blessed with a hero's heart

Chapter 7: Out of This World

Magnus: Time for an update! And a confession that will have important consequences.
Disclaimer: Humans change according to their circumstances; so, why wouldn't Izuku change from his canon self when faced against the world of KonoSuba?
Edition: This chapter was Beta-ed by Vandenbz.
Chapter 7
Out of this World
A month had passed since Chika and Liza got their bodies restored, and in that time, Izuku had left an impression on the people he dealt with.
Thanks to continuous support and encouragement, Chika had learned how to properly fly. It took her a lot of tries to even learn how to steer, leading to clumsy landings and painful collisions, but with the directions of the green haired Druid, she managed to do what many assumed impossible. Izuku was still warned by Luna to forbid the Black Harpy from flying anywhere nearby the church of Eris.
Liza had shown little change though.
The Gator-Girl had been as stoic as ever, following Izuku like a shadow, offering help whenever brute force was needed, but little else. Her speech pattern had remained largely unchanged, showing trouble in articulating complex ideas, and yet not voicing a single complaint. The only visible show of emotion was the movement of her tail, something that Izuku managed to get a basic understanding of… which led to preventing the death of the adventurer named Dust, who after way too many drinks tried to hit on her and her large breasts.
Honestly, Liza wasn't even paying attention… until the drunken adventurer tried to reach for things that only belonged to her dear master. That's when her tail tensed, and that's when Izuku stepped between the two to prevent the removal of a head.
As for his party members… they discovered that the green-haired Druid was a very hard worker… of the unappreciated variety…
"This is not what I expected." Darkness sighed as she came to the realization that now she was trapped, "Even when it is what I wanted…"
When the perverted Crusader joined the party, she expected to be on the receiving end of all kinds of attacks and mistreatment. She expected Izuku to be like any other young male, and try to seduce her; to make use of his beautiful thorny whips to attack her until she surrendered her body; to use her as a meat shield on the battlefield.
Instead the boy was kind, caring and considerate.
She had revealed to the party her noble-born status, and while she was happy that such information didn't change the dynamics of the group, it irked her that Izuku had made it very clear that her station should never be abused.
She couldn't leave the party though.
Her dream as a Crusader was as generic as it was virtuous. She wanted to serve and protect someone of pure heart and heavenly disposition, to be the shield of someone who embodied the ideals of love, devotion and compassion. A Symbol of Light.
She just never expected her dream to take the shape of a Druid.
"This is… so unfair." Darkness muttered as she indulged in her newfound pastime of drinking beer.
She wasn't getting hammered; she just needed to numb her mind so she didn't have to suffer her conflicting emotions.
Izuku had called her a 'Tank', a role he described as the one who takes all the aggression of their enemies, making them forget that the rest of the party existed, thus, ensuring everyone else's survival. She had enjoyed the idea, and loved the theory behind the reasoning, as such strategy was commonplace among adventurers, and would give plenty of opportunity for the two spellcasters of the group to rain death on the monsters, with the chance of some delightful friendly fire. In practice, however…
"They should allow the enemies to reach me…" Darkness muttered before taking another sip.
Turns out, Izuku was a master tactician. Dozens of battles had been won by having the enemies target Darkness first, and not a single time had an enemy being able to even try to hit her. Much to her increasing annoyance, Izuku was getting better at dispatching large groups of enemies with spikes that suddenly shot from below the charging hordes, or restraining truly large monsters with dozens of thorny vines, leaving the creatures as perfect targets for their petite Crimson Demon companion.
Darkness had yet to even try to use her sword in combat; not that she was lacking EXP gains, or money, as Izuku insisted on properly dividing the rewards, her noble status notwithstanding.
Darkness realized that, at the very least, she was achieving one of her dreams… unlike her current companion.
"Everything hurts…" Aqua complained, in some misguided hope of getting heard and consoled, "Stupid Izuku. Why does he insist on working me to the bone five days a week?!"
Aqua had found Izuku's hardworking habits to be, inhumane. For five days he would take fetch quests in the mornings, and then extermination quests in the afternoon. Both types were of course local requests, always aimed to be completed within reasonable distance of the town, and within reasonable difficulty levels; Wyverns, Griffins and Manticores were avoided, but packs of direwolves, bands of goblins, and even vermin hunting in the sewers was taken, much to the horror of the blue-haired Arch Priestess.
"Well, it's not like he is forcing you to go on every quest." Darkness' words made the ex-goddess flinch, "He told you long ago that if it was too much work for you, you could simply not go; or find an easier job on your own."
Aqua grimaced at her current options.
