Mushoku Tensei: Life and Strife.

Third year in this world.

Something new started recently. Originally it was due to boredom. Telekinesis. Not because of some superficial saving the world or because it’s powerful or anything. I just liked the idea of being the only person in the world to use telekinetic powers. Imagine the faces of people who saw me casting otherworldly spells that looked like rocket science would be fun.

After spending days conquering most of the mana within the bedroom, the plan was set into motion. As I tried gathering them all into a cluster and bringing the wooden spoon up, something strange happened.

“Arise.”

Purple mana gathered as I commanded, condensing and surrounding the wooden spoon, touching it as it tried to use force upon the spoon to make it float. But that was it. The spoon didn’t move an inch. Only a child holding his right arm to the sky in an utterly ridiculous pose.

“… Well, that was anticlimactic.”

What was wrong? I pondered. Since air magic can be used to propel the spoon, in theory I should be able to lift the spoon up using mana. However, it seems like something about my speculation was false. After dozens of failures, I figured out the problem. Mana clumps can’t affect things effectively. It could, but it was so minimal you might as well consider it a dud.

To lift the thing, I needed an equal amount of force to push against gravity. The problem being… I have no idea how to generate force. I know things, but I wasn’t good with physics to that degree.

For starters, there are four main forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and strong and weak nuclear forces. However, just because force exists does not mean I know how to make it work, rendering my efforts useless. You simply cannot make magic without understanding it.

…

Days past and nothing came to mind. It seemed that regardless of what I wished for, reality had no intentions of granting me such luxury. I sighed, leaving the room in hopes of some inspiration. Was it simply not meant to be?

Zenith was cooking while Lilia was doing the laundry. Outside, Paul was swinging his sword, and the farmers from further back were towing their lives away across the yellow fields. It’s still hard to believe that reincarnation was a real thing. The futility of it all made me wonder whether I’m simply destined for mediocrity, marrying some village girl, having kids, and towing my own life away on a yellow field.

Perhaps becoming a hobo adventurer and probably dying in a ditch is the better life for me—it wouldn’t be a luxurious life, but it’s still a life worth living for. Paul himself was also a high-rank adventurer with only advanced sword skills in all three categories. If I could at least achieve somewhere near that level and know a bit of magic here and there, I’d still be able to get by just fine.

That's what I thought, chewing on something when Paul saw me and decided to show off. With a silver aura surrounding him and his blade, Paul confidently cleaved a boulder in half. What he was doing was probably enhancing his physical strength with Touki and cutting the rock. And yet that man had the gall to act all high and mighty.

“See, Laurel? Isn’t your Papa cool?”

… If I weren't on the weak and helpless side, I would have punched him in his smug face. Sadly, I can’t. Not yet.

“Wow! So cool~ Papa is the best!”

I used my baby voice while clapping. Social skills taught me how to be polite. But I was a full-grown man and a creature that came from hell. I wasn’t dumb enough to do anything stupid. That said, praising people while sounding as condescending as possible was child’s play. I could even use the excuse of being a child to act innocent. I hoped he got the message. He didn’t. Unfortunately.

“Hahaha! Of course, Papa is the best. That’s how Papa got Mama in the first place. Want me to teach you how to do it?”

"Yes, please!”

“Alright, so all you need to do is whoosh, whoosh, and then wham.”

Paul said with great confidence. I, however, had to stare at him, pondering whether this was a prank, some sort of twisted revenge for my misconduct. But the sincerity in his eyes got me thinking otherwise. I suppose I was the petty one here.

Staring back at Paul, I had to ponder whether or not the man simply lacked social skills, but considering he was a playboy through and through, there was no way his social skills would be as bad as a NEET trying to explain what his interests are about—hell, even I could do better than that. So what was the problem?

“Dad. I don’t get it. What’s whoosh and what’s wham.”

“Simple. You just need to swing the sword like this and move the sword like this and then cut it.”

“…”

Motherfuck. I nearly spat out. Damn it, Paul. Who taught kids like this and expects them to understand anything whatsoever? If I were a complete newbie in either swordsmanship or magic, then I wouldn’t get a single word of what he was trying to show. So what the hell is in that damned bastard’s head?

“Dad, how does *Wham* cut a rock?”

I asked sincerely. How in Paul’s head did he manage to unintentionally use Touki to cut through a rock? Like seriously, how?

“It just works; why don’t you get it?”

“…”

Paul’s response left me so flabbergasted that I forgot how to respond. What do you mean by you can cut a cut because you want it to be cut? Tch. Hah. This man does not know how he works. What, can things not make sense and still work?

Everything was confusing until suddenly I recalled a phrase on Earth. “The universe doesn’t have to make sense to you.” And that gave me some clarity. What if magic was more omnipotent than I originally thought? I mean, I even proved that intent was a thing in magic a while back. So, why not the sword?

Thinking back, when had magic ever made sense? Physically, you cannot create mass out of thin air. Realistically, you cannot simply heal as if nothing has happened. And yet mages shoot fireballs all over the place as if they were throwing candies, and the majority of illnesses can be solved simply by casting heal.

This made me realize how biased my worldview was. I was so limited by my own scope of beliefs built from another world that I let myself be bound to those very rules I made for myself. I escaped from the bounds of incantations and escaped from the limited understanding of Touki as well as the limits set by the people of this world.

However, that wasn’t enough. No. It was far from it. I was a frog in the well. I had believed that the view within that world was larger, so I became blind to seeing this world’s depths. I had been limited by the limits I set on my own, only made aware of said limits when they were finally pointed out.

"Thanks, Pops.”

I said with utmost sincerity. It was valuable knowledge that cannot be taught by anyone, and I was lucky enough to receive it. I ran straight back into the house, leaving Paul baffled as to why I was doing what I did.

Staring at the spoon once more, I realize why I had failed. It was not that I lacked the means; I was simply using the wrong methods. For starters, mental abilities like telekinesis could not be categorized as one of the four forces. In the first place, mental abilities were never considered an actual force by science to begin with.

I didn’t have some magical incantations to figure it out, nor was I some genius, so I had to do it the dumb way. I simply focused all my concentration on making the spoon move. It didn’t work. Obviously. But then thinking back, I forgot that I still need a way to connect my Will to the spoon, as in a medium to make it work because pure mental staring wasn’t going to cut it. So, I had to connect it through a mana thread.

After weeks trying to make a single thread of mana, I realize how bad I am at delicateness. No matter how it was done, the string that came out was always bigger and thicker, similar to the shape of a tentacle. Because of that, I have to waste more mana to size it down. Never could I make it into a thin thread on the first try.

But still, today is the day where my dreams will become reality. Slowly, slowly… As I put all my concentration into telekinesis, the sliver of purple mana connects me to the spoon. And… failed. Fuck. Well, it wasn’t really a failure per se; the spoon was moved. It just wasn’t floating. Skill issues.

After more questionable time had been wasted, it had started to work. Slowly… slowly, like carrying a bug upwards with your palm. It was working as the spoon lifted into the air, slightly unsteadily. And then… The sky collapsed.

…