At the same time Hajime was just walking up from his own fall, another boy was just starting to stir from his own. On the edge of a large cavity of water laid an unconscious boy. The lower half of his body was submerged in the water while his upper half was clinging to the edge to keep from being completely submerged. His hair was matted to his face covering his eyes, but when the boy finally started to stir awake he patted his wet hair to the side, revealing his face to be the other boy who fell into the pit alongside Hajime: Saito Hiraga. The same Saito who got impaled by the Behemoth's horn after he and Hajime were blown away by the intentionally aimed fireball launched by Daisuke and Ryosuke.

"Huh…? What the…?" Saito groggily said as he started to regain his senses. He slowly looked around, taking in his surroundings. He was in some kind of giant rock pit, at least one mile in diameter. It was big enough to fit the entire Tokyo Dome. He could see there were hundreds of green crystals lining the far walls, and a hundred more transparent crystals jutting out of the ground. It was kind of beautiful in a way. When he looked up, the ceiling was so high that he could barely make out the top. But he could see that there were no holes he could've fallen from. And even if there was, the pond he was in might been big, at least twenty feet wide in diameter, but it wasn't that deep, seeing that his legs were touching the bottom. So where did he come in from? Saito looked around some more and saw that there was a small canal leading towards an opening in the wall. It was big enough to fit a person in there.

"Oh yeah… I ended up falling off the bridge and…" That's when it started to come back to him. After he was thrown off the bridge, he ended up falling down the abyss. Even in his injured state, he was able to make out multiple openings in the walls pouring out water. Waterfalls basically. One of them he fell into and it ended up sweeping him into this canal that led to the pond he was currently in. It was even more miraculous that he survived considering that he passed out from blood loss midway through the waterslide from hell. As he recalled what happened to him, the memory of the bridge and the Behemoth came back to him as well. Panicking, he looked down to where the Behemoth's horn stabbed through him and saw there was no puncture wound visible on his chest. While the gaping hole in his backpack that he still had on him prior to his fall and the wide hole in his shirt was proof that he was indeed ran through, the gaping wound in his chest was no longer there. Saito rubbed his chest a few times and poked at it to make sure it was really healed. Sure enough, it was. It had inexplicably healed itself through unknown means.

"I can't believe it. I survived." Saito felt a combination of bewilderment and relief that he managed to survive both a fatal stab wound and a fall off a bridge. Though now that meant that he was now trapped in a gigantic dark pit with no visible way out, he didn't swell on that yet. He was just glad to be alive.

"Although now I guess everyone else thinks I'm dead. Can't say I blame them. Even I'm surprised that I survived. How did I manage to sur—achoo!" Ugh…" As Saito contemplated his miraculous recovery, he felt a sudden chill throughout his body. He realized that he was freezing cold from being in the water for too long. Seeing that he was at risk of developing hypothermia, he quickly got out of the water. Strangely enough, he wasn't as tired as he thought he be. He still felt a little weak and sluggish, most likely a result of the massive blood loss he sustained, but otherwise he was still able to move relative fast despite that. He decided not to dwell on it and focused on keeping himself warm. He stripped off his clothes and then, in nothing but his underwear, started drawing a magic circle. He luckily still had a mana crystal he stashed in his bag. Crushing it into a powder with a nearby rock, he mixed it into a spare ink bottle he found in his bag and drew the body of a magic circle. He then used a bunch of other loose leaf paper as kindling and placed smaller rocks around it to keep the fire contained. It was hard to sort it out, as most of the paper was wet and therefore unusable, but he wasn't one to give up easily. After ten grueling minutes, he finished his campfire. Then by using his Image Composition Skill, he kept the image of the magic circle for the simple fire spell Flare clearly in his mind and began the chant.

"Mime desire is fire. Fire, imbued with the essence of light—Flare. A little dramatic sounding for such a simple spell, but whatever. At least those camping lessons mom took me to finally came in handy." He was more accepting of how the incantations sounded than Hajime was. And by using the knowledge of the numerous clubs and lessons his parents took him to store permanently in his brain, he managed to create a perfect campfire for himself. He then laid out his clothes to dry next to it.

"I hope everyone managed to off the bridge in time. Especially Hajime. He was just as close to blast as I was. And Sakura… She must've been devastated when she saw me get impaled and fall off the bridge. Haaah… Why did this have to happen? Just my luck…" As he waited and prayed for the safety of his friend and girlfriend, he took out everything that was in his backpack to check inventory. There were a few broken vials of potion that spilled everywhere, but it didn't get on any of the electronic parts he had inside. They were still shrink wrapped to protect against situations like this. Some of the parts were missing, and some looked a little damaged, but still looked somewhat functional. As he checked out all of the parts, he found something that torn a piece of his heart. He found the PSP that his grandfather gave him split completely in half. Judging by the way it was broken, Saito assumed that it got broken when he was impaled, since it was in the front of his backpack at the time.

"…Sorry grandpa." Since his grandfather gave it to him as a birthday gift weeks before he died, Saito has treasured it as a last link to him, keeping it alive as long as he could. He knew that it was going to be rendered unusable one day, but he didn't expect it to be like this. Saito started mournfully at it for a few minutes before deciding that it was for the best.

"The old thing wasn't going to last forever anyway." Saito tried to justify the unfortunate incident with a smile to himself, but he still looked a little hurt. He distracted himself from feeling sad by continuing to look through his bag. Some of the figurines he carved were missing, and the pieces that were left were broken, the two dozen antidotes he made for poisons were reduced to a dozen, the magic circles containing spells he was given by Sakura and Shizuku were undamaged thanks to a little waterproof compartment in his backpack he put them in. The swordless hilt he got from a vendor was still inside. Some of the books he had were completely ruined, but he had already memorized them, so it was no true lost. And his needle and thread were still inside. So in short, the only things that Saito has lost were a few vials of potions, his books, a few figurines, some electronics parts, his PSP, and a few formula sheets.

"Lucky I didn't lose more than this." Saito admired how lucky he was to not lose anything important. Thought he wasn't truly surprised. Ever since he was born, his luck way always a coin toss. His parents say that when he was still in the womb, their luck started to change. They went from being impoverished to middle class when Saito was still a fetus. And ever since then he's been sort of a good luck charm. Though of course there were some back luck moments. Like when they won a free trip to America, they ended up losing their passports the day they were supposed to go back home to Japan, which ended up with them living there until Saito was in his first year of middle school. Though if that didn't happen, he never would've met Sakura and Yukiko, become an avid fan of American movies, gain dual citizenship, and learn how to speak fluent English. So even though something bad came out of his luck, good things came out of it as well.

"Okay. Enough lazing around. I got to find a way out of here." Reminiscing about his childhood made Saito anxious to get back to the surface. Seeing his clothes were dry enough, he put back on his clothes, put all the stuff he took out of his backpack back inside and arranged then in a way that won't let anything fall out, and headed out. He strolled around the pit for a few minutes, looking for any sort of way out. The first thing he tried was the opening he fell from. It was completely dark, but he managed to pry a Green Glowstone out of the wall and traverse the cavern. Though he ended up at a dead end. The water continuously fell from a high cliff that was up so high that Saito couldn't see the top. If he could, Saito would climb the wall back up to the surface or wherever it ended up, thanks to the rock-climbing lessons his dad took him to. But the wall looked too smooth to get a decent hand or foot hold. He tried to make a small protrusion to grasp with his transmutation, but the rock didn't respond to it.

"It must be some kind of magic blocking me from transmuting the rock. This labyrinth was made during. the Age of Gods, so it's bound to be full of some powerful magic. Well, even if I could transmute the wall, I'm not confident enough to scale that wall without a harness to catch me in case I fall. And even then, there wasn't anything to hook it onto." With that, Saito gave up on that idea. After an hour of storming the pit, he eventually he found a large cave with a three path fork leading into it.

"Alright! Found the way out!" Saito got excited at the though of getting out of here. But as he was about to walk in, he heard soft footsteps ring through the cave. Warning bells went off in Saito's head, telling him to hide. So he hid behind a nearby boulder. He carefully looked from behind the boulder to see what was coming. Soon enough the cause of the footsteps was revealed. It was…a cat. A sphinx cat to be precise. Though Saito could tell it wasn't normal. Its hairless skin was so white that it could've been a ghost. Its eyes were shining with a deep red, like blood. It was larger than a normal cat, being the size of a large dog, but the thing that was a dead giveaway of its unorthodox nature was its extremely long tail. Its thin tail was at over ten feet long, dragging behind its body like a rope. Saito stayed as still as possible as he watched the cat move towards the pond of water. He wasn't going to take any chances with the monster down here. He remembered what Captain Meld saying that the farther down the labyrinth one went, the more powerful the monsters became. And he fell pretty far down. So mostly likely the monsters in the abyss were far stronger than the ones on the higher floors. So Saito did the rational thing and tried to keep out of the cat's sight. He watched as the creature casually strolled to the pond and began to drink the water.

So it was just thirsty. Saith thought as he watched the cat drink. After a few seconds, the cat' pointy ear suddenly shot straight up, and it turned around.

C-crap! Did it hear me?! Am I going to have to run?! Saito panicked as he thought about what he should do, his heart beating like a drum. But then he saw that the cat wasn't looking in his direction. It was looking at where the path was. Confused, Saito then heard another set of footprints, numerous ones. He ducked back behind the rock and saw more monsters come out from the forked path, this time from the right. The new monsters were in the form of four Dobermans. They looked similar to the cat, having pale white fur and glowing red eyes, but these monsters were on fire. Not completely on fire, but they each had a straight line of fire from the top of their head to the tips of their tail. Their paws were also set alight, but it seems that they've adapted to the heat. The dogs stared straight at the cat and growled menacingly. The cat in turn turned around as if it was just noticing the dogs were there. It was rather smug considering that it was outnumbered.

Four Hellhounds against one Long-Tailed cat. This won't end well. Saito thought as he continued to hide behind the boulder. The Hellhounds ran towards the cat and encircled it, each dog flanking the Long-Tailed Cat on four sides. They moved slowly in a circle, not one of them taking their eyes off the feline. They were clearly about to kill that cat. Meanwhile, the cat simply sat there, eyeing each dog casually. Then…

"Arf!" One of the dogs finally lunged for the cat at its blind spot. Saito thought that this was his chance to escape. While the monsters fight each other, he could try for one of the tunnels and hope he finds the exit. But just as he was about to leap out from behind the boulder…

"Nyaa!" The Long-Tailed Cat meowed loudly before suddenly leaping into the air at an impossible height. Cats were naturally high jumpers, but the height the cat jumped was completely unnatural. One of the dogs must've predicted this move, cause then he raised it's head, opened its mouth wide, and breathed fire in the trajectory of the cat's leap. That must've been the Hellhound's specialized magic, though the fire on its body was a dead giveaway. It looked like it was the end for the cat, but then it did something that defied physics. It twisted its body upwards, doing a backflip in midair and completely avoiding the flames, and then it suddenly bounced off the air below its forelegs and sped at the Hellhound who blew fire at it. Then with the force of a cannonball, it slammed into the dog's head with a sickening crunch! The Hellhound died instantly as its head was utterly crushed by the Long-Tailed Cat, the fire on its body going out. Saito was rendered immobile at the sight of that.

Then, another dog tried to attack as soon as the cat landed. But then the cat once again leaped into the air at such impossible speed. As soon as it was in the air, the cat moved its long tail and grabbed the dog by its neck. The dog tried to wriggle itself free from its grip, but the tail tightened around its throat as it tried. The cat then somersaulted in midair once again, this time sending the dog flying through the air with it. It bounced in midair and slammed its paws into the dog, sending it flying towards the wall. Specifically, the wall that Saito was currently near. Saito managed to regain his sense long enough to see the dog slam into the wall with a loud smash six feet from where he stood. The dog's broken body twitched one last time before dying.

The two remaining Hellhounds charged towards the cat as soon as it landed. It performed a sort of pincer move, charging the cat at opposite sides of it. The dog on the left breathed fire at the cat. As soon as it leaped to dodge, the dog on the right leaped into the air. The Hellhounds thought that it had the cat on the ropes. They were sorely mistaken. The cat unsheathed its claws and then stuck the dog's eyes in midair. As they landed, the dog yelped in pain as it eyes bleed profusely. the Long-Tailed Cat then used its namesake and grabbed the dog tightly by the waist. It then lifted it into the air with unfeasible strength and began to spin it around at a high speed. The other Hellhound watched as its companion was effortlessly spung around in a circle. As the dog looked at the cat, Saito swore that he could see it smirking.

"Grrrrr!" The Hellhound must've caught that too, cause then it growled angrily and recklessly charged at it's enemy. With that the fight was over. The cat then used its long tail to slam down the captive Hellhound onto his friend with another loud smash! The force was strong enough to send pieces of the ground flying everywhere. When the dust cleared, both dogs were dead. Killed by a single cat.

"Nyaa!" The cat made a sort of victory cry and proceeded to lick itself clean. Saito was utterly scared stiff. He just bore witness to four monsters killed effortlessly by one.

What…the hell? "Dangerous" doesn't do that thing justice. That thing is stronger than the Traum Soldiers and the Behemoth combined. At least the latter's movements were predictable. If that thing sees me…I'm a dead man. Saito thought the best course of action was to wait until the Long-Tailed Cat left. He carefully took off his backpack, prepared to wait here as long as it took. But that was his mistake. When the backpack tipped over as he took it off, one of his empty vials fell out of the hole and landed on the ground with click. The sound echoed through the entire pit. Saito cursed himself for making such a basic blunder as rivets of cold sweat poured from his forehead. The cat slowly turned its head towards the sound's origin like a creaking door. It then began to walk towards Saito's location.

Saito felt his heart beating out of his chest with each passing second. He had to do something fast, otherwise he was going to end up just like those dogs. He then realized that he still had his shortsword on him. He pulled it out and quickly debated whether or not to take that thing on. There was only a fifty perfect chance that he could defeat the cat in a hands-on fight, but he knew that it wasn't going to just let him run away if it spots him. He quickly mulled over his options, trying to find the best solution to survive. Ultimately, the decision was made for him. He saw a shadow appear belove his feet. Realizing what it was, he looked up and saw the Long-Tailed Cat directly above him. Instinctively, Saito jumped to the side as far as he could. The area he was previously standing in exploded in a shower of pebbles. Saito watched as the cat emerged from the gouged earth, glaring at him with its red eyes. His entire body stiffen like a deer in headlights. His brain was screaming at him to run, but it was like his nerves were cut off from his body, so it refused to listen. The Long Tailed Cat then raised its tail and was preparing to swing it at Saito.

Here it comes! Saito instinctively guessed them moment it was going to swing and dived to the side. The speed of its tail was so fast that it left afterimages. It hit the ground with a loud thwack. The cat looked annoyed that someone was able to dodge its tail. It then began to walk leisurely towards Saito. He realized that it didn't see him as a threat at all. It was taking its sweet time to kill him cause it knew it could. He didn't know whether to be offended or terrified. Whatever the case, Saito then decided to best course of action was to run. But he couldn't bring himself to leave his backpack behind. It was still where he set it down, four feet directly behind the cat. He knew if he tried to rush it, the cat would tear him apart. And he knew that he wasn't fast enough to swing his knife at the cat. The way that it dodged the dogs was proof of that. So he waited until the cat got closer.

