Hell Mode: Volume 11, page 3
“Cecil, no,” she whispered from behind Cecil and tugged on her sleeve.
“But we can’t let that jerk near the princess!” Cecil hissed back, rage apparent in her tone.
“Cecil, don’t be so short-tempered,” Shia advised. “It’ll be fine. If Ignomasu wanted to do something to the princess, he would’ve done so long ago.”
Cecil barely managed to hold herself back while Princess Rapsonil glared at Ignomasu. But the Spear King, Ignomasu, was completely unfazed, perhaps confident in his combat abilities.
“Don’t look at me so coldly, my princess,” Ignomasu said. “I’ve come to you with good news.”
“When did I become your princess? I recall doing no such thing,” Princess Rapsonil said in rebuke.
“At this year’s Songstress Contest, I plan to publicly announce that you’ll be my wife and the empress, Rapsonil,” Ignomasu said, ignoring the princess. “The fanfare stemming from this announcement won’t pale in comparison to that of the Songstress Contest. My preparations are finally complete. I’ve also picked out a dazzlingly beautiful outfit for you, the likes of which no one has ever worn before! I’ll show you your attire tomorrow.”
“Wh-What in the world are you on about?! Who would ever want to become your empress?!”
Despite the princess’s shrill protests, Ignomasu flashed a malicious smirk.
“Oh? Is that so? Yes, if that’s what you wish, that’s fine by me,” he said. “But as I’ve said many times before, if you don’t become my empress, I’ll no longer have any use for you and your family.”
“Is that a threat?” the princess spat.
“I’m just telling you to choose your battles wisely. Ha ha ha!” Ignomasu guffawed as he whirled around to leave. “I just had a great idea.”
With that, he left the room. Cecil, Princess Rapsonil, and the other ladies all glared at him as he went.
Chapter 2: The Shadow of Father Shinorom
Allen had teleported to the final floor of the Rank S dungeon within Baukis. A thirty-centimeter-tall porcelain doll—Spirit C—welcomed him.
“Welcome back, Master Allen!”
“Hi, Maria,” Allen replied. “How’s Creation going? Well, I hope.”
“But of course! Over here! Do have a look, and I hope you’ll be deathly pleased!”
Spirit C remained in the air as she outstretched her arms to gesture toward a mountain of healing potions atop the stone floor. Upon closer inspection, there was another mountain of potions a short distance away, and nearby were two smaller mounds where Angel A, former First Angel Merus, stood. Merus had been given a ten-day vacation, but that was long over, and he was currently busy creating Grass-type Summons.
Allen had known that Merus would struggle by himself and had thus dispatched Spirit C and Spirit B to act as his assistants. Thanks to his Summoning level having increased, he was able to Summon ten more Summons at once, and since the Insect As he had deployed to the northern region of the Central Continent had all died in the fight against the Greater Demonic Deity of the Demon Lord Army, he was able to produce quite a few additional Summons.
The battle in the northern part of the Central Continent had taken place on an island with a floating temple. Allen had faced Bask, the King of Shura and a former human who had been a Rank S adventurer, alongside a human-sized beetle with a metallic luster. The two were also joined by a creature that looked like a man and a woman fused together—a rather unique-looking Greater Demonic Deity. Allen had used Sharing to catch a glimpse of his enemies and saw firsthand the power that he was up against.
Worried that the former First Angel would be tired and mentally drained by the drudgery if he had no one to talk to, Allen had sent Spirit-type Summons to be his assistants. He apparently couldn’t go to the Heavenly Realm during his ten-day vacation, Allen thought. Merus had wandered around and done as he had pleased during his time off, but he had never headed to the Heavenly Realm, which came as a surprise to the Summoner. The Angel A had mentioned that he wished to meet with his younger twin sister, Lapt, the current First Angel, but it seemed he was unable to do so.