She hated being dragged into caves, through thick forests, walking through endless plains, and worst of all, having to walk inside the foul sewer system. Her problem was that she needed the money to sustain her vices and lifestyle.
She had been able to afford a room at the inn, and couldn't face the idea of returning to the stables. This was only possible thanks to the money she earned at a regular pace. The downside was that Izuku divided the monetary rewards based on usefulness, meaning that she was getting the least amount of it from the entire party.
Finding a job would mean that she would have to work from early in the morning until very late, making barely any money, but staying away from walking so much and being exposed to danger, or worse still, lengthy lectures about being a more active party member. All because she was stingy with her spells.
"I'm not going to start working like a lowly commoner!" Aqua retorted, although she didn't raise her voice, "And I'm not wasting my sacred magic by blessing his slaves."
"Neither did you heal the wounded villagers we aided on our way back in the last quest." Darkness added, trying to pick a small fight with Aqua to get an insult or two, a habit picked due to the lack of mistreatment from the green-haired Druid, "Or to bless me, Megumin or Izuku during all these quests."
"Shut up! You barbaric meat shield!" Aqua finally shouted, earning a smile from the masochistic Crusader, "If that failure of a Hero is really that smart, then why isn't he getting more money? He is just a pervert trying to surround himself with pretty girls!"
Behind her desk, Luna frowned at the loud voice of the Arch Priestess. Izuku and his party had been completing quests at an astounding rate, getting more work done that several parties of good reputation put together. While it had become a commonly heard gossip that the green-haired leader enjoyed the attentions of young girls, Luna knew it wasn't because he was throwing money at them.
Much to her despair, Izuku had commissioned a heavy duty carriage.
Luna knew she was partially to blame. The young Druid had asked first for land to own, or a building to purchase and turn it into a base of operations, which the Guild Attendant assumed would be turned into some sort of Druidic Groove.
Seeing his disappointment when she informed him that purchasing land wasn't possible without a nobility title, and that owning buildings was limited to civilian housing or Guild-approved businesses (With a rather high tax attached), was rather heartbreaking for her. The request for the carriage nearly drove her to tears though.
Izuku, while earning monikers like 'Slave Driver' and 'Harem collector', had become famous for completing quests. This had earned this branch of the Guild some handsome bonuses from the crown. This also meant, for those with a minimum of intellect and common sense, that once he was gone, said bonuses would disappear as well. Unfortunately, her only option was to stall for time by having the carriage construction being delayed…
A tactic that the Dwarves had refused.
The fact that one of the Generals of the Devil King had moved to a close fortress only made things worse. The only ones posting quests now were either scholars or irresponsible lesser nobles, leading to Izuku being the only reliable source of completed quests. A source about to disappear.
Meanwhile…
"EXPLOSION!"
BOOM!
As the ruins of the fort were subjected to the magic of the petite Arch Wizard, Izuku looked at the damage done while trying to understand Megumin's ambition. It wasn't just a desire to destroy, nor her way to scream 'I am here!'
She wasn't like Bakugo.
"That felt good!" Megumin exclaimed while dropping backwards, being immediately caught by her green-haired crush.
She had come to terms with the idea of crushing after her first friend and party leader. She had come to terms with the idea that the boy was too much of a good catch to let him go. While not being conventionally handsome or filthy rich, he was cute, caring and very able to provide everything a girl really needed.
Her sour and traumatic experiences while traveling from her village to Axel had taught her to appreciate steady supplies of food and water, as well as cherish proper shelter. While she never expected to become rich and be surrounded by luxury, having no immediate needs was a rather big jump from her days at the academy.
"Are you alright?" Izuku asked with caring eyes and voice, all while guiding his petite companion to rest her head on his lap, "You really need to upgrade your mana reserves before powering up your favorite spell."
Megumin giggled at his words, obviously thinking that this boy adored being there for her
"Why would I?" Megumin threw her smuggest grin, an action that Izuku found adorable, doubly so since she had agreed to not use her eyepatch anymore, "You are going to always be there for me."
In the background, both Chika and Liza seemed to agree. Their benevolent master was going to always be there for them, keeping them safe and happy.
"I don't know about that." Izuku's reply caught the three girls by surprise, "I'm going back home once I defeat the Devil King. I'm not sure I can take you with me."
Izuku's dream was no secret.
Agreeing to Megumin's idea to make wine with his Good Berries had led to an embarrassing moment where Izuku had spilled how much he had been hurt by his idolized hero, and how he intended to return one day to show everyone that the little useless Izuku was now strong enough to be a hero too.
The part of not being able to take anyone with him was new though.
