Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 2
“This is an elven elixir created by the elves of Rohzenheim,” Allen said, enunciating carefully. “They managed to find a way to mass-produce them, although doing so has greatly lowered their efficacy.”
“Elven elixirs? These?”
Back when Allen fought Helmios, Helmios had seen Allen use a Blessing of Earth and had mistaken it for an elven elixir. Allen was now taking advantage of the leeway he had from the fact that no one else was familiar with a Summoner’s abilities.
If the Hero’s reaction had been sincere, then the real elven elixir can probably heal lost limbs for real too.
However, as a member of the elven royal family, Theodojiil knew what the real elven elixir looked like. He was about to question Allen’s claim when Sophie suddenly spoke up. “Lord Allen speaks true,” she confirmed. “This is undoubtedly an elven elixir.”
“Your Highness, what—”
With perfect timing, Sophie added, “In exchange for calling all its people back, Rohzenheim is now sending these elven elixirs to take their place. Isn’t that right, Lord Allen?” She looked at him with upturned eyes as if she were a student waiting for a teacher to check her answer.
“That’s exactly it, Sophie. Rohzenheim did not forget its role as a member of the Five Continent Alliance.”
The Demon Lord Army was hoping that the withdrawal of elven forces would lead to the collapse of the Five Continent Alliance. Once this international cooperative body was gone, each country would be that much easier to invade. However, the introduction of these so-called elven elixirs would give Giamut a very different impression.
With the Demon Lord still at large, I figure it’d be best to keep the Alliance intact for now. The way Allen saw it, once the Demon Lord was gone, this organization would become one where a handful of superpowers lorded it over countless other less powerful countries. At the moment, however, it was still necessary.
“How brilliant, Lord Allen!” Sophie gushed. “Rohzenheim is saved, Giamut is saved, and even the Alliance is saved!”
“Of course, the plan I described is a countermeasure based only on what I’ve heard so far,” Allen cautioned. “The situation could still change at the drop of a hat.”
Things would likely go the Alliance’s way at first. After all, the Demon Lord Army would be attacking with the assumption that the Central Continent now had no healing support without the elven healers, but they would instead face Giamutan forces with six hundred thousand Fronds of Life on hand. The Demon Lord Army would catch on sooner or later and adjust their tactics accordingly. Similarly, if Allen and his friends managed to help Rohzenheim make a comeback, the Central Continent front might also end up affected somehow. It would be foolish to expect everything to go well.
And that’s why we need insurance.
As Allen mulled over what else he could do, the headmaster now fully understood what Allen and Sophie were getting at. “Thank you. These recovery items will be an enormous help.”
“Think nothing of it. All I ask is that these are called ‘elven elixirs’ going forward.” Allen then turned to Meruru, who had been looking down ever since she had heard she was to return home. “Meruru, we’re still coming to Baukis in April. We made a promise, and I intend to keep it.”
“Huh?”
“We’ll deal with the Demon Lord Army as fast as we can, then hit the Rank S dungeon in Baukis together!”
“O-Okay.”
“Since you’ll probably also be dispatched to the front lines—here, take some more elven elixirs.”
The dwarven girl possessed the Talos General Talent, which enabled her to pilot golems up to mithril grade. This made her a one-in-ten-million prodigy. At the same time, that very Talent made it very likely she would be deployed to battle as a soldier. Therefore, Allen handed her some more Fronds in addition to the number she usually received as a member of the Gamers. He made a point of calling them “elven elixirs” as he did so.
Oh right, I should give her MP recovery items too. I’m sure the war situation would change with a thousand Seeds of Magic.
What the soldiers fighting on the Central Continent needed most was HP recovery items. In contrast, Baukis was protected by golems that ran on MP from their pilots and therefore needed items to recover MP instead.
“Thank...you...”
When Allen handed her a pouch bulging with Seeds of Magic, she thanked him once more as tears streamed down her face. She felt greatly indebted as, on top of not having been able to contribute in any significant way to their dungeon dives so far, she was now temporarily leaving the party.
Keel spoke up again. “I need to explain things to Nina.”
“That’s a good point.” Allen nodded. “We should bid a proper farewell to those at the base.”
The No-life Gamers decided to return home and first say goodbye to Nina—Keel’s younger sister—and the servants who had basically become family before they headed out to the battlefield.
＊ ＊ ＊
A day passed, most of it spent bustling around preparing for the journey to Rohzenheim. The headmaster had promised to arrange foodstuffs and additional necessities, but there were other things that Allen needed to prepare.
It was possible that, after spending almost two whole years in this city, the party might not ever come back to it again. The thought seemed quite poignant somehow. There were no absolutes in war, and no guarantee that they would win. The large majority of residents in this city had not the faintest idea about the Demon Lord and were simply living their lives as usual. And Allen wanted to do what he could to keep it that way.
Keel explained the situation to Nina and his servants. Nina looked quite shocked, but managed to smile and say, “Please come back safe and sound!” with tears in her eyes. As a result of his departure, Nina and the servants would be entering Count Hamilton’s care a year early.
