It have been two busy weeks, I had little time to write, that and I couldn't find the way to accommodate all details I wanted. The solution I came with? Time skip.
The fights in several floors will be posted in the Omakes section. That's why this chapter feels short, I butchered it.
Now to the story.
I don't own Arifureta.
What!?
I can only stand still, astonished at the unexpected values and skills showed in my Status Plate. The numbers are almost fivefold what used to be. And several skills I didn't had before and doubt can be acquired by normal means.
I checked again, something is bothering me.
Race: Human?
Umm... I swear it was different just a moment ago, or why the question mark? I am not human any longer?
Rank: D
Level was replaced with rank, does this mean I have no level cap any more?
Something is going on, but there isn't much I can do right now, so I'll let it be. Instead I'll focus on my new skills instead. Most of them are passive and very explicit.
[Enhanced Senses]
I am just noticing now, but I can see better than before, it isn't that my sight was bad, but like if the real world is suddenly displayed in HD.
Sniff... Sniff
"Ughhh"
Unfortunately my sense of smell is stronger now too, the smell of this place is terrible, I smell terrible, I can't stand myself like this, is a miracle I wasn't found earlier.
I'll take a bath in that river.
Maybe I have better audition, too, but I have no way of test it right now in this secluded room.
To find out later
[Static Field]
There is a passive field around me that react to hits and have a chance to cause [Shock] and stun those close. I can gather all the electricity in a point to deliver a high voltage attack.
[Electric Resistance]
Right now I get 5% less damage from electric attacks and 10% less prone to get [Shock]. It isn't so good of a discount right now but I have the possibility of increase it.
[Tough Skin]
Makes harder for sharp weapons to cut and piercing weapons to go through. Won't stop monsters for mauling me though.
[Mineral Break]
With this I am Gildarts, only to metals, rocks and crystals.
[Pain Tolerance]
It reduces the amount of pain that I feel by a lot, 75% really high.
[? ? ?]
I don't know what is this.
This development is beyond anything I expected. But does this mean that I am going to obtain skills from devoured monsters? It is going to be equally painful each time?
Just a way to find out.
I pick up the charred remains of the rabbit in my hand. The attack of that wolf burned the exterior but the insides must still a bit crude.
In my less sane and starved incarnation of just a minutes ago I ate the shit taste wolf. I don't feel like repeating that but, this is rabbit, not wolf, so it might taste better.
Even if not, it can't taste worse than shit.
I take a bit. I taste it. I stop. I turn green. I want to throw up.
Did I just said shit couldn't taste worse? I was wrong. It seems like [Enhanced Senses] has upgraded my sense of taste as well. Now this shit is five times as disgusting as before. I want it out of my mouth. But I use my force of will to swallow it and not throw up.
DO it, for SCIENCE.
After a few seconds, I feel a minor pain, like a hit in the gut, but that's all, the worst part was the taste.
Do I have to repeat this every time I eat here?
After briefly ponder over my dark future I think about what I want to do. That's right, what I wish more than anything right now is—
Revenge
—to make that fucking bear pay for look down on me... and for eat my arm too.
"120... 121... 122..."
I am training. I am doing push-ups. Back in Earth I could make like a dozen before my arms wouldn't move. I hated P. E.
"125... 126..."
In the two weeks before getting here I managed to do till twenty five, more than twice my old record. I wouldn't call myself and athlete though.
"128..."
Right now? Right now I have done more than hundred and still don't feel tired at all. Did mention I have just an arm? Because I am doing push-ups with just an arm.
I decided to train my new skills and test my parameters.
I can run faster, punch harder and endure more than never before. About magic, I still suck at it, but I should be more resistant.
From the shitty rabbit I got three skills.
[Supersonic Step] and [Air Dance]
These two skills are very alike to that of Bleach characters. I mean Shumpo and walk on air.
[Strong Lengs]
I can kick like a pro... not really, I don't know how to fight properly. I only have super strength focused in the legs. So I can run faster, jump higher and kick harder. I am not nothing like a certain pirate cook.
But, I know I am weaker than the bear still. That's the only reason I haven't run to kill and devour it. Also I feel unbalanced. The lack of arm makes some movements pretty awkward. That's why I do push-ups, sit-ups, squats... etc.
