Some of you may recognise me as the author of the story 'Black blade and the Gun. In short, I reached a bit of a low point in my writing and re-evaluated everything. Despite everything I still love writing so this is my ode to my favourite guilty pleasure; Arifureta and its ultimate best girl; Shizuku Yaegashi
Enough about me. Go on get to reading my new vision of my fanfiction.
Italics Indicate thoughts by characters.
() -Indicates a Artifact or Weapon
[] indicates the name of a class or skill.
Edit 27/03/2022 - Editing for Proofreading
Lies and Ties - An Arifureta Alternative Scenario
Year 1 – Day 1
A Call to Adventure
"Welcome travelers from another World! We humbly beg for your assistance."
Nagumo Hajime had often wondered what it would be like to be pulled into another world. Going by the popular series in the isekai genre, a beautiful goddess welcoming the protagonist to the world was to be expected. Expectations of becoming the hero or what not. Whatever the case may be, he imagined it to be rather exciting to be transported to another world.
"As someone who enjoys this genre as a guilty pleasure, this whole thing seems very disappointing." He muttered under his breath.
No beautiful goddess to greet him, just a crotchety old man with a miter too large for his head and ceremonial robes that seemed ill-fitting for an old man who could have been mistaken for a prune. The old man introduced himself as the head honcho of the local religion. Hajime imagined that being bad at acting and being insincere were pre-requisites for a man of such a high position.
Not that the rest of his class noticed. They weren't used to the whole situation so they took everything he said with bated breath. His classmates were likely scared out of their wits and were willing to cling to anything that provided them with an answer.
"In our desperation, we had no choice but to call upon yourselves for assistance! We the humans of the Heligh Kingdom are on the brink of disaster. We are being pushed back by the Demons of the Kingdom of Garland!"
The old man explained that they were at war with the 'terrible' demon race and that they had been losing ground to them.
"So in the end we had no choice! We had to summon you from the other world to be our Heroes." The pope-like man declared, as the King of Heligh nodded sagely in agreement.
"That doesn't explain why my students had to be dragged into this mess!"
An objection came from the bright but diminutive teacher of Hajime's class Hatayama Aiko.
"Ah….You see travelers from another world are granted special abilities. They far exceed the abilities and skills of those born in Tortus." The pope-like man explained, slightly offbeat at the interruption. "It is a blessing from our God Ehit!"
"That's not what I'm asking!" She cried out. "What gives you the right to take children from their homes, to make them fight your wars, and to die for a cause they are going to be forced into!?"
The old man was stunned into silence, his mouth spluttering in an attempt to answer her pointed objections.
"So you don't have an answer?! If you don't have a reason to keep us here, then send us back…." Hatayama Aiko implored.
"We do not currently have the means to send you back to your world." He stated apologetically. "Summoning you here took much-accumulated mana on our part. To send you back we would need at least another 50 years to accumulate enough mana to send you back on our own."
"WHAT!?"
"So you're telling us that we're stuck here? That we'll never go home again?" Some classmates exclaimed, some breaking into tears.
"You.." Aiko seethed. "You bought us here to fight your war! And now you're telling me that you have no means to send us back….. I refuse to allow my students to fight in your war. You had no right to bring us here and you have no right to force us into your stupid war!"
A silence fell in the summoning room. Until one person chose to speak; Amanogawa Kouki.
"Sensei I understand your anger. And I know that there are some in our class who are understandably afraid….. I know many of you want to go home, but the reality is that we cannot go home."
Their classmates' eyes turned to him.
"But if it's true that we can't go home, then this will have to be our home now. The plight of these people cannot be ignored. I cannot turn a blind eye to the deaths of innocents just because we have no stake in this fight." Amanogawa declared. "Surely we have a moral obligation to fight for the innocent, no matter the circumstances that we find ourselves in. Therefore, I will be fighting. I will do everything in my power to help these people in their desperate need."
Amanogawa stepped forward to the King and the Pope Ishtar.
"My name is Amanogawa Kouki. I accept your charge. I'll work to protect you and the people of your Kingdom." Amanogawa declared.
"Oh! Well met Amanogawa Kouki! I see that our god Ehit has decided to grace you with his light! I can see it now, you must be the hero chosen from amongst you to lead us to victory!" Declared the Pope; his face brightening in joy in the announcement.
The class began to stir once more.
"I guess if Kouki's going for it then as his best friend there's nothing for it. I'll help you out." Declared Sakagami Ryuutaro.
Amanogawa's closest friend; Yaegashi Shizuku was more reluctant, trying to implore Amanogawa to reconsider. This was to no avail and even she too went along with him, if nothing else to stop him from doing something more idiotic. More of their classmates decided to go along with this. Even the more reluctant ones caved in out of fear of being left out. One by one they all decided to work with Amanogawa despite their teacher's protests until even she decided to go along with him to protect her students.
"The Kingdom of Heligh owes you a great debt, heroes from another world!" The King cried out "We will do anything that we can to support you in this quest. It is the least that we can do."
"Come, there is much to do! I hope that you fight well for the glory of Ehit!" Declared the Pope, ordering his subordinates to guide the heroes to their next destination.
With a grimace, Nagumo Hajime joined the rest of his class, unsure of what the future holds.
Unequal
Once the class had been led to the training yard of the keep, the Knights stopped them and started to hand out green crystal plates. The leader among them started to shout out orders.
"As heroes summoned from another world, you would have been granted a blessing from our god Ehit. This should have provided you all with enhanced abilities and skills. To determine what they are we have provided you with the magical artifact known as a (Status Plate)."
"The (Status Plate) will show you all of your physical abilities in a numerical value and provide you details of the special skills that you have been blessed with."
"You will simply need to provide it with a bit of blood, and your (Status Plate) should now be linked to you and will exclusively display your stats."
Taking one of the status plates and small dagger each, they all pricked their finger and provided the plates with their blood. The once dull grey crystalline plates shone with bright white letters. It seems that they had no problems with understanding the language of this world and its writing.
Hajime's (Status Plate)
Job: [Synergist]
Level 1
Str: 10
Agility: 10
Vitality: 10
Defence: 10
Magic: 10
Magic Defence: 10
Tapping on his skills, they were listed as the following:
[Language Comprehension] – The ability to understand foreign languages.
[Transmutation] – The base skill of The Synergist. Allows for the manipulation and transformation of minerals, ores, and other inorganic materials.
This was a non-combat class and judging by the shouts and cries of his classmates, Hajime's stats were nothing spectacular. They seemed to be below par in all aspects.
"Oh Kouki! your class; it's the [Hero] Class! Whoa, what the hell man. That must be super rare!" Exclaimed an excited Ryuutarou.
He wasn't wrong. The [Hero] class was a once in a thousand-year class, denoting that the individual was highly favored by the god Ehit. It was such a blessing that came with a myriad of amazing skills.
'All your stats are 100! Man what kind of a cheat character are you?!" Ryuutaro continued.
It seems that Amanogawa had all the luck. But Hajime's was about to get worse. Getting caught unaware by the revelation of Amanogawa's broken abilities his regular tormentor; Daisuke Hiyama had taken his status plate from his hands.
"Nagumo… What's wrong with classmates having a look at each other's status plates? Let's see… Synergist? All your stats are….. 10? What's with this loser!?"
Daisuke Hiyama made it his business to torment Hajime Nagumo. The reason was out of pure jealousy. He hated that Shirasaki Kaori loved Nagumo Hajime above all others. It didn't help that everyone turned a blind eye to it.
"Hiyama-kun! Stop that! give Nagumo-kun his [Status plate back]!" Ordered their teacher Ai-chan-sensei.
Eventually, Hiyama relented but not before mocking Hajime a few more times. Aiko-sensei walked up to Hajime.
"Nagumo-kun, don't mind it! I mean I got [Farmer] as a class. What use is that?"
But her answer soon came. Her skills would revolutionize agriculture in the Kingdom. Cries of a new 'fertility goddess descending continued to echo into the night, much to the embarrassment of Hatayama Aiko. The rest of his class soon left, some to test out their new abilities and others to their new living quarters.
