Chapter 2: A Young Girl's Second Reincarnation Pt 2
Would I still have these in the afterlife? Conversely, wouldn't they have faded more if I'd time travelled?
She wasn't getting anywhere with this.
"Alright, first things first: recon."
It was lucky, though she did so abhor assigning such an unreasonable variable as luck to any scenario that could be reasonably explained, that her lack of computation orbs would be a non-issue for this.
Interestingly enough, the majority of magic was inaccessible to lower-level mages without the use of a computation orb. This included flight, mid to high level piercing, optical, and explosions spells, along with basically anything that required more than a small amount of mana to maintain.
Part of this was due to magic's relative infancy as a subject of study, and part of it was because channeling mana through an inanimate object made it less likely to overload and destroy, say, your hand.
There was a reason guns were so useful in spell casting.
In any case, the phrasing is also important here. The point of reference being "lower-level mages".
Tanya was definitely not a lower-level mage. She'd long since mastered the use of minor illusions, physical reinforcement and enhancement, and low level optical and piercing spells without the assistance of a computation orb.
Once, she'd even blown a tree stump from the ground using an orb-less explosion spell, though she refrained from doing so again due to the danger and finnicky nature of explosion spells in general. It wouldn't do her any good to lose her fingers the same way a hillbilly with a fireworks kink would.
Even so, she knew the usefulness of casting formulae without an orb, regardless of the danger. In her opinion, relying entirely on potentially faulty equipment was the epitome of irrationality.
That wasn't her. If her orb malfunctioned in any way, she certainly wouldn't be helpless.
That being said, another great reason for learning orb-less magic was its inability to be detected. Generally, mana detectors were unable to detect mana usage below a certain level. This base level was higher than most thought could be generated without an orb.
Yes, considering exactly how skilled Tanya and her 203rd were with mana, this was an oversight. But the understanding of mana and magical systems were still relatively unexplored, so for now it was an allowable oversight.
All of this was a nice, roundabout way of explaining that orb-less magic was extremely useful for stealth reconnaissance. Oftentimes enemy mages and their bases were detected, ironically enough, due to their own usage of detection and scanning spells.
That's how Tanya had discovered and destroyed that one base of operations in the Entente Alliance being ran by Albish intelligence officers.
Thus, for the sake of stealthy reconnaissance, Tanya decided to activate a wide range mana detection spell without the use of her computation orb.
Of course, the real reason she did this was because she didn't even have her computation orbs on her, but the explanation regarding stealthy reconnaissance sounded much more professional than "Ah, I didn't have an orb on me".
Properly justifying your actions is a necessary skill in war. A skill which she happened to excel at.
Tanya flared her mana without hesitation, activating the spell.
...Then immediately let it go, clutching at her head all the while.
"Ow ow ow…" Well, it had worked. That much was certain. The problem was-
There's mana everywhere!
And then, the icing on the cake.
Formulaic Casting Subskills "Mana Detection" and "Mana Aura" detected. Combining and upgrading to Extra Skill: Magic Sense…
Confirmed. Extra Skill: Magic Sense… successfully acquired.
The voice echoed in her head, even and emotionless. And also, fairly agender, though leaning ever so slightly male.
Tanya straightened back up, the pain from her spell's feedback fading.
Her stomach sank, a third theory presenting itself.
She just might have reincarnated again. In other words, she'd gotten isekai'd.
For the Second. Fucking. Time.
And, as a blue haired man with a large, upturned horn on his forehead stepped out from tree line, this theory became even more likely.
...Then, it became practically fact, as a taller man with spiky red hair and two black, upturned horns stepped from the trees as well. Also, his hand was on fire, and he did not seem at all concerned about it.
The purple haired woman with the massive sword and, you guessed it, an upturned horn, was just salt on the wound at this point.
Okay, stay calm. I'm in another world. I'll think more about the implications of that later. Right now, I'm more concerned about the…
Tanya tilted her head.
Hm, I'm not sure what they are, actually. They're humanoid, but as far as I'm aware, humans don't have horns. Not the ones I've met at least. Then again, you never know with fantasy.
"What is your business here, human?" The red one spoke, pointing his flaming hand at her in a manner that would be threatening to most.
"Human"? Ah, nevermind. Thanks for confirming my suspicions.
Tanya raised her hands slightly.
Look at me, I'm unarmed. You wouldn't attack a helpless person, would you? Show some concern for human life- ah, actually, does the concept of humanitarianism even exist among non-human humanoids?
"Ah, before that, would you mind telling me where I am?" Tanya looked around, before shrugging apologetically. "You see, I'm finding myself a bit lost here."
Lost in both the literal sense and in a mental one. Seriously, the hell is going on here?
"I find that hard to believe." The purple haired woman said, brandishing her sword.
It was almost as long as the woman was tall, and she wielded it with ease. This fact unnerved Tanya way more than the guy who could control fire.
