Jack Meyer
Level 5
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Job: Alchemist
Strength: 20
Vitality: 60
Defence: 20
Agility: 40
Magic: 60
Magic Defence: 60
Skills:
Transmute
Language Comprehension
"Fuuuuuck…" I groaned as I slowly regained consciousness, feeling the rocky ground digging into my back. Blinking my eyes open, I look around. It was dark, though there were some barely luminescent crystals growing out of the ground and walls. "Am I still in the Orcus Labyrinth?" I asked myself, looking around. "Fuck, how deep am I?" I cursed, looking around. I suppose it didn't really matter how deep I was, it was dangerous either way. I needed to find a way to go up.
As one who holds the Job of Alchemist, I was able to manipulate and transmute matter, mostly plants and animal parts, to create a variety of things. I mostly made potions to aid in support of the kids while they fought, but I had a few more tricks up my sleeve. The Kingdom had more than a few books on what I could make and with what, but I got creative too. Alchemists and Synergists are usually useless in combat, but I proved that wrong with a bit of ingenuity and creativity. Meld, the Commander of the Knights, was especially impressed with my creations.
I was confident I would be able to survive until I found the exit.
With my hand on the handle of the bayonet I had sheathed at my hip, ready to draw if at the first sign of trouble, I made my way through the massive cave.
As I walked, I tried to make sense of what had happened. The kids and I were on an expedition into the labyrinth to raise our levels. We were attacked by a couple of monsters along the way, but we handled them well enough, and I handed out healing potions to those who got injured. After a while, we found a strange crystal. Meld said it was commonly used for engagement rings, and that was enough for a right little shit by the name of Daisuke to go straight for it. Meld tried to warn him that it needed to be checked first, but he didn't listen. He touched the crystal, and we were all teleported deeper into the labyrinth, where we were ambushed on a massive bridge.
~Flashback~
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around for anything that may be a threat.
"I think… this is the 65th floor." Meld said carefully, examining our surroundings. I froze, but maintained my ready position.
"It's a Behemoth!" Meld yelled as the massive hulking beast approached, a horde of skeletons along with it. "Everybody, get to the stairs!" He bellowed at the kids as him, myself, Kouki, the strongest of us with the Hero Job, and Shizuku, a girl with the Swordmaster Job, held off the horde of skeletons that charged at us.
"Shizuku!" I yelled as I grabbed a glass vial from the bandolier across my chest and tossed it at a skeleton that was closing in on her blind spot. The vial smashed as it collided with its skull, the acid pouring down its scalp. In a split second, it vanished, as they do when they die. "Don't forget to watch your own back." I scolded her as I killed another skeleton with my bayonet.
"Thank you Sensei." She said, killing another skeleton.
"Nice job Sensei!" Kouki complimented me as he did the same.
Another student, Yuka, was being cornered by a number of skeletons, and her throwing knives and Acrobat Job weren't doing her much good at close range. I immediately dashed to her aid, slashing at the skeletons.
"Go, get out of here!" I yelled at her.
"Sensei?!" She looked up from her position on the ground.
"Go!" I snapped at her, prompting an immediate retreat. "Everybody back away!" I yelled as the Behemoth got closer and closer. It was large and slow, but its steps were steady and deliberate. Soon, it was just me, Meld, and a couple of the local knights standing before the Behemoth, the rest had made it to the stairway entrance.
"Hyah!" We heard a scream. Another of the kids, Kaori, a Priest, had fallen over in her attempt to escape. Meld immediately stepped in front of her, his sword up. The rest of us backed up to his side as the Behemoth got closer.
"Hallowed Ground!" Meld cried, his Paladin spell creating a transparent blue barrier before us in an attempt to stop the enemies from advancing..
It didn't do any good though. The skeletons couldn't get through, but the Behemoth just kept walking, and when the tip of its snout touched the barrier, it started to dissolve. A couple of the skeletons were able to squeeze through the cracks as the barrier dissipated.
"Kaori, get out of there!" I heard Shizuku shout at her best friend as I slashed at a skeleton.
Thinking quickly, I grabbed one of the skeletons by the skull, knocked its weapon out of its hand with my bayonet, and then activated my Skill. A small green magic circle appeared at the back of my gloved hand.
"Transmute!" I yelled, tossing the skeleton at the Behemoth's face.
The beast roared in pain as the bones of the skeleton liquified, splashing across its face and setting on fire. I'd stimulated the collagen in the bones' composition to ignite, and with the added phosphorus and magnesium in the bones already there, it was really hot. The beast stopped, swiping at its face with its claws, trying to get rid of the liquified bone slicked across its face. My acid vials were too small to work on something this big.
"Quick thinking. Nicely done." Meld praised me as he swiped at another skeleton.
