In Mushoku Tensei with an A.I. Chip

After securing his first bodyguard, Luke began interviewing the second applicant of the day.

"Alright, now that the introduction is over, my first question for you - what is your name and age?" 

"Jude. Age is…" The dimwitted man looked at his fingers and used the mnemonic device designed for him by his sister to answer the question. "Ten and six."

Luke blinked. That was unexpected. The boy didn't look very bright, but he had never been one to judge based solely on appearances. And the A.I. Chip didn't really have a way to measure intelligence just from its scans. 

"Okay… What special skills do you have, mister Jude?"

"Jude, strong." As he said so, the young man flexed his arms, showing off the well trained biceps and deltoids from hours of mindless mining. 

"Right." Luke shook his head and wrote it down. "Have you ever been in a fight before?" 

Jude took a minute to think about it. And a minute was a long time to spend in absolute silence as Luke stared at him while the other person was silently thinking. 

"Jude no fight. Bad men try fight Jude, but Jude strong body, hard bones. Leave Jude alone." 

Translation: Jude doesn't fight. Crooks or thugs tried hitting him, but they wound up leaving the dim boy alone after getting hurt from their own punches. 

"I see. If you take this job, you will be in a position where you have to fight even if you don't want to. Can you accept that?"

Jude turned quiet for a moment before steely determination shone in his eyes, "Sister sick. Need money. Will fight!"

"Your sister is sick? With what?" Luke asked.

Jude shook his head, "Don't know. Sick since young. Medicine expensive." 

"The city's healers can't cure her?" 

"No. Only make not worse." He answered glumly. 

"I understand." Luke nodded. In other words, Jude's sister has had a chronic illness since childhood. Though she has been treating it with expensive medicine, it has only prevented it from getting worse. What she needs is a cure. 

Luke stared back at Jude, looking over the stats the A.I. Chip had presented to him. 

[Jude (Human)]

Strength: 4.2

Agility: 1.8

Vitality: 8.5

Spiritual Force: ??

Magic Power: 0.8

[Status: Healthy]

His physical stats were pretty incredible for an untrained teenager. If not for his abysmal lack of magic power, Jude would have replaced Luna as the highest potential applicant. But Magic Power was not necessarily the be all and end all for combat prowess.

The most common energy used for fighting in this world was actually not mana. It was Fighting Spirit - Touki. What was fighting spirit? 

Based from what he learned from his swordsmanship tutors and the relevant texts that he read, Touki is a martial technique that dramatically amplifies an individual's physical capabilities. Though it is fundamentally derived from mana, possessing mana alone is not sufficient to wield Touki. 

The easiest way to think about it, his Sword Saint tutor Grant explained, is that Touki is the product of a polygamous marriage between Mana, Instinct, Willpower and Technique. 

Most swordsmen first awaken Touki through instinct, unconsciously channeling their mana to reinforce their bodies. 

To reach Advanced-rank in any of the three main swordstyles required one to at least be able to use Touki instinctively. 

This instinctive use enhances their strength, speed, stamina, durability, and reflexes. To them, it feels like drawing upon some primal inner force to surpass their natural limits.

You either have this instinct, or you do not, Grant stated. A vast majority of people who live comfortably in cities, towns and villages go their whole lives without touching upon Touki. Many who are in more dangerous professions, or actively train for it, will subconsciously draw upon this inner strength - their introduction to Touki. 

However, instinct is only the beginning.

Through rigorous training, warriors can refine this raw power, learning to control their Touki with focused willpower. If one's willpower is weak, their proficiency over Touki will only ever be shallow. Not just the strength of their Touki, but also their competency in using it effectively and efficiently. 

Mastery comes not merely from strength, but from discipline. And once control is achieved, it is technique—the art of precise application—that elevates Touki to its highest form, transforming a competent warrior into a master of their craft. 

So then, Luke had asked Grant, wouldn't most magicians also have the potential to become equally successful swordsmen, given their high mana pool? 

That was not so, he explained. 

Possessing a vast mana pool does not automatically grant a warrior an abundance of Touki. While Touki is indeed drawn from mana, the conversion is far from a simple one-to-one exchange. The human body, bound by its physical limitations, cannot process or channel large quantities of mana all at once. As a result, a warrior can only manifest a limited amount of Touki at any given time.

For example, a warrior with 100 units of mana cannot convert all of it into Touki simultaneously. In practice, they might maintain a constant reinforcement of their body with just 1 unit of mana, channel 2 units when executing an attack or parrying a blow, and perhaps unleash 5 units for a powerful special technique.

Of course, with a stronger body this limit goes up. Likewise, a sharper will and refined technique allow for more efficient and powerful use of Touki. A highly skilled and experienced warrior might eventually wield 10 or even 20 units of mana at once without harming themselves.

