Volume 1, Chapter 3 – My Otherworldly Life Starting with Handcrafting a Nuke

“Ugh, it’s so hot…”

With slumped shoulders and a hoarse voice, Fia dragged her feet like a zombie, barely mustering the energy to complain.

If this weren’t a sun-scorched, uninhabited wasteland but a graveyard at night, anyone who saw her would surely mistake her for an undead creature—a zombie or a ghost.

But Fia’s exhaustion was understandable. The unbearably dry air and the blazing sun overhead had quickly left her drenched in sweat and parched with thirst. The occasional gusts of wind only made things worse, kicking up dust that clogged her nose and mouth, making her throat burn as if sliced by a knife. She was absolutely certain that if a whole pool of water were placed in front of her right now, she could drain it in one go.

“Not paying attention to the direction when I ran was a huge mistake.”

Wiping the sweat from beneath her black bangs, Fia panted between complaints.

When fleeing from the soldiers, she hadn’t followed the road. Instead, she had bolted in a random direction that seemed deserted. Now, she had no idea how much time had passed, how far she’d run, or even how to retrace her steps—there were no landmarks along the way. The only thing she could use for orientation was the sun in the sky. Though Fia wasn’t sure if this world’s sun still rose in the east, moving in a straight line was better than going in circles. At least there weren’t nine suns here—that would’ve been a nightmare.

Thinking this, Fia reached inside her dress, where a hidden pocket held what looked like candy and small, crystal-like objects. They were no larger than a fingernail, so she hadn’t noticed them at first.

“The elf princess left behind some snacks, but without water, I have no appetite. Maybe I’ll eat them when I’m really hungry.”

If she couldn’t find water before nightfall, she’d have to wait until dawn to collect dew. Thankfully, this wasn’t a true desert but a barren wasteland with some low shrubs. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have the option of draping her clothes over bushes to gather morning dew.

…Am I really going to die of thirst out here?

The moment the pessimistic thought crossed her mind, Fia shook her head vigorously. The more desperate the situation, the more she needed to stay optimistic. Dwelling on negative thoughts would only wear down her willpower. Once the belief that “I can survive this” vanished entirely, it would truly be the end. She knew that much.

Better distract myself with something more pleasant.

Like getting used to her new body—and figuring out why she could use magic.

The memories inherited from the elf princess were sparse. Fia didn’t even know the names of the princess’s parents. Of course, as a princess, her parents must have been the king and queen, but the memories didn’t include their appearances either. The only usable information was that fragmented, fleeting recollection.

Because of this, Fia had no way of knowing what kind of world this was. The only clues came from the chainmail and swords of the human soldiers she’d encountered earlier, suggesting this world’s technological level hadn’t reached the Renaissance—it was still stuck in the medieval era.

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“I never expected magic to exist here. If this were Earth, people like me would be captured and dissected as supernatural specimens. Hmm… I shouldn’t just compare this world to human history. With magic as a completely new system, things that would be impossible with current technology might be achievable here.”

Muttering to herself, Fia—dressed in her black dress with white trim—shook her hands. It had been a full hour since she set off, and while an ordinary person would’ve been exhausted after running nonstop, she only felt slight soreness in her legs. Other than thirst, she was still full of energy. If not for the unique physiology of elves, magic must have been sustaining her.

“Speaking of which… how did that magic even happen?”

Instinctively, Fia looked at her right hand. When facing the knight commander, it was this hand that had unleashed a torrent of flames, allowing her to escape. But she had never wielded magic before, and the elf princess’s memories didn’t explain how to conjure fire.

“It can’t be that this body remembers how to cast magic, so when I was in danger, it just… activated on its own—huh? What’s this?”

Before she could finish, Fia noticed something unusual on her right arm. Previously hidden by her sleeve and overlooked in her struggle to adapt, there was something distinctly not human about her arm.

A slender, diamond-shaped red crystal, thin and delicate, was embedded just above her wrist. Under the sunlight, it didn’t reflect glare but instead glowed with an inner radiance, exuding an air of nobility.

“A secret weapon hidden by the elf princess?”

Royalty in stories always had life-saving artifacts concealed on their person, ready to turn the tables in dire situations. This crystal had to be one of them. Unlike the loose crystals in her pocket, this one was fused seamlessly to her arm—something far more important and powerful.

Filled with curiosity, Fia tried prying it off. But no matter how hard she pulled, the crystal wouldn’t budge. In fact, using too much force sent a splitting pain through her body, as if she were being torn apart. Worse, when she rubbed the crystal, a strange tingling sensation spread across her skin, like the faintest, most teasing touch—so unsettling that she quickly stopped.

“This feels weird. Was this crystal originally part of the elf princess’s body? But I thought elves only needed pointy ears to qualify as elves?”

At this point, all Fia could do was sigh at the absurdity of this world. The crystal was now a part of her, and any attempt to interact with it would rebound onto her.

“Wait… when I used magic earlier, did the heat come from here?”

If this were a comic, a lightbulb would’ve appeared above Fia’s head.

While shooting flames from her palm sounded ridiculous, this was a world with magic. Any attempt to rationalize it would just be met with “It’s magic, duh.”