After all, she could do the fire thing too. She wasn't impressed. The massive sword though, that was impressive. And very concerning.
Okay, so maybe I'm trespassing somehow if just speaking provokes that sort of reaction. Or that's just her personality. She's clearly not the most reasonable of the bunch.
"No, really. I'm telling the truth."
Tanya wondered if telling the truth would even help here. Red and Purple, as she had mentally dubbed them, seemed somewhat inclined to violence, but the blue one was merely leaning against a tree and observing her.
"I was in a battle before I got here. The last thing I remember was a flash of light, then I arrived at this spot. I'm not sure how I got here, or even where here is. Nor do I know how you found me so fast."
An intentional use of words there, secretly inviting her potential foes to explain valuable information. Any advantage was a welcome one.
"We detected two large magical auras using Magic Sense. The larger of which being in this area." Blue finally spoke.
Gotcha. So, they detected me with Magic Sense. Don't I have that? What was it that voice said? Something something my mana detecting spell and my mana aura melded and became "Magic Sense". And it's apparently been upgraded too. This is... just like an RPG game from my first world.
"As Great Rimuru's sworn subordinates, it's our duty to protect Great Rimuru and the Jura Forest Alliance from potential threats." Purple pointed her sword at Tanya. "Like you, stranger girl."
I'll allow that. Hm, this "Jura Forest Alliance" sounds important, and these guys are clearly big fans of this Great Rimuru person. Maybe now's the time to try out this "Magic Sense" skill. I should know what I'm dealing with just in case thus gets violent.
"Ah, threat? I'm not sure what you mean. I'm just a lost-" Soldier? Absolutely not. Traveler probably wouldn't fly either. Well, this does seem more like a fantasy world than her old one, so how about, "-mage. I assure you I mean no harm."
So, how exactly do I… ah, there we go. Just keep the output low and-
Tanya's newly acquired Magic Sense spread over the immediate area. It was odd. She could still see with her eyes, but it was like a new field of view had been juxtaposed on top and beside it.
It was sort of what she imagined being able to see into a fourth dimension would be like.
Tch. They're all extremely powerful. I think. I'm not sure what the spectrum of magical strength in this world is, so I can't exactly compare their level of strength against mine. What I can tell is they all have a lot of mana in reserve. The red one especially.
Without warning, Blue tensed up. Red and Purple saw this at the time as Tanya did, and tensed up as well in response.
Tanya's eyes widened.
He noticed Magic Sense? Suddenly, she remembered what he had said earlier. "Detected a large magical aura"? He must mean me. Does that mean I'm broadcasting?
She focused Magic Sense on herself for a moment.
Shit, I am broadcasting! How… right, this is a different world; mana and magical systems must interact differently here. This would never have been an issue in the other world. I feel like I've been walking with my fly down! Maybe if I just reel it in…
Tanya closed her eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating on the feeling of her mana. Now that she could see it, the way it was wildly fluctuated outside her body without any sort of willful intent almost shocked her.
Yeah, she could see why they might have felt threatened. A moment later, her mana drew back into her body, the intent to suppress her outward aura being all it took to reign it in.
The two-time reincarnate sighed in relief.
Right, now that we've solved that problem, let's deal with another. Tanya opened her eyes.
Just in time to see the massive sword swinging down to cleave her in two.
CRASH
Magical and metal-related sparks flew everywhere. Tanya deflected the strike with a mage blade covered arm, narrowly avoiding yet another death. Her arm stung from the effort, her instinctive reinforcement spell working overtime just to keep her intact.
Don't attack people out of the blue, lady! What kind of idiot just does that?
Even with her arm and magic taking some of the force, the ground to her left cracked and split from the deflected blow.
Yeah, these guys definitely aren't human! This strength is monstrous!
-=-=-=-
A Few Minutes Earlier, Late Morning
Grand Home of our Lord, the Great Rimuru (Rigurd, I told you not to call it that!)
Jura Tempest Alliance
"Hm?" Rimuru looks up. In front of him, a diary sits open on his desk, the pages completely blank.
Notice: Two similar magical auras of great proportion have just appeared within close distance to the city.
Yeah, that's what I thought I felt. Do you think it's a threat?
Answer: Threat level unknown. The simultaneous appearance of two similar magical auras close to the city heavily increases the chance of a threat.
If they wanted to attack though, why would they reveal themselves outside of the city?
Answer: Inconclusive.
Yeah, that helps. Rimuru thinks sarcastically, then shrugs. Well, I'll go check it out. We'll head to the larger one first. Let's hope they're willing to talk, whoever they are.
~OPENING: NEW BEGINNINGS ARC~
-=-=-=-=-=-
Known Skills List
Tanya:
Extra Skill: Magic Sense
Extra Skill: Magic Aura
Extra Skill: Voice of the World Communication
Unique Skill: Formulaic Casting
Unique Skill: Tetrabattery Limit Enhancement
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone