Conquering Heroines: Starting From A World Of Zombies

With Alexstrasza's kiss, Ryuji clearly felt it—an enormous and warm energy was continuously pouring into him. And soon after, something within his body began to change.

It was… fascinating.

He could see it clearly: his Magic Release (Fire) skill was no longer just warping—it was splitting, reshaping itself into something entirely new.

In fact, it became three distinct abilities:

•Magic Release– Lv1: You can now channel magic to enhance your physical body. The extent of this enhancement depends on your control over energy and the total amount of magic you possess.

You can also apply unique effects based on the type and amount of energy released.

•Flame Manipulation– Lv2: You can now use any kind of energy to generate flames. This works universally across all worlds, though the properties of the fire may vary depending on the source of energy and the world you're in.

The heat and scale of the flames depend on how much energy you expend.

In most cases, you'll retain full control—but be aware: though you're highly resistant to your own flames, they are still fire. Just like a punch, even if it's yours, it can still hurt if it hits the wrong place.

•Dragonforce (Red Dragon) – Lv1: Power of the Red Dragonflight from Azeroth. You can now convert your stamina into draconic energy and wield the full force of a red dragon's abilities.

Your Strength, Stamina, Endurance, and Recovery Rate are all increased by 30%.

Additionally, while this power resides within your body, you can use Flame Manipulation to release a special fire that can either heal or harm—at your discretion. However, this comes at double the cost of both stamina and energy.

Keep in mind: even if the flame is used for healing, it still radiates heat and causes a burning sensation. Just because it heals doesn't mean it's painless.

Using this special flame doesn't consume your Dragonforce, but you can expend Dragonforce to temporarily transform into a dragon, boosting your flame's power or forcibly cleansing yourself of negative effects.

Warning: the energy cost is immense. Use with caution.

Amazing!

Ryuji was genuinely impressed and satisfied with this gift. Not only did it boost his regeneration and combat capability, but all his relevant skills had been enhanced.

But most importantly—the dragon force gave him what he'd been lacking all along:

A higher stamina cap!

He already had a solid range of powerful skills, but his base stats had always held him back. Now, finally, he could feel the ceiling starting to lift.

"All right, dear," Alexstrasza said sweetly. "This is your reward for helping me. But if you ever come to my world, I'll make sure to give you a warm welcome. And… if you'd like to make up for today's unfinished business, I wouldn't mind. Just once, though."

She gently stroked Ryuji's head, a tender look in her eyes. She felt like this might be a bit unfair to him, but Ryuji showed no sign of complaint—and that only made her like him even more.

"Well… we'll see," Ryuji replied with a faint smile. "Oh, right—Your Majesty, be careful. I heard rumors that the orcs might try to use the Dragon Soul to control dragons. They might try to capture you. They're ruthless."

Alexstrasza's eyes widened in surprise.

"You saw something?"

Because of the Titanic aura lingering around Ryuji, she didn't question the validity of his words. Instead, she asked him seriously.

"Yeah, probably something tied to Deathwing's schemes. I don't know the full details about your world, but please—just stay alert."

He genuinely didn't want to see this proud Red Dragon Queen suffer her original fate. His warning was heartfelt and sincere.

"…I will," Alexstrasza nodded solemnly.

She had already begun to suspect that her appearance here wasn't coincidental—especially after meeting a human infused with Titan energy in a world like this.

This had to be fate.

After all, her companion who oversees time and destiny had given her no warnings.

That meant Ryuji must be a special existence.

As that thought took root, she glanced at Ryuji—who was clearly concerned for her—and couldn't help but smile. She placed her hand on her chest.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of myself. Now then—Send me back to my world, child."

Ryuji was about to do just that, but after a moment's thought, he raised a hand to signal her to wait. He dug into his backpack and began rummaging around.

Alexstrasza didn't mind. Though she was eager to return, a short delay didn't bother her.

Ryuji finally pulled out an M60—a belt-fed machine gun—and handed it to her, fully loaded.

"If the orcs try to use the Dragon Soul on you, and force you into your human form—don't hesitate.Point this at them and pull the trigger."

Even if such weapons were toys to a dragon like her, Ryuji figured they might at least cause trouble for the orcs.

"…I understand," Alexstrasza smiled as she accepted the M60.

Whether or not it would be effective didn't matter. It clearly held no magic and seemed unimpressive. But still—it was Ryuji's heartfelt gift, and that alone made it meaningful.

"Farewell, then."

Seeing her accept the weapon, Ryuji let out a small breath of relief and grabbed her hand.

"Goodbye, child."

Alexstrasza smiled gently and vanished.

But the moment her world shimmered into view—Ryuji's eyes widened in shock.

