Hellmode ~A Hardcore Gamer Becomes Peerless in Another World with Retro Game Settings~

Two Awakened Skills were enough to slaughter the multitude of ghosts that usually were hunted by 100000 dragonkin and beastmen from the fort.

-Merus' stats (whip)

[Strength] 131183

[Mana] 116740

[Spiritual Power] 116740

[Attack] 153400

[Endurance] 121030

[Agility] 120900

[Intelligence] 114400

[Luck] 107900

* 40000 stats from Growth Level 9

* The whip has Attack 40000, Agility 20000, and all other stats 10000

* 10000 stats from Kingship

* 5000 stats from Command

* 3000 stats from Golden Egg

* Royal Aura

* Royal Guard

* Spirit God's Blessing Level 5 (All stats 15000 + 1.3x)

Merus' stats were getting close to those of a Demigod.

(Hmhmm, he's gotten pretty strong. Now I just have to see how much Rosalina's buffs will do. Either way, eventually Haku will have the best stats. Oh right, I have to reply to Cecile.)

Currently Merus' stats were still inferior to those of a God or a God Rank ghost.

But he could increase his power with various Skills.

Allen turned around to look at Cecile.

"It's not a cheat. It was about time I was remunerated."

"What do you mean, remunerated?"

(I guess Cecile feels it's unfair considering the quest she got from Isiris.)

Many of the party members were already in Extra Mode, and were taking trials to gain even more power, but Cecile was still in Normal Mode, and she lacked a Divine Artifact too.

Seeing how powerful Merus' Awakened Skills were, she looked rather confused, almost unhappy.

"You need to pay a price to receive equal power."

(And I've paid a lot already. I didn't think that Generation would end up powering up Merus though. Or I guess I should've realized this would happen when I got Growth. Though hmm, maybe not.)

The Skill [Growth] raised the stats of lower rank summons to equal those of an S Rank summon.

"You're referring to your Skills with that, right Master Allen? It feels like [Catalog] fits Merus perfectly too, so I guess Lupto prepared it especially for him."

Sophie seemed to understand what Allen was trying to say.

The Skill [Catalog] had been somewhat underwhelming when Allen first used it, but then it allowed Merus to exchange weapons instantly, while also giving him access to 100 Awakened Skills, making up for everything.

(I guess that's still better than just one weapon that changes forms, otherwise the cooldowns would've been shared.)

Allen recalled how Freya's Divine Artifact had transformed from a greatsword into an axe.

That could have been possible for Merus too, but it would have had too many downsides.

It seemed like [Catalog] and [Generation] existed to make Merus more powerful.

"That's probably it. I'd say all of Generation was for him too."

When Allen reached Level 9 he obtained 2 sealed Skills, which became [Generation] and [Catalog].

Unsealing them required a lot of effort, and raising the Skill Level of [Generation] involved making large changes to the divine realm, all to speedrun it.

Allen gave equipment to the dragonkin, helped them undergo Talent Changes, made their clans unite, and now there were millions of them hunting ghosts.

Catalog was unsealed at Level 250, which no one else had ever reached before.

Allen had defeated many Demigod Rank ghosts to get there.

"I guess we all work for what we get."

Merus had also been hard at work, missing sleep to hunt monsters, create Heaven's Blessings, and fight in the Earth Labyrinth.

Now he had been rewarded with a whole summon that powered him up.

"There you have it, Cecile. We'll also get your quest done, and you'll be repaid with a great power."

Sophie nodded too, firmly believing in Allen's words.

Cecile looked at Allen for a moment before her cheeks were flushed red.

"?! …Stop trying to act so cool!"

'That Lupto…just what did she do this time…'

Meanwhile Merus muttered while looking at the destruction he left behind, seeing mounts of dead ghosts, and the mountain he had uprooted.

"I guess Lupto wants Merus to be the strongest."

(This was just Generation 1, so will Generation 2 give him armor? And could the Angel S summon also be Merus then?)

It was almost like Lupto had gone insane with her creations for Merus.

