Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 4

by Ryo Shirakome

  More specifically, the high rank earth spell, Dark Gaol. It spread a cloud of smoke that petrified anything it touched. Worse, as long as any part of someone was hit by the petrification, it would slowly spread until they were completely frozen. The only way to stop it was to put up a barrier strong enough to repel it, or blow the smoke away before it touched anyone. However, only a high rank barrier would be able to hold it off. Furthermore, it required an extremely powerful wind spell to be dislodged.

  “You bastard! How dare you!” Seething fury dripped from his words. The light surrounding him shone brighter than before. He was more than ready to charge straight at the demon.

  However, Shizuku’s words stopped him.

  “Kouki, wait! We have to retreat! You need to secure our escape route!”

  “No way! You want me to retreat after she did that to our comrades!?” He glared angrily at Shizuku, but she wasn’t fazed by his attitude and calmly glared back at him.

  “Listen to me! Kaori can still heal them, but it’ll take her time. And if we wait too long, it might be too late. We need to retreat and regroup! And now that we’ve lost half our party, if you jump out to attack now, the rest of us won’t be able to hold out! We’ll all die!”

  “Ngh, but...”

  “Besides, your Limit Break’s going to run out soon, isn’t it? How long do you think you can last without it!? You can’t lose your cool here! Everyone’s angry about what happened, but we’re done for if we let that get the better of us!”

  Kouki ground his teeth in frustration. It was then that he noticed the blood dripping from the corners of Shizuku’s mouth. She was just as angry as him, if not more.

  Still, even though she was so frustrated that she’d bit her lips until they’d bled, she hadn’t lost sight of what needed to be done. If she could, she’d pound that demon into a pulp, but she knew that wouldn’t save her comrades.

  “Fine! Everyone, we’re retreating! Shizuku, Ryutarou, cover me for a bit!”

  “You can count on me!”

  “You got it!”

  Kouki raised his sword up high and started chanting. He hadn’t used this spell earlier because it had such a long incantation. On top of that, it wouldn’t have been enough to defeat the enemy. However, it was the perfect spell for opening up an escape path.

  Chanting left him defenseless, so he’d asked Shizuku and Ryutarou to guard him. Of course, that meant they had to fight the monsters he’d been holding off until now on top of their own foes. They fought valiantly, but every second they suffered more injuries. They wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

  “Hmph, do you honestly believe I’ll just let you flee?” The demon commanded her monsters to circle behind the party’s rear. At the same time, she started chanting another spell. This time, her hand was pointed directly at Kouki.

  And it was then that something unexpected occurred.

  “Graaaaaah!”

  “What!? How!?”

  Five of the Chimeras, which were supposed to be her allies, suddenly turned on her. She instantly shortened her incantation and changed her target to the monsters bearing down on her. A dust storm whipped up around her. Grains of sand coalesced into blades and sliced through two of the Chimeras. The remaining three let the wind push them back, saving them from the whirlwind of sand blades.

  She stared at them in surprise. Why are they attacking me!? Then, she realized that all of the Chimeras were gravely injured.

  “That damn brat...” The monsters that had turned on her were all ones that had been cut down by Kouki. They should have all been dead, and indeed the demon didn’t sense any life coming from them. Suddenly, she remembered a certain branch of magic that allowed people to manipulate the dead.

  “I won’t let you touch Kouki-kun!” Eri waved her hand like a baton, and the dead Chimeras moved to surround the demon.

  “Tch! A Necromancer! No one told me they had one of those!” The demon had actually done a rather thorough investigation of Kouki and his party before laying this trap. None of her reports had mentioned anything about there being a Necromancer in his party.

  Eri’s usual aversion to necromancy had actually ended up saving them in this critical juncture. Though she was a Necromancer, she’d been too scared to actually use her necromancy skills.