He saw her expression twist. A green-skinned creature held a golden disc in his hand, roaring furiously at a crowd of humans, elves, and other odd beings.

Just as Alexstrasza was about to transform, the golden disc suddenly erupted with energy, slamming her to the ground.

Ryuji's heart sank—Deathwing's plot had already begun.

Quickly, he reopened the portal menu—but what he saw next made him stop.

Alexstrasza, struggling on the ground, lifted the M60 and fired.

Blazing tongues of fire exploded from the weapon's barrel, shredding the roaring orc's hand into pulp and tearing apart half his skull. The golden disc tumbled to the floor.

In that moment, Alexstrasza and the imprisoned dragons roared in fury—and transformed into their true forms.

Ryuji canceled his warp.

There was no need for him to intervene anymore.

Though the rest of the scene was hazy, one thing was clear: the dragons, finally freed, were enraged.

He clearly saw several of them ripping the orcs apart in savage fury.

"Yeah… looks like they've got it covered."

Ryuji nodded, tearing his gaze away from the doomed orcs and turning toward the merchant.

Originally, he thought it would take several days to send off Elsa and Toph. But with Alexstrasza's appearance, he could now leave this world early.

"Shame about this place, though…"

He gently stroked the wall of the structure. Ryuji truly felt regret. He had wanted to explore this world more, maybe build something here. But sadly, there were still many things he had to do.

And Minecraft's world, with its high energy cost for warping, wasn't suitable as a base of operations.

"Maybe someday… if fate allows it."

He sighed softly and walked toward where Jen the merchant stood waiting.

Jen, as always, stood quietly. Ryuji bought a few supplies, replenished some weapons, and moved on.

Even though the 1 point of World Power he had spent felt wasted, what he gained far outweighed the cost.

From Alexstrasza, he had acquired a significant amount of World Power.

Currently, his stockpile sat at 15 points—and all of Alexstrasza's remaining World Power had been absorbed by him.

With the World Fragment she gifted him, Ryuji now had at least 35 points total.If used purely for survival, that would be enough to extend his life by another three years.

"All right then… time to head to another world."

After packing his gear and adjusting the positioning of his weapons, he pulled up the traversal menu.

He gave the Azeroth world—a.k.a. Alexstrasza's world—a glance to check how much World Force it would cost to travel there.

And instantly gave up.

100 000 points.

This Minecraft world really was absurdly remote.

Instead, he tapped on the destination of Toph's world, and the moment he did, he felt his body begin the familiar sensation of phasing between dimensions. Everything around him faded into a blur of speed and distortion. But just as he was on the brink of leaving, a flash of light shot toward him—rushing straight into his hand.

"Hm?"

Startled, Ryuji looked down at the radiant orb now resting in his palm, but before he could study it further, the world around him shifted again—and he found himself standing in the middle of a bustling market square.

But Toph was nowhere to be seen.

He scanned the crowd, turning in a slow circle to confirm she wasn't hiding somewhere nearby.

"Wait... wasn't this supposed to take me directly to her?"

Something wasn't right. He glanced down at the glowing object he'd received.

It resembled a crystal, but radiated an unusual aura. The moment his eyes locked onto it, a strange understanding blossomed in his mind—if he could somehow charge this thing with energy, he could return to the Minecraft world at any time.

"How interesting... But why give this to me?" he muttered.

No one else had received something like this, he was sure. The only thing about him that could affect a world so profoundly was the Fire keeper ability—the skill that let him mend broken worlds. Maybe… the world itself recognized that, and rewarded him accordingly.

"Things are getting more and more interesting."

He tucked the pendant carefully into his shirt. It wasn't some passive skill that would stick with him no matter what—it could be lost, stolen, or destroyed. Best keep it safe, even if he didn't plan to use it anytime soon.

"Still, where's Toph?"

He cast a few more glances around but found no trace of her. Maybe she'd chickened out from their planned "mutual destruction" match. Not that he was upset.

Yet… something else was odd.

People were staring at him. Whispering. Pointing.

Right—he probably looked like a disaster. Torn, burned-up clothes and half a day's grime clinging to him didn't exactly blend in well with a crowd.

He quickly started moving, both to avoid further attention and to observe this bizarre new world.

The clothing was a chaotic mix—some wore robes, others sported in sleeveless jacket. It felt like a mishmash of styles mashed together.

And yet… each outfit was meticulously recreated. Historically accurate. Which only made the whole thing more confusing.

Ryuji grumbled to himself, then glanced at the local currency—metal coins, thankfully. He still had plenty of gold in his bag. Hopefully, it would hold value here.

He planned to find a quiet inn, eat something, then move on.

