How does it work?

If Aqua was right about one thing, it was that Alex liked having a power that she didn't have before. Well, Aqua was only partly right, because Alex wasn't going to "jump at the first opportunity to get strong" because that would mean methodically consuming everyone in the hope of finding good skills and gaining combat experience, and that was just... No.

Yes, it was a quick and reliable way to gain strength. All you had to do was sneak up on some master from behind, pierce their heart, and get all of the poor sod's memories. But it was one of those things that Alex refused to do. The power she received from Blacklight was enough to at least do things she couldn't do before.

As an example, now she could lift something of her weight – her previous weight that is, because Alex was sure that now she weighed a little over fifty kilograms – and carry it for a whole mile.

When it became clear that Megumin would not be able to walk for another couple of hours, Alex shrugged her shoulders and put the girl on her back. Megumin didn't protest much, only nodding sagely and the two girls headed back to the Guild, deciding they would finish the quest the next day.

"I still don't understand exactly how your curse works. I don't think Changelings can do what you do," Megumin muttered, her head resting on Alex's left shoulder. "At least they definitely can't make their arms that long."

Alex let out a sigh and thought for a second, "How can I explain this? My body works differently from other people, taking Changelings as a base. I can change myself much more than they do, in fact my weight is much more than it feels, so I have more options."

Megumin glanced at Alex's flat chest, not believing she was telling the truth. "And where is all this weight?" Alex had already noticed that Megumin was staring at her chest, but she just rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, some weird sub-space..." she stopped, tilting her head to the side and bumping into Megumin's cheek. "Or is it distributed throughout my body in a very, very strange way, like the energy stored inside every cell? Huh. Maybe the biomass gives me energy instead of... well, mass?"

Alex frowned as she thought about her new theory. 'The idea that my biomass is sent somewhere else after being absorbed sounds stupid, it would definitely be said in the game. The game's Alex Mercer didn't seem to gain any more weight after absorbing even those huge monsters, all the destruction he left behind just by running was from the strength of his legs or arms. Does this mean that biomass is converted into energy? Is this even mentioned in the game?'

*poke poke*

Alex blinked and looked at Megumin, who was poking her cheek again and again, trying to get the attention of the curly-haired brunette.

"You started mumbling in another language halfway through the explanation. Is everything okay?" Megumin asked.

"Yeah, it's alright, just started asking questions about my powers that I previously thought weren't important." Alex smiled back at her. "Anyway, you saw me fighting the toads. Before we went on the quest together," she clarified.

"Yes! It was so cool!" Megumin screamed with stars in her eyes, "A little scary looking, but cool. What did you do to them? They just... turned black and you absorbed their bodies?"

Alex blinked, only now realizing just how much Megumin had seen. On her back was a girl who saw her consume several huge creatures and wasn't afraid of her. This was surprising to Alex, in her original world only lunatics would call her new powers cool in real life. Sure, in the video game they looked cool and interesting, but what would people say if they saw it, for example, in an alley behind a gas station?

Yeah, not a pretty picture.

'Huh, this world is stranger than I thought... Or is it just Megumin.' Alex thought with a smile on her face. "I'll tell you a little secret," her voice dropped to a whisper and she continued their walk, deciding to channel her inner chunni again. "I use the blood and flesh of my enemies like a vampire. Every creature that finds its end in my hands falls into the abyss called my body, where I gather energy for my attacks. You said that you looked into the abyss to find its secrets in search of power, but me..." she made a dramatic pause, feeling that Megumin was hanging on with her every word. "I was born in the abyss, drinking its darkness from an early age, learning its secrets. And when the time came, I left this abyss, more of a monster than human."

Megumin let out a quiet, admiring sigh. Although Alex's words didn't have the same endless energy that everyone in the Crimson Demon clan had, she found something different for herself. Something powerful and dangerous, because if it's done wrong, then the whole aesthetic just disappears.

She chose the path of dark badass chunni.

"Wow..." Megumin respected her new friend more every second, it was not a move that a rookie could do.

"What about you?" Alex asked, "What destructive powers can you use to crush your enemies?"

Megumin's face went a little pink. "Explosion magic."

Alex 'hmm'ed, but when her new friend's words hit her, she looked at her in surprise. "That's it?" She was so surprised that she dropped character.

"Yes," Megumin said. "I am an Arch Wizard with profound love for Explosion Magic. Though I can use it just once per day, though it leaves me too exhausted to move..." she clenched her fist and raised it to the sky. "Casting Explosions is my only passion! My life's only goal!! I have no need for other weak spells!"