Ever since becoming a Summon, Merus could not enter the Heavenly Realm by himself. Rohzen, the God of Spirits, could seemingly send his spirit over to the Heavenly Realm, and there were a few other ways to get there, so perhaps one was required to fulfill a set of special conditions that acted as a sort of passport. Either way, Merus no longer being allowed in now that he was a Summon reminded Allen of the physical limitations Prostia had set on those who wished to travel or stay. It was a trial to even enter. Similarly, in Fabraaze, the isolated dark elves were vigilant of anyone who dared to approach their village.
I guess this world has places that add restrictions to one’s entry or even reject outsiders entirely, further separating certain parts of the world from the rest. The thought made Allen’s heart dance with excitement at the possible adventures on the horizon.
“Going well, Merus?” the Summoner asked.
“Yeah, just peachy,” Merus replied, expressionless. He did not even glance Allen’s way as he continued to make healing potions.
Looks like he doesn’t have any glaring complaints. When Allen was still Kenichi, he had delved into a seemingly endless grind for experience and items, playing for countless hours. Repeating the same processes over and over again had been oddly entertaining. He had continued the grind and felt oddly zen inside. When Allen jumped to the conclusion that Merus must have been enjoying himself as well, Spirit C flew over to the Summoner’s side and happily tugged on his arm.
“Master Allen, thank you for Summoning me again!” she cried.
Allen could not help but flash a smile. Because his Growth had reached Lvl. 8, all of his Summons’ stats were on par with those of Rank A Summons. Until now, he had strictly looked at the numerical value of the buffs they provided when deciding which ones to add to his holder, but that was no longer the only factor to consider, and he could now concoct all sorts of plans utilizing the entirety of his large repertoire of Summons. Once his Summoning level had increased and he could toy with Growth, he had been able to learn more about the skill.
The Effect of Growth on Summons
Won’t add new Blessings, Abilities, or Awakened Abilities.
Deputize can only be used on Rank B Summons.
King Me can only be used on Rank A Summons.
Growth only affected stats themselves. Even if a lower-ranked Summon received a boost in stats from the skill, it could not provide powerful buffs and multiple Awakened Abilities, a characteristic of Summons above Rank B. Still, Growth was able to enhance certain effects and powers that relied on stats, leading to a strict boost in strength.
Allen had also learned that no matter how much he boosted his Rank C Summons, they could not use Deputize, and likewise, Rank B Summons could never learn to use King Me. Summon ranks and Growth ranks were apparently two different criteria, with both Deputize and King Me based on the innate rank of the Summon.
Following his testing, Allen had kept at least one of every Summon he held in his holder. Of course, he wanted to raise his skill levels, so he had prioritized Summoning more Fish-type Summons, whose buffs raised MP. He had also built plenty of nests so that he could teleport wherever he wished. He kept several Bird As Summoned at all times to maintain these teleport points, and since he also wanted to maintain communication, he was forced to keep several Spirit-type Summons out.
In other words, the way he allotted his Summons was skewed. This was because the buffs they provided followed a handful of rules.
Summons’ Buffs
Even if I stack the same types of Summons with the same buffs, it won’t increase my resistances.
If there are several Summons with multiple similar buffs, in terms of resistance, the higher-ranked buff will be prioritized.
For example, Spirit B and Spirit A both gave the same buffs, as well as physical damage resistance. If he used multiple Spirit Bs or both ranks at the same time, their physical damage resistance buffs would not compound. Additionally, Dragon B gave high breath damage resistance, but if there was another buff from that line of a higher rank, such as Dragon A’s breath damage negation, the latter would be prioritized.
Allen had tested all his theories out by purposefully taking attacks from monsters. In doing so, he had discovered that Growth could expand his options for battle, as well as that it had its own set of limitations—which was only natural. He had been trying to think up a way to efficiently create more healing potions ever since, and was currently giving some advice about it to the Spirit C and Spirit B that were flying around, as well as to Merus, who continued working expressionlessly.
“Hey, Allen!” a familiar voice called out.
Allen turned toward the sound and spotted a girl with pink hair. A greatsword was slung across her back, and her tied hair bounced around as she rushed toward him with tremendous speed.
“Hey there, Krena,” Allen replied.
