Hell Mode: Volume 3, page 22
Noticing his crestfallen look, Krena asked, “Did it not work, Allen?”
“This is...not an MP Recovery Ring, apparently.” Despite feeling disappointed, however, Allen was not one to stop testing things out. “Um, Dogora, you try putting it on.”
“’Kay.” Dogora obliged. Immediately his HP began recovering at one percent per tick. Before long, he was back to full health.
“This is an HP Recovery Ring,” Allen declared, albeit regretfully. Grrr, so close!
“I’m sorry,” Cecil said out of sympathy. “But hey, this is a good thing. Now you know you can keep hoping.”
If an HP Recovery Ring could drop, then so could an MP Recovery Ring. Allen gathered himself and renewed his determination to keep challenging the dungeons.
＊ ＊ ＊
Roughly three months had passed since the No-life Gamers had cleared their second Rank A dungeon, and March was now coming to its end. When thinking about how they had come to this city around the same time last year, time truly seemed to have passed in a flash. It would not be not long before they would become second-year students.
The party was currently deep inside the third Rank A dungeon they were challenging. They had just finished off a group of Rank B monsters that had attacked them when Krena felt something.
“Oh, it went up.”
“Your level?”
I see. So even Krena’s finally hit the level cap. That makes all four of them, then.
Krena had reached Lvl. 60. Her stats had gone up, but now her Status in Allen’s grimoire looked different from how it always had.
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
Name: Krena
Age: 13
Class: Sword Lord
Level: 60
HP: 2,440 + 1,800
MP: 954
Attack: 2,440 + 1,800
Endurance: 1,712 + 1,800
Agility: 1,648 + 1,800
Intelligence: 974
Luck: 1,195
Skills: Sword Lord {6}, Slash {6}, Flying Slash {6}, Pyroblast {6}, Thunderous Sword {6}, Toughness {2}, Sword Mastery {6}
Extra Skill: Limit BreakName: Cecil Granvelle
Age: 13
Class: Wizardess
Level: 60
HP: 1,028
MP: 1,736 + 1,200
Attack: 659
Endurance: 842
Agility: 1,019 + 1,200
Intelligence: 2,390 + 1,200
Luck: 960
Skills: Wizardry {6}, Fire {6}, Earth {6}, Wind {6}, Water {6}, Wisdom {2}, Sparring {3}
Extra Skill: Petit MeteorName: Dogora
Age: 13
Class: Ax User
Level: 60
HP: 1,322 + 600
MP: 716
Attack: 1,741 + 600
Endurance: 1,145
Agility: 724
Intelligence: 482
Luck: 783
Skills: War Ax {6}, Full Might {6}, Flying Hatchet {6}, Explosive Strike {6}, Avalanche Smash {6}, Fighting Spirit {2}, Ax Mastery {5}
Extra Skill: Heart and SoulName: Keel
Age: 13
Class: Cleric
Level: 60
HP: 787
MP: 1,499 + 600
Attack: 598
Endurance: 841
Agility: 959
Intelligence: 1,321 + 600
Luck: 1,203
Skills: Cleric {6}, Healing {6}, Solidity {6}, Cure {6}, Magic Wall {6}, Faith {2}, Sword Mastery {3}
Extra Skill: Drops of God
* * *
The “XP” and “Skill Levels” fields had disappeared, indicating that max level was 60, and max skill level was 6.
Just like the others, this Rank A dungeon was large and expansive, so the party had once again decided to look for a small room to spend the night in. Thankfully, there was still a bit more of spring break left, and they had planned to make the most of it.
When it came to setting up camp and cooking, everyone helped out. However, because none of them really had much experience doing chores, their meals were always rather simple. It was essentially just meat cut into cubes, skewered and grilled over a fire, then seasoned with a bit of salt and other condiments. The firewood that they used for the fire came from Allen’s Storage, which also contained dozens of barrels smaller than thirty centimeters across filled with drinks. Over the course of the past year, the supplies that he brought along for camping had gotten a lot more substantial.
“So...does this really mean we can’t get any stronger?” Dogora asked while biting into a juicy piece of meat. Everyone else looked somewhat shocked about this fact as well.
Allen shook his head. “‘Can’t get any stronger’ is not quite right. More accurately, your base and skill levels have maxed out and can’t go any higher.”
“But that’s the same thing.” Making a confused face, Dogora picked up a slice of bread that had been warming by the fire and began tearing into it.
Yeah, they’ve really hit the level cap. This happened a lot faster than I’d expected.
The term “level cap” referred to the upper limit of how high someone’s base or skill levels could go. Every single game Allen had played in his previous life had level caps. Some were only 50, whereas some went all the way up to 999. From what he remembered, he had maxed out every single character he played.
The question, however, was why the No-life Gamers reached this level cap within a single year.
Then again, the answer’s pretty clear. It’s definitely related to the Demon Lord raising the ranks of all the monsters in the world.