Allen intended to end things in Rohzenheim as quickly as he could, but he had no way to ensure everything would go the way he wanted. Consequently, as soon as he had left the headmaster’s office the day before, he had gone and explained everything to Rifol, his classmate of two years and Count Hamilton’s son. Rifol had replied, “You know how close we are. There’s no problem at all,” then promptly headed off to make the necessary arrangements.
Allen understood this to mean he had incurred a favor with Rifol. He made a mental note to repay it after the war was over.
＊ ＊ ＊
Allen made his way to the outskirts of Academy City and opened his grimoire to do a thorough check of the stats, Abilities, and Awakened Abilities of the Rank B Summons that had become available to him upon obtaining Summoning Lvl. 7.
* * *
Status of Insect B (Ant)
Type: Insect
Rank: B
Name: Antsy
HP: 2,600
MP: 1,000
Attack: 2,400
Endurance: 3,000
Agility: 3,000
Intelligence: 2,000
Luck: 1,800
Buffs: Endurance 100, Agility 100
Ability: Formic Acid
Awakened Ability: Spawn
* * *
Status of Beast B (Cerberus)
Type: Beast
Rank: B
Name: Cerby
HP: 3,000
MP: 1,000
Attack: 3,000
Endurance: 2,700
Agility: 2,800
Intelligence: 2,000
Luck: 1,400
Buffs: HP 100, Attack 100
Ability: Triple Bite
Awakened Ability: Ninefold Crunch
* * *
Status of Bird B (Griffin)
Type: Bird
Rank: B
Name: Griff
HP: 2,000
MP: 1,000
Attack: 2,000
Endurance: 2,300
Agility: 3,000
Intelligence: 3,000
Luck: 2,400
Buffs: Agility 100, Intelligence 100
Ability: Fly
Awakened Ability: Jet
* * *
Status of Grass B (Peach)
Type: Grass
Rank: B
Name: Peachy
HP: 100
MP: 3,000
Attack: 100
Endurance: 100
Agility: 100
Intelligence: 100
Luck: 3,000
Buffs: MP 100, Luck 100
Ability: Blessing of Earth
Awakened Ability: Blessing of Heaven
* * *
Status of Stone B (Mithril Armor)
Type: Stone
Rank: B
Name: Mirror
HP: 3,000
MP: 1,000
Attack: 2,800
Endurance: 3,000
Agility: 2,300
Intelligence: 2,000
Luck: 2,500
Buffs: HP 100, Endurance 100
Ability: Reflect
Awakened Ability: Total Reflect
* * *
Status of Fish B (Archelon)
Type: Fish
Rank: B
Name: Genbu
HP: 2,900
MP: 3,000
Attack: 2,000
Endurance: 2,900
Agility: 1,000
Intelligence: 3,000
Luck: 2,600
Buffs: MP 100, Intelligence 100
Ability: Turtle Shield
Awakened Ability: Turtle Barrier
* * *
Status of Spirit B (Blonde Girl)
Type: Spirit
Rank: B
Name: Ellie
HP: 2,600
MP: 3,000
Attack: 2,600
Endurance: 3,000
Agility: 2,600
Intelligence: 3,000
Luck: 1,800
Buffs: Endurance 100, Intelligence 100, High Physical Damage Resistance
Ability: Gravity
Awakened Ability: Black Hole
* * *
Status of Dragon B (Winged Dragon)
Type: Dragon
Rank: B
Name: Dora
HP: 2,800
MP: 1,000
Attack: 3,000
Endurance: 2,900
Agility: 3,000
Intelligence: 1,800
Luck: 1,600
Buffs: Attack 100, Agility 100, High Breath Damage Resistance
Ability: Fire Breath
Awakened Ability: Hellfire of Fury
* * *
A blonde teenage girl beside Allen asked, “So, you would like us to eviscerate these monsters that call themselves the Demon Lord Army?” This was Spirit B. Her body was translucent and she was floating in midair. Her tone was respectful, but what she was saying sounded rather disturbing.
“That’s right. Go only for the monsters. They’ll be fighting a lot of human soldiers, and you’re all expressly forbidden from attacking the humans, even if they attack you first.”
“Your will is our command, Master.”
Allen had no idea how much his Summons could do against two million monsters, but in a battle, every little bit helped. This was why Allen was now silently bringing out a whole slew of Summons that he planned on dispatching to the Giamutan front. Thanks to Sharing, he would be able to see the situation there for himself once they arrived.
If Giamut were to fall, the next country that the Demon Lord Army would target on the Central Continent was very likely to be Ratash, Allen’s homeland. Keeping an eye on the state of the war in the north would allow him to immediately react to any changes in the situation. This time, he had been caught unawares by news of Rohzenheim and needed a whole day to get things in order; he wanted very much to avoid having to go through this again.
Allen’s Summons were able to stay Summoned for a month at most. So far, he had only ever used them for tasks that could be accomplished within a month, such as farming dungeons, serving as a method of communication with Granvelle City, and helping out with Rodin Village’s development. This time, however, his Summons needed to traverse the entire longitudinal breadth of the massive Empire of Giamut. As such, he was restricted to sending Summons that could fly through the sky—and quickly, at that.
