also took 30, but creating a carriage shot up to 900.

After various trials, I found that the more complex the structure or the longer it needs to remain in this world, the more magic it consumes.

Though for someone like me, at the Seventh Rank, these constraints are hardly limiting.

Having practiced physical changes enough to handle them moderately well, I asked my mother to teach me healing magic, as I had been hoping for.

Seeing my proficiency with physical changes and my large magic reserves, she reluctantly agreed.

However, before I could start practicing healing magic, I found myself in a different situation.

"Itsuki, are you feeling car sick?" my father asked.

"I'm fine, Dad."

The large 4WD vehicle jolted as it hit a bump. The driver wasn't my father, but Renji from the Shimotsuki family.

Instead of practicing healing magic, I was now heading to a camping trip with Renji, Aya, and my father.

It's not a leisurely camping trip at a campsite but a legitimate exorcist mission. We received a call from the Tokyo Hunting Association about a bear-eating bear that turned out to be a monster.

I was surprised to learn that bears still roam Tokyo, but apparently, they do. And now, there's a bear attacking other bears, which is unusual and points to a monster.

The hunters initially went after it but were overpowered, prompting a request for exorcists.

So, our camping trip is actually a bear hunt. The reason children like us are brought along is to acclimate us to overnight exorcist missions.

As the vehicle bounced along the rough road, Renji asked Aya, "Aya, are you okay? Not feeling sick?"

"…I'm fine," she replied, but her face was pale.

Despite clearly being car sick, there was nothing I could do. Reproducing complex items like medicine through physical changes is beyond my current abilities.

"Aya-chan, should we open the window?"

"No… I don't want bugs to get in…"

I suggested fresh air, but she shook her head.

We were deep in the mountains, far from Tokyo's urban landscape, which was hard to believe.

After thirty more minutes of driving, we stopped near a small, dilapidated house.

"Let's set up here. Soichiro, can you set up the barrier?" Renji asked.

"Leave it to me," my father replied, extending Silveit.

"What is Dad doing?" I asked.

"Remember when we saved Hina?"

"Yes, I remember."

"I set up a barrier to detect monsters. This one is bigger, covering a 300-meter radius."

"300 meters? That's huge!"

"It is. Being Fifth Rank, I can create large barriers, but it's tough for most exorcists."

As he continued setting up, he seemed a bit smug. He had been feeling down lately, probably because I'd been spending a lot of time with Hina. But it seemed my worries were unfounded.

However, a 300-meter radius barrier means the circumference is nearly 2 kilometers… that's quite large.

Not wanting to disturb him, I went to help Renji with preparing for the night.

"Hey, Itsuki, can you grab the junior seat? I want to flatten the seats."

"Sure!"

Even with my exceptional magic capacity, my experience in monster hunting is minimal, so I focused on being helpful without getting in the way.

I helped Aya out of her seat and brought the junior seat outside. With the car empty, Renji flattened the seats for sleeping.

"Hey, Renji-san."

"Yes?"

"Is this your car?"

"Yes, it's big, isn't it? It can accommodate many people for overnight missions."

"I see…"

It made me wonder if exorcists were well-paid. My father drove an expensive-looking car too, and there was no sign of financial strain even when they took in Hina.

Where does the salary come from?

"Renji, the barrier is set. We can detect any monsters within the radius."

"Thanks. My magic reserves aren't enough for this."

"Don't worry about it."

Renji handed my father a bottle of tea, and my father casually declined.

How are we supposed to hunt the monster after setting up the barrier? I tugged at my father's clothes and asked.

"So, what do we do next?"

"We wait."

"Huh?"

His response was simpler than I expected.

"Monsters consume magic. Exorcists have more magic than ordinary people, so they'll come to us. We just have to wait and ambush them."

"So, we just wait in the car?"

"Yes. Don't worry, it should come within three days at the latest."

"…Three days?"

My healing magic practice seemed farther away, but there was no point in complaining. I decided to use this time to learn new magic.

With renewed determination, I helped with the preparations. We finished in less than an hour and passed the time practicing magic and playing cards.

As the sun set and night fell, there were no streetlights nearby. The only light came from the lanterns in the car.

After finishing dinner, we were about to settle in for the night when…

"It's here," my father announced in a chilling voice.