Ever since he was a young child, Allen had always thought that the amount of XP monsters in this world gave was quite high. In all likelihood, since all monsters had gone up a rank in this world—including the ones in dungeons—this meant that the XP they awarded had also gone up.
Horned rabbit (Rank E): 1 XP → 10 XP
Goblin (Rank D): 20 XP → 200 XP
Great boar (Rank C): 100 XP → 1,000 XP
Orc king (Rank B): 2,500 XP → 25,000 XP
Great warrior (Rank A): 60,000 XP → 600,000 XP
Since the amount of XP received was ten times what it was before, people’s levels now went up ten times faster.
“Well, it’s true that now all of your active skills have reached Lvl. 6, so now they’ve gotten really powerful,” Allen said. “However, everyone’s still got a long way to go.”
“We do?”
I was pretty surprised when everyone got another boost to their stats when their class skill reached Lvl. 6. My Summoning is also Lvl. 6, but Krena’s stat-boosting skill gives her 1,200 more stat points total than all my cards give me. Conversely, she has two fewer skills than I do.
One star (Ax User, Cleric): +600 to 2 skills for a total of +1,200 stat points
Two stars (Wizardess): +1,200 to 3 skills for a total of +3,600 stat points
Three stars (Sword Lord): +1,800 to 4 skills for a total of +7,200 stat points
Eight stars (Summoner): +6,000 stat points in total
As it turned out, those in Normal Mode received stat buffs twice; once when their class skill reached Lvl. 3, and again at Lvl. 6. The buff amount depended on their class rarity, but it was still significant, thanks to the double buff. However, as someone whose class skill was Lvl. 6 as well, Allen could not help but feel that the number of skills his companions possessed was on the low side, especially given that one slot was used up with a stat-booster. Unlike Allen, they did not receive new skills every time their class skill leveled up.
Ever since the first member of the No-life Gamers had reached the level cap, Allen had been racking his brains for what direction they should take going forward. He had come up with a few ideas.
Learn how to use their Extra Skills at will
Collect stat-boosting rings from gold treasure chests
Obtain orichalcum weapons and armor
“First, let’s get to the point where everyone can use their Extra Skill at will.”
Since they were going to begin their second year at school next month, the idea was to ask their instructors for guidance on this aspect.
There was something else the party needed to do. Some of them were still wearing equipment they had picked up from wooden chests, but because silver chests appeared around one-tenth of the time, they were pretty sure they could outfit everyone in silver-chest gear with half a year of fighting Rank A bosses every day.
After the one gold chest dropped by the dragon in January, the party had not seen another one since. The HP Recovery Ring from that time was now being worn by Keel. Monsters ranked B and higher were often intelligent enough to go after the healer first. Because Keel had only a fraction of Dogora’s HP, he would die in no time at all if several monsters were to gang up on him. When they took his Status and other equipment into consideration, the party had concluded that he had the highest chance of dying and agreed to give him the ring.
“And we’re aiming for another gold chest, right?” Cecil asked. “The second one just isn’t showing up at all.”
“Of course we’ll be hunting for gold chests. However, if they’re really this rare, then we might be better off buying the items we want at the Auction.”
Time was ticking down before the No-life Gamers would be heading to the battlefield. The rings that came in silver chests gave better buffs than those from wooden chests, so it made sense to assume that any rings found in gold chests would be even better. However, if gold chests would only appear a handful of times a year, then Allen was thinking they might as well check the Auction for gold-chest items that other people had found and put up for sale.
Krena, who had taken it the hardest when she had learned that she could no longer gain levels, joined in the conversation with food still in her mouth. “That leaves orichalcum weapons!”
“But Krena, orichalcum stuff doesn’t appear at the Auction, and even the Adventurer’s Guild couldn’t tell us how to get them,” Keel pointed out. “All they said was we might get them from the dungeons.”
“Oh right, they did say that.” Krena nodded.
Unlike the rings that came from gold chests, no one seemed to have a clue where or how to get orichalcum weapons. The staff at the Guild had hesitantly said that it was possible gold chests in a Rank A dungeon might drop them, but there was nothing to back up that theory. In the first place, there was very little information about gold chests due to their rarity. For all the Gamers knew, they might have to go all the way to the Rank S dungeon to find any orichalcum.
“In any case, we’ve got to explore every last possibility there is to get stronger,” Allen concluded. “Even if it’s nothing but a rumor, we’ll track it down. We might even encounter incredible items beyond orichalcum and rings.”
“Maybe,” Cecil said, doubtful, “but with how desperate everyone has been to get stronger since the Demon Lord appeared, don’t you think they’d have found everything already?”
“No, I’m sure there are still things left to discover out there. Like the Rank S dungeon; it supposedly exists, but there’s almost no information about it, meaning we have to go check it out ourselves. Maybe there’s some rich collector out there who possesses something incredible but doesn’t even know it. It’s important to keep our mind and ears open.”
The process of gathering information was part of the thrill of climbing to the top. At times, legend and rumor were rooted in truth. No matter what the scoop, if there was even the slightest possibility that it could lead to something crucial, then Allen was determined to pursue it to the end.