Come on…come on… Saito felt his entire body shake in anticipation. His forehead glisten with sweat. His heart pounding out of his chest. Then, when the cat was at arm Level…

"Take this!" Saito threw a large clump of broken rock pieces at the cats eyes. He managed to gather some from the area the cat first attacked him and had been holding it in his hand the whole time. He waited until the cat was close enough to let its guard down to throw the rock particles.

"Meoooow!" The cat pawed at it eyes as it meowed in pain. Seeing his chance, Saito quickly got up and sprinted towards his backpack. He managed to grab it mid-run and headed towards the cave. He ran towards the one in the middle. Luckily, the walls were also lined with the green stones, so the path was easy to traverse. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't care. All he wanted right then was to put as much distance as he could between him and the cat. But unfortunately, he didn't get far. He felt as if something was behind him. When he looked behind him, he saw the glint of red eyes coming towards him.

"You've gotta be kidding!" Saito panicked as he saw that the Long-Tailed Cat managed to recover and was already catching up to him. Seeing that he had no other choice but to fight, he quickly made use of the Synergist Job Hajime gave him and transmuted a rock wall. The cat easily broke through the wall, but he was prepared for that. It gave him enough time to get into a fighting stance and he swung at the cat as hard as he could, aiming for its eyes. But it didn't work. The cat once again bounced off the air under it, did a midair somersault over Saito's head, and leaped towards his back, all in the span of two seconds. There wasn't enough time to make another stone wall or dodge the attack, so all Saito could do was tightened his body as hard as he could to prepare for the impact. When the cat hit his back, there was loud cracking sound and a surge of pain spreading throughout Saito's body.

"Aaaagggh!" Saito's screams reverberated throughout the cave. As he collapsed to the ground, he tried to get up quickly, only to end up feeling a wave of pain rush through him. He gritted his teeth in pain as he kept trying, but it was no use. The Long-Tailed Cat dislocated his spine, preventing him from moving his body. He was rendered helpless. He saw out of the corner of his eyes the cat leisurely walking towards him. it coiled its tailed around his neck and lifted him int the air. He felt the tail continue to get tighter and tighter, cutting off his breathing. Saito struggled to break free from the cat's grip, even as he felt his face growing numb and his lungs struggling painfully to take in air. But the harder Saito tried to break free, the tighter the cat's became. He was on the verge of having his neck snap. It was clear that the cat wanted to make Saito suffer for his little stunt with the dust. Saito could see even from his dimming vision that the cat was once again smirking.

I'm…gonna die… That was Saito's last thought as he sunk into despair. He felt his arms go limp and his consciousness fade. His eyes began to close as he slowly began to die. But then…

Whoosh! A sudden rush of wind came through the cavern. Then all of a sudden, Saito was brought back from the edge of unconsciousness by the sudden impact of falling onto the ground. He gasped and coughed as he breathed in as much air as he could. He slowly got up and realized that the impact was enough to snap his spine back into place. Though he was still sore form the pain of falling on his back. Wondering what happened, he looked around and saw that the cat was gone, but its tail was still around his neck. He quickly took it off and looked around some more and saw something on his left that made his blood run cold. His savoir turned out to be a giant serpent that looked exactly like a cobra. Just like every other monster down here, it was white with red eyes and had pulsating red veins all through its body, but this thing was bigger than everything down here. It was over fifteen feet long and roughly the size of a small house. Weirdly, it had two long thin arms between its midsection and head. But what made it truly terrifying was that it had not only large and sharp fangs nearly as long as Saito's arm, but also dozens of teeth the size of daggers to go with it. And it was using both of those to help eat the Long-Tailed Cat that nearly killed Saito piece by piece.

Saito was now at the peak of terror. His mind went completely blank. He felt as if his heart was in a vice. Every pore in his body leaked out ice cold sweat. That thing was clearly the boss of this floor. It easily killed the monster that Saito couldn't beat in seconds, and with such speed too. He knew that if tried to fight that thing, there was no plausible way that he would survive. The odds of winning were even less than zero. It wasn't just a certainty that he would die, it was an irrefutable fact. As terrified as he was, he had to move. Saito took out one of the paper-drawn magic circles he was given out of his backpack as slowly as he could, careful not to make any noise. The whole time Saito never took his eyes off the Limbed Serpent. He memorized the spell and pictured it as clearly as he could.

"Make me one with the shadows, blend me into the darkness, mask my body into the night to escape my foes—Shroud." Despite his throat still being injured, Saito quietly recited the incantation for the Invisibility spell that Shizuku gave him. He felt his body shroud in magic and looked down to see that he was covered in a thick black mist, making him difficult to see in the near dark cavern. Shroud can mask a person's physical self by using shadow magic. Children often used it to play hide and seek.

I feel like she was teasing me a little when she gave me this. That girl... The drawbacks are that it only can be sustained for a minute and that it can't mask sound very well. But since he used the full verse, he hoped that it would last long enough for him to slip by the monster unnoticed. So as quietly as he could, he tiptoed pass the serpent, holding his breath despite how badly his throat hurt. He was nearly a safe distance from the serpent and was getting ready to run when he suddenly heard a strange whoosh sound. When he looked behind him, last thing he saw was a giant white tail hurtling towards him. When it hit him, it was with the force of a truck. And he knew from personal experience what that felt like. He felt all the air in his lungs leave his body as he flew through the air. When he landed, he rolled around for a few seconds before finally hitting a wall. Saito groaned in pain as he tried to sit up. He could feel that a few of his ribs were broken. His head was also bleeding, and he felt dizzy. He might have gotten a concussion. He tried to get up, but his body wouldn't listen to him. Then out of the darkness, the Limbed Serpent slithered towards Saito.

It managed to hit me? But I was imperceptible. How did it see me? Did it catch my scent while it was passing by? But it was busy eating the cat. Serpents are able to smell through their tongues, but not while they're eating. And even then it would've had a vague sense where I was. So does that mean that it has some kind of special magic that allowed it to sense me? Saito postulated theories on how the serpent saw him even when he was concealed. His mind was so overwhelmed that he temporarily loss focus. That ended up being a mistake. As it got closer, the serpent opened its jaw wide and aimed its large fangs towards Saito. Warning bell rang in Saito head even in his dazed state. He saw the serpent's fang shoot out a yellow substance like a fire hose. Using every bit of his remaining strength, he dived to the far side of the wall. The substance splashed all over the wall and ground. He rolled across the ground once again. As he stopped, he quickly got back up and looked in the direction where the serpent venom hit and saw that the wall was now melted. The serpent's venom was highly corrosive. Saito could feel his stomach curl up into a ball.

It's corrosive?! And crazy strong?! If I was even a second late... Saito pushed that horrifying thought away and tried to get back up. But then he realized that he couldn't feel his leg for some reason.

What the…? Don't tell me it's broken! I didn't even feel anything. Before he could check what was wrong, Saito noticed the serpent going over to the wall and it picked up something off the ground and proceeded to eat it.

Huh? What's it eating? It already ate the cat, right? So it can't be that? Saito then realized that it was a leg. A very…familiar looking leg. Still confused, he looked down where his right leg should be, because for some reason it became lighter. But instead of a leg being there, there was only an empty space with the pants legs smoking.

"H-huh?!" Saito's face stiffened, as his head tilted in puzzlement. Where's my leg? What happened to my leg? Why is it gone? Saito tried as hard as he could to deny what happened to him, his entire being was unable to accept the reality of what happened. But ignorance can only last so long. As Saito tried to feel for his unseen leg, all he could feel was air around the space. Then the pain of having one's leg melted off by acid came in, which brought him back to reality.

"Agaaaaaaaaahh!" Saito's anguished screams echoed throughout the cavern. It was as he feared. A small drop of the serpent's highly acidic venom managed to get onto him, being powerful enough to melt Saito's leg off all the way down to the bone. The venom managed to cauterize the wound, so there wasn't much blood. But the pain of the acid burning his flesh was still there. The acidic venom wasn't actually the serpent's magical ability. It was just a part of its biology. Its real magic ability was the ability to sense the emotions of living things. That's how it was able to sense Hajime even though he was covered in darkness. It sensed his fear and pinpointed where he was. All things considered, it was truly a miracle that Saito only lost his leg to the venom. If he hadn't dodged, it would've melted his entire body to a puddle.

After it finished eating his arm, the serpent slithered towards where Saito laid. It slowly inched its face towards Saito, its red silted eyes the size of bowling balls getting closer and closer. Saito was petrified from head to toe. His mind went numb. His body was shivering violently. His heart was on the verge of exploding out o his chest. He was sweating buckets. His face twisted in fear as he stared directly into the serpent's slitted eyes.

"Hissssss!" The serpent slowly hissed, the smell of blood and venom filled Saito's nose, burning the inside of his nostrils. Unlike the cat, it didn't look down on Saito. The serpent saw Saito as nothing but food. But it seems that it sometimes liked to make its prey as terrified as possible. The fear acts as a sort of seasoning for it. It was going to eat Hajime alive. The serpent reached for Saito with its deformed hand, but as soon as its thin fingers was inches from Saito's neck…

"Haaaaaaaaah!" Saito yelled with as much ferocity as he could, and he stabbed the serpent's right eye with his dagger as deep as he could. The serpent hissed in pain as the knife dug into its eyes, leaking yellow blood and an unknown fluid all over Saito's hands. But he didn't let go of the dagger. He tore through the serpent's eyes as much as he could. Whether it was out of desperation or just a last act of defiance, Saito fought back with everything he could. Then, he pictured a magic circle in his head and chanted it's incantation.

"Chill to the bone, turn the air into ice—Freeze!" He used the spell he learned from Yukiko and froze the serpent's eye solid. He still had on his gloves with the magic circles engraved into them, so despite his terrified state, he managed to imagine the spell. Though it was a rush job and he ended up not imagining all of the required inscriptions, so it not only froze the serpent's eye, but also the shortsword and the tips of his fingers a little, but it didn't matter. He just needed to incapacitate it. When he managed to pull out the sword, its blade snapped in half from the cold, turning it into the size of a dagger. But it did its job. The serpent was thrashing around in agony at having its eye torn apart. Saito hastily looked for a way out, but it was a dead end. And the serpent's body was blocking the path out. Saito had to think of something before the serpent recovered. Then he looked behind him and got an idea.

"T-Transmute!" Saito used his right hand to cast the Skill his best friend entrusted him with. Saito trained all of the Jobs he was given as best as he could. But out of all the Jobs he was given, he's trained Hajime's Synergist Job the most. That's because the only skill Hajime had, the skill that he fervently trained in order to be of some use to the rest of his classmates, he gave to Saito in the hopes that he could put it to better use than he ever could. Though he wished that it were under better circumstances, he was making do on his promise. Because now this Skill was going to save his life.

His pitch black mana shone briefly, and a depression opened up in the wall. With his backpack and broken sword in his left hand, he crawled as best he could with a single leg into the opening and continued to transmute the wall. The serpent managed to recover, and it was not at all happy.

"Hissssss!" It's hiss was filled with pure rage at how its prey not only escaped from it, but it managed to hurt it so severely. It used its stubby hands to reach into the hole to try and grab Saito.

"Aaaaaaaaaahh! Transmute! Transmute! Transmute!" It was a good thing that Transmute was a simple spell, because Saito was completely unaware of his actions anymore. The serpent managed to grab the ankle of his remaining leg, but he violently shook it off with haste, managing to make it let go as he slammed it in the ceiling as hard as he could while continuing to transmute the wall. The serpent resorted to slamming its head into the wall in the hopes of breaking apart the wall. The walls shook with each slam. One had to wonder why the serpent didn't just use its acid venom to make a hole. It might've been so full of rage that it wanted to tear Saito apart with it s own hand instead of merely melting him. Either that or it was simply in too much pain to think of that. Saito didn't bother to think about it. He didn't think about anything but surviving. He transmuted the wall over and over and over again without rest and without looking back, putting as much distance as he could between him and the Limbed Serpent. He didn't know how far he managed to travel. All he knew that he wasn't able to hear the serpent slamming into the wall anymore. Truthfully, he didn't travel all that far. He could still only transmute six feet from his target, and one could only go so far with one leg. He wasn't losing much blood due to the wound being cauterized. It was the adrenaline pumping through him that kept him moving and transmuting. But soon enough he was going to run out of mana and his body was going to crash. Nevertheless, he continued to transmute and crawled forward. Until…

"Transmute… Transmute… Transmute… Transmu…" He kept chanting the incantation, but the wall remained solid. His mana ran out before his strength. Exhausted out of all his strength, Saito's hand fell from the wall and he collapsed. He felt the strength leaving his body as his consciousness flickered in and out. But before he fell unconscious, he had to do one last thing. He reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of paper, his calligraphy pen, a bottle of ink, and a glowstone he got from traveling the pit. He drew a magic circle as fast as he could in his weakened state. He managed to finish the crudely drawn magic circle and began chanting the incantation.

"Grant succor…to this…injured…soul…. Heaven's Blessing." There was only a tiny bit of mana left in him, and he was already weak beyond measure. But he managed to mutter the healing incantation he saw Kaori use back on the bridge. Since he had to shorten the chant, it wasn't nearly as strong when she used it, but Saito's spell managed to heal at least two of his broken ribs and close the wound on his leg a little to prevent infection. And with that, he finally loss consciousness. Though it wasn't for long.

It was only an hour before Saito suddenly woke up feeling incredibly sick. His skin was on fire. His stomach felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly. He even started to cough up blood. He looked at his skin and saw even from the low light of the glowstone that his skin had green veins. It was poison. And it was killing him. Saito managed to quickly pull out one of his antivenom potions and gulped it down. The taste was indescribably horrible, and the mixture of blood didn't help. Nonetheless, Saito hurriedly gulped it down. As he finished, he felt the burning sensation cease and the stabbing feeling in his gut stop.

So that serpent's venom is both acidic and poisonous? That's completely unfair. He checked his leg to make sure the poison was gone. He was at first shocked at how his leg was missing. Then he calmed down as he remembered that the serpent ate it. Weird thing to be calm about, but at least it was proof that he wasn't going crazy. It was then that a sharp pain went through where Saito's right left was supposed to be. He reflexively held his leg as his face twisted in anguish. He was experience phantom pain for the first time. He wanted to use healing magic on it, but he was already out of mana. So he had no choice but to wait for the pain to subside. He curled into a ball and hugged his trembling body. The realization that he just narrowly escaped death three times finally hit him. The fear of death still fresh in his mind, he no longer had the willpower to move, let alone try and escape. For the first time in life, Saito knew despair. He was always able to face trouble head on without hesitation, but this was different. First he nearly died from bring impaled. Next, he was nearly strangled to death by a cat. And finally, he witnessed a giant serpent devour his leg and looked right into its red eyes. Eyes that only saw him as food. It was even worst for him thanks to his eidetic memory. He could remember all of it so vividly. The feeling of his chest being ripped open. The feeling of the cat's tail wrapping around his throat. The feeling of despair as he looked into those giant serpent eyes. All of it finally took its toll on him, completely crushing his spirit.

