The first volume of “The Otome Game Heroine’s Strongest Survival” is out today!
Illusion Magic, 【Real Breaker】
Illusion Magic is a type of ‘Creation Magic,’ a composite magic that combines illusion and reality—darkness and light—just as water and wind combine to create lightning magic.
Darkness creates the ‘form,’ and light grants ‘existence.’
It would be difficult to master Creation Magic any further. If one could master both light and darkness and combine them, it would likely be possible to create even a pseudo-“life.”
Then, create flesh and bone with earth, flow blood with water, provide body temperature with fire, and breathe with wind. If one were to master all six elements and possess an infinite amount of Mana, it would even be possible to step into the ‘divine realm’ of creating ‘living things.’
However, even with such Illusion Magic, a human, not a god, cannot accomplish much.
All I could do was cut out and copy my “current state” and sustain it as an “existence” for a few seconds.
Even that is originally a fairly advanced composite magic, but with the 【Iron Rose】, the light particles that release excess Mana Particles from the whole body omit the process of homogenizing and enveloping the Mana Particles. The resulting advanced illusion creates a living presence that even high-ranking Mystic Beasts of the Dragonkind cannot distinguish from reality.
【Real Breaker】—the ultimate illusion rejects the reality of the world that the enemy possesses.
Even that was impossible unless both 【Light Magic】 and 【Dark Magic】 reached level 5. Or rather, should I say that they went up because I succeeded even once…? Because of that, my other master, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, gave me a very dubious look.
“Aria, you… haven’t you gotten a little too strong?”
Viro muttered, giving me a look that was a mix of amazement and exasperation.
We had defeated a Rank 7 Black Dragon after a fierce battle. However, I had forcibly used 【Iron Rose】 after taking a Mana Recovery Potion, putting my body in a state of continuous Combat Art usage, and I couldn’t move.
Jesha’s right arm, which had also used Combat Arts continuously, seemed to be in much worse shape than mine, and she was getting a rough treatment from our master while being smacked on the head.
Beyond them, Dolton and Feld were examining the Black Dragon’s corpse. Normally, Viro would be participating in that, but perhaps he ran away because it was a hassle, or perhaps he was worried about me, his disciple. Viro is my scouting master, but if his disciple gained this much power in just five years, it’s no wonder he’s amazed…
“After watching Viro and Mira fight, I realized I still need to improve.”
“You’re still planning to get stronger!?”
I have become stronger. But “that girl” is still stronger than me.
In fact, I think I’ve gotten closer to the strength I desire, but I was reminded once again that experience is important. Viro seems to think he’s been surpassed by me, but from my perspective, there’s still a lot I can learn from him… I won’t say it because he’ll get cocky.
“Life is about learning. As long as I continue to do so, I can still become stronger.”
“What are you, some kind of ascetic?”
Viro, squatting beside me, poked me with something like a branch as I lay motionless on the ground of the ruins… Is he a child? If he didn’t have these kinds of moments, I could respect him without reservation.
“Hey, what are you doing to my taciturn ‘disciple’?”
“Gah!”
Viro, who had been grabbed by the head by our master who had come up behind him unnoticed, let out an involuntarily strained voice. Viro shouldn’t have any acquaintance with Master (Serejula), but did he hear something from Mira?
Master isn’t usually one to bother people she’s just met, but she emphasized “disciple,” so I thought she might have come to greet him, knowing that Viro is a scouting master.
“No, wait a minute, it hurts!”
That’s a rough greeting…
“…Master, is Jesha alright?”
“Both my taciturn disciple (Aria) and that musclehead are always reckless. Well, her right arm is in bad shape, but it’ll be back to normal in three days.”
“Okay.”
Ignoring Viro’s screams, Master and I continued our conversation.
I’m glad Jesha’s injury wasn’t too bad. According to Jesha, Cutlass Town will not return to its former state and is likely to remain under the rule of the Calfaan Empire. In that case, even as the daughter of the chairman, she wouldn’t have a place in the Hoglos Company, and she laughed, saying she would start over in the Empire. But…
“…What is Jesha doing?”
“Who knows?”
For some reason, Master grinned when I said that, looking at Jesha.
Jesha, with her immobile right arm tied from her shoulder, was not being quiet and was clinging to Dolton with her weapon slung over her back.
Dolton is a Mountain Dwarf like Jesha, and he’s using a Halberd this time because of the desert battle, but he’s basically an axe user like Jesha, so maybe he’s asking for advice on how to handle weapons.
