An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

No matter which world, natural scenery is always the most beautiful. Hajime anchored the submarine at sea and watched the setting sun from the deck. Suddenly, a bizarre thought struck him: if he followed this bright path toward the sun, would he be able to return to Japan? He smiled wryly, wondering what he was imagining.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Hajime's wry smile, Kaori asked Hajime.

Kaori must have been showering in the cabin, as evidenced by her wet hair. Yue, Shia, and Tio were also behind Kaori.

They all seemed to have showered in the ship's shower room, which Hajime was so proud of. Their cheeks were all rosy, and their damp hair clung to their cheeks and necks, making them look extremely bright and charming. The shower room was designed with warm water pouring directly from the ceiling, so even if four people washed at the same time, it was no problem. They seemed to have done it together.

Incidentally, the reason why Hajime was alone on the deck, staring blankly, was because if he wasn't careful, he might be dragged into the shower by them.

As they were about to shower, Tio invited Hajime to join them, and Kaori, Shia, and Yue agreed. Hajime refused, but they surrounded him.

Hajime made it clear to them that he had no intention of seeing anyone other than Yue naked...

Kaori and the others were all smiles, ignoring what Hajime said, not caring about Yue who was blushing and looking coy. Kaori and Tio restrained Hajime's actions, while Shia used Deluken to knock Hajime unconscious from behind.

Only when he sensed the danger of his life and tried his best to escape did he come to the deck... Is it really a shame for a man not to enjoy the good fortune that was delivered to his door?

Hajime pushed the stupid question out of his mind and answered Kaori's question.

"I just thought of Japan. Natural scenery like this is not that different from our world."

"...I see. Yeah, that's right. It's exactly like the sunset I saw over the sea in our world... I just feel so nostalgic, even though it's only been less than half a year."

“Because life here is so rich.”

Sitting next to Hajime, Kaori agreed with him, looking at him with a nostalgic look. She must be reminiscing about her time in Japan.

Perhaps feeling lonely because only Hajime and Kaori shared a topic, Yue walked over to Hajime and sat on his lap. Even though it should have been hot, she leaned her back against Hajime's chest, looking up at him from directly below.

Yue's eyes clearly expressed a desire for Hajime to let her in on the conversation. It seemed Yue, feeling lonely, also wanted to hear about Hajime's hometown. Hajime was completely captivated by Yue's cuteness, but when he saw Kaori beside him, seemingly about to let Hannya-san out, he pinched her cheek to dissuade her.

Just this one action instantly improved Kaori's mood, and Hajime's emotions were quite complicated. He couldn't help but wonder why she could be so devoted to someone who refused to accept her... However, Hajime kept this thought in his heart and didn't say it out loud; if he did, it would be too rude to Kaori's feelings.

While Hajime was pinching Kaori's cheek, Shia snuggled up to her side, her eyes filled with anticipation. She was clearly hinting that she wanted Hajime to touch her too. Hajime used his free hand to stroke Shia's bunny ears, and Shia immediately let out a "Yeah, hehe~" laugh, a satisfied smile on her face.

Tio leaned against Hajime's back, not asking for anything, but quietly leaning back against her. However, from the weight of her body resting on him, Hajime could sense that Tio was genuinely relaxed. Hajime had been planning to push her into the sea if she made any perverted demands, so he was a bit surprised.

However, Tio seemed to sense Hajime's thoughts, and her body trembled instantly, panting excitedly...

On the vast ocean, Shi and the others snuggled together. There was still some time before the moon rose in the night sky. In order to kill this free time, Shi talked about his hometown.

Yue and the others listened with great interest, nodding in agreement from time to time, while Kaori smiled and supplemented Hajime's explanation.

As they enjoyed the harmonious atmosphere, time passed in a flash, the sun completely disappeared beyond the sea level, and the moon shone in its place.

Hajime thought it was about time, so he took out the pendant from his bosom, which served as proof of the strategy for conquering [Gulun Great Volcano]. Inside the ring was an image of a woman holding a lantern, but the lantern part was hollowed out, forming a hole.

When he was staying at Enison, Hajime had taken out the pendant and tried to hold it up to the moon or inject magic power into it, but nothing happened.

Hajime wondered what the moon and the pendant could do. He took out the pendant and tried to hold it up to the moon, looking at it from the lantern.

After looking out for a while and seeing no change, Shi couldn't help but sigh, thinking that this method was indeed very strange, and decided to try other methods.

At this moment, the pendant changed.

"Wow, the light is gradually gathering on the lanterns. It's so beautiful."

"Yeah... It's incredible. There's a hole in the lantern..."

Shia sighed out loud, and Kaori shared the same feeling with an excited look in her eyes.