Someone…anyone…please save me. Just like Hajime did, Saito prayed for help. For the longest time, he stayed curled up in the tiny hole. He didn't know for how long, but he just remained motionless, hoping for salvation that he knew would never come.


Four days have passed since Saito fell of the bridge. In that time he's barely moved, nor eaten or slept. He managed to transmute the area around him so that he could sit up, but that was the most active he was. That's because he feared that if he fell asleep, he'd miss the time he needed to drink his antivenom potion. The Limbed Serpent venom didn't get cured when Saito first drank his potions. It only receded back to his missing leg. At least once a day the poison's effects activated, and his body once again felt the pain of poison rushing through it. Saito had to drink a potion every time it happened, otherwise he'll die an excruciating death. He has already gone through four potions in the four days since he got infected. It was also the only source of substances he had for the constant hunger pangs he felt. Though they didn't help much, only kept him sated for an hour or less. There were also the phantom pains from his missing left leg and the two broken ribs he still had. Over and over for those four days he tried get at least a little sleep, only for the hungers pangs and phantom pain to wake him right up. He tried to distract himself by reciting lines from his favorite movies or retreating into a memory, but the pain always brought him back. So Saito was forced to endure constant pain every waking moment without any sort of reprieve.

Why is this happening to me? That was something Saito often thought.

Three days later…

Saito once again drunk another vial of antivenom. He now had five left. The hunger pangs were now unsated by potions. And the phantom pains continued to torment him. He still hasn't gotten a lick of sleep, and he was starting to lose his sanity.

Just die already…I don't want to die… Come on, die… I want to live… I want to die… He craved death while still desiring to live. He was no longer capable of rational thought. Several times he came close to stabbing himself in the neck only to regain his senses and stop himself. His mumblings were making not a bit of sense.

Another three days later…

He was down to two potions. Though it mattered little. By the time he ran out, his body would have expired. In that time he came to the realization on how he managed to survive his first brush pen with death. It had something to do with the pond he first woke up in. He realized that it's water had something to do with healing his wound. If he could find a way out of the cave and back to the pit he first ended up in, he could drink the water and he would be healed. But he was already far to weakened from lack of sleep and constant pain. The only energy he had left was used to drink the antivenom. And even then there was no way for him to move with only one leg. And if he wasn't suffering from all of those things, he had no way to fight the monsters outside. His only weapon was broken, he only had weak beginner spells, all of his inherited Jobs were useless, and the monsters were too powerful to fight. The only options he had were to either continue to lay in the cave in constant suffering or take his own life to spare himself more of it. Unfortunately, he never was able to go through with the second option. He didn't know whether it was due to a still strong desire to live, or it was just cowardice. Saito never figured it out and it looked like he wasn't going to.

On the seventh day, he decided to stop taking the antivenom. He was tired of not getting any sleep. He was tired of being hungry all the time. He was tired of being in pain. He just wanted it to end. He felt the venom's effect creeping up on him. He hoped that it would be quick, but he knew he was going to suffer for a while. He didn't care anymore.

Finally…it will all be over. Saito blissfully waited for death. He had finally given up. As he once again felt the effects of the poison tear through his body, a sudden impulse went through his mind a few minutes into the pain. He instinctively started to reach for the antivenom.

No. No no no no no no no no! Don't drink it! Don't drink it! Don't drink it! Just let me die. Just let me die. Just let me die. His mind protested as hard as it could, but a small part of him that still stubbornly clung to life continued to reach for the potion. He uncorked it and forced himself to drink it all. He felt the poison's effect temporarily vanish once again.

"…Damn it…. …Damn it… Damn iiiiiiiit! How could you do that you goddamn idiot! We were so close to finally dying! How can you be so fucking stubborn?! What will it take for you to realize there's no way out of this?! You are a goddamn fucking idiooooot!" Saito cursed himself over and over as loudly as he could. His fury at himself flooded through him like a tidal wave. After he was finished, tears started flowing through his eyes. Though he didn't know how that was possible, considering he hasn't been able to properly close his eyes in eight days. He continued to shed tears as he realized that he was going to spend the rest of his life in agony. The silver lining that it wasn't going to be long. As he quietly wept into the ground, something caught his eye. A small glint of light shone in his backpack. Curious, Saito weakly reached in there and pulled out the object. It was a gold locket with a thin chain holding it. Saito then remembered what it was. It was the locket Sakura gave him on their first Valentines Day as a couple. Technically, she gave it to him the day after Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, he had to help his uncle on something he didn't like to think about so he could save up money for White Day, so he wasn't able to spend the day with her. But she happily gave him the gift anyway. He hid it in his backpack to avoid anyone seeing it. He never really got around to opening it. He unlooked the latch and opened the locket. In it was a picture of Saito and Sakura in kimonos making a peace sign. Saito was wearing a fox on the side of his head mask while Sakura wore a monkey mask on the side of her head. They were both smiling widely, obviously enjoying themselves.

The memory of that day flooded Saito. it was the day that she confessed to him. Everything about that day he remembered as if it was yesterday…

There was a New Year's Eve festival in Kyoto that Sakura wanted to go to since she's never been to one before. She always spent New Years at her family's main estate in Kyoto, but she never was able to go. When she asked Saito if he wanted to come, he hesitated a bit since he had already promised to spend New Year's under the kotatsu watching Die Hard with his parents, but they practically forced him to go to her to Kyoto. They went so far as to pay for his travel fare. Seeing that his parents were giving him the green light, he agreed to her offer. He spent two hours and a half on a train there, but it ended up being totally worth it. Not just because he had a great time at the festival, but seconds before the fireworks display, Sakura gathered up all the courage she had and confessed to Saito.

At first Saito was in complete disbelief. And who could blame him? The daughter of one of the wealthiest families' in Japan just confessed their love to him. As pessimistic as it sounded, he just thought she was using him as a way to rebel against her parents. He wouldn't have mind if it were. When Sakura told her what her family life was really like, couldn't help but want to help her. Saito was a naturally selfless person. He'd help anyone that needed it without expecting anything in return. So when she told him that she wanted to go out with him, it thew him off a bit. Nevertheless, after recovering from his shock and asking for the reason why she wanted to go out with someone like him, he said yes. And ever since that day he grew more and more in love with Sakura. She became someone he couldn't be without. She was Saito's treasure. He would have given anything to see her smile one last time before he died. Instead he could only see it through his memories, but the one memory that was currently replaying through his mind was of her horrified face as he was run through by a horn. He hoped in his heart that she wouldn't do anything drastic. And if she did, Yukiko, Kaori, and Shizuku were able to stop her. The thought of her dying for him filled him with dread.

"…Sakura …Sakura." He weakly called her name over and over, holding the locket close to his heart. His teared continued to flow as he called out her name.

On the eighth day, that was when Saito started to change. Between his constant desire for death and his desire to live, and his desire to see his girlfriend again, dark thoughts begin to form in Saito's subconscious, warping his mind.

Why am I suffering so much…? Why is this happening to me…? I did nothing to deserve this… All I've ever done was the right thing… All I've ever wanted was to live my life… All I wanted was to hang out with Hajime and be with Sakura. Why did it end up like this…? …Oh that's right… I remember… This world's God summoned us here to fight a war? To save humanity? That's…bullshit. If you have the power to summon us here, you should have the power to save humanity yourself. Don't drag us into your fight. I was having a somewhat peaceful life living in Japan before you decided to butt in. And because I was summoned here, I ended up with a Job meant for criminals. Everyone in the kingdom gave me hell because of that. I was shunned by almost all my classmates. I didn't pick this Job. I don't even want to be here. Everyone gave me a hard time just because I was given a Job I didn't even want. Especially Ryosuke, who despite being so friendly with me, kept Sakura away from me this whole time. I thought he trusted me. Why would he start to avoid me now unless he really— It was when Saito figured it out that his heart started to fill with sheer loathing. His face twisted in rage as he remembered what happened on the bridge.

Ryosuke. It was him. Him and Hiyama. The fireball was Hiyama's and Ryosuke enhanced its power somehow with wind magic. Hiyama was most likely aiming at Hajime. He always had it out for him because of Kaori. But why would Ryosuke help him? To get to me? What motive did he have to try and kill me? Maybe it was an accident. No, there's no way that he would be able to make such a mistake, not with his Level of skill. So that means… The answer came to Saito almost immediately.

…He knew. He somehow found out that me and Sakura were dating. But how? He's been trying to keep me from Sakura ever since we got our Jobs. And that time we were together in the Heiligh Palace he thought I was peeking on Suzu-chan. So when did he… Horaud. He somehow saw me and Sakura that night before the expedition when we were having sex. But how could he have seen it? Sakura jammed the room, and I didn't hear or see anyone nearby. What was his Job again? Mirror Meister. I heard that there were Artifacts that let you talk to other from long distances like cell phones. And his magic allows him to manipulate light using mirrors imbued with magic circles. And I remember there being a mirror in Sakura's room when I came it. What if that mirror was a sort of one way camera that allowed him to see whatever it sees. So he could've seen everything from his room. And he got so pissed that that he leagued with Hiyama to kill me and Hajime. That son of a bitch! He judged me about peeping when he pulls shit like this? And if Hajime managed to get off the bridge in time, does that mean that Hiyama is going to try and kill him again? Those two bastards! They criticized us for so long and try to kill us just because they were too chicken to confess to the girls they liked? Why take it out on us when it's the two of you who can't grow a spine? Ryosuke especially. Sakura was the one who confessed to me. If you wanted to date her, you should've confessed before she met me. Thanks to you, I'm trapped down here, hungry, in pain, missing a leg, and surrounded by monsters that want to kill me slowly or eat me. That serpent especially. That bastard ate my leg. I'm stuck in this damn hole, suffering so damn much because it ate my leg. I hate it. I hate that serpent so much. I hate Ryosuke for send me down here and keeping me away from Sakura. I hate my asshole classmates for treating me like shit. I hate this world's God for sending me here. I hate everything. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it…!"

Dark thought overshadowed Saito's mind like storm clouds. The more he tried to find someone to blame, the more he thought about who has pushed all this unfairness on him, the more the pain and hunger filled him, the more the darkness spread, it eroded away his sanity bit by bit. The more his hate grew, the more his heartstring began to stretch. Saito was practically shouting "I hate you all" over and over again. The heartstrings continued to stretch, growing thinner and thinner until…

Snap. Saito unexpectedly felt something inside of him break apart. He no longer felt angry. In fact, he no longer felt anything. His mind was suddenly clear. His heart was beating so slow it might as well not have beating at all. What happened was that Saito's mind unconsciously shut off his emotions. It was a sort of coping mechanism in order to prevent him from succumbing to his overwhelming rage and hate. Now that his emotions were no longer guiding him, he could now think more clearly.

Huh…? What happen? One second I was filled with so much hate and now…I feel so calm. So…empty. I guess my mind somehow shut off my emotions in order to prevent me from succumbing to rage. Not sure whether or not that's a good thing. At least not it helps me realize… how pointless this is. All this hate. All this rage. It's all pointless. Hating that serpent isn't going to get me my leg back. Hating Ryosuke and Hiyama isn't going to get me out of this labyrinth. Hating my classmates isn't going to bring me back to Sakura. And hating God isn't going to bring me back home. If want to accomplish my goals, I don't need these petty emotions. What I need…is to survive. How do I survive? By fighting. Forget my old philosophies. All they're going to do is get me killed. My goals are never going to be accomplished through pacifism and selfless. I need to use anything and anyone I can to obtain them. Who am I fighting? My enemies. Who are my enemies? Anything and anyone that stands in the way of my survival. Anything that pushed this unreasonable faith onto me. Anyone I can't use to my advantage. What do I do to my enemies? I'll… I'll…

The tenth day was when Saito was changed. Almost all of his emotions were gone. The unjust God that put him here, the classmates that betrayed him, the monster that wanted to kill him…even his best friend… they all were irrelevant. There were only two things that remained: his indomitable will to survive, and the desire to see Sakura again. Other than those feeling, nothing else mattered. Saito's will has become as sharp as a tempered steel sword. It's strength and sharpness being able to cut through anything. And his will desired to…

"Kill them." There were no trace of hostility, anger, or malice on his words. It was simple solution. He wanted to live. To live means to survive. To survive, he had to fight his enemies. Anyone who threatened his life becomes his enemy. And when they did… if they served no purpose to him… he had to kill them.

It was that moment that the old Saito Hiraga, the Saito that blew of everything with a witty joke and a smile, the Saito who selflessly helped out others without expecting anything in return, the Saito Sakura fell in love with, disappeared. And a new Saito, one who will use anything and anyone to achieve his goals and kill anything that stood in his way, was born. His previously shattered soul was not only reforged out of the darkness and despair of hell, it was cleansed by the pain and suffering he endured. No longer burdened with emotions and was driving solely on instinct, desire, and will. It was a soul reforged. Saito gulped down the disgusting antivenom with such vigor despite his weakened state. It wasn't enough though. The poison was still in his system and he was still weak from hunger. If he was going to survive, he needed to drink the water from the pit. If that water managed to heal a gaping hole in his chest, it could heal the poison, his broken ribs, and his leg wound in one sitting. But there were still the monsters he had to deal with. And he wasn't nearly strong enough to take any of them on. That means he had to train. Train all of his usable abilities as much as he could. But he had to be fast. He only had one vial of antivenom left. After that, if he wasn't able to get to the water, it was the end for him. But even though the stakes were high, Saito didn't look at all nervous. In fact he was incapable of fear now. His eyes were emotionless, but in them shone the determination to survive. To win. Saito stood up and began silently transmuting the ground, determined to survive.


Just like the Twin-Tailed Wolves, the Hellhounds were monsters that preferred to travel in groups of four to six. Since they were the weakest monsters on this floor individuality, they always traveled in packs. This particular group of Hellhounds were no exception, currently a group of four. They emerged from their part of the cave into the pit with the revitalizing waters. They looked around to make sure there were no signs of the other monsters. Since they were the type of monsters that like to attack others head on, they've learned to be more vigilant and attack more strategically. Seeing that the coast was clear, the wolves moved to the small pond and began to drink from it. The Hellhounds knew that there was something special about the water in the pit. Every time they came to drink from it, they felt their energy being replenish. That's because the water was saturated with Ambrosia. Another Divinity Stone like the one Hajime found ended up in the large cavity. It's Ambrosia then mingled with the water flowing from the canal flowing into the cavity, becoming a pond of healing water. Every monster on this floor came here to drink from the pond in order to become stronger or to nourish themselves when a hunt was unsuccessful, which was exactly why the Hellhounds were there. Of course they always ran the risk of running into one of the stronger monsters, like a Long-Tailed Cat or the Limbed Serpent. The latter something especially something to fear. But for the past few days, for some unknown reason, they haven't sensed any sign of the Limbed Serpent. So they saw it as a good chance to go and drink the nourishing water. But in the middle of their drinking, they heard a peculiar sound.

