Hell Mode: Volume 9, page 3
Allen spoke of a few other goals that he had for his army before he drew the meeting to a close. The next day, he visited a certain village in the Baukis Empire. He had visited this place before. As he walked down a street lined with blacksmith forges, he spotted freshly made vases and pots decorating the storefront.
“Excuse me. Is Master Habarak here?” Allen called upon knocking on the door to the smith’s forge.
“Y-Yes,” the apprentice said, opening the door and immediately recognizing the visitor. “Ah, hello, Mr. Allen.”
Allen was guided into the living room, and the apprentice brought out some tea. Suddenly, a set of frantic footsteps came racing down the hallway.
“G-Good to see you here,” Habarak stammered, out of breath. He went straight to the point. “D-Did you really retrieve Lady Freyja’s divine vessel?”
“I did indeed,” Allen replied. “Has the information already made its rounds?”
Wait, the divine vessel being stolen hasn’t been publicized at all. Allen clearly looked puzzled, and the blacksmith could not hold himself back.
“’Course I can tell! The fire! The fire’s grown hotter!” Habarak cried, angrily shouting for some reason. “The fire in my forge became weaker and weaker—I thought I was done for! But one day, the fire just started burnin’ without becomin’ feeble. In fact, the flames didn’t lose hope and burned bright and warm. I knew that Lady Freyja was overjoyed at getting her divine vessel back! The fire told me so!”
Are master blacksmiths always thinking about the fire? Maybe they’re trying to get closer to the Goddess of Fire. This old man with scruffy hair who was no taller than an elementary schooler felt like some sort of shaman. The fire temporarily growing weaker was likely the moment when Freyja had used her powers to help Dogora defeat Bask.
“We’ve got the divine vessel, Kagutsuchi, with us,” Allen said. “Dogora, why don’t you show him?”
Dogora grabbed Kagutsuchi, which was leaning against the wall, and handed it to the blacksmith.
“What? A divine vessel?” Habarak asked.
“In her utmost display of warmth and kindness, Freyja, the Goddess of Fire, has provided Dogora with a divine vessel. I’m convinced that this is proof of her benevolence,” Allen said.
“K-Kid!” Habarak gasped. “You were bestowed a divine vessel by Lady Freyja?!”
Allen provided a quick summation of the Daemonism debacle back in the Holy Land of Elmahl and how Dogora had become Freyja’s disciple along the way. He had been entrusted with the lifelong task of gathering as many followers for her as he could manage.
“I-I had no idea. Color me surprised,” Habarak replied. “But it’s only been a day or so since the fire started roarin’ again. Still not good enough to work on orichalcum, I’m afraid.”
Freyja was not back to her full power just yet, and the power of fire around the world was still weak. It would take a good while before the smith could start working on either of the two chunks of orichalcum they had obtained from the dungeon or Bask’s greatswords.
“Oh, we’re actually here for a different request, Master Habarak,” Allen replied. “I’d like for you to join us on Hardcore User Island, which I just told you about.”
“Wh-What?!” Habarak yelped quizzically.
Allen was not about to give up just yet. One of the primary causes of the theft of Freyja’s divine vessel was that Dygragni had started gathering more followers. This had, in turn, decreased the number of people who believed in other deities, thereby causing their divine power to weaken. To restore the balance of the world, it was imperative that Freyja gathered more followers.
Allen had decided to repurpose the shrine and altar on Hardcore User Island as a place of worship for Freyja—the people residing there were supposed to become followers of the goddess of fire anyway. Dogora, her disciple, would be around as well. Ultimately, Allen’s goal was to spread Freyja’s religion across the globe so that she could return to her former glory. His first step was to invite Habarak to the island.
Currently, the island housed the five thousand members of the Allen Army; it was essential that they had a remarkable blacksmith who could forge and fix all the weapons and armor. No one would complain if the smith in charge was Habarak, one of the best blacksmiths in the world.
