The special naturalization system for highly skilled individuals in Japan typically targets young foreign doctoral graduates.
This system was implemented to promote the revitalization of the Japanese economy by comprehensively evaluating not only degrees but also practical experience, annual income, and qualifications.
However, it is true that numerous criticisms have been directed at Japan from powerless countries on the brink of losing talent, as registering A-grade unique magic in Japan immediately grants a score of 70.
Like Switzerland, which did not openly disclose its strategy, all developed countries have their own talent retention strategies.
The evaluation criteria for A-grade magic are strictly confidential.
There are rumors circulating about power, efficiency, clarity, complexity of dispelling, and simplicity of casting, but none of these have been properly clarified.
In fact, the Japan Magic Copyright Association, which oversees the reviews, has undergone long deliberations.
“Did they really put forth A-grade level magic just to grant permanent residency to an artificial intelligence? What could be the real intention of the registrant?”
Setting aside the absurd purpose of registration, the elderly man continued staring at the magic circle.
“This isn’t to undermine the sincerity of otakus. Thanks to them, Japan was able to grow into a global cultural powerhouse. But shouldn’t the cost-benefit be at least balanced?”
Just marrying a Japanese person grants permanent residency and a My Number (Japan’s resident ID), so who would freely give away their gold bars to buy into this?
“Matsumoto-san, gold bars?”
“Do you see this as a rock? Keep looking. The suspicious smell could indicate dangerous magic. What happens if you keep using it? Does it explode or something?”
“Ah, that can’t be.”
1st circle magic ‘Adella.’ While it only has one major element, its circuit complexity rivals that of 3rd circle magic.
In that sense, A-grade seemed like a distant dream, but the visible power of the 1st circle magic was highly questionable.
“What in the world did they do to uncover all these runes?”
A total of 9 runes were used.
Finding the appropriate runes for magic circles drives countless magic scholars into despair.
It’s like the irregular verb conjugations of French, where it seems regular until it fails unexpectedly, leaving no choice but to grind through it.
“Chairperson, isn’t this complicated magic deserving of at least a B-grade? The circuit style is too dated.”
“It’s the power. Setting everything else aside, the power is just too strong.”
“How strong are we talking? Can I see a simulation?”
Chairperson Matsumoto wanted to register the ‘Adella’ magic as A-grade to classify it under high-risk special management.
Magic capable of easily killing a person is generally referred to as lethal magic.
An example being the 4th circle’s Glacius Astana, which caused numerous casualties in Middle Eastern wars, and the 5th circle’s Ignis Bellum.
And Adella was no exception to being labeled as lethal magic.
“Just give it an A- grade. We’re the ones who’ll be responsible if we don’t classify it as high-risk and something goes wrong later.”
The higher the magic grade, the lower the commission taken by the association.
With the chairperson being known for his money-grubbing habits, there was a degree of trust in his words.
But how dangerous could a 1st circle truly be?
“Still, I think it should be reviewed again—”
“Hold on, sorry, my phone is ringing. Oh, Katsuhata! Why are you calling at this hour? Isn’t it dawn over there? How’s your opponent? Make sure you stay healthy so you don’t catch a cold… what? You lost?”
The chairperson’s expression distorted sharply as he answered the phone.
The phrase “someone is possessed by a demon” seemed to fit this situation perfectly.
The old man abruptly hung up the phone and, tearing at what little hair he had left, hurriedly exited the evaluation room.
It did not take long for news that would explain his bizarre behavior to emerge.
A significant opportunity arose for Korea after a long time.
Japan had suffered a crushing defeat in a national exchange contest with the West.
While Korea embraced an advanced American-style magic education system, Japan has shown a tendency to cling to its unique culture.
Especially, the lineage of the traditional Japanese martial arts school ‘Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu,’ which has been passed down since the 15th century, has a dominant influence among Japanese magic users.
A photo of the officially recognized successor, Katsuhata Emika, a genius in swordsmanship said to appear once in a millennium, kneeling before an unnamed Hungarian boy became a worldwide issue.
Countries harboring ill feelings towards Japan jumped on the opportunity to capture and criticize the frivolous remarks made by Japanese internet nationalists.
[The systematically idolized Japanese youth system, huh? But hasn’t there never been a true talent coming out of it?]
– It’s just these guys, lol.
– How can the uncivilized Joseon people even criticize anyone when they weren’t even invited to the national exchange event?
└ An insult regarding the little Japanese.
└ Have you ever won? Lol.
└ How have these guys had the same repertoire for 25 years?
└ Every year it’s different!
– It’s laughable that not only America or France but now Hungary has schooled Japan.
└ Fact: Actually a slum-born.
– “The nonsense spoken by Japanese can only be heard in a zoo.” Today again, Kim Geun is victorious.
└ Why were those who bashed Kim Geun ten years ago even saying anything wrong?
└ Truly Korea’s savior, lol.
– But aside from Kim Geun, there really isn’t anything remarkable in recent Korea.
– In 10 years, Noname will have swallowed it all!
└ 10 years? I say 5 years, lol.
└ Ah, Noname is here! So reassuring, oh mighty Korea!
After nearly spiraling into a world war due to the Middle Eastern conflict, it’s already been over 25 years since nations held national exchange events to rekindle the meaning of peace.
You could say it has become customary that the young Japanese magic users who used to boast loudly in their own country turn into paper tigers when they step onto the international stage.
