Testing Enhancement, One Wish at a Time
Chae Jeong-ha.
The magical girl who'd been swinging a flail around in the training hall a mere ten days ago.
She was the last of the trainees I hadn't yet been formally introduced to.
I remembered the moment I'd enhanced Ahn Seo-yoon's gloves and she'd pulverized the sandbag — Jeong-ha had casually held out her own flail, asking for an enhancement too, and when the instructor stopped her, she'd pouted in visible annoyance.
And by now, Seo-yoon, Danmuji, and Jiyoon had all received an enhancement each. As the only trainee at the White Trajectory Office who hadn't, she had to be desperate for her turn.
"Then should I go ahead and call Jeong-ha for yooou? Ask her when she's freeee?"
When Im Hyun-ji asked in her languid drawl, fiddling idly with her phone, I gave it a moment's thought before answering.
"Tell her I'll do it soon, so to wait a little. I need to run tests on the items first."
Right. Let's get this done quickly. That way I can finally enhance Ms. Jeong-ha's gear for her.
And so, over the following week, I ran experiments to figure out exactly what my ability could do.
The first thing I needed to verify was durability — how many wish-based enhancements a single item could withstand.
Incidentally, I was also curious whether the same thing I'd done to Danmuji held true: that an identical wish simply wouldn't trigger an enhancement.
In other words, when I wished for something to "get stronger," did it always get exactly 20% stronger? Or was it sometimes 20%, sometimes 25%?
With the box I'd so deliciously enhanced before, I attempted enhancement after enhancement, pouring in nothing but a single wish: let it become hard.
Three or four times a day — about as much as my mana could handle without strain.
The conclusion: durability had a hard limit. The moment an item passed its tenth enhancement, efficiency began to chip away, little by little.
"Hmm, compared to the tenth enhancement earlier, efficiency has dropped by about fifteen percent. Your condition is perfectly normal, Master, so the item itself must be reaching its limit."
When I applied the identical wish, no light appeared at all, and even when I switched to a different enhancement and came back, the data Yeonji measured was clearly diminished.
So my hypothesis was right. This wasn't some convenient ability that let me enhance and test infinitely.
The magnitude of each enhancement varied with my mana handling and degree of focus.
When I repeated a vague "become harder" with nothing concrete behind it, the hammer wouldn't respond — just like with Danmuji's sniper rifle.
But the moment I visualized specifically how hard the box needed to be, or poured in a more desperate wish than before, the light returned. And the enhancement magnitude climbed, too.
So even the same words only glowed when the wish became a more successful enhancement through desperation or imagination.
Next question: would any wish work as an enhancement?
Say, inflicting a terminal illness on whoever touched the enhanced item. Or cursing it so that every dice roll came up a one — nothing but the worst luck imaginable.
The results here, too, fell within my expectations.
"Master, what on earth kind of wish did you make? The enhancement came out as an ability that scrambles the nervous system on touch. On touch, I say."
"Wh-what, you don't like it? It's a fatal disease that makes you collapse, spraying blood from every pore!"
"It just makes things a bit itchy. What sort of mental images are you entertaining over there?"
Yeonji narrowed her eyes into a sly glare and showered me with vitriol.
…So in a nutshell: outright absurdities get rejected, and the wish gets interpreted to fit the item's capacity and my mana reserves.
Along the same lines, "the black-flame dragon's heat that melts everything" only ever got as hot as a gas stove burner, and "the power to see the lines of all creation and cut along them" topped out at about kitchen-knife cutting power.
The last thing I tested was how much a magical girl's mana influenced the process.
"Do you really have to use my sake cup for thaaat?"
Im Hyun-ji asked, her voice uncharacteristically sulky.
"The thing you carry around with you every single day is a cup, unnie. So it has to be soaked in your mana. And it's not like you own just the one, either."
From the sidelines, Tokkaengi chimed in.
"That's right! I've lost count of how many times I've washed her cups. She's still in her twenties, yet I worry for her poor liver."