“That girl is quite proactive. I, for one, welcome the increase in ‘girls.'”
Mira, who had just finished applying Spirit-based Monster wards, appeared and said that. Mira, a Forest Elf, had fought Master several times when Master was a War Demon, and she didn’t look at Master, only talking to me. Master muttered in amazement.
“Are you even old enough to be called a ‘girl’?”
“I’m a hundred years younger than you!?”
Master’s and Mira’s ages don’t matter, but the two of them just don’t get along.
Originally, Forest Elves and Dark Elves don’t get along, but they’re not really hostile. It seems they’ve decided not to be enemies now, but Master didn’t dislike Mira from the start, so she teased her many times on the battlefield, which led to their current relationship, I heard.
Mira had a relaxed atmosphere when she was in a human city, but now that I think about it, someone said that she had mellowed out after living in a human city for a hundred years.
Maybe she was originally like this. I was surprised to see this side of her, and in that gap, Viro, who had run away, was being scolded by Feld, who was stripping materials from the Black Dragon. Next to me, Nero’s tail, who was lying down with his eyes closed, wagged as if to agree, and I couldn’t help but sigh.
“First, what to do with the materials.”
In the end, we couldn’t move from that battlefield that day, and we decided to camp out while Master, Mira, and Viro put up monster wards around us.
We didn’t just stay to camp; along with the corpses of the Evil Race soldiers, we were burning the Black Dragon, from which we had taken materials, in the ruins.
The Black Dragon might not like being put together with them, but it’s better than being left out in the open. Dolton also poured his firewater on the Black Dragon, saying that he respects the strong.
I still can’t fight, but I’ve managed to get up and recover enough to feed myself. Speaking of food, most of the Monsters that can be used as ingredients around here are insects, and Viro, who seems to have a trauma related to eating insects, was grimacing, but the other members, even Mira, were eating without changing their expressions.
“Materials, huh… Even with all of our Expansion Bags, we can’t take that much back, Dolton.”
“That’s why we’re talking about what to do, Viro. At least the meat is out of the question.”
It is said that pure Dragonkind… especially Elemental Dragon materials, have no parts that can be thrown away. It’s disrespectful to say this while mourning, but we are Adventurers. If we don’t take the materials and eat the meat, it’s no different from just killing.
Even Dragon blood and organs become alchemical materials, and the meat is known as a delicacy. However, Dragon meat has strong Mana Particles, and ordinary people would definitely get a stomach ache. If you’re going to eat it, a skilled cook will prepare it and eat it by shaving it off with the tip of a Knife.
Dolton and Jesha, the Dwarves with strong internal organs, and Nero, a Mystic Beast, seemed to have tasted a little, but they really only ate a little.
“Hey, War Demon. Is there any part you want?”
“Oh, are you going to share?”
Dolton sighed lightly when Master laughed in surprise at his words.
“You guys were fighting first. You have the right to take it just for that. But, give me the Magic Stone.”
It seems that Dolton and the others made quite a debt to the Calfaan Empire to get here.
I was relieved that Elena had safely reached the Calfaan Empire, but she negotiated with the Empire to help me, and she and Sera, who is assisting her, worked very hard.
Elena… I’m really glad she’s safe.
So, Dolton said that he needed the magic stone to repay part of his debt by offering an Elemental Dragon’s magic stone to the Emperor. In fact, if we didn’t do that much, some Imperial nobles would be dissatisfied with me and Dolton, who are adventurers from other countries and also have noble status, operating within the country.
“In that case, Dragon Blood and Dragon Eyes will do. Both are top-grade alchemic materials, and you guys can’t possibly take them all the way to the Empire, right?”
“Ah, sorry.”
Everyone’s Expansion Bags, like my 【Shadow Storage】, only had the effect of preventing spoilage, so it was impossible to bring back internal organs raw. If it were Master, she could process them alchemically and perform regular preservation treatments.
Also, Jesha, who fought with us at the beginning, wanted a small amount of scales and money from selling the materials, thinking about the future. Nero didn’t want anything, and when I said I didn’t need anything either, I was given a single scale.
“What’s this?”
“Don’t you know? It’s a Dragon’s Reverse Scale.”
A Dragon’s Reverse Scale… if I remember correctly, it was a single scale that protected the dragon’s vital spot. It’s the largest scale with the highest hardness, and aiming for this scale means declaring that you will ‘kill the dragon.’
As a material, it’s certainly good, but more than that, this Reverse Scale is given to the person who contributed the most as ‘proof of Dragon Slayer.’
