Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 1 (Premium)

by Ryo Shirakome

  “Kaori, why do you keep staring at Nagumo-kun? Don’t you know it’s wrong to pick up guys in a dungeon?” Shizuku said that in a teasing manner, but Kaori blushed, and angrily rounded on Shizuku.

  “Oh, come on, Shizuku-chan! Could you please not say strange things like that! I was just wondering if Nagumo-kun was okay!”

  That’s basically you trying to pick him up then, isn’t it? Shizuku thought, but not wanting to make Kaori sulk, she decided to keep quiet. Still, she was unable to hide the mirth in her eyes, and Kaori just pouted and said “Jeez” when she saw Shizuku’s expression.

  Hajime had been watching their little exchange when he felt someone’s gaze on him and reflexively straightened up. It was a glare dripping with hatred. He was used to getting such gazes from his classmates, but the intensity packed in that one was on a completely different level.

  That wasn’t the first time he had felt this gaze either. He’d felt it multiple times since that morning, but whenever he tried to look for the one who was doing it, they seemingly calmed down. Hajime was growing tired of it.

  What’s going on...? Did I do something to someone? Though all I’ve been doing is trying my best despite my incompetence... Wait, could that be the reason? Maybe they’re thinking “the hell do you think you’re playing at, acting like you can be helpful!?” or something...

  “Haaah...” Hajime sighed deeply. He had started to think there might’ve been some wisdom in heeding Kaori’s warning.

  The class continued exploring the twentieth floor.

  Each of the labyrinth’s floors spanned a few kilometers in every direction, and new floors usually took a team of dozens anywhere from half a month to a month to fully search and map out.

  However, at present, all the floors until the forty-seventh had been mapped out, so they were in no danger of getting lost. Nor should they have been in any danger of falling into a trap.

  The deepest room in the twentieth floor was like a limestone cave, but made of ice. Icicles protruded from the walls, some of them melted, creating a complex topography. The stairs leading to the twenty-first floor was just past it.

  Once they made it that far, their training for the day would be over. Sadly, while teleportation magic had existed during the Age of the Gods, it no longer did, so they had to walk back to the entrance. The students had already begun to relax when a protrusion in the wall had prevented them from advancing in formation, forcing them to continue in single file.

  Eventually, the two people at the head of their procession, Kouki and Captain Meld, came to a halt. Puzzled, the students prepared for battle as they looked around. It seemed they had encountered a monster.

  “It’s camouflaging itself! Keep a close eye on your surroundings!” Captain Meld yelled out a warning to everyone.

  An instant later, the thing everyone had mistaken for a protrusion suddenly changed color and began to move. The creature that had assumed the shape of a wall was actually a dark brown color, and it stood there on two legs. It began beating its chest. Seemed the monster was a gorilla that could camouflage itself like a chameleon.

  “A Rockmount! Watch out for its arms, they pack quite a punch!” Captain Meld’s voice resounded throughout the cavern as Kouki’s party prepared to engage the enemy.

  Ryutarou repelled the Rockmount’s enormous arms with his fists. Meanwhile, Kouki and Shizuku shuffled to either side to flank it, but were unable to properly surround it because of the rough terrain.

  Realizing it couldn’t get past the human wall that was Ryutarou, the Rockmount fell back and sucked in a deep breath.

  “Graaaaaaaaaaah!!!” Seconds later, it looked back and roared so ferociously that the entire room shook.

  “Guh!?” “Uwaaah!?” “Kyaaah!?” Though the shockwave of sound that hit the students did no harm, it made everyone stiffen in fear. That was the magic Rockmounts were capable of using, “Intimidating Roar.” It was a mana-infused roar that could temporarily paralyze all who heard it.

  Kouki and the others, who took it head on, found themselves unable to move an inch. They expected to be attacked while stunned, but the Rockmount sidestepped past them, picked up a nearby boulder, and hurled it at Kaori’s group. And what a spectacular throw it was! It flew cleanly over the heads of the immobile front line and headed straight toward its intended target.

