CHAPTER 16 - Team.
Mmm. A team, huh?
Well… I admit that at first, I wanted teammates to teach me spells and stuff like that, but after realizing how powerful I am now, and considering that the adventurers in this place are useless, I came to the conclusion that having teammates has way too many disadvantages and only one advantage: learning their spells. I don't want to socialize with useless people who'll depend on me!
While I was shopping, the adventurers avoided me and looked at me with fear. I don't blame them; I'm a freak to them. A girl capable of using all types of magic. But what surprised me the most was that the adventurers who seemed to be the most powerful were also afraid of me. They're all useless.
One man, in particular, was the bravest I've met here. A very handsome man, known as "the best adventurer in the country" (confirmed by the locals), caressed my hands and said, "You're as beautiful as a…" I didn't let him finish and used my psychic powers on him to slam him into the ground several times until he begged for mercy.
That idiot had 10 girlfriends and dared to flirt with me in front of them, so to teach them a lesson, I also used my psychic powers on them and slammed them into the ground along with him. Why? So they'd open their eyes and realize what a trash boyfriend they had, who couldn't even protect them… That, and because I was jealous, since one of his girlfriends was totally my type. She was the only one I didn't hit, but she indirectly rejected me by running away, calling me a "monster." Ouch, my heart.
Anyway, in summary, even the most powerful adventurer in this country was humiliated by me, a complete novice. That led to two conclusions.
Number 1: The demons, the real enemies, are a serious threat!! I highly doubt God made me more powerful than them; that would be too much help. But if they're so powerful, why haven't they taken over the world already? Pretty suspicious. There must be something hidden in their plans.
Number 2: The humans in this world are useless and won't be of any help to me. I'd rather stay alone and not risk human lives in vain.
Oh, and I also don't want a team because I don't plan on taking missions that often. I'll focus on studying magic, training, and seducing that girl I saw at the market. Fufu.
"I'm not looking for teammates… Well, not yet, maybe later."
I can't generalize. Maybe one day I'll find a powerful human or a legendary creature, something like that. Someone who'd actually be helpful.
"To be honest, I first want to get used to this place," I told this girl, whose eyes started to tear up.
Oh, no. Please don't make a fool of yourself.
"Please!" she begs… getting on her knees and… kissing my shoes.
Tch. How ridiculous.
"I'll do anything!" she says, looking at me with puppy eyes.
This is awkward. She's humiliating herself too much; I'm embarrassed for her. What's wrong with her? Why does she want to be my teammate so badly?
Is this some kind of custom for requesting to join a team?
"Huh?!"
Why's she screaming…? Oh, I see why.
She screamed when she saw a guy approaching us, with a kind expression on his face, but it only increased this girl's fear. The guy has black hair, is tall, and looks strong… Very strong… Too strong… I can't stand overly muscular men. But muscular women, on the other hand, really catch my attention. Being hugged by strong, soft arms while she strokes my head and kisses me… Oh, my imagination got creative.
"Sorry, forgive my sister; she gets really weird when she meets amazing adventurers," the guy said, smiling.
"I don't care," I said indifferently.
I'd rather avoid trouble. I don't know who these two are; I just know they're annoying me.
I slam the door shut, leaving them outside.
I don't need teammates. I'll need them later, when I have to face the demons threatening this world (I might use them as decoys). But for now, I want to be alone.
Are they part of the King's private guard? They also bothered me when I was heading back to the inn, and I defeated them with my psychic powers too. Are humans weak to my psychic powers because they're different from magic? I guess so, because I can't explain how I defeated them so easily.
They wanted to take me to their King, but I don't want to. He probably wants to give me a very difficult mission or has some plan to capture me and force me to do what he wants. I'd rather train first.
Oh, seeing that made me sleepy.
… Mmm… I'm sleepy, but… Should I sleep? I pissed off the King and the most powerful adventurer in the country. Won't they try to kill me while I'm sleeping?