Habarak listened to Allen’s story as he gazed at Kagutsuchi, clutched in Dogora’s hand. Everyone waited for the smith’s answer with bated breath, and he slowly closed his eyes.
“Sure,” he finally said. “I’ll gather up my things and go with you. I’ve got a few energetic artisans with me. Can I take ’em along too? I can vouch for their skills.”
“Yes, that’d be a huge help!” Allen replied.
“All right, then. Let’s not dawdle. Get a move on! Pack up your things!”
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Allen said, turning to his friends. “Krena, Dogora, come on.”
“All righty! I’m up!” Krena exclaimed.
“Right here,” Dogora added.
“Hmm? What are you up to?” Habarak asked.
“Just watch and see,” Allen replied. “It won’t take long, I assure you.”
The No-life Gamers headed outside. Krena used her orichalcum greatsword while Dogora used his Kagutsuchi as shovels to dig a deep trench all around Habarak’s forge. Allen and Merus joined in as the four of them took a deep breath and cleanly lifted the entire forge from the ground.
CRACK!
“Huh?!” Habarak gasped. It looked as though his eyes were about to pop out of his head from shock.
All right, we can do this. With our combined Attack, a task like this is small potatoes.
“Okay, we’re teleporting!” Allen shouted, using Bird A’s Homing Instinct.
Now that the forge was in their hands, the structure was treated as a tool, and it was immediately transported to Hardcore User Island. It landed at the foot of the mountains that housed Freyja’s temple, in a place that had already been leveled and dug out. Since blacksmiths were devout believers of the Fire Goddess, Allen figured that it would be best to have them near the altar instead of in the town.
“I...don’t even know what to say,” Habarak murmured.
“This is where you’ll be,” Allen said. “We’re still in the process of developing this island, and we need you to create tools for us. If you need anything for your work, please let us know.”
Probably best to teleport the other forges too. I should ask the development team to make more space later. Initially, Allen had only planned on taking Habarak with him, but the smith had made the excellent suggestion of bringing more artisans along. The Summoner had been more than happy to agree to that, though for it, he would need to create more space to build an artisan district of sorts.
“I’ll need some clean water and lava stones that burn well,” Habarak started. “Oh, and I’d also like...”
Allen’s nonchalant offer had earned him a couple of requests from the blacksmith. Some items seemed to be specialized for smithing, and Allen had never heard of them before. He jotted them all down in his grimoire to purchase later.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Habarak said. “Once I can start smithing, I’ll produce whatever’s needed. If you have somethin’ you want made, you better tell me now. And don’t forget to add who’s gonna be usin’ each item.”
Since Allen and his party would not be stationed on the island forever, Habarak offered to forge them some gear while they were out. To do that, he required precise measurements of each person’s body. Allen was grateful to have a smith who understood how busy they were. For materials, Allen had the two chunks of orichalcum and two of Bask’s greatswords. One of the swords had been snapped in half. He planned on having Krena use the greatsword that was still intact, but the grip, hilt, and blade needed to be adjusted for her personal use.
“Since we’ve got two orichalcum chunks, I’d like one made into a sword and one into a shield,” Allen said. “I’ll be using the sword, so it can be small. If there are any leftovers from my chunk, I would like for you to use them on the shield for Dogora.”
“Wait, Allen,” Dogora said, chiming in.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“I’ll be using two two-handed axes.”
His firm words implied that he had been thinking about this for a while. Was he influenced by Bask? The Demonic Deity had wielded two greatswords despite each sword normally requiring two hands to use.
“Hmm? All right. Let’s go with that, then,” Allen said. For the first time, Dogora had offered a suggestion of his own, and Allen wanted to respect his friend’s wishes. The Summoner turned back to the blacksmith. “As for the shattered greatsword, could you use it for Shia’s knuckles and breastplate?”
“Hmm?” Shia chimed in. “Are you sure about using it on me?”
“Well, I guess you might not need them if you become the Beast King.”
“Mm, but that might be difficult.”
