Hell Mode: Volume 3, page 26
Allen nodded. “I don’t see any need to change that. You’ll be bringing Nina and the rest along with you, right?”
“If possible, yes.”
“Then let’s do it. We have more than enough money to make it happen. It makes it easier for me too, not having to assign Summons to protect so many places at once.”
Transportation alone would cost one gold per person, on top of which would be all the costs associated with setting up a new home base. The account dedicated to paying for everyone’s meals and costs of living as well as the servants’ wages had a balance of more than two thousand gold. When the number of party members had increased to eight, each person’s share had gone from a sixth to a ninth of the loot total, but because they were now going through Rank A dungeons, the value of each person’s share had actually gone up. Meruru, whose family was not especially affluent, had been moved by just how much she could send home to her parents.
“All right, I guess that’s it for today’s meeting?”
“I have a question, Mr. Allen! Me, me!” Krena raised her hand as if she was in class.
Allen played along, adopting the role of the homeroom teacher. “Yes, Krena? What is your question?”
“Mr. Allen! Does this mean I’m supposed to beat the Hero and give you the ring?!”
Oh! She’s finally caught on. I like the confidence on her face.
All the talk so far had been based on the assumption that Allen would be the one to win the tournament and go on to fight Helmios. According to this plot, Krena would lose to Allen and receive the reward for the runner-up: a fight with Sword Lord Dverg. And Krena had figured this out.
“Good question! That’s a yes, but only if you manage to beat me!”
“I know I will! I still haven’t gotten my rematch from when you left the village!”
“I’ll look forward to it. You’re really gonna have to bring your A game though!”
Ever since Allen left Krena Village at the age of eight, they had not had a proper match. This was a declaration of war from Krena, who had lost their final “playing knight” match and was eagerly looking for an opportunity to redeem herself. Consequently, there was now one more important fight on the program.
◇ ◇ ◇
When summer break began and Allen set off on his own, the rest of the No-life Gamers changed their base of operations to Feldora and picked a Rank A dungeon to challenge. Although Allen was not with them, they did now have three more members, so they had no problems clearing the dungeon within their two months off of school. During this time, the transfer students’ levels shot up like rockets.
A few days after them, Allen also finished the same dungeon. The Executive Dungeon System did not appear after he killed the boss on the lowest level, likely because the three new additions to the party needed to meet the quota as well. So, the party agreed to go through the three dungeons they needed all together. When Allen returned to Academy City near the end of September, he also helped them out.
During these past two months, Allen had fully maximized the number of magic stones he could purchase within Ratash. As originally planned, he now had roughly a million Rank E and D stones. Rank C ones cost the most, so he kept those to a hundred thousand. Once school resumed in October, he planned on going back to only purchasing magic stones within Academy City.
Allen had also successfully obtained Summoning Lvl. 7. In addition to having all associated skills at Lvl. 7, he now also had access to Rank B Summons, all of which he had already analyzed in full.
Then October arrived, and Allen turned fourteen.
Today was the Martial Arts Tournament. The preliminaries with the starting hundred participants were long over; it was now the semifinal matches between those in the top sixteen spots. At the moment, Allen was standing across from a muscular teenage boy around his age who was holding a greatsword. Positioned between them was the referee who would oversee their coming bout.
The referee explained the rules: how if someone surrenders, the other party has to immediately stop attacking, what the pose for surrendering looked like, and so on and so forth. The same explanation had been repeated multiple times since the day before, but apparently the referee was duty bound to go over them before every single match. Eventually, he finished, ending with a warning that there had been multiple cases of students getting too heated in the moment of battle and killing their opponents.
The brawny boy with a mithril greatsword glared at Allen. He was a third-year student.
“Both sides, ready...”
Allen lifted his adamantite sword.
“...FIGHT!”
The other boy immediately lunged forward. Allen dodged every one of his attacks with the slightest of movements, feeling the incredible gusts of wind generated by each swing passing by.
If I remember correctly, the other two people in the semifinals aside from Krena and me have two-star classes.
Although Allen was deep in thought, it was not because he was taking his opponent lightly. He was simply not the type whose mind would freeze in the face of danger, even if he was literally on the verge of being killed. It had been the same back when he was about to be eaten by a murdergalsh. Having over a thousand points in Intelligence prevented his mind from simply shutting down.
Roughly one in ten Talented had a two-star class. Each year, out of the entire student body of five thousand, one hundred were chosen to participate in this tournament. The number of stars meant a significant difference in stat growth potential and the number of skills obtainable between classes. Given all this, it was only natural for most of the participants to have two-star classes.
The older student believed that Allen was mocking him by making it look like his attacks were easy to dodge, and he seemed to be taking it personally. He grew increasingly incensed, and his swings got wider and sloppier with time.
I guess he’s still a student after all. It’ll be dangerous if you fly off the handle like that on the battlefield, you know?
Of course, Allen was not one to let an opportunity pass by. He closed in on his opponent in the blink of an eye and, after shifting to a single-handed grip, slammed a fist into the older student’s mithril armor.