One of Hajime's classmates Shirasaki Kaori came over to him, in an attempt to comfort him. She was the most beautiful girl in his class with stunning ash-coloured hair, a pretty face, and proportions that most girls envied. She had a well documented love for Nagumo Hajime, for reasons he never understood himself.
She had been granted the class [Priestess], a battlefield support class capable of powerful healing magics and mastery of light magic.
"This is my opportunity to fight for you! Don't feel bad Hajime-kun, leave it to me and the rest of the class!"
The [Synergist] class was a non-combat role. He was asked to go to the Synergist guild to assist them with the creation of artifacts and the protection of the city.
Wouldn't that be fine? He didn't want to fight, his goal in life was to become a game developer or a manga artist, not be an isekai protagonist. He could contribute without risking his life and no one would blame him. Shirasaki Kaori said as much. She implored him to stay back and leave the fighting to her.
But remembered his parents and his home. They seemed so close in his mind, all he needed to do was to wake up and he would find himself back at home. But this world wasn't a dream. No amount of pinching could change that.
How long would it take for him to forget his parent's faces or the warmth of his home? How many years would he be stuck here, waiting, relying on his classmates to win this war and to get them home? How many would be sacrificed because he took it easy? Nagumo Hajime rebelled at the thought. He would fight for his goals with his own hands.
"I WILL fight. No matter the cost."
Mob 100%
Nagumo Hajime surprised everyone. Everyone had expected him to stay behind so they were quite surprised and dismissive when he showed up to Grand Labyrinth that they were all expected to clear as part of their training.
Taking advantage of the free time he had, he trained intensely and developed esoteric tactics to make up for his weakness. He worked well in coordination with the rest of the party and the knights. For a second time that day he shocked and surprised them.
"[Transmute]!"
Nagumo was able to transmute the ground underneath the monsters and freeze them in place, allowing the party to attack the monsters in safety. He was acknowledged by Meld and the Knights but his classmates who already had a poor opinion of him simply envied his good fortune and openly resented him.
The party was able to quickly advance through the levels of the dungeon, due in no small part to Nagumo's stuns paving the way for the weaker members of the party to continue to level up. Eventually, after some days of meticulous work, the party felt confident enough to challenge the 11th floor.
"Before we go in, we need to decide our roles for the 11th floor. We'll need to form some groups as scouts.
Meld Loggins; the captain of the Knights of Heligh was in charge of the heroes' party. He commanded a lot of respect amongst the party as a competent and fair leader. Although Amanogawa was nominally the head of the party as the Hero, it was Meld's experience that held the party together. The Knight of Heileigh had already cleared part of the dungeon, so Meld's experience was key to keeping the party out of anything too troublesome.
"I'll go. Me and my mates will go ahead."
Uncharacteristically of him, Hiyama Daisuke and his cronies volunteered for scout duty. For the weeks he and his cronies made life intentionally miserable for Nagumo Hajime. It didn't help that very few in their class cared about it. In the interests of 'unity' no one wanted to be the cause of added friction. It was that thin layer of 'unity' that seemed to stop much of the class from losing morale and breaking under the weight of the whole situation.
There wasn't a real reason to object to their decision to volunteer for scout duty. They soon set off leaving the party to prepare for the rest of the dungeon exploration.
It was standard practice for the party to create a perimeter on each new floor. It would form the basis of their attack on the 11th floor. Several shield artifacts were used to form a barrier to protect the party, this allowed the party to rest and formed their base camp. The mages of the party had to periodically supply it with mana to keep it active.
Eventually, Hiyama and his cronies returned and gave the all-clear. It was time to begin the dungeon exploration.
The main party formation consisted of four rows. The vanguard in the front, which consisted of tanks and dodgers, whose main role was to keep the monsters' attention on to them. The Damage dealers stood behind the vanguard. They consisted of the high damage dealers, the attack mages, and Amanogawa. The support members formed the third column, responsible for healing, debuffing, and supporting their allies. The Knights took up the rear guard and generally did not get involved unless the fighting overwhelmed the party.
Nagumo Hajime did not fit neatly in any category, so he was given special permission to act on his own to support whenever he was needed.
The exploration was going well. The party was largely used to fighting as a group and morale were steady. The decision was made to set up another camp in a cavern-like section of the floor. They decided to stop there and set up camp. Behind them was the entrance to the cavern. The rest of the section of the floor split into three tunnels so it was once again necessary for scouts to be sent out.
For the second time, Hiyama and his cronies volunteered for scout duty. The barrier was quickly set up and the rest of the party relaxed. The mages did their duty and supplied the barrier with mana to keep it active while the rest of the party rested.
"I wonder why Hiyama volunteered for this kind of thing," Hajime muttered.
It was suspicious. He was a horrible despicable person who would never do anything for good of others. Perhaps it was Hajime's bias, but he simply didn't trust Hiyama or his cronies.
He was half asleep when a noise awoke him. A rumbling sound started from the depths of the caverns, it grew louder and louder until it hit a fever pitch. He quickly raised the alarm. Hajime read about this phenomenon; this was a monster flood.
The cries of monsters grew louder and more numerous. Everyone was now tense and on high alert. It was not the monsters that appeared first, but the desperate scouting party of Hiyama and his cronies.
They were ragged and exhausted, with Hiyama worst for wear due to mana exhaustion. Through their ragged breath, they explained the mistake they caused. They had attacked a fleeing goblin set off a chain reaction that caused monsters on this floor to awake and attack them. What was coming now was known as a 'Monster Flood'
Not that their words mattered as the ocean of goblin monsters crashed into the hall from the three entrances that led to the deepest parts of the floor. It was a terrible sight to behold. Wave on wave of monsters attacked the shield which struggled to protect the party from the monsters.
The vanguard took it upon themselves to strike and kill as many of the monsters to relieve pressure from the shield barrier. As long as the shield barrier could hold they could stop this from becoming a disorderly rout. The plan was rather simple, have the vanguard protect the barrier whilst the rest of the class, protected by the knights would retreat.
Yaegashi Shizuku, as the most battle experienced and fearless of the vanguard offered to be last to retreat, the blades in her hands creating a hurricane of blood and flesh. As the rest of the vanguard members retreated with the rest of the party, she too steadily retreated. But the mana artifact powering the shield generator suddenly broke, dissipating the shield barrier, leaving the retreating party vulnerable to the horde of monsters.
"Go! Get out of here. I'll hold them off!"
Shizuku steeled herself and in flash dove deeper into the enemy hordes. It was as if a demon of war had descended upon her to inflict carnage and death on her enemies.
Kaori was refused to retreat while her best friend continued to fight for them. Amanogawa offered also to stay behind and fight to save Shizuku but Meld refused him.
"Amanogawa, you're the core of this party as the Hero! If you fall here, this entire Heroes party will be doomed."
Sensing no other option but to respect the sacrifice of Yaegashi Shizuku, Meld gave the order to retreat. Taking advantage of the opening that Yaegashi created, he ordered the geomancers of the party to blockade the entrance, finally separating the party from Shizuku and the monster horde.
The entire party was utterly demoralized. Nakamura Eri, the one who was the last to be in charge of the mana crystal was inconsolable.
But the fight for the party's survival was not yet over, as monsters impeded their path back to the 10th floor. Angered at his weakness Amanogawa Kouki took charge of exterminating the monsters, utterly disregarding his safety. Due to his recklessness, he also past out due to mana deprivation.
The monsters in the retreat were not as fierce as the ones they encountered as a horde and were not as numerous. But with their hearts broken and minds demoralized, at the loss of their first classmate, they made mistakes piling the number of injuries. It was a miracle that they did not lose any more during the retreat to the relative safety of the 10th floor.
Floor 10
Once the class was safe, the [priests] and [priestesses] were in a frantic rush to heal the seriously injured. Shirasaki who was worried about Yaegashi made more mistakes than normal. Eventually she collapsed due to exhaustion and worry.
Sensing that this was his opportunity Nagumo Hajime did a check for his equipment and drank several health and stamina potions. He was soon ready to mount his own rescue operation. Meld Loggins pleaded with him to see sense.