Yet still think the bear can kill me with little trouble if we fight. I need something beyond my now measly skills, to gain an edge in battle
Looking for ways of optimize my chances of success I collected anything that looked remotely useful or interesting and experimented. At some point I got the skill [Mineral Appraisal]
It is a somewhat useful skill that gives me the name of any 'mineral' at a glance and a short description too. If I want more technical information I need to touch the object in question with my hand.
Now this floor has three remarkable fantasy minerals.
Glowstone (green) : a mineral that passively absorb a negligible amount of mana then releases it in form of a faint (green) light. If by external factors it receives more mana it glows stronger. If overloaded it breaks apart and release the excess in a blinding flash of light.
I confirmed the description by myself. With my enhanced sight, my retinas burned and I needed ambrosia to fix my eyes. The painful experience inspired me to make flasbangs, because is no fair to hoard this pain all to myself, I want to share it with others.
Blastrock : a very volatile ore. When exposed to fire it explode and burst into flames. The force and size of the explosion depends on the amount of it.
After read this, and with the success of my flasbangs I made grenades. Because the explosion is instantly when I spark it, I put short fuses to have time enough to launch them to my enemies. Sadly I can't make the grenades stronger than regular hand grenades, I don't want to blow the ceiling in my head. Also, the grenades tend to turn food into coal or ashes so I don't use them when I look for prays to eat.
Taur : a black and hard rock. Is the material from what is made this floor. Is very hard, specially resistant to kinetic impacts and extreme heat. By contrast it doesn't fare well against the cold.
Synergist are considered glorified blacksmiths, because we can make weapons of raw material avoiding most of the process by just earth and metalbending.
Although technically I can make unlimited blade works out of the floor and the walls, it isn't practical. Just to begin, making an ordinary sword takes like fifteen seconds, though I can make more than one at the same time, I don't have convenient telekinesis, so try to spam weapons a la Emiya is out from the start. I can at best hold one weapon, maybe two?
This is why Synergist is a production class and not a combat class. While we can make weapons to supply armies with enough materials and time, in a real fight, our skills are too slow or lack range. I still think that pitfalls are a doable endeavor, but earth mages can do it better than us.
In any case, a sword isn't going to help me here, no in its place I'll make a weapon never seen before in this world, as far I know.
Test #1 a total failure.
Test #28 a not so total failure.
Test #54 the barrel exploded, less blastrock is needed.
Test #267 an improvement has been made.
Test #473 the bullet broke midflight.
Test #734 I can't stuff more than six in the barrel.
Test #1024 It is almost done, maybe some minors improvements.
Test #1367 Finally, it is done, it is alive and should be able to kill most things down here.
I can't believe I spent more than a hundred hours doing this without eat or sleep.
How do I know it has been more than four days? I made a sandclock that run out each hour, then I turn it and left a mark in the wall. It took me a lot of patience to make it accurate enough, but I think it was worth it.
Compared to the first time I felt starved and sleep deprived I don't feel so bad.
Still, I should go hunting, I am hungry, and I forgot to stockpile meat before investing myself in this project.
Yes, it is a gun, after the flasbangs and the grenades it is obvious I am a cut above Tortus primitive people. Guns replaced the swords in Earth because of their convenience and lethality.
Although I am not a gun freaky like some guys, I know the basics of modern weaponry. Enough to make a form an work from there.
The gun is made of taur, the bullets too, instead of gunpowder I used blastrock.
In my hand is a revolver with a barrel holding six bullets, its name shall be Donner. It not only shot a little above the speed of sound normally, it also becomes more deadly and faster when I concentrate my sparks in it. Electrically accelerated bullets trice times the speed of sound. It is stronger than an anti-tank rifle.
I want for my bullets to become true railguns but I don't have the power output of certain #3 level 5 esper. Not yet at least.
I'll go hunting.
Well, today's lesson is that shooting moving targets is harder than shot at a wall.
While my bullets are faster than both wolves and rabbits is of no use if they aren't there when I pull the trigger. I need obviously more practice.
My body aches a little, rabbits are still to much for me in a direct fight. Unfortunately for them, I play dirty. A flashbang in the face and a bullet while it cried in pain, no doubt by its eyes burning.
While, powerful I only have six shots, I can't recharge in mid of a battle, not with just and arm and no telekinesis. That's means I have to be careful with the usage of Donner, charge it after each battle and kill manually what I can.
