Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 9
My other skill, King Me, is still locked, it seems. Speaking of, I haven’t leveled up at all since defeating Rehzel.
After the party defeated Rehzel in Rohzenheim, Allen reached Lvl. 76. However, that was the last time he had leveled up. In order to reach the next level, he needed 400 billion XP. Since he had been focusing on dungeon crawling to help power up his friends and gather gear, he had not had much of a chance to grind XP for himself.
The Rank S floor bosses certainly gave a lot of XP, but while not completely out of the question, they were pretty inconvenient to fight, since he did not have all his equipment and skills sorted. Furthermore, he had to traverse vast distances on each floor to fight these bosses.
“All right, time to call out my Summons. I’m curious what I got this time around.”
He already had a general impression of what his Summons would be from when he Created the cards, but it was hard to get a feel of their size until he actually Summoned them.
“I wonder what they’ll look like,” Cecil said from where she was standing by. The Gamers, along with Helmios and Sacred, were watching Allen warily.
Allen looked down at the card he had chosen. On it was depicted a beast he had only heard about in works of fantasy in his past life. It was something he had been longing to Summon ever since he first came to this world.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, so let’s start with something big. Come on out, Orochi!”
No sooner had Allen spoken the Dragon A’s name than a massive Summon the size of a mountain appeared.
“Gwaaaaaaargh!!!”
“Gwaaaaaaargh!!!”
“Gwaaaaaaargh!!!”
Its cries were so loud and booming that Allen had to cover his ears. Any monster that could fly in the fields and forests in the immediate vicinity quickly took to the air.
Dogora looked up at the Dragon A in amazement. “Whoa! That’s awesome!” It was so big that he could not take it all in from where he stood on the ground.
Maybe I should use Hawkins to get a proper look.
Using a Bird E to inspect the creature from above, Allen noticed that the Summon was nearly a hundred meters long and had five heads. It looked like a cross between the Yamata no Orochi and the Lernaean Hydra.
* * *
Type: Dragon
Rank: A
Name: Orochi
HP: 10,000
MP: 7,700
Attack: 10,000
Endurance: 9,200
Agility: 10,000
Intelligence: 6,000
Luck: 8,000
Buffs: Attack 200, Agility 200, Immunity to Breath
Ability: Lethal Poison Fang, Super Regeneration
Awakened Ability: Hellfire of Sheol
* * *
“Wow, so its stats are at 10,000 without it even needing to be Strengthened. And it’s got two Abilities too.”
Allen looked down at the numbers in his grimoire and felt all the more impressed by the sheer immensity of the Dragon A. Between its size and its stats, it could probably hold its own against top-tier Rank A monsters. And with buffs from his other Summons as well as Keel’s support magic, Orochi could be a real game changer.
After that, Allen called forth the rest of his Summons one at a time to check them out. Depending on their Abilities and Awakened Abilities, each had its own pros and cons for any given situation. It was hard to get a feel for what kind of effects they would have in battle, but he decided to just get through them all now.
All right, that’s about it for the appetizers, so it’s time for the main course. Let’s see what new Summon type was added.
Krena was the first to notice the odd expression on Allen’s face. He looked nervous.
“What’s wrong?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just that I can tell this Summon is going to be different somehow. I guess the only way to know for sure is by Summoning it, though.”
He felt strange about this one, though he could not really put it into words. Maybe he was just too excited after finally getting a new Summon type after more than a year.
Krena was also excited. “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing it too.”
All eyes fell on Allen as he pulled out the final Summon card from its holder.
“All right, you’re up.”
The card disappeared amidst bubbles of light as a young man in his late teens appeared before them. He was half clothed, had spiky hair topped by a halo of light, and sported a pair of wings on his back. This man floating just above the ground was about the same size as Allen.
Just like the card depicted, he looks exactly like an angel. Then again, the card did have “Angel A” written on it, so it makes sense.
The Angel A looked back at Allen, and the two silently inspected one another. After several moments of maintaining eye contact, the Angel A finally looked away to examine the rest of the party. It was almost as if it had no idea why it was there.
Upon looking over the group, the Summon looked down at its own hands and body and began to move its limbs around. It was as if it were checking itself for something that was—or perhaps was not—there. Once that was through, it looked back at Allen and the rest of the Gamers.
It seems confused. Is it okay?
The moment Allen took a step toward the Angel A, it suddenly let out a yell.
“That’s it! Lord Elmea granted my request! Hey, look at me, Kyubel! I’m gonna find you and kill you!”
Allen watched as the Angel A shouted in excitement.
Looks like I Summoned a rather...spirited angel. Maybe there’s some kind of new rule that comes with Rank A Summons?
Upon reaching Summoning Lvl. 8, Allen was able to Summon the new Angel type whose stats were through the roof. He looked down at his grimoire to check.
* * *
Type: Angel
Rank: A
Name: Merus
HP: 20,000
MP: 20,000
Attack: 20,000
Endurance: 20,000
Agility: 20,000
Intelligence: 20,000
Luck: 20,000
Buffs: 2,000 to all stats
Ability: Endow Element, Angel Halo
Awakened Ability: Judgment Lightning
* * *
Whoa, its stats are double the highest stats of the other Rank A Summons. This should solve the issue of me not being able to bring enough firepower to the table.