The Albahal royal family had three secret treasures that were passed down to anyone who became Beast King: orichalcum knuckles, an orichalcum breastplate, and the Holy Orb of Yellow. Were Shia to obtain the Beast King Talent and go on to inherit the title of Albahal’s Beast King, she would be granted a second set of orichalcum items.
Since Dogora would use a pair of two-handed axes, he could no longer be a reliable shield for the party. Allen considered forging some armor for Krena so that she could still stand at the front and defend.
Orichalcum Priorities
First, use a chunk to forge Dogora’s greataxe.
Second, use a chunk to forge Allen’s sword.
Third, use the broken orichalcum greatsword to either make knuckles and a breastplate for Shia or armor for Krena.
Fourth, adjust Bask’s greatsword for Krena.
“Aye, gotcha,” Habarak replied. “I’ll figure out the rest while observin’ the fire.”
Once he was done, he would report back to a Spirit A Summon that would be lurking around the town. And so, Allen welcomed a blacksmith onto his island and managed to plan out how the orichalcum would be used.
Chapter 2: Princess Leilana, Thomas, and the Class Promotion Dungeon
A few days had passed since Allen had gone to meet Habarak. With a clear direction in mind, the Allen Army was working hard toward its goal. As planned, Krena, Dogora, Keel, and Merus had gone ahead to hunt iron golems in the Rank S dungeon. The four also had brought along a certain species for support. First up to train in the dungeon was the beastkin. The soldiers had already gained quite a few levels and skill levels.
Most members of the beastkin squad under Shia’s command had cleared a dungeon before. Once they were strong enough to tackle the class promotion dungeon, they would do just that. Much like how Rohzen had promoted Allen’s friends in the past, the class promotion dungeon would allow one to receive a new class that was along the lines of their former one. Considering the formation of the army, however, Allen determined that each person should select a class that was a direct upgrade—he saw no need for them to change classes entirely.
For example, a Swordsman could be promoted into a Swordsman Mage, but Allen would have preferred that they choose the straightforward upgrade and become a Sword Master.
The elves, on the other hand, had maxed out their level and skill levels, but almost none of them had ever set foot in a dungeon before. To enter the class promotion dungeon, one had to clear a Rank A dungeon first, so the elves would need to get around to that sooner or later.
The dark elves were the trickiest. They had not maxed their levels or skill levels, nor had they tackled a dungeon before. They would need to clear dungeons while slowly raising their levels. Though Allen had wanted to create an army of various species, he had not imagined that each would differ so much in their needs. He had no choice but to play to their strengths while covering for their weaknesses, so he would simply have each race do what was required of them.
For the Allen Army to truly operate like a unified military unit, it would take at least a year. Allen also did not want anyone to take their sweet time when clearing dungeons. He prioritized clearing them over earning XP and made sure to create parties of forty-eight where he could. Each party was well-balanced with Scouts, so there was little chance of them being wiped out because of an unfortunate trap.
The amount of XP each party member gained was based on the number of members in each party.
Party Members and XP Gain
1 person receives 100% of the XP.
2-8 people receive 80% of the XP.
9-16 people receive 60% of the XP.
17-48 people receive 40% of the XP.
49-252 people receive 20% of the XP.
253 or more people receive 10% of the XP.
Allen, Meruru, Cecil, Sophie, and Volmaar took a trip to Ratash’s Academy City. They stepped off the magic train and onto the platform, where they were greeted by a large crowd bustling about.
“Look at this crowd...” Allen mumbled to himself.
“Y-Yeah,” Meruru replied. “It’s way busier than when we lived here.”
Glad we came early, Allen thought. It had not been too long since the Demon Lord Army’s invasion had been stopped, but people were already pouring into the city. There were more of them now than there had been when Allen had attended the Academy, likely due in no small part to the lucrative class promotion dungeon. He had heard that the Giamutan emperor was trying to restrict the use of the class promotion dungeon, and he could see why. Rumors were bound to spread like wildfire—those who knew just how much worth the dungeon held would surely tell others about it, leading to even more people crowding the city.