  They all pointed their magic circle-amplified staves at the boulder and prepared to intercept. There was no space to dodge.

  However, they stopped their chant midway, the sight of what was coming toward them shocking them into inaction.

  The boulder the Rockmount had thrown was a second Rockmount! It somersaulted in the air and spread its arms wide, heading straight for Kaori. The way it spread its arms out resembled the Lupin Dive. The resemblance was so uncanny that one almost expected it to scream “Kaori-chaaaan!” as it hit her. It even had the bloodshot eyes and heavy breathing down pat. Kaori, Eri, and Suzu all screamed in terror and forgot to keep chanting.

  “Oy, what do you think you’re doing in the middle of a fight!?” Captain Meld swiftly cut down the Rockmount that was diving toward the girls.

  They all quickly apologized, but that must’ve been quite the disgusting sight to see, as their faces were still pale. A certain someone completely snapped when he saw how rattled the girls were. Amanogawa Kouki, the class’s resident self-styled hero of justice.

  “Bastard... How dare you hurt Kaori and the others... I won’t forgive you!” He must have mistakenly thought their paleness came from their close brush with death, and not how disgustingly creepy the Rockmount had looked.

  How dare you frighten a girl like that! Kouki flew into a rage over that rather cliched reason. Pure white mana began leaking from his body, and almost as if in response, his holy sword began to glow.

  “Soar unto heaven, O divine wings— Celestial Flash!”

  “No, stop, you idiot!” Kouki ignored Captain Meld, raised his sword up high, and swung down with all his might.

  He finished chanting his spell the same instant, and his holy sword unleashed a dazzling blade of light. There was no escaping it. The curved light passed through the Rockmount with only the slightest hint of resistance, cutting it cleanly in two, and stopped only after crashing into the wall.

  There was a loud rumbling, and pieces of the wall began to rain down. Kouki breathed a deep sigh, then turned to the girls, a lady killer smile on his face. He had defeated the big bad monster for them. Just as he was about to say “It’s okay now!” Captain Meld, who was smiling angrily with veins popping out of his forehead, walked up to him and delivered a punch.

  “Hobwah!?”

  “You damn fool! I understand why you got angry, but you can’t use skills like that in a narrow passage! You could’ve brought the whole cave down on us!” Kouki’s complaints died in his throat at Captain Meld’s chastising words, and he apologized awkwardly. The girls all smiled wryly and tried to comfort him.

  Then suddenly, Kaori turned to look at the crumbled section of the wall.

  “...What is that? It’s all sparkly...” At her words, everyone turned to look in the direction she was pointing.

  There was a strange mineral emitting a pale blue glow, protruding from the wall like a flower in bloom. It looked like a crystal with Indigolite buried in its center. All of the girls, including Kaori, were entranced by the beauty of the gem.

  “Oh, that’s a glanz crystal. And a pretty big one to boot. How rare,” Captain Meld said.

  Glanz crystals were basically a type of raw gemstone. Though they held no special properties, their luster and radiance made them popular among the noble ladies and their daughters. They were often processed into rings, earrings, pendants, and such other jewelry to be given as gifts. Apparently most girls were overjoyed to receive glanz jewelry as gifts. It was among the top three jewels used in proposal rings.

  “That sounds so lovely...” Kaori blushed when she heard Captain Meld’s explanation, and was further entranced by th
e stone. She then stole a glance at Hajime. It was so quick that it almost went unnoticed. However, Shizuku and one other person most definitely did take note.

  “In that case, I’ll go grab it for us!” Hiyama suddenly ran forward after saying that. He swiftly climbed up the debris of the crumbled wall, heading toward the glanz crystal as fast as possible. Captain Meld hurriedly tried to stop him.

  “Hey! Don’t just run off on your own! We’re not even sure it’s safe yet!” However, Hiyama pretended not to hear, and he was standing in front of the crystal before long.

  Captain Meld chased after Hiyama in an attempt to stop him. At the same time, one of the knights pulled out his Fair Scope and scanned the area around the crystal. A moment later, his face went pale.

  “Captain! It’s a trap!”