Up until now, a Summon’s highest stat value was the same across all Summons within the same rank. This Angel A, however, had stats twice as high as any other Rank A’s.
During their battle with Rehzel back in Rohzenheim, Allen’s Summons were far weaker than Krena and the other members holding the vanguard of the formation, so he had had no choice but to use them to defend, to sacrifice as decoys, and to focus on healing. However, with this Angel A, he could join Krena right on the front line.
Its buffs are something else too. Every stat gets plus 2,000? Just imagine how much my stats would blow up if I had eighty of these Angel cards. Maybe I’ll Create a few more. Hey, wait a sec. I can’t? Maybe that’s the same with all Rank As...but... No, I can make more of those.
Despite having a large stockpile of Rank A magic stones, he was not able to Create more than one Angel A. Apparently there was some kind of limit on how many he could Create.
While Allen was lost in his grimoire and recording his observations, Greta, a Saintess in Helmios’s party, swallowed hard as her staff dropped from her trembling fingers.
“That’s...!”
“What is it, Greta?”
“Helmios, I think this man is...”
At that moment, Rohzen hopped down from his perch atop Sophie’s shoulder and knelt down low, bowing his head in the Angel A’s direction.
“Sophialohne, please show some respect.”
“C-Certainly.” Sophie immediately took a knee and bowed her head as well.
“But...just what is Lord Elmea thinking? Ha ha.” Rohzen’s laugh rang hollow, devoid of his usual joy.
It was apparent to Allen and the others that if the Spirit God and the crown princess of Rohzenheim were bowing down in his presence, this was no ordinary Summon.
“I, um... Mr. Allen, I think this might be...”
Just as Greta was about to confirm her theory, Allen finally stopped glaring down at his grimoire and yelled as he finally figured out who this mysterious creature was.
“Aha! I got it! The name! He already had the name Merus!”
“So...it’s true!”
A look of realization washed across Greta’s face.
Allen had always assigned names himself whenever he Created a Summon card, but this Angel A already had a name assigned to it that Allen did not recognize.
Merus, huh? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before. But who is he? What’s it mean?
“Hm, but Merus sounds a bit too much like Meruru. Maybe I should rename him. Angel... Angey... Angelio, maybe?”
After thinking up several clever names, Allen finally decided to add one to his grimoire.
A-N-G-E-L-I-O... Wait, huh? I can’t change his name. Looks like this Merus Summon is pretty stubborn.
Allen had changed the names of his Summons dozens of times before, but for some reason, he could not do it now.
Finally, Greta spoke up.
“Um, Allen... I believe that’s the First Angel, Merus.”
“First Angel?”
Huh? Now that she mentions it, that means that Merus and Elmea are... And hey, why’s Sophie bowing so low like that?
Allen finally took notice of Sophie and Rohzen.
“You are correct,” the Angel A replied to Greta.
Greta, Helmios, and all of the others quickly knelt in reverence. The only exception was Allen, who stood stock-still. His mind raced over the theology lessons he had taken back at the Academy.
Ah, now I remember. There was a guy named Merus who was a First Angel or something like that. But why is he a Summon, then?
Here in this world, there was a divine hierarchical order. At the top sat Elmea, the God of Creation, followed by the four greater gods known as the Four Elemental Deities as well as the gods of harvest, war, beasts, and more. Each of these gods had a large number of angels they could call upon to do their bidding out in the Mortal Realm.
Among those countless angels, the most famous was Merus. He was the chief angel to Elmea, the God of Creation, and his tasks included conveying Elmea’s will to the other gods, sending divine messages to the Church, and taking care of Elmea’s every need as his attendant. As such, Elmea’s worshippers also looked up to this so-called First Angel with respect and awe. In every cathedral across the lands, there was a painting depicting Elmea, and alongside him was always Merus. Among the priests, he was revered higher than even other smaller, unnamed gods. He was a pretty major figure to be thought of so highly.
Wait, so a real angel changed classes to become a Summon? I’d really like to change his name, though.
Allen decided to just ask Merus straight out what he was thinking. “Huh? But why are you a Summon?”
“Hm, now where should I start?” Merus nodded slowly in response to Allen’s question and inspected the group standing around him. Finally, his gaze settled on Spirit God Rohzen, who was kneeling just slightly behind Allen and at the front of the group. “Ah, Rohzen. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I see you’ve become a spirit god?”
“Yes, I have. We haven’t been in touch for quite some time.”
“The fact that I hadn’t noticed you despite being so close is truly shocking. I suppose this means that I am no longer a First Angel, then.”
With that, Merus gestured for everyone to stand.
Rohzen grimaced as he spoke to Merus from his usual perch atop Sophie’s shoulder. “So I take it that the story of your defeat during the battle to protect Fire Goddess Freyja is true.”
“So you all know about the attack on Lady Freyja?”
