《Magical Girl Metaphysical: I am The Narrow-Eyed Mob Character》


 Chapter 001: Before Day One

    The sky was heavy with rain, and countless leaves fell as the wind thrashed about as it wished. There was blood everywhere, on every room, on every curtain, on every floor of the broken down school building¡ªone that was within the screen of a device.


    A girl had died there, a virtual girl, in a game. But Natasha didn¡¯t play games, she never did but everything felt real. The comments of the chat, the camera in front of her face and her loud voice that was filled with emotion.


    As well as those eyes, those hidden eyes that couldn¡¯t be seen as there were blocked by those pretty eyelids and lush eyelashes.


    The girl, that looked awfully like her, spoke harshly¡ª¡°Why the f*ck am I a background character?! See if I¡¯ll still play this game? What ¡®it¡¯s still just arc 1, wait till arc 5¡¯! No way!¡±


    And then it cut off and she was thrust back into reality, one where she was still crushing over this one guy in class, one where she was still just a lousy stalker, one where she didn¡¯t have visions of alternate lifetimes¡ªone where she didn¡¯t have to see the sky abruptly shattering with unknown power.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± That last part was incorrect.


    The sky had indeed turned red and shattered with an unknown power. Stood behind the school grounds, while obsessively watching another girl try to confess to her crush¡ªbehavior she might have to correct later¡ªNatasha Satoshi Ivanova, blinked her eyes in confusion.


    Seeing that sky, her mind went to work again and she instinctively reached out to clutch her chest. The pendant that was left to her from a small age was hung there, despite being made of mysterious glass the object never reflected light or shone in any way.


    It was blinding.


    ¡®Bright, hot¡ªcold, comfortable.¡¯ Was the experience that was driven into her mind, and unknown terms and forms manifested into her mind. She had yet to know what they were, or what it is she was supposed to do with them.


    One thing she realized for certain, was that ordinary was now merely a fantasy in this fantasy.


    Something in her mind clicked; and she heard faint clicking in the distance as her awareness, for a moment, spread across the world. Along with the mysterious knowledge of that other self and the now rising sense of transcendence that overcame her with that blinding light at her chest, Natasha began to comprehend¡ªand it was not slow, like before.


    Many had awoken, as to what, she didn¡¯t know but it was something of an extraordinary nature. Within her heart, that now became a [Heart] of hearts, she knew that she would be apart of everything that was happening from this point on.


    Still confused, she heard that voice again¡ª¡°No but like, think of the implications of this right. In this game, there are potentially thousands of girls gaining insane HAX for no reason! All over the world! And my character yeah, me, she dies because of some freaking time loop!¡±


    ¡ª!!!


    Her heart skipped a beat.


    Natasha¡¯s eyebrows raised, but she didn¡¯t move.


    Even as the world went crazy and the sky started shedding it¡¯s red glow, she didn¡¯t move. She stared hatefully at the girl in Leon¡¯s arms, clinging to him for safety.


    That should be her!


    Even though she was hateful, she still knew her place. Staring at the star shaped halo scarred into the very essence of the sky, Natasha had a slightly worried expression. Taking a final glance at the now separate pair, she rushed out of the back and made her way to the front courtyard.


    It didn¡¯t take her long to arrive at an empty club room, with the commotion outside, you would have to be crazy to stay inside at this time and miss all the excitement.


    While she was crazy, she still had a hint of self-control and knew what was the priority now. Clutching at the glass pendant, she took a look and saw four glittering stars are the center.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    The stars where not uniform and shifted intermittently with unclear dimensions and speed to their movement within the glass ball. Their shape and size were also not clear, with one going from being 3-pointed to 8-pointed and even further climbing higher or scaling lower and lower than before.


    Natasha hummed, she had never seen a 1-sided star before or even a 0-sided one. This was clearly impossible and as she sat down near a deserted club room she felt the need to examine this phenomena.


    ¡ª¡°Like I was saying, even though she is a mob from a plot perspective, having silver hair and red eyes are NOT mob traits. As a Streamer with 3 Million followers, I would like at least the fairness of surviving past the tutorial. ¡®This is the fate of big-chested narrow-eyed heroines¡¯ That¡¯s unfair! Also, are you guys checking out my chest, I swear all of you are wolves! If you continue being this perverted, you won¡¯t get a girlfriend you know!¡±


    Natasha hummed, listening to the voice that wouldn¡¯t fade and absorbing bits and pieces of memory that bled over from a place beyond time and space. She didn¡¯t freak out, she had navigated absurd and abnormal situations before.


    She didn¡¯t find anything wrong with the pendant, but she was sure she would get something out of it. Sitting down in the deserted club room, the girl felt a small tug in her mind before she felt one in her pocket, she looked down at it, her phone was there.


    Her phone beeped¡ªit was her alarm for when Leon typically left his club activities, it was currently in the extremely late evening.


    [Alarm ¡ª Leon¡¯s Leaving Time]


    [6:10 PM]


    [Snooze for; 10 Minutes]


    [Snooze] [Dismiss]


    The phone rang, and Natasha tilted her head slightly thinking back to the girl she with Leon.


    ¡®How long did he spend with her? Maybe, 10 minutes¡­? His practice ended at 5:40 and she called him over at 5:45 so over 15 minutes since I left around 6:00¡­ Lucky.¡¯


    Natasha whistled, and the voice sounded again. This time, her calm rumination was interrupted with bad news.


    ¡ª¡°Also, why did Leon have to die to save those people? Even for a normal guy, he was still able to get them all out of that situation. Tsk Tsk, what bad luck, getting confessed to, just to get sacrificed when the world turned to shit moments later. These Magical Girls, tsk tsk all they do nowadays is cause and go through torture porn.¡±


    Natasha immediately froze, and just at that moment everything around her did to.


    A faint sound of clocks ticking came into her ears, and she instinctively looked down at her phone. The time had changed¡ªit was now 6:00 Pm.


    The ringing, naturally had stopped as well.


    Natasha¡¯s heart instantly tightened, what she had heard earlier coming to her mind and she couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit of trepidation.


    Time Loop! There was a time looper somewhere!


    It wasn¡¯t her!


    Was she about to lose her memories?


    If she did then who would go to rescue Leon?


    ¡ª¡°¡¯Is this racism toward Russians?¡¯ Well, I ain¡¯t gone say anything, but you feel me¡­ Aye. Low key, I thought I said I was half-Japanese too... ¡®What if I could talk to my other self?¡¯ Well I¡¯d tell her ass to get on over there and beat up that 1 Star Meta-Beast before she and the others get their shit rocked that¡¯s what. But alas, does it matter, she¡¯s dead now¡­¡±


    ¡®I¡¯m alive, I¡¯m alive, things can still change.¡¯ Her eyes lit up.


    She didn¡¯t know why she didn¡¯t lose her memories when time reversed, as it was clear she wasn¡¯t the time looper, but she didn¡¯t care. Maybe because she as also one of those Magical Girls?


    If so, what was her powers?


    All questions for later.


    Natasha instantly started moving, even if she didn¡¯t know what the voice was, her mind somehow instantly registered it as some parallel version of herself playing a game version of her universe.


    And it seemed that not only was this version more talkative, but she didn¡¯t shy away from talking to others either, if those 3 Million followers were taken into account. And although it seemed she rage-quitted a game because they killed off her¡ªthey¡¯re, our, me?¡ªcharacter that was modeled after her, she still absorbed a lot of knowledge judging by how she jumped from question to question with ease.


    It was currently August 14<sup>th</sup> 2022, so Natasha could agree with her sentiments of Racism toward Russian¡¯s. Well, Natasha certainly wouldn¡¯t want to meet a Ukrainian in this day and age at this time either. The faces of other pure blood Japanese students were already much.


    However she didn''t have time to entertain all these thoughts, shaking her head, Natasha dashed out of the empty club room and straightforwardly ran left.


    It was a direction instinct decided on and while she had only seen it play it¡¯s part once, when identifying that strange mind girl as her from another timeline for some reason, she was intent on trusting it again.


    If not it what else could she trust.


    ¡ª¡°¡¯People are still racist to mixed bloods even if they are part of their race¡­¡¯ That¡¯s true, ha ha. In fact I¡¯d say they do that even more.¡±


    Natasha agreed with that sentiment

 Chapter 002: Straight into the Action

    Natasha pursed her lips and made a quick detour through the empty halls filled with fallen books and abandoned bags before she made her way to the brightly illuminated outside. She looked up into the sky, which was no longer red, but had a star shaped scar that was embedded into the sky.


    Riding a bike was faster and much more lenient on the stamina for medium distances than running there. Not to mention she had to rush over there, if she had to cover that distance on foot she would never make back in time before;


    1. They all died again and the time loop restarted.


    2. Or they all really died and that miraculous time loop stopped working.


    Both of these were bad! Bad outcome!


    ¡®Both the scent and sight of blood are absent, which makes the worst case unlikely.¡¯ Natasha surmised as she glanced around with narrowed eyes, her most neutral state of sight.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what you¡¯re called huh,¡± Natasha chuckled, ¡°No wonder I¡¯ve been unconsciously referring to you as my ¡°Heart that is more than a heart¡± hehe, no wonder.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Human voices.


    More accurately, screams of fear and uncertainty.


    Just then¡­


    ¡ª¡°Honestly, wasn¡¯t arc 1 of this just excessive. It had like a bunch of Meta-Beasts appearing left and right. Sure, they were one star, likely fodder in the grand scheme of things, but for girls who haven¡¯t even awakened and normal humans? This was just the equivalent of the grim reaper sleeping under your bed, living with death at every corner.¡±


    Now, Natasha realized three things;


    1. A one star was the lowest of the low and she had 4 stars, so it was sure that she had plenty of potential. As for if she could live to have it realized, that depended on her.


    2. There were unidentified creatures with this type of potential as well, and the thing that engulfed the surrounding 100-200 meters of forest, rock and air in flame was a mere one star.


    3. She had to leave, and fast.


    The voice of a raging monkey suddenly sounded out, and pillars of flame reached out into the sky wildly as many students who were hiding in any area began to rush out in a panic. Seeing this scene, Natasha realized that it was not that there were not many people, it was that no one in their right mind would stay outside at a time like this.


    Just then, something else interrupted her thoughts and Natasha nearly squealed.


    This bike, it seemed to be in a weird state. Bikes were supposed to be on the ground, so...


    Why was it flying toward her¡­?


    As she watched blankly, Natasha raised her hand as if to catch it and then promptly dodged to the side. The bike fell with a crash, and she quickly rushed toward it and boarded the thing. Not missing a moment, she quickly checked every key component; the tires, frame and gears before she took off.


    Not even sparing a glance at the other fleeing students, and seeing what she did they were somewhat incredulous. They then quickly snapped back to attention and, while the monster was distracted with destroying everything, quickly grabbed a bike from the rack and left in any manner they could.


    Those who couldn¡¯t get a bike, just ran as far and as fast as they could.


    Any mention of screaming and some such was done is muffled voices and silent cries. Don¡¯t play around, if that heard them, it would be certain death. They hadn¡¯t live near two decades in this world just to throw it all away at this critical moment.


