Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 2 - Chapter SS1

Bonus Short Stories

Aesthetics Beget Sacrifice

“Oh yeah, Naiz. Have you ever thought about getting a weapon?”

The party was taking a short break at a desert oasis when Oscar suddenly asked Naiz that.

“I don’t need one. Well, not for now, anyway.”

“But you used to be a warrior, right? I’m pretty sure desert warriors don’t fight bare-handed...”

“True, they don’t. Most of us used swords. The standard weapon was a curved greatsword. Some use spears, but I always preferred the sword. It’s what my father taught me how to use.”

“So then, why not use one? I can make one for you if you want.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine. The dagger I’m carrying will do for now,” Naiz smiled slightly and shook his head as he responded to Oscar’s words. Then, he went on to explain that he was trying to master his magic as fast as he could, which was why he was purposely avoiding using a sword. Furthermore, he’d also been taught hand-to-hand combat by his father, so he was confident in his fighting skills even when bare-handed.

“I see now. That makes sense. But if you ever feel like you want to use a sword again, just ask. I’ll make you the most powerful magic sword you’ve ever seen.”

“When that time comes, I’ll be counting on you.”

It’s amazing how casually he says he’ll make me an artifact-class weapon... Touched by Oscar’s generosity, Naiz’s smile grew bigger. Miledi chose that moment to butt into the conversation.

“Oh, I want a weapon!”

For a few minutes now, Miledi had been standing off to the side, hopping up and down in excitement, her eyes sparkling in anticipation. She’d clearly wanted Oscar to ask her if she wanted a weapon too. It’s amazing how obvious she is about her desires, Oscar thought ruefully to himself.

“You’re a pure mage, aren’t you? I’m pretty sure you don’t even know how to fight at close quarters.”

Most of the time, Miledi crushed her enemies flat or sent them flying before they even had a chance to close in on her. On the off chance someone did manage to get near her, Miledi could reorient her gravity, flying through the air faster than the eye could follow. Her predominant battle strategy consisted of maintaining her distance and flattening enemies with gravity magic.

“Who cares if it’s not practical, O-kun! I just want a weapon like your black umbrella! It looks really cool!”

“Hehe, you’ve got a good eye, Miledi.”

Blushing slightly, Oscar adjusted his glasses. He was weak to people praising his fashion sense.

“Very well, Miledi. I’ll give you a weapon so awesome it’ll blow your mind. Naiz, you’re getting one too. Even if you don’t use it, you should have a cool weapon to show off.”

“Yaaaaaay! You’re the best, O-kun! I knew you wouldn’t let me down!”

“I don’t believe weapons need to be flashy to be functional...”

Though Miledi looked excited, Naiz couldn’t help but be a little worried. He rubbed his eyes wearily and prepared himself for the worst. Oscar fished through his Treasure Trove and presented his two comrades with their new weapons.

“Is that a circle with a hole in it?” Miledi tilted her head quizzically as she looked down at the weapon Oscar handed her.

“It’s called a chakram. It’s used by the tribes who live on the snowy tundra on the southern continent. They use these to hunt. If you throw it, it’ll loop back around to you. Also—”

“Whoa! That sounds cool! Hiyah!” Miledi exclaimed as she threw the chakram before Oscar could finish his explanation. She was one of those people who’d rather learn from experience than read a manual. The chakram traced a neat arc through the air and turned to return to Miledi. As she reached out to catch it—

“Whoa, it multiplies!?”

The chakram split into ten. One of the new chakrams slammed into Miledi’s forehead, cutting it open.

“Milediiiiii!” Naiz shouted. On the other hand, Oscar just adjusted his glasses and continued.

“Also, I’ve modified it so that it splits into multiple weapons mid-flight. However, it only multiplies on the way back, so you need to be careful when catching it. If you’d listened, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“This isn’t the time to be explaining things, Oscar! Look, she’s bleeding even worse than when we fought an apostle. Oh no, she’s collapsed! And she’s lost consciousness! Hang on, Miledi, I’ll heal you!” Naiz screamed as he pulled out the chakram stuck in Miledi’s forehead and hurriedly cast healing magic on her. Thanks to his speedy first-aid, Miledi was back in action in no time.

