A Villainess New Path

“Ugh, this is not how I wanted my day to start,” Gwen groaned, shifting her weight as she stood stuck in line behind a group of adventurers. The sun burned her neck, and sweat made her skin sticky, putting her in a terrible mood— made worse by the terrible outfit she wore.

As the line slowly moved, her mind went back to a few nights ago.

One second, she was getting ready to celebrate her birthday at a convention. The next, she woke up inside the body of Gwen Vanderick.

I only watched the shitty anime once! She thought, shifting her weight again. Why did I have to end up stuck here, instead of something I actually liked?

Luckily, she remembered the main thing: the original Gwen was executed at the end of season one… she thought. At this moment, her memory was still slightly jumbled. Flashes of the villainess’s life mixed with her, making things harder to separate.

The problem was, she couldn’t even remember the reason why the villainess died. Every time she tried to bring it up, it was like fog had overtaken her mind. She could remember faces and places, but when it came to important parts, they slipped away.

Whatever the reason, she had no intention of finding it for herself.

No point worrying about what could happen, she told herself, wiping her forehead with her hand. Survive today first, and figure out the rest later.

When she finally reached the front, she showed her job sheet to the guard. He waved her through with a bored look on his face.

After a moment’s hesitation, she hurried past the man.

The entrance of the dungeon looked like a huge black hole that swallowed the torchlight. Staring down it made her stomach twist into knots. If she hadn’t played sports back on Earth, she probably would have turned around right then.

Even so, her feet felt heavy, and her heart pounded against her chest.

“I can do this,” she whispered, gripping her staff tighter until her hands turned white. “I’m just going to complete my quest and get stronger today.”

An important thing about the anime: adventurers absorbed energy from monsters slain, strengthening them, similar to XP in video games.

“Whoever brought me here could’ve at least given me a system!” she said a little too loud. A few adventurers walked past, shooting her strange looks. Gwen flushed red in embarrassment.

Another group of people walked by, and they didn’t bother to keep their voices down when passing; in fact, some had their tone growing louder just so she could hear.

“Isn’t that the Duke’s daughter?” one of the women snickered, her voice echoing around the stairwell. “I thought she was supposed to be getting married today?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear? The Second Prince decided that she wasn’t good enough to be his bride, and dumped her,” another replied.

Gwen resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

Dumped me? Ugh, I’m the one who begged my father to cancel the engagement. Of course the royal family would lie to save face.

Her face went cold, and the grip on the staff tightened until the wood creaked. Rumors weren’t going to kill her, but letting them spread would only make the situation worse. Since there was no internet, gossip like this was probably the way people got their entertainment to help them through the boredom of their days.

Gwen finally forced herself to walk down the stairs. Each step felt like a shedding of her life, with her now embracing the new one.

“A shame,” a male adventurer laughed as he passed, his voice dripping with disdain. “Pretty face, but flat as a board everywhere else. If not for her face, I might have mistaken her for a boy.”

The moment of peace was broken, and she fought to control her anger. Gwen pulled up her hood over her silver hair and hurried down the stairs.

While the gossip was annoying, these cleric robes were worse. Between not trying to step on the hem and dealing with the heels, she felt the outfit was terrible for fighting.

After I get back, I think I’ll spend the evening shopping for a better outfit, she thought. A little excitement to look forward to for making it out of the dungeon.

A cold chill went down her spine as she felt another set of eyes digging into her back.

Ignoring the heavy gaze, Gwen reached the bottom and stepped through a blue barrier. Cool air hit her skin as she entered the dungeon proper. Right away, she heard swords clashing and people grunting.

The air smelled like sweat and blood, giving the opening an… interesting smell.

Two men hurried past, carrying an injured adventurer between them. Blood was dripping from his arm onto the floor, while a cleric followed behind, muttering a spell under his breath.

Gwen stopped and watched them go. This isn’t sitting and watching a screen anymore; if I mess up, I could actually die.

It seemed the stairs were a hub where those in the dungeon gathered to take a break from hunting monsters. Around her, other adventurers seemed to calmly check their weapons, while others joked and ate food.

How the hell can they be this relaxed? The oppressive nature of the dungeon seemed to be pressing down on her heavily.

She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself and shook off the weight. Panicking causes mistakes, and mistakes mean dying in this hellhole. And she refused to die before finding a way home.

Straightening up, she walked down the hall as the noise faded away behind her.

Three paths opened up ahead, and she immediately took the one on the right. The guild papers mentioned slimes spawned more on this section of the floor. It grew quieter the deeper she walked. Dust was thick on the floor, and cobwebs hung from the walls.

She wrinkled her nose at the smell of decay.

“I guess Mel was right: people haven’t been hunting slimes for a while,” she muttered, looking around the empty corridor.

Her job was simple: collect five slime drops. The reward was three silver coins.

Suddenly, a rock dropped in front of her, breaking her musing. Without hesitation, she jumped back just as a slime dropped from the ceiling. It landed right where she had been standing with a wet plop.

Gwen lunged and brought her staff down on top of the slime. The attack connected, flattening the monster into the floor. Before she could hit it again, a sharp blade made of goo shot out of its body straight toward her stomach.

She leaped back to get some space between herself and the creature.

The slime chased after, another arm forming on its back. Pointing her staff, Gwen focused her energy until the tip turned bright orange. A small arrow no wider than her thumb shot from the weapon.

The slime made a quick screech and slid right through the fire, taking no damage at all.

“Oh, come on!” she whined, twisting her body to dodge a blade aimed at her side.

Gwen was stuck dodging a bunch of knives made of blue goo. She ducked left—a sharp edge cut her cheek, warm blood trickling down her face.

Reacting quickly, she swung her staff around, knocking the next knife out of the air. Rotating the weapon, she brought the staff down hard, squishing the slime flat again.

While it was dazed, she scrambled backwards to get space. Annoyed, she took a deep breath and raised the staff forward, putting a huge chunk of her magic into the spell.

“Fire Arrow!”

A giant flame streaked through the air and pierced the slime’s body, striking the core. The monster didn’t have time to screech before its body turned black and turned to ash. The only thing left on the floor was a small glass jar with a purple liquid inside.

Staring at the empty spot, Gwen lowered her staff, breathing hard. Her hand was shaking but not from fear. It was from excitement. Though a small fight, it sent a thrill through her she hadn’t felt back on Earth.

She paused to check her magic reserves and blinked.

Even after using that much power, she barely used any magic at all. Then again, the people at the church did mention I had a lot of magic for a beginner.

A rush of unfamiliar energy surged through her body. She couldn’t stop the big grin that spread across her face. Officially, Gwen had become an adventurer after killing her first monster!

Adrenaline pumping, Gwen threw her fist into the air. “Hell yes!” she yelled, her voice bouncing off the walls.

For the first time since waking up in this, she felt it. The future wasn’t set in stone. And she wasn’t going to die like the Gwen in the story.