    The stupid monkey, who was too busy rampaging and inattentive, let all of it¡¯s potential prey run away but it didn¡¯t seem to care. It¡¯s mind seemed very simple, not caring about the fleeing humans at all and just content with burning everything to ashes.


    It jumped up and down, flames ejecting from it¡¯s feet and ash from it¡¯s mouth as it melted rock and combusted air.


    This was the last scene Natasha saw before she got out of the area, but her heart was still chilled. She pursed her lips, she didn¡¯t know what thing that was, other than it was called a Meta-Beast and was apparently only a one-star.


    All she could do was move, peddle like her life depended on it and try to save a man that she was uncertain if he had any feelings for her or not. That was all she could do, whatever magical ability she had, she couldn¡¯t quite access it just yet.


    ¡ª¡°¡¯Hey doesn¡¯t Corastrum kinda sound like Colostrum?¡¯ Like the breast milk thing?¡±


    Current Time: 6:03:04 PM

 Chapter 003: Problem & Thoughts

    The greenery, that football field, the Math Department... Natasha passed by them all in her ride to where she felt like Leon was.


    She could also feel two similar presences near him; she didn¡¯t know what this sense was, but she could probably guess that it was due to the Corastrum strung across her chest. The thing never stopped glowing.


    "''How do you find the game? Is it good? Sorry, bad English.¡¯ No, it¡¯s cool. It¡¯s a cool game for sure, just that I''m kind of pissed that I became fodder... Also, your English isn¡¯t that bad. Have you ever tried having a Russian-Japanese English accent? ¡®This has nothing to do with what bro said, though.'' But I felt like flexing bro what about it?¡±


    Natasha, who was doing her best to keep the bike steady, suddenly felt herself losing ground and felt rumbling again. It must be that, yes. Her face was slightly red, and her eyes remained closed. She stopped for a while, wondering why this campus was so big that even riding a bike through it took tremendous amounts of time.


    ¡®There¡¯s too many stairs in this campus,¡¯ Natasha frowned. It was true that this was an international boarding school, but did they have to be so extravagant?


    The rumbling intensified, telling of a tumultuous event about to take place. Unconsciously, Natasha braced herself; she suddenly ducked her head.


    A spear made of flaming air and heat made its way over her head. The ¡°spear¡± that wasn¡¯t really a spear and was more of a line made of light¡ªalthough it had yet to move at such speed and wasn¡¯t close to it either¡ªthe speed at which it moved and the power contained within it made it a sufficiently dangerous attack.


    The ¡°line of light¡± that wasn¡¯t really lightspeed continued it¡¯s journey after missing it¡¯s intended target; it cut through everything in its way, like tofu. The air, any wall, any metal, and basically everything was burned away. And although it¡¯s height above the ground was quite substantial, it still dug quite a bit into the surrounding earth and concrete.


    Her hair raised on end, each prickling into her forever winter uniform, and despite the sweltering heat that was suddenly brought in¡ªher teeth clattered as if it were not the heat she was almost immersed in and swallowed by, but something much more of a frosty environmental texture.


    Natasha didn¡¯t even bother turning back; she immediately went crazy on the peddles and turned a corner. She already knew what was behind her. The building complex she was in trembled, and the average heat in the area increased dramatically. From the surrounding space, the sound of a monkey roaring was heard.


    ¡®Why is it chasing me...? Why is it chasing me?! I could have sworn that I escaped a few moments ago too!¡¯ Natasha furiously peddled, her mind racing as she quickly dipped into another corner, the area behind her being promptly obliterated.


    The dense lower floor walkways and the numerous cut-ins and outs that branched out from all around the entire school complex finally had more of use than something that annoyed students with how large it was.


    ¡®The fact that we need actual vehicles and chauffeurs to get us from class to class depending on where we are is another problem in and of itself. Sigh. thinking of those people, I really hope they¡¯re okay.¡¯


    Natasha bit the inside of her mouth; the heat around her was continuously increasing, which choked her lungs of valuable air, but she didn¡¯t dare to stop breathing. She didn''t dare to stop pedaling either. Natasha couldn''t help but moan at how her life was now continuously in danger, and this was only a one-star meta-beast. She couldn''t imagine what the others would be like.


    Speaking of...


    Natasha wondered how Leon and the others were doing. She didn''t know the name of the girl with him. But she was pretty sure she had seen her somewhere and that she had another friend. It was quite possible that Leon was with those two friends when he died.


    And maybe she, Natasha, died along the way due to mysterious circumstances in the original story.


    She didn''t know the plot of the story, as she obviously didn''t play it. She only received some furious snippets from her alternate self, who didn''t even realize that she was listening, so she couldn''t really absorb or attain any useful or in-depth information, to be exact.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    This fact made her quite angry, but she didn''t really have the luxury to be so, as the flame monkey kept chasing her over the campus. Natasha now realizes how fantastical her bike skill was.


    She didn''t even know she could move like that.


    Right now she popped a wheelie and turned a corner, balancing the tire on the wall before going down again, narrowly dodging one of those fire lights that the flame monkey threw out.


    ¡®I have to say this monkey is really a pain in the ass; doesn''t it ever get tired? Doesn''t it have other targets that it needs to be chasing after? Why does it chase after me? Do I have anything special? Wait, anything special? Wait, oh no, is that... No. Natasha suddenly looked at her chest in horror, a vague realization suddenly springing in her heart as she looked at the gem object on her pendant.


    It was probably the Corastrum that was attracting the beast, but she didn''t particularly know this and only made assumptions.


    The blasts from the beasts attacks were continuous, and the buildings around her and the walls around her and all the floors, concrete, leaves, anything that was flammable or inflammable was set on fire or either exploded, melting into puddles and puddles of lava and molten rock, molten dirt, and sand.


    ¡®I don''t know their faces, I don''t know their powers, I don''t know what they are or what they are here for. Well, I do know what they are here for... They are probably here for my heart of hearts, my beloved Corastrum. But I won''t give it to them, I won''t give them my life, I won''t give them Leon''s life, I won''t give them anything but death, yes, they have to die, they do, or they have to get out of here, or we have to get out of here...


    Natasha scratched her head, and then she suddenly made a mistake. It was a mild mistake. On the ground were some remnant amounts of liquid. She ran over it and her bike suddenly became unsteady.


    This time she didn''t manage to narrowly dodge the beast''s attacks.


    Instead, it gripped her shoulder by a smidgen. And that was all it took for her clothes to catch fire. But Natasha didn''t stop. She couldn''t. If she stopped, her life would be over.


    Her eyes, clothes, and shoulder burned. But she held in her screams and bit her lip hard.


    ¡®Just move your legs, just move your legs, don''t, don''t, don''t, just move your legs, just move your legs, just move your legs, It hurts, it hurts, it burns, is burning¡ªis this what burning feels like? Burns, burns, heat. I can smell my own flesh. Just keep moving, just keep...¡¯


    She was only barely managing to dodge the beast''s flare attacks due to her mysterious instinct that she likely got from her heart of hearts, the Corastrum, and the speed of the bike and her apparent skill of navigating with it.


    Which she still didn''t know how she got, but at this point she began to place everything, every skill she had or gained in the past 10 minutes, on the head of the Corastrum. Her heart of hearts, her heart of stars, whatever the game developers called it, or the reality developers in her case.


    Slightly wincing at the reminder that she was a game character, Natasha continued to pedal, heading towards where Leon and the others were.


    After having her shoulder grazed, turning was slightly more difficult than before, and she could feel that her right arm, which was grazed, was slowly beginning to lose power and mobility. Natasha sighed, knowing that she didn''t have much time left, but she still pedaled on.


    With part obsession and part will to live, she didn''t have much choice. If only her alternate self could miraculously just give her some pointers on how to awaken her true magical capabilities so she could use them consciously, as if she ever used it unconsciously...


    Even using it unconsciously, it would be a good thing, but she wasn''t sure that was the case at all. But consciously controlling her powers meant that she had some control and she liked that


    Although she didn''t know what would be the consequences of reading another piece, she did know, but she at least wanted to see if she could find the time looper before then so they could plan together, something, anything to get them out of this situation because she knew that in order for Leon and the others to die, there had to be another one of these meta-beasts around.


    In coming to a conclusion, Natasha had her own thoughts.


    ¡®Assuming that the other magical girl has these instincts and such as well, another human would never be able to kill her, so it could only be something with similar powers. As for another magical girl? By mistake? Probably. But intentional? Unlikely, by the looks of it so far, none of us can control our powers in anyway, so it would be absurd and terrifying if there was a Magical Girl capable of this.¡¯


    So now that she had partially confirmed that there were at least two, Natasha hoped that there wouldn''t be another one; otherwise, they would stand little chance of going out of this place alive without some of them perishing in it.


    Thanking whoever she could for life, Natasha gripped the bike that was still holding up in the face of the Flame Monkey¡¯s attacks and continued peddling for as long as she could. Maybe, with any luck, the time loop would start again. Then she could escape with her life for a few more seconds, maybe even a minute.

 Chapter 004: Ahhhh…

    ¡ª¡°It¡¯s pretty funny to be honest¡­ The developers of this game asked some of us for permission to use us in their game. I mean, it¡¯s pretty cool, like cool as hell. I¡¯m in an anime game; isn¡¯t this like, one of those dream come true moments.¡±


    ¡®Not the time other me; say something useful, please!¡¯ Natasha grumbled, her lips firmly placed together and her originally pink lips were already blue. She could sense it, she was beginning to lose her strength and the inevitability of death was slowly getting to her.


    She wouldn¡¯t die for real, right? Would she be safe if she died before the next time loop? Would death before the time loop count for real, or could she still be saved? The owner of the time loop should be quite inexperienced, judging by how she still had her memories after time literally reversed, so maybe it can¡¯t save her from death?


    There were many questions, and of course, like all questions, these needed answers, but Natasha couldn¡¯t receive any answers she wanted anywhere.


    ¡®This sucks,¡¯ Feeling the increasing amount of stiffness in her right arm, Natasha couldn¡¯t resist pouting like a child. ¡®Ahhh. Unfair, so unfair! The world is against me!¡¯


    Just as she was thinking this, she unconsciously moved to the side; a beam of light that wasn¡¯t really lightspeed, but rather a flaming flare or blast, cruised near her head. It was a close call, but it had thankfully not touched her silver hair. If that thing had messed up her hair, she would have tried to kill it.


    ¡®I went through many pains to comb these pesky silver locks into something with personality and shine. it takes effort for a girl to get a guy, you know?¡¯ Natasha lectured the tactless and dumb Flame Monkey in her mind, using her right foot to kick off of a wall to assist her turn, going a bit on the left before swinging back on the right again to turn another corner.


    Her bike hung low, near parallel to the ground, but she held and then came back up. Momentarily, she had lost the Flame Monkey. Just as she thought that she could catch a break from the situation and reorganize her thoughts...


    The ground started trembling slightly, dust and such falling off of the newer buildings in the Northern School District where she was. Normally, with tremors passing through regularly like in the last few minutes, Natasha wouldn¡¯t have paid this any mind, thinking it would be over in the next few moments.


    But no. This one seemed, continuous.


    ¡®A continuous tremor...'' Natasha hummed, recalling past education, ¡®If I remember what they taught me correctly during that summer camp, it should be at the level of a Magnitude 4 earthquake or below.¡¯


    It wasn''t a piece of common history, but in the past Natasha had attended the camp hosted by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). This was around the time that her parents were still around and wanted her to learn all sorts of things...


