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This chapter is translated by Japtem and edited by Icy Kitten on 7th July 2019.

“Da-a, damn!”

“…Hajime, Fight…”

“You’re too carefree!”

Currently, they were traversing through savage grass with Yue on his shoulder. These grass grew up to 160 cm and went up to his shoulders. If Yue were to walk in this, her figure would disappear. Then came the reason for their escaping through this grass.

“”””””””””””Shaa!!””””””””””””

There were nearly 200 demons chasing them.

After Hajime had finished resupplying, they had advanced 10 levels. Hajime’s equipment and skills were useful in their journey, and Yue’s magic was also a big factor in their progress.

Yue could use any magic, and Hajime supported her with his skills. Granted, her barrier and recovery magic were not that great. Since she had “Auto Regen”, she probably thought it was unnecessary. Hajime had no problem because he had his “potion”.

That is how they advanced to their current level. The floor had an appearance of an extensive forest. Lush and dense trees over 10 m tall lined the forest, and the atmosphere was damp. Hajime was glad it wasn’t hot, like the tropical forest level he encountered previously.

While Hajime and Yue were searching for the stairs to the lower floor, they felt a rumbling below the ground occur. A demon that reminded Hajime of a huge reptile appeared in front of them. It look like a Tyrannosaurus rex, but there was a flower on its head. Sharp tusks thirsting for blood surged from the powerful beast, and the sunflower-like flower fluttered on top.

What an odd creature.

Tyrannosaurus rex gave out a roar and rushed at them.

Hajime started to take out Donner… but before that, Yue raised her hand.

”Scarlet Spear!”

A flame appeared at Yue’s hand that spiralled into a spear form. The spear shot pierced through the T-Rex’s mouth, and penetrated out the back. Its life ended as the surroundings melted. A rumble sounded as the T-Rex fell sideways onto the ground, and the flower on its head plopped onto the ground.

“…”

Hajime stayed silent for a bit. Yue seemed to be incomparably intense these days. In the beginning, she would devote herself to covering Hajime. On their journey she started to instantly kill any monsters that opposed Hajime. He started to feel depressed about being useless. Is it because he dragged his feet and it was over before he could do anything? His mind was seized with anxiety. If such a thing was true, he was going to have a blow to his confidence.

He address Yue with a forced smile as he kept Donner in his hands.

“Ah, Yue? It’s good to be enthusiastic but… Recently, I feel like I haven’t done much…”

Yue turned to look at Hajime, and Hajime could see a slight proud look in her expressionless face.

“….I just wanted to be useful… because I’m your partner….”

Seems like she wasn’t content with just covering Hajime. He did think that since they were going to travel together from now on as partners, they should rely on each other. Immediately after, Yue collapsed due to using up all her magic. Hajime had said it to comfort her after she was released… it seems to have remained deep in her mind. She had wanted to show her worth as his partner.

“Haha, no. You’ve already helped me so much. Yue’s magic is very powerful, so please take the rear; close combat isn’t your strong suit. The frontlines are for me.”

“…Hajime… okay…”

Yue fell silent at Hajime’s advice. He smiled at Yue, who was trying too hard to be helpful to Hajime. To show he didn’t dislike her, he stroked her soft hair. Yue’s expression returned to her usual mood. Hajime couldn’t say anything.

Because he didn’t want to become dependent, he had to be cautious…While he thought that, he inadvertently spoiled himself. Hajime was amazed at that.

In a sense, these two were flirting, but Hajime caught a demon signature on his “Perception”. Approximately 10 enemies were coming towards them. From the movements of the leader, it seemed to be a two-tailed wolf. He wanted to check it out, and urged Yue to move. Hajime wanted to move into an advantageous place because of their numbers.

When the beasts were trying to encircle him, Hajime rushed at one of them. Before he could finish, a 2 m reptile dropped from the overgrowth in the trees. The reptile’s appearance was similar to a raptor. There was a tulip blooming on its head.

“…Cute…”

“…Is it fashion?”

Yue muttered unintentionally as she felt unwinded. Hajime turned his eyes towards the demon and murmured an impossible guess.

The raptor and T-rex both had these unknown flowers! It seemed to scatter its bloodlust as it growls. War preparation. The flower sways and flutters…

“Shaaa!!”

Looking at Hajime, who was occupied with the flower, the Raptor pounced. There were 20 cm talons attached to its tough legs. A heinous light glinted off of those talons. Hajime and Yue stepped back, but parted left and right. Hajime stepped above the raptor with his ‘Air Walk’, then shot at the tulip to test it.

All parts of the flower scattered with the sound of gunfire. The raptor seemed to twitch for a moment, then rolled as it failed its landing. It somersaulted into a tree and stopped moving. Silence filled the scene. Yue came up behind Hajime and looked at the raptor and the scattered tulip.

“…Dead?”

“No, it seems like it’s still alive…”

Just as Hajime said that, the body started to twitch. The raptor got up and looked around. It saw its fallen tulip on the ground and continued to stomp it, not giving a glance at its enemies.

“Eh? What’s up with that reaction?”

“…Prank.”

“….No, it’s not a schoolchild that put a paper on its back.”

When it was satisfied, it looked to the heavens like it was saying: “Phew, Good job!” and raised a cry. The raptor faced Hajime and got startled.

“Did you notice it? It was in a trance.”

“…Bullying afterall.”

Hajime tsukkomi’d, and Yue looked at it with sympathy. The raptor stiffened for a while. Eventually it took a low posture, exposed its fangs and leapt. Hajime shot Donner at the raptor’s open mouth.

The bullet pierced through the mouth of the raptor, exited out of the back of its head, and then disappeared into the forest behind.

With the momentum of its jump, the raptor slid on the ground. Hajime and Yue looked at the corpse of the raptor without saying anything.

“Really, what on earth?”

“…It was bullied. To be beaten… pity.”

“No, it wasn’t bullying, it definitely wasn’t.”

Hajime stopped trying to figure it out since he didn’t understand how demons think. They continued to move to an advantageous position because the encircling monsters were getting closer.

Countless thick trees, over 5m in diameter, stretched on and on in the new area they were in. Neighboring trees’ branches were intertwined with each other. Hajime used his “Air Walk” and Yue used wind magic to jump above the branches. Due to the area there, Hajime was going to exterminate the demons by sniping at them from overhead.

Less than 5 minutes later, raptors began to appear under them. While Hajime had intended to throw an incendiary grenade, he froze. Yue had also hardened with her hand ready to unleash her magic. Hajime spoke first.

“Why do all these guys have flowers?”

“Flower garden…”

There were more than 10 raptors and all of them had flowers on their heads. A variety of flowers too.

Hajime’s unintentional Tsukkomi had attracted the attention of all the raptors. The raptors then took stances to leap into attack. Hajime’s strategy was to stay out of their range, then snipe them with Donner and drop an incendiary grenade to start off. Shots were fired in succession, and a white flash precedes each death. One by one the raptors died with their heads blown off. Yue was busy using her “Scarlet Spear” to kill the surrounding raptors.

Three seconds later, the incendiary grenade detonated in the middle of the raptor group. Tar blazing at 3000 degree centigrade splattered onto the raptors. Hajime heaved a sigh of relief after he saw that his weapons worked on the monsters of this level. Seems like that scorpion was special.

Less than 10 seconds later, all the enemies had been cleared. However, Hajime had a dull look. Yue noticed this and tilted her head as she walked towards him.

“…Hajime?”

“…Yue, isn’t it weird?”

“?”

“They were too weak.”

Yue took notice after his words. That was true, the T-rex and raptors were easily exterminated because they made such easy movements and normal attacks. Their unnatural movement was almost mechanical and even their blood lust. After watching the scene where the raptor trampled the flower in anger, he felt that the flowers were not supposed to be on them.

The moment when Hajime was going to tell Yue to advance carefully, his “Perception” caught more approaching demons. A vast amount of demons were gathering from all directions. His “Perception” range was at a 20 m radius, and all the demons he sensed was coming straight for them.

“Yue, this is bad. I’m picking up 30, no, 40 or more monsters coming our way. Someone seems to be ordering them to surround us in all directions.”

“…Do we run?”

“…No, we can’t with this many. Better to exterminate them from on top of the tallest tree.”

“Unn… we should get high up.”

“Oh, I’ll bite.”

Moving at high speed, they quickly went to find the highest tree in the area. They destroyed the branches that could help the demons, and climbed upwards.

Hajime waited calmly while holding Donner. Yue understood and gently grabbed the hem of his clothes. His hand was occupied so he used his body as a substitute. Her grip became a little stronger.

Then the first batch arrived. Not just raptors, but also T-rexes. The T-rexes were ramming the tree, while the raptors were using their talons to climb it.

Hajime pulled the trigger on Donner. He shot towards the earth to hit the climbing raptors. When Donner’s chambers were exhausted, Hajime exposed the cylinder, and with a rotation, he used the ejector rod to clear the chambers, then loaded the gun positioned within his left armpit. During those 5 seconds, the incendiary grenade he dropped before shooting blew up and covered the monsters with shrapnel. Flames scattered around the area. Donner was blazing again after it was reloaded. 15 of the monsters already fell, but that was not enough.

Soon, an additional 30 raptors and 4 T-rexes had gathered under their eyes. They were attempting to smash the tree Hajime was on, or climb up to attack him.

“Hajime?”

“Not yet… A little more.”

Hajime answered Yue, while he was shooting down at the raptors. She continued to concentrate on her magic barrage, as she believed in him.

Finally, more than 50 monsters gathered below them. This was just a guess since it was hard to distinguish now. He sent a signal to Yue to say that the monsters he sensed with “Perception” were accounted for.

“Yue!”

“Okay! “Freezing Hell”!”

When Yue triggered her magic, underneath them an area was frozen and it was spreading. The area was being covered in blue ice. When the ice touched the demons, the ice covered them like a coffin. There wasn’t even a moment to resist. Monsters lost the light in their eyes after they were encased in ice. A radius of 50m was frozen from the spell. It was worthy of being called “Extermination Magic”.

“Haa… Haa…”

“Good job. Indeed a “Vampire Princess”.”

“…Kuhuhu…”

Hajime gave Yue praise at the spectacle before them. Just like the spell’s name, it truly looked like a frozen hell in the surrounding area. Yue ran out of magic after using that superlative magic. She gasped for breath. She was probably having a case of magic fatigue.

He sat down beside her and placed a hand on her hips to support her, and presented his nape for her to recover from his blood. Although she does recover from the “potion”, it takes a long time for a vampire to recover with it than it does for Hajime. Blood seemed the best.

Yue was embarrassed, in spite of her deadpan look, at Hajime’s praise and just laughed. She blushed as she placed her mouth against his neck.

While she was feeding, Hajime stood up with a grim expression. He was sensing more than 100 demons.

“Yue, there are several times more.”

“!?”

“If it is this many, there is definitely something going on. We just eliminated them all right now. Yet, another suicide attack… like they were compelled to that flower… maybe.”

“…Parasite.”

“Yue thinks so too?”

She nodded to affirm his guess.

“…There should be a main body.”

“Seems that as long as those flowers are on them, they are puppets. We are up against all the monsters on this floor.”

Before Hajime is crushed by the amount, he should look for the main body. Looking for the lower floor would be hard if they didn’t take care of them. Though they could find it along the way.

There wasn’t time to let Yue suck his blood, so he tried to pass her the sacred water, but Yue refused it. She stretched both her hands out towards the confused Hajime and says…

“Hajime… Carry…”

“How old are you? Are you trying to suck my blood while we move?”

Hajime was correct. Yue nodded her head to answer his question. Magic power recovery was slow for Yue with the sacred water, and they should keep a contingency plan for recovery. While he was desperately busying himself, he eventually felt a little resistance, but necessity knows no laws.

Although it would get in the way, he consented to carry her. She hopped on his back, and they began the search for the main body.

And this is how we end up with the current situation.

They were being chased by close to 200 demons. The thicket was troublesome. Yue had already finished her meal but she didn’t want to get off his back.

The monsters were closing in.

Dododododododo

The monsters were approaching them while making that noise. Raptors traveled side by side while hiding in the tall grass, and pouncing from all directions. Hajime ran towards the place he considered most suspicious while he counterattacked. Yue didn’t allow the siege to overwhelm them by using her magic.

Kapu, Chu ¹

The two glared at the exit of the forest ahead. On the other side was the wall of the labyrinth. It looked like a cave with crack spreading from the center. What, was this place the objective? The attacking demons were consistent in their movements. Hajime countered while they advanced. Their movements became violent when they attempted to escape in a certain direction. It was as if they were trying to lead them away from there. They decided to rush in that direction because the demons were increasing in number and they couldn’t stay in this situation.

Apparently, hiding in the grass had already made it fail. Hajime jumps ahead with “Air Walk” and “Flicker”.

Kapu, Chu

“Yue-san!? Can you stop sucking my blood at this point?”

“…Inevitable.”

“Lies! You aren’t exhausted anymore.”

“…Those guys’ flower…I’m also…Ku.”

“Why are you groaning unnaturally? Don’t try to shift the blame, idiot! I can’t afford it, hey!”

In spite of the situation, Yue was obsessed with sucking Hajime’s blood. It wasn’t odd that a former royalty couldn’t control their guts. Although he was playing, he properly countered. Hajime jumped into the cracks, and the 200 monsters followed.

The cave’s cracks were narrow enough for two average adults to be standing side by side. Of course, the T-rex couldn’t fit through it, and the raptors could only enter one by one. One of the raptors that entered tried to slash at Hajime with its extended claws. Before it could attack, Hajime shot it with Donner, and used his transmutation to block the crack.

“Phew, We’ll be okay for a bit with this.”

“…Good job.”

“If you feel like that then get down.”

“…Mu…no choice.”

Yue reluctantly descends with Hajime’s words. His back seemed to be very comfortable.

“Those guys were acting pretty desperate, so this has gotta be the place right? Don’t relax your guard.”

“Okay.”

Since the entrance was closed with transmutation, the two continued deeper into the cave.

They arrived at a big hall after traveling for a while. Cracks were still continuing into the depths of the halls. Perhaps it was the stairs to the lower level. Hajime observed the area. He didn’t sense anything, but he kept his guard up because of an unpleasant feeling. After all, there were a lot of demons in this dungeon that could hide from his senses.

It was when they arrived in the center of the room that it happened. From all directions, an innumerable amount of green spheres flew in. Yue and Hajime were instantly back to back, and intercepting the flying objects. Hajime was forced to create a stone wall because the number of spheres exceeded 100. The wall was strong enough to prevent the balls from piercing it. Seems like the balls didn’t have that much power. Yue was able to intercept the balls with her wind magic and excellent speed, without a problem.

“Yue, it’s probably an attack from the main body. Do you know where it is?”

“…”

“Yue?”

Hajime asked her if she knew of its location. Yue didn’t have a searching skill like “perception”, but as a vampire she had sharper senses than Hajime. However, she still hadn’t answered his question. Suspicious, Hajime called out to her, but his answer…

“…Run Hajime!”

Before anyone knew it, her hand faced Hajime. Wind converged onto her hand. Instinct warned violently, and Hajime jumped aside with full power. A blade of strong wind passes the place where Hajime used to be and bisects the cliff in the back.

“Yue!?”

Hajime wanted to raise his voice at the surprise attack, but he understood when he saw what was on her head. There was a flower blooming there. Did it match Yue? It was a crimson rose that matched her well.

“Ⓢⓗⓘⓣ! Was it those green balls!?”

He wanted to beat himself for his carelessness. Hajime continued to avoid the wind attacks from Yue.

“Hajime…Uhh…”

Yue broke her deadpan expression for a sorrowful one. When he shot the raptor’s flower, it stomped on the flower. That would mean that the victim’s consciousness is still there while being manipulated. Only deprived the body of its freedom.

But then he already knew of how to free her. Hajime tried to draw the trigger as he aimed at the flower. However, the controller knew of Hajime’s firearm that shot down the previous flower. Yue’s body moved to cover the flower. She was moving around a lot, and there was a chance the shot would blow her face away. Hajime closed in to cut it, but Yue hit her own head.

“…You got some nerves…”

It was warning Hajime to stay away, Yue would be the target of the magic if he didn’t. Yue surely was almost immortal. However, he couldn’t deny that she might have a spell that could disintegrate her and prevent her regen. Yue would be able to fire it at an instant too. He wanted to avoid the gamble of a suicide attack.

The monster appeared from the dark cracks as it understood Hajime’s hesitation.

A demon that was the mix of a woman and a plant came out. It was similar to a dryad or aruraune² in RPGs. The demon appeared before Hajime. There is a legend that dryads bring good luck, if not hostile, and that they were beautiful women. The one in front of him did not give that impression at all. Indeed, it looked like a human woman, but it had an ugly face like its inner ugliness was overflowing. It also had countless vines waving around, and it felt creepy. “Her” mouth was laughing and grinning at something.

Hajime pointed his gun at it at once. However, Yue entered his line of fire.

“Hajime…Sorry…”

Yue grit her teeth with a mortified expression. Being unable to control herself was probably intolerable. She should still be resisting it desperately. Blood dripped from her lips as she moved her mouth to apologize. Her sharp fangs were probably the cause. Was she frustrated with herself, or the curse, or both?

The aruraune fired a green ball into Hajime while using Yue as a shield. Hajime knocked it aside with Donner. It was destroyed, though not visible, and probably scattered spores around. There was no sign of a flower blooming on Hajime. Laughter stopped coming from the demon and it looked confused. Spores did not seem to work on Hajime.

Most likely, it is because of all my resistance.

Just as Hajime guessed, the spores were a kind of neurotoxin. His “Poison Resist” allowed him to resist it. It was sheer luck for Hajime, Yue can’t be blamed for anything. She shouldn’t feel heartbreak.

Realizing that the spores were useless against Hajime, the demon grumply ordered Yue to cast her spell. Again, a blade of wind was formed. Hajime thought it wasn’t able to demonstrate the full capability of the victims. The raptors movements were evidence of this.

That’s a blessing in disguise

If he tried to avoid the blade of wind, the aruraune would just threaten to hurt Yue. He used “Vajra”, which he obtained from a cyclops, to endure the blades. This skill solidifies and expands magic to cover the whole body. It was a very reliable skill that demonstrates defensive power equivalent to its name. Because he was still inexperienced with it, Hajime could only display 1/10 of its original strength. The blades had no power even if they were sharp, so he was able to endure it.

There is a method to settle this immediately once… though the aftereffects would be scary… or should I throw an incendiary grenade?

As Hajime was pondering the situation, Yue raised a sorrowful cry.

“Hajime!…I’ll be fine…just shoot!”

Yue had prepared herself for this. If she couldn’t control herself then she would rather have Hajime shoot her. She put that kind of will into her eyes as she watched Hajime.

There was no way he could do that. For sure he would save her. Such a hot line would usually jump out at this scene, to bond with the heroine. The previous Hajime would do it. But the current Hajime would disappoint such expectations.

“Eh? You’re okay with that? That’ll save me some trouble.”

Bang!

Gunfire echoes in the hall. When he heard Yue’s words, he pulled the trigger without hesitation. The hall was filled with a cold air and silence. Rose petals were dancing in the air and fell onto the ground.

Yue was blinking her eyes with surprise. Aruraune was linking its eyes with surprise. To confirm it was gone, Yue placed both her hands on her head. There was blond hair that had frizzled or were torn off. Aruraune also understood the situation. It stared at Hajime with accusing eyes.

“No, don’t make such eyes.”

Bang!

He discharged his gun with his Tsukkomi. The aruraune’s head exploded into green liquids. It fell down to the ground while convulsing.

“So, Yue, are you fine? No discomfort?”

Hajime confirms Yue’s safety with a laid-back feeling. However, Yue was glaring at Hajime while stroking her head.

“…You shot.”

“Ah? Well you did say shoot.”

“…You didn’t hesitate…”

“That, I finally decided to shoot. I had confidence in my aim. As expected, Yue was to stomach it without any question. From now on I’ll put that into consideration.”

“…My scalp was shaved a little…maybe…”

“Well, if it’s that much you’ll regen it right? No problem.”

“Uhh~…”

Yue started to hit Hajime’s stomach repeatedly with a face that said “That is certainly true, but…” Indeed, she told him to shoot, and she had prepared herself. But Yue is a woman. She had seen some dreams. He should have at least hesitated a little. At such a light response, she wanted to complain.

Hajime didn’t worry for Yue after he found out that a manipulated Yue wouldn’t be able to use high-level magic. There were few spells that could overcome her immortality, and it was unpleasant to shoot without hesitation. Even if it was the biggest taboo to hesitate in combat. He tilted his head in wonder at what she was dissatisfied with. She was losing to Hajime, and just turned away from him with a pout.

Hajime sighed inwardly, wondering how he was going to fix the mood. This would be harder than beating the Aruraune.

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• [Vol 1] Prologue
• [Vol 1] Chapter 1 – Summoned to Another World
• [Vol 1] Chapter 2 – Status Plate
• [Vol 1] Chapter 3 – Bullying the Weakest
• [Vol 1] Chapter 4 – A Chat Under the Moonlight
• [Vol 1] Chapter 5 – Trap
• [Vol 1] Chapter 6 – Behemoth
• [Vol 1] Chapter 7 – Wretched Malice
• [Vol 1] Chapter 8 – Bottom of the Abyss
• [Vol 1] Chapter 9 – Sudden Change
• [Vol 1] Chapter 10 – Birth of a weapon
• [Vol 1] Chapter 11 – Nemesis Subjugation
• [Vol 1] Classmates’ Side 1 – Despair and Decisions
• [Vol 1] Chapter 12 – Path of Escape
• [Vol 1] Chapter 13 – The Sealed Room in the Abyss
• [Vol 1] Chapter 14 – More of a Cheater Rather Than a Hero
• [Vol 1] Chapter 15 – The Monster in the Sealed Room
• [Vol 1] Chapter 16 – Chatting at Ease
• [Vol 1] Classmates’ Side 2 (Prequel) – Return of the Nightmare
• [Vol 1] Classmates’ Side 2 (Sequel) – Exceeding the Past
• [Vol 1] Chapter 17 – The Partner’s Competency
• [Vol 1] Chapter 18 – The Guardian of the Depths
• [Vol 1] Chapter 19 – Abode of Traitors
• [Vol 1] Chapter 20 – True History
• [Vol 1] Chapter 21 – Departure
• [Vol 1] Classmates’ Side 3 – The Empire and the Heroes I
• [Vol 1] Classmates’ Side 3 – The Empire and the Heroes II

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The one who made the first move was Kouki.

“Myriad of Soaring Wings, Reach the Heavens, 【Soaring Flash】!”

Curved slashes of light directly struck Behemoth with a thunderous roar. Previously, when using 【Heaven’s Might】, a higher tier skill than 【Soaring Flash】, he wasn’t even able to inflict a single scratch. However, as Kouki proclaimed that they could not remain as they were back then, the results held proof.

“Gurgaah!?”

Shrieking as it scraped the ground while retreating, there was a distinct diagonal sword wound running across the chest of the Behemoth, dripping dark red blood.

“Nice! We are definitely getting stronger! Nagayama’s team take the left, Hiyama’s team from its back, Commander Meld’s team on the right! Rear guards ready the magic! A high grade one, if possible!”

Kouki gave instructions in rapid succession. This is the result of Commander Meld’s training.

“Hou~oh, excellent instructions with no hesitation. Heard it? All members, follow Kouki’s commands!”

Commander Meld shouted as he led the knights and broke into a run around over to Behemoth’s right. Everyone started to move all at once and encircled the Behemoth.

The vanguards desperately put up their defensive lines to prevent the raging Behemoth from reaching the rear guards.

“Guruaaa!!”

Behemoth crushed the floor with every step as it began to charge.

“I won’t let you!”
“You shan’t pass!”

The two giants of the class, Sakagami Ryutaro and Nagayama Jugo grappled Behemoth like in a rugby scrummage.

“Here dwells the raging power to split the earth! 【Herculean Strength】!”

Using magic to strengthen their physical abilities, more particularly their physical strength, they slid across the ground as they caught Behemoth’s charge.

“Gaaaa!!”
“Raaaaa!!”
“Oooooh!!”

All three let out their respective roars as they mustered their strengths. Behemoth did not expect such puny humans to be able to completely stop and kill its momentum, as it stamped its feet in frustration.