  However, now that their backs were to the wall, she’d had to conquer that fear. She glared at the demon, skillfully manipulating the three Chimera corpses. It was hard to believe this was her first time using necromancy. She kept the Chimeras circling just out of the demon’s attack range, but close enough that they still posed a threat. Her goal wasn’t to defeat the demon, but rather to buy time.

  “Suzu-chan, hang on! I’ll heal you!” Kaori cast both Plenary Blessing and Consecration on Suzu.

  She was the one closest to death out of all the party members, which was why Kaori had focused on her first. Consecration was an intermediate rank light spell that removed status effects from the target.

  Petrification in particular was a very potent status effect, and it was taking even Kaori some time to heal it. Plenary Blessing instantly closed up the holes in Suzu’s arm and stomach, but she’d already lost a lot of blood. She needed a proper rest or her life would be in danger. And once her legs were unpetrified, Kaori needed to close up the wound there as well.

  While Kaori was tending to Suzu, Tsuji began unpetrifying Nomura. Thanks to Nomura’s naturally high earth resistance, his healing went quickly. Tsuji had already succeeded in restoring his left leg.

  As she was healing Nomura, Tsuji glanced over at Kaori and bit her lip. Though she was an accomplished Priest as well, it was obvious that Kaori’s skills were far greater than her own.

  Not only was she healing Suzu, who’d been hurt far more than Nomura, she was able to cast recovery spells on Shizuku and Ryutarou at the same time. On top of that, she was even providing support with her Binding Blades of Light and Divine Shackles. Tsuji doubted she could manage even half of that.

  Shirasaki-san is amazing... Compared to her, I’m just... No, now’s not the time for self-pity! Though she hated herself for not being more useful to her companions, she couldn’t afford to let herself be distracted right now.

  Nomura wanted to offer some words of encouragement, but he also knew there was no time for sentimental chit-chat. Still groaning in pain, he spat out an incantation.

  With their battle power reduced, and Kouki no longer fighting, the students were hard pressed. Hiyama, Nakano, Nagayama, and Endou were all covered from head to toe in blood, and their movements were growing dull. Eri had her hands full protecting Kouki and the two healers. At this rate, the party would collapse in a few more minutes.

  Had it not been for the hope Kouki’s gleaming blade gave everyone, they would likely have given up already.

  Finally, the moment they’d all been waiting for arrived.

  “Take this— Divine Deluge!” A single beam of light shot up into the sky. As it hit the ceiling, it burst apart, sending shards of light hurtling toward the ground like a meteor shower.

  Divine Deluge was a light spell that targeted multiple monsters from above. It wasn’t a terribly powerful spell, and was usually just used to clean up hordes of weak enemies, but with the help of Kouki’s Limit Break, the spell’s might increased to the point where it could kill even monsters found on the 50th floor.

  Unfortunately, the monsters the demon had brought with her were far more powerful than that. The most it was able to do was slow them down.

  Still, that was all Kouki needed. As long as it kept them pinned down for a few seconds, they’d be able to escape.

  The demon was still busy dealing with Eri’s three Chimeras.

  After making sure the demon was still occupied, Kouki then activated the second effect of this ridiculously long spell.

  “Gather!”

  The rain of light that had been keeping the monsters at bay stopped, and began returning to Kouki’s sword. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight
, watching a veritable meteor storm of light fly into the holy sword.

  Once all the light was back with him, Kouki pointed his sword at the monsters blocking their escape and shouted the name of the spell’s second form.

  “Holy Shooting Stars!” The countless points of light shot out at once, bombarding the monsters. This spell didn’t have the same destructive might as his trump card, Divine Wrath, so it was unable to completely destroy the monsters in front of him.

  He would have preferred to use Divine Wrath, but the incantation was too long. He knew Shizuku and Ryutarou wouldn’t have been able to hold out for that long.

  Though, there was something Holy Shooting Stars had that Divine Wrath didn’t.

  As the shards of light slammed into the monsters, they burst in a thousand shimmering explosions. It was as if Kouki had fired a cluster bomb into the horde of monsters. The monsters were unable to defend against the continual bombardment, so they were blown away.