    Natasha started pedaling again, hearing the sound of the Flame Monkey. Till this very minute, she had yet to see it;s full appearance, only knowing it was a Monkey that Wielded Flames.


    During the time when the tremors were still happening, Natasha rode high and low, her face showing signs of fatigue no matter where she went. She had only seen a few students through the windows, and she had a wry smile every time she spotted one.


    ¡®Honestly, being magical would have been so much more fun if I could actually control my powers and just one shot this flame monkey that just keeps chasing me all around the place. But no, I just had to not be able to use my powers, and now I have to ride a bike while being chased around like some kind of circus performance. There is a Monkey right behind me that can use fire! Why am I the one doing the performances, huh? Why am I the protagonist of this clownery!? All the while some of my fellow students, which I am pretty sure do not know me, watch me through the windows in leisure. Isn''t this a humiliation? This is humiliating.¡¯


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Natasha wrote for her life and complained extensively along the way. She didn''t think she was being bitchy in any way.


    Speaking from an outside perspective, it was normal to complain while being chased around for your life. Meanwhile, a part of your right side was... quite frankly, useless, more of a burden or liability than anything else. It gave up on helping you in any way.


    Except for her right leg. Her right arm was directly incapacitated.


    Needless to say, it hurt like hell. It was also a pain in the ass because it continuously didn''t respond to her commands. Nowadays, she used only her left hand to turn the bike handle and used her right leg to turn around tight corners. She had lost about 10¨C20% of her overall mobility on the bike. Though it was much better than running because she would be even worse off.


    Although she had begun to notice that the regenerative, or rather the endurance, capabilities of what they call Magical Girls were quite extensive. Even now, she had barely begun to feel fatigue, although she was indeed tired. Perhaps she hadn¡¯t needed to get a bike in the first place? She couldn¡¯t help but have such thoughts.


    Natasha quickly shook her head, chuckling at her own thoughts: ¡®If I had ever decided to run from the beginning, I still wouldn''t have made it to the others, and I would be much more tired than I am now, even with the enhancement, or likely enhancement, of my physique due to the Corastrum. Being a magical girl also comes with dangers. Right now I''m being chased by a Flame Monkey that I¡¯m 90% sure wants to eat me. Maybe that wouldn¡¯t have happened if I ran from the beginning. Or maybe if I did run and if I didn''t have my bike, I would have been chased by something else. Ultimately, having a vehicle is much more reliable than having your own body, especially if that body is still human, in terms of speed.¡¯


    At least for now.


    Natasha knew that her speed and the speed of everything else would only continue to increase, as would their strength and abilities over the elements or whatever concept they were connected to. She didn''t know her own powers, but she knew that the magical girl that was likely in the southern area of campus controlled time to a certain extent.


    That was immensely powerful.


    So she knew that magical girls were not weak and they could have strong powers, so what about their enemies? What about the meta-beasts that chase after them and likely want to consume them? Shouldn''t they be strong also?


    A predator couldn¡¯t really hunt if it was weaker than it¡¯s prey.


    The flame monkey was only a 1 star, and yet it was capable of destroying multiple buildings, making several dozen meters long and several meters deep craters, and has flames that ionize the air to a height that was similar to the Tokyo Tower. She couldn''t even imagine what something like a 2 star, a 3 star, or even a 4 star could do. She couldn''t imagine it at all.


    While this made her terrified, it also made her equally excited. This was because she had a 4-star Corastrum, meaning that she was of the highest level of potential that one could get. She just needed to awaken her abilities, and this dreadful situation would come to a halt; at least she believed so. She and Leon and all the others in the school, which she may or may not intend to save, would be fine as long as she got an awakening, possibly...


    ¡®I wonder what rank or star level that other magical girl is. Are there other magical girls around her, or is it just her, Leon and another ordinary girl?¡¯ Natasha thought for a while, before the ground, which was continuously rumbling, began to shake even more intensely.


    Natasha¡¯s face became slightly bad. ¡®It seems that the Magnitude is increasing...¡¯


    As for the Flame Monkey? It seemed to grow agitated, and Natasha knew that her train of continuous thought was going to be halted.


    ¡®Back to intensely peddling for my life,¡¯ Natasha could no longer feel much in her right arm.


    She was very much doomed.


    The Corastrum on her neck glowed quietly, seemingly observing the situation.

 Chapter 005: Modern Conveniences

    ¡ª"''So like, what do you think dying felt like for Natasha'' Oh, so you mean me? I mean, me personally? I would probably be terrified as hell because I''ve built a lot or myself now... But that Natasha is like, 16 or 17 at this time. I wasn''t really alright in the head during that time. That''s all I''m gonna say. Well no, that not all I have to say actually, there''s more to it¡ªI think they portrayed that well; my mentality during that time I mean, based on what hints I gave during the character creation. Yeah, that''s all I had to say on that topic. Uh, chat...? What y''all saying right now, it''s moving so fast and stuff, man I got glasses but I''m still squinting my already narrow-eyes, my vision is cooked. ''All this yapping and she still ain''t answer the question bro...'', Hey I gotta build up to it though like, what do you want me to do? ''Holy yap my sister''?! Isn''t that crazy? I can''t even storytell no more?! ''"storytell", "I was leading up to it" and meanwhile bro says "that''s all I have to say" just lying for no reason, crying emoji''... Damn. Nah, fuck this, of course dying would be painful as hell dawg I was just trynna lead up to it, maybe add a few more words. Not my fault college made me a yapper bro y''all gotta be nicer to me for real. (RUS) College made me yap so much to fill in that wordcount man, it''s part of me now... Huh? ''You''re speaking Russian'' (JAP) Eh? For real?"


    Natasha felt a migraine coming on as she listened to her parallel talk about her again, not to mention in those bloody accents... Gosh, she hated it so much and she didn''t even want to think of what transpired after she switched languages unconsciously, she disliked that too. All of these things, did it even need to be said that she was guilty of them as well? Somewhat irritated, but unable to pinpoint where, Natasha subconsciously peddled but her feet only touched the ground. Confused, the girl tried to open her eyes.


    She was largely unsuccessful with the endeavor but she could still see what was in front of her...


    The room was still illuminated at this time, and because of the setting sun, it took the form of an orange glow, symbolizing the day reaching it''s twighlight.


    At a time of 6:00 PM the clubroom inhabited by a single¡ªJapanese-Russian girl was undoubtedly peaceful. That is, despite the monsters roaming about unhindered.


    Natasha blinked, and looked down at the phone in her hand. It was definitely on and the time it showed was definitely 6:00 PM. Natasha took a deep breath and leaned back into the hard seat, she couldn''t help but groan.


    ''What happened?! Did I die? Or did the time loop happen before I did?'' Natasha scratched her head, messing up her hair but not enough to affect her long double braids. Her eyes was still narrowed but now they held a hint of frustration in their depths. Something that wasn''t common.


    If she died, she didn''t know how she did or how it felt like. If she didn''t die, she still didn''t know when the time loop that likely saved her happened. Did it occur early? Later? If so, by how much? A minute or was it two?


    She didn''t know anything and that urked her somewhat, no, a lot. This very much pushed her buttons in a lot of ways that it shouldn''t but it wasn''t like she could do anything about it. At least, she didn''t think she could. Unless she could reach the other side of campus in an instant or somehow defeat the Flame Monkey.


    Both of which were impossible.


    ''No...'' Natasha bit her lip, seeing the time increasingly moving towards 6:01 PM. Specifically it was at 6:00:27 PM. She had activated that function for more precise telling of time, as it was now, not a single second had to be wasted.


    ''There is still another option. It''s not like I actually have to be there to help them...'' Natasha looked at the phone, a modern communication device, in the palm of her hand and for the first time in her near 17 years of life, she felt a smidgen of awe and gratitude for the ordinary device.


    She went to the phone app that was literally built in to all phones in existence, across the board whether they were IOS, Android or whatever else and once again felt but of awe. In her chest there was a bit of comfort knowing that she still had a way, but, it still couldn''t have been the best way.


    After all, she had Leon''s number but they didn''t actually know each other. And it wasn''t to say she had gotten the number in a conventional way like swiping it off of a group chat, asking one of his friends or even having another girl swipe it for her.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    No... Natasha had a slightly more crazy method.


    "Should I video call or just a regular voice call," Natasha bit her lip, but not in a nervous way, her finger playing with her hair.


    But what should she say?


    ¡ªHello, Leon. This is the girl who totally isn''t stalking you and stole your number after cracking your phone while you were on the court playing basketball... I also totally don''t know exactly where you are and who you''re with. They''re totally not two girls who like you that I sometimes fantasized about killing to keep you for myself, haha...


    Okay... Maybe not this.


    "Okay, I might be a bit of a weirdo, but, let''s look at it this way. I''m trying to save his life and it''s not like I can''t lie either. I''ll just say I swiped it from a friend of mine, even though I barely have any friends. Or maybe, I can say I asked one of his friends that''ll work. I haven''t talked to them either though... Tsk, why am I caring about this anyway a lie is a lie because it isn''t true."


    Natasha who had spoken out her internal monologue, nodded as if reassured. As she stared a Leon''s profile, one she had stolen from very far away with a quality camera to capture her favorite angle of his face. She wasn''t being creepy, she was being detailed and serious, she took her job very seriously.


    Natasha shook her head, ''Don''t get distracted, I can think about all of this later once we''re both safe anvout of this fucked up school.''


    She quickly got to Leon''s number among the pitiful amount that was there. There honestly wasn''t more than 7 and 2 of which were past numbers of Leon.


    [Husband ??~]


    [Call ¡ª Message ¡ª Video]


    Natasha directly scrolled and clicked on the [Call on WhatsApp] option. Opting to use her cellular service for urgent situations since the Wifi was still up and running.


    After initiating the call, Natasha placed the phone to her ear and went near one of the windows of the clubroom.


    ''I believe the Flame Monkey was in the northeast side of campus... I should definitely share that, and get some information on the Earth Meta-Beast in the south where they are. I''m currently near the north to northwest area in the Biological Sciences Building of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Building complexes... That should be easy to find, though I can''t pinpoint their set location... Uh, what else, what else.'' Natasha quickly recapped on all the information she had as the phone kept making it''s ringing sound, then, she heard a click.


    [Leon: Yo, this is Leon. Who is this?]


    Natasha''s heart rate instantly spiked, and her face was flushed red. Her gripped on the phone tightened and she couldn''t help rejoicing tat she hadn''t opted for a video call earlier.


    Natasha cleared her throat, praying that she wouldn''t give a bad impression by having her voice choke and went forward to speak as if she were talking to her fiance.


    [Natasha: Uh, Leon, is that your name? That should be your name right? I''m a schoolmate, though you may not have met me, I was uh, there when you were with that girl behind the school so like I just wanted to ask if you were alive...?]


    She wanted to come off familiar but I. The end changed her mind, pretending to not know him was the best in terms of not eeirding him out.


    [Leon: I know who you are.]


    Natasha''s nose immediately bled,and she felt her body shiver for a moment. Touching her blushing face, she couldn''t help but sigh.