The rest did not miss this chance.

“A flash of supremacy that tears apart everything 【Absolute Severance】!”

Shizuku’s quick drawing technique struck Behemoth’s horn. The sword artifact’s sharpness which had increased due to the magic cut halfway into the horn, unable to completely sever it.

“Ku, it’s still this hard!”
“Leave it to me! Shatter, Smash, Pulverize 【Grand Strike】!”

Commander Meld dived in, striking his own knight sword on Shizuku’s sword which was lodged halfway. The magically accelerated sword combined with his arm strength reinforced into a sharp, heavy blow that gave Shizuku’s sword the impact need to push through.

And finally, one of Behemoth’s horn was cut into half.

“Gaaaaa!?”

The shock from having its horn cut off made Behemoth rampage with all its strength, causing all four of them, Nagayama, Ryutaro, Shizuku and Commander Meld, to be blown away.

“Gentle light which embraces all 【Halo】!”

Countless rings of light came together to form a gentle net enveloping the four of them who were beaten to the ground and had their breaths knocked out. What Kaori used, was light defensive magic which killed the impact by changing its form.

Without delay, Kaori chanted the recovery spell.

“Heaven’s blessing Bestow healing upon the boundless children 【Reversal】”

As Kaori completed her chant, even though they were not touching each other, all four of them were simultaneously healed. That was a Mid tier light recovery magic which heals several people at the same time remotely. It was an improved version of the previously used 【Heaven’s Blessing】.

Kouki took a thrusting stance, and rushed straight at the still rampaging Behemoth. Then, stabbing his sword into the previously opened wound, he pulled the trigger for the end of the invoked magic that he finished chanting while he was charging.

“【Light Explosion】!”

The enormous magic power accumulated in the holy sword flowed into the Behemoth through the inserted wound creating a huge explosion.

“Gaaaaa!!”

Even with a gouged out wound causing massive bleeding, the Behemoth did not miss the slight opening of stiffening after using the skill, and struck Kouki with its sharp claws.

“Guuu!!”

Kouki groaned as he was blown away. The claws themselves were repelled by the holy armour artifact, but the impact transmitted inside caused a violent coughing fit. However, his suffering only lasted for an instance. Kaori immediately applied recovery magic.

“Heaven’s blessing Bestow power upon him once again 【Scorched Sky】”

If the recovery magic just now had its effects reduced in exchange for healing multiple targets simultaneously, this was a single target magic with increased recovery effects. Kouki was enveloped in light and made a complete recovery instantly.

During that interval when it got rid of Kouki, Behemoth put up a hard struggle, using its roars and shockwaves from its jumps to blow away the other members. Its broken horn unwittingly began turning red hot.

“…… It is able to use that even with a broken horn. That is coming!”

Shizuku’s warning came at the same time as Behemoth’s leap. Having experienced Behemoth’s unique magic, everyone was on guard. However, the Behemoth this time had an unexpected jumping range. It left Kouki and the others of the vanguard team in the lurch, easily leaping over their heads and reached the rear guards. At the battle of the bridge, it only made small jumps, being able to make such a leap over there with its huge body is beyond their wildest dreams. The vanguards displayed anxious expressions.

However, one of the rear guards broke off from chanting and stepped forward. It was Taniguchi Suzu.

“Herein a Sanctuary, The Enemy of God Shall Not Pass, 【Absolute Virtue】!!”

The light dome from the casted spell was completed at the same time Behemoth landed like a meteorite. The terrifying sound of impact and shock waves scattered around, smashing the surrounding stone floor into a spiderweb pattern.

However, the absolute defence that Suzu had put up firmly resisted Behemoth’s deadly attack. Nevertheless, forcibly invoking 【Absolute Virtue】 by omitting two of the original four verse incantation made it unable to manifest its usual power.

In fact, cracks have already appeared on the barrier. If not for Suzu, who held the Class 【Barrier Master】, it seems that the barrier would not have been invoked, much less resisting that attack. Suzu gritted her teeth as she continued to pour magic to make up for that two verse, while desperately placing both hands there, imagining an absolute barrier. A barrier without cracks. My barrier is absolute.

“Uuuu~! Like hell I will lose~!”

Just beyond the barrier, Behemoth pierced Suzu with eyes full of killing intent, her entire body was seized with fear and anxiety, her raised arms quavering. Frantically shouting to dispel her timidness, she was approaching her limits soon. Behemoth’s attacks has yet to cease, and she would be unable to hold for another ten seconds.

It’s going to break! That instant Suzu screamed in her heart,

“Heaven’s blessing Bestow mystery upon here 【Yielding Heaven】”

Suzu’s body was wrapped in light, and the magic power flowing into 【Absolute Virtue】 rose sharply as well. It was Kaori’s recovery magic. It was originally a magic that increases another’s magic power, however this time, it was casted while she was pouring magic power into a magic formation, hence greatly amplifying the amount of magic power that was originally flowing in. It was an application technique of 【Yielding Heaven】. It is a magic that only people who had Class 【Healer】, like Kaori, could use.

“This is it! ⌈¹⌋ Love ya Kaorin!”

Suzu poured in the originally required magic power for a four verse chant at one go while simultaneously re-erecting the complete 【Absolute Virtue】. The cracks on the barrier that was letting out a dry shattering sound restored instantly. Behemoth irritated at being unable to break through the barrier, scowled angrily at the brazen caster, but Suzu stood her ground and firmly returned the look.

Eventually, Behemoth’s red-hot horns began to lose their effects. Behemoth lost its momentum and fell to the ground. At the same time, Suzu’s 【Absolute Virtue】 also disappeared.

Behemoth has locked on to Suzu, who was having difficulty catching her breath, but the vanguards were already closing in on the Behemoth.

“Rearguards, retreat!”

The rearguards fell back at once upon Kouki’s instructions as the vanguards surrounded the Behemoth once again. As they continued to lead Behemoth on with hit-and-run tactics, the rearguard finally completed their chants.

“Fall back!”

As the representative of the rearguards, Eri gave the signal. Kouki and gang released a full powered blow and in one go, used the recoil to take some distance.

Immediately after that, the trigger for the high grade fire attack magic was pulled.

“““““【Scorching Sun】”””””

This was a high grade magic which requires five casters. An ultra-hot spherical flame resembling the sun that incinerates everything in its surroundings. The 【Scorching Sun】 that was formed directly above Behemoth instantly swelled to eight meters in diameter and immediately fell on the Behemoth.

An intense heat assaulted the Behemoth. Its power was so great that barriers were put up in a hurry to prevent allies from being damaged by that attack. The 【Scorching Sun】 didn’t allow Behemoth any time to escape, its sturdy outer shell was already melting.

“Gurugaaaaa!!!!”

Behemoth’s death cry reverberated across the hall. It was the same shriek they heard that day ⌈²⌋. The ear-splitting scream gradually thinned out, until it finally faded away like an exhausted flame.

Then, on the walls of the darkened hall, all that is left appears to be merely Behemoth’s remains.

“D-Did we win?”
“It seems like we won……”
“We won……”
“Really?”
“Seriously?”

Everyone gazed blankly at the place where Behemoth was, and little by little began to mutter their affirmation of victory. Similarly, Kouki, who was in a daze suddenly regained his senses and raised his holy sword directly above his head.

“That’s right! We are the winners!”

Kouki raised a shout of triumph as he brandished the shinning, glittering holy sword. With that shout, the reality of victory finally set in as cheers of joy erupted all at once. The guys were patting each other’s backs while the girls were embracing each other with faces full of delight. Commander Meld seems to be in deep emotions too.

Meanwhile, Shizuku called out to Kaori who was still gazing at the place where Behemoth was.

“Kaori? What’s wrong?”
“Eh, ah, Shizuku-chan…… Er, it’s nothing. I was just thinking that we came back here.”

Kaori replied Shizuku with a bitter smile. It seems like she was immersed in the powerful emotions having becoming strong enough to defeat the former nightmare.

“Well, we are definitely getting stronger.”
“Nn…… Shizuku-chan, if we go even further, then Nagumo-kun……”
“Didn’t you want to go and confirm? Isn’t that the reason you are trying so hard?”
“Eheheh, you’re right.”

The reason to advance. That is to specifically ascertain the possibility of Hajime’s safety. Fear of reaching the answer, leads to one becoming timid. Sensing that, Shizuku put strength into holding Kaori’s hands.

That power gave Kaori the strength to get over her timidness as she displayed a smile.

Kouki came over to the two of them.

“Are the two of you alright? Kaori has the best healing magic. As long as Kaori is around, there is nothing to fear!”

Kouki let out a refreshing smile as he thanked Kaori and Shizuku.

“Yeah, we’re alright. Kouki…… Well, we are okay right?” ⌈³⌋
“Nn, we’re fine, Kouki-kun. I’m glad to have been of help to everyone.”

The two of them returned similar faint smiles. However, Kouki’s next words casted a shadow over their hearts.

“With this, Nagumo can rest in peace. This is because the classmates that he had protected has subjugated the magic beast that had pushed him off.”
““……””

Kouki, lost in his deep emotions, failed to notice Shizuku and Kaori’s expressions. It seems like in Kouki’s mind, the reason why Hajime fell into the abyss was only because of the Behemoth. That is certainly not wrong. The direct reason is the impact of Behemoth’s unique magic causing the bridge to collapse. However, more accurately, the retreating Hajime had been struck down by magic.

Now, though there is an implicit agreement not to talk about what happened that time, but reality hasn’t changed. However, Kouki had either forgotten that fact or was unaware, thinking that as long as Behemoth was defeated, Hajime would be able to find peace. Basically, for Kouki who unconditionally believes in the good of people, it seems impossible for him to continuously reproach someone for their error. Needless to say, never in his wildest dreams would he think that it was an intentional act.

However, Kaori could neither forget, nor not care. She is able to endure since she don’t know “who”, but if she knew, she would certainly blame that person. For this reason, Kouki’s words which said nothing happened, caused her quite a bit of shock.

Shizuku sighed. Instinctively wanting to complain, but also knowing that as usual, there isn’t any ill will in Kouki. Rather, this statement was his best effort after he considered what happened to Hajime and Kaori. In a certain sense, it is even more vicious. In addition, their classmates were rejoicing excitedly all around them. Shizuku isn’t a girl who couldn’t read the situation, and bring up talk about that time at this timing.

With the somewhat delicate atmosphere in the air, the class energetic kid came flying in.

“Ka-ori~n!”

With such a bizarre call, Suzu ran over and hugged Kaori.

“Fuwah!?”
“Eheheh, I love Kaorin super much~! If not for Kaori’s support, we would have been completely flattened~”
“Hey, I said hey, Suzu-chan. Where are you touching!”
“Geheheh, does it feel good here? Or does it feel good here…… Argh~!?”

While Kaori is embarrassed over Suzu’s words, Suzu will ride on the mood and grope her body like a perverted old man. Shizuku responded with a hand chop. That slightly intense tsukkomi exploded on Suzu’s crown. ⌈⁴⌋

“Behave properly. Who are you saying belong to Suzu…… Kaori is mine!”
“Shizuku-chan!?”
“Fu~, I wouldn’t let you~, only Suzu can pii and pii with Kaorin!”
“Suzu-chan!? What in the world are you thinking of doing!?”

Shizuku and Suzu with Kaori inserted between them and busy playing the straight man. Before they knew it, the delicate atmosphere from before has already dissipated .

From now on, it is completely unknown domain. Kouki and the others shook off their past nightmare and advanced forward.

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The day Hajime and Yue met, and survived their life or death struggle with the scorpion.

Kouki and the rest of the heroes once again arrived at the 【Orcus Great Dungeon】. However, those who came were only Kouki’s Hero group, a small group of rogues, and another group consisting of five boys and girls led by a bulky judo guy called Nagayama Jugo.

The reason was simple. Even if they didn’t bring up the topic, Hajime’s death had casted a deep, heavy shadow over their hearts. If they couldn’t face the reality of “death in battle”, they wouldn’t be able to fight properly. This was a type of psychological trauma.

Of course, the officials from the Saint’s Church wasn’t sympathetic. Thinking that as long as the students experience actual combat incessantly, they should be able to fight again after some time, they continued to urge them to return to the battlefield everyday. However, there was a vehement protester. It was Aiko-sensei.

Aiko did not participate in the expedition at that time. Due to the fact that her job was the special and extremely rare Agriculturalist, rather than combat training, the church hoped she would put her effort towards agricultural cultivation instead. As long as Aiko-sensei was around, there’s a high possibility that their provisions problem would be solved.

When Aiko learnt of Hajime’s death, she was so shocked that she was left bedridden. Faced with the fact that one of her students died while she was just leisurely spending time within the safety zone, and the fact that it was no longer possible to bring everyone back to Japan. Aiko, who had a strong sense of responsibility, suffered a powerful impact.

That’s why, she absolutely wouldn’t permit for students who couldn’t fight anymore to be sent to the battlefield. Aiko’s Class ⌈¹⌋ was an extremely rare one which had the possibility of bringing about a complete change to the world’s food issue. And that Aiko-sensei was protesting with unwavering determination against the students’ forced combat training. The church, which wanted to avoid worsening their relationship, accepted Aiko’s objection.

In the end, only the Heroes, the rogues, and Nagayama Jugo’s party willingly continued with the combat training. After training for some time, they decided to challenge the 【Orcus Great Dungeon】 once again. This time, they were also accompanied by Commander Meld and several knights.

Today was the sixth day of their dungeon exploration. They were currently on the sixtieth level. It was just five levels before reaching the highest confirmed level. However, Kouki’s party was currently stuck. No, rather than being unable to advance, it was an involuntary recollection of the nightmare from that time that brought them to a standstill.

Yes, despite being clearly different from that time, similar steep cliffs spreaded before their eyes. They must cross a suspension bridge in order to get to the next level. This isn’t much of a problem per se, but as expected, they couldn’t help but recall that event. Especially Kaori, as she stood there motionlessly, staring over the cliff into the darkness of the endless abyss.

”Kaori……”

As Shizuku anxiously called out, Kaori who was looking down with a strong gaze, slowly shook her head and smiled towards Shizuku.

“It’s alright, Shizuku-chan.”

“I see…… You are not forcing yourself right? You don’t have to hold back because of me.”

“Eheh-heh, thank you, Shizuku-chan.”

Shizuku also smiled at her close friend. Kaori’s eyes were giving off a strong radiance, without any despair or escapism within. With her excellent insight and sensitivity to people’s subtleties, Shizuku realized that Kaori saying “It’s alright”, was from her true feelings.

(As expected, Kaori is strong.)

Hajime’s death was almost a certainty. It’s hopeless to even half-heartedly say he survived. Nevertheless, Kaori chose to neither escape nor deny, but advance to reach her own understanding. Shizuku was proud of her close friend.

However, being unable to read the mood is one of the hero’s quality. In Kouki’s eyes, reflected the appearance of Kaori grieving at the thought of Hajime’s death while staring below. He concluded that the kind Kaori is currently suffering over a classmate’s death. Consequently, under the filter of his assumption, Kaori’s smiling figure appeared to be forced as well.

Then, without the slightest consideration that Kaori thought specially of Hajime and still believed in the possibility of his survival, Kouki repeatedly gave Kaori misplaced consolation.

“Kaori…… I like that kind side of yours. However, you can’t let yourself be trapped by our classmate’s death forever! You have to move on. Surely, that’s what Nagumo would have wanted.”

“Hey, Kouki……”

“Shizuku, be silent for a while! Even if it’s harsh, as her childhood friend, I have to say this…… Kaori, it’s alright. I will stay by your side. I wouldn’t die. I wouldn’t let anyone die anymore. I promise I would never make Kaori sad.”

“Haa~, reckless as always…… Kaori……”

“Haha, it’s okay, Shizuku-chan…… Well, I know what Kouki-kun was trying to say, so it’s okay.”

“Oh, you understood!”

Kaori could only smile bitterly at Kouki’s completely misdirected words. It seems that even if Kaori were to honestly talk about her feelings now, it probably wouldn’t be transmitted to Kouki. For Kouki, it is already a fact that Hajime is dead. Thus, it is unthinkable that the reason why Kaori is zealously training and exploring the dungeon is due to her belief in Hajime’s survival. It is in his nature to persist in his beliefs without any doubts, he could only seem to interpret Kaori’s feelings as a psychological illness stemming from escapism. From their long association, Kaori somewhat understood Kouki’s thought patterns, which was why she didn’t say anything.

By the way, the nuance which appeared to be nothing but completely wooing her was said by the person himself without any ulterior motives, it only showed Kouki’s extreme earnestness. Shizuku and Kaori, who were already used to Kouki’s words and actions let it slide as usual, but if the other girls heard that, they would probably all fall together into sugary expressions at the sweet atmosphere.

Generally, a handsome guy with good character, proficient in both sports and studies would cause any female childhood friend to fall in love. However, influenced by her strict father, Shizuku had been in contact with and was raised by the adults under her house’s dojo from young. Coupled with her natural insight, she was aware that his sense of justice could be said as Kouki’s flaw, and he had displayed it numerous times, making her unable to harbour any feelings more than a childhood friend towards him. Although, for the others, the more important thing hasn’t changed.

Kaori was naturally insensitive about love and hearing about various things from Shizuku, her heart was unable to throb over Kouki’s words or actions. He is considered a good-natured person and thought caringly of as a childhood friend, but would never lead to any romantic feelings.

“Kaori-chan, I am rooting for you, if there’s anything I can do to help, please say.”

“Yeah~, Suzu will always be at on Kaorin’s side!” ⌈²⌋

Joining the conversation were Nakamura Eri and Taniguchi Suzu who were listening to Kouki’s chat nearby. Both of them are Kaori’s close friends since entering high school and they have an excellent relationship. They are also capable people who were added into the Hero party led by Kouki.

Nakamura Eri is a bespectacled beauty with black Natural Bob hair. Personality-wise, she is mild and meek, and basically makes everybody want to keep an eye out for her. She loves books and gives off the feel of a stereotypical librarian. As a matter of fact, she was in the library committee.

Taniguchi Suzu, she is a chibi whose height was only around 142 centimeters. However, it was unimaginable where her inexhaustible liveliness could be hidden within that small body. She always jumps about happily with her drooping braids bouncing along. That heart-warming sight secured her role as the class mascot.

When the two of them saw Kaori’s discomposure the day Hajime fell into the abyss, they understood her feelings and approved of Kaori’s goal.

”Nn, Eri-chan, Suzu-chan, thank you.”

Kaori smiled happily at the two close friends made in high school.

“Oooh~ Kaorin got her spirit back~ That Nagumo-kun! How dare he make Suzu’s Kaori-chan so sad! If he died, Suzu will kill him!”
“S-Suzu? If he died, how are you going to k-kill him?”
“Don’t mind the details! Oh yeah, if he really died, Eririn can just use necromancy to make him serve Kaorin!”
“S-Suzu, watch what you’re saying! Kaori-chan sincerely believes that Nagumo-kun is still alive! Moreover, my necromancy is…”

Eri remonstrated the reckless Suzu. That is the default. Looking at the usual boisterous scene between the two, Kaori and Shizuku displayed pleasant expressions. By the way, Kouki and the rest who were a short distance away didn’t hear the conversation just now. Of course, it was Kouki’s natural skill to miss the most important part of the conversation like this.

“Eri-chan, I don’t mind, so it’s ok?”
“Suzu too, you should stop it. Eri seems troubled no?”

“Mu~” Suzu puffed her cheeks upon hearing Kaori and Shizuku’s words, which were mixed with bitter smiles. Eri, who had turned paled at the mention of “necromancy” just now, finally relaxed her expression after noticing that Kaori seriously did not mind Suzu’s words.

“Eririn, are you still having trouble with necromancy? Even though it is such a rare Class…”
“…Nn, sorry. It will be very useful, if only I can control it properly…”
“Eri, everyone have their strengths and weaknesses. Besides, your magic aptitude is high, so don’t worry about it alright?”
“That’s right, Eri-chan. though it is your Class, having talent in that field is different from liking or disliking it. Hasn’t Eri-chan’s accurate and precise magic helped everyone?”
“Nn, but even so, I still need to do my best to overcome this. Because… I want to be of more help to everyone!”

Eri clenched her small fists tightly to show her determination. Seeing Eri like this, Suzu said, “That’s the spirit, Eririn!” and glomped her, while Kaori and Shizuku’s cheeks loosened into smiles at their friend’s tenacity.

Eri’s Class was 【Necromancer】. Dark magic was a type of Systematic Magic that affected the spirit and consciousness. It was basically recognized as a magic that inflicts abnormal statuses to the target in actual combat. And necromancy was one of the super-high difficulty dark magic. It was a magic that could gather the residual thoughts of the dead. In the Saint’s Church, there were also a few necromancy users among the priests. They draw the residual thoughts of the deceased and pass on to their bereaved family members, using necromancy in a way befitting of clergymen.

However, the true essence of this magic lies elsewhere. The proper way to use this magic was to wrap the residual thoughts of the body with magic and granting realization ability ⌈³⌋, make it possess the corpse and become a puppet. In other words, the necromancers would be able to control the dead, although their skills and true strength would be inferior compared to when they were still alive. Furthermore, even living humans could be possessed and trace the dead soul’s techniques and abilities to a certain extent.

Although the dead could be controlled to a certain degree, they had pale skin and were devoid of life, like that of a ghost. And because Eri herself felt that it was ethically wrong to use the dead people like this, she was unable to use this magic ability efficiently.

Behind the four girls, someone was staring, more specifically, someone was gazing at Kaori with dull eyes That person was Hiyama Daisuke. That day, after some time had passed upon returning to the capital, and after everyone had regained their composure, sure enough, severe criticism was awaiting Hiyama for bringing about that predicament.

Hiyama had already expected this to happen, so he earnestly plead for forgiveness while kowtowing on the ground. He knew that refuting at times like this would do nothing but only make things worse. The time and place for apology was also especially important.

Hiyama’s aim was to prostrate himself before Kouki’s eyes. He predicted that if it was Kouki, he would certainly be forgiven with his apology, and would even help to mediate among his classmates. His expectations came true as Kouki forgave Hiyama and settled the criticism against him. Kaori was kind to the core, and did not especially rebuke Hiyama who was apologizing in tears. It was as he calculated. However, Shizuku vaguely notice Hiyama’s scheme, and appeared to harbour disgust at the fact that her childhood friend was used.

And THAT ⌈⁴⌋ person’s orders made him go silent. It was an exceedingly terrible command. Or rather, it was a command which made him shudder in fear. He felt an intense sense of repulsion, but Hiyama could no longer stop, for he had long went past that line. However, that person who could integrate so naturally with the class while kneading such terrifying plans behind the scenes, made Hiyama fear while embracing joyful thoughts.

(That person is mad…… if I follow that person, Kaori will be mine……)

Upon hearing that as long as he obeys, he would be able to get his hands on Kaori, his suppressed joy involuntarily formed a smile on his face.

“Hey, Daisuke? What’s wrong?”

Kondo, Nakano, and Saito were all looking suspiciously at Hiyama’s odd expression. The three of them were still hanging out with Hiyama. From the start, the four could be said to be the same kind of people. Although there was a period of awkwardness, Hiyama’s laudable attitude recovered their friendship. However, it is extremely doubtful whether this could even be called friendship in the truest sense……

“Eh, no, it’s nothing. I am just happy thinking that we have cleared sixty levels.”
“Ah~, that’s true. We are just five levels away from the previously highest recorded level~”
“We have all become considerably strong. Good grief, the stay-behind team is too weak-willed.”
“Well, don’t put it like that. It looks like we are special.”

The three of them synced with Hiyama’s deception without any doubts. Becoming enthusiastic thinking of themselves who continued fighting as special, seems like small-time villains will always remain as small-time villains. They had a huge ⌈⁵⌋ attitude towards the stay-behind group back in the royal palace. Their haughty attitudes often lead to many complaints. However, breaking through to the sixtieth level also speaks of their definite abilities, proving that they are not all words.

Naturally, they are not at the Heroes’ party level, so they are docile around Kouki and the others. This seems to be the modus operandi of small fries.

The group did not particularly encounter any problems, and finally they arrived at the previously highest recorded sixty-fifth level.

“Concentrate! The map here is incomplete. I don’t know what will happen!”

The voice of the accompanying Commander Meld resounded. Kouki and the others tightened their expressions and stepped into the unknown territory.