"Nagumo! I order you to fall back! I can't let you endanger yourself!" Ordered Meld. "No one is strong enough to survive a horde of monsters alone, least of all yourself!"
Hajime ignored the pleads of Meld Loggins, their Knight Captain, and prepared his equipment.
"She's probably already….."
Meld reached out to him attempting to stop Hajime but surprisingly Hajime deftly avoided him and grabbed his arm. Hajime pushed him away with surprising strength.
"No! I'm not giving up on her. She sacrificed herself to lead everyone to safety. I will not abandon her to her fate."
"Stand down Nagumo! I'll knock you unconscious if I have to!" He threatened, his arm grabbing the hilt of his sword as a threat.
"Meld… Do not get in my way…" He responded coldly, his eyes flashing in anger and determination.
Meld flinched for it seemed like that if he continued, he wouldn't get out of this exchange unscathed. Hajime continued to glare at him whilst his hands grabbed his steel daggers.
"At least take someone else with you!" Meld insisted.
"No, everyone is still too injured and exhausted. I know how to avoid these monsters. I would have asked for Endou, but he's injured too. The other ones refused to come along with me." Hajime insisted. "And besides I'm no big loss for the class. I'm still a weak synergist anyway."
He wanted to object but Meld held his tongue. He had seen those eyes before, it was useless to dissuade anyone as determined as that.
"You'd better come out of this alive you hear!" Meld warned.
"I was planning on it, Meld. You should prepare a drink for me when we come back."
With a confident stride, Hajime Nagumo pushed past Meld Loggins, with no fear of death in his eyes.
11th Floor
A Prayer Without Hope
How long has it been?
The stream of monster flesh dulled her sense of time. Had it been 5 minutes or 100 minutes?
In any case, such thoughts were unless to the [Swordmaster]. She had to endure, she had to protect, she had to fight.
Her main sword broke some time ago (Was it a long time or just a short time ago?), so she took the broken jagged end and jabbed into the neck of the last hobgoblin commander.
Goblins were a cowardly race of monsters but this was just a poor way of saying that their survival instincts were high. The death of their commanders meant that the horde disbanded back to whatever hellhole they came from.
But they would be back. And that would mean her end.
She had lost all strength. Her blood was spilling out of her. She couldn't go on.
When she decided to sacrifice herself, she didn't think about the consequences. She had to fight, she had to protect. That was the duty of those who had power. That's what she was taught and so that's what she did.
But in the end, none of that mattered. Gone was Yaegashi the Sword Master, all that was left was the lost girl Shizuku.
Tears began to stream down her face. This was the end, wasn't it? She wouldn't see her friends again. She wouldn't see Kaori again. Or her mother. Or her father. Or her grandfather.
The tears flowed uncontrollably now. She would die. Her body would likely be desecrated and torn apart.
She wanted to go home. She didn't want to die next to dead monsters' bodies.
"Someone please save me."
It was a prayer to no one.
A prayer without hope.
Nagumo Hajime removed his dagger from the back of a dead goblin. This was about the tenth goblin that he encountered while navigating the outer sanctum 11th floor.
Navigating the hostile floor was not a challenge for Nagumo Hajime. Much of the monsters had been defeated by the party, so he was able to avoid large hordes of enemies and kill the stragglers that would get in the way of a successful escape.
His only worry was his stamina. He had stocked up on stamina potions for this dungeon exploration but much of his stock had been used up. Furthermore, he had to prepare for the worse when it came to Yaegashi. If she was in a bad state, then his remaining potions would be needed to keep her alive.
He pushed his worries aside. He couldn't afford to slow down because of useless thoughts. Every wasted minute could cost Yaegashi her life.
Hearing the frantic scurrying of feet, he moved into high alert. Leaving the corpses exposed, he silently hid behind a part of the rock wall that could hide him.
As anticipated, a live goblin had heard some kind of commotion and went to investigate. Noticing his dead comrade, it began to shriek in the incomprehensible language that they had. Hajime had to act fast.
Waiting for the minute when the monster's back was turned, he quickly rushed the monster and pulled him closer. Caught off guard the goblin fell prey to Hajime's blade stuck deep into its cranium.
This time Hajime did not linger, quickly removing excess blood from his blade by swiping them in the air. He proceeded to continue to the room where Yaegashi made her sacrifice. Recognizing some of his surroundings he knew that he was getting close.
By pure luck, he did not encounter any more monsters in the way of the anteroom. He steeled himself once more, quickly checking that his equipment was in order.
Reaching the Anteroom what immediately struck him was the stench of blood. The light blue glow of the magic crystals that peppered the 11th floor, illuminated the dark red bloodstains of monsters, splattered all over the walls. The bodies of dead monsters served as a path that would lead him to Yaegashi.
He expected her to attempt to retreat but found no signs that she did. He had soon reached the room where Yaegashi was forced to act as the rear guard for the party. The trail of blood and bodies continued overhead. This could only mean that she pressed on with the attack.
That's seriously impressive. Instead of retreating she pressed forward?
He noticed the handiwork of Yaegashi, goblin bodies torn in half at the middle and unrecognizable mounds of flesh and monster blood. The carnage, evidence which pointed to a storm of swords and fury that she unleashed on the enemies. She likely frightened enough of the enemy to rout them.
The light glow of the magical crystals that scattered the rock wall, illuminated a single lone figure. It was a figure that Hajime was familiar with; Yaegashi Shizuku, best friend of Shirasaki Kaori. It appeared that she no longer had the strength to stand, propping herself against the rock wall, trying with all her might to continue to stand.
Surrounding her was the bodies of many dead goblins and several dead goblin captains. Her swords were broken. She was covered in caked blood, a mix of monster's blood, and more concerning of all; her blood. She was badly wounded in several places. It was a miracle that she was still alive.
"Yaegashi?!"
"Nagumo-kun?!" She questioned, wondering whether she dreaming before she finally died.
Who had been listening to that final hopeless prayer of hers? Why was she sent this final dream before she died?
"Yeah, it's me. Yaegashi you're going to be okay. I've been searching for you since we got split from the rest of the party."
"Why….Why are you here?" Shizuku cried out, scarcely believing her eyes.
"Because I didn't want to leave you alone…. I'm not going to abandon a good person who saved us all."
Her eyes widened. Nagumo-kun was here, he was as real! As real as the awful stench of blood and the dead bodies that littered the floor. Her prayer was answered. Her dreams were made into reality in the best way possible. Who knew her prince would stink of rotting flesh and caked blood?
"Now be quiet. Save your strength."
Opening his rucksack, Hajime produced a bottle of potion that was good at accelerating the healing process. After quickly uncorking the blue-green solution he gave it to Yaegashi.
"Can you drink this? It's a healing potion, it will help with the wounds."
Yaegashi struggled to lift her right arm to grab the potion. She simply didn't have the strength to do anything at the moment.
"Yaegashi, you'll need to open your mouth a little," Hajime ordered.
She opened her mouth and Hajime slowly allowed her to drink the potion. The effect had stopped the worse of the bleeding and her wounds had started clotting. The potion itself was not enough and they would need to find a proper healer to provide full treatment.
"Yaegashi, I'll need to bind some of your wounds, we need to get moving fast. We need to meet back up with the others. I'll apologise in advance for invading your privacy."
He unrolled the wound binder from his emergency pack and expertly bound her wounds up. He rummaged around another pack and produced another potion this time yellow in colour.
"It's a stamina potion. It should allow you to recover your strength. I'll need you to be able to at least grip and stay on my back."
As the potion was absorbed by the body, she could feel her strength returning. Quietly she mumbled and whispered almost inaudibly.
"Thank you. Nagumo-kun…. I'm sorry.."
SCRAWAHH SCRAWAHH!
"That's the cry of a Hobgoblin. It's not far away…"
A Hobgoblin wasn't something Hajime had killed on his own. Killing a goblin with a sneak attack was one thing, a hobgoblin was a whole different ballgame.
"Run, Nagumo-kun! You can't beat a Hobgoblin!"
"Yaegashi, if you have time to say useless stuff, you've got time to focus on recovering. Just stay there and watch me."
