Arifureta Shokugyou De Sekai Saikyou: Irregularity

Shea [So all THAT happened while I was unconscious...]

Apparently, after I was knocked out by a magic attack, a hooded person that gave a "Mastermind" like feeling (But denied being one) appeared in front of everyone and after this and that happened he ran away carrying the corpse of Hajime-san's classmate...

Shea [So anticlimactic-desu...]

Hajime [Then the earth dome he made was filled with mana, after breaking it the mana covered the whole area so I couldn't follow him with <Detect Magic>]

Tio [We were outsmarted my Lord, it was not a deadly trap nor an inescapable prison but a simple trick to fool us all]

Tio-san's nȧkėd leg comes through the window of Hajime-san's vehicle <Brice> as she says some deep self reflecting words and Hajime-san-...

Hajime [...Tch]

*Bang* *bang*

Tio [Kya-! Wait-! My lord-!]

Hajime [Who said you could get in?]

He just shot at her mercilessly...

Yue [...Was it all right?...]

Hajime [Hm?]

Completely ignoring Tio-san that now breathes heavily with an unsightly expression for a decent person's standard after being shot, Yue-san that is sitting between Hajime-san and me ask him, though he doesn't understand at first so she continued.

Hajime [...]

Fumu... If Hajime-san wanted to catch that hooded person then even blocking <Detect Magic> wouldn't be a problem-desu... He can just use birdie-san or some other artifact or skill... Tio-san can turn into a dragon and look for him from the sky too... Even so, he didn't... That's suspicious-desu...

Hajime [No reason to go that far, he only took a corpse with him, if he wants to run away like a coward that much is his damn problem, not mine...]

Yue [I see, if Hajime doesn't care, I don't care either...]

A very Yue-san like answer-desu.

Hajime [And it could have been a trap, I don't care but... We had "weights" on our side...] .

Tio [Hohoou~?, I suppose for my Lord, we weren't in a position to take unnecessary risks...]

Said Tio-san that now was casually sitting on the back seat with Will-kun.

By the way, the other men that were with him are in a wagon being pulled by us. Apparently, there was another one before but he got killed by Tio-san when she was being controlled by "Something-zu-kun"... Will-kun said his name was... Are?... What was his name again?... I think it was similar to Yue-san's... "Yu-something"... Well, too bad for him-desu.

Shea [By "weights" you mean...]

Does he mean Aiko-san and his other classmates? Saying "weights"... He probably was just worried about them right. Hajime-san is really a tsundere-desu~.

Shea [Fufufu~ Hajime-san dere-dere mode-desu~]

Hajime [...Tch]

*Bang*

Shea [Pugya-!]

#####

Hajime [This shameless rabbit is too ċȯċky...]

The shameless rabbit was now unconscious with a red mark in her forehead and peace has returned to the kingdom of <Brice>, you are welcome...

Will [...Ano~... Hajime-san...]

Will [It's just, I was wondering, did that person knew that Hajime-san could use the skill <Detect Magic>? Maybe, that person knew about Hajime-san from before?]

Hajime [...]

Yue [...]

Tio [...]

Maybe, I should have catch him just in case.

#####

Yuuki [How is it? Awesome, right?]

Yukitoshi [So the horse transforms into a bike...You really made something like this with magic?]

Yuuki rode on Kirin's "bike form" with Shimizu Yukitoshi sitting at his back.

Yukitoshi [Can you make guns like the chuni bastard?]

He asked with more than obvious intentions in mind.

Yuuki [Well... That's a little impossible for me, I tried but it was no good]

Yukitoshi [So useless...]

Yuuki [Yep, sorry about that...]

He answered with a carefree smile.

Right now, they're heading to the <Reisen Great Labyrinth>, their goal is the <Gravity Magic> that is the reward for clearing it.

'After clearing the <Orcus Great Labyrinth> Hajime obtained <Creation Magic>, that's one of the secrets of his strength'

Those words were more than enough to convince him.

Shimizu Yukitoshi's goal is to kill Hajime, there is no secret in that and Yuuki knows that well, but even if he doesn't want Yukitoshi to confront Hajime he won't stop him.

