33. Mitoka 4 (Precision Surface Manifestation Version)

The night Shiro acquired the Multi-Annihilation Attack skill, he ate the giant black forest boar he'd hunted that day as steak.

He'd expected it—higher-rank monsters meant better-tasting meat.

"Less gamey than the boar I ate back on Earth, and pairs nicely with the herbs Mitoka used, huh?"

"Indeed, this world holds that monster meat is delicious," Mitoka replied with a smile.

Shiro found it oddly surprising that Mitoka's cooking skill was so high, so he asked her about it.

"Shiro, it's because your cooking skill is high. It doesn't show up as a skill, but your Earth cooking experience is still stored as experience points. Repeating cooking here should register it as a skill."

"Huh. That’s useful. Then I’ll definitely start cooking myself," Shiro declared with resolve.

The next morning, as usual, he woke up and watched Mitoka preparing breakfast. He wandered into the kitchen.

Then he suddenly noticed something—something had changed.

"Hey, Mitoka, do you feel different? Not just the vibe, or the presence—something’s off, I swear."

Mitoka turned toward him, beaming, and nodded energetically.

"Of course, Shiro! You noticed it!" she chirped. "Great job!"

"Thanks to yesterday's update, I can now manifest using Precision Surface Manifestation! No more temporary, virtual forms—this is a real, visible body everyone can see!"

She said that, then spun around smoothly, her grin wide and radiant.

"Wow, now that's impressive! Ah, so that's why you've got such a strong presence? You can actually feel the individuality and magic power—no wonder you look so different from yesterday."

"Yes, exactly. I can now materialize within a radius of up to one hundred meters!"

Shiro thought that definitely seemed useful.

"Ah—*that*! The level of detail I can express through materialization has skyrocketed! Please, go ahead and touch me!" With that, Mitoka suddenly wrapped her arms around Shiro.

"Wha—?!"

The warmth, softness, the press of her cheek against his, the pleasant scent drifting from her hair—everything was unnervingly real. Shiro’s chest tightened, his words vanished, and he froze in place.

Whether she knew or not, Mitoka kept her usual mischievous smile as she pulled away, her eyes glistening. "Shiro, you can stroke my head too," she said, looking at him with a hopeful glint.

Shiro stared into those eyes, as if under a spell, and slowly raised his hand to gently run it through her hair. The texture was indistinguishable from real hair.

"I—uh… wow… no, wait, that’s—amazing… I mean, this is unreal. It’s like I can’t even believe it’s real," Shiro finally managed to speak after a long pause, stepping back slightly, voice shaky and breathless.

"Hehehe, surprised? This is all thanks to your perverted magic manipulation and wild imagination, Shiro!"

Mitoka teased casually, her grin unwavering.

"Eh, wait—why? I mean, sure, I do pour passion into magic control and I *do* have a rich imagination, but—?!" Shiro stammered.

"Fufu, just kidding. I’m actually grateful to you," she replied with a warm smile.

"Ah, and it's only for Mitoka's sake, so why do you need such detailed imagery like that?!"

Shiro shouted, and Mitoka flushed crimson, bowing her head.

"Huh... but honestly, the fact that Mitoka's reacting with such emotion and physical cues—it's honestly my biggest surprise. Looks like AI's officially graduated..."

Shiro genuinely celebrated Mitoka's growth.

"Wait, does that mean you can fight using a blade measured in microns?"

"Yes, I can. In fact, I can turn my entire body into weapons."

Mitoka casually said something terrifying.

"...So, do I even need to fight anymore?"

"No no, I'll assist, but you still have to fight yourself to gain experience. You can't level up or improve stats unless you're in the fray. Besides, you need to be strong enough to protect yourself!" Mitoka gently chided Shiro.

Right—so I thought I'd finally get to relax thanks to Mitoka's power-up, but no luck... Shiro sighed, deflated.

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