Clear-headed

"My mind's telling me this is a bad idea. My heart's telling me that it'll probably be worth it. My nose is telling me that I'm a fucking donkey for every second I spend standing here."

Viola was standing by a tree with a deadpan look on her face. In front of her is a campsite-looking place occupied by a large group of the most foul-smelling creatures she has met in this world. 14 goblins, all looking mean and nasty both figuratively and literally, stood before her sight. Every one of them looked ravenous at the sight of Viola to the point that they looked like they would all immediately drop dead if they were to fail at catching her.

Viola observed the group of goblins that numbered beyond the dozens. She discovered this goblin campsite by tracking its awful smell after killing the smaller group of goblins earlier. She's starting to wish she hadn't.

'Alright, before I end this quicker than I did with my first relationship, I'm gonna test out my new skill on one of these lucky winners here.'

With her extended black claws, she quickly chose what looked like a goblin shaman that was standing way in the back of the group as her test dummy for her new skill. The shaman goblin was wearing a dirty hood-like head covering and was holding a cane stick that she could somehow sense what she thought were traces of magic flowing through it.

She figured she had to make up her mind quickly before the stench knocked her out like the time she did to herself in the bar after her first relationship ended. And being knocked out right at this moment will probably make it on her list of top five shitty ways to fuck up.

With no time to waste, Viola immediately dashed towards the goblin shaman at an untraceable speed and swung her claws at it.

Every goblin present failed to track her as it only looked like Viola had just disappeared from the goblins' sight and instantly reappeared right behind the goblin shaman with her black claws outstretched. The only thing the goblins saw in front of them was a trail of dust connected to where Viola just disappeared.

'Did I hit it?' Viola thought.

At first, she thought she had somehow missed her target because she felt absolutely no resistance whatsoever when she swung her claws at the goblin shaman. It felt exactly like if one were to actually miss their attack.

But when Viola looked back at the goblin shaman to check, she saw the goblin along with the cane it was holding fell apart in six different pieces, all were cut so cleanly no cake slice can compare.

'Huh, worked better than expected. Gotta make sure I don't accidentally stab myself with these.' She thought.

Right after that, she wasted no time slaughtering the rest of the goblins in the campsite as it only took her literally a second to do so following the goblin shaman. Within that single second, she has given every single one of the goblins left standing a good clean neck chop cleanly breaking their necks without spilling a single drop of blood as she didn't want to make a mess as she did with the goblin shaman when she could easily avoid it.

The very next second later was the view of 13 goblins hitting the floor, all dead before even doing so.

*Sigh* "And now for the hard part…" Viola spoke dejectedly.

While feeding on all the dead goblins, she found out that she could hold her breath indefinitely. It turns out that all this time, her body doesn't even require for her to breathe to survive so she could've held her breath completely while feeding on all the goblins before. She cursed at herself for finding out such a crucial fact so late.

It must have either been one of the traits of a vampire or her own special trait of a space vampire because ironically to her, not breathing is as easy as breathing.

She then observed the mess she had caused during her feeding which was goblin blood all over her body. This was caused by her attempt at feeding on the goblin that was cut in pieces.

One of the abilities of a vampire's claws in the game is that it can automatically drain life essence when used on a target but only partially. In order to get the full course meal, she'll have to feed directly. So for the sliced-up goblin, she had to wring the blood out of the pieces and pour it into her mouth to get the rest of the essence while causing its blood to get everywhere during the pour. Although, claw attacks are considered one of the safest skills to use as they're viable in the early game with their minimal risk due to their speed, cost efficiency, and recovery; she still would have preferred one of the better skills she used to have...

"Ah shit. And I just bathed too." She whined in displeasure. Blood manipulation would really be nice for stuff like this. At this point, she was starting to get sick of goblin blood.

After she finished feeding on every drop of blood she could get, she decided to check how much Blood Essence she had obtained from the goblins.

[Blood Essence: 48]

"Not bad." She said.

'But I wondered if I could've gotten more from the goblin shaman if it were in one piece. There was lots of wasted blood from it.'

