He had hoped to hide among the grass as he made his way over, but that plan had clearly failed already. Instead, since his position was already compromised, he decided to speed up and activated Aerodynamic along with Supersonic Step to shoot forward.
Sluuuurp.
“Yue!? Can you please stop sucking my blood at every opportunity!?”
“...I need it.”
“Liar! I know you’ve barely used any mana since the last time you took a sip!”
“Their flowers are... draining my... Kuh.”
“Stop playing the tragic heroine card, I know you’re just fine, you moron! I can’t believe you’re screwing around like this when I’m running for my life.”
Even in such a tense situation, Yue was more interested in Hajime’s blood than their impending crisis. Man, she’s got no shame. Guess I should’ve figured since she’s royalty and all... And despite her playful attitude, she was still shooting down every monster that leaped in range without skipping a beat. After a few more minutes of running they arrived at the cave entrance, with two hundred monsters in tow.
The fissure was narrow enough that two grown men would have trouble walking side by side. The T. rexes wouldn’t fit at all and the raptors would have to follow in single file. One of the raptors leaped at them, claws at the ready, but before it could even make it a few feet, Hajime blew it to bits with Donner. Once they were through the fissure, Hajime transmuted it, closing it behind him.
“Haaah, we can finally take a break.”
“...You sound tired.”
“If you’re worried about me, how about you get off my back?”
“Muu... Fine.”
Reluctantly, Yue slipped off of his back. She must really like my back.
“Now then, considering how desperate those guys looked, I’d say we’re in the right place. Make sure you stay on your toes.”
“Okay.”
The inside of the cavern was dim since Hajime had closed the exit, so they proceeded cautiously.
After a few minutes of walking, the path opened up into a wide room. There was a second fissure on the other side of the room. Maybe that’s the path that leads to the next floor? Hajime started combing the room. Sense Presence didn’t detect any enemies, but there was this ominous feeling he just couldn’t shake, so he kept his guard up. He had learned the hard way that some monsters could evade his Sense Presence.
It was when they reached the center of the room that it finally happened. A countless number of what seemed like green ping pong balls flew at them from every corner of the room. Yue and Hajime stood back to back and began shooting down the ping pong balls.
However, there were over a hundred coming at them fast, and he realized he couldn’t get them all in time. He instantly changed tracks and transmuted a wall to protect himself. The balls all crashed into the wall, unable to pierce through the thick stone. Though fast, they didn’t appear to have much force. Yue had no problem taking care of the ones on her side with her superior wind magic.
“Yue, I think that’s the main body’s way of attacking. Do you have any idea where it is?”
“......”
“Yue?” Hajime asked, inquisitively. Though she didn’t possess any perception skills like Hajime, her honed vampire senses provided her with a useful amount of information unavailable to Hajime.
However, Yue didn’t respond. Confused, he turned to her and asked again, but the reply he received was completely unexpected.
“...Run, Hajime!” Her hands were pointing at Hajime. Gales of wind whipped dangerously around them. His instincts screamed at him to run, so he leaped away as quickly as possible. Not even a second later, a blade of wind passed through the spot he’d just been standing on and neatly sliced through the wall behind him.
“Yue!?” Hajime could barely believe what he was seeing. He raised his voice in surprise, but then understanding dawned on him when he saw what was above Yue’s head. Blooming atop her golden hair was a small flower. It felt almost as if the monster had chosen that flower specifically for her too. After all, the scarlet rose above her head suited her perfectly.
“Dammit, those green balls must’ve been flowers!” How stupid can I be? I want to punch myself right now, he thought, as he evaded another one of Yue’s wind slashes.
“Hajime... Unngh...” Her usual poker face was replaced with a grief-stricken expression. When he’d shot the flower off the raptor’s head it had stamped on it with a surprising amount of hatred, which meant that it had recalled the time it had spent under the flower’s control. The flower controlled only the body and not the mind.
Fortunately, he already knew how to free her from it. He took aim at the flower and prepared to pull the trigger.
However, it seemed his quarry was aware of what his weapons were capable of, and that he’d shot down a flower before.
It controlled Yue, forcing her to protect the flower. It made her bob up and down, meaning that if he missed he was liable to shoot right through her skull. He ran forward, intending to pluck it off, but Yue pointed a hand at her own head as he did.
“Oh now you’ve done it...” The message was clear. If he tried to get close, the monster would force Yue to attack herself with her own magic.
Though she was practically immortal, Hajime couldn’t say with confidence she’d still be able to regenerate if she blew herself to smithereens with a powerful spell. And she was more than skilled enough to cast even the strongest of spells in seconds. He wasn’t willing to risk Yue’s life on a gamble like that.
Sensing his hesitation, the monster slithered out of the crack in the back of the room.
What crawled out of the depths was a woman-plant hybrid that closely resembled something like a Dryad or Alraune. There was no better way to describe the creature they faced. According to legend, they took on the forms of beautiful women to sap their opponents’ will to fight, and if one treated them well they would be blessed with good fortune. However, the creature standing in front of them didn’t seem anything like the legends.