Summons Being Sent to the Giamutan Front
Bird E x 2
Bird D x 2
Spirit B x 5
Dragon B x 5
This seems about right if I want the group to be capable of scouting, fighting, and information gathering. And I’ll have them carry some recovery items too.
Allen gave his Summons one more order. “Oh, and if you encounter a demon or Demonic Deity, try to send back as much information as possible.”
I did try to look into them, but couldn’t find anything at all. I want to at least know how powerful they are.
Representing the rest of the Summons, Dora replied, “Gotcha, Master. We’ll do what it takes to gather all the info we can.”
According to the headmaster and Allen’s homeroom teacher, the Demon Lord Army had an internal hierarchy and a chief commander, but they did not sound too sure. Allen wanted to confirm these facts for himself.
“All right, I’m counting on you all. I might send reinforcements depending on the situation on the front line, but don’t count on it.”
“We will eviscerate every last one of them, Master.”
“Hell yeah. We’ll burn ’em to embers!”
After Spirit B and Dragon B—the only two kinds who could speak the human language—gave Allen their replies, the whole group flew off together, heading northward while constantly Sharing their vision with him.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Thanks for waiting,” Allen said as he rejoined his friends in front of the high-speed magic ship. The vessel measured a hundred meters from bow to stern.
Krena waved at him cheerfully. “You’re done, Allen?”
“Yep. I just sent them off.”
Hundreds of elven students stood huddled in small groups around the No-life Gamers, clearly shaken by the sudden order to return. Sophie was going around to each one and reassuring them, saying, “There’s no need to worry. Lord Allen is with us,” as if it was supposed to mean something.
Keel, who had just finished saying his final farewells to his family, appeared to be arguing about something with the oldest servant. As it turned out, he was trying to hand over the entirety of the hefty sum he had earned from dungeon delving, but the servant was adamantly refusing to accept it. They had done this same thing the night before. Eventually, it was the servant who folded, promising to only use it for Nina’s sake.
Allen approached Dogora. “You sure about this?”
Although the king of Ratash had issued a royal decree, Allen still made a point to confirm how Dogora felt about the situation. If Dogora did not want to go, Allen was confident he could make the decree go away—especially since Dogora was a commoner.
“Huh? Sure about what?”
The way Allen saw it, Dogora was the one who would be in the greatest danger in the coming battles. After all, his class was one that fought in close quarters, and he would be up against Rank A monsters—possibly even Rank S ones. This was significantly different from Cecil and Keel who, despite having relatively low HP and Endurance, could stand in the back behind Allen’s Summons. Krena was also in the vanguard, but her stats were a good deal higher than Dogora’s.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to properly protect everyone if we suddenly encounter a Rank S enemy.
Currently, Dogora’s weapon and all his armor were adamantite. This was enough to protect him against most things, but the enemies they would be meeting could very well be even more powerful than the dragon boss in the Rank A dungeons in Academy City that they already had such trouble fighting.
The worst-case scenario flashed through Allen’s mind, prompting him to ask, “You know you don’t have to stick with me, right?”
Dogora grinned. “The hell you sayin’? The royal decree had my name on it, didn’t it? We’re gonna raise hell on that battlefield and wrangle up all the rewards we’re worth,” he said, copying Allen’s tone.
“You’re damn right we are. Do your best up front with Krena, then.” Though we still don’t know exactly how we’ll be joining the fight.
“You got it, boss.” Dogora propped his greatax on his shoulder, gripping it tightly.
All right, first stop: Nest.
The high-speed magic ship that they would be riding was scheduled to arrive in Nest, a massive port city at the southernmost tip of the Rohzenheim continent, in four days.
“Ah, looks like they’ve started boarding. Guys, let’s go.”
And so the magic ship took off, carrying the No-life Gamers to the battlefield.
Chapter 2: Gathering Information from Ratash Palace
A solitary bird was perched on a branch, peering inside one of the windows of the resplendent Ratash Palace. Suddenly, the door on the far side of the room opened, and a noble, a knight, and a butler entered. When the knight noticed the bird, he opened the window, allowing the bird to slip inside.
“Pardon the intrusion, Viscount Granvelle,” the creature said as it bowed toward the noble. This was of course Allen’s Bird G Summon.
“Apologies you had to wait so long. The audience with the king lasted some time.”
“I understand. What have you learned?”
The very day Allen had received word from the headmaster, he reached out to the viscount via the Summon permanently stationed at the Granvelle mansion. When the viscount had heard about Allen and his group’s sudden dispatch to the front lines, he had immediately headed to the royal capital to demand an explanation from the king. However, the most he was told was that “His Majesty is currently occupied,” all the way up to the end of the day. The next morning, he had changed his approach, saying that Allen and his group had already boarded a high-speed magic ship and that he was there to seek a thorough explanation for their deployment. He was immediately granted an audience.
