*
Tracing her footsteps, she arrived at the city gate the next morning. The gate guard's face visibly shifts, he noticed Lastia's stats were much higher than last time.
"... He was weaker than you, but a thug attacked me. I kept my life and found some place to spend the night." (Lastia)
"... So you did. And you took his." (Mr. Jack)
"It was life or death." (Lastia)
"You look unscathed." (Mr. Jack)
"If I was hit once, it would've been over." (Lastia)
She found it strange now, but these people whom she doesn't share a culture with... They are speaking the same language as her. Is it a correction automated by the data of this world? It feels... Strange. Being summoned to another world as a hero, she was only familiar with it because it was a common literary trope in the abundance era.
However if she simply thought one step deeper... Why? Why does this world's data persist in her locked memories?
"If I let you out and you go stronger, will you hurt more people?" (Mr. Jack)
"Did I have to pass an interview and print some documentation?" (Lastia)
"...?" (Mr. Jack)
"... It depends. Will they get in my way as I journey towards the fabled demon king? Could I save them before they fill their hearts with thoughts of treason?
I can't guarantee that I won't kill anyone, there's no chance I wouldn't slay a few demons on the way too. These hands have tasted blood before I was summoned here as a hero, the world wasn't so kind thta I could protect those I loved without getting my hands dirty. " (Lastia)
If it comes down to it, I'll bust through the gate and live in the wild. Even if I have to fight Jack here who is several times stronger than I am.
User: Jack Patricious
Level: 35
Class: Knight
Hp: 2000/2000
Mp 2000/2000
Attack: 200
Defence: 300
Magic strength: 50
Magic defence: 150
Mana: 50
Constitution: 150
Agility: 150
Per level, his stats were the same as the royal paladins up in the palace. His stats were also distributed in a way that's hard for her to catch up to. How did he get this strong as a city guard? No, wait... He did know a lot about the adventurer profession and how it's declining in this country. That's it... He's someone that's experienced with both fighting monsters and humans.
"... You wouldn't be the captain of this regiment, would you?" (Lastia)
"My~ did the great hero finally recognise me?" (Mr. Jack)
Would it even be possible to fight him? She prepared to cast , her eyes glued to him for any sudden movements. She didn't think Jack will kill her, perhaps he would do it if he could find the body of that thug and charge her for murder. However now that they're in the open, it's gonna be difficult even for him to act. Regardless, she's prepared to respond.
"... Alright, follow me. Come back before nightfall, no one will look for you so don't get lost either." (Mr. Jack)
He briskly turned around and began to led the way. His steps were light but also firm, they give the sense that he's walked here numerous times. A silence wedged between them over the backdrop of rustling steps, stamping over the resilient wild grass that propagate over the untreated cobblestone roads. The path was wildly uneven despite being in the capital, rather Lastia was lucky that she headed to a small entrance here that led to the outside of the town walls.
This was clearly not the main entrance nor was it meant to facilitate traffic, it wasn't something Lastia would know at the time. It was a gate meant only for guardians of the city, the soldiers that toil day after day patrolling the walls. By opening the gate, he had already implicitly approved of the hero. The thug knew how to hide well, and he tended to prey on those who were homeless and therefore weren't under the protective eyes of the law. Those who lost their lives to him did so without moving a single ripple in society, they were forgotten or never known to exist.
As part of the law enforcement in this region, Jack found the violent thug to be a thorn in his side. At the very least it was a burden for his conscience, there is no telling when the murders would escalate, and the homeless vanishing isn't exactly uncommon. No one would care for these people nor was there much capacity to. If Lastia could defeat that person, then perhaps... He'll place some of his hopes on her.
She finds herself deep in a forest. Before she noticed, she was already beyond the point of no return.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I'm not coming back. I'm a magical girl, I'll fight the demon lord head on even if I'm under leveled. I can't let anymore people be hurt." (Lastia)
Excuses. Conscience, virtues, the things we place inherent value upon, everything in this world is a mere excuse compared to the burning will in her heart. Why fight? Why put herself through so much? It's not because she wants to save the world that she perseveres, it's because she had saved the world that she'll continue persevering. In a word, pride, the pride of a magical girl has always coursed through her being. One might berate her, call her insane or ridicule her for how she felt. 'It's ludicrous!', but in the end her priorities have always been reversed.
Because she had nothing in the beginning. Because she couldn't cherish or protect when it mattered. Because her hands grasp absolutely nothing. She can unabashedly reach for everything.
"... I must have been feeling so restless. I wonder, if my thoughts ever left Arin." (Lastia)
Releasing a single thread with concentrated force, her magic pierces the core of a slime with precision. It's level 2, she couldn't level up. However, it's exceedingly easy compared to the Traces she's fought. There's no problem racking up more kills, she'll keep leveling up as she moves forward, deeper into the forest.
The sound of gale whips past the trees, gouging out small craters the size of a fist. One after the other, cores exploded and slimey fluid is released in radial patterns. As she got further, some of them become adept at hiding, nevertheless it was futile before her honed senses. She noticed the slimes had a skill suited to external digestion, but her thread was too thick with magic that it burned the slime's fluids instead.
Faintly, a foul odor wafts up to her. It was a new presence she hasn't encountered.