"WHAT?!" Megumin shrieked, unable to contain her outrage; Chika and Liza were visibly startled, although that was due to the idea of being left behind, "Why?"
"Because…" Izuku seemed to struggle to find an answer, he certainly looked as if regretting his choice of words already, "My homeland is… way too far away from here."
Izuku's struggle didn't come from not wanting to say the truth, it came from wanting to explain everything, and have proper friends. Worse still, he was growing fond of the petite Arch Wizard, and awfully attached to Chika and Liza. Unlike other people of his age back home, these three were adamant on hearing him, appreciating his intellect, and his drive to keep everyone safe.
His strategies during extermination quests had been proof of this. With Chika being a surprisingly stealthy scout, and Liza having the potential to be an extraordinary heavy hitter, they had been able to set ambushes and traps, lure monsters out of their territories, and deal with them with minimal effort or risk.
It was becoming hard to not letting all that praise go to his head.
"Chika will follow master!" Chika barely managed to not raise her voice, finding the idea of being abandoned intolerable, "Anywhere Master goes, Chika will be there!"
Liza furiously nodded, obviously sharing the same mindset. The Black Harpy was smart, smarter than she should be, that's why she knew that being given to another master was a big no. The first thing that would happen to her if she was given to someone else would be a thorough mutilation, and that was the least of the horrors awaiting her. For the Gator-Girl, the idea of being dumped yet again into a cold cage with no food was more than enough to cling to her kind Master with all her strength, let alone her strong love for him.
Izuku had yet to become aware of the feelings that the demi-human girls had for him.
"We will follow you to the end of the world." Megumin's words were actually sweet, if a little bit pushy, as she wasn't going to let him escape, "Besides, you can produce food!"
"Will you follow me beyond this world?" Izuku's reply was given with a pained smile, then he signaled for his girls to sit by his side.
"Megumin, Chika, Liza." Izuku spoke the names with the conveyed intention of having their full attention, "I come from a different world. One where there are no job classes, and people are born with special powers that are badges of status."
The silence that followed his words of truth was short-lived, as Megumin was rather quick to let out a playful chuckle.
"Is that your backstory?" Megumin's question wasn't an attack; her peers back at her village were famous for coming up with wild tales for their origins, and it was common for her people to believe others would do the same, "Is that how you explain your unusual nature magic? You are a Druid from another world?"
Izuku couldn't even begin to be angry at not being believed; Megumin's accepting smile, and obvious delight, was actually infectious.
"Chika believes Master!" The Black Harpy was quick to show her loyalty, even if her faith was questionable, "Master is too kind for this world!"
Liza didn't show any signs of belief or disbelief; the Gator-Girl considered herself lucky enough to have such a kind Master, so, his origins were unimportant to her.
"Would you believe me, if I show you proof?" Izuku's question made the chuckles stop, although Megumin's playful eyes kept their shine.
"You have proof?!" Megumin's voice denoted that she had done this before; perhaps she herself had fabricated proof to some of her claims, or had judged fabricated proof by her peers in the past?
Izuku nodded, and then reached for the side bag below his robes. He knew that saying things wouldn't be enough; he knew that showing simple trinkets from his world could be chalked up to magic artifacts. There was only one way to convince an educated spellcaster like Megumin…
Otherworldly knowledge.
"Here, I'll show you knowledge from my world." Izuku announced as he re-positioned the petite girl, making her lean against his chest, and looking at the objects on his hands.
It was a notebook and a pen.
Megumin knew the items; she had used items like those… just… different.
The notebook was made of a material that was obviously paper, but the quality of the paper was impossibly high for something so mundane, and yet it wasn't like the parchment used for spellbooks. The pen, however, was made of a material she had never seen before (plastic), and the point was too tiny to suck in the ink.
"This is my notebook on Chemistry." Izuku started, throwing in a word that immediately sounded alien to the Arch Wizard, which was surprising on its own, "Chemistry is the science that studies the composition of all matter, its structure, and reactions in…"
For the next hour, Izuku began to explain to the Crimson Demon the basics of Chemistry, speaking of the blocks of reality, called atoms, and how they linked with each other to compose all matter; then he spoke of the basic states of all matter, and how the change of phase affects the molecular structure of the materials.
Megumin was speechless, taking in words and concepts that went against the magical principles she had committed to heart and memory; worse still, as Izuku continued his lengthy explanation, she had seen the writing in which these otherworldly teachings were recorded, made of symbols completely alien to her, impossibly so, as she was well versed in all the languages of the continent, but only those in use and dead tongues.