Deciding that there wasn't much use crying over spilled milk or in this case, spilled blood, she decided to place her Blood Essence spending on hold for now as she doesn't want to linger in this disgusting campsite any longer.

She then moves on to search the campsite for any supplies she would find useful but there wasn't anything of interest besides the weapons the goblins were using.

There wasn't anything that could be used as clothing to cover herself besides the dirty loincloths the goblins were wearing, and there is no way in hell she's touching those.

You would think this group of goblins has gotten their hands on some equipment from another party they might've attacked or if they had done so that they would at least keep the supplies intact because she had also found some shredded pieces of cloth in her rummaging. They most likely used them to make their loincloths.

Giving another sigh, she looked at the weapons on the ground. Most of them were just crude rusted blades while a few were actually bows and arrows.

'I really wish I had access to my inventory. I would probably be able to store all my shit in there.'

At times like this, an inventory where she could easily store many supplies and junks without physically carrying them would be a beautiful thing to possess as it is one of the top five things an Isekai protagonist would dream of.

With nothing else to do here but complain about inconveniences, she decided to immediately leave the campsite. She jumped out of there, breaking through the thick forest ceiling, and flew thousands of feet in the air while taking a deep breath of fresh air which felt refreshing. Even after figuring out that her body no longer needs air to survive, she still finds breathing in fresh air pleasant as it was something she was used to doing for so long. The air itself also felt far cleaner than the air on Earth which was really pleasant to her vampiric nose.

After a short while, she spotted another pond where she could wash off the blood. Landing at the edge of the pond, this time barely sticking the landing, the bloody loli stepped into the pond and began scrubbing off the blood from her skin. This pond was smaller and shallower than the last one.

As she was washing all the blood and dirt off, she decided that now was a good time to check what she could obtain with her current Blood Essence.

While checking, she saw that she could only afford to unlock a special skill as the normal skills now cost a lot more than previously.

[Required Blood Essence to unseal a random skill you once possess: 48/50]

It would make sense that it would cost more every time, otherwise, it would be too easy. She was a bit peeved at how close she was for it though.

Without much hesitation, Viola decided to go ahead and spend her Blood Essence on the only thing she could spend on right now and that is unlocking her first special skills. Whatever it might be.

[Required Blood Essence to unseal a random special skill you once possess: 48/30]

She was curious about what a special skill might be compared to the regular skills or any skills she was familiar with back in the game.

[Would you like to unlock a random special skill you once possessed using Blood Essence?]

If there's going to be pain like the last time, she was hoping it won't be too bad.

'Go for it.'

Immediately afterward, she suddenly felt a sharp intense pain in her head. The feeling where her head felt like it was about to split in half.

"Ah! Shit! Wha- what the fuck is this!?" As she knelt down and gripped her head in pain, the feeling of memories, thoughts, and emotions stormed in her head like an uncontrollable hurricane. She was trying hard to resist the urge to lose consciousness.

The splitting headache continued for another minute but felt like an eternity. But after a few more moments, the pain slowly subsided as Viola unsteadily stood up in relief.

"What the fuck was that?" She uttered in exasperation.

'Shit... That migraine was almost as painful as the ones James usually gives me with his pestering on who's the best waifu and some other shit.'

When the pain in her head completely faded, what happened next was something totally different. She felt it when she opened her eyes one more time.

Everything became so clear like a dark veil that she had never noticed before was just lifted off of her vision and senses. No matter how sharp her senses were before in her powerful vampire body, it was nothing compared to now. It was like she has been looking through a dirt-covered window all her life and only now that she was behind that window. Her sharp eyesight could now be put to its full potential with this skill. She can see everything. From the textures of every tree, bushes, down to the last rustling leaves or even the little insects too small to see at first glance in the clearest and highest definition not just in front of her, but all around as if all five of her senses have been pushed beyond the limitations of any perceptions.

But that's not all she sees. What also appeared in her vision were floating marble of lights everywhere in the air. All around her were these floating glowing orbs that definitely looked fantasy. She sees the same blue color flowing through every tree in the forest down to the last leaf. She could only guess that she was looking at mana for the first time in her life. They were literally everywhere. She could even sense them from the ground she stands. The sight was stunningly beautiful.

