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

by Ryo Shirakome

  He heard a soft thump and tore his eyes away from the wondrous spectacle to look back at Yue. She was slumped on the ground, breathing heavily. It seemed she had used up all her mana.

  “Yue, you alright?”

  “Mm... Just very... tired...”

  “Haha. But man, you really did it. Thanks for the save. I’ll handle the rest, so you just rest.”

  “Mm, good luck...” Hajime waved at Yue, and then used Supersonic Step to close the distance between him and the scorpion in one bound. It was still in surprisingly good shape. Though it was howling in pain and rage at having its shell fused together, and when it saw Hajime approach it instantly fired its needle buckshot.

  For his part, Hajime swiftly pulled another flash grenade from his pouch and flung it at the scorpion. He then blew away the buckshot with Donner before it had a chance to separate. After that, he fired a non-railgun powered shot at the falling flash grenade.

  Having gotten used to this move already, the scorpion wasn’t fazed this time. It screeched in annoyance at its temporary blindness, but it still continued seeking out Hajime.

  But no matter where it looked, it couldn’t find him. As it glanced about in confusion, Hajime fell from the sky and landed on its back.

  “Kshaa!?” It let out a surprised hiss. That was no surprise. After all, its prey had escaped its senses and suddenly showed up behind it.

  Hajime had used Hide Presence and the flash from his grenade to escape the scorpion’s senses.

  The red hot scorpion’s shell burned Hajime’s skin. However, he ignored the pain, placed Donner directly above one of the damaged sections, and emptied the gun’s entire chamber. Having already lost some of its hardness from Yue’s earlier fireball, the scorpion’s shell was unable to withstand a barrage of point blank rail gun enhanced bullets, so it finally shattered.

  Heedless of the damage it might cause itself, the scorpion thrust at Hajime with both its tails, but he was faster.

  “Take this, you bastard.” He pulled another grenade from his pouch, then thrust it deep into the hole he had made with Donner. He ignored his burning flesh as he dug his “present” in as deep as he could. Then, before the scorpion could attack him with its tails, he fled to safety using Supersonic Step. As he fled, it turned around to chase him down with a projectile attack.

  However, the moment it finished turning—

  Boom! A muffled explosion resounded throughout the room, which made the scorpion thing twitch. The frozen scorpion and Hajime stared at each other as silence reigned.

  Finally, the scorpion crumpled to the ground with a resounding crash.

  Hajime finished reloading Donner and slowly walked up to the unmoving scorpion. Just to make sure it was dead, he fired three bullets into his mouth before nodding in satisfaction. It had become his policy in recent times to make sure he thoroughly finished any foe off.

  As he turned around, he found Yue sitting on the ground staring at him, expressionless as always. Despite her poker face, it seemed to him that she was happy. He had no idea when he’d finally escape the wretched labyrinth he was currently trapped in, but at least he’d found a reliable partner to travel with.

  According to myth, Pandora’s Box had contained all of the world’s evil, but also a tiny bit of hope. Though he had jokingly referred to the room as Pandora’s Box before, it had turned into a more accurate analogy than he had ever expected. Thinking happily to himself, Hajime slowly walked over to Yue.

  Chapter IV: Guardian of the Depths

  Hajime and Yue harvested the flesh from the defeated scorpion and cyclopes, then carried it all back to his base. Transporting such a huge quantity of meat was no easy feat, but after giving Yue more of his blood to restore her energy, Hajime was able to enlist her help. With their combined strength, enhanced by her body-empowering magic, they were able to transport the vast quantities of meat to his hideout.

  Originally, he had suggested using the room Yue had been sealed in as a new base, but she had rejected the proposal.

  He supposed it was understandable. She was probably sick of staring at the walls of what had been her prison for centuries. Even if they were going to be stuck on this floor until Hajime replenished his stock of supplies, it was better for her mental health to have Yue out of that room. Thus, they were both spending the time talking and getting to know each other better while they scavenged for supplies.

  “So that means you have to be at least 300 years old, right Yue?”

  “It’s rude to ask a girl her age.”

  She glared angrily at Hajime. It seemed even in parallel worlds asking a girl about her age was taboo.

  From what he recalled, the vampires had been destroyed in a massive war that had enveloped the land 300 years ago. Chances were Yue had lost track of time, trapped in the silent darkness as she had been, but it stood to reason that she must have been at least that old. If she’d been sealed at the age of twenty or so, then she was most likely far older than even 300.

  “Do all vampires live as long as you?”

  “...No, I’m an exception. I don’t age because of my regenerative powers.”

  According to her, she had stopped aging ever since she had awoken to her powers at a young age. Average vampires could still extend their lifespan by drinking the blood of other races, but even then they couldn’t live much longer than two hundred years or so.

  As a frame of reference, humans in this world lived an average of 70 years, while demons’ lifespan was a bit longer at 120. Beastmen had varying lifespans, depending on the specific race. Elves, for example, could live for centuries.

  The reason for Yue’s exceptional powers was because she had inherited the blood of the ancient atavistic vampires. Her lineage had made her one of the strongest creatures in the world at the time, and she had ascended to the throne at the tender age of seventeen.