After a short while, they entered a large hall. Somehow or other, everyone present felt an unpleasant premonition. That hunch was right on the mark. At the same time they entered the hall, a magic circle emerged in the center of the room. It was a dark red pulsating magic circle of about ten meters in diameter. That was, a very familiar magic circle.

“D-Don’t tell me…… it’s that!?”

Cold sweat formed on Kouki’s forehead as he shouted. The other members’ expression were distinctly nervous.

“Seriously, it’s dead, isn’t it!”

Ryutaro exclaimed, visibly shocked. Responding to that, with a grim expression but a calm voice, was Commander Meld.

“We have yet to elucidate the reason behind the formation of magic beasts in dungeons. It is normal to encounter magic beasts that have been defeated before many times again. Brace your spirits! Don’t forget to secure the retreat path!”

In case it was needed, to ensure that they could safely get away, Commander Meld gave instructions to prioritise securing the escape route. His subordinates obeyed immediately. However, it left a bad taste in Kouki’s mouth, as he retorted.

“Meld-san. We are no longer the us from back then. We are many times stronger now! There’s no way we will lose now! We will definitely win!”
“Heh, that’s right. We can’t keep thinking that we will lose forever. It’s time for our revenge match!”

Ryutaro also responded with a fearless smile. Commander Meld shrugged his shoulders while letting out a “Dear me”. As he was thinking that it will probably be alright with Kouki’s and the other’s current strength, he let out the same daring smile.

And finally with an explosion of brilliance, the former nightmare once again appeared before Kouki and the others.

“Guugaaaa~!!!”

A strange figure raised a roar and stomped the ground. Behemoth glared at Kouki and the others with a fierce intent to kill dwelling in its eyes. Just as everyone was about to run from their nervousness, a single girl was indifferent and with a resolute expression, returned the look.

It’s Kaori. Kaori declared not with an audible voice, but with strength dwelling in her indomitable will.

“No one would be taken away anymore. I will defeat you and go to him.”

Now, the battle to overcome the past has begun.

～～～～～～～～～

Additional: Amanogawa Kouki’s current status ⌈⁶⌋

Amanogawa Kouki		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Hero	Level:	46
Strength:	560	Vitality:	560
Resistance:	560	Agility:	560
Magic Power:	560	Magic Resistance:	560
Skills:
All Elemental Aptitude • All Elemental Resistance • Physical Resistance • Composite Magic • Swordplay • Herculean Strength • Ground Shrink • Foresight • High Speed Magic Recovery • Presence Perception • Magic Perception • Limit Break • Language Comprehension

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After defeating the scorpion, they returned to Hajime’s base after retrieving materials and meat from the scorpion and cyclops. They were troubled by the sheer size of the bodies, but after Yue who was exhausted after using highest grade magic drank some blood again, her strengthened body recovered splendidly in a flash and exhibited superhuman strength. Between the two of them, they were somehow able to bring the items back.

Incidentally, Hajime originally wanted to use this sealed room as their base, but the idea was discarded after Yue adamantly refused. It was no wonder. She had been imprisoned there for who knows how many years, it was only natural that she didn’t want to stay there much longer. In order replenish their supplies, they must stay there for a period of time. Hence, it would be better for her mental health if they left this sealed room as soon as possible. Just like this, they were currently chatting with each other while Hajime was replenishing his supplies.

“In that case… doesn’t that mean Yue is at least 300 years old?”

“…Breach of etiquette.”

Yue stared at Hajime with reproachful eyes full of criticism. Talking about a female’s age seems to be a taboo no matter of whichever world it was.

From his memories, Hajime recalled that the vampire race perished after a large scale war three hundred years ago. Yue had probably lost her sense of time after being sealed in that dark room for such a long time. It wouldn’t be surprising if anyone said that she had been sealed for a much longer time than that. She was sealed when she was twenty, to be called over three hundred years old after she was released, how could she accept.

“Do all vampires live for so long?”

“…I’m special. 【Regeneration】, prevents aging…”

According to her, after her inherent magic — direct magic manipulation and 【Auto-Regeneration】 — awakened at the age of twelve, she seemed to have stopped aging. Ordinary vampires also appears to live much longer than other races since they sucked blood. Even so, about two hundred years was the limit.

By the way, the human’s average lifespan was 70 years, demonkin around 120 years, while demi-human’s lifespan was dependant on the race. There are elves who lived for hundreds of years.

Yue was considered one of the strongest of her time in only a few years after she awakened to her atavistic powers. At the age of seventeen, she took the throne as the Queen of Vampires.
Indeed, her magic that melted the scorpion’s shell was an attack that had little to no time delay. Moreover, she also had an almost immortal body. To the point that she would be called either a 【God】 or a 【Monster】. Yue was without a doubt, the latter.

Her uncle who was blinded by greed, started spreading rumors that Yue was a monster. He tried to kill her in the name of righteousness, but because of her 【Auto-Regeneration】, he failed and hence, could only seal her in the underground instead. Yue was so shocked by the sudden betrayal that she did not put up much resistance and was put under some sort of sealing spell amidst the confusion. By the time she regained her self, she was already in the sealed room.

Therefore, that scorpion, the sealing method, and how she ended up in the abyss, she was completely clueless. Maybe there’s a way out! Hajime, who held that kind of expectation, drooped his head in disappointment.

He also heard something pertaining to Yue’s powers. According to her, Yue seems to have an aptitude for all attributes. When Hajime became aware of this, he muttered to himself with a blank expression, “What, this cheat…” However, Yue was weak in close combat. All she could do was run around with her strengthened body as she rapidly fired off spells. Despite that, in the face of her powerful magic, it wasn’t really that big of a handicap.

By the way, Yue was able to cast magic without any incantation, but she would mutter the names of the spell out of habit. Many people used unique activation words or actions to supplement their magic and get a clearer image. Yue was no exception.

As for her 【Auto-Regeneration】, it was classified as a Unique Magic. As long as she had any remaining magic power, she wouldn’t die unless she was turned into ashes in an instant. Conversely, self-regeneration wouldn’t work if she sustained any injuries in the state of magic depletion. In other words, because her magic power had been drained after being sealed for all those years, Yue would have died if the scorpion had hit her.

“Next… the key point, do you know anything about this place? Or any escape routes to the surface.”

“…I don’t know. But…”

She also seemed to not have any knowledge about this labyrinth. While feeling apologetic, she continued her story with what she knew.

“…It was said that one of the liberators made this labyrinth.”

“Liberators?”

Hearing an unfamiliar term, Hajime stopped with his transmutation work, so as to not make any disturbing sound as he turned his line of sight towards Yue. She, who had been watching Hajime work, also shifted her line of sight. After nodding her head, she continued her story.

“Liberators… they are the followers of God that challenged him during the Age of God… Legend says they intend to destroy the world.”

Since Yue was an expressionless girl who didn’t talk much, her explanations took a bit of time. On the other hand, Hajime still needed more time to resupply. He realized his firepower was insufficient due to the fight with the scorpion. As a result, he was currently developing a new weapon. While working carefully, he was poised to listen to her.

According to Yue, during the Age of God, seven followers betrayed the god and plotted to destroy the world. However, when their plan failed, they each fled to the ends of the world. Those “ends of the world” were reportedly the current Seven Great Dungeons. This 【Orcus Great Dungeon】 was one of them. It is said that in the deepest part of the abyss was where the liberator lived.

“…If it is there, there might be a way out…”

“I see. There is no need to expend so much effort to climb up the abyss. If it is a magician from the age of gods, it wouldn’t be weird if they had some sort of teleportation magic to take them to the surface.”

Hajime loosened up his cheeks when the possibility was presented before him. He then returned his eyes back to the work in his hands. Yue also turned her eyes back to his hand.

Jii— ⌈¹⌋

“…Is it that interesting?”

“…… (Nods! Nods! Nods!)”

Yue did not say anything, she just nodded her head strongly to express herself. The image of her wearing that oversized coat and the way her small hands were holding onto her knees was very charming. In addition, her unbelievably well-featured appearance made her look very cuddable.

(But, three hundred years old. As expected of fantasy world. Loli-granny really exist…)

Even if his personality changed, Hajime hadn’t forgotten his Otaku knowledge. As he unintentionally thought of something like that, Yue reacted to it.

“…Hajime, thinking about something strange?”

“Nope, what’s up?”

Hajime deceived her, but he felt that Yue’s — or more precisely the woman’s — sharp intuition was something to be afraid of. His inner self broke out in cold sweat as he continued to work in silence. Yue left it off at that and asked a different question.

“…Hajime, why are you here?”

It was a natural question. This abyss was a genuine land of demons. Other than magic beasts, there was nothing else.

Yue had mountains of question for him. Why can he manipulate magic directly? Why can he use so many types of Unique Magic? How can he eat the flesh of magic beasts and still be okay? What happened to his left arm? Is he really a human? What is the weapon he is using?

Bit by bit, Hajime answered all the questions patiently. Perhaps Hajime might be longing for a conversation himself, he did not seem annoyed at her questions. Looking from certain aspects, Hajime seems to be very fond of Yue. Maybe she was the last resort to prevent him from falling into complete darkness. Perhaps Hajime had already realized this unconsciously.

Hajime started with when his class was summoned to this world. How he was called incompetent by everyone, and how he fell into this abyss after he was betrayed by an unknown classmate during the battle against the Behemoth. The transformation after eating magic beasts. The desire to fight the Talon Bear. About the potion (This is what Hajime called the Sacred Water). About how he developed the modern weapons by basing them on the weapons he had seen in his homeland. As Hajime recounted the events one by one, sniffles could be heard from Yue unwittingly. What happened? When Hajime lifted his head to look at Yue, she was weeping. Startled, Hajime instinctively reached out and wiped off her tears.

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“…Sniffs… Hajime… in pain… I also feel painful…”

Apparently, she was crying for Hajime. He started to stroke her head with a bitter smile after he got over his shock.

“Just forget about it. The business with my classmate is inconsequential. Don’t worry about the small stuff. After getting my revenge, then what? Rather than that, I want to put all my energy in surviving and finding a way home.”

Yue produced a nasal sound. She seemed to be feeling very comfortable with Hajime’s caressing and narrowed her eyes like a cat. However, after she heard Hajime said he wanted to go back to his homeland, she jolted momentarily.

“…Going home?”

“Hm? To my original world? Of course. I want to return… I changed a lot but still… home… I want to return home.”

“…I see.”

Yue looked down with a sunken expression. Then muttered to herself.

“…I don’t have a place… to return…”

“……”

Seeing Yue like this, Hajime stopped brushing Yue’s head and started to scratch his head. He wasn’t that dense. He had more or less felt that Yue was viewing him as a new place to return to. That was the whole reason why she asked him of a new name. Because of this, if Hajime left this world, Yue would be alone again.

Hajime thought to himself: “Even though I have already decided, that I will do anything to reach my goals, but it looks like I’m still too naive,” while he stroked Yue’s head.

“Ah~ If that’s so, want to come with me?”

“Eh?”

Yue opened her eyes wide in surprise at Hajime’s words. She was gazing at Hajime with her moistened red eyes that looked restless. Hajime got flustered and started to speak rapidly.

“No, I mean, to my homeland. Well, that’s a world with only average humans. It might be inconvenient for races other than human, with the family registration and whatnot… also, with my current state, I’m not really sure what will happen… but in the end of the day, what is it that Yue want to do?”

Yue was stunned for a while, but when her mind eventually caught up. She timidly asked, “Is that okay?” However, she couldn’t hide the expectations dwelling in her eyes. Her eyes were literally sparkling, Hajime could only nod his head with a forced smile. As if her expressionless face until now was a lie, a smile bloomed on her face. Hajime was mesmerized. When he noticed he was lovestruck, he shook his head in a flurry.

Unable to look at Yue, Hajime devoted himself to his work. Yue took great interest in his work. However, the distance between them had shortened, almost to the point of sticking close together…
Hajime told himself not to mind about it.

“…What, is this?”

Little by little Hajime was finishing up different parts with the transmutation. On the side there was a one meter long cylindrical pipe, a red bullet about twelve centimeters in length, and others parts scattered around.

This was the new weapon Hajime started developing as his new trump card, since Donner was lacking in necessary firepower.

“This is… an Anti-matter Rifle: Railgun version. You saw my gun, right? This is an even more powerful version. The bullet is specially made.”

Just as Hajime said, when all the parts were assembled together, a 1.5 meter long rifle was created. Hajime was considering what he could do to increase the firepower of his guns. Electromagnetic acceleration and combustion charge was the limit for the Donner. The final verdict was that, Donner couldn’t be improved much further anymore. So he had to create a new gun.

Naturally the answer to increase the power was a larger caliber, and the length of the barrel. And the result, was an Anti-matter rifle. It could only load up to one shot but its theoretical power is enormous. In brief, its maximum output was ten times the destructive power of Donner. When an ordinary person fired with Donner, the repulsive force was enough to crush half of their body. Donner was that kind of monster gun.

The gun’s name: Schlagen. In theory, it was about ten times more powerful than Donner… roughly. It was made with the scorpion shell. When he analyzed the shell with 【Mineral Appraisal】, this was the result:

Shtar Ore High magic affinity. A special ore where its hardness is increased by the amount of magic power used.

Apparently, that scorpion’s hardness was due to Shtar Ore’s property. It probably had a massive amount of magic reservoir to fuel that armor.

Hajime was thinking, “If this is an ore, will I be able to process it?” He gave it a try and was able to accomplish it effortlessly. If that’s the case, he could easily break through the shell with his transmutation! Recalling the hard fought battle before, Hajime felt weak in the knees. This had turned into one of his bitter memories.

Hajime had gotten his hands on a lot of excellent materials to work with, so the result was still all right. He could use these materials to make a sturdier barrel. While Hajime was consoling himself with this, he fired Schlagen. Since he now had more experience compared to the time when he made the Donner, the work progressed more smoothly.

He paid particular attention to the bullets. The bullet was made out of Taur Stone coated with Shtar ore. It could be considered a full metal cover… or something like that. In each cartridge, combustion powder was installed with a suitable ratio of compression. After one bullet was completed, as long as he had enough materials, he could use Transmutation Subskill, [+Replicate Transmutation], to mass-produce the bullets effortlessly.

While Hajime talked with Yue endlessly without getting to the point, Schlagen was completed. The gun had a very powerful and brutal form. He finished his work as he indulged with self-satisfaction. After he finished the gun, Hajime started to feel hungry, so he began preparing the meal by grilling the scorpion and cyclops meat.

“Yue, the meal is almost ready… Would it upset your stomach by eating this? That pain is not to be made fun of… no, vampires should be fine with it, right?”

Since his daily meal consisted of magic beast meat, Hajime thoughtlessly invited Yue to eat with him. However, what if something happened to her after she ate it. While thinking like this, Hajime cast a glance at Yue.

Yue stopped playing with Hajime’s invention and shook her head to say, “I don’t need the meal,” to Hajime.

“Well, since you survived for 300 years without eating, I guess there’s no problem… Won’t you feel hungry though?”

“Yes… but, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Doesn’t matter anymore? Did you already eat something?”

Her empty stomach had already been satisfied? Hajime looked at Yue with an astonished gaze. Yue pointed at Hajime.

“Hajime’s blood.”

“Ah, my blood. Does that mean a vampire don’t need a meal other than blood?”

“…Food can also provide nourishment… but drinking blood is more effective.”

Seems like vampires could survive with just blood. She had sucked Hajime’s blood earlier and was satisfied with it. Yue stared at Hajime who looked convinced. For some reason, she was licking her lips.

“…Why are you licking your lips?”

“…Hajime… delicious…”

“D-Delicious you say. I thought that I would taste terrible considering I’ve eaten so much magic beast flesh…”

“…Mature taste…”

“……”

From Yue’s description, his blood had a heavy, deep taste similar to a bowl of soup made with all kinds of herb and meat. The first time she had sucked his blood, she fell into a trance. This wasn’t his imagination. Having such a fine meal after starving for so long, getting infatuated was within reasons.

However, Hajime wanted to stop her bewitching lip licking. He realized Yue was past her prime. However, that childish figure coupled with the lewd act, it made Hajime unable to calm down in a certain sense.

“…Delicious.”

“…Please spare me from this.”

In all sorts of meaning, she might might be the most dangerous partner. Hajime broke out in a cold sweat.

～～～～～～～～

Omake (Not related to the main story)

Kaori: “…Tsk.”
Shizuka: “K-Kaori? You just clicked your tongue…”
Kaori: “Eh? What’s the matter Shizuku-chan?”
Shizuka: “N-No. It’s nothing…”
Kaori: “…Thieving Cat.”
Shizuka: “Kaori?!”
Kaori: “Fufu, it’s nothing, Shizuku-chan. I just felt like someone was threatening my position.”
Shizuka: “I don’t think this can be considered nothing…”

---

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The scorpion’s first move was spraying a purple liquid from the stinger on its tail. It came flying at a considerable speed, but Hajime immediately dodged by jumping back. The floor where the purple liquid landed on emitted a sizzling sound and melted in the blink of an eye. It appears to be a solvent.

While confirming with a side glance, Hajime drew Donner and fired.

Dopan~!

Maximum Power. Bullets with speed of 3.9 kilometer per second burst on the head of the scorpion monster.

Yue’s shock was transmitted through Hajime’s back. A never before seen weapon, releasing a flash-like attack without any signs of magic ⌈¹⌋. Although the right hand looked somewhat wrapped in electricity, there wasn’t any use of magic circles or chanting. Yue noticed that, in other words, Hajime is similar to herself, possessing a way of directly manipulating magic.

“Similar” to herself, then, why was he in the abyss. Yue knew that it wasn’t the appropriate situation, but she kept her attention on Hajime instead of the scorpion.

On the other hand, Hajime repeatedly leapt using 【Aerodynamic】without rest, his expression unprecedentedly grim. Hajime realized what the unmoving scorpion was doing through 【Presence Perception】 and 【Magic Perception】. As if to prove that point, the scorpion aimed its other tail stinger at Hajime. Then, the pointed end of the tail seemed to bulge momentarily before the stinger was shot out at a terrific speed. Hajime tried to avoid it, but midway, the stinger exploded into a wide area buckshot attack.

“Ku!”

While giving a bitter groan, Hajime shot with Donner, swept with 【Grand Kick】, and hacked with 【Air Claw】. Finally tiding over it, as if returning the favour, he fired Donner. Immediately after that, he tossed Donner into the air and while it was falling, he took out a grenade from his pouch and threw it at the scorpion.

The scorpion endured another hit from Donner, and was about to release even more buckshot stingers and acid. However, before that could happen, a grenade eight centimeter in diameter tumbled over and exploded. As the grenade exploded, it scattered burning black slush which stuck onto the scorpion.

This was the so-called 【Incendiary Grenade】. Using the Flame Ore he has obtained at the Tar Level, it could spread three thousand degree celsius of “clinging flames” ⌈²⌋.

As expected, it appears to be effective in disrupting the scorpion’s attack as it rampaged, trying to tear off the clinging blaze. Sensing this opportunity, Hajime landed on the ground, having already caught Donner and quickly reloaded.

By the time that was done, the tar from the 【Incendiary Grenade】 has burnt out and the flame was just about to extinguish. However, despite having smoke billowing everywhere and appearing to have taken damage, the scorpion’s intense fury was clearly transmitted ⌈³⌋.

“Kishaaaaaaaa~!!!”

Raising a shriek, the scorpion suddenly started moving its eight legs, charging towards Hajime and Yue. With a howl of the wind, all of a sudden, its four huge pincers extended like cannons as they approached Hajime.

The first was dodged with 【Ground Shrink】, the second was avoided by jumping with 【Aerodynamic】. Using 【Grand Kick】 to kick away the third destroyed Hajime’s stance and the fourth pincer struck. But Hajime shot Donner at once, and using the force from the discharge, he blew himself away while twisting his body, somehow managing a successful evasion. Yue, who was on his back, let out a groan, “Uuu”. However, she somehow withstood the violent movements.

While in the air, Hajime leapt and landed on the scorpion’s back. Then, as he was maintaining his balance on the raging scorpion, he pressed the muzzle against the shell, and with a Click, Donner released a point-blank shot. ⌈⁴⌋

Zugan~!!

A tremendous explosive noise resounded, and the scorpion’s body was slammed into the ground from the impact. However, even receiving a direct hit on its shell was unable to damage it, and seemed to barely scratch it ⌈⁵⌋. As he gnashed his teeth at the fact that he was unable to deal any damage, Hajime brandished Donner, invoking 【Air Claw】. Kaching, along with a sound of striking metal, he was still unable to break through his enemy’s shell.

As if to say “That’s enough!”, the scorpion aimed and fired buckshot stingers towards its own back.

Hajime swiftly jumped away from that spot and twisted his body in the air as he fired towards the origin of the buckshot stingers. The high speed bullets accurately struck the end of the front end section of the tail and was grandly repelled…… the tail which was covered with a hard shell appears to receive zero damage. The firepower was completely lacking.

Once again, like a tempest, the four giant pincers assaulted the midair Hajime in succession. In desperation, Hajime threw an 【Incendiary Grenade】 on the scorpion’s back and took a huge leap back. The scattered tar from the explosion seemed like nothing more than a stalling attack.

Thinking about “What to do” the instant after he evaded the scorpion, the scorpion let out an unprecedented shriek. ⌈⁶⌋

“Kyi~i~iii~!!”

Hearing that cry sent chills running across the entire body and made Hajime want to take distance with 【Ground Shrink】 instantly…… but, it was already too late. As the shriek echoed across the room, suddenly, the surrounding ground heaved and with a resounding roar, countless conical needles protruded from the ground.

“Son of a ——!!” ⌈⁷⌋

He was completely caught by surprise ⌈⁸⌋. Hajime was planning on desperately escaping into the air, but upon noticing the approaching conical needles from behind, he twisted his body to cover for Yue, causing his posture to be broken. Though he managed to somehow parry with Donner and 【Grand Kick】, on the edge of his vision, Hajime saw the buckshot stinger and solvent-releasing tail aimed squarely at him.

Hajime’s face stiffened. The next moment, the buckshot stinger and the solvent were fired from both its tails to shoot down the aerial target. Hajime steeled his resolution, in such a situation, it was impossible for him to dodge both attacks. Clenching his teeth, he avoided the solvent with 【Aerodynamic】, and crossed his left arm which was only up to its elbow and his right arm to protect his vitals as best as he could. Furthermore, Donner’s gun barrel was also used to shield his face, and then, he used direct manipulation of magic power to strengthen his body muscles to their limits. Immediately after which, along with an immense force, several tens of sharp needles pierced deeply into Hajime’s body.

“Ga~a~aaa!!!”

Raising a scream, he somehow barely avoided a fatal wound. As he had used his own body to stop the needles, Yue who was on his back, was uninjured.

Hajime was blown away by the impact. The immense pain from the strike and being further thrown onto ground caused him to simply tumble along. Yue was also thrown from his back from the impact.

While gritting his teeth and enduring the pain from the countless needles stabbed in his body, Hajime took out a 【Flash Grenade】 from his pouch and threw it at the scorpion. The 【Flash Grenade】 flew in a parabola, releasing an intense flash before the scorpion’s eyes.

“Kyisha~a~aaa!!”

The scorpion cried and instinctively stepped back due to the sudden flash. From the start, it seemed to be mostly relying on sight to observe Hajime’s movements, so he went and followed through with the throw, and apparently, his guess wasn’t wrong. ⌈⁹⌋

Hajime bit into and drank the Sacred Water fitted behind his molars as he pulled out all the needles in one go.

“Gu~u~u!!”

Groans due to the residual pain escaped from the gaps between his clenched teeth. However, it wasn’t to an unbearable extent. Hajime could endure manyfold this pain, a pain of simply this degree was completely insufficient to break his spirit.

While removing the needles, Hajime was looking around, searching for Yue, but before he could find her, Yue was quicker, and has already came over to his side.

“Hajime!”

Yue rushed up to Hajime anxiously. Her expressionless face has crumbled and was on the verge of tears.

“It’s all right. More importantly, isn’t that guy too hard? I can’t seem to find an appropriate method. I would have to go pass the four pincers’ obstruction to aim at its eyes or mouth…… Should I resign myself to getting damaged and go for the suicide attack?