What Shimizu Yukitoshi needs right now is a goal to aim, Yuuki himself told him at that time that 'It doesn't matter the reason', 'Whichever is fine', the important part right now is the journey, the destination will come later.

Yuuki [(Though, what will happen at that time doesn't depend solely on me...)]

Shimizu Yukitoshi is not an object nor a slave... At the end it will depend on his decision.

#####

Yuuki [If I remember right, <Reisen Great Labyrinth> is over... There!]

Yukitoshi [...You don't sound too sure about that...]

Yuuki [Of course I'm sure, what kind of inhuman monster would I be if I forget where Miledi-san's place is]

Yukitoshi [...Who?... Screw that, I'll just look at the map]

Shimizu-kun takes out a map and spread it open in front of him.

Yuuki [Were did you get a map?]

Yukitoshi [From knight captain David's kindness... Not that he knows...]

He said with a small grin on his face.

I see, so he stole it...

Yuuki [Wait, when did you take that?]

Yukitoshi [When you were all sneaky spying on those idiots, just before we left the city]

Before leaving Ul, just in case I made sure we didn't end up meeting with Aiko-sensei and the others so I avoided them as much as possible, he probably did it at that time.

Yukitoshi [So? Where is it supposed to be?]

Yuuki [It's not marked]

Yukitoshi [Well of course it's fuċkɨnġ not...]

He threw the map away with an annoyed expression. We may still need it and it's not ours so I picked it up.

Yuuki [Don't worry, I really remember where we should go]

Yukitoshi [How long will it take us to get there?]

Yuuki [Hum... If we hurry without Making any stops in the way, we'll be there just before night falls...]

Yukitoshi [And if we don't go the wrong way, right?...]

Well, he is right...

*Poke*

Yuuki [Hm?... What's wrong Izana-chan?]

Izana-chan poked my check and then floated in front of me swinging her short triangular arms around with her ever unchanging expressionless face(?), then she pointed at the map, more precisely, pointed at the city of Ul in the map, after that she pointed far in the distance.

Yuuki [...You mean that Ul is over there?...]

After that she pointed at another place in the map and then pointed at the distance again. There was nothing marked in the map so I didn't understand at first but then I somehow got it.

Yuuki [...Are you trying to say that Miledi-san's place is over there?]

Izana-chan raised one arm as if accenting.

Right... At that time I haven't made Teiko and the others yet but Izana-chan, Amaterasu-chan, Tsuki-chan and Su-chan were already with me when I cleared Miledi-san's place for the first time, I guess it's not weird for her to remember...

Yukitoshi [Oi, retard...]

Yuuki [Hm?]

Shimizu-kun was looking this way with a serious and surprised expression, it was almost af if he was scared, but not yet there.

Yukitoshi [What... The hell is that thing...?]

Yuuki ["What?"... You mean Izana-chan?]

Yukitoshi [I don't care about it's name]

Yuuki [Well, if you ask what then, she is a spirit, you know, like a fairy...]

Yukitoshi [Where did you get something like that?]

Yuuki [More than finding them somewhere, I made them with magic...]

Yukitoshi [You made them-?... "Them"?]

I raised my left arm arm along with the side of my cloak that covered it to the height of my shoulder.

A golden colored Amaterasu-chan came out.

A grey colored Tsuki-chan came out.

But actually, before those two, another one came out, so fast that just a small glint could be perceived.

Just like Izana-chan and the others, a spherical body of light but this time of a vivid red color, wide open circular eyes and when his small mouth open, two upper fangs and two slightly smaller lower fangs indivisible from the rest of his body (he is a sprit with an spiritual body after all).

He just moved around the place as if unable to stay still for long periods of time.

He was actually playing around Ul most of the time I spend there, but he is a good child so I just let him be.

The red colored playful spirit <Susanoo(須佐之男)> looked around as if looking for something and nothing at the same time, until his eyes landed on Shimizu-kun.

Yukitoshi [...?]

Su-chan approached as Shimizu-kun looked back at him confused, he moved his hand trying to touch him with his finger probably by reflex.

...Ah... No good...

Yukitoshi [The hell is wrong with this shi-]

*Chomp*

Yukitoshi [-GYYAAAaaaaa!!]

As expected...