    [Leon: You are... Natasha Volkova, from the Faculty of Arts and Sciences right? You should be a what? A double, triple major?]


    [Natasha: I''m a double major in Foreign Languages and Psychology.]


    [Leon: Nows not the time, but it always feels ridiculous for a highschool to have the major n elective system that collages and universities do. Listen, it''s always nice to chat but we''re in a bit of a situation here, so I can''t really entertain you...]


    Natasha''s fingers trembled, and she looked at the phone, thankful that he hadn''t ended it and the quickly began to lay her cards.


    [Natasha: Wait, wait, wait. I know something about the Earth Meta-Beast...]


    [Leon: Meta-Beast? It has an official classification?]


    His voice sounded confused and intrigued, and it sounded like he was putting more than a little thought into the mild amount of information that was given to him. Natasha couldn''t help but imagine his face, confused yet interested.


    [Natasha: Yes, yes. There''s also the Flame Monkey...]


    [Leon: Wait? Flame Monkey, you mean there''s another one of those things just roaming around where you are?!]


    Natasha was about o joyfully reply but then she heard a female voice butt in suddenly.


    [???: Hey who are you talking to. It sounds like a girl, there''s no way you had a girlfriend while I was confessing to you right? Right?! I swear I would have known, you know?!]


    Natasha who was going to fly into a sudden rage at the voice of the girl who nearly stole Leon away from her, instantly deflated when the girl mistook her for Leon''s girlfriend.


    By this time, she had already half forgotten that she was in a dangerous situation. Just then, she heard something else.


    [???: Hey, hey, let''s do a video call. I wanna see the other girl. C''mon...]


    She sounded very comfortable and spoiled with him, something Natasha didn''t like at all.


    Another girls voice was heard, though it was slightly strained and dull, there was also the sound of chewing. It appeared she was having difficulty doing to as well.


    [???: Video call, video call.]


    Natasha was stunned and for a time there no answer on the other end. Then Leon finally asked the question.


    [Leon: I mean, you heard them.]


    Natasha pouted but looking at the dwindling time, she gave her answer.


    [Natasha: Okay, but don''t be stunned by me.]

 Chapter 006: Information Sharing

    Natasha who had spoken with arrogant indifference earlier, naturally wasn''t so. With actions that didn''t match her words she quickly fixed her hair and clothes, both of which didn''t need fixing at all and put on the video call.


    At the same time, she looked at the time which was now 6:03:12 PM and grabbed her bag.


    With all that done she patiently waited, placing the sweetest expression she had on her face.


    [Video Call ¡ª Loading...]


    There was a bit of static, before the screen suddenly lit up and Natasha could see the other side.


    The first thing she noticed was that there was an abundance of rubble an dust in the air¡ªokay, that was a lie.


    The first thing she noticed obviously wasn''t some stupid rubble. With Leon''s voice on the phone¡ªThe literal love of her life, why would she care about such things.


    With eager eyes, she peered into the screen. When she saw not only Leon but a black haired girl by him, who was squishing against his body, Natasha was overcome with a feeling intense loathing.


    ''Homewrecker!'' Her eyes instantly become dangerous, and with her special condition, she looked just the part of the narrow-eyes teammate of the protagonist planning a betrayal.


    [Natasha: You are?]


    Her voice was low, but Leon didn''t seemed to notice as he shook off the girl and sat down, staring into the distance.


    [Leon: That''s Mirai Takahashi.]


    His tone of voice was even, there also a bit of amusement to it. The girl dropped down from behind his back, looking at her curiously.


    She had a bright pair of caramel eyes and the area around her right ear, the place where ear accessories were placed, shone with a slight starry light.


    [Mirai: Woah... So this is the school belle...?]


    [???: We have school belle''s? I could have sworn this was a real life Japanese school and not something from a Chinese or Korean webtoon.]


    Natasha couldn''t help but agree and disagree with her. She was right to say that school belle''s and such were somewhat ridiculous. But it also had to be said that this was an international boarding school, although it was located in Japan, specially Tokyo''s Minato Ward, it''s wide array of students were not.


    Natasha herself was only here because she had caught interest when Leon posted he was going there on his socials. And since she was free to go anywhere and her parents already had a house in Japan she just traveled there with no issue.


    Honestly if it wasn''t for this, she would probably still be in Russia wasting away.


    As for the inexplicable attraction that could force a girl to travel all across the world, it was not the time to delve into such matters. Even if she was asked, Natasha didn''t have a clear answer. She had felt like it, somewhat like love at first sight and she just went.


    Complicated thoughts, considerations and some such, they were the furthest things from her mind.


    Or maybe she was just crazy and had too much freedom.


    [Mirai: Yuki-chan¡ª]


    She was then interrupted...


    [Leon: So about what we were talking about earlier...]


    Leon, who was nervously looking over his shoulder from time to time, began to bring them back on topic. Natasha became a bit more attentive, and by the way Mirai perked up as well, she did too.


    [Natasha: Is that Earth Meta-Beast near you guys right now? Why aren''t you running?]


    Natasha couldn''t help but be confused. Aren''t these guys too leasurely? But a moment later she stared at Mirai accusingly, as if blaming her for keeping Leon in the line of fire.


    [Leon: The Earth Hippo is slow, but it has terrifying abilities. As long as we keep a certain distance and remain clear from certain areas, we should be able to survive for a time. All related to earth, those tremors you might be able to feel? That''s all him. Or her...]


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    [Natasha: Our campus isn''t exactly small, and if it''s in the south but I can still feel it from here... Oh, by the way, I don''t know if you know this but whatever it''s doing, those earthquake''s? They''re around the Magnitude 3 to 4 range.]


    At her words Leon and Mirai had contemplative expressions and Natasha took the time to look around outside the window again. During her run to the bike rack, she had went over nearly 2 kilometers. She wasn''t sure if it was close to 2 kilometers or if it was closer to 1 kilometer.


    Staring out of the window, and over looking all the other buildings in the area, she wondered if the Flame Monkey could detect her from so far away.


    She rummaged into her bag and brought out her 14.6" Samsung Tablet. Just at this time, Leon finally spoke.


    [Leon: Interesting. While I would like to know the details, I''m afraid we don''t have time for that. But I remember you saying something about a Flame Monkey... You asked us why we weren''t running but why aren''t you?]


    Natasha hummed, staring at his face for a while. Leon was undoubtedly good-looking but not overwhelmingly so, with bright brown-blonde hair and slightly weird eyes, a mix of chestnut brown and a swirling violet. He seemed much more like the "childhood friend down the street" rather than mister "steal your heart in under a minute" or even just the "world praised celebrity" type.


    This was obviously to her taste and Natasha, who was momentarily distracted, let out a small smile. Her thought process was unusually fast and she didn''t waste any more time in answering.


    [Natasha: The Flame Monkey, a 1-star Meta-Beast is fast. Very fast, like crazy fast and it''s attacks are even quicker. They look like lines of light and I wouldn''t recommend anyone face them. Though I seemed to dodge tem on instinct, I don''t actually have the speed to react on the nose, or I haven''t tried to. Not trying to play with my life here you know.]


    Leon nodded and Mirai, and her unseen friend Yuki made slight noises in amazement.


    [Yuki: You didn''t exactly answer the question though...]


    Natasha was instantly annoyed, her mind flashed to what happened to her alternate version earlier and her mood worsened even more. If she had to be honest, Natasha didn''t really think of Natasha Alter as her. Sure, she had her face and voice and so on but they didn''t really share habits and personality traits.


    ''Wait no, there was the accents and language switching,'' Her brows furrowed.


    Okay, maybe they did share some traits but she had been of the mind that, due to them being parallels or alternate versions, they weren''t exactly the same person. Or maybe they were, as it was in the name and she was going crazy with denial or a silent identity crisis.


    Who knows... Regardless, the fact of the matter was:


    Yuki''s comment was a complete slap to the face, because Natasha realized that she was just like Natasha Alter. She had talked so much and hadn''t even answered the question.


    [Natasha: I was leading up to it...]


    She said in a weak voice, although she wanted to rage, she didn''t forget who was there. Raging between girls alone was fine but she wasn''t willing to risk embarrassing herself in front of Leon for their sake at all.


    [Leon: Haha... It''s fine, the information was important. It also confirmed that these Meta-Beasts have different abilities and constitutions. Which means different weaknesses, possible ones.]


    [Natasha: Anyway, the reason I''m not running is that it''s about a kilometer away from me. I''m not sure it can detect me from here, and I was kind of in shock for a while, so I just sat down in a daze.]


    Natasha didn''t know why but it seemed that her words had shifted the atmosphere of the room in some way. The way they looked at her had something in it.


    [Leon: In shock huh? From what exactly, also, how do you know all this...?]


    Natasha tilted head, not sure what he was asking but then Mirai said cheerfully.


    [Mirai: Obviously she''s in shock from being caught in my timeloop! Hehe, it''s fine you know, I was in shock too when it happened.]


    Natasha who wasn''t expecting such a bomb to drop, couldn''t help but feel her jaw drop slightly. But then whatever awe she had was replaced with a hunger for knowledge and power.


    [Natasha: How did you do it?]


    Mirai looked confused. So, Natasha, annoyed but helpless asked her once more.


    [Natasha: How did you awaken your Magical Girl abilities? You have power over time don''t you?]


    [Mirai: Oh! I don''t know.]


    Natasha took a deep breath. And held in her scream of frustration before breathing out again.


    [Yuki: Hey, so since you asked about the abilities and stuff. And you know so much, you must have one of those star gems too right?]


    Natasha closed her eyes and casually shared her information.


    [Natasha: Corastrum. It''s a Corastrum.]


    Yuki and Mirai made sounds of amazement again. With Leon making a thoughtful face, he then smiled.


    [Leon: It seems like a unique name, I''m guessing it has a simpler meaning?]


    Natasha nodded and he sighed, his smile still on his face he said with a light voice.


    [Leon: Can you translate for us, miss Foreign Languages major...]


    Natasha beamed.


    [Natasha: Of course. The word means "Heart of Stars". I haven''t seen Yuki yet but she must be like us right? With one of these...?]


    [Yuki: Yep, I do.]


    Natasha sighed, finally confirming something. She felt like celebrating a little.


    Three Magical Girl''s!


    Three of them!


    With one of them being her, a confirmed 4 star!


    While she wanted go celebrate such great luck, she still had something to say. Donning a serious expression she began to say:


    [Natasha: The words are literal, but let me say it again. The Corastrum is most likely the most vital part of use right now. You see the meaning "Heart of Stars". This thing is literally our new heart. Protect it well, it''s our ticket to escaping those monsters.]


    [Yuki: Escape? Not kill?]


    Natasha''s lips twitched.


    [Mirai: Yeah escaping might be for the best but me and the Earth Hippo are kinda life and death enemies right now. I''d feel sick if I let it breathe a second more. I, I really really really don''t like it, it''s evil and ugly. It''s also really stupid and dumb.]


    Her lips twitched even more at the blatant hatred and killing intent in her tone and expression. Was this a high school girl?


    What did that Hippo even do for her to stutter so much when speaking about it. And it wasn''t a nervous stutter either, but one born out of a person holding themselves back from going overboard.


    Natasha took a deep breath.


    Her interest in the Earth Meta-Beast was undoubtedly growing.

