Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 19
“Indeed.”
Zeu fell silent, staring off into the distance as he seemed to steel himself for something important. As Allen looked up at the Beast Prince, he felt someone tap his leg. He turned his gaze downward to find the squirrelkin who had been following him around these past five days.
“Hello, Summoner of the Beginning. Have time for a chat?”
“Again?”
“Yes. After all, I might just have to leave for home tomorrow.”
Temi took Allen’s free hand and led him to an empty table and sat across from him. The Astrologist squirrelkin then pulled several objects out of her bag, dropping them on the table. They were various minerals and precious gems, and they glittered like stars in the sky.
“I just don’t get it. Or rather, it seems that the results of my fortune-telling are changing,” Temi murmured, looking down at the spread of stones. Apparently she was conducting a fortune-telling session.
I guess the number of stars she has in her Talent dictates how well she can tell the future.
Allen recalled how he was analyzed by Helmios back at the Academy. Merus had also mentioned that at Summoning Lvl. 8, he could not properly analyze Rank S monsters.
Allen watched the struggling Temi and wondered to himself whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that it was not possible for him to learn about his future even if he wanted to.
“By the way, there’s something I’m looking for. Do you think you could help me find it?”
“Hmm? And what is it that you seek?”
“I’m looking for a kind of vessel, though apparently it doesn’t have a defined shape.”
He decided to have Temi try looking for the stolen divine vessel. Their days of clearing dungeons were coming to an end, yet they still had not gotten their hands on any information pertaining to it.
“That sounds impossible to find.”
“That’s what I’m struggling with. But I really need to get my hands on it.”
Temi gazed at Allen’s face for a moment. “Hmm, I’ll see what I can do.” She picked the scattered minerals and precious gems up off the table, put them back into her bag, and dumped them out again. Then, she flipped the gems over with her fingers, slammed the minerals together, and poked at them over and over before picking some of them up and returning them to her bag. Finally, she nodded, a low rumble emanating from the back of her throat.
“Is this really okay? Hmm, you’re not going to find it. But wait, that’s the same thing. Why can’t I see the future?” She gazed at the placements of the minerals and gems on the table, nodding along all the while, then lifted her head to meet Allen’s gaze. “I’m sorry, I just don’t know.” Apparently, much like with his eight-star Talent, she was unable to find out any information about the divine vessel.
“That’s too bad. Oh, but can you do anything about what Dogora’s looking for?”
Seeing Dogora with a freshly emptied plate walk past, Allen decided to have Temi try her fortune-telling on something else.
“Huh? Me?”
“That’s right. Maybe we can have her tell us how to use Heart and Soul.”
“Tell me more about this,” Temi requested, and Dogora went on to explain that he could not properly use his Extra Skill.
Temi listened intently as she placed the items back into her bag and, right in the middle of their conversation, reached out to pinch his cheeks. With that done, she poured the bag’s contents out once more and started her reading.
“Yes... Yes, I see. Hmm, I’ve got it. So I guess I haven’t lost my powers, then. Hmm? But...” Temi’s face clouded over.
“D-Did you figure it out?” Dogora cut in excitedly.
“Yes, there is something to the southeast that is related to this matter.”
“Ratash is off in that direction. So there’s something waiting for him back in his home country?”
The Empire of Baukis was located next to the Central Continent. Crossing the ocean and traveling to the southeast would take them to the Kingdom of Ratash, located to the south of the Empire of Giamut.
Dogora let out a whoop. “Really?! Awesome!”
Wow, looks like I got even more than I bargained for by bringing the Ten Heroic Beasts out here.
“Wait!” A serious expression flashed across Temi’s face as she looked at Dogora.
“Yeah?”
“The closer you get to what you seek in the southeast, the more danger you will be in of losing your life.”
“Wh-What? You can’t be serious.”
“If you want to get stronger, you’d best prepare yourself. Understood?”
“I, uh... Right.”
It sounded like a tough trial awaited Dogora if he wanted to be able to freely use Heart and Soul.
Chapter 11: Battling the Final Floor Boss (Part 1)
A large crowd formed in the square in front of the first floor of the Rank S dungeon temple. All the people gathered there were talented adventurers who had earned the right to enter the dungeon. Adventurers generally started their days early, however, and as the sun was already high in the sky, this throng of more than ten thousand had gathered for a different reason. Their cries and shouts rose like a wave and spread out from the town toward the temple.
“There they are!”
“Really? So the rumor was true?”
“Whoa, awesome! Hey, who the hell pushed me?! Show yourself!”
The crowd parted to make way for the group of forty marching to the temple, swallowing hard at the sight.
“So the rumor was true, then. Admiral Garara really has teamed up with Helmios to defeat the final floor boss. I can’t believe it! This is huge news!”
A group of cheering dwarves who had come to see off Garara and his party, Stinger, was fighting back tears. Though not friends of the admiral, the rumor had reached their ears courtesy of a dwarf who had heard the story from a member of Stinger they had happened to sit next to at the bar.