"This... must be magic." She murmured.

She was now awake as if everything that she has known, seen, touched, or lived through was all a dream. It's as if she was now truly sober. This was even more than simply comparing it to replacing an old antique black and white television with a next-generation modern television from a brand that has a monopoly on television marketing.

But that was only on the outside. On the inside, she felt like she was a completely different person. It's like this new unknown skill has given her a perfect photographic memory or perfect recall. But that was only the beginning of what this skill can do. This skill also extends to the memories of her previous life. Memories that she thought were lost were just buried somewhere in her mind and are now organized in her head like the cleanest and most organized library in existence. Everything is processing faster than a quantum supercomputer. By comparison, her mind before was like a library that looked like it was hit by an earthquake and is too messy and damaged to fully clean while her mind now is like a supercomputer with everything being automatically organized in neat files.

'Jesus! So this is what it feels like to have a brain that actually works!' She exclaimed internally.

It turns out that you never truly forget information, it's still there, just lost somewhere in your mind underneath all the mess, unorganized clogs of other information a human mind would have trouble keeping track of. You spent time digging through the mess and you'd stumble upon it seemingly random in the near future when you don't need that information anymore.

But now her mind is completely clear and organized in neat files, mess-free, and has every information she had ever obtained in both her lives ready to be accessed at a moment's notice. Kinda like having your very own Google in your mind ready to use at any time.

'Oh how much I could make use of this. Let's test it out a bit.'

When attempting to recall some of her memories from her past that should be impossible for any human to recall, she found out that she can now remember everything. She can remember the very day she was born as John and all the days after leading up to her 1st birthday. She could remember every time she was breastfed. She could remember the faces of her loving family clearly, her beautiful, kind, and caring mother; her father, who she never gets to say goodbye to; and her sister, who she couldn't keep her promise to. She could remember every second of her childhood, how her father would often play with her, carrying both her and her sister around the house, running around, laughing, and getting scolded by a scary mother for making a mess of things. In fact, she could clearly remember every single day of her whole life like it was just yesterday, no, like it was happening right now as if she could just replay those scenes in her head like a clear video. She couldn't help but start tearing up from recalling all her long-forgotten precious memories.

'Heh... so this is what being on drugs feels like. This feeling of being enhanced inside... and the feeling of darkness that hits you afterward...'

But the longer she stood there, the clearer she saw. She wasn't high or under any influence. She was perfectly aware of her consciousness, her very existence down to the last unfamiliar cell of her body. Everything... was real.

That's when she wondered, just what was this skill she had obtained that made her feel so awake, so crystalline.

Wiping away her tears and regaining her composure, she raises her head and focuses once again.

'Status' She promptly uttered internally.

『Status』

Name: Viola Hellstar

Sex: Female

Age: 530

Race: Omega Vampire

Class: Astro Sword God

Level: 265

Rank: EX

State: Sealed

HP: 30,000/30,000

MP: 30,000/30,000

Blood Essence: 18

「Stats」

STR: 1000 (Sealed)

CON: 1000 (Sealed)

AGI: 1000 (Sealed)

DEX: 1000 (Sealed)

INT: 1000 (Sealed)

「Skills」

Skills: [Dark Star Claw: MAX] [(Sealed)]

Special Skills: [Cosmic Mind (NEW)] [(Sealed)]

Unique Skills: [(Sealed)]

Title: [Hyperuranion Star]

[『Cosmic Mind』(Rank EX): Gives an individual the possession of a perfect mind allowing access to 100% of one's brain. Grants flawless eidetic memory which allows extreme high-speed thought processing and acceleration, parallel processing, perfect concentration, and perfect recall. Allows absolute perfect control and mastery over magic and all forms of magic, magical affinity, magic perception and manipulation, and magic concepts. Grants access to all kinds of mental abilities as well as flawless protection against all mental attacks and dominations and immunity to mental instability. Gives the individual the knowledge and comprehension of all secrets of the arcane and phenomenological mysteries. At full potential grants universal consciousness which includes instant thought speed and calculation, full comprehension of magical breakdowns, and the individual to have access to a gateway to infinite power, knowledge, and potential. The very truth of the Transcendentem and beyond becomes accessible. (Set 1 of the 5 Cosmological Abilities. Set Bonus: ???)]