 Chapter 007: A Talkative Yandere

    While her interest in the Earth Hippo indeed grew, Natasha still kept her gaze on the North-East. Although she did not know how or if the 1-Star Meta-Beast had killed her she still was apprehensive about the appearance of the Flame Monkey.


    ¡®Is it too late to try and get another bike?¡¯ Natasha pondered for a while before she turned back to the phone, she absentmindedly used her tablet to search something.


    Meanwhile, she felt the need to remind them again.


    [Natasha: Listen, I don''t know what goes through your mind when you think of the Corastrum, but what goes through my mind is that I usually, in a very subconscious type of way, which I have grown to like catch myself with over time¡­ Ahem, I refer to it as my ¡°heart¡± of hearts. I don''t really refer to it as the heart of stars or the Corastrum. In my unconscious mind, this thing is my new heart. So when I say protect it well, I mean protect it well because this may very well be your life. Don''t try to risk it in any way or form. You understand? This is all an assumption, but I feel like it makes sense.]


    [Yuki: You certainly can talk.]


    ¡®Can¡¯t you take anything seriously? This girl, when I see her I will seriously smack her face off...¡¯


    Natasha''s lips twitched at Yuki''s comment but she decided to ignore for now. She absentmindedly glanced at her tablet, maneuvering around all the apps and software that was on it. When she saw what she was looking for she immediately tapped it and then turned back to the video call.


    Leon was unusually, well, very usually contemplative. From what Natasha had observed, he was usually like this, whether on the field or just in the hallways from afar. He seemed to be very thoughtful. And he took in the information with what seemed to be a great incentive.


    She saw how he turned his gaze to the somewhat absent-minded Mirai and then what¡ªor rather who¡ªshe assumed was Yuki who was off screen.


    She hadn''t seen her yet; this Yuki who continuously tried to annoy her, but from the way her voice sounded and how she usually coughed, Natasha felt that this girl didn''t have much time to live but she didn''t know why.


    Or perhaps she did know why, after all they said that they were being chased by a dangerous Earth Hippo, which, from what Natasha could tell, was able to comfortably cause magnitude 4 earthquakes with the tremors that were increasingly rising into the magnitude 5 range.


    This range though, while vaguely accurate, was purely an assumption¡ª of which she had been doing a lot lately. But this was all she could do without concrete information.


    And with her alternate self having such a vibrant personality and such jumbling thoughts, she couldn''t really depend on her to give her information.


    Placing her similar her at the back of her mind while wondering why she hadn''t heard her voice yet again, Natasha went back to thinking about the Earth Hippo.


    This beast was naturally dangerous but she didn''t put it in regards to the Flame Monkey who was both fast and possessed unrealistic maneuverability. Nevertheless, this was all her assumptions as she didn''t actually see the girl nor knew how she was or her current state.


    Perhaps she was seriously injured and was just taking it out on the living or perhaps she was just lightly injured and this was just her personality. Annoyingly confrontational, yes, but Natasha would rather that than her being seriously injured in any way.


    This was because while magical girls possess increased stamina and endurance due to the Corastrum or its likely influence on their bodies. She didn''t really know if they could or have attained increased regenerative capabilities. So, it was best to hope that the other magical girl, which rank was still undetermined, hadn''t actually been seriously injured.


    ¡®I hate to say this or think it but our chances at survival will severely decrease if she is seriously injured and cannot heal herself in any way. So it''s best to hope for the best.¡¯


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Natasha hummed and looked at the time that passed while she was deep in thought, within 20 seconds and such she confirmed that once again magical girls seemed to have increased speed of thought and this seemed increased over time.


    Normally, her tirades of monologue¡ªsomething that would get increasingly interrupted by teachers and classmates, much to her chagrin as they were nearly all about Leon¡ªwould take at least 40 seconds and above and this was depending on how much time she was engaged in it and the specific content that sparked her monologue in the first place.


    She had a pretty long monologue earlier and it would usually take her like 1 minute or 2 minutes of intense focus just to get through it all but this time it took less than 20 seconds. She hummed again, amused at the increased capabilities of Magical Girls.


    As for how she knew her own monologue time; she had a habit of always checking her phone after any tirade of thought, just to make sure Leon hadn¡¯t left yet. As for why, well¡­ So she could follow him of course!


    [Leon: So about the 1 star thing you were talking about earlier¡­ What was that about? Some ranking system.]


    While she wondered why Mirai or Yuki weren''t talking and taking charge. Natasha was happy to talk to Leon alone. She didn''t really place the girls in her eyes at all even though they were also Magical Girls.


    Obviously the fact that Mirai tried to confess to Leon earlier during the day or the evening also played part in this. Natasha knew she was being prejudiced but she didn''t particularly care.


    It wasn''t like she was being racist, classist or any of the sort. She was just of the mind that women shouldn''t be going after the future men of other women. As for whether Leon would be a future man, Natasha didn''t doubt it for a second.


    With such thoughts on her mind, she answered this question with a cheerful voice:


    [Natasha: From what I know there are 4 stars in total 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, 4 star. 1 star is obviously the lowest and 4 star is the highest that one can achieve, or gain I should say. From what little we''ve seen so far, it looks like both people and the Meta-Beast spawn in with a set amount of stars. It''s too early to say whether this can change¡ª]


    Natasha suddenly stopped humming as she had a thoughtful look on her face. It wasn''t because of the Flame Monkey suddenly appearing which might have sparked her fear or any other sort of reason.


    It was because she had heard a familiar voice in her mind and her intuition had told her that whatever the voice would say would be extremely valuable information or could lead to it at the very least.


    ¡ª¡°¡¯Bro you¡¯re seriously going on the wiki, aren¡¯t you afraid of spoilers?!¡¯ I honestly don''t care about spoilers anymore. My character is dead, I am dead. As far as I know, I am free to do whatever I want with this game now. Now, obviously¡ªI''m still gonna play the game and review the story and you know, make content of it... That''s just what I do, I''m a content creator for games and stuff, I''ll make content about it. But, there''s some information I wanna see. So, I¡¯m gonna do just that, and you all, are gonna watch me do it! So, I saw in the chat earlier, one of you said that the girls in Volume 1 or Arc 1 were unawakened and even after the end of Arc 1 they still weren''t awakened, that was Mirai and Yuki. So, I am curious about this awakened, unawakened stuff you guys were talking about. So, I''m gonna check in the wiki like a rational person instead of playing this outrageously long game. Cause like c¡¯mon chat Arc 1 was like 10 to 14 hours of game-play bro like this is just insane. Like the amount of time loops in in it were crazy, the stress, the amount of students¡­ That, you know, died or were on the verge of death, the OST mixing with their screams of despair that felt very, very disturbingly real, props to the developers and music creators and voice actors and shit you feel me but¡ªthere was a lot of shit just going on and I really like it, don¡¯t misunderstand, it''s a good game right? It''s a good game, but like, I just hate doing the same actions over and over, although they weren''t really the same actions, It''s a time loop. Shit. Things change, actions change, and so on. You know what I''m getting at. But like, yeah, I''m gonna stop here because you guys are so preposterous, you''re gonna say I''m yapping, so like, whatever, I''m going to the wiki.¡±


    ¡®A wiki! She''s going to check a wiki!¡¯ Natasha became intensely happy, and her smile grew, although her eyes stayed closed, or rather, narrowed.


    ¡®This alternate self of mine finally decided to use her brain and help me. I wonder what came over her for this to happen? Maybe she was just curious or was she just impatient or both! I wouldn''t like to admit it but I can be like that sometimes. Anyway, does it matter? It all plays in my favor. Or our favor. All of us.¡¯


    Natasha thought. It wasn''t complex, but it was simple. Enough to get the point across to herself, and to stimulate her patience in anticipation for what the other Natasha was about to go and look for inside of the wiki.


    At the moment of our thoughts, Mirai suddenly spoke, of a questionable tone. It was as if she was unsure whether to ask, wasn''t curious at all, and was similarly expectant of the answer she might receive all at once. This was quite a contradictory tone, and at the moment, Natasha couldn''t quite identify it at all.


    [Mirai: So like, I wonder how many stars I have, right? I can manipulate time to an extent though not really consciously... I think, but it should be quite powerful, right? Hey hey, Silver Magical Girl! How many stars do I have, can you tell me?]

 Chapter 008: Her Plan, Her Brand of Love

    Natasha was also curious about the answer, and she looked forward to it as well. She was no less excited than Mirai. If she could be a 3- or 4-star, that would mean they would have two 4 stars in the group, which would increase their chances of survival immensely.


    Or at least, that was what she thought.


    It was rational to think that having higher potential magical girls, especially the one who was confirmed to have survived the first arc of the story that they were caught in¡ªor was it now reality, with a future projected to another parallel universe in the form of a game?¡ªcould be instrumental to their collective survival.


    With this in mind, and knowing that Mirai didn''t really possess the knowledge to discover how many stars she had¡ªdespite the utter simplicity of the matter¡ªNatasha felt she should be the one to tell her how to do it.


    She was the only one who could, really, so it''s not like she had any choice in the matter. Despite her near obvious bias against the girl, they were considered comrades in this scenario.


    Despite all her thinking, Natasha was quite simple with her choice of words:


    [Natasha: Remove the earring and count how many stars you can see in the Corastrum, that¡¯s your star level or rank¡­]


    Mirai went to remove the earring from her right ear, but then Leon interrupted.


    [Leon: No need to check; there were 4 stars in there. This is also the case for Yuki''s. Both of them are 4-stars.]


    Natasha didn''t really know what her reaction to that information should be.


    Should it be shock?


    But she wasn''t really shocked, because that was the way Leon was. He was observant and perceptive in many ways.


    So should she act like she expected it? This also didn''t feel right because logically she should be shocked, as she was playing the part of someone who didn''t know Leon and had nervously called him during a time of crisis.


    Even though she stalked him on a daily basis and knew a lot about him.


    He had not taken notice of her actions so far and so she was quite careful in letting anything slip.


    So logically, she didn''t know how to react and just kept a blank face.


    However, Mirai and Yuki did the heavy lifting for her in terms of reacting to the information.


    [Mirai: Hmph! It was was only a matter of time. Hehe, I made a pun.]


    Mirai giggled as her face twisted idiotically.


    [Yuki: Hmm, it seems like we''re back in business.]


    Their reactions to the information differed but Natasha felt like it was enough to cover up the fact that she hadn''t reacted, whether excessively or not, to the information. They presented much more than she could offer in the this moment.


    Well... this her, but she was sure the other her, Natasha Alter would have some sufficient reactions as she was a content creator with 3 million subscribers. It also had to be said that with her personality and the way she spoke she was sure that that Natasha Alter had done some reaction videos as well.


    At least the ones she saw on YouTube by other content creators with a similar subscriber count.


    Just as she thought along those lines, she suddenly heard Natasha Alter''s voice. Natasha immediately perked up, it seemed that the girl was going to check the wiki now and she wondered what type of information she would have for her.


    While she knew that the other Natasha was going to check information based on the Awakening or the lack thereof of the Magical Girls in Arc 1, namely¡ªMirai and Yuki.


    There was also her but, well, the original story happened and she died.


