Mere moments after the giant water elementals spread their contents across goblins, all water turned to ice spreading in an arc from the wizard girl, trapping all that it covered. Yuusha took a step back, but the ice spread too fast - within two seconds every single goblin was trapped.

She is fucking overpowered!

In the middle of a hot summer day, it was surreal to feel the warming rays of the sun and a breeze that chilled to the bone, both at the same time. Even though the breeze lasted for just a couple of seconds, Yuusha shivered as if he stood in a freezer in just his t-shirt.

But that made Yuusha notice something he wouldn’t have otherwise. One place, slightly warmer than the others- his right thigh. To be more precise, a very small area of the skin behind his right trouser pocket, where his crystal was gently pressing against the skin.

No way, Yuusha’s heart skipped a beat. By this point, he wouldn’t dare to hope. He reached into his pocket, got out the crystal and wished to look at its stats again.

[Name: Orange Crystal of Potential]

[Level: 3]

[Status: Not Ready

Loading... 19%]

The percentage wasn’t that high before. Something is happening… Don’t tell me- It’s reacting to magic!

The faint pulsating warmth of the crystal was also accompanied by a faint pulsating light. Just a slightly brighter color of orange coming from deep within the crystal. And it grew weaker with each pulse. Like dying embers in a winter storm.

So, does it charge by collecting magic? In these circumstances, it’s almost undeniable. But then why did it charge at all before? There wasn’t any apparent magic. I spent nearly all my time with Sizarbob. Does he have a magic aura I didn’t notice? Literal passive aura buffs like in games? That doesn’t matter right now! I can figure that out later at my own pace. Right now, I need to use this once in a lifetime opportunity!

Yuusha looked down at his feet. The sneakers were soaking wet, but they were not frozen in ice. The two ankle-deep puddles Yuusha was standing in looked like a pair of larger footprints and were the only place around where the elementals’ water wasn’t turned to ice.

This confirms it - The crystal absorbed her magic! Yuusha hasn’t been this excited since he got to this forsaken world.

Yuusha looked to the other side of the river, where the wizard girl was. The third water elemental was no longer there and she once again leaned on her staff. Even from a distance, it was apparent she could barely stand. Then the girl finally slowly turned and, after a pause, simply walked away from the fight, using her staff as a walking stick.

Yuusha decided to follow her. He stepped out of the two puddles and walked to the bridge, after the wizard. If I can absorb more of her magic, I can finally get some real progress in this whole ordeal!

Most of the goblins were crying or screaming. Some of those further back and less frozen tried to pull their arms or legs out of the ice. They had the same results as the unworthy knights that tried to pull out Excalibur out of a stone.

Yuusha walked carefully past his trapped comrades – slipping and faceplanting into the ice would evaporite his reputation as a mighty warrior. But the ice was indeed magical. Even though the clouds in the distance approached quickly, the sun was still bright and warm. So it was highly unusual that the ice showed no signs of melting.

The closer Yuusha got to the bridge the worse off were the goblins. Sorzak himself was frozen up to his neck, so any of the small goblins in his vicinity were completely entombed. Sorzak was still alive judging by his frustrated growling, though he could do little else.

The spell has to wear off eventually, Yuusha thought. Hopefully, if the ice is magical, the other goblins will somehow end up being still alive. He knew how unrealistic that hope was even by magical standards – any brain needs oxygen, and judging by the goblins’ noses they were no exception.

Nearing the wooden bridge it was impossible not to walk straight past Sizarbob, without walking in an obvious arc around him. The leader of the goblins somehow managed to have a whole arm usable, and having all his weapons lost to the ice did not deter him from trying to escape. Sizarbob kept hitting the ice with his bare fist again and again. A true test of durability and Yuusha placed his bet on the hobgoblin.

Yuusha tried not to look at the hobgoblin as he passed him, making plans for the future. I am the only one not trapped in the ice like an idiot, after all. So, you’re not even worthy of acknowledgment from a powerfull being like myself.

Sizarbob might have actually thought the same as he did not dare speak up, and only increased the number of punches per second to the ice that trapped him. Showing how hard you are trying to get out? Whether it was patience, stubbornness or plain stupidness, Yuusha couldn’t help but admire Sizarbob’s earnestness.

Yuusha breathed a sigh of relief when he got past the remaining ice without having slipped once and was now able to cross the rest of the bridge with ease. He did even didn’t have to increase his pace to catch up to the girl at all since she hobbled at the pace of an old woman. Still, he tried to keep a low profile, moving from corner to corner in the wide street, but the town seemed to have been already evacuated.

It was surprisingly easy to follow the wizard girl. After sneaking to the next house, Yuusha frequently found himself waiting for her to gain some distance and slowly ended up getting closer and closer, growing bolder.

There’s the church, Yuusha looked at the old stone structure with a gable roof, covered with wooden shingles. I wonder if those that still pray in this world know that nobody’s listening.

The wizard girl went around the fenced-off church and Yuusha followed. The gate was near. What happened to Garsaul’s party? Only Sorzak returned. And even if Garsaul also turns out to be picky about which water he swims in, the town should be throwing their garbage downstream, so south of the town the river should be fine. How did the townsfolk leave? Or are they being hunted down by the goblins outside the town?

That's when Yuusha saw Garsaul’s party. Inside the town. And they did not have a pile of corpses at their feet. Not even a single head. All thirty goblins stood in a circle, surrounding two figures. Yuusha instantly recognized the slouching, sickly-yellow hobgoblin. The other one appeared to be some old lady, who for some reason was not on her knees, crying and begging for mercy.