Merus was the summon with the highest stats, and now it was even more so.

Allen was expecting to receive a second Generation Skill, and he felt like he was close to obtaining the Angel S summon and Dragon S summon.

Maybe there was a reason why the Angel S summon had not been sealed.

It would make sense if it was to power up one of the summons he already had.

(Anyway, I really wish they'd start following orders already.)

Allen closed the Grimoire and went out of the fort to where Abigayle stood.

While Allen walked happily, everyone outside was terrified and trembling.

"I'm sorry for getting in the way of your hunt."

"I-it's alright. Are you done now?"

"Yes, pretty much. The next wave should be here in 10 minutes, so please take care of it."

"Got it."

Allen looked at the dragonkin and beastmen standing behind Abigayle.

"I'll be counting on all of you too. Do your best."

"Yessir!"

"Yessir!"

"Yessir!"

There was an energetic response to Allen.

It seemed like Allen's presence there that day had done a lot to keep the beastmen in line, as Abigayle later reported that the beastmen became far more obedient afterwards.

＊＊＊

3 days passed since Allen's test.

The capital was festive as the Distilling Magic Device was finally activated in the central square.

"So this black thing is going to produce water for us?"

"It looks so glossy and pretty too."

"And what's that song? I feel like I'm falling in love…"

(Rosalina is going a bit too far now…)

They were setting up various other magic devices, but the water ones were the main attraction.

It had taken 3 days to get everything ready, especially with the large stamps of Rame.

While that was happening, Allen went to check on Rosalina and saw she had overcome the trials of both the God of Music Sopra and God of Dance Izuno, and Allen found her dancing happily with the two Gods.

Piyon then took the magic ship to the other Temples to check if there were any others who had completed their trials, and found out that Peromus was also done.

When he heard about the plan, he suggested they make a festival around the opening of the magic devices, with singing and dancing.

Rosalina was instantly on board too, as she loved showing off.

"La la la~ lala~la~la~♪"

She sang and danced, charming everyone and making them forget their worries.

She also had a megaphone magic device in her hand, which made her original song even louder.

Because of all that, everyone was able to hear her voice.

"Can we start now?"

"Yes, start whenever you want."

Allen was together with the royal family, and he made a signal to turn off Rosalina's megaphone.

"Wait, are you sure about that?"

"Well, we have no choice, do the thing."

"Heyyy!! Where did the sound go, why is my beautiful voice gone!!"

Sophie pressed the button, and soon Rosalina began to protest loudly.

But Allen ignored her, and told the king to start.

"Thank you everyone for gathering here today. I'd like to tell you a story from 1000 years ago…"

The king told the story of the Mythical Bird Rame.

How many birdmen were falling ill and dying, until Rame came to heal everyone.

"I guess it's about time."

Allen pressed the button to activate the magic devices he held.

"And now the time has come for us to pray, Rame will become our God. Show your appreciation and gratitude to this statue!!"

The king's voice was full of emotion, and the audience looked from Rosalina to the king, and then the magic devices.

"Here comes the thing."

Vooooom

The magic device activated and crystal clear water emerged and filled the city's waterways.

The audience began to cheer loudly.

"Was it successful then?"

"I'm sure they'll keep praying to Rame for the next 1000 years now."

Cecile was still a bit dubious, but Sophie replied firmly, as she had been praying to the Spirit King for a long time too.

By then Rosalina was already fed up with not receiving any attention anymore, so she hopped down and was going to where Allen was, when the king spoke again.

"Could you please take an honorary seat in the palace today? I really think you should be present for our celebrations."

"I'm sorry, but I still have to discuss the other magic devices with the prime minister…"

"Shut up, we're going. The food in the divine realm was awful, so at least I'm going to the palace."

Before Allen could finish, Rosalina interrupted him and accepted the offer.

It seemed like the angels of the divine realm had not fed her the best food.

Since it was hard to argue with Rosalina, Allen activated two magic devices and headed to the palace for a banquet.