Thankfully, despite the eclectic fashion, the people here spoke fluent Chinese—traditional script and all. Though, weirdly, their sentence structure felt oddly stilted, like Chinese phrases filtered through English grammar. He chose not to question it.

This world is seriously strange.

The nearby food stalls tempted him, and he found himself momentarily drawn to the smell of grilled meat and bubbling soups. But with no local currency, he decided to quietly exit the town.

No sign of Toph, no reason to stay.

He headed toward the edge of town. But just as he neared the exit, a woman staggered out of a narrow alleyway, nearly crashing into him. She looked terrified.

Behind her came a man with half of his face horribly burned.

"Help me! He's trying to kill me!" the woman screamed, running frantically, desperately calling to the surrounding townsfolk.

"Azula! When are you going to stop this madness!?" the scarred man roared, clearly furious—and familiar with her.

Image (Here)

Ryuji didn't get involved. It wasn't his problem.

Until—whoosh!

A flash of blue flame surged from the woman's hand. The man responded with crimson fire of his own. The two blasts collided with a thunderous crack, lighting up the square.

Ryuji might've stayed out of it… if she hadn't rushed at him.

"Give me your sword!"

Her pretty face twisted into a hideous snarl as she reached for the short sword at his waist.

"Sorry. I don't lend out weapons."

His combat instincts kicked in. He sidestepped her grasp with ease, but she pivoted mid-movement, lashing out with a spinning kick aimed straight at his face.

This woman…

He raised his arm just in time, channeling magic into it to brace for the impact. Even then, the blow knocked him back—but he used the momentum to roll, breaking the fall and twisting to land on his feet.

She was already lunging again—still trying to grab his sword.

Behind her, the burned man had hesitated—he didn't want to risk hitting Ryuji by mistake.

"So she's the villain here?"

Ryuji's patience snapped. A burst of red flame erupted from his palm and surged toward the woman. She barely dodged—unbelievably agile even at close range—and retaliated by summoning a blade of blue fire, slashing it toward him.

"What a psycho."

Any goodwill her cute face had earned was now gone.

With a snarl, Ryuji tapped into his newest power—Dragonforce.

A violent torrent of molten flame erupted from his hand. Though it had no solid form, it roared like a geyser of lava and slammed into the woman's fire blade, shattering it. Then it smashed into her directly, blasting her across the square.

Ryuji drew his sword. If she wanted to kill him, he'd return the favor.

But the moment the Dragonforce touched his blade, the weapon began to melt.

A sharp, metallic crack rang out.

"Tch. Guess I need a better sword."

He dismissed the Dragonforce, swapping to ordinary flames instead.

As he advanced to finish her off, he saw that she hadn't died. She stood—wobbling—but raising her hand in a strange pose. And then—

Lightning crackled in her palm.

A jolt of danger shot through his nerves. He instinctively looked for cover—there was none.

So he did the only thing he could.

He hurled his backpack forward like a makeshift shield.

In the very next instant, the backpack Ryuji had thrown was struck by a bolt of lightning.

The grenades and the laptop stashed inside were both instantly shredded by the surge of electricity. A deafening explosion followed, sending a violent shockwave ripping through the narrow street.

Both Ryuji and the crazed woman were launched through the air like rag dolls.

His body spun wildly as he was hurled backwards. Just before he slammed into the ground, his eyes caught sight of something—a well—and a fleeting thought flitted through his mind:

"If only the water could catch me…"

It was just a wishful thought. An idle fantasy.

But then—

He felt something.

Something deep and unfamiliar surged within him, as if a hidden thread had connected him to something greater.

The next moment, water from the well suddenly burst out, twisting through the air and coalescing beneath him like a soft cushion. It caught his fall, shielding him from the brunt of the impact and keeping him from crashing into the stone wall behind.

Soaked, confused, and slightly winded, he slowly climbed off the swirling pad of water that had just obeyed his will.

His face was frozen in disbelief.

Did I… just control water?

Before he could make sense of it, he noticed both the scar-faced man and the blue-flame woman staring at him—mouths agape, faces painted in matching expressions of complete and utter shock.

And then, simultaneously, they shouted:

"That's impossible!"

Their voices echoed in unison across the alley.

They weren't just surprised—they were horrified.

"There's no way! No Way!"

Their gazes bore into him, searching for an explanation that didn't exist. Because what they had just witnessed was something that, by their world's laws, should not have been possible.

A Bending technique master—a wielder of elemental arts—was never meant to wield more than one element unless blessed by divine providence.

A non-Divine channeler... mastering two elemental arts?!

That simply didn't happen.

But Ryuji—already adept in fire, and now suddenly wielding water—had just shattered that very rule.

And for the first time, even he wasn't sure what he was anymore.