    ¡ª"¡¯Bro be careful, there''s a lot of stuff just ruins the story if you figure it out in advance¡¯ Well, duh! I''ll obviously keep that in mind, chat, this is a no-brainer. Now let''s stop the stalling and get to reading. Hmmm, what should search for...?


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡ª"Ah! How about... What is Magical Girl Awakening...


    ¡ª"Hm, I see. See guys, see how fast it loaded this is the benefit of high speed internet, nothing like the trash I had back in highschool and college! ''Nachoo-chan always complains about her highschool internet, we get it bro'' No you don''t get it, you don''t. *mumble* Also stop calling me Nachoo-chan, this doesn''t match my vibe, my aura... *mumble*


    ¡ª"This made my blood pressure rise a little, anyway, ignoring you for now. I''m not gonna yap and get distracted this time! I''m serious, this is serious Natasha time now, I''m filled with determination! Okay, so... "


    Natasha, who was on the brink of losing her patience aggressively tapped her tablet and loaded up a new map. She could have used her regular one, but this one would be for public revision and analysis, so she couldn''t.


    The one she used regularly was marked with Leon''s signature all over it. She had colors, marked special spots or places where he liked contemplating. Like the rooftop of the third building overlooking the third to sixth greenhouses in the Environmental Research & Development Building Complex, or the abandoned warehouse in the old campus area where he made a makeshift hangout place for himself, she had been to and knew all of these, religiously marking them on her map.


    This would be her third custom map of campus, the first being the one that tracked Leon and the second being her own personal map that lacked any of the "Leon Landmarks". This was to avoid others from seeing the one she had on Leon, in case anyone was snooping about, searching for things they should not see.


    She was obsessed, sure, but not dumb enough to not know that the guy you liked figuring out you were basically his shadow would severely impact his potential attraction, she wanted to avoid this at all costs. To this end, she hid all her tools and put on the facade of a diligent student.


    Natasha blinked, what miniscule amount she could manage with her narrow eyes and casually manipulated the map.


    While waiting for Natasha Alter to drop bombs, she went forward to present what she was doing.


    [Natasha: Anyway, with all formalities out of the way, and with what is basically the strongest force in this school, let''s begin our planning to take down the two confirmed Meta-Beasts.]


    [Yuki: You changed your mind about escaping? I''m surprised, I thought the school belle would be much more of a stick in the mud.]


    [Mirai: Yeah, you never talk to anyone!]


    Natasha took a deep breath, looking Leon who was still deep in thought and released it.


    ''Calm thoughts...''


    [Natasha: I don''t want to either but I need your help in order to keep Leon safe...]


    Leon, who was suddenly mentioned, snapped out his trance and looked at her dumbly.


    ''Cute...''


    [Leon: Me? Why though? I''m not the prime minister.]


    [Natasha: At this school, you might as well be. Not going into much detail, since you know yourself or rather you should... but I''m slightly doubting that fact now... You''re basically that guy you know, you haven''t noticed but everyone is checking you out, even people outside the school. Your practically the hero, symbol and mascot of this school. Tell me what happens if your injured?]


    [Yuki: That is insane riding but what you said is true. But why protect Leon, yeah I would too since he isn''t Magical¡ªlike us, but is there any special reason.]


    [Mirai: Maybe...? She wants to¡ª]


    [Leon: You want to use me to unify all the students?]


    His voice was slightly hoarse and filled with disbelief as if he couldn''t believe his ears nor the words from his mouth.


    Natasha nodded with a smile. She didn''t find what she was saying ridiculous at all. And how could she? Leon was really the face of the school, or at least one of the most recognizable faces of the school, barring the student council president and the members on the student council, as well, of course, the few teachers and principal here.


    He was handsome, and many girls liked him. He was cheerful, and many guys were his friends, whether they be Indian, African, Asian, any type of ethnicity and so on. If there was a guy on campus, there was at least a 70¡ë chance that Leon would be friends with them, or at least knew them in some type of way, whether it be through the sports team, clubs, or extracurricular activities.


    This type of thing, she would notice.


    As for why she would notice and not regular people like Yuki and Mirai, yes, regular people. She called them regular people because they were not the ones stalking Leon and knowing all of his plans and locations.


    Leon was basically nigh-omnipresent across campus, she didn''t know why he did this and she didn''t particularly care. At least, in the moment but she would eventually know this, just like everything else she knew.


    She knew who Leon knew, even if she didn''t know them personally. She knew them all by name and face, she had always kept an eye on both bad and good influences.


    All the girls and guys he knew, she had knowledge on them and some bits of their backgrounds. She knew he went and where he didn''t go, how often he went there, when he went and through observation and experience, could guess why he went to.


    She knew all of this and more. And she still sought to know more about him.


    She wasn''t a mind reader but when it came to Leon, she could infer quite a lot.


    If Leon was described a nigh-omnipresent across the campus, then she could be considered nigh-omniscient when it came to Leon.


    This was obsession.


    This was craziness.


    This was Natasha''s brand of love.


    With a hearty smile that was somewhat strange, somewhat creepy and somewhat filled with a soul crushing amount of faith and love that had no distinct origin, she said:


    [Natasha: Yes, that''s exactly what I want to do.]


    Just then, her voice, slightly older, louder and much expressive also sounded out:


    ¡ª¡°I found it and I avoided all the popular searches!¡±


    Natasha''s smile deepened.

 Chapter 009: Awakening & Reset

    ¡ª¡°Alright so here it is; ¡®The awakening of Magical Girls is a significant event, typically accompanied by an animation depending on their star rank. The contents of which heavily related to their concept in some manner.¡¯ So that confirms that neither Mirai or Yuki awakened while I wasn¡¯t looking, good to know I didn¡¯t miss anything. Is awakening that hard? I mean, Act 1 was a handful, I feel like they should have awakened.¡±


    ¡®So those two didn¡¯t even awaken during that time? How useless¡­¡¯ Natasha reviewed the girls with new eyes and there was a hint of disdain within. ¡®Then again, at least they survived Act 1. I died, according to this parallel.¡¯


    She was alive now though, but there was still a point in time where she would meet that specific time where she died in the plot. She didn¡¯t know when though, and while it was slightly worrying, it wasn¡¯t something to raise arms about. For Natasha, if she didn¡¯t know something and didn¡¯t have a method of finding out, then it was best to forget it.


    ¡®Anyway, as long as I tread carefully and don¡¯t overstep we can all make it out of this safely. With Mirai¡¯s power, that hopefully doesn¡¯t dwindle over time, we can make some plans for this situation.¡¯


    Natasha scratched her arm, frowning when she felt the room become slightly more suffocating as if it was being deprived of air. She pursed her lips, glancing out of the window worriedly, before she glanced back at her phone.


    [Yuki: You know sitting on the ground is very comfortable, and I don¡¯t even have to move around. For a predator, I¡¯m just the perfect prey! Like that Earth Hippo over there¡­]


    Her voice was chock full of sarcasm and while Natasha couldn¡¯t see the girls face¡ªsomething she should have asked about long ago¡ªshe could determine that her expression was utterly lacking in emotional qualities.


    [Leon: This plan of yours, it¡¯s a bit on the nose and I don¡¯t really think it¡¯s going to work with just me at the center. But if it really is the only option, not saying it is¡­ We can try to make a way for it to happen, it''s going to take a lot of time though, and I''m not sure we have that.]


    Leon sighed with much emotion, as if he was tired but had no choice in the matter, so acceptance was the predominant expression on his face as well as a faint unwillingness.


    [Leon: We still need to deal with the Flame Monkey and Earth Hippo¡­]


    [Mirai: And meet in person! We need to meet in person. You said we''re a team now, like in the movies, so we need a hideout. We can¡¯t be planning to kick ass without having a cool hideout. This is essential, essential!] Mirai emphasized, her face serious as she spoke with enthusiasm, ignoring the ground that was trembling behind her. [We also need a name, something cool. Something that''ll make everyone recognize us.]


    [Natasha: We need to survive first, survive. We can''t do any one of those if we end up as food for the Meta-Beasts.]


    Natasha sighed at their responses, frankly she felt the plan was slightly impossible too but they had to try something. Something beyond the notion of just ¡°survive¡±.


    As someone once said, humans needs goals, desires and drive to live straightforwardly. In this chaotic situation, they needed some structure.


    Thinking of the time she was chased by the Flame Monkey and had to chaotically rush around the school in a panic, Natasha couldn''t help shivering.


    While she was having these thoughts, Natasha Alter kept speaking;


    ¡ª¡°¡¯According to the information figured out by [Fate] and [Time] Magical Girl¡¯s¡¯ Hey chat there¡¯s a spoiler block here, should I click it?


    ¡®No, it¡¯ll reveal the names of who [Fate] and [Time] are, as well as some of their titles and even their profile. Though the latter is obvious.¡¯ Obvious huh? Time, time, time... So it¡¯s Mirai? Is that how they¡¯re referred to when they awaken? By their concept instead of their name, or is it like an official denomination or title? No idea who [Fate] is though, but she sounds powerful.


    ¡®Yeah.¡¯ Short ass answer.


    Hmm¡­ Let¡¯s continue; ¡®According to the records and information figured out by them and experienced in various Acts, there are Four States of Star Awakening; Partial Awakening, Pseudo Awakening, Full Awakening and Complete Awakening.¡¯¡±


    Natasha didn¡¯t didn¡¯t much more from her alternate self in terms of knowledge after this development. At least for now, and strictly on the topic of awakenings and nothing else.


    More knowledge on other topics; like the Star-Scarred Sky¡ªwhat she had begun to call the state of the sky after this apocalypse scenario, and some miscellaneous questions would be quite welcome.


    Knowing this much was a good start, and she couldn''t be greedy. This was good leverage for the future when they escaped the school.


    [Mirai: It¡¯s going to be that time again soon, I can feel it¡­ By the way, we are meeting up right? Don¡¯t get me wrong, the video call is nice and all but I¡¯m a bit worried about you¡­]


    [Leon: That thing¡­ The Corastrum on your chest, it attracts the Meta-Beasts you know. Are you sure you¡¯re safe from the Flame Monkey?]


    [Yuki: Why do you guys sound so worried, she''ll be fine as long as she isn''t sitting still. Like us. Mirai, if you can use that thing you''ve been using to go earlier in time, I''d appreciate it.]


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Leon had a worried expression as he confirmed one of Natasha¡¯s guesses, and she resisted the urge to stroke her chin.


    ¡®So they also had some things to share, but I want to know something else¡­¡¯


    As for what Yuki said, Natasha just blinked. She, indeed was sitting still but she knew her limits, she didn''t want to go near that thing called the Flame Monkey for a while.


    There was a little apprehension in her heart when she thought about it, the last few minutes of the last loop were a blur and she had a feeling it would be best if it was kept that way.


    Nevertheless, she still took the time to answer them.


    [Natasha: Oh no. I''ll probably have to run in a few moments but I doubt I''ll last long, so I''ll be counting on Mirai to loop before I die¡­] Pausing for a few moments to see Mirai and Leon tense she chuckled a little and then said while keeping her eyes locked on the outside of the window. [Ignoring that though, I''m very curious on how the first loop went, and the second as well. We''re supposedly on the third loop right?]


    Mirai put on a thinking expression and Natasha felt her mouth drying up a little, looking around and realizing she had no water, she frowned.