The ugly boil-coloured creature soon appeared. It appeared rather angry, barking incomprehensible orders to minions that weren't there. It struck the ground several times with its sword, likely stolen from some poor dead knight.
Seeing that his minions refused to follow, it turned its attention to the Nagumo and Yaegashi, licking its green discolored lips, with an equally ugly tongue, which slobbered thick drool across the floor. The monster seemed to have a keen sense for noticing weakness in an enemy and likely thought of them as weak but delicious prey.
Hajime struck first with his daggers, shocking the Hobgoblin and Yaegashi. The Hobgoblin was able to block and using his superior strength tossed Nagumo, creating some more distance. Hajime rebounded, intending to keep the pressure on the monster. Nagumo was able to keep their attention pinned on him and away from Shizuku, who was unable to move.
The monster seemed to be getting frustrated with every passing minute. The goblin only had rudimentary skill in the sword in the first place, in his frustration he began to swing wildly and without a care.
Nagumo baited him with an opening and the Hobgoblin tried to strike him, overextending itself in the process. Hajime dodged the poorly executed attack. The sword was stuck in the ground It was opening for only a second. But that was all Hajime needed.
Slamming his arms down to the ground, he cried out in a loud voice.
"[Transmute]!"
His bright blue coloured mana activated the magic circles on his gloves. The ground bent to Hajime's vision and will, violently erupting a large earthen spike. For a second it was a strong and hard like Iron. Enough to pierce through the belly of the pathetic hobgoblin.
Nagumo wasted no time in taking what he could from the dead bodies and checked Shizuku's condition. Enough of her strength had returned, so it was possible to carry her on his back without worrying that she would fall off.
"Let's go. I won't be able to pull that off a second time."
Shizuku nodded, in awe of her saviour's surprising strength of will and his growing power. She clung to his back noticing how large it felt. She felt his taut muscles and the indescribable warmth that emanated from his back.
Thanks to Hajime's surprising strength and keen senses, they were able to make it through the floor without major incident. They had managed to find a place where the bedrock was weak, using his skills Hajime was able to create a small room for the both of them to hide in.
"Nagumo-kun… Thank you for rescuing me… You've saved my life, I don't know how to repay my debt" She thanked weakly.
"Don't mention it. It's not like you wouldn't have done the same for me." Nagumo remarked.
"Still it's more than can be expected of normal people. Therefore, I need to thank you." She insisted.
"So I'm not normal?" He teased, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"No, that's not what I meant….. You're different that's all. In a good way." She explained, struggling to put her thoughts together.
"Coming from you that's high praise. Thanks, Yaegashi."
"You're a lot stronger than I expected Nagumo-kun…. I thought the [Synergist] job didn't provide you with physical enhancements?" She questioned.
"It doesn't. I just had to come up with a new way to train my physical abilities and my skills. In short, I had to exploit the system to get the best outcome." Hajime summarised
He briefly explained how one could increase stats by using training your physical abilities, apart from the leveling up system.
"But there are limits to training, your body and stamina wouldn't last." She objected, worried that Nagumo was taking training too far.
"That's where these potions come in. Healing potions, stamina potions. Down one of these and it'll accelerate your body's natural healing capabilities. If you keep doing that then you'll get very strong very quickly. Once your done healing you train again and again. I just keep repeating the process."
"The same thing applies to magic by the way. The more you train your magic, the more your mana capacity increases. So I'm constantly transmuting things to increase my mana capacity."
"But that's…"
Like a form of self-inflicted torture. Endlessly repeating the same task over and over. Enduring pain, breaking all the bones in your body until it all reforms.
"Like torture?" Trust me it is. The healers that I asked to assist me initially thought I was crazy but thanks to that I'm catching up with the rest of the class in terms of physical capabilities. And I got a passive skill for all my trouble." Hajime concluded.
He showed her his status plate, there it was written underneath skills [Inhuman Will]; Born out of the User's inhuman drive to attain his goals. Significantly reduces mental strain and provides debuff resistance. When applied to the mastery of skills increases skill mastery rate by a factor determined by [Inhuman Will] Skill Level. Skill Level 1, Mastery Rate Increase x 2.
"That's seriously impressive…. But how did you manage to get enough potions to make this work?"
"Oh, that….. I've got my hand on a bit of money. The Synergist guild called me a once-in-10,000-year prodigy. My ideas are so revolutionary that they asked for my help in making new ideas and asked me to create blueprints. In exchange, I get access to all their materials and I can sell whatever I want to them for a reasonable profit. The Alchemist guild in charge of the manufacture of potions seems to like me as well."
Yaegashi questioned his motives. He displayed a strength of will that she had never encountered before. She knew that it was the strength that someone gained when they had something real to find for. Not just flimsy ideals, but something tangible that you would never ever let go.
"What could motivate you to want to go through all of this? Your will and resolve are abnormal. I've never seen anyone with such strong resolve."
He paused for a brief moment, recalling Japan and his family, the contrast between the cold, dark dungeon and the warm blinding light of home.
"I want to go home. Back to Mum and Dad. It's pretty ironic actually, the last message that they sent me before all of us were sent here was [Tips and Tricks if you get Isekai'd]. I mean who does that?"
"I love my parents and want to get back to them." He declared resolutely.
Shizuku paused, she understood the pain of being separated from her family. The thoughts of her mother, her father, and her grandfather swelled inside her. She felt their love and care. Their hopes and dreams for her. Such warm thoughts eventually bought her to tears. The cold reality was that they may never see each other again.
"I'm sorry but… My family…. I miss them quite a lot. Every time I think about them I always cry a bit…. I try to distract myself but sometimes it just comes out" She explained in between sobs.
"That's nothing to be sorry for. Everyone feels that way sometimes. You don't have to stay strong all the time. You don't have to be everyone's big sister all the time. Nagumo reminded her.
"But everyone expects me to be strong and level-headed…. What if Kouki starts making crazy decisions if I'm not there to keep him straight? And What about Kaori? She expects me to be her reliable stronghold."
This was the first time that Hajime ever had a heart-to-heart talk with a girl. He struggled to find the right answer for this situation. Sure he could probably leave her alone, but every instinct in his body was telling him that was a bad idea. He fumbled through his memories until he recalled the words of his mother.
Remember Hajime, sometimes all a girl needs are for you to be there. You don't need to have the right answer all the time but a girl will appreciate the time that you take to be there for her."
"You can talk to me if you want. I might not be the best person but I'm always open to talking. We can keep it a secret from everyone else but with me feel free to let me shoulder your burdens. It should be good to have a good heart-to-heart talk every now again." Hajime offered nervously.
Shizuku sat there in silence. For a while, it seemed she would reject his proposal, after all, he wasn't exactly known as a reliable guy in class. But then she smiled at him. Her tears began to stop and she smiled. It was a radiant smile with her bright red eyes glistening expectantly at Hajime. It was a look that made it seem like Hajime was the only one left in the world.
"Thank you Nagumo-kun… I may be a bit of a burden but thank you for having me." She whispered, with clear affection.
Nagumo turned away, his cheeks blushing red.
Floor 10. Several Hours Later
"Nagumo-kun went by himself!? That's suicide!"
Amanogawa Kouki had just awoken. Hearing news of Shizuku's sacrifice shocked even him but to hear that only Nagumo had the guts to go and save her. Shirasaki Kaori was inconsolable, despairing at the thought of losing her best friend and now her love.
Much of the party was in shock at the loss of Shizuku, who most assumed was dead. Most of them were in tears and many were insisting that they had to leave the labyrinth now.
Meld Loggins crushed their objections and insisted on staying until it was no longer feasible but even he was beginning to waver in the face of growing opposition. Kouki offered to go himself but he was firmly stopped by Meld and the other members of the party.
"No, you shouldn't go Kouki-kun." Eri objected. "If we lose you too… I'd…. No, we wouldn't be able to go on. You're the only one able to protect everyone now. We'd be lost without you."
He faltered. Amanogawa Kouki desperately wanted to save Shizuku but he knew that he couldn't go on a suicide mission. He had people to protect. And so he backed down, fuming in his powerlessness. He had no choice but to hope for a miracle.