  “What!? Stop!” However, both Captain Meld and the knight’s warning arrived a moment too late.

  The second Hiyama touched it, a magic circle appeared in the center of the crystal. The trap had been set for anyone foolish enough to touch the glanz crystal. “If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is.” That was one of the world’s golden rules.

  The magic circle glowed bright, then grew large enough to encompass the entire room. It was just like the day they had been summoned.

  “Crap, retreat! Everyone get out, now!” Captain Meld’s words spurred everyone into action, and they all scrambled for the exit... but they didn’t make it in time.

  Light filled the room, and before long white was the only thing anyone could see. Everyone was assailed by a momentary sensation of weightlessness.

  Hajime and the others could feel the atmosphere shift. A moment later, they all fell to the ground with a thud.

  Hajime groaned in pain as he felt his aching butt, then looked around. Most of his other classmates were still on the ground, but Captain Meld and his knights, along with Kouki and the other vanguard fighters, were already on their feet, examining their surroundings.

  The magic circle from earlier must have contained a teleportation spell. Magic from The Age of the Gods was remarkable because it could easily do things that no modern-day mage could.

  Hajime and the others had been teleported onto a massive stone bridge. It was around one hundred meters in length. The ceiling also towered a full twenty meters above them. Below the bridge was not a river, but instead a dark abyss with no visible end. The gaping chasm resembled the very pits of hell.

  Though the bridge was ten meters wide, it had no railing at all, so if someone slipped, there would be nothing to catch their fall. Hajime and the others had been sent to the middle of the bridge. One side of the bridge was a passage heading further in, while stairs leading upward were at the other end.

  After confirming the situation, Captain Meld curtly barked out orders.

  “Everyone, get up and head for the stairs! Now!” His voice boomed louder than thunder, and the students hurried to follow his orders.

  However, labyrinth’s traps were not so easy to escape. They would not be allowed to retreat so easily.

  New magic circles suddenly appeared on either side of the bridge, accompanied by a swirling torrent of dark red mana. The magic circle on the passage-side of the bridge was ten meters wide. The ones on the stairs-side were only one meter each, but there were many.

  The dark red magic circles resembled pools of blood, and gave off an ominous feel. They pulsed once, and waves of monsters began pouring forth.

  From the countless magic circles near the stairs came a horde of skeletons wielding swords, Traum Soldiers. Their empty eye sockets gleamed with the same blood-red light as the circles they came from, and they rolled around like real eyes too. Within seconds, the stairs were teeming with nearly a hundred of the creatures, and more were still pouring out.

  Despite their numbers, Hajime thought what was coming out on the passage-side of the bridge was far more of a threat.

  From within the ten meter wide magic circle emerged a monster as big as the circle that summoned it. It stood on four legs and had some kind of helmet on its head. To Hajime, the closest thing it resembled was a triceratops. However, unlike a triceratops, its eyes glowed bright red, and as it clacked its wicked sharp claws and fangs together, flames sprouted from the horn on its helmeted forehead.

  Everyone stared at it in slack-jawed horror, and Captain Meld’s terrified whisper resounded surprisingly clearly throughout the room.

  “Oh my god... It’s... a Behemoth...”

  A wave of unease washed over the students when they saw Captain Meld, the reliable captain who’d always been their reassuring pillar of support, break out in a cold sweat.

  Kouki realized he was up against a truly fearsome opponent, and turned to ask Captain Meld about its properties.

  However, the Behemoth, a monster that had even the kingdom’s strongest knight quaking in his boots, refused to grant Kouki the luxury of time. It sucked in a huge breath, then let out a guttural roar, signaling the start of the battle.

  “Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

  “Huh!?” The roar brought Captain Meld back to his senses, and he quickly began barking orders.

  “Alan, take the kids and break through the line of Traum Soldiers! Kyle, Ivan, Bael, create a barrier! We have to stop that thing, no matter what! Kouki, head to the stairs with the rest of the students!”

