Hell Mode: Volume 9, page 19
“Huh?! Did we do it?!” Keel cried.
Goldino slowly toppled over onto its back. The King Me’d and Deputized Stone As’ increased Endurance had allowed them to absorb more of the mithril golem’s attacks than before. The Summons had been able to unleash far more powerful attacks.
“I hope we beat it,” Allen said.
“I hope so as well, but will things really work out so nicely for us?” Cecil asked doubtfully.
This time around, the Summoner had prioritized efficiency. It was as though he were trying to speedrun this fight. If possible, he wanted to avoid having to fight Supercombined Goldino.
“Y-You runts truly seem keen on dying,” Goldino rumbled. “If you want to know just how powerless you are, I shall hammer it into you! Golems, gather around me!”
The iron golems, frozen in place, and the bronze and mithril golems that were still attacking flew toward Goldino, transforming into various parts for the boss.
“I guess that’s a no,” Allen said. “But at least we don’t need to attack the bronze and mithril golems anymore.”
“I suppose,” Cecil said.
In his previous life, Allen had played games with bosses that had multiple phases. Even if his attacks had been overkill, the bosses had almost always entered their next phases without actually going down. This world seemed to operate on the same logic. However, if the iron golems were defeated, even if the mithril and bronze golems remained, it would force Goldino to enter its next phase.
“Rockanels, continue Absorbing the mithril golem’s attacks!” Allen ordered.
On Goldino’s shoulder was the mithril golem that had transformed into an artillery battery. The Stone As were tasked with Absorbing its shots.
“Merus, change its element!” Allen commanded.
“Give me a few moments,” Merus said.
Meruru approached Goldino, trying to become a wall for Merus. She was taking on the same role as Admiral Garara and the members of Stinger during the last battle.
“Hrrrngh!” Meruru grunted.
Fish A charged at Goldino, but the boss was focused on Meruru. At the same time, the Stone As were glued to the mithril golem in hopes of decreasing the strain on the dwarven girl.
“Done,” Merus said.
With his 35,000 Intelligence, Merus had used Endow Element to change Goldino’s weakness.
“Huh? It changed,” Dogora remarked. When he had slammed Kagutsuchi down on Goldino, he had noticed a change in the impact of his blows. Goldino’s weakness had now become the fire element.
It’s probably thanks to Kagutsuchi. The 150-meter-tall Goldino staggered when hit by Dogora’s weapon. Allen had learned through his grimoire that Dogora had entered Extra Mode after their battle against Bask. When Freyja had initially offered her Blessing, its effects had been listed as “tiny.” Since then, however, it had been upgraded to “moderate.” Dogora was receiving buffs that put even the Holy Orbs to shame.
Effects of Fire Goddess Freyja’s Blessing
Tiny: Only absorbs fire attacks
Very Small: Absorbs fire attacks, increases all stats by +1,000
Small: Absorbs fire attacks, increases all stats by +3,000, increases damage by 10%
Moderate: Absorbs fire attacks, increases all stats by +5,000, increases damage by 30%, reduces cooldown of Super skills by 30%
It was all thanks to the daily prayers of the Hardcore User Island residents and the massive stone statue erected in Neel, a city in Elmahl. Citizens of the Holy Land had started to place their faith in the Goddess of Fire. I’ve gotta get her more followers.
However, there was a condition for Dogora to use her Blessing: He had to have Kagutsuchi equipped. Beast King Muza had had no way of knowing that during their battle in Giamut’s arena, but Allen knew that Dogora had cast his Blessing aside to fight fair and square. The monarch having used Beast Mode against such resolve was a huge slap in the face—one that the black-haired boy would not simply forgive and forget.
“Cecil, use Fire Magic,” Allen said.
“Got it. Flare!” Cecil chanted.
“I-Impudent runts!” Goldino shouted, crouching down to attack Dogora. “G-Gah?!”
The boss was open to a frontal assault by Cecil’s Fire Magic. Using her over 35,000 Intelligence thanks to the Holy Orb of Macris, a necklace that raised Intelligence by +2,000, and a rod she had obtained from a gold chest while farming the iron golems, she launched another massive fireball. This time, it was aimed squarely at Dogora’s back, and Goldino could not hide its shock.