As the calls to leave grew louder and louder, a creak was heard to the door of the safe room. Immediately the Knights went into position to prevent a possible attack.
"It's us! Don't attack!" Cried out the voice of Nagumo Hajime.
Hajime and Shizuku, who were holding each other, immediately collapsed on the floor, utterly fatigued.
"We both made it back. But Yaegashi needs a proper healer. She already lost a lot of blood" Nagumo explained, as the group's healers rushed to heal them.
Kaori Shirasaki outpaced all of them by a mile, quickly and expertly ascertaining the condition of Shizuku, applying the necessary healing magic, and urging the others to help. Noticing that Hajime's wounds were much lighter she used a quick healing spell to provide him with some relief before hugging him tightly. She sobbed and sobbed and would not let go.
"Ouch! Shirasaki! What are you doing?! Get off me!"
She refused and would not let go until she was wrenched away by her classmates. The classmates that were injured in the fighting congratulated Nagumo for the daring rescue but the others that refused to help could only manage a stiff nod.
They made the quick decision to retreat once Shizuku's immediate treatment was completed. Today's hunting was over. An uneasy rest fell on the party of God's chosen heroes.
Hourad – Night
A Lull of Peace
Three days after the failed expedition, Nagumo Hajime was discharged from the healers bay. His mind was getting stiff due to boredom. Worse of all he was losing time to train. Tonight, he would resume his training.
He was in the courtyard of the dormitories that the Heroes party was lodged in, trying to push his body to the absolute limit. It was becoming increasingly difficult to push towards his extremes since his stats had risen significantly due to his single-man rescue mission.
He briefly checked his stats again,
Hajime Nagumo, Level 14
Class; [Synergist]
Str: 85
Agility: 100
Vitality: 70
Defence: 70
Magic: 82
Magic Defence: 50
Mana:120
It was still a far cry from the cheat stats of Kouki who received maxed-out base stats at level one. But now he was at a level where he could comfortably rank in the middle of the heroes' party.
Due to extensive training in transmutation, he managed to improve the efficiency of his transmutations, by lowering their mana cost and improving their quality and precision.
With his physical training reaching a frustrating plateau, Hajime focused on training his transmutations skills. He created tiny stone rabbits, making them as quickly as possible whilst ensuring that the quality remained high and consistent.
"Shouldn't a recently discharged patient take it easy for a few days?" A familiar female voice enquired.
Opening his eyes, he located the person who was disrupting his training. It was Yaegashi Shizuku. She was practically dressed in thick bandages with her healer's bay gown on top to preserve her dignity
"Take your own advice Yaegashi. What has badly wounded [swordmaster], who hasn't been discharged from the Healer's bay doing here?" He asked, rather irritated at being disrupted in his image training.
"I was getting stiff. I convinced one of the nurses to let me go for a light walk. I wasn't planning training or anything. I'm not the kind of stubborn idiot who starts training the night after they get discharged." She answered, throwing some shade at Nagumo.
Hajime ignored her pointed objections and continued training. Shizuku walked over and proceeded to sit down on a bench that was next to Nagumo Hajime. She picked up one of the stone rabbits, admiring Hajime's handiwork.
"How's the training going?" She asked.
Hajime scowled, explaining the plateau that he encountered.
"Poorly. The recent stat increases, while welcome has meant that I have reached a plateau in physical training. There seems to be a limit to what someone can do alone. So that's why was focusing on training [Transmute]."
Shizuku thought about it for a while before settling on her offer.
"You could train with me." Shizuku offered. "I owe you one anyway. So I'll teach the Yaegashi-style to you."
"Isn't your family's blade art a secret?" Hajime asked intrigued.
"No. Outer disciples can learn the fundamentals of the style. Kouki knows swordplay because he was once a disciple of our ours." She explained. "And besides you saved my life. I think my Grandfather would approve of me teaching you more than just the fundamentals. As heir to the Yaegashi-style, I can make that kind of executive decision."
"That's your family secret blade arts you know? What happens if a few of your secret techniques end up in a manga that I end up writing?" He warned teasingly.
"Oh I don't think that would be happening; Flame Burst Hell Demon…" She mentioned smugly.
"How did you know that name!?" He shouted as he recalled his frightening terrible middle-school years.
"Oh, I know a lot, Void of Darkness. Don't underestimate the lengths that a maiden in love would go to find out information about her crush." She explained. "Also, don't underestimate how loose of a tongue she might have when talking to her best friend." Shizuku warned by blackmailing him.
"Please! No more. Don't unlock that dark past of mine!" He begged.
"Based on the information I have, it's not so much of a 'past' is it Heaven and Earth Shattering Fist?" She teased with a growing smile.
"I'm sorry…. Please don't dig up my secrets. I won't show your family's secret techniques to anyone else. I'll be very grateful for your help." He apologised sincerely, a look of horror and fear etched on his face.
She smiled once more, satisfied that she had gotten her way in this.
"You know that you don't owe anything to me anything right? I don't like saving other people and making it into a transactional process you know." He emphasised.
"I understand. If you feel like there is no debt between the two of us, then think of it as a selfish request." She explained, accepting his reservations. "Think of this as the one selfish request of a girl, who wants to get close to a good person."
Hajime hid his reddening face from Shizuku. Realising that what she meant could be construed in a different matter, she too blushed.
"So you remembered all of that?" He asked, still refusing to look into her eyes out of embarrassment.
"You have to admit that saying stuff like that in the middle of the dungeon would be rather memorable." She reminded.
And besides, although you might not remember it you said the same thing the first time we met.
"I guess I have to take responsibility for saying stuff like that to a girl." He acknowledged, sheepishly rubbing his head. "In that case, I gratefully accept. I'll be in your care from now on Yaegashi-sensei."
Several Days Later- Night
"Calm down you idiot." Decried a shadowy figure
"Calm down! The plan failed! How are we gonna get rid of them now!?" Demanded the hidden figure.
Paying little attention to the ruckus he was causing Hiyama Daisuke revealed himself in the moonlight, his face choking with distrust and anger.
"You think that this is my only plan?" The shadowy figure asked Hiyama with venom in their voice. "You think I'm an idiot like you? An impatient idiot with no brain?"
"Screw your plan. All it did was make Nagumo a hero in the eyes of the class. You couldn't have done the worst job at separating him from My Kaori even if you tried harder." Hiyama dismissed.
Suddenly Hiyama slammed into the wall, an inhuman hand crushing his neck against the wall. A large figure was hidden by the moonlight's shadow.
"Please….Urghk…..Please no…. I didn't mean." Choked out Hiyama.
"Mean what?" The figure mocked. "To grovel?"
A flick of the wrist and the figure stopped choking Hiyama. He crumpled to the floor, frightened. The shadowy figure walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"Listen Hiyama. Don't forget who is following who here…." The figure reminded hatefully. "I don't need you…. I just figured that you'd want to be a part of this. I figured that since my target's an eyesore for you as well, you'd be willing to co-operate."
Just for good measure, the figure slapped Hiyama in the face. It drew blood, causing Hiyama to yelp in pain.
"But just because it might be easier with you co-operating doesn't mean I need you." The figure hissed. "If you even think about ordering me again….. Well, I'll leave that to your pathetic imagination."
She let go of his collar and dropped him to wallow in his pain and misery.
"Hmm, it's true that the plan failed. It's a shame." She acknowledged. "But I sense another opportunity will come."
"Some of my little spies spotted something interesting the other day… Both of our targets seem to be training together now." The figure ruminated. "I guess the rumors were true… She does have a thing for heroes…"
She continued muttering to herself, creating plots and schemes that no one but herself understood. Suddenly she cried out as if she stumbled on the perfect solution.
"It's so simple really…. Get rid of one! Get rid of the other!"
"Get rid of one! Get Rid of the other!" She repeated, ignoring her partner and her surroundings. Its dark eyes sparkled with madness and evil.
Several Weeks Later
That's it! Move your feet faster!" Shizuku instructed. "Mastering the fundamentals will provide you with a solid basis for your sword!"