"Ah, I want to sleep, but I can't let my guard down."
[ACTIVATING GUARD MODE]
Huh? Guard mode?!
D-Dix, my magical wind sword, appeared in front of me without me summoning it. Is the sword going to protect me?!
"Are you going to watch over me while I sleep?!"
[Guard Mode: The wind will protect you from the first five attacks you receive, giving you time to wake up and prepare to fight.]
"Awesome!! What other extra abilities do you have?!"
[Unlocked Abilities: Guard Mode, Armor Mode, and Sword Mode.]
Sword Mode must be its normal form, and Armor Mode must be an armor. I'll try it tomorrow! I'd do it now, but I'm dying of sleepiness. Until tomorrow, sword.
I give it a kiss. I just hope it's not some fat old man who can turn into a sword… And I also hope this part of the sword I'm kissing isn't his butt. Yuck.
I lie down and sleep without any worries.
Thank you, magic!
•
•
(Pov - Daniel.)
… Well, well…
"Phew! I slept like a baby that night! No fear of attacks or anything like that. Guard Mode is awesome, isn't it?"
"It sounds awesome… Dex Sword!" I said, hiding my envy.
My sword appeared in my hand.
You had extra functions and didn't tell me?! I feel so betrayed, Dex!
That armor could've been useful in the past, and so could Guard Mode! You could've protected Daniela and me…! Well, not really, I can't blame you for that; I was too weak back then.
"Dex, huh? Fufu. Dix is cooler. Dix Sword!"
Her sword appeared in her hand.
Well, well. I can't deny that. Dix's design is way better.
Well, probably the three swords, Dax, Dex, and Dix, have different advantages that match their designs. Dex, for example, is angelic, so it might let me use more powerful angel magic.
Well, well… Let's see the abilities!
"Dex, please tell me your extra abilities."
…
…
…
"And? What are they?" Daniela said.
"N-nothing shows up."
"Nothing?"
"D-Dex, activate Armor Mode, please."
… N-nothing.
"Ouch."
"Well, does it not have extra abilities?"
"It seems so."
Do I have that bad of luck? I got Dex, a sword with no extra abilities… How unfair.
Daniela is so powerful even without her sword, and she probably got the most powerful sword. What an injustice.
She defeated the most powerful adventurer in her country using only her psychic powers, something that took me a lot of effort.
She's so… different from me.
No extra abilities, huh?
"Dex, do you have locked abilities?"
…
…
…
"Nothing."
Huh? Daniela patted my head.
"Don't feel bad; I guess it makes up for its lack of abilities with more power in its attacks."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks."
Dex has never let me down with its power. I shouldn't be ungrateful. Dex, thanks for your help, and I hope I can keep counting on you for a long time.
"Please, keep telling your story."
"Of course," she said, smiling.
•
•
(Pov - Daniela.)
(The next day.)
The voices of people passing by on the street wake me up. Merchants advertising their products, drunken brawls, some gossip (even about me), I can hear it all from my bed.
Tch. So noisy so early. What time is it?
[6:36 am.]
"… I definitely need to investigate more about my mental abilities."
Thanks for giving me the time, mind, though I don't know how you did it.
6:36 am, huh? People are out and about so early, huh? Such early risers.
Well, I'm also used to waking up early for school, so it barely affects me.
I stretched in my bed and yawned. Ah, what a good night.
I got out of bed and scratched my left chest.
I slept great; the bed is comfortable, the atmosphere is perfect, at least at night.
"I slept like a baby," I murmured, stretching.
Alright… What will I do today?
Mmm… Study magic and… Yeah, train. I think I'll hire the services of a magic teacher or an adventurer who knows a lot of spells.
I'll go to the guild to request information about that, but first, the most important thing: bathing.
I have a reputation to maintain. I don't want to be known as a smelly girl.
I grab the towel I bought yesterday and leave the room.
"Learn more spells and train my body."