"Ok... that's exaggerating a bit isn't it?" Viola said, staring at the skill information that desperately needed a 'TLDR' section.

Despite that, she immediately understands what was going on. There was a lot to process yet at the same time, there was nothing to process. Her new skill 『Cosmic Mind』had already done that job for her faster than you can say 'infinity'. She basically has a skill that lets her be good at using her brain. And magic while you're at it. Pretty much sums it up.

Her mind which was a mess before even way back from Earth was now completely cleared up. She now has the most stable mind. She knew what she needed to do and she knew how to do it.

"Heh! If only I had this shit back on Earth, I wouldn't be as depressing as some of those 'magical girl' anime nowadays!" Viola said in aggravation.

But having enough of that, she inspected her new skill one last time. Curious about the 'Set Bonus' label of this skill, she inspected while anticipating that she would see the usual criteria telling her what she has to do to get things going, but instead, she saw something different and a bit obscure.

[This skill is 1 of the 5 Cosmological Abilities. Criteria have not been met to fulfill the requirements of unlocking the set bonus effect. Releasing the full potential of the skill is impossible at the moment.]

"Obscured but inconsequential. The set bonus effect is pretty straightforward, but this whole 'full potential' it kept mentioning is inessential information and would be fruitless to cerebrate over if it's supposedly impossible right now. One thing I know for sure is that the business with 'unsealing the first stage of the seal' would be a good start. And if there's a 'first stage', then there should be a 'second stage' perhaps and would probably be accompanied by many more options. My current sealed state is very limited so there's not much that can be done here. Or could it be something else entirely? Perhaps involving that 'Set Bonus'? Something I need to do in this world? A fulfillment to complete? Wait, why am I overthinking shit like this?? This is NOT me! Damn it! Get it together, Viola!" While contemplating the situation of the skill requirements, she noticed that she's starting to sound a lot like a scientist being preoccupied with whatever sciency stuff they're always on.

This new skill really changes her thought process and it hasn't even been five minutes. She's using words that she never thought she would hear herself using. Words that she remembered only seeing once somewhere on the internet, books, dictionaries, etc., and her mind can now remember and comprehend all of it and add it into her vocabulary. Was this how people with photographic memory see the world? It's almost a scary thought as she doesn't want to have a completely changed mindset just like that without her having a say in it.

What's also weird is the nature of the skill compared to it back in the game. This skill boosts magical abilities, cast time, and opens all routes to all magic skills in the game. At max evolution and level, that required a side quest to complete, which grants 'Cosmic Mind', which took all the previous benefits and magic-based abilities and dials them up to eleven, allowing a tremendous boost in all magic abilities, instant-cast, movement cast, multi-cast, high mana recovery rate, and greatly lowers mana cost.

Now that the skill is real, she can now definitely feel the effects that grant her all those boosts in person. This skill basically grants her the full package of everything she needs for 'How to magic good in fantasy world 101'.

The whole 'grants infinite power, knowledge, and truth of existence' thing was just trivial details of the skill in the game. Now that it's real, is such a thing really possible? Maybe its set bonus effect is involved. This skill is part of a branching skill tree of her build so she has a pretty good idea of the details, but she shouldn't jump ahead of things that are out of reach for now.

'Well, my new super mind is telling me not to waste any more time on thinking about something that could only be accomplished in the far future when I have no information about it currently. I should just be content and take what I got. I'll work my way from there.' Realizing that it is pointless to continue, she decides to focus her thoughts on something more productive for her present self.

After getting herself completely clean, she gets out of the pond and ponders about the next goal she has been meaning to accomplish for some time now. And that is finding some civilization to confirm what kind of world she's in, whether it's the same world as EFO or a completely unknown one and to also confirm if there are any living sentient humanoid races of any kind that may or may not be inhabiting this unknown world. She was 100% sure there are humans living in this world and close by as well since she smelled human blood on the goblins earlier. The question is whether they are the only race here or not besides the monsters. Highly unlikely for that to be the case. It is a fantasy world after all.