Hajime pondered over he should deal with the scorpion, oblivious of Yue’s worries. Seeing such a Hajime caused Yue’s tears to begin falling.

“…… Why?”

“Ah?”

“Why didn’t you run away?”

Yue’s appeal implied that she understood the possibility that ‘He might be able to escape alone’. Hajime sent a shocked look towards those words.

“What are you saying at this point in time. I haven’t fallen far enough that I would abandon you just because a slightly stronger enemy appears.”

In order to survive, Hajime has sneak attacked, ambushed, tricked, and even used cowardly lies or bluffs. The fight against the Talon Bear was the only exception, but fundamentally, he doesn’t give a **** about things like fair and square ⌈¹⁰⌋. It wasn’t a generous place that would allow such leeway. He has no feelings of guilt, he has been changed by such an atmosphere.

Nonetheless, he didn’t feel like willingly falling into heterodoxy. To determine right from wrong with virtue, and obtain understanding. The one who made him remember and regain all these, was none other than Yue. That’s why, Yue must definitely be saved, abandoning her here wasn’t an option. The instant she entrusted herself to Hajime, he has made his decision and this moment, was also the turning point of whether Hajime fell into unorthodoxy.

Yue nodded as though she understood something from Hajime’s words and suddenly threw her arms around Hajime.

“Oh, Ouh? What is it?”

With the situation as it is, what are you doing all of a sudden? Hajime was somewhat shaken. The scorpion could be coming back at any moment now. Hajime’s wounds were healed, he should enter combat mode soon. However, Yue doesn’t seem to care as her hands wrapped around Hajime’s neck.

“Hajime…… Trust me.”

Saying that, Yue kissed the scruff of Hajime’s neck.

“——!?”

No, it’s not a kiss. It’s a bite. Hajime felt a prickling pain at the back of his neck, and then, there was an uncomfortable feeling as if energy was drained from his body. For an instant, Hajime wanted to shake her off, but recalling that Yue had called herself a vampire, he realized that she was sucking blood. “Trust me”————Those words, seemed to wish that he would not run away even if he was scared or disgusted by the act of a vampire’s blood sucking.

Thinking that while giving a wry smile, Hajime tightly hugged and supported Yue’s clinging body. Twitch, Yue quavered for a moment before she embraced even tighter with a squeeze. Her face was buried deeper into the back of his neck. It may be just an imagination, but she somehow seem really delighted.

“Kyisha~aaaa!!”

The roar of the scorpion resounded. It appears to have recovered from the shock of the Flash Grenade. It probably grasped their current location, as the ground began to heave once again. It seems to be the scorpion’s Unique Magic, the ability to manipulate the surrounding terrain.

“But, that’s my specialty!”

Hajime placed his right hand on the ground to perform transmutation. The rippling within a three meter radius stopped, and instead a stone wall which enclosed around Hajime and Yue was formed.

The conical needles flew from all around to attack them, but they were completely prevented by Hajime’s defensive wall. Every strike was able to chip away at the wall, but new walls would be erected in place immediately, making the needles unable to get close. Both the scale and strength of the scorpion’s offensive power were by far superior, but Hajime holds the advantage in transmuting speed. His transmutation radius couldn’t go beyond three meter, and neither could he create needles with enough power to fly out and attack, thus Hajime’s type of transmutation was more suited for defense.

While Hajime was absorbed in transmuting defense, Yue’s mouth finally parted. Licking her lips, her expression seems to be in delirious passion. Coupled with that action, seductiveness could be felt despite her childish appearance. Somehow or another, not a speck of her previous emaciation could be felt, her white skin has recovered its tone and shine, similar to that of white porcelain. Her cheeks were a dream-like rose-color. Her red pupils were faintly giving off a warm light, and those small slender hands were gently caressing Hajime’s cheeks.

“…… Thanks for the meal. ⌈¹¹⌋”

Saying that, Yue slowly rose and lifted an open hand toward the scorpion. At the same time, an enormous magic power that was unimaginable from such a delicate body was emitted, the light from her magic power —— a golden color that seems to mow down the darkness. And Yue, who was shrouded in magic power the same color as her fluttering golden hair, muttered a single phrase.

“【Azure Sky】”

Instantly, a sphere of bluish-white flames approximately six or seven meter in diameter appeared above the scorpion’s head. The attack obviously haven’t landed, but the strong heat was enough to make the scorpion shriek in retreat. However, the bloodsucking princess of the abyss would not allow that. Extending her lovely finger and waving it gracefully like a baton, the sphere of bluish-white flames faithfully executed the conductor’s instructions, pursuing the escaping scorpion and…… a direct hit.

“Gu~ugyiya~a~a~aaaa————!?”

The scorpion raised an unprecedented scream. It was obviously a scream of anguish. At the point of impact, the entire vicinity was covered in pale blue light and nothing could be seen. As Hajime shielded his eyes with his arm, he could only gaze dumbfoundedly at such a grand magic. Before long, the magic’s effective duration expired and the bluish-white flames were extinguished. What remained was the appearance of the scorpion suffering in agony, the red-hot shell on its back has been melted and was all gooey.

While Hajime was in a dilemma over whether he should be praising Yue’s magic — which destroyed the monster’s defense that even the three thousand degree celsius 【Incendiary Grenade】 couldn’t melt and his zero distance railgun shot barely scratched — or commending on the scorpion’s durability, which had directly received such a high temperature attack and merely had its surface melted.

A flop sound made Hajime peel away his vision from that astounding scene back towards Yue, who was sitting on the ground while panting. It looks like she has exhausted her magic power.

“Yue, are you alright?”

“Nn…… Highest tier…… Tiring”

“Haha, aren’t you impressive hm. We’re saved. Leave the rest to me and have a good rest.”

“Nn, good luck……”

Hajime waved his hand as he used 【Ground Shrink】 to shorten the distance in one go. The scorpion was still going strong, despite having the surface of its shell melted off. It raised a roar of unconcealed rage, firing its buckshot stinger at the approaching Hajime.

Hajime quickly retrieved a 【Flash Grenade】 from his pouch and tossed it high overhead. Next, as he pulled out Donner, he fired before the buckshot stinger was scattered. Then, non-electromagnetically accelerated bullets struck and exploded the falling 【Flash Grenade】.

The scorpion was already accustomed to the light. Although it was annoyed, it wasn’t shaken and searched for Hajime’s presence in the room dyed bright with light.

However, there was no sign of Hajime no matter how hard it looked. Just as the scorpion was bewildered over losing Hajime’s presence, Hajime landed on the scorpion’s back.

“Kishua?!”

The scorpion let out a startled cry. That would definitely be the case as the presence it had been searching for managed to slip through its detection net and all of a sudden, reappear on its back. Together with the flash of light, Hajime had used 【Hide Presence】 to sever his presence in order to land atop the scorpion’s back.

The scorpion’s red-hot shell burnt Hajime’s skin from beneath. However, without caring about such matters, the muzzle was pushed against where the surface of its shell has been melted thin, and the trigger, was being pulled repeatedly. The scorpion’s shell, having lost its original durability and receiving consecutive zero distance shots from the railgun, finally, that absolute shield yielded and broke apart.

The scorpion ignored the possibility of hurting itself and try to knock Hajime off with its twin tails, but Hajime made his move first.

“Here, eat this.” ⌈¹²⌋

As if burying a parting gift within its body, Hajime took out a 【Grenade】 from his pouch and used his arm to stab it deeply into the hole opened by Donner. Hajime didn’t even care if his arm festered from burns.

Withdrawing with 【Ground Shrink】before the scorpion’s attack could reach, the scorpion tried to turn around for another attack at Hajime who was retreating from its back. However, that was it.

“BOOM————!!”

Along with the sound of a muffled explosion which echoed the vicinity, the scorpion quivered with a twitch. The scorpion, which was facing Hajime, stopped moving, and the entire area was wrapped in silence.

Eventually, the scorpion began to slant and with a rumbling sound, and collapsed onto the ground.

Hajime warily approached the unmoving scorpion, thrust Donner into its mouth and fired another two or three rounds before he was convinced that the scorpion was dead. Hajime nodded his head while muttering a “Good”. It was definitely dead! This action could be called a policy that Hajime follow these days.

Looking over his shoulder, while still expressionless, her eyes seem to be somewhat delighted as Yue sat there, watching Hajime. He couldn’t tell when this dungeon capturing is going to end, but it seems like a promising partner has appeared.

It is said that Pandora’s Box contains all the world’s Evils ⌈¹³⌋ and a sliver of Hope. Somehow or other, it seems like that example he made before entering this room was fairly on target ⌈¹⁴⌋. While thinking of such stuff, Hajime slowly walked over to her side.

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“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

As he said it, Hajime tried to quietly close the door. The blonde-haired red-eyed girl tried to detain him in a fluster. However, it feels like she hadn’t spoken once in all these years, her voice was tantamount to that of a mutter; though she still desperately conveyed her message.

“W-Wait! ……Please! …Save me…”

“No way.”

Hajime said that and continued to close the door, such a devil.

“W-Why…? I will do anything…… so please……”

The girl was desperate. She still couldn’t move her body, but despite that, she lifted up her face to beseech Hajime. However, Hajime only responded in a loathful manner.

“Hey, this is the bottom of the abyss. How can I possibly release someone who has obviously been sealed here? It would be disastrous. Looks like there’s nothing here apart from the seal…… nothing that looks useful for escaping. Therefore……”

His argument was sound. However, generally speaking, a person who would ignore the plea of an imprisoned girl without the slightest hesitation shouldn’t have existed. That originally gentle Hajime was long dead.

Being so coldly refused, the desperate girl raised her voice as she was on the verge of crying.

“No! Cough… I’m, not bad! ……Wait! I……”

Hajime ignored her plea and kept closing the door. Just before the door was completely shut, Hajime gnashed his teeth. If only he had closed it a bit earlier, he might be able to turn a blind eye to it…

“I was betrayed!”

Just a little bit more and the door will be shut for all eternity. However, due to the girl’s desperate shout, the closing door stopped. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, the time passed slowly. Before too long, the door started to open again. The one standing there was Hajime with an extremely sour face, as if he had been bitten by hundred bugs and chewed up one.

He originally had no intention of helping her no matter what. She must have been sealed here due to a relevant reason. That reason might very well be because she was extremely dangerous, and there was no evidence to prove what she said was the truth. As a matter of fact, she might be a wicked being, and the probability of her deceiving Hajime was very high. Abandoning her should be the most appropriate decision.

(Ah… Just what am I doing.)

Hajime sighed inwardly. He was actually swayed when he heard the word, “betrayed”. He should have left his past behind him already. In this place, just trying to fulfill his wish to “live” was extremely difficult. ‘Grudges’ were unnecessary distraction. If her words could affect him this much, there was probably a part of him that had not moved on. Parts of Hajime’s consciences probably still existed if he could sympathize with the girl that had the same circumstance as him.

Hajime scratched his head while he walked up to the girl. Of course, he didn’t lower his guard.

“You said you were betrayed? Are you saying that, that was the reason you were sealed here? If what you said was true, why did the betrayer seal you in here?”

The girl was stunned when Hajime came back. Through her abundant dirty blond hair, her red eyes were fixed on Hajime. Because of her lack of response, Hajime got irritated and said something like, “Hey. Are you listening? If you are not going to talk, I’m leaving.” as he turned heel. In a fluster, the girl quickly gathered herself and began explaining the reason she was sealed.

“I’m an atavistic vampire… I was granted great power… because of it I worked hard for my country. But… one day… all my retainers… told me I was not needed anymore. Uncle… became the king… I… was fine with that… However, I, with great power, dangerous… cannot be killed… so they sealed me… in here.”

The girl recounted the story intermittently with her dried up throat. Hajime heaved a sigh as he heard the story. This was such a dramatic circumstance. However, there were a few things that bothered Hajime. He inquired as he suppressed his boiling emotions.

“You, are you a royalty from a certain country?”

“…… (Nods! Nods!)”

“What do you mean ‘You cannot be killed’?”

“…Self-regeneration. Injuries heal immediately. Even if decapitated.”

“…T-That is indeed very astonishing… is that the great power you were talking about?”

“Not just that… Magic, direct manipulation… no need formation.”

Hajime was like “Is that so~” as he came to his own understanding.

Hajime could also use Magic Manipulation after eating the Magic Beast. He don’t need any incantations or magic formations to strengthen his body. It was the same for other skills, he don’t need to chant the incantations to use skills such as 【Transmutation】 and the like.

However, in Hajime’s case, since his magic aptitude was zero, he still need a huge magic formation to operate magic spell. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to use magic, that was a fact that will never change.

However, if he was to possess magic aptitude like this girl, rules might as well not exist. While other people are chanting or preparing magic formations like an idiot, the spell from this side would have hit them already. Honestly, it wasn’t even a contest. Also, immortality. Though it was probably not absolute, it was still a cheat far above the heroes’.

“…Help me…”

While Hajime was thinking to himself, the girl pleaded with him.

“……”

Hajime was looking at the girl, the girl was also looking at Hajime. Time passed by slowly like this……

In the end, Hajime scratched his head in a frenzy and heaved a sigh. He put his hand on the cube that sealed the girl.

“Ah!”

Once the girl realized the meaning, she widened her eyes. Hajime ignored her and began transmuting.

Dark red, no… more like crimson colored magic power discharged from Hajime like electric sparks. His magic power has changed after he ate the magic beasts. However, the cube that should be deformed resisted Hajime’s transmutation and repelled his hand. It was just like the bedrock at the top and bottom of each level, however, it’s not like it was completely ineffective. Little by little, Hajime’s magic started to erode areas around the cube.

“Ku, the resistance is strong! …But, the present me can do it!”

Hajime began to pour even more magic power. The equivalent to a six phrase incantation. Finally, the magic gradually penetrated the cube’s defense. Not only the surroundings, the entire room was bathed in crimson light of Hajime’s magic.

Hajime continued to increase the quantity of magic power. Seven phrase… Eight phrase… The stones around the seal started to tremble.

“Not enough, still not enough!”

He fired himself up as he poured nine phrase worth of magic power. If it was an attribute magic, it would already be a grand level spell. No, it might be impossible to use that to estimate his magic power anymore. As the crimson light continued to get more intense, the girl widened her eyes and kept staring at Hajime, as if she didn’t want to miss any seconds of this event.

This was the first time Hajime used such a large-scale magic, not only was he sweating profusely, if his control slipped for just a moment then his power would go on a rampage. However, the cube remains unchanged even with all this power. Hajime was desperate and released all his magic power.

Hajime did not understand why he would expend so much effort for a girl he just met. But he just couldn’t ignore her plea so it can’t be helped. Destroy any obstruction, survive only for my goal; he should have already made up his mind a long time ago, but… Hajime asked himself again, “Just what am I doing?” While still shocked by his own action, he thought it through; there should be an exception in everything, I will do what I want to do! And I must do it with all my heart!

His body started to emit a red light. This time for real, he was going all-out to release his magic power. He stubbornly poured all of his magic power into transmutation, and it finally succeeded!

The cube around the girl started to melt and little by little, she was getting being released from her shackles. Soon, more and more parts of her got free. Her swelling chest came to bare, then her waist, arms, and thighs… Under those cubes, she was wearing nothing. Even though her body was emaciated, she still had a mystique beauty to her. She dropped onto the ground with a ‘female sitting’ ⌈¹⌋ posture as she was set free. Her body seemed to lack the energy to stand up.

Hajime also sat down. His shoulders moved up and down as he gasped for breath. Because his magic power ran out, he was assailed by an intense sense of fatigue. While he was breathing roughly, he reached for the Sacred Water with his trembling right hand, but that hand was gripped tightly by the girl. Her tiny hands were lacking any power as they shook uncontrollably. When Hajime glanced at her, she was staring at him. Although her face was void of expression, her red eyes told the real story.

And then, the girl started to speak. The trembling voice but low, but she said it very clearly.

“…Thank you.”

What sentiment was he to give to her thanks? Hajime didn’t know. However, he noticed, as faint as it may be, there was still a speck of light that didn’t disappear deep within his supposedly blackened heart.

Their hands were interlocked tightly. How much time passed since she was sealed here? From Hajime’s knowledge, vampires died out several hundreds of years ago. He remembered reading about it when he was studying the history of this world.

That said, her expression remained unchanged from beginning to end. In other words, she had long forgotten how to talk and express herself. She had spent a long time in this darkness all by her lonesome self. From what she was saying, she was betrayed by the people she trusted. It was rather strange how she didn’t break down under this kind of circumstances, it might be thanks to the auto-regeneration power she mentioned earlier. If that was the case, it must be quite torturous. Maybe this was the so-called ‘not even allowed to go crazy’.

Seems like he will need to put drinking the Sacred Water on hold. Hajime forced a smile and strengthened his grip. The girl jumped up for a while, and responded back with her own grip.

“…Name, what?” ⌈²⌋

The girl moved her lips to ask Hajime. Speaking of which, they didn’t even know each other’s name yet. Hajime’s smile became even more bitter than it had already been. He answered the girl’s question and asked for her name in return.

“Hajime. Nagumo Hajime. Yours?”

The girl muttered “Hajime, Hajime” repeatedly. Like she was etching it into her mind as something important. And when she was asked for her name, she begged Hajime to grant her a new one.

“…Name, grant me.”

“Huh? Grant you a name? What, don’t tell me you forgot your name?”

Hajime thought it was very possible to have forgotten her name after a long period of imprisonment, so he asked. But the girl shook her head instead.

“Already, don’t need my previous name… The name Hajime grants me will be good enough.”

“…Haiz, even if you say that.”

Most likely she was dealing with the same thing as when Hajime changed. Throw away your previous self; live a new life with new values. Hajime was changed due to pain, hunger, and hatred. However, she wanted to change out of her own free will, and the first step was to get a new name.

Her eyes was shining with anticipation. Thinking that it couldn’t be helped, Hajime scratched his head and told her the new name.

“How about 【Yue】 or something along the line? I don’t really have a sense for naming. If you don’t like it, I will think of another one…”

“Yue? …Yue …Yue…”

“Ah, this word represents the 【moon】 in my hometown. When I first entered the room, your blonde hair and red eyes reminded me of the moon floating in the night sky… how is it?”

As if the girl was surprised by the response he gave, she just blinked her eyes. Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes seemed to shine with joy.

“En, from now on, Yue. Thank you.”

“Oh, for the time being…”

“…?”

After the girl who just changed her name to Yue expressed her thanks, Hajime undid their clasped hands and took off his overcoat. Yue was looking at Hajime with an unfathomable expression.

“Wear this. You can’t stay naked forever.”

“……”

Hajime handed over the overcoat as he said these, Yue received it on reflex while looking at her current state. She was really stark naked. All of her important parts were completely exposed. Yue’s cheeks turned bright red in an instant. She quickly covered herself with Hajime’s overcoat and muttered with an upturned look.

“Hajime, pervert.”

“……”

He would only be digging his own grave no matter what he said, Hajime who was fully aware of this point chose to stay silent. The overcoat was cheerfully put on by Yue. She was only 140 cm tall, so the overcoat was oversized for her. The way she was folding the hem of the overcoat with all her might was very charming.

Hajime took that chance to drink the Sacred Water to recover himself. His vitality restored and his brain became active again. After using 【Presence Perception】……Hajime froze on the spot. He could feel the presence of a terrifying magic beast in the immediate area.

The location was… right above them!

It dropped from the ceiling at almost the same Hajime took notice of it. With every ounce of effort, he picked up Yue with his only hand and used 【Ground Shrink】. After executing his movement, he looked back at where he was. A thud came from the area where he originally was and the figure of that magic beast showed up.

That magic beast’s body was five meter in length. It had four long arms with huge pincers in the front end, and eight of its legs were rustling on the ground. A sharp needle was present on the tip of its two tails. It would be easiest to understand by likening it with a scorpion. As for the two tails, it would be wise to assume they were poisonous. It was obviously not on the same level as any magic beasts Hajime had encountered to this day, he could feel the aura of strong warrior.

Sweat streamed down his forehead. When he had entered the room earlier, his full powered 【Presence Perception】 did not pick up anything, but now it was going crazy. This could only mean that, this scorpion-like monster only appeared after Yue’s seal was released. In other words, this was the last resort to prevent her from escaping. If he had left Yue by herself, there was still a slight chance for Hajime to escape.

He set his glance to the girl in his arm. She was paying no attention to the scorpion and watched Hajime earnestly. Her eyes were as calm as the surface of the water. Those expressive eyes conveyed her willpower. Yue had fully entrusted her fate to Hajime.

The moment their eyes met, the corners of his mouth rose, and his usual fearless smile came into being. Hajime, who did not care about others, felt sympathy for Yue. There was now a speck of light lodging in his heart that should have been broken due to losing too many things. And now, this girl who had been unreasonably betrayed, was going to entrust her fate to another person again. If he couldn’t answer her pleas, he wasn’t a man.

“Bring it on! Try to kill me if you can!”

Hajime perched Yue on his shoulder, then he quickly retrieved the Sacred Water from his pouch. After that, he embraced her and delivered the Sacred Water directly to Yue’s mouth. ⌈³⌋

“Umu?!”

The Sacred Water flowed into her body from the test tube-shaped container. Yue teared up at being force fed an alien substance, but she widened her eyes in surprise when her vitality was being restored.

Hajime moved Yue to his back with his only arm. Although she was still weak and couldn’t contribute much, he couldn’t just leave her at the side and went to fight by himself. As expected, the difficulty of protecting her and fighting the scorpion at the same time was too high.

“Hold on tight! Yue!”

Her body was far from recovered, but she used what little power she had to hold on tight to Hajime.

The scorpion started to make noise as it advanced towards them. Feeling Yue’s grip on his back, he declared with his bold smile.

“If you’re going to get in my way…… I’m going to kill and devour you!”

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Hajime continued his conquest of the Dungeon.

After passing through the quagmire level, he had now advanced to the fiftieth level. Hajime had already lost his sense of time, he had no idea how many days had passed since he started on this journey. Despite that, he was progressing with an astonishing pace. All this while, he had went through deathmatches against several magic beasts that could only be described as unreasonably strong.

For example, on a level that was completely covered by thin poisonous fog, he was attacked by a two meter long rainbow-colored frog with poisonous spit and then there was a moth (with outer appearance like that of Mothra ⌈¹⌋) that released paralyzing scales. If it was not for the Sacred Water, he might have already died several times over, simply from exploring the Dungeon.

The iridescent frog’s poison directly affects the nervous system of its target, and it made Hajime experience a pain similar to when he first ate magic beasts’ meat. He would have died if not for the sacred water he had prepared in advance, behind his molars. The thing Hajime placed at his molars was a small container made from a very thin layer of stone, which makes it easily crushable with the teeth. It was really fortunate that he had this prepared in case of emergencies.

Naturally, he had ate both of them. He was a bit reluctant when it came to eating the moth, but in order to strengthen himself, he could only steel himself to eat it. Hajime felt it was somewhat frustrating that it was a bit more delicious than the frog.

Furthermore, despite being in an underground labyrinth, there was a level which appeared to be a dense forest. The immensely dense humidity made it the most uncomfortable place up till date. This level’s magic beasts include giant centipedes and trees.

He was traversing through the jungle when a giant centipede suddenly fell from the treetops. As expected, Hajime felt extremely nauseated at the sight of it, and started to develop goose bumps all over his body. Moreover, this centipede was a type of magic beast that attacks by detaching its body into several parts, fighting one of them was like fighting thirty black cockroaches in the kitchen. At first, Hajime tried to fight them off by continuously shooting with Donner, but the numbers were too overwhelming. It would take a lot of time to reload, so he decided to switch over to 【Air Claw】 and tear them apart directly. He even had to resort to kicking, which he was unused to, it was literally a desperate fight for his life. It was at this time that Hajime decided to hone his quick reloading skills and brush up on his kicking techniques. While bathed in the purple fluids from the torn centipede, Hajime heaved a disappointed sigh.

Incidentally, the tree magic beast were similar to Treants in RPG games. Its subterranean roots would suddenly attack from underground and also acted like whips to lash at enemies. However, the greatest trait of these treant-like creatures were not these kind of trivial attacks. When these magic beasts sensed danger, they would fling the red fruits that were hanging on their branches. There was absolutely zero offensive power, so Hajime tried eating the fruit. Following that, he just stood there, paralyzed, for more than ten minutes. It was not due to poison or anything. Rather, it was ridiculously delicious. The deliciously juicy red fruit was more like a watermelon than an apple.

