I could only force myself to stay calm in the face of Paper-chan’s sarcasm and the foul-mouthed remarks it tossed out at the drop of a hat.

“Easy. There’s no point arguing with an artificial idiot.”

It’s not like I can go fuck its ancestors. Its ancestors are a machinery factory.

I’m not confident I could fuck my way through a steel plate.

“Phew...”

Maybe it was just my imagination, but Paper-chan... didn’t seem as cold as it had been at first.

It wasn’t its voice. It was more like it was becoming more and more human.

“Sigh... I’ll worry about that later.”

“O cold God of Death, Gonaer...”

Thinking of Eileen’s incantation, I tried to imitate it as best I could.

A green magic circle slowly appeared around me. Something in my mind began to harden, as if shackles were being locked around it.

To be honest, when I first heard Eileen’s explanation, I didn’t believe it.

Could magic alone really let someone do something that was physically impossible?

But after thinking it over for a moment, I realized I’d been an idiot.

Trying to talk about the laws of physics in a world of magic?

Fuck that!!

A power capable of changing the world and rewriting its laws wasn’t something someone like me, who hadn’t even gone to college, could begin to comprehend.

The hundred-meter cliff in front of me was the best proof of that.

Blah blah blah...

Before long, I finished reciting the incantation.

The magic circle shattered, scattering glowing fragments through the air, and a dark sigil appeared on the back of my hand.

I gave my head a little shake.

“Ugh... I can’t mo—huh?”

It felt different from when I’d been controlled before. Now, I could move freely.

But there was a delay.

“Raise my left hand...?”

Almost a full second later, I raised my left hand.

“Emmmmm, is this a side effect of using Corpse Manipulation on myself?”

It felt like playing a game with 200 ping...

“Well, it doesn’t stop me from moving, so I’ll leave it for now.”

I looked up to confirm which way I was facing, let out a long breath, stretched my arms out to either side, and gave the command.

“Rotate!!”

One second later...

“Ohhh! I’m spinning... huh? Huh? Huhhh???”

Soon, I was spinning faster and faster. Sand and stones flew everywhere, dust and pebbles rising to pelt my body.

It was a really strange feeling.

Unlike when I spun around by myself, it felt as if some unknown force was pushing me—or pulling me—into a faster and faster spin.

But...

“Why is my head spinning toooooo!!!”

“Oh, crap, I get motion sick!!!”

“Mr. Ojer!!”

Eileen was hiding behind a tree some distance away, watching me with excitement...

“It worked, Mr. Ojer!!”

“Ee-ee-ee-eileen—!!!”

I shouted, my words muddled by the Doppler effect, trying to make myself stop.

【Calm down, User 001.】

Even in this situation, Paper-chan’s voice was still as cold as a glacier.

【You’ve only made your body spin. Its structure hasn’t changed, and you don’t have a helicopter’s swashplate assembly. Naturally, your head is spinning along with it.】

【However, the current data collection is going well. According to my calculations, you’ll need to accelerate by another 2.45 times to generate enough lift.】

【Please accelerate.】

“Y-you want me to a-a-accelerate even more?!!”

Aaaaaah, I regretted this so much!!

I felt like I was going to throw up, aaaaaaah!!!!

【Don’t worry. According to my estimates, the system’s current energy points can keep you flying for about half an hour.】

“H-h-h-half an h-h-h-hour?!!”

Can’t I just quit already?!

“Amazing!! Is this what a helicopter is like?!”

Eileen’s excited voice came from nearby.

【She’s cheering you on. You should at least set a good example.】

“...”

Fine...

[All right, I get it! I just need to put more power into it, right?]

【Correct.】

I gritted my teeth and steeled myself.

“Spin faster!!”

Thup-thup-thup-thup-thup-thup-thup-thup!!!

“#￥#%&*%#￥%@&%&￥?!”

My arms spun faster and faster. The scenery around me blurred, and the wails coming from my mouth were gradually drowned out by a sound like helicopter blades.

Gradually, a noticeable lift began to build, as if it were about to carry me into the air.

“Ohhhhh, I-I-I-I-I’m g-g-g-going to—!!”

The wind grew stronger and stronger, reaching Eileen ten meters away.

She shielded her face with her hands and staff to keep the flying pebbles and sand from scraping her, but then she realized the wind had blown up her skirt.

A whole lot of skin was suddenly on display.

“Eek!!”

She instinctively crouched down and covered her short skirt with her hands.

“Aaaaaah, I-I-I-I c-c-can’t take it anym-m-more!”

【Hang on a little longer. The data is almost—】

Just then...

Ber~

A crisp sound rang out.

Like a can being opened.

Or the sound of a bottle opener popping a beer cap.

Whoosh!!

Something went flying.

“Ugh... Mr. Ojer, are you o—Eeeeeeeeeek?!!!”

