From human to gap yokai in Arifureta

Chapter 4 - stories and bullies

Two weeks have passed since we obtained our status plates, and I set about learning more about my abilities. I found that mana manipulation is best used to make blasts or rays to attack with, and I can make an invisible barrier around myself that doesn't drain mana unless it gets hit. For boundaries, it is a bit strange. I was able to use them to manipulate things like sleep, or even move through the gaps between them with no drain at all, but the moment I try something outside my knowledge such as the Boundary between worlds or between one species and another, it drains so much mana that I faint before I can practice it. Like what makes a dog a dog as opposed to a cat? It's not as clear cut as one is a cat and one is a dog. Each Boundary has varying amount of smaller boundaries that need to be sorted before I can do anything to the major Boundary, and understanding the end result will help me not use mana. I've been able to manipulate the Boundary between life and death as well on plants, but I've yet to use it on an animal or magic beast yet. I've found that once something dies the Boundary of life and death seems to disappear so I've been hesitant to show anyone it. I check my status as we were told that some announcement is happening today.

Maribel Hearn
17 years old
Female

Class: Boundary Master

Level: 3

Strength: 60

Vitality:72

Resistance:54

Agility:66

Magic Power:302

Magic Resistance:242

Skills:
Boundary sight, Boundary manipulation, mana manipulation, language comprehension

It seems that my level increases when my stats are at around 10 percent plus my previous stats. I don't know if it will continue like this or not, but I always did like seeing the numbers increase in games. Amanogawa-san has recently become level 10, but his stats are only twice what he started out with. Maybe it's because he's such a well rounded class that his stats do not increase as much.

I've read many books with my time that I wasn't training, and saw Nagumo-san doing the same. The only difference is that I was looking at legends, and things that most would put off as fantasy, but he was looking up things about the different races. Considering that the humans are at war with the demons, I don't bother with such texts as they are likely biased to a heavy degree. As for the fantasy books and legends, I've always held the mentality of there always being at least some truth in every story. Such as the story of a vampire princess sealed away awaiting her prince charming to come and save her at the bottom of one of the dungeons. I can't be sure how much of it is true but it did confirm that there is a person who has been deep into the Dungeon before. It depicts his journey to said princess as a heroic tale, but when it gets to said princess it gets a bit too fantastical and makes up a reason why the hero left without rescuing her, 'the cube was too strong of a seal for even the greatest artist Piros the 3rd'. How a supposed artist was able to get down there in the first place raised my curiosity, but I believe it was just a form of making the hero more relatable by giving him a noncombatant class. Maybe the author held hope for noncombatant classes to hold such power outside of common sense.

I open a gap to the training grounds, and grab a practice sword from the racks. I may not be keen on using swords, but it will be useful to learn to swing one at least for the time being while I'm weak. I then hear a ruckus nearby.

“Yo, Nagumo, what are you doing? There is no meaning with you carrying that sword, you are so useless after all~”

“Hey, Hiyama that was overboard! Even if that is the truth, you don’t have to say it out~ Wehehehehe”

“Why do you come for every training! If it was me, I would have been too ashamed of myself! Heh-heh-heh”

“Ah, Daisuke, since that fellow is so pitiful, why don’t let him train with us?”

*sigh* Why must Hiyama-san make so much trouble? We already have enough because of the fact we are literally being used as soldiers in a war that should have nothing to do with us.

“Ah? Hey hey, Shinji, aren’t you being too nice? Oh, actually I am also a nice guy, let’s train together~”

“Oh oh, good idea. We are super nice. We are willing to spend our precious time to help this incompetent fellow~. Nagumo~ you must be grateful, right?”

They then dragged Nagumo-san off to a secluded place. The others who saw this all turned a blind eye. I can't blame them, we all have our own power and safety in the balance, and no one Is willing to chance their life just to be a hero to the worst in the class. Does he deserve this neglect and bullying? No, but life isn't fair, and life doesn't wait for you just because you wanted to play hero. Even a God wouldn't care for someone who wallow in their own self pity, let alone the monster known as Ehit. While they did that, I focused on training. I swung my sword in a practiced manner while taking a step forward, and did the same while stepping back. It's extremely basic kendo, but that's all I need. I am no swordswoman, nor am I interested in the art itself. Maybe if I was immortal then I would spend a few years learning it to a decent degree, but I don't have all the time in the world. I just need power in the now to get me to the power I know I'll have in the future. Soon I see in the corner of my eye, Shirasaki-san along with Amanogawa-san's group making their way to where Nagumo-san and his tormentors are. I went back to training, and soon they came out with Nagumo-san to start real training. We trained in weapons for 3 hours like usual until lunch. For an hour is basic movement training, for an hour is sparring, and finally is an hour for self training. Self training can be used for many things, but most choose to practice merging magic into their fighting style. I get annoyed at my progress as I have felt I could be much stronger already, but I have no idea why.

“From tomorrow onward, we will be conducting our practical training in Orcus Great Dungeon. All the necessary equipment will be prepared by us, I want to use the Magic Beasts outside the capital as practice target. More importantly, get your spirits up! Have a good rest tonight! Dismiss!”

Hearing that we will finally be killing magic beasts made my hands itch, and I felt a similar sensation as when I accidentally cracked the table at the church. The only difference is that instead of anger, this time was caused by anticipation. *gulp* I close my eyes, and calm myself before making my way to the dining room.

*3rd POV*

Unknown to Maribel, Aiko-sensei has been keeping an eye on all of her students during the announcement. She hoped everyone would come to their senses before being put in real danger, but she saw Maribel's appearance for the short moment before she calmed herself. Seeing her nails become sharp claws, and her teeth sharpen like a predator she could chalk it up to a strange skill that she was trying. That was until she saw her eyes glow a sinister yellow. That glow caused Aiko-sensei to shiver and collapse behind the tree she was leaning against. She didn't know why she became so afraid of her student, but she soon started to feel horrible. Especially after Maribel got herself back to normal. She swore to protect all her students so she couldn't forgive herself for pushing away one of her students regardless of reason. Not to mention Maribel must need her now more than ever.