A Villainess Should Be Strong

"Shouldn't you give me a tester or something first, though?" Sierra pursed her lips as she met Estelle's eye.

Sierra was still skeptical, but she believed in Estelle's power- and most of all, her connections. If she went under Estelle's care, Sierra would be able to receive exemplary education.

She just needed something to reassure her that everything would be fine before she thrusts herself into this deal.

Estelle brought her hand up to her lips as she mumbled.

"A tester... I could do that," Estelle hummed as she materialized her mana.

It was still a bit unstable. She had to get used to the new adjustments.

"Give me a few minutes," Estelle grinned.

She extended her hand as to ask for Sierra's grip.

Although the child was hesitant at first, knowing that Estelle was able to possibly bring a great change to her, she took the hand.

Immediately, she felt a strange sensation. Like a dragon slithered into her bloodstreams and searched high and low for her.

She squirmed, trying to avoid the feeling. However, the cause of the sensation was Estelle herself. As Sierra didn't want to release the grip, the uncanny feel continued.

Sierra let out cries and moans several times over the process.

Estelle, on the other hand, focused on inspecting the child's mana, trying to find out how she could replicate and utilize it.

Just like the Eire siblings, Sierra's Witch energy was already starting to be potent. There was no doubt that she would grow up to be a great figure as well.

Non-offensive pioneers weren't any less desirable than offensive ones. In fact, Sierra's ability was highly favorable for certain work lines.

Another minute passed, and Estelle finally released the grip. She took Sierra's mana and absorbed it into her own System, learning the details and specifics of said energy.

Unlike the previous times with Heine and the two Witches, this was her first time coming in direct contact with Sierra's mana. The time taken to familiarize herself with said energy was several times longer than before, where the targets were people who she were close with.

"..And now what?" The rim of Sierra's eyes reddened, showing that the sense of uncomfortableness she felt during the process almost made her cry.

Estelle blinked. Sierra was highly anticipating Estelle's next move, as the child glared at Estelle in a cautious yet curious manner.

"Now... please waste your mana on anything," Estelle proudly exclaimed.

Her exclamation was not met with a kind response. Sierra furrowed her brows and lashed out. "Are you trying to waste my energy so that I wouldn't be able to fight back in case you try to do anything? That's very low of you!!!"

Although the child was jumping into conclusions, it wasn't an unjustified theory.

"Just do it and trust me," Estelle shrugged, not knowing how else she should convince the girl. "I won't harm you. I swear,"

Sierra gritted her teeth and cast the spell that wasted her mana the most. Originally, she was brimming with energy, but now that bank was depleted to nothing.

"What now?" Sierra glared at Estelle like she was wronged.

[It's like I'm dealing with a wild cat.] Estelle's lips curved up into an arch.

She began formulating Sierra's mana, which had been imbued with particles of her own mana.

Sierra's mana was a fiery red color. A striking, passionate shade.

"That is.." Sierra gaped at the energy.

"Your mana. I'm going to fill your energy back now," Estelle extended her hand once again, gesturing for Sierra to reciprocate the action and take the hand.

Sierra inhaled a sharp breath of air before lending her hand to Estelle.

They gripped each other's hands.

Immediately, Estelle began doing her thing.

"Now, close your eyes and concentrate around your own mana bank. If you lose focus, tell me," Estelle had to be careful, unlike the time with her companions.

Sierra complied, doing her best to focus.

Estelle lowered her gaze as she retracted her arm. She looked at her palm, which still had traces of Sierra's mana.

With just the simple exchange, she was able to notice some things.

First, Sierra had strong control. It was as if she didn't have any mana fluctuations at all. The control was out of the world for a child like her.

The transfer process, which should've been hindered the moment Sierra's mana bank rejected Estelle's reach ended up happening smoothly.

Sierra received the promised rewards. The child instantaneously felt the change. She gasped in shock.

Second, Sierra had an abnormally large mana bank. She had the potential to develop this mana bank even further the more she progressed through her years.

[What a great seedling.]

"You're suited to... controlling things. Your mana control is stronger than that of Yulia and Minerva if we're talking about base potential," Estelle deduced.

It was quite the surprise. A pleasant one, of course.