"Get Kaori out of here." I responded, slashing a skeleton myself. "I'm not sure how long I can hold it off like this, Captain." I added as I grabbed and disarmed another skeleton. "Transmute!" I tossed the skeleton at the Behemoth, and this one too liquified on contact, igniting. "Go, now!" I snapped as I sheathed my bayonet.
"I'll get you out as well, I swear it." He told me as he picked Kaori up in a bridal carry. I nodded in response.
"Sensei, no!" Kaori cried, reaching out for me as Meld dashed towards the stairs with her.
"Transmute!" I tossed two more skeletons at the Behemoth, but it was getting clever. It was anticipating where the liquified skeletons were coming from, and using its horns to block them. Suddenly, its eyes fell on me, and I couldn't help but take a step back.
"Lieutenant, run!" I heard Meld yell. I immediately turned and sprinted towards the stairs, skeletons hot on my trail as everyone with magic capabilities readied a spell. "Fire!" Meld yelled. As I ran, about a dozen bolts of blue energy flew right over my head, hitting the Behemoth square in the jaw. "Second wave, fire!" Meld wasted no time, and within seconds, another dozen blue bolts.
"Run Sensei!" Kaori cied out.
Just as she said those words, the light from the bolts hit my eyes just a little harder than before. Looking up as I ran, I saw one of the bolts had changed course. Everything, myself included, seemed to move in slow motion as the rogue bolt barreled directly towards me. I could barely comprehend what was happening before it hit me right in the chest. It wasn't a lethal spell, but it hurt like hell, doubly so when I landed right in front of the behemoth. As I blinked away the confusion, I looked up and saw the Behemoth, staring down at me and growling. My entire body froze as it leaned forward, bearing its fangs as it prepared to swallow me whole.
It seemed fate had other ideas.
I wasn't sure why, but it was at that moment that the bridge collapsed, sending myself, the skeleton horde, and the Behemoth plummeting down the abyss below the bridge.
And then I woke up.
~Flashback End~
"Motherfucker!" I hissed as cold fury seeped into my veins. One of those kids, my own bloody students! One of them tried to kill me! What reason could any of those brats have to try and fucking kill me!? What did I do to deserve that?! Sure, a couple of them didn't respect me, I think they thought I wasn't old enough to teach high school, and the Japanese are a lot more xenophobic than most people think, but that doesn't justify bloody murder! When I find out who did this, I'll-
I stopped as a creature came into view. It was facing away from me, but I could see that it was about the size of a kangaroo, with the same general build, white fur, and long floppy ears on its head.
"A rabbit?" I whispered. That was strange. There were rabbit monsters in the Labyrinth, but they were all at the higher levels, and rather weak. Monsters got stronger as you went deeper, and though this guy was bigger than the others, I found it highly suspicious that one was lurking around here. I placed my hand on my bayonet, ready to attack if needed, though I had a sneaking suspicion that I probably wouldn't be able to do much.
Suddenly, in the distance, a howl could be heard. Both myself and the rabbit monster turned to face the source. A massive wolf, the size of a bloody horse, was running straight for us. Or rather, the rabbit. I was weary about the rabbit, but there's no way I'd be able to take that wolf out. I had to get out of there before-
SLASH*
The rabbit zoomed out of the way of the wolf as it pounced with electricity coursing around its body, which it then threw at the rabbit. The rabbit pushed off of a disk of air that appeared out of nowhere, and spun rapidly, bisecting the wolf with a slash of its feet. My blood ran cold as the rabbit landed next to the wolf and took a big bite out of it. And so the prey becomes the predator, and I get the feeling I'm next.
I took a gentle step back, hoping not to catch its attention while it feasts on the wolf, but I wasn't so lucky. Its ears perked up as I stepped, and it immediately turned its head to me, yellow blood from the wolf dripping down its maw, filled with sharp teeth. I cursed as it dashed straight at me, stopping just a meter away. It almost looked like it teleported, but it actually moved a very short distance really quickly, with a dark red aura encasing its body.
With a snarl, it backflipped, creating another one of those energy blades from its feet. I was just barely able to dodge out of the way with a yelp. I immediately unsheathed my bayonet and grabbed an acid vial from my bandolier as the monster slowly walked towards me, a smile seemingly on its face. A bad one. But, just as it seemed it was about to attack again, it stopped, looking up behind me.
Oh no.
Turning stiffly, my breath hitched as I saw what caught the rabbit's attention.
It was a bear. A massive white bear, looking down at us from its position on top of a large rock. It bore its fangs, growling as its sinister eyes bore down on us. The rabbit immediately took off, using that dashing technique, but it made no difference to the bear. Three Wolverine-esque claws extruded from its paw, and it slashed through the air, sending three spinning blades of air at the rabbit. It didn't stand a chance. The rabbit's head rolled on the ground in a split second.
