The Doll

The timing couldn't have been better.

Fighting the Secret Room boss, the Werewolf, had sent my stats exploding upward until every one of them hit 2. Thanks to that, I could finally learn Tanjigong — the technique I'd pulled from the Twelve Nebula Fists.

The skill description read as follows.

The first two lines I already knew, so I skipped past them. The part worth noting was the third.

※ Anti-magic force has been added due to Magic Slayer.

An effect that lived up to the moniker perfectly. It was already a solid offensive technique on its own — but if I could also use it to dismantle an opponent's magic or mana, even better.

Naturally, I had to know how it felt in practice.

"Alright. Let's give this a shot."

A lake in the southern reaches of Atenel Island. I usually treated the place as a weight zone, but today I'd cleared the schedule for something else entirely: putting Tanjigong through its paces.

I pressed my index finger tight against my thumb, the remaining three fingers splayed wide, and drew the joined pair taut. Target: dead center of the lake, that expanse of clear water. I aimed my hand and —

Taat!

— flicked my fingers and loosed the shockwave.

TU-KWAAAAANG!

The blast slammed into the middle of the lake and heaved up a massive swell. Water droplets shot skyward, turned on a dime, and came crashing back down like a sudden cloudburst.

Shaaaaa…

An unseasonable downpour hammered the lake. I watched the surface gradually settle, then flexed my fingers this way and that.

Doesn't hurt nearly as much as I expected.

Back in Introduction to Elemental Studies, I'd shattered a boulder the same way — pure body, no technique, just me flicking my fingers and hoping for the best.

This is way better.

Considering how long the muscle pain had lingered in my arm back then, there was no room left to doubt Tanjigong's effect. This wasn't something my frame was grinding out on its own — it was a pure skill. No strain on the body at all.

"Hmm."

Power: solid. Recoil: fine. So what was left?

"I should check that anti-magic force, too."

Testing it on some trash-mob mage would be ideal. And since I was already heading over to see the alchemy otaku, the timing lined up perfectly.

That kid.

She was probably getting bullied right about now.

Wherever young students gather, a hierarchy forms. Olympia Academy was no exception — the weaker cadets got pushed around on the regular.

If the thugs from the Knight Department favored physical harassment, what did the Mage Department types prefer?

Exactly this.

"Hey. When did we ever say we were taking it? We said we were just looking."

"You bitches! You've never given it back even once…!"

"Ugh, you talk too much. Want me to smash it?"

In a secluded corner of the Mage Department lecture building — a spot well out of other cadets' sight lines — a pack of second-year girl bullies was tormenting a single student.

"Aren't you embarrassed? Playing with toys at your age."

"Shut up! Don't you dare insult my Armored Knight HR3!"

"You even named it? Ahaha, I'm dying."

The girl on the receiving end looked awfully familiar. Thick glasses, black hair roughly braided, and above all that plain, unassuming face. It was Berry — Penel's friend.

Tsk, tsk.

It had been mentioned in passing in the original story, but she really was getting put through it.

Does Penel know about this?

No — she couldn't. Knowing Penel's personality, she'd never let it slide. She'd help Berry without a second thought.

Which meant the opposite was true.

Berry's the one hiding it.

So Penel wouldn't find out.

In the hand of the girl who looked like the ringleader sat a doll. Calling it a doll wasn't quite right, though. It was a tiny knight that called to mind the figures and plastic models from my previous life.

You could tell its owner had poured real care into making it — and right now it was being tossed around in the bully's grip. At this rate, a leg was going to snap clean off.

"Get a grip. You're a second-year now. How long are you going to keep playing with junk like this?"

"…"

"A girl who spends every class with her head buried in the back row, daydreaming about alchemy? Of course she never changes. Pfft."

Berry bit down on her lip. Hard enough that a thin line of blood welled up. But in the end she said nothing, and closed her mouth.

Push back here, and things would only get uglier.

Mage Department types are the underhanded kind, after all.

Unlike the Knight Department, these ones went for petty sabotage — wrecking your assignments, ruining your homework, that sort of thing. The alchemy otaku knew exactly what kind of future awaited her if she fought back, which was why she stayed quiet. Of course, if she'd been stronger, none of this would have happened in the first place. But given how much she'd struggled with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a simple Wind Gun in Introduction to Elemental Studies, that was never going to be the case.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

And from everything I've seen of her so far, this kid absolutely does not want this blowing up.

She was weirdly fixated on Penel. The last thing she'd want was a scene that got her found out.

…Well. Enough of that unpleasant, foul-mood business.

Thud.

I took a big step forward, planting my foot hard enough that they'd hear it on purpose. Their eyes snapped straight to me.