It completely blew away the unpleasantness he felt from this level, or rather, he had temporarily forgotten his dungeon conquest. It was the only thing he had eaten other than monster meat over this long duration. Hajime’s eyes completely turned into those of a hunter, and vigorously hunt down those treant-like preys. By the time he was satisfied and continued his labyrinth capturing, the treant-like creatures were already on the brink of extinction.

Pushing on through the dungeon with such feelings, before he knew it, he was already on the fiftieth level, and yet there was still no end in sight. By the way, Hajime’s current status was…

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	49
Strength:	880	Vitality:	970
Resistance:	860	Agility:	1040
Magic Power:	760	Magic Resistance:	760
Skills:
Transmutation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Transmutation] [+Mineral Investigation] [+Mineral Separation] [+Mineral Fusion] [+Replicate Transmutation] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] [+Grand Kick] • Air Claw • Night Vision • Farsight • Presence Perception • Magic Perception • Hide Presence • Poison Resistance • Paralysis Resistance • Petrification Resistance • Language Comprehension

Hajime was currently at the base he created on the 50th level, actively refining his transmutation, as well as gun and kicking techniques. In reality, Hajime had already discovered the stairs to the lower level, but the reason he chose to stop here was because this place was clearly unusual.

It was an indescribably eerie space. At the end of the path of this empty space, there was a three meter tall double doors with impressively adorned decorations. On the flanks of the doors were two one-eyed giant sculptures, with half of their bodies embedded within the walls, as if they enshrined there.

Hajime felt chills running down his spine the moment he set foot in there, the danger making him retreat temporarily. Naturally, Hajime had no intentions of avoiding it after putting his preparations in order. There was finally a “change”, it was out of the question to not investigate.

Hajime was filled with both expectations and dread. He was positive that the moment he opens these doors, there would be some sort of calamity or disaster awaiting him. Yet, however, at the same time, it also gave off the feeling that he could finally see a fresh breeze blowing.

“It’s just like a Pandora’s box… I wonder, what kind of hope will it hold?”

Checking the fighting techniques, weapons, as well as the skills he currently possessed one by one, he confirmed that he was in perfect condition. Completing his preparations, Hajime drew Donner. Then, he lightly pressed it against his forehead and closed his eyes. He had already made up his resolution a long time ago. However, there was no harm in repeating it again. Hajime dived into his innermost depths, and voiced his oath.

“I will survive and return home. Japan, home…… I will go back. Any obstacles shall become my enemies. And enemies, I…… kill!”

Hajime opened his eyes with the usual fearless smile on his face.

Hajime vigilantly advanced and arrived in front of the door without any incident. On a closer look, he noticed the decorations were even more extravagant than he originally thought. At the center, he realized that there were two magic formations that were drawn in the recesses.

“…? I don’t understand. I’ve studied quite a lot, but… I have never seen these formulas before.”

When he was being called incompetent, Hajime focused on expanding his knowledge to make up for his low abilities. Naturally, he couldn’t have learned all there is to know, but even so, it was strange that he was completely unable to recognize any of the formulas that make up this magic formation.

“Could it be… from an old system?”

While he was guessing, Hajime inspected the door, but he still couldn’t understand anything. Not meaning anything in particular, Hajime was on high alert as he checked for traps, but it does not seem like Hajime would be able to decipher these with his current level of knowledge.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s just pass through with transmutation as usual.”

No matter how much he pushed or pulled the door, it still didn’t budge. Thus, he attempted to force his way through with transmutation.

Hajime then placed his right palm on the door and began to transmute. However, just as he was about to start transmuting. Crack! Crack!

“Uwa?!”

A red electrical discharge ran through the door and repelled Hajime’s hand. His hand was releasing smoke. Cursing, Hajime drank the Sacred Water to recover. Immediately after, an unusual event occurred.

Oooooooooh!!

Suddenly, a deep roar resonated in the entire room. Hajime took some distance from the door by backstepping. He dropped his hand to his waist, touching the horizontal holster, ready to draw and shoot at any time immediately.

While the cries continued to echo throughout the room, the true identity of the voice started to move.

“Well, this is a cliche among cliches.”

Muttering while smiling bitterly to himself, the walls around where the two one-eyed giants were engraved beside the door started to crumble. Before he knew it, the grayish skin that resembled the wall has turned dark green.

The one-eyed giants looked exactly like the cyclops that appeared in fantasies. They were holding four meter long greatswords that appeared out of nowhere in their hands. Trying to forcefully free their bodies which were still half buried in order to eliminate the untactful trespasser, they turned their sights towards Hajime.

At that moment, Dopan!

With a terrific cannon roar, an electromagnetically accelerated bullet made from Taur Stone pierced through the right cyclops’ only eye, and blew its brain out. After penetrating through the back of cyclops’ head, the bullet continued on and pulverized the wall behind it. The cyclops at the left side could only stare blankly at the neighbouring cyclops. The shot cyclops twitched twice before its body started to collapse forward. The impact caused by its huge body shook the entire room, raising thick clouds of dust.

“Sorry, I’m not the type of antagonist who would read the atmosphere and wait for you.”

That was an outright devious attack! No, considering the hell Hajime had experienced, that was only a natural reflex. Still… cyclops (right) was a little too pitiful.

They were probably sealed here as gatekeepers. It is safe to say that there had never been any visitors to this place, which was even deeper than the abyss of the Dungeon. Who knows, maybe his(?) heart was filled with joy at the fact that the time to fulfil its responsibilities was finally here.

Their long awaited appearance did not even reach the point where it was able to see who its opponent was, before the all important cyclops head was completely blown into smithereens. If you couldn’t call this pitiful, then what would be considered pitiful?

Cyclops (left) turned its sight towards Hajime with a horrified expression. Its eye seemed to be saying “What did this guy just do?!” Cyclops (left) glared at Hajime without moving. It had no knowledge of Hajime’s weapon, the gun, thus it warily lowered its waist to prepare for any sudden movements as it continued to stare at Hajime. Ten seconds, twenty seconds…… Hajime remained unmoving no matter how much time passed. Cyclops (left) lost its patience, and it let out a mighty roar as it stepped forward.

Immediately after, Cyclops (left) dived face first into the ground. The moment it took a step forward, it lost its balance and fell as though all its strength had left it. Cyclops (left) did not understand the situation, as it raged to get up, but was unable to muster any strength. Hajime slowly approached the struggling cyclops which was letting out a low growl. The steady footsteps were like a countdown. Stopping before the fallen Cyclops (left)’s eye, Hajime pressed the muzzle against its head. Then without any hesitation, the trigger was pulled.

Dopan!

The gunshot echoed across the entire room. However, an unexpected event happened. Cyclops (left)’s body seemed to glow for a split second, and following that, the bullet which scored a direct hit was repelled by the skin.

“Oh?”

Hajime guessed that it must have used its Unique Magic. The Cyclops’ Unique Magic appears to increase its defence significantly.

The fallen Cyclops (left) which was lying face-down curved its lips as though ridiculing Hajime. Hajime paid no heed as he removed the muzzle and sent a kick towards Cyclops (left)’s head.

Using 【Grand Kick】, Hajime’s kick traced an arc as beautiful as the Kicking Rabbit’s and completely flipped Cyclops (left) face-up. Then, he once again pushed the muzzle towards the Cyclops’s exposed eye.

Hajime felt like the Cyclops was trying to say “W-Wait a moment!” but he simply ignored it and pulled the trigger. As expected, the strengthening did not affect the eye, the bullet easily penetrated and pulverized Cyclops (left)’s head.

“Hmm, approximately twenty seconds. It’s a little slow… is it because of their sheer size?”

Hajime observed the cyclops to analyze the test result. Why did Cyclops (left) suddenly fall over and became unable to move? It was because of the 【Paralysis Grenade】. Packing the gathered scales from the Mothra-like monster into a grenade, once it has been scattered by the small-scale explosion, the enemy would end up paralyzed. The instant when Cyclops (left) was distracted by Cyclops (right) falling, Hajime secretly dispersed the scales.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just retrieve the meat later…”

Hajime glanced at the door and pondered a little. Then using 【Air Claws】, he tore apart the cyclops and took out the magic stones from within. Paying no attention to the wet blood, holding up the two fist-sized magic stones into the two holes on the door, they were a perfect fit. Following that, a dark red magical light burst forth from the magic stone and started pouring magic power into the magic square. And then, along with a splitting sound, the light settled down. At the same time, the magic power has spread throughout the entire room, causing the surrounding walls to glow. It has been a long time since he had saw such brilliant radiance.

Hajime blinked his eyes several times, as he cautiously and gently opened the door.

Behind the door was void of even a single light source and shrouded in total darkness, it seemed to stretch for a large area. With the lighting from the previous room and his 【Night Vision】 skill, Hajime was able to make out the complete picture of the room little by little. Two columns of thick stone pillars lined up all the way into the depths. It was as magnificent as the marble ones he saw in the Saint’s Church. Near the center of the room was a huge stone cube, its smooth surface reflected the light that shone into the room, giving it a brilliant lustre.

Hajime gazed steadily at the cube, and noticed something shiny swelling from the center front of the cube.

After verifying his surroundings, Hajime tried to keep the door fixed open. Generally speaking, if it was a horror movie, the moment he entered the room, the door would be slammed shut with a loud bang.

However, before Hajime could fix the door in place, it moved.

“…Who?”

It was a hoarse and frail female voice. Hajime had a little jump and hurriedly looked towards the center of the room. There, the previously “swelling thing” was starting to move. The light that was shining in, revealed its identity.

“It’s…a human?”

That “swelling thing” was actually a person. Her entire body was buried within the cube, with only the head exposed. Her hanging long blond hair was reminiscence of the female ghost from a certain horror movie. Moreover, the red pupils peeping from the gaps of her hair were like blood moons. She looked to be roughly around 12 to 13 years old. It might be hard to tell from her haggard, hanging hair, but even that was unable to hide her beautiful appearance.

Hajime stiffened at this unexpected occurrence, while the girl with red eyes was staring at him. Before long, Hajime took in a slow deep breath and exclaimed with a determined expression;

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

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“Damn it, why isn’t it there……”

It has been three days since he killed the Talon Bear. Hajime had been searching for the route leading to the upper floors and had already finished exploring eighty percent of this level. Eating the Talon Bear caused his status to jump again, and there was no longer anything that exists on this level which could threaten Hajime now. This allowed him to hasten his search of the vast area in a quick pace, but despite that, nothing was found.

No, it is wrong to say that nothing was found. More precisely, it is the path “upstairs”, the path “downstairs” had been discovered two days ago. The Dungeon’s structure which consists of many floors will definitely have a path leading up, but no matter what he did, it simply couldn’t be found.

Furthermore, ignoring the strange dungeon, the method of directly creating a path upstairs through transmutation had already been tried. In the end, no matter it was upwards or downwards, he found out that after advancing a certain extent, somehow the walls become unresponsive to transmutation. There were no limits as to how much he transmuted within the level, but it might be covered in some sort of protection in regards to upwards and downwards. This 【Orcus Great Dungeon】 is a dungeon created since ancient times, and full of mysteries. It is hardly surprising.

That’s why, he could only honestly search for a path up, but a decision has to be made should the path not be found. That was, to dive even deeper into the Great Dungeon.

“…… Dead end huh. The branches have all been searched. What the heck is this. Sigh~”

Hajime let out a deep sigh while resigning himself that a path up couldn’t be found. Then, he headed towards the room where he discovered the stairs leading down two days ago.

That staircase was extremely poorly constructed. It might be more accurate to call it an uneven hill road rather than a staircase. From that point on, there were no longer any Green Light Stones, plunging the area ahead in complete darkness and oozing an ominous aura. It was like looking into the mouth of an enormous monster. The feeling of “It’s impossible to leave once you’ve entered’ naturally arose.

“Ha~! Bring it on! Whatever it is, if it hinders me, Kill and Devour.”

Hajime snorted at himself for thinking as such, the corners of his lips curving into a fearless smile. Then, he stepped into the darkness without any hesitation.

This level was very dark. It’s natural for an underground dungeon, but all the levels that he had been to so far had Green Light Stones, and though those levels were dim, it was not so much that he couldn’t even see ahead. However, it seemed like this level did not have any Green Light Stones. Stopping for a little while, Hajime was expecting his eyes to somewhat get used to seeing in the dark, but no matter how long passed, there were no differences. As a last resort, he took out the Green Light Stone to serve as a lamp from the improvised backpack he made with transmuted wires from the Talon Bear’s fur.

Bluntly speaking, possessing a light source in the darkness is equivalent to suicide if there were magic beasts around. However, since he wasn’t able to even move on without this, Hajime could only take the plunge. As such, he couldn’t advance with his right hand occupied, thus attaching the stone to his left elbow which was missing its forearm.

After progressing for a while, noticing something shining within the passageway, Hajime raised his awareness to the maximum. Advancing while staying hidden under the shadows as much as possible, he suddenly felt an unpleasant presence from his left. He instantly jumped back and pointed the Green Light Stone towards the presence. There was a gray lizard approximately two meter in length stuck to the wall, glaring at Hajime with its golden eyes.

Those golden eyes flashed momentarily and in the next instant…

“——!?”

Along with a cracking sound, Hajime’s left arm began to petrify. The petrification immediately spread to the Green Light Stone as well and within seconds, there was a creaking noise as it completely shattered. With the light source gone, darkness set upon the area once again. The petrification of his arm was already encroaching his shoulder.

Hajime clicked his tongue and took out a bottle of sacred water from his holster; which was made from wires of magic beast fur, and drank it in one gulp. As expected, the petrification came to halt, and the petrified part returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

“How dare you do this!” While cursing inwardly, he took out a 【Flash Grenade】 from his waist pack and tossed it towards the golden-eyed lizard. At the same time, over in the darkness, those golden eyes started to shine once again. Hajime didn’t appear to care as he instantly retreated from the area by using 【Ground Shrink】.

Then changes appeared on the boulder behind where Hajime originally stood, and subsequently, it crumbled as if it has been weathered. It seems to possess considerably powerful Evil Eyes of Petrification! In RPG terms, this is probably a Basilisk.

While thinking of such things, Hajime pulled out Donner and held it up before his eyes, shielding his closed eyes. And “Bang!” The surroundings was bathed in an intense light, painting their vision with light.

“Ku-ua!?”

Perhaps it had never experienced such an intense light up till date, the figure of a disoriented Basilisk emerged in the darkness. Hajime fired without hesitation. The tremendous power hidden within the bullet without aiming, bore into the Basilisk’s head and pulverized its skull, completely ravaging the insides. The bullet pierced through the head left a deep hole on the wall and “Shuuu~”, leaving behind the sound of burning rocks.

As a result of the electromagnetic acceleration, the location that was struck was emitting high temperatures. This is probably the power of the Taur Stone which strengthens when heated.

Hajime while still keeping a lookout on his surroundings, approached the Basilisk, quickly tore off its flesh and retreated from that location. As expected, it is impossible to leisurely eat when faced with such a situation where he was practically blind. For now, Hajime chose to continue exploring.

～～～～～～～～～

Hajime kept walking in the darkness. Despite feeling as if he had continuously searched for several tens of hours, yet the staircase leading down was still nowhere in sight. Along the way, he has defeated many magic beasts and collected many ores and it was gradually becoming an inconvenience to carry. Thus, Hajime decided to construct a base.

After finding a suitable spot, he place his hand on the wall and began transmuting. There wasn’t any particular problems opening up a hole in the wall, and he went even deeper into the passage. Hajime continued to transmute and a six tatami space was formed. ⌈¹⌋ Then, taking out a bluish-white crystal the size of a basketball from his backpack, he attached it to a dent in the wall. What was taken out, was the God Crystal. He also set up a container below it to collect the droplets of water.

By the way. Hajime named the God Crystal as 【Potion Stone】, and the Sacred Water as 【Potion】. It is indeed a representation of restorative medicine in games, but due to the vast differences in effects, it is rather pathetic for it to be simply called a potion.

“Well, then, time to eat.”

Hajime took out the meat from the container (made with transmutation) in his backpack. Using 【Lightning Clad】, he cooked it evenly. Today’s menu included: Whole Roast Basilisk, Whole Roast Owl; which fires its feathers like a shotgun, and Whole Roast six-legged Cat. With no seasoning.

“Itadakimasu~” ⌈²⌋

While eating with munching sounds, pain began to gradually course through his body. That is to say, his body has been strengthened. If that was the case, it means that the magic beasts here possess strength equal or higher than that of the Talon Bear. The combination of the dark environment and unique magic will definitely prove to be a problem. But Hajime’s true feelings were that, as long as a shot from Donner hits, everything will be smashed into smithereens.

Hajime continued to eat while ignoring the pain and drinking Sacred Water. The continuous pain starting from the phantom pain had made Hajime extremely resistant to pain.

“Chomp, Fu~u. I’m done. Now then, my status……”

While saying that, Hajime took out his status plate. Hajime’s current status is……

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	23
Strength:	450	Vitality:	550
Resistance:	350	Agility:	550
Magic Power:	500	Magic Resistance:	500
Skills:
Transmutation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Transmutation] [+Mineral Investigation] [+Mineral Separation] [+Mineral Fusion] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] • Air Claw • Night Vision • Presence Perception • Petrification Resistance • Language Comprehension

There was a substantial rise just as expected. Even the number of skills in the skills column increased by three. Looking around carefully, he could certainly see further into the surroundings as compared to before. It appears to be the effects of 【Night Vision】.

Since the magic beasts of the abyss had faint presences, it is incredibly advantageous in this level. ⌈³⌋

Lastly, was the literal skill. Regrettably, Basilisk’s unique ability was 【Resistance】 and not 【Petrify】. “Evil Eyes of Petrification! Sounds kind of cool……” Hajime was slightly disappointed.

Then, Hajime began transmuting to replenish his consumables. Creating even a single bullet required immense concentration. At any rate, it is an ultra precise product. The rifling carved on Donner was meaningless if the size was not a perfect match. The amount of compressed explosives permit no room for errors. Therefore, producing a single bullet took nearly thirty minutes. Even he himself considered it a job well done and was amazed by the display of extraordinary strength by humans facing death.

Although it was time-consuming, its power was undisputed and since he could also greatly increase his proficiency of transmutation at the same time, there was nothing to complain about. Thanks to his skills, removing the impurities within the minerals has become an easy task, and conversely, even fusion could be easily done. In reality, Hajime’s transmutation skills now is comparable to the top Synergists of the Kingdom.

Hajime kept on transmuting silently. Besides, he has only descended one level. It was impossible to estimate how much deeper this abyss stretches. He planned to set out to search immediately after finishing transmuting for the sake of returning home even a little bit earlier. There was no point in lingering around. In the lonely abyss, the God Crystal’s pale light illuminated Hajime’s resolute expression, who is just beginning his Dungeon capturing journey.

Other than using transmutation at his base to replenish his consumables at times, Hajime was constantly on the move. Taking a short rest during his search of the vast dungeon, he have no idea how long had passed. With help from 【Night Vision】, he no longer had to worry about the darkness and with 【Presence Perception】, he was able to sense any magic beasts within a ten meter radius. Hajime advanced his search quickly.

Then, the stairs leading to the lower floor was finally discovered, which Hajime unhesitantly descended.

On this level, the ground was entirely covered in tar like a sticky swamp. Since it stuck to the legs, it was dreadfully hard to move. Hajime frowned as he used the protruding rocks or 【Aerodynamic】as footholds and began his search.

While using the 【Mineral Investigation】skill to examine the surrounding minerals while advancing, he discovered a very interesting mineral en route.

Flame Ore A black shiny ore. It becomes tarry when heated. Its melting point is at 50 Degree Celsius, incidentally, its tar form ignites at 100 Degree Celsius, reaching up to temperatures of 3000 Degree Celsius. The burning duration depends on the amount of tar present.

“……No way”

Hajime’s expression stiffened into a smile as he slowly lifted his legs. Then having stepped several times on the tarry substance that covered the entire level just now, the semi-liquid dripped from Hajime’s shoes with a wet sloppy sound.

“Fi-Firearms are out……”

Considering its ignition temperature at one hundred degrees, it probably wouldn’t catch fire that easily. If it ignites, the chain reaction will cause the entire level to be engulfed in high temperatures of three thousand Degree Celsius. In that case, he wasn’t confident that he could survive even with his stockpile of Sacred Water.

“Both railgun and 【Lightning Clad】can’t be used……”

Donner is a powerful weapon. Even without electromagnetic acceleration, just the explosive made from the Combustion Stone alone, displayed more than enough power. However, that was the case for ordinary magic beasts only. For example, against the Skeleton Soldier, it will be enough without electromagnetic acceleration and even towards Behemoth, it is expected to deal decent damage, but the magic beasts of this abyss are abnormal. The magic beasts upstairs doesn’t appear to be only at the level of an ordinary monster. Therefore, would the magic beasts of this level be taken down simply with the power of explosives…..?

Putting aside that sort of anxiety, the corners of Hajime’s lips lifted.

“Come, it doesn’t change what I’m going to do anyway. Kill and Devour.”

With both his railgun and 【Lightning Clad】 in a sealed state, Hajime restarted his exploration.

Advancing for a while, he reached a three-forked road. Following the theory of leaving a mark on the nearby wall, he stepped forward planning to explore the left passage.

At that instant, Gachin!

“——!?”

With rows of countless sharp teeth lining its opened huge jaws, a shark-like magic beast jumped out from within the tar. Aimed at Hajime’s head, the jaws snapped shut as a resounding sound of teeth striking each other was produced. Although Hajime managed to dodge by bending his body at once, he shuddered.

(【Presence Perception】 didn’t react!)

Well, ever since he obtained the 【Presence Perception】 skill, he had kept it continuously active. He should have been able to detect any living thing within a ten meter radius without fail. Despite that, he completely couldn’t sense the shark from a moment ago until just before it attacked.

Missing its bite on Hajime, the shark dived into the tar with a Plop and disappeared once more.

(Damn, as expected, its presence can’t be grasped!)

Hajime gnashed his teeth at the incomprehensible situation. At any rate, to prevent any damage, Hajime resumed his movements using 【Aerodynamic】. ⌈⁴⌋

Almost as if waiting for that instant, the shark jumped out once again.

“Don’t look down on me!”

Hajime somersaulted in the air, and fired towards the shark which was passing overhead in his inverted field of vision. The bullet released from Donner which was meant to tear apart its foes cut through the air and accurately landed on the back of the shark with exquisite timing.

However,

“****! It was repelled!”

The moment the bullet hit was as if striking rubber, the shark’s skin depressed and easily reflected the bullet. It seems like the shark’s skin has the property of Physical Impact Mitigation.

“Grr!”

Thinking that it was natural for it to dive back into the tar after passing through, the shark made an astounding movement. Landing for a single instant, the shark turned around and leapt towards Hajime again. ⌈⁵⌋ Hajime somehow managed to dodge by twisting his body, but his side has been lightly gouged. The impact causing Hajime to fall into the tar. Despite having his entire body dyed pitched black, he hurriedly got up and skipped into the air once more. Immediately following that, the shark’s jaws materialized directly below where Hajime stepped out from, and with a loud Bakun!, snapped shut.

Cold sweat began to flow from Hajime who was skipping in the air using 【Aerodynamic】. Nevertheless, despite being driven to a corner, his lips had his usual fearless smile.

“Bring it on!”

Using 【Aerodynamic】 again, Hajime bounded in the air, never stopping at any location while waiting for the attacking moment. Fully demonstrating his concentration during his transmutation training, the surrounding landscape gradually faded out of sight.
(……It’s not a problem to be unable to detect its presence. I didn’t have this skill initially either. Even if I can’t sense its presence, it will definitely be there at that instant it attacks)

Hajime was so focused on his thoughts while jumping that he accidentally lost his balance. The shark didn’t miss this opportunity and instantly leapt from a blind spot at the back.

“Saved by your simplicity!”

Hajime who was supposed to have lost his balance immediately righted himself and fended off the attacking shark with a mid-air side flip while swinging Donner which was in his right hand.

In the next moment, the shark was spraying blood from a deep cut on its side as it fell into the tar. The shark splashed about in the tar as it struggled in agony.

