[Third Person POV]
Over the last week, Hajime had been running himself all over Japan, making deals with various minor clans.
While some accepted the deal, many didn't, despite the benefits he laid out.
Many thought he was lying about the materials, and though he could have proved them wrong, Hajime didn't.
If they felt their decision was correct, then they would have to accept the fact that they turned down a good deal over some suspicion.
Although only about ten clans accepted any deal, each deal was worth a substantial sum that was more than most people earn in a decade.
The deals were just them buying resources from Hajime, but each person who accepted was eccentric in some way. That is to say, each of the people who accepted was the type to throw caution to the wind when they found something new to play with. Almost immediately after delivering the resources, Hajime received the payment and was then quickly escorted away so they could begin their research.
Hajime had spent weeks growing plants to ensure an adequate stock, and he barely managed to supply everyone with what they wanted. Luckily, his clone limit increased during that time, making things easier on him.
Speaking of making things easier, with the amount of time he spent using senjutsu to grow everything, Hajime's soul recovered faster than usual.
It wasn't the largest recovery. The total extent of his injury would take over a year to heal, while the senjutsu only dealt with a few hours' worth of recovery. Still, the sooner he healed, the better.
Hajime could feel the difference between now and before, with his magic feeling heavier and more sluggish.
The sooner he was back to normal, the safer he'd be.
While he already knew of a way to deal with the issue, Hajime knew he wasn't strong enough yet.
As he finished up another chunk of work, Hajime realized the time and created a clone to continue while he went to the next item on his agenda.
Minutes later, Hajime arrived at the training field, where Pam was already in workout clothes, stretching after finishing her morning workout.
Despite his ability to clone himself, Hajime tried to talk to everyone without clones whenever he could.
He wasn't always able to, but he made an effort. Hajime knew that, despite sharing memories, letting the clones be the only ones to interact with others wasn't healthy.
Even if, in theory, he was able to sit in an office working all day and sending clones out to do whatever else he needed, that would either drive him crazy or warp his mind in some way.
That was why he'd been training his recruits in person.
As he approached her, Pam stopped her stretching before greeting him.
"Hello, Hajime."
"Hi, Pam. Ready for magic lessons?"
"I just finished my morning exercises, and I was just cooling down. It's weird how I don't feel that sweaty despite the workout."
"That's because those clothes are enchanted. The magic in the designs makes the clothes heat or cool the wearer passively, extending the workout time."
"Huh, neat."
As the small talk ended, Hajime brought out a whiteboard for her lessons.
"Show me the progress you've made since our last lesson," Hajime instructed.
Pam listened.
Flowing the mana through her body like he instructed, she stuck her hands forward, picturing the magic circle she was trying to create. After several minutes, her attempt finally bore fruit. A small grey magic circle appeared, covering her hands, but little else.
Unfortunately for Pam, seconds later, the circle broke and disappeared into motes of light.
"Not bad."
"You don't have to sugarcoat it, you know. I can handle it."
"I wasn't sugarcoating it. Most people tend to start learning magic from their family at a young age, taking years to study enough to make a basic circle like yours. Others might begin learning in their teens if they were born into a normal family, but have a sacred gear, using it sort of like a magic wand to a certain extent.
You, however? You managed to make a basic circle in only a few months of training. For mages, that's considered a great talent, usually on par with someone who can become high class."
"Really?"
Hajime nodded, "Yup. If I had to guess, your world's lack of magic is actually contributing to your growth. You've never known magic, so your body is extra sensitive to the presence of it."
"Is there a way to stop the circle from breaking then? I can't seem to keep it steady."
"There are a few ways.
First, you can do what some mages do and use a hypnosis spell on yourself. Subconsciously, you'll remember what you need to do with it, allowing you to perform the magic without the distraction of your conscious thoughts.
Second, you could practice combat. Most people do that so they can integrate the spell into their repertoire. In your case, it will help you become accustomed to using magic under stress, making it easier to use in the future.
Last, you sit here for hours, possibly a day or two, only making the magic circle. When you're hungry or thirsty, I'll bring food, and when your magic runs out, I'll refresh your reserves with my own."
Hajime explained, offering three separate choices for the American woman. There were other options, but they were more obscure and less reliable. Not to mention, he didn't even have the means to perform them at the moment.
"For that third option, what about sleeping or going to the bathroom?" Pam asked.
Using senjutsu, Hajime placed his hand on Pam's shoulder and infused her with natural energy.
"Senjutsu should take care of your need to sleep. As long as I infuse it into you regularly, you should be able to stay away practically indefinitely. However, since it's not your own energy, it's best not to do it too much or too frequently.