Yukitoshi [This piece of shit bite me!!]

Yuuki [Maybe he likes you]

Yukitoshi [THIS-PIECE-OF-SHIT-BITE-ME!!]

Yuuki [Maybe he likes you]

That repeated a few times more until we decided to get going to Miledi-san's place so we got on Kirin and moved on.

Yuuki [By the way, I was right about where to go]

Yukitoshi [Shut up and make this horse-bike go faster]

#####

Yuuki [It should be over... Here]

The entrance to Miledi-san's labyrinth.

Yukitoshi [Easier to find than I expected but... Guess not many come here often to actually notice...]

Shimizu-kun looked outside of the cave at the desolate area that extends far into the distance. The entrance to the labyrinth is not that hard to find, hidden not too deep in a cave, but the fact that no one is her to search for it makes it the perfect hiding spot.

Yukitoshi [So? Are we going now?]

Yuuki [Not yet, we'll go tomorrow morning]

We are short of time, I'm following the events as they're in my memories so how I spend time is always a priority... But I can't be reckless, because now I have "something like a companion" with me that I have to take in count.

To bring Shimizu Yukitoshi along was my decision, I can't be irresponsible about it.

Yuuki [Tonight I'll tell you about this labyrinth]

#####

The sun was setting so first I made a fire and set a small camp. We sit around the fire and continued with the conversation about the labyrinth as we eat a sandwich that I made with ham, vegetables and cheese and fruit juice to drink. I bought everything before leaving Ul.

Yukitoshi [So, full of weird traps and magic becomes useless, is it that?]

As expected he makes a annoyed face.

He is a mage after all, magic being useless is the worst match for him.

Yuuki [Not exactly useless, is just that mana based phenomena lose effectiveness after leaving the caster's body and entering in contact with the labyrinth's mana dispersion structure]

Yukitoshi [Sounds useless to me]

Yuuki [Pretty much, most magic is mostly useless]

For a dark mage, this is probably the hardest labyrinth that he can find, not only the mana dispersion but also the fact that the labyrinth is mostly inhabited so he can't even TRY to use his magic on anything...

Actually, most of the enemies (golem) are directly controlled objects without a consciousness so dark magic probably won't work on them... The only proper enemy in this labyrinth is Miledi-san but even if it's possible to use dark magic on her soul directly Shimizu-kun is not strong enough to do it... And I don't want to use dark magic on Miledi-san...

Yuuki [...]

Yukitoshi [...? What?]

Yuuki [...Nothing, it's just...]

When I thought about Miledi-san I somehow ended up thinking about Aiko-sensei... Maybe because both are small and cute?

Yuuki [...Nee Shimizu-kun...]

Yukitoshi [Now what?]

Yuuki [Was it alright to not tell Aiko-sensei that you are alive?]

I remembered the figure of Aiko-sensei praying to a grave with no one on it that we saw before leaving Ul.

She probably made that empty grave to at least have something to pay her respects as I took Shimizu-kun's "dead body" with me...

He is not dead though...

Yukitoshi [So she could tell the chuni bastard about us... Yeah, sounds great...]

Yuuki [...She wouldn't do that, you should at least know that much... I mean, in words you would use she is "foolishly kind" after all...]

Yukitoshi [That's a good way to put it]

Yuuki [At least so she doesn't feel guilty about it-]

Yukitoshi [If you want to tell her I won't stop you... I'll just wait here until you're done with that...]

He made pretty clear that he doesn't think about that as his business...

Yuuki [...Haah... Got it, I'll leave it at that...]

For now at least...

Yukitoshi [So? How is a mage with his magic being useless going to clear this labyrinth?]

Back to the labyrinth exploration.

Yuuki [...Nee Shimizu-kun, your speciality is dark magic but you are fairly good with any other type of magic, am I right?]

He looked at me for a moment without saying anything and after finishing the rest of the sandwich in one go he answered.

Yukitoshi [...Yeah, recovery is not exactly my strong point but I can use pretty much everything... What about that?]

Yuuki [Then what about strengthening?]

Yukitoshi [...Isn't that more of a warrior thing?]

Yuuki [But it uses mana, and to use mana is a mage's thing]

That argument could almost be called sophistry but if there was the possibility it's more than worth it to try.

