Chapter 11: The Reflection

It’s been three days since I accepted the strange group’s request, but they haven’t spoken to me since then. They’re probably too busy doing what they need to do, considering that they’re going to be running in the Student Council Election. I don’t know what they want from me, but I need to prepare in my own way as well.

Right now, it’s the afternoon, and school just ended. I told my mother in the morning that I’d come home late. Why? That’s because I was going to train. Training? What the point in that with my current stats? Well, I’m extremely powerful, yes, but 8 years of peace and love from my family really weakened my mentality and sense. So for now, I’m going to train at a nearby dungeon with a certain friend.

“Aria~! I’m here, let’s get going!” Speak of the devil. Thoth arrives in front of my school by foot, clearly excited to come with me. She had a shortsword with her, which I’m not gonna ask how she got it. Along with that, I seriously don’t want to ask where she got this, but she was wearing red, plated armor that was actually her size. There was even a helmet. I didn’t even know they made armor that small, and I can’t imagine any child besides Thoth and I to actually be able to walk around in that, let alone running. She seemed like some sort of midget knight, it’s kind of funny to see her walk around in it.

Now that I think about it, two eight year olds exploring a dungeon is definitely something that shouldn’t be done, right? I mean, first off, most adventurers were at around 17 or 18 before they are prepared to go on their journey, but here I am less than half the age of those people, ready to stroll in and kill monsters. I didn’t even have any proper equipment on. What was I wearing? A T-shirt, some shorts, and my bandages. My weapon? My gauze covered fists..

…Nothing’s wrong at all, you know? This is pretty much all I need in combat. Although I’m capable of using any weapon other than guns, I’m actually much stronger when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. What if I encountered a huge monster that I can’t damage? Well, I have two powerful skills I developed after suffering a couple of losses in my previous life.

Arcane StrikeEnchants attacks with pure mana, increasing the damage based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike

Echo StrikeCauses an attack to echo between two points continuously based on the amount of mana gathered in the strike.

These two abilities go hand-in-hand together. It’s the main reason why I was able to kill the [Demon Lord] in our final battle. I used my health to create the remaining six [Phantasms], and saved my remaining mana for the last hit on the demon lord. I believe for [Arcane Strike], the mana-to-damage ratio is [10:1]. A very powerful spell in the hands of a mage, I believe. 

For [Echo Strike], the mana-to-echoes ratio is [1000:1], while the mana-to-bounces is [100:1]. That means, the first echo will bounce 10 times within my target, a feeling similar to heavy vibrations. It’s a skill that can only be utilized by someone who is both a mage and a fighter, because of two conditions; a strong, melee attack and an excess of mana to use for the echoes.

Unfortunately, I can only afford to use my [Arcane Strike] because I didn’t have the excess amount needed for the echoes. But I believe that’s more than enough for now. We began running to the outskirts of the city, many people giving weird looks towards Thoth, but she ignores it. We talk on the way there. I say we, but it’s her asking me stuff while I nod or shake my head.

“Are you seriously going to be wearing no equipment at all? Not even a weapon?” I shake my head in response.

“You’re well aware that the [Forest of Fire] is a C-rank dungeon, right?” I nod my head, and she sighs to herself.

“Look, I just reached level 15, and my stats are barely enough to explore it, you know? I wouldn’t be able to clear it if I didn’t have any of my skills, you know? I even prepared fire resistance armor just to explore it without melting to death by the heat. That means that this dungeon is pretty~ difficult to take down.” I don’t understand what she’s trying to get at.

“…so?” I ask. She immediately trips on the spot and face plants herself into the sidewalk, which surprised nearby pedestrians. She gets up immediately and began running again as if nothing happened.

“So. What. I’m. Saying. Is. Take that stupid ribbon off your neck!” She yells at me as we’re just about to leave the city.

Oh yeah, there was that, wasn’t there? I completely forgot about this thing, it eventually became natural to me to see it. I grabbed the ribbon and tear it off with all my might. The entire ribbon suddenly becomes engulfed in black flames while the plastic gems burst. That was the effects of removing a cursed item forcefully.

Suddenly, my body felt light, as if several bricks that were on me was suddenly lifted off of my chest. I can feel my mana reserve increase greatly, and my running speed also increased. I slow down though, because I needed to maintain the same pace as Thoth, who was slower than me. She glared at me though, upon seeing my speed increase right after pulling off the ribbon.

