As a slowly rotating purple hexagram spun in the air, a delicate pale hand constructed an intricate magic circle.
At its fiery red core, intense flames began to gather.
In the very next moment, the fire exploded outward in a roaring blaze.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu! …Wait, no, that one never actually kills anyone. Okay then—Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
With a voice full of dramatic flair and more than a touch of chuunibyou, five fireballs—more like columns of flame—shot out in front of C.C., blazing brightly.
Charging at the front was the massive monster Erulo-Baradorado.
The inferno engulfed it completely.
With a deafening boom, the snake-like beast was blasted backward, its scorched body flung through the air.
Flames licked at its skin, burning deeper and deeper, and its pained howls echoed without end.
Erulo-Baradorado—a serpentine magical beast so massive it could swallow a human whole.
Over ten meters long and as thick as a tree trunk, it radiated power just from appearance alone.
"Isn't that way too chuunibyou?!"
The snarky comment came from Miss Shiraori, a natural-born tsukkomi.
But sarcastic quips aside, her hands kept moving.
Letting your guard down in a winning position and then getting wrecked? That kind of rookie mistake would never happen here.
Before the snake beast could even rise, sticky and resilient spider silk pinned it to the ground.
This wasn't some low-tier cannon fodder like frogs or centipedes—this was a monster that had undergone two evolutions, boasting solid resistance to both physical and magical attacks.
Naturally, it wouldn't go down from a few fireballs.
Its thick tail swung down like a hammer, aiming to crush the slender green-haired girl.
The impact shattered the rocks below, sending fragments flying through the air.
"You're the one who started it! Now you've got me wanting to yell cool attack names too!"
Nagami, of course, refused to take the blame.
Under normal circumstances, there's no way he'd act this chuunibyou.
Clearly, he'd caught the virus from this comedy spider.
Lowering his stance, he readied a sword draw.
Buff skills began activating one by one—Accelerated Thought, Physical Enhancement, Mana Control...
All those buffs were channeled through his Swordsmanship skill.
In the blink of an eye, Nagami vanished in a burst of speed.
While dashing, his blade shimmered with an unusual glow—mana was gathering at the edge.
A blinding slash tore through the air.
Sparks exploded as the blade clashed with the snake's rock-hard scales.
The M||A energy flowing through his sword pulsed again.
Twisting his wrist, he flipped the blade into a reverse grip.
Power surged through his from toe to shoulder, and with a swift rotation of his waist, he unleashed a devastating crescent slash aimed at the same spot C.C. had hit earlier.
"Don't you dare slander my spider dignity!"
Shiraori turned her head, those gemstone-pink eyes flashing with a sharp gleam—as if she'd seen through Nagami's soul.
Then she bared her fangs and bit down hard on the snake's head.
"You're the one who went off the deep end first!"
Nagami opened his mouth to reply, but before the words came out, a system notification rang out in his mind:
[You have gained sufficient experience.]
[Individual 'Nagami??C.C' has leveled up: LV9 → LV10]
[Skill Proficiency Upgrade Reward Acquired]
[Swordsmanship: LV3 → LV4]
[Physical Enhancement: LV4 → LV5]
[Strength: LV3 → LV4]
[Fireball: LV4 → LV5]
[Skill points acquired.]
C.C. maintained her graceful posture, her lips curling into a dazzling smile.
This feeling of growing stronger—it was exhilarating.
Addictive, even.
She could take on a hundred versions of her pre-isekai self right now without breaking a sweat.
She casually glanced over the list of newly unlocked skills after reaching Level 15.
She hadn't been expecting much… until one particular skill caught her eye.
No hesitation.
She dumped her fresh skill points into it.
[You have learned: Heal - LV1]
Finally—healing magic!
Her expression lit up with genuine excitement.
Healing skills were vital.
To get one as early as Level 10? That was absolutely satisfying.
Unlike Shiraori, who evolved at Level 10, humans had no such evolution path.
But their levels could keep rising indefinitely.
Maybe if they kept going, they could reach the realm of gods someday.
But in this world, no human had ever made it that far.
"Let's call it a day. You must be tired, right? Let's head home."
Watching Shiraori still gnawing on the giant snake, C.C. stretched lazily, letting out a deep sigh as if to release all the day's accumulated fatigue.
"Mhm~ Just let me finish eating. Waste not, want not~"
Shiraori didn't even bother to turn around.
Still chewing on snake meat, she casually waved a front leg at C.C.
"Well, not wasting food is definitely a good habit."
Watching Shiraori clean the giant serpent down to the bones in true "zero food waste" fashion, C.C. gave a helpless shrug.
She then turned her head toward Nagami, and her brilliant golden eyes were slowly overtaken by a swirling purple hexagram.
Under the effect of her healing skill, the swelling and redness on Nagami's arm began to fade gradually.
In a treacherous dungeon like this, getting through unscathed was impossible.
Fortunately, his injuries weren't severe enough to hinder movement.
Using [Alpha Stigma], C.C. copied and analyzed the healing skill.
The replication allowed Nagami to use skills independently without relying on the system's support.
Though at this point, calling it "support" seemed off—it was more like the system was doing the majority of the work, with the caster themselves contributing very little.
It was practically a full-service nanny system!
In fact, after Shiraori became a god and lost access to the system, she couldn't even cast basic magic anymore.
She had to resort to brute-force attacks with pure energy.
The analysis process let Nagami fully grasp the core mechanics behind the spell, enabling total mastery.
He could even tweak the skill freely or create entirely new ones.
By the time their "eating spider" had finished munching down, Nagami had completely analyzed the healing spell.
"Hum~ hum~ hum~ Meal's done, time to wrap it up. Thanks for the grub~"
Putting her front limbs together in a prayer-like gesture, Shiraori respectfully honored the monster's sacrifice.
"You know, Shiro," Nagami mused, idly rolling the fireball between his fingers as he lounged on the subdued spider monster.
"The way you act around me—it's weirdly nostalgic. Like I've seen it a hundred times before."
Shiraori tilted her head, perched atop the elder spider's skull.
"Maybe you're just recognizing superior genetics when you see them. An older sister's aura is hard to ignore, after all~"
Nagami snorted. "Superior genetics? More like identical stubbornness. But fine, if you want to play the 'wise elder sister' role, I won't stop you." He grinned up at her.
"Just don't expect me to listen."
Shiraori stuck out her tongue. "You already act like a little brother behavior already~"
Nagami smiled, calm and amused. "But logically speaking, it's usually the older one giving the younger a gift, right? So, next time I come—"
"Onii-chan~ Your precious little sister is not even a year old yet and desperately needs a present from her dear big brother~"
Before that villainous foreigner could even finish his sentence, Shiraori had used her absurd speed to instantly appear behind him.
Her once-sharp limbs turned soft and flexible, and she used four slender arms to gently massage the shoulders of both Nagami and C.C.
"Where's your shame?"
Nagami immediately deadpanned, eyes going full dead-fish mode, while the corners of his mouth twitched into a contemptuous smile.
Ever since joining the chat group, this spider had become way more shameless.
He really hoped a few more upright people would join soon.
If it were just him and Shiraori, the group's collective decency was bound to collapse.
———————————————————————
[Hakurei Reimu has joined the chat group]
———————————————————————
Nagami stiffened, his whole body going rigid as he stared at the new notification. His brain blanked out, and terror flooded his heart.
He turned slowly toward C.C., who was already giving him a similarly stunned look.
Just great.
Instant karma.
This group is doomed.