This scene reminded Allen of when he had been Kenichi. Every time a new dungeon or field had dropped in a game, people had immediately logged on and camped the area in hopes of getting there first. Sometimes, the number of players had overloaded the servers, and the character avatars had not displayed correctly. At worst, the server had needed to be shut down, and the game had forced players to log off.
“Lord Allen, this is our base,” an elf said, approaching them. They were a part of the Allen Army.
Allen and his friends were guided to a massive building.
“Here?” Allen said in awe. “Wow! I’m surprised you guys were able to buy this place.”
“This entire plot of land was well within our budget, so we decided to purchase it,” the elf replied.
There was no news of more class promotion dungeons popping up in the future. In other words, real estate prices in Academy City were bound to skyrocket. The Allen Army would be active at Hardcore User Island, the Tower of Tribulation Rank S dungeon, and Academy City, and each location required a base that could house hundreds of people at once. Thus, since Allen had a million gold coins in funds, along with rings and weapons that were worth even more, he had handed the elves a hundred thousand gold coins and asked them to purchase a location that they could use as their base. Since Allen was prepared to use the place for a while, he had decided that purchasing land and building on it was better than renting a place somewhere.
The elves in charge of the base of Academy City had managed to purchase a plot of land large enough for six houses. Hmm, okay. If we use the land to its fullest extent, we can have up to five hundred people here at once. I guess most of our efforts on land would be funneled into clearing the Rank S dungeon.
Allen had Summoned his Bird E and examined the land that had been purchased from above. He was aware that they had a sizable plot. The elves had apparently already gone to the Real Estate Guild and had residents who had been living here relocate in exchange for a handsome sum of money. There were six houses that could hold at least fifty people each, but each one had fences that took up quite a bit of space. If they were all broken down and the buildings combined, a house for around five hundred people could be made.
Allen planned on having around five hundred troops act as a group within Academy City. To make his plan a reality, it was imperative that the six houses be demolished and one large housing complex built.
He also wanted to make a base for the Rank S dungeon and was determined to purchase some land nearby. To that end, just as he had done with the elves, he had given the beastkin a hundred thousand gold to purchase a large plot of land in the city of the first floor of the Rank S dungeon. If that was not enough money, he planned to provide more.
He did not mind if the land they bought was a bit farther away from the dungeon entrance, located in the middle of the city; he only wanted a plot twice the size of the spot that the elves had purchased. If class promotions became more widespread, there would be more people trying to clear the Rank S dungeon, and there was a good chance that the city on its first floor would be teeming with people. It was better to act quickly before prices rose. I never thought that I’d save money and use it to buy land in another world.
As Allen was inside one of the buildings and receiving an explanation of the land purchase, there was a knock on the door.
“It seems someone has arrived. I shall go take a look,” the elf said, leaving to greet the new guest.
It was Sunday. Allen had scheduled a meeting with a certain someone for the afternoon.
“Hi, Allen. Am I in the right place?” Thomas asked as he was brought inside by the elf. He noticed his younger sister beside Allen. “Oh, hey, Cecil. Long time no see.”
“It certainly has been a while, Thomas,” Cecil replied.
Thomas had been poking Allen in hopes of receiving help with gaining levels. Since the Allen Army finally had a base in Academy City, Allen figured that he could discuss Thomas’s future.
“Thomas, is this the place? There’s nothing here,” a young lady grumbled, emerging from behind him. She was the real reason behind Thomas requesting help to level up. The lady pompously stomped into the room and glanced around.
“Y-Your Highness Leilana,” Allen said. “I’m afraid the building hasn’t been cleaned yet.”
This lady was none other than the Ratashian princess. Her curly blonde hair bounced about with every movement of her head. She had two female students behind her, likely her attendant and guard. They were nervous, fearing for their princess’s safety.