"……"
At Tokkaengi's barb, Im Hyun-ji fell silent for once.
Right — as long as Yeonji's on Im Hyun-ji's side, my only ally here is Tokkaengi.
"That cup is probably the third most-handled object in the entire world, as far as Bullseye is concerned."
"Third?"
"Naturally! First is her magical staff! And second is—"
"Tokkaengi. That's enough."
Im Hyun-ji answered with a bright smile, and to my surprise, Tokkaengi stopped yapping immediately.
"Yes, ma'am."
…Im Hyun-ji. Your eyes are not smiling.
In any case, having subdued Tokkaengi, Im Hyun-ji trailed off at the end of her words, hesitating.
"Still, I'd rather not do the saake cuuup… I've had it for ages, y'know…"
"I was thinking of trying an effect that makes alcohol taste better."
"…Oh?"
"Enhancing the flavor of whatever's poured into it. Or keeping it chilled — or hot, whichever you prefer."
At that, Im Hyun-ji looked at me with suddenly sparkling eyes, then recovered her usual sly grin.
"Well aaall right, if it breaks, I'll just buy a new oone. Go on, enhance it."
And breaking from her usual lethargy, she even fetched a cup with a spring in her step.
…Look at that. Talk about instantly changing your tune the second tastier booze is on the table.
"Could you walk me through it? What exactly makes alcohol taste better?"
Then Im Hyun-ji began twirling a wine glass in her fingers, affecting an air of refined elegance as she spoke.
"Mmm, well now, wiiine. Each one has its own character, see. Some give off fruity notes, sweet or tart, while others are bold, or suave and sophisticatedd."
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered wine being remarkably smooth for alcohol when I'd tried it. Like the sting of the booze being gently wrapped in something soft.
All right. In that case, something like this.
Let the flavor and aroma of the wine in this cup be drawn out to the state Im Hyun-ji loves most.
With that thought, I tapped the glass lightly with the hammer.
Light spread through it, erasing the old enhancement that had amplified the alcohol's kick, and a new effect overwrote it in its place.
Yeonji stretched out her tiny fern-like hand, analyzed the wine glass, and gave her report.
"Hmm. An enhancement that draws out the wine's flavor — the cup's mana is interfacing with the wine."
"Ooooh, not baaad."
Im Hyun-ji's eyes were already gleaming at the analysis.
"Thanks to that, the expression efficiency of the wine's aroma has increased by roughly seventy-two percent. A rather wise decision, for you, Master."
"Reallyyy? Then let's have another go!"
Im Hyun-ji raised the wine glass once more.
This time she rolled the wine around in her mouth, eyes closed in savoring contemplation for a moment, then nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Mmmm, this'll do nicely? The cherry notes come through clear, and the acidity and tannins have mellowed out. Double satisfaction, baby."
Good. Direction locked in.
"Now, unnie — this is a cup we bought just today. I'll enhance it the same way, so give it a try and compare."
I tapped the wine glass Tokkaengi had prepared in advance with the hammer, just as before, then handed it over.
Im Hyun-ji promptly poured herself some wine and took a sip — then tilted her head.
"Hmm… it's tastier, but I don't think it hits like the other one diiid."
"It appears Ms. Im Hyun-ji is correct. The previous enhancement showed a seventy-two percent increase, while this one comes to a mere forty percent."
"Wooow. So a magical girl's mana really does make that much of a difference."
At that, Yeonji analyzed for a moment, then shook her head.
"It wouldn't hold true for just any magical girl's mana. Ms. Im Hyun-ji's mana carries years of experience with and deep attachment to alcohol. It's highly likely that particular resonance aligned well with this enhancement's direction."
In a word: the magnitude of an enhancement changes depending on the magical girl's personality and preferences?
Which means, conversely, enhancing in a direction the magical girl dislikes could cause interference and shrink the enhancement's effect.
Hmm… I'd say I've gathered everything I need about basic enhancement before I start touching other people's staves.