“I heard about it from several gods and angels when I returned to the Heavenly Realm. After your death, I heard that Lapt took your place.”
“I see. Lord Rohzen, would you please tell me what happened in the Heavenly Realm after my defeat?”
“Yes, of course.”
In response to Merus’s request, the Spirit God explained how Freyja’s power had begun to weaken as a result of her divine vessel being stolen and that the Demon Lord Army’s intentions with it were as of yet unknown. Rohzen then went on to explain how, in response to these dangers, the Heavenly Realm had decided to create a class promotion system and only recently shared this with the Mortal Realm by way of divine message.
“So that’s what happened.”
With that, Merus fell silent once again.
“If I may ask, why has a First Angel like yourself become one of Allen’s Summons?”
“Well, you see, I was the one who thought up the Summoner class systems in the first place.” Though he spoke casually, his words carried with them significant weight.
Wow, so he’s the developer then, huh? Guess that means he was also the one who came up with all my Summons, like that little apple with limbs? He’s got a pretty creative streak, then.
When he learned that Freyja, the Goddess of Fire, was under attack by the Demon Lord Army, Merus had left the God of Creation’s holy temple to rush to her aid. However, he was defeated at the hands of Greater Demonic Deity Kyubel, commander of the Demon Lord Army. Just before he died, Merus recalled that, when they had put the system together the previous March and April, he still had not finalized all of the Rank A Summons and had asked Elmea to include him after his death.
Wait, seriously? So they really were waiting until the very last minute to settle on my Summons. More importantly, does that mean that Kyubel had given it everything he had during our fight and can be beaten?
Allen and the party had met with Kyubel right as the war in Rohzenheim was just about wrapped up. He appeared during their battle with Rehzel, who was leading the assault on Rohzenheim, but that must have been after he had already defeated Merus in the Holy Realm. At the time, they only spoke briefly, which suggested that Kyubel might have been injured.
“That’s right! This is great! This means I’m finally out from under that annoying Elmea’s thumb! I’m free!”
Merus threw his hands into the air and shouted with excitement over his newfound freedom. Unfortunately, that last statement kind of ruined Allen’s impression of the great First Angel.
＊ ＊ ＊
Floor 4 of the Rank S dungeon looked like a massive ocean, with water sprawling out as far as the eye could see. Large, circular leaves floated on the water, providing a platform for adventurers to walk on. Allen was currently standing on one of these leaves and looking at his grimoire, reviewing the information he would be submitting to the Adventurer’s Guild.
The ex-First Angel, now-Summon—Angel A—flew through the sky toward the party.
“That’s about it. Sorry for taking so long, Allen.”
“Not at all. You did great.”
Allen raised his head from his grimoire and looked around. The surface of the water was covered with the carnage of battle. All the leaves except for the one Allen and his party were standing on were burned to shreds, and the water was filled with the floating carcasses of kaiser sea serpents.
Merus had mentioned that he wanted to see what kind of power he could wield now that he was a Summon, so the party had brought him here to fight some monsters.
He easily took Crimson out on his own.
Judging by his stats, Allen figured he would have no problem taking on Rank A monsters or even the floor bosses, so they had started off with the Rank S Floor 2 boss. And though ultimately he proved unable to defeat Scarlet, the Floor 3 boss, Merus had no problem taking out BB and Crimson on his own.
“Looks like I can handle myself all right, that giant worm notwithstanding.”
“Well, with all its regenerative powers, that one’s kinda tough.”
Allen decided to treat Merus just like he would any other Summon. Merus had even stated that there was no need to use proper titles when speaking with him. Likewise, Allen told Merus to just call him and his friends by their first names.
This was not due to some kind of laudable reasoning on his part; rather that Merus hated all that stiff formality. Considering how he previously mentioned being “under that annoying Elmea’s thumb,” Allen got the impression that he wanted to stretch his wings and live as a free angel. Though he was not sure how exactly Elmea had treated Merus, Allen figured being a First Angel still must have been hard work.
Merus frowned slightly. “I wonder if there are any other monsters out there that I can’t beat.”
“Were you more powerful before as an angel or now that you’re a Summon?”
“Hmm. I’d say I’m probably half as strong as I was before.”
“Well, in that case, that means Kyubel is at least twice as powerful as you are.”
“You’re right about that. I had an opportunity to watch you fight, Sir Allen. I have to say that if you were to take on Kyubel now, he would probably wipe out your entire party without even breaking a sweat.”
Merus referred to Allen as “sir.” He had referred to the pope simply by name earlier, so it seemed that this was his way of acknowledging his place as a Summon.
“I can’t believe it. You mean that even if we get several times more powerful, we still wouldn’t be able to beat him?” Keel rubbed his temples in frustration from merely imagining how powerful their enemy must be.
“Well, it’s almost nighttime. We’d best leave the dungeon.”
At Allen’s suggestion, the party headed back to their base. After dinner, he put all the information he had gathered about the dungeon down on parchment.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next morning was the party’s day off, but Allen, Cecil, and Krena made their way to the Adventurer’s Guild with parchment in hand. This was the same process they had been following since the previous year.