  “Graaaaaaaaah!” They screamed in pain, their eyes closed against the blinding light.

  The harsh light crippled their vision. Holy Shooting Stars secondary ability was that it blinded its targets. Unable to see properly, the monsters flailed about.

  They weren’t in position to guard an escape route anymore. Kouki and the others were saved.

  “Everyone, run for your lives!”

  At Kouki’s command, the party began to flee. Nagayama carried the petrified Kondou and Saitou, while Endou carried the unconscious Suzu. Nomura’s left arm was still petrified, but he endured the pain and ran.

  “Tch! Don’t let them escape! All of you, attack!” The demon ordered her remaining monsters to attack while she continued fending off the Chimera corpses. The monsters quickly dashed off in pursuit. The Chimeras, four-eyed wolves, and black cats were all agile creatures, and they closed the gap in an instant.

  Nomura grinned through his pain and turned around, his right hand pointed at the army of monsters bearing down on them.

  “You’re not the only one who can use earth magic here! Have a taste of your own medicine— Dark Gaol!” Nomura fired off the same gray sphere the demon had a few minutes prior.

  It exploded in front of the charging monsters. When the demon had cast the spell, her monsters had all instinctively leaped out of the way. He’d guessed that the demon had taught them all to be wary of that specific spell, which was precisely why he’d chosen it. He figured it would buy them the most time.

  His guess proved to be correct. The moment Nomura had thrown out the gray sphere, the monsters had all come to a halt and swiftly leaped back. The petrifying smoke also doubled as a smokescreen, hiding Kouki and the others from view.

  Endou called upon the last dredges of his mana to use a skill that hid their tracks and erased their scent. It was one of his derivative skills, “Stealth.”

  The monsters angry howls faded into the distance as the party ran. Humbled and defeated, Kouki and the others trudged up the stairs leading to the 89th floor. Their faces were a mixture of frustration at how badly they’d suffered defeat, and happiness at escaping alive at all.

  Chapter III: A Generic NPC’s Valiant Struggle

  Somewhere deep within the 89th floor, there was an octagonal room with exits on four sides. There was also a concealed room that existed on one side, in between two of the exits. It wasn’t terribly large, but it made for a great hiding spot. The entrance was camouflaged, so it was hard to spot from the outside.

  Kouki and the others were currently cooped up inside, taking a short break. Everyone’s expressions were dark. Their minds were all preoccupied with the battle they’d just escaped from. Many of them still hadn’t had their wounds healed, and were grimacing in pain.

  Normally this would be where Kouki roused his companions with one of his characteristically charismatic speeches. However, using Limit Break for that long had taken a serious toll on him. He silently sat against the wall, his lips utterly sealed.

  Worse, the ever-cheerful class mascot Suzu was still unconscious. Her face was pale from blood loss, and she rested fitfully, her breathing ragged. Seeing her so weak was part of what had the class down.

  Suzu’s legs were still petrified from the knees down, and Kaori was still working on healing her.

  Fortunately, she’d already closed the wound on her thigh. All that was left to do was unpetrify the rest of her legs. Unfortunately, she’d already lost way too much blood. From the looks of it, the cat’s tentacles must have hit a major artery. It was only thanks to Kaori’s prodigious skill that Suzu was alive at all.

  However, even Kaori couldn’t replace all of Suzu’s lost blood. At least not immediately, anyway. There was no magic that created blood, so the most she could do was feed Suzu blood replenishing potions. For all intents and purposes, Suzu was out of commission for the near future. The party needed somewhere safe to rest.

  Because Kaori was so focused on keeping Suzu alive, she hadn’t had time to really heal the others. Naturally, that meant Saitou and Kondou were still petrified too.

  Once Suzu’s condition was stable, Kaori would have to heal them next. And so, the party knew that they wouldn’t get to be healed for a while, and aside from a small minority, most of them were okay with that. Or maybe they just didn’t have the energy to complain.