I can't always depend on my psychic powers, because if I use them too much, they'll exhaust me and could cost me my life. And training my body is the most basic thing; plus, it'll give me more energy and let me move more easily.
The innkeeper sees me and smiles.
"Good morning, Daniela," she greets kindly.
Oh, she really seems like a very nice woman… Huh? Wait. I don't remember telling her my name.
I stop in front of her and smile.
"Good morning, miss."
"Call me Froula, please."
Huh? What an ugly name, but I can't criticize; maybe it's common in this world, or even considered pretty.
"Froula…? First time I've heard that name. I'm Daniela. By the way, how did you know my name? I don't remember telling you."
"Everyone in town knows it. An adventurer with all types of magic is something really rare and surprising to see. No, wait, it's not rare, it's impossible. A walking mystery. A…"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I see… I guess I'm popular," I said with a small laugh.
I don't mind that they know my name or that I have all types of magic. On the contrary, it makes me feel proud of myself. I'm special, I'm different, I'm powerful.
And I'm not afraid of anyone trying to take advantage of me or kill me, because I'm very powerful! Muahaha!
"If you need anything, let me know."
"Sure, alright. Thank you very much."
Goodbye, cutie. Time to bathe!
I enter the bathroom and see that no one's there.
"Good, no one's here."
I have the bathroom to myself! And there's steam floating around, which means it's warm. Phew. This is paradise!
I take off my clothes and dip my fingers to test the water. Ooh, excellent. It's perfect. Warm, but not overly hot.
I dive into the pool and swim to the center.
I start floating on my back and take a deep breath.
Goodbye, stress.
"This is the life," I said with pleasure.
I close my eyes and relax.
"I think I'll get used to this world pretty quickly. This place isn't as bad as I thought; I can easily adapt… Mmm… I think I'll do a mission later. I need to boost my reputation!" I think optimistically.
Huh? Tch. Someone came in; I heard the door open and footsteps.
Ugh, there goes my peace.
"Hey, glad to see you again, Daniela!" said a female voice, with a cheerful and… very annoying tone.
That voice… The girl from yesterday? Oh, no. Is she seriously still being so insistent? Doesn't she fear me? I need to improve my reputation to avoid this kind of thing. I'm supposed to be the next savior of the world! They should fear and respect me! Ugh, I still have a long way to go.
I turn to look at her; it's the girl from last night. The one who wanted to be my teammate. The dignity-less idiot who kissed my shoes.
Ugh, goodbye comfort, hello secondhand embarrassment.
"Hey," I said coldly.
"I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night!"
"You're forgiven, don't worry," I said indifferently while cleaning between my breasts.
I don't care what she did or does. I'm not interested at all.
She starts taking off her clothes.
… Well… She's not my type, but she has a pretty attractive body. Well, well, well. What nice bre… No… Ugh, don't fall for her trap.
She took off all her clothes and got into the water.
"Hey, why do you have all types of magic?"
Ugh, I need to get used to people asking me that all the time. It's normal for people to be surprised, scared, envious, or fascinated. I'd do the same if I weren't the one with them.
"It's a secret, sorry."
I'm not telling anyone how I got all types of magic, not even if they torture me, mainly because God forbade it, and I don't want to go to hell.
"I understand… Can I join your team?!" she asks again, insistently.
She doesn't give up… She's really persistent. What's wrong with her? Why does she want to be my teammate so badly? For fame, money, or fun?
"I don't want teammates for now," I repeat firmly.
I don't need anyone but myself. I don't want to depend on anyone, or have anyone depend on me. I don't want to share my power, my glory, or my destiny… Well, to keep it short, I don't want to carry dead weight or share my achievements, much less socialize with boring people.
"I'll do anything, please!" she begs desperately.
"I don't care what… Wait… Anything, you say?"
"Yes, anything!"
That's a tempting offer. Maybe it's a good idea to accept her. Having a personal servant doesn't sound bad at all. Someone to clean my clothes, carry my weapons, my bags, clean, go shopping for me, give me massages. My own slave… Fufu. Yeah, that sounds pretty good.
