Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 26
Dygragni offered up something he was much better at making. “This is true. Well then, how about some kind of magic tool? I can make one of those relatively easily.”
In that case, I guess that leaves me with only one sensible option.
Allen had assumed from the start that mode changes and class promotions were out of the question. In place of either of those, he turned and called Meruru over from where she stood a ways off from the group.
“Hey Meruru, can I see your magic disc?”
“Sure thing.” Meruru walked over to Allen, removed the magic disc hanging from her neck, and handed it over.
Allen closely inspected the object in his hands. Ten mithril slates were placed into slots located on the front, while the back was as smooth as glass and devoid of any indentations. He then made his next request to Dygragni.
“Can you make slots in the back of the magic disc so that it can accept slates? I’d like to be able to put ten slates in the back like I can in the front, making for a total of twenty slates.”
While they were battling through the Rank S dungeon, one thing in particular had struck Allen as odd: there were a lot more magic tools available than there were in other dungeons. This suggested that Dygragni was quite skilled at making these magic tools, and thus, Allen figured that the best way to strengthen his party was to ask him to create or modify a magic tool as their reward for being the first to clear the dungeon. Of course, an orichalcum weapon or armor piece was tempting, but since they had already gotten their hands on some orichalcum ore, they could eventually just have Habarak make those items for them instead. They had also already obtained almost all of the magic tools that would prove useful in their future endeavors.
Thinking back on all the games he had thrown himself into in his past life, he finally came upon the magic disc. These magical items could fit up to ten slates. Put another way, they were limited to ten slates. The golem pilots operated their golems under these limits, which were akin to the ones Allen and his friends had on their equipment—they could only equip a single stat-boosting ring to each hand, for example, with any subsequent ones having no effect. In other words, rings were limited to one per hand. In his previous life, he used to take on quests in order to increase limits like that.
In a sense, that makes this a quest to boost the number of magic disc slots.
Since he had ultimately managed to achieve his goal of getting class promotions for the rest of his party, Allen thought of the war in Rohzenheim as a class promotion quest. Considering that his group was improving with each event they faced, it was only fair for him to think of these events as opportunities for them to grow stronger. That left the question of what quest was represented by the Rank S dungeon clearing event.
“You want me to increase the number of slate slots in this magic disc?”
“Can you do it?”
Allen held the magic disc out toward Dygragni. An instant later, it disappeared from his hand, appearing in front of Dygragni’s face and beginning to spin around slowly. The Dungeon Master remained silent as he inspected the magic disc, so Allen decided to not interrupt his thoughts.
“Hmm, I think it should be doable. You sure are a peculiar one, kid!” The magic disc began to spin faster and faster in front of Dygragni, eventually going so fast that it blurred to look like a sphere. Shortly thereafter, it began to sparkle as well. “And here you go!”
The glowing “sphere” appeared in front of Allen before slowing down once again. When it finally came to a stop, Allen saw a thin disc with indentations on both sides. He took it into his hand and confirmed that there were indeed a total of twenty indentations, with ten each on the front and back. Tilting the disc back and forth, Tam-Tam’s stats were displayed on its surface like a hologram. Dygragni had really gone above and beyond on this.
“Are there any differences in what it can and can’t do now?”
“Hmm? Well, let’s see. You can still only use one Gigantify and one Supergigantify slate no matter how many you put in. As for everything else, you’ll just have to try it out for yourself.”
“All right, got it.” Allen thanked Dygragni for his help before turning back to Meruru and holding the magic disc out to her. “This is yours, of course. You were a huge help in the battle against Goldino.”
Meruru’s hands trembled and large tears threatened to pour down her cheeks as she accepted the magic disc. “Th-Thank you.” She then began to curl in on herself and cry.
“Congrats, Meruru!” Krena wrapped her arms around her tiny friend from behind.
“All right, then!” Dygragni’s voice echoed throughout the room. “Sounds like we’re done here!”
“Um, not quite.”
I’m not about to let you off the hook that easily.
“What is it?”
“When we cleared the Rank A dungeon, the operating system mentioned that after beating the final floor boss of the Rank S dungeon, we would have an opportunity to face off against you.”
Dygragni briefly fell silent over this. “Ah, yes, that. I’d completely forgotten about it since no one has ever made it this far. Unfortunately, I’ll have to ask that you take a rain check. Elmea would be pretty ticked off to see me playing around right now.”
“I understand. We still aren’t quite strong enough anyway, so perhaps we’ll battle you another time.” Allen had not planned on challenging him right then and there as Merus had already told him that they did not stand a chance of winning. Even with Helmios, Admiral Garara, Zeu, and their respective parties fully recovered and willing to join the fray, Merus estimated that they would still likely lose, and with a tremendous loss of life at that. When Allen asked him just how strong Dygragni was, Merus remarked that he was excellent in combat and, though still not quite a demigod, as strong as many of the Greater Demonic Deities. Even the final floor boss they had just defeated was not at that level.
Looks like we’re going to need to get even stronger.
“I still have a few more questions. Is that okay?”
“Hurry it up!”