The symbols weren't just random scribbles, they were orderly, carefully made, showing repetition and consistency, doubly so as the young Druid scribbled translations in common. She was looking at a legit language she had never seen before, a language that was NOT recorded in the great library at her village. Knowledge that was NOT recorded anywhere in this world.
Izuku had to stop as he was getting into the basics of thermodynamics when he noticed that the petite girl was looking at his face, so intently that he began to turn red.
"Let me see your adventurer card." Megumin all but demanded.
While the demi-humans had been left out of the conversation due to the ridiculous complexity of whatever their master was saying, Megumin had decided to make a final test.
The young Druid could have found the notebook in some kind of ruins; it could be ancient knowledge of a lost civilization that had been at the side of an artifact that taught him the language. One thing was to have this knowledge, another is to be able to use said knowledge.
"Here it is." Izuku had handed over the identification without even a hint of hesitation, as if he already knew this was going to happen.
Megumin didn't lose any time and went directly for the skills.
Vine Whip – Bark Skin – Good Berry – Dancing Lights - Plant Manipulation – Plant Growth – Spike Growth – Plant Analysis – Plant Modification – Wild Shape
Megumin blinked a few times, looked away from the card and then focused again on it… there was nothing about the thorny whips, the wall of thorns, the plant tentacles or any of the advanced skills Izuku had shown… only basic skills.
The only explanation Megumin could think of, was that Izuku was working on a different logic than what Druids use… that meant that he was using knowledge that was unavailable for other Druids… knowledge of the natural world that had to belong… to another world…
"Change into an animal that doesn't exist in this world." Megumin demanded; she really wanted to believe her crush was special, in every sense, but her pride as a schooled spellcaster needed irrefutable proof of this discovery. If Izuku's claim was real, then he should be able to turn into something obviously not from this world, something that no other Druid could change into, something outside the bestiary from the Guild
"Sure." Izuku replied with a smile, and then stood up, leaving the petite Arch Wizard in the care of the steadfast Gator-Girl.
Izuku had prepared for this. He knew that the Skill Wild Shape would be necessary to prove his claim. He also knew that most animals he knew from back home had equivalents in this world, most could be considered subspecies of existing monsters that he could have seen in secluded areas, but there was a small group of creatures that had no equivalent in the bestiary he had studied, extinct creatures in his world that looked nothing like the monsters of this world… well, some of them.
Izuku visualized the creature he needed, recalled all the knowledge he had of it, and then channeled the mystical energies into his body.
The transformation was relatively fast, and by the end of it, Megumin was looking at a large… reptilian creature, standing on its hind legs. Said legs had talons ending in hooked claws, one being much larger than the others. There were feathers growing on its scaly hide, prominently so on his head and arms, and at the end of the long tail. Most of the body, while obviously scaly and reptilian in nature, was covered in feathers that weren't fully feathers, and the head was slightly similar to that of a dragon, but without horns.
Izuku had transformed into a Utahraptor.
It looked like a chimerical monster. But it wasn't. Because Druids couldn't turn into monsters, especially not of the chimerical variety. That meant she was looking at an animal that was not registered in any bestiary. An animal that, by the looks of it, would be a predator so successful that every hunter and ranger would know about it, and every knight would try to turn into a war mount.
That meant that Izuku was indeed from another world.
"Master!" Liza suddenly shouted, eyes sparkling with adoration, "Beautiful!"
Megumin only had one thing to say.
"You have to let me ride you!"
The next day…
Izuku was glad for Megumin's understanding and support.
The petite Crimson Demon had fully believed Izuku's story, his history, how he used to live, how he managed to get into this world, and how he arrived to the city. He still held onto the fact that he had died in the process, not wanting to startle the Arch Wizard or his girls, and had asked them to keep the secret about his origins. Megumin and the demi-human girls had agreed, much to his relief.
Unfortunately for Izuku, he now had to face a much bigger challenge.
Megumin had demanded his knowledge, specifically to make a much more powerful explosion. She had been so adamant on creating either a new spell, or at least create her own flair of the spell, that the green haired Druid had even managed to make a deal. He would integrate his scientific knowledge into her magic, and she would learn enough spells to be useful outside of combat. She had agreed to learn five more spells of his choosing.
Now they were standing in the same mountainous road, just waiting for Chika to return with her report.
"Master!" Chika called as she landed, making everyone flinch at her screeching voice, before she switched to a more subdued whisper. "Just like yesterday; Chika only saw a few skellies and no sign of a controller."
Izuku nodded, happy to find that just like the previous day the fort had no humans or creatures that would suffer due to the collateral damage.
"Are you ready?" Izuku asked to the Arch Wizard, who was nose-deep into a notebook where she and the young Druid had worked most of the night and the morning, combining her methodology of spellcrafting, with all the scientific formulae that Izuku knew.
