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

Allen's party was in Peromus' house on Heavy User Island.

The elves' spirit magic had quickly remodeled it to be twice as large.

It was almost as big as a king's palace now, and it had a big meeting room.

There were also generals and commanders from Alen's Army there.

"Do I really need to be here?"

Before Allen could say anything, Habarak asked if his participation was necessary.

"Yes, it's important for you to be present as well."

"I see."

Habarak had been engrossed in his craft. Joining Allen's Army meant he had plenty of materials, which fueled that obsession even more.

The army's work was constantly bringing in money that could be used to buy more materials.

Habarak preferred to be crafting equipment instead of attending a meeting.

But since Allen told him to be present, he would do so.

"Still, that was a really crazy meeting in the end, with the Demon King being there."

Cecile mentioned the meeting from yesterday.

Many of the people present had not been there for that meeting.

First, Allen would share what had happened there.

"Yes, Cecile. That Demon King really is narcissistic. Though I guess that's common."

Prostia had finally decided to join the rest of the world, but the Demon King ruined everything.

"You seem to know more about the Demon King than us."

Lud also joined the conversation.

Allen had mentioned his theory that the Demon King was the tyrant emperor before.

"I just believe that the Demon King's personality hasn't changed since his time as emperor."

Allen explained his theory.

The Demon King had been known as the tyrant emperor in his past life.

Back then he had also wanted to conquer the world.

Now Allen knew that his personality was exactly the same even now.

"He just wants to flaunt his own ambitions and power."

Shea also understood what Allen was trying to say.

Shea's speech at the meeting had also been relayed to Lud.

His response had been "I'll follow you until the end."

He had not asked the specifics of her decision, but he had a pretty good hunch.

(It's easy to read someone's actions once you know their character.)

There was one thing Allen could not understand though.

The Demon King had waited a century before announcing his name.

Usually the Demon Kings would make a loud announcement to the world, telling everyone to surrender.

It was strange for him to remain silent and behind the scenes, without making himself much of a target for so long. Now he had finally made that announcement.

His actions mirrored those of the tyrant emperor. Everyone could believe it was him now.

"Now we know for sure it's the tyrant emperor again. General Lud, continue monitoring Albahar and the other beastman countries."

"Understood, Lady Shea."

All beastman countries had left the alliance. Rosenheim's queen still needed to think about things, and Baukis' emperor had decided to watch things from a distance.

It was clear the Demon King's Army would attack more often, so it was dangerous to split off.

Everyone was demanding Giamut's emperor explain himself, and they wanted to know for how long he was aware that the Demon King was his ancestor.

Giamut's position had worsened quite a lot.

"Also, were you able to figure out how the Demon King infiltrated the magic devices, Larappa?"

"We're still investigating. So far it seems they interrupted the flow of communications somehow."

Allen had tasked Larappa with figuring out how the Demon King had used the magic device.

The device itself had been brought to the island to be examined.

It mainly worked like a screen, but also had a communications device attached.

It seemed like the Demon King had gained access and changed the information sent.

"Why are you investigating that though?"

"Cecile, if I was the Demon King I would look for a way to stop all magic devices from working. Especially at a time like this."

(This is clearly hacking. The Demon King's Army has a hacking unit.)

"Huh? Th-that's…"

"I see."

Cecile was still confused. Everyone else looked confused too, except for Larappa.

"Just think of this, if they can infiltrate the magic blackboard, what's stopping them from making a magic ship fall from the sky?"

"I see. But those don't have communication devices, so it shouldn't be so easy."

Larappa explained that doing that was not so simple.

Doing that would take a lot more effort than to send wrong data to a communications device.

Still, the fact remained that the Demon King's Army seemed to be a step ahead of them.

"Still, we need countermeasures. They've exposed a part of their power."

"Yes, I understand."

Larappa agreed with Allen's idea.

"What are we going to do about the Talent Changes? We can't make everyone do it, and I want to do it."

Cecile wanted to be the first one to undergo another Talent Change.

"Hmm, you mean how we'll spend the Talent Points? I'll tell you my plan."

Allen had already decided what to do about that.

"Plan?"

It was time to talk about Talent Changes.

"Those in the party with less than 4 Stars will go first. In other words, Luck."

Ignomas had always had a 4 Star Talent.

Rosalina gained a 4 Star Talent after joining the party.

Larappa had also undergone a Talent Change and had a 4 Star Talent.

"Ohh! I'm getting stronger!!"

He was the only one 2 Stars short.

"Yes, you'll be the first to go through the new Talent Change Dungeon."

"Nice!!"

Luck replied while petting the Spirit King Fabre's head.

Rosalina also seemed excited to have her singing abilities boosted eventually.

"Habarak will go next."

"Hm? Me?"

Allen said Habarak would undergo a Talent Change next.

He believed it was important for Habarak to be able to use [Alchemy] on orichalcum.

That would aid them a lot to fight the Demon King's Army.

Everyone was getting more orichalcum equipment, so that would make them stronger.

"So, after everyone has 4 Stars and Habarak has 5, who will be next?"