“You! You plan on blasting away your friend too?!” the boss boomed.
However, the massive fireball was absorbed by Dogora as though there were a black hole in his back. Now that he was Freyja’s disciple, Fire Magic and Fire Breaths had no effect on him. In fact, he regenerated HP from the attack.
Goldino was caught completely by surprise, and Allen used the chance to utilize his Summons. After they shaved away a good chunk of Goldino’s HP, he turned to his friend.
“So far, so good! Dogora, finish it off for me!”
“Got it!” Dogora replied. “Heart and Soul!”
Kagutsuchi emitted a dazzling glow. Dogora kicked Goldino’s shin and raced up the arm that had transformed into a drill. He kicked off the boss’s elbow and swung his divine vessel down at its chest.
BOOM!
No one had heard such a deafening sound before.
“Gaaah?!” Goldino cried. An opponent one-hundredth its size had punched a hole into it, blowing it backward.
Hmm, has he regained some of the power he showed back then? Allen recalled the time when Dogora and Bask had clashed. Bask was a Greater Demonic Deity, meaning he was likely more powerful than Supercombined Goldino. Bask had even received constant healing from the skeletal Pope, and Dogora had still managed to slice Bask’s body in two. Compared to the power that Dogora had shown in that fight, the boy was still unable to fully wield his might as a disciple. I have to make his Blessing become “great” so that he gets ever stronger buffs. And Sophie and Shia have Blessings slumbering within them, so I gotta awaken those too.
Sophie likely carried the Blessing from Rohzen, and Shia was protected by Garm, the God of Beasts. Luke was also under the protection of Faable, the Sovereign of Spirits. However, none of them enjoyed any benefits from these Blessings. Perhaps it was because deities made sure not to meddle too much with the Mortal Realm’s affairs, as Rohzen and former First Angel Merus had mentioned in the past. But if Dogora’s Blessing from Freyja buffed him to this degree, Allen wanted to ensure that the other three received some sort of benefit from their Blessings.
Cecil, Krena, Keel, and Volmaar don’t have Blessings, but I wonder if there’s a way for them to get something. For example, a Blessing from Isiris, the Goddess of Magic, would be perfect for Cecil. Allen had absolutely no idea how to go about having it granted to her, though.
Holy Orbs and other items were already boosting the stats of his party members, and a Blessing from deities would only further increase their power. Allen could not hide his excitement upon learning a possible method other than Extra Mode to have them grow stronger.
“Heh heh heh... Y-You fools!” Goldino shouted. “You’ll rue the day you made me unleash my full power! This is my true form!”
As Allen was busy thinking about the future, Goldino’s components scattered, and True Goldino emerged.
“Merus, is Endow Element still in effect?” Allen asked.
“It is,” Merus replied. “Its weakness is still fire.”
Though Goldino had changed forms, Merus’s Ability was still affecting it.
“All right, then use Judgment Lightning,” Allen said.
“Got it. Receive the purification of judgment!” Merus chanted.
KABOOM!
“Y-You little... Huh?!” Goldino gasped. “I-Impossible! I-I can’t move!”
The monster would not go down even when Merus drained his MP using his Awakened Ability, Judgment Lightning. However, the attack’s effect temporarily locked Goldino where it lay on the ground.
“Cecil, the usual, please,” Allen said.
“Okay! Petit Meteor!” Cecil shouted.
A colossal, crimson boulder of fire appeared out of thin air and slowly crushed True Goldino.
“Y-You ruuuuunts!” Goldino shrieked.
Cecil’s Extra Skill possessed both the fire and earth elements. Since Goldino was now especially weak to fire, the Extra Skill’s damage had been amplified.
“Nice. We did it,” Allen said. Goldino had given them much trouble before, but now, they were able to defeat it in a flash.
“We did it!” Cecil crowed. “But that was a lot quicker than I thought.”