  “Please wait, Meld-san! We’ll help too! That dinosaur thing is really bad news! We’ll also—”

  “Idiot! If that thing really is a Behemoth, you kids don’t stand a chance! It’s a monster that shows up on the sixty-fifth floor! Even the legendary adventurer, who everyone called the strongest in the world, couldn’t stand against it! Now get out of here! I definitely won’t let you kids die!”

  Kouki faltered momentarily at the intensity in Captain Meld’s gaze, but he refused to leave. Captain Meld opened his mouth to yell at Kouki, but before he could say anything, the Behemoth roared again and charged... straight toward the retreating students.

  In order to protect their summoned heroes, Heiligh’s strongest warriors chanted together in an attempt to form a barrier.

  “Grant thine protection to your beloved children, O God! Reject all malice and let this be a holy ground that denies thine enemies passage! Hallowed Ground!” The spell was four verses long, inscribed on a magic circle two meters long, and drawn on the highest class magical paper. On top of that, it had been invoked by three people in tandem. Though it had only one use, and lasted for only one minute, it created an impenetrable barrier that could not be broken.

  A glowing dome of light materialized, stopping the Behemoth in its tracks. A huge shockwave spread out as it crashed into the barrier, pulverizing the ground near the impact. Despite being made of stone, the entire bridge shook precariously. The retreating students screamed, and some of them fell down.

  Traum Soldiers were powerful monsters that appeared on the thirty-eighth floor and deeper. They were far stronger than anything the students had faced so far. With their path forward blocked by a horde of ghastly skeletons, and a lumbering beast at their backs, the students fell into a panic.

  All semblance of formation crumbled as everyone scrambled for the stairs, trying their best to escape. The lone knight that stayed with the group, Alan, tried to calm everyone down, but they were all far too terrified to listen.

  Amidst the panic, someone shoved one of the female students from behind, and she fell forward. She groaned in pain and looked up, only to see a Traum Soldier brandishing its sword right in front of her.

  “Ah!” At the same time she let out that gasp, the soldier swung its sword down at her head.

  I’m going to die, she thought, when the ground at the Traum Soldier’s feet suddenly bulged upward.

  It lost its balance, so the swing went wide, hitting the ground with a clang. The protrusion in the ground then swelled forward, taking a few Traum Soldier’s with it, and drove them to the edge of the bridge, where it then tipped them into the abyss.

&nb
sp; About two meters from the edge of the bridge squatted Hajime, panting heavily. He’d transmuted various parts of the ground in quick succession, dragging the soldiers to their deaths on an earthen slide. His transmutation ability had grown rapidly, and before he knew it, he’d been able to transmute in quick succession. The total area he could transmute had increased as well.

  However, he could still only transmute a short distance from where he was touching, so Hajime trembled in fear as he squatted within range of the Traum Soldier’s swords.

  He popped a mana pill into his mouth and ran over to the collapsed student, grabbing her with his gloved hands and pulling her up to her feet. She silently let herself be pulled up, still in shock, and Hajime smiled reassuringly at her.

  “Come on, we’ve gotta hurry. Don’t worry, as long as we stay calm, these pile of bones are nothing. After all, everyone but me is OP as hell!” Hajime confidently slapped her on the back, and she stared at him for a minute before saying “Yeah! Thanks!” cheerfully, and running off.

  Hajime continued creating pitfalls and protrusions to immobilize and unbalance the Traum Soldiers, while keeping an eye on his surroundings. Everyone was still panicking, swinging their weapons wildly and firing their spells off at random. If that kept up, it was possible someone might die. Alan was trying his best to reorganize the students, but it wasn’t going well. And all the while, soldiers continued pouring out of the magic circles.

  “I’ve gotta do something... What everyone needs right now is a leader... someone with enough strength to blow open a path for us... Amanogawa-kun!” Hajime started sprinting toward Kouki and the Behemoth.

  The Behemoth was still ramming the barrier over and over. A huge shockwave accompanied each charge, and the stone bridge began creaking ominously after his repeated assaults. Cracks were forming along the barrier, and it was only a matter of time before it shattered. Meld was adding his incantations to the barrier as well, but it didn’t appear that it would last long.