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

The God of Magic Isiris had requested they obtain the heart of Nestiad.

"Hold up, why are you agreeing to that just like that?"

That was a quest for Cecile, and Allen was accepting it without a second thought, so Kiel seemed slightly bothered.

They had been silent so far, but Sophie, Kiel, and Dogora had been there too.

"Yeah, somehow it feels like Cecile got the hardest trial…"

(Not really, Dogora. You literally had to sacrifice yourself before.)

Dogora also ended up agreeing with Kiel, but Allen denied it in his mind.

Dogora had died once, before being reborn as Freya's apostle.

Isiris looked happy with Allen's decision, but he was not done talking yet.

"While I understand having to bring you Nestiad's heart, I'd still want Cecile to gain a deeper knowledge of magic."

'What do you mean?'

"I'd also like Cecile to obtain your Divine Technique, a Divine Artifact, and a Blessing. I'll obviously obtain the materials you want for that."

Allen wanted to trade even more items.

'Divine Techniques, Divine Artifact, and Blessing… You're certainly ambitious.'

Isiris began scribbling on a piece of paper again.

"Wait, Allen. That's too much for me."

"It's not. The harder the trial the better the reward. I'm sure you'll become a power to be reckoned with when fighting the Demon King if we manage to take Nestiad's heart."

"But then you might-"

'I'll give you that in exchange for this.'

Isiris interrupted their conversation, pushing the piece of paper onto Allen.

"Wha-?!"

"Are you serious?"

"What the hell is that!!"

Allen, Kiel, and Dogora were shocked by it.

[The God of Magic Isiris' wishlist]

-Extra Mode: Nestiad's heart

-Divine Technique: Dragon God Magra's horn

-Blessing: Shards of the sun and moon

-Divine Artifact: Beast God Garm's tail

(I'm so happy she's using letters we can read to write this, I feel like I'm in love.)

All the documents there were written in Isiris' holy script, but the notes for Allen were written in common letters.

"M-master Allen… Are you sure about this? Getting a Higher God's tail might be impossible…"

Sophie also could not believe the list.

"She's crazy, telling us to go to a Higher God and take his tail…"

Even Cecile looked pale. She had seen Allen fight the God of Swords Sestavinus, who was also a Higher God, and knew just how powerful they were.

The Great Spirit God Easley was also a Higher God, but he had not fought them.

(I hoped they'd be all fetch quests, but this is closer to subjugation ones. But I'm not done yet, there has to be more. I doubt this is the hardest trial we can get over.)

Allen had been defeated by the God of Swords, but he would continue negotiating here.

"God of Magic, can I bring the materials in any order?"

'The order doesn't matter, just bring them here soon since I need them.'

"I'll certainly gather them. But I'd like one more reward once all 4 are here."

'A reward?'

Isiris' eyes examined Allen through her disheveled hair.

"Yes, a reward for the person who brought you all the materials you've wanted for so long. I'd like you to give Cecile an ultimate magic spell."

'A magic spell, huh. That's perfect, I'll give you the result of my research then.'

(She said yes just like that. I guess that's how badly she wants the materials. Or I guess she's more interested in the result of her research. Either way, now I have to gather all of this…)

All Isiris was interested in was to see the fruits of her research, and that was why she gave magic to people. That way she could see her work being used by people and in the dungeons.

She also placed the teleporters in Shandar's palace, and the magic devices in Marne's market.

"Thank you very much, your generosity knows no bounds. May I ask the location of the remaining materials though?"

[Additional rewards from the God of Magic Isiris]

-Latest spell developed: Gathering all the previous materials.

Allen wanted to know their locations, just like how she told him where Nestiad was.

'The Dragon God is trapped in the Earth Labyrinth. I don't know where the shards of the sun and moon are. And the Beast God Garm is in the Paradise of Primordial Beasts, as you know.'

(The Earth Labyrinth, huh. So everything was connected to Cecile's power growing. We were going through the ideal route without knowing.)

"Understood. We'll gather the materials then."

'Just hurry.'

Isiris was getting tired of talking to Allen, so she sat at her desk again and went back to work.

"Well…let's go then."

"Sure, I feel like this isn't what we were expecting to find here though."

"That's true, Cecile. We have to amend our strategy. Wait a moment, I have to talk to Larappa."

Cecile bowed to Isiris then followed Allen out of there, asking what they would do next.

Allen said he wanted to talk to Larappa, who was also there. After Allen talked to her, he left with Cecile and Sophie, while the dwarves remained as assistants.

First Allen went to the magic ship, which was going to the Paradise of Primordial Beasts.

The pilot Piyon took a second to notice they were back.