As for Random Enhancement, it seemed to spring straight from my subconscious, so there was no way to pick and choose the outcomes.
"All right then. Time to enhance Ms. Jeong-ha's gear. Can we set up a schedule?"
"Mmhm, I'll get in touch with Jeong-ha."
Two days later, I headed to the White Trajectory Office for my consultation with Chae Jeong-ha.
Im Hyun-ji had been drinking in a corner of the conference room and was soon sprawled fast asleep on the desk, while Yeonji, apparently bored, circled near the window, observing everything and anything.
Eventually she settled onto the top of my head and cocked hers.
"Master, this office seems remarkably different from the ones I have on record."
"Hm? How so?"
"Typical agencies divide their operations into departments — magical girl training, marketing, apparition analysis and subjugation requests, and so on. I see no trace of that structure here."
She had a point. This place looked less like a professional corporation and more like a detective agency.
As if they lived for today rather than for tomorrow.
While I was waiting, the conference room door burst open and a woman greeted me with cheerful energy.
"Oh, hey! Finally my turn, huh? I heard about it from Jiyoon and I've been wondering when I'd get mine!"
Chae Jeong-ha was exactly as rough around the edges as when I'd first seen her.
A black wolf cut, vivid purple eyes full of curiosity beneath sharp lids, and a curvy figure dressed for easy movement in a T-shirt and shorts.
Her frame was noticeably more mature than Im Hyun-ji's — mature enough that I swallowed once, involuntarily.
"Yo, you carry a mascot around? That's super cute!"
Meanwhile, she thrust a hand straight at Yeonji on my head, voice bubbling with excitement.
"Excuse me?!"
Yeonji must have sensed it too, because she shot into the air to flee — but Chae Jeong-ha was faster.
Before long, Chae Jeong-ha was kneading and stretching Yeonji's cheeks to her heart's content.
Pfft. Watching her on the receiving end for once is kind of hilarious.
…Though it's also weirdly uncomfortable, watching my own face get manhandled like that.
"…The maschot ith not a glutinouth rith cake. Pleathe releathe me, or I will firtht requeath a legal acthion againtht you, Mith Chae Jeong-ha."
When Yeonji spoke in that blunt tone, the words slurring out through squished cheeks, Chae Jeong-ha let out a snort and released them.
"Ahaha, and quite the personality on you! Got it, got it."
Chae Jeong-ha laughed heartily, then turned to me with a teasing look.
"But seriously, your taste. How'd she come out looking exactly like you?"
It's not like I asked for it either!
"Im Hyun-ji unnie was the one who commissioned it."
"Kukuku. Oh, Hyun-ji unnie. When it comes to pranking, she really doesn't hold back. Not that she probably didn't have her reasons, knowing her."
Reasons, my foot. It was just a prank. She does love watching me squirm.
Yeonji, apparently sulking over Chae Jeong-ha's antics, floated around above Chae Jeong-ha's head and declared:
"That was no ordinary, run-of-the-mill cheek-stretching. That was a mascot's rights violation and a hostility-rating crash of the worst possible category, of the worst possible order."
…Did you really have to express your sulking in full AI-speak?
"PWAHAHA, she's adorable! If I had a mascot like that, I'd never be bored a day in my life!"
At that, Chae Jeong-ha laughed so hard she bent backward at the waist.
And then — she reached for Yeonji again.
Deciding this was going to waste my whole day, I cut in quickly to stop her.
"Let's skip the small talk and get to business. How would you like your enhancement done?"
At that, Chae Jeong-ha slammed her flail down on the desk with a cheerful bang and declared:
"Make it strong!"
"Strong how, exactly?"
Then Chae Jeong-ha flashed a grin, her energy climbing even higher.
"Just — strong, no question! You did it for Seo-yoon, didn't you? Strong enough to send everything to the grave in one hit! That's how you send enemies FLYING!"
Ugh, seriously, these firepower addicts…!