Thankfully, the bear seemed more interested in the rabbit than me, so when it leaped over me and started munching down on the rabbit, I sheathed my bayonet and took off. I didn't care what I found next. There was no way a wolf or rabbit would be worse than that giant bear. I wasn't going to stick around to be dessert.
Sadly, fate had to intervene. Again.
I felt it before I heard it.
It started as a stinging sensation in my right arm, right about at the elbow. Then, I heard the wind swish past my ears, much in the same way it did when the bear attacked the rabbit, and then… Pain. It was so bad I fell over, the scream I'd wanted to release being caught in my throat as I gurgled, blood pouring out of my mouth. I tried to push myself up, but I found only one arm capable of doing so. The other… was gone.
My right arm had been sliced off just above the elbow.
Fear and panic gripped me as I turned to face the bear. I just barely saw the beast putting my severed arm in its mouth. The following crunch was sickening, and I had to force the bile down as I watched the blood drip from its maw, my blood. I frantically grabbed at my bandolier with my remaining hand, snatching a healing potion and downing it quickly. The bleeding of my stump stopped, but it was far from healed. I didn't have time to relax though.
The bear leaned forward, snarling at me, my blood still dripping from between its teeth. I quickly grabbed at another vial, this one containing a yellow liquid, and tossed it at the bear's face. Right as the vial smashed in its face, I got up and ran, hearing the bear roar in displeasure as the liquid evaporated, the foul smelling yellow vapor lingering over its head, keeping its attention off of me while I ran.
It didn't last.
After a few seconds, I noticed a crack in the cave wall, big enough for me to fit in. Hoping against all hope that It would be deep enough for me to stay out of the bear's reach, I turned and sprinted straight for it. Right as I slipped into the crack, the ground shook beneath me again. The bear had leapt and landed right behind me. I was barely able to avoid a snap of its jaws as I squeezed through the crack. The bear didn't give up though. It reached inside the crack, swiping at me with its claw. I gritted my teeth as I felt the skin on my back split open, but I pushed forward. The bear kept trying to swipe at me through the crack, but I was out of its reach. That didn't mean I was going to stop. I kept shimmying through the crack, refusing to stop until I couldn't go any further, or until the bear was out of sight.
It seemed fate had a sense of humour today, because within a few seconds of squeezing into the crack, the ground inside of that crack was just not there, and I fell through a crevice that slanted down. I cried out in pain as the open wounds on my back were scraped at by the hard stone surface that I was sliding down on.
Eventually, I came to a stop, my entire body in absolute agony. My arm was the worst. It was almost laughable, the most painful part of my body was the one part that was missing.
In the minutes before I lost consciousness, I had to wonder; why?
Why was this happening? Why did one of my students try to kill me? Why was I going to die here today, never seeing my family, colleagues, or students again?
Mum and Dad…
My annoying ass sister…
Aiko…
Hell, even Kouki and Shizuku and Kaori…
Kaori…
Maybe I should have listened to you.
~Flashback - 9 days prior~
"Kaori?" I asked, opening the door to my room in the castle after someone knocked on it.
"Hello Sensei." She fidgeted slightly. "Can we talk?" She asked.
"Of course." I stepped aside, allowing her inn. "It's a bit late for a pep talk." I said with a wry smile as I closed the door.
"I know, but…" She trailed off, fidgeting. Oh dear, please don't tell me this is going where I think it's going. "I don't want you to go into the Labyrinth!" She blurted out. Ok, good.
"And why not?" I asked calmly.
"I… I had a dream." Her cheeks dusted a light pink as I raised my eyebrow at the sheer absurdity of that statement. "I-it was a bad one! And I can't stop feeling like something awful is going to happen down there." She hung her head.
"What kind of dream?" I asked.
"We were in a dark place, the ground was shaking, and no matter how many times I tried to talk to you, you wouldn't say anything." She looked down at the ground. "There was only this awful silence. Then you just got further and further away, and…" She paused. I chose not to interrupt. "You just disappeared, like you fell through the ground." She gave a light shudder. It seems as though, no matter how silly it might seem when she says it, the nightmare itself was probably a lot worse than she's suggesting.
"I appreciate your concern, Kaori." I said after a moment of silence. "But I'm far from helpless. I may not be the most Combative as an Alchemist, but I can't just stand by while my students walk into a labyrinth fraught with danger." I told her.
"But I…" She stopped, unable to find the right words.
"If it makes you feel better, I'd be glad to have you watching my back." I told her, and it thankfully released some of the visible tension in her shoulders. "With your healing magic, my potions, and Meld at my side, I'm confident I'll be fine." I reassured her.
"Alright." She let out a breath. "I promise, I'll keep you safe." She said resolutely.
"As your teacher, that's supposed to be my job." I gave a light smirk, getting a small giggle as she looked up at me with sparkling eyes. A look I've seen from her many times in the past two years. "With that out of the way, there's something else we should talk about." I said, my light tone getting a bit more serious.