Shizuku swung her wooden blade down diagonally, hoping to catch him off guard.
Anticipating Shizuku's next move, Nagumo Hajime quickly backed away and avoided her sheath that was coming in horizontally from the other side. Sensing an opportunity, he counter-striked with his blade, to Shizuku's side.
"Nice work anticipating, [Cross-Bash]. But that won't be enough."
But the [Swordmaster] was not caught so easily. Letting go of her sword, she quickly countered with a devasting fist to the stomach that sent the Nagumo Hajime flying.
The rate of his improvement is astounding. It's only been a couple of days and with his skills alone he could beat our dojo's senior disciples.
"Remember, Nagumo-kun. Whilst the sword style has been refined to become somewhat of a sport, its true essence lies with killing or incapacitating your opponent in the field of battle. Don't just use the sword. Use everything and anything at your disposal!"
Getting up on his feet, he spat out any blood left in his mouth and readied himself again.
"Are we doing this with magic this time, Yaegashi?" He asked, coaxing her into another high-intensity match.
"Do you think that will help you?! Think again!" She accepted.
She rushed at him, sword at her side, not letting him anticipate her next move. Due to her [No Tempo], it would be impossible to tell from far away. He would have to stop her before she got too close.
Nagumo charged in himself. When he got close he attempted a sliding tackle to disrupt her movement. She jumped over him and she aimed her blade down, aiming to stab him from above. Using transmutation, on the ground, he used it to slide just out of the way to avoid her swinging blade. He used his sword as a pivot and a prop to quickly get back onto his feet and perform a low swinging kick.
Shizuku took that blow on her right side, and came out of it limping, but not out of the game yet.
"Nice work Nagumo-kun. But you haven't landed the decisive blow just yet. Now come!"
Unexpectedly he threw his sword at Shizuku, which she blocked out of the way. Suddenly there was a surge of magic power, and the two wooden blades became stuck together.
"When did you—"
"I was testing something you see. I prepared that magic circle beforehand."
Not recovering from the shock in time, left Shizuku open to a barrage attack. He prepared his final attack.
"Yaegashi No Sword Style [Rising Dragon]" –
But Shizuku would not go down without a fight.
"[Divine Palm Strike]" -
In the exact moment that Hajime's uppercut landed, she landed the palm strike on his abdomen. The uppercut lifted her into the air briefly before she crumpled to the ground. The palm strike pushed him a metre away and he too crumpled from the injury that he sustained.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. That was a good fight…." She acknowledged, her breaths heavy and laboured.
"Man healing potions might not be enough for this…. Shirasaki might kill us if she finds out." Hajime reminded her, both of their faces looking gaunt at the prospect.
"Urgh…. Yeah, I haven't even told her that I'm training you. If she kills you, she'll probably kill me and then throw my body in a ditch somewhere." She joked.
"So it's agreed then. We don't tell her!" Hajime proclaimed.
She nodded.
"Say, a tie is unsatisfying, right? So, first, one to get back on their feet wins?" Shizuku offered.
"Deal. The loser gets my latrine duty for the week." He accepted.
With a fire in her eyes, that you would only find when she was fighting monsters, Yaegashi Shizuku struggled to her feet. But it was no use, Hajime had already won (?) by transmuting the ground to lift himself.
"That's not enough! You need to be on your feet!" She objected.
"Uoah!" He cried to psyche himself up. His feet shook and trembled with each millisecond.
But he failed and crumpled to his knees. Shizuku with concerted effort managed to get up by herself.
"Well well, there is no escaping latrine duty…." She mocked, declaring himself the winner of their bout.
She held out hands to pull him back on his feet. After recovering a bit with a healing potion, they decided to end things for today.
"Come on Nagumo-kun, let's get those healing potions before Kaori finds out."
They drank their healing potions from their shared secret stash and waited until the healing effects of the potion mended their bruised bodies. Yaegashi farewelled him, intending to turn in for the night. But Hajime stopped her.
"Wait Yaegashi. I have something to give you. Wait here."
He sped off to his dorm room and came back after 5 minutes. He was carrying a pair of Japanese blades, one a full length katana and the other a matching wakizashi. He presented them to Shizuku. It was beautifully designed, with a red and black checkered handle design. The sheaths had a glossy black finish and sakura petals painstakingly painted to complete the aesthetic appeal.
She unsheathed the blade, and the blade shimmered in the light of the full moon, its silver-metallic surface creating a clear reflection of the user.
"How did you"-
"You mentioned that it was harder to perform your techniques with the double-bladed swords they have here." He explained, nervously. "I mean I was practicing with transmuting…. I was practicing making swords anyways….. So I thought….."
"They're beautiful, Nagumo-kun…." Shizuku commented.
She swung the longer katana several times to try it. It was perfectly balanced, light enough to be swung by her without difficulty and yet solid enough to take and deal several blows without any problems."
"You've got everything exactly correct. The time it must to taken to….." She said astonished.
She sheathed the weapon back and looked at Hajime fondly.
"You know Nagumo-kun, the sword is the soul of a swordsman. I think that I'll use this sword so much that it will become a part of me…..I'll cherish this gift forever."
Hajime turned away for a brief second, daring not to look at Shizuku for fear of misinterpreting what that look meant.
"Ah, you're welcome…" He said before awkwardly and stiffly attempting to leave. "So same time as usual?"
That seemed to snap her out of her reverie, and she too became embarrassed at what she had said.
"Yes! Let's go now… I've taken up to much of your time anyway! See you tomorrow." She awkwardly said goodbye.
The two quickly sped off, each to their dormitories. Not noticing that someone that had been observing them for some time.
Next Day
What is Love?
"Shizuku-chan."
Yaegashi Shizuku was busy using the training yard. She was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. Her best friend, who always watched over her bought her a drink. As ever Kaori was cheerful and bright, more than happy to assist her best friend.
"Here you go. A nice cool drink for the hard worker!"
She bought over a nice cool fruit drink, chilled with ice magic.
"You're putting a lot more effort into training Shizuku-chan!"
Shizuku wiped the sweat on her face and glanced at her best friend. There was no indication that she was unhappy.
"Yeah, I received something yesterday that was precious to me. I thought I'd redouble my efforts to be worthy of it." She explained, still cautiously observing her best friend's mood.
"Oh. I got it… It must be the swords you were carrying around. A few people mentioned that it was new!"
Cold sweat began to pour down Shizuku's face. She was slowly losing confidence in being able to avoid this conversation. Showing no signs of displeasure, Kaori continued her line of questioning.
"So, who made them for you? They couldn't be any random merchant. It's a Japanese sword, someone must have been told how to make one by someone from Japan….. But who would know how to make Japanese swords?"
Surprisingly Kaori astutely pinpointed who it was.
"Uhh…..Kaori…."
"I guess this world's equivalent of a blacksmith, would be a [Syngergist]. Oh did you get a [Synergist] to make you one?"
"In a sense….."
"I didn't know that you knew how to make swords."
"I don't have the expertise to make swords….." Shizuku admitted.
"Oh, then who…"
"Nagumo-kun did," Shizuku whispered.
"I'm sorry who?" Kaori asked, with increasing glee.
"Mou! Kaori! It was Nagumo-kun alright! There I said it." She admitted, with a look of shame on her face.
Kaori continued to smile at her best friend, with no hint of frustration or anger on her face.
"Shizuku-chan. Why are you upset?…. I knew all along by the way. I'm not stupid. I'm not angry or anything." Kaori said seriously.
"You knew?"
Kaori explained that she had followed her last night and saw their training
"I've seen you two train together at night, now and again. Then suddenly you got a pair of new words that could have only been made by a [Sygnergist]. I put two and two together."
"But I thought you'd be angry. I hid it behind your back…"
Shizuku looked downcast and avoided her best friend's gaze.
"And why would I be angry with my best friend getting along with my crush?" Kaori asked slyly….. "Hmmm, unless….."
Sensing what she was up to Shizuku vehemently denied it.
"I don't like him like that!"
Shizuku's cheeks were now as scarlet as her eyes. But Kaori didn't buy her best friend's words.