  I see. No wonder she was able to blast through that scorpion’s shell so easily. Better yet, she was nigh immortal. Only gods or devils could aspire to that level of strength. And it seemed Yue had been classified as one of the latter.

  Her uncle, blinded by his greed and ambition, had perpetrated the misconception among his fellow vampires that Yue was indeed a devil. He had then used that as justification to try and kill her, but had been stymied by her automatic regeneration. As a result, he had ended up sealing her here in this underground abyss instead. At the time, she had been too shocked by the sudden betrayal to resist capture. By the time she’d regained enough of her composure to understand what had just happened, she had already been sealed inside the rock cube.

  Which was why she had no idea how that scorpion had come to dwell there, how she’d been sealed, or even how they’d managed to bring her down here into the depths of hell. Hajime had been a little disappointed when he’d heard that, as he’d hoped she might have known some way out.

  She discussed the specifics of her powers with him at length as well. Supposedly she had perfect affinity with every element. At one point Hajime recalled saying “What the hell, you’re totally overpowered...” to which Yue had replied by saying she wasn’t very skilled at close quarters combat. The “best” she was capable of doing was using strengthening magic to increase her physical abilities to run around while firing off spells as fast as she could. Of course, her ability to ignore wounds thanks to her innate regeneration and the overwhelming might of her spells meant that was still enough to kill most everything.

  An interesting thing to note was the fact that she still said spell names out loud, despite having no need for chants of any kind. It seemed it had just become a habit since she had started learning that way. Even those with an affinity for magic usually had to say something related to the spell to keep a firm image of it in their minds, and it seemed even Yue was no exception.

  Her automatic regeneration appeared to be a kind of special magic similar to what monsters had, and would naturally activate so long as she had mana remaining. Unless she was literally reduced to ashes
in an instant, she could come back from any injury. But looking at it from another angle, that meant that once her mana dried up, her injuries would no longer heal. Had she taken any damage in that fight with the scorpion, she would undoubtedly have died.

  “Anyway... onto the most important question. Yue, do you have any idea where we are? Or any idea how to get back to the surface?”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t. However...” It seemed Yue was unsure of their exact location too. Though her tone was apologetic, the way she trailed off implied that she knew something at least.

  “According to legend, this labyrinth was built by one of the mavericks.”

  “The mavericks?’”

  On top of being an unfamiliar word, it had a rather ominous ring to it. Hajime stopped his transmutation work and turned to face Yue. She tore her gaze away from his work as well and met his eyes before nodding sharply and continuing.

  “They were rebels that tried to bring about the end of the world.” With how reticent and expressionless Yue was, her explanations always took time. For his part, Hajime had a boatload of transmutation to get through, so he settled back to listen while he worked on replenishing his supply of ammunition. The previous battle had also shown him just how lacking in strength he was, and he had started work on a new weapon to rectify his insufficient firepower.

  Supposedly, there had been seven descendants who had colluded together to plot the destruction of the world. However, the gods put a stop to their plans and they were forced to flee to the ends of the earth. Their bastions of exile were what later came to be called the Seven Great Labyrinths. The Great Orcus Labyrinth being one of them, of course. The maverick who created it was rumored to reside in the deepest depths of this abyss everyone else called hell.

  “...It’s possible there might be a path to the surface there, in the deepest part of the labyrinth...”

  “I see. I can’t imagine there being some huge, thousand story long staircase at the bottom. But if this whole thing was made by someone from the Age of the Gods, then there’s probably a teleportation circle or something.” Hajime smiled at this new possibility. He returned his gaze to the work at hand. Yue followed suit. Her eyes were glued to Hajime’s hands.

  “...Is it really that interesting to watch me work?” She nodded silently. Hajime thought she looked extremely cute just then, sitting there hugging her knees with her fingers barely poking out of the sleeve of his baggy overcoat. He was overcome by a burning desire to hug her.

  Man, I can’t believe a cute little girl like her is really 300 years old. Parallel worlds really are something. They even have eternal lolis. Even transformed, Hajime never forgot any of his otaku knowledge. As if reading his thoughts, Yue suddenly looked up.

  “You just thought something really rude, didn’t you, Hajime?”

  “What do you mean?” He played dumb, internally sweating at how perceptive her woman’s intuition was. Silently, he returned to his work, clearly hoping to distract Yue’s attention. He apparently succeeded, as she started bombarding him with questions about himself.

  “...Hajime, what are you doing here?” That was the question he had most expected. This was, after all, the bottom of the abyss. The figurative pits of hell. A place no one but monsters called home.

  But that was just the first of many questions to come. How are you able to control mana directly? How can you use the special magic of monsters? How are you able to eat monster meat and not die? What happened to your left arm? Are you even human, Hajime? What’s that weapon you used earlier?

  After the first one it was as if a dam had burst, and she pelted him with questions ceaselessly.

  For his part, Hajime too, had been starved of conversation for far too long. He answered each question thoroughly, not at all annoyed by the storm of inquiries. It looked like Hajime had a bit of a soft spot for Yue. He probably also unconsciously realized somewhere that she was the only reason he hadn’t truly fallen to the level of an unfeeling monster that cared only for his own survival.