While it did still look like a woman, its face was as ugly as its fighting style was dirty, and the countless vines writhing around it like tentacles only served to make it look all the more disgusting. It might have been better to call it an Alraune wannabe. There was a wicked grin plastered across its hideous face.
Hajime lost no time in pointing Donner at this new opponent. But before he could fire, Yue got in between him and the Alraune wannabe, blocking his line of sight.
“Hajime... I’m sorry...” Yue gritted her teeth in frustration. Not being able to control her own body must have been unbearable for her. Even now, she was desperately struggling to move. As Hajime watched, crimson droplets began trailing down the corners of her mouth. She must have bitten her lips so hard she drew blood. He couldn’t tell if it was frustration at her own powerlessness, or an attempt to inflict enough pain that she could break the spell. Perhaps it was a little of both.
Using Yue as a shield, the Alraune wannabe fired another green ball at Hajime.
A bullet from Donner blasted it to bits. Though he couldn’t see them, he was sure the ball must have sprayed flower spores everywhere when it burst.
However, Hajime didn’t feel a flower blooming on his head. The Alraune wannabe suddenly stopped grinning when she saw Hajime was still unfazed. The spores seemed not to work on him.
Must be because of all the resistances I have. His guess was more or less correct, as the Alraune wannabe’s spores were a form of neurotoxin. Hence, his Poison Resistance made him immune to their effects. In other words, the only reason Hajime wasn’t a puppet was because of sheer luck. It wasn’t as if Yue had let her guard down or anything. Which was why she had no reason to be blaming herself.
Realizing her spores couldn’t control him, the Alraune wannabe pouted and commanded Yue to attack him with her magic. Another blade of wind shot out toward him. From how simple Yue’s movements had become, and how single-minded the earlier raptors
’ attacks had been, Hajime surmised that the Alraune wannabe couldn’t bring out her controlled subjects’ full strength.
I guess that’s some consolation at least. When he moved to jump out of the way, Yue pointed a hand at her head again, rooting him in place. Unable to dodge, he activated the Diamond Skin skill he’d taken from the cyclops to defend himself.
Diamond Skin involved coating the caster’s body in mana and then hardening it, so that they were surrounded by a shell literally as hard as diamonds. He hadn’t trained it much yet, so it was probably barely even a tenth as strong as the cyclops’ version of it had been. Still, it was enough to stop Yue’s wind blades, which were sharp but lacked power.
There is a way I can end this fight right now, but... I’m worried about the aftermath... Should I try throwing an incendiary grenade at it? As Hajime pondered how best to escape the deadlock, he heard Yue’s grief-stricken shout.
“Hajime! Don’t mind me... just shoot!” It seemed she’d resolved herself. If she was just going to get in his way and attack him, she’d rather just be shot at herself. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of hesitation in her crimson eyes.
Normally this would be a scene where the main character said something like, “There’s no way I can do that!” or, “I’ll save you, no matter what it takes!” and strengthen his bonds with the heroine. And in fact, the old Hajime might have done just that. But the current Hajime was a much harder man.
“Wait, really? Thanks.” Bang! A single gunshot resounded through at the room.
Upon hearing Yue’s words, Hajime had fired without hesitation. Silence filled the room as the gunshot’s echoes faded away. The red rose spun through the air before soundlessly falling to the ground.
Yue blinked in surprise. The Alraune wannabe did too.
Yue uncertainly patted the top of her head. The flower was gone, but the hair near it was frizzly and torn. Even the Alraune wannabe, wicked as it was, glared scornfully at Hajime.
“You of all people don’t have the right to judge me!” Bang! Hajime fired angrily at the Alraune wannabe. Green goop splattered everywhere as it lost its head. Its limbs spasmed momentarily before the whole thing crumpled to the ground.
“Are you alright, Yue? You don’t feel weird anywhere, do you?” Hajime casually walked up to Yue. However, Yue glared angrily at Hajime while continuing to flatten down her hair.
“...You really shot me.”
“Huh? I mean, yeah, you told me to.”
“...You didn’t even hesitate...”
“Well yeah, I was planning on shooting from the start. I have confidence in my skills, but I figured you’d get mad if I just shot without warning. I was just being considerate by waiting for you to say something first.”
“...You grazed... my head...”
“It’ll heal up right away though, won’t it? So there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Ughhh...”
Her expression screamed “So what!” as she beat on his chest with her fists.
It was true that she was the one that told him to shoot, and that she would have preferred that to continuing to get in his way. But Yue was still a girl. She had dreams too. She’d hoped Hajime would have hesitated at least a little. She was mad at how lightly he’d taken her resolve.
For his part, once Hajime had realized the Alraune wannabe couldn’t control Yue well enough to use more advanced magic, he had thought there was no longer any reason to worry. There weren’t many attacks that could overcome her immortality.
Despite that, he had hesitated, the greatest taboo of fighting, until Yue had given him a signal that it was okay. He couldn’t understand why she was still so mad after, in his mind, he had given her the ultimate amount of consideration. She got even angrier when she heard his explanation, and sulkily turned her back to him.