"Oh Allen, were you able to meet the God of Magic?"

"Yes, and we received a trial too. When will we arrive at the Paradise of Primordial Beasts?"

"If everything goes as planned, we'll be there the day after tomorrow."

(They do say the Paradise of Primordial Beasts is located at the edge of the divine realm. But just 1 or 2 more practice runs and we'll be ready to go through the Earth Labyrinth.)

Merus had told Allen that the Paradise of Primordial Beasts was on the edge of the divine realm.

"Thank you for your hard work. We have other matters to attend to, so we'll be back later."

Thanking Piyon for his response, Allen's group left again. This time they went to the Earth Labyrinth's entrance. There was no one in the magic tent, so they were likely in the dungeon.

"So we'll talk to Merle next, she'll have to search the Earth Labyrinth a bit more now."

Cecile thought they were there to tell Merle about the Dragon God Magra inside the dungeon.

It could be dangerous if they were not aware he was in there.

Kiel and Sophie nodded at the idea, though Dogora could not keep up with their thinking.

"Yeah, they could still use a few more helping hands. I'll go bring a few more people here, but you can wait here."

Allen had continued wondering how to conquer the Earth Labyrinth after his first run.

At first he only wanted a sword, but now he had more reasons to go through it. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

(I'm sure they're at least 10 or 20 floors down and won't come out for a while. Though it'll be impossible for us to reach the last floor with our current members.)

"Wait, Allen. This is my trial, I'll go with you."

"Me too."

Cecile and Sophie offered to go with Allen.

"Alright, then Kiel and Dogora can stay here and explain everything to Merle. We'll be back before it gets dark."

Kiel and Dogora would stay there.

"Okay, got it. I guess it'll take some time."

Kiel and Dogora would stay there and update Merle on the changes.

Allen was glad that they understood his ideas so quickly after traveling together for so long.

Kiel entered the magic tent to rest, while Dogora trained in front of the Earth Labyrinth's entrance. Allen returned when the sun was almost completely set and the moon was rising.

Merle instantly ran up to him, having been waiting for his return.

"Ohh! Luck is going to join us too, that'll be helpful. Rosetta also came."

She was happy seeing all the people who came with Allen.

Merle was done with her run of the dungeon, and was resting around the campfire.

Admiral Galara and his party were drinking with Habarak like usual.

"Huh? There's nothing here, I thought I was supposed to be getting trained?"

'Gyau~'

"Phew, I finally don't have to continue doing that stupid training! Luck, come here too."

Everyone voiced their thoughts after teleporting there.

(There's looting involved in the dungeon after all. Luck and Haku don't look very interested though. I guess that makes sense since Kurena isn't here.)

Luck looked rather displeased, though Rosetta was over the moon.

She quickly sat down and invited Luck to sit next to her.

Allen had brought Luck, Rosetta, Haku, and the backline of Helmios' party Sacred.

"This is everyone then?"

Everyone sat together to eat, and Dogora asked with his mouth full of meat.

"Not yet. Sophie is still talking to someone, she'll be back soon. Cecile, you can rest."

Then Allen left alone with [Nest Transfer], and came back soon.

He brought a man that Dogora and Kiel had seen before.

"So this is the divine realm, and a God's Temple."

"Yes, and make sure you listen to everything Master Allen says, Gatoruga."

"Yes! Lady Sophiarone!"

Allen had brought Rosenheim's strongest man Gatoruga.

There were only 100 spots open for people who Allen could bring to the divine realm, and he used one on Gatoruga.

(It's finally time for the main dish. We need him here for anything to happen after all.)

"Yes, this is the divine realm. Now wait a bit, everyone needs to gather."

"Having him with us will be reassuring. I didn't think someone we fought would join us."

"Fate works in mysterious ways. I'm glad he agreed to come so readily."

"Wait, who are you talking about?"

Kiel would soon know who Cecile and Sophie were talking about. Allen teleported away, then used [Homing Instinct] to bring him there.

There was a powerful gust of wind and the campfire flared up.

"Woah?! What's that! It's a giant dragon!!"

Gatoruga was startled by everything, shouting in fear.

Merle and the rest also held onto their wooden cups so the wind would not blow them away.

Allen had brought the Dragon King Matildora, who had once seeked a new life in the divine realm. He was more than 100 meters tall, and flew in circles above the Earth Labyrinth.

'Oh? So this is the Temple of the God of Earth Gaia. Oh, I see…this is why I am here…Dragon God Magra.'

"Precisely. Now that everyone's gathered, let's start our discussion."

The Dragon King looked down into the Earth Labyrinth's entrance.

After reorganizing the members who would go into the dungeon, Allen took the stand to address them.

"