“H-Huh? Belle? I just saw Belle standing on the other side of a river. She kept shouting, ‘Don’t follow me, Miledi-chan!’ What was all that about...”

“I think that shaved a few years off my life...” Naiz sighed in relief. I bet Bell was just as panicked when she saw Miledi on the other side of that river.

“As I suspected, these chakrams are too dangerous for you Miledi. Here, try this instead.”

“Hey, O-kun, did you just say ‘as I expected’? You did, didn’t you? Hey, answer me!” Miledi tugged on Oscar’s sleeve as she begged for a reply, but he was too busy choosing Miledi’s next weapon to answer. And so, she turned to Naiz, and the two of them exchanged a worried glance.

“Here, put this on instead, Miledi.”

“What’s this?”

Oscar had pulled out an assassin’s katar. The handle was meant to be strapped to the wielder’s wrist, and they had to flick their wrist and use mana to push the blade out.

“Isn’t it cool to flick a dagger out of your wrist!? Go on, try it! No need to be shy!” Oscar’s eyes shone with excitement as he said that.

Oh shit, we’ve flipped his switch, haven’t we? Miledi and Naiz thought simultaneously. Too late, they realized they were being used as guinea pigs to test out Oscar’s new weapons.

“Y-Yeah, it is cool! B-But, I don’t think a weapon like this is for me. Actually, on second thought, I don’t need a weapon after all.”

“No, Miledi, you do. You absolutely do.”

“Uh, okay.”

Oscar had no intention of letting this precious chance to test his weapons slip past him. Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Miledi reluctantly took the dagger and then turned and pushed it into Naiz’s arms.

“M-Miledi!?”

“Man, you’re right, this really is cool! But I think it suits Nacchan more than me!”

“This is what I get for saving your life!?”

Miledi looked away and whistled innocently.

“She’s right. Naiz, this is the perfect weapon for you. Go on, equip it. Weapons are meaningless unless they’re equipped, after all.”

Desperate, Naiz turned to plead with Oscar. However, when he saw the look in Oscar’s eyes, he turned back to Miledi. Unfortunately, Miledi pointedly refused to meet Naiz’s gaze and just said, “Ahh, the weather’s great today.”

To think I call these people my friends... Sweating, Naiz reluctantly strapped the handle onto his forearm. And then, as instructed, he poured mana into the apparatus and flicked his wrist. Boom! There was a thunderous explosion, and Naiz flew through the air.

“Nacchaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

“Hmmm, did the self-destruct function misfire? I’ll need to investigate this.”

Miledi used gravity magic to bring Naiz back to earth, then shot Oscar a terrified look. He cocked his head and said, “What? There’s no point in a weapon that doesn’t have a self-destruct feature.”

“O-kun’s a mad synergist!”

As Miledi cast healing magic on the smoking Naiz, she thought back to her previous battles with Oscar. Come to think of it, when we fought that three-headed dragon in the Greenway, his black umbrella blew itself up...

“Hah!? Where am I!? I could have sworn I saw my father yelling something from the other side of a river...”

It appeared Naiz had seen a vision of his family as well. Like Belle, Naiz’s father had likely been yelling at him to turn back.

“Now then, I have a few more weapons I think you guys would love...” Oscar said as he pulled out cool-looking weapons one after another. Naturally, they were all prototypes, and they obviously all came with a self-destruct function.

“I’m so glad you guys are willing to help me test these weapons. Only ancient magic users are sturdy enough to handle these.”

Miledi and Naiz paled and took a few steps back. They knew what was coming was going to be bad if Oscar was emphasizing their sturdiness.

“What’s wrong guys? Here’s the next weapon I want you to test,” Oscar said as he brought out something that resembled a scythe. But unlike a normal scythe, it seemed to have a pulse, as if it were alive. Miledi didn’t like the look of that one bit.

“Go on, it won’t bite!”

There was something terrifying about his smile. Naturally, both Miledi and Naiz wanted nothing to do with that scythe.

“Nacchan, you take it!”

“Miledi, it’s all yours!”

They both tried to use each other as a scapegoat and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Such wonderful friendship. Afterward, multiple explosions rocked the peaceful desert oasis, and both Miledi and Naiz were sent flying multiple times. No one could escape from Oscar the mad Synergist.