Just as they said, the lantern of the pendant gradually absorbed the moonlight, accumulating light from the bottom. As the light accumulated, the hole was gradually filled with light. Yue and Tio looked at the pendant held high by Hajime with great interest.

"I tried it last night..."

"Well, Master, perhaps this is the only place where you can react?"

Tio's guess might be correct.

Soon, the lantern filled with light, and the entire pendant glowed. Then, the lantern emitted a straight beam of light, pointing to a certain location on the sea.

"...quite elaborate special effects, quite different from Meredith."

"Really? It looks very fantastical. I'm a little moved."

"Under the guidance of the moonlight," what a romantic signpost! Not only Hajime, but Yue and the others also let out an "Ah ...

Unaware of how long the pendant's lantern would glow, Hajime and the others immediately followed the instructions and began to navigate the submarine.

The night sea was dark, perhaps the word "black" would be more accurate. The surface was still bright thanks to the moonlight, but once I followed the instructions and dived, I was instantly in darkness. The only light I could find was the submarine's headlight and the pendant.

By the way, the light from the necklace pendant shines through the submarine's windshield, no, it should be said that it is the windshield crystal (a transparent and solid mineral) and shines on a point on the seabed.

That place was a rocky area on the seabed, with countless twisted rock walls stretching out like a mountain range. They had explored the same area during the day, but there was nothing there...

As the submarine approached, the light from the necklace pendant shone on a point on the rock on the seabed, and then a rumbling sound was heard, and a vibration like an earthquake occurred.

The sound and vibration were caused by the rock wall starting to move. A part of the rock wall was seen split in half from the middle, opening to the left and right like a door. There was a dim passage inside the door, as if leading to the underworld.

"I see. No wonder we couldn't find it no matter how hard we looked. I shouldn't have been so foolish as to think I could find the entrance just by luck."

"...I had a lot of free time back then anyway, so I had a great time searching."

"Yes, I think it's a precious experience to go sightseeing under the sea in another world."

Knowing that all their explorations during the day were in vain, Hajime slumped his shoulders in frustration, but Yue and Kaori seemed quite amused.

He began maneuvering the submarine into the opening on the seabed. The pendant's lantern was still half-lit, but then it stopped glowing, leaving only the submarine's headlights to illuminate the dim seabed.

"Hmm~ When I heard about the underwater ruins, I thought, without this submarine, mortals wouldn't even be able to enter the labyrinth."

"...Well, you need to be able to use a powerful barrier."

"Besides that, at least the air, light, and water flow must be manipulated simultaneously."

"But before coming here, you must first conquer the [Gulun Great Volcano], so the moment you can conquer the Great Labyrinth, you will no longer be an ordinary person."

"...Perhaps the normal method is to use space magic."

As Hajime and the others descended the passage, they discussed their strategy without a submarine. The fantastical entrance was indeed impressive, but normally, it would be impossible to even break into it unless they had several top-tier magicians. In that sense, this large maze was more difficult than the others.

They tensed their nerves again, and observed the seabed more carefully through the windshield crystal, and then -

“Uuuuu!?”

"Um!"

"Wow!"

"ah!"

"What!?"

A sudden impact struck the side of the submarine, sending it careening in a single direction. Like a torrent of lava, the submarine spun like a top, but Hajime had already taken precautions. The gravity stones installed in the bottom of the ship added weight instantly, stabilizing the hull.

"Wow, I don't want to feel this spinning around anymore~"

Shia palely shook her head as she recalled the memories of being washed away beneath the Gulun Volcano.

"Didn't I immediately return the submarine to its original position? It's all right now. Anyway, where will this torrent flow to..."

Hajime gave Shia a wry smile while observing the situation outside through the windshield crystal.

The light from the green stone dispelled the darkness, illuminating the entire cave. It seemed they were swept into the rapids of a huge tunnel-like cave.

Anyway, Hajime and the others controlled the ship and moved downstream. After moving forward for a while, the "Far-Seeing Stone" installed at the stern of the ship detected countless objects emitting a dark red light.

"Something's approaching... Judging by the dark red magic energy surrounding it, it must be a monster."

"...Should we kill them?"

Hearing what Hajime said, Yue, who was sitting in the seat next to him, focused his magic power on his hands and spoke like a gangster with that cute face.

"No, use your weapons. I want to confirm if they're effective."

He started activating the mechanism at the rear of the submarine, and countless torpedoes the size of plastic bottles were fired. Those were the weapons that dyed Ankaji's oasis red. There were shark patterns painted on the torpedoes, and the sharks even had smug smiles on their faces.

Because they are located in the rapids, the propulsion force of the torpedoes is to some extent evenly matched with the water flow, resulting in the torpedoes being spread out like mines.