Thump. Thump. Thump. The dogs heard that sound several times and it was coming from the cave they came out of. The dogs got into combat position, each dog lined up to attack in different directions. The key to the Hellhound's survival was their cooperation. They each had a strange link to one another that wasn't as forthright as Telepathy, but they were still able to tell where each one was, what they were doing, and can give out orders without saying anything. They were a perfect team. So they were able to get in a fighting position quickly. The sound began to grow louder and louder. The wolves prepared to pounce what was coming. Then the origin of the sound was revealed: It was none other than Saito.

He was currently using a makeshift walking cane that he transmuted and carved to help him walk in place of his missing right leg. Hideous green veins coated his entire body. His mouth was covered in blood he coughed up. His eyes were bloodshot and had deep bags in them. It was a marvel alone that he could stand even without the cane. He finally ran out of antivenom for the poison that was coursing through his veins; it had already spread throughout his entire body. Pain burned throughout his even now. His stomach felt like he swallowed molten lead. He was already on the verge of death. It was sheer willpower and continuously using the beginner-level spell Blessing that kept him alive. But to him, none of it mattered. He was going to get to that Ambrosia. And nothing was going to stop him.

Saito began to slowly walk towards the water and the dogs. His entire body erupted in pain with each step, but he ignored it and kept moving. He got closer and closer to the small pond of water that could save him from this pain. But then, when he was a quarter of the way there, he lost his footing and collapsed to the ground. The dogs stared in what looked like disbelief at Saito. The whole time he was walking, they didn't move towards him. They simply watched on as he walked towards him. Whether it was out of surprised that an actual human was down here, or that it managed to walk all the way here despite reeking of death, or a combination of the two, only they knew. But now that Saito collapsed, they decided there was nothing to worry about. The Hellhounds walked towards the unconscious Saito. That ended up being their mistake.

As soon as they were close, the ground beneath them started to become cold. Confused, the wolves look down and saw that frost was coating the ground underneath them, branching out to each dog like tree roots. And the origin was coming from Saito's right hand. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late. The frost reached two of the dogs on the left and froze them completely. They tried to use their flame breath to get themselves out, but each time they tried, the ice repaired itself. The other two managed to use their flame breath in time and melt the ice underneath them. Seeing that Saito was not only still consciousness but was a threat, the wolved then charged at him. But then at the last second, Saito rolled away, and a large hole appeared where he once was. Unable to stop themselves, they fell into the hole with a loud thud.

"Wooof!" They barked angrily as they tried to climb out of the hole, but it was in vain. The hole was too deep for even the big Hellhounds to climb out of. Despite his weakened state, Saito managed to quickly pull himself back up wit his cane and then he proceeded to make another hole for the frozen hounds, who were just now starting to thaw out. They too fell into a hole, unable to climb out. Everything went according to Saito's plan. From pretending to fall unconscious to lure the Hellhounds close to him, to freeing two of them in order to bait the remaining ones to attack him, and rolling away at the last possible second in order to transmute a hole underneath him to trap the dogs in. All of it was a result of the countless days of training and intense pain he endured after deciding to fight back.

He knew that in his current state and Level, he would've died instantly from even the low Level monsters. So he made a base out of where he escaped from the Limbed Serpent and honed. He managed to improve both the speed, precision, and range of both his Transmutation Skill and his Freeze spell in a matter of days. It was especially difficult due to the poison. He discovered that it ate away at his mana as well as his body, so using spells proved difficult to do. But luckily he found a few of the mana enhancing potions he made inside of his backpack, so he was able to train twenty-four seven. He ended up on the verge of passing out several times, but he managed to endure. When he decided he was ready, he transmuted the rocks around him with his Synergist Job to fashion a cane to walk with. He then left his base and silently tailed the pack of Hellhounds back to the pit. He was nearly spotted several times, but he used the Shroud spell he memorized to hide himself. He theorized that the dogs had a great sense of smell, so he also transmuted the walls around him for good measure. It took hours to navigate, and he nearly lost them several times, but it paid off.

"You four…stay there…for a sec. I need…to grab…a quick drink." Saito weakly managed to taunt the dogs as he willed himself to the pond and scooped up as much Ambrosia as he could with his hands. His hands were shaking from the pain, but he managed to press his lips to the liquid that was still in his hand and drank it gingerly. The Ambrosia mingled with the blood in his mouth, but he drank it eagerly as if it were a bottle of Ramune, the liquid soothing his bone-dry throat. As he drank, he felt his body suddenly growing lighter. The green veins all over his body began to fade, but this was different. It wasn't just receding back to its origin, it was disappearing completely from his body. He also felt his broken ribs being mended, the stump where his missing leg was starting to close, the scar from his head wound vanished, even the bruises from his dislocated spine and strangled throat began to disappear. He also felt his stamina and mana being restored. All the fatigued and haze in mind melted away from his mind. It was then Saito started to drink more.

He drank and drank and drank the Ambrosia as fast as he could. The more he drank, the faster his wounds healed. Eventually, every injury he sustained evaporated. All the exhausted he had ceased to exist. Almost all the pain he felt was gone, with the only thing remaining was the faint phantom pain. Relief flooded throughout his body. When he no longer felt his body in anguish, he fell back onto the ground, breathing heavily as he stared straight at the pitch black ceiling. His mouth and the neckline of his shirt was drenched in the healing waters, but he didn't even bother to wipe it off. For the first time in the ten days since he ended up down here, he was no longer dying slowly. Even with his emotions gone, Saito managed a faint smile, feeling a sense of triumph. Though the blissful moment didn't last long. After a few hours of just staring off into space, he felt the agony of his stomach constricting, and a low growling sound echoed throughout the room. Though the Ambrosia had the power to heal him of most of his ailments, it couldn't cure him of his hunger. He still needed food.

You've got to be kidding me. Well I can't say I didn't expect this. But what is there even to eat down here? Saito pondered this as he laid on the ground. Then he heard the sound of scratching. He turned to where the sound was coming from and realized that it was coming from the holes he put the Hellhounds in.

Oh right. They haven't made much noise in a while, so I ended up forgetting about them. Guess I should kill them. He got up and walked towards the holes, an epiphany suddenly came to in Saito's mind: He can eat the monsters.

Wait no. I remember reading something about monster meat being deadly to eat. The mana crystals distilled in their blood was poisonous to living beings, and it would tear a person apart from the inside out on a molecular Level. Someone had to be either supremely foolish or utterly desperate to eat monster meat (Somewhere within the labyrinth, a certain Japanese boy for some reason sneezed for no reason). Then again, this hunger is driving me insane. Training was one thing, but there's no way I can make it through this labyrinth on an empty stomach. Saito mulled over his options. As he did, another round of hunger pang made him collapsed to all fours—or rather, threes. He groaned as the pain filled him. But then, he realized that his head was over the hole. He had just managed to pull away before a burst of fire erupted from the hole. The tip of his hair ended up getting a little singed, but he was unscathed.

"Screw it. I was going to kill them anyway. Can't let their corpses go to waste." Seeing that he had no other choice, he went to work making a weapon to kill the Hellhounds. He pulled out his former shortsword that was now a dagger, which he repaired by transmuting some of the metal pieces he had in his backpack into what was left and used a small piece of wire, also made out of transmuted metal, and tied it around his cane. He also made He then got into a sitting position, careful not to get too close to the hole, and proceeded to stab one of the Hellhounds. But as Saito thrust his makeshift spear into the wolf's hide, it bounced off like it was hitting a wall.

Oh yeah. The deeper one went down here, the stronger a monster's hide became. What's the point of having an eidetic memory if I end up momentarily forgetting these things? I need something stronger… Saito looked around and found some that could help. He first used transmutation to encase one of the dogs into the walls of the hole. He then carefully brought it to the surface and only freed most of its top half. He made sure to keep its mouth covered by burying it in the rocks. The whole time the dog whimpered as it struggled to get out, but it wouldn't budge.

He then walked—or rather limbed, towards a large stone. As he picked it up, he checked its weight and hardness. Satisfied with both, he walked towards the dog, unwind his dagger from his cane, and pressed it against the hound's temple. The dog must've realized what was about to happen to it, because it started to whine as loudly as it could despite being muzzled. It even looked at Saito with literal puppy dog eyes. The old Saito would never use such a cruel method to kill any animal, let alone a monster. He actually has a dog he rescued from some delinquents when he was playing outside with Hajime. It took two weeks of constant care, but she recovered and was now very loyal to Saito, being the only one in his family that she obeys. Any normal person wouldn't have had the heart to do this. However, Saito was no longer the same person he was before.

"Don't look at me like that. Your just monsters. If our roles were reverse, you and your buddies would have torn me apart without hesitation. This is just a means to an end." And with that, Saito raised the stone as high as he could and slammed it down on the dagger's hilt as hard as he could. The dog howled in pain as the dagger dug into its skull, but it didn't puncture the skin. Saito repeated the action over and over, hitting harder and faster each time. The dog's whines were now basically the screams of agony, begging for the pain to stop. But Saito ignored it and continued to hammer the dagger into the skull. Eventually, he managed to break through the skin and the skull, leaking blood everywhere. Pushing his entire body weight into his dagger, he hit the hilt one final time with all his strength. The blade finally went through the skull and penetrated the brain. The dog spasmed for a few seconds before going limp. Blood continued to gush out of its head like a fountain.

"Alright. One down, three to go." Saito stared down at the terrified dogs as he held the stone and dagger his hands. He mercilessly bludgeoned each dog to death until he had four dog corpses lined up in front of him.

"Now I have food." His stomach growled loudly at the thought of finally eating something. After transmuting himself a small rock jug and scooping himself some Ambrosia, he began to awkwardly skin the dogs with his dagger. After that, his hunger overpowered any reason he had left, and he devoured them. It was truly a ghastly sight as Saito tore through the dog's flesh, with the Green Glowstone lined walls illuminating the scene. This was the hell Saito was force into. Where he was forced to devour the monster he had just killed completely raw.

"Agh! God! This is the worst thing I've ever tasted!" Saito spat curses as he ate. The meat was sinewy and tough. Blood clogged his mouth. the meat smelled raw and disgusting, making Saito tear up. His stomach protested at the sudden infusion of meat and he nearly threw up. But he didn't care what his stomach thought. This was the first actual meal he's had in weeks. He'd suffered constant hunger pangs that entire time. So he couldn't stop. He didn't want to stop. He no longer cared about the risk with eating monster meat. Every bite sent him in a euphoric trance. So continued to eat and eat and eat like some kind of feral monster, making any human who happened to witness this sick to their stomach. Hours passed as Saito continued to eat. As he ate, he washed it all down with the Ambrosia. But just as he was starting to feel full, he felt something strange happen to his body. Something he dreaded would happen.

"Oh n—Guh! Agaaaaaaah!" Searing pain shot through his entire body. It felt like something was eating away at him from the inside out. It was just like what happened with the poison, only a hundred times worse. In fact, it was worse than any kind of pain he experienced. And as time went on it only grew more and more agonizing.

"Guaaaaaaaah! T-the wat—guaaaaaah!" As the pain continued, he started to writhe on the ground. He then frantically crawled on the ground towards the pond. The jug he used to drink the Ambrosia was already empty. His only hope was the pond. He managed to reach it and he dumbed his whole face into the lake and swallowed as much as he could. The pain started to recede as he took his face out, but then it suddenly came right back.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaah! Why…won't it heal… Gyaaaaaaah!" Everything that happened to Hajime when he ate monster meat happened to Saito. His body throbbing, the endless cycle of healing and agony, his hair bleaching white, his bones and muscles growing. The only thing that was different was that the pulsating veins were black instead of red. As his body continuously overcompensate, he continued to scream, praying that the excruciating agony would just come and kill him, but there was no one to end it.

Finally, the pain receded, and Saito slumped to the ground. Since Saito already went through something similar to this, he was able to keep himself conscious. He panted heavily for several minutes before clenching his fist a few times to see if his body still listened to him. After confirming he was still in control, he managing to get into a sitting position.

"That…sucked." Exhausted, Saito hung his head in remorse. Though he realized that he was somehow different. Not only was his hunger gone, but the spirit of his right leg no longer ailed him. And if that wasn't enough, his body felt lighter and power was overflowing from within him. Despite how mentally exhausted he was from the unrelenting pain, he felt like a million bucks. He looked down at his arms and stomach and saw that he had very prominent muscles. Not only that, he got taller. He was previously the same height as Hajime pre-fall but now he was the same height post-fall.

"Did my body just…evolve?" Saito then looked at his reflection and saw his white hair. Not only that, his eyes were dark red.

"What happened to my hair? And why are my eyes so red?" He also realized that the inside of his body was different as well. He was simultaneously hot and cold. He noticed something strange on his arm, and when he focused on it, he could make out his pitch black mana float up to the top.

"What the hell? It's like I became some sort of monster. Is this some kind of twisted 'you are what you eat' thing. Cause that would make for a bad joke." If he was able to crack such a corny joke despite the situation, then there was still probably a bit of the old Saito left.

"Wait… if my body has changed, does that mean… I should check my Status Plate. Can't believe I still had it on me this whole time." Saito pulled out his Status Plate and activated it. when he saw what was written, he actually felt quite dumbfounded.

SAITO HIRAGA

Age: 17

Male

Job: Slavemacer

Level: 8

Strength: 150

Vitality: 350

Defense: 150

Agility: 250

Magic: 350

M. Defense: 350

Skills: Slave Crest Creation [+Increased Obedience Effectiveness] [+ Increased Perception Adjustment Effectiveness] [+Dishonesty Sensor] [+Pain Inflictor] • Magic Circle Appraisal • Image Composition • Inheritance (Jobs: Farmer [+Plant Appraisal] • Portion Brewer [+Potion Appraisal] • Toxicologist [+Poison Appraisal] • Cloth Artisan • Zoologist [+Sooth] • Artist [+Image Desynthesis] • Synergist [+Transmute]) • Mana Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Heat Field • Language Comprehension

"Criminy!" Once again, a bit of the old Saito returned as the shock made him slip in his strange accent. Not only did his Stats grew astronomically higher, but he had three new Skills. Though his Level had only risen to eight.

"A person's Level is a representation of the total potential they could reach. So that means my growth limits increased as well? And this skill, Mana Manipulation? If it's what it sounds like…" Saito looked at his arms and focused, once again seeing the black veins rise to the surface of his skin.

So this black stuff flowing within me, the weird sensation I've been feeling. This is my mana? Saito then concentrated on bringing the mana to his hands. As he did, the mana then moved to both of them.

"Whoa." Saito plainly exclaimed as he felt the incomprehensible feeling of mana moving throughout his body. He then noticed that the mana flowed into the magic circles inscribed into his gloves. Curious, Saito picked up a nearby rock and pictured the magic circle for Freeze. Frost gathered all over the rock with him saying a word. Saito realized something else and tried using magic without his glove, relying on only his Image Composition. When he placed his hand on the ground and imagined the magic circle for transmute, the ground protruded upwards.