“If we beat you, will we be granted an even greater reward than the one we received now?” Allen’s question left Garara and the other dwarves speechless. Allen was essentially demanding that Dygragni promise a reward for beating him in battle.
“Good question! You really are funny, kid. But sure, I’ll grant any wish you have, assuming it’s within my power. Of course, that only applies if you actually beat me!”
Allen bowed his head low, struggling valiantly to keep the smirk off his face all the while. “Thank you. We’ll do our best.”
If we win, I want Dygragni himself. Mwa ha ha.
From the moment he first laid eyes on Dygragni, Allen could not help but view him as a prize. Right in the middle of his adamantite golem’s chest was a crystal cockpit.
Cecil sighed heavily, picking up on the fact that Allen was thinking up something devious.
“Come on by whenever you want. As long as you’ve got your certificate with you, the system can connect you to me anytime.”
Allen bowed low once again. “That would be a great help. Thank you for everything.”
“Y’know, since you’ve come all the way out here, I might as well send you on your way. See ya!”
“Huh?!” By the time Allen raised his head, he and the party had been teleported out to the large open square in front of the Floor 1 temple. They—as well as the adventurers amassed outside the temple—were left standing there with stunned looks on their faces.
“Hey everyone! My Rank S dungeon has finally been cleared!” Dygragni’s voice boomed from above everyone’s heads. Upon looking up, Allen found Dygragni standing behind him in what he could only assume was meant to be some kind of superhero pose, the likes of which little kids would emulate after seeing them on TV back in his old life.
I guess this is Dygragni doing his best to strike a cool pose.
Allen recalled hearing once that Dygragni felt compelled to try to look cool in front of people. While the rest of the Gamers looked just as dumbfounded as Allen felt, Meruru also struck the same pose, followed in quick succession by her dwarf comrades and even some other adventurers waiting in the square. The sight seemed to warm Admiral Garara’s heart and brought a smile to his face.
“Well then, I’ll be waiting for your challenge!” With that, Dygragni was gone, probably off to work on the class promotion dungeon. The square was now filled with clapping adventurers, celebrating the group’s victory over the Rank S dungeon after hearing the news from Dygragni himself.
Suddenly, a band of dwarves came out of the crowd and surrounded Garara. “Oy, whaddya think yer doin’?!” The teary-eyed group hefted him up and marched forward, holding him above their heads. Meruru could not help but laugh at the sight.
“Clear the way! This is Admiral Garara’s road! We’ll be drinking till sunrise, so anyone who’s up for the challenge is more than welcome to join!” Apparently they were carrying the admiral like a mikoshi, those portable festival shrines, to a bar to celebrate. The sight reminded Allen of how the admiral looked when the two of them had first met.
Shortly thereafter, the entire city on Floor 1 of the Rank S dungeon turned into one big party in honor of the clearing of the dungeon.
Chapter 14: An Invitation from the Adventurer’s Guild
Ten days had passed since the group conquered the Rank S dungeon. The Gamers were once again leaving for a two-day break from the dungeon after their most recent three-day foray into its depths. Clearing the dungeon had had no impact on their daily routine.
Cecil looked over at Allen, who seemed to have a skip in his step. “You certainly seem to be in good spirits.”
“Hmm? Do I?” Allen let out a light chuckle.
“What’s that chuckle about?” Though Allen’s response had not really answered anything, this was hardly uncommon for him, and Cecil and the rest of the Gamers just let the topic slide. The group had spent the past three days farming iron golems on Floor 5, which finally brought Allen a long-overdue increase to his level. Whenever he leveled up, Allen was generally in a good mood for at least a week. This went double for when he raised his Summoning level, after which he would spend day in and day out smirking excitedly at the contents of his grimoire.
I gotta admit, I was really blown away by Meruru. Getting her those ten extra slots was definitely the right choice. That Attack-boosting necklace from Zeu also made quite a difference. Bwa ha ha!
After completely clearing the Rank S dungeon, the team was better than ever at farming iron golems thanks to Meruru’s new-and-improved magic disc that allowed her to lock in twice as many slates. Using ten strengthening slates, her golem’s stats were through the roof. The necklace he had given to Krena, which boosted her Attack stat by 3,000, really helped her make a dent in the iron golems’ powerful armor. Allen could not thank Zeu enough for that one.
If the party continued to level up like this and could unlock Allen’s King Me skill, he planned to try taking Goldino down several times as well.
As the party continued down the road, Allen mentioned to Sophie some information he had recently received. “Oh, by the way, the monster holdouts around Rohzenheim’s northernmost fort have nearly been hunted to extinction.”
“Oh my! That’s impressive!” Sophie could hardly contain her excitement at the good news coming from her home country.
Since reaching Summoning Lvl. 8 and becoming able to Summon forth Bird As, Allen had placed nests all around the continent and would occasionally travel between the locations. He had heard from the elven queen that the fort was being repaired and efforts were underway to rebuild the town so the elven refugees could return. Apparently it was a lot of work.