“You should keep it. Everyone agrees.”
“Okay…”
We couldn’t have won if even one person was missing. But seeing everyone smiling at me, who received the Reverse Scale, I nodded strongly, resolved to call myself a ‘Dragon Slayer.’
Dolton had a larger storage bag than everyone else, but even so, it couldn’t hold large items, and there was a limit.
The meat, bones, and internal organs that we couldn’t take were burned. The small scales were the same. It’s a waste, but the larger scales and fangs alone should be worth several years’ earnings from the Rainbow Sword.
Viro, like Jesha, only wanted a few scales and money, but Mira was talking to Master about bringing back the wing membranes. Apparently, she was going to use them to make equipment, but it felt a little strange that those two were discussing alchemic processing for bringing them back without any problems.
“And Feld. You can use the horn you broke off.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Yeah. You’ll need it, right?”
The Black Dragon’s horn that Feld broke off, at its thickest part, would be worth hundreds of large gold coins. The reason it was given to Feld was because he lost his Greatsword to break it.
Like the Rank 6 Minotaur horn that I used to strengthen my weapon, the fangs and horns of high-rank monsters have mineral-like properties due to Mana Particles. In particular, the horns of Elemental Dragons, which eat minerals during their Earth Dragon days, are themselves special metals, Living Metal (Adamantite).
Feld will create a Greatsword using the Black Dragon’s horn as a material. Feld’s Magic Steel Greatsword was made by Galbas, and Feld will ask Galbas to make it, also as an apology for breaking it.
I’m interested in weapons that use that as the main material. I’d like to visit Galbas’ place for the first time in a while, but I gave up because it’s better not to leave Elena’s side for a while.
More than anything, I want to see Elena…
The next day, I had recovered enough to walk, but I was forcibly picked up by Nero, who was entangled by Tentacles, and we set off to traverse the ruins.
“…I’m bored.”
Jesha muttered next to me. Jesha was energetic enough not to seem like an injured person, but she was made to watch most of the battles with me.
Monsters do attack, but with this lineup, there’s no need to intervene. In the first place, since there’s a Rank 5 Kuaal, monsters below Rank 3 didn’t even come close.
The only problem is eating insects, but when I asked Viro why he hated it so much, he made a terribly disgusted face and said, “It’s your fault.”
…Did something happen?
“But, Dolton… he’s amazing!”
“…………”
Jesha’s eyes sparkled like a girl’s as she watched Dolton fight against the monsters.
In fact, when converted to human age, Jesha is in her late teens, so you could say she’s a girl. But seeing her like that, I was strangely bothered by the word ‘girl’ that Mira used.
After about ten days, we left the ancient ruins, and finally, we could see Cutlass Town, which felt nostalgic. Apparently, the Calfaan Empire’s search party, which Elena had negotiated to send out to find me, was waiting there.
In other words… that’s where I’ll be parting ways with Master and Nero.
“Nero and I will return to the Kingdom of Claydale at a leisurely pace. Taciturn Disciple, you should go and reassure your friend.”
“…Can’t you come back with me after all?”
“The Empire isn’t stupid. If they find out I’m a War Demon, it’ll be troublesome, so no thanks.”
–Affirmative–
Nero, who hates people, chose to return on foot, just like Master. Apparently, he came to this desert in a month, but he intends to take his time and spend more than two months on the way back.
Nero has opened up to Master too… In reality, they don’t seem to be that close, but he trusts her enough to let her ride on his back.
Friend… When I sent Elena off to the battlefield, I called her a friend. Will Elena accept me when we meet again…?
But, Master said that, so I was able to be a little more positive.
I watched Master and Nero disappear to the east on Nero’s back until I couldn’t see them anymore, and when I returned to everyone who was waiting for me, Feld, who saw that I was attached to Master, called out to me with unusual concern.
“Ah… that’s right, if you’re still tired, should I carry you on my back?”
“…………”
He’s usually so dense, but he’s really sweet. I can move my body for the most part now, but if that’s the case, I thought that this was his way of joking and being considerate, so I lightly placed my hand on his shoulder and jumped onto Feld’s shoulder in one leap.
“H-Hey!”
“You’re going to give me a ride, right?”
I smiled a little at Feld, who was flustered for some reason, and quietly looked out over the desert.
As expected, the view from Feld’s shoulders is wide.
Somehow, Viro and Jesha are starting to look like Heroines?
Next time, to the Calfaan Empire!
As I wrote in the preface, the first volume has been released.
If you have any impressions of the book, please leave them on the activity report page.