Hell Mode: Volume 9, page 18
The matters of Thomas succeeding House Granvelle and Sophie becoming the next elven queen were being left to Thomas and Sophie themselves. If they required help, Allen was willing to offer his assistance, but he was not going to force it on them. He had only helped Zeu clear the Rank S dungeon and assisted Shia during the Daemonism debacle because their goals had been the same as his. Ultimately, he had pushed the siblings to earn their claim to the throne, but in both cases, it was entirely out of coincidence.
Allen was only rooting for Shia because she had joined his party, and making her Beast King would boost her gear’s quality and her skill, strengthening the Allen Army. Had there been a simpler way for Shia to buff her skill and obtain excellent gear, the Summoner would not be pushing for her to become the next monarch. His goal was to strengthen his party for the clash against the Demon Lord Army, nothing more. But if Shia becomes the next Beast King, I’ll have to give Zeu a good luck charm.
Zeu’s wife, Rena, did not have even a shadow of a doubt that her husband would become the next Beast King. This was due in no small part to her having been told about Temi’s divination. If Zeu ended up not becoming the next king, her rage would know no bounds. She had mentioned that she would flee into the night should her husband fail to become the next Beast King. Were Shia the one to succeed the throne, Allen would present the Beast Prince with two rings that boosted Endurance by +5,000 apiece so that the royal could escape with his life when faced with Rena’s fury.
As Allen was lost in his thoughts, he and his party left Habarak’s forge and headed for Captain Rarappa’s research facility. The Magic Tool Research Center analyzed the magic tools that Allen had collected from the Rank S dungeon, as well as developed new tools. The building itself was completed, but it could not fully function just yet.
When the Gamers stepped inside, the dwarves were busily carrying around the equipment that had been teleported in. Found her. Captain Rarappa was shouting commands, keeping just as busy as the bustling dwarves.
“Captain Rarappa,” Allen said.
She stopped giving out orders and approached the group.
“Please take a look at this,” Allen said, removing a strange cube from the Storage of his grimoire. It was around the size of a human head. “I found it in the Rank S dungeon, but I’m not quite sure what it is.”
Pelomas had appraised it as a magic core. He had used his Extra Skill, Libra, and determined that this item had a value of around a million gold, but had no idea how it could be used. Since it was a magic core, it was easy to assume that it was some sort of magic tool, which meant Captain Rarappa was the best person to ask about it. The dwarf immediately knew what the item was.
“Wow! A magic core!” she shouted with twinkling eyes. “Whoa! And you’ve got three of them?! Awesome!”
“What are they used for?” Allen asked.
“Anything! I-I’m so glad I decided to come here!”
She cradled the three cores in her arms with delight, but Allen had not said that he would give them to her. Above all, her answer had not provided any insight into how the cores could be used.
“Could you explain their use?” Allen asked once more, unconsciously making his tone a lot sterner.
“They can be used as cores for magic tools. More accurately, they were meant to be but couldn’t become dungeon cores,” Rarappa replied.
“Dungeon cores?”
A dungeon core referred to the floating cubes that were on each floor, operating as needed. It seemed these magic cores were miniature versions of those cubes.
“Yep,” Rarappa replied. “So these cores can be turned into anything. They can create items that haven’t been made yet.”
She claimed that one of these cores could operate a massive magic ship. Wait, that means...
“Then these magic cores can create magic tools, right?” Allen asked.
“That’s right,” Rarappa replied. “I’m glad you’re so quick to understand things, Commander in Chief Allen. My former superior was extremely stubborn and refused to understand concepts no matter how many times I explained them. I...”
Rarappa was quite the chatterbox. Her primary reason for joining the Allen Army was that she apparently had not gotten along with her former superior.
“Anything, huh?” Allen said loudly, cutting Rarappa off. “Can you create a device that transports people and things from the island to the land below or underwater?”