At the beginning of last year, Rohzenheim fell victim to a widespread assault by the Demon Lord Army, during which more than two-thirds of its territory was invaded and many cities and fortresses were destroyed. In the end, Allen and the Gamers had fought off the Demon Lord Army, and now, the cities and fortresses were being rebuilt. With the Demon Lord Army’s withdrawal, however, hundreds of monsters had scattered throughout the war zone and were still hiding. Hundreds if not thousands of these monsters could still be found throughout Rohzenheim, impeding restoration and reconstruction projects.
In hopes of turning the situation around, Allen had offered his assistance, Summoning sixty Dragon As and Insect As to seek out the remnants of the Demon Lord Army. His horde of Summons hunted day and night, terminating any monster they came across. Of course, he had needed to Delete the Insect As in order to make use of his buffs when facing off against the final floor boss, but as that was over and done with now, he had once again Summoned them and sent them to pursue the remnants of the Demon Lord Army. This was his way of helping with the rebuilding of the northernmost fort, which just recently the elven soldiers had been able to return to.
Allen explained all this to Sophie on their way back to their base, and when they arrived, Helmios’s servant informed him that he had a guest waiting for him—one of Baukis Emperor Pupun III’s servants.
“Oh? He’s already here?”
Several days prior, he had come to meet with Allen and Helmios bearing two letters embossed with the crest of the Baukisian imperial family, one for each of them. He told them that he would come to visit again in several days’ time and asked them to review the contents of the letters and make the necessary preparations to join him on a trip to the capital. Allen and Helmios then broke the seals on their respective letters and looked inside.
“The emperor will hold a ceremony to commemorate the four parties who have made history in clearing the Rank S dungeon.”
It was actually Pupun III who had initially ordered Admiral Garara to clear the Rank S dungeon. The news that this mission had been completed was broadcast across the entirety of Baukis thanks to the use of magic tools. Additionally, the reports also mentioned Helmios and Sacred, Prince Zeu and the Ten Heroic Beasts, and even Princess Sophie of Rohzenheim and her comrades as having fought alongside Garara. The reports sounded impressed that these four countries would all come together and achieve the difficult feat using their collective strength.
It was reported that Admiral Garara and the three other parties were invited to the ceremony at which the emperor would bestow his blessings on the people of both Baukis and each of the parties’ respective countries. There must have been some sort of political incentive behind him trying to impress Giamut, Albahal, and Rohzenheim now that their heroes had cleared the Rank S dungeon.
These were the circumstances under which they had initially received their letters. Obviously, with all that had gone into this, they were in no position to refuse. However, the leveling-obsessed Allen honestly was not excited to spend his time on such events.
Figuring that the time had finally come, Allen fought back the sense of annoyance that briefly came over him and forced a calm, reserved expression as he stepped into the dining room to face his guest.
“Wait, who are you?”
There was a single dwarf waiting in the room and no sign of the Baukisian servant.
“You must be Allen. I’ve been waiting to see you.” The man was one of the workers at the Rank S dungeon’s Adventurer’s Guild.
“Huh? You have? You could have just left a message for me, you know.” Judging by the teacup and the state of the bowl of sweets set before him, it was pretty clear that the man had been waiting for quite some time.
The No-life Gamers maintained a schedule of three days in the dungeon, two days out. Today was their third day in the dungeon and the day on which they usually returned, but Allen had been fixated on farming the iron giants, which kept them out until nightfall.
Before Allen could ask how long the man had been waiting, Helmios called out to him. “Apparently it’s a pretty important matter.”
“Hmm, I see.”
Allen took a seat at the table the guild employee was sitting at. The sofa Garara had spent so much time on was empty for a change as he had returned to his own base, where he was apparently enjoying himself with his comrades.
The man waited for the other members to take their seats before finally beginning to speak.
“Guildmaster General Makkaron is heading here from the head office in Giamut, apparently in the hopes of meeting with you and your parties. Would you be able to stop by the guild tomorrow?”
“Hmm? What’s the occasion?” Allen shot a glance at Helmios. The older man only offered up a smile, apparently also having been summoned.
“I’m terribly sorry, but I’m afraid that’s all I’ve been told. If you need any more information, I can follow up for you.”
“No, that’s fine. Besides, we planned to go tomorrow anyway.” Allen had already planned to visit the Guild to sell off all the items they had farmed from the iron golems over the past three days. This was also a part of their repeating dungeon raiding schedule, which was something the man from the Adventurer’s Guild would surely have known. He had probably come all the way out here just to avoid suddenly springing the issue on Allen and Helmios when they arrived tomorrow.
Allen did not have a reason to say no, and even if he did, the Adventurer’s Guild had done a lot to assist them with clearing the Rank S dungeon. They had been helping him acquire magic stones since back in his Academy City days, and here in the Rank S dungeon, the local Guild had been upfront with him about their deadlines, making for a relatively easy life out here.
Just what could they possibly want to talk about, though? My only guess is that it has something to do with clearing the dungeon.
“We’ll visit tomorrow, then.”
“Thank you, sir.” The guild employee smiled and began to stand up. Before he could, however, Helmios’s servant arrived to inform them that dinner was ready.
