“Ngh!? Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Huh!? Uwaaaaaah!”
Hajime and Yue screamed. Shea and the others looked over to see the two of them on their knees, cradling their heads.
“Hajime-san!? Yue-san!?”
“What happened!? Are you okay!?”
Shea and Shizuku ran over, worried.
“Calm down! Kaori! This is no time to be standing around!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah I’ll heal them!”
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, it took Tio’s shout to bring Kaori back to her senses. She quickly dashed over and started examining Hajime and Yue.
“Ngh.”
“Mmm...”
But before she could do anything, the pain abated and Hajime and Yue slumped, covered in cold sweat. Shea grabbed Hajime and Shizuku grabbed Yue before either of them could hit the ground. From the looks of it, they’d lost consciousness. No one had expected two of the most overpowered members of their party to faint like this, and the others were completely stumped.
“I suppose we should lay them down somewhere for now...”
Calm as always, Tio suggested the most rational next step. Still flustered, Shea and Shizuku nevertheless nodded to each other and started looking for a room to put the two in.
Some time later, Hajime felt something soft on his lips and his consciousness returned to him.
“What’re you doing, Yue?”
“Mmmm? Giving you a wake-up kiss.”
What a wonderful way to be woken up... Hajime kissed Yue back, then looked around him. He was lying in a bed, the walls around him made of familiar ice. It seemed he was still inside Vandre’s palace. Hajime turned back to Yue and looked into her eyes.
“I guess the others carried us here after we collapsed. Yue, do you know where everyone else is?”
“Mmm... Sorry. I just woke up myself so I don’t.”
Hajime had thought she’d woken up a while ago and went to take a look around before she returned to wake him up, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Yue rubbed her cheek against Hajime’s face, her bare feet flapping up and down.
“How long ago did you wake up, exactly?”
“Mmm... Ten minutes or so?”
“And you’ve been like this the whole time?”
“Mmm... I mean, you were right there when I woke up, Hajime.”
That was the same logic as people who said they climbed mountains simply because they were there. Yue brought her lips toward Hajime, planning to kiss him again. In the corner of Hajime’s vision, he saw another bed. Judging by how its sheets looked like they’d been in use, he guessed Yue had been laid down there. And when she’d woken up, she’d decided sleeping with him was more important than finding out where Shea and the others had gone.
During this trial, she’d been shaken up so badly that Shea had needed to knock some sense into her. Then, when she’d finally been reunited with Hajime, she’d been prevented from getting more physical with him by Shizuku. But now the trial was over, and she’d woken up to find Hajime sleeping soundly next to her. Of course she hadn’t been able to resist.
Man, I have a really cute girlfriend... Entranced by Yue’s charms, Hajime quickly grew more aggressive. Giggling, Yue licked her lips and leaned closer to Hajime.
“Yue. I think it’ll take a bit longer for us to wake up.”
“Mmm... We can tell Shea we’re awake when we finally do wake up.”
Unfortunately for Hajime and Yue—
“Hm? Are you two already awake? Wait, what are you doing!?”
Someone was there to tell them they were already awake. Shea threw the door open and stalked into the room. Her superhuman hearing had picked up on Yue’s voice, and the sound of clothes rustling. The moment she saw what Hajime and Yue were up to, her ears shot straight up. Behind her, Kaori and Shizuku filed into the room.
“Shea? What’s wrong... Hajime-kun? Yue? What do you two think you’re doing?”
“Ah...”
Kaori’s devil-masked stand appeared behind her. Meanwhile, Shizuku turned beet-red and covered her face with her hands. Though, of course, she left a small enough gap between her fingers that she could peek through.
Hajime and Yue exchanged glances, annoyed that they’d been stopped just as they were getting in the mood. In perfect sync, they said, “Come back in two hours.”
Of course, no one was going to listen.
“Are you stupid!?”
“We’re not going anywhere!”
“E-Exercise some self-control, you two.”