Behind her was Meruru, along with the rest of the Allen Army and the Hero Army, which were conducting joint exercises to take down iron golems. He could hear the soldiers complaining about their exhaustion and hunger, implying that they had just started their lunch break.
“I heard you got new gear! Is that true?!” Krena cried.
“Yep. You’ve probably already heard the news from Maria, but I’ve got some new stuff for you,” Allen replied. While visiting the Prostia Empire, he had learned that earrings could be equipped, and he had told his other friends through Spirit C.
“Yippee!” Krena squealed.
“Here it is,” Allen said, taking an earring out of his grimoire.
The earrings Allen had purchased originally came from Prostia’s palace treasury. Ignomasu had put them on the market in order to collect funds. Six earrings in total had left the treasury, and Allen had put Pelomas to work by having him negotiate a price for them. All in all, the Summoner had been forced to pay upward of four million gold, but that was around half of the initial asking price. The merchants who had purchased the earrings from Ignomasu had paid about half the market price for them and had gotten quadruple that number when Allen and his party had bought them. The fact that he had been able to buy them for only around twice the average market price was thanks to Pelomas’s tireless efforts and crafty negotiation skills. But those cunning merchants knew I wanted to buy those earrings no matter what, so they still took advantage of me...
Since Allen had told Pelomas that the earrings were a mandatory purchase, the increased pressure had affected the negotiation board. That was the Summoner’s mistake. Still, they had been able to save four million gold thanks to Pelomas’s skills. The Allen Army’s funds are about to hit rock bottom, though... Just to be safe, Allen had already set aside some money to use in secret so that Rosalina could win, and to buy accessories. The Allen Army had been formed to support and aid the No-life Gamers, meaning Allen practically had free rein over the funds, and he funneled them into anything he saw fit.
One of the largest expenses was the purchase of a seemingly infinite number of magic stones, the very fuel behind Allen’s power. With the class promotion dungeon open and the adventurers who cleared it capable of hunting down monsters of higher rank, more stones than ever before were circulating the market. After all, two years ago, when Allen had attempted to clear the Rank S dungeon, he had required more stones than ever, making them much harder to buy and thus increasing their price. The adventurers remembered it vividly. Because the magic stones’ prices were inflated due to scarcity, if the stones became abundant on the market again, one would imagine that prices would plummet. However, that did not occur.
Allen loved testing out new methods with his Summons, and he dispatched a good number of them to the northern region of the Central Continent. He was also having Merus create healing potions as quickly as he could, so the Summoner burned through magic stones very quickly. The number of stones he used now just barely exceeded the number that he could purchase, causing the Allen Army to constantly scramble for more funds so that their commander in chief could use them.
On the other hand, the adventurers, who could sell their magic stones for a respectable sum, now had money to spare to buy rings, necklaces, and other stat-boosting items. Some even wore gear that gave resistances to certain elements. As a whole, adventurers had become stronger than ever before. More specifically, there were now more adventurers who wore rings that raised certain stats by +1,000, and more efficient warriors could purchase higher-level rings.
Needless to say, it was the Allen Army that supplied rings and necklaces to the market. However, if they made too many available, they feared it would deflate prices and thus had to hold some back. That meant they could not gather nearly enough funds for Allen’s magic-stone budget.
There was also an increased demand for mithril. Count Granvelle had mentioned that export prices had increased thanks to it, and while that was not too big a deal on a global scale, Allen felt that clearly, the humans were slowly gaining power. As he was lost in his thoughts, he froze just as he was about to hand the earring over to his friend. No longer able to endure her impatience, though, a sweaty Krena grabbed it from his hand with impressive gusto.
“Huh? Wait, so I put this thing on my ear? Um... How?” Krena muttered, unsure of how to put on an earring.
“Here, I’ll put it on you,” Allen offered. “Tell me how it feels.”
Krena leaned in close, placing her face close to Allen. Once the earring was on her, she shivered, then rushed off and immediately unsheathed the orichalcum greatsword from her back.
“Wowee!” she exclaimed. “P-Power’s surging through me!”
She spoke like Goldino, the final floor boss of the Rank S dungeon. Curious, Dogora approached Allen as well.