Frowning, Fia pondered seriously.

“Is this the protagonist’s special ability? Because I’m a transmigrator, I got this red crystal on my arm, and it’s my ultimate magic or something?”

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Most isekai stories followed that formula—either granting the protagonist overpowered magic, an ultra-convenient environment to exploit their Earth knowledge, or at least a save-and-load function to brute-force their way to success.

She might not be the main character, but as a transmigrator, maybe God had thrown her a bone by giving her some handy magic.

“Too bad there aren’t any other elves around to compare. Otherwise, I could confirm if this crystal is unique to me.”

Not dwelling on it, Fia cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and solemnly stretched out her right hand.

“Let’s give it a try. How did it go last time…?”

Back then, she had only felt fear. The only notable things were the desperate thought of “Get away from me!” and the terrified “Eeek!” she’d let out.

Surely “Eeek!” isn’t the incantation? That’d be way too embarrassing.

Sure, she looked like a little girl now, so no one would judge her for squealing. But if she had to shout “Eeek!” every time she cast a spell in public, she’d die of shame on the spot.

Better just focus on my right hand and imagine flames shooting out.

To avoid harming herself, Fia aimed at a spot 500 meters away in the empty sky. Since the wasteland had nothing but sand and rocks, she didn’t have to worry about starting a wildfire.

Closing her eyes, Fia concentrated, visualizing her focus converging into a single thread along her right arm. Almost immediately, the diamond-shaped crystal grew warm, and a faint, continuous hum reached her ears—like the resonant tremble of a struck tuning fork.

“Huh?”

Fia’s eyes snapped open, and she froze in place.

What… is that?

Centered on her chosen target, a silvery “disk” nearly 100 meters in diameter was slowly rotating. It resembled a galactic nebula, composed of shimmering silver motes of light, with a blinding white sphere at its core—the source of the humming.

If it were nighttime, Fia might’ve marveled at this spectacle, a miniature galaxy manifesting before her. But in broad daylight, with that ominous hum growing louder, admiration was the last thing on her mind.

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I aimed for 500 meters away, and I can still hear it this clearly? If I were any closer, the noise would be deafening.

“This… isn’t like before. And this dizzy feeling…”

After conjuring the nebula, a wave of lightheadedness hit her—subtle, like sleep deprivation, but unmistakably linked to the spell.

But Fia had no time to ponder. The “nebula” was expanding, its light intensifying, and the hum sharpening into a shrill whine—like the countdown beeps of a time bomb.

“W-Wait, hold on—!”

In the blink of an eye, the nebula’s edges doubled in size. The surrounding temperature skyrocketed, turning the air scorching. Even inhaling felt like breathing fire. The hem of her dress began smoldering, and the ground beneath the nebula glowed red, liquefying in places.

What the hell is this!?

After a split-second hesitation, Fia turned and ran.

She didn’t need to be a genius to realize she’d unleashed something catastrophically dangerous. Figuring out the mechanics could wait—right now, survival was priority number one. She had no intention of becoming “crispy elf jerky.”

Moving faster than when she’d fled the soldiers, Fia sprinted like a gazelle evading a lion, desperate to escape the encroaching wave of heat.

As the searing pain on her back intensified, the scenery around her blurred. For a moment, she felt like she was flying—her speed so great that the ground trembled with sonic booms. The already tattered dress, practically a crop top by now, began burning from air friction.

Of course, Fia didn’t realize she’d just broken the sound barrier. She assumed the dress was igniting from the nebula’s heat, and in her panic, she accelerated even further—leaving deep trenches in her wake.

Not even a dragon’s breath could match this devastation.

Only when she was certain she’d put enough distance between herself and the nebula until the hum was no longer audible—though in reality, sound couldn’t catch up to her supersonic sprint—did she attempt to stop. The ground bore two long, deep grooves from her abrupt deceleration.

“T-This distance… must be dozens of kilometers?”

Gasping for air, Fia hunched over, hands on her knees, and turned to look back. A thick haze of dust obscured her vision, but in the distance, a tiny bright spot was visible—the nebula she’d created.

How long was I running? No, wait—did I really make that thing?

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Her gaze fixed on the distant speck of light.

Now, it was no longer just a speck.

It was a second sun.

Vast. Blinding. Humbling.

First, a flash of light whited out the world. Then, the sphere expanded rapidly, and a colossal pillar of fire and dust erupted from the earth. Finally—everything culminated in a towering mushroom cloud.

The once-bright sun was now dimmed to near-invisibility beneath the ash-filled sky.

A… nuclear explosion?

Is this still magic!?

“Ah…”

A horrifying realization dawned on Fia. Her mouth hung open, her cute face etched with shock. Then—without a second thought—she bolted again.

The reason?

Imagine an excited puppy bounding toward its owner. Now replace the puppy with a ring-shaped shockwave radiating from the epicenter, racing across the land with unstoppable enthusiasm—straight for Fia.

The earth rippled like liquid under its force.

Clearly, nothing would stand in the way of its “affection.”

So, unless she wanted to restart her life again, Fia had no choice but to flee.

And thus began the chronicles of the “Calamity Flame Witch.”