“I hate your [New Game Plus], you know that, right?” I smile to myself upon hearing this, because it was amusing to see our roles turned around. I really hated the fact that as a [Demon Lord], her level was 5 times my own. For some reasons, demons had a higher level limit than the Humans did, which was an extremely irritating thing.

She stops talking to me until we reach the [Forest of Fire], our destination. Just like the name implied, there was a forest that was pretty much on fire. I’m surprised that the fire hasn’t spread, but it seems like magic is containing it so it stays within the dungeon’s area. It was a bit strange to see though, because what you can see is a giant field of fire, and it just stops right there like it’s in an invisible box.

“This thing isn’t as scary as I thought it’d look.” Thoth breaks the silence and comments about it’s appearance.

“…castle…scarier…” I reply.

“I know right? I designed the entire thing myself you know, it took me a whole decade to actually finish it.” Just before she goes on a prideful speech about her castle, I stop her by sprinting towards the edge of the flaming forest. Using [Water Magic], I generate an aura of ice cold air around me, and I dive right into the fire.

After emerging from the other side of the flaming wall, I check the surrounding area of where I landed, making sure my ice spell, [White Zone], was working right, and it was. The fire around me didn’t enter a five meter radius around me, as if I was in a giant, invisible ball that was unaffected by the terrain.

The spell, [White Zone], pretty much dropped the temperature heavily in the area around me, turning the atmosphere around me into one similar to a frozen tundra. This spell seemed to be more than enough to counteract this environment, because I was starting to feel a bit chilly despite standing in a flaming forest. For some reason, the flames within the forest weren’t as wild as the flames at the border. There was no smoke as well, as if the fire was just on the trees as decoration.

I hear a yell from the direction I dived from, and a figure comes flying through the fire. It was Thoth, who took her time jumping through, I guess. Fortunately, she landed within my zone, so she wasn’t suffering heat damage from the terrain. Though I think that I probably screwed up something already due to the glare she gave me after getting up.

“Why the hell did you jump through the fire!? Don’t you know that there’s an entrance to this thing!? If you didn’t have something like this, you’d be dead just being inside of here in a few seconds! Exploring this dungeon is slow process, not something you should just go right into!” I feel like I heard this before in my [Adventurer Studies], but I stopped listening because I didn’t really think that kind of information would’ve been necessary.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

She continues to lecture me for a while, but then she suddenly stops talking, and pulls out her shortsword at a terrifying speed, thrusting it past my shoulder while pulling me behind her. Right after, I feel a wave of heat and hear a loud growl. I turn to see what was attacking us; a large wolf with bright red fur. Fire danced at the tips of its tail, and its mouth was releasing flames as it snarled at us. Right now, Thoth’s shortsword is going through it’s lower jaw, right into it’s mouth and into the upper head, killing it instantly in one hit.

“It was great that I noticed it in time, but I want to ask, why the hell did you not even feel it’s presence?” Thoth turns and glares at me yet, again, but this time, her eyes also had a hint of disappointment. I don’t answer her question, and this causes her to become even angrier.

“You, what have you been doing these past 8 years? Are you not training your body anymore? Have you been neglecting your combat sense since reincarnation? Were you just laying back and living a peaceful, happy life? Hell, you probably just jumped right into this dungeon thinking it’d be exactly like a little stroll through the forest. Did your sense of danger just completely disappear upon obtaining your new stats?” All right on the mark. It hurts to hear it from her though.

“If you want to stroll around for fun in a place like this, then why are you even trying so hard to seal your strength? Just because you have some high numbers you think you can’t be defeated? Remember our battle! I had numbers five times your own stats, yet you were still fast enough to dodge my attacks, strong enough to force me back, and had a large arsenal of destructive magic to unleash. Yet, here you are, with no trace of your former prowess in combat.”

“I’m really disappointed in you, former [Hero]. Although I do enjoy spending time with you, if you’re not that same overwhelming man who destroyed me in a single punch, then you’re a stranger whose existence I could care less about. Right now, you’re not the former legend, Thoth, but the young child, Aria. A little girl who can’t stand up for herself.” She scolds me harshly, but I don’t say anything. I couldn’t deny it, after all, I really have weakened considerably in the past 8 years.