Hajime and Yue were yelled at from all sides. Well, Shizuku’s scolding was more of a meek statement than a yell. She was too embarrassed to be properly angry.
Shea flipped the bed they were resting on, forcing them to roll off while Kaori bound them separately using her Binding Chains of Light. Shea then rolled the two of them into the living room, ignoring their protests.
“Hey, what the heck happened?”
“Ah, I think I can guess.”
There was a large wooden table in the living room, surrounded by leather sofas. Ryutarou and Suzu reclined on one of the sofas, sipping cups of tea. Shea hurled Hajime and Yue onto the sofa opposite the two of them.
After seeing their disheveled clothes, Ryutarou was able to figure out what had happened as well. A second later, something flew at his forehead, knocking him backward.
“Bwah!?”
He tumbled over the back of the sofa and fell to the ground.
“Hmph. That’s what you get for ogling Yue.”
“Why are you blaming me!?” Ryutarou complained, nursing his forehead. Even bound by Kaori’s chains, Hajime had enough freedom of movement to flick a rubber bullet at Ryutarou’s head with pinpoint precision. Ryutarou was in the right this time though, as this was no fault of his.
“Mmm... Are you jealous, Hajime? How cute.”
Yue blushed, causing Shea to snap at her.
“Sheesh! You two aren’t reflecting on your actions at all, are you!? Do you have any idea how worried we were!?”
Despite the anger in her voice, Shea’s eyes welled up with tears. She staggered over to Hajime and Yue, who’d already undone their bonds, and sat down between them. Her bunny ears drooped sadly in front of her. Hajime and Yue finally realized just how worried she’d been about them.
“Shea’s right. We really were worried...”
“Yeah. If you were okay, you should have let us know right away.”
It seemed Kaori and Shizuku had been worried as well. Like Shea, there were tears in their eyes. Hajime and Yue suddenly felt really guilty. They exchanged an awkward glance, then bowed their heads in apology.
“Uh, my bad, guys. I’m really sorry. When I woke up, Yue was already kissing me, so I forgot about everything else... Yeah, this is all Yue’s fault for being too cute.”
“Mmm... Sorry. I should have let you know I was fine right away. But Hajime’s sleeping face was so cute I couldn’t hold back. This is all Hajime’s fault for being too cool.”
However, their apologies didn’t sound anything like a proper apology.
“You two aren’t sorry at all, are you?”
“Haaah, oh, who cares. Arguing any more will just make me tired.”
“It’s painful to watch something like this after I’ve just confessed...”
Hajime and Yue flirted even as they apologized, and Shea glared at them. Kaori, on the other hand, just sighed in exasperation while Shizuku looked down, daunted by how big an obstacle she needed to surmount. Just then, Tio entered the room.
“Oh, I see you’re doing fine, Master. Wonderful. I’m glad to know my concern was unnecessary.”
“Ah, Tio-san. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
Shea turned to Tio and apologized. It seemed Tio had gone to check the palace’s library to see what might have made Hajime and Yue collapse. She’d been worried they might not wake back up on their own. When Shea had found Hajime and Yue awake and flirting, she’d been too
relieved and angry to remember to tell Tio she didn’t need to scour documents anymore.
“No matter. I take it Master and Yue attempted to fornicate the moment they woke up?”
“How’d you guess?”
“Hmph. It was obvious. Were I in Yue’s position, I would have done the same! Then Master would have punished me more than ever... Haaah... Haaah...”
“Anyway, what happened to you two, Hajime-kun?”
“It must have been pretty painful if it made you even you guys scream.”
Ignoring Tio panting in the background, Kaori and Shizuku turned to Hajime. Naturally, Hajime, Yue, and Shea all ignored Tio as well. They rearranged their sitting arrangement so that Tio had nowhere to sit, though. Blushing, Tio sat at Hajime’s feet like it was where she belonged.
“Well, the reason for that is... I guess, simply put, our brains got overheated with information.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Shea cocked her head in confusion.