The rest of the No-life Gamers were pleasantly surprised by the outcome. And we did it without the Blessing of the Sovereign of Spirits. We could probably beat it faster if we had that buff. No, I should probably save it for emergencies. I’ll have to test that out later. Wanting to test out their strength, Allen had had his party fight Goldino without the Blessing of the Sovereign of Spirits, and they had won. Because of that, he decided that it would be best to save that skill for emergencies.
“Damn it... My spells didn’t do a thing to it,” Luke grumbled.
“Hmm, so this is the Rank S dungeon boss my brother fought against...” Shia mumbled.
It was a first for both of them. Luke’s buffs had barely been effective, and Shia’s attacks had not seemed to do much either.
“It’s good enough for a first fight,” Allen assured them as he considered discussing future formations. “I’m looking forward to seeing you two grow.”
“Ugh. Guess there aren’t any rainbow chests...” Keel mumbled.
The rewards this time were three silver chests and one gold chest. The silver chests contained an adamantite weapon, a hihiirokane slate, and a ring that increased stats by +5,000. The gold chest contained a magic core.
“Not bad,” Allen said.
His party had no use for the equipment, but it could be utilized to strengthen the Allen Army. As for the magic core, he was trying to collect ten of them, so he was happy to have claimed his fourth one. Nothing they had found would benefit his party, though, so while the drops were not bad, they were by no means great.
“I’m tired. Why don’t we head back for now?” Cecil suggested.
“Huh?” Allen asked, befuddled.
“What do you mean, ‘Huh?’”
“We’re gonna farm iron golems now.”
“What?! Are you right in the head?!”
Allen had prioritized efficiency for this fight because he had wanted to defeat Goldino before starting the party’s daily iron-golem-hunting routine. The boss of the final floor could only be fought once a day, so if they could clear it with no issues, they could also farm iron golems.
Cecil turned pale upon learning that Allen’s goal was to farm three hundred iron golems. But reluctant though she was, the Gamers dragged her along as they split into two groups and diligently took down the behemoths.
Chapter 11: Thomas’s Class Promotion and a New Talent
Three months had passed since the No-life Gamers had managed to defeat Goldino by themselves. Farming the boss had become a daily routine, and they had now defeated it ninety times. For this, they had been rewarded with a total of 360 chests. Only ten of them had been rainbow chests, and as Allen had expected, their extreme rarity meant that they contained valuable items. Thanks to the drops, Allen’s party had become stronger still.
Hardcore User Island had also developed a fair bit during that time. Roads had been paved to connect the four towns, and the different species had begun to mingle. The residents were adapting to their new environment well. It had not even been half a year since the first immigrants had arrived, but they were already starting their second harvest of crops.
Thanks to the power of the spirits borrowed by the elves and dark elves, the land remained arable for consecutive harvests. They predicted that there could be three harvests per year. The island was by no means large, but it could produce plenty of food.
Moreover, the addition of the Magus Smith squad to the Allen Army had allowed communication magic tools to be installed throughout the island. Allen could now communicate with the nations within the Five Continent Alliance. The Magus Smith squad was also tasked with researching and maintaining magic tools obtained from Rank S dungeons while searching for ways to improve the island’s residents’ quality of life.
Today was a day off for the party. Normally, this day was used to hold meetings with the Allen Army, inspect how the island was developing, and allow party members to take a breather, but Allen and Cecil were currently on the final floor of the class promotion dungeon. This was where people received their class promotions after clearing three tasks. The two were joined by Thomas, Princess Leilana, and two other friends from the Academy.
“And now you’ll finally get a Talent, Thomas!” Leilana squealed, a halberd resting on her shoulder.
“Yeah, I will,” Thomas replied.
“What’s with you? Come on, celebrate more!”
The princess was in high spirits. It had been a few months since Thomas had gotten help gaining levels, and he had finally maxed out at Lvl. 60, making him eligible for a class promotion.
“I’ll finally get a Talent too,” Thomas murmured.