Yukitoshi [...Yeah, I guess that sounds right to me...]

He said with a grin after thinking about it, looks like we are on the same page...

Yuuki [Then I'll have you learn right now]

Yukitoshi ["I'll have you learn", just like that?]

Yuuki [Of course you won't master it in a few hours, I'll just teach you a method to properly cast it]

In the <Reisen Great Labyrinth> strengthening is a must, not only does it not get affected by the mana dispersion but also is very effective to deal with the different traps all over the labyrinth.

Yuuki [Now Shimizu-kun, do you know the three steps to cast magic]

"Gather", "convert" and "release", by following this three steps is how the mana inside the body turns in to magic.

When it comes to normal humans in this world, the "gather" step requires the aid of a magic circle previously set but for Hajime, Kouki and the others this was unnecessary and Shimizu-kun is no exception.

"Convert" involves incantation and mental image but for most of them even mid and high rank magic can be casted with short incantations... For the Hajime right now even that is completely unnecessary though...

"Release" is more or less the most simple as it is as the name says, to release the mana now converted in a magic spell, be it a fire ball, a barrier, recovery or anything else.

Yukitoshi [Of course I know]

No need to explain all that I guess...

Yuuki [All right, first use magic normally once, no need to be some great magic, something in the middle of consuming a lot and a little of mana is better]

Yukitoshi [Something in the middle... Then I guess something like this...]

He began to chant and after no more than three verses-

Yukitoshi [<Confusion Mist>]

From his hand appeared black colored mist that slowly covered the surroundings, as dark as smoke when caused by a fire but as cold as the dew in a spring morning.

Yuuki [...This is...]

Yukitoshi [A debuff... It can hit multiple targets and affect their senses for a short while... The damage is zero though, so it's no big deal...]

No... I mean, "no big deal"?...

Yuuki [I can't see at all...]

That's not it, more than "not seeing at all" I feel like I can't see but also feels like I may be able to see.

Yuuki [...Even <Detect Magic>...]

If I have Tsuki-chan's help it may work but... With my own skill alone it won't help at all... Maybe another sensing skill could work better but I don't have it so I can't confirm.

Yuuki [...By "affect their senses" you mean this?...]

Yukitoshi [Not only sight but also hearing, distance, balance, If they find their way to an ally they end up fighting each other...]

Scary!!!

That's not "no big deal" at all!!

As expected of a spell with "confusion" in the name...

Yukitoshi [I told you is no big deal]

Yuuki [Hiii-!?]

He suddenly was right behind me, looks like the mist doesn't affect him but that much is to be expected, and again that's not "no big deal".

Yukitoshi [This much won't be enough to kill something like the chuni bastard, I didn't even had time to use it against him at that time... Even if I could, something like <Paralysis Ray> or <Poison Bolt> won't take out his whole harem in one go]

When he say it like that I guess the words "not enough" come out naturally... But it's THAT Hajime we are talking about, pretty much nothing is enough...

Yukitoshi [So? What's next?]

Yuuki [Oh, right... Just dispell it and get ready to cast again]

Actually, I just needed him to use magic once but I really wanted to see his magic...

Yuuki [Before we begin, I'll just tell you it will hurt, it may hurt a lot actually...]

Yukitoshi [...Let's just get this over with...]

The mana in Shimizu-kun's body gathered in his hand, and midway after reaching the "convert" step-

Yuuki [All right stop]

I stopped him and held his hand in which the mana was gathered.

Yukitoshi [Too close]

Yuuki [Sorry, just deal with it for a bit]

He had an annoyed expression in his face, I'm sorry but just a little more...

Yuuki [Shimizu-kun, do you know what happens with a spell when you hindered the process before it's finished?]

Yukitoshi [I wonder]

Yuuki [Depending on how close to completion is, it becomes a "incomplete" spell, like a dim fire ball that disappear with the blowing wind or a barrier as fragile glass that breaks with a touch and so on...]

Yukitoshi [Is that so]

Yuuki [On the other hand, it could overload with mana and even explode in the caster's face]

Yukitoshi [So you are saying I need my magic to explode in my face?]

Yuuki [...No, actually it may be a little harder than that...]