“Uh, so, when the knowledge of how to use the final ancient magic, metamorphosis magic, reached our brains, we learned how to do something else too. But that knowledge put too much stress on our minds, and we lost consciousness.”
“Hrmmm... The only thing powerful enough to bring you two to your knees would be... the knowledge of how to use concept magic, correct?”
“Mmm... That’s right. Even though you’re a pervert, you’re so smart, Tio. If only you weren’t a pervert.”
Yue repeated herself, though this was something everyone knew already. Despite her weird fetishes, Tio was a genius. Even if she was sitting at Hajime’s feet, she was the smartest member of the party.
“I’m sure you guys remember, but Lyutillis Haltina’s hologram told us we need to know every single ancient magic to be able to use concept magic. Only Yue and I have cleared every single labyrinth.”
Shea and the others nodded in understanding. It seemed there were no lasting side-effects to obtaining that knowledge, which was a relief. Kaori asked Hajime the question she knew was on everyone’s mind.
“Concept magic... is even stronger than ancient magic and can do anything, right? Does that mean we can go back home to Japan? Can you use it already?”
“No, not yet. Lyutillis gave us that super vague explanation of how we need an ‘unbelievably powerful will’ to use it, remember? Just knowing how to use it isn’t enough. Also, we weren’t exactly taught like, the steps needed to use it, more just the general idea behind how it all works.”
“General idea?”
Shizuku parroted Hajime’s words. This was their chance to return home. Shizuku, as well as Ryutarou, Suzu, and Kaori, all wanted to know as much as possible.
“Yeah. For example, you know how you guys all learned metamorphosis magic, right? How would you describe that magic to someone?”
Shizuku and the others were taken aback. After a few seconds, she hesitantly said, “Umm, well it’s magic that lets me create and transform monsters. It also lets me bend regular monsters to my will?”
“Yep, that’s how I understand it as well. Also, you can strengthen your monsters with it.”
Shizuku and Kaori’s explanation of the magic was more or less the same. If one wanted to get more specific, they could include the fact that metamorphosis magic’s strengthening ability had various levels.
If turning animals into monsters and monsters into familiars was the very basics of metamorphosis magic, then strengthening the stats and special magic of monsters was the first level. Granting familiars intelligence and a will of their own was the second level. The third level was magnifying that intelligence, as well as their special magic and stats to gargantuan proportions. After that, the familiar needed to start gaining experience before it could be strengthened further.
“Also, it seems monsters aren’t monsters because they have mana crystals inside them. That’s kind of a surprise.”
Like Shea had said, it wasn’t mana crystals that turned regular animals into monsters. In fact, it was the other way around. Once a creature had absorbed enough mana to turn into a monster, the mana solidified into a mana crystal.
Basically, when mana gathered together outside of a living body it turned into a Divinity Stone, but when it gathered within a living creature it became a mana crystal. However, mana crystallized easier inside a living creature, so mana crystals had a far smaller capacity than Divinity Stones. Of course, various factors like the creature’s temperament, the environment it lived in, and so on all influenced the capacity of its mana crystal once it turned into a monster.
The reason mana crystals didn’t form inside humans and demons was that the two races had crafted a formal system for using magic. They usually expended mana regularly, and if they accidentally stored too much within their bodies, there were ways to cure that so mana crystals wouldn’t form. In other words, technology and civilization kept sentient races from producing mana crystals inside them. That being said, it was possible that people who didn’t use magic for decades could still form mana crystals inside themselves.
Confirming that everyone had learned the same information regarding metamorphosis magic, Tio added, “It seems you can choose what special magic monsters you create with metamorphosis magic have as well. But that magic needs to be at least somewhat in line with the natural disposition of the creature the monster is originally based on.”
“Yeah, that white dragon Freid rides has a breath attack as its special magic... Come to think of it, how much has he strengthened that thing?” Ryutarou asked.
“It was able to break the capital’s barrier in one attack, so probably a lot. It’s easily like... five or six times as powerful as the monsters around floor 80 in Orcus’ labyrinth.”