Over the past few days, many adventurers had witnessed Admiral Garara and his men entering the dungeon alongside several other parties, which seemed to imply that they had joined forces in order to clear the Rank S dungeon. The groups had spent their time practicing together, and today was finally the day when all four parties would enter the dungeon to challenge the final floor boss.
The group of cheering dwarves had witnessed the tragedy that befell Stinger at the dungeon festival the previous year. The feeling of hopelessness was still strong in their minds as they were filled with a renewed sense of hope at the scene before them.
“What the hell’re you talkin’ about? Helmios was the one who got this international group of parties together to take on the dungeon. That’s our Hero right there. He’s a real upstandin’ guy, even goin’ out of his way to provide information to us adventurers.”
A human man standing next to the dwarves called out to them. Judging by how he spoke, it was clear that he was from Giamut.
It was well-known among the adventurers challenging the Rank S dungeon that Helmios had saved a great number of lives by providing valuable information through the Adventurer’s Guild. Due to this, the man was absolutely confident that it was Helmios who had brought these parties together.
One of the dwarves was overcome with rage at this, but his anger quickly evaporated when he noticed the innocent smile on the young man’s face. He then smiled as well and looked back at the group passing in front of them.
Someone standing behind the two laughed with a snort. The towering beastkin man pointed toward the procession, his arm easily going over their heads. “Heh, it’s just like a human of the Central Continent to think that way. Take a look there, mah boy. That there’s the Ten Heroic Beasts. You have no idea just how strong the beastkin really are.”
“What’d you say?!”
“Can ya see the two standing at the center of the formation? The one covered in armor is General Hoba, a Heroic Beast said to be as strong as a thousand men. The man next to him is the future Beast King, Prince Zeu. I’m truly amazed that they managed to get ’em all together in order to lead the way to victory. Glory to Albahal! The whole world shall sing out praises!”
All of the beastkin at the Rank S dungeon had been sent by their country to spend one year taking it on. The scene before them gave them the sense that their work had paid off.
These men owed their survival to the fact that Prince Zeu had brought all of the beastkin together into one organization and looked after them. This led to the beastkin adventurers building a stronger connection to one another than any of the other races. Due to the close nature of their relationships, one of the men working closely with the prince had let slip what he was planning, leading to the information spreading among them even faster than it had with the dwarves and humans.
It had been quite some time since these beastkin adventurers had stopped trying to clear the dungeon, though this fact was hardly unique to them. All adventurers who had faced the challenges and terror that awaited in the Rank S dungeon, be they human, dwarf, or beastkin, had given up on the idea. This was nothing more than a place to survive and earn money. By risking their lives, they stood to either earn money or die at the hands of monsters; thus those who had once dreamed of clearing the dungeon quickly concerned themselves only with collecting today’s bounty and living to see tomorrow. However, rumors that this reality might change had caused somewhat of a revival in their lust for adventure, which was why they had all gathered to see these heroes off.
This was the day. Today, the Rank S dungeon would be defeated, and not by a party comprised of just one race, but by a party of all races—dwarves, humans, beastkin, and even elves. The races knew little about one another, regarding the others almost like inhabitants from another planet, but those watching this multiracial group come together to fight for a common cause could tell that something had changed, even if they could not quite put that feeling into words.
The dwarf, human, and beastkin adventurers exchanged glances and saw identical expressions on each of their faces. The three of them then turned their attention forward, a look of hope in their eyes as they watched the group heading toward the temple. None of them, however, seemed to pay the onlookers any mind.
“This was all Allen’s doing, y’know,” Dogora, at the back of the formation, muttered to himself in annoyance. He was the only member of the Gamers to object to Allen dropping Helmios’s name when providing the Adventurer’s Guild with the information they had learned from the dungeon. They had put their lives on the line to get that information, so he believed that it was only right that it be done in Allen’s name.
Ultimately, Allen had managed to convince Dogora—albeit grudgingly—that this was the fastest way to get the information out there if they hoped to save any lives. He remained unconvinced over Allen’s insistence that they refer to Prince Zeu as the leader of this campaign to clear the final floor boss of the Rank S dungeon, however.
According to Allen, rather than clearing the dungeon, having Prince Zeu ascend the throne was his end goal. Crown Prince Beku, with his insistence on invading the Central Continent, could not be allowed to become the Beast King. Admiral Garara of Baukis; Helmios, the Hero who had fought the Demon Lord Army on the Central Continent; and even Rohzenheim, which had suffered greatly in the recent war, were all in agreement on this matter. The Five Continent Alliance simply could not be allowed to fall apart, and this campaign to beat the final floor boss and clear the Rank S dungeon was directly connected to that very fate.
While Allen’s logic had won over the rest of the No-life Gamers, Dogora remained unconvinced. He did not much care for the fact that it seemed like he and his friends were being used by the queen of Rohzenheim instead of acting on behalf of their friend Sophie.
“Hey, Dogora.”
Broken from his thoughts at the sound of his name, Dogora looked in the direction of the person calling out to him.
“Oh, uh, hey, Dverg.”