But I should ask her the basics first, the normal stuff in these situations.
"Why do you want to join my team?"
She immediately smiled with joy and got way too close to me.
I can smell her scent in my nose. She smells pretty good.
"To be close to you!"
…
…
…
What?
That's a weird excuse… Why does she want to be close to me? Does she like me? Sorry, you're not my type. You're pretty and have a very attractive body, but you're too annoying.
… Oh… That's right… I heard yesterday that people are attracted to a person's magical power… Maybe that's why. Maybe she feels an irresistible attraction to me because of my magical power.
Fufu. I'm irresistible, huh? I don't blame you; you have excellent taste.
Joking aside, let's get serious.
"Huh? Why?"
"To find out why you have all types of magic!"
Well… That's why… She's weird. She wants to know my secret, she wants to learn from me, she wants to be like me… Well, at least she's honest.
"Whatever. I'll offer you something: you teach me all the spells you know, and we'll be a team. Your role will be my personal servant. Sound good?"
I don't care if she's my teammate if I can get something out of it. I want to learn more spells, I want to master magic more, I want to be stronger.
Ugh… The future of the world is in my hands; I need to take this seriously.
"It's a deal!!"
She jumped with joy, jumped again, but onto me, and hugged me, putting my head between her bare breasts, and I feel her right nipple in my eye.
… Nothing. It doesn't turn me on; it just makes me angry. She's not my type.
"Thank you so much for the opportunity!!"
"You're welcome."
She'll definitely never grow on me.
"… So… Do you like bread?"
"Don't say nonsense and give me a massage."
"At your command, boss!"
She started massaging my shoulders.
Yeah, this isn't bad at all.
Huh? What? That I'm an evil dictator? Hey, I'll pay her a great salary, status, and reputation. This is the least she can do for me.
•
•
After an excellent massage (seriously, her hands are so soft), we finished bathing and changed to go out. She put on her adventurer uniform, and I dressed in tight black pants, a pink blouse, and red heels. It's not the ideal outfit for a fight, but that's because I don't plan on fighting. If something comes up, I'll take off my heels, and that's it. Plus, my new slave is carrying a backpack full of my clothes on her back in case I need fighting clothes.
Ugh, poor girl, she has no dignity. I'm not a monster; I feel empathy for her, which is why I'll pay her well for her services, but that doesn't mean I won't take advantage of her. You have to earn your pay, cutie. I'm not a charity to be giving away my money and time.
We leave the inn together, and the people around me look at me strangely.
I'll have to get used to the stares… Ugh… I like it and I don't like it.
I like being admired, respected, feared. I like being the center of attention, the protagonist, the best. But… Ugh, I don't know… I'm not used to this, so it feels weird. Little by little, Daniela. Little by little.
I took a deep breath and sighed. So many whispers… Ugh, how annoying.
"Alright, where are we going? Can't you teach me the spells here?"
"We'll go to the Hero's Forest; I'll teach you there. It's forbidden to use spells unless it's for self-defense."
I see… That's why they tried to arrest me yesterday. I guess it's a measure to prevent harm to others with an out-of-control spell.
Mmm. Hero's Forest, huh? A hero… Was there a Demon King in the past, and God sent someone like me to defeat him?
"Hero's Forest?"
Huh?!
Suddenly, images appeared in my mind, like a movie. I saw a dirt path surrounded by lush green trees, stretching out to the horizon. It was the path to the Hero's Forest.
A chill ran down my spine. I need to get used to these upgrades.
I realized my new psychic power had activated. Apparently, it worked when I said the name of a place with a questioning tone. It was like my mind connected to the world's information and showed it to me. Interesting.
This new power was very useful. It'd help me a lot to explore this unknown and dangerous world without any difficulty.
Hehe. I'm a walking map.
"Hero's Forest… It's a good name, sounds interesting. Why's it called that?"
She stopped without warning and took my hand.
