Chapter 26: The True Name of The Carbuncle

The news announced by the US Cool Dreamers was broadcasted by Japanese television stations the following day.
Masaya and Fuyuhiko were watching it on the TV of the detective agency.

Toward the end of the broadcast, actor Burt issued a warning about the incidents involving missing Cool Dreamers.
He claimed that some organization was targeting them.

Masaya watched with a stern expression.

“Is this some kind of movie promotion?”

Fuyuhiko asked while watching the TV.

“It doesn’t feel like a promotion.
It seems like a genuine warning.
And the Mana Arts appeared to be real.” Masaya replied.

“Come on, it’s probably just some kind of trick.” Fuyuhiko didn’t seem to believe in the so-called “Cool Dreamers”.

At this time, only a minority of people around the world believed in the existence of the Cool Dreamers.
However, individuals from various parts of the world started coming forward, claiming to be Cool Dreamers themselves.

Among those who came forward, there were fakes, but thanks to the real Cool Dreamers repeatedly demonstrating their Mana Arts, the number of people believing in the existence of Cool Dreamers increased.
And there was a particular incident that served as a catalyst for many people to start believing.

The incident in question was a bank robbery that took place in Bremen, Germany.
It was a standard case of two men breaking into a small bank.

After stealing the money, the robbers attempted to escape on their motorcycles, intending to use the bikes’ maneuverability to get away.
However, they were caught in a police checkpoint set up in Bremen and found themselves surrounded by police officers.

The scene was in a part of the city with old buildings lining the streets.
Realizing that escape on the bike was no longer an option, one of the robbers drew his handgun and confronted the police officers.
In response to the robber firing a shot, the nine surrounding officers all opened fire simultaneously.

While the bullet fired by the robber grazed the shoulder of one officer, many of the bullets fired by the policemen found their mark on the two robbers.
The robber hit by three bullets collapsed to the ground, while the one hit by four bullets fell backward.

The officers thought that the falling robber was dead.
However, to their surprise, the robber gathered himself and lunged at the officers.
His fist landed on one officer’s shoulder.

The officer flew through the air, spinning, and landed heavily on the pavement about three meters away.
It was an unbelievable display of punching power.

The remaining officers opened fire once again, bullets piercing holes in the clothes of the robber.
Yet, strangely, no blood flowed from the robber’s body.

“Unbelievable! Why won’t he go down?”

The robber wordlessly struck down the officers and made his escape.
Later, the identity of the robber was discovered.
He was one of those who claimed to be Cool Dreamers.

The shootout between the robber and the officers had been captured on the smartphones of some onlookers.
The footage spread across the internet, sparking discussions about the existence of a man unaffected by the cops’ bullets.

While the possibility of the robber wearing a bulletproof vest existed, upon slowing down the playback of the video, it became apparent that some bullets were even hitting him in the forehead.
The slow-motion video was reminiscent of Mr.
B who struck his hand with a hammer.

The existence of Cool Dreamers became a topic of debate worldwide, even catching the attention of scientists.
Experiments were conducted, and the authenticity of Mana Arts was eventually proven.

Once the existence of Mana Arts was proven, the actor named Burt took countermeasures.
He established the Dreamer Guild, offering protection and secure residences to those who came forward and registered.

Why would a guild founded by civilians be capable of such actions? It was because the Dreamer Guild was receiving support from the US government.
Even within the government’s agencies, there existed a clandestine organization that secretly gathered true-name ability users.
However, the official organization moved towards providing protection.

Additionally, a system was implemented where registered individuals would receive a monthly payment of $1,000 if they reported events occurring in the other world once a week.
This led to an increase in registrations.

The United States became aware of the existence of Cool Dreamers and started to make moves to unravel the workings of Mana Arts.
They saw significant potential in the mystical powers known as “Magic Energy” and “Magic Essence” that served as the foundation of Mana Arts.

Following the US lead, Japan also established its own Dreamer Guild.
While not as powerful an organization as the one in the United States, they attracted individuals who were enticed by the monthly compensation.

Upon learning about the establishment of the Dreamer Guild, Masaya chose not to register.
He valued secrecy more than the monthly compensation.
Masaya possessed true names such as “Magic Essence”, “Ultrasonic Wave”, “Sense of Smell,” “Armor”, “Crystallization”, “Lightning Strike”, and “Summon (Carbuncle).

Among those abilities, “Lightning Strike” and “Summon (Carbuncle)” were considered potentially dangerous and could raise concerns in society.
Japan, being a country that restricts civilian gun ownership, would possibly view the true names with powers surpassing firearms as a possible threat.
For the time being, Masaya decided to observe the situation and stay low.

