Hell Mode: Volume 4, page 32
A girl who had been Meruru’s classmate during their first year pressed up against the window of their magic ship. “I see the battleships! Y’think that’s where we’ll be fighting, Meruru?”
“I heard we’re being sent to the commanding ship. That’s allllll the way in the back. The ones actually doing the fighting are probably farther ahead.”
“I see...”
Several vessels had come into view and were drawing closer by the minute. Baukis did not have only golems fighting the Demon Lord Army. It was certainly true that golem pilots like Meruru made a huge difference on the battlefield, but there was still plenty of opportunity for those with other Talents to shine. For example, both the magic ships in the sky and the battleships on the water required piloting and maintenance.
Meruru disembarked her magic ship, placing her boots on the top deck of a massive battleship while shouldering a large sack. This single vessel was large enough to carry and house thousands of dwarves, one of whom was now running her way.
“Meruru!”
“Dad!”
It was Meruru’s father, Neneku.
Although he had already been informed ahead of time that even students who had yet to graduate would be dispatched for this battle as well, Neneku’s face clouded over at the sight of his daughter here in person. He knew what kind of fighting would be taking place, and he was far from thrilled that his daughter would be taking part. There were other parent-child pairs in similar circumstances all around them, and the tone of their conversations were likewise tinged with worry.
“Students disembarking from the magic ship are to follow your unit’s instructions. I repeat, students disembarking from the magic ship are to follow your unit’s instructions.”
It had been a long time since Meruru had had the opportunity to speak with her father, but their moment was mercilessly cut short by a message blaring over the speakers.
“Dad, I gotta go.”
“R-Right. Okay.”
Meruru flashed her father a brave face and headed off, following her officer’s orders.
“I heard a lot of monsters are attacking this year,” Meruru’s classmate said fretfully as they walked. “Are we gonna die?”
“We’ll be fine,” Meruru assured her.
The other girl gave her a dubious look. “How do you know?”
“Silence in the ranks!” an officer barked. “We will now appraise your Talents and abilities. Golem users, line up here.”
There were ten Academy Cities in Baukis, as the nation itself boasted an overall population of two hundred million. The second- and third-years from all those Academies had been gathered together on this ship and were now being assigned stations according to their abilities.
Meruru joined the golem users, still carrying her big sack. She watched as those in line before her were handed notes after their appraisal and given orders for where to go next.
When it was her turn, the officer recited in a monotone tone, “State your name, Talent, year, and whether you went on exchange.”
Meruru replied in the same matter-of-fact tone the others had used. “Meruru. Talos General. Second year. Went on exchange to the Kingdom of Ratash.”
“Oh, a Talos General!” A light sparkled in the officer’s eyes but died away almost immediately. “But second year, and you went on exchange. I see.”
It was said that a Talos General was born only once in a thousand years. However, because she was a second-year, and because she had gone on exchange to a country that did not have a golem on loan from Baukis, her class skills were most likely still only Lvl. 1 and her level probably was not all that high either.
He’s making that face like he’s assigning us based just on these questions, Meruru thought as she put her hand on the indicated crystal. It gave off a light much brighter than it had for the other dwarves. Her stats’ numerical then appeared on a jet-black board nearby. As the most technologically advanced country in the world, Baukis had the technology to determine not just a ranking of someone’s potential but also the precise value of each of their stats the way Allen’s grimoire could.
“Am I doing it correctly, sir?”
“You...” the officer said in disbelief. “These numbers indicate that you must have reached your level cap. Are you really a second-year student?”
“Yes, I am. Here, I think this might be relevant, sir.” Meruru dug out her adventure card and handed it over.
“What is th— HUH?! RANK A?!”
This card proved that Meruru had cleared at least three dungeons despite still only being a second-year student. Even among those finishing their third year, only one or two ever progressed so far, much less someone in their second year.
Meruru proudly added, “I’ve cleared five dungeons in Ratash, and my party leader holds an invitation to the Rank S dungeon.”
“W-Wait just a moment.”
The officer went to confer with his superior. Meruru caught snippets of their heated dispute, especially when the superior exclaimed, “That’s impossible!” and the officer insisted, “But it’s true!”
Soon, he returned. “Come with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Meruru found herself brought to a meeting room. When she walked in, everyone inside looked over at her. The ones who appeared to be students were likely the valedictorians of the various Academies, all third-years with only a few months remaining until graduation. They quickly lost interest and returned to what they were doing. She sat in the center seat up front and lowered her sack onto the table.
A short while later, footsteps could be heard approaching the room.
“—Arggh! Put th’ top students in me crew? What d’they expect me t’do with scallywags who haven’t spent a day in battle? Who’s th’ son o’ a biscuit-eater who came up with this here brilliant idea? One o’ the ministers? Don’t tell me it been th’ emperor himself!”
“Admiral, please refrain from insulting His Imperial Majesty. And we’ll select the students to send you, so you needn’t trouble yourself!”
“Huh? We be talkin’ new members o’ me crew, right? Sorry, but I’ll be doin’ th’ pickin’ meself.”
