Survival Strategies of a Struggling Aristocrat

During the first days when Masaya entered the Miyasaka Dojo, he was taught the fundamentals of Shaolin Kempo, such as the stances and body movements. At first, he experienced muscle soreness, which hindered his work, but once the soreness subsided, he rapidly absorbed the techniques.

This amazed both Masaya himself and Master Miyasaka, who was instructing him.

“Masaya, have you practiced any martial arts before?” Miyasaka asked.

“No, not at all. I just enjoy watching professional wrestling and kickboxing matches, but I’ve never actually learned them,” Masaya replied.

“I see… Well then, starting today, I shall introduce you to the rigorous practice of Miyasaka-style’s hard wood striking,” 

“Wood Striking” was a training method where a sturdy log, approximately two meters long and made of oak or chestnut, was partially buried in the ground, leaving around seventy centimeters exposed. The aim was to strike the log with a stick, driving it into the ground—a practice method known as wood striking.

Originally, it was a training method used in the Satsuma clan’s revealed reality style (Jigen-ryu), but it has been incorporated into the Miyasaka style. However, there were unique adaptations in terms of stances, footwork, and sword swings that differed slightly from the revealed reality style (Jigen-ryu).

The training ground was located at the summit of a nearby mountain. It seemed fitting that the practice involved sprinting up to the top. After approximately twenty minutes, they reached the peak, where five logs were firmly planted in the ground.

“Choose any log you like and begin the practice of wood striking.”

Masaya randomly picked one and assumed a high stance, deviating from the prescribed “Dragonfly” stance of the Satsuma style. Stepping closer to the log, he gathered his strength and swung down with full force, letting out a resounding “Shaaah!”

As the stick struck the log with a solid thud, a shockwave reverberated through Masaya’s hands, causing them to go numb. The thought of repeating this action multiple times made him want to cry.

After delivering around a hundred strikes with all his might, Masaya reached his limit. He turned to Master Miyasaka and said, “I’ve reached my limit.”

Master Miyasaka chuckled, seemingly expecting this outcome. 

“Well, that’s to be expected in the beginning. But let me make it clear, eventually, I expect you to be able to deliver around a thousand strikes.”

“…Impossible.”

“It may seem that way now. Tomorrow morning will be tough for you, but do your best,”

The meaning behind Master Miyasaka’s final words was unclear at the time. However, the next day, Masaya found himself unable to raise his arms. He was immobilized by excruciating muscle soreness.

“So, this is what he meant. I’m glad today is a day off,” 

Masaya had to grit his teeth even while attempting to eat.

“In times like these, if only I had the magic essence that exists in my dreams,” 

On a mere whim, Masaya actually started attempting to focus his mind and sense the magic essence, just like he did in his dreams. In that moment, he felt a click, as if a switch had been turned on in his mind.

Suddenly, an unimaginable sensation coursed through his body. He could feel the presence of magic essence in the air.

“……No way… Wasn’t all of that supposed to be merely a dream,” 

However, there was a definite sensation. Masaya gathered the magic essence within his detectable range, forming a magic essence ball just like in his dreams. It was even the same size as the ones he managed to gather in the labyrinth.

“What does this mean? Does it imply that the Earth contains magic essence of the same concentration as the labyrinth?” 

Masaya’s mind was filled with confusion. Ever since he sensed the magic essence, he felt its presence within his spirit, something he referred to as “Mana (True Name)” in the dream world.

“Wait a minute. Wasn’t that just a dream? If that’s the case, then it means I possess the True Names of both ‘magic Essence’ and ‘Ultrasonic Wave’,” 

Masaya pondered as he delved into his spirit, confirming the existence of the two True Names.

If the dream was indeed real, Masaya started to wonder if it was a phenomenon unique to him. With that thought in mind, he powered up his computer and began his research.

Curiously, after creating the magic essence ball, the soreness in his arms seemed to ease. Perhaps the act of gathering the magic essence exerted a certain influence on his condition.

Despite the slight improvement in muscle soreness, the pain persisted. Enduring the discomfort, Masaya typed on the keyboard, searching for information about his peculiar dream.

“There are too many search results to make sense of. I should narrow it down a bit,” 

Masaya searched using some keywords and found a few relevant hits. 

He came across a story written by a woman on a dream interpretation website, claiming to have experienced lucid dreams. According to her account, she would merge her consciousness with that of a girl named Maeta in a different world and live a life together.

It seemed to mirror Masaya’s own experience. He looked into other similar cases. All of them shared stories of experiencing lucid dreams and venturing into the same world as Masaya.

As he delved deeper into his research, Masaya realized that this phenomenon was not limited to Japan but was happening worldwide. While no one seemed to be making a fuss about it yet, he knew that if people discovered that those who obtained “Mana” (True Name) in the alternate world could also wield magic in the real world, it would inevitably cause a commotion.