"Really? He does fit your preferences you know. Didn't you find him dashing when he came to save you in the labyrinth?"
She denied it once more. She tried to purge all of those weird dreams that she had been getting lately.
"No! I don't. Kaori he's meant to be with you….. I would never fall in love with him….How could I even consider it….." Shizuku denied.
Kaori looked at her best friend, a crimson blush spreading across her face, her eyes indicating that she wanted to be anywhere but here. Kaori sighed, it seemed like her best friend was still not being honest with her own feelings.
Kaori eyed her inquisitively, pausing for a brief minute to look at her best friend. Her distress and shame were etched clearly on her face. Eventually, she spun around on the balls of her feet and turned away from Shizuku.
"Ah, I see… I guess I don't have anything to worry about…."
Smiling wryly, Kaori decided to leave her one last message.
"But Shizuku-chan, don't forget something. I don't think you get to choose who you love. You can deny it if you want, but it doesn't change that the choice has been made for you." She warned.
"What are you saying?" Shizuku asked puzzled.
"I'm saying that if you do fall in love with him it's not your fault. I'm not going to get angry over that." Kaori poured her true feelings.
"Kaori I don't-"
"You've looked after me since the day we've met. Even now you're protecting me. I'm really happy to have such a good friend like you Shizuku-chan." Kaori thanked gratefully.
"But when it comes to love you can be selfish. You shouldn't feel guilty if you love him. Because I won't feel guilty if I win. Even if it means breaking your heart, I won't feel guilty… Sad? Perhaps….. But not guilty." Kaori concluded firmly, striding off to leave her best friend with her feelings.
Shizuku Yaegashi was left all alone, with her heart more confused than ever before. Her mind rebelled and the thought of stealing want wasn't hers to take. She tried to picture what was an inevitability in her mind; Kaori and Nagumo-kun, happy together as acouple. But she could feel something dying, wasting away at the thought of Nagumo looking at another woman.
If that happens, won't I be left alone again?
She spent much of the day tired and disengaged, doing the absolute bare minimum to get by for that day.
"Yaegashi. You look terrible."
Nagumo Hajime was the last person that she wanted to see now.
"Come on. We've got training now."
She shook her head, she wasn't in the mood to train with the person that was causing the distress within her. She started to walk away. She wanted to be alone.
"That bad huh? That's probably all the more reason for me to stay."
She stopped in her tracks. And glared at him, making it quite clear that she didn't want to see him.
"Yaegashi. I promised that I would be there if you've got a problem. So I'm not backing down." Hajime stood firmly.
"It's not a problem that you can solve." She stated curtly.
"Yeah, who said that it had to be something that I can solve for me to be there for you huh?"
She sighed. She really should have seen this coming. She decided to relent since she imagined that the alternative of him sitting outside her dorm room would cause more trouble than sitting with the source of her discomfort for an hour or two.
"If your friend says that she's alright with you taking something that she loves with all her heart. Would you do it?" Shizuku asked.
He paused for a minute. Was this about?
"Would you decide to hurt your friend because you just because of some unclear feelings that you have?"
He didn't expect the conversation to go into this topic. And he wasn't exactly stupid. He knew what this was about.
"So Mr 'stay with me no matter what,' do you have an answer?"
No, he didn't have an answer. What answer could he give, especially when the answer could affect him personally? He took a deep breath.
"I don't have an answer. I don't have a lot of friends or anything." He admitted. "But if you think that you can live without hurting others, you're kidding yourself."
"Some hurts can heal. Some hurts don't. Decide what's more important to you and make the decision. If they're a real friend then they'll stay by you no matter the hurt." Hajime remarked
"Then if I hurt you, will you still stay with me?"
She looked him dead in the eyes, demanding an answer.
"Yeah. You're important to me Yaegashi. Even if lose everything because of you, I won't stay away."
Ah, I love him don't I? Geez I've been an idiot.
Shizuku looked away. The realisation didn't come with a sudden rush of emotion. It was simply an alignment of facts. She was always in love since he saved her. In love with him since protected her. In love with him as he stood by her side protecting the tiny voice in her heart that cried out for someone to hear her. The realisation that she was already in love didn't change something drastically within her. Yaegashi Shizuku is in love with Nagumo Hajime. She had been before her mind ever acknowledged it.
"So you're that persistent huh? If you feel that way, then the least I can do is match that."
She smiled at him. A rare smile.
"Thank you Nagumo-kun."
Nagumo blushed.
"Yeah. Don't mention it…."
"So, are we going to train or what?"
She asked, grinning this time. He nodded. They rose together, headed towards the courtyard for their training sessions.
"You two sure are carefree."
They leaped backward several metres and drew their weapons. Endou Kosuke their classmate appeared before them out of thin air. Adding to his mysterious lack of presence was the fact no one could recall his face or his eyes. He raised his hands in surrender
"Endou, can you not do that?" Nagumo asked annoyed.
"You know as well as I do that I can't control it when people notice me or not!" He objected strenuously. "Can you put your swords away, please? I'm just here to make another report to Nagumo-kun."
"A report?"
"I've been asking him to keep tabs on the others."
"So you've been asking him to spy on our classmates?" She asked with her eyebrows raised.
"Ah, don't think badly of Nagumo-san, Yaegashi-san. He's just been worried about some people in the class." Endou frantically explained. "He didn't think that monster mob was an accident. He's worried about you."
She nodded, accepting their answer for now.
"Ever since the incident, Hiyama's been quiet. Normally he uses any excuse to get in Nagumo-san's business and harass him. He's been quiet. But he's been going out to the town. I don't know what he does though. He always manages to lose me."
"Do you think he's responsible for the incident?"
Shizuku recalled the events that led her to be trapped on the 11th floor.
"It was him that caused us to be attacked by the monsters on the 11th floor. He said it was a mistake but….." Shizuku recalled. "If he is responsible, he has someone backing him. There is no way he would know the layout of the dungeon without someone helping him."
That was concerning. A bully like Hiyama could be easily dealt with but whoever was backing Hiyama was not going to be easily dealt with.
"Then some of the others who were reluctant to fight to begin with are rallying around Ai-chan-sensei. Ai-chan-sensei intends to use her abilities as leverage to get the ones that don't want to fight to join her in touring the rest of the Kingdom."
"As you know we've been ordered to push further forward. They're all quite keen for the Hero and his party to make a breakthrough and pass through the twentieth floor as soon as possible."
The implication was clear. If Hiyama had deliberately started causing the monster horde incident then it was likely he would try something else in this new expedition. His backers were still a mystery, which concerned Hajime.
"I can't convince you to stay behind can I, Nagumo-san?"
He shook his head. It may be a trap but he wasn't about to abandon the rest of the party because he was scared.
"I'll protect him when it comes down to it." Shizuku declared, intending to make good on her promise to her beloved.
Endou Kosuke nodded and disappeared. Leaving the two of them alone, to ponder their next moves.
When the Abyss Stares
Yaegashi Shizuku and Nagumo Hajime, were tense the next morning. They had foregone training in favour of an attempt to formulate a plan to protect their closest allies during this dungeon exploration.
Hiyama Daisuke was visibly distressed the whole morning. Most of the class chalked it up to nerves.
"They did say that he was never right after the monster horde incident."
Some even encouraged like Amanogawa, praised his decision to keep on fighting despite his worries and fears. Any attempts to get him to open up were met with a loud retort.
"Just shove it!"
The party had other concerns though, the attack on the 20th floor was meant to be the most difficult challenge they would meet. Floors 1 to 19 were easy pickings by comparison.
The Knights did not mince their words. The 20th floor was the most difficult yet. Shizuku and Nagumo took the lead in the attack, working perfectly in tandem with one another to carry the party to victory after victory. They constantly created exploitable openings that allowed their damage dealers to finish off the tougher monster. Yet even with the teamwork of Shizuku and Hajime, traversing the 20th floor was a hard slog, with progress stalling several times.
The morale of the party was understandably quite low, with the exhaustion playing on their minds and hearts. Some expressed a strong desire to go back home. But Amanogawa angrily forced them to continue. Throughout the whole attack, Amanogawa Kouki looked upon the teamwork of Shizuku and Hajime with distress and confusion. Whether this had any effect on this decision to force march everyone, only he could tell.