Eileen had just stood up when she saw a white object tear through the air, spinning toward her at an indescribable speed!

Wham!

Things weren’t going well on my end, either.

“W-w-wait, what?!”

For some reason, my body suddenly stopped obeying me!

【Warning: damage detected. Left arm detached.】

“W-w-w-what the h-h-hell?!!”

I yelled as I started to lose speed, my body tilting wildly to one side!

“Oh, crap!!”

Wham!

All hell broke loose...

Flocks of birds scattered into the sky...

“Ugh... what happened...?”

I pulled my head out of the tree and rubbed my neck...

“What the hell, why am I here...? Wait, did I make that huge hole in the tree?!”

I held out my left hand and pointed in disbelief at the hole that went right through the tree trunk.

But...

“Huh...?”

Where was my hand...?

I turned to look at my bare shoulder and completely froze.

【This was an error on the system’s part.】

Paper-chan apologized with a perfectly straight face.

【The system failed to account for the overall structural integrity of your body. It only calculated the strength of each individual component.】

[W-what... does that mean...?]

【It means that while your body is very strong, the connections at your joints aren’t strong enough.】

【The system had disabled all of your pain sensation, so you didn’t feel a thing when your limb was torn off.】

【After running the calculations, the system recommends that you retain ten to fifteen percent of your pain sensation to prevent this from happening again.】

[Ah... okay... Do what you think is best...]

I nodded blankly, thinking back over what had happened while I was flying.

I’d been spinning faster and faster...

Then my arm went flying...

And then...

“Oh, right!!”

I hurriedly looked around.

“Where’s my hand?! And where’s Eileen?!”

Normally, the moment Eileen saw me hurt, she’d come running over!

【Calm down.】

【Your hand’s over there, stuck in that tree. As for the girl...】

【You’ll find out when you get there.】

Paper-chan put an arrow in my field of vision, pointing to the front left.

So I hurried after it.

Before long...

“.........”

I stared at the scene in front of me, at a loss for how to react.

【That was close. Just a little farther and it would’ve been dangerous.】

I stood there, mechanically nodding.

My left hand was stuck in the tree trunk in front of me, its Bone Blade buried three inches into the wood. The gash it had carved made my heart skip.

And beneath the blade.........

Was Eileen, deathly pale and unconscious...

Emmmmmm.

Was this my fault...?

【Don’t worry. It didn’t hit her directly. She just fainted from fright.】

【Though the system doesn’t believe a direct hit would have caused much harm. At most, it would’ve opened a gash in her body.】

[.........]

【Still, to prevent this from happening again, she shouldn’t come along for the next experiment. Or have her stay at least thirty meters away.】

[Okay...]

I looked down at the girl.

She was sprawled on the ground like a blob of modeling clay. Her adorable face now wore an expression like she’d seen a ghost, her clothes in disarray from the force of the wind, and her short skirt blown high.

“Hmm...”

Blue-and-white stripes...

They suited her.

I looked up at the few points of silver light hanging high in the sky and sighed inwardly.

Anyway...

My first flight test...

Had ended in complete failure...

Dusk was drawing near, staining the horizon red.

Fiery clouds filled one side of the sky, but they couldn’t hold back the darkness as it surged in like a tide.

As night began to fall...

“Mmm...”

A soft moan came from behind me, and I turned to look.

“Oh, Eileen’s awake?”

The girl stretched, still drowsy, and looked at me, blinking.

“Ah... morning, big brother... Huh? Huhhh?!!”

But when she saw what I was doing, her pupils shrank. As if she’d just witnessed something unbelievable, she hurriedly climbed out of bed.

“Big brother, what are you do—ow!”

But she tripped and landed flat on her face.

“Heh...”

I chuckled softly. She seemed lively enough, so I turned back to continue my modifications.

“You can’t!!”

But Eileen hurried over, snatched the hammer from my hand, and backed away three steps.

“Mr. Ojer, why are you hammering steel nails into your arm?!!!”

“Ah...”

I scratched my cheek with the hand that had just been holding the hammer, then glanced at the other arm on the table.

“Well... Eileen, do you remember what happened today?”

“Umm...”

She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“You were so scared you don’t remember, huh...”

I sighed, secretly relieved.

“Anyway, my arm can’t handle the speed needed for flight, so I’m planning to reinforce the whole thing with steel bars.”

“Huhhh?!!”

Eileen was even more shocked when she heard that. She hurriedly hid the hammer behind her back and stepped away twice more.

“You can’t! How can you do something so cruel to yourself?!”

“Uh...”

I glanced back at my arm and tilted my head.

Cruel?

I couldn’t feel any pain anyway...

“No... Eileen, just hear me out first.”

I rose and walked toward her, still missing an arm.

“No! I don’t care! As long as I’m here, big brother, you’re not allowed to do something like that!”

“.........”