The mana prepared for the spell is still In Shimizu-kun's hand as if waiting for the spell to be completed, but I "broke" the process with <Mana Manipulation>.

Yukitoshi [?... Just now, what did you-?]

After that the mana should be expelled from his body and get dispersed in the wind... But-

Yuuki [Shimizu-kun... Grind your teeth]

Yukitoshi [Wha-? GguUu-!!]

I forced his mana back inside his body...

The harmony between mana and the body that stores it is delicate, not to the point of being a constant danger but is something that can break quite easily.

It's similar to how Hajime became a "monster" after consuming monster meat that contains very high quantities of mana, but it's not necessary to go that far, something similar can be done even with the mana of the same person by using <Mana Manipulation> and a little of <Spirit Magic>.

Though it won't go as far as to turn someone into a "monster".

Even so There will be a "change" in the body.

Yukitoshi [Gghhu!! Just...!!! W-what is thi-!!!]

Though it won't go as far as to break the body apart until you stop being human.

Even so it will hurt.

Yuuki [Just hold on a little more...]

I was still holding Shimizu-kun's hand but now he was on his knees, the pain was bearable as he could hold back his voice and was still conscious, but it's not a pain I'm feeling so I have no right to decide if it's "bearable" or not.

Yukitoshi [HAAaa~... Fuuu~... Haaa~...]

After more or less five minutes he calmed down, though he still didn't get up and his breathing was heavy.

Yuuki [Here, drink this...]

I gave him a vial of <Ochimizu> he looked up at me still stunned by the the light but clear alteration of his body.

Yuuki [It's good for treating pain and tiredness]

He took the metallic vial and drank it in one go.

Yukitoshi [Fuuu~... It taste like "Monster"]

Like what?

Yuuki [How do you feel?]

Yukitoshi [Like shit]

Then it's working.

Yukitoshi [So I can use strengthening now?]

Yuuki [...Not yet]

Yukitoshi [...Ha?]

Yuuki [The theory behind <Body Strengthening> Is to convert mana into part of your own body and alter your physical stats temporarily, unlike normal magic it won't just go somewhere else, it will stay with you until it disappears... If you want to learn how to use it you'll have to literally understand it with your body...]

Yukitoshi [You... You want me to do that again-!?]

Yuuki ['This much won't be enough'...]

Yukitoshi [!?]

Yuuki [That's what you said yourself, right? As you are right now is not enough... As you are right now, you will die...]

Shimizu-kun's goal is to kill Hajime, even if I'm against it I'll use it as motivation if I have to.

Because I really don't want him to die for nothing...

Yukitoshi [...]

He grind his teeth as he looked at me with clear anger, he probably doesn't like the fact that I'm using his own words to convince him but I can take this much anger from a person.

Yukitoshi [...Tch-]

After clicking his tongue he got up and began the incantation again, now he stopped midway without me having to say anything.

Yukitoshi [...You will pay for this...]

He said with a face clearly showing anger and resentment as he waited for me to do my part.

Yuuki [...Pfft-!]

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle as I saw that...

Yukitoshi [Don't fuċkɨnġ laugh you- GYAAAA-!!!!]

This time a really good scream came out...

#####

At the end, It took seven times and ten vials of <Ochimizu> until Shimizu-kun became able to use <Body Strengthening>, it wasn't even one hour but for him it probably felt like a whole day...

After that he fell asleep (Unconscious) so I did the same and now with the first rays of sunshine-

Yuuki [So, how do you feel?]

Yukitoshi [It piss me off how refreshed I feel after all that...]

He opened and closed his hand as if confirming the feeling of it and then walked to a rock as big as a small house.

Yukitoshi [...<Body Strengthening>...]

The flow of mana in his body was good, it wasn't perfect but for someone who was forced to learn in less than an hour is a good start.

What I did to his body doesn't give him the <Mana Manipulation> skill so the fact that he became able to cast with only the name is also an unexpected bonus.

He readied his right hand and then punched the big rock.

The sound it made was heavy, I could almost feel the fist hitting the rock...

*Crack*

Even with that, only the place he hit got crushed and the rock didn't explode or turned into dust or something Hajime-like like that, but after a few seconds the sound of cracking repeated until the rock fell apart into a mountain of small rocks.