His younger sister had been born a Wizardess, and his late older brother had been born a Swordsman, but Thomas was Talentless. He had been frustrated by this and was very happy to be receiving a Talent. Unfortunately, however, he could not gather his thoughts well. He could only see that Princess Leilana was delighted.
“Would you prefer a class in the vanguard, rear guard, or middle guard?” the cube inquired.
“It’s like you said the other day, Allen,” Leilana remarked. “I guess you can’t just say ‘Make me a Cleric’ and be done with it.”
Allen had already explained the details of class promotions to the princess. Those who were Talentless chose either the vanguard, the rear guard, or the middle guard. Once they did so, a Talent would be randomly assigned to them.
“I apologize for disappointing you,” the cube said.
“No matter. I’m sure Thomas will become a Cleric,” Leilana replied. Since she was a Halberd User, she wanted a Cleric to heal her.
I wonder what he’ll get, Allen thought. While the vast majority of the Pelomas Whaling Company Guards had Talents, there were several Talentless people, including Captain Raven and Vice-Captain Rita. They had been with Pelomas ever since the merchant had started his own mercenary force and hired them because of their character. Both of them had already cleared the class promotion dungeon and received Talents, which was how Allen was aware of the process.
“Um, I should choose rear guard, right, Allen?” Thomas asked.
“Exactly,” Allen replied. “You’ll have a chance of becoming a Cleric that way.”
“Then rear guard, please.”
“Rear guard. Noted. Please throw this box high above me.”
Pale light gathered in front of the cube, and a small twenty-sided die that could fit in the palm of one’s hand appeared. Some faces of the polyhedron had letters, while others were blank. So we’re using a dice roll this time. Allen had also seen ghost legs and roulettes being used to randomly generate a Talent to be bestowed upon a person.
The cube explained that landing on either of the two blank spaces on the die allowed the user to choose whatever Talent they wished. Feeling Princess Leilana’s stare boring through his back, Thomas clutched the die and flung it high in the air.
What’ll it be? What’ll it be? As Allen hummed a dramatic little tune he learned in his past life in his head, the die formed a beautiful arc and flew over the cube. It bounced thrice before slowly rolling to a stop with one side facing up.
Leilana desperately chased after the die and screeched upon seeing the result. “Huh?! What?! Musician?! Thomas, sit right there!”
“Eek! I’m sorry!” Thomas wailed. The princess had put him into a cobra twist, locking his joints in place.
I feel like this is what people call “unreasonable,” Allen thought. Meanwhile, Cecil said nothing, gazing at the scene as though it were nothing out of the ordinary. I wish you’d see yourself in this and feel bad for how violent you are to me on a daily basis.
Cecil whirled around to face Allen, much to his surprise, and asked, “Allen, what kind of Talent is Musician anyway?”
“It’s a support role that provides buffs,” Allen replied. “Musicians use their instruments to strengthen others. There’s a similar Talent called Bard, but that one sings instead.”
Realizing that Thomas had gotten exactly the type of Talent he had been hoping for, Allen grinned. He had actually wanted to do some testing with a few Talents, and among them was one that specialized in buffs. The No-life Gamers had Sophie to buff them, but that was not her primary role; she was simply utilizing the spirits who could apply buffs. Allen suspected that he could stack his buffs if the right class came along.
When Allen had fought with Helmios, Admiral Garara, and Beast Prince Zeu on the final floor of the Rank S dungeon, he had noticed that buffs from separate species tended to stack.
“Like Lepe, then,” Cecil remarked.
“Yep,” Allen replied. “Musician, huh...” He honestly reminds me of a noble who just decided to pursue their passion. But hey, this wasn’t my fault.
Thomas had received a Talent where he played an instrument and buffed his allies based on the tune he played. And since he had started off Talentless, he was allowed one more class promotion. To do so, he had to max his level and skill levels.
“In any case, Talents are bestowed upon us by Lord Elmea. It’s not something we can change,” Leilana said. “But now that you’ve finally been given one, we must celebrate this joyous occasion.”
She shot Allen a threatening glare, making her implication clear: The celebration would be for just the two of them. As usual, this princess sure is precocious. He received the message loud and clear.