While continuing his detective work, Masaya researched the method of producing camellia oil, which Dennis from the other world desired.
He started by searching online and discovered that a press and a grinder were necessary for mass production.

He needed to build that press and grinder in the other world.
Although similar equipment might exist there, it seemed faster to create them rather than searching for and obtaining them.

Masaya investigated companies that manufactured presses and grinders and reached out to one of them.
When he explained that he was conducting research to support developing countries, they agreed to cooperate.

At the company, he received an explanation of the structure of the old press and grinder and obtained copies of their blueprints.
Masaya memorized the structure and blueprints.
Since Dennis could retrieve the memorized information, Masaya thought that he could communicate it to blacksmiths and carpenters to potentially create such devices.

With that Masaya would be able to share the information about the press and grinder with Dennis.
On a refreshing morning, he received a call from Professor Kanbara, who wanted to know about the newly acquired true names.

The new true names that Professor Kanbara mentioned were obtained from the Carbuncle.
Masaya arranged for the professor to pick him up in his car, and together they headed to the site of an abandoned quarry.

“Here, we can test your true-name abilities without anyone seeing you.”

Professor Kanbara asserted.
It seemed that he had been to this location before for physical experiments.

The deserted quarry site, devoid of any presence, was an ideal place to experiment with true-name abilities.

“First, try using the true name of ‘Lightning Srike’.”

“Understood.
I will replicate the Lightning Ball attacks that the Carbuncles used.” Masaya replied.

Masaya launched the Lightning ball toward a large rock, hitting it with a spark that scattered around.
It appeared that this true-name ability could be adjusted in terms of its power.
In this instance, he converted a golf ball-sized magic essence ball into true power, then formed the Lightning ball.

For convenience, the energy converted from the golf ball-sized magic essence ball into true power was considered as ‘1’ unit of true power by Masaya and Professor Kanbara.

“So this is the Lightning Strike using only 1 unit of true power, huh? Its power is strong enough to knock out a human if it directly hits.”

This was Professor Kanbara’s impression.
Masaya agreed, acknowledging the substantial power it possessed.

“Now, let’s move on to the true name of ‘Crystallization’.
What kind of true-name technique does it entail?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” Masaya replied.

“You must have gained some knowledge about it after obtaining the true-name, right?” Professor Kanbara asked.

Masaya nodded.
However, while he understood that the true-name ‘Crystallization’ possessed the ability to crystallize various things, he was uncertain about what specific objects it could crystallize.

“Is it not water?”

“You mean turning it to Ice…Let’s give it a try then.”

As a result of experimenting on water, Dennis was to turn water into ice.
However, it required more true power than expected, making it inefficient.

After contemplating for a moment, Professor Kanbara spoke, “Could it be possible to crystallize magic essence?”

“Crystallize magic essence…?”

Masaya gathered magic essence from his surroundings, expanding the range to a radius of about eight meters.
He compressed it into a spherical shape and employed the true-name ‘Crystallization.’

The magic essence ball, approximately twenty centimeters in diameter, began to crystallize.
It shrank and transformed into a crystalline structure with a diameter of about three millimeters.
It had a yellow color and formed a regular dodecahedron.

“May I have that? I would like to examine it at the university,” Professor Kanbara requested.

Masaya handed the magic essence crystal to Professor Kanbara.
The latter carefully wrapped it in a handkerchief and placed it in his pocket.

With a satisfied smile, Professor Kanbara prepared to leave.

“Wait, there’s still the matter of the ‘Summon (Carbuncle)’.
” Masaya said.

“Oh, right.
I got so caught up wanting to examine this thing.”

The professor lightly tapped the pocket where he had stowed the magic essence crystal.

To Masaya’s astonishment, the ‘Summon(Carbuncle)’ worked.
He had been skeptical about being able to use the true name of summoning.

The summoned Carbuncle appeared identical to the monsters encountered in the labyrinth.
Acting on instinct, the creature attempted to attack Masaya and the professor However, Masaya managed to halt its advance using his mental power.

There seemed to be a tether connecting Masaya and the Carbuncle, like a control line.
Through this control line, Masaya could manipulate the creature, although he found it honestly challenging.

Professor Kanbara stared wide-eyed at the Carbuncle.
As the strain of controlling the creature grew intense for Masaya, he decided to release the summoned being.
In an instant, the Carbuncle vanished.

“Hey, Hijiritani-kun.
Are there any monsters capable of summoning slimes?”