"I can use magic without an incantation or a physical circle? I thought only monster were capable of that. Unless… by eating those Hellhounds, I absorbed their ability to directly control mana. So this Heat Field is also another one of its power I gained?" Saito's guess was right on the mark. He has gained the power of monsters. And because of that, he was now capable of using magic without a physical magic circle or an incantation. Though it would still take him time and a large amount of mana to use advanced-level magic, he was now more powerful than every spell caster in his class. With that, he then moved on to another one his new Skills, Heat Field.

"Hmmm… The heat part is probably reference to the fire breath the dogs used, so does that mean I can breathe fire now? No, it doesn't sound like that's what it does. Probably a good thing too. I don't need to look and feel more like a monster than I already do. But how does it work?" Saito tried thrust his hand out, pretending to throw a fireball, and lots of other things, but none of them seemed to work.

"It might be different from Mana Manipulation. With that I could physically feel the mana coursing through me. How do I activate a Skill I can't feel?" As Saito pondered this, he remembered that when he used magic, he always kept a firm image of the effects he wanted to produce. The less one relied on the characteristics inscribed on a circle to define a spell, the clearer the image had to be. Using that, Saito took off his gloves and formed an image of a roaring flame in his mind. Suddenly, his hands started to glow black. He felt heat radiating from his palm to his face. He then thrust his hands into the Ambrosia. The liquid immediately started to boil, and steam rose into the air.

"Wow. So that how monster magic works. I just need a clear mental image of its properties. But how is my mana still black?" Unlike Hajime, whose mana turned from sky blue to deep red, Saito's mana stayed its original color. The reason for that is unknown, but Saito only pondered it for a few seconds before deciding to just stop thinking about it and continued to train his new power. He discovered that the Heat Field was not limited to just his hands but could spread to every part of his body. He could also extend it to other objects without them catching fire if he wanted to. Though he couldn't blast fire out of his hands or coat his entire body with fire, Saito was still amazed. He could generate heat from any part of his body and transfer it via direct contact. Knowing that, he focused on controlling the temperature of the field and isolating it to certain points of his body.

"Iron Stomach. If its what it sounds like and considering the circumstances that I'm in…" Testing his hypothesis, Saito peeled of a piece of Hellhound flesh and used his Heat Field to cook it.

"I ended up eating it raw due to how starved I was. Goes to show how far living creatures are willing to go when their desperate. At least with my Heat Field, I don't have to eat this raw." After he finished cooking it, ignoring the pungent odor all the while, Saito then braced himself and took a bite out of the meat. He waited a few seconds…which then turned into a minute…which turned into ten...and still nothing happened. He cooked and ate more meat, and there was still no pain.

"I knew it. Iron Stomach must give me the ability to eat monster meat without any nasty side effect. Though it might just be my body adapted to eating monster flesh…but whatever. I thought I was going to have to choose between starvation and agonizing pain. Glad I don't have to make that choice." Grateful that he could now eat without suffering each time, Saito continued to his meal. After having his fill, he went back to his base and transmuted the stone walls to make containers to store the meat in. He went back to where he left the corpses and began making strips out of the flesh.

"Not sure whether or not monster flesh can spoil, but just to be safe…" As a precaution, Saito also used Freeze keep the meat somewhat fresh. He then stored them into his backpack, which beforehand he used the dog fur to sew up the hole using the thread and needle he had. He made sure to cure the fur by using the pong water to clean it and the Heat Field to dry it. He also stored numerous amounts of Ambrosia into his stone vials. Now that he had a supply of food, Saito then went back to the safety of his base and began training.

A few days of later, all of his Skills grew at a rapid pace. At least the ones he was able to effectively train. He managed to gain another Appraisal Skill from his Synergist Job, Ore Appraisal. When he got it, he used it to appraise every ore he could find. He used it on the Green Glowstone, and on the Blastrock and Taur Stone he found and collected as many as he could and brought it back to his base. He nearly ran into a couple of monsters as he traveled through the cavern, but he managed to avoid being seen. He then discovered a rock that was weirdly sponge-like. When he appraised it, this is what appeared—

v MOLSTONE

A flexible ore. When heated to a high enough temperature, it melts into a paste-like substance that can be sculpted into any shape. When it is cooled, it permanently rehardens in the form of whatever shape it has been created into. The colder the temperature, the harder and more durable it becomes.

Saito read the text over and over to make sure he understood it correctly.

So this is basically an enhanced version of the polymer clay they used to make sculptures, only its as strong as the polymer used to make prosthetics. Meaning, if I make all the right parts, I can build a… For the first time since his emotions were suppressed, he actually started to feel excited. Though it ended up disappearing as soon as it appeared, it was still a pleasant feeling. And the best part was, he was right next to a large deposit of the ore. He quickly stuffed as many as he could into his backpack. When he ran out of room, Saito carried the rest in his hands and limbed as fast as he could back to base. He then quickly got to work on his project.

Saito first transmuted the necessary Taur Stone he needed to make tools. He made a large cauldron, stirring spoons, carving tools, a stone plate to put the caldron on, and a funnel. He first melted a large quantity of Molstone inside of the cauldron using his Heat Field on the plate. Since Taur Stone was highly resistance to heat, he didn't have to be careful about the amount of heat he produced. While the Molstone melted, he broke off pieces of rocks in the walls and used transmutation to smooth it out. He then used his carving tools to etch the stones into molds. That was his Artist Job's time to shine. Saito was always good at making things. Being raised by a Shōjo manga illustrator who graduated from an American fine arts institution with honors came with its perks. But his Artist Job took it to a whole new level. Before he had to take his time drawing or building to avoid making mistakes, taking him hours to finish. Now, he was able to make something in minutes. It was like his hands had a mind of its own, carving and sculpting with such speed and precision that it was like a blur. He managed to create seven different molds in just ten minutes.

He then began transmuting leftover Taur Stone into bones, ligaments, and joints. And he sewed thick dog leather he had leftover into a sort of wearable socket, using the stump of his former right leg to create the opening. By the time Saito finished making all the parts he needed, the Molstone completely melted into a black gooey paste. After stirring it a couple times to make sure all of it was melted, he then grabbed the cauldron with his bare hands and poured the paste into each of the molds, using his Heat Field constantly to keep himself from searing his hands. Saito used the funnel to prevent any of the paste from spilling out.

Once they were all full, he used Freeze to cool the paste. As he waited for it to cool, he got to work on assembling all of the Taur Stone pieces. He finished connecting all of the bones, joints, and ligaments together just in time for all of the Molstone pieces to cool. He carefully took out each piece and assembled them onto the skeletal frame. After fusing metal into the gabs, Saito finally completed his project: a prosthetic leg. And it wasn't just some metal pole with plastic parts. Each part was painstakingly handcrafted to make it as similar to his old right leg as possible, while making it stronger and more durable. Harden Molstone made up the foot, knee, calf, and shin, the dog leather socket made up the lower part of his thigh, and the Taur Stone skeletal system will help support his weight. After a few minutes of marveling at his creation and checking to see if there were any irregularities, Saito then tried it on. He fastened it into his leg via leather straps and then he tried getting up.

"Whoa! Whooooa! Easy! Easy…" It was first time in nearly a month that Saito stood on his own without a cane, so he began to lose his balance. He managed to steady himself and began to walk slowly, keeping one hand on the wall.

"Feels strange walking on a leg that not my own." Saito walked around in a circle in his base for ten minutes, slowly increasing his pace every minute. He then tried jumping, stretching, and even kicking. The leg managed to withstand all of it. Saito got ahead of himself and tried to run outside of the base, but he ended up tripping on himself and faceplanted onto the ground."

"Owww… Okay. Going to need a little more practice." He rubbed his forehead gently as he got back up. He continued to the pit and walked around, getting use to his new leg. After so long without being unable to walk normally, Saito got lost in the feeling. In fact, he got so lost that he ended up tripping over himself again and fell. As he groaned in pain, humiliated at his two left feet, he noticed the transparent crystals that jutted from the ground and decided to appraise it. When he picked it up, it suddenly went from transparent to black. Surprised, Saito realized that it was kind of like how his Status Plate changed color when he activated the circle. When he read the description, what was written shocked him to his very core. That's because this particular crystal's properties were something he recognized. Something that was the core of a famous weapon from one of his favorite movie franchises. Since he didn't have an effective weapon to fight against the monsters, he strictly focused on evasion any time he went outside his base, using Invisibility and Transmutation to hide from them. It was a lot easier now since he no longer needed a magic circle, but he knew that strategy wasn't going to last very long. So he needed an effective and powerful weapon. And this transparent crystal just provided him the means to make the weapon that would become his trump card.

v Refra Crystal

A refractive mineral. Can reflect the color of a person's mana by holding it. It also has the ability to absorb any spell and increase its power and range.

"Munch… Munch… This feels a little wrong. But whatever." Weeks after crafting his new leg, Saito was sitting outside his base scarfing down grilled cat meat off a handmade spindle. By cat meat, he meant the Long-Tailed Cat monsters. The same monsters that tortured Saito when he first fell down into the pit. He wasn't very enthusiastic about eating cat meat at first, since Saito was still at heart a cat-girl lover. But he quickly got over his initial reluctance once his stomach started growling, easily abandoning everything he stood for without a second thought.

Back on Earth, he read online that cat meat was eaten often in few parts of the world, and that it was quite tasty. Well there nothing tasty about the cat he was eating. It was just as disgusting as the Hellhounds he ate before, Despite that, Saito ate it without complaint. He discovered that while Iron Stomach kept him from suffering extreme pain that came from eating monster meat, the monster magic he gained from eating it made him grow hungry rapidly. And since he used magic to kill it, he ate it to replenish his energy. But what magic did Saito used to kill the cat? None of the spells he was currently capable of using were not suited for close-combat. To know the answer we turn the clock a bit back days after he found the Refra Crystal.

Saito had spent days holed up in his base building weapons to use against the monsters of this floor. He was currently putting the finishing touches on his latest creation. By combining the transmutation Skill he got from inheriting Hajime's Job, along with the Image Desynthesis derivative Skill he earned from training with the over eccentric artist that he once helped mix paints, Saito created a weapon capable of firing projectiles at the speed of sound. It had a rectangular-shaped barrel six inches long and five Taur stones magazines that had a capacity for nine large bullets. He had made a Desert Eagle, one of the most powerful handguns on Earth.

It didn't take long for him to make, thanks to all the times his grandfather took him to the gun range when he was a kid. He was a bit of a gun-nut. Since Saito had to wait in the viewing area, he decided to disassemble and reassemble various guns, learning about each part and what they do. The people there were very impressed at how skilled he was at it that they let him try shooting in the gun range. With a BB gun of course. But it was worth every minute. He managed to bring a modern day weapon to the fantasy world of Tortus. He gave it the name Connor, reference to the main character of the movie about the killer robots

"Now, time to put those trips to the gun-range grandpa took me on to good use." Saito stared proudly at his creation for a while before venturing outside his base to look for a target. After some time strolling, he ended up running into a Long-Tailed Cat. It was currently sleeping on top of a large boulder.

"How full of themselves are these things?" Saito actually felt a little annoyed at how peaceful that cat looked snoozing. Because that signified how confident it was that nothing could kill them. Well Saito was going to change that. He took aim at the cat's head, using both hands to steady his gun, and pulled the trigger. The gunshot rang across the cavern as the bullet left the chamber with such high speed and hit the cat square in the side, sending it flying off the protrusion with a loud "Nyaaa!."

"Tch. They're even strong enough to take a Desert Eagle? Probably has something to do with the Ambrosia." Saito already appraised the Ambrosia infused water a while ago. And his guess was right. these monster's were significantly stronger than the one's Hajime fought on the floor he first woke up on. That was due to the Ambrosia. Continuously drinking the water made the monsters stronger and more durable. A long range shot from a Desert Eagle was only strong enough to bruise it. But Saito was prepared for this. That's why he made two weapons.

The cat got back up and glared at Saito for having the gall to interrupt it's nap. While it hissed ferociously, Saito simply started at it blankly.

"You angry I woke you? Well too bad. I'm hungry as hell and I'm having you for dinner. What are you going to do about it?" Saito taunted the cat with an empty grin. He wasn't sure the cat understood him, but apparently it saw the look in Saito's eyes and could tell it underestimated it greatly. That apparently was enough to piss it off because it then arched its back menacingly and leaped with great speed at Saito. He aimed his gun at the cat when it got close enough and fired, but then it did that weird thing where it bounced off the air and dodged the bullet cleanly. It leaped to the side and came hurtling at Saito's head with its claws out. It was a repeat of the first time he encountered. Only this time, he was prepared.

"Not this time!" Saito quickly pulled something out of his pocket and swung it at the cat. Then for some inexplicable reason, the cat fell into two halves, each one smoldering from where it was cut. The cause was the first weapon Saito made. It was the same cylinder bladeless hilt he had gotten for free from the vendor back in Hourad. Only now it was no longer bladeless. A long black beam of light emitted from an opening on the top of the blade. There was a faint black aura around the light that was emitting an intense heat. It was a near exact replica of the iconic fictional weapon that the ancient order of galactic warriors from the famous movies franchise that Saito has been a fan of since he moved to America. He has brought a lightsaber to the real world. And it was all thanks to his Image Desynthesis, transmutation Skills, a few metal pieces from his collection of spare parts, and a single piece of Refra Stone he found.

Saito disassembled the sword hilt piece by piece, figuring out the function of each part, taking measurements as accurately as possible, piecing together what he needed, and then reassembling it back. The crystal was held in place by a metal casing and he used Light Beam to make the body and Heat Field at its maximum to make it able to cut through anything with white hot energy. The reason that it actually took so long was because it was initially extremely difficult for a person to use two spells at once. It requires a level of magic control that not even a Demon was capable of managing without spending nearly their entire life training nonstop, let alone a human that could only use weak beginner spells like Saito. But that didn't deter him in the slightest.

He spent countless sleepless nights trying. Over and over he tried to use Light Beam and Heat Field simultaneously, exerting so much mana that he drank a gallon's worth of Ambrosia just to keep himself conscious for that long. But eventually, he finally succeeded in combining two spells, gaining two new Derivative Skills from his Image Composition called Multiple Spell Image Composition and Spell Melding. These Skills allowed him to imagine two or more magic circles at once and combine those spells to make new ones, respectively. And due to the Ambrosia, he didn't have to worry about expending too much mana. With all of those in his arsenal, he was able to create a weapon strong enough to take down the Long-Tailed cat he was currently devouring.

"I still can't believe Vader actually worked. I managed to cut through this cat with such heat that the wound actually cauterized. It's been my dream to have an actual lightsaber and now I have one in my hands." As one might've guessed, Vader was the name he gave his weapon. Saito was actually feeling a little excited that he had an actual weapon from his childhood movie series.

"Alright, time to see how much my Stats have risen." Saito took out his Status Plate to see what was gained.

