Chapter 10: I'm not a Magical Girl!

"I can explain"

"Explain what?" Lafia starts chuckling. "All I see is a guy seriously checking himself out."

She glances up at my hair, than to the rest of my glowing body, then back to my hair.

"It's a good look, I'm not here to shame you," She responds.

*Ding*

*Lafia seems to find you amusing*

*15 point awarded*

I cover my face with my hands in shame. Fifteen points for this?

"Can we just not talk about this," I groan through my fingers.

"Sorry but no," She replied. "What? I leave you alone for like, two hours and suddenly you're one of the strongest beings on the leaf? You got to tell me something"

Oh look, my hair remembered gravity. Looks like Taekwondo Ascension is wearing off.

"Okay now that's weird. You're energy is dropping rapidly... and it went back down to normal, albeit, you're still a good bit stronger than when I found you."

Oh yeah! the Dobuk. A golden flash envelopes me before I'm back in the high waisted jeans.

"And now you completely lost me. Was that a power suit? Did you just transform before? It's not completely unheard of that some transformation comes with an apparel change and a power boost, but that was quite substantial..."

She pauses for a bit, hesitating before asking.

"Tell me, did you... Sing?"

*Ding*

*Lafia is intrigued*

*20 points awarded*

I sweatdropped.

She seems to think I'm a magical girl or something. I really want to dispell that thought, but I don't know how to explain it otherwise. Am I supposed to tell her I get points based off of how well im 'gettin it on' with her?

....

I take my time to think, but pressure of the silence is getting to me.

"I uh... chanted," I say, giving in.

"You... chanted?" She questions back.

"Yeah, I chant," I try to casually say.

"You don't sing?" She asks.

"No, I chant," Well, I already dug my grave, might as well keep digging.

"Well, that's odd, because most Magical Girls need a melody to tap into-"

"Well I'm not a Magical GIRL, I'm a Magical BOY," I cut her off. Damn, look at what she's making me say.

"Not with those pants you're not," she responds, chuckling.

I grumble as I search through the shop to buy some pants with the points she so graciously gave me.

Another flash later, I was back in normal track pants.

"Aww, I miss your old pants magical boy," she laughs. "Still, the way you change clothes looks nearly identical to some historical data I have. But you do bring up a good point; you are male, meaning that the general mechanisms probably has some differences in the nuances. Honestly, it's deserving for some proper, scientific research, but you probably want to eat, too, right? Let's talk over grub, c'mon."

She brings me towards a dining table, and waiting for us was absolutely nothing.

"Umm-" but then she holds her hand out and it starts glowing. Oh yeah magic. She closes her eyes as she starts to concentrate.

"Oh yeah, you might want to hold onto something around you." She says, mid glow.

I reach for the table in front of me, firmly grasping it.

"Okay got it, but why?"

The table starts floating and picks me up off the ground

"Oh shit!"

That's why.

...

~Later~

Right on the dining room table laid two plates holding hamburgers and a large drink on the side. In between the two was a glorious stack of fries. On both ends of the table sat two individuals, a boy and a girl. If one didn't know any better, it would almost look like a dinner date.

"..."

"..."

"So, how do you like your Bamburger?"

"YOU ALMOST KILLED ME"

"IM SORRY"

"WHY WAS EVERYTHING SPINNING? WHY DID THE TABLE HAVE TO SPIN?"

"I SAID HOLD ON, I DIDNT MEAN HOLD ONTO THE TABLE!"

"WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO HOLD ONTO? YOU SAID TO-"

"THERE ARE RAILS AROUND YOU! OR CHAIRS! I THOUGHT YOUD HOLD ONTO ONE OF THOSE, I DIDNT THINK YOU'D REACH FOR THE TABLE-"

"OH SORRY, I DIDNT KNOW I HAD TO HOLD ONTO SAFETY RAILS FOR A FRICKING MEAL!"

"WHY NOT? YOU SAW THE CUBE, IT PRETTY MUCH DID THE SAME THING AS BEFORE!"

"I KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT NOW! I KNOW THAT FIRST HAND! WHY CAN'T YOU COOK LIKE A NORMAL GIRL!"

"LIKE A NORMAL- EXSCUSE ME? WHAT'S THAT SUPPO-"

It was a long dinner.

...

After... the incident, we decided to reconcile by me disclosing the nature of my abilities. I feel bad about tricking her into thinking I'm a magical girl, so I try to tell her as much as I can, omitting the sleazier parts of the system. She said she'd tell me more about the tree and what she does at the guild.

"...and that's about what I know so far," I finish.

"And you're sure you're not a Magical Girl?" Lafia asks.

"Like I said, I'm male, and no."

