Chapter 5: Magical Aptitude and Malfunctioning Machines

The Military Manpower Administration was a pack of bastards. This was a universal truth, transcending nation, race, and time. Though the MMA was gone, its vile legacy lived on through its spiritual successor: the Magical Association. They might have adopted a cutesy name, but they were still the same bastards underneath.

Si-yool found himself at the Magical Aptitude Testing Center, the modern equivalent of the military physical examination center. It was his second time in such a place, yet the experience felt strangely unfamiliar. Gone were the drab interiors of his memory, replaced with brightly decorated walls and state-of-the-art equipment. It truly felt like a world where magical girls were real.

Not that it made the situation any better. Si-yool felt like he was in a mental hospital, dragged there against his will on a Sunday, no less.

“Can you see this?” a nurse asked, holding up an eye chart. The examination was different, but the essence was the same: a series of tests and questions, the answers dutifully recorded.

“No,” Si-yool replied.

“Perfect vision. 20/10 in both eyes,” the nurse declared.

“I said I can’t see, dammit!”

“Yes, yes, they all say that,” the nurse replied dismissively.

The fact that his answers didn’t matter made it less of an examination and more of a dictation.

“Lying won’t work. We already scanned your body with the Magical Measurement Device,” the nurse explained.

“Then why even ask?!” Si-yool thought, suppressing his frustration. He forced a calm tone. “Isn’t this a waste of time?”

“We’re evaluating your cooperation. Lack of cooperation leads to disadvantages as a magical girl,” the nurse replied.

Si-yool recalled the sparkly doorway he’d been forced to walk through upon arrival. That must have been the Magical Measurement Device. So, lying about his physical condition was pointless. The real test was his attitude.

It was impressive, in a horrifying way. They’d simply changed the target demographic, but the MMA’s relentless pursuit of new recruits remained unchanged. Like cockroaches, they couldn’t be killed.

Si-yool forced a laugh. “Ahaha.” He wasn’t about to go along with this quietly. He’d much rather smash everything in sight. But now wasn’t the time for anger.

“Let’s move on, then,” the nurse prompted.

“Yes, let’s,” Si-yool replied, still grinning. Now was the time to wait for an opportunity. Even in this dire situation, there had to be a way out. He’d faced worse in the other world.

Besides, his current circumstances were far superior to his isekai days. Back then, he was the Moon Warrior, the target of everyone’s ire. Now, he was a major shareholder of Top□ and Novelpia. He was practically omnipotent. Even God couldn’t claim ownership of those stocks.

He just had to bide his time.

He began thinking happy thoughts, his usual coping mechanism in the other world.

“Heh, Silksong is coming soon,” he muttered.

“Stop laughing. You’re starting to worry me,” the nurse said.

“Just one more day until the next chapter of Poisonous Mushroom!” Si-yool continued.

“Oh, here we go again. Take your medicine,” the nurse sighed, handing him a vial of pink liquid.

“What’s this?” Si-yool asked.

“Magical contrast agent. You need it for the next test. Drink it all,” the nurse instructed.

Si-yool hesitated, but drank it anyway. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

The taste was atrocious.

“Oh, it’s expired. Here’s a fresh one,” the nurse said, handing him another vial.

“You b*tch!” Si-yool swore under his breath. She told him after he’d finished it.

“Here you go,” the nurse repeated, oblivious to his annoyance.

Si-yool reluctantly drank the second vial, his stomach churning.

“All done?” the nurse asked.

“Yes. What now?”

“Step onto the platform over there. Align your feet with the footprints,” the nurse instructed, pointing towards a machine resembling an X-ray scanner. The only difference was that the control panel and display screen were in a separate area.

“What’s this for?” Si-yool asked.

“You don’t know? They have these at every Magical Administrative Welfare Center now,” the nurse replied.

“I ended up here before I could visit one of those,” Si-yool explained. “Dragged here,” he added mentally.

“Oh, really? What did you do before that you never went to a center?” the nurse asked.

Si-yool readily answered the question, despite his usual repertoire of “I don’t know’s.”

“I was a warrior.”

“You said you didn’t know what this was? I’ll explain quickly,” the nurse said, completely ignoring his answer.

“No, I’m telling you, I was a warr—”

“This is the Magical Aptitude Testing Device,” the nurse continued, her voice unwavering. “It measures your magical power and its properties.”

Si-yool stared at her. She was either deaf or deliberately ignoring him.

The nurse’s obliviousness continued. “Magical power is difficult to detect with conventional methods, so we use this contrast agent and scan you.” She then looked at him with a mixture of pity and concern, as if addressing someone with a mental disability.

Si-yool felt his own frustration rising.

“So, you understand?” she asked.

“Wait, but I’m really a war—”

“Do you understand?” she repeated firmly.

Si-yool knew the only acceptable answer.

“…Yes, I understand.”

“Good,” the nurse said.

He understood what the machine did. It measured magical power. But did he really need to do this? It was for magical girls. He wasn’t a girl; he was a man.

“Do I even need to do this?” he asked.

“Everyone has magical power, male or female. It’s standard procedure. It’s even part of the regular health checkup now, though only once,” the nurse explained.

So, magical power was a thing now, even on Earth. It made sense, given the existence of magical girls. He still wasn’t sure if it was the same as the magical power in the other world, but it was probably close enough.

“You’re talking about that weird energy clump in your chest, right?” Si-yool asked.

“Yes! That’s right!” the nurse exclaimed, looking at him with surprise.

Si-yool had figured as much. People thought alike, wherever they were.

“I thought he was an idiot,” the nurse muttered under her breath.

“Hey, you b*tch,” Si-yool growled.

It wasn’t his knowledge of magical power that surprised her, but the fact that he knew anything at all.

“Of course I know! I was a warrior!” Si-yool exclaimed.

“Alright, hold still. Starting the scan,” the nurse said, ignoring him completely.

Si-yool wondered how he could make this woman’s life miserable. Complaints worked on public servants, but what about nurses?

“Fine,” he sighed, resigning himself to the test.

He stood still as instructed.

A chime sounded, signaling the end of the scan.

“Done?” Si-yool asked.

“Yes,” the nurse replied, her eyes fixed on the screen. “The results… uh…”

Her voice trailed off, her expression shifting from professional detachment to bewildered confusion.

“Uh…” she repeated, speechless, staring at the screen.