CRASH!
The sound of the impact reverberated throughout the arena as the other boy wordlessly crumpled to his knees, spasming. The strike had proved more than enough to finish him off.
The referee hurried over. After checking on the boy, he nodded toward the commentator box and raised his right arm into the air, signaling the end of the match.
“And there you have it, ladies and gents! The winner is Allen, the student recommended by the headmaster himself! Just like all the fights before, he doesn’t seem to have even broken a sweat. Will he go on to take the championship? Coming up, the final match between Allen and Krena!”
The emcee announced Allen’s victory, transmitting it throughout the venue using a loudspeaker-like magic tool. For some reason, he had always included the phrase “the student recommended by the headmaster” whenever introducing Allen this whole tournament. Allen simply thought it was because most students were recommended by their homeroom teacher and that it was rare for a participant to be backed by the headmaster directly, making it a detail that spiced up the commentary.
Allen did not bother celebrating his victory. Instead, he used the Bird E circling up in the school to scour the spectator stands. Yep, looks like the crown prince came again this year.
The man was once again in attendance with ministers and major nobles within his faction, flaunting his influence. Close by were, as always, dignitaries hailing from other countries. One of the purposes of the Martial Arts Tournament was to demonstrate to the other nations that this Academy was properly fulfilling its role in cultivating new soldiers for the battle against the Demon Lord Army. How these matches turned out reflected on the host country’s reputation; if the matches were dull and tepid, the country in question was likely to hear plenty of snide remarks at the table of the Five Continent Alliance.
Viscount Granvelle was also sitting in the stands, right next to Cecil. Perhaps he had come again this year out of concern after hearing that the crown prince would be present once more. Or perhaps he was feeling lonely, since Cecil had not been able to return home during her breaks. Either way, he was here now, accompanied by not only his knight captain but also his butler.
I was the one who served him last year. Was he not happy enough with how I did?
“So the finalists this year are both second-year students. One of them seems to be a Sword Lord; she’s the one who won last year,” one audience member commented.
“Who’s the other one? The pamphlet handed out by the school lists him as a Summoner. What’s that?” someone else asked. No one in the stands had any idea what Allen’s Talent did, and so they had trouble predicting who would win.
Roughly half an hour later, it was finally time for the final match. This break between bouts was usually for healing up any contestants who were badly wounded and to confirm that they really did want to go through with this fight. Today, however, Allen and Krena had reached the finals without a single major injury.
“It’s been so long!” Krena exclaimed with excitement. Her breathing was quicker than usual and her cheeks were flushed. She looked nothing short of delighted. The last time she and Allen had faced each other this way was before he headed off to serve House Granvelle as a servant six years ago.
“Krena, just to confirm one last time—me getting serious means using my Summoning skills. Are you sure about doing this?”
Even though Allen had already asked this question last night, he could not help but to do it again.
“Of course! Make sure you go all out!”
Before this match, Allen and Krena had agreed on two rules: they were not to use recovery items, but they were allowed to use all their skills.
When the two got into their starting positions, Krena added, “I’d have too much of an advantage if we were only fighting with swords. I don’t want you to hold anything back!” Clearly, she had done her best in thinking about how to win this match.
Allen held his sword at the ready, simply replying, “All right, then.” When he saw Krena do the same, for some strange reason, he half expected her to shout, “I am Krena the knight!” like in the old days.
“Both sides, ready... FIGHT!”
Krena immediately charged forward, her adamantite greatsword held tightly in her hands. Allen parried her first swing, but he felt its impact all the way in his bones. She began pressing her attack.
As I’d thought, when skill level goes up, so does weapon damage and proficiency. The difference between three levels of Sword Mastery is huge.
Allen’s Sword Mastery was still at Lvl. 3, but Krena had already maxed hers out at Lvl. 6. The proficiency with which they each handled their weapons was obvious to see.
That said, I still have more Agility and Attack than her.
Naturally, Allen had adjusted the cards in his holders for the sake of this fight. Although he was behind in skill level, he more than matched Krena in her best stat with over 4,000 Attack.
The audience buzzed with excitement, chattering about how incredible this year’s final match was.
“YAAAAAAH!”
With a great cry, Krena unleashed an upward slash significantly more powerful than all her other attacks before. Just the sword tip slicing through the air alone was enough to split apart the ground of the arena. Allen had no trouble evading such a large swing. At that moment, however, Krena’s sword flashed red and started burning.
Oh! She’s using Pyroblast.
Caught off guard, Allen ended up taking the Sword Lord’s skill head-on. The audience gasped and screamed, thinking him dead. For a split second Krena beamed, certain of her victory.
“C’mon, Krena, you shouldn’t let your guard down. Not when the match is still going on.”
“Huh?”
In the brief window available, Allen’s adamantite sword slammed into Krena’s flank.
“’Cuz this happens.”
“Ugh...! H-How?!”