Huh? What's wrong? Why does she look so… confused? Did I ask something weird?
"You… don't know it?" She looked at me in disbelief.
"No."
"But the forest is near the town. Why don't you know it?"
"I'm new in town, that's why I don't know it."
"But the whole country knows it."
"I'm from another country."
"But the entire Continent 3 knows it!"
"Well, I'm from another continent!"
Arghhh! Is that forest that famous?! It's definitely a historical place. Did the hero defeat the Demon King there?
"You don't want to tell me where you're from?"
I shrugged and took a deep breath.
"Sorry, it's a secret."
"Alright, I won't insist."
… You won't? And here I thought you had no common sense. First good thing to come out of your mouth!
That's how I like it, treat me with respect.
"And why's it so famous?"
"It's the place where the hero Rotceh died fighting the demons."
The hero died? I guess he died hundreds of years ago.
I see… I should investigate more about him.
"Rotceh?"
"He's an adventurer who saved Continent 3 thousands of years ago… Wait…"
Thousands of years? That's more time than I imagined. Is there accurate information about him, or just legends?
Hmmm? What? Her eyes are wide open, and she's trembling with fear. What's wrong with her?
I looked around. Mmm… Nothing. Everyone's looking at me, but that's the only abnormal thing happening. I don't see anything scary.
What's going on with her?
"Hey…"
I waved my hand in front of her eyes, looking for a reaction.
"What's wrong?"
"Even though… the legend says he… had all types of magic…"
Ah, I know what's happening. I figured.
Little by little, a big smile is appearing on her face while I brace myself for the secondhand embarrassment.
She's going to scream in one, two…
"You're his reincarnation!!" she shouted, pointing at me with joy.
Reincarnation? That sounded impossible. I wasn't anyone special, just a normal girl sent to this world by God… Well, saying it like that sounds pretty convenient. Am I his reincarnation? I doubt it.
Why am I so sure? First, I doubt God helps humans too much, and sending the reincarnation of the old hero would be way too much help.
Second… Well… I don't know. I just don't feel like I'm his reincarnation. It'd be too good, and too good is boring.
I'm not complaining about being very powerful with filler enemies, because they're good for training, and I know the real enemies, the demons, are beings beyond any other.
"Reincarnation? Nah, I'm not."
"There's no other explanation! That would explain why you have all types of magic!"
"I don't think so, and don't shout; people are staring at us even more than before."
"Sorry," she apologized, lowering her voice.
"I'm not any reincarnation; I have all types of magic for another reason, but I can't tell you… By the way, what's your name?" I said, changing the subject.
"I'm Merlin, the future second most powerful adventurer in the world!"
Second… Ugh, what a bootlicker.
Merlin… Cliché name… But it was a cute name. It reminded me of a character from a novel I read.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Daniela."
It was probably the other one… Yeah… That's right.
The most likely thing is that that person was also sent by God. Maybe it was part of His plan. Maybe it had something to do with the hero Rotceh.
So many questions and so few answers… Fufu. More mystery.
"Fufu. How interesting," I said, smiling.
•
•
Minutes later.
We arrived at the forest. It was a forest like any other, except that in this place, there was a huge statue of a boy my age, the size of a massive tree. Yes, he was definitely sent by God.
Apparently, the boy had a large scar on his face and also had scars on his arms. His expression was serious and determined. He held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. It was the hero Rotceh.
It's different from the statue in town… Who's the other one?
This hero wasn't the wielder of Dix; his sword is different. Is my sword new?
Merlin stretched her arms and cracked her fingers.
"I have earth and water magic. I only know about 10 spells, so pay attention," she said proudly, as if what she'd said was something impressive.
I think there were thousands of spells, but she only knew 10? That's very few… She's a complete novice.
Ugh, I knew it was a bad idea to be her teammate… But oh well, no turning back now.
"Yeah… Whatever."
I don't expect anything from you, so it's hard to disappoint me more than I already am.