"What?"

"…?"

Bullies glaring daggers, and Berry looking bewildered. The moment she registered my face, her dark eyes flew wide. I smirked and walked toward them.

"Real mature. Having fun picking on someone weaker than you?"

"Who the hell are you? You've got some nerve!"

"You think you're on our level?"

Honestly, they were spouting lines straight out of a villainess playbook.

"I don't care how you people amuse yourselves. But leave her alone, yeah? I've got business with her."

"Ha! And who do you think you are?"

The head bully strode toward me. With only a few paces left between us, a ball of fire bloomed above her shoulder.

Fwoosh!

A low-tier flame spell — Fireball. She inflated it with deliberate, showy malice, a nasty little smile curling her lips.

"Heracle. Getting ostracized by all the guys finally crack your brain? Fellow outcasts sticking together, is that it? Want me to make you look just like her, huh?"

"Oh. That line just now? Peak third-rate villain. I loved it."

I gave her a few genuine claps of appreciation, and her eyes narrowed to slits.

Fwoooosh! The Fireball swelled larger still, as if trying to intimidate me. But I was certain.

She absolutely will ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not fire that.

The Mage Department bullies lived by underhandedness and petty cruelty. Openly wounding someone was a strategy they simply couldn't commit to.

"Scared? You're scared, aren't you? Ha! Figures, trash like you. Who do you think you—"

"Enough. I'm bored now. I'm taking her."

I raised my hand. Same as at the lake — index finger pressed to thumb. I drew the muscles taut and locked in the setup for Tanjigong.

The ringleader's mouth twisted. She still had no idea what she was looking at. Figures — types like her never understood words alone.

"Go ahead and try it, then!"

TU-KWAAAAANG!

The instant the words left her mouth, a shockwave erupted from my hand.

The noise was so loud it rattled the entire corridor. I could see the solid walls shuddering.

And at the same time—

"…Huh?"

Shook!

The Fireball she'd been inflating lost its shape on the spot and vanished. The spell she'd just poured her mana into was simply gone. Her face went blank with shock.

Not bad at all.

I'd dialed the power way down just to test the anti-magic effect. The fact that it snuffed a Fireball instantly told me the anti-magic force was the real deal.

"W-what the hell is…"

—KWAAANG!

Then came the delayed second shockwave. The wall behind them — the one at their backs — rippled with a massive wave of force.

I held back on purpose and it's still this strong.

If I hadn't throttled the power as hard as I could, it wouldn't have been the Fireball that disappeared — it would have been the villainess's head. Good thing I pulled the punch.

"…"

The bullies who'd watched the whole thing stood with their jaws hanging open, practically scraping the floor.

"What was that you said?"

A shrug of the shoulders. A lazy curl of the lip. One look at my easy composure and the bullies made their call in record time.

"What is wrong with this guy?! Are you insane? Shooting that at a girl!"

"What if you'd hit her wrong and blown her head off, you psycho?!"

Why did losers always sound so pathetic when they barked?

Deciding I was more trouble than I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was worth, the bullies cleared out in a hurry. I watched them scurry off, muttering insults among themselves, and laughed under my breath before turning to the person I'd actually come for.

"…"

Blood still faintly staining her lip. Behind those round glasses, her dark eyes trembled as they flicked up at me — then she whipped her head away and shut me out entirely.

"You okay?"

"…Why'd you help me?"

A curt, bitten-off retort. Berry still wouldn't look at me straight as she ground the words out.

"You could've just ignored it. You didn't need to step in."

"What, are you a masochist? You actually enjoy getting bullied?"

"As if!"

Come on — if the answer's no, just say no. No need to yell about it. She flared up at my question, then her voice dropped to a wilted mutter.

"…Forget it. I don't need your half-baked goodwill. Pretend this never happened and go."

She shrank in on herself and tried to put distance between us. My hand caught her by the shoulder before she could leave.

"…What? I told you, if you're just trying to play hero, don't bother."

"Sorry, but I've actually got a reason. Since I already helped you out, mind doing me a favor?"

"What."

I looked her dead in the eye and made my request with complete seriousness.

"Take me to your room."

A perfectly reasonable ask. An alchemist's practice space was almost always their own quarters — that way, if chemicals leaked or something exploded mid-failure, the fallout stayed contained. You take full responsibility yourself. That was the alchemist's creed.

Besides, if I was going to hand over the Werewolf's Lung, I needed to get to her room and explain a few things. Once again: entirely reasonable.

"W-wh-whaaaat?!"

…Though I'll keep it to myself that it took Berry's face going scarlet in an instant and a piercing shriek hitting my eardrums before I realized how that might have sounded.