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The mana measuring device. It’s a typical item in novels and manga. The usual pattern is that the protagonist’s mana is so immense that it has never been seen before, or it destroys the device, making it impossible to measure.

[Nice, Soldier. Let’s show them the power of a level 6 Soldier! I’m sure the receptionist will shriek, mesmerized by your strength!] (Libra)

[Scam Support-kun. Should I file a complaint with the Space Library? You’re teasing me even though you know the answer, don’t you?!] (Lanpeach)

[I don’t know~. Was there something you were concerned about?] (Libra)

Libra, imitating a baby by sucking her finger, looked annoyingly cute because she was a beautiful girl. If a minor villain did it, people would probably think he was sick.

“Um… You just need to put your hand on the crystal, so could you please go ahead?”

The receptionist glanced worriedly at Lanpeach who is glaring at Libra. ‘This person is glaring towards the sky. Is he right in the head?’ -she thought with a mix of concern and pity.

“Ah, yeah… Okay, okay. But didn’t that girl seem to not use the crystal? Is it because she’s an acquaintance that you’re favoring her? C-C-Can’t I get special treatment too and skip the measurement?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach complained while looking at the girl who had stepped aside. A trick he had recently practiced.

“Oh, that’s right! Hey, hey, I want to try using the crystal too. I’ve only done it during my provisional license!” (Touka)

The girl was excited like a child getting another ride on an attraction at the complaint of Lanpeach. 

The receptionist must be used to her being like this, she smiled at her with a friendly expression.

“Even with the measurement back then, you only reached level 1… Well, alright. Go ahead and hold it up.”

“Alri~ght, I’m going to focus all my strength~. I’ll gather mana in my damian and circulate it through my body~.” (Touka)

Though it sounded like she was saying damian she might have meant dantian. 

A thin film of mana formed around the girl’s body, accompanied by an effect that made her seem significantly stronger.

When she placed her hand on the crystal, it emitted a light so bright that it illuminated the surroundings. The surrounding explorers saw the light and expressed their admiration.

Of course, Lanpeach also voiced his admiration, thinking: This is bad.

“Your mana is 112, Touka-chan! You’ve leveled up since last time. You could almost reach Star 4 now.”

“Hehe, do you think so? Maybe it’s because I’ve been slaying monsters whenever I am bored out of my mind.” (Touka)

The receptionist clapped lightly, complimenting the girl, and Lanpeach also clapped with a pale face.

“Now, Lanpeach-sama, please go ahead.”

The receptionist handed the crystal to Lanpeach with a mischievous smile.

[Darn, I guess I’ll have to use my secret plan.] (Lanpeach)

[Oh, as expected of you. Like Pang Tong**!] (Libra) <TLN: Was a Chinese politician who served as a key adviser to the warlord Liu Bei.>

[I won’t die from a stray arrow.] (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach had a secret plan for moments like this. He smirked and leaned over the reception counter.

“Beautiful lady, don’t you want to make your wallet a bit heavier?” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach discreetly placed a wad of bills. As expected of a minor villain, his secret plan was fitting for his title.

“I’m sorry, but I only accept card payments, and bribes are easily discovered. Even if they aren’t, I don’t want you holding it over me later. This is the mid-tier district, not a low-end one.”

The receptionist smiled at him, ending Lanpeach’s secret plan. As expected of a minor villain, his secret plan was as shallow as a puddle.

“Alright, please go ahead. The customers behind you are waiting.” 

Lanpeach wondered if those customers were invisible because there was no one behind him, but he could sense that the receptionist was about to lose her patience.

“Okay, okay.” (Lanpeach)

(N-Now that it has come to this, I’ll use Secret Plan No. 2!) (Lanpeach)

Having no other choice and with a bad feeling about it, Lanpeach reluctantly pressed his hand against the crystal, gathering all his energy into his palm before touching it.

[Palm Strike]

The crystal shattered into pieces with a crackling sound.

“What?! The mana measuring device! What did you do?!”

The receptionist leaned forward in panic, staring at the small, shattered crystal fragments. Of course, Lanpeach was innocent, so he feigned surprise in an exaggerated manner that would make even a radish proud.

“Huh?! I just did what you told me to and placed my hand on the crystal, didn’t I? Did it look like I did something else?” (Lanpeach)

“It did seem like you didn’t do anything… The mana detector didn’t detect any magic activation either.”

“Maybe you should just register it as ‘Unable to Measure’. From now on, please rank me up based on my achievement points alone.” (Lanpeach)

In the game, it was all about achievement points. To reach level 5, you just had to deposit about 2 billion worth of spirit stones into the guild. For level 6 and beyond, quest completions were required, but level 5 was more than enough for now.

This was Lanpeach’s secret plan. It was a bit brute-force, but he was ready to destroy every crystal they brought out. He was silently chuckling to himself when…

“It can’t be helped. We’ll use the hoop scanner, so please wait a moment.” 

It seemed there were other measuring devices. The receptionist went to the back and quickly returned with a magic tool resembling a hula hoop.

“This device measures the mana of the user precisely. It’s usually used for high-rank explorers with mana too great to measure with a crystal, but since you might break another crystal, this will have to do.”

[Soldier, she has seen through our plan!] (Libra)

[Darn it! The usual scenario is that all the backups are destroyed, and they reluctantly declare it ‘Unable to Measure’. To think she would break through my secret plan. This receptionist is too smart.] (Lanpeach)

[Anyone with a normal head would figure it out! It was written all over your face that you deliberately broke it!] (Libra)

[It was an Oscar-worthy performance.] (Lanpeach)

[Maybe you could play a tree in a kindergarten play.] (Libra)

Lanpeach clicked his tongue and had an unsightly argument with Libra. 