As for your bathroom needs," Hajime prompted before a ring appeared in his hand.
"This ring prevents the wearer from needing to go to the bathroom. Wearing it will absorb all the nutrients from your food, including the ones your body normally discards."
Placing the ring in Pam's hand, Hajime doesn't wait for her response before he has her repeatedly make the magic circle.
The ring had popped in and out of Hajime's inventory over the last few months.
Though it was undoubtedly useful, he only ever took it out during combat to ensure there were no issues. He'd heard about some weird spells, which the ring thankfully would protect against,
Like most artifacts, the ring lost efficacy as the wearer grew stronger.
People like Yasaka and Azazel don't need to use the bathroom because their bodies are more capable than most. If normal people digest food with 75% efficiency, they have 100% efficiency. The main difference is that it is practically like a cultivation novel; when the body has fewer impurities, it becomes more efficient.
In this case, whenever someone advances to the next class, their body becomes slightly purer, allowing for greater capabilities than before.
It was like cultivating, yet not quite the same.
Unlike cultivation, which lets you grow stronger by absorbing nearby energy, the DxD world is just a magic world.
There are rankings and bottlenecks, but they are far more vague and aren't equal for everyone.
A human becoming mid rank and a devil becoming mid rank aren't necessarily comparable. While the two may have the same strength, devil magic is much more versatile, allowing a devil flexibility that humans don't get.
With their magic, a talented devil could create new spells in a few days, compared to the months it might take a human.
That said, like everything, there were tradeoffs.
Humans were far more flexible than devils were, as shown by their ability to change into both angels and devils in canon. Sure, other races could transform, too, but most of the time, that ended up hindering them.
Even with a millenia-long lifespan, few had the kind of talent that could make them ultimate-class or beyond, so they have to prioritize what to train, like how Kuroka became an S-class stray. Despite having devil magic, she focused on learning senjutsu and youjutsu, which she had far more talent for.
That's why humans, who have no innate magic, are so adaptable to switching races. It's also why almost all humans have magic potential, even if barely.
And though humans have lower magic talent than most races, they make up for it with a much larger population scattered across the many dimensions connected to Earth.
Just as insects and rodents have a larger number of offspring than elephants and whales, the same is true of magical races.
Gods, spirits, and the like number the lowest. Even places like Takamagahara or Asgard, which are the homes of the gods, have at most a few hundred who are considered gods in the traditional sense of the term. The rest are all divine, semi-divine, or divine adjacent.
What does that mean for humans?
Simply put, they are the insects of the magic world. Short lifespans, high adaptability, and a large population, while you could put them near extinction, God's system makes it so that, unless you kill all humans, you just give them a chance to bounce back in a couple of millennia with their sacred gears—basically cockroaches.
-----
As Hajime explained the mistakes Pam made, the sun rose and fell in the sky. At this point, Hajime had already replaced himself with a clone since he didn't need to be there 24/7.
He had other people to train, not to mention work to do; sparing a few hours was already more than enough.
Each attempt ended with failure, yet Pam continued, learning from the mistakes she made.
Some attempts failed due to incorrectly flowing the magic. Other times, she failed due to forgetting an important piece of the magic equation, causing the spell to collapse in on itself.
Eventually, her mistakes boiled down to her simply not having enough mana control, something that was improving after each try.
After two and a half days of non-stop practice, Pam felt drained. Not tired, the constant infusion of natural energy kept her awake.
No, it was more like the numbness after finally finishing a repetitive task.
Now that it was over, she just wanted to do anything other than think about magic circles.
In front of her was the final result after all that effort.
A small, gray magic circle, barely the size of her hands.
But she did it!
She finally could make a proper magic circle!
The magic circle was an extremely basic one, similar to the Lumos spell in Harry Potter, a lighting spell that anyone with magic should be able to do.
Pam stared at the light coming from her hands, entranced by the fact that she actually succeeded in doing magic.
Jumping up in excitement, the clone that was with her let her celebrate while creating and dispelling another clone to alert the main body.
Minutes later, Hajime arrived, and by then most of Pam's excitement had bled off.
"Thank you for everything, Hajime," Pam said to the original.
"Pam, it was only because you put in the effort that you succeeded.
You just as easily could've kept up a normal training pace and taken a week or so until you finally got it.
Now, you might want to go to your room and shower. You don't smell bad, but I doubt you want to stay in the clothes you've been in for the last two days."
Pam, the realization of what he said dawning on her, broke into a sprint toward her dorm room, eager to clean herself up.
Hajime, meanwhile, took the time to prepare to teach her another spell in a few days.
__________
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading; I'll see you next time!