Arifureta [Vol 1] Chapter 13 – The Sealed Room in the Abyss (1/2)
Hajime continued his conquest of the Dungeon.
After pa.s.sing through the quagmire level, he had now advanced to the fiftieth level. Hajime had already lost his sense of time, he had no idea how many days had pa.s.sed since he started on this journey. Despite that, he was progressing with an astonis.h.i.+ng pace. All this while, he had went through deathmatches against several magic beasts that could only be described as unreasonably strong.
For example, on a level that was completely covered by thin poisonous fog, he was attacked by a two meter long rainbow-colored frog with poisonous spit and then there was a moth (with outer appearance like that of Mothra ⌈1⌋) that released paralyzing scales. If it was not for the Sacred Water, he might have already died several times over, simply from exploring the Dungeon.
The iridescent frog’s poison directly affects the nervous system of its target, and it made Hajime experience a pain similar to when he first ate magic beasts’ meat. He would have died if not for the sacred water he had prepared in advance, behind his molars. The thing Hajime placed at his molars was a small container made from a very thin layer of stone, which makes it easily crushable with the teeth. It was really fortunate that he had this prepared in case of emergencies.
Naturally, he had ate both of them. He was a bit reluctant when it came to eating the moth, but in order to strengthen himself, he could only steel himself to eat it. Hajime felt it was somewhat frustrating that it was a bit more delicious than the frog.
Furthermore, despite being in an underground labyrinth, there was a level which appeared to be a dense forest. The immensely dense humidity made it the most uncomfortable place up till date. This level’s magic beasts include giant centipedes and trees.
He was traversing through the jungle when a giant centipede suddenly fell from the treetops. As expected, Hajime felt extremely nauseated at the sight of it, and started to develop goose b.u.mps all over his body. Moreover, this centipede was a type of magic beast that attacks by detaching its body into several parts, fighting one of them was like fighting thirty black c.o.c.kroaches in the kitchen. At first, Hajime tried to fight them off by continuously shooting with Donner, but the numbers were too overwhelming. It would take a lot of time to reload, so he decided to switch over to 【Air Claw】 and tear them apart directly. He even had to resort to kicking, which he was unused to, it was literally a desperate fight for his life. It was at this time that Hajime decided to hone his quick reloading skills and brush up on his kicking techniques. While bathed in the purple fluids from the torn centipede, Hajime heaved a disappointed sigh.
Incidentally, the tree magic beast were similar to Treants in RPG games. Its subterranean roots would suddenly attack from underground and also acted like whips to lash at enemies. However, the greatest trait of these treant-like creatures were not these kind of trivial attacks. When these magic beasts sensed danger, they would fling the red fruits that were hanging on their branches. There was absolutely zero offensive power, so Hajime tried eating the fruit. Following that, he just stood there, paralyzed, for more than ten minutes. It was not due to poison or anything. Rather, it was ridiculously delicious. The deliciously juicy red fruit was more like a watermelon than an apple.
It completely blew away the unpleasantness he felt from this level, or rather, he had temporarily forgotten his dungeon conquest. It was the only thing he had eaten other than monster meat over this long duration. Hajime’s eyes completely turned into those of a hunter, and vigorously hunt down those treant-like preys. By the time he was satisfied and continued his labyrinth capturing, the treant-like creatures were already on the brink of extinction.
Pus.h.i.+ng on through the dungeon with such feelings, before he knew it, he was already on the fiftieth level, and yet there was still no end in sight. By the way, Hajime’s current status was&h.e.l.lip;
Nagumo Hajime 17 Year old Male Cla.s.s: Synergist Level: 49 Strength: 880 Vitality: 970 Resistance: 860 Agility: 1040 Magic Power: 760 Magic Resistance: 760 Skills: Trans.m.u.tation [+Mineral Appraisal] [+Precise Trans.m.u.tation] [+Mineral Investigation] [+Mineral Separation] [+Mineral Fusion] [+Replicate Trans.m.u.tation] • Magic Manipulation • Iron Stomach • Lightning Clad • Divine Step [+Aerodynamic] [+Ground Shrink] [+Grand Kick] • Air Claw • Night Vision • Farsight • Presence Perception • Magic Perception • Hide Presence • Poison Resistance • Paralysis Resistance • Petrification Resistance • Language Comprehension
Hajime was currently at the base he created on the 50th level, actively refining his trans.m.u.tation, as well as gun and kicking techniques. In reality, Hajime had already discovered the stairs to the lower level, but the reason he chose to stop here was because this place was clearly unusual.
It was an indescribably eerie s.p.a.ce. At the end of the path of this empty s.p.a.ce, there was a three meter tall double doors with impressively adorned decorations. On the flanks of the doors were two one-eyed giant sculptures, with half of their bodies embedded within the walls, as if they enshrined there.
Hajime felt chills running down his spine the moment he set foot in there, the danger making him retreat temporarily. Naturally, Hajime had no intentions of avoiding it after putting his preparations in order. There was finally a “change”, it was out of the question to not investigate.
Hajime was filled with both expectations and dread. He was positive that the moment he opens these doors, there would be some sort of calamity or disaster awaiting him. Yet, however, at the same time, it also gave off the feeling that he could finally see a fresh breeze blowing.
“It’s just like a Pandora’s box&h.e.l.lip; I wonder, what kind of hope will it hold?”
Checking the fighting techniques, weapons, as well as the skills he currently possessed one by one, he confirmed that he was in perfect condition. Completing his preparations, Hajime drew Donner. Then, he lightly pressed it against his forehead and closed his eyes. He had already made up his resolution a long time ago. However, there was no harm in repeating it again. Hajime dived into his innermost depths, and voiced his oath.
“I will survive and return home. j.a.pan, home&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; I will go back. Any obstacles shall become my enemies. And enemies, I&h.e.l.lip;&h.e.l.lip; kill!”
Hajime opened his eyes with the usual fearless smile on his face.
Hajime vigilantly advanced and arrived in front of the door without any incident. On a closer look, he noticed the decorations were even more extravagant than he originally thought. At the center, he realized that there were two magic formations that were drawn in the recesses.
“&h.e.l.lip;? I don’t understand. I’ve studied quite a lot, but&h.e.l.lip; I have never seen these formulas before.”
When he was being called incompetent, Hajime focused on expanding his knowledge to make up for his low abilities. Naturally, he couldn’t have learned all there is to know, but even so, it was strange that he was completely unable to recognize any of the formulas that make up this magic formation.
“Could it be&h.e.l.lip; from an old system?”
While he was guessing, Hajime inspected the door, but he still couldn’t understand anything. Not meaning anything in particular, Hajime was on high alert as he checked for traps, but it does not seem like Hajime would be able to decipher these with his current level of knowledge.
“It can’t be helped. Let’s just pa.s.s through with trans.m.u.tation as usual.”
No matter how much he pushed or pulled the door, it still didn’t budge. Thus, he attempted to force his way through with trans.m.u.tation.
Hajime then placed his right palm on the door and began to trans.m.u.te. However, just as he was about to start trans.m.u.ting. Crack! Crack!
“Uwa?!”
A red electrical discharge ran through the door and repelled Hajime’s hand. His hand was releasing smoke. Cursing, Hajime drank the Sacred Water to recover. Immediately after, an unusual event occurred.
Oooooooooh!!
Suddenly, a deep roar resonated in the entire room. Hajime took some distance from the door by backstepping. He dropped his hand to his waist, touching the horizontal holster, ready to draw and shoot at any time immediately.
While the cries continued to echo throughout the room, the true ident.i.ty of the voice started to move.
“Well, this is a cliche among cliches.”