Survival Strategies of a Struggling Aristocrat

In terms of the people’s lucid dreams of the other world, Masaya believed that there was little attention given to it by most countries. However, unbeknownst to him, one particular nation had taken notice and embarked on an investigation. That nation happened to be the United States of America.

The series of events unfolded with a traffic incident in Los Angeles. A patrol car had identified a stolen vehicle and was commanded to halt it. Instead, the stolen car abruptly accelerated, refusing to comply with the order.

Naturally, a car chase ensued. The stolen vehicle recklessly tore through the city streets, narrowly avoiding multiple accidents. Just as it approached a busy intersection, the traffic light switched to red.

The sound of children’s cries filled the air, as students returning home from school found themselves directly in the path of the oncoming stolen vehicle. It was a scene that foreshadowed tragedy. Yet, it wasn’t only children traversing the pedestrian crossing at that moment.

There was also a man around thirty years old. Determination was evident on his face. Without hesitation, he leaped in front of the terrified children, who were unable to flee, and collided head-on with the stolen vehicle.

A tremendous crash reverberated as the front of the stolen vehicle crumpled. Everyone thought the man’s body would be sent flying through the air. However, the man who had braced himself against the car seemed to slide backward, clinging onto it.

Beneath the man’s feet, the asphalt had been torn apart, creating a deep groove. It was an unbelievable sight. When the stolen vehicle came to a complete stop just fifty centimeters away from the children, everyone gazed at the man in utter disbelief.

As the man distanced himself from the car, he collapsed onto the ground. The surrounding crowd immediately sprang into action, filled with a sense of urgency.

“Call an ambulance! We need an ambulance!”

The police officer from the pursuing patrol car called for an ambulance upon seeing the unconscious driver and the man lying on the road. Subsequently, the man was transported to the hospital for treatment.

The attending doctor who treated him couldn’t believe his own eyes. The laceration on the man’s abdomen was healing right before his eyes.

“This is impossible… unbelievable.”

The doctor called upon his colleagues to join him, as he couldn’t bear the weight of such a significant discovery on his own.

A few days later, information regarding the man in question reached Mayor Craig of Los Angeles. The County of Los Angeles, with a population of over nine million people, encompassed prominent areas such as Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Long Beach. So the mayor himself was quite the big shot.

“Was the person who wrote this report perhaps under the influence of alcohol?” 

The mayor asked his secretary.

“No, sir. Despite the extraordinary content, the author is of sound mind.”

“This man, Bertrand Wainwright, possesses strength and regenerative abilities beyond those of a normal human,”

“Is ths something he was born with?”

“Well… according to the latter part of the report, it seems to be an ability he acquired around the time he started having a certain dream.”

“An ability acquired within a dream?”

The secretary proceeded to describe the contents of Bertrand’s lucid dreams.

“So it’s a narrative of dreams.”

“It could possibly be a narrative of an existing parallel world,” 

“A parallel world? That’s no joke. Do we have any evidence?”

The secretary retrieved some documents and showed them to the mayor. The documents contained testimonies from individuals who claimed to have had lucid dreams of the same world as described by Bertrand.

“Based on those testimonies, there are individuals who have started researching a world where something resembling magic, known as “Mana Art (True Name Art)” exists. And the evidence of this lies in the abilities that Bertrand possesses.”

“What kind of abilities does he have?”

“He possesses True Names such as ‘Magic Energy’ ‘Great Strength,’ ‘Hardening,’ and ‘Natural Healing.’ With the use of Mana Art, he is said to exhibit abilities akin to a warrior wearing a powered suit.”

“That’s remarkable. I’d like to meet him myself. Can you arrange a meeting?”

“Understood, sir.”

The mayor, Craig, met with Bertrand and witnessed his abilities firsthand, therefore, becoming convinced of the truth of his claims. As the mayor of Los Angeles, Craig had a diverse circle of friends and was particularly close to Brandon, a senior advisor to the President.

Mayor Craig informed Brandon about Bertrand’s abilities and expressed his opinion that this should be a matter to be addressed by the government.

Senior Advisor Brandon, without reporting to the President, shared the information with the religious organization to which he belonged. This organization had grown significantly under the leadership of its founder, a spiritual leader named Sauphlem. They worshipped a divine being whom they called the “Transcendent”.

“Sir Brandon, we must gather those who possess True Names quickly. We must find them before the government does.”

“I shall follow the words of the spiritual leader,” Brandon responded.

Although Senior Advisor Brandon didn’t report to the President, one of the intelligence agencies reported the existence of individuals who possessed superhuman abilities and shared the common experience of lucid dreaming.

The government began searching for individuals who experienced lucid dreams, calling them “Cool Dreamers” and those who possessed True Names were labeled “Mana Holders.”