The receptionist came out from behind the counter, holding up the hoop. It seemed she would float the hoop above his body to measure his mana.

The hoop floated above Lanpeach’s head, attracting attention from the explorers in the guild. Everyone was watching him as if he were a spectacle because it is rare for the hoop to be used, making him feel embarrassed.

“Hey, hey, he’s going to use the hoop scanner.”

“Really? Who is that guy? I haven’t seen him around here before.”

“I heard he’s a skilled explorer from another region.”

“But doesn’t he look familiar?”

Their expectations were way too high. 

Libra, instead of offering advice, swam through the air with a smirk, making Lanpeach want to punch her.

“Alright, here we go. Please relax. If you burp, we’ll have to start over.” 

The receptionist warned him as if this were a barium test.

“You’re quite the joker, miss receptionist.” (Lanpeach)

“If your stomach’s pitch black, make sure to visit a doctor~.”

“How about we go out for a meal later?” (Lanpeach)

A blue light scanned Lanpeach as the hoop descended with a whir. Everyone held their breath, watching closely as the receptionist checked the touch screen and announced the result.

“Well, your mana is zero. Unfortunately, this makes it impossible to rank you up to level 1. I’m sorry.”

The expected result.

“Bwahaha! Zero mana!”

“That’s amazing! Zero at his age? That’s beyond weak.”

“Watching him was a waste of time.”

“He couldn’t even beat a Big Rat, maybe not even a kid.”

“Now I remember. He’s the dropout who quit magic school five years ago.”

The surrounding explorers burst into laughter, ridiculing Lanpeach, filling the reception lobby with their noisy mockery.

[See? Just as expected, my mana couldn’t be measured. Because I’ve switched to psychic energy.] (Lanpeach)

[Indeed. Supernatural Powers don’t manipulate the world’s energy like magic but basically transform the very laws of the world. A mere measuring device can’t detect it.] (Libra)

Lanpeach had anticipated this result when he was told his mana would be measured. After resetting and becoming a transcendental being, Lanpeach no longer had a trace of mana in his body. All he had was the psychic energy that transcended the world’s laws.

(But I thought there might still be a trace of mana left. I underestimated it. I hope no one notices…) (Lanpeach)

He gritted his teeth. He should have fled, but he had faint hope…just a teeny faint hope that he would have some lingering mana. It was a critical mistake.

Glancing around, he noticed that the explorers were too busy laughing to question what had just happened, so there didn’t seem to be any problems. But…

“Zero? That doesn’t make sense. Why? There should be some Element Powder in his body, so a reading of zero shouldn’t be possible!”

Only the receptionist noticed the oddity. She ended up noticing.

Element Powder had been scattered in this world long ago, and all creation is infused with spirit energy. This is an unchanging fact, whether it’s a pebble or a newborn baby.

“Um, I’m sorry. It seems I couldn’t operate the machine correctly because it’s been a while since I last used it. So can I measure you again while looking at the manual?”

Fortunately, the receptionist just assumed she had made a mistake. Maybe because she rarely used the device.

Feeling relieved, Lanpeach put on a charming crooked smile.

“Oh, s-sure. As long as you agree to have dinner with me afterwards.” (Lanpeach)

“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll go get the manual, so please wait a moment.”

Lanpeach’s plan to avoid the measurement by flirting backfired.

[This is bad, Libra. Drawing attention to the fact that I have zero mana here would be disastrous! Coming to the northern sector from the south would be pointless! Do you have any good ideas?!] (Lanpeach)

[Oh, right. This isn’t the time to be laughing. Awawawa, if this keeps up, Soldier’s unusual nature will be exposed, and it might expose the identity of Black Mask as well. What should we do?] (Libra)

[What’s with that terrible naming sense? That bothers me as well, but what are we going to do?!] (Lanpeach)

The two of them panicked. 

They tried to think of a solution, but the only idea that came to mind was the guild being caught up in a mysterious explosion.

While they were fretting, the receptionist returned with the manual. Lanpeach was being cornered, and the useless Libra was doing a weird dance. 

(Is it just my imagination that she is getting more and more useless as the days go on?) (Lanpeach)

[There’s no choice! I’m going to upgrade [Machine Operation] to Level 5!] (Lanpeach)

[Acquired. Since you have obtained [Supernatural Power] and [Machine Operation] up to Level 5, you have also acquired the fusion specialty [Psycho Cracking].] 

[Psycho Cracking: The ability to hack and control electronic devices within your line of sight.]

This is a specialty that allows the user to hack electronics using supernatural powers. However, it doesn’t work on spirit armor or artificial spirits, which constantly circulate mana, so it’s an inefficient skill for its cost with limited use.

By itself, [Machine Operation] is simply a skill to operate machines. It was fine for it to be at Level 3 in the game, when you had to sneak in and manually control things. But this time, there was no choice. A technique to operate devices from a distance was necessary.

[Psycho Cracking]!

“Alright, let’s go again!”

“Sure.” (Lanpeach)

Lanpeach activated the skill and a magical bolt of lightning visible only to him struck the mana measuring device. He breached the security and took control of the device in an instant, making it display a fake reading.

“Oh? Mana 8… It seems I really did operate it incorrectly the first time. I apologize, but I still can’t certify you as a Star 1 Explorer.”

The receptionist, realizing her mistake, looked at the device and bowed her head.

Lanpeach bit his lip in regret and frustration, thinking he had set the number too low. 

He wondered what to do next as the explorers laughed at the result of 8. 

He wanted an account at the very least.

Lanpeach was disappointed, but then…

“Hey, old man, how about we form a party as fellow newbies? I’ll power-level you.”

Said a girl with her arms behind her back, smiling warmly with her eyes shining fiercely.

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