In the end, it is training, talent, and experience that distinguish a Saint-ranked swordsman from those of lower tiers. These same qualities are the keys that unlock the path forward—from Saint to King-rank, then to Emperor, and ultimately to the heights of the God-rank.

But for someone like Jude - who had less than the average amount of mana than the average untrained person - Touki was never something he would ever touch upon even instinctively. 

However, the amount of magic power his subordinates had was not a concern for Luke. After all, he had in his hands the recipe for a potion that could increase magic power!

What Jude had going for him wasn't magical potential in the first place, it was his incredible physique that had developed to this point without specialized training. And he seemed like the type who would have endless loyalty for someone once he decided to follow them. 

"How about this," Luke mused, "Bring your sister here after you sign the contract. I will take a look at her and see if I can cure her illness." 

Jude's eyes widened at the offer. "If lord help Marie, Jude life yours!" 

Luke's smile widened. "Excellent."

_________________________________________

Marie had been surprised when her brother came home and happily announced that he had been selected by the nobles to work as their bodyguard. In truth, she had low expectations because Jude was… well, he was simple minded. And she had assumed that bodyguards would need a keen and sharp mind for their body guarding duties. 

Not only that, Jude had also claimed the nobleman he was going to be working for had offered to take a look at her and possibly cure her chronic disease. 

That was perhaps a step out of the line of believability. It sounded like something too good to be true. 

Unlike her brother, Marie was wise and clever for her age, despite being mostly confined to her home due to her frail and sickly body. She was immediately wary and asked her brother many questions to get to the bottom of this apparent generous offer. There was no free lunch in this world, after all. 

But the dimwitted Jude only kept repeating that the young lord was a kind person, a good boy. This nobleman, Luke, had only offered to cure her after Jude signed the employment contract. 

And she had sieved through that contract with a fine tooth comb as well. It was a pretty standard agreement, actually quite generous in fact. A monthly wage of three silver coins while Jude was in training. Room and board provided for the duration of his service. And there was only a five year service period expected after completing training. 

It was a generous offer of employment, way better than Jude's current work which was back-breaking labour at the quarry. While Jude was young, strong and healthy enough to consider his current job as 'just a little tiring', it would not be sustainable in the long run. 

In the end, Marie had no choice but to be carried by her brother all the way back to Notos Keep. 

She half-expected to be turned away at the gates, worried that Jude had somehow misinterpreted something. She wouldn't have been surprised if her brother misunderstood the nobleman's words. 

But they were allowed in and she was swiftly carried to the room where the nobleman was conducting his interviews.

Jude had rudely barged in, despite her protests, and interrupted the interview that was still being conducted. 

The candidate glared at the two of them while the nobleman only looked surprised. 

"Oh, Jude back so soon? I told you to come back in the evening after the interviews… never mind, I suppose you must be quite anxious for your sister to get better." Luke said. 

He looked at the candidate being interviewed, "Let's put your interview on hold for now. Can you wait outside for a moment?"

The applicant had no choice but to obey the nobleman's orders, leaving the room with a side glare at the siblings. 

Luke turned back to Marie and let the A.I. Chip scan her while he stood up and approached the siblings. 

"U-uhm, nice to meet you my lord, I am very sorry my brother interrupted your meeting. Please forgive him, he is slow in these matters." Marie immediately apologized profusely. A noble's ire was not something the siblings could afford. Luke could have them arrested for lèse-majesté, a law that criminalized offense to the dignity of the royal family but here in Asura Kingdom it also extended to the upper-class nobility. 

"Nice to meet you. And don't worry about it, I can respect a man who does not want to waste any time helping their family." Luke replied, "You can put her down on the couch," He gestured towards the fancy couch that Marie initially thought looked more like it was used for decoration rather than sitting. 

Jude wordlessly complied and put her down. Marie was gently lowered, but could still feel the plush softness of the luxurious furniture. She suddenly felt even more uncomfortable like she did not belong in such a disparate world from what she was used to normally. 

"Let me see…" Luke cast a diagnostic Healing magic on the seated girl. Marie was stunned to suddenly see green and yellow motes of light suddenly appear from the boy's hand and enter her body. Was this magic? Was magic something so casually cast?

[Beep! Scan complete!]

[Marie (Human)]

Strength: 0.4

Agility: 0.6

Vitality: 0.5

Spiritual Force: ??

Magic Power: 1280.7

[Status: Severely weakened body; underdeveloped musculature; emaciated body weight; anemia-related paleness; frequent fatigability; joint and bone instability; vulnerable immune system; debilitated respiratory system…]

[Beep! Initial Diagnosis: Cystic Fibrosis resulting in genetic defect in mucus production; causes chronic lung infections, poor weight gain, and physical frailty; Congenital Heart Defect resulting in cardiovascular debilitation and weakness in body; possible mitochondrial disorder resulting in rapidly decline in energy production.]