Currently, the only way to get off Hardcore User Island was via Bird A’s Awakened Ability. Allen had considered making a magic ship pad, but it would have taken far too much time to create a vehicle with a dining space and guest rooms that would only go to and from the island. He just wanted a magic tool to transport people and items. Unfortunately, though, not even the Empire of Baukis had such an item at its disposal, but if magic cores could be used to create new items, there was a sliver of hope that a magic tool that served just such a purpose could be created.
Rarappa nodded. “Yeah. It might take some time, but it’s certainly possible.”
Any idea can take form. We just need imagination. It was then that Allen decided to discuss the secret plan he had concocted for the impending fight against the Demon Lord Army.
“Could you create a teleportation device of sorts?” he inquired.
“Teleportation?! Like the ancient secret treasure?!”
Her movements are exaggerated, and she’s so loud.
“Was there a teleportation device back in the day?” Allen asked.
Rarappa started mumbling to herself while peering at the magic cores in her arms. “Yeah, three isn’t enough. I’d like at least ten magic cores for the tool.”
Allen’s words had been the perfect catalyst to allow all sorts of ideas to gush into her mind.
“Seven to go, huh?” Allen said. “Maybe I’ll try collecting ten if that could make the device.”
“Allen, what are you planning on making the device for?” Cecil grumbled. “You’re not planning on going to the Dark Realm, are you?”
She recalled the conversation between Merus and Allen. Long ago, Elmea, the God of Creation, had defeated the Daemon God, separated their body into five pieces, and cast those pieces into the Dark Realm. He had then destroyed the gate in the Demon Realm so that no one could resurrect the Daemon God. The Demon Lord Army’s plan was to somehow do just that, and it was trying to recover a teleportation spell that would take it to the Dark Realm. Allen was also interested in a teleportation device of his own, wondering if he could just warp in front of the final boss of this world.
“No, but we can try assaulting the Demon Lord Army’s headquarters,” Allen replied. “And a teleportation device would come in handy.”
“Right,” Rarappa added without facing him. “I’ll look into it, including the ancient secrets.”
“Got it. We have to move the island one day too, so you can prioritize whatever you’d like. I’m counting on you.”
Allen wanted to know if he could move the island, and he also wanted a teleportation device to be made with the magic cores. However, since the dwarves would be the ones actually doing the research and the brunt of the work, he wanted them to choose what they prioritized. Everything was being done to achieve his goal of defeating the Demon Lord. He was not against spending gold on the level of a nation’s annual budget to provide everyone with excellent gear, nor did he mind collecting orichalcum and Holy Orbs. And once the magic tools he had asked for were created, he wanted to use them to attack the Demon Lord Army.
“Indeed, this isn’t a bad way to go about things,” Shia mumbled. She considered her own ambitions and saw Allen’s actions in a favorable light.
Chapter 10: Attempting to Farm the Final Floor Boss of the Rank S Dungeon
The following day, after the Allen Army’s departure ceremony, the No-life Gamers were on the final floor of the Rank S dungeon. Towering before them were one bronze golem, two iron golems, and one mithril golem. Alongside the hundred-meter-tall behemoths was the main act: Goldino, the final floor boss.
Until now, Allen and his party had farmed iron golems in the Rank S dungeon from early in the morning until late at night. Today, however, they were after the final floor boss, Goldino. All ten of the No-life Gamers had assembled to take on this mighty challenge.
In the past, they had gone against this boss as a massive group of forty, including Helmios’s Sacred, Garara’s Stinger, and Beast Prince Zeu and the Ten Heroic Beasts. This time around, though, only the No-life Gamers would battle this monster, as doing so would allow them to keep the drops for themselves. Only Pelomas, who was not a fighter, had been left behind. Merchants are more like benchwarmers. It’s the unwavering truth of this world, Allen thought.
“Are you sure we can do this alone?” Cecil asked anxiously, snapping Allen out of his thoughts.
“It shouldn’t be a problem,” the Summoner replied. “I made a Nest in front of the retreat cube, so we can flee whenever.”