"Oh?" She smiled, though I could see it wasn't quite as high as when she usually smiled.
"You need to stop this." I said simply.
"Stop… what?" She asked, but we both knew exactly what I was talking about. It was an attempt at deflection.
"I'm almost a decade older than you, and I'm your teacher. Anything beyond the relationship we have right now would be highly unprofessional on my part." I said sternly, getting a grimace from her. "I could lose my job, not to mention my career, and there would be a real risk of deportation from Japan, which would go on my permanent record and make international travel incredibly difficult." I went on. Her expression fell.
"I just-"
"No." I stopped her. "I was 17 once, I know what it's like. My Spanish teacher was the most beautiful latina woman I ever saw, I was completely enamored, and I wasn't the only one." I shook my head at the embarrassing memories. "This can never be anything more than a hormonal teenager who's enamored with an older, attractive, exotic foreign teacher." I give a wry grin to ease the tension, and it works a little bit. Truth be told, I don't think I'm ugly per se, but I definitely don't have girls, teens or otherwise, flocking to date me or considering me exotic. Foreigners, regardless of race, are not all that popular in Japan in some circles.
"I…" Kaori trailed off, unable to form a response. I could see the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
"Sensei, NO!" I suddenly heard her voice crying out to me in the distance as I fell through the abyss.
~Flashback end~
My eyes fluttered open as a bright light shone in front of my face. There was something wet dripping into my mouth, and as my vision settled, I became aware of a large spherical glowing stone in the roof of the little crevice I'd fallen into. Small droplets of water were dripping from it, falling onto my face. Some of it in my mouth.
I was alive, but… how?
Looking back at the stone, I took a better look. At least, as beast as I could with the pain I was experiencing throughout my entire body. It was easy to guess what that stone was.
"A holy crystal…" I whispered with a hoarse throat. A holy crystal was basically mana that had been condensed and crystalised over the course of at least a full millennium. The saturation of the mana creates a liquid called holy water, or ambrosia, which flows out of the crystal. It can heal just any injury or toxin and bring someone back from the brink of death. Someone like me.
I grunt as I painfully sit up. Holy water can repair the injuries, but it won't cure fatigue, regrow a limb, or the lingering pain from losing said limb. As I finally managed to sit up, I noticed the back of my hair was wet. Turning, I saw the spot my head was laying in; there was a relatively small puddle of holy water. Based on the size, the holy water hadn't been dripping for too long, and it had been doing so undisturbed.
The only reason I'm alive right now is because I lucked into falling unconscious right below a fucking miracle elixir. What a bloody joke.
My remaining fist clenched as I recalled everything that happened. The bear, the rabbit, the fall, the Behemoth, and that bloody spell. Almost killed at the hands of one of my own students! I was beyond outraged. I should have died, eaten by a fucking bear, and I wouldn't have if it hadn't been for this crystal. Just the thought of it made me tremble with rage.
I survived, but for how long?
I was alone in the labyrinth, monsters everywhere, and I wasn't strong enough to fight them. It would've been easier if I'd just let the fucking thing eat me. I was stuck in a pit of darkness and despair, literally. What was I supposed to do? What could I do?
I could survive.
No way in hell was I going to let some disrespectful brat who dislikes foreigners be the end of me. I'd survive this, nobody would ever do this to me again. And nothing, NOTHING, will stand in my way.
Not a monster, and certainly not my hunger.
Crawling out of that crack was a pain in the ass. I was able to widen the crevice a little with Transmute. Transmuting things like stone and metal didn't come as naturally to me as transmuting plants or bone, but I was at least able to make it fall apart a little. Enough to widen the entrance to my hideout at least.
I wasn't looking forward to what I was about to do, but I didn't really have a choice.
With a methane bomb in hand, rather awkward using my left hand I might add, I carefully stepped out of the cave. I didn't want to venture far away from it this early in the game, so I had a different plan in mind. With my tongue, lips, and teeth in just the right position, I let out a loud, shrill whistle that echoed throughout the whole cave. Those next few seconds felt infinitely longer as I waited for a reaction, but sure enough, I got the reaction I was looking for.
A wolf, like the one the rabbit had bisected, leapt over a nearby rock, having pounced over it, headed right for me. Immediately, I jumped out of the way, and the wolf landed right in front of the entrance. I immediately tossed the methane bomb right over the wolf. It smashed on the wolf's head, and the beast let out a confused and perturbed yelp as it pawed at its snout. I didn't waste a single second.
I quickly drew my bayonet, also incredibly awkward in my left hand, and leapt onto the wolf's back. Before it could throw me off, I jammed the blade right into its neck. It let out a howl of pain, throwing its head back, and me along with it. I let out a grunt of pain as I landed, losing my grip on my bayonet. Grabbing two vials off of my bandolier, I opened the one, a healing potion, and downed it before throwing the other right as the wolf turned to face me.