I need a method of fast recharge.
The other thing I learned today was that using my non-synergistic skills makes me feel hungry. And if I am already hungry it made me feel starved and less rational. I killed the last wolf of the day with a mana reinforced bite in the neck, then I... I'll return to my base, for now.
At this point I can fight even with a pack of wolves without Donner, with just kicks with little trouble. With Donner the fight ends very quickly. I'll keep practicing with the kicks, even without being a martial artist I can say I waste movements in each attack. I want to fight with maximum efficiency.
I know I am not ready for this but I can't wait any longer. I need to kill the bear or I won't be able to move on.
I have just eaten two wolves and I am well fed. And I can always take a snack by the way.
Just before look for him I'll check my inventory.
-Donner and six bullets.
-Four flasbangs in my belt pocket.
-Four grenades also in my belt pocket.
-Three vials of ambrosia in my chest pocket.
-Two pills of ambrosia hidden in my teeth.
The last idea I took it from the germans, the same goes for Dooner name. Also the improvised belt is electric resistant, I made it from wolf fur.
Although I have killed lots of wolves and a few rabbits with kicks the only thing in my repertoire able to hurt the bear are the accelerated bullets and maybe the grenades, also I don't think that I want to get personal to the Claw Bear.
Let the hunt begin.
I move at full speed, killing everything in my way. Another pack of wolves dead, I eat some of them to calm my hungry.
I have been looking for the bear for the last four hours and I am getting annoyed. Only rabbits and wolves throwing themselves at me. Because of them I have lost a regular grenade and two flashbangs.
I am bored, I'll keep looking tomorrow.
By the way, I have been mapping the labyrinth so I know the way back.
Moving now at normal pace and admiring the surroundings I almost feel nostalgic like a place I have been before, though everything looks almost the same in here.
Turning the corner I see the Claw Bear.
Of course, after hours of looking for it I find it when I no longer want.
The bear is about to kill, a rabbit, a normal occurrence here.
This place , it isn't here where I lost my arm?
It might just be my imagination but I can't rule out the possibility.
Honestly, this is so cliché.
A fight to death in the place where we first met.
Then again I love cliches.
The fight, if can be called that, was over already, the bear giving the rabbit the first bite.
It is the perfect opportunity to shoot it with Dooner and kill the bear before it can notice my presence.
While tasting its food I aim and...
"Hey, did my arm tasted better than that shit?"
... make my presence known.
The bear stopped its meal and turned around, its glare fixed on me. Different from before, this time its eyes contain a hint of wariness.
Perfect.
It is irrational but I don't want this to end too quickly I want the bear to recognize me, to look at me and see not as food but an enemy.
We both look each other in the eyes.
"Did yo miss me?"
With these words the battle start. I focus [Static Field] on my hand and pull the trigger.
The bullet flied faster than I could see, hitting air, the bear long gone from its position. I took a [Supersonic Step] back on instinct, barely avoiding the physical sharp claws, but not the tip of the wind ones. Three gashes appear in my chest and blood sprayed.
"Ahh"
Dammit, it is too fast.
I bite the ambrosia pill, pain fades and my wounds close. I jump high in the air where the bear can't reach and stay there with [Air Dance] then shoot it again.
The bear having clearly better instincts than me avoided preemptively. Then it launched several blades of wind in my direction. I flickered and evaded–the walls behind me didn't–then threw Donner a bit in the air and threw two grenades after ignite them.
The bear again in instinct alone retreacted several meters with a burst of wind, getting out from the range of the explosion.
I was expecting that, having caught Dooner already. I shoot, my vision obscured by the smoke, the bear too.
It was a miss, though it was close, the bear had a bit of flesh burned by the heat of the bullet that passed so close to it.
Enraged, the bear started throwing wind blades by the dozens with each swipe.
Shit, I didn't knew it could do that.
Then again I came here knowing shit about it. I guess throwing so many attacks isn't cheap, but monsters have lot of mana.
I moved quickly from a point to another in quick succession, avoiding the very lethal wind blades barely–several minor cuts appeared in my body–and the falling debris from the ceiling.
I am getting hungry.