Allen looked entirely unhurt. Heh heh, she looks surprised. I’m glad I raised Summoning to Lvl. 7.
From this point on, Krena was forced onto the back foot. The blow she took to her side made it difficult for her to breathe properly, and the match became one-sided. Several exchanges later, Allen’s sword was at Krena’s throat.
It was clear to anyone that she had lost. With her downcast face full of regret, Krena said, “I surrender.”
The commentator declared Allen’s victory. “Are you as surprised as I am?! Sword Lord Krena has lost to Allen, the student recommended by the headmaster! All right, folks, we’ll now enter a short intermission. Next up is the fight between Sword Lord Krena and Sword Lord Dverg!”
And so, to the audience’s complete astonishment, the champion of this year’s Martial Arts Tournament was Allen, the student recommended by the headmaster.
◇ ◇ ◇
Allen had beaten Krena. She had the higher skill level, but when he had full use of his Summoning powers, he was absolutely certain he would win. After all, he had a lot more battle experience than she did. Not everyone would fight fair and square and attack straight from the front. There were bound to be enemies within the Demon Lord Army who would aim to exploit their weaknesses and use underhanded strategies. To this end, Allen did not tell Krena what he had done in their fight. He wanted her to come up with a counterstrategy by herself.
Because Krena had not actually taken all that much damage, it did not take long for her to prepare for her match with Dverg. The two faced each other on the stage, adamantite greatswords in hand.
They have the same weapons. And if Dverg is in Normal Mode too, then they should be at the same level.
Allen’s understanding was that almost no one in this world was in Hell Mode. He was less sure about Extra Mode, the one that required ten times the amount of XP to level up compared to Normal Mode. Although he had yet to meet anyone in Extra Mode, he thought it more likely than someone in Hell Mode. He was expecting this match between Dverg and Krena to reveal whether Dverg was in Normal or Extra.
“Can Krena actually win? What do you think?” Cecil asked Allen, her voice full of anxiety.
Mistakenly thinking her question was directed at him, Viscount Granvelle replied, “Hmm, I’m not quite sure. You saw how much stronger he was last year. It might be difficult for her.”
Cecil fell silent.
Ha ha, I imagine this happens a lot among family members.
Thanks to the viscount making the arrangements, all seven members of the No-life Gamers were sitting together in the part of the stands reserved for aristocrats. Of course, the fact that Princess Sophie was among them had played a huge role in getting the request authorized.
Hm? The Hero is talking with the headmaster about something.
The Bird E assigned to keep an eye on the crown prince noticed the headmaster and Helmios with their heads bent together. Since they’re looking at Dverg and Krena, I guess they must be talking about the upcoming match.
Bringing his attention back to his surroundings, Allen replied to Cecil’s earlier question. “Well, she’s wearing what we won off the Auction, so I think she has a fair chance.”
Feeling reassured by his reply, Cecil breathed a sigh of relief and flashed him a smile. He was referring to the two +1,000 Agility Rings that the party had obtained over the summer break. It was his pet theory that Agility was the most crucial stat when it came to fighting against other people. If Dverg was also in Normal Mode, then Krena should be able to run circles around him with her bolstered speed.
“I am he who hunts monsters. I am he who buries demons. I am he who brings ruin to Demonic Deities.”
Just like last year, Dverg mumbled something to himself as he gripped his greatsword tightly. Krena became distracted by what he was saying for a moment, but quickly returned her focus to the fight.
“You’ve come far in a year.”
“Sure have! I worked hard with my friends!”
The referee had already signaled the start of the fight, but the two seemed determined to take things at their own pace again this year.
“I see, with your friends...” Dverg repeated in an appreciative tone. He finally lifted his weapon above his head, assuming a high guard stance. “Very well, come at me, then! Show me the fruits of all the effort you put in!”
“Mm-hm, okay! Here I come!”
Thanks to her maxed-out level and the two Agility Rings, Krena closed the distance in a blink of an eye and entered Dverg’s range with ease. The two Sword Lords then launched into a furious exchange of blows. Every attack packed ridiculous power due to their overwhelming stats. The cacophony of metal on metal made such a din that the onlookers found themselves wondering just what they had been watching during the previous matches. Many of them felt the sound of each blow resonating within their very cores.
Normally, visitors would be able to gauge roughly how powerful the tournament participants would eventually become. This year, however, Krena’s strength at her level cap far exceeded anyone’s comprehension.
Allen rarely commented on fights out loud, but he did so now so that his companions could fully appreciate what was happening. “It’s a pretty close fight so far, but Krena seems to be slightly on the ropes due to the difference in their equipment. I knew it; there is better equipment out there than what’s available on the Auction.”
The party had won the two +1,000 Agility Rings for around three thousand gold each. And yet, Dverg appeared to be the faster of the two. That could only mean he was wearing equipment beyond whatever the Auction dealt in.
“RAAAAH! What’s wrong, Sword Lord Krena?! Is that all you’ve got?!”