That one had a compound of magnesium and phosphorus. Contact with the air ignited it, and there was a bright flash of white light in front of the wolf's face. Having covered my eyes when it exploded, I didn't waste any time in grabbing my bayonet off of the ground and leaped once again. With an involuntary yell, I buried the blade of my bayonet right into the beast's nape. There was a high pitched yelp that tugged at my heartstrings, making me think of the day my dog got hit by a car, but I squashed those feelings.
"Who's prey now you bastard?" I growled, kicking the wolf's carcass. Sheathing my bayonet, I grabbed the beast by its foot and dragged it into the crevice. I had to really yank at it to squeeze it through the crevice, but I wasn't willing to widen it any further.
Finally, I made it back to the cavern with the holy crystal. I took a swig of the water, being conservative with it as I didn't want to not have any to heal my injuries with, and got to work skinning the wolf. Like all the monsters I'd seen, its blood was yellow. With the skin removed, I cut off one of the hand legs and set it aside. I grabbed the last of my acid vials, most of them had been lost when I fell, with a slight application of transmute, reduced the acidity to just enough that it would cook the meat without eating away at it, much like how some sushi chefs cooked thin slices of raw fish with lemon juice.
"Now there's a smell." I grimaced. Knowing hesitation would mean death in a situation like mine, I sank my teeth right in. It was awful. I never imagined canine meat would taste good, but I didn't think it would be this bad. It was difficult, especially as someone who liked to eat like I did, but choked every bite down. Forced it, really. Within a few moments, I'd already eaten numerous mouthfuls.
I was about to eat more, but I stopped when I felt something in my stomach. And then my chest, and then my throat.
"Gah!" I croaked as I dropped the leg, pain coursing through my body. I immediately scrambled to the puddle of holy water, downing as much as I could in one meager choked breath.
Fuck, was monster meat poisonous? Is that why nobody ever sold or ate the meat from the monsters that were hunted in the wild? Dammit, I should have known! Now my organs were being liquefied by the damn stuff, and every muscle in my body felt like it was being torn apart!
I let out a loud scream right before I passed out.
For the third time in the span of about 24 hours, my eyes fluttered open as I awoke from unconsciousness. The pain of being poisoned by the monster meat was agonising, and I probably would have died if it wasn't for the holy water. The holy water that half of my face was submerged in when I awoke. It was strange. I wasn't in pain anymore. In fact, my body actually felt… lighter.
As I pushed myself up, a little easier this time, I saw my reflection in the puddle and gasped.
My light brown hair had turned pure white, and had grown to reach the bottom of my ears. My blue eyes were now a sinister amethyst colour, and my pupils had narrowed into vertical, but still somewhat wide slits. Almost like a cat's pupils when they dilate. My jawline was sharper too; I'd lost the baby fat on my face. Not just my face, but everywhere. I'd had a bit of a gut when I started teaching in Japan, though I slimmed down a bit in the weeks since we were summoned. I now had visible six-pack abs, and my pecs had grown to make my tunic a bit tight.
As I fully examined myself, I found that my muscle mass had increased everywhere. And I think I was taller too, based on how my sleeves, sleeve rather, didn't reach my wrist anymore, and my pants didn't reach my ankles. Even the cavern seemed smaller. And strangely, I think my teeth were sharper. Not like a shark's teeth or anything, but my canines were pointier, my incisors thinner, and my molars were more jagged.
The weirdest change was the markings all over my body. It was as if the most prominent veins in my body had all darkened to the point where they looked like tattoos on my skin. They kind of ruined the tattoos I already had.
"Status plate…" I whispered to myself, fishing the device out of my pocket.
Jack Meyer
Level 8
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Job: Alchemist
Strength: 100
Vitality: 350
Defence: 100
Agility: 250
Magic: 250
Magic Defence: 250
Skills:
Transmute(Appraisal)(Isolation)
Mana Manipulation
Carnivorous
Lightning Field
Language Comprehension
Holy crap! Not had my level gone up, my stats had been multiplied by factors from 2 to 5. That was a huge increase in strength. It actually made it worth nearly having my guts explode. And those new skills too.
Mana Manipulation? Pretty self explanatory, I suppose.
As I placed my hand on the wall of the cavern, activating my Transmute spell, the magic circle on the back of my hand appeared, only this time it was a luminous purple colour, as opposed to the green I'd come accustomed to. And I didn't even have to speak the skill out loud to make a small bit of the wall crumble.
Now what's this about a Lightning Field?