Sierra's eyes widened as she heard Estelle's words play out.

"Well, I would like to experiment with dolls too, but I don't know where exactly to start from,"

Sierra then grew dispirited once more.

Her obvious reactions made Estelle chuckle in amusement.

Compared to the tricky and scheming Sierra, the current child was just someone with pure intentions: to obtain power at all costs.

"But," Estelle continued her words. She drew Sierra's attention once more.

"If you are willing to cooperate with this experiment, perhaps you could manufacture your own system,"

"Everything I built with the others were pure magic plays. We didn't think about theories, we just experimented with magic. Of course, this method can have certain drawbacks. Your magic might stray and get awry if the experiment fails horribly,"

"Even so, are you willing to try it out?" Estelle put her index finger up against her lips as she watched Sierra tremble in great delight.

Her offer wasn't guaranteed to give Sierra instant success, but when one thought about it, she could possibly become the world's most powerful doll user.

[Witches are scary.] Estelle admitted to her own mind.

Every Witch she met had their own stupidly overpowered part.

If only she was pitted against these beings with the same base potential, with the only difference being their statuses as a Witch and a human, the Witches would win without a doubt.

It was strange. Witches possessed powers that seemed to be so out of the world, yet so fitting inside the circle of life.

Strong figures are needed to keep the world's balance and let its development progress without a bottleneck.

Although it would mean that most of the development would be done by these strong figures, the ones with lower powers could learn from these advancements and create their own spins and twists.

Even so, Witches were strange to Estelle.

Something seemed off to their existence.

It wasn't said in a negative matter, only a genuine question that baffled her.

She recalled her title. [Creator].

If that only related to her Creation Magic, everything would make sense. But then, there was anotther theory that had to be accounted for.

Who could guarantee that every single one of them, including all of the lifeforms living inside the world were genuine beings that sprouted out of the circle of life?

That they weren't just generated creations made by a [Creator] stronger than Estelle?

What if Estelle herself was a creation?

Who could create such a complex system?

So many questions bothered her.

To search for the answers, she had been trying to execute efforts that would hopefully solve those questions eventually.

For now, there was only a few information she gathered.

The existence of the Surface and Underworld realms.

The Surface, which was a replica of the Underworld must've been deliberately created to mirror the other by a certain being.

Who was that being?

___________________________

After the first trial, Sierra became more expectant of the things she could receive. Her attitude towards Estelle softened, and her childlike qualities began to show from time to time.

"Big sister- I mean, Estelle! Teach me how to do this formula!" Sierra held a scripture with neat handwriting all over it.

She pointed to a part that was halfway through the scrolls.

"You've progressed this far again? Are you sure you've understood the basics? The foundations are as important as the complex formulas. If you don't understand the first layer of the problem, how are you supposed to crack down the other layers?" Estelle advised.

Sierra was progressing too fast. She worried that the child would accidentally trigger a huge mistake that could cost her the entire future.

"..But I really completed the lower levels," Sulking, Sierra rebutted as if a huge injustice happened to her.

"Yes, but you've only read it in theory. Those notes are compiled by me, but it's overly simplified because I only planned for Yulia to read it," Estelle rubbed her temples.

Perhaps she should've given less materials to the child. She would be responsible for anything that happens to Sierra in terms of magic learning, since she's supposed to supervise and guide her.

"I understand..." Sierra knew that Estelle was saying that out of concern for her, so she relented.

She started to practice the magic she learned instead of reading only the theory.

The materials Estelle gave her pointed to an intermediate level of control magic, since that was where Sierra excelled.

Indeed, like what Estelle said, Sierra's practical abilities were less formidable than her reading comprehension ability.

Sierra sat down and grumbled. She got disappointed at how things turned out.

"There's no quick fix. You are already learning at a speed multiple times your peers. You are doing great," Estelle patted Sierra's head, ruffling her hair lightly.

"Still...."

"I promise you that everything will be worth it in the end. Don't worry so much, you have so many years to come,"

"Sometimes you speak like an old woman," Sierra pouted, turning her head away from the older girl.

Estelle blinked in shock.

She then chuckled and burst into laughter.

"I'm just maturing," Estelle sat down beside Sierra and proceeded to teach her the important notes she needed to jot down.