Cecile wanted to know who would be next.

"Next will be Larappa, so we can fight back against the Demon King's Army's magic devices."

Allen believed it was important for Larappa to have 5 Stars to fight back against their hacking.

"Huhh? And then?"

Cecile frowned and formed a fist.

"Those who have entered Extra Mode will be next, as soon as their Skill Levels are maxed out. Dogora will probably be first, and then Shea."

(Kurena is already a Sword Emperor after all.)

Kurena was the only party member with a 5 Star Talent.

"Huhh? But why! My magic didn't work on Digragni at all!!"

"Ghah?!"

(B-but why though?!! I can't change that order…I can't breathe…)

Cecile did not like Allen's reply so she started choking him.

"M-Master Allen? Why are you doing that?"

"Sophie too?!"

Sophie looked troubled, and refused to help Allen.

They did not seem to like that Shea and Dogora had been prioritized above them.

At least Allen understood the source of Cecile's rage.

Cecile had always been extremely confident in her Extra Skill [Small Meteor].

That had been what killed Razel, Lycaoron, and Gushara.

She believed she had the strongest attack in the party, and it had come in handy when fighting Gordino in the S Rank Dungeon as well.

But Digragni had stopped it with his hands.

Their enemies were slowly becoming immune to attacks from those in Normal Mode.

It was hard to say if the next Demon Great Generals they encountered would be stronger too.

They knew nothing about the Six Fallen Angels that appeared with the Demon King.

Cecile wanted to undergo a Talent Change as soon as possible to catch up.

"It's really simple. A Talent Change should increase the stats of those in Extra Mode all across the board."

"Huhh?"

"Just calm down and listen."

Allen tried his best to calm Cecile down and stop being so violent.

Extra Mode went up to Level 99, and a Talent Change transferred half their stats.

Entering the new Talent Change Dungeon required maxing out Levels and Talent Levels.

Former Extra Skills like Dogora's Body and Soul did not count towards his Talent Level.

Allen had seen that from Dogora.

(I guess they're being merciful with that. Having to max Skill Levels would be too hard.)

Skill Levels and Talent Levels were different.

Talent Levels were directly tied to their Talents, like Allen's Summoner Level or Dogora's Barbarian King Level.

Skill Levels were tied to Skills like Allen's [Strenghtening] or Dogora's [Body and Soul].

The requirement was to max out one's Talent Level, so Dogora did not need to max Body and Soul. That made Kiel feel unsure.

"But does that mean that Skill Levels will also get reset then?"

That would require an incredible amount of training.

Dogora had been using Skills 10000 times every day for a month.

"Yes. Luckily we have the perfect environment now."

"Environment?"

Kiel could not really understand what that meant.

"Yes, the best environment. We can use Skills with plenty of Mana regeneration, have a high Mana capacity, and no one gets in our way."

That was another reason why Allen had created Allen's Army.

"Yeah, that's true."

While Kiel gulped, Dogora understood what Allen was saying.

He knew how much Allen had struggled to bring his Skill Levels up.

He had far less Mana in the Academy, and he constantly ran out of Magic Stones.

Compared to that, Dogora had the perfect environment. Kurena nodded too.

"Dogora can just keep maxing out his Talent Level. And Kurena too."

The Demon King could act at any moment.

[Distribution of Talent Points]:

-Luck with 2 Stars

-Habarak and Larappa with 4 Stars

-Those in Extra Mode with maxed out stats (Currently Dogora and Shea)

(I won't have enough points for Dogora and Shea. It'll only get worse as more enter Extra Mode.)

10 points were necessary to gain 5 Stars. Allen felt like that was done out of convenience.

That meant they had to defeat 10 Demon Generals.

"This is also a compromise though."

"Huh? What are you even saying?"

Cecile could not understand what Allen was saying.

"If the fight with the Demon King drags on, the more Talent Changes we undergo the better."

"Huh? So you're saying…"

Allen said that his plan was only so they could get stronger in the shortest time.

If he wanted their stats to go as high as they could go, it was better to wait until the last moment to undergo a Talent Change.

Being in Extra Mode helped even more.

Allen would sometimes say that "Abandoned Gamers don't waste a single stat."

The Demon King would not wait for long, so there was not enough time to raise stats many times with Extra Mode.

That was why Luck would get 4 Stars already,.

"Wait, I can't really follow. I never saw anyone do the same as Dogora back in the ocean."

Rosalina had seen Dogora training in the S Rank Dungeon.

She had also slowly started to understand Allen's way of thinking.

Cecile's anger at him was slowly vanishing as well. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Kiel just sighed like he always did.

Knock knock

Someone knocked on the door of the meeting room.

"Excuse me."

"Come in."

A dwarf entered the meeting room.

"We're about to arrive at the Dragon God's Village."

Heavy User Island had flown all the way to the Dragon God's Village.

"Ohh, that's where the Dragon King lives. A new adventure awaits."

(There's Evil Cults and Demon Kings in this world, so a Dragon King makes sense too.)

Allen stood up with a shine in his eyes.