Hajime sighed to himself and started thinking on how he could improve her mood. Something that proved to be infinitely harder than defeating the Alraune wannabe.
It was a few days after they’d defeated the Alraune wannabe and Hajime had soured Yue’s mood. She’d nearly sucked him dry before she forgave him. But it had been worth it to make her happy again. Once Hajime had recovered from near-death blood loss, the two of them went back to exploring the labyrinth.
The next floor would mark the hundredth from the one Hajime had started in.
Before they delved into it, he decided to make sure his supplies were in perfect order. As always, Yue watched him work with unbridled enthusiasm. Though it was perhaps more accurate to say she was more interested in watching Hajime work than in watching his work itself. Today, too, she was sitting right next to Hajime, watching his hand and his face as he worked. Her expression was far too relaxed for how dangerous a place they were in.
Having lost all track of time, Hajime had no way of knowing how many days had passed since he’d first met Yue, but she’d been showing him that relaxed expression quite often recently. She’d clearly gotten used to being around him.
Especially when they were resting in his temporary bases, she always stuck to him like glue. When they were sleeping she clung to his arm as they slept, and when they were sitting she always hugged him from behind. And when she was sucking his blood she’d just hug him from the front. Even when she finished she’d cling to him for a long time after. She particularly enjoyed burying her face in his chest and rubbing against him.
But see, the problem was, Hajime was still a guy.
Fortunately, Yue’s childish appearance made her look more cute than sexy, but the fact remained that she was actually quite old. He normally couldn’t tell due to the way she acted, but the few times her age shone through she looked so alluring that he had a hard time holding himself back. He was able to control himself only because he was aware of the constant danger that surrounded them at all times, but he wasn’t confident he’d be able to withstand her temptation once they got back to the surface and they could relax for a bit. If he was honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to withstand it...
“Hajime... You’re being even more careful than usual.”
“Hm? Yeah, cause the next floor’s going to be the hundredth one. I just get the feeling there’s going to be something big waiting for us. They say most of the labyrinths are only supposed to go one hundred floors deep too, so... Well, there’s no harm in taking precautions.”
Though in Hajime’s case, he had traversed a further eighty floors after falling past dozens more from a floor that already was most likely deeper than the twentieth. He had long since passed the point where the standard depth of the Great Orcus Labyrinth was thought to come to an end. Considering how much deeper he had delved after already falling into the depths of hell, even he could tell he was far deeper than the endpoint of the “normal” Great Orcus Labyrinth.
Marksmanship, physical abilities, specialized magic, weaponry, and finally transmutation. Hajime had polished his skills in each field to the utmost. His strength was quite formidable as well. However, the truly scary thing about this labyrinth was that even with his strength, it might still throw something at him that could kill him without breaking a sweat. Which was why he made as many preparations as he could before descending. For reference on just how strong he’d become, his current stats looked something like this.
* * *
* * *
Hajime Nagumo Age: 17 Male Level: 76
Job: Synergist
Strength: 1980
Vitality: 2090
Defense: 2070
Agility: 2450
Magic: 1780
Magic Defense: 1780
Skills: Transmute [+Ore Appraisal] [+Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis] [+Duplicate Transmutation] — Mana Manipulation [+Mana Discharge] [+Mana Compression] [+Remote Manipulation] — Iron Stomach — Lightning Field — Air Dance [+Aerodynamic] [+Supersonic Step] [+Steel Legs] — Gale Claw — Night Vision — Far Sight — Sense Presence — Detect Magic — Sense
Heat — Hide Presence — Poison Resistance — Paralysis Resistance — Petrification Resistance — Diamond Skin — Intimidate — Telepathy — Language Comprehension
* * *
* * *
Though he received new skills with each monster he consumed, he obtained new magic less and less frequently. Boss-level monsters still gave him new magic, but the standard ones loitering around each floor had stopped granting him new spells. He hypothesized that was because he was becoming more and more monster-like in constitution every time his body strengthened itself from eating monster meat. After all, monsters didn’t obtain the magic of the prey they killed and ate.
With their preparations finally complete, Hajime and Yue descended the stairs to the floor below.
The bottom of the staircase opened up into a massive open room, empty save for the pillars that dotted the area. Each pillar had a spiral pattern engraved into its stone face. It gave off the impression that each pillar was a massive tree with vines entwined around its trunk. The pillars were all spaced evenly apart from each other, and extended all the way to the ceiling thirty meters above. The ground was unnaturally smooth, as if it had been paved. All in all, it was a very majestic room.
Hajime and Yue took a step forward as they marveled at the room’s design. The moment they stepped inside, the pillars in front of them began glowing faintly. The two of them instantly returned to their senses and warily observed their surroundings. Starting from the pillars nearest to them, each set began glowing one after the other.
Hajime and Yue both instantly raised their guard, but after a while nothing more happened, so they carefully continued forward. Both of them were on alert for any sign of enemies.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 1 (Premium) Page 23