  Starting from the summoning, he retold the tale of how he wound up there. He told Yue about how they had been selected as heroes, and how he had been a worthless Synergist with no useful skills, to the labyrinth excursion and his fight with the Behemoth, to his betrayal at the hands of one of his classmates, his descent into hell, how he lost his arm to the Claw Bear, his discovery of the potion (Yue later explained to him that it was Ambrosia), how he started eating monsters, how his knowledge from his original world gave him the idea for his weapon, his rematch with the Claw Bear, and finally his descent through the dungeon until he reached her floor. He talked at length about everything he could remember. And, as his tale wound down, he could hear her sniffling.

  “What’s wrong?” Hajime asked, the concern evident in his voice. When he glanced back at Yue he saw tears spilling from her eyes. Surprised, he hurriedly wiped the tears from her face and repeated his question.

  “What happened? What’s wrong?”

  “Sniffle... Hajime... you suffered so much... just like me...”

  She was crying for his sake. Hajime was momentarily taken aback, before he smiled reassuringly and patted Yue on the head.

  “Don’t worry about it. All that stuff’s in the past now. There’s no point in getting hung up over it. I don’t even really care about my old classmates that much anymore, and I’m not all that interested in getting revenge. All I care about now is polishing my skills, so I can make it out of here alive and find a way to return home.”

  Still sniffling, Yue closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having her head patted, looking very much like a big cat. However, she suddenly jumped with a start when Hajime mentioned returning home.

  “You’re going to go back?”

  “Hm? You mean to my own world? Of course I am. I miss it... A lot of things have changed now, but I still wanna go home...”

  “I see.”

  She looked down dejectedly, then quietly whispered:

  “...I don’t have a home to go back to... anymore...”

  “......”

  Hajime took his hand off Yue’s head and awkwardly scratched the back of his own.

  He was by no means a dense person, which was why he had already vaguely realized she had started treating him as her new “home,” so to speak. It was the same reason she had asked him to give her a name. She was worried she’d lose her home again if he returned to his original world.

  Didn’t you promise yourself you’d live only for the sake of your own wish? Just how soft can you get? Hajime mentally berated himself, but he still extended his hand to pat Yue’s head once more.

  “Well, how about coming with me, then?”

  “Huh?” Her eyes went wide with surprise as she processed his words. She gazed deeply at him with her crimson eyes, wet with tears. Unsettled by the intensity in her gaze, he quickly began talking.

  “I mean, well, back with me to my world. It’s a boring place with nothing but humans, and someone with powers as amazing as yours might not find it to your liking, but... well, I guess at this point my abilities are just as crazy. Anyway, I have no idea if you’ll even like it or not... and it’s only if you want to come, but, well, what do you say?”

  She blinked at him in confusion for a few seconds before timidly asking, “I can really come with you?” Though her voice was meek, her eyes were overflowing with hope.

  Hajime smiled when he saw how vividly her eyes were shining, and nodded. As he did so, Yue smiled so brightly it almost felt as if her expressionless mask until now had just been an act. For a few moments, he was completely captivated by her radiant smile. After a while he realized he was staring like an idiot, and he quickly shook his head.

  Unable to keep looking at her, Hajime returned to his work. Fascinated, Yue sidled up to watch. However, this time she stuck much closer to him as she observed him transmute. He had to keep reminding himself not to get flustered.

  “...What’s this?” She pointed to the me
chanical parts Hajime was currently transmuting. There was a thin cylinder about one meter long, red bullets twenty centimeters in length, and a few other strange objects. They were all sections of a new weapon he was developing in order to make up for Donner’s lack of power.

  “This is, uhh... an anti-tank rifle, railgun enhanced edition. I showed you my other gun, right? This is basically just a bigger version of it, with special bullets.” Once the parts were all slotted together, it would turn into a rifle that was one and a half meters in length. He had pondered earlier how he could possibly increase his firepower, and had come to the conclusion there was no way to increase Donner’s explosive force, or the acceleration of its bullets. That simply meant that if he wanted something stronger, he would need to make a new gun.

  And said gun would of course need a wider and longer barrel, so it could fit larger caliber bullets and accelerate them for longer.

  Hence why he decided to model this one after an anti-tank rifle. Its size made it cumbersome to carry around and it could only hold one bullet at a time, but its power would be theoretically unmatched. Donner alone was already slightly more powerful than a standard anti-tank rifle, so it stood to reason that a railgun enhanced rifle would fire with enough force to pulverize most anything. The recoil alone from such a gun would be enough to destroy any normal human’s arms.

  Theoretically, his new Schlagen would be 5-6 times as strong as Donner... or at least that was the hope.

  He had used parts harvested from the scorpion to make it. After the battle had concluded, he had examined the scorpion’s super-hard shell. To his surprise, his Ore Appraisal had been effective on it, and had shown him its properties.

  * * *

  * * *

  Shtar ore: A peculiar ore with a unique affinity to mana. The more mana it absorbs, the harder it gets.

  * * *