Chapter 6 — The Explosion Girl
The next morning, Zach, Kazuma, and Aqua stood inside the Adventurer's Guild with their newest potential party member.
Megumin stood proudly in front of them, her staff resting against her shoulder.
"I am Megumin," she declared. "The greatest Arch-wizard of the Crimson Demon Clan! My specialty is the ultimate offensive magic—Explosion!"
Kazuma stared at her.
"Explosion?"
"Yes!"
"The kind that explodes?"
Megumin narrowed her eyes.
"Of course. What other kind would it be?"
Kazuma looked at Zach.
"She's definitely weird."
Zach nodded.
"Very."
Aqua crossed her arms.
"I don't see the problem. She sounds powerful."
Zach glanced at Aqua.
"You also thought that bringing you along was a good idea."
Aqua gasped.
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
Kazuma pointed at her.
"He has a point."
"Whose side are you on?!"
Megumin watched the three of them argue.
"So… does this mean I am accepted into the party?"
Zach shook his head.
"Not yet."
Megumin's confident expression froze.
"Not yet?"
"We're going to test you first."
Kazuma nodded.
"Yeah. We need to see if you can actually contribute to the party."
Aqua smiled.
"I'm sure she can!"
Zach looked at her.
"You're not helping."
The Test
The three of them decided to take another Giant Toad extermination quest.
It was a simple enough mission.
Or at least, it was supposed to be.
They traveled outside Axel until they reached the area where the Giant Toads were known to gather.
Megumin looked around.
"Where are the monsters?"
Zach pointed ahead.
"There."
Several Giant Toads were sitting in the distance.
Megumin's eyes immediately lit up.
"Excellent."
She raised her staff.
"Stand back."
Kazuma immediately stepped away.
"Why?"
Megumin smiled confidently.
"Because you are about to witness the greatest magic in the world."
Zach sighed.
"Here we go."
Megumin planted her feet.
"I am the wielder of Explosion!"
The air around her began to shake.
Magical energy gathered around her staff.
Zach's eyes widened.
The amount of magic she was gathering was enormous.
System Notification
Massive Magical Energy Detected.
Zach stared at Megumin.
That's… a lot of magic.
Megumin shouted.
"EXPLOSION!"
A gigantic blast erupted across the field.
BOOOOOOM!
The explosion shook the ground.
Dust and smoke covered everything.
Zach shielded his face.
Kazuma fell backward.
"WHY DOES SHE ONLY KNOW ONE SPELL?!"
Aqua stared at the massive crater.
"Wow!"
Megumin stood proudly for a few seconds.
Then—
She collapsed.
Zach blinked.
"She's out."
Kazuma stared at her.
"She used all of her magic on one attack."
Megumin weakly raised a hand.
"Explosion… is enough…"
Then she fainted.
Zach sighed.
"She's definitely going to need training."
The Giant Toad
The problem was that the explosion had not defeated every Giant Toad.
One of them suddenly jumped out of the smoke.
"RIBBIT!"
Kazuma screamed.
"It's still alive?!"
The Giant Toad charged toward Megumin.
She was still lying helplessly on the ground.
Zach immediately moved.
"Megumin!"
The Giant Toad opened its enormous mouth.
Megumin barely had time to look up.
"Eh?"
The tongue shot forward.
Zach sprinted toward her.
He gathered Ki into his legs.
WHOOSH!
His body accelerated.
Zach grabbed Megumin around the waist and pulled her away just before the Giant Toad swallowed her.
The tongue snapped shut on empty air.
"RIBBIT?!"
Zach landed several meters away with Megumin in his arms.
Megumin stared at him.
"You… saved me."
"Yeah."
Zach placed her on the ground.
"You're welcome."
Megumin looked embarrassed.
"I… had everything under control."
Kazuma walked over.
"You were literally about to become frog food."
Megumin looked away.
"Minor tactical setback."
Aqua nodded seriously.
"That's exactly what I'd call it."
Zach looked at Aqua.
"You were swallowed by a Giant Toad before."
Aqua's face turned red.
"That is completely different!"
Kazuma pointed at both of them.
"You two have no right to criticize anyone!"
The Decision
After the remaining Giant Toads were dealt with, the four of them sat together.
Megumin was still recovering from using Explosion.
Zach looked at Kazuma and Aqua.
"We need to talk."
Kazuma nodded.
"Yeah."
Aqua looked confused.
"About what?"
"Megumin."
Megumin immediately became alert.
"You are discussing me?"
Kazuma nodded.
"Yep."
Megumin sat up straight.
Zach crossed his arms.
"She has incredible magical power."
Aqua nodded.
"She does."
"But there's a problem."
Kazuma sighed.
"She can only use one spell."
"And after using it," Zach continued, "she can't move."
Aqua raised her hand.
"That's also a problem I have."
Zach looked at her.
"Exactly."
Aqua lowered her hand.
"Hey!"
Kazuma rubbed his chin.
"So basically, we'd have three people who are completely useless under certain circumstances."
Zach corrected him.
"Two."
Kazuma looked offended.
"Why am I included?"
"Because you're you."
"That doesn't explain anything!"
Megumin stood up.
"Are you saying I am not worthy of joining your party?!"
Zach shook his head.
"No."
Megumin stopped.
"You're powerful. Really powerful. Your Explosion could probably wipe out most monsters in one attack."
Megumin smiled proudly.
"Exactly."
"But you need to improve."
Her smile disappeared.
"Improve?"
"You need better physical conditioning, better stamina, better awareness, and eventually some way to contribute when you can't use Explosion."
Megumin looked offended.
"Explosion is all I need!"
Kazuma stared at her.
"That is exactly the problem."
Aqua nodded.
"She's right."
Everyone looked at Aqua.
Aqua blinked.
"Why are you all looking at me?"
Zach sighed.
"Nothing."
Kazuma looked toward Megumin.
"Personally, I think we should let her join."
Zach nodded.
"I agree."
Aqua smiled.
"Me too!"
Megumin's eyes widened.
"So I have been accepted?"
Zach held up a finger.
"On one condition."
Megumin looked suspicious.
"What condition?"
"You train with us."
Silence.
Megumin's expression slowly changed.
"What kind of training?"
Zach smiled.
"The kind that makes you stronger."
Kazuma immediately looked worried.
"Wait."
Zach turned toward him.
"You're training too."
Kazuma's face went pale.
"Why does every conversation somehow end with me suffering?"
Aqua laughed.
"Because Zach is in charge of training!"
Megumin looked between them.
"So… I am joining a party of strange people."
Kazuma nodded.
"Unfortunately."
Aqua raised her hand.
"Hey!"
Zach stood up.
"Welcome to the party, Megumin."
Megumin smiled.
"For the glory of Explosion!"
Zach shook his head.
"This is going to be difficult."
System Notification
Party Member Evaluation Complete.
Megumin — Accepted
Class: Arch-wizard
Primary Specialty: Explosion Magic
Combat Potential: Extremely High
Physical Conditioning: Poor
Combat Stamina: Extremely Poor
Versatility: Extremely Poor
Party Synergy: Unstable
New Objective Added:
Train the Party
Improve the physical and combat capabilities of all party members.
Zach stared at the final message.
Then he looked at Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin.
Kazuma was already complaining.
Aqua was already arguing.
Megumin was already talking about Explosion.
Zach sighed.
This is going to be a long training arc.
And somewhere in the back of his mind, another thought appeared.
If I want to become stronger than I was yesterday…
Then these idiots need to get stronger too.
End of Chapter 6