  Shizuku furrowed her brows and massaged her temples. She knew that she had to do something about everyone’s low morale, but she didn’t know how.

  She was a fundamentally quiet person, unlike Suzu. Words didn’t come easy to her.

  But Kouki was too exhausted to even stand, and Suzu was unconscious. She was the only one left in a position to act, and she’d always been afflicted with the never-ending need to help people. In many ways, Shizuku was more like a wise old lady than a high school girl.

  On top of that, she possessed a will of iron. She was just as exhausted as the rest of them, but she didn’t rest. Tired of thinking about it, Shizuku decided to at least break the oppressive silence with a joke about how badly they’d been beaten. However, before she could, Tsuji and Nomura walked through the room’s entrance.

  “Phew. I think we managed to camouflage it better than before. I’ve never done such precise spellcasting, so it was pretty difficult. I don’t think I can cast anymore.”

  “Altering the entrance to look just like the rest of the wall is outside your area of expertise, after all. We had to draw that whole magic circle from scratch too. You did good.”

  “You too. Thanks for fixing up my arm. It must have been rough.” Nomura hadn’t just camouflaged this room’s entrance. He was the one who’d made this room in the first place.

  Geomancers’ affinity with earth magic generally extended to directly controlling the earth, not shaping and molding it like Synergists did. Because of that, precise work such as this was difficult for them. They could open giant cracks in the earth, send boulders flying, make spears out of the ground, and if they were strong enough, even petrify foes and create golems, but separating out specific minerals from alloys, fusing them together, and creating new objects with things that fell under the “earth” category was the sole domain of Synergists.

  So while it was easy for a Geomancer to make a huge hole in the wall, doing something precise like then covering that hole up with earth that looked just like the wall around it was almost impossible. Nomura had needed to draw an entire magic circle from scratch to make it happen.

  The reason Tsuji had gone with him was so she could finish unpetrifying his arm.

  “Good work, Nomura-kun. You’ve bought us some time.”

  “I just hope it works. All we can do now is pray she doesn’t find us before we finish healing. As for Kousuke... all we can do for him is pray too.”

  “Don’t worry about Kousuke. No one’s as unnoticeable as him.”

  “Hey Jugo, I know you’re trying to cheer us up, but that’s just depressing to hear...”

  The despondent atmosphere cleared up a little when the students he
ard that they were safely hidden. Shizuku thanked Nomura for lightening the mood.

  Nomura smiled bitterly and prayed for his best friend’s safety. Endou was the only one not inside the safety of their hidden room. He’d headed out alone to inform Captain Meld of what they’d encountered on the 90th floor. Even for an overpowered summoned hero like him, running through ten floors this deep down was paramount to suicide. The only reason Kouki and the others had had a somewhat easy time of it was because they’d worked together as a team of 15.

  However, he had one rather cheap trick up his sleeve that would allow him to traverse the whole distance safely.

  His ability to go unnoticed. Despite the fact that he was neither overly gloomy, nor a terribly quiet person, his friends often lost sight of him. And when they looked around in a panic, they’d be surprised to see him still standing there right next to them. His naturally weak presence, coupled with his Assassin skills would easily allow him to run all the way to the 70th floor where Captain Meld was without being noticed by a single monster. He’d already been a master of hiding back on earth, but he’d polished his skills to new heights since being summoned here. Even those with the Sense Presence skill couldn’t easily find him.

  It was for that reason everyone had entrusted Endou with delivering this information.

  When he’d left, Endou had been in tears. Nothing was more frustrating than leaving your comrades behind and running away alone. Though those tears may have been due to the way his friends had tried to convince him he was the best suited for this mission. Saying things like “no one is as unnoticeable as you,” or “I can’t even tell when you’re around sometimes, so there’s no way the monsters will,” or “you know, you’re so forgettable I actually forgot your name for a few seconds,” probably didn’t do much for his confidence.