Garsaul? What the hell are they doing? With Garsaul being the sole exception up until now, Yuusha never saw the goblins be so still unless they were sleeping.

Meanwhile, the girl just kept hobbling in their direction. She stopped only when she was basically within the jumping distance of an average goblin.

Did she notice them only now? Is she sleepwalking? Yuusha was shocked. I guess all the stuff she did before really drained her.

Luckily for her, none of the goblins seemed to care about the barely lucid wizard either. Or they didn’t notice her either, which Yuusha found almost unbelievable.

Yuusha thought he heard the girl say something, but couldn’t make it out. The next moment Garsaul dashed at the old lady and cut her head clean off her shoulders. The girl screamed horror and fell on her hands and knees.

Garsaul walked over to where the head was and stood there, staring at it as if in a trance.

That one is a fucking creep! Yuusha concluded what he already assumed. But why are the other ones not moving either? What is going on?

The circle of goblins remained undisturbed. They all stared, bewitched, in the direction of Garsaul and the body.

Yuusha felt a drop of water hit his nose. Another on his head. The rain started and quickly picked up. In a matter of seconds, Yuusha was taking a shower. A bright light flashed in the sky followed by a rolling boom that Yuusha would’ve mistaken for an explosion under any other circumstance.

The wizard girl ignored all of it and only dug her fingers deeper into the wet dirt.

That was someone dear to her, I guess. Yuusha surmised. Sad? Angry? Or simply her body finally gave out?

If she did cry it would be impossible to see or hear in the downpour.

Finally, Garsaul showed a sign of life - turned his head toward the teenage girl, soaking in the rain, with an ever-growing pool of water under her.

How long are you going to stare at her? Yuusha was beginning to feel sorry for the girl. If she did overdo it back there, then she’s done for. She might be useful as a captive though she’s clearly unstable.

Garsaul took a step in the direction of the girl. At that moment she let out a scream, grabbing her head in both hands, shrinking more and more into a fetal position. The pool of water under her grew disproportionately fast.

No, the water is flowing to her! Yuusha realized.

By now the girl’s legs were completely underwater. Then the water began to rise around her. The rain itself distorted - the falling drops of water gravitated toward the wizard as if she had a field around her. Soon the wizard girl was surrounded by a waterfall. But it wasn’t a pretty, straight wall of water. Uneven, rippling and growing, it spun faster and faster like a water tornado with the girl in its center.

With cold water blowing in his face Yuusha could barely tell where the distorted figure of the girl or the goblins were anymore. And he noticed way too late that on the surface of the whirling tornado tiny solid white objects rapidly grew in number and spread all across the tornado. It was like watching bacteria multiplying with countless points of origin, fast-forwarded to the speed of light.

“No,“ was all that Yuusha could say before a high-pitched scream escaped the tornado. He only had the time to wince.

Yuusha never experienced a shockwave from an explosion, but now he could guess what that felt like – as if his whole body got hit by a gigantic frying pan that sent him flying back. Silence.

“Wha… What…” Yuusha uttered, opening his eyes and seeing varying shades of black. Those were probably the clouds. He felt like he lost a couple of seconds. Yuusha assumed he was lying on his back but couldn’t tell for certain. He tried to order his body to move, but there was no response from his limbs.

“Blargh!” some liquid escaped Yuusha’s mouth in a sharp, agonizing cough.

Hail? Yuusha thought when he saw that instead of drops of water, tiny spheres of ice dropped from the sky. He couldn’t feel them bouncing off his body but noticed that the round spheres bouncing off his face now had shades of red.

Finally, Yuusha’s arm moved. He touched his lips and looked at his fingers. Red…

With considerable effort Yuusha lifted his head and looked at his numb body – countless spikes, white and blue, like icicles, were sticking out of his chest, stomach, legs, and arm. Some as small as a pencil, a few were the size of his arm.

“No…” Was all that escaped Yuusha’s lips. There was no pain, no cold, only frustration as everything around him darkened. All of this for a stupid- Ah!

Mustering what little remained of his strength and willpower Yuusha reached to his pocket for the crystal.

Come on, you piece of shit! Yuusha brought the crystal to his face. It shined brightly in Yuusha’s hand, pushing back the growing darkness. A small light of hope.

[Name: Orange Crystal of Potential]

[Level: 3]

[Status: Ready]

Listen! Crystal! Goddess! For all that’s my potential is worth, don’t let me die here! I can't die here! I won't die here! I will save this world or burn it to the ground – whatever you want me to do, just give me another chance! I want another chance! I will have another chance, damn you! If not I'll use all of eternity to seek out Aurora and work with her to make your life even more of a living nightmare! You hear me, you useless bimbo!?

Nothing happened. The light of the orange crystal faded along with Yuusha's hope, but not his anger. I swear on Aurora, I'll make you pay!

"Haha! She really is a bimbo, isn't she?"

What?

A semi-translucent blueish tab appeared in front of Yuusha’s eyes with a slightly blurry text.

[Hidden Potential unlocked!]

The next tab was harder to read. Yuusha couldn’t tell if the text faded or his mind did.

[Skill gained: Another Chance]

Yuusha tried not to slip into the soothing darkness.

[Class gained: Wiz…

Letters appeared and disappeared, but Yuusha could no longer comprehend them. His consciousness melted away…