Thinking back, I remembered the wolf that attacked the rabbit before, it generated pink electricity that it threw at the rabbit. With a bit of focus, I was able to generate that same electricity, though mine was purple for some reason. I tried to throw it, but I wasn't able to. It just hung around my palm, but it did gravitate towards the holy water and the meat, meaning if I wanted to use it, I would have to connect it close range, almost like completing a circuit.
Well, at least I wouldn't have to worry about not having acid to cook the meat with, i could use the Lightning Field
And I did just that.
Having only had a few mouthfuls before, I broke off a couple of the ribs and started eating. I noticed that I didn't experience the same displeasure at the taste the second time around. Not to say it tasted any better, it didn't. It was just as awful as before, but my sharpened teeth made it easier to bite and chew, meaning it was more tender, and the taste didn't bother me as much. I suppose I could attribute that to my new Carnivorous skill.
As I ate, I contemplated what my next move would be.
I had food and water, and some new skills that could help me get more, but it wasn't enough. I'd need to get stronger if I was going to get out of the Labyrinth. That meant killing and eating more monsters. My new skills would be helpful, but my bayonet wasn't going to help me kill faster and bigger beasts like the rabbit or the bear. For that, I'd need something else. Something better
Twin-Tailed Wolf Rib
A long and flexible bone with a natural curve. Balanced in strength and flexibility, but will crack under heavy impact. Suitable for support components.
Hardness: 3
Toughness: 4
Huh?
Oh, right, the Appraisal skill. That was an expansion of my Transmute skill. If I'm guessing correctly, that meant I would be able to analyse any material that I could transmute, and it would give me an idea of what it was capable of and what I could do with it. That gave me ideas.
I needed a weapon, but in my current circumstances, that would be difficult. I had an entire wolf carcass to work with, but I'd need to really think if I was going to make it work.
You wouldn't think an Alchemist would be good for making weapons, but I squashed that premature judgement quite easily. I transmute organic materials best, so with some bones, wood, feathers, and sinew, I was able to produce thousands of arrows for the army in a matter of hours, and with even more wood and sinew, I was able to make bows as well. Meld was very impressed, and I was thanked personally by the King for my contribution to the military.
I knew I could use this wolf to make a weapon, but with only one hand, I'd need to be smart, and very creative.
My preferred weapon would have been a crossbow of some sort, one of my favorites, but I'd need to reload it after each shot, and with only one arm, that would be very difficult, and even if I was able to come up with an automatic reloading mechanism, it wouldn't be feasible with only bone and minimal other materials to work with. Throwing knives would take too much material, and there would be no guarantee I'd be able to get them back, making that idea a poor one as well. I could make a boomerang, but if it actually hit something, that also presents the risk of being unarmed. I entertained the possibility of a kunai on a chain, but that would make it easy for a monster like the giant bear to just pull me into its jaws.
In the end, the only ranged weapon I could feasibly make, and sustainably use, was a gun. A simplistic one. Anything overly complex would just waste what resources I had, so I had to be smart.
I went with a pepperbox design.
A pepperbox was essentially a revolver that rotated numerous barrels, rather than lining up a small chamber with a single barrel. To put it simply, each pull of the trigger would raise the hammer and rotate the barrels simultaneously, and when the trigger was pulled all the way, the hammer would slam down, igniting the gunpowder, and shooting the bullet. It was ideal because it had less moving parts than a revolver. It was the simplest multi-shot gun I could feasibly make. Mine had to be a little different, but that wasn't my biggest problem.
Twin-Tailed Wolf Femur
Dense and durable bone with high tensile strength. Resistant to moderate impacts, but prone to splintering under excessive stress. Suitable for blunt tools.
Hardness: 5
Toughness: 4
Twin-Tailed Wolf Jawbone
Dense and curved bone with sharp, sturdy teeth for gripping and crushing. Strong bite force resistance, but brittle under lateral stress. Ideal for cutting or scraping tools.
Hardness: 5
Toughness: 3
Whilst the descriptions varied, most of the bones had similar numbers.
The bones were nearly hard enough for what I needed, but too brittle. Even if I were to reshape them into what I needed, the gun would explode with the first shot. So, with that in mind, I grabbed both of the femurs and transmuted them together, compressing them slightly. Now, I can't just mix any old materials together, but since the femurs were made of the same material, fusing them into one chunk of bone was easy. Combining some bone, wood, and feathers to make an arrow was a whole different thing; I couldn't fuse those materials together to make a new one.
Looking at the new block of bone I held, I activated the Appraisal Skill again.
Twin-Tailed Wolf Femur Block
Hardness: 7
Toughness: 4
OK, better, not quite where I wanted it. I could probably make a usable gun from this, but it would only last so long. After some deliberation, I got an idea. Bones were basically a compound of calcium phosphate, and collagen. Collagen is what gives bones their endurance, so if I were to use my new Isolation skill, which if it is what I think it is, should allow me to adjust the ratio of collagen to calcium phosphate…
Twin-Tailed Wolf Femur Block
Hardness: 6
Toughness: 6
Hah! It worked! I was able to increase the toughness by using Isolation to remove some of the calcium phosphate, thus raising the percentage of collagen. Still, not quite where I wanted. Ideally it would be at least seven or eight each, so, with a bit of transmutation, keeping an eye on the ratio between the collagen and calcium phosphate, I was able to compress the bone block, which increased the hardness and toughness, but reduced the volume.