Dverg was walking a few steps ahead of Dogora and still facing forward as he spoke. “Don’t worry about it. Heroic acts can hardly be kept under wraps.”
“R-Right.”
“Those looking for a hero will eventually find what they seek.”
“Is that so?” The young man with his signature potato-shaped head was taken aback by the words of the Sword Lord who had spent the past several decades on the battlefield.
“That goes for you too, Dogora.”
“Y-You really mean that? I’m gonna be a hero too?” The anger that had been consuming Dogora was washed away by Dverg’s compliment. Keel could not help but chuckle wryly under his breath at the sight.
The group eventually arrived at the temple and, thanks to the crowd making way for them, reached Floor 5 in no time flat. Helmios cast a cautious glance around at their surroundings.
“So this is Floor 5, is it?” he asked.
Zeu turned to Allen. “All we have to do is head forward like you said, right?” This was the first time Helmios’s and Zeu’s parties had been to Floor 5.
I guess we should have practiced this at least once. Actually, it’s probably better that we didn’t.
Allen doubted himself for a moment before quickly changing his mind. They would have needed to battle enough golems to get the requisite bronze, iron, and mithril medals for each of the participating parties. He had already collected one set prior to deciding to bring all of the parties together, but he would have had to collect all of those medals all over again if they were to use them just for a little bit of scouting and practice against the final floor boss.
Considering they still did not know where the Goddess of Fire’s divine vessel was or what the Demon Lord Army’s next step would be, however, all four party leaders agreed that they could not waste that time and decided against it. Even if they failed this time, they planned to try as many times as necessary.
The first time Allen broached the subject with Helmios, they had agreed to just give up if they failed on their first try. However, that changed after they heard about the final floor boss from Garara. As he learned more about the situation, Allen decided that his earlier promise with Helmios was null and void.
The group finally reached the floor cube.
“I am Final Floor Boss Transfer System S505. Four each of the three medals have been placed in the table. Four parties may face the final floor boss. Will you begin the challenge?”
“Yes.”
“Certainly. Please confirm that the head party leader is Zeu van Albahal of the Beast Prince Zeu and the Ten Heroic Beasts party.”
Zeu glanced back at Allen, who responded with a nod.
“That is correct.”
“Will you go to the final floor boss now?”
“Yes, please send us on our way.” The moment the words left Zeu’s mouth, the entire group was teleported to a large, open room. It was far larger than the zones in which the Gamers had fought the bronze, iron, and mithril golems, with its ceiling several hundred meters above them. Far off in the distance, they could hear the low rumbling sound of something moving.
The group spied five golems standing in a row over a hundred meters away from where they had teleported in.
Well, things are shaping up just like I’d heard.
The one-hundred-meter-tall hihiirokane golem, which gleamed vermilion, was the final floor boss they were here for. Something about it stood out to Allen, though.
Now that I think about it, BB, Scarlet, and Crimson were all red too.
Allen could not help but wonder if there was a reason all of the Rank S floor bosses were a shade of red.
The golems remained stock-still as Allen and the gathered parties took stock of the area. Just like with the other Floor 5 golems, it seemed that the battle would not start until the group had come within a certain distance.
“Wooow.”
Dogora could hardly contain his amazement. Meanwhile, Keel was clearly concerned.
“Do you think we can beat it?”
“Huh? We should be able to, as long as we stick to the plan. Right, Helmios?”
Helmios smiled wryly at Allen’s prompting. “Well, Dygragni did tell me to give it a shot if I thought I was good enough. To be honest, though, I’m not so sure.”
Why’s he gotta be so half-hearted about this? All we can do now is hope and pray that we’ve done enough to secure our victory.
The Rank S dungeon’s final floor boss had never been defeated.
Allen recalled in his past life that there were some games with bosses that simply could not be defeated. They were set up such that they either had absurdly high endurance and thus ignored players’ attacks or had infinite HP. Some boss battles even came to an end upon the boss taking a certain amount of damage, building excitement among the players over the prospect of being able to defeat it through skill adjustments or by equipping items added in a future game update.
However, considering that the creator of the final floor boss, Dygragni, had not stated that it was impossible to defeat, Allen went about structuring his parties and preparing his strategies under the assumption that it could be.
I guess things are going to play out just like Admiral Garara said. Allen once again closely inspected the golems as he thought about the upcoming fight. The hihiirokane golem was joined by two iron golems, one bronze golem, and one mithril golem. At least now I know why he told me that we can’t just rush in.
“Ain’t nothin’ ta fear here, men! This time ’round, victory will be ours!” Admiral Garara shouted out to his men to get them ready for battle.
“W-We’ll give it our all, Admiral!”
I figure the Gamers should be good to go. We’ve maxed out all our levels and have stat-boosting rings to boot.
Allen opened his grimoire to check his party’s stats.
* * *
Name: Krena
Age: 15
Class: Sword Emperor
Level: 60
HP: 4,150 + 3,000
MP: 1,832 + 3,000
Attack: 4,150 + 3,000
Endurance: 3,968 + 3,000
