A Villainess Should Be Strong

It was a pleasant feeling, like something familiar to her was returned after a long period of separation.

Her power of Creation. The power she was bestowed with ever since she took over this body, along with the title [Creator].

It was just as mysterious as everything that happened around her.

In terms of awareness, she was as good as a child. She had so much more to uncover. And this power would be one of those interesting discoveries to her.

A game changer for her path. She could feel it.

As she played around with her newly upgraded magic, her eyes lit up with every discovery.

Estelle couldn't resist a huge smile blooming on her face as she looked at the wonder that sprouted inside of her with gleaming eyes.

Whenever she thought about her powers, the downside that is the lack of flexibility would always come up.

However, with this new upgrade, that downside was greatly reduced.

She felt like she was able to top her previous creations. Before, her blueprints of the usable things she could make were basic ones that she mixed with both worlds' knowledge.

For example, her favorite move was the falling rain of spears. It was because she dedicated longer time in perfecting the technique through learning the intricate design of the spears. One prototype that she continued to produce at a high pace.

Upon boosting it with tons of spells, the spear became strengthened. It was highly effective for killing monsters like land dwellers who couldn't move that fast to avoid Estelle's blows. The prime example was when she subjugated the waves of monsters by herself by pouring the batches of spears without end.

However, even that couldn't take advantage of her maximum potential. She was restricted by a few things.

First, the spear couldn't be maintained for long. Estelle focused on the power and production speed. The spear itself operated like a machine gun's bullet, bringing down an enemy not only by sheer power but also overwhelming numbers.

In truth, if Estelle could create high quality, long lasting spears that could take down a strong monster in one go, Estelle would've done so.

Her optimization skills and infinite mana allowed her to do so. She was capable of concentrating harder than any of her kind, and would be able to perform consecutive actions in a battle. However, the reality was far from her ideal.

No matter how she experimented, only the low quality spears came out.

By low quality, it didn't necessarily mean not strong. It was just that the spears wouldn't be effective in real close combat between regular soldiers. The magic she cast were like stacks of weight placed onto the spear. When used long enough, the spear wouldn't last.

That was why Estelle only utilized her spears during battle and didn't distribute them when she could obviously strengthen her people with her weapon creations.

This worked throughout all of her creations.

The mana potions she created from her research were also like that. She now possessed quite the large batch of potions inside her inventory, and it was practically ready to be released. However, she refrained from doing so.

It was because the potion's user needed to have very specific conditions in order for the potion to take effect.

The user must have lower than half their mana bank, and it would only work between the range of 25%-35% of their total mana count.

Outside of that range, the effectiveness would be killed. Either it had a low recovery effect, or it completely didn't help at all.

This led Estelle to discover that something was indeed wrong with her magic.

It was incomplete. She wasn't able to create things that could fully stand on its own. She either had to supplement it with other elements, be it spells or enchantments.

For example, if she wished to create a huge wave, she would also be channeling water magic at the same time. If she tried to make a whole wave using just her Creation Magic, the result would be half of what she could get with mixing with the other elements.

However, even this had a flow.

To put it into perspective, Estelle could create three waves.

One wave would be made purely by Creation Magic.

The second wave would be made by a combination between the Creation Magic and elemental assists from Water Magic. This would strengthen the wave's output, be it size, power, or spawning time.

However, the third wave that she could create eliminate all needs for the previous two options. Creating a wave using solely Water Magic was possible for Estelle, who was adept at all types and elements except for those out of the ordinary like Arayle's Destruction Magic.

And exactly how did the wave created by the Water Magic perform? It surpassed the ones using Creation Magic. Outclassed them by a mile.

This also applied to the spears. Instead of using Creation Magic, she was technically able to make spears out of pure elemental energy. An example would be light spears- made out of the light element.

In a sense, Estelle rarely used her Creation Magic on a daily basis due to this knowledge, except when she was researching or having the need to create an object.

This was why, the 'flexibility' she obtained amused her. Because it contained a possible solution to this dilemma.

Just as she was fiddling with her newfound power, a familiar voice that she had hear repeatedly and was fond of at this point appeared.

It was the Ruler. The being had visited her.

"Estelle," The Ruler called out her name, drawing Estelle's attention away from her sneaky little experiments.

"Hmm?" Humming in response, Estelle's eyes darted above.

This was a habit of hers. Even though the Ruler had told her that it wasn't above her, she would unconsciously look at said direction. This was because Estelle pictured the Ruler as a voice from an oracle.

To her, the Ruler was her guide, and a being that passed down oracles to her. Pieces of advice and messages that brought her light. She associated the being with some sort of deity or other divine beings.

"Did you succeed..?" The Ruler asked.

Knowing that the Ruler must've realized her change, Estelle nodded truthfully.

"Surprisingly, yes, I did. I was prepared for a few more failures but the actual change just happened like that," Estelle shrugged, massaging her tense shoulders that had been tired out from the constant practice.

Judging by the Ruler's tone and voice, the being had descended to the outer realm in a rush. It usually visited her whenever its duties were relieved and it could take a break.

This time, the Ruler came in a hurry.

The Ruler didn't reply for a short while.

"..What, was I not supposed to succeed? Did you think I had to struggle for far longer?" Hearing the lack of response from the Ruler, Estelle questioned. It wasn't like the being to space out this much.

"Well.. yes. You're proceeding much faster than I thought you would," The Ruler commented, breaking its layer of seriousness and letting a hearty chuckle out.

Estelle gave a gentle smile as she thought about her eventual return to the Surface. Her soul power now rested at 38.

Whenever she concentrated harshly, the number would lower down. Although her mental fortitude was quite strong and didn't impact the count by a lot, every single digit mattered to Estelle.

It was like a constant reminder of her struggles in the Eterna. Struggle like a helpless prey for the chance of survival or degrade into a Value 0 and die.

To be honest, it wasn't like she hated the experience. She was gaining a lot of gifts for herself that she appreciated.

"Well, now that I've gotten the power, what now?" Estelle asked. She now regarded the Ruler as her teacher. The being would always give her pointers and advices that benefited her, leading Estelle to believe the being's intentions.

The being told her to achieve this mystical feature first. There was a time when she couldn't comprehend why this process was necessary, but as she progressed, it became clear.

There must be a sequence of actions that would form a path for her return.

"...Rest a bit. I still have things to do. I sensed that you broke the calm flow of this realm and I had to check it out.. I will tell you after your rest,"

"Alright...?" Estelle raised an eyebrow, not being able to comprehend why the Ruler won't just tell her next step. The Ruler was restricted to verbal help, so it couldn't assist her that much.

However, since she did need rest, she agreed to the offer. She was exhausted- both physically and mentally.

Once the Ruler's voice disappeared, Estelle began to lay on the ground. A couple sighs were let out here and there, signifying her clear tiredness.

She gazed at the empty realm with wonder. Her eyes were heavy. After laying down, her drowsiness got boosted up by a lot.

Estelle blinked a few times before sleepiness overtook her consciousness. After a few yawns, she fell asleep.