SAITO HIRAGA

Age: 17

Male

Job: Slavemacer

Level: 12

Strength: 300

Vitality: 400

Defense: 300

Agility: 500

Magic: 400

M. Defense: 400

Skills: Slave Crest Creation [+Increased Obedience Effectiveness] [+ Increased Perception Adjustment Effectiveness] [+Dishonesty Sensor] [+Pain Inflictor] • Magic Circle Appraisal • Image Composition [+Spell Melding] [+Multiple Spell Image Composition] • Inheritance (Jobs: Farmer [+Plant Appraisal] • Portion Brewer [+Potion Appraisal] • Toxicologist [+Poison Appraisal] • Cloth Artisan • Zoologist [+Sooth] • Artist [+Image Desynthesis] • Synergist [+Transmute] [+Ore Appraisal] [Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception]) • Mana Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Heat Field • Air Dance [+Leap] [+Supersonic Step] [+Aerodynamics] Language Comprehension

"So I can't get any stronger from eating the same monster, but when I eat a new one, my Stats rise again, and I gain more Skills. That cat must've been crazy powerful if I managed to get four Skills from it. Guess I should try it out." He got up and headed to the pit to have more room. The first thing he tried was the Leap Skill since it was pretty easy to figure out.

This kind of reminds me of that super powerful hero move in that manga about the superhero high school that me and Hajime like. He then kept the image of explosive power gathering in his leg and then jumped as high as he could. He felt the mana gather in his legs as he jumped…though he ended up jumping a little too high. And by a little, he ended up so high that he was able to make out the ceiling. After a momentary feeling of weightlessness, gravity kicked in and he began to fall down.

"Waaaaaaaaaaah!" Saito scream the whole way down, falling at such high speed with each second. He braced himself for impact and then…

Sploosh! He managed to aim himself at the pond and he bellyflopped onto the surface of the water, then sunk deep into it. A few seconds later, Saito managed to pull himself out of the pond. He was soaking wet and breathing heavily. He flopped back onto the surface and laid down as he tried to catch his breath.

"Okay… Got to work on that." Saito took his near-death experience oddly well. That's because it wasn't his first near-death experience, and he knew that it wasn't going to be his last. With that, he used Heat Field to instantly dry his clothes and got to work on his other Skills. He got the hang of Leap, Supersonic Step, and Aerodynamics very quickly. He actually managed to reach all the way to the ceiling after just a few hours of training. As he expected, the ceiling was completely solid, without any openings to climb through. and already knowing that he couldn't transmute his way back up, he dropped back down onto the ground.

So my only choice is to go through the cavern. Figured that was the case. But still… Saito looked at his leg as he thought about what he needed to do first. The Limbed Serpent was still alive somewhere. Saito knew that finding the exit should've been his priority, but as he grew more and more stronger, he was plagued with the memory of what forced him to. That monster was responsible for breaking his spirit. If he was ever going to move forward, he needed to confront it one last time. So he could prove to it, and himself, that he wasn't afraid anymore. That he can survive whatever horrors this abyss held. But first he needed to train more. He needed to be sure that he was prepared for anything that thing throws at him. He needed to get stronger.

"I'm coming for you. Just you wait." Saito silently said that with the image of the serpent's red slitted eyes still clear in his eyes. With resolve in his heart, he returned to his sanctuary, to prepare for his defining battle.


A figure sped through the labyrinth with such speed that a normal human eye couldn't register. That figure was, of course Saito. Having fully mastered Air Dance, he ran through the cavern using Supersonic Step to run off the walls and sometimes Aerodynamics to create mid-air footholds to bounce off of. He has spent the past few hours looking for his mortal foe, the Limbed Serpent. His mind was consumed with the thought of retribution against the monster responsible for his suffering. He ran into a clowder of Long-Tailed Cats fighting a pack of Hellhounds. Seeing that there more dog corpses than there are cat one's, it was clear that the latter were cornering the former. Saito was about to use Shroud to mask himself, but then they spotted him and began to attack him.

"Get out of my way!" Saito easily sliced through the dog nearest him, sending its seared half's falling to the ground. As each monster charged at him, he quickly cut them down, slashing and stepping through each one. A couple of Hellhounds blew fire at him, but he managed to use one of the many spells Kaori gave him and summoned a black shield to block the fire. It wasn't strong enough to handle the intense power of two blast of fire, but it was enough for him to use Supersonic Step to dodge the blast before the spell broke. Then, he was able to use it again to slice through two of the dogs instantly. The last dog leaped up into the air and was about to bite down on Saito's head. But he did something that defied the human limits. He managed to grab the dog's jaw in midair with just one hand. While it failed around helplessly, Saito then grabbed its upper jaw and easily ripped it open and tore the dog completely in half, using Heat Field to evaporate the blood before it touched him. An incomprehensible show of strength that would have never been done without countless years of strength building. But Saito managed to do it in just one week.

He spent an immensurable amount of time strengthening his body through various exercise techniques. From simple push-ups to lifting transmuted Taur Stone barbells, he nonstop trained every part of his body, increasing the definition of his muscles and his Stats at the same time. He only took breaks to eat, stretch, train his sword and gun skills, and drink Ambrosia when he felt his body getting sore ore fatigue. The pond was starting to get noticeably smaller by the day. By the end of the week, his muscles were near professional body-builder Level. He only reason he stopped was because he didn't want his muscles to look too engorged. But it was enough to raise his Stats way above even Captain Meld's. He was definitely the strongest thing on this floor. And the remaining Long-Tailed Cats knew that.

As they watched how easily Saito tore apart those Hellhounds, they were actually visibly shaken. The Hellhounds might've been the weakest monsters on this floor, but they were still pretty strong for even a person with Stats in the 100s. If a single human was able to kill four dogs in that short amount of time, one of then they ripped with their bare hands like it was paper, they didn't stand a chance against then. They decided the best course of action was to run away as fast as they could, so they did just that. But Saito wasn't going to let then get away that easily. He actually had a use for them. He touched the ground and used Freeze. the ice spread quickly towards the fleeing cat's and their paws were instantly frozen. they squirmed and hiss as they tried to wrestle their limbs out of the ice, but it was no use. Saito leisurely walked and smirked at the cat's the same way the one that he first encountered did to him. He took his sweet time walking towards then because he knew they were never going to be able to get out. He grinned sinisterly as he looked down on the helpless, shivering, Long-Tailed Cats.

"Don't worry. I'm won't kill any of you. You all have the honor of helping me lure out that serpent. Be glad that I'm just that altruistic. But in return for giving you all a few more minutes to live…" Saito then activated Vader, the faint heat of the blade the cat's could feel even from where they were.

"I'm going to need something from all of you. So try not to move too much. It'll just get harder for all of us. But don't worry. It'll only hurt for a second."

A few hours after that, he managed to find his prey. He found it near a dead end that he assumed was its nest. There were hundreds of animal bones scattered all over the floor and a pile of rotting animal carcasses in the corner. The smell was so overpowering that Saito had to cover his nose and mouth to keep himself from gagging. The Limbed Serpent was presently chewing on a piece of fresh Hellhound. was just as huge and imposing as he remembered. The only thing different was that one of its eyes were closed shut. That was the eye Saito stabbed it with. It must've never gotten healed.

Why hasn't it though? It had to have gone to the pond at some point. Well I figured out a long time ago that Ambrosia can't restore lost limbs, but I was desperate and hysterical when I stabbed it's eye out. Did I really hurt it so bad that it stopped working? Saito was actually a little impressed with himself. Despite how weak he was back then, he was able to make the Limbed Serpent lose sight in his left eye. Saito grinned a little at how amusing that was, but this time was going to be different. He wasn't going to just wound the creature. He was going to kill and devour it.

Saito took out something the size of a small boulder out of his backpack. Only it wasn't a boulder. It was over a dozen Long-Tailed Cats tied up in what looked like thick pink ropes. Only it wasn't rope. It was actually the tails of the now former Long-Tailed Cats He cut off as many cat's as he could, including the one's he bound, and tied then up into a cylinder shaped cage. And knowing that they would make a scene, he also cut their tongues and cauterized the wounds with Vader to prevent them from making any noise and from dying. But that wasn't the only thing he put in there. He also packed within the bound cats bags full of a mixture of powdered Blastrock and the organ that the dogs have to produce their flame breath that he found and appraised with his Monster Part's Appraisal Skill. He made a bomb within bait. He thinly smiled as he marveled at his sinister creation.

Saito then quietly hid behind a nearby boulder and tossed the serpent's bait towards it. The sound of the bones being crushed underneath the weight caught the serpent's attention and it turned towards where it was coming from. The serpent noticed it as it rolled across the bones like a soccer ball. The serpent looked cautiously at the strange object when it came to halt near its midsection. When it picked it up, it flicks it's forked tongue, tasting the air around it. It looked the direction it came from and flicked its tongue again to see if anything was there. But Saito already used Shroud to mask himself, so it couldn't smell him. It then it used its magic to feel for any emotions. But Saito kept his emotion suppressed as hard as he could. His heart was beating steadily, and his mind was clear. He wasn't afraid anymore. He waited patiently for the serpent to eat his trap.

Seeing nothing wrong with it, the Limbed Serpent put the entire bait into his gaping jaw. The cat's weren't even able to scream in terror as the serpent began to close down on them. But before it could begin to chew, a loud gunshot rang through the entire cavern. Then…

Boom! The inside of the Limbed Serpent's mouth exploded, engulfing it's mouth in a torrent of flames.

"Hisssssss!" The serpent screamed in pain as the inside of its mouth continued to burn. It tried to put it out by stuffing its mouth with monsters, but not matter how much it stuffed in its mouth, it just fueled the flames even more. It then slithered as fast as it could out of the cavern, while Saito watched as the faint light vanished.

"Heh. Worked perfectly." Saito managed to light the bomb filled cat bait without getting close lies withing the contents of the Hellhounds' organs. It was filled with a pale white sticky liquid that reminded Saito of Napalm. He then lighted it with a heated piece of stone and the heat that it emitted nearly burned his face off. That's when he had the idea of combining it with powdered Blastrock inside of a few bags made out of Hellhound leather to create makeshift napalm bombs. Then he placed a Green Glowstone inside all of the bags so he could pinpoint where one was. Then by coating his Desert Eagle Conner in his Heat Field to heat the bullets to a high temperature, he fired and ignited the bag causing a chain reaction that created a huge explosion within the Limbed Serpent's mouth. And napalm can up to over 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it was burning and suffocating at the same time. It was truly a sinister substance to have in one's arsenal.

Saito then used Supersonic Step to run as fast he could back to the pit. He managed to memorize every square inch of the place, so got there in no time at all. Just in time to see the serpent fall into one of his other traps for it. Knowing that it would be its only option left, he extracted vast amounts of the napalm-like substance out of the organs as he could and poured in into the pond, along with a few incendiary grenades made out of the same material and transmuted Taur Stone for good measure. So the second the serpent's head touched the water, the lake erupted into a pillar of blazing fire, light up the dark pit in red light burning it even further until its entire body was covered in flames. After about ten seconds of watching it flair around, Saito granted it a reprieve as it's movements started to slow. He used Freeze combined with the Wind Spere spell Hiyama used on him and Hajime to blow the Limbed Serpent's body with cool air to put out its flames. Frankly, the thought of using a spell he memorized from him of all people made Saito's stomach churn a little, but it couldn't be helped. After he was finished, he picked up a nearby large jug he filled with Ambrosia, lifted the serpent's jaw's open, and threw the jug's contents into it's mouth. The serpent's severe burns were already beginning to heal. As it stirred awake, Saito got in from of it's still functioning eye and waved casually, as if he were saying hi to an old friend.

"Remember me? It's been a while. How's the eye?" Saito empty smile shone through the Limbed Serpent's eye. When the serpent managed to regain its senses, it's eye narrowed, filled with rage.

"Now what's with that look? You didn't like my present? How cruel. I made it especially for you. It was just my way of showing you what it felt like to be burned from the inside out for days on end thanks to your poison."

Saito then got closer to the Limbed Serpent and casually placed his hand on the skin next to its eye. The serpent looked utterly shocked at how Saito dauntlessly got close to it, even laying his hands on its still smoldering skin.

"You look a little surprise. Maybe you're wondering how I'm still alive? Or what I just set you on fire with? Or why I didn't just let you burn to death? Well I can't tell you the second one. Trade secret. But as for one and three, I had to endure ceaseless agony for a countless number of days after what you did to me. But I managed to survive. And as for why your not dead yet, I'm going to show just how much suffering you put me through." in all honestly, it should've been simpler for Saito to just let it die instead of sacrificing the entire lake of Ambrosia and his remain jug of it. But Saito was now an avid believer of the principle "An eye for an eye." He wanted to make this serpent take responsibility for all of the pain and suffering it caused him. Not matter what he had to do.

"Hissssed!" The Limbed Serpent now knew that Saito was no longer its prey. He was its enemy. So it lifted itself up and hissed viciously at Saito, its only remaining single eye stared at him with fury.

"What are you waiting for? Let's finish this." As Saito activated his pitch black lightsaber Vader, the serpent charged straight at him. Saito used Supersonic Step to dash to the side. But the serpent was still pretty agile. It managed to swerve mid-charge and swing its tail at Saito. He then used his Leap ability to jump high into the air, dodging the incoming tail completely. He then used Aerodynamic and bounced off the air, dive-bombing towards the serpent. Bu the serpent managed to accurately hit Saito midair before he even got close. He ended up hitting the wall at full speed, slamming into it so hard that it created a human shaped indentation in the wall. If it wasn't for the Fortify Spell he appraised from Sakura back on the bridge, he would've ended up splattered all over the walls, even with his strengthen body. Seeing that its foe wasn't dead, the Limbed Serpent opened its mouth wide and sprayed its acidic venom with high pressure.

"Shit!" Saito cursed and quickly pulled himself out of the wall. He once again used Supersonic Step to dodge the spray, but also used Light Wall, another one of the many spells Kaori gave him, to block and residual venom that might've splashed.

Though now it should be call Dark Wall, at least for my case. Since most spell reflect the color of the person's mana, his Light Wall was now completely black. Saito felt a tinge of guilt for sullying the pure name of the spell. Seeing that it was time to dull out the second part of his revenge, Saito took out of his pocket a green sphere an inch long. It was the same flash grade that Hajime made too. Saito had the same idea and crafted it the exact same way. Though they were different in many aspects, they were also similar in terms of thinking. That's what made them such great friends. Saito ran towards the serpent with all the speed he could musher, weaving back in forth as he dodged more venom blast, making sure it didn't get a bead on him. Saito then lit it with his Heat Field and threw it at the Limbed Serpent. Thought it must've learned its lesson about trusting strange objects thrown at it, so it shielded it's eyes just before the grenade exploded in a flash of brilliant emerald light. But that's what Saito hoped would happen. He then activated Shroud and concealed his body in darkness. When the serpent was sure the danger had passed, it unshielded its eyes. But it noticed that his prey was gone. And once more, he couldn't sense him through its magic. It flicked its tongue in the air to pick up its scent, but nothing was there. Though it kept vigilant watch to make sure its prey didn't a sneak up on him, it was all in vain. Cause then suddenly, it felt a surge of pain through its body and for some reason it fell over. When it looked behind it, it saw that it no longer as long as it was before. That's because Saito snuck up behind it and cut it in half.