Becoming tired of this waltz, I decided to change the tune of the dance and I left go Donner from my hand, then I flickered back to the ground, aligned at forty meters of the bear, one of my two remaining flashbangs on my hand. Closing my eyes instead of threw it like usual, I did it explode while still in my hand, filling the space with light.
"Grrrr"
In my now empty hand Donner appeared, not giving it time to react I shot the fourth bullet in a straight line with my closed eyes.
"Gwwhh"
A pained growl this time was heard, but I could have missed again.
When I opened my eyes the bear was in the floor eyes red, its left paw some meters away and a stump where used to be a limb.
Well... this is quite ironic.
A dejavu, of the day I came to this shithole. The difference being our reversed positions and the lack of blood. The heat of my lacking railgun still enough to burn and close the wound.
Oh how the mighty have fallen.
This was the perfect opportunity to kill the bear, in his current state, was disoriented by the limb loss and unbalanced, just like me a days ago.
However.
This can be much better still.
With [Supersonic Step] in a fraction of second I am holding the limb of the bear, a smug and feral smile in my face.
"Pay attention"
Saying that while looking the bear in the eyes, I bite the arm, then began chewing on it.
It tastes like shit as usual, but the flavor of revenge makes this a bit more tolerable.
This may seem petty, but it is really important for me.
The eyes of the bear now contain a bit of fear, fear of dead, fear of me. I am filled with an unknown emotion, a certain glee.
"How does it feel, to know you are abo..."
I couldn't finish my gloating because pain invaded my body.
Although not as intense as the first time I ate monster meat this was worse than a punch in the gut, painful enough to make me drop the half-eaten limb and drop to my knees. I moved my hand to my breast pocket and drew one of my ambrosia vials.
Of course the forgotten bear didn't missed an opportunity like this and was on me on an instant, its restant claw aiming for my head.
"Shit"
I moved back with [Supersonic Step], but my left leg lost a bit of sustance, four bits to be exacts. The smell of blood filled the air.
"Ahh"
Losing balance in mid air I dropped the vial of ambrosia. I felt rage, at my own stupidity. But more than that, I felt a intense need of win this.
I am not going to lose.
Suddenly, a sensation I didn't feel since the battle of the bridge.
Reality advanced in slow motion. I could see the bear about to move its remaining paw with the intention of unleash wind blades. If this were the me of just a seconds ago it would be over, but in my adrenaline driven state, I quickly bite the last hidden pill on my mouth, while at the same time taking Donner from the holster, in my right leg.
I shoot the fifth bullet, before it could attack. This time, my eyes briefly tracked it before it went through the bear, leaving a enormous hole on its midsection.
"Guawwww..."
With the bear literally in its last paw I moved in front of it and put Donner in its head.
We shared a last glare contest. The bear eyes never let mine.
"Sayonara"
I pulled the trigger.
The bear head exploded, with my last bullet.
I stood there for a pair of seconds. Nothing, I thought that killing the bear would make me feel good, and it did, for about a fraction of second then it passed. Now I just feel...
Empty
Revenge was my reason to keep forward, now that the bear is dead, what do I have? Is there a something left for Hajime Nagumo to do?
The image of the people that raised me blinked in my brain.
That's right I have two caring parents, how could I forget them.
"I love you..."
The image of Kaori Shirasaki came to mind.
How could I forget about the girl that never hid her feelings about me.
Memories of our time together played on my mind. The most recent memory made pause.
"Listen well Kaori... This is not the end. Wathevee happens next I'll promise you that I will live."
"I made a promise didn't I?"
"Not matter the distance and not matter the time it takes, we'll met again, of that you can be sure because I love you..."
"In that case I must do best to keep my word because—"
A reason to move forward, determination filling my veins.
"—nothing shall stop me from claim what is mine"
Wait for me, Kaori here I come.
After some hours of sleep I feel as new.
Having time to analyze my last fight I berated myself for my blunder. I could have ended the fight after I blewthe limb off, or before the start itself, but instead I chose to gloat and do something stupid in the middle of a fight.
Only idiots gloat in the middle of fights and I almost died for it. This isn't me, when did I turned into a stereotypical cartoon villain.
New rule, just kill the target, if the opportunity is good take it, don't waste it. I don't want to become like Voldemort who lose to school childrens due to PIS. Or OIS in my case.