The party eventually reached a distinct area of the 20th floor. It was space large than any of the dimly lit crude halls and cavernous rock formations that they had encountered up to this point. Its key feature; was a large chasm that seemed to lead to absolutely nowhere. The stone bridge that bounded the chasm seemed narrow by comparison. Simply standing close by gave those of weaker hearts vertigo and nausea.
On the other side of the chasm was a familiar-looking set of doors. The wide arch, silver doors, an indication of the end of the floor, and more importantly some respite for the beleaguered party.
"This it! We just have to deal with this one last trial and we'll make it through!" Meld Loggins cried out.
The party visibly cheered up, though they remained exhausted. Meld looked closely for the trial ahead. If his memory served him correctly a boss monster would appear to act as a final challenge for those who challenged the 20th floor.
As expected on the middle of the stone bridge at least 200 metres away from the party, on a part that was wider than the rest, a magic circle activated in response to the party's intrusion. A red magic circle expanded and covered the middle of the bridge.
Red? But that's!
In Meld's experience, the magic circle that would summon the boss monster would be blue, indicating a mid-rank boss, appropriate for the level of the challengers of the 20th floor. A red magic circle indicated something far more dangerous.
As if responding to the weakness of the party, the most terrible of monsters appeared. Out first came its large imposing horns, yellow due to age but formidable as the blood of monsters that it impaled still stained the ends of the horns. Its head was ugly and disfigured, a cross between the jagged rock face that lined the Labyrinth and something straight out of Jurassic Park. Its thick sinewy legs provided the monster with more agility than could be expected from the sheer mass that the monster presented.
"Behemoth. The terror of the 65th Floor! What is it doing here?!"
Meld gave the immediate order to retreat, but the monster charged forward across the stone bridge. With every millisecond the monster threatened to corner the party, route them and eventually destroy them one by one.
The monster seemingly grinning at the frightened, terrified response of the party. It roared several times, stunning the weaker willed amongst the party, causing many to fall stumbling as they try to get up and flee. The party lost all sense of coordination and control, as some lost their strength and will right there and then.
In response, one person charged alone. The terrible roar of the monster, seemingly no match to his indomitable will. A will that was transcended the puny limits of his weak body
"Nagumo! What are you doing!"
He didn't answer. Whoever shouted was not his concern. Focusing his mana on his hands, he prepared the only trick that he had over the others. He had used his skill to temporarily fuse monsters to the ground. Though he was limited to the transmutation of inorganic materials, the Behemoths, rocky outer shell became its weakness.
As the monster continued to charge, Hajime matched his speed until he got into range of his skill. With less than 5 metres to go, he slammed his hands, onto the rock floor, exerting every once of his mana that his body could produce. The blue light of his mana clashed with the monster's rocky skin, locking its joints in place, fusing it to the stone bridge.
But such a measure was temporary. Fusing a monster permanently in place was impossible under normal circumstances, let alone the Behemoth which already showed signs of breaking through the lock.
"Fire at the bridge!"
His scream roused his classmates out of their stupor and fear. All of the party members that could fire ranged attacks began to hastily prepare attacks to destroy the bridge. Spell after spell damaging the stone bridge between Hajime and the Behemoth until the stone bridge could no longer support the weight of the Behemoth and collapsed taking the monster down into the chasm below.
Nagumo cheered, a look of relief on his face as he ran closer and closer to the party who awaited him.
But he would never reach the other side. A spell from his classmates slammed into the helpless Nagumo Hajime. His mana exhausted, he could not prepare a proper defence. He was sent plummeting into the Abyss below, the roar of the Behemoth, there to mock him as he journeyed to the hell that awaited both of them,
HIYAMA DAISUKE!
"You Bastard!"
Using her sheer strength, Shizuku Yaegashi lifted Daisuke Hiyama by the collar and dangled him like a rag doll.
"It was an accident! It was an accident! I didn't mean to!"
Daisuke Hiyama continued to plead and whimper but Shizuku remained unconvinced. The trajectory and angle, all of it pointed to a deliberate act. She tightened her grip and began to shake him.
"I was panicking!"
"Shizuku stop it! I know you're upset! We all are. But don't turn against your classmates over something like this!" Kouki cried out.
Shizuku shot him a glare of pure unadulterated rage and hate. Even Kouki the hero flinched.
"If you hurt Hiyama, I'll be forced to stop you!"
Amanogawa took another step forward, gripping his sword to indicate that he was serious.
I'd like to see him try to stop me.
"Yaegashi, please stop this. I can't abide by threats to the party. I know you and Nagumo were close but you can't let your rage take over."
Meld and the knights began to move and at this, she knew that she would not be able to win. She let Hiyama go but did not let her rage dissipate in the slightest.
"Captain Meld. Can you lead the rest of the party out of here, please? I need some time alone."
Sensing that nothing would diffuse the situation otherwise, Meld relented and ordered the knights and Heroes party to evacuate, leaving only a hysterical Kaori and an enraged Shizuku behind.
Think Shizuku, Think! That shot wasn't an accident. Daisuke Hiyama deliberately shot that spell at Nagumo-kun when we were both vulnerable.
He's always hated Nagumo-kun. He's always hated that Kaori was close to Nagumo-kun.
Then that means… His real target…..
Kaori is in trouble if she stays. And I'm a threat if I stay as well.
She took a deep breath, letting her mind clear.
Nagumo-kun would never want me to make a decision made in a rage.
She walked to the chasm and the broken stone bridge that took Nagumo Hajime and eyed it. Taking a piece of debris, she threw it. After some time she heard the faint sound of splashing water. That was a good sign.
Slowly her anger subsided and she began to plan her next move. Kaori was hysterical and continued to demand that they go and save him. Shizuku forcefully grabbed her friend's shoulder and forced her to listen.
"Kaori listen to me. You need to get out of the party. Someone targeted Nagumo-kun. If we don't come back then you need to get out of the party, it's too dangerous " She whispered.
"What are you talking about Shizuku-chan!? We need to save Hajime-kun!"
"I know. I love him too. I want to save him as well." Shizuku admitted.
"Then-"
"I love him Kaori. I know that now. But I still care for you too. I'm not risking you over this." She whispered sadly. "I promise you that we come back to you Kaori. Please trust me."
Shizuku disappeared and reappeared, behind her friend. Using the butt of her sword she knocked out Kaori.
"Endou! I know you're here. Take Kaori and look after her, make sure you and she disappear from the party. I leave her in your hands." She commanded.
Endou Kosuke who had been quietly observing events suddenly appeared a few metres away. Following Shizuku's command, he took Kaori.
"What do you want me to do? I can't exactly hide Shirasaki-san's presence alongside my own. We'll be caught by the Kingdom and hunted down" He objected. "And what do you plan on doing?"
"Saving Nagumo-kun of course. He didn't give up on me. So if there is even a single percent chance that he's alive, then I have to try no matter what." She calmly explained.
"As for what you do, talk to Aiko-Sensei. She was brewing a plan to get some of the others who refused to fight to leave. Try leaving with her. No matter what you cannot leave Kaori alone. I can't be certain but Hiyama's goal might be Kaori."
"Alright then. I won't try and stop you. I'll pray to whatever god is here that you and Nagumo-kun make it."
Endou quickly sped off to catch up with the rest of the heroes' party.
She'll be safe with Endou. That's one less thing to worry about.
Staring at the Abyss, that took away her love, it seemed to stare back at her, inviting her to join the hell that awaited her. Taking one last breath of air, one last breath of freedom, she steeled her resolve.
She tensed her muscles and poured strength into her legs. She took the plunge, sealing her fate, sealing the fate of her beloved, sealing the fate of the heroes party and the world at large. But such thoughts were not on her mind. All she thought of was her beloved, of the despair that he must be feeling.
Nagumo-kun. I swear to save you!
And she disappeared from the eyes of mortals, with determination in her mind and hope in her heart.
I'm not gonna waste your time with a long paragraph.
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Shizuku is the Best Girl.