Twin-Tailed Wolf Femur Block
Hardness: 8
Toughness: 7
Good enough. Not perfect, but good enough. Now that I had an understanding of what I needed, I got to work making more chunks of bone with the same hardness and toughness, and then proceeded to construct the gun.
With no method of measuring the parts, I had to practically eyeball the measurements. Despite that, producing the parts was easy enough, and after some trial and error, I had what seemed like a workable pepperbox. Everything was made from bone, except for the bullets and the hammer. To save myself some material, I tried using other pieces where I could, like for making the rounds. I was able to transmute and crystalise the wolf's blood, creating small yellow crystals that I reshaped into bullets that fit the casings, which were made from a metal ore called Taur stone in the walls of my cave.
Transmuting those casings was a giant pain, but I didn't want to risk the casings not being able to withstand the heat and pressure required for the bullet to fire. Even with the compression and strengthening of the bone, the barrel might still be unable to withstand repeated use. The casings would be much thinner, so I wasn't confident they wouldn't shatter inside the gun. It took about half an hour just to create a full six bullets to load the barrels. I almost wish I was a Synergist. I could have just made a full on metal gun.
The gunpowder was easy enough to find. I spent most of my free time in the library before we braved the Labyrinth, reading up on any materials I might be able to use. Surprisingly, there was a stone called blast rock in this world, which was highly explosive, much like gunpowder. Even more surprisingly, the cave was littered with blast rock. That might sound dangerous, but not as much as one would think. It could be set on fire quite easily, but to properly explode it needed heat and high pressure, again, much like gunpowder. So, I grabbed some of the blast rock, went back to my little nest, was able to use Transmute to make it crumble into powder, and then filled the casings with the stuff.
It took about three days of trial and error, though that was a rough estimate given that I couldn't day and night down here, but I eventually made a working pepperbox, compensating for all the issues. For example, the hammer wouldn't be able to ignite the blast rock powder by itself, it needed more heat than just a spark, so I applied a small amount of the Lightning Field skill to the gun, which was minutely conductive(a blessing in this situation,) which would then ignite the powder as the hammer struck, releasing the round just fine.
Also, I converted some of the wolf's fat into oil to act as a lubricant. With my transmutations in place, the bone was almost as smooth as any metal, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I made sure to apply a generous amount wherever there were moving parts. Finally, I used some of the hide to make a leather grip.
With that, the pepperbox was ready.
"Hello there." I smirked, pepperbox in hand as I approached another of the rabbits. This one was slightly smaller than the one that attacked me before, but I didn't let that delude me into thinking this one was any less dangerous. Sure enough, the rabbit instantly pounced, using that speed technique to get in close, and then doing a wide backflip, intent on slashing at me with one of those feet-blades.
I immediately ducked out of the way, dodging the blade, and raised the pepperbox. With the purple lightning coursing through my hand, I pulled the trigger. The bullet burst out of the barrel with a bright purple light, and hit the rabbit right between the eyes.
"Pepperbox motherfucker." I slipped the pistol into the holster I'd made with the wolf's wide, a smirk on my face.
Thankfully, I didn't need to venture too far away from my hideout to find the rabbit, so dragging it back to skin and cook was a quick endeavour. Eager to know if I could get more skills from eating the rabbit, I chose to forgo a full skinning, and just cut one of the legs off before removing the skin and cooking it. Digging in, I noted that the rabbit wasn't any better than the wolf meat. Still went down easy thanks to the Carnivorous skill.
"Alright, let's see…" I mumbled as I tossed aside the now clean bone and pulled out my Status Plate.
Jack Meyer
Level 12
Age: 26
Sex: Male
Job: Alchemist
Strength: 200
Vitality: 400
Defence: 200
Agility: 350
Magic: 300
Magic Defence: 400
Skills:
Transmute(Appraisal)(Isolation)(Precision)(Detect)
Mana Manipulation
Carnivorous
Lightning Field
Air Walk(Quick Step)(Aerodynamics)
Language Comprehension
Nice!
So, whenever I eat a new monster, I get new skills. Some of them are the skills of the monster itself, like the wolf's Lightning Field, and others are expansions of my existing skills, like the Appraisal. Carnivorous must be circumstantial, considering I had to eat monster flesh to get any of these skills.