Not long after the submarine moved forward, monsters wrapped in dark red magic—countless fish-shaped monsters in the shape of flying fish—rushed towards the torpedo group.

Then there was a violent vibration.

Huge explosions erupted one after another, and a flood of bubbles enveloped the school of pseudo-flying fish. Then, the bodies of the pseudo-flying fish were shattered by the impact. The remains, along with red flesh and blood, burst out of the bubbles, turning into debris in the sea, which was then scattered by the rapids.

"Yes, it's more powerful than before. The improvement was successful."

"Wow~ Hajime-san, a fish just floated by with dead eyes."

"Shia, that's really a dead fish."

"I've come to realize that the artifact Hajime-san created is truly unfair."

Shi and his companions were attacked by fake flying fish many times afterwards, but they still easily defeated them and continued to move forward.

I don’t know how long we advanced after that.

Just as Hajime and the others were beginning to feel a sense of unease at the monotonous scenery, they arrived at a site where the surrounding walls had been severely damaged. Upon closer inspection, they saw the severed head of a pseudo-flying fish wedged in a crack in the rock wall, its empty eyes gazing out into the sea.

"...Is this the place we just passed by?"

"...It seems like, have we gone in a circle?"

It seemed that Hajime and the others had circled the circular cave. Hajime had initially thought they were advancing through a large maze, but he hadn't expected to stray into a common underwater cave. He couldn't help but wonder. Finally, Hajime decided not to continue along the passage this time, but to focus on searching around for any unusual signs.

Search results:

“Ah, Hajime-kun, there’s one there too!”

"This is the fifth place..."

They discovered Melkines' crests, approximately 50 centimeters in size, carved in several locations throughout the cave. The crests extended from one of the vertices of a pentagram to the center, where a crescent moon adorned the center. These crests were found in five locations throughout the circular underwater cavern.

To investigate more closely, the group approached the emblem they had first discovered. As they were being pulled by the rapids, they carefully controlled the boat.

"The pentagram emblem and five markings, plus the pendant with a lingering glow..."

As Hajime spoke, he removed the pendant from his neck and tried to shine it through the windshield crystal. As expected, the pendant responded, and a line of light extended from the lantern. When the light hit the emblem, it suddenly glowed brightly.

"For those who arrived here through magic, this mechanism is very difficult to pass... If we don't discover the secret quickly, our magic power will definitely fail."

As Kaori said, if someone relying on magic to barely stay alive, disabling this RPG-style mechanism would be quite difficult. Perhaps the purpose of this mechanism is to test a different limit than the [Gulun Great Volcano].

After that, Hajime poured the lantern's light into three emblems, then moved on to the last emblem. The lantern's stored light decreased as it was released, and now only enough remained for one use.

Hajime raised the pendant and channeled light into the final emblem, finally unlocking the passage to the circular caverns and allowing him to continue forward. A loud rumble echoed, and the cavern walls split apart.

Hajime and the others successfully entered the cave and saw a waterway leading directly below, so they drove the submarine forward. At this moment, the submarine suddenly floated in the air and then fell all the way down.

"Whoa whoa?"

"Um!"

"ah!?"

“Ouch!”

“Ah!”

The five people let out different cries of pain, while Hajime endured the feeling of his body floating.

Then, BOOM! There was a crash as the submarine hit the hard ground. The intense impact spread throughout the ship, and Kaori, who wasn't particularly strong, let out a cry of pain.

"!...Kaori, are you okay?"

"Wow, I, I'm fine. But where is this place?"

Despite her pained expression, Kaori peered out through the windshield crystal. The scenery outside was different from before; it was no longer the ocean, but a cave. There was no sign of monsters around, so Hajime and the others exited the ship.

Outside the submarine lay a vast hemispherical space. Looking upward, one could see a large hole. For some unknown reason, it was a surface of water. Though the water rippled, not a single drop fell. It seemed as if they had fallen through there.

"Looks like the next part is where the real action begins. This place is more like a cave than an underwater ruin."

"...Luckily, not all of it is underwater."

Hajime returned the submarine to the 'treasure vault' and was about to urge Yue and the others to move deeper into the cave when Hajime called out:

"moon."

"Um."

With just a call, Yue immediately opened the barrier.

Instantly, a stream of water, like a laser, descended from overhead, striking Hajime and the others like a meteor. This compressed water column laser was similar to the "Break" technique Yue had relied on in the "Lesen Great Labyrinth," easily piercing through a human body if it landed correctly.

However, Yue's barrier, though temporary, remained incredibly strong, easily blocking the violent attack from above, proving its strength. Thanks to Hajime's early awareness of the surge in magic power and murderous intent, and Yue's seamless coordination, the enemy's surprise attack was ineffective. Shia and Tio had naturally sensed the attack the moment Hajime called Yue, so they didn't panic.