The end result was a monstrosity of an equation that would result in something similar to an explosion, with a mana requirement of just one-third of her normal explosions.
"I am." Megumin replied, handing back the notebook, "I'm just not sure how to name this if it works."
"It's just an experiment." Izuku kindly reminded to his companion, "We are just testing if your magic can be combined with my science."
Megumin gave a sigh, knowing that her companion was right, but unable to shake the feeling that if she managed to create something new, she wanted the proper name to be immortalized.
"I guess you are right." Megumin finally conceded, then smiled as a name formed in her mind, "At least is going to cause a bang… that will do, if anything, it's going to be a big bang!"
Izuku froze at the naming of the spell. He hoped that the final result had nothing to do with the name.
Megumin closed her eyes and positioned her free hand forward, firmly pointing her staff towards her open palm. Spellcrafting required visualization along the mathematical structuring of the spell, guiding the mana to fill the given shape. Incantations helped to shape and visualize the effect, as well as keeping focus on the equations required. The first incantation of a spell was immortalized when a new spell was created, that's why she spent a long time thinking of it, going through all the theories that Izuku had explained to her.
"The first law of creation is destruction, and the end result of destruction is creation."
The moment her words left her lips, a healthy amount of mana had gathered at her hand, forming a sphere, a protective bubble.
"The blocks of reality, atoms, gather before me. Smaller than a droplet in the ocean, yet stronger than the hardest metal, heed my command."
A tiny speck of light, almost imperceptible, formed in the center of the translucent sphere.
"Clash against each other at speeds beyond speed. Shatter and unleash all the energy that created you!"
The speck of light turned into a miniature sun, and the protective bubble began to ripple. Izuku knew that there had been a… miscalculation, either on his part, or Megumin was going overboard with the visualization.
"BIG BANG!"
Megumin shouted as she launched her sphere of energy at the abandoned fortress. She had a quivering smile as she watched the tiny, insignificant thing fly against the cliff housing the ancient structure, expecting to see a mediocre detonation in the distance.
By the time the sphere seemed to reach its destination, she found herself being tackled to the ground by Izuku. Then she noticed Chika and Liza throwing themselves over them too. She barely managed to see a bright light coming from the castle by the time a massive quantity of vines formed a dome over all of them.
Then a deafening, booming roar hit them, along with a rather intimidating tremor.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" Megumin screamed, obviously worried about an enraged dragon that she may have accidentally hit with her spell, the terrible sound of raging winds and heat hitting the protective dome seemed to give credence to her idea.
"YOU OVERDID IT!" Izuku's answer didn't make sense.
She had expected a detonation, so, why did it feel like the mobile fortress Destroyer was rampaging all around them?
A few seconds later, half of the dome receded, leaving only a shield in the direction of the detonation. Izuku had made the vines take the strength of the fabled Iron Bark, and they still ended up carbonized by the mere friction caused by the expanded air.
"What happened?" Megumin asked, fully expecting to see an angry dragon, or the Destroyer… then she noticed it.
There was no more fortress… nor was any sign of the cliff it used to stand upon… only a smoking crater.
"You overdid it!" Izuku replied while slapping her head, "Control! First you control what you are doing! Then you can slowly add more power!"
As Izuku continued to loudly lecture a now startled Megumin, Chika and Liza watched the ridiculous level of destruction. Liza only knew that Megumin was not someone to anger, but Chika could see something more; her Master, her Hero, was going to bring a lot of changes to this world.
Spellcraft successful. Detonation Branch of Magic updated. Spell Registration: Megumin's Big Bang.
Back at the Guild Hall…
While everyone was talking about the mysterious flash of light coming from the mountains, and a tremor that scared more than a few children, Aqua was looking at a certain request on the quest board.
"Oh no. My poor cute worshipers!" Aqua exclaimed as she read the request.
The local chapel to her divinity was at risk of being closed due to a lack of tax payments. Thanks to the church of Eris being the main religion of the town, her followers needed to pay taxes like any other business.
It wasn't a heavy tax though, meaning that to have missed payments, hard times had to have struck the local priest.
"There has to be a way to help them." Aqua said to herself as she read the required money to help her small congregation, "There has to be a way to get fifty million eris."
The deadline made things difficult… but then she remembered that her green-haired companion most likely could provide such money. But how to convince him?
At that time she didn't know it, but she would be the reason for a massive blow against her own faith.
Magnus: Thanks for reading this far! Next chapter will include consequences for Megumin's actions, and a whole lot of more despair for Aqua!