But I think we’ll be fine. Allen believed that his party was more than strong enough to defeat Goldino, even without using his backup plan.
“So we’ll flee if worse comes to worst,” Cecil said. “But then what?”
“We’ll invite the Hero,” Allen replied. “He seems like he’s got some time on his hands.”
And I want to test out his Natural Gift skill. It seems to have some kind of crazy effect. When Allen had forced Helmios to divulge details about Natural Gift, he was left completely blown away.
“Allen, what do you take Mr. Helmios for?” Cecil asked.
“A hero,” Allen replied.
“Never mind...”
She looked exasperated. Had he not considered just how precarious a position Helmios was in?
“All right, let’s do our best!” Krena said, completely failing to read the room.
“Yep,” Dogora grinned.
“Tam-Tam’s here too!” Meruru shouted, striking one of her cool poses.
Keel and Cecil seemed taken aback, but the other muscleheads were raring to go. Keel, Sophie, and Volmaar boarded Bird Bs so that they could move around more freely.
“You’re with me, Luke!” Krena said excitedly.
“Okay!” Luke replied.
Veterans trained newbies best. Shia was also attempting her first clash against Goldino, and she, who was paired with Dogora, looked delighted.
“Dogora, I leave my back to you!” she said.
“Huh? Right, sure,” Dogora answered, sounding confused.
As usual, Allen and Cecil were a pair, and they climbed onto the back of a Summon. Krena and Luke were also provided with a Bird B to fly around on, but Dogora and Shia would be freely doing as they pleased on foot, standing on the front lines.
“Should we have practiced a bit beforehand?” Allen asked, referring to Dogora and his new orichalcum greataxe.
“Nah, I’m good,” Dogora replied. “It fits nice and snug in my hand.”
In his dominant hand was Kagutsuchi. Veins coursed through the weapon, which pulsated and glowed. The light from the blade was indicative of the divine power Freyja had recovered thanks to the prayers of the residents of Hardcore User Island. In his other hand was the orichalcum greataxe forged by Habarak. It had taken the master blacksmith over a month to complete.
Dogora was able to wield both weapons smoothly, as though they were a part of his body. Meanwhile, Krena readied her orichalcum greatsword, which she had taken from Bask.
“Tam-Tam, come forth!” Meruru shouted. A Supergigantified golem in all its vermilion glory descended upon the dwarf, and she climbed inside.
“Let’s do this,” Allen said.
He Summoned a King Me’d Merus as they approached the five lined-up golems. Goldino stood in the center. Past experience told the Gamers that the golems would not move until they got close.
“Oh? Your party is rather small, yet you dare challenge us? I suppose you must all have a death wish,” Goldino suddenly said.
Allen was tired of hearing the same pompous phrase.
“It seems it doesn’t remember us,” Cecil observed. The final floor boss of the Rank A dungeon did not recognize the Gamers no matter how many times the two parties clashed, and apparently, Goldino was no different.
“You measly runts. Cower and struggle with fear and despair...” Goldino started.
It was like an unskippable cutscene. Allen did not wish to waste time listening to the same old phrase that he had already heard, so he immediately started to fight.
“Go, Merus!” Allen ordered.
“Aye,” Merus replied. The Angel A paid no heed to Goldino’s spiel and rushed in.
Thanks to King Me, Merus’s stats were 35,000 across the board. Before any of the golems could react to his speed, he approached an iron golem and used Bird A’s Awakened Ability, Homing Instinct. He and the golem teleported a kilometer away, where a King Me’d Dragon A awaited them. The Summon was over three hundred meters tall and had fifteen heads. Its many necks wrapped around the iron golem, and it used its 25,000 Attack to squeeze the monster.
“All right, now they can’t revive one another unless they retreat,” Allen said.
In their last battle, the golems had been herded into a narrow passageway, splitting up their group, but this time around, Allen planned on using the spacious area to the fullest. He had been more focused on efficiency as of late. The Summoner’s goal was to defeat them even one second faster.