Hajime’s deliberate act of losing his balance and exposing his back was to provide the time, place and opportunity and incite an attack. Then, wrapping Donner in the Talon Bear’s unique magic 【Air Claw】, he tore it apart.

Hajime approached the squirming shark and swung Donner down at its head. 【Air Claw】 cleanly bisected the shark’s head. Though he wasn’t able to form three Air Claws like the Talon Bear, its sharpness has far surpassed that of famous swords. It is a truly reliable unique magic for close quarters.

“Now then, let’s confirm the reason why its presence can’t be detected?”

Hajime said that while licking his lips.

After that, the shark meat was removed and stored before continuing with the exploration, and finally, the staircase leading down was discovered.

～～～～～～～～～～～

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	24
Strength:	450	Vitality:	550
Resistance:	400	Agility:	550
Magic Power:	500	Magic Resistance:	500
Skills:
Transmutation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Transmutation] [+Mineral Investigation] [+Mineral Separation] [+Mineral Fusion] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] • Air Claw • Night Vision • Presence Perception • Hide Presence • Petrification Resistance • Language Comprehension

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References:

Fun facts – Celsius is supposedly the name of a scientist on Earth, so how do the otherworder know him or that term?

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Going back a little in time.

In one of the rooms provided to the summoned people within the Royal Palace of the Hairihi Kingdom, Yaegashi Shizuku watched over her best friend who was still asleep, with a gloomy mood. It has already been five days since that day where they experienced loss as well as a life or death struggle in the dungeon.

After that incident, the party stayed overnight at inn town Holward, before returning to the Kingdom in high speed horse carriages early next morning. It was simply impossible to continue live combat training in the dungeon with this kind of atmosphere. Though he was said to be incompetent, it was still the death of a hero’s compatriot after all, hence, it was necessary to report to the King and the Church. Besides, although it is harsh, it will be troublesome if they broke down in a place like this. It has been decided that the hero party needed to be cared for before any fatal impairment occurs.

Recalling the incident after returning to the kingdom, although Shizuku wished for Kaori to wake up soon, at the same time, she also felt that it was good for her to remain sleeping. When the news of Hajime’s death was reported, although each and every one of the kingdom’s people was appalled, they also breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Hajime was that “incompetent”. Even the King and Ishtar were the same. Such an incident of a death in the Dungeon within the hero party who possess powerful strength. It will be troublesome if unrest starts spreading of how they, who couldn’t even survive the Dungeon, would be able to defeat Demons. The hero party, to be worthy of the name God’s Apostles, must be invincible.

However, the King and Ishtar would have been considered sensible, whereas those who viewed Hajime unfavourably spoke ill of him. Naturally, they didn’t state it publicly, but that was the feeling given off as the aristocrats gossiped sneakily in the shadows. ‘Thank god the incompetent was the one to die, such a useless dead weight despite being a God’s Apostle, of course he died’, speaking ill of him completely as they please. Towards such acts of insulting the dead, there were many times when Shizuku was on the verge succumbing to her anger and taking action.

In fact, it wasn’t strange for Kouki, who had a strong sense of justice, to be the first to fly into rage and vehemently protested. The King and the Church judged that it would be unwise to leave a bad impression and hence punished those who had verbally abused Hajime…… On the contrary, the rumors of Kouki being a kind hero who was heartbroken over the death of an incompetent spread like wild fire. In the end, Kouki’s reputation rose while the assessment that Hajime was an incompetent who simply brought trouble to the heroes failed to overturn.

At that time, the one who saved them was unquestionably Hajime, single-handedly holding back the monster even the heroes couldn’t stand against. To think that it was a stray bullet fired by someone among his classmates that drove him to his death.

It was almost as if the class has planned beforehand, but no one talked about the misfire that had happened. They should have been confident of their own magic, but at that time, with that countless magic raging like a tempest, thinking that “if by any chance, it was my magic”, they just couldn’t bring up the topic. That is, it would mean that they themself was the murderer.

In the end, as if escaping from reality, began to think that the cause was due to Hajime’s own clumsiness. The dead can’t speak. Rather than blindly searching for the culprit, everyone would not be so troubled if it was simply Hajime suffering the consequences of his own actions. The classmates’ opinions were so consistent that they achieved a mutual understanding without even having any form of communication.

Commander Meld considered the need to question the students in order to clarify the details of that incident. However, with the students trying to escape from reality, it would be difficult for them to think of it as a simple misfire. Even if it was due to negligence, he was convinced that the psychological care for the students will clearly prove guilt and innocence. If this is left unanswered, it would become a problem to address later. More importantly, Meld himself wanted to clear it up. Unable to save Hajime who was uttering ‘help’, Commander Meld was similarly heartbroken.

However, Commander Meld’s actions did not come to be. Ishtar has banned all investigations regarding the students. Commander Meld insisted, but couldn’t resist as even the King forbidden it.

“If you knew this…… will you be angry?”

Shizuku muttered while holding the hand of Kaori who hasn’t awaken even once since that day. According to the doctor’s diagnosis, her body was completely fine, but her deep sleep was probably defensive measures to protect her mind from the psychological shock. Thus, as time passes, she would naturally awaken.

Grasping Kaori’s hand, Shizuku prayed to no one in particular, “Please don’t hurt my kind-hearted best friend any more than this”

At this time, Kaori’s tightly clutched hand twitched.

“…!? Kaori! Can you hear me?! Kaori!”

Shizuku desperately called out. Kaori’s shut eyelids began to quiver. Shizuku appealed again. In response to that voice, Kaori’s hand returned Shizuku’s grip. Kaori then slowly opened her eyes.

“Kaori!”

“…… Shizuku-chan?”

Leaning her body forward over the bed, tears dwelled in the corners of Shizuku’s eyes as she looked down at Kaori. Looking at her surroundings with eyes which has yet to clear, finally, her brain started up again and Kaori focused on Shizuku who was overlooking her and calling out her name.

“Yeah, right. It’s me. Kaori, how’s your body? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Though I’m a little sluggish…… it’s probably due to sleep……”

“Well, sleeping for five days…… is tiring, I guess”

Shizuku gave a strained laugh as she helped Kaori up, telling her how much she had slept. Kaori’s reaction was

“Five days? So long…… why…… I, am sure I was in the Dungeon…… and……”

Seeing those eyes that were gradually losing focus, Shizuku thought that it was inopportune and tried to change topics. However, Kaori was faster, and recovered her memories.

“So then…… Ah…………………………. Nagumo-kun?”

“Tsu~…… that is”

Shizuku revealed a bitter expression, troubled over how she should break the news. Shizuku’s appearance, coupled with her own memories, made her realize the reality of the tragedy. Yet, Kaori wasn’t able to easily accept the truth.

“…… It’s a lie, right? Shizuku-chan. After I fainted, Nagumo-kun was saved too, yeah? Isn’t that right? Here, is a room in the castle? Everyone’s back right? Is Nagumo-kun…… training? He should be at the training grounds? Nn…… I’m going out for a little while to go thank Nagumo-kun…… so, let go of your hands? Shizuku-chan.”

Escaping from reality, Kaori spun word after word, wanting to go look for Hajime. Shizuku kept her grip on Kaori’s arm. Shizuku had a sorrowful expression, but still stared resolutely at Kaori.

“…… Kaori. You understand right?…… He’s not here anymore”

“Stop……”

“It’s just as Kaori remembers.”

“Stop it……”

“He is, Nagumo-kun is……”

“No, stop it…… don’t say anymore!”

“Kaori! He’s dead!”

“That’s wrong! He didn’t die! There is absolutely no such thing! Why are you saying such outrageous things! Even Shizuku-chan is not allowed to!”

Denying and shaking her head, Kaori struggled to escape from Shizuku’s restraint. Shizuku absolutely refused to separate and tightly hugged her, trying to warm Kaori’s frozen heart.

“Let go! Let me go~! I have to go find Nagumo-kun! Please…… he must still be alive…… let me go~”

Before they knew it, Kaori was sobbing with her head buried in Shizuku’s chest while crying “Let go”. Clinging in an embrace, she wailed her throat hoarse. Shizuku could do nothing but hug her best friend close, hoping that doing so would somewhat lessen the pain in her wounded heart.

How long were they in that position, the bright sky illuminated by the setting sun could be seen, dyeing it crimson. Kaori stirred from Shizuku’s arms while sniffing. Shizuku anxiously asked Kaori.

“Kaori……”

“…… Shizuku-chan…… Nagumo-kun…… fell…… and is no longer here……”

Like a whisper, Kaori’s murmuring voice seemed like it might just disappear any time. Shizuku didn’t beat around the bush. Glossing it over with sugary words and whispers might provide temporary relief. However, in the end, it will simply return an irreparable wound later. Above all, she didn’t want to see her best friend hurt any further.

“That’s right.”

“At that time, Nagumo-kun was likely hit by one of our magic…… who was it?”

“I don’t know. Nobody wants to touch on the things of that time. It’s scary to think about it. Supposedly, what if it was me who……”

“I see.”

“Would you hate me?”

“……. I don’t know. If I knew who…… I would definitely resent. But…… since I have no idea…… it’s probably better. Surely, I wouldn’t be able to control my feelings……”

“So……”

Kaori hung her head and intermittently conversed. Eventually, Kaori rubbed her eyes which had turned red and raised her face to look at Shizuku. Then, she resolutely declared.

“Shizuku-chan, I, don’t believe. Nagumo-kun is still alive. I don’t believe he’s dead.”

“Kaori, that is……”

Shizuku once again, had a pained expression at Kaori’s words and wanted to persuade her. However, Kaori wrapped her hands around Shizuku’s cheeks and said with a smile.

“I know. It’s strange to think that someone can be alive after that kind of fall……. Even so, it’s not confirmed. The chances might be less than one percent, but as long as it’s still not confirmed, it’s not zero……. I, want to believe.”

“Kaori……”

“I, will become even stronger. Strong enough to protect even if faced with this situation again, until I confirm with my own eyes. The thing about Nagumo-kun……. Shizuku-chan.”

“What is it?”

“Please lend me your strength.”

“……”

Shizuku fixedly stared into Kaori’s eyes which were gazing back. There was neither a shred of insanity nor escapism in those eyes, dwelling in it was simply the pure will of refusing to give up till she’s convinced. Kaori is unyielding when she becomes like that. Even Kaori’s family have troubles dealing with this stubborn person, let alone Shizuku.

Usually, the possibility that Kaori brought up could just be reduced to zero percent and discarded. It’s perfectly normal to think of someone who believes that anyone could survive a fall into the abyss as escaping from reality. Perhaps most of the people including Ryutaro and childhood friend Kouki would try to rectify Kaori’s thinking. That’s why……

“Of course I will. I’ll accompany you till you’re satisfied.”

“Shizuku-chan!”

Kaori hugged Shizuku, “Thank you!” and repeated her thanks. “There’s no need for thanks, we are best friends right?” No matter how you looked, Shizuku was like a gentleman. Her title of modern-day Female Samurai wasn’t just for show.

At that time, the room door suddenly opened.

“Shizuku! Has Kaori…… awaken……”

“Oh, how is…… Kaori……”

It was Kouki and Ryutaro who probably came to check on Kaori. Coming over in training clothes, they were dirty all over. Since that day, the two of them has been devoting their bodies into training, with Hajime’s death weighing on their minds. After all, they hesitated to retreat and got the tables turned on them. The one who saved them from the verge of being instantly wiped out was Hajime. Not wanting to expose such a unsightly display ever again, they appeared to have gained considerable fighting spirit.

These two people, was now, stiffened at the room’s entrance. A surprised Shizuku asked.

“You guys, what……”

“So-Sorry!”

“Did, Didn’t mean to bother!”

Shizuku’s question was swallowed by the words before she could even finish. Giving off the feeling of seeing something they shouldn’t have, they left the room in a panic. Seeing the two, Kaori also had a blank look. However, the sharp Shizuku realized the reason.

Kaori was currently sitting on Shizuku’s lap, and holding Shizuku’s cheeks in her hands, their faces close enough to be kissing any time soon. As for Shizuku, in order to support Kaori, had her arms around Kaori’s slender waist and shoulder, appearing like in an embrace.

In other words, an intense Yuri scene was completed. If this was in a manga, the background will be filled with lilies in full bloom.

Shizuku let out a deep sigh. Sending a sidelong glance towards Kaori who still had a blank look and have yet to take in the situation, she shouted.

“Come back quickly! You idiots!”

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1. N/a

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“Munch, Munch… Rabbit meat is just as nasty…”

Currently, Hajime was in his base hungrily munching on rabbit meat. Yes, it was the meat of the Kicking Rabbit. The master of kicking techniques which once scoffed and looked down on him, has now become nothing but food. Hajime was expecting the rabbit meat to taste somewhat better, but it was magic beast’s meat after all. It was unappetizing as usual.

Nonetheless, the entire beast was completely eaten up. After obtaining 【Iron Stomach】, Hajime felt that he was able to eat as much as he likes. Especially since using unique magic increases his hunger by a large extent, and having used it when he was killing the Kicking Rabbit, it was considered an equivalent exchange. He probably wouldn’t die since there was the sacred water, but if used excessively, the sense of hunger would strike again, making it important to think carefully before using.

By the way, the Kicking Rabbit was defeated by laying a trap. Starting by drawing water from the stream and then leading the Kicking Rabbit to the scattered water, the moment it was on the water, a burst of electric shock from the maximum output of 【Lightning Clad】 struck. With its whole body blowing out fumes, it charged as usual. Weakened from the lightning attack, it was directly shot down by Donner.

As expected, it was impossible to avoid the electromagnetically accelerated bullets travelling at 3.2 kilometer per second, its life ended with its head blown into smithereens.

“Well, first time eating the meat of the Kicking Rabbit… My status…”

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	12
Strength:	200	Vitality:	300
Resistance:	200	Agility:	400
Magic Power:	350	Magic Resistance:	350
Skills:
Transmutation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Transmutation] [+Mineral Investigation] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] • Language Comprehension

As before, eating the meat of magic beasts will cause his status to rise. Considering how eating Twin-tailed Wolves now practically doesn’t increase his status, it will probably have a huge increase if he ate a magic beast that he has never eaten before.

He immediately checked out what 【Divine Step】 does. First picturing an image of the Kicking Rabbit kicking off the ground, focusing on a speed so fast, its body appeared blurred. Alongside Divine Step was the skill [+Ground Shrink] that was together with it. Speaking of Ground Shrink, it is a famous high speed movement on Earth.

Imagining an explosion under his feet, Hajime kicked off all at once. His body’s magic instantly gathered under his feet, causing a depression where his feet had stepped… Hajime flew out, diving face-first into the wall.

“Ouch——!? A-Adjusting this is hard…”

Nonetheless, a success was a success. If he continued to train after this, it seems he will be able to move like the Kicking Rabbit. Combined with his gun techniques, making it an even stronger weapon.

Next was [+Aerodynamic]. However, it wasn’t readily invoked. With only its name, it was difficult to understand what kind of skill it was. While testing around, Hajime recalled how the Kicking Rabbit was able to create footholds in the air. Hajime immediately imagined stepping onto an invisible shield in the air and then, he jumped forward, diving face-first into the ground.

“Guoooo!?”

He writhed in pain while pressing his hand into his face. After writhing for awhile, his pain subsided and he drank sacred water with a disappointed expression.

“…Well, it more or less succeeded…”

The reason he fell head-first in his forward leap was due to the half-baked foothold. In short, he stumbled and fell. [+Aerodynamic] is undoubtedly an unique magic which creates footholds in the air.

With unique magic Divine Step and its derivation skills, it somehow felt like he had gained two unique magic at one go. Hajime began training in that special mood. His target was the Talon Bear. A long distance shot could probably work, but just in case, he trained. The possibility of an unexpected monster even stronger than that magic beast appearing couldn’t be denied. In the dungeon, optimists would be the first to die. Defeat the Talon Bear and search for this level’s exit.

Hajime renewed his fighting spirit.

～～～～～～～～～～

In the dungeon passage was the figure of a blurred shadow moving at high speeds.

It’s Hajime. Hajime has completely mastered Divine Step, running on the ground and walls with Ground Shrink, occasionally making footholds with Aerodynamic, he repeatedly searched for his nemesis, the Talon Bear, using high speed movements. Originally, priority should be given towards looking for an exit, but Hajime wanted the Talon Bear dead at all cost. With his once broken spirit recovered, he couldn’t help but want to try if he was still able to battle precisely before that monster’s very eyes.

“Guruua!”

On the way, he encountered a pack of Twin-tailed Wolves, and one of them lunged at him. Hajime was calm, he somersaulted on the spot while pulling out Donner which was secured to his right thigh with transmuted wire and fired.

Bang!

Boom!

The sound of dry combustible powder exploding rang out, the bullet electromagnetically accelerated by 【Lightning Clad】, accurately pulverizing the head of the first wolf. Leaping again using 【Aerodynamic】 while still in the air, he fired consecutive shots at the charging wolves. Though not all the shots hit, he somehow managed to kill all of them before the bullets ran out.

Holding Donner under the armpit of his missing left arm, Hajime quickly reloaded and without even taking a look at the corpses of the fallen wolves, he once again broke into a run.

After a while of instant kills whenever he encountered the Kicking Rabbit and Twin-tailed Wolves, he finally discovered the shadow of his nemesis. The Talon Bear appears to be having a meal, chewing on what seems like a Kicking Rabbit. Confirming that figure, with a broad grin and a fearless laugh, Hajime leisurely walked out.

The Talon Bear is the strongest species on this level and could be called a Lord. There were many Twin-tailed Wolves and Kicking Rabbits living here, but only this one Talon Bear. Therefore, the Talon Bear was this level’s unrivalled strongest. Understanding that, the other magic beasts paid careful attention not to encounter the Talon Bear, even if they really met the Talon Bear, they would escape at full speed without even resisting. Much less an impossible task like voluntarily going towards it.

But now, that impossible thing has happened.

“Yo, Talon Bear. It has been a while. Was my arm delicious?”

The Talon Bear narrowed its sharp glint. What is this creature before me? Why is it not showing its back before me? Why is its body not cowering in fear, its eyes not reflecting despair? Faced with a situation it has never encountered before, even the Talon Bear was somewhat baffled.

“It’s a revenge match. First, I’ll have you understand that I’m your enemy and not your prey.”

Saying that, Hajime pulled out Donner and pointed the muzzle directly at the Talon Bear. While in that stance, he questioned his heart. “Is it scary?” The answer is no. His eyes did not become dark with despair, neither was he trembling in fear. There was only, the pure desire to survive and to kill the enemy.

The ends of Hajime’s lips naturally lifted, making a ferocious smile.

“Kill and Devour.”

Simultaneously with that declaration, Hajime fired Donner. Bang! An explosive sound resounded as the Taur Stone bullet travelling at a super speed of 3.2 kilometer per second approached the Talon Bear.

“Guuu!?”

The Talon Bear immediately threw itself on the ground to evade. It didn’t dodge after sighting the bullet, the evading measures was even slightly before the gun discharge, perhaps a natural reaction in response to Hajime’s bloodlust. As expected from this level’s strongest Lord. That reaction speed didn’t match its huge body of over two meter. However, it wasn’t able to dodge completely and a portion of its shoulder was gouged out, staining its white fur with blood.

Anger dwelled in the Talon Bear’s eyes, it seemed like it had recognized Hajime as an ‘enemy’.

“Gaaaa!!”

Raising a roar as it charged at a staggering speed, even the earth trembled as it extended a thick, long paw from that huge two meter body. Its approaching figure gave off an overwhelming intensity.

“Haha! That’s right! I’m an enemy! Not an ordinary prey you can simply hunt!”

Despite being in the midst of that immense pressure exerted by the Talon Bear, yet, Hajime’s fearless smile didn’t even falter. Here is the turning point. Hajime’s left arm was eaten, his spirit broken, his change of heart, he was going to eliminate the magic beast which was the cause of all this. This is an essential ritual in order for him to move on after this. Hajime was convinced that if he didn’t do this now, his heart would surely “give in”.

Hajime fired again towards the charging Talon Bear. Just as the super speed bullet aimed between the Talon Bear’s brows was about to hit, the charging Talon Bear dodged aside. No matter how he looked at it, that reaction and its large size still didn’t match.

The Talon Bear timed its attack and swung its paw by making use of the power from the rush. It seemed to have invoked inherent magic as its three claws appeared to be slightly distorted. In Hajime’s mind, the memory of the Kicking Rabbit being bisected despite having already dodged those claws resurfaced. Hajime barely avoided by stepping back with his full power.

Instantly, claws coupled with a strong gust passed through where Hajime was at just moments ago, though it didn’t connect, three deep claw marks were engraved on the ground. The Talon Bear irritated at its prey escaping, roared. But at that moment, “Cling! Cling! Cling!”, it was sound of something rolling over to the Talon Bear’s feet. Lured by the sound, the Talon Bear turned its gazed towards its feet and found a rolling dark green ball-shaped object about five centimeter in diameter. The moment the Talon Bear became aware of it, that object flared up, releasing intense light.

That was a 【Flash Grenade】 Hajime made. The principle was simple, pouring magic into the Green Light Stone until it was just short of its limits, then applying a thin surface coating in order to prevent the light from escaping. Furthermore, compacting and inserting the combustible powder from the crushed Combustion Stone at the center part, the combustible powder connects the inside to the surface like a fuse. Then igniting the combustible powder that was sticking out on the surface using 【Lightning Clad】, the compressed powder will slowly catch fire until it arrives at the center and explodes. As the light had already been accumulated to its limits, after breaking the Green Light Stone, it will emit intense brilliance. By the way, the time from ignition to explosion had been adjusted to three seconds through considerable hardships, and was his prided gem.

Of course, the Talon Bear did not know of such a weapon and looked into the flash, temporarily losing its vision. Recklessly swinging its two paws as it impatiently roared. It appeared to be in panic from that strange condition of not being able to see anything.

Hajime didn’t miss this chance, immediately aiming and firing Donner again. The tremendous power of the electromagnetically accelerated bullet hit the left shoulder raging Talon Bear’s, blowing the entire arm off.

“Guruaaaaa!!!”

That immense pain which it had never once experienced before in its lifetime, the Claw Bear let out a dreadful shriek. A large amount of blood spouted out from its shoulder like a water fountain. The left arm which had been blown off spun round and round as if dancing in the air, before finally losing its momentum and falling to the ground.

“Even though it’s coincidence, but this is just too good.”

It was not Hajime’s plan to aim at that left arm. He still hasn’t mastered gun handling to that extent yet. After fighting against the straightforward charging Twin-tailed Wolves over and over again, he was unfamiliar with the movements of a recklessly raging target, making pinpoint shooting even harder. Therefore, it was completely by chance that Hajime has taken away the very same left arm that was once taken from him and eaten.

Hajime once again fired at the rampaging Talon Bear whose sight had not recovered and was in pain. Even when confused, the Talon Bear’s feral instincts reacted to the killing intent as it evaded to the side. Using 【Ground Shrink】 to pass by the Talon Bear, Hajime moved back where the left arm has fallen. Then, the Talon Bear which had slightly recovered stared at Hajime, who was raising and displaying its left arm, with eyes filled with immense fury.

Then, he deliberately bit into it. Like a feeding magic beast, blindly using his strong and powerful jaws to shred and chew the meat. Just like how the Talon Bear once did, the nightmare where your own arm being eaten right before your very eyes was reproduced.

“Ahhm, munch, the meat tastes as nasty as ever… but I wonder why does it feel tastier than other meat?”

While saying that, Hajime became cautious of the crouching Talon Bear which was glaring over. The Talon Bear didn’t move. Its eyes were not clouded with fear despite in a situation where a part of its body was being eaten, it seemed like it would not make any careless movements before it regained its vision.

Regardless of the situation, Hajime continued his meal. Before long, an abnormal change occurred. Just like the first time he ever ate magic beast meat, a fierce pain began to pulsate.

“Ugh——!”

Hajime hurriedly drank sacred water. Though the pain was not as severe as that time, he still found himself down on one knee, his face distorted from the intense pain. It appears that the Talon Bear was special as compared to the Twin-tailed Wolf or Kicking Rabbit, that pain was generated as a result of taking in a large amount of power.

However, the Talon Bear couldn’t care less about such circumstances. Seeing an opportunity, it roared and rushed. The crouching Hajime didn’t move. Just as history was about to repeat itself, with the Talon Bear trampling over him, Hajime’s mouth broke into a smile.

