In the end, Daichi Yayahara managed to suppress his urge to use Mighty Strength and beat the hell out of Nobita. After all, this wasn't worth causing real trouble over—no matter how much he wanted to.
Over the next week, Nobita lived in misery.
Every time someone handed over snacks, they'd shoot him a glare sharp enough to pierce steel. The poor guy was practically drowning in guilt and fear.
What made it worse was that both classes originally had twenty students, so snacks were perfectly distributed. But now, with Daichi added to Class 2, they had one extra member. To "reward" Nobita for his "outstanding contribution," Class 3 generously decided he didn't have to hand in any snacks.
Two weeks passed since that disastrous game. Today, Daichi felt his magic had reached the upper limit of what his current mental sea could contain—it was time to advance to Level Two.
After dinner around 7 p.m., he told Dekisugi he had something to do and would be back late.
Dekisugi didn't ask many questions—just reminded him to be careful and not get kidnapped.
Once outside, Daichi sprinted toward the mountains behind the town. With Wind Step active, he ran for ten minutes, then walked for another twenty before reaching the secluded area.
Coming all the way out here just to level up might seem excessive, but the isolation meant no interruptions—and most importantly, advancing to Level Two released some harmful energy. He didn't want to accidentally hurt anyone.
On the mountaintop, he found a spot to sit and focused inward, observing the ten sigils in his mental space: Origin, Element, Sky, Sun, Star, Life, Temperature, Soul, Future, and Past. Each symbol represented a potential developmental path.
For instance, if someone formed nine Element sigils, they'd essentially be locked into becoming an Elemental Mage. Daichi, with his varied selection, had a wide range of growth opportunities—but that also meant he wouldn't specialize in any one path like a focused mage would.
The more diverse the sigils, the harder the advancement. To ascend, one had to integrate the other sigils into the Origin, evolving it into a unique personal symbol.
Diversity increased complexity, making the process much harder. Still, if the connections were well-understood, it wasn't impossible.
So why had Daichi chosen such a difficult route? Because it held the most potential for growth.
A mage's first-stage sigils determined their lifelong trajectory. Future training would involve emulating the Origin, gradually merging it with others until qualitative change occurred.
First, Daichi merged the Soul sigil with Origin—smooth and seamless.
Next was Life. As it was closely tied to Soul, there was only slight resistance. Then came the Sun—essential to Life—again, minimal difficulty.
After that was Star. Life exists under the stars, sharing a balance with the Sun. Easy merge.
Sky came next—it encompassed both Sun and Star. That went well too. Then Temperature, which related to Sun, Sky, and Life. Integration was smooth.
Now came the real challenge—Element. Though loosely connected to Sky and Temperature, it didn't synergize strongly with the rest. Origin, already containing too many paths, began to resist.
Daichi had to chip away at it bit by bit with his mental strength, slowly forcing the integration.
Then came the final two: Past and Future—opposites, yet intertwined.
Daichi decided to merge them together.
The moment both touched Origin, the repulsion spiked. He had to push with everything he had.
As the process deepened, the Origin sigil began sprouting new patterns, and the resistance grew stronger.
When Past and Future were both halfway merged, their auras intersected—and the backlash exploded. Origin's force shattered the mental restraints Daichi had constructed.
That was only the beginning. The energy from the failed merge slammed his mental sea, making it churn violently.
Blood poured from his mouth. His nose bled too—likely from brain damage due to the soul's trauma.
The fusion process broke down. Past and Future pulled back slightly, but the energy surging from them created waves across his mental sea. If he lost consciousness now, it could be fatal.
Just as Daichi was about to collapse, the Devouring Soul Slate appeared within his mind. It forcefully suppressed the raging sigils and slowly released spiritual energy to repair the damage.
Before long, his mental sea not only recovered—it became stronger than ever.
"This time, I'll make it work!"
Daichi gathered every bit of mental strength and pressed the three sigils—Past, Future, and Origin—together once again.
This time, even when the fusion hit the halfway point, the backlash couldn't break his will. He kept pushing.
Suddenly, the resistance vanished. The auras of Past and Future wove together, etching new lines onto the Origin sigil. The other seven sigils aligned and formed a symbolic mural around it.
The transformation had reached its peak. The sigil began drawing in all remaining magic.
Once the existing energy was depleted, the natural forces around him surged inward, forming new magic that flooded into his mental sea, feeding the evolved sigil.
His mental space expanded, becoming vaster and sturdier.
The entire process took over half an hour. By the end, the sigil was far more intricate, and his body had undergone its own transformation from the natural energy—he might've only been ten years old, but he now had the strength of a teenager in his mid-teens.
Whew…
Daichi exhaled deeply. It had been a painful ordeal, but it was all worth it.
Just then, a new stream of information poured into his mind.
"Let's see… New Level Two spells, and… potion recipes? Magic engraving techniques? Not bad at all."
He scanned the list—hundreds of spells, but only a few dozen were available for him to learn due to his sigil selection.
He decided to test a Level Two spell right away.
"Hmm, fire spells wouldn't be safe here. Let's try… Ice Spike!"
He chanted a sixteen-character spell (support spells had the shortest incantations; offensive ones were medium-length, and transformation/healing types were the longest).
A thirty-centimeter-long ice spike—about as thick as half a finger—formed between his hands. With a thought, it flew toward a nearby tree roughly twenty centimeters thick.
The spike buried itself deep in the trunk—its tip even poked out the other side.
"…That's kinda terrifying."
Daichi checked his magic. Half gone.
Level Two spells were no joke.
Yeah… better stick with Level Ones most of the time. Just pump a bit more magic into them and the damage should still be solid.
He glanced at his watch—8:30 PM.
Time to head home.
He activated Level Two Wind Step. Air currents surrounded him, magic surged through every limb—and he shot forward.
His speed now approached the human limit even at a normal run.
He picked paths with fewer pedestrians. Even if someone saw him, all they'd notice was a blur before it vanished.
In ten minutes, he was back at the front door, breathing heavily.
Only 20% of his magic remained—even after regaining some on the run back.
Still, Level Two support spells consumed much less than offensive ones, and their effects were greatly improved.
Feeling the rush of his new power, Daichi walked into the house with a light heart.
(End of Chapter)