    The heat was increasing, she hummed and watched as a leaf lit on fire randomly. Absent-minded, she heard a trembling from across the phone and with it came some frightened noises and some turbulence.


    Moments later she felt the ground beneath her rumble with the same power.


    ¡®It seems these two are going to go at it again,¡¯ Natasha looked at the shining red light in the distance, and she no longer stood as close to the glass as she did before.


    It had slowly began to lose form, and Natasha nodded as she heard the voice of her alternate self speaking once again.


    ¡ª¡°¡®The first¡ªPartial Awakening¡ªis a state unlocked unconsciously and is typically stated to be the Unawakened State, due to the Magical Girls being unable to consciously and reliably control their powers...¡¯ So like, some state of magical power limbo. No wonder Mirai and Yuki were struggling, their powers are basically 50:50, basically having your life depend on a gacha.


    Huh? ¡®Read the next line¡¯ I was planning too chill¡­


    ¡®However, there are exceptions, like with [Time] during the first Act, whose powers reacted consistently. It was later theorized that a Magical Girls Witch Factor, her source of power or rather, the power itself, reacts when her life is in danger¡ª¡¯ wait wait wait?! What the hell is a Witch Factor?!¡±


    ¡®I''m wondering about that too, I thought the Corastrum was the source of power. What do they mean by ¡®the power itself¡¯ And why is it called a Witch Factor? Aren''t we Magical Girls? Also¡ª¡¯


    ¡ª¡±Doesn¡¯t this just reveal that [Time] is Mirai? Why were they hiding it in the first place then?¡±


    ¡®That is¡­ similar to my thoughts.¡¯ Natasha frowned at the similarities as the turbulence from across the phone increased.


    [Mirai: Ahhhh¡­ We''re going to die again!] Mirai, who was playful a moment ago, immediately started panicking.


    It was as if she didn''t have the ability to rewind time at will, well, technically she didn''t.


    Natasha blinked and she felt chills run down her spine. If she had to be honest, she wasn''t nearly as calm as she wanted to be and she would be lying if she said she didn''t regret not going for another bike to use to run away.


    She didn''t have to sense anything and only used her head, she wasn''t dense. She knew that the Flame Monkey was coming here, but it didn''t change the outcome.


    She would die.


    To Natasha, this perilous situation which resulted in an outcome where death was the ultimate conclusion was¡­ unquestionably frightening to conceptualize. So when her mind started blanking out she wasn''t surprised, but while it was blanking out it didn''t decrease in speed either, so this was a¡­ welcome revelation.


    As her thoughts began to increase in fluidity, Natasha began to feel the chills and suffocation even more closely. Her awareness of her own body continued to grow; sharper, deeper and clearer than ever before. She saw her lungs desperately trying to avert disaster, and her heart undergoing some type of change.


    Her Corastrum, meanwhile, only seemed to grow brighter the more the sensation of death, fear and negativity permiated trough her.


    Then, all of that broke away and a scene emerged.


    In the back of her mind, she saw her other self, happily chatting with people beyond the screen. Natasha wondered, how could she be so happy with people she didn''t even know? She couldn''t understand it.


    Slowly, small fragments of memory that were not her own filled her mind¡ªfragments of a life that seemed to be hers but were unquestionably not at the same time¡ªbut she found them increasingly difficult to ignore and this, Natasha knew she was dying.


    Could she have changed this outcome?


    Possibly, but it depended on which outcome she wanted to make possible.


    If it were to prevent her death, then repeating her actions from what was the second loop would have worked fine, after all she had experienced it once before so she could do it more efficiently in the third.


    But what would that achieve?


    Sure, she would live but in the grand scheme of things, what was her life worth?


    This wasn''t a question born out of a lack of self worth¡ªlikened to the thoughts of a person wishing to end it all¡ªneither was it''s origin a place that was depressive in nature, with the only thing being born were thoughts that could only be deemed ¡°anti-self¡± or anything of the sort.


    This was just a logical inference, based on prior references.


    In the game, it didn''t seem like her life was worth much and so was Leon''s, naturally this type of nonesensical result was infuriating¡­ but what was presented was the truth.


    She didn''t want to die.


    She would, but she didn''t want to.


    While having such thoughts, Natasha watched with a tight expression when a beam of light¡ªthat wasn''t really light speed¡ªengulfed her in a wave of pure heat and death.


    The short time between experiencing the pipeline of burning degrees, from first and second to all those after, and the various sensual phenomina that assaulted her senses in an anomoulous cascade of pain, the smell of burning meat and fractured memories of the first time this happened¡ªNatasha, who observed and experienced all of this in what what was to be called a ¡°strange state¡±, where her mind was moving both slow and fast, could only muster a single word from the depths of her mind.


    Painful.


    ¡®Painful. It hurts¡­ The timeloop¡­ when will it start? Painful. Painful, pain. It hu¡­rts.¡¯


    Natasha disliked the darkness, but when it chose to engulf her, she wasn''t shy to embrace it.


    And so, for what was an undetermined time, Natasha died.

 Chapter 010: Plays in Motion

    Japan, Tokyo; Minato Ward ¡ª Coast Region, Mori International Academy


    A piercing scream rocochetted off the walls of the nigh-empty clubroom, and the figure who it had originated from, thrashed about like a wild beast in human skin¡ªskin that felt like it was being torched and roasted on the grill that was the sun, not quite like it but to the bristling and boiling phantom fat that was quickly evaporated, this did not seem to hold much significance.


    The phrasing ¡°phantom fat¡± was used in utter seriousness, as there was nothing real or physical that was harmed by any sort of fire.


    Of course; if this was a normal reality, one likened to the previous of mere minutes or hours before the sky split with a phantom star engraved on it¡¯s face, then this sort of phrasing would be and mean just that¡ªa phantom fat that was burned by illusionary fire, causing phantom pains.


    But reality had long since become fantasy, and so normal rules which should have applied have long since been placed on hold, making the only thing that was truly concrete, the emotion or state of being called confusion¡ªor rather delirium.


    The figure, Natasha, had stopped thrashing about but her hair had long since fallen out of order and her her head was covered in a dense layer of sweat that was diffcult to wipe off.


    ¡®This type of experience, I never want to be placed under every again. I¡¯ll be fighting the Earth Hippo, miss time-loop can try her hand with this monster,¡¯ Natasha was near ont he brink of making up her mind before her phone started vibrating.


    ¡®Ugh! What is it now, can¡¯t you see I¡¯m in pain here¡­¡¯


    Natasha grumbled, temporarily ignoring the buzzing phone and assessing the state of her unworked but sore body. She had never expected pain to transfer over with the time-loop and she couldn¡¯t help but cringe at the fact.


    ¡®This is going to make this situation even more perilous.¡¯


    Natasha let the phone vibrate for a few moments more before she tried to turn her head to look for it, a spear of pain immediately shot through her body and a muffled scream tried to tempt her mouth into letting it out.


    She held, but it didn¡¯t make it pleasant for her at all.


    ¡®C¡¯mon, it¡¯s just a little pain. My period cramps are more severe, at least, I think so. No, I know so. I know so, let¡¯s focus on the period pains and not on, whatever dollar store toaster I went through,¡¯ She shivered, subtly acknowledging that this pain was more severe than her own period cramps.


    She slowly turned, and found the phone predictably on the floor. Thankfully it hadn¡¯t been damaged, as other models would have been. If it had been, she wouldn¡¯t even know what to do and it was predicted that this loop would end in failure as well.


    ¡®I can see it sure, but it doesn¡¯t mean reaching it is easy. Damn it, my head hurts, would paracitamol work in this case? The headache doesn¡¯t actually exist though, it¡¯s all illusionary pains,¡¯ Natasha breathed and slowly felt the pain subside but not by much.


    Crawling in an unsightly manner, Natasha finally reached the phone.


    As she grabbed it, she couldn¡¯t help wincing as even flexing her fongers brought her some form of pain a masochist would take pleasure in receiving.


    What greeted her wasn¡¯t any calls but messages¡ªas those vibrations were specially made for her messages, as she excessively daydreamed and monologued, she needed a contant for her to break out of it¡ªand the person who sent them couldn¡¯t be any other than Leon.


    [Future Husband added you to Tessaract]


    [Future Husband added ¡­]


    Natasha looked downa dn saw that he added two unknown numbers she could only deduce were Mirai and Yuki, while she was contemplating, her phone virated againa dn she saw that he atted her.


    [Future Husband: @Ivanova We got Yuki out of her situation, or let¡¯s say, she did. We¡¯re thinking of going to the auditorium on the West side of campus, somewhat near the middle, are you coming?]


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    [Ivanova(You) replying to Future Husband: I¡¯ll get on that, I¡¯ll be on my way.]


    Natasha typed a few words and couldn¡¯t help but think of what they were going to use to get there. Then she remembered that Leon knew how to drive and her grip on the phone tightened.


    ¡®One of those girls are going to be Leon¡¯s passenger princess!¡¯ She gnashed her teeth, jealous.


    While she was checking the newly formed groupchat, Natasha hurriedly pushed herself to stand up and grab her things. She didn¡¯t want to stay still like last time.


    She had arrogantly thought that the timeloop would start before she could get killed in any way and had suffered a great loss, there was no way she would let anything like that happen again.


    While she was doing this, she couldn¡¯t hel but whistle at the name that was picked for the group [Tessaract]. If she remebered correctly, that was the four-dimensional shape that science people go crazy about.


    ¡®I still don¡¯t remember if it¡¯s four spacial dimensions or three spacial dimensions and one temporal dimension. I was never really interested in such things¡­¡¯ Natasha excited the clubroom and stood outside for awhile as if contemplating.


    Should she once again rush for a bike or should she try to take on of the vehicles?


    Her phone vibrated again and then she saw Leon post two numbers, with who she assumed were Mirai and Yuki each replying to either one, claiming them.


    Seeing this, Natasha roughly memorised them and looked at the map of campus Leon had screenshotted an sent into the chat. He had also drawn a rough outline, using a red line as a base, of which route they would be taking to get there.


    Natasha¡¯s lips trembled for a moment, before she reluctantly changed Leon¡¯s name from [Future Husband] to [Leon].


    It wouldn¡¯t be good if she had to screenshot something or they saw her phone and this was what came up.


    ¡®I have to maintain secrecy and not give any clue¡¯s.¡¯ Natasha rushed forward, she knew she needed a bike and so she cut straight through the area she had ran through in the second loop.


    By doing so, she was sure that she had reduced the distance she had taken by half.


    ¡®I have to reach as soon as possible and get out before the Flame Monkey awakens.¡¯


    While she ran, she also typed with extreme dexterity and accuracy, as if the shifting balance and tumultuous speed were nothing to th steadiness of her fingers.


    [Ivanova(You): I¡¯m going to take a bike. I also seem to have gotten faster, so the distance shouldn¡¯t be an issue. I take it that the loops aren¡¯t just going to be 10+ minutes anymore @Mirai]


    [Mirai: No idea, but we won¡¯t know till we try!! Fighting!!]


    [Yuki: In fictional stories, timeloops typically function by going back to a specific checkpoint. As for why, how and who sets Mirai¡¯s checkpoints, we have no idea but I heavily suspect it¡¯s just her unconciously working to save people.]