“If only there was someone I could confide in,”

Following that idea, Fyuhiko’s face flashed in his mind. However, If he told that guy, he would definitely gossip about it. Masaya quickly dismissed the idea as soon as it came.

At that moment, a face emerged in Masaya’s mind, replacing Fyuhiko’s. It was a person who happened to be a physics professor at Meijin Chuo University, the university Masaya graduated from.

Professor Kanbara, his former teacher, had retired from the university and continued with his own research. His residence was located in Yokohama, and Masaya had been invited there once before.

As an expert in architectural physics, which was rare in Japan, Professor Kanbara was highly respected among students for his diverse interests and research. Since Masaya had his contact information saved on his smartphone, he decided to reach out to him.

And just like that, Professor Kanbara kindly agreed to listen to Masaya’s concerns. Masaya took a train to a nearby station and then walked to the professor’s house. It was an ordinary house with a small garden.

He was greeted by the professor’s daughter. Masaya’s heart skipped a beat involuntarily. She was a charming young woman in her early twenties, with a resemblance to the professor but possessing a cute demeanor that reminded him of a small animal.

In the study, where Masaya was asked to wait, he noticed that the professor appeared older compared to the last time he had seen him. His hair had turned completely white, and deep wrinkles were etched on his face.

Masaya shared the story of his lucid dreams. Then, just as he was about to mention the part about the “Mana” (True Names), the professor interrupted him.

“Hold on a moment. You’re talking about dreams, right? That’s beyond my expertise,” 

For some reason, he called his daughter. The young woman, who had greeted Masaya earlier, entered the room.

“Koyuki here is majoring in psychology at her university,” Professor Kanbara added.

Unable to refuse, Masaya explained the lucid dreams once again, with the daughter also joining in the conversation, just like her father.

“From what I’ve heard, it seems like ordinary lucid dreams. Although it’s strange to have a continuation of the same dream repeatedly,” Kyouki remarked.

“Yes, if this were just a dream, that would be the case… but it feels like a real different world,” 

The eyes of the professor and his daughter transformed, reflecting a pitiful look.

“Please spare me that look. I have my reasons to think that way,” Masaya said.

“Reasons? What kind?” 

Masaya began by mentioning that there were many people around the world who experienced similar lucid dreams.

Koyuki tilted her head slightly, deep in thought. Her expression was cute, and Masaya couldn’t help but gaze at her.

“Hey, don’t give Koyuki those dirty looks,” the professor interjected.

Startled, Masaya quickly averted his gaze.

“Dirty looks? That’s harsh. She was just so cute that I couldn’t help but stare,” he explained.

Koyuki blushed, her cheeks turning rosy.

“Oh my, Hijiritani-san,” 

At that moment, the professor’s gaze turned stern.

“If you lay a hand on her… you know the consequences,” 

The professor’s gaze was serious.

“Y-Yes, Professor. By the way, I still have another reason,” Masaya said.

“What could that be?” 

“It’s about the mentioned ‘Mana (true name)’ that seems to exist in my spirit.”

The professor let out a sigh, as if completely skeptical.

“I can prove to you the existence of magic essence.” Masaya said.

“How would you go about proving it?”

“I can gather magic essence and manipulate objects with it,” Masaya replied.

“Surely, you’re not suggesting you’ll perform some sort of magic trick?” the professor questioned.

“If you doubt that there is a sleight of hand involved, then please specify what to move and how, Professor,” Masaya said.

The professor grinned like a mischievous child.

“In that case, let’s see you lift a Fish-shaped pastry eraser from my cherished Japanese sweets eraser collection.”

Professor Kanbara seemed to be a collector of erasers. Within the storage cases lined up against the wall, there was a special case containing a variety of Japanese sweet erasers.

Masaya knew that the professor was eccentric, but he turned out to be even stranger than he had anticipated. It seemed that the professor had chosen the Fish-shaped eraser simply to show off his collection.

The professor took out the Fish-shaped eraser and placed it on the desk. It was an eraser that closely resembled a Fish-shaped pastry, measuring about five centimeters in size.

“Now, give it a try and make it move,” 

Masaya hovered his hand over the Fish-shaped eraser and focused his mind. He gathered magic essence and enveloped the eraser within it.

“Hmmmm…” 

With intensified concentration, Masaya let out a low groan as he strengthened his control over magic essence. The Fish-shaped eraser began to sway and slowly lifted off the desk.

The professor and his daughter were astonished, the former’s eyes almost popping out of his head. Afterward, the two of them started searching for any hidden mechanisms or tricks. However, they found nothing. In the end, they had to accept the truth.

Having acknowledged the existence of Mana Art, the Kanbara father-daughter pair started extracting knowledge from Masaya about the alternate world and Mana Art as if squeezing it out of him. Thanks to that, Masaya ended up completely exhausted.