Yukitoshi [...Tch]

Yuuki [Hm? What's wrong?]

Yukitoshi [I wanted to blast it into pieces]

He doesn't look satisfied with this much... But you know Shimizu-kun, if I were to do the same thing, my hand would break first...

Yuuki [It will level up as you use it so nothing to worry about]

Yukitoshi [...I guess you are right...]

If I had to choose something to be worried about then it definitely would be...

Yuuki [How about "That"? Do you feel anything weird or different from before?]

I point my finger at the pitch black sword hanging from his holster.

Yukitoshi [Hm? This? Well... I guess it's a little heavy but that's solved now that I can use strengthening]

He unsheathed the sword revealing the pitch black blade.

I still feel impressed and worried about him just using it like that but I guess I'm thinking too much...

Yukitoshi [I guess I'll get to try it after entering the labyrinth but... This is an <Artifact> right? What exactly doest it do?]

Yuuki [Hmmm... It's hard to explain, just try cutting normally if we find an enemy and you'll see for yourself...]

And I'll see too... Because I don't really know...

It's not that weird though... I mean, I don't know half of what Teiko and Kirin can do and I use them a lot...

Yuuki [...Well, I guess it's time...]

Finally we are going to enter the <Reisen Great Labyrinth>

...

For real okay? We are really going...

#####

I pushed the door to the <Reisen Great Labyrinth> and entered together with Shimizu-kun.

Yuuki [Don't get careless for even a second, the moment we enter we may fall for some trap without-]

*Clank*

Hm? "Clank"?

The floor mercilessly opened under my feet.

It's a pitfall.

So nostalgic... But it's not time for that now.

As fast as I could, I unsheathed Teiko and pierced the wall to stop myself from falling.

Normally I would use <Manami> to grab the edge but it's not that effective in this labyrinth, there is the risk of failing to supply the correct quantity of mana and it suddenly breaking so I used Teiko instead to be safe...

Yukitoshi [You alive?]

Shimizu-kun looked down at me peeking from the edge of the pitfall, he was walking behind me so the trap didn't got him.

Yuuki [Y-yeah, somehow...]

Hanging in mid air holding on to Teiko I looked around in case of there being another trap from Miledi-san but it doesn't look like it.

Yukitoshi [Hm? What's that?]

Shimizu-kun pointed at the wall at my left where just at the right position for me to look when I turn my head-

Yuuki [..."~Be prepared for the dokidoki full throttle new game plus~♥️"... That's what it says]

Yukitoshi [..."New game plus"?]

...Maybe because it's my second run? Does that mean it'll be harder now?

But it's Shimizu-kun's first-

*Click*

Right in front of my face, a small square like a small window opened and-

*Pew*

Yuuki [Hii-!!]

An arrow passed by my right check, had I not moved my head it would have pierced right between my eyes...

*Click*

Yukitoshi [...Retard, get out of there quickly...]

Shimizu-kun jumped pass the pitfall while I made a footing with <Transmutation> (It was hard) and climbed back up.

*Click* *click* *click* *click* *click* *click*

Yuuki [...]

Yukitoshi [...]

This may be bad...

Yuuki [Alright let's calm down-]

*Pew* *pew* *pew* *pew* *pew* *pew* *pew*

Yuuki [(<Strengthening>, <Acceleration>)]

Yukitoshi [<Body Strengthening>]

More arrows came at us from different directions, I parried the ones aimed at me with Teiko and Shimizu-kun dodged and caught them with his hand.

Yuuki [Eh? You caught one with your hand!? That's awesome!!]

Yukitoshi [Of course it is]

*Clank*

Again a heavy sound like the one of the pitfall.

Yukitoshi [-!! The walls!]

We jumped forward just before the walls closed behind us... That was close-

*Clank*

A heavy sound on top of us and before we could react, a white and slimy substance fell from the ceiling... This time, we couldn't dodge...

Yuuki [...]

Yukitoshi [...]

An awkward silence together with the uncomfortable slimy sensation...

Then a new message appeared in the wall

Yuuki [...It says "LOL"...]

Yukitoshi [...I can see that....]