"Just making sure." She pauses before scrunched her brow. "Weird. It looks like your "transformation" generates more physical energy than magical anyways, meaning the nature of it is probably generally more grounded in reality... Congradulations, you actually might be the first ever documented Magical Boy in nature and in sex."

"Haha, you're hilarious. Like I said, it's a system and a skill, and I'm not a Magical girl. Can you just tell me about the guild already? I answered all your questions," I urged, slightly irritated.

My attitude comes from the fact that I just spent the last fifteen minutes just showing off my stances, the one skill I have, and even me changing clothes, repeatedly, over and over again. At this point, I was feeling kind of used.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little confused, which is rare for me. I get that you don't chant and all, but you say you get powers based on how well relationships around you progress. It really does sounds like, at its core, as the bond between you and the people around you get stronger, you get stronger. And the costume! like it can't be a coincidence the "system" gave it to you. It literally gives you power. And as you and the people close to you get closer, you get more power. That's Magical Girl 101"

I wanted to cry out, 'It's not just people, it's the girls around me, THE GIRLS,' but I didn't dare. I'm sorry Lafia, but it's a lot more sleazy in reality. I don't think I can convince her I'm not a Magical Girl without revealing everything at this point.

"I don't know what to say," I tell her.

At this point, I almost told her everything about the system and how it works. But omitting how it depends on girls, she almost sounds right.

"I could have gotten a separate power that worked differently and I could buy a different costume with enough points. It's just so happens that the skill I bought was convenient and something just as good would have costed more. I got this costume for free, but I could buy another one the same way I bought my pants," I continue.

She shakes her head.

"Free will can be an illusion. Based off your system and what you've told me, it would be unlikely that even I would make a different choice if placed in a similar situation. It's almost like you were incentivised to buy those skills, meaning the outcome, you becoming a Magical Gi- Boy, was at least 97%" She states matter-of-factly.

I pause to think about that. Plus one hundred wisdom and intelligence really does mean plus one hundred wisdom and intelligence, huh. Still though.

"Look, maybe you're right on some level, but I'm definitely NOT a Magical Girl,"

I Think.

"Like friendship doesn't straight up fuel my attacks," I respond.

"But it does make you stronger," She continues. "And we don't know for sure that it doesn't fuel your attacks, atleast not yet, but from what I see, I'm going to guess you're right. Like I said, the nuances in the general mechanisms are probably different. There have been male Magical Girls in the past, more frequently than you'd think, but they all used the same mechanics and their power wasn't as physically grounded as yours. The nature of their power was purely divine love in nature."

She pauses just to take a breath.

"Thats why I said congratulations! you would be, at least from my classification, the first true Magical boy. A healthy mix of both!" she says with a smile.

"And you're convinced, right?" I ask, just make sure.

"Well, I am one of the more knowledgeable people on this side of the branch, definitely on this leaf," she responds confidently, hands on her hips.

Im flabbergasted. I guess... that settles it. When people ask, that's what I am. Dean, the Magical Boy. Is he a Wizard? Maybe a Powerful Sorcerer?

No.

Magical Boy. Honestly, it's convenient, and I'm kind of glad it works out that I have a explanation for my powers.

But Magical Boy?

"Can you just please tell me about this tree and guild so I can go upstairs and cease to be," I beg.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, this is genuinely an amazing discovery. But I'll drop it. So, what do you want to know about this little ol' tree we live in?" She asks me, stroking her chin.

I start with something basic.

"Well, I know about the transmigraters, but what about reincarnaters? It's called the Reincarnation Tree, not the Transmigration Tree, right?"

"Oh that one's easy," She replies. "It's because anyone who dies here, will always find themselves reborn as a baby, somewhere along the upper quadrants of the world tree."

"You're kidding?" I ask.

"No, I'm not. It's actually the main thing I do right now for the guild. We send people down the tree in an effort to reclaim the land lost to the Demon Beasts."

"I thought you said they weren't real"

"No I said it's a metaphor, the beast are a metaphor for despair, but in reality, they're just general nuisances. We send people down the tree to exterminate them as we build a commercial bridge that civillians can walk down safely. We need to make sure that the next several thousand acres are free of monsters before we can conduct any construction."

She sighs, looking a little sad for the next part.

"Naturally, the deeper we go, the stronger the beasts get, meaning we've been having a bit more casualties since we started the project."

She picks up again, before she continues.

"My job is to pick up whoever spawns, spawning meaning incarnate, just some professional jargon, and to deal with assholes who want to take advantage of a helpless baby," she says, finishing with pride.

Wow she can talk.

She stares at me for a bit.

Oh shit, can she read minds too?

"...and picking up strange travelers too, I suppose."

I internally sigh.

Cheeky fucker.