〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"HOLY CRAP!! I never expected this seemingly chuunibyou little girl to be a genuine Arch-Wizard!"
"Humanity's strongest attack, the ultimate magic… This giant frog probably never imagined in its life that a mere monster from a beginner's village would encounter such an attack!"
Everyone stared in awe at the magic, which resembled a nuclear bomb… They never expected that the unreliable recruitment conditions would actually lead to recruiting a reliable Arch-Wizard!
Although the wind-up for her ultimate skill was a bit long, its power was worthy of her chanting time, and her incantation, you could tell it was incredibly grand just by hearing it!
Isn't this much more useful than that useless, idiotic goddess?
.....
〜Type-Moon World, Fifth Holy Grail War Worldline〜
Rin Tohsaka was a bit dumbfounded. Did this giant frog commit arson or violate heavenly laws? To actually use a magical nuclear bomb to wipe out the area!
"It's all about origins and source collapse again. It's just a frog; does it have to be so exaggerated?!"
Illya felt a bit overwhelmed internally. This was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; it was just a slightly larger frog! No need, really no need.
Archer felt admiration for the giant frog:
"This frog lived a full life. First, it endured Goddess Aqua's so-called fatal blow, and then it endured this Explosion magic…"
Shirou Emiya quietly reminded everyone.
"Isn't anyone concerned about Aqua…? She's right at the center of the explosion!"
That must have been horrible, and judging by the power and temperature, could Goddess Aqua still be alive?!
〜Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation World〜
"…EXPLOSION—!!"
Rudeus struck the same pose as Megumin, but nothing happened. He could only awkwardly retract his arm.
"It shouldn't be like this. I clearly recited her strange magic incantation word for word!"
After all, Megumin's magic power was indeed quite appealing. Although the incantation was a bit chuunibyou, isn't all magic like that?
After several failed attempts, Rudeus could only give up on the idea, but it still made him sigh… Kazuma finally recruited reliable teammates this time!
〜Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious World〜
Ristarte suddenly felt a bad premonition.
"This method of using an ultimate skill to kill a mosquito… gives me a strong sense of déjà vu."
She looked suspiciously at Seiya Ryuuguuin. He also used ultimate skills to kill slimes. Could it be that this Megumin was actually a very cautious person?!
After all, what kind of normal person would spend a massive amount of magic power to fight a beginner village frog?!
Anyway, her intuition told her that this seemingly powerful Arch-Wizard was probably not a normal person either.
.....
[ Kazuma stood before the deep crater, filled with awe: "Amazing! Is this magic?!"
Just then, perhaps awakened by the sound and impact of the magic, another giant frog slowly crawled out from underground.
"Megumin, let's get out of here first!"
Kazuma turned around and was stunned because Megumin had collapsed powerlessly on the ground.
Megumin lay on the ground, explaining in a weak and powerless voice: "My ultimate secret, Explosion magic, due to its immense power, also consumes an extremely vast amount of magic!"
"To put it simply, because I used magic beyond my limits, I can't move now. This is bad, I'm going to be eaten… I'm sorry, please save me a little…"
Just like that, two frogs, each with one person in their mouth, remained in a swallowing posture. Fortunately, the frogs were also immobilized as a result!
Kazuma could only rush forward, sword in hand, shouting: "Don't get eaten!!"
And so, Kazuma dealt with the two frogs that Aqua and Megumin had immobilized with their own bodies, finally completing the quest to defeat five giant frogs within three days. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Didn't the Explosion magic just now kill the frogs? Why is Aqua still being held in a frog's mouth?!"
"I apologize for previously thinking Megumin was a very reliable Arch-Wizard… Another large bait. It turns out Kazuma's two teammates are two monster-luring artifacts!"
Everyone else was a bit speechless. If she knew the Explosion magic consumed immense power, then don't use it, hey! A small fireball spell could deal with a few frogs.
Looking at it this way, Kazuma is actually quite strong. For a quest of five frogs, Kazuma fought four of them alone, purely by himself.
.....
〜Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious World〜
"These giant frogs are practically the lifelong enemies of their team…"
Ristarte covered her face with her hand. Almost wiped out just dealing with a few frogs. At this rate of growth, when will they ever defeat the Demon King?