“For now, I’ll be exploring the forest ahead of you. When you’re done standing there, reflecting on yourself, you can go ahead and leave after, Aria.” She leaves the [White Zone] and walks into the forest alone, and going until I can’t see her through the sea of flames. All I do is stand there alone, in the small, cold area I created for myself.

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What have I exactly been doing with my life?

…living peacefully, I guess.

If I want to live peacefully, then why am I trying to hard to accomplish this goal I’ve been searching for in my previous life?

That won’t bring me peace. Something fun to do? You can’t find that in peace at all. Sure, it’s nice and all living in tranquility in love. But that’s not fun.

Why am I trying to curse myself and seal my powers away so much? To protect my peace? The peace that won’t let me fulfill my goal?

I really haven’t been thinking about what I’ve been doing so far. The [Demon Lord] was pretty much right. I’m taking it easy, just living a life of a young girl named Aria. That’s not what I should be doing though, if I’m truly aiming for a life of excitement and fun.

I say I seal my powers to protect my peace. In reality, I’m just doing it to challenge my limits and see how far I can get without it. I say I want to avoid attention to protect my peace. This is an unconscious reaction of my body wanting me to turn away from my goal. In reality, I don’t care of what the masses think of me. I just step forward, and do whatever the hell I felt like doing. I didn’t talk to anyone, no one talked to me, and it was that simple. I fought the [Demon Lord] to search for my ‘fun,’ and died for it. But I didn’t regret it one bit. Why? It was exciting. It was a fun fight.

That doesn’t mean I have to give up my current life. All I have to do, is just quit trying to hide myself. I don’t care if the world is going to learn about me. I don’t care for the requests of pitiful people. I don’t care about the fate of any kingdom that needs me. I’ll decide which tasks I’ll complete, which people I’ll help, and which kingdoms will fall. And right now, I’m going to attend this school for the next six years, and see how far I can go with one percent of my power.

My thoughts are beginning to clear up. My mana begins to leak, something that should never be done in a dungeon, apparently. The valkyrie said that mana attracted monsters towards oneself, but I don’t care. I’ll let all the mana within me leak. So what if they’re coming as a horde? So what if this is a C-ranked dungeon? I’ve taken on harder challenges. They will be a stepping stone to my improvement, a link to my former prowess, a chain of victories that will start now.

I grip my fist tightly, and raise them in front of me. I calm my heart, steel my body, and focus on my senses. I dissolve the [White Zone] surrounding me completely. At this moment, a heavy aura of death surrounds the area around me. An aura that unconsciously activated when I prepare myself like this. The [Aura of the Heartless]. A warning to all of those who approach me, are approaching imminent death.

The ground under me beings to shake. They all ignored the warning. Perfect. At this moment, I will not use both [Arcane Strike] and [Echo Strike]. I will not use [Enhanced Detection]. I will not use any magic. Right now, I will stand my ground with only my physical abilities. Let’s see how far one percent will take me, here and now.

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Author's Note:

Spoiler :

Sorry for the cliff hanger guys, but there's definitely going to be a long ass battle scene next chapter. Be prepared for it!

Anyway, what Aria went through now, was basically what I just went through. I kinda realized based on some comments that the story was taking a little strange turn off what it's supposed to be, and the MC is becoming emotionally weaker than what she started off with. I felt a bit guilty, thinking stuff like, 'huh, so I screwed up a bit, eh?' In the end, I don't regret writing what I did, but instead, I just decide to accept what just happened and proceed on with the story anyway, trying to build off what happened and continue my improvisation.

I'll ignore any hostility, ill-will, and harsh comments directed towards me, and try to actually learn something from each reply you guys give me. The happy-go-lucky protagonist will gain a small tinge of her former self back, becoming a 'badass' as some has asked for. But I'll still keep most things the way they're going. A slow story to develop character, with the occasional awesome battle scenes for you guys to imagine, and put up the occasional poll to see what you readers think. But do know that I began writing this for myself, and I'll keep going for my own self satisfaction, so if I feel like I'll experiment or add a random weird twist to test something, I'll do it. But thanks for stayin' this long with me anyway, guys. I hope you'll enjoy this emotional outlet of my imagination in the form of a story, and that you'll all continue reading in the future.