“Is the education based on swordsmanship in Japan fundamentally flawed?”
It’s something said every year, but this year it was hard to ignore.
The coach staff, who swam through negative comments to enter Japan, held a press conference amidst a heavy atmosphere.
They entered the dojo and unpacked their gear.
The foul-smelling, dirty uniforms spilled out of their suitcases as they hadn’t properly washed since focusing solely on training.
“Emika, don’t be too heartbroken. There’s always next year. You’re only 14 years old.”
“…”
“It must be a shock. I’ll leave you alone to gather your thoughts.”
As her seniors and masters changed into casual clothes and began to leave for their homes, Emika found herself unable to follow suit.
No matter how many times she replayed the training sessions in her mind, she couldn’t find a scenario where she won.
“Damn it…”
In frustration, she couldn’t even cry.
She lay flat on the wooden floor, submerged in deep thought.
Can a sword really defeat magic?
Just when her last shred of pride was about to snap, she felt a faint vibration on her back.
“Is that an earthquake? No, it was my phone.”
Her phone, which was placed beside her, vibrated loudly.
A call came from her friend, well, more accurately, her three-year-younger cousin.
“Emika-chan!”
“I’m not in the mood to talk right now; can you call back tomorrow? I’m really sorry.”
“I knocked down the cedar tree with Uncle Ayabe! I finally did it! Can I officially start learning swordsmanship like you now? I want to travel overseas too!”
“I’m really not in the mood for jokes right now.”
“I’m serious… We found a massive magical sword technique! It should still be free for now, do you want to try it?”
Emika’s slightly closed eyes widened in surprise.
In the photo her younger cousin sent, a gigantic cedar tree, guarding the entrance of the back hill, had been uprooted and was lying on the ground.
“Wow! Look, NaeMe! Money has come in!”
“Yeah? On the first day of settlement, 8,000 yen (¥)?”
The magic copyright settlement money was deposited into Adella’s account.
It was said that for the first three days, it would be released almost for free as a promotional strategy for the new magic, and proper settlements would begin from the fourth day.
Selecting a daily settlement system allowed me to receive fees at specific times every day.
The settlement rate for A-grade unique magic is 45%.
While I don’t know how much the fixed price for this magic is in Japan, it seemed to have been used about 50 times throughout the day.
“Is there any other unique magic like this? If I register a few more, I’ll become rich fast, won’t I?”
“Unique magic doesn’t just come out of nowhere. No, it doesn’t exist.”
“Bring some more! If there’s nothing, make one!”
“Sigh. Are you trying to push your luck again?”
“That’s it! I’m starting to learn magic today too. How can I resist this when money can be copied just by lying around! I want to become a wealthy NEET!”
With a slightly impure motive, Adella was igniting her desire for education.
She had already completed purchasing a desk and a pen set using VR in-game currency.
“You were studying Japanese just two days ago.”
“Thinking about it, since I have a translator, I don’t really see it as necessary.”
“Sure, right.”
It was obvious that such determination would be short-lived, so I didn’t bother to protest.
Becoming the ‘originator’ or ‘possessor’ of unique magic has several benefits.
One is the reduction of most mana usage fees, excluding pure mana usage.
Additionally, it allows for magic casting stages to be shortened from five to three without the aid of a wand.
Since it’s a magic I wouldn’t typically use anyway, I didn’t feel these small benefits much, but I realized that sometimes the act of registering itself holds significance.
Through Professor Cheon Kyujin, I received the first official communication from the government.
The content conveyed that the Walpurgis Special Investigation Committee would be revived, and a budget proposal to support victims had passed the budget and settlement special committee.
What should have been an immediate result following my interview took two months to actualize.
“Will you take the call?”
“Is it for me?”
“That’s right.”
“Please put me through.”
I wandered back to my room and answered the phone from a government official.
“Hello?”
“Is this Noname?”
“Yes, this is her.”
“What on earth is going on here?”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“Right now, there are rumors… I mean news circulating. Something about you handing over unique magic to Japan and your guardians know nothing about it…!”
“Uh, just a moment.”
Staying on the line, I checked the online news.
What is this? It seems there aren’t any substantial articles.
As I continued flipping through pages, I discovered an article that had just opened with a flood of comments.
[As expected, the global stage is vast! The Katsuhata School’s painful defeat! But is there a magical sword syndrome developing throughout Japan?]
[Comments: 9999+]
– Actually, Adella came over from Japan.
└ Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.
– That… can’t be true…? Adella is now Korean, right?
– Why are you all so sure that unique magic belongs to Noname? The copyright holder is even stated as Adella!
└ Watching the trailer for Genius Discovery Squad is 99% certain.
└ This is slander. There’s no way Noname would sell her unique magic to Japan.
– Anyway, these youngsters will sell out for money, I swear…
– Why? Why? Why?
– Did Noname sell her unique magic to Japan? Why?
During the interview, a Japanese individual proudly introduced Japan’s unique magic ‘Adella,’ promising a rematch in next year’s national competition.
[From this, we see potential. The magic swordsmanship that is currently spreading among the younger generation will not simply end as a ‘trendy game.’ We firmly believe that in-depth research of this magic will elevate our proud Japanese magic users to an even higher level.]
Eww, what’s he talking about? It makes my skin crawl.
The words of a bright-eyed fanatic sent shivers down my spine.
But what on earth are they talking about?
“I don’t really know either.”
So I answered honestly.
