Otaku Witch

Indeed, as if noticing Dorothy's curious gaze, Mrs. Black Sheep took the initiative to lift her long hair and then brought her beautiful neck close to the homebody witch's face. With a thought, the smooth skin suddenly opened like a machine door, revealing a small interface with a faint glimpse of a complex internal mechanical structure.

Ah, this...

Although Dorothy cried out for mechanical ascension every day, when she really saw this scene, she was still somewhat stunned.

Well, guys, have you magical girls really transformed yourselves into robots? There's no need to go this far, is there?

The homebody witch thought so to herself.

Even the craziest Spider Teacher she had seen in reality had only created a bunch of mechanical duplicates for herself; she hadn't been willing to turn her own body into a puppet. Now, it seemed that in the Witch's Night, human mechanization had become common.

However, astonishing as it was, it did not stop her from continuing to learn. After all...

Please, the chance to become a full cybernetic body robot is really cool, okay?

Since it's all a dream, why hesitate? Modify everything, she could be daringly brave.

With a tiny bit of expectation, Dorothy also directly put on the magic conduction helmet and inserted the chip into the slot on the helmet.

Accompanied by a crisp click, the chip and the helmet meshed together, and the countless small gears that made up the chip also connected to the reading gears on the edge of the helmet mouth. Then the large gear inside the helmet started to turn the small gears in the chip, and the information stored in the gear chip was thus read, and then transmitted into Dorothy's brain through the mental magic array in the helmet.

"Ah, this, a pure mechanical structure, it's not the integrated circuit board pattern from my past life. It's also a technological path, but a completely different branch. So, has the purely mechanical computer like the difference engine also been created here? Wow, I just casually left a concept in the planning book, and I didn't expect Denisha to really make a finished product."

The homebody witch thought to herself and then quietly began to receive the knowledge transfer.

About five minutes or so later, she who was lying down sat up again, then pinched the corner of her eye, trying to relieve the sensation of a swollen brain.

Tsk, she was almost crammed full of information, almost overflowing.

One can only say that the human brain is really trash, huh? With just this amount of data, it's nearly overheating—both efficiency and capacity are lamentably low and in desperate need of an upgrade.

But she had at least come to understand everything.

"Well, guys, I thought it was going to be cyberpunk-style limb modification, but it actually leans more towards alloy mutants like Wolverine?"

Dorothy thus reflected.

The so-called magic equipment transformation didn't involve removing the original human body and replacing it with a mechanical limb. Instead, it meant ingesting specially blended liquid metal magic potions, then guiding these liquids into the body parts one wished to strengthen, and finally combining the liquid metal with the human tissue to achieve the goal of transforming and evolving certain body parts.

Indeed, it's very similar to Wolverine's process of strengthening his skeleton with adamantium, but the magic equipment process is much more precise and complex than the brutish enhancement like Wolverine's.

This wasn't simply about combining flesh with liquid metal; that could only be considered strengthening, not evolution.

Magic girls precisely adjusted their bodies during the process of evolution, like, for example, imitating the arm muscle structure of a gorilla to eventually develop a pair gorilla arms.

Of course, that's just an example. In fact, rather than such simple bionic mimicry, it was more appropriate for the body to adapt better to the workings of certain specific spells. And if one must involve biomimicry, why learn from gorillas? Supernatural races like elves, dwarves, mermaids, vampires are actually better models for mimicry.

Somehow, this already had the flavor of witches evolving talents and specialties in later generations.

The evolution of witches relied solely on their racial trait of infinite evolution, coupled with the omnipotent primordial magic power. But now, without the Witch's Power, this path of evolution that relied on external forces and mechanical ascension became a necessary approach.

Moreover, because the magical power—an amazing force—was incorporated into the evolution process, these magical girls didn't feel rigid like those with cybernetic modifications. In fact, their magical equipment would only appear when magic power was in operation. When the magic was inactive, the equipment would hide away, and they would remain normal humans with all the functions of human flesh—eating, procreating, nothing was affected.