I checked my stats after this whole ordeal.
Nagumo Hajime
Race: Hum n?
Age: 17
Class: Synergist
Rank: D
Stats
HP: 8300
MP: 4360
Speed: 276
Physical Strength: 244
Physical Resistance: 213
Magical Strength: 148
Magical Resistance: 196
Skills
Body Skills
-Enhanced Senses
-Static Field
-Air Dance
-Supersonic Step
-Strong Legs
-Wind Cutter
-Electric Resistance
-Tough Skin
Class Skill
-Mineral Shaping
-Mineral Sense
-Mineral Break
-Mineral Appraisal
Soul Skills
-Pain Tolerance
-? ? ?
-Language Comprehension
What the HELL is hum n supposed to mean!?
My status plate is broken and glitching. I'll get a new one later. My new goals are in order.
-Leave the shithole (part 1)
I have to complete the Dungeon. There must be a exit and the end and a prize that must be worth it, becsuse if not I am going to...
-Look for Kaori (main)
Depending of where the exit is I have just to go to Heiligh Kingdom or Hourad. Whatever ie closer.
-Leave this shithole (part 2)
This is the most complicated part. I want to return home with Kaori but I have not real way of do it myself. Ishtar said that if we can defeat the devils Ehit might return us home. I guess that if I can make greandes and guns, it won't be rare if I can learn to make nukes. I can nuke the the devils out of existence and then we return home. If not I would need to look for someone able to cross dimensions.
The worst case scenario is to ask help from Zelretch.
-Kill Ehit (optional)
If he doesn't return us to Earth for good then he is no necessary and must die. He is already on my shit list for abduct us. I will look for ways to kill gods.
Goals in order I am ready to leave this floor and go to the next. Before me is a stairway wrapped in total darkness. Without fear to the unknown I step forward.
Two months later.
Floor Fifty
I kicked the head of the oger-looking monster, it exploded. The monster is dead.
"What a boring floor, this monsters are pathetic"
The monsters in this floor feel like weaklings to me, it was the same in the last ten floors. I am sure I have killed more than a hundred of them already and I have been just twenty minutes here.
It feels great to be so above the opposition, but if they can't fight back even a little it becomes boring. A part of me–a big part– want a challenge, like in the first twenty floors of the Abyss. Nowadays most enemies are too slow or too fragile, the only thing they have are usually numbers. The only enemy that gives me trouble are the boss monsters.
"I better find the exist soon"
If from now on the challenge is nonexistent then that means that I can reach the floor hundred in less than month.
[Mineral Sense]
In the middle of my exploration I felt something weird, a part of the wall is different from the rest, and behind it is some kind of door.
Is this a secret level or something?
If so there must be a boss and a reward worth the fight, if nothing else the boss corpse and the fight might be reward enough.
With [Mineral Shape] the fake wall melted to reveal a double door with several engraves. When I got close I felt my instinct react to it, I suddenly knew that if I open this door there is no turning back.
Should I open this door?
This is one of the most important decisions I would make my entire life. I should have considered about the consequences of my actions, yet...
"What a stupid question"
...my hand was already touching the door.
[Mineral Break]
That is, next chapter Yue appears, of course there is a twist,, like in all here.
Nagumo Hajime
Race: H m n?
Age: 17
Class: Synergist
Rank: B
Stats
HP: 24000
MP: 16000
Speed: 1456
Physical Strength: 1092
Physical Resistance: 1173
Magical Strength: 843
Magical Resistance: 1022
Skills
Body Skills
-Enhanced Senses
-Static Field
-Air Dance
-Supersonic Step
-Strong Legs
-Wind Cutter
-Wind Shroud
-Night Vision
-Far Sight
-Thermal Vision
-Sense Presence
-Sense Magic
-Hide Presence
-Underwater Breathing
-Electric Resistance
-Fire Resistance
-Poison Immunity
-Petrification Resistance
-Tough Skin
-Steel Bones
Class Skill
-Mineral Shaping
-Mineral Sense
-Mineral Break
-Mineral Appraisal
-Mineral Separation
-Mineral Fusion
Soul Skills
-Pain Immunity
-Wild Instinct
-? ? ?
-Language Comprehension
The missing parts like what did Hajime fought in the 48 floors we haven't seen shall be posted tomorrow.