I slowly came to, finding myself back in the familiar, slightly musty air of my own house. Mimi, perched on the edge of the sofa like a particularly judgmental, pink-haired pixie, quickly filled in the blanks after my spectacular, mana-fueled blackout.
The four magical girls the ones I'd saved had been sent to a special recovery facility.
As for me? A crisp stack of cash and a shiny new coupon for the Magical Shop were my reward.
"I never thought you'd be facing Corrupted so early in your career," Mimi sighed, crossing her arms. "But... well, you did good. Remarkably good, considering. So, good job."
"Nice," I managed, still half-dazed by the sheer ridiculousness of the last few hours.
Before I could ask about the money, Mimi leaned in, her expression turning serious.
"Also, because of what you did earlier, you have a magical girl name already."
I froze. A name? I hadn't even had time to think about it. My face fell into a deep frown. Please don't be something embarrassing.
"Mafoisa," she announced. "It's... well, not the name I was expecting, but it suits you."
"Mafoisa," I repeated, tasting the word. "The outfit doesn't exactly fit the name, though."
Mimi waved a dismissive hand. "Don't worry, you can change it at the Shop. It can even give different effects, Anyway you should rest. I'll call you later or just let myself in."
With a soft, pink flash, she teleported away.
"What a day," I muttered, collapsing onto my bed and immediately falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Unidentified Location:
The air was thick with the scent of something metallic, like burnt blood. Three figures all twisted shadows of their former selves stood in the cavernous.
"That bitch was crazy!" spat one of the Corrupted Magical Girls, her voice laced with hysterical fury. "She pulled out a Minigun out her ass! Literally! No, wait, it was a Magical Minigun!"
A regal figure with cold eyes, known only as Marian, remained calm. "Her mana levels are higher than any recorded new recruit we've monitored, but she lacks technical skill. She relies purely on brute-force object creation."
"She's perfect then," a third voice purred, a dark delight in the tone. "I want to corrupt her even more! Imagine that power, channeled into our cause!"
The first girl the one with a razor-sharp magical sword on her back. "We'll get her, but we need a game plan first. And rest. Because that girl just pulled out a grenade on me. A magical grenade."
"Agreed," Marian said with a tight nod. "We regroup, observe, and plan. Her power is a prize we cannot afford to lose."
Location: Rin's Apartment.
I was up before the sun. The adrenaline from yesterday was gone, replaced by a focused, manic energy.
"Okay, I need to train my powers first," I mumbled, pacing my tiny living room. "I can create guns and weapons, so I can pretty much create anything. But depending on the object, it can take too much mana, or too little."
A lightbulb flickered on above my head. Kits.
"Wait, what if I can create kits like in the games I play? Instead of summoning different weapons on the fly, which takes time and concentration, I can have a set of gear ready to go. One for close combat, one for long range. I can switch anytime, and it would be faster! Wait..."
I pulled out the crisp, magical coupon and opened the holographic catalog.
[ Magical Storage ]
Can store a designated set of mana or spells which can be instantly deployed at any time.
Cost: 105,000
"That's expensive, but I do have that coupon."
I used the voucher. The price instantly plummeted to a far more manageable 10,000. Amazing.
After buying it, the item appeared as a simple, silver bracelet on my wrist. Its description said it could store ten complete spell configurations, which needed to be refreshed with my mana after each use.
"Nice. Now, what kits do I need to get?"
I grabbed a notebook and started listing what I'd need for any conceivable situation. My power was creation, and I was going to leverage the heck out of it.
After a productive hour of listing and mentally allocating mana, I had my initial loadout:
* Full Armor Kit: A mobile suit of power armor, created in the style of a lightweight, highly maneuverable design (just like in Gundam Thunderbolt).
* Closed Quarters Combat Kit (CQC): Equipment consisting of fifty silver throwing knives stashed everywhere, and two high-caliber magical 1911 pistols.
* Ranger Kit: A classic Lee-Enfield sniper rifle with a magnified scope, coupled with a ghillie cloak and other sniper equipment.
* Medic Kit: Two magical muster pistols for close-range healing, two field health kits, a portable Medi-Gun, and a Crusader Crossbow for ranged support.
* Juggernaut Kit: A full suit of dense armor made out of magical tungsten and faux-fur plating, complete with a terrifying Minigun and micro-rockets attached to the barrel.
"Okay, this will do it for now," I said, putting the notebook down.
"plus this is just a concept right now."
"So more testing needed" I conceded.
At least one thing gave me peace of mind.
"I don't need to worry about possession and mind control, thanks to the magical necklace given to me. So I am pretty much safe from 60% of danger in this world," I mused.
I grabbed my phone and started checking the internet for any weird news stories about people getting possessed, brainwashed, or any of the works.