“Y-You insolent shrimps!” Goldino boomed. “Behold true fear as you witness our power!”
“Shia, Dogora,” Allen called. “We don’t have many people this time around, so you’ll have less support. Don’t take too many hits!”
“Leave the vanguard to us!” Shia shouted back.
“Copy that!” Dogora added.
The two rushed in—they were tasked with stopping the bronze golem in its tracks. Barring Goldino, the golems’ stats ranged from 20,000 to 30,000. But Allen predicted that the bronze golem’s drill punches had an Attack higher than 30,000.
“Raaaaah!” Meruru shouted from atop Tam-Tam as she headed for the other iron golem.
The hihiirokane Tam-Tam boasted stats that rivaled the iron golem’s. Meruru might not have been able to solo the monster, but she could certainly stand her ground for a good while, preventing it from rejoining the other iron golem.
“Hayate, Okiyosan, Octo, join the fight!” Allen commanded.
“Yes, sir!”
“Tee hee hee! Kill, kill, kill, all day long!”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n!”
The King Me’d Beast A, Spirit A, and Fish A, which all had stats that rivaled the four golems that were not Goldino, aimed for the iron golem, preventing it from regenerating. Beast A moved nimbly, its buffed Attack shaving away at the golem’s health. Spirit A used its Ability, Spirit Guide, to get behind the iron golem and aim for easy crits. Fish A’s Octopus Heart prevented it from going down easily. The Summon had three hearts, and thus three health bars. It could be killed twice, and with each death, it would revive with full HP and MP.
Any lost hearts would be fully restored after a day. Keel’s Extra Skill, Drops of God, could also fully restore one heart, but after some testing, Allen had determined that it was better to save the Extra Skill and instead Summon the Fish A once more. It was important for Drops of God to be ready to use at any time.
“Ouch! Hmph!” Octo cried. Fish A might have had multiple lives, but it could still feel pain.
“Use Smokescreen!” Allen commanded.
Octo followed the order, shrouding the area with dense mist. It lowered the accuracy of the enemies’ attacks. Until now, there had been no need to use this Ability, as Allen and his party had taken down Rank A monsters rather easily. But a Smokescreen from a King Me’d Octo was effective against some Rank S monsters. The effect of this Ability was based on the Intelligence stat difference between the Fish A and its enemy. Since a King Me’d Octo has over 25,000 Intelligence, Smokescreen might be effective now.
Even if a monster lacked Intelligence, some types were completely immune to debuffs. However, barring Goldino, these golems were greatly affected by Octo’s Ability.
Keel and Sophie healed their party members, reducing any additional strain. Though only a party of ten, the Gamers managed to hold their own against the Rank S final floor boss and its goons.
“What are you doing, mithril golem?!” Goldino roared hastily. “Destroy our enemies at once!”
High power is the best way to break a deadlock. The mithril golem changed to its flying mode upon receiving Goldino’s order. Mithril golems did not have high Endurance, but they were quite the nuisance when flying around and attacking people from above. It had been a tricky foe during the first battle, but this time, Allen had a plan.
“Rockanels! Absorb!” Allen shouted.
He Summoned a King Me’d Stone A and three Deputized Stone As. They stepped in front of the mithril golem’s line of fire and absorbed its attacks.
“We’re doing well!” Cecil noted. “We’ll be able to defeat it soon!”
“Yeah!” Allen replied.
The pair targeted an iron golem, timing their attacks with Merus and Dragon A, who were fighting the other iron golem a kilometer away. The two golems were defeated at the same time, preventing any sort of regeneration.
“Y-You mongrels are truly—” Goldino started.
“All right, I think we’ve got enough,” Allen said. “Rockanels, Focused Bombardment!”
The four Stone As used their Awakened Abilities and fired away, flinging the hihiirokane clumps that had absorbed magic power straight at Goldino.
“What?! Gah!” Goldino grunted. Even it was unable to endure these attacks, and its hundred-meter-tall body was knocked backward.