Pressing his right hand straight onto the ground as he wrapped his hand in lightning, he released a maximum output 【Lightning Clad】. It travelled through the liquid on the ground surface to where the Talon Bear was, mercilessly striking it.

The liquid on the surface of the ground was the blood of the Talon Bear. Like a water fountain, it had scattered a sea of blood. After picking up the Talon Bear’s left paw, Hajime had violently displayed it in order to scatter the spilling blood, connecting their respective locations with a pool of blood. Eating during a fight was nothing more than a show he had put on on a whim. Having that pain assault him after eating the Talon Bear was unexpected, but his original intention was to lay down a trap. Deliberately eating before its eyes was in order to fuel its anger, causing it to charge over. Of course, this plan was somewhat crazy, but as long as he achieved the desired result, all was fine.

The moment it stepped into its own pool of blood, an intense current and voltage instantly overran its body. Nerves were destroyed, flesh was burnt. As for maximum output, the unique magic that Hajime obtained was incomparable to the original. He was unable to release lightning attacks like the Twin-tailed Wolf, and his output was only half that of the wolf. However, it was still more than enough to cause temporary paralysis. Incidentally, if this power is directed towards humans, it wouldn’t be strange for their blood to boil.

“Groooowl”

The Talon Bear let out a low growl as it collapsed into its blood pool, causing a tremor to run through the ground. It glowered at Hajime, with eyes still full of sharp killing intent.

Hajime returned a straight stare as he endured the pain and slowly stood up. Then, pulling Donner out from its holster to put an end to all this, he pushed the muzzle against the Talon Bear’s head.

“Become my food.”

Those words were accompanied by the pulling of the trigger. The shot bullets executed their master’s will faithfully, pulverizing the Talon Bear’s head.

The gunshot echoed within the dungeon. The Talon Bear did not avert its eyes up till the very end, neither did Hajime.

It wasn’t as refreshing as he imagined. But, neither was it futile. It was simply something that must be done. For the sake of survival, in order to earn the rights to live in this area.

Hajime simply closed his eyes and faced his inner-self once again. Then, he reaffirmed his determination for survival. I dislike fighting. I want to avoid pain. I want to eat till I’m full. And… I want to live. Shatter the unreasonable, no mercy for anything hostile, everything is for the sake of survival.

Continuing to live like this… then… I want to go home. The inner depths of his heart appealed.

“Right… I want… to go back. The others can do as they like. I will go back using my own methods. Fulfilling my wish. Whoever hinders me, no matter what kind of existence…”

Eyes widened, Hajime’s mouth lifted into a fearless smile.

“KILL!”

～～～～～～～～～～

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	17
Strength:	300	Vitality:	400
Resistance:	300	Agility:	450
Magic Power:	400	Magic Resistance:	400
Skills:
Transmutation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Transmutation] [+Mineral Investigation] [+Mineral Separation] [+Mineral Fusion] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] • Air Claw • Language Comprehension

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1. N/a

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In the darkness, the green light stone dimly illuminated the surroundings.

The light reflected a slight shadow, it was that of a beast, crouching and desperately chewing on something.

“Eww~ Blegh, this is damn nasty!”

Hajime cursed as he ate the meat of the twin-tailed wolf. Shredding the meat which consist of mostly tough muscles with his teeth, he desperately swallowed while dripping blood. It has been approximately two weeks since his last meal, and being suddenly thrown meat, his stomach protested violently, assaulting him with a gripping pain. However, Hajime simply treated it as a usual occurrence and continued to gulp down the meat.

The appearance matched that of a savage completely, and any modern human would find his current state extremely disgusting. Though the repulsive smell and terrible taste brought tears to his eyes, he was intoxicated in the feeling of his hunger being satisfied. Hajime had never ever thought that such a simple act of eating could bring him such happiness, as he continued to eat ecstatically.

Treating sacred water as a drink to wash down all the meat that he has had (if the Saint’s Church’s followers got wind of this, they would surely faint at this extravagance), his stomach began to swell and his body experienced abnormal changes.

“Ah? …!? Guaaaaaa!!!”

His entire body was suddenly struck with severe pain, it was an extremely unpleasant feeling as if he was being eroded from the inside of his body. The pain only intensified as time passed.

“Guaaaaaa! What, What’s this…. Guuuuuu!”

Unbearable pain eating away at his body. Hajime thrashed around on the ground, it was a pain so severe that it even blew away the phantom pain.

Retrieving a test tube shaped container made from stone out of his bosom with a trembling hand, he chewed through one end and drank all its contents. The sacred water’s effects activated and lessened the pain, but it didn’t take long before the intense pain struck again.

“Ahhhh!! Why is it… not working, ahhhhhh!”

Hajime’s body began to convulse in sync with the pain. Ba-thump, Ba-thump, his entire body was pulsating, giving off audible popping sounds everywhere. But in the very next instant, the sacred water in his body took effect and cured the abnormality. After recovery, intense pain struck once more, but was healed again. The sacred water’s effects were amazing but its tremendous healing abilities appeared to be useless.

Due to the effects of the sacred water, fainting was impossible, its tremendous healing abilities backfired.

Hajime writhed about on the ground while screaming, hitting his head against the wall multiple times. With no end in sight, he continued to experience the taste of hell. Thinking that he would rather be killed, obviously there wasn’t anyone around to fulfill his wish and he had no other choice, but to endure.

Changes began to appear on Hajime’s body. First, his hair lost its colour, it might have been because of the pain exceeding his limits, or some other reason, but his characteristic Japanese black hair rapidly turned white. Next, his muscles and skeleton grew thicker, with several thin reddish black lines appearing within his body.

There is a phenomenon called supercompensation. It is a phenomenon in which torn muscles due to training or other activities, when recovered, will experience slight hypertrophy. Similarly for broken bones, their strength is increased after recovering. Currently, what is happening to Hajime’s body is exactly that strange phenomenon.

The meat of magic beasts is a deadly poison for humans. They possess a special organ within their bodies called the magic stone, which produces magic power that directly circulates their bodies, allowing magic beasts to exhibit astounding physical abilities. The flesh and bones of the magic beasts, soaked in the magic power circulating their body, turned strong and sturdy.

Such an ‘alteration magic’ does not require chants or magic circles, and is considered an inherent-born magic with unclear details. In any case, this alteration magic is lethal to humans as it corrodes the human body from the inside, destroying the cells from within. In the past, anybody and everybody who had eaten magic beast’s meat, without exception, have had their bodies crumbled and died. As a matter of fact, Hajime knew of this, but he was so preoccupied with his hunger that he had overlooked it.

If all Hajime had eaten was magic beast’s meat, his body would probably have collapse and died already, but he had a secret medicine that prevented this. Sacred water. Destroyed parts were instantly restored, as a result, his body strengthened at an amazing rate.

Destroy, recover, destroy, recover. His body pulsated as it changed, as though undergoing reincarnation. It was a metamorphosis in which he discarded his fragile human body and was reborn. Completing the ritual, Hajime cried out like a newborn.

The pulsations finally ceased as Hajime collapsed onto the floor, completely exhausted. His hair was dyed completely white, and now, under his clothes, several reddish black lines could be seen running across his body. It looked exactly like those on the Kicking Rabbit, Twin-tailed Wolf, and the Talon Bear.

Hajime’s right hand twitched, slightly opening his tightly shut eyes, his wavering focus landed on his right hand. Clenching his fist, scratching sounds was produced as his fingers scraped against the ground. He is still alive. He released and clenched his fist several times to ensure that he was in control of his hand’s movements before he slowly got up.

“…That reminds me, magic beasts mustn’t be eaten… I’m such a fool… oh well, even if that’s so, I have already eaten it…”

With an exhausted expression, Hajime gave a self-depreciating laugh. His hunger has subsided and even the phantom pain has been blown aways by that intense pain, it had been a long time since he had not felt any pain. Or rather, his body was strangely light and he felt his entire body brimming in power.

“What happened to my body? What a strange feeling…”

The change was not limited to his body’s appearance, as Hajime felt a sense of discomfort from within. Both hot and cold alike, couldn’t be used to describe that queer sensation. Concentrating on his arm, thin reddish black lines emerged.

“Uwah, dis-, disgusting, it’s totally giving off the feeling of some magic beast… what a joke. Oh yeah, my status plate…”

Having completely forgotten of the status plate’s existence, Hajime searched his pockets. It seems like somehow or the other, he didn’t accidentally lose it. Hajime checked his current status, thinking that maybe he could learn something regarding his body’s abnormality.

Nagumo Hajime		17 Year old	Male
Class:	Synergist	Level:	8
Strength:	100	Vitality:	300
Resistance:	100	Agility:	200
Magic Power:	300	Magic Resistance:	300
Skills:
Transmutation • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Language Comprehension

“…Why is that so.” ⌈¹⌋

Hajime was so shocked that he instinctively retorted in Kansai dialect. Across the board, all his status had surged, with his skills increasing by three, and yet, he was still only level 8. If levels are considered a representation of a person’s growth, it appears that Hajime’s growth limits had increased as well.

“Magic Manipulation?”

Judging by its literal meaning, it probably allowed one to control magic. “By any chance, was the strange feeling I experienced earlier, magic power?” Speculating that, just like before, Hajime concentrated and attempted 【Magic Manipulation】. As soon as Hajime began to concentrate, the thin reddish black lines emerged again.

Envisioning an image where all his feelings were gathered within his right hand, then once again experiencing the strange sensation, the magic began to move, slowly and awkwardly.

“Whoa, whoa, oh~?”

While trying it out, Hajime raised an unintentional cry due to the indescribable feeling. The gathered magic power within his right hand began to enter the transmutation magic circle engraved on his glove. While still surprised, Hajime attempted transmutation, causing the ground to rise readily.

“Are you serious. There’s no need to chant? In principle, it is impossible to directly manipulate magic, except for magic beasts… Did eating magic beast’s meat give me that special characteristic?”

Spot on. Hajime had indeed obtained the magic beast’s unique characteristic. Next, Hajime wanted to try out 【Lightning Clad】 as well.

“Well… how should I go about doing this? 【Lightning Clad】 is about electricity right? It’s that? From the Twin-tailed Wolf’s tails…”

There was no changes no matter how he tried. Unlike magic power which could be felt, without any clues, he had no idea how to use it. “Uuu!” With a groan, he recalled the importance of having a clear mental image when he wants to transmute. Since there weren’t many formulas written into the magic circle, he needed to transmit an even more precise mental image to the processed object during transmutation.

Hajime imagined the crackling of static electricity. Then, sparks of red electricity was released from the fingertips of his right hand.

“Oo~, it came out… I see, imagination is important for the magic beasts’ inherent magic.”

After that, electricity was repeatedly discharged. However, he wasn’t able to release electric attacks like the Twin-tailed Wolf. Probably like its name suggests, 【Lightning Clad】 could only be worn around the body and was not to the extent that it could be transmitted. Adjusting the current and voltage would still require practice.

The last 【Iron Stomach】 could just be taken literally. Eating magic beasts’ meat would cause a severe pain that would make anyone beg for forgiveness. However, it’s unlikely that the dungeon would have any other food, between hunger and pain, one must be chosen. Faced with such extreme choices, Hajime hoped that perhaps this new skill, could help resolve this problem.

After stripping the meat from the Twin-tailed Wolf, Lightning Clad was used to cook it. As expected, after satiating his hunger, there was no longer any need to specially eat raw food. While enduring the intense stench, the meat was well-cooked.

Then, he made up his mind and ate it. Ten seconds… one minute… ten minutes… nothing happened. Hajime cooked and ate the meat in succession, but the severe pain did not strike. Hajime didn’t know if it was due to the effects of Iron Stomach, or due to his own resistance, either way, he was delighted. The taste of hell that came each time he ate was finally gone.

After eating to his heart’s content with the meat, Hajime prepared to temporarily return to his base. To raise his chances of victory over the Talon Bear, he would have to make an effort in honing his new powers for quite awhile.

Cutting up the meat from the rest of the twin-tailed wolves, was a comparatively easier compared to the first time he did it. Storing the meat into stone-made containers, Hajime cautiously returned to location of the God Crystal.

～～～～～～～～～

It had been a few days since Hajime returned to his base and began training on his transmutation and other skills. All his skills had been growing nicely. Among them, there was a change to transmutation, it had gained a derivation skill. That was 【Mineral Appraisal】. In the Royal Capital, even among the Synergists under the Kingdom, only those of the highest rank possessed this skill. Typically, appraisal-type magic required more magic formulas as compared to attack-type magic, inevitably, it could only be performed by restricted facilities with large enough magic circles. However, for a person who possessed this skill, as long as they were touching the mineral, they could analyse any mineral with just a simple chant and magic circle. It was not a latent skill, but a unique derivation skill that could only be obtained through mastering the use of transmutation over many years.

Hajime immediately examined his surrounding minerals thoroughly. For example, using 【Mineral Appraisal】 on the green light stone causes words to appear on his status plate.

Green Light Stone A crystal with magic absorbing properties. After amassing magic power, a faint green light will be released. If it’s broken in its amassed state, all the accumulated light will be instantly released.

It was an extremely simple explanation, but he fully appreciated the information. Hajime broke into a broad grin as he thought intriguingly. After wandering about, looking for a useful mineral, Hajime finally discovered an indispensable mineral for creating his weapon. The weapon which would not only be his partner, but also his trump card.

Combustion Stone A flammable ore. After ignition, it will continue to burn with itself as fuel. It will gradually become smaller as it continues to burn before it eventually burns out. If a large amount of Combustion Stones were ignited all at once in a sealed space, there is a possibility of an explosion comparable to a highest ranked fire-attribute magic.

The moment Hajime saw the explanation, he felt a jolt of electricity ran through his mind. Doesn’t the Combustion Stone play the same role as what is called gunpowder on Earth? If that’s the case, then he had discovered how to maximize his attack power without using transmutation! Hajime was excited. It would probably require much effort and trial and error in order to produce it, nonetheless, being able to use the transmutation which had saved him on countless occasions to finally obtain a means of attack, made him unbearably happy.

Thus, earnestly devoting all his time on nothing but transmutation, even forgetting to eat or sleep, and as a result of over a thousand failures, Hajime finally successfully crafted that thing.

Flying through the shortest distance at a speed exceeding that of sound, a modern weapon which used its overwhelming power to crush its targets.

Spanning approximately thirty-five centimeter, made using the hardest ore in the area, the Taur Stone with a six-round revolving cartridge. It had a rectangular barrel. The bullets were also made from Taur Stone with powdered Combustion Stone compacted within. In other words, it’s a large revolver-type handgun. Moreover, the bullets not only has the explosive power of the Combustion Stone, it is further electromagnetically accelerated by Hajime’s unique magic 【Lightning Clad】 into a mini railgun. Its maximum power was ten times that of an anti-material rifle. Its name was Donner. Somehow Hajime felt the need to give his partner a name.

“…If that’s the case, even that monster… even escaping… is possible!”

Besides Donner, looking at the array of weapons made in reference to modern weaponry in front of his eyes, Hajime lightly laughed.

Usually, for a common job class such as “Synergist” with their “Transmutation” skill, they could no more than craft swords and armors skillfully, but now was the moment of the birth of a conventional weapon in the world of sword and magic.

～～～～～～～～～

Taur Stone A hard black rock. Hardness 8 (out of a 10 grades rating, with 10 being the hardest). Resistant against impacts and heat. Weak against cold. It will become brittle when cooled. Heating it will cause it to bind again.

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Drip…… Drip……

Feeling the sensation of water dripping against his cheek and flowing into his mouth, Hajime gradually regained his consciousness. While thinking that it was unbelievable, he slowly opened his eyes.

(…I’m alive? …I’m saved?)

While getting up doubtfully, his head hit the low ceiling of the hole.

“Ouch!?”

Only now did he recall that the hole he created was only approximately fifty centimeter high. Hajime raised his hand towards the ceiling, planning to continue transmuting to increase the height. However, he just noticed at this moment, that what entered his vision, was only ONE shaky arm.

Hajime was momentarily stunned, only after a short while did he recall how he had lost his left arm. At that instant, he felt unbearable pain from his nonexistent left arm. But that was just a hallucination. Hajime dejectedly hung his head and reflexively pressed on his left arm. However he realized that the wound where his arm was torn off did not have any exposed flesh or blood, it had already healed.

“W-why? …And it was bleeding so much too…”

Though it couldn’t be seen in the dark, Hajime was sure that he was in a sea of blood. That amount of blood lost would have normally killed anyone. Using his right hand to trace his surroundings, the slippery sensation told him that the blood hadn’t dried yet.

Confirming that the blood which had not dried was indeed from his wound, Hajime judged that he was not out for long. While Hajime was pondering about his wound’s recovery, another water droplet dripped onto his cheek and into the corner of his mouth. The moment it entered his mouth, Hajime noticed that his strength slightly recovered.

“…No way… is this?”

Hajime endured the phantom pain as he raised his right arm towards where the water was dripping from and transmuted. He transmuted unsteadily and advanced deeper. The unexpected thing was that, the liquid that was seeping through the rocks seemed to be able to even recover magic power, he did not exhaust his magic power no matter how much he transmuted. Without resting, Hajime was perspiring heavily as he kept transmuting in search for the water source. Before long, there was a significant increase in the flow of the mysterious liquid, the droplets eventually became a stream, and advancing even further, Hajime finally arrived at the water source.

“This… this is…”

There was a basketball-sized crystal with a bluish-white luminescence. The crystal has been buried among the surrounding rocks, dripping water from the bottom end. It was a mysterious yet captivating stone. A blue radiance even deeper than aquamarine, is the most fitting expression. Hajime was instantly mesmerized, forgetting his pain.

It could have been dependency, or possibly attraction, Hajime reached out and placed his mouth directly on the stone. The dull pain in his body and the haze in his mind was cleared, even his fatigue was gone. As expected, the reason behind Hajime’s survival was due to the liquid flowing out from the stone. The liquid seemed to have healing properties. Other than the imaginary pain, all other injuries had recovered in the blink of an eye.

What Hajime didn’t know was that, this crystal is in fact the highest grade treasure known in history, called the 【God Crystal】, and was recognised as an already lost legendary mineral. God Crystals are formed from the flow of magic power in the vast earth over thousands of years which coincidentally accumulated, it is the crystallization of magic power itself. Ranging in thirty to forty centimeter in diameter, after crystallization, it will take another few hundred years for it to reach saturation before magic power will begin to overflow in liquid form. This liquid is called 【Sacred Water】, it is said that drinking it would cure all forms of injuries and diseases. Though it did not have the ability to regenerate lost body parts, drinking it consistently is said to give everlasting life, and could truly be called the drug of immortality. Ancient tales which tells of Ehit using sacred water to heal the people were widely known.

Personally experiencing the feeling of barely returning from the abyss of death, Hajime wearily dragged his body to lean against the wall. The fear of dying took over, causing his entire body to quaver as he hugged his knees and buried his face in them. Both his heart and body were thoroughly spent, he no longer had any energy to escape.

If what directed toward him was not hostility and malice, but a helping hand, there was still a chance of regaining himself. However, the look on the Talon Bear was out of the question, it only saw Hajime as fodder, the eyes of a predator. Standing at the apex of the food chain, it hardly saw humans as a threat. Those eyes, combined with the fact that he had his arm eaten, broke Hajime’s spirit.

(Someone… save me…)

Here, in the bottom of the abyss, Hajime’s words would never reach anybody…

～～～～～～～～～

After some time, Hajime was now lying with his side on the ground, curled up tight like a foetus.

Four days had passed since Hajime’s breakdown. All that time, Hajime had hardly moved, surviving solely on the trickling stream of sacred water. However, drinking sacred water for a long duration also had its limits, though he was kept alive, it wasn’t able to erase hunger. He wouldn’t die, but Hajime was now suffering from the immense hunger and the phantom pain of his missing left arm.

(How did I end up like this?)

This question went through his mind countless times for the past few days. He couldn’t sleep due to the pain and hunger, which he recovered by lifting his head to drink the sacred water, but after recovery he would once again experience a fresh sense of pain and hunger. Over and over again, he would fall asleep and lose his consciousness, only to be awoken by the pain and hunger, then he would drink the sacred water to escape reality. His body was bogged in agony. How many times had it been, repeating between light sleep and awakening.

Before he noticed it, Hajime had stopped drinking the sacred water. He had unconsciously selected the easiest way to end his suffering.

(If I have to continue suffering like this… I might as well…)

His innermost thoughts murmured as his consciousness fell into darkness again.

Another three days had passed and the once subdued hunger struck again. The phantom pain had been torturing him ceaselessly, chipping at his spirit. The unbearable pain felt was almost as if someone was scraping at his wound.

(Why…am I not dead yet… Ah, faster, faster…I don’t want to die…)

Torn apart by his contradictory wish to die and desire to live, the Hajime now, could no longer think clearly and was muttering deliriously.

It had been another three days. The effects of the sacred water that he last drank had already depleted. He had not drunk any water, much less eat anything and probably couldn’t last another two days.

However, just a little while ago, on the eighth day, Hajime’s mind began to experience changes. Alternating between his wish to die and live, he single mindedly waited for this hell-like torture to end, but a murky darkness bubbled forth from within. That slime-like substance flowed through the cracks caused from all that fear and pain, eroding the innermost depths of Hajime’s mind.

(Why do I have to suffer… what have I done to deserve this…)

(Why did I receive such treatment… for what reason…)

(God kidnapped me unreasonably…)

(My classmate betrayed me…)

(A rabbit looked down on me…)

(That fellow ate me…)

Hajime’s thinking was gradually dyed blacker and blacker. Like an ink drop on a white canvas, staining the once pure Hajime. Whose fault was it, who forced all these unreasonable happenings onto him, who hurt him… unconsciously searching for an enemy. The intense pain and hunger, as well as the enclosed dark space, corroded Hajime’s spirit, further accelerating those dark feelings.

(Why didn’t anyone help me…)

(What should I do if no one helps?)

(What should I do to make this pain disappear?)

Ninth day. Hajime unconsciously began to think of a way to break out this current situation. Desperately wishing to be released from the intense pain, he began ignoring all the unnecessary feelings of anger and hatred that was pent up. Now was not the time to be caught up with those feelings. The pain that he was experiencing was not lessened even by a little with the blackening of his heart. In order to escape from this unreasonable circumstance, he must cut off any unnecessary emotions.

(What do I want?)

(I want ‘to live’.)

(Who’s stopping it?)

(The enemy interferes.)

(Who’s the enemy?)

(Those who interferes, and all those who forced me into this unreasonable situation)

(But what should I do?)

(I will, I will…)

Tenth day. There was no longer any anger or hatred left in Hajime’s mind. That unreasonable god, his classmate’s betrayal, monsters’ hostilities… even the smiling face of that someone who said would protect him… all of it didn’t matter anymore. In order to live, in order to earn the right to survive, everything else was trivial. Consolidating his thoughts, he came up with one answer. Like a tempered blade, sharp and strong, ripping apart everything in existence. In other words…

(KILL)

It wasn’t out of malice, animosity, or hatred. It was a pure killing intent, to simply kill to survive. All those who threaten his survival are enemies, and enemies I,

(KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, KILL, )

In order to escape from this hunger,

(Kill and Devour!)

As of this moment, the honest and gentle guy who was always solves confrontations by apologizing with a wry smile, the Nagumo Hajime which Kaori said was strong, had completely crumbled.

And a new Nagumo Hajime, who for survival, would mercilessly eliminate all obstacles, was born. His mind which had been shattered into pieces became one again, however, it wasn’t one that was pieced back together, but merely a mended one, full of scars. In the darkness of the abyss, melted by pain and despair, his mind was instinctively reforged stronger than ever.

Hajime struggled to move his completely weakened body, lapping up the sacred water which had accumulated for the past few days from the ground like a dog. Though it couldn’t cure his hunger or phantom pain, vitality returned to his body.

With glistening eyes, Hajime roughly wiped his wet mouth, and a fearless smile floated on his face, revealing his canines. It was a perfect representation of a sudden change. Hajime got up, while transmuting, he muttered once again.

“Kill…”

～～～～～～～～～

In a certain place within the labyrinth was packs of twin-tailed wolves. Twin-tailed wolves tend to move in packs of four to six. This is because individually, it is the weakest magic beast of this level, thus they have to supplement that by working in packs. This pack of twin-tailed wolves was no exception, forming a group of four.