Furthermore, this avenue of mechanical ascension also had certain life-extending effects. A mere mortal like Koreya was over five hundred years old but still looked like she was in her twenties, all thanks to the long lifespan brought about by a higher degree of magic equipment enhancement.

In summary, what's known as the Magic Girl now seems to be a knockoff version, no, a high imitation of a witch.

The fact that these girls have actually managed to hold their ground against the Church's armies of Low-ranking Angels over the years is a testament to their combat power, which should not be underestimated.

The only issue might be that becoming a Magic Girl is rather dependent on talent, and unlike witches, their abilities aren't as inheritable. The children of Magic Girls are just regular mortals and do not possess the innate superhuman qualities that witch offspring have at birth.

For this reason, the occupation of Magic Girl is merely a powerful one for mortals and has not yet been considered a race.

As for what the most important talent is to become a Magic Girl?

It's the same ironclad belief that was essential when Dorothy created the five original Magical Girls like Koreya, all those years ago.

The risks involved in this forced evolution through external means are ultimately too great. Each evolution is like walking through Ghost Gate, and a failure almost certainly results in death or severe disability.

Not to mention, the procedure for Magic Girls involves consuming a unique liquid metal, which, if the evolution fails, instantly turns the metal Magic Potion intended for evolution into a deadly poison, offering virtually no chance of survival. However, old-timers might consider applying directly at the Monument of Heroes next door to become a Heroic Spirit upon retirement.

"Alright then, let's see which template I should use to evolve."

Now that the homebody witch had grasped everything, she began to contemplate.

In the present-day Magic Republic, the Angel Template remains the most outstanding option for evolution. Denisha chose the Angel Template and has achieved full Magic Equipment, completing her Mechanical Ascension to become a Magic Equipment Angel.

Dorothy had also forcibly evolved some Angel characteristics in the latter part of the first act utilizing the Blood of the Hero, such as the pair of Angel's Wings at her waist and the Angel's Ring above her head.

Logically, if she were to opt for Magic Equipment, she might as well continue with the Angel Template. After all, compared to blindly evolving with other templates, Denisha's experience with the Angel Template could serve as a reference. In fact, most of the Magic Girls in the current Magical Equipment Squadron have chosen the Angel Template.

But...

"If I still want to slack off, I'd simply stick with the Angel Template straight through, following the God of Faith's power line. I could be a great support, but leaving Denisha aside, I wouldn't be able to win against Sophia if I choose the route of the Magic Equipment Angel, since my path of faith was learned from her."

"Sigh, at the end of the day, the Angel Template is just for a bit of fun. When it comes to arming oneself seriously, I need to consider my role as the Dragon Witch. Purely from a combat power perspective, the Magic Equipment Dragon would suit me best."

"So the question now is, where do I find a dragon to study and develop the Great Dragon template?"

The homebody witch fell into deep thought, and then she casually glanced at the black and white portrait of Father Adam on the wall.

Oh, there we have it. Thanks to my old man's legacy, I just remembered we already have a dirt-eating dragon at home.

"Emora, are you there? Come out for a second, I've got something tasty for you."

Dorothy stomped her foot and called towards the church's underground.

Following her call, the earth began to shake, and a mountainous behemoth rose from below. It then extended its regal and fierce dragon head, blinking its house-sized eyes as it peered down at the homebody witch.

"Ah, what a hefty dragon."

The enormous dragon, which was as vast as a mountain, intended to roar as a dramatic entrance, but the homebody witch's comment left it utterly choked up.

The Great Dragon widened its eyes in disbelief as if it couldn't believe Dorothy would say such a thing. It stood dazed for a long while before letting out an irritated growl.

"You're the hefty one. I'm still a child. How can I grow if I don't eat my fill?"

...The dirt-eating dragon shuddered with indignation...