Maybe we should check the Academy library for legends too. In any case, I’ve got to seriously brainstorm ways to make everyone stronger. That’s why I was reincarnated with memories of my previous life intact, after all.
And so the No-life Gamers, after having reached the level cap within a year, found themselves having to get creative with their progression going forward.
Chapter 13: Transfer Students
April rolled around, and Allen and his friends became second-year students. Today marked the start of the new academic year for the 2,600 students who had cleared their summer break assignment the previous year.
At this particular school, students in different grades attended classes in separate buildings, each with their own station along the magic train route. Allen’s group made their commute to their new school building and walked into the room with the same number as their previous classroom.
There were already many familiar faces in the classroom. Although it was a new school year, the class rosters had not been shuffled. The idea was that, for three years, the students would share the same classes and same room number, graduate as a group, then fight together on the battlefield.
When Allen headed for his usual seat, he found Rifol already in the seat in front, just like the year before.
“Morning, Allen.”
“Hey, morning, Rifol. Been a while.”
While settling in, Allen took a look around the room. There were thirty seats just as before, but only twenty-seven students. The missing three had failed to clear their summer break assignment and thus had been expelled.
“By the way, do you have any intel on who’s coming?”
“For once, I’m as in the dark as you are,” Rifol replied.
Well, since there are three seats, I guess we can at least figure that there’ll be three transfer students, right?
Before spring break, Allen had learned from Rifol that several transfer students would be joining their class. There was a reason for this transfer program. Specifically, in the second semester of this school year—meaning, after summer break—the second-year class would be learning Demon Lord history. Why after summer break? Because the second-year summer break assignment was the reason behind the majority of dropouts, and there was no need for dropouts to know the truth.
In this kingdom, information about the Demon Lord was strictly controlled. After all, the Demon Lord was a problem far beyond what Ratash could deal with on its own. Those in power had concluded that no good would come from allowing the general populace to know the truth of the world, and that it could even lead to a great deal of harm, not least destabilizing the economy and fostering discontent toward the powers that be.
Curriculum Leading Up to the Demon Lord History Class
Year 1, before summer: History and geography of Ratash
Year 1, after summer: History and geography of the other countries of the Central Continent
Year 2, before summer: Geography of the world
Year 2, after summer: Demon Lord history
Information was nowhere near as widely available as it had been in Allen’s previous life. There were magic tools for communicating over long distances, but they were accessible only to a small handful of people. Among the student body were mere commoners and serfs born in remote villages; it was possible they might not even believe the Demon Lord history they were to be taught. At the very least, their parents would have never mentioned anything of the sort. Each person had a limit to what they could believe. However, for the sake of the third-year curriculum—and for their approaching time on the battlefield—the students needed to be convinced of the truth regarding the rest of the world and the Demon Lord. And there was one particular way to do so.
“All right, all right! Seats, everyone!”
Carlova, the class’s homeroom teacher, lumbered into the classroom, wearing clothes that looked one size too small for him and seemed at constant risk of bursting due to his bulging muscles. Three others followed behind him and lined up in front of the lectern: one male elf, one female elf, and one female dwarf.
“WHOOOAAAA!”
The students suddenly let out a loud cheer. Their reactions to the transfer students varied greatly, from “They really exist!” to “Huh? Why do they have long ears?” and everything in between. Those who did not know that new students were transferring in were even more surprised at the visible racial characteristics.
“Pipe down, you lot! Do you want me to introduce them or not?!” Carlova’s hand shot forward, and, like a vise, started squeezing the face of one of the students in the front who had been kicking up a fuss like a carp that had just been fed. Cecil sometimes performed the same move on Allen too, and despite appearances, it actually hurt quite a bit.
When the class settled back down, Carlova began introducing the three newcomers. They had come from elven and dwarven countries respectively located on the continents to the northeast and northwest of the Central Continent. He told the class that they would be learning about these countries later on.
The reactions between those who’ve seen elves and dwarves before and those who haven’t is pretty disparate. Of course, I doubt their transferring here was just to convince the students of the existence of other races. Speaking of which, the headmaster is a high elf too, though I almost never see any sign of him.
“All right, go on and introduce yourselves.”
Upon being prompted, the female elf with long silver hair, golden eyes, and porcelain skin nodded gracefully and seemed to float forward. “My fellow classmates, it’s my pleasure making your acquaintance. My name is Sophialohne, and I’m from the elven country of Rohzenheim. Please call me Sophie. I look forward to my time with all of you!”
Some of the students were so charmed by her voice that they momentarily forgot to breathe. For some reason, the elf next to her looked very disgruntled at this.
Hm? Why’s she looking at me? What, you want a staring contest?
After introducing herself, the girl turned to stare at Allen. Noticing this, he decided to give her the stink eye in return.
Disregarding the exchange taking place between Allen and Sophie, the male elf stepped forward. “I’m Volmaar. I am here to guard Her Highness Princess Sophialohne—she who is next in line to the throne of Rohzenheim and a high elf.”