While wary of their surroundings and moving under the cover of the rock wall, they were searching for a good hunting ground. The basic hunting method for twin-tailed wolves was an ambush. After wandering about for a while, the twin-tailed wolves found a satisfactory hunting spot and hid separately at four different corners, underneath the shadow of the rock wall. Next, is to wait for the prey to arrive. One of them slid itself between a rock and the wall to kill its presence, while waiting for the prey to arrive, it suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.

Since cooperation was essential for the twin-tailed wolves’ survival, they had their own unique form of communication. Though it couldn’t be used to communication effectively, they would at least be able to understand each other’s intentions regardless of their locations. It felt that something was off, they should have been a pack of four, but it could only feel the presence of three. One of them, who should have been waiting at the opposite side of the wall, had suddenly vanished.

What’s going on? While embracing this kind of suspicion, it heard its companion’s scream just as it was about to put strength into lifting its crouching body. At the same side of the wall where its other companion disappeared, another wolf was feeling frustrated, it seemed to have been caught in something and was struggling to escape, but was unable to get out. Just as the remaining two was about to get up to help, the presence of the struggling wolf vanished as well.

Confused, they hurried to the opposite side of the wall to check, but there was absolutely nothing there. The two remaining wolves were puzzled and attempted to use their noses to sniff out where their vanished companions were previously hiding. At that moment, the ground suddenly depressed and the wall protruded as if it wanted to swallow them. Though they instantly jumped away, but after they landed, their feet sunk into the ground, keeping them fixed in place. It would usually be an easy task for them smash the ground and escape, however they were too overwhelmed by the abnormal events that had never happened before as it was their first time being captured. The assailant thought of using the chaos to create a moment of stiffness, and the captured wolves gave him that chance.

“Guruua!?”

The wolves’ cries was swallowed by the wall, and then, nothing was left.

The person who caught the four twin-tailed wolves was Hajime, of course. From the day he decided to retaliate, Hajime has been suppressing his hunger and phantom pain. While drinking sacred water to survive, he has been repeatedly training his transmutation with that inexhaustible magic power. Faster, more precise, more extensive. He would easily die if he goes out now, with the small cave that has the God Crystal as his training base, he refined his weapon bit by bit. Needless to say, his weapon is transmutation.

Though he was laying low, it also meant that he had to endure the random pain attacks. Hajime had to concentrate to his limits in order to resist that hunger and phantom pain. As a result of his training, his speed and accuracy is now several times higher, and he can transmute up to a range of about three meter. However, the offensive power such as that of earth magic, remained as useless as ever.

Using small processed containers made from stone to store sacred water, Hajime explored the labyrinth while marking his way with transmutation. That was when he found the four twin-tailed wolves. Tailing the pack of twin-tailed wolves, there were a few times when he was almost discovered, but each time, he was somehow able to escape into the walls using transmutation. Aiming at the moment when the four wolves were separated for their ambush, he transmuted the wall and his trap was set.

“What, they’re still alive? Well, my transmutation has almost zero direct killing power. Even the stone spikes I transmute does not have enough power or speed to kill the magic beasts here.”

Hajime peeked through the small hole by his feet with glittering eyes. The twin-tailed wolves were literally “in the wall”, trapped by rocks on all sides, they could barely move and could only show their irritation with their low wails.

He had in fact tried attacking the magic beasts by transmuting near their feet, but the power and speed of the stone spikes was absolutely lacking to even pierce them, it was hardly efficient enough for practical use. However, that’s in the realm of earth magic. Transmutation is only a refinement magic, and it is illogical to require killing power during refinement processes. Thus, being able to restrain them like this was the best that he could do now.

“Suffocating them like this is fine… but I can’t wait any more”

Hajime’s lips pursed into a smile, his eyes completely that of a predator. He pressed his right hand against the wall and began using transmutation magic. Cutting rocks and focusing on a clear mental image, he continued to work bit by bit. Eventually, the completed product was that of a thin spiral spear, but he enhanced it even further by adding additional parts and something akin to a steering wheel was attached to the handle of the spear.

“Here I go~ Take this, and that!”

Hajime stabbed the spear towards the twin-tailed wolves trapped underground. However the spearhead was easily repelled by the tough skin and fur.

“As expected. It really couldn’t pierce through.”

Why not a knife or even a sword. Basically, the stronger the magic beast, the harder it is. Of course, there were also plenty of exceptions, depending on the different species’ unique characteristics. In order to compensate for his incompetence, he had placed his emphasis on studying and learning. He had already guessed that ordinary knifes and swords were useless against the magic beasts of this level.

Hence, Hajime turned the wheel which was attached to the handle of the spear, round and round, the spiral spearhead began to rotate. Yes, this was a drill that takes into consideration the way to break through the magic beasts’ hard skin. Desperately turning the handle while adding his body weight onto it, little by little, the tip of the spear began to sink into the skin of the twin-tailed wolf.

“Guruaaa!?”

The twin-tailed wolf screamed.

“Is it painful? Or do you want me to apologize? I am doing this to survive. Wouldn’t you guys eat me too? We are the same.”

Saying that, he rotated the drill even further while adding his body weight. Although the twin-tailed wolf struggled to move, it was impossible as it had been completely buried without the slightest gap.

Finally, the drill broke through the hard skin of the twin-tailed wolf, mercilessly destroying its insides. The two-tailed wolf raised a death throe, it lasted for sometime and suddenly, with a final spasm, it stopped moving.

“And, that’s food secured!”

Smiling delightfully as he ended the other three wolves using the same method, Hajime used transmutation to retrieve the carcasses of the twin-tailed wolves and while handicapped with one hand, he peeled off its fur.

Motivated by his hunger, he began to eat.

---

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1. N/a

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The sound of rushing water filled the area. A cool breeze lightly brushed against his cheek, his body shivered due to penetrating cold. There was a solid sensation against his face while a chill pierced his lower body. Hajime raised a groan as he woke up.

The pain ran through not just his head but also his entire body. Hajime furrowed his brows and propped his upper body up with both arms.

“Ow~ This is… I thought for sure I…”

Holding his unsteady head with his hand, he studied the vicinity while trying to recall what happened. The surrounding was dim, but thanks to the illumination of the green light stones, it was not like he couldn’t see anything. Before Hajime’s eyes was an underground river about five meter wide. His lower body was submerged in the river, and the upper body was caught between protruding rocks at the river bank.

“That’s right… the bridge… it collapsed”

His groggy mind finally caught up with the events that had taken place. He realized the only reason he was still alive after such a fall was due to an amazing stroke of luck. During the fall he found many holes along the cliff wall, moreover, jet of water would occasionally spout from those holes. They were like a series of geysers. Hajime didn’t know how many times he had been blown away by those jets of water, slamming into the walls. In the end, he was pushed into a tunnel that resembled waterslide and was flushed to this place. It was an unbelievable miracle. However, when he was blown into the tunnel, Hajime hit his head and lost consciousness. It was unbelievable how such a miracle took place.

“Either way, I am still alive… Atchoo! …I-It’s so cold.”

He was submerged in the cold underground water this whole time, because of this his entire body was freezing. At this rate there was a possibility that he could catch hypothermia, so Hajime pulled himself out of the river immediately and took off his wet clothes while shivering uncontrollably. He only left undergarments on and wrung out his other clothing. Using his 【Transmutation】 skills, he started to carve a magic circle on the ground.

“Uuu… It’s so cold, it’s hard to concentrate like this.”

He wanted to use the 【Spark】 magic. This was a simple magic that even children could perform with a ten centimeter magic formation. However, not only did he not have magic stone that increased the magic’s efficiency, Hajime’s proficiency in magic was almost zero. So the only way to cast the spell was to draw a magic circle that was more than one meter in diameter with large amount of complex magic formulas. After about ten minutes, he finally completed the magic formation, then he activated it by pouring magic power into the magic circle with a chant.

“I seek thy fire,The power of light, Manifest thyself, 【Spark】 ……Uuu~ Why is there a need for such an exaggerated chant just to raise a fire~ So embarrassing~ Haa~”

The sighing seemed to have become a bit of a habit recently. Nevertheless, he still laid his clothes near the fist-sized flame invoked by him while bathing in its warmth.

“I wonder where is this… I should have fell a considerable distance… Will I be able to make it back?”

Warming himself next to the fire, he slowly calmed down, but then his heart gradually filled with anxiety. Tears began to accumulate in the corner of his eyes, he felt like he about to cry. When he realized he would fall apart if he started to cry now, he wiped his tears and slapped his cheeks with both hands.

“I can’t just do nothing, I must get back to the surface. There’s nothing to be afraid of, everything will work out.”

Hajime’s face became determined after he muttered some encouragement to himself, all the while staring into the flames.

～～～～～～～～

After warming himself for twenty minutes, his clothes was almost completely dry, so he put them back on and set off. Hajime was not sure which level he fell into, but surely he was still in the Dungeon. It wouldn’t be strange to see magic beasts lurking around. Hajime was being very, very, very careful as he proceeded into a huge passage ahead.

The passage that Hajime entered felt more like a cave. Rather than a low-rise square passage, the passage had rocks and walls protruding in different places and winds around complicatedly. It was similar to the last room on the 20th floor. However, the size couldn’t even be compared. Even if the complicated passage was full of obstacles, it was still around twenty meter in diameter. Even the more narrow places were around ten meter in diameter, so it was considerably big. It was not an easy path to tread, however, there were a lot of hiding spots. Hajime advanced stealthily from cover to cover.

After traveling what seemed like a great distance, Hajime started to get tired. Just as he was about to stop for a break, he finally reached the first fork in the road. It was a huge crossroads. Hajime was hiding behind a boulder, wondering which path he should take.

Just as he was considering, he saw something moving from the corner of his eyes, and panicked, hiding his entire body behind the boulder. Poking his head out to observe the situation, Hajime saw a white furball hopping along the path straight ahead. It had long ears, and its outer appearance looked just like a rabbit. However, it was about as big as a mid-sized dog and its hind legs were well-developed. And the most important point was that, the “rabbit” had crimson lines that ran down its entire body like blood vessels. The lines pulsated like a thumping heart, making it look extremely creepy.

That was clearly a dangerous magic beast. So he decided it’s best to avoid it by going either left or right. Judging from the rabbit’s position, he should be able to avoid detection if he went to the right passage. Hajime held his breath and waited for the best opportunity. Then, the rabbit turned its back against Hajime and started to sniff at the ground. This is it! Hajime took this chance and attempted to dart.

In that split second, the rabbit seemed to have reacted to some noise, as it quickly straightened its back and stood up. Prickling its ears vigilantly, it peered over.

(Crap! D-Did it discover me? I-I should be fine, right?)

He quickly ducked back behind the rock and tried to calm his beating heart. While feeling that his heartbeat would be picked up by those keen ears, Hajime broke out in a cold sweat from head to toe.

However, the rabbit became vigilant for a different reason.

“Awrooooo!!”

Along with the roar of the magic beast, a wolf-like magic beast with white fur sprung out from the shadow of a boulder and pounced at the rabbit. That white wolf had two tails and was about the size of a large dog. Just like the rabbit, the wolf had the same pulsating crimson lines all over its body. After that wolf jumped out from nowhere, another two Twin-Tailed Wolves sprang out from the back of other boulders.

Hajime peeked his head out from the shadow of the boulder to observe the situation. No matter how you look at it, it was the scene of wolves preying on rabbit-chan (though it was not cute enough to attach a -chan with it). Under the cover of the confusion, Hajime rose to his feet. However…

“Kyu!”

At the same time the cute cry was raised, the rabbit leapt into the air and turned around, using its thick hind-leg to perform a roundhouse kick on one of the Twin-Tailed Wolves.

Bam!

The kick generated a sound that wouldn’t be thought possible from a kick. Rabbit-chan’s got a clean kick to the Twin-Tailed Wolf’s skull, as a result…

Crack!

Along with a noise that was not at all loud and clear, the head of the Twin-Tailed Wolf twisted in a strange angle.

Hajime went stiff at that display. During this time, the rabbit used the centrifugal force from the roundhouse kick to increase its rotation speed in the air until it was upside-down. The rabbit stomped the air and fell towards the ground like a meteor, sending a powerful vertical spinning kick.

Bang!

The second wolf’s head was pulverized without even getting the chance to give its final cry. Another two Twin-Tailed Wolves appeared at this time, jumping out the moment the rabbit landed. Hajime had no doubt that the rabbit would be defeated this time. But the rabbit did a handstand while rotating its legs at high speed like it was breakdancing. Both the Twin-Tailed Wolves that pounced at it were repelled towards the walls, because of the tornado-like spinning kicks. Along with the sound of splattered tomato, blood splashed on the walls and the wolves slowly slipped onto the ground, unmoving.

The last wolf tousled its tail as it growled. As a result, those tails started to discharge electricity. That was clearly the Twin-Tailed Wolf’s Unique Magic.

“Awrooooo!!”

Along with the howl, the electric shock scattered all over the place with a pitter-patter. However, as the lightning strike approached at high-speed, the rabbit avoided it splendidly with zigzag movements. When the lightning finally dissipated, the rabbit closed the distance in a single breath and drove a high kick into the Twin-Tailed Wolf’s jaw. The kick sent the Twin-Tailed Wolf somersaulting, landing on the ground with a bang. The scruff of its neck had obviously snapped.

The bunny was like:

“Kyu!”

Letting out a victory cry? It pricked up its ears and raised its forelimbs just like that.

“……You must be kidding me, mamma mia……”

Hajime who was still scared stiff could only give a dry smile. This was really bad, the Skeleton Soldiers that gave the students a hard time looked nothing more than toys compared to this bunny. If it was just the attack power, this rabbit might even be stronger than the Behemoth.

Hajime knew it would be certain death if he was discovered, this fretting caused him to unconsciously step back. That was a wrong move.

Tap!

That noise echoed throughout the entire cave. Hajime had kicked a pebble near his feet as he took a step back. While abhorring himself for making such a clumsy mistake, Hajime’s forehead broke out into cold sweat. The Kicking Rabbit turned its head slowly like a robot that hadn’t been oiled in order confirm the origin of the noise —— Hajime came into the Kicking Rabbit’s line of sight.

It squinted its ruby-like eyes as soon as it caught sight of him, Hajime was frozen like a frog being caught in the stare of a snake. Emergency sirens telling him to run away with everything he had started to sound in the depths of his soul, but almost as if all the nerves in his body has been severed, he couldn’t move.

Before long, the Kicking Rabbit that only had its head turned rotated its entire body towards Hajime, its legs started to gather power.

(It’s coming!)

Hajime instinctively knew what would happen next. The Kicking Rabbit released the power stored in its legs all at once, leaving afterimages in its wake as it dashed at him in a ludicrous speed.

By the time he noticed, Hajime had already leapt towards the side with all his might.

Soon after, the place where Hajime was at just a second ago was struck by the cannonball-like Kicking Rabbit. The ground exploded and left a huge crater as if it had been gouged out. Hajime was rolling on the ground with a rumble, then he stopped in a sitting position with his butt on the ground. He moved back while looking at the caved in ground with a pale face.

The Kicking Rabbit casually stood up, and once more, assaulted Hajime with the same explosive attack. Hajime quickly erected a rock wall with his transmutation, but the rock wall was effortlessly pierced through by the kick of the Kicking Rabbit. The rock wall in front of Hajime exploded, he lifted his left arm by reflex. The attack that should have crushed his face was blocked, but the collision sent him tumbling on the ground again. By the time he stopped rolling, he felt an immense pain coursing through his left arm.

“Augh!!”

When he looked at his left forearm, it was hanging and bent in an odd angle. Looks like the bone was completely crushed. Crouching in agony due to the pain, he desperately searched for the Kicking Rabbit. After the fierce attack earlier, the Kicking Rabbit still maintained an easygoing manner as it slowly walked over. Hajime felt that the Kicking Rabbit carried a mocking expression in its eyes, as if looking down on him. Looks like he had been completely toyed with.

Hajime could only look at it with an ugly expression and backed away on his butt. Before long, the Kicking Rabbit stopped in front of Hajime. It looked down on him, as if he was nothing more than a worm crawling on the ground. After which, as if showing off, it lifted one of its leg over the head.

(Will I…… die here……?)

Hajime was assaulted by despair, he renounced himself and looked up at the Kicking Rabbit’s foot with blank expression. And finally, the deadly kick was swung down with a swirl of tempest. Hajime tightly shut his eyes due to fear of the impending death.

……

However, no matter how much time had passed, the blow he expected never came. Hajime timidly opened his eyes, and the Kicking Rabbit’s foot was right before his eyes, stopping just a few inches away.

(Don’t tell me, it is still planning to toy with me?)

Just when Hajime gave up all hope, he noticed something strange. If he looked closely, the Kicking Rabbit seemed to be shivering in fear.

(W-What? Why is it shivering…… it seems to be scared of something……)

No, not “seems”, it was a fact, the Kicking Rabbit was petrified. It was because of the new magic beast that appeared when Hajime tried to run towards the right passage.

It was an enormous magic beast. The beast was about two meter tall, its sturdy frame covered in white fur. Just like all the other magic beasts, it also had pulsating crimson lines winding around its body. As an analogy, that beast was practically a bear, however, its long and thick arms that extended all the way down to its feet, had three sharp claws that were each about thirty centimeter long.

That Talon Bear had gotten close before he knew it, glancing hostilely at the Kicking Rabbit and Hajime. The surroundings was wrapped in silence.

Hajime stiffened more than ever, and even the Kicking Rabbit was also frozen stiff. No, it was more like it couldn’t move an inch. Just like how Hajime was frozen with fear earlier. It was frozen by the Talon Bear’s glare.

“Grrr……”

Starting to get annoyed of the situation, the Talon Bear let out a growl.

“——?!”

As if the Kicking Rabbit was roused from a dream, it quivered momentarily before it turned on its heel and ran away at top speed. Until a moment ago, it was using its hind legs to pulverize the enemies, but now it was used to flee. However, it was a failed attempt.

Using speed that didn’t match its size, the Talon Bear closed in on the Kicking Rabbit while brandishing those sharp claws. As expected of the clever Kicking Rabbit, it was able to dodge the attack by twisting its body. Hajime also confirmed with his eyes, the Talon Bear’s claw swept past and missed its target, it seemed like the Kicking Rabbit was not even scratched.

However…… The Kicking Rabbit’s body was cleaved in half when it finally landed, blood gushed out like a fountain, and two halves of its body fell in opposite directions.

Hajime was stunned. The powerful Kicking Rabbit didn’t even get a chance to counterattack, and was killed so easily. The reason why the Kicking Rabbit tucked its tail and ran, he finally understood. That Talon Bear was so powerful that rules might as well not exist, even if that Kicking Rabbit possessed skills on the level of martial experts, it still wouldn’t be that monster’s opponent.

The Talon Bear walked towards the Kicking Rabbit’s remains leisurely, using its sharp claws to skewer the corpse, it wolfed down with a gorging noise.

Hajime could not budge an inch. He was consumed by fear, furthermore, even while chewing on the Kicking Rabbit, the Talon Bear pinned down Hajime with its sharp eyes. Hajime was pierced by that glare.

The Talon Bear swallowed the whole Kicking Rabbit after just three mouthfuls. It growled as it turned towards Hajime. The beast’s eyes said it all, “You are next.”

Hajime started to panic when faced with the eyes of a predator.

“Uwaaaaaa——!!”

While screamingly meaninglessly, Hajime had even forgotten about his broken left arm as he stood up and ran towards the opposite direction of the Talon Bear. However, even that Kicking Rabbit couldn’t get away, it was impossible for Hajime to be able to. With a howl of the wind, a powerful attack struck Hajime from his left, flinging him against the wall.

“Guah!”

The blow had knocked all the air out of his lungs. While having a coughing fit, he slid down the wall with a crash. Hajime’s vision blurred from the impact, dazed, he looked towards the direction of the Talon Bear and noticed that the Talon Bear was chewing on something.

However, just what was it chewing on. The Kicking Rabbit had already been consumed, and for some reason, the arm it was eating looked awfully familiar. Hajime was in an incomprehensible confused state as he looked at his left arm that felt lighter for some reason. To be more precise, where his left arm was supposed to be……

“E-Eh?”

Hajime tilted his head with an anguished expression, where did my left arm go? Why is it bleeding so much? His brain and heart refused to accept the situation. However, it was impossible to escape from reality forever. Hajime was roused from his semi-conscious state, the sharp pain bringing him back to reality.

“A-A-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——!!”

Hajime’s shriek reverberated within the Dungeon, just now, everything below his left elbow had been cut off. That was because of the Talon Bear’s Unique Magic. The wind blades that were wrapped around the three claws could extend up to thirty centimeter and cut the target ahead of it. Considering that, simply losing one arm was very lucky. The Talon Bear might be toying with him, or Hajime was really just that lucky. It wouldn’t be weird even if his body was split in half like the Kicking Rabbit earlier.

After the Talon Bear finished snacking on Hajime’s arm, it drew closer to him unhurriedly. It didn’t have a patronizing expression like the Kicking Rabbit, it seemed like it couldn’t view Hajime as anything else but food.

The Talon Bear that gradually pressed in before his eyes extended its front paw towards Hajime. Maybe it was not planning to use its claws to slice him up, but rather swallow him whole.

“A-Ah… Khhh, Tr-【Transmutation】!”

With his face smeared in tears, mucus, and saliva due to the excessive pain, Hajime placed his right hand on the wall behind him to transmute. It was an involuntary reaction. He who was called incompetent, he who didn’t have any aptitude for magic, he who had an all around low specs, that was the only power Hajime possessed. It was a magic that was normally used to process swords, spears, and armors. Everyone from that class became a synergist without exception and were thought to be useless in combat. The methods that an otherworlder like Hajime came up with gave the knights quite a shock. In order to make himself helpful to his classmates, Hajime thought of multiple ways of using it. It was precisely because of this, that Hajime unconsciously became dependant on it even on the brink of death, paving the way for his survival as a result.

A hole that was about 50 cm high, 120 cm wide, and 2 m deep appeared on the wall behind him. Just before the Talon Bear’s sharp claws reached him, Hajime laid down and rolled into the hole.

With its prey escaping right before its very eyes, the Talon Bear was overwhelmed with rage.

“Guruaaa!!”

The beast unleashed its Unique Magic while letting out a roar, waving its crescent-like claws towards the cave Hajime entered. Along with a horrific destructive noise, the wall was shaved off by the bear’s powerful claws.

“Wuahhhhh——! Transmutation! Transmutation! Transmutatioooon!”

Along with the roar of the Talon Bear and scraping noise of the walls that were gradually getting closer, Hajime panicked and continuously used transmutation to delve deeper into the wall, hoping to put a little more distance from that monster. Without looking back, he just recklessly casted transmutation repeatedly, advancing by crawling on the ground. He had all but forgotten the pain from his left arm, his survival instinct ordering him to continuously use the only power he possessed.

Hajime didn’t know how far he had proceeded like this, but what he does was that he could no longer hear those horrifying sounds. In reality, he did not even progress that much. The effective range of each transmutation could only cover up to two meter (Which has doubled since his initial days). More importantly, the bleeding from his left hand was very serious, and he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. In fact, Hajime’s consciousness almost faded away due to the severe blood loss. Even so, he continued to struggle and advanced.

However……

“Transmutation…… Transmutation…… Transmutation…… Transmutation……”

After several transmutations, the wall in front of him remains unchanged. His magic power exhausted before his body gave out. His hand that was pressed against the wall slid down wearily.

His head started to feel hazy, and just as Hajime was about to lose consciousness, he held his breath and used the last ounce of his strength to flip his body over. He aimlessly stared into the heavens, but all he saw was a blanket of darkness. This region was not illuminated by the Green Light Stones.

Hajime unconsciously recalled some of his past memories, it was another Revolving Lantern. His life flashed right before his eyes. From the nursery to elementary school, middle school, and then his high school days. All sorts of memories flooded his mind, and his final memory was…… The time he spent with Kaori in that room illuminated by the moonlight, and that smile on her face when they made the promise……

After remembering that beautiful sight, Hajime’s consciousness was engulfed by the darkness. Just before his consciousness completely faded away, he felt droplets of water dripping onto his cheek, as if someone was shedding tears for him.

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