The goddess is unreliable, and the wizard teammate also seems untrustworthy. Can such a combination really save the world?
Seiya Ryuuguuin made a professional judgment.
"That's too reckless, not even leaving a bit of magic power for herself."
He highly approved of Megumin's method of using an ultimate skill against the giant frog, as it's always good to be cautious. However, he disagreed with Megumin not leaving any magic power at all.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been helpless against the giant frog that appeared later.
.....
[ As the sun set, Kazuma carried the sticky Megumin on their way back to town, with the slime-covered Aqua whimpering behind them.
Megumin, on Kazuma's shoulder, shared some knowledge that others didn't know: "Although a frog's insides are stinky, they are warm."
Kazuma sighed helplessly: "I really don't want to know that kind of knowledge… From now on, except in emergencies, no more Explosion magic! Please try your best with other magic from now on."
Hearing Kazuma say that, Megumin, who was lying on his back, gripped his shoulder with more force: "I can't use anything else, I only know Explosion magic! I don't know any other magic."
Kazuma thought he misheard: "Really?"
Kazuma and Megumin immediately fell into silence, just quietly looking at each other; the atmosphere solidified.
Aqua, somewhat puzzled, joined the conversation: "If you can use Explosion magic, then you should be able to use other magic too. For example, I first learned all the party trick skills!"
Megumin started to get excited: "I only like Explosion magic. Even if I can only cast it once a day, even if I collapse after casting it, even then, I only love Explosion magic!"
Seeing this, Aqua excitedly praised her: "That's amazing! Although it's inefficient, pursuing romance so single-mindedly, I'm moved by such a stance!"
The two's thought processes just clicked. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Strange knowledge increased! She can even share her thoughts on being inside a frog!"
"As expected of the idiotic goddess Aqua, she learned party trick skills first… But what's the use of that?! Performing for the Demon King when fighting him?!"
Now, everyone clearly realized that no one in Kazuma's party was reliable; only Kazuma was a normal person!
A versatile goddess with no combat power, who often drags them down, and a humanoid nuclear bomb of a mage… but just a nuclear bomb. Once launched, she's useless.
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
Frieren, who had lived for a long time, couldn't figure out Aqua's thoughts at this moment.
"Learning party trick skills first… is indeed unfathomable."
If a goddess had joined the party back then, perhaps the journey to defeat the Demon King would have been much easier.
Fern was a bit speechless.
"What's so unfathomable about it? It's just because she's not very smart and simply didn't think that much."
But Megumin's extreme pursuit of Explosion magic made her somewhat yearn for it.
Leaving aside the fact that she can only cast it once a day, her magic power will eventually grow enough to cast it multiple times. But looking at her attitude, this is the pursuit a mage should have.
.....
[ And so, through Megumin's unreasonable persistence, she successfully joined the party, unaware that the scene just now had been witnessed by a blonde female knight!
The next day, Kazuma sighed as he looked at the pile of difficult quests on the bulletin board: "It's not easy to survive in this world!"
The blonde female knight came up behind Kazuma: "Excuse me, are you still recruiting members…?"
Kazuma turned around and was speechless. It was a beautiful blonde girl, a female knight, who was now looking at him expressionlessly.
"Um… we are recr—… but I don't really recommend you join!" Kazuma stammered. A female knight, and a beautiful one at that! He was a bit nervous because she was an older beauty.
Hearing that they were still recruiting, the latter visibly relaxed: "That's great, I've been waiting for someone like you!"
With a series of inexplicable gasps, the female knight continued: "My name is Darkness, and I am a Crusader! …Hoo… Please… please, please… add… add me… to your party!"
Darkness's face was flushed, as if she were having a difficult time uttering the plea to join the party. ]
[ .....]
〜Projection of All Worlds〜
"Something's wrong… very wrong. It feels like it's heading in 'that' direction!"
"A Crusader, another top-tier adventurer, is actually coming to them proactively. Her tone sounds a bit off!"
Everyone had a bad premonition. This beautiful female knight was probably not a normal person either; she felt more like a pervert.
Moreover, everyone also realized that no one in Kazuma's party was normal. In other words, only people with slightly abnormal minds could join!
.....