Guts' POV
"Maddie, I'm heading out for a bit. Can you take care of the bakery for me?" I say, opening the door.
"I'm not your servant, Guts. Every time you go out, you ask me to take over your tasks," she replies, rolling her eyes.
"I promise I'll make it up to you later, 'little sis', but could you just cover for me this time?" I say, pretending to be sincere.
Maddie always falls for this trick; she's too kind for her own good, but I think I've been taking advantage of it too much lately.
"Fine, since it's you, I'll do it, but next time, you're taking care of the little ones," she declares, clearly referring to our younger sisters.
"Alright, it's a promise. See you later," I say before quickly leaving to prevent her from changing her mind.
Maddie and I have always had a good relationship, and we support each other in magic and daily tasks, though it's often me who takes advantage of her kindness, to be honest.
In my past life, I had a sister, but I prefer to forget about her. We didn't really have a proper relationship, and each of us lived in our own bubble.
In this life, things are surprisingly different. Although my mother in this world died after an event involving the "Herons".
I can say that this family is better than the one I had on Earth, and I'll deal with those damn herons later; they committed too many atrocities that day in Weartwood.
I'd be lying if I said I was deeply affected by the death of my mother in this reality, but it didn't leave me indifferent.
Maddie and the rest of the new family are affected by it, so it indirectly affects me too.
My old family might have been made up of jerks, but I have no reason to hold anything against this one, and I'm making efforts to prevent my past hatred from affecting them.
I don't want to hurt innocent people unless necessary.
"Who knows, maybe I'll give them a proper place when I'm a conqueror in the multiverse," I mutter, chuckling along the way.
During the heron attack, I was still young and too weak to do anything.
It's currently a frustration that eats away at me, although it's less than the hatred I have for those who killed me on Earth.
"Even in this world, I had to experience powerlessness," I declare, sighing while clenching my fists in frustration.
After making the mayor my underling, I've been able to access many resources that were once inaccessible.
This has allowed me to undertake a new project that I had put aside; I really had a stroke of genius in requisitioning not only the mayor's fortune but also the person himself.
His influence allows me access to countless resources that would be inaccessible to a simple citizen.
After walking a few meters into the forest, I found a huge rock that looks comfortable, and I sat on it without much difficulty.
Being a frog has its advantages; I can reach certain places that I couldn't reach as a human with a simple jump.
Once properly settled, I started rummaging through my bag to find certain ingredients as well as a large book I use to take various notes related to magic.
"Well, let's get to work," I think, taking a few breaths.
I extended my hand towards a tree, making a gun imitation with my hand, a bit like Makima in Chainsaw Man.
A strange dark energy accumulates at the tip of my finger as my tattoos glow faintly, it was compressed every second, and I force it to take the shape of a revolver bullet.
*Bang* sound of the sound barrier breaking.
The shot was more powerful than expected, and the recoil almost made me fall; I could see the surprising result in front of me.
"I did well to start small; I could have lost my arm if I had made it bigger," I say, slightly worried as I look at the damage produced by my spell.
It was a special rank 3 spell created by me; I already had the theory for it in my notes, but I just lacked the resources to update my tattoos and conduct a trial.
Magic in this world is very weak; the very rare existence of mages doesn't help, and the lack of interest from the inhabitants of these worlds in magic makes things worse.
Frogs prefer agriculture and therefore don't often go to war, not seeking to improve themselves.
Toads rely on their physique and weapons of war; they're not the type to really study, so magic is out of the question for them.
Newts are very versatile in combat, highlighting their agility and strength, but strangely, they don't have many mages among them.
Salamanders, for their part, are a peaceful race like frogs, and they have no interest in magic either.
The Leviathan race, which happens to be King Andreas's race, seems to be a race of scholarly colonizer types.
They are rated the best everywhere in terms of size, power, and agility, but oddly enough, there aren't really any mages among them.
There must surely be an unspecified reason in the original story that pushes the races to avoid magic, despite all the advantages it offers.
The worlds of Amphibia are full of magical resources; I don't deny the dangers associated with obtaining these resources, but it's worth it in my opinion.
Besides, I don't think there's any other kind of magic in this universe apart from dark magic, except for the music box.
So I'm forced to specialize in this field like Maddie, but it's not a problem since it offers a wide range of paths.
The proof is right in front of me.
"I can use it as pure energy or just improve the spells that Maddie and I have in our possession by using my fictional and scientific knowledge," I conclude mentally.
In the absence of an established magic system in this world, I had to do my best, and I certainly didn't want to make a contract with a demon.
"Yes, I'll force my way to the top even if I have to create a magic system alone," I say, determined.
"I need to note the sensation and any other possible reactions or foreign factors during the use of the rank 3 spell," I think as I take notes.
Suddenly, I heard a crack behind me, which made me look back.
I'm in the middle of nature, and I noticed that I hadn't heard any noise for a while; I think it was because of my rank 3 spell.
"It seems I have an uninvited guest," I say, frowning.
I now had in front of me a giant praying mantis that seems to have taken me as its prey.
"You really picked the wrong moment," I declare, properly facing it to attack better.
The mantis took the opportunity to charge at me, but it was immediately decapitated.
"You could have left that one to me, Black," I say to my shadow, which slowly returns to its original form.
Black was a kind of familiar that I created by accident. He doesn't really have a consciousness of his own since he attacks automatically if he detects murderous intent.
I don't know if I can consider him a living being since he doesn't eat or sleep; he seems to be just a passive spell, but he doesn't take any energy from me since his creation.
He's a mystery to me, and frankly, I don't know if I can beat him in a full fight during the night since his strength becomes monstrous at that time.
"Why am I even talking to you," I sigh before returning to my notes.
"Should I avoid all the praying mantises I come across?" I suddenly think.
I remember that it was by facing one that Anne was accepted among the frogs.
Since my arrival in these worlds, I've preferred to avoid all contact with as many people as possible to limit changes in the plot.
Unfortunately, I can't completely prevent butterfly effects from happening since there are necessary things like taking control of the mayor.
"Honestly, it's a hassle to have been reincarnated in the past. I would have preferred to be reincarnated a bit earlier," I say mentally.
"I need to stop daydreaming; I have other spells to test," I think before my tattoo marks start to glow slightly.