    [Ivanova(You) replied to @Yuki: So your situation was perilous, I knew your voice sounded weird.]


    [Yuki replied to Ivanova(You): I have no idea how you guessed that(freaky, yikes) but it¡¯s something like that.]


    Natasha¡¯s brows twitched, and she quickly foudn herself back in the place she had arrived in the second loop. Looking at the time, she had made it in roughly three-quarters of the time from before.


    So a little over 2 minutes.


    She didn¡¯t waste time, she directly went over to it and snatched up a bike that somehow wasn;t chained to the rack. Satisfied, she hopped on board and then swiftly peddaled away.


    When she nearly peddaled away, she stopped and looked toward the buildings near her. She titled her head as if thinking before she nervously cleared her throat and said in a load voice;


    ¡°There¡¯s going to be something dangerous coming here soon, run now if you don¡¯t want to die!¡±


    The strange urge in her heart satisfied, she found herself peddaling even faster, not even checing to see if the people she suspected to be there from the second loop were evn still there.


    ¡®If they kept their memories from the second loop then they should be able to, but judging by how the bikerack was still full¡­ It seems like they¡­ haven¡¯t?¡¯


    Confused, she looked to the group chat and spoke a few words after some thought.


    It was a question;


    [Ivanova(You): Hey, do you think other students retin their memories after each loop like Leon?]


    The question sent a little confusion into their mix, as there was many question marks that spawned under her comment. Afterward came the replies¡­


    [Mirai: Shouldn¡¯t they?]


    ¡®Hah¡­ Shoudn¡¯t they indeed¡­¡¯ Natasha laugehd a little and peddled even faster when a brightlight came into her eyes, but that cold feeling of fear and death was absent so she allowed herself to look back.


    There she saw the air twisting from flames, and satisfied that she wasn¡¯t threatened, she turned away.


    One thought plagued her mind.


    ¡®What made Leon so special, other than the fact that he is ¡°Him¡±, that he remembered the past loops? Is it due to proximity or is it dependant on who Mirai thinks can help her¡­ And are magical girls just immune or is it due to her immature handling of her powers.¡¯


    With these questions in mind, Natasha made her way to the gymnasium near the mid-west of campus.

 Chapter 011: Journey to the West [1] (Limited)

    With speed that was unusual for what she was previously¡ªa high school girl¡ªNatasha raced toward the auditorium in the west on her bike at her fastest possible speed. Her seemingly mediocre skills at cycling before all this began had disappeared; all awkwardness, lack of balance, and unrefined control were cast aside as she seemed to instantly improve at this skill.


    ¡®Hmm¡­ This Corastrum, let¡¯s say that it¡¯s because of it that I have been so prodigious in riding this bike, because no matter how I think about it, Dodging the Flame Monkey¡¯s attacks on a moving object that¡¯s not my body is insane, and it being a bicycle of all things is even more ridiculous.¡¯


    Natasha knew she didn¡¯t have such skills, and the fact of the matter was that the Flame Monkey was a genuine supernatural creature with outrageous abilities...


    Evading it on a bike of all things wasn¡¯t something anyone could achieve, and as, quite frankly, a nobody in terms of biking skills¡ªat least previously¡ªNatasha knew that her limit wasn¡¯t so high as to achieve such feats.


    Natasha breathed as she returned her mind to the outside world, standing on her bike as she relentlessly pedaled; the girl cruised through grass and concrete paths. Swiftly passing by the building she had once inhabited but was burned alive in, Natasha set her sights westward and began moving there with haste.


    It would be a particularly long journey, possibly above 5km, and she would have to cover this under the threat of several magical entities tracking her and attempting to kill her.


    ¡®Yay! So much fun¡­¡¯ Natasha drawled, and put her legs to as much work as she could.


    Her hands trembled, but she didn¡¯t sense any threats. Natasha breathed, looking at the sky that seemed to be in a near-perpetual twilight she felt a little chill down her back and began to ride her bike more inward, not as brave to ride under the open air as before.


    ¡®How are these Meta-Beasts made? Are they regular animals that get conceptualized? Or are they like genuine monsters in those RPG games¡­¡¯ Natasha pursed her lips. She didn¡¯t really play games¡ªnot out of disdain or anything like that but because keeping track of Leon was a lot of work, so she didn¡¯t have much time for anything else.


    Not that she had anything else to do.


    ¡®I mean, I can only got skiing and ice-skating so many times.¡¯


    The former, she couldn¡¯t quite recall who had taught her this skill or if she learned it on her own, while the latter was taught to her by what could only be called a deceased relative.


    In other words, she was basically a hobbyless bum that had nothing to do other than stalk a guy she met on the internet or waste away in the Fatherland.


    To speak honestly, this made Natasha feel like anybody else looking from the outside may feel as if she was less than a person of her own and was too dependent on another person for her goals and aspirations as well as her drive.


    But Natasha didn''t feel that way herself.


    Stalking and obsessing over Leon kind of gave her life a bit of purpose other than laying around in a house in Russia, which is why she came back to Japan in the first place¡ªbecause she had seen some news about Leon and had grown to admire him from that point on.


    Or at least, that¡¯s what she thought, but Natasha couldn''t shake off the feeling that there was a deeper reason than that¡ªa ¡°why¡± that she couldn¡¯t locate¡ªwhich became her reason as to why she had decided to obsess over Leon in such a deep and analytical way.


    ¡®Anyhow, I said this before, but this school is really a bit large. There must be an absurd amount of wealth put into this school. And it''s been a school here for like possibly 100 years. Or maybe it was less than that, maybe 50. It''s a school with a long history¡ªthat I honestly don¡¯t care about¡ªand it''s forged a lot of foreign exchange students with impressive pedigrees or whatever. Anyway, I came here on a whim so I don''t need to perform like they do nor do I care to do any of that.¡¯


    Natasha chuckled to herself and suddenly felt the ground beneath her tremble intensely. Not even looking at the buildings she was riding close to, she immediately went back under the open sky, not willing to risk getting trapped under a building if it collapsed.


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    And she knew some of them would, as the shaking was immensely more powerful than any other time before this.


    Natasha frowned, feeling a bit conflicted inside. ¡®These 1-star Meta-Beasts are too powerful! But this also means that Magical Girl would also have a similar power ceiling.¡¯ It was really a conundrum, but in the long run, as long as she and the others survived, they could make a way in this changing world.


    Natasha had never forgotten the feeling she had gotten at the beginning, her awareness enveloping the planet¡ªor what she thought was the planet, as the thought ¡°world¡± likely pointed to Earth more than anything else in this context¡ªand sensing thousands of awakenings.


    She didn¡¯t know if this was unique to her being a 4-star or her being unique in and of herself, but she felt like either Mirai or Yuki would have mentioned it by now if they too had such an experience.


    ¡®Then again, those two seem like heavily unreliable teammates, but they¡¯re 4-stars and aren¡¯t too stupid, so I have to take what I can get¡­ Not to mention I had also forgotten to mention it as well; it¡¯s easy to get caught up in the moment. Maybe I was too harsh on them concerning this piece of information¡­¡¯ Natasha criticized, disdained and then reflected after a few seconds¡ªher thoughts flowing smoothly from one fragment of the topic to another with little issue.


    After these initial thoughts¡ªher mind now satisfied with diverting from the initial topic to extend its monologue¡ªshe returned to her lonesome strategic meeting concerning the future after these initial disasters.


    While she was indeed focused on surviving, escaping, and¡ªor quite possibly, more so hopefully, killing¡ªthe Earth Hippo and Flame Monkey in the now, with 85% of her mind on this matter, the other 15% were nearly completely focused on how they would navigate the changing world that was guaranteed to surface after they left this school alive.


    ¡®I don¡¯t want to think of "ifs.¡± I need us to survive, all of us. This type of outcome cannot come to pass...¡¯ She couldn¡¯t help but frown at the idealistic thought, but all plans were thoughts in the beginning, as were all desires, ideas, and goals¡ªalong with several, other mind-born essentials to living as a human being.


    Everything started somewhere: the thousand-mile journey from East to West China beginning with a few steps, the ten-year habit that was precluded by just doing it a minute a day¡ªevery day¡ªand the strong thirty-year marriage starting as a 90s couple proposing in a junkyard from a few scant feelings, hope, and a dream.


    Natasha breathed out, her thoughts especially clear at this moment; she had a few goals and a certain objective¡ªshe just needed a bit of luck and hoped her power worked.


    Whatever it was, she was eager to find out. Anyway, as a 4-star, even if she ended up being some fodder like [Leaf] or [Petal], her attacks would still contain a certain potency that would be hard to match for lower ranks, or at least she hoped.


    ¡®A strong concept and ability would still be for the best, as even if I get to the point I don¡¯t have to worry about 1-stars to 3-stars, there is still the similarly ranked 4-stars to worry about, and heavens know that all battles would be started and ended depending on their whim. Even a 1-star is this powerful; I¡¯m really not looking forward to what the highest peak is capable of doing.¡¯


    Just that girl Mirai was enough to time-loop steadily, and this was just Partial Awakening¡­


    Another rumble snaked it¡¯s way through the ground, and Natasha felt her bike tilt; she snapped out of her monologue just to see her bike entering what seemed to be a small, newly made crevice. Thankfully, due to the trembling of the earth moments before, the front tire was tilted, so the bike didn¡¯t dive straight down into the crevice¡ªsoon to be a fissure, by her rough estimates¡ªwhich was of considerable size, although lacking a bit of depth.


    But it being just a little under what seemed to be 1-2 meters was already deep enough for a death sentence to someone not paying attention to where they¡¯re going¡ªAKA¡ªher.


    ¡°What the hell? Is it close, or is this just it going all out for once? But why now?"


    Natasha couldn¡¯t help how her jaw slacked, and she quickly used her feet to stand and divert the bike¡ªif she recalled correctly, fissures and crevices created by Earthquakes were around the Magnitude 5-7 range¡­


    ¡°Five to Seven range in Magnitude, then the buildings¡ª¡± Just as she said this, she heard rumbling all around her, and looking at the source, a dark look came over her face¡ªthe chain of buildings she had been cycling under earlier, had all began to crack, fracture and slowly collapse into rubble.


    ¡®That shit is all the way into the south of campus and while I¡¯m about 2-3km¡¯s away from the west, and the auditorium, it¡¯s still ridiculous for it¡¯s power to spread so far...¡¯


    Natasha pursed her lips, and then a moment later, a sickening chain of thoughts barreled into her mind that left absolutely stunned and¡­ terrified.


    ¡®That thing¡­ It¡¯s power isn¡¯t capable of eclipsing the entirety of campus, right? Don¡¯t joke around; this campus is already the size of a small to large town! And that¡¯s depending on who you ask and if you take into account it¡¯s near the sea, there¡¯s even more things to cover.¡¯


    And the other?


    ¡®Also, those Meta-Beasts¡­ They can¡¯t, also awaken, right¡­?¡¯


    Just at this moment¡ª


    ¡ª¡°Hey, on the topic of awakening, so like with Magical Girls or I guess now Witches apparently because of this Witch Factor thing, can Meta-Beasts also awaken?¡±


    Natasha¡¯s heart nearly fell, and she immediately knew that the answer might make or break the operation they were going to do.