The next thing is to find some clothing of her size to cover herself up. So far, her search has been fruitless, but finding civilization will most definitely accomplish her goal of finding some clothing for her. But speaking of clothing, a thought came up.

'If I remembered, I should also have all my equipment in my game inventory that I had equipped back in the game before I died... No, I perfectly remembered what I had in my inventory and I want them badly.' She figured she might as well check the requirements to unlock her inventory.

[Your inventory is sealed. Required Blood Essence to unseal your inventory: 18/1,000]

'Oh? It seems it's possible to unlock my inventory right now. That is if I have the essence. 1,000 is a bit much right now but I think it's worth it considering the kind of equipment I had in my inventory. Yeah, I had some good shit in there.' She couldn't help but daydream about the contents of her inventory and the possibility that she will be able to conveniently store items in it.

'But what I really want is to gain access to my house again. That's where all the good shit is! If it is really the same house back in the game, then I'll be able to regain access to my storage, treasury, tools, and a nice place to sleep!' She smiled at the thought.

[Your house is sealed. The first stage of the seal must be released in order to regain access to your house.]

'Yeah, thought as much.'

But for now, they're all merely a 'want' and not a 'need' and Viola knows this as she is in no rush. Although a roof and clothing may be a need for humans, to Viola who is no longer human, she was sure she could live without them quite easily for now. Even without any clothes and the strong winds she felt when in the air, her body hasn't even felt a single shiver of cold since. It's not surprising considering what this body has shown to be capable of.

She doesn't mind too much on the fact that she's currently naked. It's not like it's causing her any real inconvenience currently. Not that she has developed a nudist habit or anything. It's just one of the many things she doesn't give a shit about. She wouldn't find something so trivial to bother her. But that could mean the same thing regardless. Besides, she had lost every bit of her shame long ago during boot camp. At this stage of the game, something as trifling as shame is the least of her concerns while her new higher mind helps her to stay calm and relaxed while focusing on more important stuff than human problems.

'But do I have to be more self-aware now that I am a beautiful little girl now? Well, you can leave that problem to me. When it comes to dealing with problems like that, I usually do what I do best in handling them… which is kicking them aside and completely ignoring them as I do with my responsibilities and exes hehe. I decide what my problems are. What are you gonna do about it?' Putting her hands on her hips, she internally declares her views of 'Not giving a shit, I do what I want!'.

Until there are circumstances in the future that require proper clothing and attires, for now, she decides to do as she pleases and take it easy adapting to this new world. Being tense about every little thing won't be of much help.

With nothing else to do at the pond but waste time pondering, she immediately super jumps in the air once again to resume her initial goal, which was to find civilization.

The wind feels refreshing to her bare skin. Truly what freedom feels like. She doesn't mind staying like this for a bit longer while she still can. And she's not afraid to be seen either. She could care less. She's too busy living the new carefree life that she always dreamt of. She wasn't going to be stopped by anyone or anything.

Without crash landing once and losing any momentum the whole time she was jumping, Viola is ready to take on this entire unknown world.

‒‒‒

A/N: Hiya! Author here! Please excuse me for the slow update. Reasons being because I'm busy with work and that I'm a shitty author with an update stability as stable as my relationship. Oh wait, I have none! Accurate comparison right? Well, I was also busy working on a rough outline for this story rather than winging it as I have been because I figured it'll be a little better and more "professional". Anyways, while I was busy being lost on the path of life, I came across an intriguing question:

"Why do Isekai authors like lolis so much?"

Haha well, ... because they're worth fighting for. Need me to say more? Out of all the causes of war and bloodshed and all the soldiers in it that are fighting for something they believed is worth fighting for, I can tell you with utmost resolve… that lolis are definitely one of those things. That is my answer as one of those Isekai authors that like lolis and Jesus if only I can convince people that I don't like them in a lolicon way, but that would be impossible. Just like getting Isekai'd. Well anyways, you can always get a second opinion. But enough of that now, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Because ROB knows when you'll be getting the next one :P