Based on what I could gather, the Precision skill just made my transmutations a lot easier, and the Detect skill allowed me to sense Transmutable materials within a certain range. I could sense the remaining bones and flesh of the wolf and rabbit near me, I could sense the holy crystal, and some moss and mold that had grown in the cavern over the years. Things like the Taur stone and Blast Rock were muted, but still detectable. I wondered if I would be able to sense monsters as they came near me, but I doubted it. I couldn't transmute living creatures.
As for the rabbit's skills, Quick Step was that strange teleportation skill I saw before, and the Aerodynamics was what allowed it to jump off of thin air. It was just an extra to the Air Walk skill, which would create a disk of air that I could actually stand on. Theoretically, I could just make more and more in succession to each other, and run through the air as if I were walking on invisible steps over people's heads. Amusing as the thought was, I had more to focus on right now.
That damned bear.
It was still out there, and though I hated to admit it, it was still haunting my nightmares. There was no way I would be able to move on past this Labyrinth if the fear of that thing coming at me was still lingering. I had to squash those fears, and quickly. And the most effective way to do that was to destroy the source of them. Since I was stronger, I knew I was capable of defeating it.
I would kill that beast, conquer the fear plaguing my heart, and get out of this Labyrinth.
"Hey Pooh Bear!" I yelled as I finally found what I was looking for. The monstrosity turned from its current meal, a mashed up pulp of a monster I couldn't recognise, faced me with a snarl. "Miss me?" I asked with the pepperbox in hand. Despite the fear coursing through my body, I couldn't help the bloodthirsty grin that took hold of my face. I imagine it looked quite scary with the demonic amethyst eyes and the sharpened teeth. Well, it would to a human, anyway. The beast abandoned its meal, yellow blood dripping down its maw as it snarled at me with those teeth. The teeth that devoured my arm.
"Straight to business? Fine." I responded to its growl. "You're going to die." I help up the pepperbox. With a roar, the beast lunged at me, expanding its claws and slashing. "Quick Step!" I shot just a few metres backwards in a split second, avoiding the attack. "Not so easy this time, eh?" I asked redundantly, jumping upwards out of the way of another attack. "Aerodynamics!" With a couple of disks and a large leap upwards, I jumped higher than the beast's head, aiming at it as I stopped on a stationary disk, firing two shots at its head. I missed. The damn thing just tilted its head out of the way. "Keep still you bastard!" I snarled, right before it threw one of those blade attacks at me, the blades flying and hitting my gun. "Gah!" I pulled back in pain as I lost my grip on my gun and fell to the ground.
"No you don't!" I grabbed one of the vials and tossed it at him. He recognised what I was doing from before and blocked its nose, slashing at it with his free arm. Now, if I'd been using a methane bomb like I did before, that would have helped, however…
"Raaaaaah!" The beast roared as the flashbang vial shattered. With the bright light blinding it, I quickly scrambled to retrieve the pepperbox and fired quickly. The beast's left arm blew right off, landing right in front of me as the light died down.
"Hah! You know what they say." I grinned wickedly as I put down the pepperbox and unsheathed my bayonet. "An eye for an eye, and arm for an arm." I sliced two deep, parallel gashes into the severed arm, cutting off a slice of meat that I immediately devoured. The bear saw this and snarled in indignation as I quickly swallowed some holy water from a waterskin. "We have a name for this where I'm from." I say as I grab the pepperbox again. "Turn about's fair play." I say as I aim.
Skills: Gale Claw
Perfect.
The bear roared loudly in a blind rage, dashing straight for me, but I just fired a single shot, one that hit him right in his jugular. He tripped over as the bullet hit him, tumbling about and stopping right in front of me, all strength leaving his body. As he lay there, his breath shallow and quick as he looked up at me with bestial rage, I just smirked. I could see him trying to raise his remaining arm, but he was losing blood rapidly. He was already dead, he just didn't know.
"Another saying." I said as I holstered the pepperbox. "What comes around goes around." I raise my arm, two fingers extended. "Gale Claw." I said simply as a small amount of purple energy collected at my fingertips. With a downward swipe of my arm, the bear was beheaded by a blade of purple energy; the very skill I acquired from eating its flesh. The very same skill it used to cut off my arm.
I couldn't stop the immensely satisfied grin that plastered my face.
It was at that moment that I knew I would survive. That I would grow stronger, much stronger, before I left this Labyrinth. And anyone, or anything, that chose to get in my way would die. I will not have anything of mine be taken away from me again. Not my freedom, and certainly not my life. Anyone who dares to challenge me would die.
So, I came across this anime completely at random, and I thought it would make an awesome SI. I tried to be a little creative and not just make my protagonist a Synergist like canon, but I'm a bit worried about how it's going to affect the story down the line. I mean, I'm sure I'll find a work around, but its tricky. He can only barely Transmute metal, how's he going to make artefacts with Creation Magic?
Would love to hear your thoughts!