Alex didn't say anything for a while, looking at Megumin with a calculating look. Megumin didn't notice when they reached the Guild building, but she definitely noticed when Alex put her on the bench. She didn't move away from Megumin and wrapped her arm around her shoulders to keep her upright.

A few Adventurers that noticed their closeness, actually cooed. The girls looked like two cute cats who supported each other in this dangerous world... Two deadly cats, one of which can tear a person in half with his bare hands, and the second can blow up armies with one spell.

Still, they were cute.

"What about stronger magic?" Alex asked with an unholy gleam in her eye.

Megumin flinched from Alex like she was burned, but she was too tired to do anything else. "Stronger– there is no stronger magic! Explosion magic is superior to everything else!"

Alex patted Megumin on the thigh and smiled kindly. "You can always invent stronger magic than what's out there today, all in the name of progress, so to speak."

The girl didn't say anything in response, but judging by the way her eyes sparkled, she was already lost in fantasies of stronger magic. Shaking her head, Megumin sighed heavily and leaned on Alex, seeking comfort from her side-hug. "Stronger magic will require more mana – which I don't have – and a lot of research. The one who invented explosion magic was a genius, as much as I want to create something stronger, I- I doubt I can. At least not right now, but when I level up? Sure," stuck by a sudden thought, Megumin blinked a couple of times and ran through their conversation in her head. "Hey! You never said what abilities you have!"

Alex clicked her tongue, "You caught that?" Seeing Megumin pout, she relented. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you more about myself.

"To put it simply, I can control my body, but to use my abilities, I need a lot of weight, or energy – I call it Biomass," she raised her free hand and turned her fingers into long claws, ignoring the interested looks of other Adventurers. 'Huh, so they just don't care. That's cool.' Her claws were much longer than she expected, each finger was about fifty centimeters long. "I can get Biomass in two ways: eat food like everyone else, do the think that I did with the toads. When I have enough Biomass, I can change my body as I want. I can do this with a small amount of Biomass, but it's much more difficult."

Alex explained and looked at Megumin's reaction, but the girl was looking at her flat chest instead of her face. Alex raised an eyebrow, "Something on your mind?"

"Why are you still flat as a board?" Megumin asked without looking up.

"Big boobs will only get in the way of melee combat, and if I didn't have regeneration, I would be tormented by back pain due to cow tits." To tell the truth, Alex did not change her appearance because it was the last thing that connected her to her family. But now was not the time for heavy talk.

Oh, and also because no matter how much she denied it, she envied women with big assets.

Megumin finally looked at Alex with... something in her eyes. "So, you can grow yourself huge boobs at any time, but choose not to?" She asked with awe in her voice.

"Err... Yes?" Alex answered uncertainly.

"... If I had your powers, my boobs would be gigantic." She said with certainty.

"Me too. I can't even imagine how and why you're holding back."

Megumin turned to the new girl who had come to sit at their table. "Right?! Who doesn't want huge boobs?!"

Alex blinked.

Megumin blinked.

The new girl blinked.

"WAAAAAA!" Alex screamed in shock at her unexpected appearance and grabbed onto Megumin.

"How long have you been here?!" Megumin pointed at the silver-haired girl accusingly.

"That's rude, I've been sitting here the whole time! You didn't even notice me!"

The girl in front of them was taller than Alex and Megumin, her skin was quite pale, which was clearly visible due to her revealing outfit. A light blue scarf wrapped around her neck and down to the small of her back, over her shoulders was a short green cloak that didn't cover much of her modest chest. On her arms were a pair of black elbow gloves with normal brown gloves layered over them. Short blue jean-shorts, white knee-high socks with a blue trimming, brown boots, and a bikini-like grey top.

"Oh, you're a Rogue," Alex muttered. "I didn't expect anyone to sneak up on me."

Alex didn't hear anything to notice the girl that had crept up on them. No footsteps, no rustling of clothes, damn, she could only hear her heartbeat when she saw her!

She had short, very messy silver hair with a light purple ombre of a sort, and beautiful purple eyes. There was a rather deep scar on her right cheek, but it wasn't too long.

"Yep! You guessed right!" She patted her chest proudly, "My name is Chris, the best Rogue in town if not the country!"

Neither Megumin nor Alex were overly impressed, especially after she scared them with her sudden appearance.

"What's with the sour faces? It's a bad way to make new friends."

Alex just sighed heavily; this was the second girl today who heard about her powers. 'Maybe I should be more careful?'

"So, what was that about huge boobs? Can you change other people too?" Chris asked with interest and Megumin turned sharply to Alex with stars in her eyes.

Alex groaned softly, hiding her face in her hands. 'Today was a long day.'