"Hissssss!" The serpent's cries as it felt the burning feeling of it's flesh being cut off echoed across the pit. It was practically music to Saito's ears.

"Now you know what its like to have a part of yourself taken from you. And now…" He then used Vader to cut off a large piece of the serpent and held it in front of its face and cooked it with Heat Field. Saito then sank his jaw deep into the Limbed Serpent's tail. Since his jaw was strengthen due to eating monster meat for so long, he was able to tear through the thick skin easily. It was exactly like when Saito was forced to watch his own leg be devoured. Only now the roles were reversed.

"Hamf… Mmmf… Huh. Oddly enough, while it still tastes like crap, this taste better for some reason. I wonder why…" Saito acted coy as he continued to eat the meat. Saito looked at the serpent and saw that it wasn't moving. The Limbed Serpent was stunned at what it was seeing. It watched warily as Saito chewed its tail with such vigor. For the first time since its been down here, it was rendered helpless, by a human child no less. The thought of that was enough to send it into a blind fury. It clawed into the ground and crawled towards Saito.

"This is kind of reminds me of that story in the Bible where God cursed the serpent to crawl on the ground for eternity. Only whatever god made you must've had a twisted imagine—" Saito didn't manage to finish that sentence. Because he suddenly felt the familiar sharp pain of when he first ate minster meat. Quickly realizing what was happening, he pulled out his last stone vial of Ambrosia he kept for emergencies and drank it's contents. The pain wasn't as bas as the first time, but it managed to make Saito drop to one knee, unable to keep himself upright. That was the Limbed Serpent's chance. It threw itself at Saito with all the strength it had, and it managed to grab his neck with its right hand and slam him into the ground. Saito struggled as he felt the serpent's bony hand squeezing around his throat. He was still recovering from the pain he felt after eating the meat, so he couldn't pry himself out of the serpent's grip. The serpent then opened its mouth again and managed a drop of its venom out of its fangs. It intends to make Saito suffer for his insolents by melting his head slowly. It was going to end up just like what happen when he first fought it. He was going to lose to it again. And this time, he wasn't going to able to escape.

The Limbed Serpent's venom then finally dropped down. Saito braced himself for the intense burning sensation he was going to suffer. Then… it never came. Saito was at first bewildered. He felt the drop fall onto his forehead. Its even running down the side of his temple and when it contacted the ground, it made a hole the size of a baseball. And yet, he felt no pain. Only a small tingling feeling on his forehead. The serpent looked shock at how its poison, which can melt living thigs down to their bones, was ineffective against its prey. Saito realized what must've happened and he grinned a sadistically.

"Stick and stones can't break my bones, now your poison will never melt me. And you really should learn to control your rage. Otherwise…you might end up making some major mistakes." After casually buttering a well-know nursery rhyme, Saito activated Freeze in his left hand and coated the Limbed Serpent's arm in ice. It saw what Saito was doing and it tried to rein its grip, but Saito managed to recover his strength and held onto the serpent's arm as hard as he could. Then, he raised his right hand and slammed his fist into the frozen arm as hard as he could. It managed to shatter like broken glass, pieces of its arm strewed across the ground.

"Hissss!" The Limbed Serpent once again cried out in pain while it held its' missing arm. Saito managed to get back up and rubbed his sore throat.

"Heh. Got to say, there was a small part of me that was worried that it wouldn't work. But with my luck, anything is possible." Saito then pulled out a handkerchief, wet it with a beginner-level water spell, and wiped his face off. If one looked closely enough, there was a faint shine to Saito's face. Whatever substance was smeared all over him glistened as some light shined all over it. The substance was actually a protective antitoxin liquid that can be applied to the skin. Not only that, it was the same antitoxin that kept him alive for weeks. Saito knew that if even a drop of that stuff got onto him, it would be the end of him. So he made the substance by extracting the jelly part of the napalm-like substance and mixed it with antitoxin. The reason it worked this time instead of just temporarily delaying the spread was that after hours and hours of improving the formula and testing the substance, he managed to gain more Derivative Skills, one called Increase Antidote Proficiency from his Toxicologist Job he Inherited from the shady-looking man he met in an alley who was extracting blood from an unconsciousness man, who turned out to be drawing blood to make a cure for his ailment. He was actually a very nice person who even has a wife and a daughter Saito's age. And after helping him carry the sick man to his pharmacy and told him about his Inheritance, he gave him his Job after days of lessons. Thanks to Saito not judging a book by its cover, he managed to create an antitoxin powerful enough to resist even the Limbed Serpent's acidic venom, and he coated it on almost every inch of his body to make sure none of it got on him. All the dodging he did was just a ruse to make it use his venom more and more until it was low. So now the serpent was now out of venom, missing half of its body, arm, and a right eye. So Saito could easily kill it with one swipe with Vader or with one shot with Conner. But his revenge wasn't done yet. He still had one more left.

He gathered as much mana as he could muster into his legs and used Leap to jump a few feet into the air and did a mid-air somersault. Then right before he landed he used Aerodynamics combined with Supersonic Step to launch himself at the Limbed Serpent at a ridiculously high speed. The serpent tried to dodge, but Saito was just too fast. He was like a human railgun. He grabbed the snakes body and went hurtling towards the other side of the pit.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Hiiiisssssssssss!" Both Saito and the Limbed Serpent let out respective primal roars as they soared across the room and then…

Boooom! The duo slammed into the wall with the force of a cannonball. The wall exploded with a shower of rocks flying all over the room. When the dust cleared, it revealed Saito standing there completely unharmed and unfazed by the amount of force exerted. The snake however was a different story. It laid down on the ground in a heap of blood and exposed bone. Bruises and cuts spread all over what was left of its body. It's remaining arm was left dangling, completely shattered. Nearly all of its teeth were knocked out. And most likely every single bone in its body was broken. Saito didn't hold back even a little. He wanted to make the snake feel what it was like to rendered broken. Broken, helpless, and in pain. And he completes his goal. The most power monster in the pit of hell was now his prey.

"Hi…iii…iiss…" Saito heard the former Limbed Serpent weakly hiss, still alive even after being slammed into the wall. After spending who knows how many years drinking the Ambrosia, it was able to withstand even the harshest attacks. Even Hajime with his lightning enhanced railgun would only put a dent in it. That just meant Saito became just that strong. He was leagues above even Hajime's Level at the time when he killed the Claw Bear.

"Huh. Guess your not the strongest monster down here for nothing." Admiring the Limbed Serpent's durability, Saito then suddenly felt a strange sense of dread. That shouldn't have been possible giving that his emotions were surpassed. He felt his heart and saw that it was still beating softly as usual. It was then he figured out the serpent's specialized magic.

"So that's how you were able to find me that day. You sensed my fear. Well now I'm not afraid anymore. Not of anything in this hell." Saito placed the edge of his lightsaber to the serpent's neck, the heat of it burning skin black.

"But there's no need for you to be afraid. As a reward for enduring all of my punishments, I'll grant you a swift death. And as a bonus…I'll make good use of every part of your body." And with one single slash of his blade, he relieved the former Limbed Serpent of its head. The whole time, it never took its eye off Saito, and vice versa.

As Saito expected, the rush of exhilarating joy never came. His heart was now as hard and cold as his resolve. And his mercy against those who opposed him was nonexistent. He didn't care who he had to make suffer anymore. He didn't enjoy or reveled in it. If they deserved to suffer, he'll make them. It was only fair. Why do they get a swift death when they have caused just as much pain onto others? But for those who didn't, he'll kill quickly. But only those who became his enemy. Vengeance against those who did him wrong didn't interest him anymore. He was past such petty feelings. His goal right now was to survive.

Saito closed his eyes and collected his thoughts. He decided that this was the only way for him to live from now on. He still didn't enjoy fighting. He still didn't enjoy pain. He just wanted to avoid it. He just wanted to eat his fill. He just…

"…I want to live. I want to back home…with my best friend who I trust more than anyone…with the girl I love more than anything…that's all I want. Nothing else matters anymore to me. I don't care what I have to do. Everything I believed in…everything that made me the person they admire and love…I'll abandon it all…because they mean the world to me. I'll find a way back home. I'll grant my wish with these two hands. Anyone that gets in my way becomes my enemy. And if there of no use to me…" Saito then opened his eyes. They were still lifeless and hollow, but in them was a faint light. Symbolizing his regained desires.

"They will die."

SAITO HIRAGA

Age: 17

Male

Job: Slavemacer

Level: 20

Strength: 900

Vitality: 800

Defense: 800

Agility: 1000

Magic: 600

M. Defense: 600

Skills: Slave Crest Creation[+ Increased Obedience Effectiveness] [+ Increased Perception Adjustment Effectiveness] [+Dishonesty Sensor] [+Pain Inflictor] • Magic Circle Appraisal • Image Composition [+Spell Melding] [+Multiple Spell Image Composition] • Inheritance (Jobs: Farmer [+Plant Appraisal] • Portion Brewer [+Potion Appraisal] [+Potion Desynthesis] [+Potion Synthesis] • Toxicologist [+Poison Appraisal] [+Poison Desynthesis] [+Poison Synthesis] [+Increased Antidote Effectiveness] • Cloth Artisan [+Increased Weaving Rate] • Zoologist [+Sooth][+Monster Parts Appraisal] • Artist [+Image Desynthesis] [+Precise Image] • Synergist [+Transmute] [+Ore Appraisal] [Precision Transmutation] [+Ore Perception] [+Ore Desynthesis] [+Ore Synthesis]) • Mana Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Heat Field [+Temperature Control] • Air Dance [+Leap] [+Supersonic Step] [+Aerodynamics] • Empathy • Language Comprehension


We go back a few days after Kaori woke up. Yukiko Natsumi was walking through the halls of Heiligh palace looking for Sakura's room. She had just come back from another day of training. And the first thing she wanted to do before anything else was check up on her unconscious friend. She didn't even bother to change out of her equipment, which was just the standard shirt and jeans over some magic enhanced metal guards. They offered to give her a special clothing with magical properties imbued into it that pertains to her Job like everyone else has, but it was a silver white dress with snowflake decorations adorned into it, so that was a hard pass. It was already bad enough having to use her staff. Wearing that dress would make her feel like that character from a certain Disney film.

"To think that I just made a movie reference like he always does…" Yukiko felt her heart tighten as she accidentally made a movie reference like Saito always does. Ever since his death at the hands of the Behemoth, Yukiko has been trying to distract herself from thinking about him. Focusing on training, checking up on Sakura, reading as many books as she could. Anything to distract her from thinking about him.

Only a few people know about Yukiko's true feelings about Saito. Shizuku first found out when they were reunited in middle school and both her parent's figured it out when she first started talking about him to her on the first year of middle school. She was more open about her feelings back then than she was now. But after she found out that Sakura was in love him, she chose to set aside her feelings and encourage Sakura to pursue hers. That's how much Yukiko cared about her childhood friend. She understood how difficult her homelife really is. Saito was the only one who gave her what she truly wanted. She needed him in her life.

But after seeing what happened to Saito on that bridge shook her to her very core. It took everything she had to keep herself from breaking down in front of everyone. She wept for hours after they came out of the labyrinth. But now she managed to control her emotions again. She needed to keep herself under control, otherwise she'd lose herself. So pinched her wrist as hard as she could to keep from crying and continued to look for Sakura's room. But it turned out she didn't need to. She was about to turn left at an intersection when she spotted something that made her wide eyed. A girl in a white gown on a balcony looking over the kingdom. She had auburn hair that Yukiko knew very well.

"Sakura?" Yukiko called out to the girl, hoping in her heart that it was her best friend. And sure enough, the girl responded to Yukiko's voice and turned around, revealing it was her best friend awake and healthy.

"Oh. Yukiko-chan. You're back." Sakura casually greeted her friend as if she didn't just recover from a comatose state.

"How can you greet me so casually like that? Do you know how worried I was about you?" Yukiko waked over to the balcony and grabbed her friend's hands, retorting to her laid-back greeting like they were doing some sort of skit.

"How are you feeling do you hurt anywhere? If you are, you really shouldn't be up right now." Yukiko looked and felt almost every part of her body to check for any signs of injuries, but Sakura assured her that she was okay.

"Yukiko-chan, please calm down. I'm alright. I had a bit of trouble getting out of bed at first due to how heavy my body felt, but I managed to walk here pretty okay."

"Really? Are you sure?" Sakura nodded softly, affirming Yukiko's question. Relieved, Yukiko sighed in relief.

"Alright. If you say so. But what are you doing here?"

"Well when I woke up a few minutes ago, I wanted to get some fresh air, so I found this balcony with the loveliest view of the town. Take a look." Sakura gestured for her to look and Yukiko followed. The view was indeed lovely. Yukiko was actually pretty impressed at how beautiful the kingdom looked. She could make out all of the people walking the streets going to whatever they were. It was hard to believe they were really at war. But they wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case. Though the way the kingdom spread out over the lush green pains of the mountains, each part of the town surrounded by giant walls that encircled the city, made one forget about that fact. No wonder Sakura choose this spot.

"Beautiful, right?" Sakura asked Yukiko as she stared outside.

"Yeah. it really is." They continued to gaze at the view for a few minutes in silence before Sakura decided to ask Yukiko, "So, how long was I asleep for? And is Kaori-chan awake too?"

"Yeah, she is. She woke up two days before you did. So you ended up sleeping for seven whole days."

"An entire week…but how did I…? Last I remember we were on the bridge and then…?" Sakura started to stare out into space, recalling beginning to recall what happened on that bridge. Yukiko started to dread that she would remember and was about to try to change the subject, but it was too late. Sakura's eyes started widening in horror as she replayed the scene of Saito being hit by that loose fireball and getting impaled by the Behemoth's horn. She went stark white and started trembling. And then…she let out a blood-curling shriek. It was loud enough that people nearest to the palace managed to hear it clearly. Sakura continued to scream uncontrollably as the image of Saito's impaled body burned into her mind.

"Sakura! Calm down! Please! Sakura!" Yukiko called out to her as loudly as she could, but no matter what she wouldn't stop. It went on for several seconds before Yukiko, seeing there was no other choice, slapped Sakura in her face as hard as she could. That managed to bring her back to senses and she immediately stopped screaming. Sakura sat there with a stun expression for several minutes. In that time, sone knights who were nearby came over to see what was wrong. Yukiko managed to convince them that it was alright, and they hesitantly left. Yukiko's hand and Sakura's cheek stung for several seconds after the former slammed the latter. In all the time she's known Sakura, she never once laid a hand against her. She felt so guilty that she had to do something like that. But there was really no other choice. She had her staff, but she didn't know any healing spells. So she had to think of something, otherwise it would've been the bridge incident all over again. Yukiko could've put her to sleep easily by using one of many defensive techniques she learned due to her upbringing as the eldest daughter of the famous private security company Hachiman. But Yukiko couldn't bring herself to hurt best friend. She never could. Yukiko felt ashamed that she let someone else do something that she didn't have the strength to do. Not again.

After what seemed like an eternity of stunned silence, Sakura finally spoke softly.