Hajime framed his reply using the average monster strength within the Great Orcus Labyrinth as a benchmark.
“Anyway, that’s basically how metamorphosis magic works. However, you guys are subtly off. The more precise definition of metamorphosis magic is... magic that lets you manipulate organic substances.”
“Umm...”
Shea looked at Hajime in confusion. Kaori and the others might have heard the word in school somewhere, but Shea had no idea what “organic” meant. For that matter, neither did Tio.
Realizing he was using unfamiliar terminology, Hajime cleared his throat and explained, “This isn’t as accurate a definition, but to put it more simply, metamorphosis magic lets you mess with the stuff living things are made of. Meaning if you wanted to, you could use it on like food and paper and stuff too, not just plants and animals. Of course, you can use it on humans as well.”
Put simply, one could mess with their hair or eyes or so on. As Hajime finished talking, Yue put on a visual demonstration. She cast metamorphosis magic and turned her golden-blonde hair pale white. She also turned her crimson eyes sky-blue.
“Wooow! Now we match, Yue-san!”
“Mmm...”
Everyone watched in awe as Yue completed her transformation. Hajime stared intently at Yue, then grabbed a camera artifact out of his Treasure Trove and snapped a picture. When she realized what he was doing, Yue casually posed for him.
Once picture time was over, Yue turned her hair and eyes back to normal, then turned to Tio. The dragonman’s legs had gone numb from sitting on the floor for so long.
“I think dragomen’s transformations use the same principle as well... I have no idea how it gets inherited, though.”
“Oho. So metamorphosis magic is the foundation that our race’s abilities are built on... I see.”
Tio lapsed into thought, and Hajime continued his explanation.
“Anyway, what I meant about the general idea was that. Every ancient magic lets you manipulate some fundamental fact of nature, but until now, we didn’t realize which ones they all were. And in order to use concept magic, you have to understand the fundamental aspects of every ancient magic.”
“Mmm... Plus, understanding them all is so difficult that yo
u need to be strong enough to clear every labyrinth to withstand the burden the knowledge places on your mind.”
That was the reason the Liberators had required potential challengers to clear every labyrinth before bestowing upon them the knowledge of concept magic. Now that Hajime and Yue had acquired all seven of them, they realized their understanding of each ancient magic had been lacking. Take for example creation magic, which had been Hajime’s lifeline all this time.
It wasn’t “magic that let you enchant ore,” but rather “magic that let you manipulate inorganic matter.” In other words, the polar opposite of metamorphosis magic. Now that Hajime knew this, he realized creation magic could be applied to water or salt too.
Furthermore, gravity magic was magic that manipulated the planet’s energy. In other words, those who knew it could interfere with a planet’s magnetic field or utilize geothermal energy like magma. It could be used to cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions as well.
Spatial magic was magic that manipulated boundaries. Meaning it could be used to create entire dimensions as well as manipulate the boundaries between fantasy and reality. A skilled master could turn reality into illusion and illusions into reality.
Restoration magic was magic that manipulated time. Which explained why in her message, Meiru had described it as magic that restores and not magic that heals. However, it could do more than just restore things to a previous state. Since it could interfere with time directly, it could be used to look into the past or potential futures based on set decision variables. Shea’s Future Sight was, in fact, just one application of restoration magic.
Spirit magic was magic that manipulated the incorporeal elements of sentient beings. In more concrete terms, it could be used to manipulate the heat, electricity, and other matterless energy that circulated within a person’s body. That also included things like memories, thoughts, and consciousness. With enough skill, a spirit magic user could take those incorporeal elements, duplicate them, and create a new soul out of them. In other words, create another person.
Evolution magic was magic that manipulated information. When it was used to strengthen someone’s stats or skills, it effectively overwrote the “information” of their abilities with something of a higher tier. But evolution magic could also be used to view the information of any person or object, as well as interfere with their total mana capacity.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 10 Page 18