“Hey, could you give me one too?”
He turned his ear toward the Summoner, flashing an earring that he had worn ever since he had lived in Krena Village. Oh yeah, Dogora wears an earring. Cheeky brat. It’s one of the Seven Wonders of the World—a bumpkin face like him wearing a fashionable accessory.
“Here you are,” Allen said, placing a necklace he had gotten in Prostia around the boy’s neck near his earring.
“Heh heh,” the bumpkin face chuckled, shuddering happily. “Krena was right. I really do feel power coursing through me. Thanks.”
Dogora took out Kagutsuchi, the axe-shaped divine vessel of Fire Goddess Freyja, and began swinging it around beside Krena. Meruru was the next to run up to Allen.
“Me next! Me next!” she cried.
Allen handed her an accessory that he had picked out for her, but she gave a dissatisfied frown.
“Aw man, mine looks kinda lame...” she grumbled. “I want a cool and flashy one like what Krena and Dogora are wearing.”
“Sorry, but I need you to make do with what I’ve got,” Allen replied. “Please?”
“Awww... Oh, all right.”
The item that Meruru swiftly put on was not an earring from Prostia’s palace. Of the six that Allen had obtained, four of them both increased physical damage by ten percent and raised HP and Attack by +2,000. The other two increased magical damage by ten percent and raised MP and Intelligence by +2,000 each. They were the only two types that had been sold.
Allen wanted to give those six accessories to his vanguards and rear guards—the former group being himself, Dogora, Krena, and Shia, with the latter group being Cecil and Sophie. Thanks to the addition of Luke and Pelomas, Allen’s party had grown to eleven people, and since an earring could be worn on each ear, preferably ones with different effects, the Summoner required twenty-two in total.
Because there were not nearly enough high-quality earrings to go around, he had purchased every accessory worth around a million gold from magic stores. The shabbier, less flashy earrings that he had given Meruru and Volmaar came from that group. Even if Meruru wore accessories that raised her stats, those increases did not carry over to her golem.
A golem’s power was based on the magic discs used to summon it. Only when Meruru gained a level or was under the effect of a stat-boosting magic did her golem get stronger as well. But while golems could not directly enjoy stat buffs, they were impervious to the debuff effects that monsters used, which was a fair exchange in Allen’s opinion.
“Hey, Allen. How’s Prostia? Doing well?” a young man with light-blue hair asked.
“Yes, but I’d like to speak with you,” Allen replied. “Would you care to have a meal together?”
“Of course.” Hero Helmios of Giamut flashed his usual gentle smile and nodded.
Thus, the group sat down for a meal. Allen, Helmios’s party, and the people in charge of the Allen Army—Dogora, Krena, Meruru, and Volmaar—all took their seats, and the Summoner explained what was going on in Prostia. Merus and Spirit-type Summons were used for daily reports and to gauge the rough situation of the base they were in, but Allen felt that it was necessary to sometimes sit down and chat face-to-face.
The Songstress Contest was the next day, and Patlanta’s palace and streets were bustling with people working to make all the necessary preparations. Songstress Rosalina had been fitted for her outfit just yesterday, and Allen had gotten his hands on purchase records, having used that data to accurately analyze Macris’s tastes, which he had conveyed to Cecil and Sophie.
The ladies had then coordinated a few outfits for the perfect ensemble. Allen had bought clothes and accessories as needed, and his Bird F’s Ability, Messenger, had really come in handy. He had sent virtual projections of what he saw to Cecil and the other ladies with it, so though they had stayed in the palace, they had still been able to tell him which outfit was best.
Shia’s opinions had proven to be very...fitting for her beastly qualities. She prioritized practicality above all, and the outfits she had favored were more fitting for a dancer or a gymnast than an elegant Songstress. Thankfully, with the help of Princess Rapsonil, the rest of the ladies had been able to get things back on track, carefully choosing their words so that they would not hurt Shia’s feelings. Honestly, it kinda seems like Shia’s feeling impatient. She came to Prostia to establish herself as the Beast King, and she’s probably also concerned about her brother Beku.