"…Saito…he's…no…it can't be…" Sakura was barely able to speak. Her whole body trembled as a stream of tears rolled down her despair stricken face. All Yukiko could do was watch as her friend silently mutter to herself senselessly. Soon enough, she heard the sound of rapid footsteps. When she looked up, she saw Kaori and Shizuku standing there panting heavily from all the way up here, still wearing their gear and their equipment. Apparently they managed to hear Sakura's screams just as they arrived back from their own training.

"What happened, Yukiko-chan?! Is Sakura-chan okay?!" Kaori asked as she managed to catch her breath.

"No…no she's not…" Yukiko managed only those words in a solemn tone. Kaori walked quickly towards Sakura, who was still muttering to herself and staring blankly at space and used a healing spell to calm her mind with her staff. It started to work as her face started to relax. Shizuku walked beside her and checked for any signs of stress.

"She's okay. Great job Kaori." Seeing no sign of it, Shizuku thanked Kaori for her work.

"Thank you Shizuku-chan." As she returned her friend's praise with her own gratitude, Kaori helped Sakura up while Shizuku did the same for Yukiko.

"Sakura…can you hear me? Please say something." Kaori called out to Sakura as same color retuned to her face. She tuned to face to Kaori's and said quietly, "Kaori…chan... Shizuku…chan… Saito…he's… I watched him as he… And I couldn't do anything…" Sakura trembled softly as she spoke, hugging herself as she did. The sight of her boyfriend's supposed death devastated her. She couldn't get the sight of out of her head. Kaori's healing magic did its job and cleared her mind a little, but despair still filled her heart.

"Let's get her to her room. She needs to lie down." Yukiko and Kaori agreed with Shizuku's suggestion and helped guide Sakura back to her room. They managed to get her to her bed, and they sat her down gently into it. She then curled up in the fetal position after a few seconds and hugged her legs. Her eyes were puffy and red from the crying and there were still tears in them, but she was calmer now.

"So she…remembered what happen?" Shizuku asked Yukiko, who nodded slowly in affirmation without saying a word.

"Sakura-chan… when we heard the screams…we were so worried." Kaori started to tear up as she explained how they found their way up here. It took several seconds for her to respond, but then she meekly said, "I'm sorry for distressing you three. It's just…whenI remembered what happened, it overwhelmed me. I just lost myself. I must've caused quite a scene."

"Don't worry about it. After seeing…that, and with how you are to that sort of thing, how could we blame you?" Shizuku insisted to Sakura that what she did was justified. Karori nodded, agreeing with Shizuku. Yukiko still hasn't said a word, her bangs covering her eyes so no one could see her expression.

"Saito… He's really…gone." The tears started rolling down her face the moment Sakura said her boyfriend's name. Kaori and Shizuku trembled slightly, trying to hold back their sadness, but they managed a small nod. A heavy silence fell upon the room for who knows how long. Sakura didn't move an inch the whole time. All Kaori and Shizuku could do was pull up a chair for themselves and Yukiko and wait for Sakura to regain herself. Then finally…

"I hated my life." The three girls were startled at what Sakura just said. Not just she just suddenly started to speak again, but at what she said. Yukiko was more surprised by the latter.

"Sakura-chan, what are you…" Kaori was appalled at what Sakura said, but she asked her what she was talking about. Sakura then continued.

"I know how it sounds. What is there to hate about my life? I have a mother, a father, and two brothers' that all love me dearly. I live in such a lavish house full of butlers and maids that cater to my every whim. I get to eat three-square gourmet meals every day. Bodyguards that are willing to risk their life for me. I go to one of the most prestigious schools in Japan. I have the best grade, droves of people who aspire to be like me, and am talented at almost everything I do. I get to buy anything I want without every having to worry about the cost. I can buy jewelry worth tens of billions and my parents wouldn't' even admonish me. I already have a whole collection worth billion thanks to the fifty or so handsome, wealthy, and successful suitors my parents set up for me to try to flatter me into accepting their engagement offer. Do you know what lengths most girls my age would go to for a life my mine. My life is truly blessed. If I told them what I just said to you all, they'd either think I'm crazy or just selfish. But…they don't understand what having a life like that is truly means.

"The way my family loves me means that they only want what's best for me. So they control everything I'm allowed to do. Their subtle and kind about it, but I can tell. Everything I watch, read, and do for fun is managed by my parents. My eldest brother is the only one that thinks it excessive, but he could never tell them that. My servants will take the blame for even the small things I clearly did wrong. I never get scolded or in trouble even though I never asked for them to cover for me, and I just feel so guilty. I'm never allowed to eat or drink what I want. All of my meals just taste the same to me now. People are always intimidated by how I walk in public with my guards. I can't ever talk normally to people, and when I do, they're always apologizing for saying something they believe was out of turn. I have to constantly live up to the expectations of my class, putting on airs as a humble and hark-working girl when in truth it's so tiring. And…there are some girls who actually get jealous of how much the boys adore me. Those who are brave enough secretly pick on me in secluded areas when you and Ryu-kun aren't around, Yukiko-chan. But their parent's work in industries owned by mine, so I never say anything so that my parents don't punish theirs." Hearing that made the three girls' faces twist in shock. Yukiko was the most visibly distress, seeing as he was completely unaware of what her friend really went through at school when she was home sick or when Ryosuke took a day off school for his TV or movie roles. Sakura then continued.

"I never felt right taking the stuff people gave me and never properly compensating them for it. Since their companies' are own my parents' they feel as if I'm entitled to it. Nothing's ever truly mine. And my suitors…I know what they're really like. They may act all kind and considerate, but I overhear them talking about how they're only after my families' wealth and connections. Before middle school, the only boys I genuinely trusted were Kouki-kun and Ryu-kun. But even they see me as someone to be revered. Kouki-kun has always been such a kind person, but I've always known him to be a little naïve. He believes in people too much and that often comes at a price. And Ryu-kun works so hard for my sake, but it's always for me so he can feel like my equal. Even though I'm just happy that's he's my friend. Other than those two, my parents would never allow a boy they didn't approve of.

"I'm like a bird in a gilded cage. Admired and adored by everyone, but never truly free. It was suffocating. I felt so alone. Yukiko-chan, you always understood on some Level what I was really going through. But you were so reclusive. You try and hide it, but know there's some eating at you, though you never shared it with me. It got worse ever since I started dating him. I don't know whether it's because you were feeling like I was beginning to cast you aside or something else, but I didn't pry because I hoped you'd one day tell me. But that meant that I couldn't open up to you about what I was going through."

She knew that? Yukiko didn't expect Sakura to be that perceptive about her true feelings. But didn't look like she knew why.

"And Ryu-kun. He would never understand. He reveres me too much to treat me normally. He's always been this way since we were little. There no one I could truly talk to about this. No one who truly knew what it felt like to have everything and yet feel like nothing…until Saito.

"Saito is…was…basically a child prodigy. But he knew how it felt. How lonely it was to be at the top. He never called me ungrateful or greedy. That day when we met, I didn't go to a nearby restroom with telling without telling them where I was like I told you three and everyone else. I snuck out to have at least one day feeling like a normal person. And when I got into trouble with those high schoolers, that would've been enough to deter me from ever going out again. But Saito came and saved me from them. Without ever throwing a single punch. He even helped me get my phone out of gutter when it fell and took me all over Akihabara, showing me all what it had to offer. For the first time I felt what it was truly like to be a normal girl, and it was all thanks to him." Tears streamed down Sakura's face as she talked about Saito. Kaori started crying as well, as she was close to Saito as well as Sakura was. Even Shizuku started to have tears well up in her eyes.

"But without any connection to my family or wealth to provide, and giving how unique his family is, he wouldn't even make it through the door. But I didn't care. I wanted to be with him. I would've been willing to sacrifice everything I had to stay by his side. So it made me so happy that he accepted my confession on News Years Eve. I couldn't contain my joy. And ever since then I got to feel so many more wonderful things. What it felt like to hold hands, to kiss, to…make love. I gave him every part of myself. My heart belongs to him. Saito's my everything. But now…I can't live in any world where he's not with me… It hurt's too much… not being by his side… I'd rather just di—"

"Don't say that!" Kaori, Shizuku, and Sakura were startled by the sudden outburst from the most unlikely person: Yukiko. And it wasn't just her shout that surprised them. There were streams of tears flowing down her face with the same frequency as Sakura's. they've never once seen her openly cry before, so this was completely out of character for her, at least to Sakura. Shizuku and Kaori were one of few people here who knew what she was truly like.

Yukiko then got on the bed and grabbed Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura, believe me when I say that I understand. Saito was your lifeline to a whole different life. By losing him you lost your connection to it. I know how badly you needed it. That's why I… that's why I entrusted him to you. That's why I never had a problem when you guys were going out. Your happiness is what matters the most to me. Because you're my best friend. You're like the little sister I've always wanted. You've accepted me despite how introverted and closed off my heart is. And while I'm unable to tell you why, you've accepted that. You mean the world to me just like he does for you. So…I'm begging you. Please don't say that you'd rather die. That's not he would want…that's not what any of us here want… I can't bear to lose you. Please…just live. Live for him… For me…" Yukiko sobbed silently, but she never once took her eyes off Sakura. Every girl there was at a lost for words at how much this really affected her. She was displaying more emotions than she has every showed to them, let alone anyone. Though she only told them a fraction of her true feelings for Saito. She wanted to say, "That's why I abandoned my feelings!," but she couldn't bring herself too, but Shizuku knew that's what she wanted to say. Sakura stared silently at Yukiko for minutes, processing everything she was hit with. Then she said with a solemn smile, "Yukiko… you're finally opening up to me," and she hugged her friend. Sakura was still distraught over losing Saito, but she was glad that she now understood her best friend's feelings.

"But you know, aren't you supposed to cheer me up? And yet you're the one who ended up crying." Sakura teased her friend's emotional outburst, which actually made Yukiko blushed a little.

"It's your own fault for making me cry, saying scary things like that." Yukiko actually started to pout a little, which made Kaori and Shizuku try to stifle their snickering.

"I know. I'm sorry. I promise I won't scare you like that again. I don't want to cry for me anymore." Sakura finished her hug and got up from her bed. She opened a nearby window and looked out at the kingdom with a distant look on her face. A little worried, Kaori, Shizuku and Yukiko followed her lead and watched out with her.

"Does anyone...know who did it?" Sakura asked the girls.

"No. Everyone's been trying to avoid the subject entirely." Shizuku answered Sakura's question.

"Oh... Well I guess that's okay. I'm not sure if I could ever forgive them if I knew anyway..." Then she asked Kaori, "You really believe that Nagumo-kun's still alive down there, Kaori-chan?"

Kaori was startled at that question, but she answered it without hesitation.

"I do. At least I want to be sure what happened to him."

"Well… I don't believe Saito's dead either."

"Sakura...why…?" Yukiko looked at Sakura with a sense of disbelief, but she held her friend's hand and looked into her eyes.

"I know what your going to say. It's impossible to believe that anyone else could survive getting impaled and thrown off a bridge. But Saito…he isn't like anyone else. He's special. Even with only a backpack full of spare parts, a sword hilt with no blade, a couple of potions, his incredibly strong eidetic memory, some beginner-level spells, a shortsword, and non-combat based Jobs in his arsenal, he can survive anything that labyrinth throws at him. After all, his luck is unbelievably high if he managed to sweep a girl like me off my feet."

"Sakura..."

"And even if he didn't…well I know that he did his best. That he didn't stop thinking about me the whole time. But there's no way in hell I'm leaving his body down there. So, I'll get stronger. I'll fight whatever is down there and I'll get him back. Whether it be as just bones or himself, I won't rest until I bring every part of him back with me, no matter how long it takes. That's why…I'm counting on you to support me. Will you, Yukiko-chan?" Yukiko looked into her best friend's unwavering gaze. There was not a shred of doubt, fear, or madness in them. She truly believed that Saito was alive and was going to spend every minute of time getting stronger to find him.

Saito…just how much did you change my friend? Yukiko marveled at how she has changed. Sakura was never good with conflict. Yukiko and Ryosuke had to always protect her from such things because of how weak or heart was. But her love made it stronger. She managed to face her fears and confess her love to Saito, completely disobeying her parent's wished for her. Yukiko did give her the encouragement to do it, but it was really all of Sakura. She knew there was no changing her mind. Her tenacity to defy both reality and logic would make people think she was insane. So with that, there was only one thing she can say.

"Haaah… If you ask me like that, how can I possibly refuse? Of course I'll help you. Either dead or alive, we'll find Saito together." Shizuku and Kaori smiled as they admired how close the two really were. It remined them so much of how they are. Kaori especially felt pleased that Sakura had the same resolve to Saito as she did to find Hajime. There was no force on earth that can stop two girls from pursuing the man they love.

"Thank you so much. Now then…" She then started doing some unbelievable. She immediately started to disrobe until she was in her undergarment.

"S-Sakura-chan!

"What are you doing?!"

"Are you crazy?!"

Kaori, Shizuku, and Yukiko exclaimed in a mixture of shock and embarrassment as she walked to her wardrobe and pulled out her equipment.

"Oh right? Can you shut the window, Yukiko-chan? Someone might see and it's a little chilly."

"That's not what we're talking about! Aren't you worried someone might walk in here and see you in nothing but your underwear?!"

"Well I need to hurry and find my trainer so I can make up for lost time. And don't worry, this isn't one of those harem anime's that Saito sometimes watches. No one's just going to barge in without—"

Just then, the door to the room burst open without warning.

"I heard Mitsurugi-san voice! Is she finally a…wake…?" It was Ryosuke Takahara who came hurtling inside the room. It seems that he managed to hear Sakura's voice from the hallway and came barging in without thinking to knock first. he was already back in some casual clothing, so he must've changed first after training. As he stared dumbstruck at the sight of his childhood friend in pure white underwear, his nose started to let out a little blood due to how stimulating it was. Ryosuke was no stranger to seeing women in their underwear, due to sometimes accidentally walking in on several of them when his parents brought home models to take pictures of for an underwear catalog. But the sight of Sakura in any form of reveling clothing still made him flustered as any other hormone filled teenager. So he ended up getting red in the face.

"R-R-R-Ryu-kun?! How could you just barge in like this?" Sakura blushed even harder than Ryosuke and she quickily covered herself with the sheet of her bed. Kaori hurried to cover her as much as possible. Shizuku held her head down and sighed. Yukiko started to walk towards her.

"M-M-Misturugi…s-s-san. I-I-I'm s-so sorry! I s-s-wear I didn't mean t—" He didn't get to finish apologizing, because then Yukiko used one of her signature instant knockout moves where she pinches a certain nerved in a person's neck in order to put them to sleep on Ryosuke. He froze for a few seconds, then went limb. Yukiko managed to catch him by the scruff of his shirt.

"I'll take him back to his room. Hurry up and change before some other idiot walks in." She then closed the behind her ash she drags Ryosuke's comatose body with her. As the remaining three girls stared blankly at how easily she can shift her personalities, he was still muttering something as he was dragged away:

"Mitsurigi…san… White…under…wear…"