“What do you mean by—”
The voices outside drew closer until the door suddenly banged open. A man in armor and a military uniform strode in, followed by a high-ranking officer. The former stood front and center and said in a languid voice, “I be Admiral Garara, commander o’ this here navy.”
One of the students exclaimed, “Admiral Garara?! In the flesh?!” He recognized the rough-looking man: this was the chief commander of Baukis’s navy and the country’s most powerful fighter.
“What? Ye got a problem?”
“O-Of course not! Sir!”
“Then shut yer trap. If ye got somethin’ to say, raise yer hand. We clear?”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
Despite having just been berated, the student in question looked delighted. It was an incredible honor just getting to exchange a few words with the champion of Baukis, said to have been single-handedly responsible for keeping the Demon Lord Army from ever having set foot on their soil.
“Apparently, all o’ ye be goin’ t’ fight the Demon Lord Army with me on the fore lines. Ye’ve been selected, that be why yer here. Hold on, these numbers on a second-year? An’ three Rank A dungeons?”
Admiral Garara had been flipping through the students’ profiles when he stopped at Meruru’s.
“Five Rank A dungeons, sir,” she corrected.
“Who gave ye permission to speak?!”
Meruru returned a sullen look for having been upbraided just for pointing out a mistake. However, there was something she simply had to say here and now with the admiral in the room. So she silently raised her hand.
The officer standing near the door admonished her. “Meruru, not now. You can ask your question later.”
Admiral Garara, however, glared at Meruru’s stubborn expression for a few moments, then said, “All right, go on. Let’s hear it.”
“I have two things to say, sir! First—I am carrying elven elixirs that the queen of Rohzenheim wants me to pass on to Baukis!” Meruru gestured at the large sack before her that held a thousand Crops of Magic.
“Elven elixirs, you say? What d’ they do?”
“It restores 1,000 MP for those who have surpassed Trials of the Gods. Um, considering the size of this room...one elixir is effective over an area the size of this room twenty times over!”
The meeting room was a roughly square space measuring twenty meters each side.
“Twen—?!” The officer at the door made a squawk like a dying bird. “That’s nonsense! Meruru, that’s enough from you!”
Admiral Garara glared at him. “You, shut it.”
“I-I’m sorry, sir.”
“Be ye tellin’ the truth, lass?” Garara asked, turning back to Meruru. Without waiting for her answer, he began rubbing his chin thoughtfully and mumbling to himself. “It do be true that the princess o’ Rohzenheim went t’ Ratash on exchange... I s’pose we could confirm th’ effects an’ range ourselves.”
As someone who had yet to experience being on the front lines herself, Meruru had no way of knowing what would be the most effective way of using the Crops of Magic. That was why Allen had asked her to hand them over to someone in a position of authority.
As Meruru continued staring at Garara in silence, he suddenly recalled what she had said. “Oh, right. Ye said ye have two things. What be th’ other?”
“Please let me fight the Demon Lord Army at the very front.”
“Huh? Why?”
“My friends are fighting in Rohzenheim right now. And my father’s stationed on this ship!”
Meruru could not stand doing nothing while her friends were desperately fighting to bring Rohzenheim back from the brink of destruction. Additionally, her father was working on this ship, and she knew that those on the support ships at the rear would get overrun if the front line was breached. Because of these, Meruru wanted to do absolutely everything she could.
“Interestin’. I be likin’ th’ look in yer eye.”
“Thank you, sir!” Meruru gave her reply in a loud, energetic voice that reverberated through the room. The story of her exploits had only just begun.
Table of Contents
Cover
Chapter 1: Heading To Rohzenheim
Chapter 2: Gathering Information from Ratash Palace
Chapter 3: Tiamo
Chapter 4: Rohzen, the Sovereign of Spirits
Chapter 5: Defense of Tiamo
Chapter 6: Strategy Meeting (Part 1)
Chapter 7: An Army of One Million
Chapter 8: Strategy Meeting (Part 2)
Chapter 9: Assault on Castle Lapolka
Chapter 10: Fighting Demons
Chapter 11: Overflowing Prayer
Chapter 12: The History of Light and Darkness
Chapter 13: Battle upon the Ocean
Chapter 14: Defense of Castle Lapolka
Chapter 15: In Exchange for Payment
Chapter 16: Fighting Demonic Deity Rehzel
Chapter 17: Under the World Tree
Side Story 1: Rehzel’s Past
Side Story 2: Banquet of the Spirits
Afterword
Color Illustrations
Bonus Short Stories
About J-Novel Club
Copyright
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Copyright
Hell Mode ~ The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing ~ Volume 4
by Hamuo
Translated by Taishi
Edited by Seanna Hundt
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 Hamuo
Illustrations © 2021 Mo
Cover illustration by Mo
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2021 by Earth Star Entertainment
This English edition is published by arrangement with Earth Star Entertainment, Tokyo
English translation © 2022 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Ebook edition 1.0: July 2022
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