As a result, two factions embarked on a competition to find the “Mana Holders.”

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Meanwhile, in Japan, Masaya continued his training. Through relentless tree cutting exercises, his body became leaner, shaping into a more muscular physique.

On that day, he was searching for a lost calico cat.

“Hey, senpai, did you find it?”

“I did come across a similar one, but…”

This area seemed to have many stray cats, and he had come across several calico cats. However, none of them matched the one he was looking for.

“Oh, isn’t that the one?”

Fuyuhiko spotted the calico cat and ran towards it. It seemed like the role of a pet detective was growing on him. He lured the cat with some food and successfully caught it.

“We did it, senpai!”

Masaya approached and examined the calico cat. There were more black patches on this cat compared to the one they were searching for.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t the right cat. Take a closer look. The number of black patches on this cat is greater than the one in the picture.”

Fuyuhiko’s happy expression turned to a disappointed one, but then he had an idea and perked up.

“Don’t worry. Even if the number of patches is different, we can just return this one and say we provided excellent service to our client,” 

Masaya silently tapped Fuyuhiko on the back. There was a loud thud, and the cat they had caught escaped.

“Ouch! That hurts, senpai. You’re going beyond the limits of a comeback.”

“Oh, sorry. Lately, I’ve become unexpectedly strong.”

“Is it because of the tough training with Master Miyasaka? It seems like you’re no longer experiencing muscle soreness.”

“Well, I guess that means I’m still young.”

“At this point, you’re already giving off an old-man vibe.”

“Hmph, say what you want. Eventually, I’ll become a martial arts master and prove you wrong.”

“I’d rather you become a master of finding cats than a martial arts master.”

“I don’t want that. Being a martial arts master seems more likely to help me become popular, but being a master of finding cats won’t do the trick.”

“I see.”

Masaya and Fuyuhiko continued their conversation while searching for the cat, and as evening approached, they finally found the lost cat. After finishing their work, Masaya headed towards the dojo. He changed into his training attire and grabbed a stick before heading outside.

Outside, he spotted Master Miyasaka and greeted him.

“Are you going for wood striking now?” Miyasaka asked.

“Yes,” 

“The mountain path can be dark, so be careful,” 

“I have a military flashlight, so I’ll be fine,” 

With that, Masaya dashed off.

He swiftly ascended to the top of the mountain and caught his breath at the designated wood striking practice area. Placing the flashlight on a tree branch provided just the right amount of light.

Masaya performed approximately 500 wood strikes. The area near the mountain peak was slightly sunken, preventing the sound from echoing downward and ensuring it wouldn’t disturb the neighbors.

After finishing the wood striking practice, Masaya gathered the surrounding magic essence. He felt as if it helped alleviate the fatigue in his body. Perhaps absorbing the accumulated magic essence activated the cells in his body.

Normally, he would release and return the gathered magic essence, but today he had something he wanted to test. He had the idea of imbuing the stick with magic essence and striking the log to see what would happen.

He wrapped the gathered magic essence around the top 20 centimeters of the stick. Holding the stick in that state, he swung it down onto a fresh log. The moment the stick made contact with the log, he felt a peculiar sensation.

The force of the impact seemed to be absorbed by something, almost like wrapping rubber around the stick. Upon inspecting the struck part of the log, it remained unharmed.

“It seems that has no effect,” 

As he contemplated heading back, he realized there was something else he hadn’t tried. It was the true name of “Ultrasonic Wave”. This true name allowed him to generate vibrations of the ultrasonic range, effectively generating ultrasonic waves. It also granted him the ability to sense ultrasonic waves.

Masaya had actually tried the true name of “Ultrasonic Wave” before. He attempted to impart vibrations of the ultrasonic range onto the stick. The result, however, was a failure. A sharp pain ran through his hand as soon as he gripped the stick, causing him to reflexively let go of it.

Masaya imparted vibrations of the ultrasonic range onto the stick wrapped with magic essence. Only this time, he didn’t feel any pain in his hand. In that state, he swung the stick up and struck the log.

The log split cleanly in two. It wasn’t a clean cut but rather felt like countless blades shaving off layers from the log, resembling the motion of an electric saw. Witnessing such a scene, cold sweat broke out from Masaya’s back.

“This is dangerous… If I were to use something like this in Japan, I’d be branded a murderer.”

On that day, Masaya acquired an astonishing weapon. Previously, he believed that an ultrasonic cutter couldn’t be used as a weapon. However, it seemed that when combined with magic essence, it exhibited tremendous power.

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TN: The term Cool Dreamers was written in English; I do not know exactly what the author meant by it so I left it as it is.